Dear Theophilus

the text: John 3:1-21 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these thing...

Much ink has been spilled to talk about the the crowds who, on Palm Sunday, laud Jesus as savior and on the next Friday call for his crucifixion. Suggestions have been put forward: maybe the Greek interpretation of "crowd" will show that the crowds are different on those days, or the people are just fickle, or even that it was God's will and so the people had to do this to fulfill scripture/will. For me, Palm Sunday makes sense. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The moment is pregnant with meaning. He simultaneously mocks the current political system, calls into question humanity's reliance on power, politics, and violence, and points to himself as the true king. Anyone can understand this. There are a million stories just like it. It is a powerful archetype. The newest prequel to The Wizard of Oz called Oz: the Great and Powerful is based on this exact premise. A nobody from no-where shows up, seemingly fulfills the long-awaited prophecy, challenges the...

My last two posts were about the meaning of Ephesians 1-3. You can read them here and here if you would like. But seeing that this is the word of God for the people of God in all ages, contexts, tribes, and places, how do we apply such a specific meaning to our lives and churches? First, a summary of Ephesians 1-3 may help catch us up: Summary: In the Letter to the Ephesians, Paul is writing to a mostly, if not exclusively, Gentile audience. He is not writing about individual salvation, but about how Christ brings the Gentiles into God's covenant/people. This conclusion is come to from 3 major sections: Ephesians 1 - Paul talks about the work of Christ as revealing the mystery of God. Ephesians 2 - Paul talks about the cross of Christ uniting both Jew and Gentile into one body. Ephesians 3 - Paul reveals what the revelation was he received from God, tells us what the mystery is that Christ reveals, and a major implication of what the gospel is: the inclusion ...

I have to make myself clear at the front. I am a Christian. I have some very close Mormon friends, closer than family. And I am not fighting for who is "right," I am merely trying to explore the truth claim that Christianity and Mormonism are the same. It is my contention that they are different in hugely significant ways that make it untenable to say that they are one in the same. Jesus is another significant source of contention between Christians and Mormons. First, the term 'Christian' seems to be a source of contention here. Christian is derived from the greek and means 'little Christs.' People have been called Christian since the book of Acts, (ch. 11). These are people who both (1) claim that the Christ has come and (2) imitate and follow his teaching. For Christians, the Christ has come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; hence Jesus Christ. So, in one sense, Mormons are Christians. Their sacred writing depict a Christ coming to both I...

I had an 'Aha!' moment, though explaining it so far has been difficult. I have been reflecting on the problem of the Palm Sunday. The commemoration of Jesus riding into Jerusalem so many years ago. I know a ton of facts about the event: that the Jews would have been singing the Hallel Psalms on their way up to the Passover Feast, that Jesus was making a ton of statements with his donkey, the symbolism of the Palms especially in connection with the Maccabees, Jesus as the Solomonic figure (but better) (Witherington, Commentary on Matthew), etc... There was still one problem that plagued me. We as Christians have used the praise of the people to symbolize our praise of the risen Lord. We have celebrated with them, as it seems. My problem is that those people didn't understand Jesus and his message. They thought he was making a move for the throne, or a land grab, or some other geo-political action. "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee" the crowds ...