Luke chapters 18 and 19 contain two stories that when considered together are quite confusing.  They are known as “The Rich Ruler” and “Zacchaeus the Tax Collector”.   I’ve never considered the stories in relationship to each other, but looking at these stories, I am convinced that people would have been pretty pissed at Jesus for acting the way he did.  What do I mean? Well, He treats good people harshly and bad people kindly. Understatement. Here is the story:

The Rich Ruler – Luke 18:18-23

A certain ruler asked [Jesus], “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Let’s get the story straight. This rich ruler knew and kept all the Law’s commandments, even since he was a kid. That means he had never cheated anyone out of money and his riches were properly “his”, made either by simply the Lord’s blessing and a life of work in a clean conscience. Yet Jesus looks at him and gives him little hope at the eternal life.

There were people they that overheard what Jesus said and asked the natural question, “Who then can be saved?”

How many rulers and rich people get that way or stay that way by doing the right thing? This man had done everything the Law required, kept his nose clean, and Jesus still dealt harshly with him.  Who else stood a chance?

Jesus has his own way.  He is the King.  He answers the question in both word and deed.  The word is “What is impossible with men is possible with God“.  He describes how it is possible with God privately to his disciples in the next few verses. It is by his death and resurrection according to the scriptures that it is possible with God.

In fact, this power is demonstrated in an event that takes place between the two stories of the Rich Ruler and the Zacchaeus.  Jesus heals a blind guy:

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

⁴²Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” ⁴³Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Hold commentary on this bit for a while. Press on to Zacchaeus (yes this is the “wee little man”).

Zacchaeus the tax Collector

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ “

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

I’m laughing just thinking about the contrast between the story of the Rich Ruler and Zacchaeus.  Jesus pretty much denies the Rich Ruler, who had done the right thing and kept the Law, even came to Jesus asking how to get eternal life. Yet with Zacchaeus, who had made his fortune swindling and coercing, Jesus almost gives him no option but to come into salvation.  I can just imagine the frustration of the people around these two powerful men.  In their eyes, the one who had never done anything to hurt them and was a good ruler was treated like dirt, and the one who had literally stolen money from them shared a meal and salvation with Jesus! Scandal!

Not fair! By their own merits, the man who deserved grace is seemingly denied, yet the one who deserved to be condemned had his whole house saved!

Observations:

1) Jesus decides on whom to show mercy.

2) Both men were sinners.  One believed it, the other did not.  The Rich Ruler thought there was something he could do to get eternal life.  He thought himself capable.  Jesus’ direction to him to sell everything and give it away would have reduced this man to nothing in his own eyes – and the ruler was unwilling to do it.  Zacchaeus knew that he was incapable of saving himself, and had even embraced embraced his sin (he knew exactly how much he had stolen!), yetwhen the Lord came to his house that the Lord could save him and it was a game changer.  His generosity did not earn his salvation – it was a fitting response to the grace the Lord showed him.

3) The Rich Ruler sought personal gain (eternal life, even with Jesus, can be desired selfishly).  The Blind Man sought to be able to see, but knew Jesus already to be the Messiah, and therefore capable. That is why he yelled out for the Son of David. Zacchaeus went out looking for Jesus, but it never says why.  Either way, He was looking, and Jesus came to him.

4) The conclusion of Jesus’ parable in 18:9-14 explains these stories better than I have:

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Did you make it all the way down here?

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Albulm Artwork

This morning we found a burned cd in our office. We had no idea how it got there, but I popped it into my lappy to see what it was.  It turned out to be “The Cream of Clapton”, which was a delightful surprise to me. My boss told me that I could keep it if I wanted, but that we shouldn’t give it to the students.  I must have crinkled my forehead because he started in on the reason why. His position basically that  because Clapton has been a drug user and writes songs about drug use and that our students have or do struggle with substance abuse and addiction issues, we shouldn’t let them listen to music made by a man with a past drug use.

I can follow his line of reasoning.  Also, we have a Christian music only policy because we are a ministry and some parents are concerned about the music that we allow students to listen to, which obviously is a very good thing.  Being concerned about the media input into our student’s lives is a very good thing.  Yet, I am very hesitant about throwing Clapton out so easily.

Where this line is broken for me is what we call “Christian”.

(Pause for a minute.  At this point I simply agreed to follow the direction he was giving, but have been thinking about this topic today.  The dialogue between my boss and me is representative of some tensions in the daily lives of sincere believers, and that is why I want to explore it here (actually, I am just going to present the side I believe to be most correct in order to get you to agree with me). I will continue to follow his direction for the program. )

Where is the line between what is Christian and “not”?  Obviously there are expressly Christian artists, musicians, magazines, etc.    What is it about them that makes their art Christian art?  I submit that we must claim truth as truth without regard to the person expressing it, and that logically if you believe in a Christian worldview, then all truth is proper to God.  What that means is that it cannot be true unless it belongs to God.  Therefore, if it contains truth, that truth is “Christian”.

So how is Clapton’s music “Christian music”? (The italics below are an accident that I can’t seem to fix – please ignore)

Students and other fellow evangelists, I have some words for you. Some things not to forget:

1) John the Baptist and Jesus both preached repentance and baptism for the sake of the Kingdom.  Repentance is leaving life as you knew and and being baptized is joining with Christ as a part of his Kingdom as a forgiven person. Saying some words is not the same as walking out of a life of death into a life of freedom and light. As you tell people about Jesus, don’t forget that he told us that we would probably die, suffer, be made fun of, and be misunderstood for following Him.  Are they ready to do it for real?

2) The Kingdom is good news indeed. God wants things to be right between you and him, you and others, and even the whole world.  His way is what we are signing on for. It is not our way, but much much better.  Sometimes we can’t see that, but trust Him.

3) You are being saved from hell and being released from sin, but you are also being brought into a life of faith that is lived out in love and obedience.  God’s will for your life is about today as well as tomorrow.

4) The Gospel means a personal relationship, but it also means joining in doing things God’s way and having the privilege of being a part of a movement and purpose existed before time and has changed the lives of millions already.

5) If you don’t have answers, it doesn’t mean your faith is worthless. We were made to search for God together.

6) The power that raised Christ from the dead is alive and works through us.

7) If God is asking you to tell someone about Him, do it.  Do it well. That is your part. It is the Spirit’s who changes hearts.

I love you guys and am amazed at what God is doing through you.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillz

Apart from having a general interest in doing/being theology in context, I was also drawn to this book because the author is another Taylor alum.  The references he makes to his college experiences are very accessible to me.  We shared some professors, which is cool.

The book itself is very well written and easy to follow, each chapter is worth the time it takes to read.  The practical study tools and guides are beneficial and right on, which is a helpful to those who might want to go further in their study of the Bible/the Christian tradition and are quickly overwhelmed by the voices and resources available.  I wish that this book would have replaced my required reading of “How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth” by Gordon Fee and Doug Stuart (although this is a very helpful book).

Greatly appreciated also is the careful attention that Cyzewski draws to minority voices within our family of believers. This is a much needed call for us to learn to listen, make room for, and respectfully engage the minds and lives of fellow Christian across the globe and those approaching God from a background different from our own.

The home run in this book for me is Ed’s explanation of that thing we call postmodernism.  I struggled to understand what was happening the first time the term was introduced to me.  I have posted before about wheteher or not I think it really matters, and I wrote a section about it in a Philosophy of Ministry about this time last year.  As I was writing that paper, I did my homework on what postmodernism is and how the church relates to it.  I read the best I could find, including: Oden, Dockery, Scott Smith, Long, Dunn, McKnight, Knight, McLaren, Mohler.  I wish I had had the chapter from Ed’s book.

Not only does he make the terms modern and postmodern accessible, but he peaceful gives us a way to talk about where we fit into the game and the roles we should be playing.  I really felt like someone was finally giving me a map and suggesting a direction and not just standing at a destination and calling me towards that one.  This is the book I can give my dad and say, “This is what I mean by postmodern.”

I recommend it.

May the Lord’s Will be done,

CWillZ

So when that day–the day–arrived, what were they to think? The symphony that is the course of history–human and cosmic alike–took a new tempo and changed keys. Silence was broken as the God allowed himself to be birthed just as you and I were. His eyes opened, his body was wiped, and his mother probably wanted to yell at Joseph during her post-natal hormone rage, but she knew that it was not his fault.

It was the Father’s fault. She and her husband started to care for God, who chose to be caged inside of the flesh of humanity. Gracefully the Child screams and cries for food and warmth. Most babies miss the comfort of the womb. This one also missed the privilege of being in the form of God and being in heaven with the Father. He would soon feel just how cold, alone and ungrateful the world could be. He knew in that moment(indeed He had always known), as He experienced the human condition as a human, what the next 33 or so years had in store.

The day he was birthed was the down payment for a very costly and humiliating life. This humiliation was the only real hope. If He cared, and He does, He was the one to do this.

Israel gets their Messiah, and the Conductor marks a downbeat to a new tune. The orchestra of creation is stirred and sits up straight. Something in His eyes communicates that this is going to be beautiful. Celebrate well today — God is with us!

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

6And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Evidently Paul is trying to tell the people in the church about the way the end times are going to go down.  He is talking about the “man of lawlessness” or “son of destruction” that will come (in other words the Antichrist).  There is some power, force, or energy that Paul assume the Thessalonians know about that is “restraining”.

What or who is the restrainer?  People say all sorts of things.  Like, such as: Ronald Reagan, the Roman Empire, government in general, the Holy Spirit, specific angels, the spread of the Gospel to ever people group, the separation or combination of the Church and stat(es), a general spirit of Obedience, etc.

I took a break from my reading and from going over a paper I wrote a few years back on the subject to take a shower.  When I came back, Snickers was sleeping on my Bible.  It clicked.  My cat is keeping the man of lawlessness in check.

Sorry for being such a dork.  Read your Bible and talk about it.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Logos Bible Software for Mac is almost ready to go. We are so close we are now accepting pre-orders.

http://www.MacBibleSoftware.com

Logos is a great Bible and Christian history study tool. Now it is sexy too

Buy me a copy while you are at it.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

I didn’t spend much time studying James as a part of my courses at Taylor (I can only remember one time, and that was really about the controversy involving Martin Luther and sola fide).  When I started to spend time in it recently I really wasn’t expecting to find (that much) new content.  wrong.

That words of the book have not changed (in fact the notes I took in the margins during high school are still in my Bible). So why does it seem so….new?

Never before did I truly consider myself rich and when I read the Bible. I thought that this term referred to people like Oprah, Donald Trump, or Bill Gates.  FACT: If you have means of reading this post, you are probably rich too.

Isn’t it crazy how I am have read those 5 chapters probably 100+ times and have still missed so much of what it actually says?

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

So we got to this part:

 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

“But wait!,” one student said, with a crinkled forehed. “How can someone drive out a demon if the aren’t really a Christian?”

Think quick, think quick, they want answers–do you have them?? Jesus’ words negate the belief system we have about salvation, or at least what we tought about demons. Evidently, being a “Christian” maybe doesn’t guaruntee salvation in the way we oversimplify it to. Or maybe we don’t adequately teach aout spiritual warfare.  Either way, we often had to re-think our beliefs. 

The more I read the less the systems make sense.

Jesus said it.