Tag: christ’s resurrection

It’s All About Grace (Acts 1:1-5)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus and the Apostles, by Bible Art

Theophilus, I first wrote to you about all that Jesus did and taught from the very first until he was taken up to heaven. But before he was taken up, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen with the help of the Holy Spirit.

For 40 days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God’s kingdom. While he was still with them, he said:

Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Contemporary English Version)

One of the unshakable and foundational convictions I have is that the earth revolves on an axis of grace. Apart from grace, we wouldn’t even exist.

If God’s grace in Christ was only an undeserved gift, that would be incredibly wonderful and more than enough for us. Yet, it is even more.

The word “grace” doesn’t need to be in every verse of the Bible for the reality of grace to be embedded within every verse of the Bible.

Grace is the answer to every question that humankind can ask. Grace not only forgives and loves unconditionally, but it also infuses us with freedom and power within our souls.

Grace is the ultimate game-changer. And grace is evident everywhere in Holy Scripture, powering its message and mission. It’s evident in today’s New Testament lesson…

The Grace of God Choosing People

In this biblical passage of Christ’s imminent ascension to heaven, Jesus intentionally made gracious provision so that his apostles could carry on without his bodily presence.

First of all, and priority above the ability to be and to do anything, is the gracious reality that Jesus chose his apostles; they did not choose him. In fact, every disciple of Christ was chosen by God before we made our choice. That, my friend, is grace.

Christ deliberately chose twelve Jewish men to be his intimate followers on this earth during his ministry. No follower and disciple of Christ is ever self-appointed to anything, nor are they really appointed by any committee or by some human means.

What’s more, every church pastor, elder, deacon, and leader of any sort is providentially chosen and appointed by Christ himself well before being chosen by a body of believers in a church, synod, or board.

The Lord’s intentions in choosing people for a specific purpose (and especially for salvation) is first of all a tremendous act of divine grace. This ought to be of great encouragement to us, that Christ who builds the Church, sees us and chooses us.

The Grace of Seeing Jesus

Second, God showed his infinite grace by having Jesus shown to his apostles after his resurrection. The twelve, along with many other disciples, were eyewitnesses to the bodily resurrection of Christ.

After his sufferings, the risen Lord revealed his presence to his apostles. He gave them many convincing and decisive proofs that he was truly alive. And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus kept it up for 40 days until his ascension.

Jesus talked to them about the kingdom of God, about God’s gracious rule and reign upon this earth. He prepared them for the ascension, and helped them make sense of all the nonsensical things happening in their lives. Jesus showed them that he was no ghost, but could be touched, hugged, and enjoy a meal with.

The entire post-resurrection experience was a time of amazing grace in getting to see, feel, and listen to Jesus.

The Grace of Christ’s Commissioning

Third, Jesus not only spoke with his apostles, but he also commissioned them by giving them instructions to proclaim gracious good news of forgiveness and new life with God.

The word “apostle” means to be a herald, an envoy or messenger; being an ambassador sent out with the authority to boldly proclaim good news for the nations. Disciples  are to have a ministry of proclaiming peace and reconciliation between God and humanity, and between one another. Indeed, it is all about grace.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NIV)

The Grace of Having the Holy Spirit

Finally and ultimately, Jesus promised his apostles the greatest grace gift of all: the very Holy Spirit of God. The Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, would remind them and teach them of all things concerning God’s gracious and benevolent kingdom. (John 16:12ff)

The Holy Spirit is the battery, the power source, of the Christian life. Apart from the Spirit we can do nothing.

The Need For Grace Today

It is imperative that we continually remember grace, and keep grace in the forefront of our minds and our hearts. It’s especially needed in this day and age.

We live in a time in which ungracious and unjust words and actions are in front of our faces continually. The biblical witness is adamant that life is not about having earthly power and wielding it for our own earthly purposes.

Grace is what gives and sustains life. Grace is the real power operative in the world. And if we fail to realize this, and do not tap into grace, then we are truly doomed and are to be pitied above all persons.

So, let us keep bearing in mind that:

  • God’s grace is why we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit
  • The purpose of Jesus is to alert people the presence and eventual fulfillment of God’s gracious realm and reign
  • The Spirit’s presence among us equips us to be Salt to ICE by melting injustice and a lack of mercy; and Light to those blinded by greed by showing the world how to live a different way.

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, so that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I Am Coming to You (John 14:18-31)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Upper Room, by Gail Meyer

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’

“If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Ethiopian Orthodox Church depiction of the Last Supper in the Upper Room

“He’s leaving!? What!? Huh!?” Although Jesus had tried to prepare the disciples for his impending cross and resurrection, they didn’t quite catch on. It was in the Upper Room, in their final meal together, that Jesus made it plain he was leaving and going back to the Father. (John 14:1-17)

There was both confusion and distress amongst the men. Anticipatory grief had suddenly smacked them like a golf club upside the head. Dizzied and dazed with thoughts that their Lord would no longer be with them, Jesus sought to assure them that this would be temporary.

Christ is coming, again. In fact, three comings are to be realized:

  • Rising from death and appearing to the disciples
  • Sending the Spirit as the continuing presence of Christ on earth
  • Returning at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead

Jesus was caring for his followers, including us, by providing future hope.

That is just what happened with the first two comings. Christians everywhere celebrate the rising of Christ from death, his ascension into heaven, and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Christian tradition holds that the Spirit – the Paraclete, Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor – is now presently with us.

Although the world no longer sees Jesus, believers see him with eyes of faith, hope, and love. Christians intuitively perceive another spiritual dimension in which Christ is beside them in the person of God’s Spirit. Some things can’t be intellectually explained. They just are.

Meanwhile, while Christians everywhere await the return of Christ to this earth, they are busy loving their Lord through obedience to his commands. And his command is to love one another as he demonstrated his love for them. Love and obedience go hand in hand. To know the love of God in Christ is to willingly give oneself to obey the merciful Lord.

We are not left alone to fumble around on this earth, trying to love in our own strength or ability. The Spirit is present, helping us to do loving work. There is real spiritual assistance in applying Christ’s teaching to the practical aspects of life in the here-and-now. Such constructive down-to-earth support gives Christians a sense of peace and integrity of living.

Worldly peace, which typically uses war to try and end war, has merely the absence of conflict as its goal. However, the peace of Christ is intensely personal and has the goal of unity, harmony, and love. It is his very own peace. Through Christ’s suffering and death, he absorbed in himself the malice and hatred of others and introduced a true and settled peace.

The profound absence of love, the rebellion of humanity against concern for the common good of all, and the shame of selfishness that damns the world, is overthrown by the obedience and self-sacrifice of Jesus. The world will learn this – either by discovering the love of Christ now or, at the end of the age, with the return of Christ.

Jesus came in the past through the incarnation and resurrection. Jesus is presently here in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus will come again in the future to judge the living and the dead.

These comings are for us and for our deliverance from all that is unjust and broken in this world. We are not alone. There is ever-present help. This is the basis of the Christian’s confidence.

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful with divine love. Come as the wind that blows, come as the fire that refines, come as the dew that refreshes. Convict, convert and consecrate us until we are wholly yours, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

To Believe, or Not (Mark 16:9-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The risen Jesus appears to his disciples, by Unknown Italian artist, 1476

[Note: The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (New International Version)

The Great Commission, by He Qi

So, how do you view the Bible? Some view it as a direct communication from God to human authors, as if the Lord actually wrote it all, akin to how Moses received the Ten Commandments. Others see the Bible as a thoroughly human invention of literature about God. And then there are those who are somewhere in-between the two views.

Textual criticism is a branch of study that examines a literary work, and aims to establish the original text. This is important and needed, especially since we have all sorts of ancient pieces of literature. We rely upon learned scholars who are fluent in the original languages, and in the examination of texts, so that we can have reliable translations of those texts.

Therefore, textual criticism of the Bible means thinking critically about manuscripts and variations in the biblical texts found in those manuscripts, in order to identify the original reading of the Bible. Keep in mind that, prior to the invention of the printing press, copies of everything had to be hand written. Scribes were trained scholars who meticulously copied manuscripts; and human error was always a part of the process.

The New Testament was copied by thousands of people in thousands of places in dozens of languages. Though that reality can make textual criticism rather complicated, this diversity is also a blessing; it speaks to the high probability that we have a very close and reliable authentic original Bible – namely because so many people were involved in copying scriptural texts.

Today’s lectionary reading is an entire chunk at the end of Mark’s Gospel that is very difficult to ascertain whether it was original to his writing, or not. If you are of the ilk that the Bible is a God-authored book, you will likely want to resolve this tension. And if you’re not, you just might be rolling your eyes at this point, as if this is all silly stuff that doesn’t matter.

I’m suggesting it is neither as silly nor as serious as some want to make it. It just is. And sometimes we must accept what is, without always having to explain it in objective Enlightenment terms; or relegate it to the realm of the ethereal and mystical.

Instead, we can deal with the text we have in front of us without any wringing of the hands, or ignoring it altogether. And what we have, it seems to me, is this: a text of Scripture that is consistent with the rest of Mark’s Gospel in showing us the nature of both belief and unbelief.

An ancient papyrus fragment of Mark’s Gospel

To believe, or not to believe? That is the question.

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, we are confronted with the choice of believing or disbelieving the acts of Jesus in his earthly ministry. And that issue of faith comes to a head with Christ’s resurrection.

The women exhibited belief. They made the pilgrimage to Christ’s tomb and discovered it empty. It is upon the testimony of women – even though a woman’s testimony was not considered reliable in that day – that believers know Christ is risen from death.

The men, however, are nowhere to be found. One reason for unbelief by people who ought to know better is that they go looking for all the wrong sort of evidence. While on this earth, Jesus refused to be like any sort of worldly ruler; he sought to use his authority by being a servant; and he tapped into the power of humility and love.

If we go limiting our epistemology (the study of how we receive knowledge) then we will likely not discover the truth about much of anything. The male disciples refused to believe the testimony of the female Mary Magdalene. The risen Christ finally showed himself and rebuked the stubborn men.

To see Jesus will take something else, something more, than our standard use of three dimensions and five senses and critical thinking skills. As important and needed as they are, it isn’t enough to truly see the risen Lord. We need to bring in some other epistemic impulses: the conscience and the gut; the spirit and the heart; intuition and experience; and the testimony of witnesses whom we would rather dismiss, than listen to.

Jesus ascends to heaven, but not everyone sees it – for obvious reasons. There are some who may search for evidence their entire lives, never to find it, because they want confirmation by means of their own mentally contrived and culturally conditioned constructs.

The Gospel is neither ant-intellectual nor only understood by the scholarly and learned; the good news of Jesus Christ is both simple and complex, easy to understand and hard to comprehend, compelling and revolting. And there is one thing for sure: the person and work of Jesus will always challenge us, change us, and move us.

The story is still being written, not just with pens and keyboards, with textual criticism and documentary evidence, but with mercy and love upon the tablet of the heart.

Lord, I want to believe. Help me in my unbelief! May I see and hear the risen Savior, through the enablement of the Spirit. Amen.

Jesus Is In the Room (Luke 24:36b-48)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Jesus appears to the apostles, by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319)

Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving and wondering, and he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (New Revised Standard Version)

Hanging Out and Scratching Their Heads

Christ’s disciples were abuzz. Two dudes showed up and told eleven of the original disciples that they had seen and talked to Jesus himself! This was a lot to wrap both their heads and their hearts around. Could they dare to hope it is true?

Peter and John encountered an empty tomb. And now these guys from Emmaus are giving this wild testimony of a risen Savior. Into the weird mix of doubt, curiosity, grief, hope, wondering, and outright confusion, Jesus materialized out of the blue saying, “Peace be with you.”

Already feeling unsettled and uncertain, the disciples had anything but a peaceful response to the presence of their Lord. Startled, troubled, and frightened they were, as if somebody had just dropped a skunk into the room.

Why the fear? Why not be overjoyed or overcome with sheer delight at seeing Jesus?

The disciples were caught off guard, as if they had zero expectation of seeing Jesus. Believing him to be dead, they immediately went to thinking this was some ghost. After all, the door was locked. Nobody could have gotten into the room without the disciples knowing it. (John 20:19)

A fresco of Christ appearing to the disciples, in the Visoki Dečani Monastery, Deçan, Kosovo

Face to Face with Faith

As it turns out, faith and belief are not uniform static terms. There are layers to faith. Yes, the disciples really did believe, and their faith developed over time with Jesus. However, their belief had not yet come to full bloom. So, in this sense, they still possessed a lack of faith and were rebuked by Jesus for it. (Mark 16:14)

A full-orbed belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is more than words, more than making professions, and more than signing-off on a doctrinal statement of faith. Faith is shown for what it is through our actions. (James 1:19- 2:26)

Faith comes to fruition when the head, the heart, and the hands all align together and conspire to proclaim the gospel in thought, word, and deed. If they are misaligned or incongruent with each other, then that faith is inadequate. There is yet another level to the belief which needs to emerge.

Perhaps this is instructive for people today. While maintaining beliefs about the person and work of Jesus, and acknowledging Christ’s death and resurrection, some Christians live as though Jesus had never risen from the grave. If Jesus were to suddenly show up and say, “Peace be with you,” like a startled puppy, they’d likely have an accident on the floor.

It’s a Real Resurrected Body

As Jesus had done so many times before in his earthly ministry, he invited the disciples to experience him in a real, tangible, visceral way. This is no ghost. This is a Christ who has physical flesh and bones. You can eat with this Jesus, real food and drink. Look at his hands and feet. Touch and feel them if you must. But, by all means, believe!

Christ is risen. So, now what? This is what the earliest of disciples struggled to understand – how to live in the reality of resurrection, and how Jesus is present with his followers. Christ is with us as a real human and as the real God.

Although Jesus appeared to be a ghost because he could seemingly pass through things, he is not. Christ has a very real body with flesh and bones, although it is a glorified resurrected body which isn’t quite the same as our current earthly bodies. He feels hunger and eats food.

Today’s story follows the Emmaus Road experience in which two people encounter the resurrected Christ. They didn’t even notice that it was Jesus and that they were looking at a glorified body. In that story, Jesus went with them and had a meal around the table.

The Disciples Are Now Witnesses

The eyes of the disciples were opened so that they could truly see Jesus for who he really is. And it happened in their communal eating together – just as it did in the previous story with the friends from the Emmaus Road. Specifically, their new spiritual sight enabled them to be witnesses to the reality of Christ’s resurrection.

The disciples seeing Jesus empowered them to proclaim the good news that repentance for the forgiveness of sins is real; deliverance from our guilt and shame can really happen, when we confess it and turn from it. No more being locked-up in a room in fear, or in a metaphorical personal prison of anxiety.

We Are Now Empowered

The post-resurrection encounter of the disciples and Jesus would not be confined to a one room lock-in experience. The Spirit of God will come upon all sorts of people, all over the world. The sadness of crucifixion and death transforms into the joy and confidence of gospel proclamation. A true release from the shackles of fear and guilt result in a giddy blabbering about Jesus everywhere one goes.

It turns out that seeing and touching Christ’s wounds on his hands and feet doesn’t evoke bad nightmares, but elicits good dreams for the future of faith – that resurrection is a reality, is reachable, and is a path to experience the blessing of God.

Jesus is in the room, my friend. Let your fear be changed into joy.

Holy and righteous God, you raised Christ from the dead and glorified him at your right hand. Let the words of Holy Scripture, fulfilled in Jesus your Son, burn within our hearts and open our minds to recognize him in the breaking of bread. Amen.