In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations.
David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com.
He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany.
He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991.
Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania.
David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”
For your personal meditation and reflection on this Lord’s Day.
Psalm 13:5-6
I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6 I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.
Psalm 43:3-5
Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Psalm 73:21-26
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strengthof my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 133
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,10 for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’
11 and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.– Luke 4:1-13[ESV]
Basilica of St. Ursula Steeple | Cologne, Germany | December 2021
I was completely surprised. Diane had suggested we stay up and watch a movie that lasted much later than our normal bedtime. At 12:01 AM we heard a knock at the door. It was some friends with party hats, noise makers and well-wishes, replete with a chorus of Happy Birthday. What a surprise birthday party – albeit a short one. Then the next evening they pulled off a second one…a larger party in honor of my 50th birthday.
Maybe you’ve caught someone trying to pull a fast one. The invitation is too good to be true. The set-up too suspicious. You’re good at spotting the hook and the barb hidden under the bait. The sale is too good to be true. The promises are too far beyond belief. But most of us have fallen at least one time. We’ve sent in the box tops and received a piece of plastic junk – nothing like the way-cool decoder ring we had anticipated.
Whether it’s appetite, applause, or ambition, the devil’s plays those to us in myriads of ways. A shortcut to success. A one-time fling to satisfy a deep yearning. Willingness to go along against our better judgment just so we can fit in. And Jesus withstood each one of these after 40 days of fasting.
Nothing is wrong with bread. God had promised to guard him with angels. And the temple was truly his abode. The problem with each was that Satan was setting the agenda. Satan was seeking to lead Jesus in this hour of temptation. And his intent is only to steal, kill, and destroy.
I’m not certain every temptation can be traced back to appetite, ambition, or applause. But I am certain I have fallen prey to all three one way or another. Satan will throw out some tasty-looking bait. But the bait always hides a sharp barb. Now, truly, we are not unaware of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). And Jesus gives us a means by which we can overcome his temptations…faith in God and a deep knowledge of his word.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off!10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. 11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came. – Luke 4:1-13[NLT]
Spires | Cologne Cathedral | Cologne, Germany | December 2021
The temple in Jesus’ day was magnificent to say the least. It was a beautiful white building that gleamed in the sunlight so much that people had to shade their eyes from the glare. So if Jesus is taken up to the top, it is a magnificent diving platform.
“Bread is back!” So says Jack of Jack-in-the-Box fame. He was touting his ciabatta bread sandwiches. The black bread in Moscow was tasty. The breads in Germany are delicious. And don’t get me started on sour dough breads. Jesus had none of these. And as creator of the universe, he could have turned the stones into the finest bread ever baked.
I’ve had the opportunity to see some beautiful, expensive, opulent digs. Apartments that sell for $1 million. Palaces and grounds that caused a revolt in France. And then there are the mountains. And the sea. And the Grand Canyon. Imagine all the glory of all these places!
When Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat of the forbidden fruit, she was offered something that was pleasing to the eye, desirable for wisdom, and good for food. Glory. Fame. Bread. He has no new tricks. Jesus will not fall for any of these. None of them fill the soul – even though we need all of them to live and move and have our being.
But Jesus realizes that it is better to lose one’s life than one’s soul. He will not trade his true destiny for the best bread, the greatest fame or the most opulent glitz. For he knows who he is. And to let Satan direct his ways – even toward legitimate needs (bread certainly has to be on that lis!) – will take him down a path of which there is no return.
Perhaps we can learn something from Jesus’ encounter with Satan. The most important thing is that Jesus withstood the temptation, and began his vanquish of the Old Evil Foe. This is the first round. It will not be the last. But Jesus will prevail. Thanks be to God!
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,…the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.– Luke 3:23-38[ESV]
Eagle Lectern | Basilica of St. Ursula, Cologne, Germany | December 2021
John makes no bones about it: The Word was God, he writes in chapter 1 of his gospel. And, “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). Matthew doesn’t speak directly about Jesus’ birth, but makes it clear that Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit. Of a virgin. Mark does not mention Jesus’ birth at all. But one thing they all agree on is that Jesus is the Son of God: God in the flesh.
I remember a very interesting visit with some Jehovah Witness members. They had connected with my friend’s grandfather. They were taking advantage of an older man who had little formal education, and was susceptible to their confusing twists and deception. They used their own version of the Bible which said that Jesus was a lesser “god.” I’m not sure we convinced them otherwise, but they did not convince us, nor confuse his grandfather any more.
Luke’s manner of witness is somewhat more subtle. He indicates that Jesus was “supposedly” the son of Joseph. I love that, “supposedly.” It means that people did that dangerous thing of assuming they knew who Jesus was…the son of Joseph. Ahh… but he was not. He was, like Adam, the son of God. But he was not like Adam in that he was “begotten of the Father from eternity.” We have John to thank for that clarity as he speaks of the Word (who would become flesh – Jesus) as “with God in the beginning.” And even John the Baptizer testifies about Jesus’ true identity: John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’” (John 1:15).
Let’s be clear: Jesus is God in the flesh. And that means we will have do deal with him. Not only as he speaks to the lost, telling them that they are forgiven and saved, but also in his harder sayings. Calling us to take up our cross and follow him. Commanding that we forgive someone 70 times 7 (most scholars believe this not to be a literal number, but a command that reaches as far as needed – 5000 times if need be). Confronting self-righteousness. Condemning self-serving religion. Pointing us to lose life in order to find it. Commanding us to give, not letting the right hand know what the left has given.
But let’s also be blessed: Jesus, Son of God, also died for the sins of the world. He laid in the grave and on the third day rose again, ascended to heaven and now sits at the right hand of God. We have no weak Savior. We have no supposed savior. We have a Savior who loved us so much that he took on human flesh, lived among us for a time, suffered and died for us. And now when we pray, he who is God also knows our human frame. He has compassion and mercy on us. He loves us. This is not supposedly true. This is most certainly true.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,…the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.– Luke 3:23-38[ESV]
Cologne Cathedral | Cologne, Germany | December 2021
I recently experienced a Crucible weekend men’s retreat. It was nothing like any other retreat I had ever experienced. Filled with physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges, and shrouded in mystery beforehand, it was a profound experience, including an opportunity to deal with some things in my younger years that I had not previously revealed. Part of the idea behind the Crucible experience is to allow men (and women) to embrace their God-given masculinity or femininity.
For us it was an opportunity to be real men. Not so much eating with our hands, or making grunting (or other) sounds; but recognizing that as men we have certain characteristics that make us real men. Several of the men confessed to struggling with that very issue. It is, after all, a hot-button topic in today’s culture.
When it comes to Jesus and his identity as a real man, the issue has to do with more than whether or not he is a real man in the sense of having sufficient machismo, testosterone, or beard-growing ability. And that gets us to the genealogy that Luke (and Matthew) offers here. Best conveyed by this story, we learn another facet of the significance of Jesus’ identity as true God and true man. David Guzik writes:
A genealogy may not seem like much, but it exactly established Jesus’ credentials as a member of the human race. A Bible translator to a distant tribe saved the genealogies for last because he thought them the least important part of the gospels. But when he finally finished them last of all, the tribesmen were astounded – they told the translator, “You mean to tell us that this Jesus was a real person, with real ancestors? We had no idea!” –Enduring Word Commentary
Jesus has a lineage. Jesus had a mother. But not an earthly father. But he was a real man in the sense that he had human flesh and blood. He had physical limits. He got tired, hungry, thirsty, and even succumbed to death. Somehow we may relegate Jesus’ human nature to those things alone and fail to realize just how important it is that Jesus was a real/true man.
Jesus was real. No fake. No illusion. No cardboard cut-out. A real air-breathing, heart-beating, flesh-laden, living being. This guy really happened. He really lived. He really taught. He really suffered and died. He also really rose from the dead!
Jesus was also true. True to God his Father in heaven. True to the Law of God. True to all God intended man to be. True to his friends. True to his enemies. True to all with whom he came into contact. Nothing false about him. No sham. No deceit. The truth, the whole truth, but truth coupled inexorably to grace and love.
No one else can claim that. Not to mention that he was also true God. And we’ll look at that tomorrow. For how let the humanity of Jesus, his true/real manhood bolster your faith. Learn from him what it means to be a true man or woman.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.– Luke 3:23-38[ESV]
Bahn-Grimm Family Genealogy
I am somewhat interested in my family roots mostly because most of the work to trace them back to the 1600’s has been done by someone else. A gift from a student of my Uncle Eugene shows some very interesting names: Schwarzkopf (Remember the General in the Persian Gulf War?) and Hoffman (Oswald Hoffman was a noted speaker of The Lutheran Hour) among others. And I’ve been to our Bahn family ancestral home in Benshausen, Germany. That was quite a memorable trip.
It’s interesting to me, but probably not to anyone outside our family. I’ve done nothing to earn my ancestry, or even to put together the family tree.
In the case of Jesus, however, his ancestry is significant. Luke traces Jesus’ lineage back to Adam, “the Son of God.” And along the way we see some very special persons mentioned. Whether it’s Judah (Jesus is said to be the Lion of Judah), or David (the Son of David conveys a sense of kingship) I take two lessons from this listing.
Jesus has a lineage of sinners and saints. I think of David, the great King of Israel. I suppose he might be like Ronald Reagan in his fame and popularity, or George Washington, or Abraham Lincoln. Great men to be sure. But sinners as was David. In fact, David was a murderer and adulterer. Yet David was also called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Even the greatest of us falter and fail. Jesus, however, will reign unlike David: eternally, and without fault or failure. He is the eternal King of kings.
I see also Abraham in this lineage: the Father of Faith. He believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Yet even this great man of faith wavered when he feared for his life on account of his wife’s beauty. He failed to entrust himself to God for fear that Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarai for his own (Genesis 12:10-20). Jesus, however, will keep perfect faith in all things and under the greatest duress imaginable. Recall his words on the cross as he is dying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” In that terrible moment Jesus calls God his God. He entrusts himself to the One who had forsaken him in his hour of greatest need.
And what of Adam, the son of God. Adam had it all and traded it for a bite of the forbidden fruit. Jesus will resist every temptation, stand against every evil choice, and live a perfect life without sin. No one else has done this, nor with anyone ever do so.
Jesus has a checkered lineage. But that lineage will not define him in its failures. He is fully human, yet without sin. But he is also fully God. The mystery of the incarnation is therefore twofold. How could God become a man? I don’t know, but he did. And Why did God become a man? This I know: to save and redeem us, to seek us and bring us with him into present purposefulness (apart from any human lineage), and eternal joy and bliss.
Thanks be to God!
Below are notes about the genealogy of Jesus. Interesting, but not essential to our application of this section of Scripture.
ESV Study Bible Notes on the Genealogy of Jesus Whereas Matthew (see notes on Matt. 1:1–17) traces Jesus’ lineage from Abraham to emphasize Jesus’ Jewish heritage, Luke traces it back to Adam to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of the hopes of all people (cf. Acts 17:26). In addition to some minor differences and gaps (see note on Matt. 1:17), the genealogies in Matthew and Luke differ significantly in the period from David to Jesus, even naming different fathers for Joseph (Jacob in Matt. 1:16; Heli in Luke 3:23). Both Matthew and Luke are evidently depending on detailed historical records, and various suggestions have been proposed to explain the differences: (1) An old suggestion is that Matthew traces Joseph’s ancestry while Luke traces Mary’s ancestry. But very few commentators defend this solution today, because 1:27 refers to Joseph, not Mary, and taking 3:23 as a reference to Mary’s ancestry requires the unlikely step of inserting Mary into the text where she is not mentioned but Joseph is mentioned. (2) The most commonly accepted suggestion is that Matthew traces the line of royal succession (moving from David to Solomon; Matt. 1:6) while Luke traces Joseph’s actual physical descent (moving from David to Nathan, a little-known son mentioned in 2 Sam. 5:14; Luke 3:31), and both lines converge at Joseph. Then there are various explanations for the two different people named as Joseph’s father (Jacob in Matthew; Heli in Luke). In most proposed solutions, they are thought to be different people and a second marriage is assumed (sometimes a levirate marriage; see note on Matt. 22:24), so that Joseph was the legal son of one but the physical son of the other, and thus there are two lines of ancestry for the two men. (3) Some commentators have suggested that Heli was Mary’s father, but that there were no male heirs in the family, so Heli adopted Joseph as his “son” when Mary and Joseph were married (cf. 1 Chron. 2:34–35; Ezra 2:61; Neh. 7:63; also Num. 27:1–11 for inheritance through daughters when there is no son). Although the genealogies in Matthew and Luke differ in their organizing principles, both of these genealogies emphasize that Jesus was the “son of David” (Luke 3:31; cf. Matt. 1:6). Luke further emphasizes the virgin birth (cf. 1:34–35) with the phrase “being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph” (3:23).
For your personal meditation and reflection on this Lord’s Day.
Psalm 6:1-4
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
Psalm 36:7-9
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Psalm 66:1-4, 16-20
Shout for joy to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. 4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. 17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was onmy tongue. 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
Psalm 96
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lordmade the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 126
When the Lordrestored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lordhas done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”– Luke 3:21-22[ESV]
Church Spires | Koblenz, Germany | December 2021
What do you think when your favorite celebrity endorses something you don’t believe in? What about when your least favorite endorses your go-to brand? When the likes of Osama Ben Laden endorses violent terrorism, it’s an easy call to reject. When Mother Theresa endorses helping the poor, the choice is clear. How much more when the Father in heaven endorses his Son!
But let’s step back a few paces. In Romans 3:23 we learn that “all have sinned and fall shore of the glory of God.” Other translations express the same general thought: we’ve all failed to attain the standards of God’s glory. We fall short. No matter how hard we run, high we reach, and far we jump, we’ll fall short. We don’t measure up to God’s demands.
Some people want to minimize that fact. They want to pretend we aren’t really that bad, or that we don’t really need to be perfect. We need basically to have our good outweigh our bad. We want to be judged on our overall decency, morality, and effort. In other words, we try hard to be good, isn’t that enough?
Scripture is clear on this matter however. If we keep the whole law and stumble in just one part, we’re guilty of breaking the whole law. It’s not a multiple choice option. It’s pass/fail. There is no sliding rule or curve taken into consideration for the grade.
I like to use the analogy of hanging by a rope over the edge of the Grand Canyon. If I – in a fit of anger and self-destructive rebellion, take a machete to the rope, and chop it into 100 pieces, I’ll fall to my death. If, on the other hand, I take a razor blade and make one very precise cut in the rope – just one cut – I’ll fall to my death.
Our sin has severed our relationship with God. All of us have done it. We’ve all sinned. We’ve failed to meet God’s standards of perfection. So “the soul that sins will die,” is not just a theological concept, it’s a profound truth with which we must all deal. And because of that we fall short of God’s glory.
But the word in Romans 3 is actually properly translated, “praise.” All have sinned and fallen short of [earning, receiving] the praise of God.
But hear what God says to Jesus at his baptism: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Sounds like praise to me. And want to hear the best part of all? Through faith in Jesus we are credited with Jesus’ righteousness! We who are baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ.
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. To do so required that he fully participate in the human experience. So he did – including being baptized along with a bunch of sinners. Now that he has begun that mission in public, the Father praises him. Jesus will not fall short. Nor will any who put their faith in him.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done,20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.– Luke 3:15-20[ESV]
“Treat your brothers like you treat your soccer opponents, and your soccer opponents like you treat your brothers!” I had just witnessed an all-too-polite sidestep by one of my sons when his opponent had charged his way. He wasn’t bigger than my son. He was just more intense and focused on the goal. When it came to the treatment of his brothers, however, it was quite another story. All brothers fight as young men, and our sons were certainly no exception. He held his ground with them. Not so much on the soccer field.
When it comes to standing up to Satan, I fear that we may be much the same in our efforts to resist. Sometimes Satan’s evil intent is very well hidden and seductive. As I like to say, It wasn’t some half-rotten piece of maggot-infested fruit on the ground that Satan used to tempt Eve. It was pleasing to the eye, desirable for wisdom, and good for food. When those temptations come along we may give in much easier if we are prone to trust people. But even then we certainly must have some idea of the danger. We have been warned after all.
Having said that there are times when we know it’s just plane wrong. And our defenses finally give way not only because we’re fallen creatures. They give way because the devil is relentless in his pursuit of our souls. Jesus says that he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And he’s committed to greed, conquest, and annihilation.
Herod is using Satan’s playbook. He will not give up. Not content with having Herodias as his wife, he will lock up John in prison, and ultimately have John beheaded in a foolish satan-inspired promise to Herodias’ daughter (cf, Matthew 14:1-12). Not only is Herod using Satan’s playbook, he’s serving as Satan’s shill. Satan is using Herod, and he will be the worse for it.
Josephus says that Herod, “feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it in his power and inclination to raise a rebellion; for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise.” Whatever the reason – coopted by Satan, serving as his pawn, captured by fear – Herod will not give up. Even more so Satan. We must stand up to him. May God give us his Spirit of courage, strength, wisdom, and discernment. For the stakes are much higher than any soccer match or brother-to-brother combat.
Click here for an audio version of this blog post.
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.– Luke 3:15-18 [ESV]
Stained Glass | Basilica of St. Ursula, Cologne, Germany | December 2021
I worked for 7 months at a brick factory. Whenever I think of the Israelites in Egypt being enslaved as brick makers, my heart goes out to them. It is very difficult work. Very. Difficult. Work. Did I say…? Sorry, but it was. One job that was a bit easier was that of sorting bricks as they came off the conveyer belt. Some would go into a jig to be bundled into bales of 500 bricks – steel straps holding them together. The others would go onto a pallet of 500. Stacked in tiers of 50 in a 3X10 & 2X10 alternating layout. Those were not without blemish and would have to be subjected to extra treatment. Some brick bats didn’t even make it to the conveyer belt. They were used as land fill.
The choice in brick culling was relatively easy. The choice in judging for salvation and damnation is a bit more far-reaching, and much too difficult for most people to make. People draw differing conclusions as to how that judgment is made. And while we may easily judge whether or not we would want to be best buddies with someone, we might be a bit more cautious about assigning someone to their eternal destiny. At least I don’t think I’d be very good at it – either way.
In the book, The Shack, Mack (the main character) is put into the judge’s seat and made to judge God and the human race. He is really there for a lesson, and made to realize that God chose to experience the full weight of justice so that all might be saved. That’s what Jesus did for us.
I would rather that there was no need for judgement; that we all behaved properly and were exempt from judgment and surely hell. There are at least two things wrong with that idea. First of all, that’s not the way things truly are. Evil has invaded the world and the human race. People do deplorably-despicable things. And, secondly, we know that and have made that judgment ourselves.
So now comes Jesus. Winnowing forks and unquenchable fire imagery conjures thoughts of judgment. But what of wheat barns? Judgment isn’t just for the evil ones. It’s not all about God giving us justice against those who wrong us. It’s also about being saved, and finding an eternal home in God’s storehouse of life and love. Jesus’ first appearance would challenge the religious self-righteous (judgmental) ones. His second appearing will bring his own into that place of eternal safekeeping – free from every threat to body, heart, and soul. That’s why Luke calls John’s preaching good news. Jesus is coming to save. To judge and separate the chaff to be sure. But most of all to save.
I know of no other judge than Jesus who I would wish to judge me and all people. He knows our frame. He has walked among us. He knows God’s heart. He has come from the Father. I trust his winnowing fork. I yearn for his wheat barn.
David Bahn - Reflections 