Being Made Witness...

FOR THE Second Sunday after Epiphany, we find our lesson to be from the Gospel According to John. Within this text, the gospel writer relates to us the calling of our Lord's disciples. Though the scene deviated somewhat in the sequence of calling told from the synoptic writings of Mark, Matthew and Luke, we find similar emphasis about the revelation given to us for witness…

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
 Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 
 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”  (John 1:43-51)

John, the Maverick Gospel, Third Edition By Robert Kysar

On Having No Guile…

As our gospel record recorded the calling of Andrew and Peter, stated just prior to this lesson, we find that Philip is first spoken to by Jesus in very simple terms the very next day. According to the text, Jesus addressed Philip in short terms with... “Follow me.”
 In the original Greek of the day, the single word “acolouthe” (ἀκολούθει) indicates a “calling forth”. This is also the root word for the English word, “acolyte”, who was a person who originally lit the torches for the disciple’s guidance through the catacomb tunnels of ancient Rome. Thus Philip, formerly one who had followed John the Baptist and through the Spirit was sent to Jesus… quickly was given light of our Lord. After doing so, he firmly believed Jesus to be the Messiah (Deliverer) of Israel. By actively exercising this faith, that early disciple saw great deeds accomplished by God through Christ Jesus. Philip then, is yet a model for those that seek after God even in modern times.

 Possibly to ground the textual characters in a very real, yet mystical event, John related exactly where Philip and Andrew were from. John wrote that they were of Bethsaida, then our author subsequently established the mystical revelation. We read in the scene and flow of history, where Nathaniel humanly scoffed that such a great event should happen in such a prophetically meager place as Nazareth. This revealed that, just as today,… the out-of-the-way place was seen as unfit for such a grand occurring. Scriptural witness did not hold the place high... because it was not mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures.
 

 

 

 

 Nathaniel thus dealt lightly with the matter. He said to Philip an over-the-shoulder comment that would seemingly ward off further commentary. To be sure, many witnesses, have since encountered the same attitude in their witness. John described, however, that it was in this framework of friendship that Philip persuaded Nathaniel to join him. He did so by just using the words, “Come and see!” (Eρχου καὶ ἴδε)

  Therefore, we read today that the encounter between Jesus and Nathaniel revealed much about personal evangelism methods for the modern Church. The words reveal much to us. First, we hear that Jesus knew Nathaniel before they interacted. How so we might wonder?

 Was it Nathaniel's implied resistant demeanor, or some sect or status clothing which gave Jesus a hint of his Judaic genealogy? How would Jesus know either him... or us... by sight as someone he could call his own? We do not know for sure, except that Jesus proclaimed that “in him there is no guile”, as Nathaniel approached.

 

 

 

 

 We are reminded thus that in faith, Philip had brought his friend… and because of that personal witness made… and Nathaniel's willingness to walk with his friend to see Jesus… that the pronouncement was made by Jesus that Nathaniel had no ulterior motive.

 In genuine surprise, Nathaniel was taken aback. He was without a leg to stand on because Jesus seemed to know his character… and indeed that stated that he was willing to wrestle with God, just as his ancestor Jacob.
  Then Jesus, by also telling Nathaniel that he had seen him under the fig tree, assured the doubter that as an inquirer, he represented the faithful of Israel. Israel had often been thought of as a people wrestling with the Holy Spirit in order just to eat of God’s sweet fruit.

 

Barnabas vs. Paul: To Encourage or Confront? By C.K. Robertson

 

 

Open Mind, Filled Heart!

Because of Jesus’ insight as described here, Nathaniel proclaimed that Jesus was surely the One his friend Philip had presented as the Messiah. He became convinced that Jesus is the Christ… the Son of Man and the Son of God. You see, Nathaniel quickly recognized that Jesus had divine insight, and was to deliver Israel from bondage.
 Our author however… declared that Jesus, as the revealed Son of God… made it quickly evident to his new followers that they would see much greater revelations than those already understood by Nathaniel. Indeed, all of those who were mentioned in this reading and the text that occurred just before it… that those first disciples... named Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathaniel… would indeed see. The disciples would be made messengers of God. They would therefore see angels descending from, and ascending to… the courts of Almighty God. This recalls for us the story in Hebrew scripture wherein blessed father Jacob told attentive listeners about his dreamlike vision of the heavenly ladder.

 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

  And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you.”

 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it.” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

                                                                                                  (Genesis 28:10-17)

 Therefore, sisters and brothers in Christ… it is with this vision and purpose that the churches of John’s day were called, and Christians for centuries afterward would follow faithfully. They would see the great workings of God in the descending and ascending. By the power of those same descending heavenly messengers, today we also see both children and adults baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We now also enjoy the great pleasure to commend our friends in Christ to both go into the world as witnesses, and into the heavenly realms after their death. We are, you see, made through our baptism to be the children of God… those who are without guile.
 

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 Consequently, our task is great in what is now called a post-Christian world. Rest assured that we shall also witness miracles. Though we worry over declining membership, we will witness the work of the one true, apostolic Church in modern times. We shall join with our brothers Philip and Nathaniel in praising God’s love given through Christ Jesus. This is certainly so! This is our purpose… and of such shall it be even unto eternal life. Thanks be to God!

 

A Heavenly Dove...

THIS WEEK we read the section of the Gospel According to Mark that describes the Baptism of our Lord. The event occurred in the River Jordan, the very river across which the nation of Israel had entered the land granted by God. In this widely published event, it was revealed that God’s only begotten Son would deliver us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”

                                                                                                      (Mark 1:4–11)

 

Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Third Edition By Everett Ferguson

 

 

 

 Of Sin and Cleansing…

Within this scene portrayed by Mark’s gospel, we find both descriptive and normative revelation. In the first section, we find a description of what had happened when Jesus approached the Jordan where John was baptizing. Similar accounts of this pivotal event exist. We find the scene also described in the gospel writings of Matthew, Luke and the disciple John. Therefore each of the gospel scribes agreed that this event had indeed occurred historically, and was very important.
 This gospel writer first described the ministry of John the Baptist as one in which the wilderness prophet provided a baptismal washing, as an established ritual cleansing. This was made available to repentant, confessing persons for the forgiveness of sins. However, the purpose of the ritual… and its presentation was quickly said by John to be an annual forerunner to a greater event. For us, this topic was discussed in the lesson for the Second Sunday of Advent.
 Therefore, with our knowing that the intent of John’s baptism was to cleanse confessed sins, his baptism is revealed as a ritual that was made obsolete by the completed mission of the Messiah. Thus we must enter into a discussion of that important change… and how it was accomplished that Baptism is considered a Sacrament which God performs.

 To be sure, the first change came about through the Baptism of Jesus. To understand the event's importance, we need realize that Our Lord completed the baptism not to receive forgiveness for his own sin, for he was already without sin. Subsequently, since it was not his own forgiveness that was accomplished, we do need to also know he did not therefore receive subservience to John the Baptist… as his disciple. Instead, Jesus asked for baptism so that that all righteousness would be fulfilled. Baptism is understood then as applied to us for the forgiveness of sin.
 You see, Jesus came to the Jordan to be prepared for battle against the Satanic, demonic powers of this world. These are the powers that imprison us in sinfulness. He was washed in the waters of the Jordan which were historically set apart as a sign of deliverance from the nation's wilderness... a nation that was wandering. In baptism, therefore, Jesus was cleansed in ancient custom as a holy warrior… a delivering Messiah... in similar fashion to Joshua, the warrior who had led Israel to freedom in the time of nation building.

 

Gospel of Mark, The: A Commentary - eBook By Francis J. Moloney

 

 

 
 Consequently, we find the Messianic revelation meant a great deal for the Jewish readers of this earliest gospel. By being baptized, Jesus was obedient to Hebrew scripture and identified himself as centered within the true faith of Israel. Thus today, as Jesus was known to be without sin in the faith of Israel, we who walk in baptismal cleansing also become centered. We are given the faith of Israel as a gift... like Mark’s infant Christian churches. We too are born by the power of the Holy Spirit. We perform Confession concerning our sins… for those sins we know and those we do not know, and thus receive complete forgiveness of sin. This wondrous theology we Christians today know as the “happy exchange”. Jesus took on our sin, and we receive his purity. Thus it was prophesied…

Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:10–12)

We need only today’s text to realize the truth. Having been baptized not for his own sin, but for the sins of those who would believe in him… redemption for us was made possible. Thus God declared Jesus' identity as Savior to the church of Mark.

 

 

 

 

Of the Beloved Son…

In certainty we see that Jesus came both symbolically pure up out of the water. The heavens were torn open to him… so that our Lord immediately knew of the presence of God the Father. This was in keeping with revelation. As witness, we find in the prophets…

O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make thy name known to thy adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou came down, the mountains quaked at thy presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him. Thou meet him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou wast angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? (Isaiah 64:1–5).

 We find the heavens were also formerly described as thus opened wide in the Psalms (Psalm 18:9, 16-19; 144:5-8). Therefore the gospel writer described to our human mind in ancient days… the doorway to the heavens which were violently torn apart. This was seen as an act that can only be accomplished by God. For this reason, startling then came the soft image that Jesus, the righteous One, saw the form of a descending dove. The dove descended peacefully.

 

 

 

 
 Within scripture we find that this recalls for us a time when God intervened in human history to save a family, simply because he chose to declare them as “righteous”. Indeed, the book of Genesis tells us about the dove that returned peacefully to the ark. Therein Noah’s family had weathered the destructive storm. The story of the flood tells of the dove’s presentation of a dry branch… like the cross of Christ which would soon appear. This told of peace… that the angry waters of God had subsided. Divine intervention occurred! Therefore the dove symbolism provided Mark’s infant church with the blessed message that God would look beyond their sin for the sake of Christ Jesus. You see, this Jesus is also the innocent dove sent. Jesus is both the messenger and the message!
 In this manner, we can understand that Mark’s gospel relates to us that God spoke to Jesus. The Creator of all that is... spoke, The Father told Jesus that he was the Beloved. Therefore Jesus, was and yet is the Son of the Eternal God. Jesus is the Beloved One appointed from the beginning to deliver God’s people once and for all time from death. Thus, as in the days of Noah, and also as in the days of King David, God was accomplishing eternal deliverance. We remember….

“I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”  I will tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, “You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:6–8)

Therefore, completing the purpose for which he was sent. Jesus went to his chosen death upon the cross, and was raised by the love of the Father.

 

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 We of the Church today then gather in like manner to those who have worshiped before us. God acted once and for all to deliver us from our confessed sin through Baptism. As such we, whether child or adult... may become servants of God through the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This was the certain good news that was read in this lesson before the church of Mark. This is the same news before us in our own time. Jesus Christ came into the world that we sinners might be saved! Through Jesus, the Beloved… we are reconciled to our Creator. Thus we see heaven opened unto us.

May God Guide Your Path Through the Mires of This World