quote of the week, november 7-13, 2010

Jesus' challenge, which he set out from Scripture and through his sayings and acts, was that God's long-promised and longed-for kingdom rule had broken into creation through his ministry. God's promise of hope and life, the provision of the Spirit, forgiveness, and a vindicated rule had come in him. Jesus according to Scripture is a powerful figure who makes what people think of him and his mission the primary question that one must face in life. The question of Jesus is primary because it asks of us not only who Jesus is, but also who we are as God's creatures. If one seeks to know oneself or find life, one must measure oneself against the Creator and his plan. Jesus never is assessed alone, as if his identity were a historical or academic curiosity or merely a matter of private opinion. For what we think of Jesus reveals what we think of ourselves, our capabilities, and our needs, given the way that Jesus presented our need for God and Jesus' own role in that plan. Even as Jesus is the revelator of God, he is also the revelator of our hearts before God. (Bock 2002:647)

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References:
Bock, D. (2002). Jesus According to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic and Apollos.

musings on the temple of God

What if we could indeed go back in time, say, to the early part of the first century, when Herod's temple still stood in Jerusalem? What would our reaction be at the sight of it? It would not take much effort to recognize it. Perhaps we would be overcome with a sense of wonderment at the material beauty of the temple and its adornments. Perhaps we would be filled with excitement knowing that this was the place where the True God was worshiped; this was the place where the presence of God dwelled on earth; this was the place where the high priest entered annually into the most holy place behind the veil to make atonement for the sins of the people. Could we even contain the response of being filled with awe at the mere sight of such a place?

Permit me to indulge in one more hypothetical. Whether it involved tenuous notions of time travel or not, what if we could now see Jesus face-to-face (as we do with other people) as He was when He walked the earth? What would our reaction be at the sight of Him? It would probably take great effort to recognize Him. Perhaps we would be confused if not offended at the simplicity of His material possessions, homelessness, and lack of adornments. Perhaps we would not even sense the excitement we ought to feel at being in the presence of the True God who humbled Himself for our sake, not only to become one of us, but to bring us back to God. Perhaps we would not even realize that the presence of God dwelt bodily before our very eyes. Perhaps we would not understand that He was the true temple of God who was raised in three days, who entered not into the copy of the most holy place but, through the veil of His flesh entered into heaven itself, making enduring purification for sins once for all for the sins of the world, then to be seated at the right hand of God? Would we even have a response at the mere sight of such a Person?

Why is there a disconnect?