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How’s that for a description of the church? Mark’s gospel, probably the first written of the New Testament gospel narratives, begins by giving us the goal and the strategy for the coming of Jesus.

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11

The “torn open” language makes me think of Isaiah 64:1-3,

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

Jesus came to fulfill the cry of Isaiah, that God would tear open heaven and come down to earth. Jesus is that ‘coming down to earth’. You see, the primary message of the bible is not that we go to heaven when we die. Rather, the bible tells the story of God bringing heaven to earth in Jesus. Heaven, in bible speak, is short hand for, “where God is”, and Jesus, according to Mark, is where God is. Jesus announces his ministry with the words, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) Jesus, the King, is near!

Heaven on earth. This is the goal of the coming of Jesus. How about the strategy?

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.

Jesus goes from seeing heaven torn open and hearing the voice of his Father…to calling three common dudes to follow him, with the promise that he will turn them into fishers of men. You would think he would have some glorious plan to build cathedrals and create a worldwide organization. He seems content to leave such things to us. He is intent on teaching people to be Jesus followers who teach others to be Jesus followers. Disciple-making is the core strategy of the Jesus movement.

The goal, heaven on earth. The strategy, disciple-making. We have added so much unnecessary baggage to this simple movement…so much so that we often lose the power of the movement. Journey3 is a simple movement. Our simple goal is to allow Jesus to shine through us and so to become little outbreaks of heaven on earth. Our simple strategy is to go and make disciples of Jesus.

Grace and glory,

Jay

Journey3 is a movement with three parts.

We Believe. We gather on Sunday afternoons at 4 in order to grow in our ability to believe Jesus.

We Build. We meet in triads to share life in a deeper way.

We Bless. We go into our beloved city of Portland to make a difference by serving people who need a touch from God.

Interested in living life the way God intended you to live? Email me…Jay@Journey3.org.

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Just pondering the other day… what happened the moment Jesus died? I was meditating on the story found in the Bible, Matthew 27: 45-56.

45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.     56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

In verses 45-48, we see the condition of humanity. Jesus experiences our lostness at an excruciating level during these hours hanging on the cross. He experiences darkness, aloneness, and confusion.

Darkness. How amazingly ironic that the one who is light is wrapped in darkness for 3 hours before his death. Luke tells us that the sun stopped shining for these three hours…an eclipse? How it happened we don’t know, but it was dark. John introduces Jesus as the light. “The true light that gives light to every person was coming into the world”. John 1:9. But now, the light takes on our darkness. Jesus makes the trade…give me your darkness and I will give you light.

Aloneness. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” How desperately alone we are! Dallas Willard writes in his excellent book, Hearing God, that we are not able to truly be with others. “It is simply not within human capacity to care effectively for others in the depths of their life and being or even to be with them in finality—no matter how much we may care about them.” No matter how close you may be with another human, there is no way that person can know your intimate thoughts or be with you at all moments in your joys or struggles. The only one who really knows us and therefore can truly be with us, is God. Jesus, during these hours on the cross, is truly alone. God the Father / Holy Spirit, has withdrawn from Jesus. Jesus trades his presence with the Father and takes on our aloneness.

Confusion. You would hope that at this dark and alone time of life, Jesus might be allowed to at least exist without being troubled by confusing voices. Not to be. As he cries out in anguish, those at the foot of the cross hear him shout in Aramaic, “Eloi, Eloi…”, meaning “My God, my God…”. They thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. The crowd is stirred, they get a bit excited. After all, this guy had, it was said, done some pretty amazing things, maybe he could call up Elijah! Let’s stay and watch! I imagine Jesus, his heart sinking as he hears the confusion, thinking, “Why can’t they see what is happening? Can’t I say anything without others confusing the issue?”. Jesus takes on our confusion in order to be our truth.

Darkness, Aloneness, Confusion. A picture of life apart from God. This is us, as written in Ephesians 2:12, “without hope and without God in the world”.

But then it happened, “he gave up his spirit”. Jesus dies. And, “at that moment” three things happen, the curtain in the temple was torn, the earth shook, and the tombs broke open.

The Curtain. Hebrews 10: 19-22 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” This curtain separated the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies in the temple from the rest of the temple. This is the place where God’s presence existed in a special way with his people. But, because of his holiness, and our sin, we were prevented from entering into the presence of God. No more! We now have access to God!

Earthquake. The East Coast felt the the tremors just a few days ago. And earthquake reminds us that the foundation, the earth itself, is not beyond shaking. The death of Jesus lays a new foundation. A new building, a new creation has begun. “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11 The quake told everyone in Jerusalem that a new reality had begun. Jesus now offers to rebuild our lives!

Tombs breaking open. How strange! How…almost comical! Hey mom, did you hear? Uncle Josiah was at Bingo last night! He’s been dead for years! Something new has begun. Jesus often uses powerful miracles to demonstrate in a visual, experiential way his authority over hidden, unseen realities. Death has been conquered. You can’t argue with Uncle Josiah back at Bingo. And, because we see death being demolished, we can believe that sin and the devil are beaten as well. Jesus frees us from sin, death and the devil.

At that moment! At the moment of his death, when Jesus gives up his spirit…he makes the trade. Give me your darkness, aloneness, confusion, and I will give you access, foundation, life!

Grace and glory

Jay

Journey3 is a movement with three parts.

We Believe. We gather on Monday evenings at 7 as a larger group in order to grow in our ability to believe Jesus.

We Build. We meet in triads (groups of 3-4) to share life in a deeper way.

We Bless. We go into our beloved city of Portland to make a difference by serving people who need a touch from God.

Interested in living life the way God intended you to live? Email me…Jay@Journey3.org.

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I am feeling for Peter. You may know the story. Jesus is about to be betrayed and will be tortured and killed. At the end of their final meal together he tells his followers

“This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. Matthew 26:31-35

I am feeling for Peter because I can identify with him. He wants to do the right thing. He wants to be loyal to Jesus. He wants to be committed and courageous. I imagine Peter standing up and slapping his hand on his sword, ready for action! Isn’t this a good thing? Aren’t we supposed to give it all we have? After all, Jesus tells us that anyone who follows him must be willing to die, to deny self, to take up the cross and follow him. In the Old Testament, God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. Later Paul writes that he wants to “press on toward the goal of the upward call of Christ.” He wants to be committed and courageous. So…why does Jesus argue with Peter? Why not say to Peter, “Hey, thanks for your commitment! Thanks for being willing to stick with me through anything!”?

The answer I think goes back to the transfiguration. In Matthew 17, we read the story. Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a mountain top and there Jesus is changed in appearance before them and talks with Elijah and Moses. Peter is caught up in the moment and wants to stay and live in this time of joy and amazement. Again, this is not a bad thing. King David wrote in the Psalm 27, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” It is a good thing to want to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. This is what King David wanted and this is what Peter wanted on the mount of transfiguration.

But then, the voice of God the Father is heard. While they were gazing on Jesus with Moses and Elijah, God speaks, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” These are the exact words the Father speaks at the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3, except that the Father adds the last sentence, “Listen to him!”. And here, I think, is point. Before courage, before worship, before our acts of commitment, the Father charges us to listen to Jesus.

Peter, Jesus says on that terrible last night, listen to me, it is written that you all will run. Peter, listen to me, you will deny my three times, I am telling you the truth. This is not a time for acts of courage. Peter would try anyway and ended up whacking a servant of the high priest with his sword. Even then, Jesus says…listen…not now, we are not fighting with swords now.

Later, after the resurrection, Jesus reinstates Peter and renews his call. And by then, I think, Peter has it figured out. What does Jesus want from him…courage, commitment, worship? Yes, but before any of these…listen!

Grace and glory

Jay

Journey3 is a movement with three parts.

We Believe. We gather on Monday evenings at 7 as a larger group in order to grow in our ability to believe Jesus.

We Build. We meet in triads (groups of 3-4) to share life in a deeper way.

We Bless. We go into our beloved city of Portland to make a difference by serving people who need a touch from God.

Interested in living life the way God intended you to live? Email me…Jay@Journey3.org.

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