About Christopher J Wiles

Hey there. My name's Chris. I'm a teaching pastor at Tri-State Fellowship, and a research writer for Docent Research Group. Thanks for stopping by; be sure to stay connected by subscribing to blog updates and more.

Final Destination (Joel 3:1-21)

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Christopher J Wiles

What is your “destiny?” What do you believe will be your ultimate fate?

These are questions with which every living person must wrestle. Every major religion has attempted to come up with some answer. I am a Buddhist, I place my hope in attaining enlightenment and to allow myself to dissolve into the oneness of the universe. If I am a Muslim, my hope is to pass my god’s strict judgment and attain a heavenly reward. In other words, every major religion seeks to escape from the present world. Christianity is very different. As we hear God’s voice through Joel, we learn more about what God intends for the fate of mankind.

JUDGMENT OF OTHER NATIONS

Having discussed Israel’s future (Joel 1-2), Joel now turns his attention to rival nations. They’d mistreated Israel in the past; now they face the burning fires of God’s righteous anger:

Joel 3:1-21 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, ² I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, ³ and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

⁴ “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. ⁵ For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. ⁶ You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. ⁷ Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head. ⁸ I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the LORD has spoken.”

We’re getting a clearer picture of what the “Day of the Lord” might look like. Some of these events have clearly happened in the past. But our own news broadcasts remind us that some of God’s promises have yet to reach fulfillment. Though Israel achieved independence in the last century, she remains far from the restoration that God promises (3:1). Nor have all of Israel’s rivals been defeated. In the next section, we see that the judgments of the Day of the Lord are still in the future:

⁹ Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. ¹⁰ Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” ¹¹ Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD. ¹² Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. ¹³ Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. ¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. ¹⁵ The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. ¹⁶ The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. ¹⁷ “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.

This is a call to arms—and one that isn’t entirely welcome. It seems that there is a temporary state of peace that is interrupted by war. Before Jesus’ promised return, there will be a seven-year period known as the “tribulation.” In the first half of this period, the world will experience unrivaled peace. But in the second half, the world will experience unrivaled devastation. Why such violence? Because God’s fiery wrath will purify the nation, and allow them to truly reflect the purity of His character.

This should disturb us. How can a loving God condone—nay, commit—such acts of violence? Should we not pursue peace? Who would worship a God like that? This is a fair objection. But wait; if God allowed injustice to continue, if He allowed His people to be mistreated, could He truly be called a God of love? If God remained passive to injustice, we would call Him indifferent at best and callous at worst. A loving God pursues restoration—even when restoration carries the price of violence.

GOD’S NEW WORLD (Joel 3:18-22)

What we can ultimately cling to is the reminder that the Day of the Lord carries the promise of restoration that follows judgment. Joel concludes with a beautiful passage that describes what God’s new world will look like:

¹⁸ “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Shittim. ¹⁹ “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. ²⁰ But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. ²¹ I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the LORD dwells in Zion.”

As we noted earlier, every major religion teaches that man’s greatest hope is to escape this earth. Christianity is very different. Sure, Christianity teaches us that heaven is real. But Christianity tells us that man’s final destiny is experienced when God creates a new world, and the heavenly city descends from heaven “as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). Christianity teaches a marriage of heaven and earth, where we rest in the joy of having God’s presence among us, and every day is as the first day of spring.

In the meantime, this teaches us that all earthly suffering is temporary. Death itself has been robbed of its victory and its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55). I doubt that you’ve experienced things like locust hordes and worldwide conflict. But could it be that there are things in your life that God is using to get your attention? These reminders—be they great or small—remind us of just how little control we possess. And sometimes they remind us of just how painful this world can be. “Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus told His followers. “For they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) When we see God’s great story, as we have in Joel, our response should be one of shed tears and not clenched fists. And it should be with the hope that the world we see is not all there is. Suffering will not have the last word, and so we face the world with the soft tears of a crying confidence, and the hope that God can make all things new again.

The Gospel According to Joel (Joel 2:1-32)

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Christopher J Wiles

“God made man in His own image,” a philosopher once wrote. “And then man returned the favor.” If we’re honest, we want a God who fits our mold. We assume that God’s on our side, that each year of human progress only further reveals His character. The Bible says: “Be Holy as I am Holy” (Leviticus 11:44-45). But in our world—if we believe in God at all—we twist that to fit our own expectations. “Be open-minded as I am open-minded.” “Be casual as I am casual.” “Be tolerant as I am tolerant.” An angry God? A jealous God? Maybe that’s the portrait offered by the “Old Testament,” but surely we’ve outgrown such primitive, superstitious ideas.

If you grew up in evangelical Christianity it wasn’t much different. Our worship, our teachings, our books—so many of them stir the emotions, but often in a way that is absurdly one-dimensional. Think about it: how many songs can you name that emphasize God’s love? How many can you name that emphasize God’s anger? I daresay there’s an imbalance.

The gospel says that God’s love and God’s anger must be understood together. And this is what we find in what we might call “the gospel according to Joel.”

THE WRATH OF GOD (Joel 2:1-11)

Joel continues much of the thought from chapter 1. Now, Joel moves from the agricultural and financial devastation (the locust hordes) to actual military conquest. The following reads like something out of a Tolkien novel, where the very air of Mordor is “a poisonous fume:”

Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, ² a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. ³ Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. ⁴ Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. ⁵ As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. ⁶ Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. ⁷ Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. ⁸ They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. ⁹ They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. ¹⁰ The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. ¹¹ The LORD utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it? (Joel 2:1-11)

What is the “day of the Lord?” Even this simple phrase reminds us that God’s judgment cannot be divorced from God’s blessings. The phrase is used to describe God’s past deliverance from Egypt (Ezekiel 30:3). But the phrase also refers to Israel’s oppression from the Babylonians (Isaiah 13:6-13; Jeremiah 46:10), as well as a time of future judgment—a time of anguish and mourning (Isaiah 2:10-21; Amos 8:10).

An online entry from Bible.org presents this diagram that may be helpful. Do you see “The Church?” All that’s missing is a “You are here” sticker. See, we live between two examples of the “Day of the Lord.” It’s something that happened in the past when Israel was overcome by rival armies. But it’s something that happens in the future when Christ returns to set right everything that has gone so wrong.

This means that the “Day of the Lord” also conveys the idea of enormous blessings—at least ultimately. Because the Day of the Lord promises that those who trust in God will be delivered from God’s fierce wrath. That’s what the rest of Joel 2 is saying.

MAN’S REPENTANCE (Joel 2:12-17)

The next set of verses describe man’s response to God’s fierce anger.

¹² “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; ¹³ and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. ¹⁴ Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God? ¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; ¹⁶ gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. ¹⁷ Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep and say, “Spare your people, O LORD, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'” (Joel 2:12-17)

It’s easy to get wrapped up in religious ceremony. People used to literally tear their clothing to reflect their inner anguish. But according to Joel, no outward expression is worth it if the heart isn’t in it. I love the Derek Webb song that says: “You can make your life look good. You can do what Jesus would. But you’d be surprised what you can do with a hard heart.” God’s not impressed with religious appearances. He desires a heart that’s tuned to His. And that’s what repentance truly is. It’s not about changing behavior—though it often (if not inevitably) leads to that. It starts with changing our attitude toward God and toward self.

Here’s the problem. If I’m focused on my behavior alone, then some sins will be so enslaving that true repentance seems impossible. It’s no wonder that Paul describes his own struggle in Romans 7. But if I ignore behavior entirely then repentance no longer seems impossible—it seems unnecessary. Why bother with personal holiness?

Our confusion shatters when we begin to understand the gospel and apply it to our lives. When we begin to understand that Christ’s performance—and not our own—is what gains God’s approval. When we begin to understand that Christian maturity isn’t marked by our perfection, but by gradually growing into Christ’s character. The ceremonies Joel describes are intended to be something of a marking post, maybe even a journal entry—that by following after God they might one day look back to realize how far they’ve come, though only through God’s provision.

THE MERCY OF GOD

The next section could easily be described as “the gospel according to Joel.” Before we saw God’s great anger. Now we see God’s great mercy. Jesus’ death satisfied the anger of God. Now we are the recipients of His mercy. How did this happen before Jesus came? It’s simple. God forgave the people of the Old Testament not because of what Jesus accomplished, but because of what Jesus would accomplish. It’s similar to a credit card. They received God’s mercy in their day, but the bill would later be paid on the cross.

So we can simply read this section and see the reaction of God toward His people:

God’s character (Joel 2:18)

¹⁸ Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. (Joel 2:18)

God’s blessings (Joel 2:19-27)

¹⁹ The LORD answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. ²⁰ “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things. ²¹ “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! ²² Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. ²³ “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. ²⁴ “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. ²⁵ I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. ²⁶ “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. ²⁷ You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (Joel 2:19-27)

God’s deliverance (Joel 2:28-32)

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. ²⁹ Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

³⁰ “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹ The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. ³² And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:28-32)

Do you see how powerful this message is? God’s anger can’t be divorced from God’s love. If I only see love, then God’s attitude toward me could only be a matter of polite indifference—and that’s not real love. If I see only anger, then God’s attitude toward me could only be of a judge, or some cosmic policeman. The gospel says that God is violently angry at me over my sin. But rather than demand my blood, He offers His own. That’s mercy. That’s grace. When I understand this, suddenly my “to-do” list of religious duties is transformed to a “get-to” list of delights.

What God Demands (Joel 1:1-20)

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Christopher J Wiles

Expect the best, and you’ll get the best. Expect the worst, and you’ll get the worst. In social science, it’s called the Rosenthal effect—also known as the Pygmalion effect. In the workplace, employees adjust their performance to the expectations of their employer. In the classroom, teachers will rate their performance by their students’ reactions to them—the more attentive the students are, the more highly the teacher will rate his or her abilities. It’s the sort of thing we might call a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

But what about God? What does He expect from us? Maybe a better question to ask is: What do we assume God expects from us? For instance, if you believe in an angry God of judgment, then you might assume that you’re destined to fail. You can no more meet His standards then a demanding parent. Why bother trying? If instead you believe in a God who shrugs His shoulders, then you might assume your only task is to practice the same tolerance toward others. Why pursue holiness?

The book of Joel deals with God’s expectations of humanity. Joel offers us a fierce God, a wild God, a God unconstrained by human expectation. Joel’s purpose is this: apart from God, humanity is destined for destined for destruction. Our only hope is repentance. The locust plague, the judgments—these aren’t just isolated events in Israel’s history. They represent the fierce wrath of a ferociously holy God.

ABOUT JOEL (1:1)

“The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel” (Joel 1:1)

Trying to piece together the prophets is often like assembling a puzzle without knowing what the picture is supposed to be. The name “Joel” literally means “Yahweh is God.” Don’t dismiss this as a “Sunday School” lesson—this was a bold statement in a world that believed in many rival gods.

We know literally no other information about Joel, apart from the name of his father. When did he write? Where did he live? There is much scholarly debate on this, yet nothing is conclusive. He may have written before Israel was exiled by the Babylonians, he may have written during their years of exile, or he may have written after their return. We’re addressing Joel here primarily because that’s where his book fits in the original Hebrew Bible. It was John Calvin who said: “it is better to leave the time in which [Joel] taught undecided; and, as we shall see, this is of no great importance.” (John Calvin, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, 2:xv).

LOCUSTS (1:2-7)

² Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? ³ Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. ⁴ What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. ⁵ Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. ⁶ For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. ⁷ It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. (Joel 1:2-7)

Joel pulls no punches. He speaks of a locust infestation that represented the very wrath of God. In a culture that depended on agriculture to thrive and flourish, this would have been more than a nuisance. In 1991, Iraq set fire to Kuwait’s oil wells to retaliate after being repelled during the Persian Gulf War. Estimates indicate that the fires—which burned for months—caused billions of dollars of damage, not counting the environmental impact. Imagine if the fires had been more massive, or had continued for much longer. Now we have something close to what the Israelites were experiencing.

Recall that to be a “prophet” was to speak to the people on God’s behalf. In today’s world, we don’t always know whether a tragic experience is an example of God’s anger. But God—speaking through Joel—used the locust horde as an object lesson: repent or die.

Does this sound harsh? Think about how that impacts your view of God. If we picture God as a cosmic Mr. Rogers, it’s hard to fathom this level of anger. But if God is eternally and indescribably holy, then anything that falls short of this perfect standard is vile—worthy only to feed the locusts. The problem? You and I fall short of God’s magnificent standard (Romans 3:23). What do you think that tells us about our own worth in comparison to God?

PEOPLE’S RESPONSE (1:8-20)

The next set of verses describe three specific reactions/consequences of this powerful display of anger:

Mourning (1:8-12)

⁸ Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth. ⁹ The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD. ¹⁰ The fields are destroyed, the ground mourns, because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes. ¹¹ Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil; wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. ¹² The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man. (Joel 1:8-12)

Fasting (1:13-15)

¹³ Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. ¹⁴ Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. ¹⁵ Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. (Joel 1:13-15)

Suffering (1:16-20)

¹⁶ Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? ¹⁷ The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up. ¹⁸ How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer. ¹⁹ To you, O LORD, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. ²⁰ Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. (Joel 1:16-20)

In his book The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis observed that “pain is God’s megaphone to the world.” Does that mean that suffering is a result of God’s anger? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is this: it’s easy to feel sovereign. To feel in control. I only need to swipe my finger across a screen, and I’m in control. My Amazon.com app easily feeds my lust for possessions. My Facebook app lets me feed on the emotions of others. My Netflix app lets me indulge my senses whenever and wherever I want. Who needs God? I practically am God.

But what if I were to lose it all? What if the things I use to fill my heart were stripped away—maybe not with locusts, but with tragedy, with the unexpected and undesired footfalls of destiny? That’s what happened to Israel. The mourning, the fasting, the suffering—these are all forms of repentance that take all of you. It’s easy to take God lightly. It’s easy to suck the wildness from our worship. But what would happen if we were confronted by how small we truly are? What if we were challenged to face our own powerlessness, and to realize our own helplessness. On that day repentance would leap from our Sunday-school vocabulary and become a vital lifeline to which we can only cling.

But there’s good news. In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther said that “all of life is repentance.” Every new day is another chance to repent—that is, to change our attitude toward self, and to ascribe our ultimate worship to God.

Faith Seeking Understanding (John 20:11-31)

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

Growing up faith seemed so easy. It was about saying a “sinner’s prayer,” about “asking Jesus into your heart.” It was the kind of faith that offered simple answers, but shattered on the rocks of modern complexity. In John, faith is an organic thing. For Jesus’ followers, faith is something that grows and develops as we are scraped raw by time and experience. What starts as a faint mist eventually crescendos into waves of vivid understanding.

This is what happened when Jesus’ followers met the risen Christ. Confusion precedes confession. Faith develops as we grow in our understanding of Jesus. The resurrection especially helps us understand that the gospel is indeed true. Yes; Jesus is more than a historical figure. But He’s not less. For me, the resurrection holds the key to understanding just how much we can trust that the gospel story is true.

A SURPRISE IN THE GARDEN

John 20:11-31 ¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”–and that he had said these things to her.

First, Mary was an unlikely witness to the resurrection. In the ancient world, women weren’t considered trustworthy witnesses. So if John was fabricating this story, why wouldn’t he have invented some more credible witnesses? Second, the Jewish understanding of resurrection was that it would be all people at the end of time—not one man in the middle. Stories about the resurrection were unprecedented. John would simply never make up a story this outlandish.

The resurrection changes the relationship of Jesus to His followers. Though Mary clings to Jesus, it is not right that she does. Everything has changed now. Jesus is returning soon, and His followers have a mission to carry out.

A NEW MISSION

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

First of all: whoa. The doors are locked. How did Jesus get in? On the one hand, Jesus’ body seems to be recognizable—it even bears the scars of His death. But at the same time, Jesus doesn’t seem limited by the laws of physics. We have no way of knowing what this resurrected body must have been like, other than it is something radically different than the dust of which we’re currently made.

Jesus gives His followers their mission. “As the Father has sent me…so I am sending you.” New Testament scholar N.T. Wright says that a lifetime could be spent meditating on just the words as and so. In the same, humiliating manner that Jesus was sent to earth, so too are we sent into the world. When Jesus steps from earth to heaven it is called the incarnation. So, too, must we exercise an incarnational presence in the world that we inhabit—literally becoming God with skin to a world that would see no God otherwise.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In his defense, the text never uses the phrase “Doubting Thomas.” Still, Thomas has become the patron saint of skepticism. I think we should instead recognize him as the patron saint of a faith that seeks understanding. And in this short exchange, we catch a glimpse of what faith truly means.

I used to feel frustrated by Jesus’ cryptic answer: “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” To me it always sounded like a convenient way to justify faith in the absence of evidence. In fact, if you ask the average person, they’d probably define faith as something along the lines of “believing in something you can’t prove.” In the church world, we’ve come to admire “blind faith,” particularly potent in an age where feeling is believing.

But that simply won’t do. Of course, relatively few people actually saw the risen Savior. You won’t find a Youtube clip of Jesus eating broiled fish. But that doesn’t mean you can’t follow a trail, a chain of evidence to reveal the reality of Jesus and His claims.

You see, Christianity is the only religion that can be proven wrong. Let me explain. Every other major religion is based around a founder’s personal experience. Muhammad had a vision and created the Qur’an. Joseph Smith was visited by an angel and crafted the book of Mormon. Siddhartha Gautama achieved inner enlightenment and became the Buddha. Did these experiences ever really happen? Maybe. Maybe not. But I can’t prove to you either way whether Buddha really achieved enlightenment. It’s subjective. It’s personal. The resurrection is entirely different. A risen body, an empty grave—these things aren’t personal. They can be proven or disproven in the pages of history. Imagine I say to you, “My dead uncle appeared to me in a dream, and told me to start a religion.” You can’t prove to me that my dream wasn’t real. But if I say instead, “My dead uncle rose from the dead,” that changes everything. Now, if you want to shut me up, all you need to do is show me my uncle’s remains, still lying in the casket. If the Romans wanted to silence this early movement of “Christians,” all they needed to do was produce Jesus’ body. The most shocking thing about Christianity is not that it makes claims that are open to being proven wrong. The mist shocking thing is that no one ever has.

And yet at the end of it, we recognize that like Thomas, faith is more than merely intellectual agreement. If we see God up close, it isn’t because we were smart enough to figure Him out; it’s because He cares enough to show us. And that’s faith. It is both a gift from God and a response to God. It is what enables us to join Thomas in exclaiming with wide-eyed wonder: “My Lord and my God!”

JOHN’S EXPLICIT PURPOSE

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John concludes the main part of his gospel by telling his readers why he wrote. Every gospel writer had his own unique way of showing how Jesus fit into God’s overarching story. John was the most unique. Other writers described history; John reflected on its meaning. If we follow John’s careful series of clues, we too can see God up close.

“Everything sad comes untrue” (John 20:1-10)

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

Winter has come upon us. Autumn’s trees now stretch their bony fingers to the sky; the whole world seems stretched and thin. Before long the joyous lights of the season will give way to endless weeks of dark nights, disruptions, and deep cold. But as the last of the leaves lie beneath winter’s blankets, we must remember that winter speaks not so much of death, as dormancy. Life is always there, silently waiting for spring to rouse it from its slumber, when beauty exchanges her sheathe of ice for morning’s fresh dew.

The gospel’s most shocking claim is that all death is only a form of dormancy. When Jesus’ friend Lazarus dies, Jesus says that he “has fallen asleep….I go to awaken him” (John 11:11). What Lazarus experienced in part, Jesus now reveals in full.

THE NEXT FIRST DAY

Jesus had previously vowed that his body would be raised “in three days” (John 2:19). But when his resurrection is described, it is the “first day of the week.”

John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early…

The gospel of John begins with an echo of Genesis: “In the beginning…” In the Genesis story, God created the heavens and earth. And each day he concludes the same way: “there was morning and there was night.” This happened for six days, up until God created man and woman. On the seventh day, he rested—but the text never tells us that there was morning and night. God’s original vision was a world of spectacular and unceasing intimacy between God and man. But sin changed all that. Sin brought death’s looming shadow into the world, resulting in alienation and estrangement. Something had to happen to change all that. There had to be a new “first day.”

On the cross, Jesus irrevocably solves the problem of sin. In the empty tomb, Jesus conquers death itself. The world, as we know it, is being made new. It is in a state of dormancy; the risen Christ reminds us of the beauty that lies beneath its surface.

MARY DID YOU KNOW?

John’s text focuses on Mary Magdalene.

John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

If you are a careful reader of scripture, you notice that John’s facts don’t line up with the other writers—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The others mention multiple women arriving at the empty tomb, but John gives them no mention. Could Mary have made multiple visits? Could John simply have neglected to mention the others? Let’s remember to judge John’s gospel by the standards of ancient narrative—not our own. Ancient biographies weren’t as devoted to chronological sequence and details. Besides, if the story of the resurrection were merely a myth or legend, why didn’t the writers go to greater length to get their story straight? The lack of perfect agreement doesn’t detract from John’s reliability; it enhances it.

STILL DARK

Finally, we see the reactions of the other disciples:

John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³ So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Note that it was “still dark.” John loves wordplay—could it be that he intended this setting to symbolize the disciples’ growing understanding? Perhaps. The disciples race to get to the empty tomb, but when they arrive they are dumbfounded. Don’t miss verses 8-9. John is actually present at this point. He “saw and believed,” but “they did not understand.” Faith and understanding aren’t always on the same page. Some days we trust in God while it is “still dark,” trusting that His light will guide us to greater faith.

HOPE’S ETERNAL SPRING

Lazarus had woken from death’s slumber only to stagger from the tomb with his grave clothes still on. It must have been horrifying, really. A strip of cloth would have held his jaw closed—he couldn’t even ask for help. Lazarus would die again. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d wear those strips of cloth. But Jesus leaves His grave clothes behind. He’d never need them again.

And so Jesus’ resurrection assures us that the winter of our discontent is followed by a hope that springs eternal. Death doesn’t have the final word, nor is decay man’s true destiny. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous Lord of the Rings series, we meet a group of characters who endure much in the face of evil. Two of the lead characters—Frodo and Sam—can only watch in horror as Gandalf, their leader and mentor, sacrifices himself to ensure their safety.

Following the climax of the third book, Frodo and Sam are surprised to be reunited with Gandalf. “I thought you were dead!” Sam cried. “But then I thought I was dead myself! Is everything sad going to come untrue?”

The resurrection of Jesus tells us that the answer is essentially yes. There will be a new “first day.” The pain of death will be over. The fears, the sorrow, the shame, the bitterness of the present life will pass like a fever, ebbing into spring’s eternal season.

From Consumers to Christians (John 17:1-26)

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

Black Friday has become something of an American tradition. As much as decry the holiday distraction, it’s hard to resist the siren song of the deal of the century. Today’s religion is one of consumerism. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a bargain. The problem comes when we let our identity be ruled by things. “[Where] do we derive identity today?” asks Barry Taylor, artist and professor:

“I contend that it is largely derived from our imagination. We shop for ‘ourselves’ in the marketplace of ever-expanding ideas brought to us when we enter cyberspace or media culture, or when we engage with the seemingly endless possibilities presented to us by a global consumer culture.” (Barry Taylor,Entertainment Theology, p. 46)

In John 17, Jesus concludes His time with His disciples. His “commencement speech” now over, He kneels in prayer. It’s often been called the “high priestly prayer.” Jesus is performing the role of a priest—praying before the sacrifice is offered. But now, the sacrifice being made is Jesus Himself.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIMSELF

John 17:1-26 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Jesus had previously said: “when I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). The hour was now upon Him. Jesus’ death on the cross would be a payment for man’s sin, but also a clear display of God’s incredible power. This was God’s plan all along. Even Christ’s suffering was an integral part of God’s plan to reveal Himself to the world.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS PRESENT DISCIPLES

⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

What does it mean to be “sanctified?” To be “consecrated?” It connects to the idea of being “holy.” Usually we think of the word “holy” as meaning “really, really good.” But in the Bible, the word “holy” carries the idea of being “set apart.” Being different. So when Jesus prays for His disciples, He prays that they be clearly represent His truth to the world around them. And they do that not by being physically separate from the world, but by being “not of the world.” Christians are called to pour into the culture around them without being tainted by it. That’s what it means to live on mission. And it’s the same call that is issued to Jesus’ future disciples.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS FUTURE DISCIPLES

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Anyone who believes in Christ becomes His disciple. And any disciple of Christ is called to reveal God’s significance by making other disciples. Do you notice the radical nature of Christian community? Jesus says that Christian unity is meant to mirror the unity found between God the Father and God the Son. This is a oneness we could not comprehend apart from the Trinity itself. The Trinity says that God exists as an eternal community—Father, Son, and Spirit. All three are unique, yet all three are God. I realize that’s hard to grasp. But just because our understanding can’t be perfect doesn’t mean our understanding can’t be accurate. Jesus is praying that Christian unity would be a reflection of the Godhead.

That’s hard. Too often we get lost in the endless sea of preferences. If we define ourselves as consumers, then we define ourselves by style. Worship styles, preaching styles, clothing styles, you name it. What complicates this further is that so often style becomes associated with a generation, such that style gaps become generational divides. We can’t bridge this chasm through style alone. We build unity by shifting our focus away from consumerism and back toward Christ.

Don’t you see how immensely practical the gospel is? The best way of being multi-generational or even multi-cultural is to be trans-generational and trans-cultural. That is, focus on the things that transcend—go above and beyond—the preferences of one culture, one generation and one setting. That’s what Jesus does. On the cross, He is glorified. He draws all men to Himself in a way that no Black Friday sale possibly could. For Christians, our identity will not be found in Black Friday, it can only be found in Good Friday. Cooperation replaces competition. And everlasting joy replaces buyer’s remorse.

“In a little while” (John 16:16-33)

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

Today, you’ll be sitting down at a table with your closest family and friends. And yes; this really is as good as it gets. For some, dealing with relatives is only a matter of putting up with a few quirks and eccentricities, like Uncle Edgar’s bizarre fascination with UFO conspiracies, or the way Grandma Myrtle feeds the Pomeranian from the table. For others, family always feels like crisis. You don’t get along. You’re nursing past wounds. And if faith is not something you share, even this becomes a divide that makes the table seem all the wider.

Jesus’ time with His disciples is coming to a rapid close. He is trying to prepare them for a tough journey ahead. But the gospel tells us that suffering is never the end of the story.

John 16:16-33 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷ So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹ When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²² So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ²³ In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

In “a little while,” He says. Sorrow is temporary. Did you notice the illustration He uses? Childbirth. Childbirth is one of the most physically demanding things a person can go through. The weight gain, the late-night cravings—and that’s just the husband. In all seriousness, couples go to great lengths to have a child, despite the physical (and emotional…and financial) demands that come with it. But it’s hard to find a couple who look back and said it was anything but worth it. In fact, if you’ve ever been around an expecting couple, they’ve probably pulled out their wallets (or smartphones) to show you a black-and-white blurry photo. Try and be polite. “Oh, you’re having a…potato.” But it’s not a potato. It’s a sonogram—a picture of the child developing in the womb. The sonogram tells us that the baby isn’t here yet, but the baby is coming soon. That’s what the gospel teaches us, and that’s what Jesus is telling His disciples. The resurrection of Jesus is like the sonogram. God’s victory isn’t here yet—but it’s coming very soon.

²⁵ “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹ His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! ³⁰ Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The gospel never offers a single promise of happiness. But the Bible offers radical promises of lasting joy. Isn’t it ironic that as we stand at the cusp of Black Friday sales and mobs of mall shoppers, that all of this is takes place in the season we traditionally celebrate Jesus’ birth? The happiness these sales promise will fade long before the next year. Only Jesus offers lasting joy in a world full of sorrow. What if you really believed this was true? What if, through the cross and resurrection, Jesus really did overcome the world? But that’s what the gospel promises. He overcame your family strife. He overcame Black Friday greed. He overcame sin, overcame death, overcame the mockery of the crowds, overcame the shameful burden you and I placed on His shoulders.

In a little while, He promises. In a little while we’ll be free of the cares of today and live in the joy of tomorrow. So as you gather at your table today, remember that sorrow lasts through the night. Joy comes with the morning.

The Role of the Spirit (John 16:1-15)

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the nature and mission of the church. Now, we take a look at the actual experience of the church. Jesus is preparing His disciples for life after He departs—a life that will be marked by the same kind of suffering that He experienced.

SEPARATION FROM “ORGANIZED RELIGION”

John 16:1-15 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. ² They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³ And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Christianity represented a major break from the traditions of the past. The early Jews couldn’t tolerate this, so Christians found themselves increasingly unwelcome in Jewish places of worship. In fact, there’s even some evidence to say that within John’s lifetime, some local synagogues actually banned all Christians from attending.

These days that almost seems preferable—or at least fashionable. We don’t like to be associated with “organized religion.” But the early Christians struggled because of this. The seeds of faith had been planted, but they remained a long way from blossoming. Peter and Paul had tended the soil, but both men died in John’s lifetime. Christians were becoming untethered from the past without a secure future to hold onto. Only through the promised Spirit could the church hope to continue forward.

THE ROLE OF THE SPIRIT

⁴ But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵ But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰ concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ¹¹ concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The Spirit would serve as a “Helper.” The “advantage” of Jesus’ death is that we receive the promised Spirit. But notice that the Spirit has a role to play in relation to the world: one of strong conviction. One of the surest distinctions between the church and the outside world is the recognition of sin and righteousness. In today’s world, these terms have blurred. No one can say with absolute certainty what is “good” or “true.” In fact, the only true “sin” in today’s world is to infringe on the “rights” of another.

In the Christian community, we rightly recognize the standards set for us by God’s character—revealed in Jesus and magnified through the witness of His Spirit. Do we take sin seriously? Do we take God seriously? We have to take sin seriously to take God seriously. And it is through the cross that our sin is dealt with and God is further revealed to us.

A LIFE LIVED FOR GOD

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Spirit has another role: to point us to God. He “glorifies” Jesus. Do you remember what “glory” meant? The word “glory” has its origins in a Hebrew word meaning “weight” or “mass.” It’s not that different from when we talk about a “heavy subject.” So for God to be “glorified” means that God is revealed to be “significant.”

Is God the most significant thing in your life? If my life is guided by self, then I become the center of my own universe. Left to my own devices, my life implodes. My soul shrivels. Nothing is more damaging than self-interest. But if my life is guided by God—by His Spirit—then God takes His rightful place at the center of my universe. And nothing is more healing than self-denial—so long as we replace “self” with God.

As we continue on, we’ll see that these values run counter to those of our surroundings. But we also see that the gospel offers the greatest and lasting solution to the hostility thrown at us by an unbelieving world.

The True Vine (John 15:1-27)

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

What do you think of when you hear the word “church?” If you’re like most people, your mind immediately goes to an image of a building. Childhood memories of mornings languishing in high-backed pews. There’s also a good chance the word “church” brings back painful memories—pushed away from Jesus by the very people who claim to represent Him. Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2, refers to this as a form of “spiritual abuse:”

“Spiritual abuse is rather like any kind of physical or sexual abuse. It brings you to a place where you can’t face the subject ever again. It’s rare for the sexually abused to ever enjoy sex. So, too, people who are spiritually abused can rarely approach the subject of religion with fresh faith. They wince and they twitch. My religious life has been trying to get through the minefield without coming out of it at the other end in a wheelchair.” (quoted in Kathleen Falsani, The God Factor, p. 11)

So why church? In John’s gospel, Jesus rarely refers to the church through institutional language. It’s not a building. It’s something organic—something vibrant and alive. In John 10, the relationship between Christ and His Church was that of a shepherd and a flock. Now, in the second part of Jesus’ “commencement address,” Jesus refers to the church through the familiar language of a vine and branches.

A POINT OF TRANSITION

Let’s pause a moment and return to John 14:31. Jesus tells His followers: “Rise, let us go from here.” John 15-16 consists of the second part of Jesus’ “commencement address.” It may have taken place in the upper room—they may have stood to leave. But it may also have taken place as they journeyed from the upper room to the Mount of Olives to pray. Because Jesus is making reference to a vine and branches, it’s easy to imagine that He was drawing analogies from the lush outdoor surroundings—though we have to admit that this is speculation.

THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH

Perhaps the most famous metaphor for Christ and the Church is found in these verses:

John 15:1-27 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus is the True Vine. Our connection to Him is one of intimacy and necessity. A branch cannot find life except through connection to the vine. Now, some branches try. They put down a secondary root system, but this kills the plant. Vinedressers have to lift these branches to keep them from doing this, and increase their dependence on the vine. Jesus says that the same thing happens between Himself and His followers. Branches that don’t bear fruit are “taken away”—or better translated “lifted up”—so that they can be more fruitful. Those that are unfruitful are in danger of being discarded and burned. We don’t need to assume Jesus is saying we can lose our salvation, but the verse should still make us sweat a bit to think that we can lose intimacy and reward.

So why church? In the context of this image, the question might better be: what’s the alternative? The life-giving connection between Christ and His followers can hardly be said to limited to a Sunday morning experience. Instead, it is a constant connection. We don’t attend church. We are the church. There’s no alternative.

These days it’s increasingly common to put down other “roots.” We can be connected to other things: sports, hobbies, career, etc. In a post-everything world, Sunday mornings are no longer off-limits for sports practices or other activities. In this setting, it’s tempting to see church as another option in a sea of endless activity. But a connection to church is not optional. It is essential. Regardless of my frustrations and past hurts, regardless of the endless sea of alternatives that beckon my attention, I am part of a network of branches that find their strength and life from Jesus Himself.

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

Jesus now turns to the mission of the church, one characterized by love:

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Some of these words are familiar, the kind of thing you might see on a coffee mug. We’re used to hearing the command to “love one another.” But pay close attention to verse 16. What is the mission of the church? To “go and bear fruit,” Jesus says. Go? The church has a mission to perform. Love must extend beyond the walls, grafting outsiders into relationship with the True Vine.

Do you see what’s happening here? Jesus is saying that Christian love has a vertical component—between man and God—as well as a horizontal component—between man and man. Place the vertical and horizontal pieces together and what do you see? The shape of the cross. Christian love is found in the cross of Jesus, and if we seek to follow Jesus we find ourselves drawn ever closer to the criminal wood of crucifixion.

THE POSITION OF THE CHURCH

This tells us that our position in life will be marked not by a crown of glory, but a crown of thorns.

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ ²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

We bear an unpopular message. We will face rejection. We will face suffering. Pain. To represent Christ in our world is to experience the same rejection that He did. But the cross also reminds us that suffering is only temporary, and that this crown of thorns will one day be exchanged for a crown of glory. This is why Jesus now turns His followers attention to life lived through the Spirit as they away God’s glorious future.

The Promised Spirit (John 14:15-31)

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Christopher J Wiles

In John 14, we find ourselves in the first of what will be a two-part “commencement speech” given by Jesus on the night of His arrest. He knows the fate that awaits. His desire is to offer His disciples some measure of comfort.

In the first section, Jesus had emphasized the nature of the Church as the true temple of God—the Body of Christ expressed in and through the diverse people that follow Him. This is important for what comes next. The original temple was where God was experienced through what was called the shekina glory—an overpowering cloud of smoke that overwhelmed the worshippers. What was the message? Every religion believed their god inhabited a building. But for Israel, their God’s presence would make the rafters shake and the people tremble.

If Jesus equates the Church with the temple, then we need God’s Spirit to once again take up residence among God’s people. And if the Church is to be Christ’s body, then we need that spark of life to once again animate us and help us grow. Thus, Christ’s death comes with a most sincere and most significant benefit: the promised gift of God’s Spirit.

THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT (15-21)

John 14:15-31 ¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Jesus calls His followers to a life of radical obedience. But how? Obedience seems impossible. Our hearts are eternally bent inward. In the fourth century, St. Augustine famously asked God to “Command what You will, but will what You command.” We need help. That’s part of what God does for us.

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The Holy Spirit comes through both Father and Son (cf. John 20:22). It is through this Spirit that God’s presence would be experienced. Now, Jesus turns His attention from the immediate future (the coming Spirit) to the ultimate future (His second coming):

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Jesus knows that there will be a day when all will be made clear; all will be made right. So vital was this knowledge that Paul would later see the Spirit as a “guarantee of our inheritance:”

Ephesians 1:13-14 ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Paul is saying that the Spirit is like an engagement ring. It is a promise of life that will be experienced in the future. It is a life that has not yet arrived, but it is not a life rooted in fantasy.

INTIMACY > EFFICIENCY

²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

It’s tempting to wonder why God does not simply make His presence more clear. More obvious. That’s what lies at the heart of this disciple’s question. But notice that Jesus doesn’t even answer the question. Why? Because in the first half of John’s gospel, Jesus consistently made Himself known through various signs and teachings. Instead of widespread success, Jesus found Himself the target of a murder plot. This tells us something important. When Jesus addresses the issue, He reveals that the gospel is not found in efficiency or immediacy, but in intimacy.

Corrie Ten Boom said it best: “Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” Sometimes the greatest spiritual breakthroughs happen when we stop looking to God for a product and learn to take comfort in His presence.

POWER SOURCE

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, ³¹ but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

Here, the first part of Jesus’ farewell speech winds down. Part of this speech helps us understand exactly how the disciples could have known some of what they did. God’s Spirit uniquely revealed this information to them. Jesus will soon be gone, but God’s Spirit will be alive and active.

God’s Spirit is the central power source of the body of Christ. A number of years ago I read an essay by Isaac Asimov. Asimov had substantial training in my former field—biochemistry—and so I was endlessly fascinated by his sharp mind and clear writing style. This particular essay was trying to explain the difference between a living body and a dead body. This was the first time I’d ever seen a scientist flounder in an attempt to explain something as mystifying as death. I believe strongly in science’s power to explain our world. But here was something that couldn’t be explained merely in the language of molecules and atoms. Asimov’s answer left me deeply unsatisfied. He compared the body to a house. The living body has its “bricks”—that is, atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, etc.—carefully and deliberately arranged. But after death the “bricks” crumble; the house falls apart. I remember thinking: “That’s it?” Surely we can’t restore life simply by putting our atoms back into their correct positions.

If the life of the human body can’t be understood without referring to the soul, how much less can the body of Christ be understood without referring to the Spirit? If this body is the temple, then without God’s Spirit we truly are gathering in a house of crumbling bricks. Without God’s Spirit, we can no more energize Christ’s body than we can a corpse. If we try, we create a monster. Instead of the body of Christ, we create a religious version of Frankenstein’s monster—lurching around composed of dead body parts.

All the more reason we need to lift our eyes above the horizon of self to gaze upon the beauty of Christ Himself. The Church is His body, unveiled not in the spectacular brilliance of earthly success, but in the lowly display of the cross. If we are to follow after Jesus, if we are to be His Church, then our eyes must be turned away from ourselves. This is a theme to which we will return as we continue to explore Jesus’ speech to His disciples.

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The Goal-Oriented Christian Life

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