Christian Standard | April 2020 by Christian Standard Media

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fr o m th e pu bli sh er

Hope In the Dark W

ERE YOU SCARED of the dark when you were a kid? There are two reasons we naturally fear darkness: 1. Darkness makes us see things that aren’t really there. 2. Darkness keeps us from seeing things that actually are there. I remember seeing scary shadows in my room at night when I was little. I needed to have a night-light on or leave my bedroom door slightly open. But the closet—that needed to be closed. I feared the darkness of the closet . . . and the darkness under the bed. I remember imagining things were coming to life in that darkness; once it was the pants I had left hanging over the desk chair, another time it was the clothes my brother had thrown into the corner of the room.

Over time, we tend to outgrow such childish fears. We grow accustomed to the darkness, sometimes even comfortable with it. The darkness of a bar can become appealing for some. The cover of darkness can be pretty useful when we’re doing things we shouldn’t. Once again, we perceive things in those dark places that really aren’t there, and we can’t really focus on the things that truly are there. There’s a spiritual quality to both light and darkness, good and evil, right and wrong. Make no mistake, there’s a lot of power in the darkness, but that’s the deception. It appears the darkness is so powerful—almost all-powerful—but the truth is that just the tiniest bit of light will overcome a massive amount of darkness. Jesus has overcome the darkness, and he provides the light we need to ward off its power!

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Nails pierced Jesus’ hands and feet, but his light pierces the darkness! This is where we find our faith and our hope. We need not hope for the resurrection of Jesus, since it’s a fact! We place our faith in Jesus’ resurrection, which instills confidence for our resurrection!

There is no starker contrast than a bloody cross leading to an empty tomb . . . the premature darkness of a Friday followed by the bright dawn of a Sunday morning. It captures the essence of hope . . . the hope that if God can do that, he can do anything.

Darkness is the absence of light. In the beginning, “God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). But this was the verdict, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). And so, we were cast out into the darkness, where hope was lost . . .

“I turned around to see . . . someone like a son of man,” said the apostle John in Revelation. “His face was like the sun shining in all of its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades’” (1:12, 13, 16-18). “I have come into the world as a light,” said Jesus, “so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46).

But then Jesus came. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4, 5). Jesus came to die—to face the darkness for all of us. He was rejected, beaten, ridiculed, and crucified. Darkness covered the world when he died, and his body was laid in the darkest of graves. It seemed the darkness had won and the light extinguished altogether. I love the contrast of the Easter story. From the perspective of Jesus’ followers, things were bad . . . they couldn’t get any worse. Jesus was gone. Dead. Executed. His life and his ministry finished. His kingdom was a farce, a fantasy, a pipe dream, an impossibility. There was nothing left but darkness and weeping. Nothing to look forward to . . . nothing to hope in. And then Sunday morning happened. It was the greatest reversal of reality in human history. In an instant, everything went from upside down to right side up. Emotions did a 180.

Jesus shines on those living in darkness to guide us into the path of peace (Luke 1:79). He is the light of the world and whoever follows him will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12). We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord, and so we live as children of light because Jesus is our hope . . . our hope in the dark!

Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard Media and senior pastor of The Crossing, a multisite church located in three states across the Midwest. @_jerryharris /jerrydharris

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Volume CLV. Number 4. Christian Standard (ISSN 0009-5656) is published monthly by Christian Standard Media at 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. Periodicals postage paid at Parker, CO, and additional offices. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

the angels

guards at the tomb

cleopas

thomas

Messengers of Hope at the Empty Tomb

A Tale of Two Soldiers

the journey that forever changed us

John Caldwell

Ryan Rasmussen

Glen Elliott

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In Every Issue

Email: cs@christianstandardmedia.com Website: www.christianstandard.com

2-3

| from the publisher

6-7

| from the Editor

10-11 |

e 2:EFFECTIVE ELDERS Resur rect ion Sunday Gar y L. Johnson

12-13 | POLISHED M i s s i o n a r y o r I mp o s t e r? Megan Rawlings

14-15 | MINISTRYLIFE Re s u r r e c t i o n M a t t e r s Rick Chromey

RECTION judas

joseph and nicodemus

mary magdalene

john

peter

miracles of Jesus

the traitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest mistake Bob Russell

respect + honor

go and tell

Mark E. Moore

Ely Lozada

16-17 | HORIZONS A S t o r y 31 Ye a r s i n t h e M a k i n g Laura McKillip Wood

18-20 | METRICS T h e Role o f Wo me n a t t h e Re s u r r e c t i o n a nd To d ay Kent E. Fillinger

transformed by love

a betrayer is restored

Vince Antonucci

Dale Reeves

70-91 | THE LOOKOUT 95

| INTERACT

| THE FINAL WORD

the lookout a new feature for Christian Standard

f r o m th e edi to r

God’s Word Achieves Its Purpose W

E BELIEVE God’s Word “is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12). We believe it goes out from God’s mouth and will not return to him empty but will accomplish what he desires and achieve the purpose for which he sent it (Isaiah 55:11). We also believe it is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). We are a people devoted to God’s Word. We stand on the Bible alone, and not on human creeds, human opinions, or man-made rules. The Bible is our only rule of faith and practice. This accurate description of the people who worship our Lord in our particular brand of independent Christian churches is one reason I

am so excited about this issue of Christian Standard, which focuses on key players in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. At the same time, this issue is our first to include Bible lesson material that will help foster growth in God’s Word. This lesson material—a new monthly feature for many of our readers—until now has appeared in The Lookout magazine.

This Month— Eyewitnesses to the Resurrection This month, we decided to honor God’s Word in a special way. The feature articles in this issue tell the story of the resurrection from the viewpoint of those who witnessed it (and one person who didn’t but could have, which was his great loss). All nine articles take us into the Bible narratives themselves, helping us look back at how the resurrection deeply affected the people who were there and, just as importantly, how it must affect our lives today.

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We hope you can put yourself in these narratives and thereby learn and grow in your faith in our living Savior.

Every Month— Incorporating The Lookout This month we also incorporate The Lookout Bible study section into Christian Standard. If you have been a regular reader of The Lookout, you’ll notice we are using the same writers and that our Study and Application articles have not changed. We will continue to provide biblically accurate, trustworthy, and enriching lessons to help individuals, small groups, and classes study and apply God’s Word. We have, however, decided to make changes to the Questions pages in the studies. We want these questions to be used in groups and classes that meet both inside and outside of church buildings to do several things well: • engage people directly in God’s living and active Word, allowing Scripture to speak for itself, • provide space for God’s Word to saturate the minds of group members so it may teach, rebuke, correct, and train people (while we want groups to get into the Word, even more so, we want God’s Word to get into group members!), • connect people in biblical community, where the New Testament “one another” passages can be lived out,

• discuss God’s Word alone (without a dependence on outside sources), which helps people grow in obedience and maturity in Christ, and • apply God’s Word so that it may thoroughly equip and empower people for every good work, enabling groups to grow, bear much fruit, and reproduce themselves. We’re calling this page “Discovery.” You’ll find it simple to use and profound in its impact. It’s a biblical discipleship and shepherding tool that relentlessly builds authenticity, accountability, personal responsibility, evangelism, prayer, and acts of service. For more details about Discovery principles and process and how to lead a group using this method, please go to christianstandard.com/Discovery. After 30 years of involvement in small group ministry, discipleship, and Christian education, I’m excited for groups to try this transformational discipleship process . . . to grow personally and expand God’s kingdom. Imagine being a part of a community, like the one pictured in Acts 2, that receives God’s Word and then overflows it into the lives of the people God has put around them. Imagine being an eyewitness of God’s Word not returning to him empty but accomplishing what he desires and achieving the purpose for which he sent it. I think all of us would love to be a part of a group and a church like that!

@michaelcmack @michaelcmack @michaelcmack /authormichaelcmack

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Several of these articles are written as firstperson “eyewitness accounts,” in which the writer assumes the persona of the witness. Others are told as third-person narratives. In order to present each character’s perspective on what they experienced, many of the writers employed some creative storytelling techniques, including some imagined dialogue and description.

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e 2 : ef f ecti v e elder s

Resurrection Sunday: A Way to Live BY GARY L. JOHNSON

S EVER AL

IMPORTANT American holiEaster-Sunday Elders days are for the purpose of remembering. MeEvery single day, elders are to live as if it were morial Day is set aside so we can remember Easter Sunday. On the morning our war dead, whereas Veterans of the resurrection, the sun rose Day is for remembering the men in the sky, the Son rose from the and women who served in our dead, and hope rose within the nation’s military. A grand rehearts of Jesus’ followers. Their membrance happens every July problems did not go away, and 4 as we celebrate our nation’s intheir persecution did not cease. dependence. We have religious But within them appeared an holidays—Christmas and Easunmistakable hope of life after ter—to remember the birth of death because Jesus was raised Jesus and his resurrection from from the dead. The wages of sin the dead. Dr. Gary Johnson served 30 years with Indian Creek Chrisis death, but the gift of God is tian Church (The Creek) in InYet, Easter is more than a holieternal life through the sacrifice dianapolis, retiring last year. He day marked with ham dinners of Jesus on the cross. is a cofounder of e2: effective elders, which he now serves as and Easter egg hunts. It’s more executive director. After Jesus’ resurrection, the than a day to fill baskets with /e2elders disciples began living in a difcandy and churches with peo@e2elders ferent way. The Holy Spirit gave ple. Easter is a way to live.

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Christians were faithful “even to the point of death” (Revelation 2:10). Believers in the early church were willing to die for their convictions. Untold numbers of believers were martyred by the Romans for simply following Jesus Christ. They were both bold and faithful.

Leaders of Profound Conviction The question is, are we bold and faithful followers of Jesus? Twenty centuries have passed, but our calling has not changed. Elders especially are to lead by example by living this way. Christians will not readily live courageous and committed lives without seeing the conspicuous, consistent example of elders leading the way. Are we bold and faithful in our leadership, or have we acquiesced into being both cautious and compromised? Our current culture suppresses our Christian witness. Hollywood, the media, government, employers, even friends and family pressure us to put our testimony, like our smartphones, on silent mode. And as our society becomes increasingly pluralistic spiritually, many label us as “intolerant, right-wing extremists” for wanting to hold to sound, unwavering biblical doctrine and values. So, then, it is essential that we, as elders, move beyond our mere belief in Jesus Christ to a place of profound conviction. Be bold. The

apostle Paul believed in Jesus Christ as his Messiah. Yet Paul was executed not for his beliefs, but for his immoveable convictions. A modern-day example of this is the martyrdom of 21 Egyptian Christians beheaded by Islamic State militants in early 2015. Like Paul, these brave men were killed because of their convictions that Jesus was both Savior and Lord of their lives, and not just because of their belief in him. When told to renounce Jesus Christ or die, they boldly declared Christ. Being bold in our politically correct culture is becoming far rarer among Christians. First-century boldness is much needed in the 21st century.

Vanguards of Faithfulness Elders must remain the vanguard of faithfulness. From history, stories are told of ships and planes that gradually drifted off course. The same can happen in the local church. We drift from sound doctrine and gradually move off course from our mission to make disciples of all people groups. For example, across America, increasing numbers of believers are buying into the progressive Christian movement. Churches and entire denominations are abandoning a high view of Scripture while reinterpreting essential Christian doctrine. For help in understanding this phenomenon, read David Young’s A Grand Illusion: How Progressive Christianity Undermines Biblical Faith (available at renew.org). While historic orthodox Christianity seemingly disappears, elders must remain faithful to sound doctrine. As Paul told Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Easter is not just a holiday. It’s a way to live. Be bold. Stay faithful. 

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believers daily strength to live with boldness and faithfulness. Christians did not back down in declaring the good news that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. They shared the good news wherever they went. They were bold in declaring Jesus King of kings and Lord of lords, the hope of the world. As Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Po li sh ed

Missionary or Imposter? BY MEGAN RAWLINGS

“W HEN

WAS THE LAST TIME you invited someone to church or shared the gospel with them?” The question hung in the air. I was only 20 when I was asked this, but I had been a Christian long enough to know I should have had a quick answer. However, as I stood in front of the pastor who posed the question, I sadly could not remember the last time I had told someone about salvation through Jesus. I was humiliated. I, like most Christ followers, had allowed life in general to suck up all my free time. I attended church every week and debated theology with friends all the

while largely ignoring those around me who didn’t have a relationship with God.

The Perfect Opportunity

Megan Rawlings is the founder and CEO of The Bold Movement. She is an extrovert, pastor’s wife, and lover of the Scriptures. /tbmministry @tbm_ministry @tbm_ministry @theboldmovement theboldmovement.com

Easter is April 12, and most congregations will celebrate with a service focused on the resurrection of Jesus. The message of the empty tomb is a powerful way for unbelievers to come and be part of the Christian faith. Be on the lookout for those around you who do not have a church home. According to Thom Rainer, the majority of people you invite to church will agree to attend as long as you meet them and sit with them. I encourage you to be a church invitation machine this Easter!

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I especially encourage you to invite people to church in front of your children. Kids often mimic the behavior of the adults in their lives. Inviting friends and neighbors is a great way to start, or you can be brave and invite the cashier at the grocery store. Inviting someone with no church home to a service strikes many as awkward. Yet, we need to constantly preach the gospel to ourselves to remind us in our haze of busyness that God’s love for us is the only part of our lives we can absolutely trust. If you focus on the cross, you can overcome the fear of an awkward encounter. However, I have rarely found it uncomfortable to invite someone to a church function. Most people seem truly grateful to be asked.

Too many Christians think they need to become scholars or train in apologetics to reach the lost. I am all about scholarship and apologetics, but often all you need to do is invite someone to a church gathering, greet them at the door, sit with your guests, and listen together as “I attended church the message of Christ is shared. every week and

debated theology with friends all the while

The Right Tool for the Job?

A great way to invite the unchurched to your congregation is with a simple slip of paper, perhaps a around me who didn’t business card or postcard, that lists the times of your have a relationship church services as well as the church’s physical and with God.” website addresses (if your church does not make these available, you can create them yourself). A card like that and perhaps a friendly remindWhen Necessary, Use Words? er, such as a text, can go a long way. It will not only help the person you invite to check It’s been said, “Preach the gospel at all times, out the church but will also remind you about and when necessary, use words.” That quote your responsibility to be involved in kingdom is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, but work. he never actually said it. While living a Christian life is important, people are converted I’ve never forgotten that pastor’s question when they hear the good news about Christ from when I was 20. Since then, it’s been my (Romans 10:17). Therefore, if we are not telling mission to share the gospel with as many people about what Jesus accomplished on the people as God allows me. I pray you do the cross, we are not fully “preaching the gospel.” same, especially because Easter is coming Charles Spurgeon concluded, “Every Christian and it is a perfect time to start. All you have is either a missionary or an imposter.” That to do is ask someone to come with you to might sound harsh, but it is in accord with the church, and then let the message of the empGreat Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the ty tomb do the rest.  rest of the New Testament.

largely ignoring those

Mi n i stry Li f e

RESURRECTION MATTERS: HOW ONE DESPERATE MOMENT CARVED A NEW LIFE BY RICK CHROMEY

S OMETIMES AN ENTIRE LIFE boils down to a single moment.

For me it was a solitary night of divine deliverance and holy intervention that changed everything.

For weeks I contemplated my life. Who am I? Why am I such a mess? Why am I failing? Where am I going?

It happened in the spring of 1982, about the time of Resurrection Sunday. I was a freshman in Bible college. I was also clinically depressed, struggling with sin, school, finances, family, and friends. I wallowed in selfishness, loneliness, pity, and apathy. I was a thousand miles from home, living alone in a dorm room that increasingly felt like a prison cell.

Dr. Rick Chromey is the founder and president of MANNA! Educational Services International. He has empowered leaders to lead, teachers to teach, and parents to parent for more than three decades. He lives in Star, Idaho, with his wife, Linda. mannasolutions.org

The more I descended into “stinkin’ thinkin’,” the more I questioned my entire existence. Why am I here? What’s my purpose? Where is God? My life had never been easy. I grew up modestly poor with few breaks and little opportunity in a small Montana town. My dad was abusive. My mom an alcoholic. By age 12, I’d essentially been abandoned by both. I masked my adolescent angst by ignoring it. Or I channeled my pain through perfectionism and busyness, as I felt my religion

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music. I took my large hunting knife from its holster, drew red crosses on my wrists and, for the next several hours, once again, I contemplated my life. It was all coming down to this one moment.

Consequently, that spring, as I licked my wounds and pondered my pain, the night began to devour me. I was sad, lonely, and felt hopeless. My darkness was the proverbial “hound from hell,” a thorn in my flesh. I isolated myself. I sat and ate alone. In my darkened dorm room, I put on headphones and ignored knocks at the door.

My heart grew darker with the night’s weight.

One particularly dark, desperate day I finally reached my end.

The bright morning sun pushed through the drawn drapes, directly into my eyes. The hunting knife lay on the floor. My wrists were still sketched in red ink. I was fully dressed. The only difference: I no longer desired to die.

I put in motion a terrible plan to end my life. I had the means (a hunting knife) and (I felt) the reasons. It’s difficult to describe what happened next. I started by putting God to the test. I arrived first in the cafeteria for the evening meal. The test was simple: If someone—anyone—joined me to eat, I wouldn’t commit suicide, but if not, this would be my last meal. I went through the chow line, sat down, and began to eat.

It was time. I said a prayer and lowered the blade to my wrist . . . and then it happened. I woke up.

Rather, I hungered to live. God promised to carry my pain, loneliness, and sadness. He was resurrecting my life for his purposes and plan. I was valuable, chosen, desired . . . and loved. I felt like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s a story I’ve judiciously told few people . . . until now.

I watched as peers, including many friends, dined at various nearby tables. I listened to their stories, jokes, theological discussions, and other light conversations, but for whatever reason, no one chose to eat with me.

Yet, I think it’s a necessary, relevant tale that might help someone else in similar circumstances. A life in ministry has its moments. It has disappointments and desperation, troubles and tragedies, choices and consequences.

No one noticed me.

This particular night was mine.

Looking back, I suspect my friends had good reason. It wasn’t personal, only coincidental. But their inattention pushed me forward in the plan.

And I thank God every day he resurrected me from that moment.

I slogged back to my dorm room, locked the door, closed the curtains, and turned on some

I’m fully alive. I have purpose, joy, peace, and hope. And so do you, my friend, so do you. 

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demanded. But in my darker moments, and there were many, I wondered if anyone truly cared. Would it matter if I lived or died? I often felt orphaned by life and love. Alone. Empty. Desperate.

horizons

A Story 31 Years in the Making BY LAURA MCKILLIP WOOD

I T WAS THE 1980s, and civil war loomed on

the horizon in the African nation of Liberia. Missionaries Ken and Carolyn Vogel and their children worked with Liberian medical workers at a clinic. One day, a man appeared at the clinic carrying two tiny babies. His 2-week-old twins, a girl and a boy, were fighting for their lives. His wife had fallen into a coma shortly after giving birth. Their aunt, who had a 10-month-old of her own, had been trying to nurse them, but her milk supply could not keep up with the demands of three babies. The twins were malnourished, feverish, and on the brink of death. Ken and Carolyn’s hearts went out to the babies and their desperate father. Believing the children’s best chance of survival lay in them caring for the babies around the clock in their home, the Vogels offered to take the twins in until their health improved. However, they feared that if the babies did not survive, the family would blame them for their deaths. They also feared the babies’ father might Laura McKillip decide not to return. missionary to After a conference with the Liberian workers at the clinic, the father assured them he would return and that he would always know they had done their best to care for the babies, no matter what happened. He left the children there, planning to come back to get them in several weeks.

The twins spent most of their time in the arms of Ken, Carolyn, and their four children. The couple fed the babies formula from preemie bottles, gave them medication, and cared for them 24 hours a day. The babies grew stronger, their fevers went away, and when their father returned for them, he left with two healthy babies and a three-month supply of formula. “We prayed and hoped for their survival,” the Vogels say. Much to their surprise and joy, Ken and Carolyn soon saw this small family again. Two weeks after leaving with his babies, the father returned. This time, he brought his wife! She had emerged from her coma and was recovering. This was an answer to their prayers.

Wood, former Ukraine, now serves as the registrar at Nebraska Christian College in Papillion, Nebraska, and works as an oncall chaplain at a nearby hospital. She and her husband, Andrew, have three teenagers. /laura.wood2 @woodlaura30 @woodlaura30 lauramckillipwood.com lauramckillipwood@gmail.com

Leaving Liberia The Vogels and their children left Liberia when civil war started not long after this. Life in Liberia became dangerous; most Americans and many Liberians left the country. Leaving Liberia wasn’t easy for the Vogel family, as they had made so many connections. In the 11 years they’d been there (1976-87), they worked in several different ministries. In addition to the clinic, they taught a weekly ministry training class, led ladies’ Bible studies, taught at Liberia Christian High School (LCHS) and College, trained village health workers, and encouraged local pastors and church

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Nevertheless, they took a ministry at Hillsboro (Missouri) Christian Church, where they served for the next 27 years. They loved the people at Hillsboro, but they missed their friends in Liberia. They knew life was difficult for those they had left behind. The Vogels stayed in touch with them, encouraging them from afar and dreaming of the day they would return. That day came after the war ended in the early 2000s. In 2007, the Vogels began taking short-term mission trips back to the country that had captured their hearts so long ago. By 2014, Liberia became the focus of their ministry under the oversight of Hillsboro Christian Church and they were splitting their time between Liberia and the United States.

Rebuilding During the time since the civil war ended, Liberia has slowly begun to rebuild. The Vogels see this as an opportunity “to work alongside Liberians who have a vision of living a life honoring God and helping their fellow man.” Now they work with Fair Shake Village (FSV), located in one of the population centers of Grand Bassa County, Liberia. FSV is in the final stages of building a community center. Ken and Carolyn and their Liberian partners have set some goals for their work. They hope to establish a sustainable school for K-12, encourage local pastors, develop microenterprises, work in the deaf community, demonstrate and encourage agriculture, and help the local people address health concerns. They carry out these things within a discipleship context, encouraging and growing relationships as they work with their Liberian partners. Witnessing the growing faith of students and coworkers in Liberia over the decades has brought the Vogels great joy. Some of their former students from LCHS have gone on to become physician assistants, teachers, principals, senators, government leaders, pastors, and other contributing members of their communities. They feel blessed and privileged to work alongside these former students, helping them train new leaders in the process.

People Making a Difference Ken and Carolyn have seen God work in wonderful ways in and through their brothers and sisters in Liberia. Ma Beh is one example of a faithful servant. Although many Liberians left during the civil war, she and her husband, Tom, stayed. Ma Beh had been an effective high school principal before the conflict broke out. She began seeing children orphaned, going hungry, and becoming homeless in the area where they lived. She and Tom began feeding them because, as she put it, “That’s what anyone would do.” A heartman (similar to a witch doctor) once broke into her orphanage to kidnap a girl with a disability. Children with disabilities are prime targets for such men, who want to harvest their body parts for black magic rituals. The girl’s screams brought Ma Beh running. She not only saved the girl’s life by scaring off the man, but she and Tom built a wall around their yard and topped it with razor wire. Children raised by Ma Beh grew up knowing that when the world was dangerous and no one else cared for them, Ma Beh loved them fiercely. This formidable matriarch passed away last March, four years after her husband. She left a legacy of love in the hearts of many children. The Vogels see people who live lives of love and passion, like Ma Beh, and they thank God for the chance to work alongside them. As for the twins, the Vogels remembered them throughout their ministry in the States. They wondered what happened to them, but they didn’t know anyone who had any information. When the Vogels returned to Liberia in 2007, they carried pictures of the family in hopes that someone would recognize them. In 2018, a clinic worker led them to the village where the family still lived. Mom, dad, and both twins were doing well! They had a joyful reunion with the father and the girl twin, who visited and talked about how their lives had turned out. The tiny babies they had worked so hard to save were now 31 years old. The girl twin said she knew God had a plan for her because he had saved her life as a baby. As the Vogels say, it was “a story 31 years in the making!” 

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leaders. The family had put down roots and grown to love their Liberian neighbors.

metr i cs

The Role of Women at the Resurrection and Today BY KENT E. FILLINGER

HE GREATEST and most important event in the history of the world—Jesus’ resurrection—was announced first to a small group of women who had loved and followed Jesus. These women then communicated the news to the rest of Jesus’ disciples. In subsequent years, as the young church grew, women like Lydia, Phoebe, and Priscilla played notable roles. Fast-forward to today. Where do we find women serving in the church? The short answer is—it depends on the church! Our 2018 annual church survey sought to determine how women are serving in ministry leadership today. Please note: My intent is not to promote any theological perspec-

tives or provide any commentary on the biblical role of women in the church. Rather, I’m striving to share survey findings to help us understand the current reality.

In addition to the six ministry leadership roles included in the survey (which are listed in the chart), churches shared a number of “other” ministry roles women were fulfilling: Bible study teacher, small-group leader, sharing Communion and offering meditations, serving Communion and collecting the offering, reading Scripture in worship, serving as worship host and presenting announcements, leading and Kent E. Fillinger serves as presiserving in outreach, leading in dent of 3:STRANDS Consultchildren and youth ministries, ing, Indianapolis, Indiana, and as worship leaders, performing regional vice president (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan) with weddings, day-care adminisChristian Financial Resources. tration, leading in preschool or /3strandsconsulting Christian school, women’s min3strandsconsulting.com istry leadership, serving on the

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E ME RGING ME GACHURCHES

L ARGE

ME DIUM

SMAL L

VERY SMAL L

OR DAINED MIN ISTER/ PASTOR

26%

55%

43%

28%

23%

NON-ORDAIN ED MINISTRY D IRECTOR

69%

84%

81%

78%

73%

51%

38%

PR EACHERS/ TEACHERS

20%

38%

24%

22%

13%

19%

E LD ERS

DEACON S/ MINISTRY LEAD ERS

55%

58%

60%

57%

58%

53%

38%

TRUSTEE/ B OARD MEMBER

13%

11%

14%

10%

15%

26%

senior leadership team, and counseling. Eight churches noted that they did not have women serving in any ministry leadership roles. The accompanying chart identifies the six ministry leadership areas surveyed and includes a breakdown of the percentage of churches in each church size category engaging women in that type of ministry. The overall average is also included for each area of ministry.

Larger Church = More Opportunities The survey showed that the larger the church, the greater likelihood of ministry leadership opportunities for women. For example, 55 percent of megachurches (average weekly worship attendance of 2,000 or more) had ordained women serving as ministers or pastors, compared with only 6 percent of very small churches (average weekly attendance of 99 or fewer). This was the greatest discernable ministry disparity between the largest and smallest churches we surveyed. The second biggest disparity between megachurches and very small churches was for women serving as “non-ordained ministry directors”: 84 percent compared to 38 percent, respectively. This seems to indicate few very small churches have women on their ministry

staffs (perhaps because many such churches have only one paid minister). Interestingly, very small churches were far more likely than megachurches to have women serving as a “trustee or board member”: 26 percent compared to 11 percent, respectively.

Newer Church + Younger Lead Minister = More Opportunities I sought to determine whether age of the church or the age of the lead minister had any impact on the number of ministry leadership opportunities available to women. I discovered that newer churches had far greater opportunities for women to lead and serve. This was true for all areas of ministry leadership except those churches using women as trustees or board members. The average age of churches using women in at least one area of ministry leadership was 66 years old. The average age of churches that do not use women in any leadership area was 78 years old. The average age for churches using women to preach or teach was 59 years old. The churches not using women to preach or teach were, on

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AVERAG ES OF ALL CHURC H ES

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average, 78 years old. The 19-year gap was the greatest of any ministry leadership category. The survey found that churches with younger lead ministers provide more opportunities for women than churches with older lead ministers; this includes having women serving as ordained ministers or pastors, women preaching and teaching, and women serving as elders. Among churches with women serving as elders, lead ministers were, on average, three years younger than lead ministers at churches without women elders. (Again, the only exception to this was for churches that had women serving as trustees or board members.)

The Big Two Women preaching or teaching and women serving as elders have historically been lightning rod issues for our churches. It’s interesting how some positions have shifted over the last decade plus. In 2008, we asked megachurches and emerging megachurches about women’s involvement in preaching or teaching. That year, 6 percent of megachurches and less than 1 percent of emerging megachurches (average weekly worship attendance of 1,000 to 1,999) reported having women preaching or teaching in worship services. That percentage increased significantly over a 10-year period. In 2018, 38 percent of megachurches and 24 percent of emerging megachurches reported that members of their preaching/teaching team included women. (Note that the way the question was asked in 2018 was actually more limiting than the way it was phrased 10 years earlier, and yet the numbers still increased significantly.) In 2010, we asked churches ranging in size from medium churches (250 to 499 in average weekly attendance) to megachurches if they

had women serving as elders. Overall, 3 percent of the churches surveyed in 2010 reported having women elders. Eight years later, that number inched up to 4 percent of churches. Interestingly, in 2010, 9 percent of megachurches reported having women elders, but that number declined to 6 percent in 2018. Over this same period, however, emerging megachurches with women elders increased from 2 percent to 7 percent. Large (average attendance of 500 to 999) and medium churches were largely unchanged.

Impact on Church Growth and Baptisms Those churches where women had larger roles in leadership grew slightly faster than churches with fewer options for women (3.9 percent compared to 3.4 percent, respectively). The combined average growth rate for all churches in 2018 was 3.5 percent. On the flip side, churches with fewer leadership opportunities for women had a slightly better baptism ratio (number of baptisms per 100 in average worship attendance) than churches with more options for women to lead (5.6 compared to 5.3, respectively). For the record, the overall average baptism ratio for all churches in 2018 was 5.6.

Where Do We Go from Here? The trend in culture—and church, it seems—is to afford more opportunities to women, even in historically male-dominated fields. The week I wrote this article, Major League Baseball announced the hiring of its first female assistant coach. And we mustn’t overlook that more women than men graduate from college. Will these cultural shifts continue to shape the church and its ministry leadership opportunities for women? Your guess is as good as mine! But I hope to continue to monitor the situation as future developments take place. 

the angels Messengers of Hope at the Empty Tomb

by John Caldwell

I have a confession to make. In well over half a century of ministry, I’ve never preached about the angels as they relate to the resurrection of Christ. I have manuscripts of all my Easter sermons, but I’ve searched in vain through scores of them for any significant focus on the angels. I fear that many of us have seen angels only as “bit players” in the Easter story. In reality, however, the angels play a major role.

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Angels have many roles in Scripture, and they would make for an interesting study; after all, they are called “ministering spirits.” But the word translated as angel simply means “messenger.” And while they were used as messengers on many occasions, it seems to me that three angelic announcements are especially noteworthy. For starters, angels were the first to announce the birth of Jesus . . . first to Mary (Luke 1:26-35) and then to Joseph, informing him about the truth of Mary’s pregnancy (Matthew 1:20, 21). And on the night of Jesus’ birth, an angel of the Lord proclaimed that news to the shepherds, after which the sky was filled with angelic beings praising God (Luke 2:9-14). Next came the second message, which was about Jesus’ resurrection. But there was another angelic announcement we must not overlook. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord ascended back to the Father from the Mount of Olives. Imagine his disciples’ emotions as he disappeared from their sight. But then two angels appeared and made a third announcement. “‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus . . . will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:11, emphasis mine). So, God’s angels announced the birth, the resurrection, and the return of Jesus, three events that change the destiny of man for time and eternity. Our knowledge about angels is somewhat limited. We know they were created (see Psalm 148:2-5). We know they exist in huge numbers. (Revelation 5:11 speaks of millions of angels.) We know that while they were created to be holy, some of them rebelled against God (2 Peter 2:4;

Jude 6). Angels often revealed themselves in bodily form to mankind for various purposes. Jesus said they do not die (Luke 20:34-36). Angels appear to have superhuman intelligence, but they are not omniscient. There appear to be differing levels of angelic authority, for Michael was identified as an archangel (Jude 9). The angel Gabriel was sent to tell Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, of the impending birth of John the Baptist; later, Gabriel also was sent to Mary to tell her she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God, whom she was to name Jesus.

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Angels in the Bible

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Angels at the tomb What do we know of the angels with regard to the resurrection? Apparently, two angels were present for this, but neither was named. Each individual Gospel writer provided unique details. One angel rolled away the stone and sat upon it (Matthew 28:2), perhaps to see that the soldiers made no attempt to reseal the tomb. That same angel also was responsible for eliminating any objection from the soldiers guarding the tomb; “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men” (28:2, 3). The New Living Translation says the guards “fell into a dead faint.” When the women arrived—several in addition to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James—the angel invited them inside the tomb where a second angel described as “a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side” (Mark 16:5) was already present. Some have made much of the fact that Matthew and Mark mention only one angel, while Luke mentions two. However, no Gospel writer says there was “only one.” One angel was the first to make the thrilling announcement that Jesus had risen: “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Mark 16:6, NLT, emphasis mine). The angel’s next few words are often overlooked: “Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee” (Mark 16:7, NLT, emphasis mine). Why mention Peter specifically? It is probably because Jesus knew Peter’s heart. Yes, Peter had denied the Lord in his hour of testing, but rather than condemn him, the Lord through the angel offered Peter encouragement, a new beginning, a second chance. Please don’t miss that important lesson.

Before Peter heard the words conveyed by the angel, he had gone out and wept bitterly. When the rooster crowed, Peter was reminded of his sin and his heart was broken. I’m sure Peter had sleepless nights as he thought of his cowardice and failure. He had denied even knowing the Lord. Imagine what he must have felt like when he heard the angelic message that the women were to “go and tell his disciples, including Peter,” of the resurrection. The angel wanted Peter to know that one failure doesn’t make one irredeemable.

God's angels announced the birth, the resurrection, and the return of Jesus, three events that change the destiny of man for time and eternity.

Angels and second chances Every person reading this has felt they have blown it. But the message of the empty tomb, as conveyed by the angel, is that we have a second chance. Easter—the resurrection—means hope, a new start, a new life, a new opportunity, a new beginning. And on the Day of Pentecost, just 50 days after the resurrection, this same Peter spoke to thousands of people in Jerusalem. He said, “You nailed him [Jesus] to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. . . . God raised Jesus from the dead. . . . So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” (Acts 2:23, 24, 32, 36, NLT).

Peter went on to become the undisputed leader of the early church, bringing thousands to Christ, and eventually dying a martyr’s death. Thank God for the angelic announcement concerning Jesus, “He is risen from the dead.” Thank God, as well, for the angelic announcement that reflects the fact that he is the God of second chances. For many of us, those two words, “including Peter,” make all the difference. 

John Caldwell served as senior pastor of Kingsway Christian Church in Indianapolis from 1974 to 2010. He remains involved in ministry as a guest speaker and interim minister, and he serves with three mission boards as well as a part-time field representative for Christian Arabic Services.

G u a rd s

TALE

TWO

a t

t h e

To m b

SOLDIERS B y

Rya n

Ru s mu s s e n

“What am I supposed to do with this money?” the soldier asked as he jiggled a bag of coins on the table. “It feels . . . tainted.” “Just enjoy it, man,” offered the second soldier. “How often does an opportunity like this come along for us? All we have to do is tell a little lie. No big deal.” But it felt like a big deal. A weight hung in the air as a strong wind pushed through the partially covered window of the dimly lit room. Two Roman soldiers sat counting their hush money. It was a bribe, through and through. More than that, it was a cover-up.*

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S i m pl e

Jo b

The two soldiers had served together for years. When you’ve been through the kinds of things they had, it bonds you. Still, they couldn’t have been more different. Soldier one was an idealist. He enlisted because he believed in the cause. He believed in Rome. His father had been a soldier. And his father’s father, and his great-grandfather before that. He had longed to serve the mighty Roman Empire for as far back as he could remember. Soldier two, on the other hand, viewed his service more as a paycheck. He had heard of some of the perks that came with the job and jumped on it. The pay wasn’t great, but the empire provided in other ways. Portions of food were regularly dispensed to soldiers . . . and pillaging certainly had its advantages. The second soldier counted his new fortune over and over again, challenging himself to see how high he could stack his denarii until the tower toppled over. This was easy money. The easiest money he’d ever made. “It’s all there. Every denarius they promised us,” he said. “I think I’m going to surprise the wife with something real special.” Soldier one struggled to be so nonchalant. It had been only a few days since the incident happened. He hadn’t slept since, unsure of what he had felt and

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seen that fateful night and unsettled by what had happened since. They had been appointed to a peculiar assignment, guarding the tomb of a man named Jesus. Some were calling this Jesus the Son of God, while others—namely the Jewish leaders—opposed him and called for his execution. The soldiers had never seen so much fanfare over a crucified man, and they’d certainly never had to stand guard at a tomb before. They weren’t the only soldiers given the task. There were dozens; each group had taken shifts in order to remain sharp. The job was simple. Don’t let anything happen to the dead man’s body. It had sounded easy enough, but a lot was on the line. Their lives were on the line. If anything happened to the body, it meant almost certain death for the soldiers. “I don’t know how you can say ‘no big deal,’” said soldier one. “I mean, we felt the same thing; we saw the same thing, right?” “What, you mean the shaking? You mean the being—whatever it was—opening up that tomb? Yeah, I felt it. I saw it. But those are the least of my worries.”

L it tle

Lie

The two men had just rotated onto their shift. They’d worked together for years and figured this was as easy an assignment as they’d had in a while. They’d even joked about it with the other guards there with them. And then it happened.

An earthquake erupted beneath their feet as something, some being, rolled back the stone covering the entrance to the tomb. It was pure and white, so much so that the guards snapped their heads away and covered their eyes from its presence. They fell to the ground in fear only to awake some time later, unaware of how much time had actually passed. When they did, Jesus’ body was gone. The wind once again whipped through the window as the men tried to recall the groggy details after the incident by that garden tomb, remembering the new fear that had gripped them, a fear rooted in their failure and the punishment that was surely to come. “The least of your worries?” questioned the first guard. “I don’t know, this feels . . . it feels crazy. I know what I saw, and whatever that was, I don’t want to upset it.” “But we knew what was at stake when we took the gig,” replied the second man. “We knew if something happened to that body our necks would be on the line. So the way I see it, that high priest promising to protect us was our only way out . . . and all it required was a little lie? It was a no-brainer. Not to mention, we got a little, actually, a lot of coin for doin’ it!” “Yeah, but what if that dead man really was who he said he was . . . and we’re helping to cover that up? That doesn’t terrify you?” “Listen, I’ve got a family. I want to see my kid grow up. I don’t know that we’ve got any other choice. If we can convince people that it was the guy’s followers who stole his body, we should be OK. Don’t be so noble, man.” It sounded so simple. And what were the alternatives?

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Perfect

Cover-Up

After the guards had come to, they weren’t sure where to go or whom to tell. Telling the Roman officials had seemed like a certain death sentence, so they had opted to tell the chief priests. It had just seemed like a better alternative. The soldiers told the priests everything they’d seen. They told them about the earthquake and the being, how it had moved the massive stone aside without assistance, and how it had sat upon the stone. They confessed they had never been so afraid and they’d passed out. The chief priests met with the elders for a short time and returned with a plan. Each soldier was given a large sum of money and told to tell an altogether different story. “Tell them, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’” And then they reassured the guards, “If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

“That’s not our problem,” responded the second soldier. “I’m taking my money and living to see another day, my friend.” The first soldier finished counting his money as the wind continued to send gusts through the poorly covered window. “Yep, mine’s all here, too,” said soldier one. “I suppose you’re right. We don’t really have a choice in this. I do wonder, though . . . do you think the truth will ever get out? Do you think anyone will ever really know what happened?” “Nah,” replied the second soldier, “A story like that? A man coming back from the dead? I think it dies with us.” 

* This article, based on biblical events, employs some creative storytelling that includes fictionalized dialogue and description.

How could they pass that up? The first soldier tried to loosen up. He poured out his denarii and began counting it. One. Two. Three . . . “Do you really think people are going to buy it? That somehow a group of misfits snuck past us— trained Roman guards—in the middle of the night and moved that stone . . . all so quietly they didn’t even awaken us? He paused again. “There’s no way,” he said, answering his own question.

Ryan Rasmussen serves as lead pastor at First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio. He also hosts the monthly Jesus for All People podcast. /RyanRRasmussen @RyanRRasmussen JesusForAllPeople.com

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Cleopas: An Eyewitness Account*

The Journey That Forever Changed Us By Glen Elliott

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A friend and I had been in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration with others who were following one who was clearly a prophet. God had not sent a prophet to his people in more than four hundred years. However, we personally saw this man perform miracles, and his teaching was powerful. His name was Jesus. The week leading up to Passover started in an amazing way. Jesus was welcomed into the city with great fanfare. We were so hopeful he would redeem our beloved Israel from the tyranny of Roman occupation. He celebrated a Passover meal with his twelve chosen disciples.

To Luke, my brother in the lord, from cleopas.

Then, right before the actual Passover, a series of events unfolded quickly. Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples. He was arrested and tried by our religious leaders and then the governor appointed by Rome. He was killed on a cross. Before sundown, he was buried in a tomb. But on Sunday morning, some women went to the grave and were told by angels that Jesus had risen from the dead. We didn’t know what to think. I’ll admit that I was afraid. After all, Jesus had been arrested and killed. A friend and I decided to leave the city and head back to Emmaus.

To Emmaus

I live in a small town called Emmaus. I have made the journey to and from Jerusalem many times in my life. But one such journey forever changed me.

The journey home seemed longer than usual. My friend and I had an intense discussion about what happened. Why had things transpired the way they did? Why was Jesus killed? Why was the tomb empty? Had he really risen from the dead? If so, where was he? What would the eleven disciples do now? And what was next for us?

here's what happened that sunday.

We had many questions and no clear answers. You can only imagine our confusion and

I understand you’ve been collecting eyewitness accounts about the life of Jesus. Here is mine.

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Passover Week in Jerusalem

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sadness. In the span of a week our world turned upside down. We were struggling, to say the least. As we walked along, all of a sudden a fellow came up and joined us. It seemed as if he came out of nowhere. I think he had overheard part of our discussion, but he asked what we had been talking about. His question literally stopped us in our tracks. It seemed unlikely he knew nothing of what had happened in Jerusalem the last few days. Still, I told him about Jesus and the news from the angels—that’s how the women referred to them—that Jesus was alive.

We were blinded by grief and confusion, so much so that we couldn’t see Jesus was right there with us, in our very presence. Then the man, who seemed very confident, challenged us by saying we were slow to believe. That got our attention. He said the Messiah had to suffer first before he would be glorified. He showed us what the Torah and the prophets had said about the Messiah. This man knew his Scriptures well. Time began to fly by. We reached our village as evening fell. We were so enthralled by our conversation that we begged the man to stay with us. We were delighted when he accepted.

We prepared a meal and, as we sat down, this man took a piece of fresh-baked bread and offered thanks, then broke it and passed it to all who were around the table. At that very moment, something unexplainable happened. It was clearly supernatural. We recognized that this man we had been with most of the afternoon was Jesus. How did we not realize it earlier? We had been with him and seen him before! Maybe it was because we weren’t expecting to see Jesus alive, but something had kept us from recognizing him. Now, we both knew for sure he was Jesus. While on the journey we had sensed he was no ordinary man. As Jesus explained who the Messiah was from Scripture, we experienced a change of mood and attitude. We went from grief and hopelessness to a strong confidence that God would in fact provide a living Savior. Because of our time with Jesus, everything began to make sense! And now we knew for certain Jesus is alive. Then something else miraculous happened. As soon as we recognized Jesus, he vanished! His place at the table was empty. There were none of the customary departing words and thanks. He just disappeared as fast as he had appeared to us on the road.

Back to Jerusalem Well, we couldn’t just sit there. Even though we had already made the trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus that day, we had to go back and find the eleven and the others and tell them what had happened. We hurried and found the disciples. They immediately told us that Jesus is alive, that he had appeared to Peter! Then we shared about our experience of seeing the risen Jesus, and how we realized it was Jesus when he broke the bread. The eleven reflected on their memory of Jesus breaking the bread during the last supper they had together.

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As we walked with Jesus, he taught what Scripture said about the Messiah. Hearing from the Word of God helped open our eyes—it always does. Before that, our disappointment that Jesus was crucified had caused us to put our heads down. We were blinded by grief and confusion, so much so that we couldn’t see Jesus was right there with us, in our very presence. By now, as you know, Jesus has ascended to Heaven, but he has not left us as orphans; he has left us with the Holy Spirit until he returns. And so God is still living beside us, for us, with us, and in us.

There will always be doubt, just as there will always be doubters, and that’s why we need to share what we have seen and heard.

What we learned will carry us through our entire lives. I know that I occasionally still struggle at times. The religious leaders in Jerusalem and the Romans hate us. We know hard times are ahead. But when we are “slow to believe,” as Jesus said to us, we’ve learned we need to engage that doubt through prayer and by going to Scripture and reconnecting directly with the living Jesus. When we engage our doubt by going back to the Word of God, and when we seek the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, our eyes are reopened, our hearts reconnect with our living God, and our faith grows. When we sit with Jesus—when we listen to the Word—our trust deepens. Luke, please share this with others. I want our story to help others who doubt that Jesus came back from the dead. There will always be doubt, just as there will always be doubters, and that’s why we need to share what we have seen and heard. Going from no faith, or slow belief, to a rich faith is a process. It’s a journey like the journey my friend and I experienced. We must continue to faithfully seek God and his promises in his written Word. When we do, it illuminates our heart and opens our eyes. The journey to Emmaus that day changed our lives. I believe it will continue to change our world. 

* This article, based on biblical events, employs some creative storytelling that includes fictionalized dialogue and description.

Glen Elliott serves as lead pastor at Pantano Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona. /glen.elliott2 @gelliott55 @gelliott

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As my friend and I returned home again, our conversation was completely different. Our confident belief that Jesus was alive made this trip so different than the last one. We reflected on our encounter with the resurrected Jesus. First, we just had to admit our serious doubt about Jesus as we headed home the first time. In fact, that was the first thing Jesus addressed about us. He had noted we were slow to believe. Slow! I think Jesus was being kind by using that word, though it surely was the case. His conversation with us had snapped us back to our senses.

[ THOMAS ]

Testimony . . . and Why Seeing Doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Contradict Believing BY JOHN WHITTAKER

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It was evening of the Sunday Jesus rose from the dead, and the frightened disciples were holed up behind locked doors. Emotions, excitement, and tensions soared. Suddenly, though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them. “Shalom,” he greeted them. And then he showed them his hands and his side, scars and all, evidence that it was indeed him. After that encounter, the euphoric disciples couldn’t wait to tell Thomas, who wasn’t with them that night. But upon hearing the news, Thomas was hesitant, uncertain. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to believe. He just needed more information before he would buy in. Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25; all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible). I can relate to Thomas. He’s frequently called “doubting Thomas,” but I don’t think he was a skeptic. From what little is written about Thomas in the Gospels, he strikes me as a “data” guy—he needed data to make a decision. And someone coming back to life and being able to pass through locked doors . . . well, deciding to believe that is going to take some data! I was in grad school, working on my master’s in theology at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, when I experienced my “crisis of faith.” I was confronted by so many questions and so many differing perspectives that I began to wonder if maybe it was too much of a muddled mess to sort out. How do we know what really happened? Can we be sure? Doubt began to cloud my confidence in Jesus. Like Thomas, I wanted to believe—after all I was studying theology and preparing for a life in ministry!—but I needed data to be certain.

Seeing and Believing Thomas went to bed that Sunday night uncertain . . . not ready to believe. Monday came. Nothing. Then Tuesday. The whole week passed. Nothing. I imagine the other disciples tried to assure him based on what they had seen. I can hear Peter, John, and perhaps Mary all sharing their testimony of seeing Jesus. “It was him, Thomas! It really was. He was here. We touched him and talked with him.”

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But Thomas wanted more than their testimony; he wanted to see for himself. And graciously, Jesus humored him! Sunday arrived again, a week later. The doors were locked . . . again. And this time Thomas was present. And once again, Jesus showed up. After greeting everyone, Jesus approached Thomas and invited him to see and touch and know that it really was him. “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27). That was what Thomas needed. “My Lord and my God,” he confessed (v. 28), and Thomas believed. Sometimes we fault Thomas for wanting to see instead of just “having faith,” as if believing is different from and superior to seeing. But the apostle John didn’t think that way. In fact, seeing is a major theme in his accounts of the resurrection: • John “saw and believed” (John 20:8). • “Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’” (John 20:18). • “And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). • “The other disciples were saying to him [Thomas], ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). And Chapter 21 emphasizes Jesus appearing to them again and John himself being an eyewitness who gave his testimony to these things (21:24). Not only that, but John opened his first letter by emphasizing he was an eyewitness to Jesus (1 John 1:1-4).

Seeing is not contrary to believing. In the case of John, Thomas, and the others in that first group of disciples, seeing led to believing. But not everyone can have John or Thomas’s experience of seeing the resurrected Jesus. That’s why immediately after recounting Thomas’s story, John paused his narrative to say he provided his eyewitness testimony to Jesus so those who read it will believe (20:30, 31).

Believing on the Testimony of What Others Have Seen The “problem” with Thomas, if there was one, wasn’t that he wanted to see, but that he had the opportunity to believe on the testimony of others who had seen, and he wasn’t willing to do that. That’s why when Thomas confessed his faith in Jesus, Jesus responded saying, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29). In other words, most people aren’t going to be in the unique position you are, Thomas. They aren’t going to have the opportunity to see. They will have to trust the testimony of others to believe . . . and they will be blessed for doing so. And that’s why John told us right at that point in his Gospel that he was sharing his testimony so we might believe. It’s on the testimony of people like John, Peter, Mary, and even Thomas that most people have become believers.

Reasons for Believing And that brings us back to my season of drift in grad school. When I showed up on campus at CBS, I was fresh out of Bible college and my faith was strong. CBS was a conservative seminary, so I certainly wasn’t expecting to find myself in a fog of doubt. But it happened, and Jesus didn’t do for me what he did for Thomas. He didn’t suddenly appear to me behind locked doors. He provided no miraculous vision. Throughout history, Jesus hasn’t done that for most people. Instead, most of us get what Thomas initially got: the testimony of eyewitnesses. And we must decide if we trust them. So after months of internal wrestling and confusion, I got out a piece of notebook paper and began to answer this question: Why am I a Christian? The only answer I have for that question is the same thing that convinced Thomas: Jesus rose from the dead! Like Thomas, I needed data. And all the data I had pointed in one, and only one, direction—the eyewitnesses were telling the truth. The tomb was empty, and Jesus appeared to disciples afterward.

I believed because Thomas saw . . . and John saw, and Peter and Mary and all the others who were there saw on that first Easter Sunday and the weeks that followed. Their eyewitness testimony was enough. And so, I could enjoy the blessing Jesus promised for believing on the basis of their testimony. And you can too. The fog had lifted, and, like Thomas, I could say with confidence, “My Lord and my God!” 

John Whittaker has been a pastor in two churches and taught New Testament, theology, and preaching at Boise Bible College for 19 years. Currently he’s equipping people to follow Jesus by creating podcasts, YouTube Bible studies, and online courses to help people learn and live the Bible. www.johnwhittaker.net

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THE BIBLE CAN BE HARD TO UNDERSTAND. SERMONS AREN’T ENOUGH. AND EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE IN ORDER TO FOLLOW JESUS. BIBLE IN LIFE uses everyday online resources to teach people the Bible and connect it to life so they can follow Jesus.

Thomas’s story is even part of the data. So I wrote my reasons for believing on that paper, and when I was done, I felt like Thomas after Jesus appeared to him. I had the clarity I needed. There is simply no other explanation that accounts for all the facts except that Jesus was raised from the dead!

Visit us online or contact John at john@johnwhittaker.net for more info.

JUDAS the traitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest mistake

APRIL 2020

Judas was greedy. That’s a common temptation for most of us, but it’s especially enticing for those with easy access to money that doesn’t belong to them. When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, Judas protested the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor. A fellow disciple observed, “He [Judas] did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). Judas was the treasurer for Jesus’ small group, and he found ways to feather his own nest. While greed was a factor in his tragic betrayal of Jesus, his issues seem to go much deeper. He surely could have brokered for much more than 30 pieces of silver for identifying Jesus at night. He probably knew Delilah was offered a lot more than that for delivering Samson into the hands of the Philistines. Some suggest Judas’s real problem was impatience. He had left his former life to follow Jesus, convinced the Lord would be a political Messiah. But it seemed Jesus kept fumbling opportunities and wasting time with insignificant people. So, Judas decided to force Jesus’ hand—to put him in a corner where he would have to assert himself and jump-start the revolution. In this view, Judas was not guilty of rank betrayal but just overzealousness.

by bob russell

That explanation does not fit the biblical narrative. The Bible says, “Satan entered into Judas” (Luke 22:3). If Judas were just overeager, Jesus would not have been justified in the stern rebuke, “Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born” (Mark 14:21; Matthew 26:24).

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There was a gradual erosion within Judas’s soul that was imperceptible to those closest to him.

the source of the traitor’s betrayal I think the source of Judas’s betrayal was a gradual corruption of his heart. His catastrophe began with greed, which led to stealing. He perhaps initially just “borrowed from the petty cash.” Then he rationalized that he deserved some personal reimbursement for extra time spent handling the funds. Slowly his attitude toward Jesus changed because of his secret sin. Instead of a teachable spirit, Judas became cynical. Instead of enjoying fellowship with the disciples, he became distant. Instead of loving Jesus, he began to resent him. When Jesus rebuked him for his criticism of Mary’s extravagance, Judas had enough. “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?’” (Matthew 26:14, 15). Judas had become arrogant as well as bitter and decided to lash back. A.W. Tozer suggested, “No man suddenly goes base.” There was a gradual erosion within Judas’s soul that was imperceptible to those closest to him. At the Last Supper when Jesus predicted, “One of you will betray me,” no one blurted out, “I’ll bet it’s Judas! He’s been in rebellion. He’s always sulking around. I think he’s stealing from the treasury!” No! Judas had become an accomplished hypocrite; no one in the inner circle suspected he was capable of betrayal.

the traitor’s tragic mistake But greed, impatience, and even his spiritual drift didn’t constitute Judas’s biggest mistake. His biggest mistake came after he betrayed Jesus with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. His biggest mistake was that he failed to repent of what he did. As a result, he completely missed the meaning of the cross and the hope of the resurrection. When Judas witnessed the brutality against Jesus, he must have seen himself for who he really was: a thief, coward, traitor, and hypocrite. Judas felt such onerous guilt he tried to undo his crime and begged the temple officials to take the blood money back. When they scoffed at him, Judas became despondent. Feelings of self-loathing overwhelmed him. The final, tragic scene is that of Judas climbing a tree with a rope in his hand. Judas made the fatal mistake of giving in to despair. As a result, he missed the offer of complete forgiveness and restoration that would have been available to him had he waited just three days. Imagine Judas, along with Simon Peter and a few other disciples, meeting the resurrected Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Judas sheds tears of repentance and makes an honest confession of his guilt. Jesus tenderly embraces him and commissions him to preach the gospel to all nations. Judas could have experienced total forgiveness and complete restoration because, as the hymn writer put it, while “sin had left a crimson stain” the blood of Jesus “washed it white as snow.” Judas was remorseful but not repentant. There’s a difference. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

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The tragic story of Judas has some crucial lessons for all of us.

When my sister Rosanne graduated from Bible college with honors, I made a selfish decision not to attend. I was a senior in high school and wanted to go to a class party instead, so I stayed home alone. When my parents drove out the driveway to begin the 350-mile trip to Cincinnati, I immediately realized I had made the wrong decision. My sister and I were close, and she was going to be crushed. I had been totally selfish. I called my Aunt Bert who lived five miles away. I said, “When my parents come to pick you up, please have my mom call me.” Minutes later, when mother called, I sobbed, “Please tell Rosanne I’m really sorry. I know I should have gone.” My mother said an awful thing. “OK, we’ll come back and pick you up!” Well . . . I wasn’t quite that sorry! I was remorseful but not really repentant. Repentance does more than feel guilty or shed tears. Genuine repentance ends in changed behavior. In Acts 4 certain believers in Jerusalem sold houses and land and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Two chapters later, some people complained that the distribution of the funds didn’t seem equitable. This might indicate the early church missed Judas, the one with the most financial acumen. If only Judas had waited three days, he could have been forgiven and restored to service in the early church. He could have heard the dying Jesus pray, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 22:34). And he would have heard the resurrected Jesus say, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Proximity to the sacred is no guarantee of spirituality. Judas lived with Jesus for three years but drifted away from him. You may have had godly parents, grown up in the church, learned the songs, and memorized Scripture, but it’s still possible to withdraw from Jesus. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Participation in sin does not end in satisfaction. Judas found no satisfaction in having more money. He found no genuine fellowship with the chief priests. There was no fulfillment in retaliation. The pleasures of sin are short-lived. “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction” (Galatians 6:8). Feelings of remorse are not sufficient to receive forgiveness. Repentance involves conviction, contrition, and change. Jesus said, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). Suicide is not a means of permanent escape. Suicide may not be the unpardonable sin, but it certainly challenges God’s mercy. Who wants to stand before God when their last act on earth was to terminate a life that belongs to God? “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). Jesus’ resurrection provides hope regardless of your present despair. No matter how desperate your circumstances, complete forgiveness and restoration are available in Christ. So hold on! Wait three days! “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).  Bob Russell retired as senior minister of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, in 2006. /BobRussellMinistries

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Lessons from a traitor

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

Respect + Honor an eyewitness account*

By Mark E. Moore

APRIL 2020

I am but one of many Joes where I come from because one of the patriarchs of my people (and my namesake) was Joseph, the son of Jacob. You might recall from the first book of the Torah that he saved our nation from starvation. I would like to think that I have a bit of his character in me. I too am a man of integrity and no slight notoriety in my own way.

My Religious Heritage Though I can’t claim to have saved my nation, I can claim to have served her. I am a Jew and proud to be. Currently, I live in Jerusalem, the capital city. However, I hail from a small town in the hills. You’ve probably never heard of it, but the locals call it Arimathea. I excelled in my early rabbinic training, so much so that my parents moved me to Jerusalem during my puberty to study with the greats. Though the competition was far more robust in Jerusalem than Arimathea, I still excelled among my peers. Not only did I attain the elite status of a Jerusalem rabbi, I was awarded the distinction of being elected to the highest court of our people during my golden years. You probably know this body by the name Sanhedrin. Now, I don’t want to seem prideful, but even the Gospel writer Mark identified me as a “prominent member” (Mark 15:43). Like Mark and the other so-called Christians, I had long hoped and prayed for the coming of the kingdom of God. In fact, that’s what caught my attention about Jesus of Nazareth. Most in my circle wrote him off because he was from the sticks. Though Arimathea is no Jerusalem, it was certainly more urban than Nazareth! Nonetheless, I shared Jesus’ biography of a small-towner making a splash in a big city. Perhaps that’s why I listened more carefully than my colleagues. Through his preaching, I could see the fulfillment of ancient Scriptures. It wasn’t merely his miracles or his impeccable morality. It was the clarity of his vision of God’s purpose and plan. Jesus didn’t just catch my attention; he earned my loyalty.

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Hi, my name is Joseph, but you can call me Joe. Just to clarify, there are a lot of Joes where I come from. Surely, you’ve heard of Joseph the carpenter, the stepfather of Jesus. A lesser-known Joseph traveled with the apostle Paul on his great adventures. This Joseph is mentioned several times by my friend, the physician and historian named Luke. But Luke called him by his nickname, Barnabas.

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My Relationship with Our Messiah I too became his disciple. Trust me, I had studied under the best. Yet none of the elite scholars of Israel came close to the vision, perception, clarity, inspiration, and overpowering purpose of this peasant from Nazareth. Not everyone knew I was so devoted. I wasn’t a coward, but I was cautious. I was in a unique position to pave the way for Jesus’ recognition at the highest levels of our government. So, pardon me if I take umbrage at the Gospel writer John for insinuating I was a coward because I was only a disciple secretly (John 19:38). He had the luxury of going public. I did not—at least not without losing my position of prominence which could have afforded protection for Jesus’ followers. In fact, it was I who buried Jesus in my own brand-new tomb and at my own expense. It was I who took the risk of going to Pilate and asking for the body to be buried properly according to our customs. You must understand, Pilate was a known anti-Semite. His own career was jeopardized by his prejudice and pride, especially when his mentor, Sejanus, was caught plotting a coup against the emperor. The fact that he flaunted our high priest, the fact that he mocked our traditions, and the fact that he illegally executed an innocent man accentuates the risk I was willing to take even after our Messiah had been murdered. It wasn’t merely that I cared for Jesus at great cost. I honored him by placing this stranger in an unused tomb. That may not mean much to you, but in my culture that is a big deal. Furthermore, I went out and purchased new linen wrappings (Mark 15:46) to make sure he was properly cared for. Added to that, we put some 75 pounds of spices on his body. I assure you, the meager ointment of those women who follow him couldn’t come close to the lavish respect I paid to Jesus. Lest you doubt me, feel free to fact-check this entire scenario with my colleague, Nicodemus. As a final precaution, we rolled a large stone against the mouth of the tomb, designed to settle into a V-shaped groove in front of it, thus ensuring his body would not be molested by man or beast. I saw the women watching out of the corner of my eye. Both were named Mary and one of them, so I’m told, had a son who shared my name, Joseph. I can tell they were perturbed even though they never spoke. How could they know the risk I was taking for the One they claimed to love more than I? I can tell you this, these women and I had one thing in common. We both kept our eye on the tomb.

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My Radical Confession It has been years since those events transpired. I have aged, and not well. As I lay here on my deathbed, I give you this singular confession: I am a disciple. Though no one knows, and though I have never thrown in my lot with these ragamuffin Galileans, I do believe in Jesus as the Messiah of our people. And as I take these final breaths, and inscribe these final words, here is what I want you to know from my story. Honoring Jesus is insufficient. It is not enough to know he is the Messiah. It is not enough to show respect to his beaten and abandoned body. It is not enough to pay for provisions for a burial. The honor Jesus deserves is vocal, it is risky, it is the radical call to public discipleship. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would abandon my prestigious position so I could publicly identify with Jesus as Lord. My great fear is that the annals of history will remember me only as his undertaker and not as his promoter. He deserved better. ď § * This article, based on biblical events, employs some creative storytelling that includes fictionalized description. Mark E. Moore serves as teaching pastor at Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona, and is author of Core52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year.

YOUR FAST-PASS TO BIBLICAL LITERACY! Core52 provides a tool for your people to achieve biblical literacy, moving them from curiosity to confidence in just 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 1 year. Check out www.core52.org to purchase, find bulk order options, small group discussion questions, sermon series ideas, and promotional materials.

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It was the third day, Sunday morning, when I heard the stirrings among the Sanhedrin. A rumor was swirling that the tomb was empty. As the owner of the tomb and the architect of the burial, I can assure you unequivocally that this rumor was true. I observed with my own eyes that the Roman guard placed at the tomb was gone, the stone was rolled away, and the linen wrappings were neatly folded where I had laid his body with my own hands. I cannot tell you how it took place, for I was not there. The only ones there were the soldiers, who spread some ridiculous deception that the disciples stole the body. No one ever believed this obvious lie. I take pride in the fact that I offered a better burial than any of his followers could ever have hoped. There is no way they would tarnish the honor I bestowed on their Master.

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A C C O U N T *

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S S E Y E W I T N E

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Mary Magdalene had been watching for hours. Now, the jeering crowd was gone and only the women mourning Jesus remained at the cross together. An unfamiliar man approached them; he too had sorrow etched on his face. “I have permission to take away Jesus’ body, so that it may be laid to rest away from this terrible place.” She noticed he paid no mind to the sweat and blood around them, this man whose fine clothing surely would be soiled by this gruesome task. He spoke tenderly to Jesus’ mother as he told them a place for burial was being prepared. “No one else has been laid in this tomb. If you come with me, I’ll show you where our Lord will rest.”

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A J O U R N E Y O F D E A T H A N D D A R K N E S S Mary Magdalene went with the women who followed Jesus. How many times had they walked together? Looking ahead to the next town where Jesus would teach, searching small marketplaces for enough food to feed their growing numbers, recounting yesterday’s parables and each trying their hand at unraveling the new truths. This journey was silent. The earthy fragrance of myrrh was heavy in the air, stinging her eyes. She remembered a faraway night when Jesus’ mother had told them about the lavish gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Learned men from the East had followed a star to find Jesus. Mary had told the women to close their eyes as she described the finery of each gift’s vessel and the vibrance of each man’s elegant robes. “But what I treasured in my heart was their reverence, from the first moment they saw him.” The fondness of Jesus’ mother was evident by the smile in her voice. “Wealthy scholars who charted courses across the land to find the King of the Jews. Led by a star! They bowed down to him in worship, my son, still small enough to be held in my arms.” Now Jesus’ body was too great a burden for her to carry. When the women came to the garden, it was nearly evening. After their day witnessing horrible violence, the tranquil site felt wrong . . . but welcome. Mary Magdalene sat opposite the tomb. She was almost dizzy, but she was unable to look away from Joseph and his helper, Nicodemus, who accompanied him and supplied the myrrh and aloes, as they carefully wrapped the body in linen. The

ground seemed to tremor when the immense stone was rolled in front of the tomb. Then the two men left. Mary Magdalene stood and spoke aloud for the first time in hours. “We cannot stay here.” She looked over at Jesus’ mother, whose head was bent in grief. “It’s time to prepare for the Sabbath. But I’ll return with you, as soon as we’re able.” She ached all over as they walked from the garden. Her hands shook as she prepared the spices and perfumes that night alongside Jesus’ mother, but the women finally finished the task.

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, s e l p i c s i d e h t d n u o f y en the s e n e l a d g a Mary m ' . t a o r h t r e h n i t h g u oice ca what had they really seen?

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F R O M D A R K N E S S T O L I G H T It was still dark outside when Mary left for the tomb. Her companions joined her on the way there, each head bent. Sabbath traditions brought a degree of comfort, and they walked toward the new day with firmer steps. But a pall of sadness still covered their faces. As they neared the garden, Mary Magdalene considered their number. “Who will be able to open the tomb?” None of the disciples were close at hand. There ought to be Roman soldiers guarding the tomb; perhaps the one who had proclaimed Jesus’ majesty just moments after his death would be there and be willing. When they came upon the tomb, a violent light took hold of Mary’s vision. Brilliant white, brighter than any lamp or star, beamed toward them and everything else was dimmed. “Do not be afraid.”

from the garden. The path was a blur as the women gained speed, as if they were children racing down a grassy hill. When they found the disciples, Mary Magdalene’s voice caught in her throat. What had they really seen? The voice she heard at the tomb still was ringing in her ears, clashing with the other women’s retelling. She sat with her head in her hands as the room filled with sound. Someone asked, “But how could that be? I can’t believe it.” Mary ran out of the room, reeling and suddenly uncertain of what she had witnessed. She stopped to gather herself, and soon remembered the distraught father who had pleaded with Jesus—“Help my unbelief”—and his daughter was healed. If only she could believe in this miracle, would Rabbi really be back? If only she could act with a bold faith like the woman who suffered for twelve years and was healed in an instant of nearness to Jesus.

The voice was unlike any she had ever heard, distorted like someone shouting underwater. She felt each word in her bones. “He is not here, he has risen. Go tell his disciples to meet him in Galilee! Remember his words. Just as he had told you, the Son of Man was delivered into the hands of sinners.” Someone next to her fell flat. Another woman began to shout and sing, but Mary Magdalene could barely hear them over the dissonant ringing in her ears. Go. That was the command. Go and tell. She pulled her friend to her feet, and they ran

have to

APRIL 2020

Mary found herself on the path to the garden again. Near the tomb’s entrance, she stood and wept. Her eyes stung with salt, the tears following the same tracks that felt as worn as the path to the tomb. Then she heard something—voices from inside the tomb that sounded like echoes and whispers all at once. She bent down to peer inside. “Woman, why are you crying?” asked the strangers. “Someone has taken my Lord,” she said with ragged breaths. “They have taken him from this place.” Mary Magdalene rose to her feet. “I don’t . . . I don’t know where I can find him now.” She turned from the tomb and suddenly saw an unfamiliar figure. He was dressed in simple workman’s clothing and seemed utterly at ease. She assumed he was the man who tended the garden there. The man asked her the same question, “Woman, why are you crying?” “Sir, I beg you.” She took a breath to steady her wavering voice. “If you are the one who has taken my Lord away, tell me. Wherever you have put him, I will go.”

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Then he said her name. “Mary.” She knew his voice. The Teacher. Her teacher, healer, and friend. Mary Magdalene’s watery eyes shone bright as she took in his reassuring smile. The ground beneath them seemed to

shout for joy as a great and sudden realization came over Mary. She took her first full breath in days, and laughed. Then she began to step toward him. “Mary, you must not hold me to this place. I must ascend to the Father.” Mary stopped after a single step, knowing she must obey her Lord and resist a nearoverwhelming urge to go and embrace him. Every moment recently she had been wishing Jesus would stay near and teach her. And now, after the events of the last few days, his first instruction was that she go away? She laughed again. She could hardly hold herself steady. Her joy was beyond measure—Jesus was alive! Jesus grasped her hand, “Mary, instead of staying here, go to my brothers and tell them this: ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” His voice was reassuring . . . as always. Go. Mary Magdalene tread the path from the garden a final time, running to the disciples with her news. She flung their door open and declared: “I have seen the Lord.” And she told them everything Jesus told her. Now I have told you.  * This article, based on biblical events, employs some creative storytelling that includes fictionalized dialogue and description. Ely Lozada lives in an Ohio zip code with a Maryland phone number and a New York state of mind. She works as the communications specialist for the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati. @ely-lozada

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A L I G H T S H I N I N G I N T H E D A R K N E S S

APRIL 2020

Transformed by Love by vince antonucci

Researchers tell us our identity drives our behavior. We think we make decisions based on a rational analysis of pros and cons. But far more often we make choices based on what James March called the “identity model.” March, a Stanford University professor who died in 2018, said when making a decision we essentially (and mostly subconsciously) ask ourselves three questions: Who am I? What kind of situation is this? What would someone like me do in this situation? What you do is determined by what you think of yourself. Growing up, I was quickly and consistently told who I was. My father informed me I was no good, could do nothing good, and would never be good enough. He told me often that I was stupid and worthless. So I acted like it. I was careful not to get close to anyone, didn’t study or try for good grades, got in trouble in school, and had police show up at my house.

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the apostle john

john knew who he was

Until He Didn’t

John knew who he was. John was the son of Zebedee and brother of James. John and James were fisherman with a reputation. In fact, their reputation was so well deserved and so well known, they actually had been given a name that described it. People called them the “sons of thunder.” You don’t get that nickname by being president of the ladies’ tea society. These were the kinds of guys who ride around on Harleys and get in bar fights. You can picture them coming into town with “Sons of Thunder” face tattoos. So, can you imagine how shocking it must have been when Jesus chose twelve men to be his disciples, and two of the twelve were John and James? Turns out, Jesus does not look for prim, proper, perfect people. He’s willing to choose raw, rough, and rugged guys with bad reputations. Because Jesus chose them as his disciples, we get to see a lot of these guys in the Bible. One time, Jesus and the twelve came to a town that didn’t receive them very well. John and James went up to Jesus and said, “Let’s call fire down from heaven and destroy these people. Let’s burn ’em up!” Nice! But, when you are a “son of thunder,” that’s how you respond to rejection. That’s how John thought of himself; that’s what he was called, and so that’s how he acted. Then something happened to John. Jesus happened to John. They started spending time together, day after day after day for about three

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Then came the day Jesus went to the cross. It was a surprising and senseless tragedy to many, but John knew Jesus had said this would happen. This was not a mistake; it was part of a plan. This wasn’t done to Jesus; it was a choice he had made. The Bible says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). We read it, but John saw it and experienced it firsthand. He was at the cross when it happened. John knew it was love, not nails, that kept Jesus on the cross. John knew that Jesus was doing it for him. John couldn’t think of himself as a “son of thunder” anymore. He couldn’t even think of himself as John. He was too overwhelmed by love. How do we know? Because John started calling himself by a different name. Look at just two instances of what John wrote about himself: When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here

“

turns out, JESUS does not look for p r i m , p r o p e r, perfect people. h e ’s w i l l i n g t o c h o o s e r a w, ro u g h , and rugged guys with a bad reputation.

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years. Jesus gave John a different way to think about life, but more importantly, Jesus gave John a different way to think about himself. Jesus had chosen him. Jesus loved him.

is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19:26, 27). Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7). He was no longer John the fisherman. No longer a “son of thunder.” He was “the one Jesus loves.” The first verse happened at the cross, when Jesus’ identity-changing love for John was emblazoned on him forever. The second happened after Jesus rose from the grave, when John more fully understood Jesus’ identity and started to live in Jesus’ conquering, resurrecting power. John also wrote 1 John, a Bible book that is only about two pages long but includes the word love more than 30 times! Here are a few examples: Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light (1 John 2:10). See what great love the Father has lavished on us (3:1). We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other (3:14). Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (3:18). Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God (4:7). Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (4:8). What happened to the “son of thunder”? That’s not who John was anymore. He now had a new identity. In fact, over the years, people started calling John by a new nickname, “the apostle of love.” That’s who he was: the one Jesus loved.

i knew who i was

Until I Didn’t

I grew up never going to church and not knowing anything about Jesus. When I first heard about Jesus, I assumed he was a tall tale like Paul Bunyan. Out of curiosity, I started checking out the Bible. To my surprise, the events were set in a time and place. I realized that meant I could probably prove if they actually did or did not happen. I started studying to find out. The obvious place to start was the resurrection. If Jesus truly rose from the dead, there would be confirming evidence. There was. I was shocked. I kept investigating. I uncovered more evidence. I investigated some more. Eventually, I was convinced. I put my faith in Jesus. I started spending time with Jesus, day after day after day. And like John, something happened to me. Jesus gave me a different way to think about life, but more importantly, Jesus gave me a different way to think about myself. Jesus made me realize I am not who my father said I was; I am who Jesus says I am. I am not unlovable. I am the one Jesus loves. In fact, two years ago I got a tattoo . . . while I preached a sermon. I decided I wanted to tattoo my true identity onto me, so I would never forget. My tattoo says, “The one Jesus loves.” 

Vince Antonucci serves as lead pastor at Verve, “a church for people who don’t like church,” in Las Vegas. He is the author of I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, Guerrilla Lovers, Renegade: Your Faith Isn’t Meant to Be Safe, and God for the Rest of Us. vinceantonucci.com

simon peter: an eyewitness account* A

B E T R AY ER

RESTORED

by dale reeves

We were just minding our own business, washing and mending our nets on the lakeshore, when we first met Jesus faceto-face. He stepped into my boat to use it as a sort of floating speaker’s platform. After he talked to the people about what he called “the kingdom of Heaven,” he told us to move the boat into deeper water and then cast our nets off the right side. Andrew and I looked at each other and laughed; we had been out there all night without sleep and without fish.

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I’ll never forget what he said to me: “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” I looked at James and mouthed, “Catch men?” It made no sense to me, but still we decided to leave our fishing business behind and follow him.

before our very eyes

Over the next three years, Jesus showed my brother and me, as well as James and John and the other eight men whom he had called, what he meant by “catch men.” I saw him do many incredible things around my hometown, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. I saw him turn plain water into really good wine. I saw him cure people of leprosy. He cured the lame, blind, and those plagued with all kinds of sickness too. He even cast demons out of people! I saw him take a few barley loaves and just two fish and feed thousands of people. I saw him walk on the Sea of Galilee. (Someday I’ll tell you what happened when I tried it!) I saw him calm a raging storm while out on the lake. He became quite popular among the people, but the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were extremely jealous of him. Jesus began to tell us, his disciples, that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the rulers and chief priests, that he must be killed but on the third day be raised to life. I took him aside and told him it would not be so. Jesus quickly set me straight, in no uncertain terms.

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I’m not sure why Andrew and I decided to do what Jesus asked, but there was just something about his tone. As soon as we tossed the net from the right side of our boat, there were so many fish the nets began to break. As we tried to haul in the fish, our boat began to sink, as did the boat of our partners, James and John, when they tried to help. After we finally somehow pulled the boats to shore, I fell on the ground at Jesus’ feat and pleaded with him to go away from me; I felt unworthy, as a sinful man, to be in his presence.

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fight or flight

When it came time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus sent John and me to make preparations for the Passover meal. That night in Jerusalem, Jesus spoke of his body and blood as we ate bread and drank wine. Jesus told us that on that very night we would all scatter like sheep. I boldly declared to him that I would not fall away . . . that I would follow him anywhere and even lay down my life for him! I’ll never forget what he said to me: “Will you really, Peter? Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” I was puzzled. After supper that evening, Jesus took a group of us to a place called Gethsemane where he often went to pray. He led James and John and me a little farther and asked us to keep watch while he prayed to his Father. I hate to admit it, but we couldn’t keep our eyes open. We slept while he prayed. Suddenly we woke up and saw a large crowd armed with swords and clubs. Judas, one of the twelve—our companion for three years—was leading them. I thought I was dreaming! They seized Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly I knew this was no dream. I quickly drew my sword and cut the right ear off of the high priest’s servant! Jesus told me to put my sword away unless I wanted to die by it. In the midst of all the commotion, even as he was being led away, Jesus bent down and did what only he could do. He touched the injured man and healed his ear. Most of the disciples scattered for fear they’d be arrested too, but I followed at a distance, right up to the courtyard of Caiaphas, the high priest. As Jesus was tried by the Jewish court, I sat by a fire in the courtyard. It’s all a blur to me, even now, but I behaved just as Jesus had said.

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What’s that? No, woman,

D ON’ T

KNOW

HIM!

Who, me? One of his disciples? I tell you I am not! A Galilean? I swear to you by Jehovah God, I don’t know the man! All of you leave me alone!

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just as he said

The rooster crowed, and I’ll never forget that look from Jesus! I slunk away until I was alone, and then I wept. It was a horrible day! Jews in the crowd screamed at the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to crucify Jesus. I watched from a distance as Jesus was hung on a Roman cross as if he were a criminal. I felt responsible. After all, I had denied even knowing him. After he died, Jesus’ body was placed in a borrowed tomb. On the first day of the week, some of the women who had followed Jesus went to the tomb to anoint his body. When they arrived, the Roman seal had been broken and the huge stone had been rolled away from the tomb’s entrance. Mary Magdalene came running to John and me crying, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!” We started running for the tomb, and John reached it first (I’m a better swimmer than runner). John looked in and saw the strips of linen lying inside. He said to me, “Peter, you go in and look for his body . . . I’m not going in there!” I walked into the tomb and saw the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Then I remembered that Jesus said he would rise up on the third day.

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I jumped into the water and hurried to the shore, the others following behind me in the boat. Jesus had breakfast waiting for us . . . more fish and bread. After we finished eating, Jesus asked me three times if I really loved him. I told him he knew all things; he knew I loved him! I’ll never forget what he said to me: “Feed my sheep.” And then he said that simple but profound phrase to me again: “Follow me!” When he had first called me, even before he gave me a new name, he had said that. It wasn’t always easy. And to this day, every time I hear a rooster crow, I am reminded of how quickly I could deny him. But he forgave me. He restored me. He allowed me to assure him of my love for him, not once, but three times that morning on the shore of Galilee. That’s what his resurrection from the dead is about— bringing restoration and wholeness to any who need it. He is alive today and he continues to call to men and women, “Follow me, and I will teach you how to fish.” And, he knows how to fish! Follow him! You will never be the same again!  * This article, based on biblical events, employs some creative storytelling that includes fictionalized dialogue and description.

Dale Reeves serves as story pastor with Christ’s Church, Mason, Ohio.

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restored

After he arose from the tomb, Jesus walked the earth 40 days. He appeared to many people. One day, very early in the morning as we fished, a man called out from the shore to ask if we had caught anything. “No,” we replied. He told us to throw the net on the right side of the boat and we would find some. Hmm. It worked once, so why not? We cast the net from the right side of the boat, and as soon as we did, we caught so many fish we couldn’t even haul the net in. This time I counted them—153 fish to be exact! Suddenly John recognized him. “Peter, it’s the Lord! He’s the one standing on the shore!”

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Church attendance is declining in our nation, even on Easter. A 2018 National Retail Federation study found that half of Americans planned to go to church on Easter, which was down from 60 percent a decade earlier. On an average Sunday, about 4 in 10 Americans attend church, Gallup reported about 10 years ago. “We are no longer the home team when it comes to church,” is how Don Wilson put it. Wilson served as founding pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona, until not long ago. His statement has stuck with me. For decades church leaders viewed attendance as if we were the home team. Typically, attendance varies with the season of our lives and the season of the year, but all churches see much higher attendance on Christmas and Easter. At these times, families gather and traditions are fulfilled— that’s true—but there also is the call of the Holy Spirit. These two times of year, Jesus’ birth and his death and resurrection, call every human heart home to the creator. Remembrance of these events leads hearts to salvation. Will you encourage that call? Will you as leaders in the church amplify the purpose and aide in the process of its effectiveness? If we really are the away team, how do we give our best to honoring our Lord on these two days?

I often find myself sitting in a small conference room discussing these questions with church leaders over coffee in the springtime. The leaders are arranging their calendars and considering various approaches as they plan for God’s work over the next year; they desire success on those two particular Sundays, to be sure, but their greater desire is for sustained church growth. Church leaders know that heartfelt worship and moving messages on Christmas and Easter—when many unfamiliar faces are in the crowd—can be a key driver for growth. And so, my best advice to church leaders is to open your doors, put out your new seats, unveil the extra parking spots, put forward the new programs, and give it your all to sway hearts, minds, and souls. It works. But there are actually three times of year that can be pivotal drivers of church growth: Easter, Christmas, and back to school. Let’s break these down: • Easter : Even though church attendance has declined somewhat, Easter is still the best-attended weekend in the vast majority of churches. Many think that at least twice as many people (or more) attend church services on Easter Sunday than a normal Sunday. • Christmas: Christmas weekend or Christmas Eve services are the second most-attended services. Almost twice as many people go to church services during the Christmas holiday weekend. • Back to school: Most families have taken vacations and pursued other activities during the summer months; with school starting, they are ready to get back into normal routines. One of those routines is resumption of church activities. I am in my 25th year of helping churches get to the next step, and getting to the next step is one of The Solomon Foundation’s five core values. I have worked with many churches that have achieved tremendous growth, and one of the catalysts to their growth has been opening their new facility a month or so before Easter. The opportunities are exciting! What honors God more than opening a new church or a church addition? Nothing! Growing God’s territory is always his first priority, and it is why he sacrificed his only Son. Church growth is the very best offering we can give to our Lord on Easter Sunday. The key is to keep the people coming back.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

c h r i sti a n sta n da r d pr esen ts

Welcome to a new feature of Christian Standard: The Lookout Bible study. The psalmist said, “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119:16). We are excited to continue the long and steady discipline/ practice/tradition of The Lookout Bible study, now in the pages of Christian Standard. We believe it is vital for every Christian to engage in both personal and group study of God’s Word. We are called, especially in Psalm 119, to follow it, love it, trust it, meditate on it, learn it, put our hope in it, gain understanding from it, stand in awe of it, speak of it to others, and obey it. In fact, Psalm 119 uses the word obey 20 times! So we must study not just for more knowledge, but to do what it says! We have designed this section to help you delight in God’s Word. As you’ll see on the next page, each week you will find Scripture passages to read and meditate on as well as Study and Application sections to enhance your individual learning and understanding. You’ll also find Discovery questions designed to be used in groups, whether they meet in classrooms, living rooms, or coffee shops, to dig into, discuss, and discover truth from God’s Word together. If you lead a class or group, please see the note below.

Note to Leaders: You and your group will notice some changes in our approach to the Bible study questions on the Discovery pages. We are introducing a model of Bible study that encourages groups and classes to grow spiritually, bear fruit, and multiply. The study takes your group through a God-honoring and God-exalting process in which people engage with God’s Word; it is a discipleship tool that consistently works with seekers, young Christians, and more mature believers alike. For a rationale for this type of study, more information on the process and how to lead it, and what you should communicate to your group to make this study most effective, please go to ChristianStandard.com/Discovery.

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how to use the lookout

Each week has a lesson aim, lesson text, and supplemental text.

Each week features three sections: Study, Application, and Discovery.

Tabs indicate the week of each lesson.

Use the Discovery questions to study, discuss, and apply the Scripture passages in a group or class.

M i r a cle s o f Je s u s , p a r t 2 T h e S on o f G o d i n Power

C ont e n d w it h e v i l i n t h i s world a n d over c om e t h r o u g h Je s u sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; p ower. Lesson Text:

M a rk 5 :1-2 0

S u p p l e m e n ta l T e x t :

1 Pe t er 5 :8 -1 1 ; P s a l m 2 3 :4 ; 1 Joh n 4 :4 ; M a t t h e w 8 :2 8 -3 4 ; L u ke 8 :2 6 -3 9

s t u dy

Power over Evil by mark scott

The miracles of Jesus have their own “power” vocabulary. Jesus’ power is explosive (the Greek word translated “miracle” is the English word “dynamite”). Jesus’ power creates wonder (the Greek word means something that shocks and terrifies). Jesus’ power points to him (the Greek word means a “sign” that points to something beyond the miracle itself). Jesus’ power confirms the work of God in Christ (in John 10:38, Jesus taught us to believe the works so we would understand that the Father was in him). The first three Gospels have these miracles of power in the exact same order: the calming of the storm (power over creation), the restoration of the demon-possessed man (power over the spirit world), and the needy woman and dead girl (power over illness and death). Is there a progression to these miracle stories as there is in parable genre (e.g., Luke 15:1-32)? In other words, if Jesus is lord of creation and lord of the spirit world, can he be even lord over our illnesses? Evil Described Mark 5:1-5

Dripping wet from the storm, Jesus and the disciples stepped off the boat on to the land only to be met by a man with an impure spirit (unclean or demonic spirit) from the tombs (a word used three times in the story), and he ran at Jesus. (Matthew 8:28 said there were two demon-possessed men.) The condition of this man was deplorable. His strength, his environment, and his self-mutilating behavior (the man was a cutter) are mentioned. His demons had made him super strong. Even though his hands and feet were bound with chains, he tore the chains apart and broke the irons. His environment was a cemetery. The devil is all about death. This description of evil is hellish.

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No one on earth could bind this man, but Jesus could and did (cf. Mark 3:27; Revelation 20:2). All Jesus had to do was show up and speak, and the man would be delivered. The man fell on his knees in front of (the Greek word is “worshipped”) Jesus. The demon within this man knew three things: who Jesus was (Son of the Most High God, as in superior God), what Jesus came to do (torture, which means to afflict with pain, vex, or harass, as in 1 John 3:8), and the path of their demise. In the process of defeating this evil spirit, Jesus engaged the demons in a conversation (something Jesus rarely did). Do demons have names (and thereby personalities)? Jesus asked the demon his name. The demon’s name was a number (Legion)—a Roman military term normally referring to thousands of men. The demons begged (a key word in this story—the demons did it, the townspeople did it, and the delivered man did it) for a few more moments to inflict their destructive power. Since this was Gentile territory, they asked to be sent into a large herd of pigs. Interestingly enough, Jesus granted their request. The demons caused the pigs to rush down the steep bank and be drowned in the Sea of Galilee. Can you imagine the economic and ecological disaster this created? Evil Leveraged Mark 5:14-20 Jesus is so powerful that he can defeat the devil at his own game. Jesus can actually leverage evil for good. Those tending the pigs ran and told everyone what had happened. Even though the people of the area witnessed Jesus’ power to deliver this man (he was dressed and in his right mind) they pleaded for Jesus to leave. Jesus began to leave, for he will not stay where he is not wanted. As he was leaving, the delivered man begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus wanted the man to leverage his testimony. The man went and told people all over the Decapolis how Jesus had mercy on him. This made all the difference the next time Jesus came into this area (Mark 7:31-37). Martin Luther wrote of this power, “One little word shall fell him” (Satan). - 73 -

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WEEK OF MARCH 29

Jesus had been teaching all day in parables (Mark 4:134). He was bone tired. He got into a boat (4:35, 36) and sailed with the Twelve across the Sea of Galilee. They probably intended to cross just to the northeast side of the sea. But the storm blew them further south. By the time they got to the shore they were well into Gentile territory. Gadara is a town well south and east of the Sea of Galilee, but the whole area was called the area of the Gerasenes. This area was covered with caves and tombs.

Evil Defeated Mark 5:6-13

A p p l i c at i o n

In Our Right Minds by David Faust

Jesus’ encounter with the man possessed by demons known as Legion is a strange-sounding story, but here are three practical lessons we can learn from it. Satan is real; evil is devastating. The prince of darkness isn’t a childish myth. We struggle “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). Demonic forces nearly destroyed the man. He was violent, self-destructive, and anti-social, and he lived in a cemetery. It’s naïve to deny Satan’s influence. Science and education alone cannot resolve all of our social ills. Many deadly ideas and destructive deeds detailed in the daily news can only be described as evil.

(vv. 18, 19). God’s mercy changed the man’s ghoulish misery into a good news ministry. And notice: Jesus restored him to his right mind. The human mind has been a battleground ever since Satan attacked Adam and Eve by stirring confusion and doubt. Of course, this demon-possessed man was an extreme case, but on some level, conversion to Christ always involves being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). What does a renewed mind look like? • It seeks to take every thought captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Christ can transform cultures and individuals. He came to “break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). At the cosmic level, the Son of God appeared “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8), and this account demonstrates how Christ can change lives on an individual level. After encountering Christ, the man was “dressed and in his right mind.” His remarkable and undeniable transformation amazed the locals who knew him well (Mark 5:15). Jesus changed a scary cemetery dweller into a calm, reasonable person of peace.

• It doesn’t dumb down the gospel. Instead, a renewed mind hungers and thirsts for righteousness, growing in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7).

In the eyes of many, economics matter more than spiritual freedom. The man’s neighbors were more concerned about their lost herd of swine than a lost soul’s redemption. Upset by their economic loss and unnerved by the Lord’s supernatural power, “the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region” (Mark 5:17).

• A renewed mind worships the Lord and continually discovers additional facets of God’s glory that call forth praise. As the classic hymn, “Be Thou My Vision” reminds us, God is our “best thought, by day or by night.”

Clear Thinking Needed What kindness Jesus showed to this desperate man! Freed from Satan’s grip, the man begged to travel with Jesus, but instead the Lord urged him to go home and tell his own people “how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you”

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• A renewed mind holds firm convictions, yet is open and teachable, eager to adopt new insights gleaned from Scripture. • A renewed mind moves us to care for those with troubled minds who struggle with mental illness and emotional problems, providing prayer support, medical resources, spiritual shepherding, and counseling services to them and their families.

• It leads to clearer thinking, emotional healing, and deeper peace. Christ releases us from Satan’s grip so we can love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Personal Challenge: This week tell someone who is not following Christ how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you. - 74 -

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D i s c ove ry

by Leigh Mackenzie Note to Leaders: Before proceeding, please see our explanation of the changes in this section on page 70.

1. What was challenging for you this past week? (Be as specific as possible.) Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—for their help. Ask the first reader to read Mark 5:1-20 aloud. Then ask the second person to read it aloud again (it may be useful to read it from a different Bible version). Then ask everyone except the reteller to set aside their Bibles and simply listen. Ask the third person to retell (not interpret) the narrative in about 60 seconds. (Keep it simple!) 2. What in this passage captured your attention the most? 3. Using as many details as possible from the text, describe the demon-possessed man and his behavior. Leader, don’t rush this part, and encourage the group to respond only using the passage of Scripture under consideration, not other passages of Scripture, commentaries, sermons, or books. • Describe how Jesus responded to the man at different points in the narrative. • How did people in that region respond to Jesus? 4. What do you learn about God’s power from this story? 5. What does this passage reveal to you about how God views humankind? What does it reveal about how God sees you? 6. Look again at verses 19 and 20. How can you obey God this week in the same way as this man? • Who are “your own people” where you live, work, and play? • In a sentence or two, describe what “the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Encourage people to respond in concrete, measurable terms. Will they be able to respond definitively to the questions, “Did you do it? How did it go?” 8. What challenge will you face this week?

For Next Week: Sometime this week, read and reflect on John 6:1-15, 25-29, as we continue to look at the miracles of Jesus. You are also encouraged to read next week’s supplemental texts as well as the Study and Application sections in Christian Standard as part of your own personal study. (Note: We won’t read or discuss any of these extra materials in our session next week, but they will help you grow in your own faith.)

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WEEK OF MARCH 29

7. Based on this passage, complete this sentence: This week, I will . . .

M i r a cle s o f Je s u s , p a r t 2 T h e S on o f G o d i n Power

L e t Je s u s pr ov ide for yo u r p er s on a l a n d s pi r it u a l n e e d s . Lesson Text:

Joh n 6 :1-15 , 2 5 -2 9

S u p p l e m e n ta l T e x t :

Joh n 1 :1-4 ; Joh n 3 :16 ; He br e w s 1 :3 ; M a t t h e w 14 :13 -21 ; M a rk 6 :3 2 -4 4 ; L u ke 9 :10 -17

s t u dy

Power to Sustain by mark scott

All four Gospels record the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. It was Passover time when Jesus performed it. This was one Passover when Jesus did not go to Jerusalem; he had his own Passover meal in the wilderness with at least 5,000 of his “closest friends.” He sustained them with a wonderful fish dinner. What a contrast in the literary context to Herod’s drunken birthday party (Mark 6:14-29). In his writings, John often mixed the physical and the spiritual. Fred Craddock called it “double talk.” There is physical water, and then there is symbolic water that refers to salvation (John 4:10). There is an earthly father, and then there is our heavenly Father (John 10:31-39). There is physical bread, and then there is bread from Heaven (John 6:35-40). Food that Satisfies John 6:1-15 People in the ancient near east knew little about three square meals in one day. If they had two meals in a day and were not hungry afterwards that would have been regarded as a good day. “Stuffed” was something only the rich knew.

When the crowd began to press their way to Christ toward day’s end, Jesus tested Philip by asking where they could get enough food (bread) to feed the thousands. John made it clear that Jesus knew what he was going to do. It must have stunned Philip and the other disciples when Jesus said, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37). Andrew found a boy (in fact, Andrew customarily found people and brought them to Jesus— John 1:41) with a small lunch (five small pancake-like pieces of pan bread and two pickled fish). Andrew learned what all the disciples learned that day—that

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The Christ was not chaotic. This was a huge feeding, so it had to be organized. Jesus had the people sit down on the green grass in groups of hundreds and fifties (Mark 6:39, 40). In language that echoes the Lord’s Supper (though no one would have thought of such a thing that day), Jesus gave thanks and began to multiply the bread and fish. It is unclear precisely how this miracle took place. But everyone had enough to eat. Twelve small baskets of leftovers were picked up—one for each of the disciples and, maybe symbolically, one for each tribe of Israel. The people were blown away. They had followed Jesus because of his signs. But this sign was over-the-top good—and nourishing. It made them wonder if Jesus were a prophet (1 Kings 17:14; 2 Kings 4:1-7; 38-44). In fact, they were so impressed that they wanted to make Jesus king by force. No wonder Jesus withdrew again to pray. This temptation for Jesus was every bit as challenging as the temptations in the wilderness and Gethsemane. Food that Endures John 6:25-29 Jesus sent the disciples across the lake and sent the crowds away. The disciples encountered a storm while some of the crowd bedded down for the night. After Jesus prayed, he came to the disciples walking on the water—yet another sign. The next day the crowds had returned to Capernaum and Jesus worked his way back up to the synagogue there. Supper from the night before was followed the next morning by one of his most famous discourses, the Sermon on the Bread of Life. Jesus acknowledged in a solemn way (“truly, truly,” v. 32) that the crowd was following him with impure motives. They were thinking only of the physical. Jesus wanted them to think on a higher plain. He told them to work for food that endures (continues to abide) to eternal life. Some food leaves you empty after eating it (e.g., cotton candy). But the bread of Jesus lasts. The crowd was not willing to work for that food. But Jesus said that the main work to please God would be to believe in the one he has sent. Eat Jesus. Drink Jesus. That food will sustain.

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APRIL 2020

WEEK OF APRIL 5

Jesus had learned his cousin John the Baptist had been killed. It no doubt caused him to think of his own upcoming passion experience now only one year away. He desired to get away, so he and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee along the northern shore. His efforts to seclude himself failed. The people saw him leaving, forded the waters that fed the Sea of Galilee on the north shore, and were waiting for him when he disembarked from the boat. The selfless Savior set his desire for rest aside and taught and healed through the day.

when they were at the end of their capacity, Christ was at the beginning of his sufficiency.

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The Feeding of the five by David Faust

The feeding of the 5,000 is one of my favorite biblical miracles. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were fond of it, too. Other than the Lord’s resurrection, it’s the only miracle described in all four Gospels. The multiplying of the bread and fish simultaneously demonstrates both Jesus’ creativity and his compassion—his amazing power over material objects and his concern for hungry souls. John says of the Living Word, “Without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). The all-powerful Lord who created the whole universe out of nothing has no trouble feeding a multitude with a little boy’s lunch. This miracle undergirded Jesus’ claim, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Israel’s renowned leader, Moses, fed the multitude with manna in the wilderness, but even though it came down from heaven, that bread couldn’t sustain them forever. Jesus, on the other hand, is “the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (v. 51). There are still other ways to appreciate this miracle. Doesn’t it paint a vivid picture in your mind when you read that the people sat “in groups on the green grass” (Mark 6:39)? The way Jesus had them sit “in groups of hundreds and fifties” (Mark 6:40) provided a lesson in crowd management— and made it easier for eyewitnesses to count the crowd of 5,000. Jesus’ leading question in John 6:5, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” demonstrated his skill as a teacher, and the way he gave thanks before multiplying the bread and fish (John 6:11) revealed his calm confidence about the outcome. The feeding of the 5,000 encourages us to remember that God can provide even in the face

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of overwhelming odds. Jesus’ instruction to gather up the leftovers and “Let nothing be wasted” (John 6:12) reminds us to be careful stewards of our resources. And the response of the carnal-minded crowd reveals something shallow and dark about human nature. “He filled our bellies, so let’s make him king,” they reasoned, “but we refuse to accept his deeper teaching.” Making It Personal In addition to all of these biblical lessons, the feeding of the 5,000 has a personal application for me. I grew up in a family of five. My parents, my two older brothers, and I lived on a farm. We raised our own fruit and vegetables. The freezer contained sweet corn we carved off the cob in August, and jars of homegrown green beans filled the shelves in our cellar. Dad would smile and say, “No matter what happens, we won’t go hungry,” and he was right. My wife and I brought up three children of our own, and our little family of five went through lean seasons when money was tight. We learned why the wedding vows say, “for richer, for poorer,” and why the apostle Paul said, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty” (Philippians 4:12). We relied on the promise that says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). I can’t explain how it happens, but I have seen firsthand how the Lord provides. He not only feeds the 5,000. He also feeds the five. Personal Challenge: This week write a note to someone about how God has provided for you even in the face of overwhelming odds. - 78 -

APRIL 2020

D i s c ove ry

by Leigh Mackenzie

1. In what ways did you see Jesus’ power work in and through you over the past week? What else are you thankful for from the past week? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—for their help. Ask the first reader to read John 6:1-15, 25-29 aloud. Then ask the second person to read it again, perhaps from a different version. Ask the third person to retell (not interpret, just paraphrase) the narrative in about 60 seconds (as if telling the story to a 10-year-old). 2. As this narrative was read and then retold, what parts stood out to you? 3. How would you characterize the reasons people were following Jesus? • What did they want from him? 4. What roles did various people play in the feeding of the 5,000? 5. What do you learn about God’s generosity in this story? • What other characteristics of God do you see? 6. What does this passage reveal in general about human nature? 7. Consider an example of a current or past difficult or seemingly impossible life circumstance in which you needed to trust and obey God. What lessons does this passage give you for obeying in that situation? • In what ways do Jesus’ words in verse 29 call you to obedience? (Be as specific as possible.) 8. Based on this passage and our discussion, complete this sentence: This week, I will . . .

9. With whom will you share Jesus’ miracle of feeding the crowds this week? 10. What challenges will you be facing this week?

For Next Week: Sometime this week, read and reflect on John 11:17-27, 32-44, as we continue to look at the miracles of Jesus. You can also read next week’s supplemental texts as well as the Study and Application sections in Christian Standard as part of your own personal study. (Again, we won’t read or discuss these extra materials in our group session next week, but they will help you grow in your own faith.)

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WEEK OF APRIL 5

Encourage people to respond in ways that are simple, concrete, measurable, and timely.

M i r a cle s o f Je s u s , p a r t 2 T h e S on o f G o d i n Power

T r iu mph w it h Je s u s , wh o h a s br oke n t h e p ower o f de a t h . Lesson Text:

Joh n 1 1 :17-27, 3 2 -4 4

S u p p l e m e n ta l T e x t :

Joh n 2 0

s t u dy

Power over Death by mark scott

Easter is all about life swallowing death (1 Corinthians 15:54; Isaiah 25:8). Both Old and New Testaments gave us some “warm-up resurrections” so people could anticipate and appreciate the resurrection of Jesus. Some of those are Isaac’s (in a manner of speaking, Hebrews 11:19), the widow of Zarephath’s son (1 Kings 17:17-24), the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4:18-37), the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11-17), Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21-43), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44). But that last one was far and away the most famous resurrection, besides Jesus’ own.

made one of his famous “I am” statements (“I am the resurrection and the life”). This is the fifth one in John’s Gospel. The power over death is located in a person, not a thing. To believe (almost always a verb in John) in Jesus is to begin experiencing this resurrected life (John 5:24; 10:10). Jesus asked Martha if she believed this. She confessed her faith much as Peter and Thomas had (Matthew 16:16; John 20:28).

The controversy concerning Jesus was heating up. Ever since the Feast of Dedication months earlier (John 10:2239), Jesus’ true identity had become a lightning rod. Therefore Jesus purposely stayed away from the Jerusalem area (vv. 40-42). That was why when he learned Lazarus had died, Jesus stayed away for at least two more days. The disciples could pick up on the tension. That is why they were surprised when Jesus said, “Let us go back to Judea.” They tried to talk Jesus out of returning to Judea. But Jesus explained that Lazarus had actually died and that he intended to “wake him up.”

Martha went to tell Mary that Jesus had come. Mary abruptly got up to go greet Jesus. The Jews who had come to comfort her followed her. Jesus’ conversation with Mary mirrored the earlier one with Martha. Jesus was touched by her grief. The text says he was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” Moments later, he was again “deeply moved” (11:38). These words indicated deep agitation of the soul and implied anger in the heart.

Claim of Life John 11:17-27 The author of life arrived in Bethany and found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. This fact lent credibility to the miracle. Since Bethany was within walking distance of Jerusalem, many Jews had come to comfort Mary and Martha.

Jesus made Martha a promise and backed it up with a claim. He said, “Your brother will rise.” The word again at the end of that statement is not in the Greek text. Martha believed something about the afterlife and took that to mean what Jesus had said (Daniel 12:2). But then Jesus

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Jesus witnessed mourning and death all around him. It was time to reverse time. He asked where Lazarus had been laid to rest. Mary and Martha took him to the tomb. John 11:35 is a short verse with a towering significance. The word for “wept” is not the same one used when Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). The word used here means “to shed a tear.” Jesus knew what he would do. But his tears were enough for people to correctly conclude that the Son of God cared for people. Call to Life John 11:38-44 Jesus arrived at this cave cut into the side of a hill with the stone rolled in front of it (cf. Mark 15:46; John 19:41). He asked for the burial stone to be removed. Martha objected based on the bad odor. But Jesus insisted so that God’s glory could be seen. Jesus offered a short “teaching” prayer mainly for those overhearing. Then, with a loud voice, he called out, “Lazarus, come out!” The next phrase demands a drum roll, “The dead man came out.” Augustine said it was good Jesus called Lazarus by name. Otherwise Jesus would have emptied the cemetery. The sisters must have aided Lazarus in removing the shroud and sudarium (face cloth) and had not a little reunion. Resurrection just ruins cemeteries. - 81 -

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WEEK OF APRIL 12

When Martha learned Jesus had come, she went out to meet him. In some ways this was a role reversal from before (Luke 10:38-42). There was no rebuke in Martha’s greeting of Jesus. Maybe she simply meant that she (and the others, John 11:37) were surprised that Lazarus died from his sickness as it might not have seemed that serious. She had witnessed Jesus healing people who were much worse. She also expressed great faith by saying God would give Jesus whatever he asked—though we may not perfectly understand what she meant by this statement.

Comfort in Death John 11:32-36

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When a Friend Dies by David Faust

What can ease the pain when someone close to you dies? There’s no easy answer, but Jesus modeled three action steps that can help: (1) go and be with the grieving family, (2) offer emotional support, and (3) find hope in God’s promises and power. Lazarus lived in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem, along with his sisters Martha, the meticulous housekeeper, and Mary, who hungered for the deeper things of God. This little family of three showed hospitality to Jesus and his disciples, who occasionally ate and slept in their home. Trouble, however, comes to even the happiest homes, and Lazarus, whose name means “God is my help,” became sick and died. How should we respond when a close friend dies? According to John 11, Jesus went, Jesus wept, and Jesus won. Jesus Went . . . but not right away. Upon hearing about Lazarus’s illness, Jesus waited two more days, and his friends were bewildered by the delay. Why didn’t he rush to the bedside of his sick friend? Jesus reassured the disciples, “This sickness will not end in death” (John 11:4), so imagine how puzzled they felt when he told them later, “Lazarus is dead” (v. 14). The Lord follows his own timetable. If you ever feel bewildered when his response is delayed, be assured: The Lord always shows up at just the right time and does the right thing. Jesus Wept . . . but why? Surely his tears flowed out of compassion for Mary and Martha. He may have been frustrated with the stubborn Jewish leaders who rejected him. It’s possible Jesus saw the death of Lazarus as a precursor to his own suffering on the cross. The death

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of his personal friend underscored all the devastation and sorrow that sin and death have brought to earth. No wonder Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33). Anyone who thinks a leader must always remain dispassionate and unemotional should consider the vulnerability Jesus showed here. But he did more than just cry. Jesus Won . . . by breaking the death grip that had entombed his friend for four days. Tears have their place, but in the face of death, we need more than sympathy. We need someone with the power to help. Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25); then he backed up this bold claim by restoring Lazarus to life. Calmly Jesus prayed—not begging for a miracle, but simply praising the Father in advance for hearing his prayer. Loudly Jesus commanded, “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43)—and brought victory to a hopeless-looking situation. Ordinary people can move a stone, but only God can raise the dead. Jesus’ prediction proved right after all. Lazarus’s sickness did not end in death. Because of Christ, our stories don’t have to end in death, either. In times of grief, remember, the presence of a caring friend brings comfort. Scripture urges us to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15) by sharing our tears and emotional support. But most of all, God’s Word reminds us to rely on the risen Christ who defeated death not only for Lazarus, but for all who call him friend. Personal Challenge: Think of a friend who has experienced grief during the last year. Pick one way you can bring comfort: (1) go and be with them, (2) offer emotional support, (3) offer hope in God’s promises and power. - 82 -

APRIL 2020

D i s c ove ry

by Leigh Mackenzie

1. If you had the opportunity this past week to share Jesus’ miracle of feeding more than 5,000 people with someone, how did that go? 2. What challenges did you face last week? (Be specific!) Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—for their help. Ask the first reader to read John 11:17-27 aloud. Then ask the second person to read it again, perhaps from a different version. Ask the third person to retell the narrative in about 60 seconds as if telling the story to a preteen. 3. What especially fascinated or intrigued you in this passage? 4. Let’s look at more details in the narrative: • What different emotions do you notice? • How did the different people in the story—Martha, Mary, and the crowds—react to Jesus? • How did Jesus respond to them? • What statements of faith do you see? • What promises do you notice, and how would you describe them overall? 5. What does this passage teach you about God? 6. What do you learn about how people respond to God in different ways? 7. Share a time when you faced a “Lord, if you had been here . . .” moment in your life. How did you handle it at the time? • How could you respond to that kind of situation with an “I know” or “I believe” kind of faith? 8. Share a time when you sensed God telling you to do something, and you responded with a “But Lord . . .” line of reasoning.

10. Based on this passage and our discussion, complete this sentence: This week, I will . . . Challenge responders to stay away from ideals or superlatives such as “I will be a better person,” “I will trust God more,” “I will pray more,” or “I will read my Bible more.” If you receive such responses, follow up with, “How specifically will you do that” or “Give us a concrete, meaureable way you will do that.” 11. What is one challenge you expect to face this week? For Next Week: Read and reflect on John 21:1-14, 24, 25 this upcoming week, as we continue to look at the miracles of Jesus. You can also read next week’s supplemental Bible texts as well as the Study and Application sections in Christian Standard as part of your own personal study.

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APRIL 2020

WEEK OF APRIL 12

9. With whom will you share the message and hope of Resurrection this week?

M i r a cle s o f Je s u s , p a r t 2 T h e S on o f G o d i n Power

L e t t h e k n owle d g e o f Je s u sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; p ower over a l l g ive yo u c on f ide n c e a n d h o p e . Lesson Text:

Joh n 21 :1-14 , 2 4 , 2 5

S u p p l e m e n ta l T e x t :

M a t t h e w 2 8 :18 ; E ph e s i a n s 1 :18 -2 2 ; 2 Pe t er 1 :16 , 17

s t u dy

Power over all of creation by mark scott

To ensure the disciples had a convinced and informed faith, Jesus appeared to them over a period of 40 days following his resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:1-5). During these appearances, Jesus gave many “convincing proofs” of his resurrection by, among other things, eating in front of them (Luke 24:41, 42) and asking them to touch him (John 20:27). The numerous, collaborated, and varied eyewitness accounts serve to verify Jesus’ resurrection while undermining theories that allege hallucinations or hoaxes. Besides sudden appearances during these 40 days, Jesus also performed certain miracles. Such is the case with our text today. Jesus had an affinity for fish. He illustrated his teaching with fish and told stories about fishing (Matthew 7:10; 13:47-50). He called people who fished for a living to be his disciples (Mark 1:16-20). He knew of a fish with a coin in its mouth (Matthew 17:27). He multiplied fish on two separate occasions (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39; 16:9, 10). The Last Fishing Expedition John 21:1-3 The angel at the empty tomb told the women to “come and see,” and “go quickly and tell” the disciples that Jesus would meet them in Galilee (Matthew 28:6, 7). Forty days would certainly have been enough time for Jesus to be resurrected in Jerusalem, make a trip to Galilee (and give the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20), and then return to Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives to ascend into Heaven (Luke 24:50-53).

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The disciples had fished during the night. As day broke, someone stood on the shore and yelled to the disciples, “Friends [a term of endearment in John 15:15], haven’t you any fish?” Perhaps due to darkness or distance, the disciples did not discern the man’s identity. When the disciples answered in the negative, Jesus urged them to fish on the right side of the boat and said they would be ensured a catch. They probably thought, Why not? Wonder of wonders, they caught large and numerous fish. Ever perceptive, John said, “It is the Lord!” That was all Peter needed to hear. After all, he had been in this situation once before (Luke 5:1-11). He was stripped to the waist, so he wrapped his outer garment around him, and evidently swam to shore. The other disciples rowed the hundred yards to shore with a boatload of fish. Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore—quite a task for one person. Because this was a boatload of preachers, one of them counted the fish—153. All kinds of fanciful interpretations have been given to this number, but it probably just means they had 153 fish. The fire had to spark in Peter a memory of denying Jesus (John 18:18), and the significance of it would feature momentarily in his restoration (John 21:15-23). Jesus had already started the breakfast, and the disciples added to it from the miraculous catch of fish. When Jesus took the bread and fish and gave it to the disciples, there was no question about who he was. They knew it was the Lord. John wrote that this was the third appearance of Jesus to the disciples (and if the appearances to the ten and then to the eleven are viewed as one—John 20:19-29—that is certainly correct). The Last Word John 21:24, 25 The disciple whom Jesus loved signed off by claiming the truthfulness of what he wrote with a postscript intended as hyperbole. It is referred to as a colophon. Jesus accomplished so much in his three-year ministry that if everything he did had been written down, then the world could not contain the books. Of the making of the books about Jesus today, there seems to be no end.

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APRIL 2020

WEEK OF APRIL 19

Seven disciples went out to fish. Three of them were named (Peter, Thomas, and Nathanael), two were designated (sons of Zebedee—James and John), and two were unnamed. Scholars debate what was implied by, “I’m going out to fish.” Was Peter returning to his former occupation? Was he contemplating his recent denial of Jesus and feeling ashamed and wanting to get away? Was he just in need of some rest and relaxation? Or was he trying to provide for his family, with whom he probably had not spent much time during the last three years (1 Corinthians 9:5)? No matter, as the fishing expedition was unsuccessful. Maybe the disciples still had to learn that apart from Jesus they could do nothing (John 15:5). This was the final time Scripture mentions the disciples fishing for fish.

The Last Breakfast John 21:4-14

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Net results by David Faust

First-century fishermen relied on their nets like carpenters rely on their hammers and farmers count on their plows. It took fishermen considerable skill, time, and effort to clean, dry, and mend their linen nets to keep them from rotting and wearing out. A seine net might be several hundred feet long and 20 feet deep, with cork or wood floats to keep the top of the net on the water’s surface and stone weights to pull the rest down into the water, capturing any fish in its path. After dragging the net onto the shore, the fishermen would sort out their catch and throw back anything not useful for food or for sale. In one of his parables, Jesus used this process to illustrate God’s judgment (Matthew 13:47-50). Several of Jesus’ apostles were fishermen before he made them fishers of men. Peter and Andrew were casting a net onto the lake, and James and John were mending or preparing their nets, when Jesus first called them to follow him (Matthew 4:18-22). The Empty Net After Jesus rose from the dead, several of his disciples went fishing again, and “that night they caught nothing” (John 21:3). Good intentions don’t guarantee success. Even hard work and dedication don’t always produce the desired results. Another time, Peter and his companions fished all night without catching anything, but when they obeyed Jesus’ instruction to venture back out and let down their nets, their boats could barely contain the catch (Luke 5:1-11). The Full Net Jesus said a lot of things that stretched his disciples’ faith. It was another strange-sounding command when the risen Lord spoke from the shore and told them to cast their net off “the right side of the boat” (John 21:6). How could anyone know that

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a large number of fish were gathered underwater just off the boat’s right side? Once again, the disciples found success by following Jesus’ instructions. Their once-empty net quickly filled up. The Untorn Net As any good fisherman would do, John carefully observed the size of the fish (“large”) and the number of fish caught (“153”), and he noted that “even with so many the net was not torn” (John 21:11). The Lord accomplished this miracle without being on the boat and without harming the fishermen’s valuable equipment. After eating breakfast with his disciples that morning on the shore, Jesus informed Peter about a coming change of occupation. Instead of being a fisherman, Peter was going to be a spiritual shepherd who would feed God’s sheep. The Discarded Net Three years earlier the disciples started their journey with Jesus when “they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:18). With three years of the Lord’s basic training under their belts and his resurrection a certainty in their minds, they would follow him wherever he led, no matter how much commitment and sacrifice he required. What can we learn from these hardy fishermen and their encounters with Jesus? In life, sometimes you come up empty. Sometimes it looks like God gives you more than you can handle. At times he will ask you to leave behind familiar things. Do you trust him more than your own experience and skill? Do you love him above all else? Is it time for you to let go of the net? Personal Challenge: What does it look like for you to “let go of the net”? Call a friend—perhaps from your church, class, or group—to discuss your responses to that question. - 86 -

APRIL 2020

D i s c ove ry

by Leigh Mackenzie

1. With whom did you share the message and hope of Resurrection last week? 2. From this past week, what are you thankful for? (Be specific . . . more than, “I’m thankful for a good day” or “a great family.") Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—for their help. Ask the first reader to read John 21:1-14, 24, 25 aloud. Then ask the second person to read it again, perhaps from a different version. Ask the third person to retell the narrative in about 60 seconds. Remind them to keep it simple, focusing on the essence of the narrative. 3. What is a highlight in this narrative for you? 4. Imagine you are one of the disciples. Describe the scene using as many sensory details as you can. Discuss each of the following, one at a time, for the whole narrative: • What do you see? • What do you feel with your sense of touch? • What do you hear? • What do you smell? • What do you taste? What thoughts and feelings did the disciples experience at different times? 5. As you look at Jesus’ interactions with the disciples, what do you learn about God? 6. Again imagine you were in the boat with your companions and then on the shore with Jesus. What do you learn about yourself as you hear Jesus’ words?

8. In what situation this week can you testify about the things Jesus has done in your life? 9. Based on the passage and our discussion, complete this sentence: This week, I will . . . 10. What one big challenge are you facing this week? For Next Week: Read and reflect on Deuteronomy 4:5-9; 7:6-9; 10:12-22; and Leviticus 9:23, 24 this upcoming week, as we begin a new study about being “Wholly His.” You can also read next week’s supplemental Bible texts as well as the Study and Application sections as part of your own personal study. (As a reminder, we won’t read or discuss these extra materials in our group session next week, but they will help you grow in your own faith.)

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APRIL 2020

WEEK OF APRIL 19

7. What does it look like for you to “throw your net on the right side of the boat”—in other words, to do something that doesn’t seem logical at first? • In what area do you need to obey God, even though it will take hard work and you can’t see how it will succeed?

L e v it ic u s â&#x20AC;&#x201D;D e ut er on omy W h ol ly H i s

B e c a u s e h e i s h oly, w a l k a s h i s h oly p e o ple . Lesson Text:

D e ut er on omy 10 :1 2 -2 2 ; 7:6 -9 ; 4 :5 -9 ; L e v it ic u s 9 :2 3 , 2 4

S u p p l e m e n ta l T e x t :

1 Pe t er 2 :9 , 10 ; C olo s s i a n s 3 :1 1-17

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APRIL 2020

s t u dy

His Chosen People by mark scott

God’s chosen people are holy and wholly his. They are to be set apart for him (holy) and entirely devoted to him (wholly his). At times we have emphasized the “purity” side of holiness but have failed to emphasize the “possession” side of it. To be holy is to live with the moral excellence of God himself. But to be holy also is to realize that we belong to him. He is our very great possession and inheritance, and we are his peculiar people. The next four lessons emphasize how God’s people are to be “wholly his.” The texts are from Moses’ preaching (Deuteronomy) and from the code that uses “holiness” more than any other book in the Bible (Leviticus). As the people were getting ready to cross the Jordan into the land of promise, Moses reminded them of God’s law (Deuteronomy 5), God’s heart (6), God’s love (7), God’s word (8), and God’s discipline (9). God then commanded Moses to cut two new stone tablets since Moses had broken the first ones (Deuteronomy 10:2) and to make sure the law traveled with Israel in their journeys in the ark box. God’s purpose was to ensure that Israel’s wholeness was located in God himself. Israel’s Choice Was Due to God’s Greatness and Goodness Deuteronomy 10:12-22 In language similar to that of the prophet Micah (6:8), Moses reminded Israel of what God required (asked) of them. Basically God asked Israel to do five things (and these greatly overlap): to fear (reverence) God, obey God, love God with everything, serve (work for) God, and observe (heed or retain) God’s commands and decrees.

God wanted Israel to demonstrate his greatness and goodness to show his affection (mercy) toward them; in other words, to love the foreigner, fear the Lord and

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Israel’s Greatness Was Due to God’s Promises Deuteronomy 7:6-9; 4:5-9 God’s promises were not given to Israel because Israel was so compliant, intelligent, shrewd, or numerous. The promises of God were rooted in his consistent character. At least three fulfilled promises are highlighted in these two sections of Scripture. First, to make Israel his treasured possession the Lord kept his oath to Israel of “redemption.” God redeemed (ransomed or paid a price for) Israel from the land of slavery. God’s second promise was that of his covenant. The Lord’s covenant of love established an agreement between God and his people. Israel did not have to wonder about how this covenant worked because the third promise was that of revelation. God’s unveiling of himself to Israel came through his law. The law of God (specifically given in the Ten Commandments) made known his mind, will, and way. As Israel would observe these laws, they would demonstrate God’s wisdom and understanding to the nations. In this sense the law became an avenue of evangelism. The nations would respond, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Unlike the gods of other nations, God’s people have a God who is near them. The Lord’s righteous decrees and laws were set before Israel so Israel could perpetuate God’s promises to the generations to come. Diligence in maintaining the promises of God would help Israel to prevent God’s laws from fading from the peoples’ hearts. Israel’s Glory Was Due to God’s Power Leviticus 9:23, 24 The first seven chapters of Leviticus marked out the various offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. Leviticus 8 and 9 dealt with the consecration of the priests. These last two verses of chapter 9 are the epilogue of these two chapters. When Moses and Aaron came out of the tent of meeting, they blessed the people and God put on a display of his power. God’s purifying fire from heaven was his stamp of approval for the sacrifices made. When the people witnessed this power they shouted for joy and fell facedown. What else could his chosen people do? - 89 -

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In doing these five things, Israel would not make a name for themselves. They would simply make God’s name great. After all, the heavens and the earth belong to him. He is God of gods and Lord of lords. He is mighty (strong) and awesome (fearsome). He has shown himself to be good. He plays no favorites (even though he chose Israel) and accepts no bribes. He defends the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner by giving them food and clothing. And, after all, the Lord performed miracles for Israel (great and awesome wonders).

serve him, hold him fast, and take oaths in his name. God helped Israel multiply from a family of 70 (cf. Exodus 1:5; Acts 7:14, 15) to a nation as numerous as the stars.

A p p l i c at i o n

We come from different places by David Faust

My wife, Candy, volunteers with a ministry in our church called English Talk Time. Neighbors from Japan, Korea, Brazil, China, and other nations come to our church building each Wednesday morning to learn conversational English. It’s a practical way to assist our neighbors, but it leads to some humorous verbal exchanges.

• God healed the Syrian soldier, Naaman (2 Kings 5).

When your friends speak little English, how do you explain to them the difference between “aisle,” “isle,” and “I’ll”? Why can you read the same book today that you read yesterday, although read is spelled the same but pronounced differently each time? If you order roast duck in a restaurant, of course the duck doesn’t have a bill—but you will get a bill for the meal, which you can pay with a $50 bill to the waiter named Bill.

• Non-Jews with rough-edged stories, like Rahab and Ruth, appear in the human lineage of the Messiah (Matthew 1:5).

Differences of language and culture have challenged the human race since the tower of Babel. When my family lived near New York City, church meals featured Italian pasta dishes served alongside Filipino, Chinese, Greek, and Puerto Rican specialties. It was a prescription for international heartburn, but our congregation’s ethnic diversity also was a foretaste of Heaven. We found a bond of cross-cultural unity at the feet of Jesus.

• The early church sacrificially sent missionaries to search for God’s lost sheep in far-flung nations of the earth.

Blessing All Nations God chose Israel to receive unique privileges and to fulfill a special mission, but his ultimate purpose was to bless all nations. God’s love for all people groups shines throughout the Bible. For example, • Non-Jewish people often lived among the Israelites, and God’s law included provisions to protect and assist them (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33, 34). • The Lord told the Hebrews that he “defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18). • He said to “love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19).

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• God showed grace to Nineveh, the center of Assyria’s terrorist war machine (Jonah 3). • The psalms invite “all the peoples” to praise God and urge all nations to “be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:3, 4).

• Jesus crossed cultural lines by showing grace to Samaritans, Syro-Phoenicians, Roman centurions, and Greeks. • Jesus said to make disciples of all ethnic groups and spread his good news everywhere (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8).

• In Heaven, people “from every nation, tribe, people and language” praise God together (Revelation 7:9). These scriptural principles remind us to open our eyes and recognize God’s image in everyone we meet. And to open our hearts and put ourselves in others’ shoes. And to open our homes and our churches, recognizing that in the battle for souls, kindness and hospitality are powerful secret weapons. We all come from different places—geographically, generationally, culturally, socially—but we are all sinners, and we are all loved by God. By his grace, we can find our true identity by being baptized into the family of faith where there “is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27, 28). Personal Challenge: This week, consider how you can develop a bond of cross-cultural unity at the feet of Jesus with someone. Begin with prayer for that person and that God will give you the opportunity. - 90 -

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D i s c ove ry

by Leigh Mackenzie

1. In what specific ways over the last week did you testify to someone about the things Jesus has done in your life? 2. What are you most grateful for this week? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to each read Deuteronomy 10:12-22 in turn (possibly from different Bible versions) and then ask the group what they observe in the passage. What captured their attention? Next, ask the same two readers to each read Deuteronomy 7:6-9, and once again ask for observations. Repeat the process with Deuteronomy 4:5-9, and again with Leviticus 9:23, 24. Ask the third person to summarize (not interpret) what all four of these passages are saying as a whole. (Don’t try to capture everything!) 3. What most stands out to you in these passages? 4. Let’s look closer at some of the details in these passages: • What does God call his people to know and remember? • What does God call people to do or change? • What are some of the results when people follow God completely? 5. Go through the passages and list all the words or phrases used to describe God and what he has done. (Take your time on this and the next question. There’s a lot to process here!) • Which ones are used most or stand out to you? • What do these descriptions teach you about God? 6. Now list all the words or phrases that describe God’s people. • How would you summarize what God thinks and how he feels about his people? • What do you learn about yourself from these passages? 7. Look at the various ways God calls his people to obedience. • Which one(s) do you struggle with the most, and why? • Which will you seek, with God’s power, to obey this week?

9. Based on this passage and our discussion, complete this sentence: I [or we] will . . . 10. What challenge do you anticipate facing this week? For Next Week: Read and reflect this week on Deuteronomy 28:9, 10; Leviticus 22:31-33; and Leviticus 19:1, 2, 9-18, as we continue our study about being “Wholly His.” You can also read next week’s supplemental Bible texts as well as the Study and Application sections as part of your own personal study.

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8. What mission to surrounding nations, peoples, or groups did God give to his people in these passages? • What people groups might God be calling you to love, serve, and tell about Jesus? • What specifically might God be calling our group to do for them in his great name? How can we serve them?

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Merger . . . Steve Lowman Tough to see [The Lookout] go, but glad to see you are trying to keep part of it in the Standard [see “The Merger,” p. 80, March 2020]. Understand about print editions and the difficulties of keeping them going.

A Must-Read . . . Halee Wood Christian Standard’s February issue is a must-read from beginning to end . . . so many important social justice issues discussed.

PR Problem . . . Dennis Owen @DennisOwen2020 The #lovetheville approach at [Northeast Christian Church] enables stakeholders to see their neighbors with new eyes and greater empathy [“Solving the American Church’s PR Problem,” by Tyler McKenzie, p. 38, February 2020]. It is an approach that moves us away from latent ethnocentrism and into a fresh experience with the Holy Spirit. Chris Rutherford @KyhokiesChris Great article by @wtmckenzie. We must do better. #lovetheville Transformation Louisville @TransformVille We believe this is an essential part of the solution for the American church in the years to come.

Phenomenal . . . Jon Weatherly Excellent piece, Mike! [“Recapturing a ‘Phenomenal’ Vision for Our Churches,” by Michael C. Mack, p. 6, January 2020]. Joe Ellis’s insights are proving to be timeless. And I think he and Medford Jones can in part be credited with the outstanding growth of Restoration Movement churches in the last decades of the 20th century, as those they trained planted churches that flourished. That focus on evangelism was very much alive through their influence. But I’m also reminded that the seed grows in secret, that God gives the increase. Joe and Medford would remind us that in the end this is God’s work.

The Importance of Women . . . Rosanda Oliphant Very interesting reading [“The Importance of Women, and Women’s Ministry, in the Church,” by Megan Rawlings, p. 16, January 2020]. I enjoyed every bit of it, Megan. Wish I had had this when my children were smaller; it would have certainly made a big difference.

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- THE FINAL WORD -

Holy Halos The illustrations highlighted throughout this issue are by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, a German painter and printmaker. These specific images are based on woodcarvings featured in von Carolsfeld's Die Bibel in Bildern (The Bible in Pictures). Die Bibel in Bildern was published in Germany in 1860, just six years before Christian Standard debuted. Many of the biblical figures depicted in these illustration have halos, which traditionally are a Catholic symbol indicating sainthood. While we typically avoid using artwork with Catholic iconography in our publication, we have decided to run these unaltered out of respect for the artist and his work.

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