Author Archives: Gregg A Caruso

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About Gregg A Caruso

I have enjoyed the privilege of serving the Church as a co-church planter, pastor of multi-staffed churches, coach, mentor, mission’s executive, trainer, interventionist, diagnostician, and intentional interim pastor. I have served in such varied places as Carson City (NV), Santa Barbara (CA), Oceanside (CA), Boone (IA), London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, the North Shore of O’ahu, the SF Bay Area (CA), Manchester (NH), Temecula (CA), Torrance (CA), Taunton (MA), and Rehoboth (MA). My all-time favorite book on leadership is “Leadership is an Art” by Max DePree. What a great and humbling topic. "Leading Without Power" is also an excellent read. Specialties: Intentional Interim Pastor (IIP) Gospel-centered theological 'reboot' Change management Organizational development Analytics (3 tiers of diagnostics available) Policy-based governance Conflict management and reconciliation

Family Relationships

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family

(An adapted sermon from 3/12/2003 at Hood River Alliance Church in Hood River OR)

Ephesians 5: 22-6:4

One of my desires as an intentional interim pastor is to seek to maximize a congregation’s understanding and insight into how to read the Bible to best understand its context which will help to inform our response and application of the text.

I have a friend who is the Chair of Preaching and Communication at an east coast seminary, who has served as an advisor for VitalChurch in preaching. Several years ago, I submitted one of my sermons to him to be critiqued. When I began reading through his comments, he was being quite kind and generous, and I started to get a little cocky until I read the final sentence of his critique where he said something like, “But I don’t think what you preached on is what the text is actually saying.”

Context really really matters! In preaching classes and workshops, the refrain, “context is king” is often heard.

It’s also good to keep in mind there are multiple genres, scattered throughout the Bible, including… Narrative (or historical), Poetry, Wisdom, Prophecy, Gospels, Parables, Apocalyptic literature, and Epistles, like this letter to the Ephesians. It’s quite helpful to identify the genre of a text in order to interpret it correctly along with the context. What is the author intending to say to the people to whom the letter is written? And then what can we learn in our context?

Fortunately, with the internet, we have more resources available to identify the genre and cultural context than at any time in history. One resource that has recently made a huge difference is The Bible Project. Their video overviews of the various books and doctrines of the Bible are excellent. They will help us to see the genre and the historical context as well as how that book or doctrine fits into the overall objective of pointing us to Jesus Christ as the Redeemer King of Humankind.

It should also be said that the divine genius of the Bible is that even though it was written by about 40 authors over about 1,500 years in three different languages, in several different cultural contexts, every book from Genesis through Revelation points to Jesus – either through describing the coming messiah, a plethora of allegorical images pointing to Jesus, or through celebrating who Jesus Christ is, what He taught, and what He has accomplished on our behalf.

By way of review: The overall context of Eph 5 is, now that we are actively finding our true identity in Christ (the truest thing about us), we can now seek to Be imitators of God (5:1).

Verses 3-14 describe how NOT to be imitators of God.

In verses, 15-21 Paul tells us how TO BE imitators of God and how to live a life of sacrificial love…

  • Make the most of your time (v. 16). Meaning to buy up or ransom, fig. to rescue from loss.
  • Don’t get drunk but be filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 18) Why, because we leak! Chuck Swindoll made this statement… “I don’t know of a more important verse in the NT for the Christian than Ephesians 5:18.” John MacArthur has said, “If we do not obey this command, we cannot obey any other.”[1]
  • Always give thanks for all things (v. 20). As Ruth Bell Graham well said, “We can’t always give thanks FOR everything, but we can always give thanks IN everything.”
  • Submit to one another. Genuine mutual submission from the heart is not possible apart from the Holy Spirit’s filling and empowering. As we’ll see, this admonition to be mutually submitted to one another is the main theme and context for these verses.

There is a disagreement between studied and godly people regarding portions of this passage. I would also mention that this passage has been abused to generate coercive control over women — in the church as well as in the home.

Big Idea: God provides the grace to grow a strong marriage and family through mutual submission and sacrificial love.

As we move toward looking at our passage for today, my desire is to help us to know God better as well as strengthen our marriages and parenting strategies. If you are not married or a parent, there is also a bigger picture for us to see that will help us to worship.

As we prepare to look at the passage, I’d like for us to consider two things:

  • Some historical context
  • What appears to be Paul’s main point in this section

Let’s consider these two thoughts…

Historical Context… Starting in about the 4th century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle taught the use of “household codes” to instruct the male heads of homes how to rule their household, specifically their wives, their children, and their slaves. And Paul is using the same sequence that Aristotle used.[2] So, what Paul is doing in this passage is reinterpreting Aristotle’s “household codes” that had been taught in the Greco-Roman world for centuries. And what we’ll see is that he’s turning these “household codes” on their head…

Whereas the “household codes” normally instructed the male householder how to rule, Paul, in this section of Scripture, frames his household codes with mutual submission (see 5:21 and 6:9). Paul is instructing husbands, not how to rule their households but how to love them sacrificially (5:25) and he also calls for gentleness with children (6:4).

We see Paul’s main point in v. 21: Mutual submission is the primary context of this passage: “and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

Many Bible translations begin a new paragraph with v. 22: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Some Bible commentators argue that vs. 1-21 are for the larger congregation but would be different for marital relationships. Here’s the problem with that interpretation: The word “subject” is not used in v. 22. Here’s a more literal translation of vs. 21-22:

21“submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. 22 Wives, to your own husbands as to the Lord.”

This may not initially seem like a big distinction, but it is. What these two verses do is make mutual submission to God and one another the main context for ALL of Paul’s reinterpreting of the cultural  “household codes.” I would argue that what we have in these verses is a withering critique of “traditional” patriarchal gender roles. When Paul writes that males and females ought to be subject to one another that would have blown the minds of the Ephesians—especially the men.  What Paul is doing in these verses is reframing submission. He’s moving from a top-down hierarchical form of submission to what we’d call today, a teamwork approach.

“It is wrong to read hierarchy into this verse or into the passage which follows. Rather, we see the development of a sensitivity to others that frees us from pride and enables us to act at all times in loving, caring ways.” (Larry Richards, The Bible Reader’s Companion).

Mutual submission is both husband and wife placing themselves at the disposal of the other. It is, according to a well-regarded and reliable Greek lexicon, a mutual “voluntary yielding in love”[3]

Ephesians 5:21-24: “And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. 22 Wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”

Still somewhat of a stinging passage for some. So now, we need to unpack the word “head,” or what is called “headship” in Christian circles.

“Headship” (Gk: kephalē) has three perspectives in Scripture:

The first is a no-brainer and refers a physical head: “For a man ought not to have his head covered…” (1 Cor. 11:7).

The next two views are where there is disagreement among godly and studied theologians and bible commentators[4]…

  • A second view would see headship as the source or origin, think fountainhead, as in the order of creation, or what we see in: “[Jesus] is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Col. 1:18).
  • A third view would see headship as the authority: “And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.” (Eph. 1:22).

So, which is it in v. 23? “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.”

To respond to this, I would take us back to v. 21, which identifies the overall context for this whole rearticulation of the “household codes”: “And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” I see this verse identifying Jesus as the primary and final authority.  I might add that, this is the only place in the NT where this phrase, “fear of Christ” is found. I would see the calling of each spouse to honor, respect, and cherish Jesus Christ and seek to do what pleases Him.

One theologian and author says, “When first read, it would have been the men in that church who [likely] felt threatened by this counter-cultural teaching of Paul.”[5]

Certainly, some would disagree with my exegesis here. Here’s a way to frame thoughtful theological dialogue…

In essentials of the faith, we must have unity (Eph 4:4-6), in non-essentials there is liberty (Rom 14:1-6), in all things we must have charity (1 Cor 13:1-3).[6]

Let’s now consider how God would have us function in our family relationships, what’s obvious is that Paul is addressing…

  • Wives
  • Husbands
  • Children
  • Fathers

Let’s look at them one at a time…

Wives – “Wives, to your own husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”  –Eph 5:22-24

Paul maintains a fairly conventional expectation that Greco-Roman wives are called to voluntarily submit. The gospel twist is, with Paul’s reinterpretation of the cultural “household codes,” wives now have a mutual voice. Again, Paul grounds this submission in the mutual submission to Christ (as mentioned, the verb “submit” is actually borrowed from v. 21).[7]. His words to wives were relatively unremarkable, apart from the Christian reframing of mutual submission.

Husbands – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body.”  –Ephesians 5:25-30

Again, Paul’s words to husbands would have been mind-blowing to his audience. This is likely why Paul spends more time and more ink addressing husbands. This thinking is validated by the fact that Paul uses only 40 words to address the wives while using 116 words to address the husbands. Let’s unpack a few of these…

 Husbands, love your wives… (v.25) The Greek word for love is agapaō, and refers, specifically to sacrificial love. It’s the same kind of love Jesus loved us with when He hung on the cross. Paul uses the word “love” 6-times in his 116 words to husbands!

Cleansed her by the washing of water with the word (v.26) When I have the opportunity to speak to men I will often go to this verse and ask the question, “What does it mean to wash our wives with the water of the word?” The Gk word for “word” here is rhēma and refers to the word of the Lord for the moment. Here’s how that plays out for Linda and me… Linda feels washed when she knows that I am prayerfully seeking God’s will for our lives and our marriage. If I‘ve studied and/or prayed and share with her what I’m learning, or if I have a sense of God’s calling or direction for us, I can almost visibly see her being washed.  I wouldn’t say this is a universal principle, but I do think it’s a worthy conversation between those of us that are married.

So, husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. (v. 28) This verse reminds husbands again to love our wives with a sacrificial love, yet with a different twist. We are to love our wives as our own bodies. Why? Because Jesus loves the Church as His own body, and this union of Christ and the Church is the basis for the union of husband and wife.

Here’s a summary thought about the marriage relationship…notice in the text that it does not say who should have the final say in important marital decisions.

Children – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.”  –Ephesians 6:1-3

These household codes, are given a new gospel twist. The obvious words to define are “obey” and “honor.”

The Greek word for obey (hupakouō) means to listen from below or underneath. So, it’s not talking about a mindless obedience. It’s talking about a deep and thoughtful listening and processing from underneath the covering of your parents (or parent). So, children are to think deeply and ask questions respectfully, because, as a reference to the 10 Commandments, this is the first Commandment with a promise attached to it.

The Greek word for honor (timaō) means to treat with reverence and service. To manifest consideration towards, and to treat graciously. Simply stated, to honor means to show positive regard for parents through words and behaviors.

Fathers – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  –Ephesians 6:4

The word provoke (parorgizō) suggests deliberate provocation—perhaps out of frustration or some sense of training. Yet, Paul says this is unwise. Here’s a thoughtful way to describe the discipline and instruction Paul is calling for:

“Discipline is a drawing of our children into the unimaginable delight of heaven.”

This requires that we have the bigger picture, the end goal in mind, realizing that we only have them for a little while.

And If I could provide my best advice on parenting, it would be better to pay more attention to heart issues than behavior issues.

I’d like to go back and use Eph 5:31-32. Paul quotes Gen 2:24, in vs. 31: “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”

What is the mystery? Certainly, marriage is a mystery, yet I don’t think this is what Paul is talking about…

Jesus left the perfection, beauty, and majesty of heaven—the place where He was at home, to go in search of a Bride. And that bride is you and me. We would do well to contemplate the many-sided ways in which the truth about God and the truth about how we live out our most precious relationships, intertwine and create a God-given beauty the world can only dream about.[8]

[1] There are more than 1500 imperative commands in the NT, so we will have many opportunities to learn to depend on the Holy Spirit’s filling and empowering!
[2] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Notes, Eph 5:21-6:9.
[3] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, ed. Frederick W. Danker, 3rd ed. University of Chicago Press, 2000:1042.
[4] A thoughtful overview of perspectives: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/meta-study-debate-over-meaning-head-kephale-pauls-writings/
[5] Kevin Giles, unpublished lecture notes. See his related comments in his essay in this volume, and his discussion of “An Egalitarian-Complementarian Reading of Scripture” in The Trinity & Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God & the Contemporary Gender Debate, InterVarsity Press, 2002: 203-08.
[6] Attributed to Rupertus Meldenius. The phrase occurs in a tract on Christian unity written (circa 1627). The saying has found great favor among subsequent writers such as Richard Baxter and has since been adopted as a motto by the Moravian Church of North America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
[7] Adapted from NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Notes.
[8] Adapted from N.T. Wright. For Everyone Commentary Series, Eph 531-32.

How The Teachings of Jesus Relate to The Old Testament

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For the last 500 years, there has been an ongoing debate as to how the teachings of Jesus relate to the Old Testament (OT). There are three basic views:

1. The Reformers believed that it related to a perfect continuity (or, continuousness). That Jesus’ teaching did no more than explain the OT Law. In keeping with this view, when they came across what would appear to be certain corrections in the OT Law where Jesus uses the phrases found in Matthew 5: 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, and 43: “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”  They argued that Jesus was merely correcting the interpretations of the Scribes and the Pharisees.

2. The Anabaptists[1] represented a second view of the Reformation. They said that Jesus’ teaching was a radical discontinuity (or, break) from the OT. That what Jesus said is radically new and He even repealed or rescinded some parts of the OT. Some of the Anabaptists would even argue that Jesus was at odds with some of the specific laws of the OT.

So, of the above two views, one was a radical (or perfect) continuity while the other is a discontinuity with the OT.

3. The third view, which I believe is the correct one because it seems to deal most honestly with the text, is the view that Jesus’ teaching is radically new and supersedes (or replaces or succeeds) the OT, but is also in full, or complete continuity, with the OT. 

One way to think about this third view is to see that Jesus completed, or fulfilled, the Old Testament Law. 

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill”  –Matthew 5:17 

“Fulfill” means to complete. An example of Jesus fulfilling the Law is that when Jesus came, He brought an end to the dietary and ceremonial laws around sacrifice – because He became the ultimate Sacrifice. It isn’t so much that Jesus contradicted the Law, but that He fulfilled the law, He validated the Law. That is why cultural critics of Christianity (and sadly, many churchgoers) don’t realize that we are not bound to the OT Law any longer. 

The OT Law was given to point people forward to the promised Messiah (Jesus). Once Jesus came, the Law’s purpose was fulfilled, and it became obsolete. It was not destroyed, but fulfilled by a higher law, the law of the gospel of grace, and God’s radical and revolutionary kingdom was established on the earth.

So, Jesus’ subversive and radical teaching about a New (Kingdom) Covenant supersedes the OT but it doesn’t contradict the OT. Jesus’s teaching was new and radical (and non-violent) and it did not exist before Jesus came. As mentioned above, this is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about (Mat 5-7). Jesus is reinterpreting the Law by moving it from outward rigor to the motivations of the heart.

It’s pretty common these days for people to dismiss Christians as inconsistent because “they follow some of the rules in the Bible and ignore others.” The challenge usually sounds something like this: “When the Bible talks about certain sexual behaviors as sin, you quote that; but when it says not to eat shellfish or not to get a tattoo, you just ignore it. Aren’t you just picking and choosing what suits you best?”

One of the most helpful ways to think about this is to look at the three types of laws there are in the Old Testament.

  1. There were Civil Laws, that were set up so the nation of Israel could thrive in their daily living. What we see in the NT is that Jesus came to establish the KOG on the earth – a spiritual Israel, that we now identify as the Church. We’re no longer bound by the civil codes of Leviticus because God doesn’t have a nation-state on earth anymore. It is true that some civil laws have made their way into the legal systems of the US and have been adopted in much of the world.
  2. There were Ceremonial Laws related to Israel’s worship and were primarily to point people to the coming Messiah. These laws are no longer in effect with the coming of Jesus. These laws were about “clean” and “unclean” things, and various kinds of sacrifices. Other temple practices. illustrate for us God’s holiness, our unholiness, and what God would do about it. The entire sacrificial system was designed to point out just how large the gap was between sinful humanity and a perfect God—and just how costly it would be to bridge that gap. If we accept Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice, we don’t need the lesser sacrifices anymore. In fact, it would actually be offensive to go back to them, because that would communicate that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t sufficient.
  3. There were the Moral Laws, which reveal the nature and will of God declaring what God deemed right and wrong—the 10 Commandments, for instance, were fulfilled in Jesus as well, in that he kept all of them perfectly, every day, always, for his entire life. But unlike the civil and ceremonial laws, which were more time-bound, these laws reflected God’s assessment of right and wrong. They reflect God’s character, and since his character doesn’t change, his views on morality don’t either. In fact, whenever Jesus mentioned the moral laws, he either reaffirmed them or intensified them! To follow Jesus is to seek to love what he loved, including the moral law.

This helps explain what can seem contradictory to those who don’t see how Jesus fulfilled the Law. In Romans (7:1-6) and Galatians (3:25) Paul is very clear that we are released from the constraints of the Law.

What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the Law? It means that every law pointed to Him, and he completed everything they pointed to. Thinking of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law helps us see why we keep some of the OT commands and (now) “ignore” others because they were fulfilled by Jesus.

The Jesus follower is not under obligation to keep the moral law as a way of earning his or her way to God. Instead, s/he is changed by the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit to begin to desire to keep God’s laws. This, by the way, is what separates Christianity from every other religion or philosophy of life, it’s not about what we must DO to please and appease God, it’s about what God has DONE through the finished work of Jesus Christ in dying for our sins. So, obedience then becomes the fruit of God’s sacrificial grace and not the goal. The goal is to love God and love people, which is known as the Great Commandment (Mat 22:37-40). In fact, Jesus says the whole OT can be summed up in this Great Commandment (v. 40).

So the next time someone says that Christians arbitrarily pick and choose from the Bible, we can respond with the civil/ceremonial/moral law response. We aren’t being arbitrary we’re being faithful. We’re reading the OT as the New Testament teaches us to. So we can eat our shrimp and get that tattoo without guilt, but let’s not throw away the 10 Commandments just yet.

[1] Meaning to baptize over again when a person has made their own confession of faith – even when they had been baptized as children.

The Mountain

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Mark 9:2-29

A sermon prepared for Wintersburg Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana CA. A series adapted from Tim Keller’s book, Jesus the King

Most of us have heard the expression “mountaintop experience.” It’s one of several expressions that come from the Bible and have made their way into secular society.

The term “mountaintop experience” comes from the many times in the Bible when God revealed Himself to people on a mountain.

  • Like the testing of Abraham and Isaac (Gen 22:1-19)
  • Moses receiving of the 10 Commandments (Ex 19:20-21)
  • Elijah learning how to hear the voice of God (1 Kings 19:11-12)
  • The Transfiguration, which we’ll be considering today…

And as we recently closed out Black History Month, I was also reminded of the final speech Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the day before he was assassinated in Memphis. The speech is regarded as the “Mountaintop Speech,” where he spoke of having seen the Promised Land but was pretty sure he wouldn’t live to reach it…

Mountaintop moments are not to be confined to momentary memories. Like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, (and as we’ll see) Peter, James, and John, mountaintop moments are moments of personal insight and breakthrough that we are to take with us as we head back down into the valley. Because if we’re on a mountaintop there’s nowhere else to go but down. I think it’s important for us to keep in mind that fruit doesn’t grow on the mountaintop. Fruit is grown down in the valley.

Our passage for today is a long one—28 verses, and it contains a pivot point in Mark’s Gospel. As has been noted, Mark’s Gospel can be separated into two parts. Part 1 is describing who Jesus is (and we’ll see the culmination of Part 1 today), and Part 2 is describing what Jesus came out of heaven to accomplish on our behalf.

Part 1 begins to climax in chap 8:29 when Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, and Peter answered with conviction: “You are the Christ!” Now, Peter was an impetuous guy and sometimes it got him into big trouble and sometimes his impetuous nature led him to make profound announcements. This is one of those moments. And then Jesus tells His disciples that He must suffer and die—and then be resurrected. And Peter, probably feeling pretty confident, rebukes Jesus. And Jesus then rebukes Peter, calling him Satan.

I think we’re all at least a little bit like Peter. Sometimes we make profound declarations and sometimes we say the dumbest things.

If you can relate to Peter—even a little bit—I think this sermon is for you…

In the final 5-verses of chap 8, we see Jesus clearly stating that true followers must join Him on His journey to the cross. It would be nice to think that Jesus suffered so we wouldn’t have to – and in a way that is true – Jesus is the better Adam and He suffered to restore our access to a holy and righteous God. The writer of Hebrews tells us that, “Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered” (Heb 5:8). And the same is true for us as well.

In Tim Keller’s book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering he states, “The great theme of the Bible itself is how God brings fullness of joy not just despite but through suffering.” This is counterintuitive for most people; but suffering, the Bible seems to say, is the unlikely route to joy. The trouble with us humans is that we too often settle for momentary happiness instead of a deep and lasting joy.

As we narrow down our focus, there are two parts to our passage for today in Mark 9…

  1. The first 8 verses are about Jesus and the 3-amigos heading up the 9k foot Mount Hermon (the topographic prominence is at about 6k feet). Luke says in his account, that they went up the mountain to pray (9:28).
  2. 9-29 (of Mark) are about coming off the mountaintop experience and going back into the valley with all of its difficulties and disappointments.

Mark 9:2-8: “Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!’ 8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.”

The big idea: Our glimpses of God’s glory are not to become momentary memories but motivation for devotion.

I would like to ask and provide a brief response to four questions that I asked of this Transfiguration text…

  1. What is the significance of the Transfiguration?
  2. Why Elijah and Moses?
  3. Why do we need to read about Peter’s faux pas?
  4. What is the significance of the cloud and the Father’s voice?

We simply don’t have the time to go into sufficient detail. Nevertheless, let’s look at them one at a time…

  1. What is the significance of the Transfiguration? And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
  • Catholic theologian Peter Phan describes it most succinctly, “The full identity of Jesus is revealed in the Transfiguration.”[1]
  • Most scholars agree that the Transfiguration serves two primary purposes:
    • It turns an important corner in the ministry of Jesus – from who He is to setting His course to Jerusalem and the cross.
    • It’s also believed that the 3 disciples needed to be strengthened for the days ahead by this divine affirmation (even though they didn’t understand it at the time.
  • The Greek word for transfigure is the same word we get the English word metamorphosis from and the root meaning “to change.”
  • “The word transfigured describes a change on the outside that comes from the inside. It is the opposite of ‘masquerade,’ which is an outward change that does not come from within.”[2]
  • In Ex 33:18-23 Moses was on Mt Sinai, and he was exposed to God’s glory and Moses reflected God’s glory for several days afterward—like the moon reflects the sun. When Moses went back to the Israelites, he needed to wear a veil to shroud God’s glory (Ex. 34:33–35). But here, Jesus produces the glory of God—because Jesus is the glory of God in human form.
  • Referencing the Transfiguration Paul tells the Corinthians in 2 Cor 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…” What Paul is saying here is that unlike the glory of the Old Covenant that was given to Moses alone, the glory of this New Covenant is changing us from the inside out. Another word for this ongoing transformation is sanctification.
  • We could say the transfiguration was not a new miraculous moment, but a temporary pause of an ongoing miracle. “For Christ to be glorious was almost a less matter than for Him to restrain or hide His glory”[3]
  1. Why Elijah and Moses? 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.
  • Most (western) theologians see that Moses and Elijah represent the whole OT consisting of the Law and the Prophets – Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing the Prophets. The thought behind them meeting is that Jesus is the completion of the Law and the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament.
  • Lk 24:27 (Road to Emmaus): “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Although the disciples of Jesus wouldn’t understand it at the time, Jesus is telling them in Lk 24 that the whole OT is really about, and points to, Jesus.
  • It should also be noted that both Moses and Elijah had their own mountaintop experiences with God. And in death, both were tended to by God. God Himself buried Moses somewhere on the plains of Moab (Deut 34:5) and Elijah was taken into heaven in a “chariot of fire” (2 Kings 2:11).
  1. Why do we need to read about Peter’s faux pas? 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.
  • Mark tells us that Peter, in his terrified state, blurts out the suggestion of building three tabernacles, but the voice of Heaven elevates Jesus above Moses and Elijah. There is room for only one tabernacle. As Keller says in Jesus the King, “Jesus is the temple and tabernacle to end all tabernacles and temples, He is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, the ultimate priest to point the way for all priests.”[4]
  • In 2 Peter 1:16-19, Peter recalls this event and reaffirms the authority placed upon Jesus in this event: “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’ — 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
  • Church fathers going back to the first century, as well as theologians since that time, agree that Peter, himself, informed Mark’s gospel…
  1. What is the significance of the cloud and the Father’s voice? 7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”
  • The cloud has come to be called the Shekinah Glory cloud, which shows up several times throughout the OT and has often been described as the “raw presence of God.” (The word Shekinah is not in the Bible, it was introduced by Hebrew scholars and means “dwelling” or “one who dwells,” referring to the divine presence of God.)
  • And it’s worth noting that only twice in the Synoptic Gospels, is a voice from heaven heard: the first time is at the baptism of Jesus, the second time is at the Transfiguration. If the baptism signifies and initiates the opening phase of Jesus’ public ministry, the Transfiguration inaugurates the next, cross-focused phase.
  • We assume that the Father’s voice coming from the cloud is intended to be a rebuke of Peter—and it was, but it was also more than that. Because the disciples of Jesus were having such a difficult time understanding why Jesus must suffer and die, the Father wanted them to both grapple with the words of Jesus and also be encouraged as Jesus moved toward the cross. And I think these words are meant for us as well…

8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

So, what we see in this Transfiguration passage is the pinnacle of the first half of Mark’s gospel narrative—who Jesus is and then Mark’s gospel now transitions to what He came to accomplish on our behalf.

As Jesus, James, Peter, and John make their way back into the valley they encounter a father whose son is demonized. And a crowd has gathered wondering why the other disciples of Jesus have not been able to cast the demon out of the boy.

From my perspective, there are two key verses in this section (vs. 14-29)…

  1. The first one is v. 24 where the exasperated father proclaims, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
  2. “His disciples began questioning Him privately, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ 29 And He said to them, ‘This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.’” (28b-29)

In the light of the Transfiguration of Jesus and His call to His followers to take up our cross and follow Him, here are some application points for us to consider as we live most of our lives down here in the valley…

  • The gospel narratives show us that the cross must proceed the crown. The arc of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is that God doesn’t take His people, or Jesus, around suffering loss, and grief; He takes us through suffering, loss, and grief. The good news is that He goes with us and we go in His strength and power. I find myself thinking often of Job 42:5: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You.”
  • We are facing a very broken world each and every day—and some days the best we can muster is, “I do believe, help my unbelief.” We notice that the father of the boy came to the disciples of Jesus and then to Jesus Himself, in helplessness and vulnerability. What we see in these verses is an exasperated father bringing to Jesus what was most precious to him—his beloved son who was repeatedly being tormented by the god of this world. What can you bring to Jesus during this Lenten season?
  • Last week Pastor Dave spoke to us about how idolatry is a constant temptation for us to find our comfort, joy, and delight in people or in things that are less than the glory and the majesty of the transfigured Jesus Christ.
  • When Jesus cast the demon out of the boy it appeared as though the boy died (v. 26). For that moment, things seemed to get worse before they got better. When we surrender our lessor source/s of glory it will be painful, but it will eventually be replaced with the glory of Christ. What is your lessor source/s of glory today (money, power, status, sex, family, a relationship, an ability, or education)? As we move through this Lenten Season, how can you turn it over to Jesus?
  • And finally, in v. 29 there is the call to prayer. Prayer is the focusing and directing of our faith in specific requests to God. Both faith and prayer remind us that [real] spiritual power is not in ourselves but in God alone, and both wait and trust in His promise to [deliver and] save.[5] The most important thing you can do during this (hopefully) final stage of this long transition season is prayer.
  • I have great hope and excitement regarding the next season of fruitful ministry here at WPC. I would only remind you of two things as we draw to a close:
    1. That faith coexisting with doubt is normal. It’s always going to be both/and.
    2. And that Jesus meets us in our admitted helplessness and vulnerability.

As Tim Keller in Walking with God through Pain and Suffering restates the gospel saying, “Jesus lost all His glory so that we could be clothed in it. He was shut out so we could get access. He was bound, nailed so that we could be free. He was cast out so we could approach. And Jesus took away the only kind of suffering that can really destroy you: that is being cast away from God. He took that so that now all suffering that comes into your life will only make you great. A lump of coal under pressure becomes a diamond. And the suffering of a person in Christ only turns you into somebody gorgeous.”[6]

See Christ only…

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine,
Under every grief and pine,
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right it should be so,
We were made for joy and woe,
And when this we rightly know,
Through the world we safely go.

~ by William Blake[7]

[1] Peter C. Phan. Being Religious Irreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue, Orbis 2004.

[2] Warren Wiersbe, Be Diligent (Mark): Serving Others as You Walk with the Master Servant (The BE Series Commentary), Cook; (2nd ed.): 107.

[3] C. H. Spurgeon. Spurgeon’s Sermons Volume 47: 1901 (No. 2729), Christ’s Transfigured Face (ccel.org).

[4] Pg 114.

[5] Pillar NT Commentary. DA Carson, Ed., Mk 9:28-29.

[6] Viking 2013: 180-181.

[7] Auguries of Innocence (1863).

Finding JOY in Perilous Times

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MATTHEW 5:3-10

This is from a sermon I delivered at First Baptist Church of Ojai (CA)…

We certainly find ourselves living in perilous times. What we are witnessing in these 18+ months is nothing I ever would have imagined in my lifetime. The following passage sums it up. Unfortunately, we are seeing these characteristics inside the Church almost as much as we are seeing them in the culture. It’s no wonder people are leaving the Church – and that’s on us fellow believers.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For [people] will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJ) [1]

This “turning away from such people” means that we may need to establish some emotional and ethical boundaries, and, possibly, withdraw from some relationships as being too toxic.

On the other hand, it is most helpful to distinguish between the “world” and the “world system.” John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world…” means that God LOVES people vs. the “world system,” which is rooted in corruption, greed, lust, pride, and envy that are too often operating below the surface. God loves the world but hates the “world system.”

No need for us to withdraw from the political system, the public square, or meeting people where they are – just like God met us.

My own opinion is that for the last 18-months Jesus has been in The Temple (i.e., Church) turning over tables… He’s wanting to get our attention.

So, how do we, as intentional followers of Jesus, combat the craziness that is going on in our world today? That is what I would like us to consider in this post. A subtitle might be: The Unlikely Route to Joy.

We are going to be taking what I hope is a fresh look at a VERY famous portion of the NT – The Beatitudes, which are the opening salvo of the most famous sermon ever delivered – The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). 

The SOTM takes about 11 minutes to read, so this is most likely Matthew’s Cliff Notes version. What Jesus was doing here is leading the crowd to a place on the mountain, where they could hear Him and then He sat down and began to teach.

The late pastor, theologian, and missiologist John Stott referred to the SOTM as Jesus’ manifesto for a revolution. “It is the nearest thing to a manifesto that [Jesus] ever uttered, for it is His own description of what He wanted His followers to be and to do.”[2]

Jesus is the MOST revolutionary person who ever lived and the purpose of His coming was to initiate a counter-intuitive and subversive revolution. 

I have come to see the Beatitudes as our surrendered response to the “gospel of the kingdom of God” that we see Jesus proclaiming in Matthew 4:23.[3]

For the purpose of this blog, let’s view the Beatitudes as a step-by-step spiritual formation (or, discipleship) process that moves us toward a revolutionary gospel joy, spiritual depth, and emotionally healthy spirituality. 

Charles Spurgeon (The Prince of Preachers) referred to them as, “a ladder”[4] – one rung at a time. (stable base then one rung at a time)

I would add that this becomes cyclical as we circle back around, we grow deeper and deeper in our faith. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones the great English preacher in his seminal work: Studies on the SOTM continually refers to our need to keep showing up at Mat 5:3, asking the Holy Spirit to refine our heart and fill us afresh. To quote Lloyd-Jones: “We are not told in the SOTM, ‘Live like this and you will be a Christian;’ rather we are told, ‘Because you are a Christian [it is possible to] live like this.’”[5]

I would refer you to the graphic at the top of the page. In the Beatitudes there is an emptying and then a filling. Simply stated, we cannot be filled until we are first empty.[7] As we are emptied there grows in us a grateful hunger, a deep longing to please and honor God that begins to change our relationship with people. This is what the Church needs to focus on — and it’s not just a onetime deal, it’s a lifelong journey of sanctification.

So, with all that said, let’s read Matthew 5:3-11…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:3-11

So, the question becomes: how do we live like this? The one thing that is SO important to reiterate is that each beatitude is produced by grace alone.[6]

Think of yourself standing at the foot of the Matterhorn in the dead of winter with no climbing equipment whatsoever. It is simply a human impossibility. We can’t get there from here… God’s grace, however, will do IN us and THROUGH us what we could never do on our own.

Following, is a VERY brief overview of each beatitude to show how one leads into the other.

Blessed are the poor in spirit…

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” (E. Petersen – MSG paraphrase)

“Happy are those who know their need for God.” (JBP paraphrase)

Prodigal Sons (Luke 15:17ff) – The younger prodigal became poor in spirit. We don’t know if the older brother did or not…

To be “poor in spirit” means that we seek to experience a desperateness of soul that is weary of living in it’s own strength and longs for God’s mercy and grace to come and refresh the soul. 

Blessed are those who mourn…

As we are honest about our own sinful tendencies there will be a transforming grief and lamenting, which includes repentance, which surfaces – not only for our own lives, but also for the injustice, greed, the abuse, the suffering that grips our world. (4.5m COVID deaths worldwide, racial discord, climate crises, sexual exploitation and trafficking, political polarization, the Afghanistan fiasco, etc.). Mourning, grieving, and lamenting are overlapping concepts that are a way in which we take all of the emotional upheaval in our lives and bring it before the Lord.

We have the book of Lamentations in the OT and approximately 42 Psalms are Psalms of Lament (30 individual 12 are communal). The Bible Project, in their overview of Lamentations, provide 3 purposes for lamenting…

1. A form of protest

2. A way to process our emotions

3. A place to voice confusion (some deconstruction is appropriate in this season)

This is where divine paradox[8] comes into play. The Beatitudes are paradoxical or, counterintuitive. We go down to go up; death always precedes resurrection; we get to the land of joy by traveling through the land of grief. Our soul wants to find a way around grief and mourning, but God says, “No, you must travel through grief to get to joy (like He did) – and the good news is, He tells us, “I’ll go with you AND we will do it in My strength and power.”

Blessed are the meek…

The concept of meekness is not weakness; it’s almost the opposite – strength under pressure; like a wild stallion that has been “broken” (broken-in?). We can either surrender to Christ and invite His breaking, His training, or we can remain undisciplined and wild. I believe it was Rick Warren who said that meekness is the power of your potential under Divine control.

Grieving over sin and suffering cultivates a holy meekness in us and delivers us into a humble learning posture. Remember, disciple means learner.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…

Again, we see this Beatitude as a bridge from being emptied to beginning to be filled. Spiritual hunger and thirst is the growing desire to be liberated from those things that don’t reflect God, and initiates hunger-pangs for wholeness. And out of worshipful gratitude we want to please, worship, and honor God. Obedience is not the goal of the Christian life, it’s the fruit of a holy hunger and thirst for righteousness.  

And then, as the diagram above points out, there is a turning point, a filling. An overview, or summation, of these first four Beatitudes might summed-up by the phrase “where there is great humility there is great grace”

Let’s look at what it means to be filled…

Blessed are the merciful…

Mercy is entering into another person’s feelings – attempting to see things from another person’s perspective – all with understanding AND acceptance — just like Jesus has done for you.

Mercy doesn’t overlook the consequences of sin but comes alongside to offer unexpected or unmerited compassion. And as we receive God’s mercy, we begin to give mercy – to ourselves and to others.

Blessed are the pure in heart…

Mercy cleanses our heart and restores purity to our lives.

Did you know that spiritual and emotional virginity CAN be restored? (This is good news for sexual abuse survivors.)

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:2-3

Blessed are the peacemakers…

Purity gives way to a personal serenity and peacefulness. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the absence of anxiety, or dread, in the midst of inevitable conflict – and when others encounter it, they want it too.

If we had more time I would want to talk about the ancient Hebrew concept of peace, which is SHALOM – and speaks of a universal flourishing, that was the original design of Creation.

But here I will limit my remarks to considering the difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper.

To be a peacemaker does not mean peace at any cost.  It means we have the courage to “speak the truth in [genuine] love” –Ephesians 4:15.

Peacekeeping creates a false peace that eventually erupts into a conflagration of conflict.

Blessed are the persecuted…

Living life from a kingdom of God perspective will place us in conflict with those that oppose it and usually it’s the “religious” people!

CONCLUDING

Church-wide renewal (or revival) begins with individual renewal – and individual renewal begins with owning-up to our own issues and showing-up once again at Matthew 5:3. Or, maybe for the first time??

The gospel has the greatest potential to captivate us when we understand that we are more depraved than we ever realized and simultaneously more loved that we ever dared to imagine (Tim Keller).

What will a genuine revival cost the Church? James Burns, in his book asks the question: Do we want a revival?  Do we really?  And then he answers…

To the church, a revival means humiliation, a bitter knowledge of unworthiness and an open humiliating confession of sin on the part of her [pastors] and people.  It is not the easy and glorious thing many think it to be, who imagine it filled the pews and reinstated the church in power and authority.  It comes to scorch before it heals; it comes to [convict] people for their unfaithful witness, for their selfish living, for their neglect of the cross, and to call them to daily renunciation and to a deep and daily consecration.  That is why a revival has ever been unpopular with large numbers within the church.  Because it says nothing to them of power, or of ease, or of success; it accuses them of sin; it tells them they are dead; it calls them to awake, to renounce the world [system] and to follow Christ.[9]

Jesus has been turning over tables in Church-land. What could He be seeking to say to us? I believe the most succinct and comprehensive prophetic word to the Church can be found in 2 Corinthians 11:3, can we get back to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ?

[1] NIV= “terrible times;” ESV = “times of difficulty;” NASB = “difficult times;” AMP = “dangerous times [of great stress and trouble];” TLB (paraphrase) = “in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian.”

[2] The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, IVP 1993: 15.

[3] Mat 4:23: “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”

[4] C.H. Spurgeon. The Beatitudes (#3155), Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit: 1873.

[5] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Studies In the SOTM, 1997:16-17.

[6] Lloyd-Jones: 35.

[7] Lloyd-Jones: 42.

[8] Paradox = a seeming contradiction.

[9] James Burns. Revival, Their Laws & Leaders, London: Hodder and Stoughton 1909:50.