A Matter of Perspective

Brian Zahnd writes of his struggle to read Scripture from the correct perspective. He gets a lot right in this post and I wanted to pass it on to you. So much of how we read and interpret Scripture depends on our own perspective – what we bring to the table when we open the pages of the Bible. Unfortunately, we can often get so caught up in our own reading of Scripture that we forget to be aware of how the Scripture “reads” us – we forget to place ourselves in a position of being seen, known, and interpreted by the Holy Spirit while we read. Zahnd has allowed himself to be “interpreted” by Scripture in this post; as a result, when he reads the text, he finds that he identifies more readily with the conquerors who oppressed Israel rather than the oppressed nation of Israel itself. He readily admits this bias and is aware of it when he reads the text. As a result, he knows he needs to intentionally re-orient himself to the “bottom-up” nature of the Scriptures – the Biblical story from the perspective of the enslaved, oppressed, occupied, and exiled. He needs to change his perspective, and he knows it. Look at this quote from his post: 

“If I read the Bible with the appropriate perspective and humility I don’t use the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus as a proof-text to condemn others to hell. I use it as a reminder that I’m a rich man and Lazarus lies at my door. I don’t use the conquest narratives of Joshua to justify Manifest Destiny. Instead I see myself as a Rahab who needs to welcome newcomers. I don’t fancy myself as Elijah calling down fire from heaven. I’m more like Nebuchadnezzar who needs to humble himself lest he go insane.”

Our first instinct when we read the text is often to jump to the question, “How does this apply to me?” We would do better to ask ourselves, “How do I apply myself to the Bible? How does the Bible point out my own incorrect perspective – and how can I invite the Holy Spirit to change my heart so that I can read Scripture rightly?” Everyone brings their own perspectives to the text. This is a beautiful thing; this is part of why each new believer can see Scripture as new and wonderful, and well they should! However, we can get so lost in our own perspective that we forget to take on the perspective of Scripture. When we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to change the way we read the Bible, we miss much of what it says – or, worse, we skew the holy words of the Bible and bend them to fit our own presuppositions and agendas. It’s far better to intentionally and consciously allow the Holy Spirit to remake us into the image of Christ through the reading of His word; it’s far worse to unintentionally and unconsciously bend Scripture to fit our own ideas. I hope you take the time to read Brian Zahnd’s post. 

Thanks to Everyone for Everything…

Hello! Over the past few years, it’s been a great pleasure to present devotional posts on this site. The feedback I’ve received from many of you has been both humbling and uplifting, and I am grateful for your comments and contributions. I’m writing today to let you know about another blog that I am starting with a slightly larger scope. I’m calling it The Glowing Road.  While this blog focused primarily on devotional material, I’m looking forward to expanding my scope of material to include Biblical study and spiritual formation as well as devotional material. Sadly, I will be taking this blog down by the end of the year; don’t worry, I’ll archive the posts and make them available on the new blog. I’m looking forward to opening a new chapter of writing, and I’m hoping that you’ll be willing to turn the page with me. Thanks to all of you for your past and continued readership, comments, and support; you’re the best.

– Seth

Whoops!

My apologies! After I returned from my Easter trip, I discovered that I had not actually submitted the final post of our series – Matthew’s account of Christ’s resurrection. When it comes to Lent, there’s one thing we must be sure not to do – we must not leave Christ in the tomb. I committed that error here, and I apologize. Usually, after the Lenten season, I have hopes of continuing this blog in some capacity through the rest of the year. While I always hope to continue writing, I must admit that this year I do not see future devotional posts in the near future.

Over the Easter vacation, I proposed to my lovely girlfriend, and we are excited about planning our future together in the coming months. However, with the new and wonderful process of two lives becoming one taking place, I do not foresee the necessary time for consistent devotional writing. I am pursuing other writing opportunities and also am dreaming up a blog that will deal with spiritual formation matters in a grander scope. When that comes around, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

I hope that the blog this year has been a blessing to you. All the best to you and yours; rejoice and enjoy the Easter season, for He is risen!

-Seth

March 30th, 2013: The Fortieth Day of Lent

During the final days of Holy Week, passages of Scripture from Matthew’s account of Christ’s passion will be posted. Please prayerfully consider these as you read them and look for the realities of God’s Kingdom conflicting with the kingdoms of earth. 

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

~Matthew 27.62-66~

March 29th, 2013: Good Friday

During the final days of Holy Week, passages of Scripture from Matthew’s account of Christ’s passion will be posted. Please prayerfully consider these as you read them and look for the realities of God’s Kingdom conflicting with the kingdoms of earth. 

Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death. Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.  4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”
Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.” After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says,
“They took the thirty pieces of silver—
the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel,
and purchased the potter’s field,
as the LORD directed.”

Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)
Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”
Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?” The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”
Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”
And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”
So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). The soldiers gave him wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.

After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.  Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there. A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way.

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.  But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.

~Matthew 27.1-61~

March 28th, 2013: Maundy Thursday

During the final days of Holy Week, passages of Scripture from Matthew’s account of Christ’s passion will be posted. Please prayerfully consider these as you read them and look for the realities of God’s Kingdom conflicting with the kingdoms of earth. 

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
“As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.
When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?” And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”
And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,
‘God will strike the Shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”
Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
“No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.
Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.
“Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end.
Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they shouted. “He deserves to die!”
Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him, jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?”

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”
But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”
Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.

~Matthew 26.17-75~

March 27th, 2013: The Thirty-Seventh Day of Lent

“…For he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.”

~Matthew 7.29~

Here, the gospel writer tells us why Christ’s teaching amazed the audience so much – because of the authority that Christ taught with. Every teacher of the Law based their teaching on some kind of authority, whether that was another teacher or the Law itself. However, Christ’s authority comes from someplace entirely different – the authority given to him to judge, as we saw in vs. 21-23.

Craig Keener, in his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel, said the following regarding the crowd and Christ’s authority: “What amazed them so much about Jesus’ teaching was not his use of proverbs, parables, hyperboles, and other standard pedagogic devices of his day; what astonished them was his claim to authority…With greater authority than the scribes who expound the law, greater authority than Moses who gave it, the authority indeed of the one who will judge humanity on the final day, Jesus declares God’s word, and the people recognize that he speaks with authority unlike their other teachers.” (Matthew, pgs. 256-7)

The audience knew that this was not “business as usual.” Not just another sermon or homily – this was something completely different. Christ presented the Kingdom of Heaven in a nutshell for all who would listen, not some expansion on an ancient code of law. This teaching occupied a different plane of significance, and his audience knew it.

This verse should challenge those who see the Bible and Christ’s teaching as just another set of good rules to live by. What we find in the Bible surpasses what we read in self-improvement books or works of pop psychology. Some of those may have benefit, but here, in God’s Word, we find words that lead to the Kingdom of Heaven – words that lead to eternal life.

Lord Christ, I confess that I have devalued your teaching and placed it on a level with other works that claim to make life better. However, your words do more – your words lead to eternal life. Please don’t let me get stuck stuffing my mind with half-truths that don’t matter in the long run, but help me to remain focused on you. Amen. 

March 26th, 2013: The Thirty-Sixth Day of Lent

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,”

~Matthew 7.28~

Here, the gospel writer tells us that Jesus has concluded his teaching. By our contemporary standards, this is a rough close. There’s no nice conclusion, no feel-good anecdote, no ending prayer… Just a warning of judgment and a call to hear and obey. Can you imagine this kind of ending to a sermon today? The crowd would start squirming in the pew right around the beginning of the teaching on judgment (if not long before), waiting for some feel-good antidote to the harsh message. Instead, they get a brief parable, after which the preacher abruptly walks off the stage. The audience sits in stunned, awkward, uncomfortable silence as the heavy moment lingers.

Christ’s audience likely felt the same way. These people knew the Law – Jewish upbringing included extensive training in the Torah. They would have been familiar with teaching scenarios. Some of them may have been experts on the Law themselves. Yet, Christ’s teaching awed those who heard it.

Tomorrow, we’ll read about why Christ’s teaching awed the audience. Today, let’s think about our own reaction to Christ’s words. When we hear the Bible read in church, when we read it for ourselves, when we meditate on it, are we struck with awe? Or do we find it to be so familiar and “biblical” that it’s lost its punch?

Lord Christ, I confess that I have allowed your words to become old and stale. From this moment on, please help me to see your eternal truths with new and fresh eyes. May your Word challenge, refresh, and awe your people. Amen. 

March 25th, 2013: The Thirty-Fifth Day of Lent

“When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.’”

~Matthew 7.27~

Christ’s final words in the Sermon on the Mount again make use of storm imagery – torrential rains, unstoppable floods, and destructive winds. The fate of a house built by a foolish person can be easily guessed – it cannot withstand the forces of nature. In this parable, we can interpret this to mean that if one builds a life upon a foundation other than the teaching of Christ, then the integrity (structural in the parable, spiritual in our interpretation) of that person’s life will collapse when the unexpected storm of Judgment Day arrives.

Remember the people who will cry Christ’s name and recite all their great and mighty deeds before Jesus in vs. 21-23? They represent people who built their houses on sand. Another scary thought – such great and mighty deeds as exorcisms, miracles, and prophecies can be built on shoddy, unstable, worthless ground. Christ points to hearing and doing his teaching as the way to enter his Kingdom. No other way will do.

Speaking of judgment always makes us uncomfortable; it should. We should never allow the idea of the fate of our eternal souls before Almighty God to become a warm, fuzzy, impotent thought. However, we can have assurance of salvation, and Christ wants us to have this. This is the reason for this final parable; as much as it speaks of judgment, it also speaks of stability. This is akin to a college professor telling you precisely what will be on the final exam; and not only that, but giving you the best way to study. Armed with this knowledge, you still can fail; but by applying the knowledge, you can rest assured of your place within Christ’s eternal Kingdom.

It’s always helpful to look at the “bookends” of a passage of Scripture, for they shed light on the material in the middle. The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes, which show us the realities of the Kingdom of Heaven; after hearing of these realities, we look for them throughout the teaching that follows. Now, this final parable shows us that hearing and obeying Christ’s teaching places us within his Kingdom. Well, where do we begin to look for such teaching? The best place to start is the teaching that immediately precedes this parable – the Sermon on the Mount.

This ends Christ’s teaching. We still will look at a couple of verses that speak to the response of the audience, but this parable is the last thing that Christ says in the Sermon on the Mount. It’s a fitting end – the teaching of the Master culminating with a strong call to hear and obey.

Lord Christ, thank you for your teaching which shows the way to eternal life. Thank you for the realities of your Kingdom, which we can seek even now. Thank you for your love which is willing to challenge us out of our complacency, uncomfortable as it is. Amen. 

 

March 24th, 2013: The Sixth Sunday of Lent

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

On Sundays, this blog will take a “break” from the normal pattern of Scripture and reflection. This year, our Sunday focus will be the Jesus Prayer. I’d encourage you to consciously pray this prayer on Sundays, as often as you feel the need. In this space each week, we’ll discuss a different truth that the prayer teaches us. In previous weeks, we’ve discussed this prayer in light of the its different elements. We’ve looked at what it means to address Christ as “Lord” and as the “Son of God.”

We’ve discussed the request for mercy and our own status as sinners. When we tie this all together, we find a prayer that elevates Christ to his proper position in glory while recognizing our own broken existence. The prayer also challenges us to ask Christ for help with the full belief that he can and will come to our aid. This prayer brings us into line with God’s will to redeem his creation, and unites us with all who pray accordingly. Not bad for twelve words!

The Orthodox tradition believes that repetition of this prayer helps to seal it into one’s identity and living. Several exercises and tools  have been developed to help one meditate upon this prayer, such as prayer ropes, breathing exercises, and emphasizing different sections of the prayer for each repetition. As one employs these practices, the prayer becomes a greater part of his or her being and helps open doors to a changed life.

Many aids have been employed by those praying this prayer: Orthodox prayer ropes, breathing exercises, and emphasizing different words for each repetition, to name a few. Some may feel uncomfortable with some of these things, but that should not stop them from seeking out ways to combat distraction within times of prayer. Many find journals and controlled environments to be helpful, as well as dedicated times of day. However you pray, it’s always good to be intentional – with both how you pray and what you pray. The Jesus prayer is a wonderful “what to pray.” As we enter Holy Week, let’s think intentionally about “how to pray.”

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”