N.T. Wright on Jesus

"My proposal is that Jesus took his own story seriously- so seriously that, having recommended to his followers a particular way of being Israel-for-the-sake-of-the-world, he made that way thematic for his own sense of vocation, his own belief about how the kingdom would come through his own work. He would turn the other cheek; he would go the second mile; he would take up cross. He would be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. He would be Israel for the sake of the world. He would defeat evil once and for all. But the way in which we would defeat evil would be the way consistent with the deeply subversive nature of his own kingdom-announcement. He would defeat evil by letting it do its worst to him."
-N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 564-65.

N.T. Wright to the Next Generation

HT:Patrick Schreiner

Davidic and Solomonic Parallels in Jesus' Ministry

"Challenged about his activity, Jesus responded with a parallel: when David was roaming the country with his group of followers, he had the right as the anointed (but not yet enthroned) king to override the normal code of practice. The parallel makes sense only if Jesus somehow believed himself to be in an analogous situation. He had anointed by YHWH in John's baptism; those hunting him were cast in the role of Saul and his men. The fact that the messianic implication is not drawn out more explicitly by the evangelists (who have no inhibitions about the idea) speaks strongly in its favour - as well as suggesting that the concluding phrase, ' the son of man is lord of the sabbath', may also be intended to carry cryptic messianic meaning.

The second saying compares Jesus and Solomon. The setting is an announcement of judgment on Jesus' contemporaries, comparing them unfavourably with characters from biblical history. The men of Nineveh will denounce this generation, because they repented at Jonah's preaching, and something greater than Jonah is here; the Queen of the South will denounce this generation, because she came from far off to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and something greater than Solomon is here. Solomon, the temple builder, is an obvious messianic model. To claim that Jesus is greater than him is to claim that he is the true Messiah; that he will build the eschatological Temple; that through him the Davidic kingdom will be restored. The context also suggests that this Messiah will be the one to whom the nations will come and bow in obedience: through his kingdom the prophecies of messianic worldwide restoration will be fulfilled."

-N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 535.

Christopher Wright on Creation

"Creation is not just the disposable backdrop to the lives of human creatures who were really intended to live somewhere else, and some day will do so. We are not redeemed out of creation but as part of the redeemed creation itself- a creation that will again be fully and eternally for God's glory, for our joy and benefit, and forever."

- Christopher Wright

D. I. Block on the Rock in Daniel 2

"The reference to the rock in Daniel 2 is admittedly vague, and may simply allude to the reign of God in general, or the kingdom of Jewish people in particular. However, it is certainly capable of a more specific anticipation of a Messianic figure, especially in the face of what is to come in chapters 7 and 9. Jesus seems to have interpreted the rock messianically. Following his parable of the vineyard and the tenants who impiously killed the son of the owner (Luke 20:9-18), he identified himself with the son and his audience with the wicked tenants. In a surprise move, Jesus referred first to the stone that the builders rejected in Psalm 118:22, and then, with a clear allusion to Daniel 2:35 and 45, he added, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” This interpretation is not so farfetched if one recalls another event when a rock struck down a colossal figure, viz, David’s defeat of Goliath (1 Sam. 17:41-51). The cosmic significance of this event is suggested by David’s taunt of the Philistine:

You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh saves not with sword and spear. For the bat- tle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.

Just as the colossal Philistine was defeated by David as a representative of the kingdom of Israel, so this Rock represents the kingdom of God in demolishing the colossus of human kingship."

D. I. Block, "Preaching Old Testament Apocalyptic to a New Testament Church", CJT 41.

Lately I've been digging into the book of Daniel and struggling with how to teach it in a house church setting. Lacking a good commentary on Daniel (or a good bookstore to buy one at), I've been searching the internet for good, free sources. Two journal articles have been theological gold mines. Of course the first one is the aforementioned article from which I copied and pasted a lengthy quote. But I actually found Block's brilliant article in a footnote in Peter Gentry's article "Daniel's Seventy Weeks and the New Exodus" in SBJT V14 #1- by far the most straightforward interpretation I've ever come across on a difficult text.

Both are incredible examples of meticulous research and Christocentric scholarship. I commend them both to you.

Wright on Mark 13

"Most popular Christian readings of the text, not least within fundamentalism, have shared Schweitzer's understanding that Jesus predicted the end of the world, but have said that, since this did not happen within a generation, Jesus must have meant something different by 'this generation'. Here we have the solution to the problem of the timing of the kingdom, which of course is also raised by such verses as Matthew 10.23 and Mark 9.1. Already present in Jesus' ministry, and climatically inaugurated in his death and resurrection, the divine kingdom will be manifest within a generation, when Jesus and his followers are vindicated in and though the destruction of Jerusalem. The generation that rejects Jesus must be the last before the great cataclysm. There can be no other, because if there were they would need another warning prophet; once the father has sent the son to the vineyard, he can send nobody else. To reject the son is to reject the last chance. "

N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 365.

Revelation

Revelation is an amazing book. Unfortunately, most evangelicals either abuse it with preposterous interpretations or completely ignore it in fear of being like those other guys. This is really a shame because Revelation is a bookend for the entire canon, tying together numerous strands of biblical theology. Also it's about Jesus, which makes it really important.

Thankfully my church, Sojourn, is trying to find a third way. Starting today, Sojourn is working through the book of Revelation, wrapping up a year-long overview of the entire New Testament. In keeping with the cinematic feel/apocalyptic genre of Revelation, this month's devotional is in comic book form. It's very cool.

Wright on Salvation and Exile

"From the point of view of a first-century Jew, 'forgiveness of sins' could never simply by a private blessing, though to be sure it was that as well, as Qumran amply testifies. Overarching the situation of the individual was the state of the nation as a whole; and, as long as Israel remained under the rule of the pagans, as long as Torah was not observed perfectly, as long as the Temple was not properly restored, so Israel longed for 'forgiveness of sins' as the great, unrepeatable, eschatological and national blessing promised by her god. In the light of this, the meaning which Mark and Luke both give to John's baptism ought to be clear. It was 'for the forgiveness of sins', in other words, to bring about the redemption for which Israel was longing."

-N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 271.

Wright on Colossians 1

The small house church I am apart of here is working through the book of Colossians (which I might add, was originally written to a small group of Christians not far from here, 2000 years ago) and this Friday it is my turn to teach. Whenever I have the opportunity to teach from the scriptures I always try to spend most of my time studying the actual source material. But after I think I have an idea of what the text is saying consulting commentaries can be really helpful. For Colossians, I especially love Peter O'Brien and N. T. Wright's commentaries (both are older than I am, but have stood the test of time!).

Here's a great application point from Colossians 1 from Wright's.

"The task... is therefore best understood as the proclamation that Jesus is already Lord, that in him God's new creation has broken into history, and that all people are therefore summoned to submit to him in love, worship and obedience. The logic of this message requires that those who announce it should be seeking to bring Christ's Lordships to bear on every area of human and worldly existence. Christians must work to help create conditions in which human beings, and the whole created world, can live as God always intended. There is a whole range of ethical norms which God built into his world: a respect for persons and property, maintenance of family life and of the ecological order of creation, justice between individuals and groups. Christians must be in the forefront of those working to promote such causes. Many opportunities to speak about Jesus will occur in the undertaking of such work, as it becomes clear that the gospel provides a coherent and satisfying underpinning for those standards which uphold and enhance a truly human life."

-N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 83-84.

Wright on the Prodigal Son

"Years of scholarship have produced many commentaries on Luke, and many books on the parables. But none that I have been able to consult has noted the feature which seems to me most striking and obvious. Consider: here is a son who goes off in disgrace into a far country and then comes back, only to find the welcome challenge by another son who has stayed put. The overtones are so strong that we surely cannot ignore them. This is the story of Israel, in particular of exile and restoration. It corresponds more or less exactly to the narrative grammar which underlies the exilic prophets, and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and a good deal of subsequent Jewish literature, and which must therefore be seen as formative for second-Temple Judaism. The exodus itself is the ultimate backdrop: Israel goes off into a pagan country, becomes a slave, and then is brought back to her own land. But exile and restoration is the main theme. This is what the parable is about."

"Exile and restoration: this is the central drama that Israel believed herself to be acting out. And the story of the prodigal says, quite simply: this hope is now being fulfilled - but it does not look like what was expected. Israel went into exile because of her own folly and disobedience, and is now returning simply because of the fantastically generous, indeed prodigal, love of her god. But this is a highly subversive retelling. The real return from exile, including the real resurrection from the dead, is taking place, in an extremely paradoxical fashion, in Jesus' own ministry... Israel's history is turning it's long-awaited corner; this is happening within the ministry of Jesus himself; and those who oppose it are the enemies of the true people of god."

N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 126, 127.

No One Holy Like the Lord

Dr. Peter Gentry's recent faculty address "No One Holy, Like the Lord" at SBTS is a remarkable piece of biblical scholarship with enormous implications for how we read and teach the Bible. I've had to listen to it two times just to wrap my mind around it. If nothing else, listen to it out of respect for his fantastic beard.

Worldview and Symbols

"All cultures (that is) have a sense of identity, of environment, of a problem with the way the world is, and a way forward - a redemptive eschatology, to be more precise- which will, or may, lead out of that problem... the stories that express the worldview, and the answers which it provides to the questions of identity, environment, evil and eschatology, are expressed (as we saw in the previous chapter) in cultural symbols. These can be both artifacts and events - festivals, family gatherings and the like. In modern North America the New York victory parade after a successful way war brings together two of the most powerful symbols of the culture: the towering skyscrapers of business-orientated Manhattan, and the heroes of battle. Both in their own fashion, demonstrate, promote and celebrate The American Way. In first-century Palestine, celebrating the Passover functioned similarly, with Jerusalem and the Temple taking the place of Manhattan, and the Passover sacrifice and meal taking the place of the victory parade. The buildings. instead of speaking of economic/ethnic goals, spoke of religious/ethnic ones; instead of the celebration speaking of triumph achieved over the forces of darkness, it spoke of vindication yet to come."

-N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, 123-4.

Sojournings: 1 Peter 1:1-2

Today is my last day in America... at least for some time anyway. Although I am enthusiastically looking forward to life in Istanbul, there are a lot of conflicting emotions stirring around in my soul. Dozens of close relationships will be dramatically altered by the distance and all the comforts of routine and familiarity which I cherish so much are already evaporating. Coupled with the stress of moving and the uncertainties of a new culture, it is enough to overwhelm all excitement with anxiety.

In the midst of this emotional dissension 1 Peter 1:1-2 has been an encouragement.

1. Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 accoding to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May Grace and Peace be multiplied to you.

Peter is writing to the "elect exiles"; other translations say "temporary residents" or "sojourners". Peter is reminding his readers that wherever they may live, their citizenship is in the kingdom of God, and until this reality is fully realized in the new creation, they are exiles. The writer of Hebrew explores a similar theme when he writes "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come."

However, this doesn't mean that Christians withdraw from society. The Prophet Jeremiah told the exiles in Babylon to "seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (Jer 27:9) It seems counter-intuitive, but it is perfectly practical. Because we as believers are exiles who do not find our citizenship in nation-states we are free to invest in our communities even while we hope for something better.

So as I say goodbye to Louisville, which I have grown to love so dearly over the past 5 years, I am reminded that it is not where I look to for belonging or security. Instead I look to Jesus for my identity and his body, the church, for belonging.

One more cool thing: Bithynia, one of the places where some these exiles were dispersed, includes modern day Istanbul. This really personifies "grace and peace multiplied to you."

Wright on Luke 24

"The first meal mentioned in the Bible is the moment when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit. The direct result is new and unwelcome knowledge: 'the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked'. Now this other couple, Cleopas and his companion (most likely his wife, one of the many Marys in the gospel story), are at table, and are confronted with new and deeply welcome knowledge: 'their eyes were opened, and they recognized him'. This, Luke is saying, is the ultimate redemption; this is the meal which signifies that the long exile of the human race, not just of Israel, is over at last. This is the start of the new creation. This is why 'repentance and forgiveness of sins are to announced to all nations' (24.47)."

-N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, 653.

Wright on Matthew 28:18-20

"The final promise, that Jesus will be with his people 'until the close of the age", belongs closely within the 'two-age' stream of Pharisaic/rabbinic Judaism, and also of early Christianity, particularly Paul. The point here is that the 'age to come' has now been launched with Jesus' resurrection, and that the risen Jesus represents and embodies this new age, and hence becomes the human bridge between it and the present one. His promise to be 'with you always' is thus at the same time the fulfillment of the Emmanuel promise, and with it of YHWH's promise to be with even a small group of worshippers as though they were actually in the Temple itself. It is also the sign that in him the eschaton has come to birth, so that his people are guaranteed safe passage through the present age and into the long-awaited age to come."

-N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, 645.

Verse of the Day

Meant to post this yesterday, but never late than never.

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am.

1 Corinthians 7:8

Galatians 5: Law and Grace

Tragically, moral failure is not uncommon among Christian leaders. The sins of high and low profile ministers have brought hurt upon many individuals and shame on the gospel and church. I personally have seen the effects sexual sin in particular can have on a congregation. Recently I was told that the secret to avoiding this caliber of moral failure is found in Galatians 5:16, where Paul writes,

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

In other words, walking in the Spirit everyday will keep you from giving into temptation. Conversely, human effort (i.e. "the flesh"), will set you up to fail

This is a fairly straight forward reading of the text, but I believe we run into a problem with the meaning we import into "walking in the Spirit". Typically, Evangelicals use this as short hand for reading the Bible, praying, and having an all around spiritual mindset. These are all things we can choose to do or not to do. Which means that the secret to avoiding mortal sin basically amounts to trying really hard. If you slip up once, you could be the next fallen leader sobbing on CNN.

If we're not careful, this subtle twist can simply have "walking in the Spirit" replace circumcision as the new law with which we try to justify ourselves, but clearly this isn't what Paul is talking about. Backing up to get some context we see in verse 5:

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

In other words, it's faith that connects us to the hope of righteousness and the Spirit is means by which we believe and walk. Although spiritual disciplines are God's ordained means of sanctifying his people, it is believing the gospel that will keep us from gratifying the flesh.

Random Theological Questions

Some questions bouncing around my head lately:

Do believers have one nature or two?

Why was James the half brother of Jesus an Apostle? I understand the significance of the 12 representing the 12 tribes, but 12 - 1 + Matthias + Paul + James = 14.

Can Satan place thoughts in the minds of believers? Are believers morally responsible for these thoughts?

Sojournings: Philippians 1

After some advice from my roommate to avoid the difficult Greek of Ephesians, I've decided to translate/study the book of Philippians. Today I was working through the first chapter in English and was unexpectedly moved to tears by what Paul wrote.

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

I was struct by Paul's deep affection for this community of believers. It's clear Paul's Christianity isn't merely adherence to a collection of commandments or belief in a series of metaphysical propositions, but an experiential faith: worshipping a real God with actual people he loves and misses.

But I think the reason I found this passage so compelling was that I could tangibly relate. As my departure from Louisville approaches, I can't help but mourn all that pursuing this new path entails.

Being a part of Sojourn Community Church is one of the greatest joys in my life. I could talk about how being part of this community has challenged, encouraged, and edified me, but even that would be primarily speaking in individualistic terms. Gospel community is so much more than the sum of its parts. At Sojourn I have discovered friendships that run far deeper than affinity or sentiment and a spirituality the extends beyond a personal relationship.

So why do we do hard things? Why should we pursue new possibilities when it is easier and even happier to stick with the status quo?

Well, for one, we can take chances because Christ is faithful. God always accomplishes his purposes and we can trust him. Which is also precisely why we should pray as Paul does: with confidence and assurance.

Second, the joy of Christian community transcends geographical boundaries. Even from prison Paul is encouraged by his brothers and sisters, and expects they will be encouraged by his correspondence. In the same way, as the church of Christ is scattered across the globe, blessings are multiplied. This is the logic of the gospel: in losing your life you are saved, in humbling yourself you are glorified, and in scattering you are united in fellowship.

In the words of Basil Manly Jr,

"We meet to part, but part to meet."

Re:solutions

This post is in anticipation of dancing tomorrow night away.

Previously I have only made fairly arbitrary New Year's Resolutions, like not drink soda pop for a year. Seeing as I should be putting off childish ways by now I'm going to make some real resolutions.

5. Get physically fit again. I used to be in pretty good shape, then I got hit by a car and have been using that as an excuse to be fat and lazy ever sense. Starting January 2010, not anymore.

4. Translate a book of the New Testament. I've spent a lot of time learning Greek and want to put it to good use. I'm think Ephesians right now, but that's still open to suggestion. Suggestions?

3. Become more financially disciplined. I don't really care for money that much. I really don't have any ambitions of being wealthy or acquiring material goods. However, I've often used this disinterest as an excuse to being irresponsible. Frugality and contentment: two words I hope describe my financial planning in 2010.

2. Learn Turkish. It's pretty pathetic I can only converse in one language. I mean really, how narcissistic is it that I expect everyone to speak my language?

1. Memorize more Scripture. The last year I've really focused on learning biblical theology, that is focusing on the big picture: typology, plot movements, developing themes, and so forth. This year I want to hide God's word in my heart, and not just proof texts but chunks of it!

Hopefully these resolutions will not be goals of self glorification but acts of worship in service of a holy God.