David Bahn – Reflections

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. – 1 Peter 1:13-21

Occasionally I enjoy a slow-start morning. If I don’t have an early morning meeting, workout or other pressing duties, I can really enjoy easing into the day. It happens usually once or twice a month. When it does, I enjoy drinking a cup or two of coffee, reading my most important email (the daily comics email to which I subscribe), doing a crossword puzzle, or browsing the internet for random things.

That is not so much the passions of my former ignorance, but it certainly is not obviously being prepared for action. One could, however, make the argument that such days are in fact a means of preparing for action. A key element of being prepared for action is being well-rested. Being well-rested is also a matter of healthy rhythms of rest and work, abiding and bearing fruit.

One of the issues the New Testament Church constantly fought was that of outward religiosity and requirements of Law-keeping as though those practices were necessary to salvation. Peter speaks of the outgrowth of being saved not in terms of religious practice but of moral uprightness.

We may not be tempted to be overly religious, but we may well be tempted to be overly busy, and by that be unprepared for action. We may be unready to give an account of the hope within us because we have no space to cultivate hope. We’re too busy chasing the things of this world to wait for and trust in God’s provision and promise: the stuff of hope. We are not as worshipful as we are religious because we fail to appreciate the fullness of God’s redemption. We place more hope in worldly success and sources of security than in God.

That calls for repentance and some intentional effort to ease into the day once in a while. It may or may not involve crossword puzzles, but it will surely bolster our hope and preparedness if we take those moments to remember the priceless ransom by which we have been redeemed.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good  news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. – 1 Peter 1:10-12

A few years ago Diane and I had planned a significant vacation; so significant that I got a countdown timer app for my phone. It showed the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until we were to leave. We were both really excited to go and looked forward to the time we would get away. It was all about us, though, and not significant to anyone else.

The prophets knew that they were looking for the suffering of Christ – so necessary to our salvation. Their attention lay in Israel’s redemption. Their focus was not their own self-interest, but in the blessing of those who would benefit from the Messiah’s redemptive suffering.

So interesting to the angels was Jesus’ ministry, that they longed to see how it would all unfold. They must have said to one another (humanly-thinking), “How’s he going to pull this off? Will he really allow his one and only Son to suffer to redeem these people? How will God let all this unfold?” They longed to look into the unfolding drama of God’s redemptive work through Jesus, God’s Son.

Although we don’t really know what they said, we do have a hint regarding the curiosity on the angels’ part. At Jesus’ ascension they confront the gawking disciples, “Why do you stand there looking into the sky? This Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). The angels had seen the unfolding of God’s plan. Jesus was heading for his glory subsequent to his suffering and death. They were no longer curious. All was right with the universe and the spiritual realm was as it should be: Jesus was on his way to his proper place of glory at the right hand of God. All this was promised and revealed to and by the prophets of the Old Testament.

Our interest in understanding the things pertaining God’s salvation and the ongoing saga of his work in this world will serve us well. Perhaps we, like the prophets of old, will also discover how his mercy plays out not only in our own lives, but also in the lives of others.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:3-9

I can recall it as though it was yesterday…the total elation and joy that filled my heart, lifted a weight from my shoulders and washed over me in waves of relief. No more need to worry. No more borrowing tomorrow’s trouble. No more trying to figure out how we would navigate the years ahead with the obstacles before us as a young family. The specifics are not as important as the sense of relief.

This is how I hear Peter speaking in these verses…“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” This is not a mere fleeting moment of elation that will too-quickly pass into the realm of life’s daily drudgery. This is an expression of joy and praise to God in the face of life’s drudgeries. The hope born in the hearts of believers is not fleeting nor fools-gold. This is a deeply-founded, well-tested, tried and true hope that withstands all comers…except maybe one. 

The one who will thwart this hope is the one who fails to face the brutal facts or who dismisses this hope as happy talk and the thin veil of denial. Those who are willing to face the brutal facts and believe in the resurrection hope that Jesus has secured for us will not be disappointed. We may be challenged. We may consider giving up. But as we look beyond our light momentary afflictions of this world to the eternal weight of glory God promises us through faith in Jesus we will not be disappointed.

Blessed be to God – indeed!

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according 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. – 1 Peter 1:1-2

I’m watching Jesus Christ Superstar as I begin this post. The wild opening overture has just given way to the powerful “Jesus Christ Superstar” theme. Jesus has appeared on stage. Whatever else you might think of Andrew Lloyd Webber, you’ll have to admit he can write evocative music. He expresses some great theology: “For the sake of the nation, this Jesus must die,” for example. But he – sadly – leaves Jesus in the grave at the end of the production. This rock opera was well done as such, but not as a true witness to Jesus Christ whose superstar status is secured now at the right hand of God.

Peter – years after Jesus’ death and resurrection – is holding onto the hope he was given that first Easter morning. He was not as quick to faith as was John (cf. John 20). But he experiences the grace of God for himself when Jesus appeared after the resurrection, asking if Peter loves him, and hearing Jesus’ command, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-19). Peter writes as a redeemed apostle (a “sent one”) to those who are elect, yet exiled; scattered away from their home in Jerusalem.

Their situation was not pleasant, but it was not removed from God’s knowledge, and the grace and peace that comes from faith in him. By the time Peter writes this letter the message of the gospel has been tested by persecution so great that all but the disciples were scattered (cf. Acts 8:1-4). Stephen has been martyred. Saul has raged against the followers of the Way. None of this is to deter these people from receiving God’s grace and embracing his peace.

Whatever our station of life – sated and content, searching and discouraged – God’s grace and peace are the constant blessing of faith and the gift of God founded in Jesus’ resurrection.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he^[a] lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Springtime is special. I love to see the flowers bloom. I actually enjoy working in the yard. But Easter is even more special. It’s the day that hope abounds. It’s the day that we remember that death and despair have been banished and replaced with an open tomb and a living Savior.

Jesus died!

Jesus rose!

Jesus will come again!

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Thanks be to God!

Read John 19

Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took Jesus. ¹⁷ He carried his own cross and went out of the city to a location called The Skull. (In Hebrew this place is called Golgotha.) ¹⁸ The soldiers crucified Jesus and two other men there. Jesus was in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate wrote a notice and put it on the cross. The notice read, “Jesus from Nazareth, the king of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. – John 19:16-20

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. – Galatians 6:14

Just a few years ago, I was wearing a silver pectoral cross with my Sunday suit. A rather unguarded and somewhat unrefined woman commented that I looked “all pimped out with that large silver cross” around my neck. Ugh.

Too often the cross is mere decoration. We have cross walls. We have cross earrings, cross pendants, cross necklaces and crosses on our golf balls. The sad thing is that they don’t necessarily mean anything today. They are beautiful sometimes to the point of being a fashion statement.

Perhaps if we would decorate our walls with hangman’s nooses or wear little guillotines around our necks we would convey a more accurate picture of what actually happened 2000 years ago when Jesus was put to death by crucifixion.

If we would more fully embrace the theology of the cross we would realize that in suffering and hard times, God’s love is most precious and real. We would be less worried about the outward trappings of our faith and give more attention to ways in which we can serve others. We might be even more humble as we realize Jesus had to die such a cruel death for our sins.

Jesus died on a cross embracing the sins of the world. His death was not beautiful, but it set us free. The cross is an instrument of torture, pain, and death. But through Jesus it has become a tree of life.

Blessed are all those who take refuge at the foot of the cross of Jesus. Let us look to Him who is “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Read John 13:1-20

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” ⁸ Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” – John 13:6-11

The Voices of St. John Choir will sing this on Good Friday. It is a powerful song which they also recently sang – during the distribution of the Lord’s Supper at St. John. The song takes its words from Jesus’ prayer on Maundy Thursday, which Jesus prayed in the garden after washing the Disciples’ feet and celebrating the Last Supper with them.

I think immediately of the clear implication of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was asking that the cup of God’s wrath – the bitter, caustic, poisonous cup that will cause Jesus to die – be taken from him. It will not be. But Jesus’ whole prayer is not just that the cup would pass from him, but that God’s will would be done. It will be done.

Looking also at John 13 there is another facet of God’s will revealed. Peter protests Jesus’ appropriation of the role of the common household slave. He considers it to be beneath Jesus’ dignity and station. He refuses to let Jesus do this for him. Jesus, however, will not let this pass. Jesus’ comment to Peter says, in short, “If you won’t submit to this, you’re out.”

To have someone excluded from his rule and reign of grace is not God’s will. God desires all to repent and be saved. Peter needs to be washed by Jesus; not just so that Jesus can show what true servanthood looks like, but also so that Peter can be embraced by God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness, and service.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and Peter was more lost than he ever imagined – perhaps even more lost now than he will be when he goes out and weeps bitterly following his betrayal of Jesus. At least then he was aware of his sin and need for grace and forgiveness.

The cup of God’s wrath will kill Jesus. If there was another way for us to be saved than for God’s Son to die in our place, God would certainly have revealed it to Jesus. Isaiah tells us that “it was God’s will to crush him and to cause him to suffer” (Isaiah 53:10). It is his will that we embrace God’s grace and disavow any claim to God’s mercy other than his goodness and love.

“Thy will be done,” means Jesus’ death, and our salvation. Two thousand years ago the plan unfolded as Jesus prayed this prayer the day before his death. Thanks be to God.

Read John 13:1-10

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. – John 13:3-5

This is one of my favorite hymns, expressing the majesty (deity) and humility (humanity) of Jesus. It seems to have been inspired almost directly from this encounter between Jesus and his disciples.

The stunning nature of this event is lost on me. I’ve heard, read and studied this account for decades. The towel: The basin: Peter: Disciples’ feet: All these are worn images in my mind and heart – and sadly more in my mind than in my heart.

Look more closely, however, and you will join me in a new-found wonder. The time is drawing close for Jesus to return to his heavenly splendor. Angels await him there. The  prophets, the Patriarchs, Judges, faithful women and men will rejoice at his homecoming. The Father will be fully and dramatically pleased at his final triumphal procession as he comes to the Ancient of Days (cf. Daniel 7:9-14). Thousands will serve him. The whole company of heaven will sing his praise.

His heart, however, is not yet there. He is here. With his disciples. One more lesson he had to teach them; one more time to point them to a greater greatness than they could ever imagine. He will bow down. He will wash their feet. He will wipe their feet with the towel around his waist. This is God in the flesh: serving his creation. Meekness and majesty! Here is your God.

Read John 13:1-10

During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,  – John 13:2

We were talking in our Bible Class last Sunday about how God used the Babylonians to punish Israel, and yet also called them to account for their unmerciful behavior. Isaiah writes:

I was angry with my people;
    I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
    you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
⁷ You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”
    so that you did not lay these things to heart
    or remember their end. – Isaiah 47:6-7

Babylon was God’s instrument of punishment on Israel. But even so, their harsh treatment of the aged, and their failure to show any mercy was evil for which they would be held accountable.

Even though God used Judas to betray Jesus into the hands of his enemies, Judas – like Babylon – will be held accountable for his betrayal of Jesus.

Evil will one day cave in on itself under its own weight. There is nothing within to sustain it. So when God punishes sin with sin, even that will one day be called to account. Every tongue will be stopped. Everyone will give an account. If our account is the righteousness of faith, we have nothing to fear. For on the cross, the wrath of God was satisfied.

Those who despise his grace will be forever lost. This is not God’s delight. But evil will one day give an account and the wrath of God will be poured out for all eternity.