Jesus, the Risen One

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis makes the lion Aslan a Christ figure by having him killed and then resurrected back to life. Aslan himself says, “though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, … she would have read … a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”

Is this an appropriate picture of Christ? How deep does the analogy go? Is there a “deeper magic”? What is it? Let us not waste any time and get right into reading John’s account of the resurrection.

Jesus, the Crucified One

Today we begin a 3-week series called Jesus: The One. The title for these series comes from a number of verses, including this:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14

The word in Greek for “One and Only,” also translated “Only Begotten” in some translations, is monogenes. It is only used in the context of sons and daughters. Like logos, (The Word), it is a deep word, when you spend time thinking about it. In purely human terms, Jesus was not an only child; Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 mention four “brothers” of Jesus: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. And the same verses talk about unnamed “sisters” as well. And although there is some question whether these people were Jesus’ half-brothers and sisters, His step-brothers and sisters, or even His cousins (personally I take the verses at face value and assume they were half-brothers and sisters), we can be absolutely certain that in no way were these people Jesus’ full brothers and sisters, because God and not Joseph was the true father of Jesus. In this Jesus was truly the One and Only.

King of Glory

Last week we finished the nine week series on Knowing and Overcoming Sin. The purpose of the series was twofold.

First, it should help us realize how everyone in the whole world is tangled up in the ravages of sin. Fred shared statistics about each of the seven deadly sins last week. As I started to overlap the statistics for different sin areas in my mind: this many affected by abuse or sexually transmitted disease, that many affected by addictions motivated by greed, sloth, and gluttony. The realization began to grow in my mind that no one is untouched by these sins. The conclusion is the same as it was as 2000 years ago.

“There is no one righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:10 (as Paul quoted from the Psalms and Ecclesiastes, Ps 14:1-3, 53:1-3, Ecc 7:20)

The other purpose was to serve as a warning to us to guard ourselves “so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness” (Heb 3:13) and to challenge us to excel still more in pursuing righteousness. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,

“Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more… It is God's will that you should be sanctified … that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.” I Thessalonians 4:1b, 3b, 4

Knowing and Overcoming Pride

I cannot think of a better way to begin today’s teaching except to read a passage from Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis. This book is a transcription of a radio series Lewis taught in England during World War II. The chapter is appropriately called, “The Great Sin,” and it is all about pride. Here is how he begins the chapter:

"Today I come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone who was not a Christian who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.

Knowing and Overcoming Envy

Facing the Green-Eyed Monster


There was once a monk who lived in a wilderness cave. He was known far and wide for holiness, so much so that his reputation reached even to hell itself. So the devil took three of his most effective demons with him to tempt the monk out of his godliness. They found the monk sitting at the mouth of his cave, a serene look of contentment on his face.

The first demon planted in his mind the temptation of great power, with visions of glorious kingdoms. But the monk’s face remained serene.  The second tempter planted in the monk’s mind the temptation of great wealth, with visions of gold and silver and prosperity. But still the monk’s face remained serene and contented.  The third demon planted in his mind the temptation of sensuous pleasure, with visions of beautiful women. But the monk’s face remained quiet and godly.

Annoyed, the devil barked, “Step aside, and I will show you what has never failed.” He strolled up beside the monk, leaned over, and whispered into his ear, “Have you heard that your classmate Makarios has just been promoted to bishop of Alexandria.” The face of the monk scowled. 

Knowing and Overcoming Anger

We have been going as a church through a series of messages called Knowing and Overcoming Sin, focusing week by week on the categories of sin traditionally known as the seven deadly sins. Today we come to anger, or wrath. There are a variety of words in the Bible used to denote this emotion. A number of these words have very interesting and picturesque roots and associations. Today, rather than give you a definition in English, we will build up the meaning by looking at some of these words in the Hebrew and Greek.

One of the most used Old Testament words is ‘af, which literally means “nose.” The association is due to the fact that when someone is enraged, his nostrils flare wide open and his breathing rate is much faster than normal. A related word is za’af, which literally means to foam at the nose or mouth. Another word is chaymah, which literally means a cup of poison that burns as it goes down. A related word is charon, which literally means “burning.” Often some of these words are paired together, as in charon ‘af, which means, much like we say it, to burn with anger. Cha-as is another word, which means to be offended and yet another is evrah, which means literally to pour out. Another word is katsaf, which means literally to break, as in the idea of holding back anger until it breaks out and bursts forth. One last Old Testament word is rogez, which carries with it the idea of tumult, turmoil, trembling. It is also used to describe a horse going wild as well as thunder.

Behold the Lamb!

Welcome! In a little while we will remember the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on a dark day some two thousand years ago. We will remember Him with the bread and with the cup, doing what Jesus Himself taught His disciples to do. As Paul wrote in I Cor. 11,

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. – I Cor. 11:23-26

Knowing and Overcoming Sloth

Have you heard the Procrastinator’s Poem? It goes like this:

I’ve gone for a drink and sharpened my pencils, searched through my desk for forgotten utensils.

I reset my watch, I adjusted my chair, I’ve loosened my tie and straightened my hair.

I filled my pen and tested the blotter, and gone for another drink of water.

Adjusted the calendar, and raised the blinds, and I’ve sorted erasers of all different kinds.

Now down to work I can finally sit; oops, too late; it’s time to quit.

Knowing and Overcoming Greed

One of the mothers in the church told me Friday night that she thought her youngest boy would be a good illustration of greed, but it didn’t end up where she had expected. He came up to her with a proclamation. “Mommy, we need another Christmas.” Two of his pens from Christmas ran out of ink that same day, so she thought, "Maybe, he’s going to “need” more pens or “need” more toys." “So David, why do we need another Christmas?” “Cause we need another Christmas tree with ornaments.” We don’t know exactly why David needs another tree. Maybe to spruce up the living room? And while his first thought was not about Jesus, at least it was not about getting more stuff.

Today’s topic is greed. I cannot think of a more aptly timed subject. With all the economic turmoil, it seems as though greed is nearly daily in the news. We hear constant reports of someone lying, cheating, stealing, and being irresponsible or unjustly compensated in the pursuit of wealth. Of course that has been going on since Adam’s first sin in the garden, but now we are seeing the consequences of greed crippling the economy of the entire world.

Knowing and Overcoming Gluttony

What is gluttony? The word has its roots in the Latin word gluttire, which means to gulp or swallow. A simple of definition of gluttony is that it is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants. But I think a better definition also includes the phrase “over-attention to” these things.

In contrast, I love this short passage from I Timothy:

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. – I Tim. 6:8