Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 2:15 (New Living Translation)

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Where do angels go after they complete a mission to earth? Simple, they return to heaven. At least that is what these angels did after they had told the shepherds of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

If you are expecting me to explain where heaven is or what heaven is, I don’t have much of an answer except to write, “that is where angels go after they finish a misson on earth.”

Luke 9:23 (New Living Translation)

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Jesus is talking to a crowd. Consider the subject: a cross. The cross was an instrument of capital punishment. Like a noose for a hanging, bullets for a firing squad, or poison gas for a gas chamber.

One big difference:

The cross was intended to be cruel and unusual punishment.

There was nothing quick or relatively painless about a cross and capital punishment. The person to be executed would suffer a long time and hope to pass out soon so they would die asleep.

Jesus was telling people that if they wanted to follow Him, they needed to be ready for pain and anguish daily. Must be some sort of mistake in translation or something, right? How can anyone gather followers with that kind of talk?

If you are now ready to read a good, nuanced answer to that question that helps us  understand everything, I am sorry. I don’t have an answer to that question.

Mark 6:12 (New Living Translation)

So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God.

This isn’t complicated. The followers of Jesus went out with a two-point message:

1. repent of sins
2. turn to God

I wonder how many missionary seminars they attended before they traveled with this message?

Sometimes, with the best of intentions, we complicate things.

Luke 18:9-14 (New Living Translation)

⁹ Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Look at the words and phrases in this translation.

• great confidence
• scorned
• despised
• not a sinner like everyone else
• cheat
• sin
• commit adultery
• not like that tax collector
• dared not
• beat his chest in sorrow
• be merciful

As a writer and consultant, when I hear words like these in conversations my ears tingle. Something is happening here, something that people are not saying aloud. There is much emotion and bite here. This is not a simple little story like The Three Bears or Goldilocks.

This is a serious story that deserves attention. How much confidence do I have in my own righteousness? How much do I look to the Messiah for righteousness?

Tough questions. Tough story.

Mark 7:32-35 (New Living Translation)

³² A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

³³ Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!”³⁵ Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!

Deaf people don’t speak clearly. The reason is simple – they don’t hear people speaking. They don’t know the sound of “clear speech.” One result is that the muscles needed to manipulate the tongue and mouth for clear speech are not developed. The deaf person has not exercised those muscles.

Now consider verse 35:

his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly.

In an instant, years of muscle development occurred. It was like Jesus sped time for this person. The muscles in his mouth  jumped over those years.

I don’t understand how that could happen. I don’t understand the abilities of God; I don’t understand His power of His physical creation. Praise God.

Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 (New Living Translation)

⁸ Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. ⁹ Even the king milks the land for his own profit!

Wow! Read this through a few times. I worked in government for 28 years and saw these things everyday. The end of verse 8 is particularly biting:

matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy

That is not funny. That is tragic. That should be required reading for every employee of government at every level.

Malachi 3:5 (New Living Translation)

“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

The prophet gives a list of offenses committed by the people. Look at the list:

• sorcery
• adultery
• lying
• cheating employees of wages
• oppressing widows
• oppressing orphans
• depriving foreigners of justice

This is horrible conduct. Wait a moment. What is that fourth bullet? “Cheating employees of wages.” How did that become part of this list? It doesn’t rank up their with sorcery and adultery, does it?

Employees should be happy to have a job. Right? Look at the economy now. What is the problem here? Hmm, God sees a problem here. Perhaps I should adjust my sights on what God considers to be horrible.

Mark 5:4 (New Living Translation)

Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

This verse described a demon-possessed man.  The man was possessed by “Legion, because there are many of us inside this man” (verse 9).

Note the capabilities of the human body – snapping chains and smashing shackles. These were probably made of iron. This was super-human strength – NOT. This is an example of human strength. This was a man, a human man. Yes, he was propelled or motivated or something-or-other by demon possession, but it was still a man in a man’s body.

The human body, created by God, is amazing. It is capable of what we call “super-human” achievements. Would it be possible for us to use the ability that God has given to us? Was there a time, e.g., in the Garden of Eden or before the flood, when humans did use the “super-human” abilities God gave us?

John 1:4-5 (New Living Translation)

The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Just like that, God flipped the switch and there was light.

And the darkness can never extinguish it.

Never is a long time, but that is the promise from a God who fulfills promises without fail.

Mark 2:27 (New Living Translation)

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.

This verse is part of yet another of those instances when the lawyers were after Jesus concerning obedience of the Sabbath day. Let’s be clear about a couple of things:

(1) The Sabbath day was not a day of worship.

(2) The Sabbath concept was for resting.

Per (1), most people I know believe that the Sabbath was a day of worship. They tend to think this because the Sabbath (Saturday) of the Old Testament was replaced by Sunday in the New Testament. Since Sunday has become the “day of worship” (another concept I discard (something for another post)), the Sabbath must have been a day of worship as well. False, false, false.

Per (2), the Sabbath was about rest. People were supposed to rest on the seventh day. People were supposed to let the land rest on the seventh year. People were supposed to do other special things on the 49th year (seven times seven).

Given this, Jesus’ statement is obvious. God gave people the Sabbath so people could rest one day in seven. In our “modern” world, or post-modern world depending on what you believe, a day of rest seems odd. The weekend is for play and is often more stressful than the week of sitting in an air-conditioned office. In the day of Jesus, however, a day of rest was a big deal. People worked hard every day, all day just to survive. Subsistence was the ideal, not just the goal.

God gave people a day of rest. Some people turned it into a way to catch other people doing something “wrong.” It was a day to keep other people under control.

Today, some people turn parts of God’s Word into the same thing – a book to keep other people under control. That is a shame.