Prison Break!

 The Shawshank Redemption.  The Great Escape.  Escape from Alcatraz.  Papillon.  Stalag 17.  

Who doesn't love a great story of someone wrongly imprisoned busting out?  OK, probably not the warden.  But there is something in our souls that longs to hear these stories again and again.  

I truly believe our love for these tales of escape are in our hearts because God has placed them there.  We long to be free.  And we can only find freedom in Christ.

Well, if you like a good prison break, then you need to sit down and read the book of Acts.  Dr. Luke tells the story of three different escapes (Acts 5:17-21; 12:6-11; 16:23-28).  

Each time, the prisoners got help from the outside.  And that outside help was from the hand of God Himself.

We pick up this particular story as God is working countless signs and wonders through the apostles.  Healing of diseases.  Exorcising from demons.  

The early church proclaims the grace and salvation only in the risen Jesus.  The Sanhedrin had already tried to warn Peter and John to stop all this nonsense, but the two apostles blew them off (Acts 4:17-21).

At this point, the high priest and his cronies had enough (v17).  Most likely, the high priest mentioned here is Annas (Acts 4:6).  He was the patriarch of a family who held a kung fu grip on the high priesthood.  

Annas had served previously in the role but it was now "officially" held by his son-in-law Caiaphas.  Two of his sons would also hold that office.

Annas was the leader of the Sadducees.  This was a small but very powerful sect of Judaism.  These were the wealthiest of Jews that controlled the temple in Jerusalem.  

The Sadducees don't buy all of that supernatural mumbo jumbo that others proclaim.  No angels.  No heaven.  No resurrection.  Let's face it, that stuff is only a crutch for the weak.

Annas and his toadies were "filled with jealousy."  Luke's choice of verb is interesting.  To this point, he describes early believers as being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31).  

But these members of the ruling religious elite were filled (Gr. πλεθω/pletho) with something else completely.  Something darker.  Jealousy.  

Rather than celebrate the miracles God was doing in the lives of people through the First Church of Jerusalem, they burned.  

What fills your heart when you see others succeed?  Do you see them as stealing something that should be yours?  Or do you celebrate their victory?  

I'll be very transparent with you.  In the past, I have struggled as I watched God grow other churches.  For 15 years, I served in small, struggling church plants.  I would watch other churches thrive while we struggled to survive.  

As long as I took my eyes off of what Jesus was doing and felt sorry for poor, poor pitiful me, jealousy would fill my heart.  

I thank the Lord that He revealed that to me and graciously allowed me to repent.  But this is something I must always guard against.

So I ask you, what fills your heart?

So what did the jealousy-filled Sadducees do?  "They arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison" (v18).  

Ironic, isn't it?  These religious leaders were prisoners of the jealousy bubbling up in their hearts so they throw the apostles in the pokey.  The apostles may be behind bars, but Annas and his posse are the real prisoners.

Luke tells us that all of the apostles were tossed in the clink.  Not just Pete and John like the last time (Acts 4:3).  All twelve of them.  And that included the new guy, Matthais (Acts 1:26).  

This was actually a fulfillment of something Jesus had told them earlier (Lk 21:12).  They locked them up "in the public prison."  Think the county jail.

"But" (v19).  You've gotta love any story about someone innocent put in the slammer that includes this wonderful little conjunction.  In other words, they may be prisoners now BUT something is about to happen.  

Do you have hope that Jesus in your darkest hour, Jesus is on the verge of doing something?  Is there a supernatural "but" about to happen?  It's in times like these that God loves to move.  We see it over and over in the Bible. 

  

"But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors  and brought them out" (v19).  Luke doesn't give us many details but here's what we do know.  It was nighttime.  

God sent "an angel of the Lord."  Notice that this is not THE angel of the Lord we see appearing at various times in the OT.  There's a lot of evidence that THE angel of the Lord is actually the pre-incarnate Christ moving and acting.  

This is AN angel of the Lord.  God has used such unnamed messengers many times in the Gospels, especially at Jesus' birth.  This unnamed angel unlocks the jail doors and leads out the twelve.

Jesus promised He would so this.  In the synagogue at Nazareth, He said that His Father "sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives" (Lk 4:18; Is 61:1-2).  Christ has come to free you as well.  From your prison of sin.  

The prison doors are open.  Don't just sit there.  Walk out!  Walk free!  This is why these prison break stories resonate in our hearts.  We're all prisoners in our sinful selves.  Jesus has come to bust you out!

This particular angel gives them instructions.  God has sprung them from the slammer but He has an assignment for them.  "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life" (v20).  

He doesn't tell them to hit the road and lay low.  Get back to the temple.  Get back in the spotlight.  There's work to be done.  There's a message to proclaim.  

Christ has freed each one of us for a purpose.  And that is to tell others about Him, "all the words of life” (v20).

And that's exactly what these twelve men did (v21).  As the sun came up, they hit the temple courts and start teaching.  Don't miss the obedience of the apostles.  

It would have been real easy for them to say they needed the day off.  They were immediately obedient to God's command.  When Christ tells us to do something, let's not waste a second.  

Forget "The Shawshank Redemption."  God has a more breathtaking prison break for each of us.  And I'm SO thankful He set me free to proclaim "all the words of this life.”

©2011

Jay Jennings

Rocky II

 Sequels usually disappoint.  Whether a movie or a book, the second rarely is as good as the first.  

Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky II" is a great example.  But here in his sequel, Luke gives us his version of "Rocky II."  

Simon Peter, who Jesus Himself nicknamed Rocky (Jn 1:42), delivers his second message.  Powered by Holy Spirit, Pete's sermon sequel doesn't disappoint.  

God used his first to save 3,000 (Acts 2:41).  He will use the second to save another 5,000 (Acts 4:4).

The setting for Pete's sermon sequel is Solomon's Portico on the temple grounds in Jerusalem (v11).  

This is the covered porch that surrounded the Court of the Gentiles.  Jesus preached at this very same place on at least one occasion (Jn 10:23).

God has just used Peter and his fellow apostle John to heal a 40-year-old beggar who was unable to walk from birth (Acts 3:7-8).  

Once healed, this dude danced and jumped around like he had just one the lottery.  And the miracle blew people away (Acts 3:9-10).

Once the former disabled dude finishes his victory lap around the Court of the Gentiles, he latches onto Pete and John.  The scene in the temple courts was getting crazy.  

Luke tells us that "the people, utterly astonished, ran together to them” (Acts 3:11).  God's miracles tend to escalate things very quickly.

Rocky saw this is a God-given opportunity to explain to everyone what had just happened and to tell the crowd about Jesus (v12).  He uses this as a chance to set everyone straight on what they had seen.  

Pete tells the excited mob that he and Johnny didn't do anything.  There's no reason to be looking at them ("why do you stare at us?").  

What they had just witnessed had absolutely NOTHING to do with any special power or any great godliness on their part.

Rocky tells the crowd that God did all of this (v13).  And here on the temple grounds, he tells his audience EXACTLY who this God is.  "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers."  

In other words, the God who healed this man is the one and the same God who made those amazing covenant promises to their Jewish forefathers.  This is the same title God declared for Himself when Moses checked that bizarre burning bush (Ex 3:6, 15).

Pete goes on to say that this miracle was just the way for our Promise-Keeping God bring glory to "His servant Jesus."  

In other words, it was God's way of reinforcing His point that all of the covenant promises are fulfilled in the Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth.  

Through this miracle, God endorses Jesus as Messiah and these two men as His apostles.  Time and time again in the NT, God uses wonders to reassure the people that these apostles are His divine representatives who speak His Gospel.

Rocky uses a very interesting title for Christ, "His servant Jesus."  It is only used of Jesus four times, three of them here in this impromptu sermon (Acts 3:26; 4:27, 30; Mt 12:18).  

The Greek word for servant here is pais/παις.  It can mean child.  But it also can carry the idea of a servant, specifically a king's attendant (Thayer/BDB).

While it's only used four times in the NT, but the Greek translation of the OT (the Septuagint or LXX) repeated uses pais/παις to translate the word servant.  

The Servant is one of Isaiah's most powerful images of God's Messiah (Is 42:1; 49:6; 50:10; 52:13).  This messianic Servant is to suffer at the hand of God on behalf of God's people (Is 53).  

Pete explains that is exactly what has happened to Jesus.  He is the Messiah God promised.  He is that Servant that Isaiah prophesied.

In other words, Jesus and the Gospel of Grace is no sequel.  He is the continuation of God's original story of salvation! 

Here in Rocky's sequel sermon, he goes back to the same theme of the first.  He accuses his audience of killing Jesus.  

Instead of embracing their God-promised Messiah, they handed Him over to Pilate and demanded his execution.  They did all this after the governor had ruled Him innocent time after time.

"But you denied the Holy and Righteous One" (v14).  Pete charges his listeners with giving the Heisman to God's Holy One, for rejecting the Righteous One.  

Note the title.  Jesus was not just holy, but THE Holy One.  Again, a common title for Messiah in the OT, especially by Isaiah.  

There is no one else like Jesus.  He is set apart.  He is unique.  He is completely different.

And He is the Righteous One.  While not used as often, this is another term found in the OT.  As a matter of fact, God uses it to talk about Jesus in Isaiah.  

"By His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make may to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities" (Is 53:11).  As the Righteous One, Jesus is absolutely without sin.  Pure.  

And if rejecting God's Holy and Righteous One isn't bad enough, Peter points out that the people "asked for a murderer to be granted to you."  

That's Barabbas (Lk 23:18-25).  As bad as Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio was, this was the worst trade in the history of mankind.

Rocky then delivers his knockout blow.  "You killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead" (v15).  

Imagine standing before thousands of people and telling them they killed God.  But that's EXACTLY what Pete did.  

"Author" is the Greek word archegos/αρχηγος.  It means the chief leader, the one out front, the pioneer, the originator.  

The writer of Hebrews uses it twice to refer to Jesus (Heb 2:10; 12:10).  They had taken the life of the One who gives it.

If Pete would've ended his message there, people would have had no hope.  But he doesn't stop there.  

He tells the crowd the Author of Life is no longer dead in the grave.  No, God raised Him from the dead!!!  

They may have killed Christ, but God has something greater in store.  And if the people have any doubts about the fact that Jesus is alive, there are plenty of witnesses.

Rocky tells his audience that it was this same Jesus that actually healed the disabled man.  

"And His name--by faith in His name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all” (v16).  

Pete tells the crowd to look at the guy.  He's healthy.  Jesus did that!  And this is picture of what life in the kingdom will be like for all of us.  Perfect health for everyone.

Peter preaches a message of grace.  This is about what God has done and continues to do.  

God made promises to the patriarchs.  God sent Messiah in the form of His Son Jesus.  The people rejected Him.  The people murdered Him.  Yet God offers life and salvation in His name.

God saves us because He is gracious.  He provided everything.  We've done nothing...nothing but reject Him.  

Rocky makes it clear that everything that has happened is God's doing.  The healing of the man.  The offer of salvation.

That's the theme of "Rocky II."  This sequel does not disappoint.

©2011

Jay Jennings

The Great Producer

In television news, producers are in charge of the newscast.  The producer is the one who decides the stories you and I watch each day.  The producer plans it.  

The producer works with the reporters and photographers who gather the news.  And the producer sits in the control room making sure the broadcast goes off without a hitch.  

Here in his letter to the folks in Ephesus, Paul reminds them that God is the Great Producer behind the Good Newscast.  

It's God who "worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph 1:20).  

God planned it all.  God executed it all.  And now God sits in the heavenly control room making sure it all goes as He planned.

God is the Great Producer behind the Good Newscast.

The Apostle Paul writes to the folks in Ephesus to remind them exactly who Jesus is and what He's done.  He had made that clear during his three-year gig in there just a few years ago (Acts 19).  

But something's come up.  A team of spiritual snake oil salesmen have duped folks just down the road in Colossae into believing some not-so-good news.  

They've convinced Christ's followers that He might have been good but He wasn't God.  He might have gotten us into His kingdom but it's up to us to stay in. 

According to these morons, we've gotta follow the rules.  We've gotta eat certain foods.  We've gotta observe certain holy days.  That's the only chance we stand of salvation.  

But Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians letting them know that Jesus was not only God but more God than we can wrap our brains around (Col 1:15-20).  

And now he writes a second letter to Ephesian believers trying to prevent them from falling for the same con.  The apostle opens this second letter with a spectacular picture of exactly who Jesus is and what He's done for us (Eph 1:3-14).  Call it the Good Newscast.

Paul lets them know that he's praying all the time for them (Eph 1:16).  He prays that God will flip on the lights so they can clearly see Jesus for who He is and how He's powerfully working in their lives (Eph 1:18-19).  

The apostle says that the very same power source that's working in our lives is same power source that "worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead" (v20).  God the Father raised His Son from the dead through the power of His Holy Spirit.  

Paul confirms that idea in Romans.  "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom 8:11).  So resurrection is a powerful picture of Trinitarian teamwork!

Don't miss the fact that Jesus was dead.  No pulse.  No brain activity.  Dead.  He wasn't asleep.  He wasn't in a coma.  He didn't swoon.  He was dead.  

There's absolutely no way Jesus could have survived the brutality of that bloody Friday.  The Romans beat Him unmercifully, ripping Him apart with a cat o' nine tails.  They punched and kicked Him.  

They forced Him to carry the massive crossbeam on His bloody back through the streets of the city where He fell several times.  Soldiers then pounded railroad spikes through His hands and feet, nailing Him to cross.  

He hung naked and bleeding on that cross for six hours, struggling to breath. 

Eventually when He eventually stopped breathing, a professional Roman executioner rammed a spear through His ribcage and pierced His heart, causing the loss of a massive amount of blood and fluid.  

He was dead.  

Some of His followers took His body down from the cross and prepared it for burial.  They wrapped His corpse in burial cloths and covered it in about 100 pounds of spices.  

Eventually they placed this remains into a tomb carved out of rock and rolled a huge stone over the entrance.  Jesus was dead.  Dead.  No pulse.  No heartbeat.  No brain activity.

Because He was really, actually and literally dead, He couldn't raise Himself.  He didn't set His alarm for three days and simply wake up Sunday morning.  

Paul makes it clear in this letter to his friends in Ephesus that it was God who "raised Him from the dead" (v20).  It was Jesus' resurrection that lit the fire in His followers.  

This was the lead story to the Good News throughout those incredible first days of the church we read in Acts (Acts 2:24; 3:15, 26; 4:10, 33; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30; 17:3, 31).  

God brought His Son back from the dead.  Paul Himself saw Him first hand when the risen Jesus jumped him just outside Damascus (Acts 9:27).  

This is the ultimate proof to Jesus' first followers that He is EXACTLY who He said He was.  He rose from the the dead.  And because God raised Jesus, His followers knew for certain He would raise them too.

Paul tells us that God "worked" (v20) to raise Jesus.  He uses a very similar word to one in the previous verse.  It's the Greek verb energeo/ενεργεω, which means to provide power, energize, work effectively and produce.  

God provides the power for raise Jesus.  God energizes Christ's resurrection.  God works effectively to raise His Son from the dead.  God produces a risen Jesus.  

God is the Great Producer of the Good Newscast.

We see a VERY familiar phrase here: "in Christ" (v20).  Paul uses some form of this idea 28 times in this letter alone.  Everything we have and everything we hope for is "in Christ.”  

These two little words remind us that He lived the perfect life of obedience to the law that we failed to live.  They remind us that He died the awful death of punishment that we should have died.  

They remind us that God raised Him up to a glorious new life we don't deserve.  They remind us that He did for us what we could never do for ourselves in a gajillion years.  

We trust "in Christ" (v20).  We believe in that it truly is finished, over and done with (Jn 19:30).  There's nothing more we can do to earn or merit His blessing of salvation.  That's what it means to believe "in Christ" (v20).

God didn't just stop at resurrecting Jesus.  Through the same power of the Holy Spirit that brought Him back from the tomb, He "seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" (v20).  

A few weeks after His resurrection, Jesus headed home to heaven right before the eyes of His followers (Acts 1:9-10).  Reunited with our heavenly Dad, He sat down.  He sat down just to the right of Father God.  

That's the place of ultimate honor.  That's the place of ultimate power.  The authors of the books of the Bible talk about it all the time (Ps 16:8; 110:1; Mt 22:44; Lk 22:69; Acts 2:33-34; 5:31; Rom 8:34; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1Pet 3:22).  

Jesus is sitting at the right hand of His Father in heaven.  Yeah, it's kind of a big deal.  It's a very important way of saying He's in charge.  

He's in authority.  He's running the show.  We can trust Him completely.  God raised Him from the dead.  God put Him in power.  

He’s able to do that since God is the Great Producer of the Good Newscast.

©2013

Jay Jennings

Clouds on the Horizon

A Sucker for a Sunrise

I’m a sucker for a beautiful sunrise. It’s one of the many reasons I love going on a cruise. Early in the morning on board one of those mega-ships, most folks are still sleeping in and sleeping it off. It’s a great time to grab a cup o’ Joe and spend a little time with Jesus.

My wife and I recently enjoyed cruise to the eastern Caribbean. Our first morning on the boat, the sunrise was spectacular. It certainly didn’t start off that way. There were lots of clouds on the horizon before dawn. But those same clouds soon became a canvas for the Creator.

How often does that happen in our lives? God takes the stuff we think is obscuring our view of Him to paint a new spectacular self-portrait!

Messiah’s Not Supposed to Die

Something similar happens in Mark 9:30-32. It’s a short but very important passage where Jesus tells His team about His upcoming betrayal, murder, and resurrection for a second time.

The boys didn’t respond too well the first time around (Mk 8:31-34). When He did, Peter tells Christ that He’s got it all wrong. The Messiah’s not supposed to die. He’s supposed to dominate!

When it was all said and done, Jesus calls the leader of His disciples the devil. Not exactly the kind of reference you’re hoping for from the Son of God. The boys clearly can’t get past the betrayal and murder part. He may be telling them about rising from the dead, but they’re just not hearing it.

Are We There Yet?

Now He’s telling them a second time. They’re currently on their way back from a trip to the mountains near Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon in northern Palestine. Mark drops a pin on the map for us. “Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee” (v30).

The author selects an interesting word to describe their journey (Gr. παραπορευμαι/paraporeumai). It means to travel through some particular place. Wherever you are is not your final destination. Your trip is far from over. No, kids, we’re not there yet.

Just Passing Through

Just like our cruise ship sailed through the Bahamas to the Virgin Islands, Jesus and His disciples are passing through Galilee on this particular trip. They’re not stopping this time around. It’s not their final destination.

This is especially interesting when you lay this story in the larger narrative of Jesus’ life. Looking at both Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, it becomes very clear that Christ has set His sights on Calvary and the cross.

As a matter of fact, Dr. Luke describes how Jesus has “set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51 ESV). Our Savior may slow down a few times on their way to the big city, but they’re not stopping. Places to go. People to see.

Back in the ‘Hood

Despite being back in the Galilean ‘hood, “Jesus didn’t want anyone to know He was there” (v30). He’s not swinging by to visit family. There’s no meet-up with buddies for a quick beer.

At first I wondered if it would be hard for the Lord to pass through Galilee without stopping. I mean, this is home. He grew up in Nazareth. His mom probably still lives there as well as His brothers and sisters.

Avoiding Nazareth

Then again, the last time He was home, it didn’t go well. The folks in Nazareth weren’t buying what He was selling (Mk 6:1-6). If anything, Jesus was blown away by their unbelief.

And then there’s the time His own family came to take Him back home because they thought He had lost His marbles with all this Messiah talk (Mk 3:21). So maybe stopping by the old hometown isn’t at the top of His to-do list.

Have you ever made a quick trip through a familiar place and not told anybody you were in town? Maybe you didn’t have time. Maybe you don’t need the drama. Is this the case for Christ as He’s passing through Galilee? Could be.

Keeping It on the Down Low

There is a very specific reason Jesus wants to keep His trip through Galilee on the down low. “For He wanted to spend more time with His disciples and teach them” (v31). In other words, He needs to get them alone and get their undivided attention.

Because this is home turf for our Savior and the majority of the Twelve, they know all nooks and crannies. They’re familiar with the places to hide and NOT get noticed.

Setting the Stage

What’s the topic of His teaching? “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of His enemies. He will be killed, but three days later He will rise from the dead” (v31).

As we mentioned before, this is the second time the Lord is setting the stage for His team of what’s about to go down. The first time ended, um, rather awkwardly to say the least.

His Messianic Nickname

Once again, Jesus uses His favorite messianic nickname when talking about His betrayal, murder, and resurrection. The Son of Man. It comes a wild vision of the heavenly throne room God gives Daniel.

Danny Boy describes how he catches a glimpse of “Someone like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven” to receive eternal authority over the universe from God the Father (Dan 7:13-14).

Jesus’ use of this particular title serves a couple of purposes. One, He clearly sees Himself as not just Messiah but fully God. Two, by picking this little used messianic term, He’s likely to draw a lot less attention from the Roman occupiers as well as the folks at the Hebrew home office.

The Wheels Are Turning

The Lord teaches His team that He is “going to be betrayed into the hands of His enemies” (v31). The grammar here strongly suggests that the plot to take Him down has already begun. The verb παραδιδωμι/paradidomi is in what’s called the futuristic present tense. The wheels are already turning.

Mark has already tipped us off to that fact. In you’ve been following along in the second Gospel, you may remember the time at the Capernaum synagogue when Jewish authorities wanted to see if Jesus would break their religious rules and heal somebody on what was supposed to be His day off (Mk 3:1-2).

Bitter Enemies with a Common Foe

Our Savior couldn’t believe they could be so hard-hearted that their regulations took precedent over helping someone. He looked them right in the eye and healed a man with an atrophied hand (Mk 3:3-5).

As a result, the Pharisees and the Herodians, two of Israel’s most bitter political enemies had a common foe. None other than the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth. They began to conspire how and when they could take Him down once and for all.

A Messy Murder

This plot is no secret to Jesus. And He wants His disciples to know what’s right around the corner. What’s He’s NOT telling them yet is how one of the Twelve will be the one to deliver Him over. This will be an inside job.

The Son of God explains to them how His enemies “will kill Him” (v31). In doing so, He makes it clear that His murder will be messy. VERY messy. He uses a Greek verb (Gr. αποκτεινω/apokteino) that describes an incredibly violent death.

In the Greco-Roman world of the First-Century, there is no more violent form of death than crucifixion. The Romans use it as an extremely slow and torturous form of public execution on any threat to their power.

Jesus’ Most Radical Prediction

Jesus then makes what will be the most radical prediction regarding His Passion. “And when He is killed, after three days He will rise” (v31). I’m sure there were other rebels against Rome who had a pretty good idea they’d end up on a cross at some point. Our Savior is the first person to say He would rise again!

The Lord won’t simply pass out and regain consciousness. It will be brutal and bloody. He. Will. Die. But He won’t stay dead. Three days later, He’ll stroll boldly out of the cemetery!!

Andy Stanley likes to say that anytime someone can predict not only His own death but His own resurrection, we should go with whatever He says. That’s somebody you can trust. Everything else seems minor at that point, doesn’t it?

An Inside Source

But the original Dirty Dozen can’t get past the betrayal and murder prediction, much less wrap their brains around all this talk of rising from the dead. How do we know? Mark adds a little inside commentary about their reaction. “They didn’t understand what 

He was saying, and they were afraid to ask Him” (v32).

The author knows this because he has an inside source. Most of the earliest followers of Jesus believed that none other than Peter is the one giving Mark his first person account of the life of Christ.

Jesus’ prediction is certainly hard for the boys to swallow. His talk of betrayal and murder are like dark storm clouds. The cloud cover of the crucifixion totally obscures the glory that’s about to shine.

The Dark Shadow of Circumstances

How many times have our current circumstances overshadowed any hope for what’s ahead? Maybe your supervisor has just broke the news that you’ve been downsized. The doctor delivers the diagnosis you never wanted to hear. Your spouse announces your marriage is over.

In times like these, it’s easy to think a nasty storm is a certainly and any thought of a sunrise is crazy talk. But Jesus has a patented way of not wasting anything in our lives. Disappointment. Pain. Tears. They all become paint on His palette.

Our Good and His Glory

The Apostle Paul puts it like this. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Rom 8:28). 

Read that again. Slowly. He uses absolutely EVERYTHING. For our good. For His glory.

I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve almost given up on a sunrise because of heavy cloud cover, only to have the sun use it to create something totally breathtaking. That’s what’s happening here in Mark’s Gospel.

The Ultimate Son Rise

The disciples can’t see beyond Christ’s insistence on being handed over to His enemies to be killed. But it’s only against that terrible tragedy that Jesus will display His glory on Resurrection Sunday.

Right now, the Twelve can’t see any of that. The clouds are too thick. But just wait until the ultimate Son rise.

©2018

Jay Jennings