Easter Perspective: Peace Be With You

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Peace Be With You

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9 (NRSV)

---

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

John 14:27 (NRSV)

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
"It is well, it is well with my soul."

From "It Is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford

It was the first day of the week, a few days before Passover.  Jesus rode to Jerusalem on a young donkey the Disciples retrieved for Him.  The people cheered for Him, joyfully shouting, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"¹  The people have been living under the occupation of the Roman Empire, and they hoped that Jesus was the Messiah, their long-awaited liberator who would drive out their oppressors and restore their nation to its former glory.

Not everyone in the crowd that day was joyful.  Some of the devoutly religious people with whom Jesus clashed in the past were afraid of what the people might do if they became too worked up.  They yelled at Jesus, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop."²

Commenting on the palpable tension among the people, Jesus replied, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."³

When Jesus reached Jerusalem, He looked over the city and started to weep.⁴  He cried out,
If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side.  They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.⁵
Evidently the fact that Jesus rode to the city on a young donkey was lost on everyone.  A king does not ride such an animal into battle.

The next day, Jesus barged into the temple in Jerusalem and made a scene.  He drove out the merchants and claimed that the "house of prayer" had devolved into a "den of robbers."  He then started teaching at the temple daily.  At this point, the religious leaders wanted Jesus out of the way, but they were caught between a rock and a hard place.  On the one hand, they were afraid of what the people might do if Jesus kept riling them up.  On the other hand, they were afraid of what the people might do if they tried to arrest Jesus.⁶

Later that week, Jesus essentially confirmed the fears of the religious leaders.  When one disciple commented on the temple architecture, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."  He went on to reveal that someday the people actually will revolt against the Roman Empire and that the Empire will respond by destroying Jerusalem.  He warned His followers not to get involved in this attempted revolution but to literally flee for the hills.⁷

At some point, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus own disciples, met with the religious leaders and provided them a solution to their dilemma.  In exchange for a sum of money, Judas agreed to lead them to Jesus when He was alone.⁸

After Jesus and the Disciples celebrated Passover together, Jesus led them to the Mount of Olives to pray.  At some point, Judas slipped away from the others and led a mob to the place where Jesus was praying.  When the other disciples saw them, they realized that Jesus was in trouble, so they drew their swords.  One of them attacked a man and cut off his ear.  Jesus ordered His disciples to stop, healed the man they attacked, and then surrendered to the mob.⁹

The following morning, the religious leaders took Jesus to the headquarters of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, alleging that Jesus was agitating the people.  Though Pilate didn't see Jesus as a threat, the religious leaders demanded that He be crucified.  Eventually Pilate gave in to their demands, and, by three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus was dead.¹⁰

It is now, once again, the first day of the week, a couple of days after Jesus was crucified.  The remaining Disciples are gathered in their meeting place.  Some women who went to the tomb that morning to properly prepare Jesus' body for burial have reported that the body was missing and that some angels told them that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  Then others have reported that they saw Jesus alive and well.  Suddenly, Jesus, who is already in the room, announces His presence saying, "Peace be with you."  The people in the room are frightened and confused, so Jesus shows them the scars from His crucifixion to prove that He really is Jesus and then eats some fish to prove that He really is alive.¹¹

The people hoped that Jesus would bring them peace by defeating the Empire.

The religious leaders tried to eliminate Jesus in order to keep the peace with the Empire.

Jesus offers His followers peace in spite of the Empire.

There is always a "Roman Empire."  There is always something that threatens to occupy our hearts and minds and take away our peace.  Far too often we fight back against such things in ways that only make matters worse.  Christ offers us peace in the midst of the things that trouble us.  That peace comes, in part, from knowing that the things that happen to us are not the end of the story.  The cross that Jesus bore was not the end of His story, and the figurative crosses we bear in this life do not have to be the end of ours.

Christ is risen!

Peace be with you.


Notes:

1. Luke 19:28-38 (NRSV)
2. Luke 19:39 (NRSV)
3. Luke 19:40 (NRSV)
4. Luke 19:41
5. Luke 19:42-44 (NRSV)
6. Luke 19:45-48 (NRSV)  (See also John 11:47-48.)
7. Luke 21:5-8, 20-24 (NRSV)
8. Luke 22:1-6
9. Luke 22:39-54
10. Luke 23:1-46
11. Luke 24:1-43 (NRSV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples was painted by William Hole in 1906.

Lenten Perspective: The Slanderer Returns

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

The Slanderer Returns

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray [Jesus] to them.

Luke 22:3-4 (NRSV)

It's all been a lie
And I'll never come to know why
Awoke to discover you leaving me now
It's all been a lie
I don't ever want to know why
You've mastered the art of deceiving me now

From "Deceiver" by Disturbed

Toward the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, we read that Jesus spends forty days fasting in the desert before He begins His public ministry.  In the desert, He is met by the devil, who unsuccessfully tries to tempt Him.¹  A few weeks ago, I noted that I had recently learned that the Greek word diabolos, which is usually translated into English as "devil," could also be translated as "slanderer," as it is in Sarah Ruden's translation of the Gospels.²  I suggested that perhaps the devil presents Jesus not only with temptations but also with lies and that perhaps Jesus responds not only with Scripture He has memorized but also with what He knows to be true.

St. Luke ends his account of Jesus' confrontation with the devil in the desert, "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time."³

Toward the end of the Gospel of Luke, we read that "an opportune time" eventually comes.

When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the week of the Passover celebration, He causes an uproar among the people, and some of the religious leaders, in their fear, start looking for a way to eliminate Him.  At the same time, Jesus' disciple Judas Iscariot falls under the influence of Satan, and he begins conspiring with the religious leaders who want Jesus out of the way.  Judas agrees to turn Jesus over to them in exchange for a sum of money.⁴

If the entity that takes hold of Judas is indeed the same entity Jesus previously faced in the desert, then he is escalating his attack and employing a new strategy.  Instead of merely trying to get Jesus to betray His ideals in order to lead Him in a different direction, the enemy is going in for the kill by getting one of the Disciples to betray Jesus.  As "the slanderer," the devil attempted to sway Jesus in the desert by calling His identity into question and also by calling God's sovereignty into question.  Perhaps the same entity manages to take hold of Judas by slandering his Teacher.

Satan might slander Jesus by once again attacking His identity.  Maybe he says to Judas, "Jesus clearly isn't who He says He is.  He wants people to think He's the Messiah, riding into the city like a king.  If you really listen to Him, though, it's obvious that He has no intention of restoring your nation to it's former glory.  Look, He's already gotten the attention of the religious leaders.  Maybe, if you strike a deal with them, you can help them get rid of that fraud and get something in return."

Or maybe Satan employs a more insidious strategy, not attacking Jesus' identity but rather attacking Jesus' teachings.  Maybe he says to Judas, "Jesus is too naive.  If all that 'Kingdom of God' nonsense He keeps preaching actually worked, then Caesar wouldn't be in charge, would he?  Kingdoms aren't made by 'loving your enemies'; they're made by destroying them!  Look, you saw the crowd that cheered for Jesus when He rode into the city.  He has an army ready to go to war for Him if He would just give the word.  Maybe, if you can find a way to kick off the revolution, He'll finally see the light."

Whatever Satan says or does to Judas, he manages to get him to betray Jesus.  Within a few days, Jesus will be arrested, put on trial, and executed by crucifixion.

I wonder if "the slanderer" has found an opportune time in our day.  So many people claim to follow Jesus, yet they don't seem to take His teachings seriously.  So many have betrayed the Kingdom that is "not of this world" in favor of an earthly kingdom of their own making, all the while claiming to do the Lord's work.

Are we listening to the truth Jesus speaks, or are we listening to slander against Him?  Do we see Him for who He really is, or do we see Him for who we want Him to be?  Are we taking His teachings seriously and taking up our crosses daily, or are we dismissing them as naive and taking up our swords instead?  Perhaps, as this season of Lent draws to a close, we can take some time to consider whether we are faithfully following Jesus or just betraying Him.


Notes:

1. Luke 4:1-13
2. Sarah Ruden.  The Gospels: A New Translation.  2021, Modern Library.  pp. 177-178
3. Luke 4:13 (NRSV)
4. Luke 22:1-6

The Taking of Christ was painted by Caravaggio in 1602.

Perspective: Imperceptible but Impactful

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Imperceptible but Impactful

Jesus asked, "What is God's kingdom like?  To what can I compare it?  It's like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in a garden. It grew and developed into a tree and the birds in the sky nested in its branches."

Again he said, "To what can I compare God's kingdom?  It's like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through the whole."

Luke 13:18-21 (CEB)

From the past will come the future
What it holds, a mystery
Unrevealed until its season
Something God alone can see

From "Hymn of Promise" by Natalie Sleeth

In the Gospels, a recurring subject of Jesus' teachings is the Kingdom of God.  In two of the Gospels, Jesus begins His public ministry by calling people to repent because the Kingdom of God has come near.¹  Jesus describes the Kingdom of God primarily through the use of parables, short stories that either reveal or obscure some deep truth, depending on whether or not a person is actually seeking it.²  At one point in the Gospel story, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to both a mustard seed and some yeast.

First, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that somebody plants.  Though it is a tiny seed, it grows into a large plant, in which all kinds of birds can take shelter.³  Next, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like some yeast that a baker thoroughly mixes into some flour or dough.⁴  Both the mustard seed and the yeast are hidden.  The mustard seed is hidden in the ground, and the yeast is hidden in flour or dough.  Both the mustard seed and the yeast make great differences in their respective environments.  The mustard seed grows into a plant, providing shelter for birds, and the yeast causes bread to rise, making it more enjoyable.

Perhaps Jesus is saying that, though the Kingdom of God might at first seem imperceptible, in time it will make a great impact one might not have expected.

As I've noted previously, in my personal Bible studies, I like to compare different versions of a particular story about Jesus or teaching of Jesus to see what the different Gospel writers want to emphasize.  Sometimes, two versions of a particular teaching might not be different, though each version's placement within the Gospel story might differ radically.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells His parables about the mustard seed and the yeast among numerous other parables about the Kingdom of God.⁵  In the Gospel of Luke, on the other hand, Jesus tells these two parables after healing a woman in a synagogue on a Sabbath day.⁶

N.T. Wright suggests that, because Jesus tells the two parables after miraculously healing someone in Luke's Gospel, they are perhaps, in the eyes of the writer, a commentary on the miracle.⁷  The scholar writes,

The kingdom is like a tiny seed producing a huge tree - which can then accommodate all the birds in the sky.  One action in one synagogue on one sabbath; what can this achieve?  But when Jesus sows the seed of the kingdom, nobody knows what will result.  Or the kingdom as a small helping of leaven, hidden apparently in the flour.  It seems insignificant and ineffectual; but before long the whole mixture is leavened.  One healing of one woman - but every time you break the satanic chains that have tied people up, another victory is won which will go on having repercussions.⁸

The Kingdom of God is continually advancing in ways we might not expect or in ways we might not initially perceive.

Wright's words were a comfort to me when I read them last week.  Sometimes I feel like the things I do are unimportant or unfruitful.  Just like the mustard seed or the yeast, the seemingly inconsequential things we do can make an impact we might not initially expect, when God gets ahold of them.


Notes:

1. Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15
2. Matthew 13:13, 16; Mark 4:10-12
3. Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19
4. Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21
5. Matthew 13:3-52
6. Luke 13:10-21
7. N.T. Wright.  Luke for Everyone.  2004, Westminster John Knox Press.  p. 167
8. ibid.

The photograph of the mustard seeds was taken by Rainer Zenz and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Lenten Perspective: The Slanderer and the Advocate

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

The Slanderer and the Advocate

Then Iēsous, full of the holy life-breath, returned from the Iordanēs and was led by the life-breath to the wasteland, and for forty days he was tested by the slanderer...

Luke 4:1-2a (as translated by Sarah Ruden)

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

From "The Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns

In three of the Gospels, we read that, before Jesus begins His public ministry, He spends forty days fasting in the desert.¹  There, He faces temptation from the devil.  During the season of Lent, the roughly forty-day period of time preceding Easter Sunday, Christians around the world figuratively follow Jesus into the desert for a time of self-denial, introspection, and repentance.

A couple of weeks ago, when I encountered the story of Jesus' time in the desert in the Gospel of Luke, I decided to read it from a more recent translation by classics scholar Sarah Ruden.  Interestingly, Ruden translates the Greek word diabolos, which is typically translated into English as "devil," as "slanderer."²  This translation choice affected the way I read the story this year.  It caused me to consider that maybe the things the devil says to Jesus are not merely temptations but also slanderous lies and that maybe Jesus responds not just with Scripture He has memorized but with what He knows to be the truth.

Because Jesus has been fasting in the desert, He is hungry, so the devil says to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread."³  Jesus came to the desert from the Jordan River, where He was baptized.  As He was praying after His baptism, the heavens were torn open and a Voice from Heaven said to Him, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."⁴  Now, in the desert, the devil is slandering Jesus by calling His very identity into question and is demanding that He prove who He is by using His divinity to His advantage.

The devil's slander does not work on Jesus, because He knows the truth.  Quoting Scripture, He responds, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"⁵  Jesus knows who He is, and He knows that He has everything He needs, even in the desert.

Next, the devil somehow shows Jesus all of the kingdoms of this world in an instant and says to Him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."⁶  The devil is now slandering God by calling God's sovereignty into question and claiming sovereignty over the world for himself.  He invites Jesus to bow down to him so that he may bestow upon Him power like that of the Roman Caesar.

Jesus knows the truth that, even though it might seem at times that the whole world has gone to hell in a proverbial handbasket, the devil is not the true ruler of this world.  He responds, again quoting Scripture, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"⁷  Jesus and His people have been commanded to worship and serve God alone, because God is the true Lord of this world, who makes all things work together for good,⁸ no matter how dire things might seem at any given moment.

Finally, the devil whisks Jesus away to Jerusalem, places Him on the highest point of the temple, and says to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"⁹  Once again, the devil slanders Jesus by calling His identity into question.  He then misappropriates the ninety-first psalm in an attempt to get Jesus to flaunt His divinity to the people of Jerusalem by doing something extremely reckless.  Perhaps the Gospel writer is suggesting that the misuse of Scripture is a form of lying.

Jesus is not affected by the devil's lies because He knows the truth.  He responds, quoting Scripture once again, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"¹⁰  Jesus knows who He is; He knows that He does not have to prove Himself to anyone, especially not some arrogant liar; and He knows how utterly stupid it would be to jump off a building in order to provoke God to act.

The devil finally leaves Jesus alone... for the time being.¹¹

At the same time the Father claimed Jesus as His own beloved Son, the Holy Spirit took the form of a dove and descended upon Jesus.¹²  We read that the same Holy Spirit is the One who compelled Jesus to go into the desert.¹³  Ruden translates the Greek phrase normally translated into English as "Holy Spirit" as "holy life-breath."¹⁴  The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, and the Spirit remained present with Him, like His own breath.

In at least one translation of the Bible, the Holy Spirit is called "the Advocate."¹⁵  Any voice that tries to discourage us or lead us on a destructive path does not come from God, for the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Advocacy.  The slanderer will try to make us doubt that God claims us and loves us.  The Spirit of God assures us that we are God's beloved children.  The slanderer will try to convince us that evil is winning, and that, if we want to succeed in this world, we will need to lower our standards.  The Spirit of God encourages us to trust in God and to continue doing what is right.

May we learn to ignore the voices of slander, and may we learn to trust the Voice of Advocacy.


Notes:

1. Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13
2. Sarah Ruden.  The Gospels: A New Translation.  2021, Modern Library.  pp. 177-178
3. Luke 4:2-3 (NRSV)
4. Luke 3:21-22 (NRSV)
5. Luke 4:4 (NRSV) (See also Deuteronomy 8:3.)
6. Luke 4:5-7 (NRSV)
7. Luke 4:8 (NRSV) (See also Deuteronomy 6:13.)
8. Romans 8:28
9. Luke 4:9-11 (NRSV) (See also Psalm 91:11-12.)
10. Luke 4:12 (NRSV) (See also Deuteronomy 6:16.)
11. Luke 4:13
12. Luke 3:21-22
13. Luke 4:1
14. Ruden, p. 176
15. John 14:16 (NRSV)

Christ in the Wilderness was painted by Ivan Kramskoi in 1872.