Word of Life Church Podcast

Since the foundation of the world (by which we mean the beginning of human civilization) there’s been something fundamentally and tragically wrong with the world. But we mostly accept it as normal because to us it’s just the way the world is. (Only the prophets offer a minority report.) The basic arrangement of the world is this: The strong dominate the weak. In the domination system, economic power, military power, and religious power are used to dominate the weak. This system guarantees privilege for a small elite and oppression for most. Those who control the treasuries, the armies, and the temples benefit from this system. In Judea in the time of Jesus those who controlled the treasuries, the armies, and the temple were King Herod (the King of Israel), Pontius Pilate (the Roman Governor), and Joseph Caiaphas (the High Priest). There is a reason why these three powerful men figure so prominently in the Passion story.

Beware of simplistic and formulaic explanations of the Cross. We cannot easily know the mystery of how the crucifixion of Jesus Christ saves the world. We readily confess it, but that does not mean we can glibly "explain" it. The Bible does not give us a simple, formulaic explanation of the Cross. What the Bible does do is give us a myriad of metaphors about the Cross. One of the most mysterious metaphors of the Cross is Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. Jesus, in his late night conversation with Nicodemus, chooses to use this strange story to depict his crucifixion and the saving effect it will have on the those who look upon it in faith.

Friedrich Nietzsche said, "a long obedience in the same direction" is what makes "life worth living." And as was so often the case, Nietzsche was right (even if he was wrong on the most important questions). If it's true that it's a long obedience in the same direction that makes life worth living, there's no better example of this than the life of Jesus. Jesus' life can quite accuarately be described as a long obedience in the same direction. And what was the "same direction" of Jesus' "long obedience"? It was toward the will of the father. Jesus' long obedience in the same direction was not the pursuit of happiness or the drive for success—it was a revelation of the Father's will.

What Jesus did in the Temple the day after his arrival in Jerusalem during the Feast was not a “cleansing” of the Temple, but a prophetic protest of the Temple. It was creative and dangerous prophetic theater—not a sudden loss of temper. Jesus wasn’t cleansing the temple for it’s continued use, Jesus was protesting Temple corruption and predicting its destruction. This is why following his protest, Jesus spoke with disciples about the signs of the end—the end of the Temple the Temple age. In so doing Jesus was preparing the way for a radically new kind of Temple.

The hope for the world that I see is where lust for dominance is replaced by love and where lust for vengeance is replaced by forgiveness. The hope for the world that I see is the Jesus way of choosing the cross by refusing the deathtrap of recycled revenge. The hope for the world that I see is where the rage of Achilles is neither glorified as heroic, nor satisfied in retaliation. The hope for the world that I see is where the rage of Achilles is named and shamed as the curse of Cain and extinguished at the cross. The hope for the world that I see is where the disciples of Jesus don’t just watch in admiration as Jesus carries his cross, but practice an imitation of the same kind of cross-bearing forgiveness. This is the kind of Christianity that is not a chaplain to the status quo, but the catalyst for authentic change.

When Jesus first foretold his death, Peter rebuked him saying, "This will never happen to you." Jesus retorted with, "Get behind me, Satan!" Jesus then went on to teach his followers about the necessity of cross-bearing in discipleship. This is one of Jesus' most important teachings. Now imagine this: The Apostle Peter imprisoned in Rome in AD 64 on the eve of his crucifixion. What might Peter say to us about taking up the cross in order to follow Jesus?

Lent is a time for us to revisit, retell, and relive Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, suffering, and death. As we recall the crucifixion we cannot help but ask, "Where is God?" It is this question that seems to haunt us, especially in times of suffering. Could it be that in these moments when God feels so far way, he is actually closer than ever? Could it be that when we are at the end of our rope, we are blessed?

As we journey through the Christian calendar—through Advent to the Christmas Incarnation, through Lent to the Good Friday Crucifixion and the Easter Resurrection—we need to take the humanity of Jesus seriously. For if we fail to do so, if we allow the deity of Christ to eclipse the real humanity of Jesus, the whole gospel story collapses into kitsch and becomes a sentimental caricature lacking in substance, and this will never do. A good test for how seriously we take the real humanity of Jesus is how we view the wilderness temptation. Was it a kind of parody or was it a real temptation? Was Jesus just an actor in play where the outcome was always certain? Or was Jesus truly enticed by the dark side? What I have discovered is that there are hidden aspects of the gospel story that will burst to life if we are willing to look deeply at Jesus and His Temptations.

Is sin more like a speeding ticket or suffering from the flu? If we treat sin merely as an infraction of a law, and forgiveness as a legal pardon of that infraction, people tend to continue in sin. Jesus reveals sin as deeper than mere acts of moral infractions. Sin is a sickness and it has corrupted and infected everything. Jesus saves us from our sin, both personal sin and systems of sin, by healing us, freeing us from sin, as we practice confession and repentance.

Jesus is the true and living Word of God. Jesus is what the Law and Prophets point toward and bow to. Jesus is what the Old Testament was trying to say, but could never fully articulate. Jesus is the perfect Word of God in the form of a human life. God couldn’t say all that he wanted to say in the form of a book, so God said it in the form of Jesus. Jesus is what God has to say!The Law and the Prophets were the lesser lights in the pre-Christ night sky. They were the moon and stars. Israel could grope forward by their dim light; the Hebrews could navigate through the pagan night by these constellations. In a world of stygian darkness the moonlight and starlight emanating from the Torah and the Prophets made all the difference. Moonlight and starlight.But with Christ morning has broken! The new day has dawned! The sun of righteousness has risen with healing in its rays! Now the moon and the stars, Moses and Elijah.