Sunday Morning Greek Blog

June 29, 2025

Following Jesus on His Terms (Luke 9:51–62, Psalm 16)

Filed under: Eschatology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Galatians,Luke Gospel of,Passion,Pneumatology,Psalms,Soteriology,Thanatology (Death),Titus — Scott Stocking @ 5:22 pm
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I preached this sermon on June 29, 2025, at Mount View Presbyterian Church. This is “Proper 8” (third Sunday after Pentecost) for Year C of the Lectionary. For future reference, the next time these passages will appear in the Lectionary together is July 2, 2028.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

How do you follow a man who says he’s going to die? Some might ask, “What kind of man would ask someone to follow him knowing that he’s going to die?” But is that the right question? I mean, we’re all going to die at some point, and we don’t know when. Maybe the question should be, “What does the man who’s going to die think about the person he’s asking to follow him?”

I’m sure the would-be follower would have questions for Jesus as well. “Why would you choose me? I’m just a fisherman.” “What can I expect from following you? You don’t look like you have much.” Or maybe the question is a little more self-reflective: “What does he see in me that I don’t see in myself?”

These types of questions are, to a certain extent, somewhat academic or rhetorical. I think most of us realize, and can see plainly in the gospels, that Jesus taught like no other and that he worked miracles like no other. These two features of his life on earth were undoubtedly the most attractive features of his ministry. They were also the focus of Luke’s gospel from the account of his miraculous birth and the miracles that surrounded that up to the point of our gospel passage this morning.

Note what Luke says about Jesus’s mind set in the first part of vs. 51: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up.” Jesus knew he was going to die in Jerusalem at the hands of the chief priests and religious leadership. But Luke suggests Jesus also knew here that whatever that death entailed, he would defeat it and win victory over the grave, because his resolve, apparently, comes from his divine knowledge that he would defeat death and be resurrected to return to God.

Our reading in the bulletin this morning from the New Revised Standard Version gives the literal translation of the Greek in the last part of verse 51: “Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Other translations are more descriptive with that idiom. The New International Version says, “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem,” while the New American Standard Version says, “He was determined to go to Jerusalem.” This is remarkable since Jesus twice predicts his death in the earlier verses of Luke 9—once before his transfiguration and once after it. Jesus knows the end result and is still steadfast to his ultimate mission.

It is interesting, then, that in the context of Jesus showing such resolve that Luke tells us about several others who want to follow Jesus as well. His disciples were already on board with all this, except perhaps for Judas. But as much as Jesus wants people to follow him, now is not the time for the feeble of heart or the weak-willed to be following a man who is resolutely going toward his death. I would imagine Luke picks a few representative samples out of the dozens, if not hundreds, who want to follow him at this point. His answers may seem a bit terse or harsh to us, but he wants any potential followers to understand just what they’re getting themselves into. There is no turning back once you’ve decided to put the hand to the plow.

Our reading from Psalm 16 this morning seems to fit the bill as encouragement for someone who is determined to follow Jesus. David calls this psalm a miktam. Only five other psalms have that designation—Psalms 56–60—and most of them have to do with the author appealing for refuge or deliverance from their enemies. David expresses a great deal of confidence in his relationship with God in this psalm. From God’s guidance and instruction to his provision of joy and even, it would seem, to the promise of resurrection from the dead: “You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead.”

We can break this Psalm down into three parts, at least that’s how my NIV interprets it. After an opening plea for refuge, the next three verses reveal that David has confidence in those who are holy, that is, in his own community. Because of his confidence in them, not only can he praise God, but he can also confidently assert he has no intention of following other gods. He knows that following other gods would only bring pain and suffering to him and leave him without hope.

In the next four verses, David praises the Lord for being his provider and defender. David feels secures because he has three things from God in this regard: boundaries, instruction, and a focal point. Boundaries are good for us, because they tell us what the limits are and where we need to be to stay safe. A study many years ago showed that children felt more freedom and security to explore and move around a playground when it was fenced in. If a ball got away from them, they were less afraid to chase it to a hard boundary, especially if such a boundary was next to a busy street or other potential hazard. A boundary can work both ways as well. A playground fence also helps to keep stray animals and people with malicious intent from easy access to the area.

Jill and I were in the mountains last week in Colorado. Of course there are boundaries everywhere there. And not just physical boundaries. The twisty road through the canyon had guard rails at places to prevent vehicles from going into the river. We had to observe the speed limit signs for tight and blind curves so we wouldn’t run into the big horn sheep or the bicyclists we encountered on the road. A double yellow stripe down the middle of the road with a rumble strip let us know if we were straying into the other lane.

God’s boundaries are found in the instructions we have in Scripture, namely the Ten Commandments, and the two greatest commandments Jesus reminded us of: love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; love your neighbor as yourself. Following those boundaries can keep us from all kinds of evil consequences. More on this in a moment.

Verse 8 reminds us of Hebrews 12:1–3:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.[1]

When we keep our eyes fixed on the risen savior, we can always see the end result: our resurrection and eternal home with him in glory. In spite of the boundaries and instruction God gives us, we also know there will be times when our faith is challenged: the loss of a loved one, a critical medical diagnosis, broken relationships, etc. But as David says, we can stand firm and not be shaken.

In the last three verses, David speaks of his confidence as he considers his own future death. Even before he has the example of our risen savior he seems to understand the concept of resurrection: “You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” We too can have this confidence when we follow Jesus and honor him as Lord of our lives. Eternal rewards await us, and God has graciously made that available to us through the death and resurrection of his son.

We are not without a more practical example in the New Testament of the principles David laid out in Psalm 16. The other New Testament passage from the lectionary today is from Galatians 5. Paul talks about the difference between living a life without boundaries and a living a life bound to the Holy Spirit that Jesus imparts to all believers.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.[2]

…

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” k 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.[3]

Notice the contrast Paul makes here: He speaks of the “acts of the flesh,” which refer to behaviors without boundaries. He warns that theses kinds of behaviors can lead to us “biting, devouring, and destroying” each other. Not only that, Paul also warns that people who live wantonly without boundaries “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” There’s no wishy-washy language here. You’re either in or out.

Contrast the “acts of the flesh,” then, with the “fruit of the Spirit.” Paul doesn’t mention behaviors here but rather a mindset by which to live. They are boundaries that come from being filled with the Holy Spirit. They put a check on our behavior and keep us from flying off the handle when we get angry or unduly criticizing someone without understanding the background of a situation. They help us to remember that God loves people first and foremost, regardless of where they’re at in their faith journey. But they do not absolve us of the responsibility to share the good news either.

As a preacher, I could craft a whole nine-week sermon series on the fruit of the Spirit, so I don’t even want to try to expound on that here. I’m sure most of you have been around long enough that you understand those character qualities quite well. Titus 2:11–14 gives a nice summary, however, and I’ll wrap things up with this passage this morning:

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.[4]

Let me return to my original questions, “How do you follow a man who says he is going to die?” You follow him, Jesus, because you know he won victory over death and the grave and wants to share that victory with you. “What does God see in me that I don’t see in myself that he wants me to follow him?” He knows and sees the power of transformation the Holy Spirit can work in those who choose to follow Jesus. If you need a reminder of that, just pray and ask God to refresh and renew your experience with him. He desires all to be saved; any excuse you may have to not follow is not enough for God to give up on you. May God strengthen your faith and refresh your hope as you go from here today. Amen!

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

My thoughts are my own.

Scott Stocking

June 16, 2025

Trinity Power (Psalm 8; John 16:12–15)

Filed under: Christology,Creation,Ecclesiology,Eschatology,John Gospel of,Pneumatology,Psalms,Soteriology,Ten Commandments (Decalogue),Trinity — Scott Stocking @ 5:59 pm
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Historical context and notes: I preached this message on Father’s Day, June 15, 2025, at Mount View Presbyterian Church. It was also “Trinity Sunday” on the Lectionary calendar, the Sunday after Pentecost. Culturally, this weekend also saw the parade/celebration for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, “No Kings” protests nationwide (thus a few extra references to God as our King), the onset of a conflict between Israel and Iran with the goal of degrading Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities, and the politically motivated assassination of a Minnesota State representative.

Happy Fathers’ Day, and a blessed Trinity Sunday to all of you. I’ve had a busy three weeks traveling hither and yon. Two weeks ago, my brother and I took our third annual fishing trip to South Dakota and caught our limit of walleye both days. Last weekend, my wife and I went to Branson with our small group and saw the production of David at the Sight and Sound theater. If you ever go to Branson, the Sight and Sound theater is well worth the price of a ticket. The entire operation is a ministry that focuses on telling biblical and patriotic stories. They tie the biblical story to the message of the cross toward the end, and after the show some of the cast make themselves available to pray with people.

Now even though I had a very relaxing few weeks off and feel somewhat refreshed from a busy schedule, I’m not ashamed to admit that it’s been kind of tough to focus on writing a message this week with all the other chaos going on in the world. Nevertheless, I think perhaps the example of Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament can help us deal with the potential chaos some may be experiencing. When Jehoshaphat was faced with a nearly impossible battle in 2 Chronicles 20 against the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites, he had the people pray in the temple courtyard. The next morning, he put the men’s choir out in front of the army as they marched toward the Desert of Tekoa. As they sang, God set ambushes, and the three opposing armies wound up destroying each other. Israel never had to lift a finger to fight. God is the true King, and when we put him first, good things can happen.

In our Old Testament reading this morning, the first couple verses of Psalm 8 say this:

1 Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

in the heavens.

2 Through the praise of children and infants

you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger. [1]

If those two examples aren’t enough to show the power of praise, consider the story of the walls of Jericho which, by the Jews marching around the city, blowing their trumpets, and lifting up a mighty shout of praise, crumbled as a result of that sonic boom. God is the true King, and when we put him first, good things can happen. Psalm 22:3 in the English Standard Version says, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”[2] If you’re used to the King James Version, that verse is translated, “Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”[3]

This demonstrates the point that our praise is mighty and effective against evil because the God who dwells in that praise as it goes forth from our lips and our lives is mighty. This is God Almighty, God the Father, God the King, the creator of all that is made, even life itself; the giver of breath; the author of wisdom and truth.

We see the might, power, and even the orderliness of God in the creation narrative, for example. On Day One, he begins with the “formless and void” rock we call Earth and creates “light.” We don’t know what that light is, because the things that make or reflect light aren’t created until Day 4. What is this Day One light then? Is it the light that emanates from God because of his spiritual nature? Is it the afterglow of a “big bang” that produced the formless and void Earth and everything else in the universe? Is it meant to have a more metaphorical meaning like moral clarity? Or is it a reference to someone who would later claim that he is the light of the world, and of whom John would make the claim that nothing in this world was made without him? Hmmm. More on that later.

On Day Two, God separated the waters below from the waters above, most likely a vapor canopy that created a greenhouse effect for the new life that was coming. The separation between the waters was called “sky.” On Day Five, he created the creatures that dwell in the air and the creatures that dwell in the sea.

On Day Three, he brought forth dry land and created the diversity of flora that grows on the earth today. I find it interesting that the plants that need the sun to photosynthesize and grow are created the day before the sun is created. Anyone ever notice that? That’s one reason why I think each of the days of creation represent a 24-hour time period. If the vegetation had been created thousands of years before the sun came to exist, it would not have survived. On Day Six, he creates all the creatures that would dwell on land, including his ultimate creation, Mankind.

With each day of creation, not only is God creating people and animals and plants and objects in the solar system, he’s also creating all of the physical, biological, geological, and psychological (and all the other “-logicals”) rules and principles by which all the natural, or created, world operates under. On Day Seven, God rested. He had taken the “formless and void” third rock from the sun and transformed it into a well-formed, orderly creation.

Not only was God mighty and powerful as our king, though. He was also the epitome of righteousness. In him there is no fault, no stain, no sin. Perhaps that is why his “light” is the brightest of all, so bright that no mortal, sinful man can stand in the presence of it. From the Fall to the Flood, God demonstrated great patience with the wickedness of man, but God had a built-in judgment plan. The vapor canopy had worked quite well to ensure the young earth would flourish and grow, but man’s wickedness had become too much for God to bear. He told righteous Noah to build an ark and brought Noah a pair of every kind of animal to rescue them through the Flood.

The Bible says the rain came down and the flood gates of the earth were opened. Sounds to me like a giant meteor pierced the vapor canopy and all that water condensed and fell to the earth. It also may have broken up Pangea, the not-so-hypothetical single continent that once existed on Earth and started what we know today as plate tectonics, the movement of the continents, and all the fun stuff that comes with that, like earthquakes and volcanoes. This shows the enduring power of God’s creation, but it also shows that he is a God who expects the praise we give him for his righteous judgments.

The signature expression of God’s righteousness is the Ten Commandments. The first three commandments are specific to our direct relationship with God: Don’t put anything above God. Don’t make an image of God to worship. Don’t misuse the name of God. I think we all get that. The next two are positive commands that have to do with what God expects from us: Keep the Sabbath day holy. Honor your parents, who represent God’s authority over you on earth.

The final five commands have to do with our relationships with one another. They are prohibitions against committing violent acts. According to Merriam-Webster, “violence” not only means committing a physical act of aggression like murder, assault, or rape, but it can also mean “injury by or as if by distortion, infringement, or profanation” and gives the synonym “outrage.” Even coveting is not just a thought crime about desiring someone else’s property. When Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments in Mark 10:19, he uses the Greek word translated “defraud,” “cheat,” or “rob” in the New Testament (ἀποστερέω apostereō). Coveting is violence, because its goal is to obtain something by illicit means.

Because the Ten Commandments are God’s foundational laws, and because they addressed fundamental issues of our relationships with God and with others, a violation of any of them could have resulted in the death penalty, were it not for the provisions in the law for blood sacrifice and the forgiveness of sin. But God knew from the time of the Fall he would need another way to address mankind’s sin. That’s where the second person of the trinity is introduced to the world.

Of course, this is Jesus, the son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He would come to walk among us as a human being and learn, through his fully divine nature and insight”, what it was like to live as a mortal among mortals. Hebrews 4:15 says: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”[4] This Law is good because it shows us what sin is, but the Law itself is not able to provide forgiveness, righteousness, or salvation. Only perfect obedience can do that, but no one is perfect, at least, no one who is fully mortal.

Romans 10:4 says: “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”[5] That word “culmination” (τέλος telos) doesn’t mean the Law is no longer relevant. It means that what the Law was intended to accomplish, imperfect as we are, is now accomplished through the faithfulness of Christ in his death on the cross and our faith in acknowledging Jesus Christ as our risen Savior. This is what John means when he calls Jesus “the word.” What we call “the Ten Commandments” in Hebrew is just simply “Ten Words” (עֲשֶׂ֖רֶת הַדְּבָרִֽים ʿǎśě·rěṯ de·ḇār îm). Jesus’s death on the cross paid the penalty for all time for violating God’s Law. All we need to do is trust in his grace and mercy and live faithfully for him. He is, after all, declared to be Lord of Lords and King of kings in Revelation 19:16.[6]

This is where we meet the third person in the Trinity. I’m not sure what passage your speaker addressed on Pentecost last Sunday, but if it was John 14, you would know that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come and teach us what we would need to know to live faithfully for Christ. We do have the Bible, but without the Holy Spirit to help us spiritually understand, discern, and apply the words of the Bible, they are ultimately just words on a page. The Holy Spirit is the divine presence in our lives. The Spirit is the fulfillment of the promise Jesus made at his ascension that he would be with us always even to the end of the age.

The words of our gospel reading this morning bear repeating here:

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”[7]

In a world hounded by chaos and strife in these days, I find it comforting that we have a God who loves us and has provided the way of salvation for us through Jesus’s death and resurrection and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It is through the Spirit that we can also lift up songs of praise and worship, which brings us full circle this morning. God inhabits the praise of his people by virtue of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our lives. This is our powerful weapon to confront the evil around us. The Spirit also brings comfort, healing, and restoration to our lives.

The words from last week’s gospel passage are appropriate to repeat here, and I’ll close with this.

27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”[8]

May the peace of God go with you today. Amen.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. 2009. Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6]See also 1 Timothy 6:15b and Revelation 17:14.

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[8] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

June 3, 2025

Guidance and Grace and Good Fishing (John 14)

Filed under: Faith, Faithfulness,Hope,John Gospel of,Pneumatology,Resurrection,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 11:09 pm
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My brother and I went to Lake Francis Case (Chamberlain, SD) for the third time in as many years for what has become our annual walleye fishing trip. I want to give a shout-out[1] to Jason Sorensen, operator of South Dakota Walleye Charters, and Jordan Miles of Hooked Outdoors SD, who piloted the boat and guided us to a great fishing spot near the mouth of the White River. We both got our limit of walleye each day (4/day; one was 20¾”), and my brother hauled in a nice white bass as well. Here are the pictures of our spoils from two days on the boat.

I don’t fish often enough to know where the good spots are, and I wouldn’t necessarily trust Google to provide me that information. In addition, since the walleye like to hang out in about 8–12 feet of water, it’s hard to fish for them from the shore, and neither my brother nor I own a boat. The guide is an economic and practical option for us, then, to get to where we need to go.

The guide also has the necessary tools to find the fish as well. The Garmin technology he had on his boat not only guided us down river in a heavy early morning fog, but it also revealed much of what was hidden underneath us in this mighty muddy Missouri River reservoir. It can map the riverbed and show us where the fish are swimming. Walleye are typically bottom dwellers, so we use “bottom bouncer” weights that keep the bait toward the bottom of the river.

It should go without saying that we all need guides in our journey with Jesus. If you’re a seeker, you have a couple sources of guidance. The fact that you’re seeking some life answers in a relationship with Jesus most likely indicates the Holy Spirit has been prompting you and preparing you for a decision to become a Christ-follower. You also may have a Christ-following friend or acquaintance who has had some influence on you as well. While your friends may understand what is going on in your life and can provide much needed emotional and even physical support, the Holy Spirit knows best what is going on inside your heart and soul, and he knows what is best to provide whatever comfort, assurance, or healing you need on the inside. If you’ve been reading the Bible, both the Holy Spirit and your Christ-following friends can provide help with understanding it if you just ask.

If you are a Christ-follower, then you already know that Scripture, the Bible (aka God’s Word), is our ultimate source of guidance. You already know that you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit upon repenting and being baptized (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth, but he will never contradict what the Bible says. Reading and studying God’s Word helps to engrain the truths of God’s word into your heart, soul, and mind. Other Christian writers can provide more specific or detailed guidance as well. The stated goals of my blog are to help you “dig deeper, read smarter, and draw closer.” I’m always happy to answer any questions readers may have. If I don’t know the answer, I can usually point you in the right direction.

Experienced biblical scholars usually have a wealth of knowledge about background material relevant to the biblical accounts. They’ve studied the histories and writings of the cultures the main characters of the Bible interact with. They can also help explain some of the background customs and worldviews that are assumed and often unspoken by the biblical authors. Christ-followers who’ve studied in the hard sciences can add insight as well to things like the geography of the day, the geologic history of an area, or other culturally influenced features like architecture, art, and iconography. People trained in medical or mental health practice can also add insight to the wonderful creations we are, physically, spiritually, and socially.

In John 14:15ff., Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and instructs his disciples on what to expect from the Holy Spirit’s infilling and guidance. While the Spirit may speak to those who are seeking God but who are not yet Christ-followers, the Spirit does not dwell in those who have not fully accepted Jesus as their savior. If you are a Christ-follower, then you have assurance of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life (and you do NOT need to manifest any gifts of the Spirit to prove that!). The Spirit is described as our Advocate in the NIV. Other versions use terms like Comforter, Counselor, or Helper. The Greek word (παράκλητος paraklētos) implies one who is called alongside you. Another role of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of the teachings of Jesus and more broadly the Bible. Jesus also uses the image of “peace” to describe the Spirit’s role in our lives, bringing order in the midst of our chaos; assurance in the midst of our turmoil.

The penultimate promise of Jesus in John 14:27c is this: “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” We can live in that assurance when we have the peace of Christ dwelling in our hearts. Jesus’s ultimate promise, however, comes in the very next verse: “I am going away and I am coming back to you.” Both of these promises are repeated from the beginning of chapter 14 (vv. 1a, 3). The Spirit is meant for our life on earth. When we get to heaven, our joy and our peace will be to dwell forever with the risen and resurrected savior himself.

Peace to all of you, and thank you for reading.

Scott Stocking

My opinions are my own.

[1] Shout-outs from me do not imply the respective proprietors’ endorsement of my blog. These are a simple courtesy to the proprietors.

May 19, 2025

Monuments of Our Faith

Filed under: Biblical Studies,Courage,Creation,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Psalms,Resurrection — Scott Stocking @ 10:18 pm
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A Testimony by Scott Stocking (my views are my own).

Last week, I had the opportunity to see some of Nebraska’s unique monuments and historical sites. I have already written about my experience at Fort Robinson last weekend and how impactful that was to my spiritual well-being. The Sunday after that, I decided I would get a couple places in my National Parks Passport book checked off, essentially since they were relatively close by and no more than a reasonable detour for my trip home.

From Fort Robinson, I headed west on US 20 to Harrison, Nebraska, and from there, I took Nebraska State Highway 29 south toward Mitchell, Nebraska. (I don’t think there’s any hidden meaning in the fact that I had begun my trip west on State Highway 92.) The sign I saw when leaving Harrison said, “No services next 56 miles.” That should let you know just how remote that part of Nebraska is. I saw more tumbleweeds blow across the highway between Harrison and the outskirts of Mitchell than I did residences!

I did find some relief, however, at the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument about halfway between Harrison and Mitchell. The visitor center is about three miles off the highway and was modern and welcoming. I watched a 12-minute movie about the ancient history of the site revealed by the fossil finds, as well as the more recent history of the Native Americans who dwelt in the region. If I had had more time, I would have loved to venture off to one of the dig sites, with the fossil display and the James Cook Gallery (James Cook is the rancher who discovered the fossils).

My next stop was Scotts Bluff National Monument. This is an impressive geological feature along the historic Oregon Trail that served as milestone for travelers along that trail. I had not known that you could drive to the top of the bluff, so I took advantage of that opportunity as well (you can see about 80 miles from the top barring any terrain obstructions). At the top is the placard to Hiram Scott (links to NPS history), who had been abandoned by his employer and died in the vicinity around 1828. The details of his demise are uncertain as we have a few post-mortem accounts of his death up to six years later from various sources that do not agree on every detail. He doesn’t appear to have done anything remarkable or noteworthy other than having been a fur trader, yet his legend was significant enough to ascribe his name to the area, which later became a national monument. In fact, it occurred to me that the sheer face of the bluff is shaped like a giant tombstone.

My final stop at a national monument site on the way home was Chimney Rock National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service). This has long been an iconic symbol of Nebraska, having the privilege of being the image on the obverse side of the State’s quarter dollar coin. The first thought of most, I think, is that it is the inert remnant of a volcano, given the “chimney” is made of different stuff than the rock it rises from.

According to the NPS Web page, Chimney Rock is the most-referenced geographical feature in pioneer diaries. One quote about it compares it to an ancient pyramid. I bought a T-shirt there that suggests maybe there’s a flying saucer hidden under the structure and the spire is its antenna! I think it would have been a much better site for filming Close Encounters of the Third Kind! While I’m waxing fancifully about conspiracy theories, I might as well speculate that maybe Sasquatch has a secret hideout there as well!

None of these fanciful theories detract from the beauty and majesty of single cone surviving in that region amongst all the giant bluffs and buttes one sees to the west of that location along the historic pioneer trails. For those early pioneers, it was a sign that they were on the right track and had some hope of making it to points further west.

Monumental Lessons

I suppose one could make any number of subjective spiritual connections to these monument sites depending on their life experiences. Many years ago, I wrote about my own “exodus” from Egypt that was Illinois, governed primarily by corrupt Chicago-machine politics with an unemployment rate twice that of Nebraska. If ever there was an argument for a governor of a State to be elected by an electoral college (and Chicago only gets one elector!!) instead of the popular vote, it would be Illinois. In that article (A Tale of Two Photos | Sunday Morning Greek Blog), I wrote about the fiery red sky I’d taken a picture of, with the clouds moving west (usually they would move east).

After the fact, I interpreted that as God calling me back to Nebraska (a Big Red cloud bank moving west, get it?). It was around that time I started hearing the Nebraska fight song in my ears, and it was NOT the ring tone on my flip phone. When I remarried in 2014, my wife and I made annual trips to her family’s cabin in Poudre Canyon. We would fly along I-80 at 75+ mph toward Cheyenne, but I always wished that we’d had a little more time to take the long way around to see Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff, places I hadn’t seen since my childhood.

Seeing Chimney Rock especially reaffirms the decision I made 15 years ago to follow that “Big Red” cloud west back to Omaha, where I grew up. But I also knew I needed to eventually get to Chimney Rock, that signature geographic wonder in my home State, to have a fuller experience of what it means to be a proud son of Nebraska.

Although Scotts Bluff is named after someone who was just doing his job as a fur trader and had the misfortune to die in the valley near the bluff (the monument to him is on top of the bluff, but the legend says he died somewhere along the North Platte River), I think I can find a more suitable spiritual lesson for myself. The sheer face of the bluff is probably not suitable for rock climbing, that doesn’t mean you can’t get to the top. If I’d had the time and a way to protect myself from rattlesnakes, I might have walked the short trail up to the top. Instead, I took the easy way, a road that winds up to the top traversing through three tunnels along the way.

For me the lesson is simple, and perhaps overly simple enough to be a bit cheesy, but ascending to the top reminds me that I should never stop reaching for new heights in my spiritual journey. One thing I learned on this trip, both at Scotts Bluff and traversing Sow Belly Canyon in NW Nebraska, when you reach new heights, you have a better view of who you are in God’s creation. We humans are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” but to view the vast expanse and beauty of his creation he’s entrusted us with is indeed humbling.

I am grateful that I’m not living in a Matrix-like cocoon (or a Paradise-like underground city) where some sophisticated software engineer has created a simulation for us to live for who-knows-what purpose. It is good to touch and see and smell and feel and hear the wonders of God’s creation all around. No simulation could ever hope to capture the incredible diversity God has granted us in his creation. With views like I witnessed on my swing through western Nebraska, it’s easy to see how the psalmist could write Psalm 148 NIV | Bible Gateway.

Finally, I think I can even draw a spiritual lesson from the Agate Fossil Beds. I’m a young-earth creationist, so I don’t for a moment believe the fossils of ancient animals are 19 million years old. A global flood or a massive caldera explosion (like the one in Yellowstone that’s due!) would have buried those animals rapidly and given the appearance of great age, at least in the modern scientific paradigm.

I wish I could say all my old man behaviors have become extinct, but I know I still struggle from time to time. The good news is, God has not left me alone to deal with behaviors and attitudes that could lead to my untimely extinction. He’s given me life and hope in Jesus for a brighter future and a resurrection from the dead, one that will NOT leave my old bones in the grave, but like Jesus himself experienced, one that is a complete transition from our earthly bodies to our heavenly bodies. And unlike the Visitor Center there at Agate, I do not need a museum display to remind me of my past sins. God has separated them from me as far as the east is from the west.

Agate, Scotts Bluff, and Chimney Rock are all monuments of my faith, and my Fort Robinson trip (Sowbelly Elegy: The Majesty of God in Exegesis | Sunday Morning Greek Blog) reflects, in part, my community of fellowship at this time in my life. They remind me where I’ve come from and what I can look forward to; what I’ve lost and what I’ve gained; who I am and whose I am. I look forward to taking the trip again next year and mixing up the trip home to see more of the beauty of this great State I live in. I trust and pray that you have some special places you can go to have your own “Sabbath Rest” and reconnect with yourself and with God’s son, Jesus, the resurrected one.

Peace!

Communion as a Call to Action (John 13:31–35)

Filed under: Biblical Studies,Christology,Communion/Eucharist,Courage,Easter,Faith, Faithfulness,forgiveness,Hebrews,Immersion/Baptism,John Gospel of,Liturgical Calendar,Luke Gospel of,Mark Gospel of,Matthew Gospel of,Passion,Psalms — Scott Stocking @ 6:40 pm
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I preached this message May 18, 2025, at Mount View Presbyterian Church, Omaha, NE. Fifth Sunday after Easter, Year C.

I find it interesting that in the weeks after Easter, the gospel passages in the Lectionary are revisiting Jesus’s Holy Week events. That probably shouldn’t surprise us with John’s gospel, though, as the last half of his gospel deals with the events of Holy Week. One explanation for this, I think, is that Jesus taught his disciples so much in that last week, and much of it occurred, apparently, immediately after the “Last Supper.” Given what happened in the 24 hours that followed that last supper, I think it’s safe to say that the apostles probably didn’t remember too much of that teaching. It’s a good thing John wrote it down, then! This gives them the opportunity to revisit those precious final moments with Jesus and to review his teachings to see what they missed about his death and resurrection.

Since we’re going back to Holy Week, and especially since today’s passage comes after John’s unique account of the Last Supper, I think it’s worth it to take a look at his account, especially, and add in the details that Matthew, Mark, and Luke provide. At the beginning of John 13, we see that the meal is already in progress, but we don’t get the “ritual” language we’ve become accustomed to from the other three gospels.

There’s no “This is my body” or “This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins” in John’s gospel. That’s not to say there’s a contradiction here in the storyline: John focuses on a more radical form of demonstrating the forgiveness that would come from the shed blood of the Messiah. He tells us that the Messiah himself washes the feet of ALL the disciples. When Jesus gets to Peter, we find out a little more about Jesus’s motivation for doing this: “Unless I wash you, you have not part with me.” Jesus turns this act of service into a living, “practical” memorial that his disciples would not soon forget. Not only has he said his blood would bring forgiveness; he touches each one of the disciples, even Judas, who he knows will sell him and out, and Peter the denier, to give them “muscle memory” of forgiveness.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say something about the bread and the cup. Matthew and Mark both say simply: “This is my body,” while Luke adds two extra phrases: “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Notice that none of the gospel writers ever say, “This is my body broken for you,” although the piece of unleavened bread in this part of the ceremony was the only one formally broken. The church through history almost naturally added in that bit about “broken for you” to parallel what happens to the bread. Note also the references to the cup in the three synoptic Gospel accounts have Jesus saying that the wine is “the new covenant in my blood” or “the blood of my covenant.” Matthew is the only one who connects the blood with the forgiveness of sins.

One thing that Jesus says in all three gospel accounts may get overlooked: “I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”[1] Jesus here is looking far beyond his own time with this statement: he’s looking ahead to his second coming where we will share in the glorious feast of the Lamb with him in heaven. It’s also worth noting here that Jesus still considers what he’s drinking is “the fruit of the vine” and NOT blood at all.

But this also begs the question: what does Jesus mean when he says, “This IS my body” and “This IS the new covenant in my blood”? I think as Presbyterians we can agree there is not some mystical transubstantiation of the wine into Jesus’s blood. Nor is there a mystical transubstantiation of the bread into the flesh of Christ. But I also don’t think the cup and the bread are merely “symbols” either. I prefer to use the word “signify” to describe the elements because they do have significance for my faith.

In this way, communion is akin to baptism. What does Paul say about baptism in Romans 6:3? “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”[2] Baptism signifies (there’s that word again) that we have come in contact with blood of Christ, which Matthew affirms is for the forgiveness of sins. That is our “initiation” rite, a marker or monument, if you will, that God has done something special in our lives and that we are set apart for something special. The water doesn’t become the blood of Christ when we’re baptized. But in a way that only God knows, the waters of baptism are infused with the power of spiritual cleansing and renewal.

Communion, then, is our regular connection with our baptism, because in communion, as we’ve said, we also encounter the blood of Christ, or what it signifies, in the cup at the communion table. The bread reminds us of the physical suffering Christ endured on the cross. But it also reminds us that we are all part of the body of Christ as well—that’s why we take it together, whether it’s monthly, weekly, or whenever we gather in his name. Out of all the different denominations out there, communion reminds us what we have in common: faith in Christ.

I’ve been studying what the Bible says about communion for quite a long time. It was the topic of one of my early blog posts. In my home church, we take it every Sunday, because that seems to be the practice of the early church in Acts. But my church also typically qualifies it when giving the communion meditation: “If you’re a believer in Christ, we invite you to participate.” There’s no official check for membership or a communicant’s card. Just a simple question to be answered on your honor. Some denominations or branches of mainline denominations require you to be a member of the church. Others may even suggest you’re committing heresy or blasphemy if you take communion in a church where you’re not a member.

The variety in how communion or the eucharist is handled in the modern church concerns me. Communion should be about what Jesus accomplished on the cross, not about your personal affiliation with a particular church. In that early blog article, A Truly Open Communion?, I asked the question this way:

If Jesus calls sinners to himself and eats with them; if Jesus broke bread at the Last Supper with a table full of betrayers and deserters; if Jesus can feed 5,000 men in addition to the women and children with just a few loaves of bread and some fish; why do many churches officially prohibit the Lord’s Table (communion, Eucharist) from those who are not professed Christ-followers, or worse, from those professed Christ-followers who are struggling with sin or divorce or other problems?

Should we really be denying or discouraging those who come to church looking for forgiveness and a connection to the body of Christ the very elements that Jesus uses to signify those things—the bread and the cup? Author John Mark Hicks says this in talking about communion as a “missional table”:

The table is a place where Jesus receives sinners and confronts the righteous; a place where Jesus extends grace to seekers but condemns the self-righteous. Jesus is willing to eat with sinners in order to invite them into the kingdom, but he points out the discontinuity between humanity’s tables…and the table in the kingdom of God.[3]

The implication here is that Jesus is in our midst in a special way, I think, not just because “two or three are gathered in his name,” but because we are doing this “in remembrance” of Jesus. The Old Testament concept of “remembering” is what is key here. In the Old Testament, when the writer says something like, “Then God remembered his promise to Abraham” or “Then God remembered his covenant with Israel,” this not God just calling a set of facts to mind. When God remembers like this, he also acts, and usually in a mighty way.

So when we remember, I believe it is also a call to action on our part, to be empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit in that moment to make a commitment to action for the days that follow. It’s similar to what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:23–24): “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”[4] By his blood we are forgiven and cleansed to start afresh. By remembering Christ, we are empowered to go out and serve.

As we come to today’s gospel passage again, we find ourselves at the end of the dining part of the Last Supper gathering. Jesus wants this time to be memorable for his disciples, because he tells them this is the last time they’re going to have any meaningful contact with him, at least in his earthly form. John makes a point of saying “When [Judas] was gone,” Jesus began delivering his final instructions, his “action plan” if you will, to give them assurance that they will have the guidance of the Holy Spirit after his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. All of the elements leading up to his crucifixion have been set in motion, and there’s no turning back now.

That is why Jesus can say, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.” He knows what is about to happen. Although Jesus will experience many strong emotions, including betrayal, abandonment, and those associated with excruciating pain, he knows the end result will benefit all mankind for eternity. It’s the day he prepared for but perhaps had hoped would never come, or at least had hoped he would not have to endure alone. He knows the days ahead will be difficult, so he gives them a new command.

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

That word “as” carries a huge load with it. It’s not the regular word for “as” in Greek, which is also a two-letter word. The word John uses is a compound word that has the sense of its root words: “love one another according to the way I loved you.” The theme of this new command is found in a few other verses in this part of John, as well as in Luke 6:31: “Treat others according to the way you want to be treated.” “Love” is less about a feeling and more about action. Earlier in John 13, Jesus says, “I have set you an example that you should act toward others according to the way I have acted toward you.” In 15:9, he says, “I have loved you according to the way the Father has loved me,” and then repeats the command from John 13 a few verses later.

Showing this radical, sacrificial, agape kind of love that expects nothing in return is how we show the world we are Jesus followers. It calls us in some cases to reach out beyond our comfort zones and to be hospitable and welcoming to strangers. The author of Hebrews exhorts us in this way in 13:1: “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”[5] We could all use an angel in our lives from time to time, right? The first chapter of Hebrews (1:14) mentions the function of angels: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”[6] God uses angels, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, to empower and enable us to show love to others. But I digress just a bit.

God demonstrated his great love for us in Jesus through his life among us, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. I want to bring in the last couple verses of our reading from Psalm 148 this morning, because it is one of the foundational prophecies that show us what the Israelites expected of the Messiah, and Jesus proved faithful to that promise:

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

14 And he has raised up for his people a horn, k

the praise of all his faithful servants,

of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord. [7]

Jesus is our horn, the strength that we need to endure each day. Let us continue to hold fast to our Savior so that the world will know him, his salvation, and the power and love of God Almighty. Amen!

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Hicks, John Mark. “The Lord’s Supper as Eschatological Table” in Evangelicalism and the Stone-Campbell Movement, Volume 2: Engaging Basic Christian Doctrine. William R. Baker, ed. Abilene: ACU Press, 2006.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

May 7, 2025

Sowbelly Elegy: The Majesty of God in Exegesis

Filed under: Courage,Creation,Evangelism,forgiveness,Hebrews,Reliability of Scripture,Repentance,Spiritual Warfare,Textual Criticism,Theology, Biblical — Scott Stocking @ 9:42 pm
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With apologies to VP JD Vance for mimicking his title.

I do not do much personal reflection in this blog. I’m mostly about exegesis (studying the text of the Bible in its original languages), hermeneutics (applying the results of exegesis to the understanding and meaning of the Bible), and lately homiletics (declaring the understanding and meaning of the Bible, especially as a sermon or homily, or in this case, a blog post). This ties in with the taglines for my blog that I put on my “business” card: “Dig deeper. Read Smarter. Draw Closer.” This past weekend, I took the opportunity to go to Fort Robinson State Park in northwest Nebraska to share in a fly fishing expedition with several guys (and the wife of one of them) from our church, including our pastor. The Fort Robinson area has several excellent fishing areas, including several streams and creeks; the first ten miles or so of the White River, which ultimately runs through the Badlands in South Dakota and empties into the Missouri River; and several ponds. Many of these locations are stocked by the State fisheries with trout and other popular species of freshwater fish.

I had never done fly fishing before, but the chance to get away and spend some time with friends old and new outweighed any anxiety I may have had about that. I only spent a few hours fishing at a couple ponds and in the White River, but it was long enough for me to observe others doing it, and I got pretty good at the casting part. I had a few curious little fish check out my fly, but never did land anything, which was okay by me. I was just grateful to be there.

Putting the Pieces Together

Part 1: Reflecting on Exegesis

The timing of the trip was divinely appointed for me as it coincided with some serious reflection I’ve been doing about the relationship between the depth of Bible study I typically do (“Dig Deeper”) and what I expect from the small groups I attend or help lead. That reflection was prompted by a recent post from one of the other pastor-bloggers on WordPress, Veritas Domain, and his short article about his “simplified” exegetical method. His method is similar to mine in that there is a heavy focus on the text itself, which is not unusual. I’m trained in Greek and Hebrew, so I start with those texts first, or at least have them open in parallel with the English translation so I can take note of key words (“Read Smarter”). If I’ve done those first two steps, the “Draw Closer” principle usually follows quite nicely.

In my comment back to “SlimJim,” I mentioned that my method was similar, but along with that, I’m finding that my experience with the two small groups I’m connected with at my church and even with my preaching is that having the knowledge that comes from that kind of in-depth study may not always go over well with those who don’t have that specialized training. In our men’s group, I can typically get away with sharing that when I feel it adds something to the discussion, but even then, one of my friends in the group (who happens to be a preacher’s kid) will sometimes say “All that is nice to know, but I want to know what makes me a better Christian, a better man of God.” That is, he wants to get to the “Draw Closer” part.

This brought to mind an article I read a number of years ago (a 1997 issue of Leadership magazine) by Haddon Robinson, in which he’s quoted as saying, “More heresy is preached in application than in exegesis.” In other words, some of us preachers may be pretty good at exegeting and interpreting God’s word, but how are we doing about translating that into action for our respective audiences? Does it really matter if a divine command is in the aorist tense versus the perfect tense if we don’t follow the command ourselves or encourage our audiences to follow the command, or worse, manipulate the command with malicious intent?

Part 2: The Fort Robinson Retreat

I had decided I would drive to Fort Robinson from my Omaha, where I live, by way of Nebraska State Highways 92 (first half) and 2 (second half). Together, those two routes take you through the heart of the State, east to west. In addition, Highway 2 runs through the heart of the Sandhills. If you look at a satellite view of Earth along Highway 2, you’ll see that these Sandhills look like a bunch of sand dunes, but they all have grass growing on them, and several small ponds or lakes are scattered throughout. As I was driving through the Sandhills and listening to Rich Mullins and the Passion CDs (yeah, those date me), I began to understand what the Holy Spirit was trying to teach me. But he was only getting started.

I arrived at Fort Robinson State Park after dark, but not so late that I didn’t get to connect with my church friends who had already been there for a full day. We had breakfast the next morning at a small café in nearby Crawford, then struck out to fish. I went with a friend who had been in my small group when I moved back to Nebraska in 2010 and two of his (now grown) sons whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time. It was my first time fly fishing, so my goal was to get the hang of casting and extending my line. We tried the Ice House pond and then walked about a mile to couple bends in the White River (only about 10 miles from its headwater at that point, so no more than about eight feet wide if that. I had a few nibbles at the pond, but nothing in the river. From there we went back to the Grabel ponds, where I finished out the morning having developed a pretty good technique to cast and extend my line, even landing it on top of a 12-inch fish and spooking it away for a moment.

While I was at the section of the White River, I couldn’t help but think and marvel about how God created a means for distributing life-giving water throughout a continent (I knew the term “hydrology,” but I had to look up “limnology” as I was writing this paragraph), especially since, at the end of this month, my brother and I will be at the other end of the White River in South Dakota where it flows through the Badlands (and earns the name “White” from its sediment) and into the Missouri River south of Chamberlain for another fishing trip. God’s creation is an amazing and wonderful thing. That was what the Holy Spirit was continuing to show me, but not for the reason you might think.

Part 3: Sowbelly Canyon Road

One of the sights I had heard about from the guys who had gone up the previous year was Sowbelly Canyon, just north of Harrison, Nebraska. I had no idea what to expect from a “canyon” in Nebraska; certainly nothing like Poudre River Canyon in Colorado where my wife’s family has a cabin. Poudre Canyon is about 50 miles long, and the Poudre River is relatively wide in the canyon. Sow Belly is unique in its own way and was surprisingly beautiful and “cool” in more ways than one. I wish my wife would have been able to come along on this trip.

As you’re driving west on US 20 toward Harrison, you see nothing but a bunch of gently rolling hills on either side of the highway. One would never expect a place of such beauty was just beyond those rolling hills. Even as you crest the top of the canyon, you see an amazing sight below: a single lane dirt road running under a canopy of trees, with unusual rock formations atop the buttes, some of which have formed at right angles. The descent is moderately steep, and at times you have a wall of the canyon on your right (descending) and your left (ascending). At the bottom of the canyon is a small, babbling brook that must have taken a few centuries to form the canyon.

Just before you get to the end of Sowbelly Road on the east end (where it joins Pants Butte Road; no, I’m not making that name up), there’s a spot where you can see at least 80 miles to the north to the Black Hills in South Dakota (the dark mound in the far horizon). Something special happened between God and me via the Holy Spirit on that road, and especially with this particular view. I gained a whole new appreciation for the beauty, majesty, and grandeur of God’s creation. I’d expect something like that in Colorado; I never expected that in seemingly plain old northwestern Nebraska. Boy, was I wrong. What God had started teaching me in the Sandhills came to full fruition at the top of Sowbelly Road.

Part 4: Worldview, Wonder, and Wisdom

So let me bring this all together now. You might remember I started out talking about exegetical methods, methods that were heavily focused on the textual features like grammar, syntax, verb mood and tense, etc. Then it hit me: nothing in my exegetical method intentionally accounts for the majesty and glory of God and his creation. I knew I had to work that in somehow. But God still had one more piece to show me, and it hit me last night at our last small group of the season. Our senior pastor had been with us on this trip, but Sunday morning, one of the teaching pastors was preaching on the trauma Job experienced. I had tried to listen to it Sunday morning while driving through the remotest part of western Nebraska, but just couldn’t get a steady signal.

Fortunately, our Tuesday night group covered it in the study last night, and it was when we were talking about the ending of the book of Job that everything God had been teaching my finally made sense. Job had been arguing with God and his friends about how righteous he was and how he had always given God glory and so on, but God put him in his place. God recounts for Job all that He did by questioning Job: Did you lay the foundations of the earth? Did you create Leviathan and Behemoth? Who are you to tell me how I should act toward you?

That’s when I realized that I’m like Job in that moment. I think I have such a great exegetical method that will keep my doctrine sound and shred every stronghold that tries to set itself against God Almighty, but God’s word is more than the text and the grammar and verb moods and tenses and the participles and the conditional clauses. Those things are static, unchanging. But what does Hebrews 4:12 say? “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”[1] Can grammar and syntax do that? I think not.

The other thing that occurred to me is the backstory of how the Jews would understand God’s word versus us gentile Christians. I’ll use just one example here: Communion, or as some call it, the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. When we look at the elements (“substantiational” leanings aside), we are meant to experience Christ in some way by “remembering” him. We see one man crucified and risen. But what do Jews remember at Passover? Not one man dying, but ALL the firstborn dying who weren’t protected by the blood of the lamb that they themselves applied to their doorways. They remember God parting the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape the oncoming Egyptians. The disciples didn’t understand immediately that Christ’s death had won them forgiveness and freedom. The Jews DID understand that immediately, with hearts pounding witnessing the very miracles of God at work to rescue them, even as they would tell the stories year after year to their descendants.

Conclusion

In other words, when I exegete and interpret Scripture, I need to look beyond the text and the grammar and all the other “in-the-weeds” details to comprehend a grand vision of a great God and all that he has done and made. That’s where the “draw closer” takes place, as it did for me this past weekend, when I understand who I am in God’s kingdom and that in spite of his greatness and grandeur, he looks with love at the least of us, at the humblest of us, at our faithfulness. He looks with compassion at those who are lost and searching and even at those who may be angry with him or agnostic toward him, prompting us to share God’s “living and active” word with those who have not yet comprehended that greater vision.

From this point forward, then, I’m adding a couple permanent elements of my “principlizing bridge” (to use Grasping God’s Word’s language) will be to ask first, “How does this passage reveal the glory and majesty and mystery of God to the world?” and second, “How is this passage ‘alive and active’ not only to me but to those I encounter as well?” I feel like I drew a little closer to God this weekend. I pray that my testimony here will do the same for you.

Scott Stocking

All contents herein are the creative and intellectual property of this author unless otherwise attributed.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

April 20, 2025

Running the Resurrection Race (Easter 2025; John 20:1–18)

Filed under: 1 Corinthians,1 Samuel,Christology,Easter,Ephesians,Faith, Faithfulness,forgiveness,Galatians,Hebrews,John Gospel of,Jonah,Life of Christ,Luke Gospel of,Passion,Proverbs,Psalms,Repentance,Resurrection,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 7:55 pm
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I delivered this message Easter (Resurrection Sunday), April 20, 2025, at Mount View Presbyterian Church in Omaha, Nebraska. I focused on the theme of “running,” picking up on the account of Peter and John “racing” to the tomb.

Good morning! Hallelujah, Jesus is Risen!

The Bible has a running theme. No, seriously, the Bible talks a lot about “running” in the context of our faith. Consider these two verses from 2 Samuel 22:29–30 (par. Psalm 18:28–29) NKJV:

29          “For You are my lamp, O Lord;

The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.

30          For by You I can run against a troop;

By my God I can leap over a wall.[1]

Or how about Psalm 119:32 (NKJV):

I will run the course of Your commandments,

For You shall enlarge my heart.[2]

Then there’s Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV):

10          The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

The righteous run to it and are safe.[3]

The running theme carries over into the New Testament as well, especially in Paul’s letters:

There’s 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV): “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?”[4]

And Galatians 2:2b (NIV): “I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.”[5]

Even the author of Hebrews gets in on the theme in 12:1–2a (NIV): “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”[6]

We see the running theme in the parable of the prodigal or “lost” son in Luke 15:20 (NIV), although in a slightly different way when it comes to the father in the parable:

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”[7]

A few verses later, we learn why the father ran to greet his son: “‘This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”[8]

I think you see where I’m going with this now, right? In our gospel passage this morning, however, Mary and the disciples aren’t looking for a “lost” or prodigal son, but, as they will realize shortly, the once dead and now risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Mary runs to tell the disciples the news, and Peter and John run, no race back to the tomb to see if what she’s telling them is true. The news was that incredible that they couldn’t just take a casual morning stroll back to the tomb.

Now before I dive into this morning’s passage from John, I want to do a quick sidebar on one of the most common questions people ask about the crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus was crucified on a Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. That sounds like about 48 hours, right? Two days? But Jesus had predicted all along that he would rise on the third day. He “borrowed” that timeline from the prophet Jonah, who had spent three days and nights in the belly of the great fish. By Jewish reckoning, the first day of anything is “day one.” We see that in Genesis: “There was evening and morning, the first day.” Jesus was arrested (i.e., “swallowed up”) on Thursday evening after sundown and subjected to a rigged trial that was illegal by Jewish laws in several ways had sealed his fate before it even started, so the period from sundown Thursday through sundown Friday was “the first day.” The Sabbath, of course was on Saturday, having begun at sundown Friday night, the second day. This of course makes Sunday the third day. Jesus could have risen any time after sundown Saturday night and would have fulfilled the prophecy of rising on the third day.

In fact, John’s account tells us it was still dark when Mary Magdalene got to the tomb Sunday morning. John says nothing about whether the guards were there. I’m guessing not, though, as they probably ran off terrified that the stone rolled away seemingly all by itself. Matthew says the guards had to make up a story about it, but they most likely would have been disciplined if not executed for their inability to keep a dead man in a tomb. The details differ among the gospel writers, but I’ll stick with John’s narrative here the rest of the way. Mary didn’t wait around to find out what happened. She had apparently looked in the tomb before running back to Peter and John (“the other disciple”) because she told them Jesus wasn’t there anymore.

Peter and John went racing back to the tomb. John made sure he reported that he won the race, but Peter went in first. Isn’t that the reverse of the Prodigal parable? The prodigal Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three times during the illegal trial, came running back to his savior. It seems odd that they just looked into the tomb and apparently shrugged their shoulders at each other. John tells us that he and Peter found strips of linen there and a separate head cloth when they went into the tomb. Not sure what that means for the Shroud of Turin. But it does suggest that someone had to unwrap Jesus, unless his arms weren’t secured to the body.

Because they still hadn’t put two and two together yet, they decided to head home. No further investigation; no searching for clues or footprints in the dust; no trying to find eyewitnesses that may have seen what happened. What’s especially surprising to me is this: why did they leave Mary Magdalene at the tomb all alone, still crying in grief and shock that someone might have stolen Jesus’s body? Not very gentlemanly of them. And they missed the best part.

Mary, however, did not miss the best part. When she looked into the tomb again, she saw the angels, probably the same ones who unwrapped Jesus’s body that morning. Why weren’t they there when Peter and John went in? Difficult to say, except perhaps that they should have been able to recall Jesus’s teaching about him rising from the dead after three days. Or maybe it’s because Mary was the first one to arrive at the tomb, so she got to be the first one to see him when he made his appearance. Jesus was apparently just freshly resurrected, because Mary couldn’t touch him for whatever reason.

The fact that Mary has a validated claim of being the first to see Jesus risen (besides perhaps the Roman guards) might add some credibility to the resurrection story. If Peter and John had been the first ones to see him alive, it’s possible they could have been accused of a conspiracy to hide the body and say he rose from the dead. It would be more incredible to believe that a couple older Jewish women could have carried his body off than it would be to believe Jesus had risen from the dead.

Jesus told her to go find Peter and the rest of the disciples and let them know he was indeed alive. The disciples don’t have to wait too long to see the risen Savior for themselves. That very night, Jesus would appear to them behind locked doors and reveal himself. Jesus was revealing himself to more and more people and would continue to do so for the next 40 days or so to establish an irrefutable claim that he had indeed risen from the dead. He had won the victory over death and the grave so that we also could live in that hope of the same victory.

What is the message we can take from this passage today, that the disciples ran to see if the hope of Jesus survived his crucifixion? Well, lately I’ve been seeing news reports that people, especially young people, are coming back to church after the COVID shutdowns had decimated many congregations. The White House has established an Office of Faith that is, ostensibly, looking out for the rights of those who live out their faith but have been hounded or cancelled by antireligious forces. We’re even seeing some politicians be more sincerely bold about speaking about faith matters. If we’re in the start of a revival in our country, let’s jump on the bandwagon!

I want to read to you part of an opinion piece that came out Saturday morning from columnist David Marcus. In it, he speaks of the connection between the suffering the church experienced through COVID and the beautiful end result that the church experienced in history after other periods of suffering:

Perhaps we should not be surprised that the bitter cup of COVID led to greater religious observance by Christians. After all the Holy Spirit, speaking through the prophets, has told for thousands of years of periods of loss and suffering that end in the fullness of God’s light.

From the banishment from Eden, to the Flood, to the Exodus, and finally Christ’s 40 days of starvation and temptation in the desert, again and again, it is suffering that brings God’s people closest to Him.

During COVID, our desert was isolation, and especially for young people, it only exacerbated what was already a trend of smartphones replacing playgrounds, of virtual life online slowly supplanting reality.

At church, everything is very real, much as it has been for more than a thousand years. At church, we are never alone. At church, things can be beautiful and true and celebrated, unlike the snark-filled world of our screens that thrives on cruel jokes.

Human beings need a purpose and meaning beyond being a cog in the brave new world of tech. We need connection to our God and to each other.[9]

I hope that Mount View can be a place where you continue to find connection to God. If you’re visiting today, I hope and pray that you’d want to stick around and discover more of that connection to God. And if I may speak from my own heart for a moment, I want to say this: I’ve been filling the pulpit off and on for over 3½ years at this point, and much more frequently since last October. You have grown on me, and I hope that you’ve grown with me. And I pray that the testimony of your fellowship will attract more and more people who desire to connect with God. I pray that the messages here as people download them from the Internet will bear much fruit wherever it is heard and repeated.

The church is winning the race to win the hearts and souls of those who seek a deeper connection with God and with their own faith. I mean, who would have ever thought that the American Idol reality show would have a three-hour special featuring “Songs of Faith” like they’re doing tonight! I’d say the Spirit is on the move! You and I may never be on American Idol, but we can be bright and shining lights so that the world may know the hope we have.

On this day when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I want to close with an encouragement to you from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, 1:18–20 (NIV):

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.[10]

Amen, and have a blessed Resurrection Sunday with friends and family.

[1] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[3] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[8] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[9] DAVID MARCUS: 5 years after a dark COVID Easter, faith is flourishing | Fox News, accessed 04/19/25.

[10] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

April 6, 2025

Giving Our Best for the Savior (John 12:1–8)

Filed under: Chronology,Courage,Faith, Faithfulness,Giving,Isaiah,John Gospel of,Lent,Passion,Psalms,Repentance,Resurrection,Thanatology (Death) — Scott Stocking @ 7:44 pm
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I preached this message on April 6, 2025, which was also National Tartan Day. I wore the standard Gordon family kilt (great-great-grandfather through the maternal line) and the necktie is Gordon Red (purchased in Scotland). I’ve included a few pictures. Now I can say I’ve preached in a kilt! :-)

The Lord be with you.

Before I get to my main message, I want to go back a few months when I preached on Psalm 126, our Old Testament reading this morning, because it was also our reading on October 27. At that time I said that we should consider verse 4 a prayer for this congregation: “Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.” That continues to be my prayer for this congregation today, and I hope it is yours as well. I heard recently that church attendance is starting to pick up again, so I pray we can take the opportunity to tap into that resurgence.

Our gospel passage this morning, John 12:1–8, is one of the few stories of Jesus’s ministry that all four gospel authors included, probably because Matthew and Mark both said that what she’d done would be told wherever the gospel was preached. Matthew and Mark both include the story after the time of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and two days before the Last Supper. Luke places it much earlier in his gospel, and he emphasizes that the woman’s sins were forgiven because of what she’d done. We can’t be sure why Luke has the story so much earlier. He may be “borrowing” it from the future in his gospel so he can tie it in with the story of the response to forgiveness based on the depth of one’s sins.

But in our passage this morning from John, he places the story just before Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This event may serve to bring to mind the anointings that the Israelites were commanded to do for their priests and kings. Listen to what David says in the very short Psalm 133:

1 How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

down on the collar of his robe.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore.[1]

This refers to Leviticus 8, where not only was the oil poured on Aaron’s head for consecration, it was also used to consecrate everything in the newly assembled tabernacle. Matthew and Mark do not name the woman who brings in the alabaster jar. Nothing in those accounts suggests they know who the woman is. Luke says the woman lived a sinful life and suggests she shouldn’t even be there.

John is the only one who names the woman in his gospel. The woman is Mary, Lazarus’s sister. We do know a bit more about Mary and Martha than other people mentioned in passing in the Gospels. At the end of Luke 10, Martha is frustrated with Mary because she is sitting at Jesus’s feet listening to his teaching while Martha is busy preparing a meal. This probably isn’t the meal John mentions, and it’s nowhere near Luke’s account of the foot anointing. In the previous chapter of John, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead to prove he was the “resurrection and the life.” Lazarus’s death seems to have hit Mary the hardest in that story, as she is the one who seems most disturbed by Jesus’s delay in coming to see Lazarus. It makes sense, then, that Mary would be the one who wanted to anoint Jesus’s feet for resurrecting her beloved brother.

John is the only one who doesn’t indicate that the container for the nard was an alabaster jar, but the alabaster jar was considered the most appropriate container for nard or perfume at that time, so I think we’re safe to assume it was. Alabaster was made from gypsum, so it was somewhat delicate and finely textured. Breaking the seal probably meant that the neck of the jar had to be broken to pour the thick nard out and apply it. It wasn’t a very big jar either. We know it was about a pint, and it would have all had to have been used at that moment; otherwise it would spoil or lose its aroma. Matthew and Mark say the woman poured the nard on Jesus’s head, much like it would have been for the OT priests mentioned above, while Luke and John say the woman poured it on Jesus’s feet, perhaps an acknowledgment of Jesus’s servant attitude.

Although the details of this story vary among the gospel accounts, a couple themes of the story do stand out across the board. Many of those present at the dinner, especially Judas Iscariot in John’s account, view this as a wasteful act. This perfume was not cheap; Judas, along with other players in the parallel account, are concerned that such a valuable commodity could have been sold so the money would be given to the poor. John reminds us though that Judas’s concern was more selfish than compassionate. Judas had been helping himself to the till.

What this tells us, I think, for our walk with Christ today is that it’s okay to be a little extravagant when giving to the Lord’s work. Now obviously we don’t need to prepare Jesus for another crucifixion as the woman was doing in that day. But just as Jesus turned the water into the best wine served at the wedding at Cana for his first miracle, so we too can dedicate our excellence in whatever we do for or offer to the body of Christ and the work of the kingdom.

A second principle at work here is that, while the work of helping the poor is noble and a never-ending ministry of the church, there will be times when we have to take care of our own, and I’m not necessarily referring to when we die. It’s not selfish when we do that. It’s a necessary part of taking care of our family. While our loved ones are alive, we buy thoughtful gifts for them. When they pass, we pick out a nice coffin or urn. The ancient Jews used an ossuary, basically a stone box, to store the bones of a loved one once the flesh had decayed and often would put some sort of inscription on it. When the Jews brought Joseph’s bones out of Egypt, it was most likely in an Egyptian mummy case. That’s a little odd for us to think in those terms today, though, so we find other ways to memorialize our loved ones.

Unlike the pharisees and Judas Iscariot then, we should not look with judgment on those who do nice things for their loved ones at death. How we choose to remember a loved one is an important part of the grieving process. But I have to wonder here: Mary had already witnessed Jesus raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. Did she, or any of the other disciples for that matter, have any inkling that Jesus’s impending crucifixion might be followed up by his own resurrection? Judging from the disciples’ reaction in the gospels when Jesus spoke of his death, I’m pretty sure they hadn’t put two and two together yet.

Our gospel passage this morning has focused on what Mary did to prepare Jesus for his death. But what was Jesus doing to prepare his disciples for his death? We’ll address some of this after Easter in the Sundays leading up to Pentecost, but for now I think it’s important to see that, although he was speaking somewhat figuratively at times, he did not leave his disciples without reason for hope after his death.

The next event after our gospel passage this morning is Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Palm Sunday as we’ve come to know it. Chapter 13 is the Last Supper, where Jesus imparts his final teachings to his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion. John recorded five chapters worth of Jesus’s words, longer than the Sermon on the Mount. In those final hours he has with his disciples, he:

  • Models servanthood by washing their feet
  • Predicts Peter’s denial
  • Reassures them that he’ll come back to take them to the place he’s preparing for them
  • Promises the Holy Spirit will dwell in them and guide them in all truth
  • Encourages them to stay connected to the vine, to Jesus, so they can bear fruit
  • Reaffirms the coming, indwelling power of the Holy Spirit
  • Predicts that they will be scattered, but they will also eventually know peace
  • Prays for their unity so that the kingdom can move forward and their faith will be unshakable.

That must have been quite the emotional and gut-wrenching after-seder gathering. Most of what John records in those chapters was unique to his gospel. None of the other Gospel come close to the depth of this teaching. Luke and Matthew have passing references to receiving the Holy Spirit without too much detail to describe it. As a gospel writer, John seems to have had special dispensation to capture these final teachings. He, after all, was the only one who shows up at the cross on crucifixion day.

This is not to discount the other teachings of Jesus prior to his triumphal entry. His whole ministry was about preparing you and me for the new way God would work among his people. The Sermon on the Mount and the parables in Matthew; Luke’s sermon on the plain; and Mark’s emphasis on the urgency of Jesus’s ministry are all signs in their own way that Jesus was preparing ordinary people to extraordinary things for the kingdom of God.

Isaiah looked forward to this new time in 43:18–19:

18 “Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.[2]

The final two verses from our OT reading this morning hint at a future sorrow that will end with joy as well:

5 Those who sow with tears

will reap with songs of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

carrying sheaves with them.[3]

As we continue toward Easter, you and I know how the story ends. We do not need to fret like those first disciples. We know we have the victory. We know we have forgiveness. We know we have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Let us go forth from here boldly and confidently in that knowledge and be shining lights for the Savior! Amen.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

March 23, 2025

Bearing Fruit…and the Cross (Luke 13:1–9; Psalm 63)

Filed under: 1 Corinthians,Courage,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,forgiveness,Isaiah,Lent,Luke Gospel of,Prayer,Psalms,Repentance,Soteriology,Spiritual Warfare — Scott Stocking @ 11:41 pm
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I preached this message on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Mount View Presbyterian Church. I dealt with all four passages for the Lectionary for this Sunday.

Bearing Fruit…and the Cross

Lent is typically thought of in the Christian world as a time of sacrifice. Some people give up meat only to crowd into the numerous fish fries around town. Others might give up chocolate or coffee or caffeinated beverages or shopping or any number of other things that we might consider “vices” personally, but most of those things are not innately spiritual and may in fact make us a bit more difficult at times to live with if we haven’t had our morning cup of Joe. I’m teasing you a bit, of course. But if Lent is supposed to bring us some spiritual benefit, then shouldn’t we be giving up things that can damage our relationship with God? Why not give up greed, pride, selfishness, and other such things?

That seems to be the underlying theme behind our passages today. They might be summed up by John’s exhortation when he was preaching in the wilderness in Luke 3:8: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” In other words, bear fruit while you’re bearing the cross. In our passage from Luke 13 this morning, Jesus seems to be addressing the thought that some had that bad things only happened to bad people. But the circumstances of our demise do not determine our eternal destiny. In spite of the untimely and unfortunate deaths of the Galileans and those in the tower of Siloam, Jesus says the important thing is to repent and be ready.

Jesus switches to talking about the fig tree that won’t bear fruit in the next few verses. The owner of the fig tree wants to cut it down because it’s unproductive. But the vineyard manager said “Give me another year and I’ll have it bearing fruit.” But the connection here with the previous verses and John’s statement about producing fruit in keeping with repentance is unmistakable. If we’re not bearing fruit, that could affect our salvation and our relationship with our Savior. Jesus said in Matthew 7:20: “By their fruit you will recognize them.”

Paul talks about the quality of our works in 1 Corinthians 3:12–15, but he doesn’t use the language of “fruit.”

12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.[1]

God, being full of grace and mercy, leaves us a way out when we fall short. That’s what he accomplished through Jesus in his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. But instead of focusing on these warnings for the rest of my message this morning, I want to turn the focus around to the theme I mentioned earlier: How do we bear fruit while bearing the cross? That would have been my sermon title in the bulletin if I had remembered to click send on my e-mail to Judy!

I want us then to look at the other three passages from the lectionary today in addition to our gospel passage I touched on at the beginning. In Psalm 63, we’ll look at seeking God in worship. In Isaiah 55, we’ll look at seeking God for our wellbeing. And finally in 1 Corinthians 10, we’ll look at standing firm in our faith to recognize the way out of temptations that can drag us down.

Let’s look at Psalm 63. For a long time our country has been turning away from church attendance and, by implication, from God altogether. A trusted, unbiased Web site called Statista has this summary of church attendance: “According to a 2022 survey, 31 percent of Americans never attend church or synagogue, compared to 20 percent of Americans who attend every week. Despite only about a fifth of Americans attending church or synagogue on a weekly basis, almost 40 percent consider themselves to be very religious.” A 2024 survey by Gallup puts the number of weekly attenders at 20%, with another 9% at “almost every week.” On the flip side, 31% NEVER attend church or other religious service. We could talk about the reasons for this 24/7 for a week, but we’d probably never get anywhere. Psalm 63 tells us why this shouldn’t be, though.

We should be able to come to church to find God. Granted David, who wrote this psalm, had a special relationship with God that enabled and empowered him to be a great leader of his people, but this doesn’t mean that you and I don’t have access to this same relationship in the New Covenant era. David claims to have seen God’s power “in the sanctuary.” It’s not clear exactly what he “saw,” whether it was some physical manifestation of light, a divine presence, or if he’s using the word “see” to describe what he experienced in worship. Regardless, it was clear at least in David’s day, one of the best places to be to encounter God was the sanctuary in the Temple.

In the New Covenant era, God has given his Holy Spirit to each of us who believe. You don’t have to be a king or a prophet any more to have exclusive access to the Holy Spirit. When we come together to worship, to sing praises and hymns, to read God’s word and hear it explained in such a way that it’s relevant to our live and our situations, the Holy Spirit works among us to build and shepherd that unity we have in body of Christ. When we pray together as a congregation, we let God know that we still trust in him to work in our lives and provide for our needs while at the same time letting those whom we’re praying for know that we will support them however we can. When we come together as a worshipping community for projects and collection for the poor, we show and shower God’s love upon those who are truly in need.

But our worship doesn’t just happen in the church building. Verse implies that wherever David is at, he is earnestly seeking God. Later in vs. 6, he say he remembers God in his bed and while he’s keeping watch on the battlefield at night. He sings to God and he clings to God, knowing that God’s presence is always with him through the Holy Spirit. We have that same assurance. Jesus even promised that at his ascension: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Seek God and you will find him, and as you draw closer to him, others will come to see him at work in your lives as well.

As we seek God, we can also know he will provide for our basic needs and do so generously. That is the message of Isaiah 55. Verses 1 & 2 go like this:

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and you will delight in the richest of fare. [2]

God wants to richly bless us. God’s goodness is genuine and original. God isn’t giving us yesterday’s leftovers. Jeremiah says “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (Lamentations 3:22b–23). Sometimes we spend a lot of effort and money pursuing things that don’t bring lasting or eternal satisfaction. God wants us to focus on him and what he provides for us. Later on in Isaiah 55, the prophet says this:

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.[3]

You heard in that passage the idea I suggested earlier about giving up the things that tempt us to turn from God. But Isaiah also says we need to get rid of the “stinkin’ thinkin’” as well. This is complete repentance: not just changing our behavior but changing our minds and our ways of thinking as well. That’s were the worship comes in from Psalm 63: setting our hearts on Christ.

One of my favorite passages occurs a few verses later in Isaiah 55:

My word that goes out from my mouth…

will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12 You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;[4]

I believe this is one of the greatest passages on evangelism. I love that it says God’s word accomplishes the purpose for which he sent it. When I was preaching early in my career, I was never in a church that followed the lectionary or the liturgical calendar. I could preach on what I wanted or I could pick out a theme or a particular book and prepare a sermon series.

But following the lectionary puts these two verses from Isaiah in a new light for me. Now I don’t know who decided on the three cycle of passages to read, but the lectionary is a “reading plan” adopted by many churches and denominations around the world, so it carries a lot of weight and, aside from the denominational differences and nuances that work their way into sermons on these passages, many churches are on the same page when it comes to what their congregations are presented with each Sunday. Because so many churches have agreed to use it, I believe it’s something that God honors. I think there’s something divine about the spiritual foresight those responsible for developing it, so I honor that.

Occasionally I’ll look at the passage for the day and wonder, “How am I going to preach on that?!” But I trust that there’s some component of God’s timing there, that is, some spiritual benefits he has in mind for sending out his word in this way, and I want to be faithful to communicate that in a way that’s relevant to you and my larger audience on the blog. I genuinely believe the lectionary is one way that God’s word gets from his mouth to our ears and that preachers who follow the lectionary are in many and diverse ways fulling the purposes for which God sends it out in that structure.

Finally, I want to look briefly at 1 Corinthians 10. Paul concludes in the first half of chapter 10 that that the written history of God’s people is intended for our encouragement and exhortation to faithfulness. Here’s what vv. 11–13 say:

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.[5]

Paul warns us that we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. Faithfulness is an active, ongoing process in the life of the Christian. There is nothing passive about it. Continue seeking God in worship; continue reading his words to hide them in your heart. Continue loving your neighbor as yourself so they too can see the love of God. Continue putting on the armor of God each and every day so you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

May the power of the Holy Spirit go with you this week as you serve our Lord and Savior. Amen.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

March 16, 2025

Approaching the Cross (Psalm 27; Luke 13:31–35)

Filed under: Christology,Courage,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Hebrews,Hope,Lent,Life of Christ,Luke Gospel of,Passion,Prayer,Psalms,Spiritual Warfare — Scott Stocking @ 5:56 pm
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I presented this message on March 16, 2025, at Mount View Presbyterian Church in Omaha, Nebraska. In studying the two passages, I discovered several thematic connections between Psalm 27 and the central part of Luke’s gospel, especially from 9:51 through Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Luke 19.

I had attended StoneBridge (my home church) for the worship part of their service before going to preach, and they did a version of St. Patrick’s Breastplate. I started my message with that this morning (the 15 lines toward the end of the longer prayer).

May the Lord be with you.

Have you ever thought about how you read certain types of literature? If you’re reading a fictional novel, or perhaps a true historical account of real event or someone’s life, it’s probably best to start at the beginning and read through to the end. It’s important to have all the details of the story because some of those details will be important throughout or later in the book. If you’re reading a history book or a historical biography, you may want to focus on a certain topic or certain era covered in the book to get the specific information you’re looking for, but you might miss some important background information that gives more context to events of that period. When you read a newspaper, you look for the headlines that interest you. If you’re looking for a specific answer on something like “How do I change a tire,” “Where do the Sandhill Cranes migrate to,” or “How do I calculate the area of a circle,” you typically wouldn’t have to read an entire reference book relevant to the subject. You’d go to the index or table of contents and look up where to find the information you’re looking for.

The Bible is sort of all these types of literature wrapped up in one collection that contains all these things, from the fictional, but true-to-life parables to the priestly “Chronicles” of the kings to the history of the patriarchs and the gospels, right up to the fantastical imagery of Revelation. Because of this, it’s important that we don’t lock ourselves into one way of reading the Bible. While it’s good to sit down and read large sections of the Bible in one sitting from time to time, we can still miss “the big picture” if we don’t understand or know the historical setting in which it was written.

Even when you read the gospels, if you have a Bible with footnotes, you’ll see that there are all sorts of references to passages in both the Old and New Testament where the gospel writer is either quoting the Old Testament or the editor perceives a connection to another New Testament author’s writings. That’s something you don’t typically get in a fictional novel, but would be helpful, I think.

Our two passages today, Psalm 27[1] and Luke 13, have a thematic connection, but it’s important to recognize that this connection compels us to look at the larger context of Luke’s gospel. Luke 13 is a little more than halfway through Luke’s 24-chapter gospel, but more importantly for our purposes, it’s about halfway between Luke 9:51 and Luke 19:28, which is the beginning of the story of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Why is 9:51 an important marker? Luke says this: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”[2] Luke isn’t even halfway through his gospel and he’s already talking about Jesus getting ready for the cross!

Luke frames the rest of his gospel from 9:51 on in the context of Jesus approaching the cross and preparing himself and his disciples for the implications of that seminal event. In fact, the footnote on this verse in my NIV Bible lists the references to this in the story line along the way: Luke 13:22, 17:11, 18:31, and 19:28.

So let’s take a look at the thematic comparisons between Luke and Psalm 27. Psalm 27:1 is the initial confidence builder for David as he pens this psalm: The Lord is his light, his salvation, and his stronghold, so David has nothing to fear as he leads his people. This confidence is paralleled in Luke 9:51 with his statement that Jesus “resolutely” set out for Jerusalem. The phrase here literally means to “set your face” (or by extension, “set your eyes”) upon Jerusalem. This ties in with Psalm 27:4 as well, when David speaks of dwelling in the house of the Lord and gazing on his beauty in the temple. The temple, of course, was in Jerusalem. In today’s gospel passage, Jesus seems to hint that he’s only three days away from Jerusalem and needs to press on.

In Psalm 27:2–3, David says that in spite of his enemies advancing against him, he will remain confident of the Lord’s help. As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem in Luke, he encounters his own opposition along the way. In 9:53, the Samaritan village he was near wanted nothing to do with him because he was headed for Jerusalem. In chapter 11, we see opposition from the pharisees and experts in the law as he’s working miracles and teaching about the kingdom. By the end of chapter 11, Luke says this after delivering a list of “woes” to his critics: “53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.”[3] No love lost there between Jesus and that group of elitists.

Just like David, though, Jesus’s confidence doesn’t wane. He continues on his journey gathering an ever-larger following warning them about the opposition they themselves would face for being his followers and encouraging them to be ready when his time does come. In chapter 13, he faces opposition from a synagogue leader who is upset because Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath! Imagine that! In our passage this morning, the Pharisees seem to think they’re doing Jesus a favor by telling him to leave the region because Herod wants to kill him. But Jesus presses on, even with a bit of sarcasm, or so it seems, when he says in so many words that Jerusalem is the only place for a prophet to die.

The rest of Luke up to the point where he reaches Jerusalem gives us several more examples of this opposition, but we can save that for another time. I mentioned earlier about Psalm 27:4–5 hinting at the importance of temple. For Jesus, the temple was the true home of his family: after all, it was his father’s house. If he knows he’s going to die, he wants to be as close to his family home as possible. His statement in Luke 13:35 about “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” looks forward to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I believe Jesus takes a sense of pride and ownership in the temple, even though it is a structure made by human hands.

We saw after Christmas how Jesus as a boy stayed at the temple and impressed the religious leaders with his knowledge of and wisdom about God’s law. His first order of business after arriving in Jerusalem at the end of Luke 19 is to clear out the corruption in his father’s house. Even as he knew this would be one of his last weeks to experience the earthly temple, he wanted to leave it in better condition than he found it by restoring it to a place of prayer and genuine worship. He knew he would be the sacrificial lamb, and there would be no more need to sell lambs and birds in the temple for the sacrifices. It would be restored to a purer state. In the book of Acts, we see that his followers have been meeting regularly at the temple since his crucifixion, and it is there that the church is born on the day of Pentecost. That was the “Garden of Eden” for Christ followers.

The last half of Psalm 27 is one of David’s most heartfelt prayers for protection against his enemies and for the security of God’s presence with and acceptance of David as his chosen ruler for God’s people. Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Luke 11, the shorter version of the Lord’s prayer. In that prayer, we hear some of the same themes of praise, provision, and forgiveness. He understands the goodness of God’s provision.

But we also hear in that Psalm the foreshadowing of the cross. In verse 12, David asks not to be turned over to his enemies, which sounds very much like Jesus’s plea in the Garden of Gethsemane to have the cup of suffering removed from him. David’s pleas in verse 9 sound very much like Jesus’s words on the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” Those words come from Psalm 22, where many of the aspects of Jesus’s crucifixion are foretold.

Just as David in the last two verses of Psalm 27 affirms his confidence in the goodness of the Lord and can encourage the worshipers to “be strong and take heart,” so Jesus has confidence in his dying moments to selflessly tell the thief on the cross that he too will join him in paradise when they die. I don’t believe that David intended Psalm 27 to be a messianic psalm, nor do I think Luke intended the central part of his gospel to mirror the themes of Psalm 27, but the parallels are striking and certainly worth noting.

But these parallels are academic. What does all this mean for you and me as we walk with our savior?

First, when we run up against roadblocks or challenges to our faith or we find that doubts are creeping in, we can remain confident that our light, our stronghold, surrounds us with his protection. We need not fear or doubt, but if we wait on the Lord and strengthen our hearts by abiding in God’s word, we can be confident we will see the goodness of the Lord, just as David was. We can walk in the victory of the cross in the overcoming resurrection of our savior.

Second, we can heed the exhortation of Hebrews 10:19–25, which sums up these three themes concisely:

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.[4]

Worshiping together as a church family, whether we’re a family of 20 or 200 or 2,000, provides a powerful sense of belonging to each of us. We know we have a place to call our spiritual home, just as Jesus considered the temple his spiritual home. We can feel safe here with one another.

Finally, the power of praying together as a church family cannot be overstated. Our prayers, whether in our own closets at home or corporately in our liturgy here, keep us connected to and in constant communication with our heavenly father. We can be assured that he hears us and works to respond to our prayers according to his will and his love for us.

As we go through this Lenten season, let us not forget the forgiveness we have from God and not forget to offer forgiveness and grace to those who need to hear that message. Peace to all of you. Amen.

[1] Psalm 27 parallels Psalm 31 with similar themes. Psalm 31 will figure prominently in the Lectionary beginning the Sunday before Palm Sunday next month.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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