Author: Tim Ehrhardt

I'm just a common ordinary pastor, chaplain, father, grandfather, and dog owner who loves the smell of a genuine leather Bible and the aroma of its message. I'm on a quest to track down the best Bibles, how to best read and use them, and to discover the encouragement inside.

Who Is Jesus? (Luke 2:22-40)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Presentation in the Temple, 14th century fresco in Pomposa Abbey, Codorigo, Italy

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. (New International Version)

The Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John actually contain very little information about the childhood of Jesus. That’s because the Gospels are not biographies – in the sense we think of them – but rather they are narratives that seek to answer a fundamental question about faith and life on this earth: Who is this Jesus?

C.S. Lewis went about exploring that very question. He reasons with us in his classis work, Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

St. Luke’s account of Christ’s childhood stories, seeks to make some important theological points about Jesus:

  • born a Jew amongst devout religious Jews in a thoroughly Jewish society, under Roman authority (Luke 2:1-7)
  • born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4-5)
  • obedient to his heavenly Father (Luke 2:49; Mark 3:35)
The Presentation in the Temple, 14th century marble statue in the National Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris, France

So, as such, the presentation of Jesus in Jerusalem at the temple is motivated by specific requirements of the law of Moses:

The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days…. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over….

“‘When the days of her purification for a son… are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering….

“‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy… But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’” (Leviticus 12:1-8, NIV)

What’s more, every first-born male (as Jesus was) specifically belongs to the Lord, and is set apart.

The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me… you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb….”

“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt.

This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.” (Exodus 13:1-2, 12, 14-16, NIV)

Luke was making the connection that when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to the Lord in Jerusalem, they were essentially dedicating his life to God. Jesus will be the means of redemption for all the people.

Mary would have remembered the words the angel Gabriel told her, that her son will not only be holy, but also be called the Son of God. The life of Jesus – conception, birth, and presentation at the temple – is demonstrably dedicated fully and completely to his heavenly Father. Deliverance for both Jews and Gentiles is focused in the person of Jesus.

Simeon and the Child Jesus, 16th century statue in Zadar, Croatia

Simeon and Anna show up at the presentation of Jesus as devout Jews who are awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises of consolation and redemption for Israel.

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42:6, NIV)

Break forth; shout together for joy,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:9-10, NRSV)

Simeon and Anna became the spokespersons for the redemption that is to come through Jesus. They both got a glimpse of the salvation that would, one day, reveal itself to the whole world. Forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and hell, and freedom from guilt and shame all become laser focused on the suffering servant of God.

Who is Jesus? He is the ultimate meaning of Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Amen.

Listen to Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Sophia, Divine Wisdom, by Mary Plaster

Wisdom has built her house;
    she has set up its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
    she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servants, and she calls
    from the highest point of the city,
    “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
    “Come, eat my food
    and drink the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways and you will live;
    walk in the way of insight.”

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
    whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
    rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
    teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For through wisdom your days will be many,
    and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
    if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. (New International Version)

Life is full of choices. Whether we quibble about how much free will or deterministic fate a person actually has, or has not, we are still left with the ability to choose how we shall proceed and/or respond to basic life situations.

The two basic choices in life were often displayed in early film and television cartoons by having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The stereotypical portrayal helps us see that there is always a choice between good and evil.

Although our choices in life are quite personal and specific to a particular situation, the choice between good and evil is much bigger than this. It is choosing a certain way to look at the world, which then influences and informs the concrete decisions we make in life.

In our lesson for today, wisdom is personified as a lady calling out to us as people. In contrast, foolishness or folly is equally personified. The two ladies are continually speaking to us.

Lady Wisdom leads the community of sages who know how to live a right, just, and good life; she invites others to join her at the table and learn her ways. On the other hand, Lady Folly heads a group of simpletons who are driven by the passions of the moment; she easily attracts those who want cheap and easy solutions.

Wisdom’s message is a passionate appeal to take the path of insight through God’s revealed will. We are encouraged to leave empty-headed ways of thinking, and live with awareness, insight, and direction. The term “wisdom” in Scripture is the ability to apply sound biblical instruction and divine commands to concrete situations in our lives. 

For the spiritual person, especially, it is vital and imperative to daily listen to Lady Wisdom and follow her instructions.

The fact of the matter for too many people is that they are too impatient to let Lady Wisdom teach them her ways. It takes too much time, and is too hard for them. So, they turn to Lady Folly, who makes bogus promises of satisfaction without all the time and effort.

Idolatry (running toward other gods) immorality (running to victimize another) lying (running the mouth without any truth to it) and arrogance (running to get quick power and authority) often results from the inability to wait on the lessons that Lady Wisdom deeply desires to impart to us. 

Wisdom is not gained quickly; her teachings must be learned slowly with careful application over time. We are much too prone to wanting the simple solutions to complex problems that Lady Folly offers. But Lady Wisdom calls us to leave such simplistic thinking and take the high road of authenticity, self-awareness, and attention to the common good of all persons.

Therefore, rather than rushing to Google for answers to our questions; instead of allowing another person to make decisions for us; in place of implementing sheer pragmatic plans; allow Lady Wisdom to penetrate the mind and the heart so that what comes out is thoroughly good, benevolent, just, and helpful. 

And the best place to begin in starting down the road of wisdom is to give the Lord proper place in our lives. The skills for a good life gets its start through respect of God and obedience to the Lord. To truly have understanding and a wise life, one must get to know God. 

Nobody can talk themselves into wisdom, because it takes a reverent spirit, listening ears, and measured words to be able to put Lady Wisdom’s instruction into practice. There are no substitutes.

All-Wise God, the One who is never in a hurry and who is always holy, create in me a wise mind and a wise heart. Help me to sit still long enough for wisdom to bring spiritual growth and maturity to my life, through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Great Task of Restoration (Isaiah 49:5-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Before I was born, the Lord appointed me;
    he made me his servant to bring back his people,
    to bring back the scattered people of Israel.
The Lord gives me honor;
    he is the source of my strength.

The Lord said to me,

“I have a greater task for you, my servant.
    Not only will you restore to greatness
    the people of Israel who have survived,
but I will also make you a light to the nations—
    so that all the world may be saved.”

Israel’s holy God and savior says
    to the one who is deeply despised,
    who is hated by the nations
    and is the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you released
    and will rise to show their respect;
princes also will see it,
    and they will bow low to honor you.”

This will happen because the Lord has chosen his servant;
the holy God of Israel keeps his promises.

The Lord says to his people,

“When the time comes to save you, I will show you favor
    and answer your cries for help.
I will guard and protect you
    and through you make a covenant with all peoples.
I will let you settle once again
    in your land that is now laid waste.
I will say to the prisoners, ‘Go free!’
    and to those who are in darkness,
    ‘Come out to the light!’
They will be like sheep that graze on the hills;
    they will never be hungry or thirsty.
Sun and desert heat will not hurt them,
    for they will be led by one who loves them.
    He will lead them to springs of water.

“I will make a highway across the mountains
    and prepare a road for my people to travel.
My people will come from far away,
    from the north and the west,
    and from Aswan in the south.”

Sing, heavens! Shout for joy, earth!
    Let the mountains burst into song!
The Lord will comfort his people;
    he will have pity on his suffering people.

But the people of Jerusalem said,

“The Lord has abandoned us!
    He has forgotten us.”

So the Lord answers,

“Can a woman forget her own baby
    and not love the child she bore?
Even if a mother should forget her child,
    I will never forget you. (Good News Translation)

What is the source of your strength?

Where do you go when you are weak?

To whom do you look, whenever you need support?

And what do you do whenever things go sideways, or somebody pulls the rug out from underneath you?

How do you handle circumstances that have gone awry?

What if you feel hurt, abandoned, misunderstood, neglected, disrespected, or discarded?

It makes sense to me that one would want to put trust in something or someone who is steady, unchanging, and (like God) eternal. Is anyone ever really restored if the restoration project is done with temporary or shoddy materials?

Restoration is a major theme in the prophetic books of the Old Testament. In today’s lesson, God speaks of bringing Israel back to her original calling and purpose. This would be accomplished through the nation of Israel and focused upon God’s Servant, the Lord’s Messiah. 

The scope and vision of what the Savior would do is enunciated by God: rescue people, lead them home, and show unending mercy. The Servant of the Lord is made a light for the nations so that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

“Messiah” is more than a Jewish thing. The Christian tradition discerns Jesus as the Servant, the Savior of both Jews, and Gentiles – Christ is given to reach the entire planet.

The incarnation of Christ was meant for more than gathering Israel together, as if it were some sort of Bill Gaither Homecoming tour. Rather, Messiah’s place and power is so significant that it is to be shared with everyone in the world. Although Israel was to be a holy entity, and separate from the surrounding culture, their mandate had always been to be a light to the nations.

This has great import for Christ’s Church and every individual believer in Jesus. The church is much more than a country club which only caters to club functions and members. The church is a missional community with an outward focus, as well.

It has always been God’s vision to reach the nations. The Lord wants more than one group of people; God wants everyone. Along with caring for its own, the church is designed as a missionary enterprise which puts significant resources into shining the light of Christ to every nook and cranny of creation.

However, we are a wounded people, living in a culture whose first response to differing voices is to accuse, attack, and injure. Our hurts are carried by all of us collectively and personally, and it gives rise to bitterness, isolation, and resentment. When our hope runs dry, we become marked by cynicism, apathy, and escapism.

The vision of Isaiah gives us an alternative approach. Reflection on God’s mercy, salvation, and loving guidance leads to repentance. We freely turn from all of our unholy thoughts, words, and deeds. It leads to a restoration of our true calling as missionaries of faith, hope, and love to the broken world around us.

Restoration – divine restoration with rich everlasting spiritual resources – brings healing of the stresses and anxieties that plague our planet, and ourselves. 

Since God has a missionary heart, all of God’s people are missionaries to the world. It therefore behooves each believer to be taught, trained, and led into God’s restorative mission to the nations. 

Let us, then, build caring relationships and extend loving actions both to those within the church and toward those outside of Christian fellowship, so that God’s intentions are carried out. For we know that not one person on planet earth is forgotten by God.

Restoring God, you bring us back to close relation and fellowship so that we might extend your gracious purposes throughout the world. Revive us again, God, so that we can hear your call to the nations through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Celebration and Lament (Matthew 2:13-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Coptic Church depiction of the holy family in Egypt

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
    wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Smack in the middle of the great celebration of Christ’s birth is a great lament. That’s because not everyone views the birth of Jesus with joy; there are others who see it as a threat and want to stamp it out.

We are humans, with two ears, two eyes, two hands, two feet, two lungs, and two kidneys. Our paired organs exist because we need the two of them in order to function properly. Joy and sadness, celebration and lament, are emotionally paired so that our soul may serve us as it is intended to. We hold them both together – at the same time, all the time – in order to have a well-rounded and healthy way of life.

In this time of year, it can be easy to gravitate towards either one or the other. We might become engrossed in all the shiny things of the season; or we may get lost by all the sorrows which the season stirs up for us.

I invite you to approach the mundane and simple manger. Although it might seem dull and unattractive – the last place you may find wholeness and peace – it is truly the place where we find God. It is here that both our joys and our sorrows meet, because among the stinky animals and the lower class life we shall actually discover the real longing of our hearts.

The gracious and almighty God preserved and protected the child Jesus. Christ’s early life retraced the life of ancient Israel. Like the Jewish patriarchs, Jesus went down to Egypt (and would eventually go down and face hell for us in his crucifixion); and, like the ancient Israelites, Jesus was brought up out of Egypt (and would rise from the dead bringing freedom from sin and death once for all) in a New Exodus.

It is as if the disciple Matthew means to connect the two Testaments as a unified whole by saying, “Look, here is the Messiah, the coming King, the promised One of Israel and of all the nations. Jesus is our salvation, the fulfillment of all that we have hoped for.”

Jesus is the New Exodus

In the second of three dreams, Joseph is told to take Jesus to Egypt. Joseph obeyed the Lord and took responsibility for the role of protecting Jesus, as contrasted with Herod’s role in attempting to murder Jesus.

Yet, there is more to this story than Christ’s protection; this is the fulfillment of a biblical pattern, an identification of Jesus with the people of God. Matthew pulled forward the prophet Hosea to say that just as God brought the Israelites out of Egypt through a great deliverance, God brought up Jesus, the Great Deliverer, out of Egypt as the unique Son of God.

Ethiopian Orthodox icon of the holy family fleeing to Egypt

When we hold the pair of Testaments together in both hands, we feel the weight of Jesus as God’s divine Son; so therefore, Christ is the rightful Ruler in God’s kingdom.

Just as God preserved Israel from Pharaoh’s wrath, the Lord protected Jesus from Herod’s wrath. God’s kindness and loyalty extends to us as covenant people and preserves us from the wrath of the devil who seeks to keep as many people as possible in the realm of darkness.

Our hope is in the Lord Jesus, who conquered the devil by establishing a beachhead on this earth through an incarnation as the Son of God.

Jesus Brought Us Out of Exile

The scoundrel King Herod massacred innocent toddlers to ensure the destruction of Jesus. Behind his atrocity was the devil himself, who knew Jesus was the coming king who would one day bring salvation. Reflecting on a vision of Christ’s birth, the Apostle John identified the sinister plan and the divine deliverance:

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth, he might devour her child. She gave birth to a son, a male child who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was snatched up to God and his throne. (Revelation 12:4-5, CEB)

Satan wars against God’s Son and God’s people, whose roots go all the way back to the first prophecy of Christ after the Fall of humanity. God declared to Satan:

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NLT)

There has been continual enmity ever since, between the serpent and the seed of the woman. It manifests itself with the Israelites constantly being threatened with extermination and tempted to conform to pagan ways.

King Herod was just another in a long line of demonically animated persons trying to perpetuate the kingdom of darkness. We must take this threat seriously because the devil knows that his time is short. A second Advent is coming which will be the final judgment.

Satan’s most powerful weapon, death, has lost its sting because of Jesus. Christmas is a hard time of year for many people, filled with depression instead of joy, grieving over lost loved ones for whom we will not spend another Christmas with.

Yet there is a reunion coming, the hope of a bodily resurrection in which we will be with Jesus and God’s people forever. Be encouraged to understand that there is no time in heaven; it will be only a moment and the people who have gone before us will turn around and see us; we will one day join them.

Matthew also used the prophet Jeremiah to communicate hope. Jeremiah’s prophecy dealt with children who were lost in war to the invading Babylonians. The prophecy is a lament with the hope that captivity will not be forever.

The disciple Matthew wanted us to see that the exile is over for us; Jesus has arrived, and the tears which were shed will shortly dry up. There may be a time of suffering we must endure, but there will be glory. Jesus is the Great Deliverer who brings us out of sin’s captivity and into the promises of God. He is our hope.

Jesus is the promised One who will deliver us from the tyranny of the devil. Christ is the hope of the nations, the Savior of the world. So, let us come back to the first Christmas which was the beginning of the end for evil on the earth.

Believers in Jesus are part of God’s victory, and they overcome the evil one by the blood of the lamb, acknowledging that Christ’s incarnation was essential for us. 

Just as Jesus made a radical break with his former life in heaven through the incarnation, we, too, must break with our old way of life.

God will save the people through this child Jesus. The greatest gift we can give in this season and throughout the coming year is the gift of grace, the presentation of the Christ child.

Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus so that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the wisdom of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love across the world.

Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil through the blessing of the Christ child.

Teach us to be happy with pure hearts.

Grant us grateful thoughts, devoted hearts, and gracious hands, through Jesus our Savior in the might of the Holy Spirit. Amen.