The Lifeblood of Christianity
Just how important is the death of Jesus to our faith? Well, how important is blood to your body?
“The importance of the passion and resurrection for the early church is evidenced by the relatively large amount of space the narrative takes in each of the Gospels and especially in Mark. "Out of Mark’s 661 verses, 128 are devoted to the passion and resurrection account, and a total of 242 are devoted to the last week (from the triumphal entry to the resurrection) of Jesus is life.
"The church obviously had more than a passing historical interest in Jesus’ death and resurrection. These events formed the basis of the church’s witness and worship—the lifeblood of early Christianity.”
- Walter W. Wessel & Mark L. Strauss (commenting on the Gospel of Mark in Matthew and Mark, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 2010, vol. 9, pg. 936-7; emphasis added)
Jumping the Shark and the Trajectory of Sin
Reflections on returns that diminish and those that don't.
Where Did It Come From?
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase before, and maybe you have not. Jon Hein coined it a few years ago. If you have an extra 15 minutes, it’s an interesting internet search, but if not, here’s the skinny.
“Jumping the shark” refers to the event within a television show that provides the incriminating evidence that the series is no longer any good. It’s that moment of ridiculousness when plot is so threadbare and the characters so clichéd, that you roll not just your eyes, but your whole body grimaces. Are you kidding me? He just jumped a shark.
The genesis of the phrase comes from an episode in the 5th season of Happy Days when Fonzie, while waterskiing (in his leather jacket!), actually jumped over a shark. I know—full body grimace.
It’s not clear to me if the phrase indicates the moment where the journey uphill is crested, and afterwards it’s all downhill; or rather, if “jumping the shark” is an indication that freefall has already commenced. I suspect the latter.
When I heard the phrase for the first time, it seemed to hold true for the handful of shows I have watched. In comedy sitcoms especially, main characters—over time—invariably become caricature of themselves.
Take a character like George Costanza. At his best, he is a caricature of a tragic, sad, unfortunate man. That’s funny. There is some humor there. But then, over time, George became a caricature of his own caricature. Laughs came only with more difficultly, exaggeration, and convolution.
Think also of the cast of Friends—Phoebe started as a caricature of a quirky friend, and Joey a caricature of a somewhat dim, and overly masculine, man. But over time, they became these things on steroids—caricatures of a caricature. I believe the pattern holds for the Dwight Schrutes and Michael Scotts as well.
Can a Genre Also ‘Jump the Shark’?
The other night I was flipping through the channels and I saw Ted Danson was in a cop-detective show. (Later, I learned it was the latest reprise of CSI. How many seasons and cities have there been?)
Apparently, solid characterization quickly drifts into caricature, not simply with individuals in an individual sitcom, but it also happens in shows across similar genres.
Here’s what I mean: I only caught a few minutes, but it was enough to observe a genre in freefall. Gone was ‘subtly,’ and in its place was ‘overt’; gone was ‘slow-cooked, rising tension’; instead there was ‘fast’ and ‘extravagant,’ and violent twits of plot splashed with sex—in other words, not grill master tenderloin, but McRibs slathered in sauce. An early Law and Order episode (a forerunner in the genre, I believe), would look boring in comparison—better, but boring.
What’s this All About?
At this point, you might be thinking, Here we go—another ‘they don’t make them like they use too’ rant.
Not so. It’s not wise to talk like that (Ecclesiastes 7:10).
I think there is more to all of this than the slow degradation of characters in sitcoms and the degradation of shows in genres—more than the relationship between airtime and diminishing returns.
No, there is more going on here. This is the trajectory of sin.
Sin always promises to taste good (cf., Genesis 3:6; Proverbs 9:17). And most of the time, there is some truth in the promise.
But then, when the meal is consumed, sin is still not satisfied. It continues to consume. It eats the styrofoam plate the food was served on. And then the arm that feeds it.
Sin will eat you until there is nothing left. What looks pleasing to the eye, will end in fig leaves and shame. The original caricature is fun, but at some point, the caricature of the caricature is absurd.
This is the picture of sin in Romans. When people go deeper into sin, when we exchange the glory of God for McRibs, things get bad, then worse. Paul writes of “thinking” that becomes “futile” and hearts that become “darkened” (v. 21), and then of the “degrading” of bodies (v. 24).
This is the trajectory of sin. At some point, it jumps the shark. Sin makes people less human and beast-like, and those watching from the outside can often see it more clearly.
Consider the depths that addiction takes people, and what a person will do for a high—whether one from drugs or career advancement or some other ‘high.’ And consider the way sexual immorality often must keep escalating to offset diminishing returns. And consider the legalism of the Pharisees—it got deeper and deeper into its own rules. These are just a few examples; others could be multiplied.
Is it Different with Godliness?
But, godliness, on the other hand, does the opposite.
Life with God makes one more human over time, not less. For those who push themselves to grow in their relationship with God, for those who immerse themselves in the gospel, and for those who surround themselves with strong accountability in the form of other Christians in the local church, this tends to make us the types of humans we were meant to be: humble, dependent, and happy creatures of our God.
Or as Jesus said it, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Or as Paul wrote in Ephesians, in the coming ages, God will be continually showing his children the “incomparable riches of his grace” (2:7). That’s a show that doesn’t get old because the Glory of God never jumps the shark.
While sin bits off our arm and still wants more, life with God is a life of increasing joy, not diminishing returns.
I’m Not Just Some Kid Beating on a Drum
When I look at the worship team from the front row, I know that the kid holding the wooden sticks is not just some kid—he’s one of us.
Our church had our annual baptism celebration last weekend (pictures here). Eight people were baptized, all telling their story—The Story, really—of how God had moved in their lives.
As I opened the service, I told everyone that I believed all of us would come to know the grace of God better as we heard how the grace of God had affected the lives of others. I don’t think we were disappointed. I know I wasn’t.
One of my favorite moments came as a young man shared his story. He said,
I’m being baptized today for 2 reasons: First, Jesus has saved me and this is what he commands us to do.
But also, I’m being baptized because I’m showing you that I’m with you [with Christians, with this local church]. I’m not just some kid beating on a drum, somebody just performing on a stage; I’m worshiping with you; I’m one of you.
That’s the twofold meaning of baptism, isn’t it—united to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (that is, “Jesus saved me”), and identifying publicly with all the other people who this is also true for (that is, “I’m with you”).
I came to know the grace of God better last Sunday afternoon. And this coming Sunday, when I look at the worship team from the front row, I know that the kid holding the wooden sticks is not just some kid—he’s one of us.
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Two Favorite Sermons on the Biblical View of Sex
Why did God make us sexual beings? And what difference does the knowledge of God make to our sexuality? Find the answers here.
I've listened to a lot of sermons. In the last decade, I estimate 3-4 per week. That makes for 1,500-2,000 sermons. Along the way, there have been many good ones. The other day, something reminded me of 2 sermons that are in my ‘Top 10.’ And both of them happen to be by John Piper, and both just happen to be on sex.
The sermons come from the Design God National Conference a few years ago. The title of the conference was, “Sex and the Supremacy of Christ.”
WARNING: Do not confuse the order of this title. Our culture does.
Dr. Piper opened and closed the conference with these two messages (here and here). This month is the 10th anniversary of the conference, and the messages are more relevant, not less, today.
Below is a favorite quote from each:
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Part I
[God’s] goal in creating human beings with personhood and passion was to make sure that there would be sexual language and sexual images that would point to the promises and the pleasures of God’s relationship to his people and our relationship to him. In other words, the ultimate reason (not the only one) why we are sexual is to make God more deeply knowable. The language and imagery of sexuality is the most graphic and most powerful that the Bible uses to describe the relationship between God and his people—both positively (when we are faithful) and negatively (when we are not).
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Part II
As Abraham Kuyper used to say, “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’” And rule with absolute supremacy. And though it may not seem so now, it is only a matter of time until he is revealed from heaven in flaming fire to give relief to those who trust him and righteous vengeance on those who don’t.
This second quote is the crescendo of 10 minutes of sustained exultation of the supremacy of Christ. Wonderful stuff. Again, the messages are more relevant today, not less.
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No, I Don’t Know Everything, but Thanks for the Reminder
Some passages are easier than others to preach. They just are. But Mark 13 is not one of them.
Sometimes, pastors give the impression that they know it all. But this is not really a 'pastor thing,' so much as a 'people thing'—or then again, maybe I’m just a pastor deflecting the guilt. Regardless, nearly every Tuesday, the week before I preach, I get a fresh reminder that I don’t know everything.
The sermon may look clean, clear, and compelling on Sunday morning—only by the grace of God, of course—but it does not feel that way most Tuesday mornings. Most Tuesdays, it feels opaque, like a thick, tropical jungle.
I felt all of these sorts of things this week as we are jumping back into a series in the Gospel of Mark. My task, come Sunday, is to expound Mark 13:14-27 in which Jesus discuses the end times. One commentator notes that this chapter is “one of the most perplexing chapters in the Bible to understand, for readers and interpreters alike.” (James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, 383).
I believe it; when I translated the passage last week, I listed out some of the questions I had about each verse. This morning, when I typed them out, there were 62 questions. And the list will grow before it shrinks.
Better get to work.
But I do so with the confidence that in God’s Word there is life—something that truly is clear and compelling—and with the confidence that if I will only swing a machete in the jungle long enough, asking God to lead the way, he will show me something worth showing others. He always has before.
Labor Day, Proverbs 11:1, and 8 Homegrown Quotes on Work
What do an insurance salesman, a non-profit worker, a stay-at-home mom, a lawyer, and a banker all have in common? Answer: their work matters. Period.
Labor Day
It’s striking to me that almost entirely absent from Proverbs are the key focal points of Old Testament religious life—things like the temple and priests, the sacrificial system and the Sabbath. They are in there, but they are whispers.
However, over and over again, Lady Wisdom shouts. And where does she shout? Not in the temple, or to the priests, or on the Sabbath.
Wisdom shouts in the market place; at the city gates; the places of commerce; at farms; in fields; during harvest; and about oxen and barns. In the Book of Proverbs, Wisdom raises her voice over the other 6 days, or we might say, the Labor Days.
My local paper yesterday tells me the Central Labor Union of New York City was the first to officially celebrate the day. And the date? Tuesday September 5, 1882. Rick Bloomingdale wrote,
On this Labor Day [2014], we are renewing our commitment to creating good jobs, restoring retirement security for all workers, improving educational and job-training opportunities, and restoring the bargaining strength of working men and women. (The Patriot-News, August 31, 2014)
Sounds good to me. But we can go back farther than 1882 to learn about the dignity and value of work.
Proverbs 11:1
As a pastor, I hear often hear people imply that what they do does not matter. But they are wrong.
At our church this summer, we preached through the Book of Proverbs. In the final sermon in the series, I covered only one verse. The verse was Proverbs 11:1. It reads,
A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.
This verse teaches that God loves integrity, or in the words of the text, he loves "just weights." They make him smile.
I think this is the case because when work is done with integrity, it properly reflects back to God his own image. In other words, God is a God of integrity, and when he sees it in people, particularly his children, it makes him smile because he sees his own image.
This is hugely important as we think about the dignity and value of work. This means that in whatever job you are doing, you should never feel as though you are a mere “hamster on a wheel.”
8 Homegrown Quotes on Work
During the research for the sermon, I reached out to over a dozen people in our church that work in different fields to ask them this question:
In what ways does your vocation (when done with integrity) contribute to the good of society?
Below is what 8 people wrote:
A person in government wrote,
My vocation can contribute to the good of society by providing an honest government that is focused and concerned about meeting the needs of the citizens and using their tax dollars in the most efficient and effective way possible to benefit all of society.
An insurance salesman wrote,
We can help people to avoid the situations that could cause serious financial harm by “covering” many types of issues/damage.
A non-profit worker wrote,
We contribute to the good of society in general by filling a void that commercial organizations cannot or will not fill. Because we are here, fewer children will grow into juvenile delinquents, take up space in prison, or cause a detriment to society. We are a viable organization in that there are lower crime rates, and higher levels of moral behavior by young people who come through our programs.
A married couple that work as scientists wrote,
Our vocations provide the means to acquire rocks and minerals for building materials, energy resources, water resources, determine geologic hazards, and provide clean-up of environmental pollution to protect people’s health.
A lawyer wrote,
Law helps to protect the rights of some when wronged and when there is no other human recourse.
A real estate person wrote,
My vocation contributes to the good of society by helping people find suitable housing and advising them, or giving them pertinent information, so they can make good financial and practical decisions.
A stay-at-home mother wrote,
Parenting with integrity contributes to the good of society in many ways. Helping children become people who value truth and learn how to work hard, honestly, and respect others will create a next generation who will stand up for those things. Being able to say “no” to my kids (like to excessive TV, candy, toys, etc.) is a way for them to be able to learn that they don’t always get what they want (like in relationships, the workplace, etc.) It helps them develop a respect for others and for authority.
A banker wrote,
Bankers can help protect people from themselves by providing good financial advice. We can help educate people and provide financing for projects. Banks can help grow the individual and corporate wealth of society.
Many more things could be said. But when we have a biblical understanding of work, then we know that what we do matters—it matters to people, and it matters to God.
How does your vocation contribute to the good of society? Or in the words of Apple marketing, what will your verse be?
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SEX? by Denny Burk (FAN AND FLAME Book Reviews)
Lots of helpful things in WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SEX? Here are seven of them.
What is the Meaning of Sex? by Denny Burk (Crossway, 2013, 272 pages)
What is the Meaning of Sex? does many things well, but most especially is the way it assesses each ‘sub-topic' in light of the ultimate meaning of sex, namely, the glory of God.
Hence, the symmetry of the eight chapter titles: Glorify God with Your _______ 1) …Body, 2), …Hermeneutic, 3) …Marriage, 4) …Conjugal Union, 5) …Family Planning, 6), …Gender, 7) …Sexuality, and 8) …Singleness.
Throughout, I found Burk a reliable guide.
Here are 7 significant takeaways (for me):
- The distinction between subordinate purposes and ultimate. Burk notes that some who discuss the purposes of sex (i.e., procreation, pleasure, etc.) stop short of identifying its ultimate purpose—like someone who states that a car is for ‘sitting in’ without drawing attention to its ultimate purpose, namely, transportation (Burk’s metaphor, 23-24).
- Jesus and Paul are NOT in a hermeneutical ‘cage match’—the Bible’s “red letters” vs. “black letters.” You’ll have to read the chapter; it’s good stuff.
- The book is not only a polemic against homosexual practice. This is in there, but the treatment doesn’t overwhelm the whole. (If there was a minor place for improvement, because Chapter 7 is so focused on homosexuality, I might encourage a title more specific than “Glorify God with your Sexuality.” The content is great, but perhaps it needs a narrower heading.)
- The discussion of the Pill and its potentially abortifacient qualities (148-151). This conversation is a staple of my pre-marital counseling. I appreciated the refresher.
- Each chapter has a great summary at the end—thoroughly useful for teaching and discussion purposes.
- Detailed scholarship without missing the forest.
- The whole of the book, in all its varied discussions, coheres.
A Key Passage
When it comes to ultimate meaning, we do not find answers in causes but in purposes. If you want to understand a hammer, it is not enough to know its cause (i.e., where the hammer came from, the factory in which it was manufactured, who designed it, etc.). To understand a hammer, I have to know for what purpose it was created. A hammer’s created purpose is to drive nails… It is the hammer’s purpose that determines the ultimate meaning, not the cause. Similarly, I might know everything there is to know about theories of human origins, about human reproduction, and about the biological genetic factors that determine human sexuality. But if I do not understand the purpose for which human sexuality was made, then I do not understand it. Nor am I prepared to give a proper ethical evaluation of its use. (Burk, What is the Meaning of Sex?, 22-23; emphasis original)
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T minus 4 Hours and a Preaching Prayer
The prayer I try to pray each morning I preach: “Lord, may the prayer of my heart, and the subsequent fruit of my lips, be your Word parading in glory and ransoming hearts to holy worship.”
It’s early on Sunday morning August 24, 2014. I’m at the office. I just printed out a fresh copy of my sermon. In a few minutes, I’ll make the 1/4 mile walk from our church office building, through the Lawnton neighborhood, to our church building. There, I’ll have an hour or so to work through the sermon material before the worship team arrives for their practice.
When I get there, the building will be quiet and dark.
I like being in church before everyone else. It gives time to think and time to pray. Often, one of the things I pray before a sermon comes from a resolution I made years ago. But before I tell you the prayer and the resolution, let me tell you the backstory.
The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
Eleven years ago, I stumbled upon “The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards,” the 18th century New England pastor. He wrote the resolutions as a young man.
I liken Edwards’ resolutions to your typical New Year’s Resolutions, except he injected his resolutions with steroids.
The final product has 70 resolutions. They have some repetition and all are written in lengthy Puritan prose, but regardless, they are worth reading and reflection. (You’ll find them easily enough with a quick Google search, but here is one site that helpfully groups the resolutions topically.)
Just to give you the flavor of them, here are 2 of my favorites:
28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time. Jan. 14 and July 3, 1723.
See what I mean. New Year’s Resolutions on HGH—and, of course, the Spirit of God.
My Resolution and a Preaching Prayer
Over a decade ago, when I read Edwards’ resolutions, I felt challenged to write my own. By now, I have a few of them but only one related to preaching.
Here it is:
1. Resolved, whenever I should preach, that the prayer of my heart, and the subsequent fruit of my lips would be this: that God’s Word would parade in glory and ransom hearts to holy worship.
I love the imagery of a parade—the Word of God in a glorious victory march, captivating the hearts and minds of God’s people, and moving them to holy, Christ-exalting thoughts, words, and deeds of worship.
My other resolutions are, you might say, not as “spiritual,” but I still like them. For example,
4. Resolved, not to let my heart become so frazzled that it cannot feel poetry.
7. Resolved, never to multi-task while eating dark chocolate or drinking pumpkin coffee.
T minus 4 Hours
For now, back to the task at hand: prayer—because in 4 hours, it will be time to preach.
At our church this morning we will finish a series through the Book of Haggai—a governor named Zerubbabel, a signet ring, and God overthrowing all of his enemies. Exciting.
Lord, may the prayer of my heart, and the subsequent fruit of my lips, be your Word parading in glory and ransoming hearts to holy worship.
Amen.
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The Thickness and Beauty of the Canon, Even if Closed
If we only have "THIS" much, are we impoverished? Or is there more there than we think?
I believe, along with Christians throughout the ages, that the Bible is closed and complete. We don’t add to it, nor should we expect another to do so, at least ways that are authoritative and normative for all the Church. It would take another post altogether to explain why this is a rational belief, and how this is actually what the Bible seems to say about itself. Maybe some other time I’ll write that post.
This post is for celebration.
Think about this: the Bible consists of 66 books, written by many authors over the period of about 1,600 years. The Bible speaks to and tells stories of battles, violence, sex, fractured families, humility, friendships, love, God and gods, mercy, forgiveness, creation and destruction, shame, destitution, rebellion, miracles, salvation, hope, glory, lies, murder, redemption, and far, far more. And all of the wonder, truth, and glory therein will never be exhausted by finite creatures, even in the coming eternity of joyous, unending learning that awaits the children of God.
Yes, the Bible is “closed,” but slice it thick and grill it medium rare. All by itself, it’s a satisfying meal.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. (Isaiah 55:2)
With 66 soul satisfying books, we are not impoverished.
Read it; study it; memorize it; trust it; live it—feast on it. That’s what it’s intended for.
THE DUDE’S GUIDE TO MANHOOD by Darrin Patrick (FAN AND FLAME Book Reviews)
Confusion about manhood abounds. This book offers 10 places to start.
The Dude's Guide to Manhood: Finding True Manliness in a World of Counterfeits by Darrin Patrick (Thomas Nelson, 2014, 208 pages)
Over a breakfast, Darrin Patrick encouraged me to go to seminary. A few years ago, he was my pastor. In some ways, through the occasional conference message, blog post, and published book, like this one, I suppose he still is.
I’m thankful for that.
A Dude’s Guide to Manhood outlines 10 authentic pursuits for men, including determination, loving a woman, loving work (excellent material), and contentment. The final 2 chapters show how Jesus is the hero and what it means to have Jesus as your hero (titles: “Get What You Want: The Heroic Man” and “Living as the Forgiven Men”).
The book has vulnerability, cultural connections, and direct challenges. It’s a solid road map in a world of forgeries.
With respect to the Bible, it’s a zero-depth entry pool, which is a strength not a weakness. A dude that can’t swim isn’t likely to let you throw him off the high dive. Besides, Patrick is building somewhere, wading into deeper waters, namely “Jesus is our hero”—yes, as an example, but more than that, as our savior.
In Piper’s blurb, he advises buying a bundle—one to keep, others to give. I only bought one, although I’m doing pre-marriage counseling now with a couple, and guaranteed the dude gets a copy from me.
(FYI: promotional website http://thedudesguide.org/)
A Favorite Quote
There will be no end to our striving, no conclusion to our pursuit to peel back the layers of the onion to find the magical fix for ourselves. The only way forward is to confess our faults and our shortcoming and to acknowledge the brokenness of our core motivations and our impotence before them. Only then can we begin to pursue the life of the heroic man and be transformed by Jesus, who was the hero on our behalf. (Patrick, Dude’s Guide to Manhood, 141)
I Don’t Need a Boat, but Get Me a Boat
Here's a reason I keep reading the Bible. Again. And Again. And Again.
Jesus withdrew with the disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed… And he [Jesus] told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him. (Mark 3:7, 9)
I take great comfort in the fact that Jesus does not need help doing anything—not mine or anyone else’s. Ever.
In the Old Testament, God says that if he was hungry—say, he wanted a sandwich or something—he wouldn’t ask for help (Psalm 50:12). When he created the world, the only “help” he got was within the Trinity. In the opening verses of Hebrews, the author notes that Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
It doesn’t seem like God needs help.
In many ways, this is part of the litmus test of God-ness: If you need anything—food, water, sleep, praise, money, protection, love—then you are not God. If you don’t need, then you are God.
But then I read verses like Mark 3:9, and I take great comfort that Jesus wanted his disciples to help him. In this verse, because the crowd might actually have “crush[ed] him,” Jesus asks his disciples to get the escape boat ready.
Really? Why?
In Luke 4, a crowd wanted to toss Jesus over a cliff, and he just walked through them. I’ve never quite understand how that went down, but it happened. And if this crowd in Mark 3 got too lively, and Jesus needed to bail, then there was water right behind him. He could just walk away on that, right? Wouldn’t that save time and effort? Wouldn’t that even achieve the secondary purpose of showing his God-ness?
This is why, every day, I keep reading my Bible. I want to be tethered to it until I die.
In the Bible, I’m continually surprised—pleasantly surprised—by Jesus. I’ll learn one thing about him—say, he is God and doesn’t need anyone’s help—and then I learn something else—say, he desires the help and ministry of his friends.
I imagine it felt good for the disciples to be told to do something for Jesus, like get a boat ready. For most of those guys, it was in their wheelhouse. I bet they rushed off, their labors fueled with dignity—like EMTs with the sirens whirling: “Jesus needs a boat; let’s go, let’s go; come on, move it; the crowd could push him into the water.”
The tendency, in our human-ness, is to discount either God’s self-sufficiency or that our efforts matter to God. There is mystery, but somehow, these cohere. He is the God-man. And this gives my labors—our labors—for the kingdom meaning, value, and worth.
God doesn’t need my parenting, my preaching, my tithes and offerings, my “quiet time,” my evangelism. But he wants them.
Jesus needs another Christian to start another blog, like he needs a sandwich.
But if he asked me for one, I’d try to make him a good one—a toasted panini with double meat and feta cheese. I think he’d like that.
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ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS by Timothy Keller (FAN AND FLAME Book Reviews)
When I read this book, I felt like a good friend introduced me to another good friend. You'd probably like to meet him too.
Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions by Timothy Keller (Dutton, 2013, 240 pages)
In Encounters, Dr. Timothy Keller explores 10 encounters with Jesus: 5 encounters that Jesus had with non-Christians in the Gospel of John (e.g., Nicodemus and the woman at the well), and 5 encounters with aspects of who Jesus was and what he has done (e.g., his obedience and his ascension).
In doing so, we, as readers, are forced into these same encounters—not, however, as mere spectators, but as those that must make a decision about Jesus: neutrality is not a legitimate option. “Jesus demands a radical response of some kind” (46). And in our response to Jesus, we encounter “Life’s Biggest Questions” (a fitting subtitle).
A strength of the book, as with all of Keller’s material, is the balance between accessibility and profundity—which, incidentally, in my opinion, has a deep resonance with Jesus himself—accessible, yet profound, at least for those that risk the encounter.
At our church, we recently used this book in a class, particularly the first five chapters, to leverage just these kinds of encounters—encounters with Jesus and encounters with the big questions of life—but also with one additional aim: to learn how the Master (that’s Jesus, not Keller) interacted with non-Christians. We emphasized how Jesus witnessed to others and how we might in turn then display Jesus to others. In this regard, Keller was, we might also say, a masterful example of engagement.
A Favorite Quote
Jesus then demands a radical response of some kind. You could denounce him for being evil, or you may flee from him because he’s a lunatic, or you can fall down and worship him for being God. All of those reactions make sense; they are consistent with the reality of his words. But what you can’t do is respond moderately. You must not say to him, "Nice teaching. Very helpful. You are a fine thinker." That is simply dishonest. (Keller, Encounters with Jesus, 46)
Fresh Words, Fresh Language, Fresh Blood
Not stale, not rehearsed, not clichéd language—we need fresh words, fresh language, fresh blood. In these, there is life. And in the pursuit of these, I launch a blog.
For some time, I contemplated starting a blog. When I made the decision to move forward, an unanticipated question arose: What shall be my first post? You always remember your first. Recently, while listening to an episode from Tony Reinke’s podcast Authors on the Line, I found my answer.
In the episode, Reinke interviewed Pastor Douglas Wilson (also posted on desiringgod.org here). The main talking point was the use of metaphor; but a subtheme, as least as I heard it, was how to communicate effectively.
Early in the interview, Reinke asked Wilson this question:
Was there an ‘ah-ha’ moment in your life or ministry when you discovered the importance of non-fiction imagination to communicate divine truth?
Here is Wilson’s response:
The first resolve was when we were first establishing Credenda as a magazine. I grew up in an evangelical household; I’ve been around missionary newsletters my whole life; I’ve seen Christian magazines and publications and books, etc., for a long, long time. And one of the things that they all had in common, or seemed to me to have in common, was their boringness, their blandness.
So in the acceptable world of evangelical discourse, you have the bland leading the bland… When we were first setting out with Credenda, this was a central resolve… I wanted to write about theology, and history, and doctrine, and culture in a way that was engaging and interesting—not boring. It might be infuriating or it might be exasperating, and you might be tearing your hair out, but you don’t want to put it down. (emphasis added)
Pastor Wilson’s point: Christian writers are [on the whole] bland and boring, and I do not want to be either.
It’s not my place to say whether the appraisal was accurate then or if it remains true today. I have not been around Christian publications long enough or broadly enough to say either way.
And part of me wonders if Wilson, if asked, would say his critique of a few decades ago still holds today. Perhaps he would say that it is still true, at least broadly, though there are many great exceptions. This would be my evaluation.
But to Wilson’s own takeaway (namely, to move beyond bland and boring), I feel a strong resonance. When he says, “I wanted to write about theology, and history, and doctrine, and culture in a way that was engaging and interesting—not boring,” I say, “Amen. Preach it, preacher.”
I see this as a sensible and timely pursuit, not simply because I personally like to read the type of writing Wilson wants to produce, but also because of the cultural shift away from the historic message of Christianity.
Two Ways to Lose the Christian Message
There are two ways to lose the historic message of Christianity.
On the one hand, we can lose it by cutting ties with the actual historic message—the centrality of the announcement of the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. This is the death of severing the veins from the heart. Blood will not flow when the pathways are disconnected from the source. And of this type of ‘death,’ I do feel that I know enough to say that it is rampant today—a lifeless Christianity, not lifeless because Christianity is lifeless, but because it’s not Christianity. As an example of this ‘death,’ consider how often Christianity becomes mere rule keeping devoid of the gospel. That’s not Christianity; it’s mere religion disconnected from the source of salvation, the foundation of forgiveness: the person and work of Jesus.
However, on the other hand, we can lose the historic message of Christianity by saying the message in the same way that we have always said it. This is the death of recirculating oxygen-depleted blood.
I was reminded of this recently when I asked my young children what made someone a Christian. Their first answer: “Ask Jesus into your heart.”
Well, okay, I guess that could mean something helpful, but what does this phrase even mean? It’s an example of language that has lost meaning because it’s expected; it’s been recirculated too many times.
Not stale, not rehearsed, not clichéd language—we need fresh words, fresh language, fresh blood. In these, there is life. And in the pursuit of these, I launch a blog—a first I want to remember.
May God use it to “fan into flame” (2 Timothy 1:6) the craft of speaking and writing the historic message of Christianity in accessible and riveting language. May God use it to pump fresh, oxygen-rich blood into the body.
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