The Gospel of the Kingdom by George Eldon Ladd

Tonight I finished reading The Gospel of the Kingdom. The last chapter is “When will the kingdom come?” I was interested in Ladd’s presentation because A. B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, advocated that by engaging in missions we would hasten the return of Christ. Not everyone agrees with that idea but it has long been a popular one among missiologists and missions promoters, although it would be even more so if everyone agreed on it. Ladd is quite a proponent of this idea as these two quotes demonstrate:

I do know this: When the Church has finished its task of evangelizing the world, Christ will come again. The Word of God says it [Mt 24:14]. Why did he not come in A.D. 500? Because the Church had not evangelized the world. Why did he not return in A.D. 1000? Because the Church had not finished its task of world-wide evangelization. Is He coming soon? He is — if we, God’s people, are obedient to the command of the Lord to take the Gospel into all the world (135).

If God’s people in the English speaking world alone took this task seriously and responded to its challenge, we could finish the task of world-wide evangelization in our own generation and witness the Lord’s return (136).

I’m not sure why this idea has fallen out of favour among the general Evangelical church. Perhaps “expectancy fatigue” has set in. This book was first published in 1959 and Simpson had already been preaching this message 80 years earlier so several generations have come and gone without seeing world evangelisation completed. We are closer than ever although the goal has moved. Ladd talks about the Bible being available in 1100 languages. That has more than doubled but we are now aiming at more than 5000 languages. Let us persevere in the race set before us and remain faithful until the end so that we might find ourselves labeled “good and faithful.” Maranatha!

Jesus of Nazareth by Craig Blomberg

Those of you participating in my Gospel of Jesus Christ: Historic, Living, Active class might be interested in this article written by Craig L. Blomberg.

Craig L. Blomberg, “Jesus of Nazareth: How Historians Can Know Him and Why It Matters.”

This article is quite detailed at times, but not overwhelmingly so. Blomberg summarises much of what we have talked about in class, especially the first six weeks. If you have friends at work or university who are interested in asking you questions about Jesus or the Gospel this article would be a good place for them (and you) to get further information.

Resurrection Sunday

Resurrection Sunday

He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!!

What does the resurrection mean for you, the universal church, and the world?

Something amazing happened on Resurrection Sunday. Let’s read Luke 24:1-12 and experience the events as they first happened; beginning with some ladies that morning.

Luke 24:1-12 (TNIV)
Jesus Has Risen

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸Then they remembered his words.

⁹When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was not just another resuscitation. Jesus had raised several people from the dead during his ministry, including a little girl and his good friend Lazarus. This event was something of another magnitude. It was not resuscitation Sunday, but Resurrection Sunday! God confirmed Jesus’ life, his ministry and teaching, by raising him from the dead. This event had long been anticipated. Paul refers to Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 when he speaks of the defeat of death:

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 (TNIV)

⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

Let’s read further what Paul said in reflection on the importance of this event:

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (TNIV)
The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

What does this mean for you? You will never die. I will never die. If I choose life, I will never die; you will never die. If I could bottle eternal life and sell it on the street how much would it sell for? I’m sure I could get a billion dollars for it if I could prove it worked. Jesus did just that – he proved it worked by rising from the grave. Many people scoffed at his claims during his ministry. The religious leaders claimed he was demon possessed; even his own family thought he was insane. His disciples fled in panic at his arrest. That’s why no one waited in anticipation outside his tomb. They did not understand that he was about to conquer our most ardent enemy—death. No one had ever escaped death for more than a few extra years. Jesus said “It is finished,” but no one understood why until they encountered the empty tomb. Without that empty hole in the wall Christianity would have died a stillbirth. Some didn’t believe then and some still do not believe today. Eternal life has been offered to them but it is as if Jesus had offered a pearl necklace to a pig. They have no idea what they are looking at. Paul also spoke of this in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 15:12-26 (TNIV)
The Resurrection of the Dead

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all others.

²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a human being. ²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³But in this order: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. ²⁴Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

What does this all mean? It means that today is Resurrection Sunday. It means that 102,960 Resurrection Sundays have followed that first one. Every Sunday is resurrection Sunday. There have been just as many Resurrection Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays; you get the idea. The world needs to know that something supernatural didn’t just happen 2000 years ago but happens every time Christians gather together and declare, “He is Risen.” As they live according to Christ and not according to the pattern of this world. It is an amazing thing—it is Resurrection Sunday.

Will you join with me? In living an eternal life? In declaring that he is risen?

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!!

Nickelsburg lecture on the Messiah review

Wednesday evening brought George W. E. Nickelsburg to Trinity Western University where he lectured on “Were the Jews Expecting the Messiah? And did the First Christians Think He had Come?” There was the small change from the previously announced title to make it specific: “the Messiah” rather than “a messiah.”

Nickelsburg began by summarising the typical presentation of this topic:

The Jews wanted the messiah to come to rescue them from the subjugation of Rome. However, Jesus showed up as a suffering messiah and was crucified. Rome destroyed the temple and Jerusalem in 70. The Jews were expecting the Messiah but missed him because they were looking for the wrong kind of messiah. After the destruction of the centre of Judaism they turned to Torah.

This is something of a strawman but regardless he spent the rest of the lecture deconstructing this view. His conclusion was that the Jews were not expecting the Messiah but different groups had different expectations based on their focus on particular problems and the required solution. Some groups focussed on a Davidic king while others focussed on a king and priest (DSS) while others added a true prophet to the mix.

Christians focus on the absence of prophets between the closing of the Old Testament with Malachi and the arrival of John the Baptiser. However, there were lots of people during this period who claimed to be prophets but their claims were rejected by those who thus labeled this period prophetless. Christians promoted this label and promoted John.

Nickelsburg emphasised that Christians adopted the label of Messiah for Jesus and that the Enoch “son of man” concept governs many New Testament referenes to Daniel 7 where this label originated. Enoch presents the “son of man” as a judge and this was carried over into Christianity. Nickelsburg is an Enoch specialist so I take this with a small grain of salt as scholars tend to over find their specialist concept.

He concluded the lecture by asking why Jews did not accept the Christian proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah. He gives these reasons:

1. Some awaited a messiah to 0verthrow Rome.
2. Paul suggests that the crucifixion put some Jews off.
3. Jesus as Messiah depended on the claims of resurrection and not all believed in the concept (e.g. Sadducees).
4. Those expecting a prophet would have been put off by his lax approach to Torah.

The Jewish relationship to Torah is where Nickelsburg made his greatest contribution to my thinking on this subject. For Jews the Torah was divine instruction to be heeded but the concept of a messiah was peripheral. The early Church focussed on Jesus as Messiah/Christ and the law was peripheral. The Church dispensed with the necessity to obey Torah and admitted Gentiles into full membership [without circumcision] but still claimed to be the true Israel. Those who rejected Jesus as the Messiah focussed on Torah obedience.

This was quite likely Paul’s position before he met the risen Christ on the road. Torah was more important to him than the claims of these followers of the Way to have found the Messiah. I had a question for Nickelsburg which I was unable to ask due to the lateness of the hour. I will ask it here:

Within the context of Jewish messianic expectation during this period what was it that “sealed the deal” for all those Jews who did accept Jesus as the Messiah (of both Jews and Gentiles)? Was it his life, his crucifixion, his resurrection, his ascension, Holy Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost; all of the above, something else?

I am happy to agree that those who rejected him focussed on Torah (retaining their Jewish identity in that way) but what about the thousands of Jews who did accept Jesus? He doesn’t seem to have met the expecatations of any particular messiah-expectant group. Did they do it in spite of Torah? Did they see him as “fulfilling” Torah? What caused them to give up the marks of circumcision? I’m sure it wasn’t just Paul’s letters!

Student questions after reading a Gospel account

I asked my Sunday school students to read a Gospel account (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) and write down some questions they had as they read. Most chose Mark as it is the shortest, but that’s ok. Below are 27 questions that were asked. A couple are repeats so they will be combined as I address these areas during our semester. Some of the questions are more general ones of a theological nature while others are very specific to a verse that was read.

1. Was Jesus’ occupation as a carpenter significant to his life and ministry and what does this mean for us today?
2. Was Jesus God when he performed miracles?
3. Regarding Mark 10:1-12; Jesus’ comments on divorce and adultery. Is marriage permitted after divorce? What if the spouse committed a crime?
4. Why does Jesus allow himself to be tempted by Satan for forty days in the desert? For what purpose?
5. A great emphasis in Jesus’ ministry was placed on healing and driving out demons. Do people still suffer from demon possession today? How do we know?
6. When Jesus performed a miracle/healing why did he keep commanding the healed person not to tell anyone? (They went and told others anyway).
7. Why was John the Baptist arrested and imprisoned by Herod in the first place?
8. In Matthew why does Jesus sometimes command people not to tell anyone about their healing but in other places he does not?
9. Matthew 12:30-32 mentions the unforgiveable sin. What is blasphemy against the Spirit?
10. Do people need to be baptised to become a Christian? Someone said “I believe in Jesus Christ so I am saved. I don’t have to go to church.” Is this person a true Christian? Will they go to heaven after they die?
11. Why would the teachers of the Law come listen to Jesus; someone who came from nowhere? (Mk 2:6; 3:22).
12. It seems like there were a lot of evil spirits during the time of Jesus (Mk 1:21; 3:15, 22, 30; 5:2, etc.).
13. Why would Jesus teach the crowd using parables and then explain things to his disciples in private? (Mk 4:54).
14. Can evil spirits repent and be forgiven? (Mk 5:7).
15. Why would the evil spirit beg Jesus not to send him out of the area? (Mk 5:10).
16. After the pigs drowned where would the evil spirits have gone? (Mk 5:13).
17. How did Jesus and his disciples manage to travel from place to place so easily?
18. When Jesus came to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom how could he expect people to receive him as their personal saviour before he died?
19. How did Jesus earn a living and support himself?
20. Why would they have needed to identify Jesus with a sign (a kiss)? (Mk 14:44). Everyone would have kissed him when they met him.
21. How did Jesus know that the poor widow gave all the money she had to live on? (Mk 12:44). Do we need to give all we have to live on?
22. Was baptism a common thing before John? What did it represent? Was it a Jewish rite of some kind?
23. Was the voice from heaven when Jesus was baptised heard by all the people who were there?
24. How did Jesus choose his disciples? Did he see them and know? Or did he already know before they had met? (Mk 3:13-19: just “called those he wanted” How?)
25. In Mark 4:33-34 what does it mean when it says “He explained everything” to the disciples (not just through parables)?
26. Why did Jesus sometimes order healed people not to tell, but in other instances (when in large crowds for example) he did not?
27. In Mark 3:11 why did Jesus order the demons not to tell?

Did Jesus speak Greek?

We know that Jesus spoke Aramaic because the gospel writers quote some of the Aramaic phrases he used and translate them for their Greek readers (e.g. Mk 5:41). It has also been suggested by some that Jesus spoke Greek but there is no consensus concerning his fluency. In Mark for Everyone by Tom Wright which I recently reviewed Wright makes the startling statement: “It is virtually certain that, though Jesus and his followers would be able to speak and understand Greek, their normal everyday language would be Aramaic” (63). I say this is surprising because no one had previously suggested to me that some Galilean fishermen would be able to speak Greek. I could conceive of a tax collector speaking Greek but a fisherman? I had always been led to believe they were uneducated country bumpkins.

Although Google will provide a lot of results for the question “Did Jesus Speak Greek” there does not seem to be a lot of scholarly work done on the subject. Michael Wise in the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels from IVP is not nearly as emphatic as Wright, stating “The question whether [Jesus] also knew Hebrew and Greek can only be answered on theoretical grounds” (442). I have come across two articles by Stanley Porter that assert Jesus could not only speak Greek but has fluent enough to teach in that language. Obviously this has implications for interpreting the gospel accounts of his public ministry. They would not just be second hand translations of his teaching but could be the actual words he spoke.

Stanley E. Porter, “Did Jesus Ever Teach in Greek?” Tyndale Bulletin. 44:2 (1993): 199-235.
“…it is virtually certain that he used Greek at various times in his itinerant ministry” (235).

Stanley E. Porter, “Jesus and the Use of Greek: A Response to Maurice Casey.” Bulletin for Biblical Research. 10:1 (2000): 71-87.

As may be deduced from the title of the above article not everyone agrees with Porter’s conclusion, namely:

P. Maurice Casey, “In Which Language Did Jesus Teach?” Expository Times. 108:11 (1997) 326-28.

Casey argues for the use of Aramaic by Jesus in his teaching. No one is willing to argue that Jesus would not have known some Greek but the question is whether he was fluent enough to teach in that language. The consensus seems to be that it is likely that he spoke to some people in Greek because it is less likely that they knew Aramaic than that he would not have known Greek. In other words it is an argument based on probabilities and silence. Aren’t those the best kind?

What did Jesus mean when he said he came to fulfill the law?

I just read a post by Derek Leman a Messianic Jew over at Messianic Jewish Musings. He is looking at Matthew 5:17 and Jesus’ statement about coming not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. I am almost always challenged by Derek’s writings because he is a Messianic Jew who feels that it is imperative for him to retain Jewish practices such as not eating pork.

He provides some information about the passage and then concludes with this statement:

Properly understood, the Torah is about loving God and not about earning God’s love. Yeshua taught his Jewish disciples in Matthew 5:17-20 that their practice of the Torah should be deeper than even the Pharisees. Yeshua was a Torah-teacher (rabbi) as well as Messiah. And numerous Jewish traditions from the time and in the later rabbis speak of Messiah as one who would show Israel the proper way to keep Torah.

My biggest concern is that it sounds like Jesus’ intention was for all of us to keep the Law of Moses rather than to take it upon himself so that we might live in the Spirit rather than according to some laws that not even the scribes and Pharisees could keep. Below is the response that I left to his post:

You say that Jesus filled-up the Torah. I think you are meaning that he filled out Torah in the sense that he made its intent known.

In relation to Paul, they have different starting points. Paul was post death and resurrection of the Christ and was living in the reality of being in Christ. Jesus completely fulfilled the law – he obeyed it in every sense (Cf. Hebrews). For Paul, Jews and Gentiles are not saved by any observance of laws (Jewish or otherwise) but by faith through identification with Jesus. Those who are by faith “in Christ” have Holy Spirit and live by the law of Christ, not any law given by God through Moses or the Prophets.
Of course the law of Christ may look similar to the law of Moses because murder, theft, adultery, etc. are still evil.

Properly understood, the Torah “was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (Ga 3:19). I believe that by this Paul means that in Jesus the Mosaic Law and humanity came together. By virtue of being “in Christ” humans are no longer under death or law and live in the Spirit. This means that no laws other than the law of Christ remain. The Law according to Christ was to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself (Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:30-31). The tale of the Greek Testament is the working out of those two commands. Hence the early Christians argued over circumcision, food worshipped to idols, and food laws. They concluded that love for neighbours meant that Gentiles would abstain from certain things (Acts 15:29). The Greek Testament also includes a number of sin lists such as Gal 5:19-21 which are contrasted with what it means to live in the Spirit (5:22-23).

I know you won’t agree but from this it follows that those in Christ do not need to follow the Jewish laws such as not eating pork unless in doing so they violate their conscience and see it as an act of disobedience, thereby making it sin.

Revelation 19-22

Revelation 19 begins the end. Babylon has been defeated, God’s people are rejoicing and the beast and false prophet are defeated and judged by the heavenly warrior and the army of God. The heavenly warrior “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” (19:15). This reminds me of that old song, The Battle Hymn of the Republic: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored…” I just looked up the lyrics on Wikipedia and see that it is an abolitionist song. I had no idea – I just like Stryper’s rendition of it. I don’t think I have ever heard it sung elsewhere.

In chapter 20, final judgement is executed on Satan and also notably on death and Hades itself. Death is judged and thrown into the lake of fire. John’s vision makes clear that at the end only life will exist – exist for all those whose names are written in the book of life. This continues in chapter 21: “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (21:1). It is significant that the sea is no longer present because it symbolises the forces of chaos and evil in the world. At the creation of the world in Genesis God is portrayed as the creator of all things, including the sea, showing that he has control over all things. In Revelation, his New Creation has no sea, showing that all the forces of evil are absent from it.

The New Jerusalem, the city of God, is described in some detail. Of most significance, John “did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (21:22-27). Amazingly, people will now be able to see God’s face and in contrast to those who accepted the mark of the beast “his name will be on their foreheads” (22:4). This does not mean we will literally walk around with YHWH tattooed on our heads though.

Revelation ends with John reiterating that he saw these things and they were so marvellous he attempted to worship the messenger. He then warns his readers against misusing this material by adding to it or taking anything away (22:18f). His last words tell us that Jesus is “coming soon” and he desires this to happen, as do we all. Maranatha!

Revelation 16-18

In chapter sixteen, God’s judgement is poured out on the earth. The angel in charge of the waters makes a statement in response to our horror at seeing this happen to fellow human beings: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve” (16:5-6). The altar itself responds with its own vindication of God “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments” (16:7). God is declared to be just in punishing humans in this way because he is holy and they have sinned, not just against him, but against his people. Revelation 16:9 provides further evidence of their obstinacy: “They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.” There is recognition that God is definitely in charge of these plagues; there is no question that he is causing them to suffer and they rightly assign the source of their trouble, but instead of blaming themselves and repenting for their actions which caused their suffering, they curse God (Cf. 16:11).

The rest of this section details the collapse of Babylon the Great. It is not referring to the actual city of Babylon in modern day Iraq because Rome was the Babylon of that period which opposed God and persecuted his people. Rome has long fallen and now Babylon refers to any and every world power or system which systemically opposes God. The spirit of Babylon has been rampant on both Main and Wall streets in the last decades and we are currently seeing the world reap its fruit. Not just in the US or the west but in every city which worships Babylon instead of God. Fortunately, there is still time for those who do not worship God to repent and turn to him. I was just reading in the New York Times today that Evangelical churches are recording huge attendance increases as people seek God in these tumultuous times. Unfortunately, the article takes quite a pragmatic approach to the issue when it should be urging people to get right with God before the end does come, either personally or collectively.

Speaking of the end for people, I read yesterday on the BBC about a $50,000,000,000.00 fraud by Wall Street broker Bernard Madoff, the former head of Nasdaq. His hedge fund turned into a giant pyramid scheme. Brad Friedman, a lawyer for some of the investors, said to the NY Times: “There are people who were very, very well off a few days ago who are now virtually destitute. They have nothing left but their apartments or homes – which they are going to have to sell to get money to live on.” It seems no exaggeration when Revelation says, “In one hour she has been brought to ruin!” (18:19). I wonder how many more houses of cards will collapse as people (investors) scramble to find security and truth in the midst of this calamity.

Revelation 13-15

In chapter 13, two beasts make their appearance. The first is the beast from the sea. In our textbook, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, the authors point out that a beast from the sea is a standard image in apocalyptic writing and refers to a nation rather than an individual. The chapter ends with reference to the mark of the beast, which will be given on the right hand or forehead and the number of the beast which is 666. The mark may be a contrast to the Law which called for scripture to be placed on the hand or forehead of faithful Jews. The number 666 probably refers to Caesar Nero and thus indicates the power of Rome over all people and the evil of the emperor.

Chapter fourteen contrasts those with the mark of the beast with those who have Jesus and therefore have God’s name written on their foreheads. Then the destruction of those who follow the beast is announced. The next chapter announces the final judgement with which God’s wrath is exhausted. God’s glory is so great in all of this that the temple is filled with its smoke and no one can see. We who worship God are thrilled with all of these events but those who worship the beast have only fear and terror.