Month: July 2008

“Peace”

Rob Woodrum16 Comments
Joe Nori
Joe Nori

 Joe Nori, 11/7/59 – 7/27/08

“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When 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.” 
 “Where, O death, is your victory?
      Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  –1 Cor 15:50-57

Just in case you didn’t know, Joe made his trip home last Sunday.  We’ll be having a memorial service for him at the Eastgate building this Friday @ 7 pm, and everyone is invited.  We’ll also be streaming the service on the internet for Joe’s family to join in (so please pray that the technological stuff doesn’t let us down).

Dale reminded me that Joe’s parting word was always “peace”.  We don’t grieve as the world does because we have the Hope that Joe now knows a peace we can only dream of.

“See you later Joe.”

“Peace.”

*The above photo of Joe was taken from Dustin’s blog, Livesalty.com.  Thanks Dustin.

 

“Holy Rolling Stone!”

Rob Woodrum3 Comments

Roughly three and a half years ago I had surgery done on my left knee.  It was a little more complicated than it was originally thought to be, and suddenly, without warning, I found myself with a bum knee.  For two years I suffered with daily pain, and an atrophied quad muscle which, I found out later, was the major source of my pain and weakness.

Bottom line?  I could no longer surf.  I couldn’t run, and frankly, didn’t even enjoy walking that much.  I started packing on the pounds and really found myself sinking into a dull depression.

A little more than a year ago, that all began to change.  I spent some very deep, alone time with God…and came back ready to tackle this problem.  I started exercising and building up my quad muscle, as well as the muscles that surround my knee…and lo, it eliminated about 60% of the pain I felt.  With renewed hope, I looked out at that Gulf of Mexico.

When Dolly came through recently, I was out surfing on unusaully beautiful, glassy waves one Thursday morning.  I was out there with Luke B. and I ran into Dave B.  He smiled and said to me “Weren’t you unable to surf for a while?  It’s good to see you back out here.”

Man, what an understatement.  To have something taken away…to face the possibility of letting something go that felt really important to you….only to have it restored.  How do I explain the feeling of that?  Words fall short of expressing the joy and wonder and appreciation I feel.

We’re going to study Mark 15:42-16:8 this Sunday.  We’re down to the last few teachings in this gospel.

As you read this passage…think about the characters again.  What must they be going through?  What are your thoughts about Joe of Arimathea as you read about who he was?  Why do you think he does what he does?  How do you think he felt?

Think about the Marys.  What is thier concern?  What ends up being their solution?

What are your thoughts on any of this?

Too many questions?

🙂

A View From the Cross

Rob Woodrum7 Comments

We will be studying Mark 15:21-(possibly)47 in our exploration of the gospel of Mark this Sunday.

Jesus has been tried, condemned and brought before the powers of Rome, who have determined to crucify Him for political reasons.  All of this was predicted by Jesus before hand.

Mark’s gospel is unique in all the accounts because Mark provides so few details about Jesus during this time.  There is no description of Jesus’ other words spoken just before and during His time on the cross, other than what he says in v34.  It has been suggested that Mark’s viewpoint then, is not at the foot of the cross looking up…but rather a view from the cross looking around. 

From this vantage point we see Simone the Cyrenian press-ganged into carrying Jesus’ cross.  He and his sons are mentioned in such a way that we would think they are well known to the readers who originally recieved this gospel.  Tradition says that they became leaders in the early church.

We see from Mark’s view the solders who try to offer Jesus pain killers, and then once their grizzly task is completed, begin dividing up Jesus’ clothing as the spoils of their job.

Looking to the right and left, we see two other men on crosses.  Robbers, it says in the text, though that could have been a generic term used to describe people who stirring trouble and breaking laws.  They may have been the very men Barabbas was chained up with when Jesus took his place.

From the cross, we see the passers by…the ones who probably have heard about this teacher from up north who thinks He’s the Messiah.  Now they see Him on a cross, and begin jeering and taunting Him, because in their minds, this proves Jesus isn’t the Messiah they’ve been waiting for.

The religious leaders are there too.  When the mocking begins, they don’t urge people to mercy.  There is no kindness demonstrated in spite of their disagreement with Him.    They don’t say “listen, this guy’s suffering already, lets not add to it, lets pray for Him.”  No.  They join in the mockery.

Darkness descends, the atmosphere becomes strangely ominous.  Jesus gives one final cry, and dies.  One final character stands at the foot of that cross, and we see him looking up at Jesus.  He says “Truly, this man was the Son of God.”

What are your thoughts on the cross, at least from Mark’s description of it?  Mark’s gospel was the earliest one written, and if all we had was Mark’s account of this….what would we make of it?  What do you think Mark’s view from the cross tells us?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Peace

Who is the King?

Rob Woodrum5 Comments
Pilate offers Jesus to the crowd

We’re going to continue in Mark this Sunday…we’ll be looking at Mark 15:1-20.

The Jewish leaders have concluded their judgement of Jesus, and believe Him deserving of death.  They, however, don’t have the authority to put someone to death because they are under Roman rule.  Their difficulty is now to convince the Roman governor, Pilate,  who has jurisdiction over Jerusalem to condemn Jesus to the death sentence.

They have condemned Jesus as deserving of death because of blasphemy, but they know that will never wash with a Roman ruler.  So, they focus on the one thing sure to get Pilate’s attention, and that is the claim to be the King of the Jewish people.  Why would that get Pilate’s attention?

When Pilate asks Jesus about this claim, Jesus, in the original language, says essentially: “That’s what you say.”  Why does Jesus seem so non-committal in His answer?  Maybe John’s version of this encounter sheds some light on it: John 18:36-37.

Things get exposed in glaring detail the nearer we get to the cross.  Pilate sees why the religious leaders want Jesus killed (v10).  What were their motives?  Why THOSE motives?  What does this tell us about their thought of Jesus as king?

What does Pilate marvel at (v5)?  Why do you think this causes him to wonder in admiration?  What was he looking for in a king?

Why did the crowd choose the way they did?  What made the difference between Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and this moment?  What were they looking for in a king?

Why do the soldiers treat Jesus the way they do?  What has them so riled up?  What possible motive can they have for this level of cruelty?  What do they reveal about their view of Jesus as king?

What is the center of this trial?  What is the crucial question asked?  Have we asked that question when it comes to our lives? 

See you Sunday!

Identities Revealed Through Crisis- Mark 14:43-65

Rob Woodrum5 Comments

Our text this week will be Mark 14:43-65, and you can read it here.

As the tension of the situation mounted last week in the scene of Jesus’ prayer in the garden, it now explodes into crisis, as Judas leads a group of armed men to come and apprehend Jesus to take Him back into the city for trial.

This “multitude” as Mark puts it, would have been a a detachment of the Temple Guard, men who were authorized by the Roman government to carry arms and act as local police, so that Roman soldiers weren’t always responsible for day to day operations of the city.  Think of them as the Iraqi police our military is training to keep order in Baghdad.

Several characters and groups come into sharp focus as this crisis mounts…and their true nature gets revealed in the process.

Our first exposed character is Judas (v 43-46).  He greets Jesus, it says, with a kiss.  The word implies tenderness and affection.  It looks so good on the surface…but something else is revealed.  What are Judas’ motives for showing affection to Jesus?  Who benefits from his action?  Do our actions ever flow along these same currents when it comes to our walk with Christ?  What do we learn from Judas?  What should we watch out for in our own expressions of loyalty and love for Jesus?

The next character exposed is unnamed in Mark, but we’re told in John 18:10 that it’s Peter(v 47)…the guy lopping off ears with a sword.  Peter was pretty adamant about his loyalty to Jesus in the last section we read.  What gets exposed about Peter in his actions here?  The parrelel account of this in Luke tells us that Jesus has to clean up this mess for him.  What, again, is Pete relying on in this crisis?  How does it seem to work for him?  Have you left any ears on the ground in your response to a crisis?  What do we learn about where our battles should be fought?

The rest of the disciples get exposed (v 48-52) during this arrest.  For all of their lofty talk a few hours before, when the whip comes down, they scatter.  When we are faced with crisis, how are we tempted to move farther away from Jesus?  Using v 52 as an example, what is often the result of distancing ourselves from Christ when things seem to be falling apart?

The trial before the religious leaders takes up the rest of the section (v 53- 65)  Here, the religious leaders are exposed for who they really are.  As I read this, I have no reason to think that they believe they are doing God’s will, and defending God’s ways.  Yet in the process of doing what they think is right, they do an awful lot of stuff that’s wrong.  In fact, you might find this article interesting, concerning the illegal procedures the Sanhedrin employed in Jesus’ trial.  What does this tell us about the religious leaders?  They believe they are doing the right thing, and are willing to go to any lengths to achieve it?  Is it still right, if we employ wrong tactics to get what we want?  What implication does this have on how they esteem their own interpretations of the Word?  Are there places in our lives where we are unteachable?  Have you ever  been pressed to give an answer, and been tempted to “make something up” in order to prove you are right?  What do we learn about “being right” in this portion of the text?

The final revelation comes concerning who Jesus is (v61-62). When they ask Jesus point blank “are you the Messiah, the Son of God (Blessed)?”…Jesus answers first with two words.  Read Exodus 3:13-14.  What does this tell us about Jesus’ response?  Who is Jesus revealing Himself to be?  It amazes me when people say “Jesus never said He was God, His followers said that after He was gone.”  Not true, as the passage above reveals.  That’s what causes such a dramatic reaction from the High Priest.  In light of who Jesus is revealed to be in this crisis…what do we learn about where our loyalties, trust, and direction is to be toward?  How do we do that in real life?

Stuff to think about.  See you Sundee’.  Have a great 4th of July!