Daily Bible Challenge: Post #5

Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

This my fourth entry of the Daily Bible challenge.

Entry one is here (1 Cor 15:58): http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-1.html

Entry two is here (1 Tim 4:12): http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-2.html

Entry three is here (2 Kings 2:23-24) http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-3.html

Entry four is here (John 1:1) http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-4.html

I do not want break down this passage specifically, but more use it as an example of the way that Jesus teaches and what the implications that means for us as we try to understand Him and to become more Christ-like ourselves.

The key to this teaching, and others like them, is that Jesus takes an accepted teaching and one that we probably take for granted now (to not murder), but states that the standard is not nearly high enough, and that there is a higher expectation. Not only are we not to murder, but we can’t even be angry with someone else. “Raca” was a term of contempt that would result in punishment, but to call someone a fool seems pretty light – and this potentially punishable by hell!

So what is going on here? A couple things:

First, Jesus is setting a high standard. So high, in fact that it is impossible. Not only in this teaching, but in other teachings throughout the Gospels. It is an impossible standard, but one that seems almost achievable. In my mind, this is not an accident. Jesus desires for us to stretch as far as possible without actually fulfilling His teachings and thus becoming complacent in our faith and our walk.

This was the main critique of the Pharisees, that they would achieve perfection in the law and lord it over others, all the while having a problem in their core.

This is the second thing going on, Jesus is not interested in our actions in and of themselves, but is interested in a transformed heart. It is certainly possible to follow rules, but that is not what is most important. What Christ cares about is a transformation of the heart through the work of the Spirit. Not following rules!

The third thing going on is that we are also being made aware of the seriousness of our sin. Something as small as calling someone a fool can result in our spending eternity in hell. In this case, with this standard on his teachings, all of us our ultimately condemned. But that is not the case – Christ offers us life, but this only comes through Him, it is not possible through our own action.

One last point is the idea of sanctification. That is the idea that once we accept Christ and the Spirit into our lives we will see a change in ourselves away from our selfish, sinful ways towards a Spirit filled heart and life. Christ sets an example that is not possible through human action, but is much more possible if we allow the Spirit to work in your life, towards a heart that is more Christ centered.

I touched on many important concepts very quickly and probably did not do them full justice, but wanted to provide a quick overview.

Daily Bible Challenge: Post #4

I broke the rules and took a day off, but it was for my son’s first birthday so I thought that could be forgiven. Here is my post for today.

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

This my fourth entry of the Daily Bible challenge.

Entry one is here (1 Cor 15:58): http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-1.html

Entry two is here (1 Tim 4:12): http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-2.html

Entry three is here (2 Kings 2:23-24) http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-3.html

I think that no Bible verse has consumed more of my thought than this verse. Seems pretty simple on the surface, but it wasn’t until I started studying Greek that this verse really came alive for me.

The English word “Word” in this verse is the Greek word Logos, something that many people would know. Word is a perfectly acceptable translation, but I fear that reading it in English does not fully capture the depth of what is being said here and what it could potentially mean.

Logos was a term that got some play in ancient Greek philosophy. It was certainly not explored by every philosopher and it was only briefly touched on by the biggest names such as Plato and Aristotle, but it is a concept that is certainly worth exploring. There is no perfect way to translate the concept, but the best I could do is to think of it as a presence or a force within the universe that would represent what is good and right, perhaps along the line of “virtue” that is common in so common in later philosophers, especially during the Enlightenment era.

To bring it back to the Bible, I also think that Logos could be a good substitute for “Wisdom” when it is cited in the Proverbs (and other places) as having human characteristics.

So, to summarize this brief thought, John is referring to Jesus as the Logos, a concept that had roots in Greek philosophy and would potentially be the same as the Hebrew/Jewish concept of Wisdom. There is much going on here and potentially even more to the understanding of the true nature of Christ from the very beginning of creation.

One of my goals in life is to take an extremely deep dive into the concept of Logos and how it relates to the Greek philosophical term as well as how it is connected to the concept of Wisdom. But before I can do that, Jesus as Logos will remain as mysterious and tantalizing as when I first came to this potential understanding.

Daily Bible Challenge: Post #3

2 Kings 2:23-24

“Then Elisha went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

This my third entry of the Daily Bible challenge.

Entry one is here (1 Cor 15:58): http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-1.html

Entry two is here (1 Tim 4:12): http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-2.html

In my second post I wanted to focus on the youth and setting a good example, but also hinted a little that I was starting to sense I was moving on from considering myself a young leader in the church to just a regular leader. Part of this might be from getting married, buying a house, having a child, all the things that start to happen as you get older and you start to become an adult, and not just a young adult.

Mostly, though, I feel that this change is real because I am becoming old and curmudgeonly enough that I have thought it might be appropriate to unleash a couple of she-bears on a group of unruly youths. I would like to think that it would take more than being taunted for being a baldhead (especially since I have plenty of hair), but I can appreciate where Elisha is coming from.

I think, at the moment, that this is my favorite Bible verse.  While it is badass enough on its own, what makes it especially awesome is that it has nothing to do with the narrative that is happening around it. It is just randomly inserted into the text, perhaps to show the power of Elisha. I can understand if you are Elijah and you use the power of the Lord to rain down fire on the priests of Ba’al, but unleashing a couple of bears on young boys because they are taunting you? That seems a little excessive.

Admittedly commentaries take it a little bit more seriously, suggesting that the youths taunting Elisha represent a bigger insult to the Lord with the potential to discredit Elisha’s ministry if not dealt with quickly and decisively. And baldness, for some reason, was seen as a source of scorn at the time. Still, two bears and 42 youths.

Back at it tomorrow.

Daily Bible Challenge" Post #2

1 Timothy 4:12

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity”

Yesterday I posted my first verse of the challenge:

1 Cor 15: 58 http://stevenuessle.blogspot.com/2015/03/daily-bible-challenge-post-1.html

I said then that the verse was my life verse and that is still true for all the reasons that I mentioned. My verse today has been what I would consider the verse of this specific season of my life. As I spent my time in Seminary and as I have invested in teaching Sunday school to young adults, this is the verse that is always in my mind.

As a younger leader in the church, Timothy has always spoken to me as the book to consider. It is the writings of Paul to his protégé as he passes on the wisdom he has gained to the next generation. Indeed I am the next generation, but even that is starting to change.

This is the verse that has guided me for the past decade or so, and is the verse that I want to emphasize to those that are coming after me. It is natural for older generations to look down on the next generations, as they do things differently than what is comfortable to those that are older.

The joke I always think of is that there are two things each generation (of Christians) thinks – 1) all the signs in the world are pointing towards Jesus returning very soon, and 2) the next generation is worse that ours. I won’t comment on the first, but I never accept the second. And the second will be especially untrue if they are committed to this verse.

I am generally committed to the anthem of the young – that the generation before us has screwed things up enough to make their institutions less than desirable in some ways (most especially the church), and it will be our job to clean them up and make them desirable once again for the next generation to screw up. Speaking of which, stay tuned for tomorrow…

Daily Bible Challenge: Post #1

1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always giver yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

I was nominated by my mother-in-law, Sue Anderson, to take part in the daily Bible challenge, and a good rule is to always listen to your mother-in-law, right? But I am happy that she did, as I will post a new Bible verse every day for a week and post a brief explanation of why I chose that particular verse and what it means to me.

I start with 1 Corinthians 15:58 because it is my life verse. It is not necessarily my favorite verse, but the verse I go to first when I think of my mission in serving the Lord. Why this verse is so powerful is the context of the chapter in which it is written. 1 Cor 15 is a chapter devoted to the Resurrection, the critical event/fact of Christ’s life and therefore our faith. With the Resurrection Christ conquered death and gave all of us life!

As 15:55-57 states:

“Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Indeed He does.

But what I like most about 15:58 is that with this knowledge and reality of the Resurrection, it lays out very clearly how we are to respond. We can stand strong in the Lord and know that all we do for him is not in vain, because of the reality of the Resurrection!