Newsletter 12/4/2024

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” - Matthew 27:54

I just don’t get it. I have to admit that some things in the Bible don’t make sense…at least to me. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. That the Lord worked through human minds and experiences to craft a historical and theological narrative that encompasses the very origins of the earth and leads the reader down to the very edge of the present time and then beyond into the future. The scriptures are trustworthy and absolute. But sometimes I can’t figure things out. And it is not the symbols or obscure prophecies that confuse me most, but the descriptions of human behavior. 

I struggle to comprehend Eve’s decision to consume the fruit. I cannot fathom why Abraham thought it was a good idea to take Hagar as a wife and produce an heir through her. It is mind-boggling to imagine what was going through Joseph’s brothers brains as they literally prepared to murder their brother but in turn, sold him to foreign merchants. Jacob, Moses, Samson, Saul, even David, all did some really dumb things that baffle me. The Jewish nation puzzles me the most. They toggled between being bad and then good, more bad, worse, horrible, better, not so good, almost ok, and then really terrible. It just does not make sense. 

While reading the Passion story (the crucifixion narrative) in Matthew, I was once again perplexed. One concern that emerges is that Jesus is accused of being a false messiah as well as a phony king. Yet He is the real Messiah and the King of the World. No one in the whole text recognizes Jesus as the Son of God except for a Roman centurion who probably assisted in Jesus’ execution. The rest of the cast is not so sure. One other key theme that arises is that Jesus is absolutely just or innocent. No one, not a single person in the account disputes this. They literally proclaim Him innocent multiple times. And yet regardless of this, He is the target of schemes, plots, political games, torture, mocking, and ultimately murder. What?! The only good person in the whole sequence of verses is mistreated like He is the worst of all people on the planet. Things were done to Jesus that I would not wish upon my greatest enemy. And yet, Christ suffered silently through these horrific injustices. Whereas His antagonizers were obviously in the wrong, He could have protested or fought back or smashed them with His divine power. But nope, nothing. He accepted it, He took it. For what? 

For me. For you. And that reality does not make sense either. And maybe the reason all of this gross behavior in the Bible seems to leave me bemused is because I have the benefit of looking back and criticizing the actions of its characters. I wasn’t there. I might have done the same thing. I’m sure each one of them thought they were right and justified at the time. And to be honest, I have my own sinfulness and guilt to bear. My own foolish missteps. If my life were open to such scrutiny people would probably be dumbfounded by my decisions too. And because of my errors and wrongness, the Lord paid a steep penalty for my sake. It is unfair, unjust, utterly unmerited. But it is also the grand expression of the love and mercy of God. Jesus experienced injustices, that I might become just in Him. And while it does not make sense, it makes me thankful. More than that, it means I can be saved. 

Join us this weekend for a thought-provoking study of God’s word. Our subject will be The Life and Teachings of Jesus: Injustices. Not only will we review the atrocities Jesus Himself suffered at the hands of men, but we will lean into how the biblical characters in the text and ourselves are effected by what Christ was willing to endure and what it means for our daily lives. Hoping to see you Sabbath! 

Pastor Dean