Signs
Commentary
Why does God make things so difficult for us? Why doesn't he just come out into the open and prove that he is real? Then everybody would believe in him and we could be done with all this doubt. Why do we have to be satisfied with the few clues we have and why do we have to trust him before we can know whether he can be trusted?
Such questions are not new. In every generation there are those who want signs and proofs. We are all prone to put out the fleece at one time or another. (See Judges 6)
Most of us imagine that those slaves in the wilderness had the best of it. Didn't God make himself known in great signs and wonders then? Well, if he did, it certainly didn't seem to impress them much. A few days without signs and they are making a golden calf.
God knows signs, however clear, seldom create 100 percent assurance of a following. Jesus makes that clear in his story of Dives and Lazarus.
Everybody wants God to make the first move. He already has. He has given his word. What we are actually asking for is a second move on the part of God, a sign.
To ask for a sign is to refuse to take God at his word. To not take him at his word is not to trust him. To want a sign or proof is un-faith.
All we are given is his word.
Jesus once said that those who seek signs will only receive the sign of Jonah. Jonah was to take a word -- message -- to Nineveh.
In Lent the sign is given again. The story is played out before us again. In it comes his promise -- his word. It is the sign of Jonah. The next move is up to us.
OUTLINE I
The God Who Never Stops Pursuing Us
Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-22
Introduction: Point out there are some people these days who, when they speak, seem to be saying that until Jesus came there was no way to salvation. For them God spoke only once and those who did not or have not heard that word are lost. The scriptures for today tell another story.
A. The Law: Tell again the story of "The Giving of the Law." Whether it is told in the context of giving a group of recently freed slaves guidelines to go by or of furnishing order to a later society, does not matter. What matters is that God is making a way for his people to draw near him. That is salvation.
B. Wisdom: While worldly wisdom seems to represent the sum total of the best of human intellect, God's wisdom is something else. in the Old Testament, wisdom seems to begin as impersonal insight or understanding. Gradually it takes on personality. See Proverbs 8:1, 9:1, 14:1. Paul is bold to associate the wisdom of God with Christ. Wisdom, therefore, is another way God makes himself known.
C. Jesus: Finally, all that God has been trying to say to get through to us is summed up in Christ. See John 1:14. The writer of the Hebrew letter also looks back over the history of his people and says it clearly. See Hebrews 1:1.
Conclusion: Declare that no one has a right to limit the scope of the grace of God. If grace means anything at all, it means that none of us can ever be in any place where God does not pursue us and seek to make us his own.
OUTLINE II
The Value of Remembering
John 2:13-22
Introduction: This lesson offers an excellent opportunity to show how revelation occurs. "His disciples remembered." That's the way it usually is. Few of us catch the full import of an event when it occurs. We seldom perceive the presence of God. But later, upon reflection, after the pieces begin to fall together we come to what can be characterized as a moment of Aha!
A. Do some research on the Temple and relate how people felt about it. There were those who were convinced that as long as the Temple stood Jerusalem was safe. See Psalm 68. (And re-read Acts 7 and see how Stephen got in trouble over this issue.)
B. Recall for the congregation that when the Gospel of John was written the Temple had long since been destroyed and the rock strewn ground witnessed to the bankruptcy of a trust in the Temple. For the people of John's church, largely Gentile, the message sounded different than it would have for Mark's readers.
C. Point out that John always writes on two levels. First, there is the obvious. Jesus' detractors only hear references to the Temple made of stone. Second, there is the deeper level of insight. Later the disciples remembered. Surely those of John's day remembered and it was the remembering that became the avenue of revelation. Now they see God once again making himself known.
Conclusion: Revelation has not ceased. While this does not mean God will give up on the Christ revelation and try something new, the congregation should be led to see that there are many places and events in which the truth continues to break through to us and, when it does, it always reveals the same God shown to us by Jesus.
OUTLINE III
The Law That Sets Free
Exodus 20:1-17
Introduction: Since people never tire of hearing the story again, go back as far as you dare, even to Abraham, and review the story. People have little swatches of the story tucked away in the backs of their minds. It helps to hear a review that ties it all together.
A. And God Spoke: Point out that in the Old Testament God brings all things into being by speaking. See the Genesis 1 Creation Story. When God speaks the law, it means that the true law expresses his will and character. The commandments, therefore, say more about God, who he is, and what he expects than they say about us.
B. Note the commandments cover our relationship to God, vv. 2-7; ourselves, v. 7, and others, vv. 12-17. All dimensions of our lives are covered.
C. With the exception of the sabbath command, all commandments are in the negative, "Thou shalt not ..." This may sound arbitrary and capricious. In fact the negative is there for a positive purpose. It serves as a reminder that these are axioms we violate at risk. When they are violated, they bring serious consequences. It is the way life is. The writer might have put it, "You can't do this and not expect some consequence." Those who have tried it can witness to the truth of that.
Conclusion: The law is given for our sakes. While many of us see the law as robbing us of our freedom, it is meant for just the opposite. Those who observe the law are freest of all. Here we are talking about the law of God (will and character), not laws, rules, regulations. There is a mighty difference.
Such questions are not new. In every generation there are those who want signs and proofs. We are all prone to put out the fleece at one time or another. (See Judges 6)
Most of us imagine that those slaves in the wilderness had the best of it. Didn't God make himself known in great signs and wonders then? Well, if he did, it certainly didn't seem to impress them much. A few days without signs and they are making a golden calf.
God knows signs, however clear, seldom create 100 percent assurance of a following. Jesus makes that clear in his story of Dives and Lazarus.
Everybody wants God to make the first move. He already has. He has given his word. What we are actually asking for is a second move on the part of God, a sign.
To ask for a sign is to refuse to take God at his word. To not take him at his word is not to trust him. To want a sign or proof is un-faith.
All we are given is his word.
Jesus once said that those who seek signs will only receive the sign of Jonah. Jonah was to take a word -- message -- to Nineveh.
In Lent the sign is given again. The story is played out before us again. In it comes his promise -- his word. It is the sign of Jonah. The next move is up to us.
OUTLINE I
The God Who Never Stops Pursuing Us
Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-22
Introduction: Point out there are some people these days who, when they speak, seem to be saying that until Jesus came there was no way to salvation. For them God spoke only once and those who did not or have not heard that word are lost. The scriptures for today tell another story.
A. The Law: Tell again the story of "The Giving of the Law." Whether it is told in the context of giving a group of recently freed slaves guidelines to go by or of furnishing order to a later society, does not matter. What matters is that God is making a way for his people to draw near him. That is salvation.
B. Wisdom: While worldly wisdom seems to represent the sum total of the best of human intellect, God's wisdom is something else. in the Old Testament, wisdom seems to begin as impersonal insight or understanding. Gradually it takes on personality. See Proverbs 8:1, 9:1, 14:1. Paul is bold to associate the wisdom of God with Christ. Wisdom, therefore, is another way God makes himself known.
C. Jesus: Finally, all that God has been trying to say to get through to us is summed up in Christ. See John 1:14. The writer of the Hebrew letter also looks back over the history of his people and says it clearly. See Hebrews 1:1.
Conclusion: Declare that no one has a right to limit the scope of the grace of God. If grace means anything at all, it means that none of us can ever be in any place where God does not pursue us and seek to make us his own.
OUTLINE II
The Value of Remembering
John 2:13-22
Introduction: This lesson offers an excellent opportunity to show how revelation occurs. "His disciples remembered." That's the way it usually is. Few of us catch the full import of an event when it occurs. We seldom perceive the presence of God. But later, upon reflection, after the pieces begin to fall together we come to what can be characterized as a moment of Aha!
A. Do some research on the Temple and relate how people felt about it. There were those who were convinced that as long as the Temple stood Jerusalem was safe. See Psalm 68. (And re-read Acts 7 and see how Stephen got in trouble over this issue.)
B. Recall for the congregation that when the Gospel of John was written the Temple had long since been destroyed and the rock strewn ground witnessed to the bankruptcy of a trust in the Temple. For the people of John's church, largely Gentile, the message sounded different than it would have for Mark's readers.
C. Point out that John always writes on two levels. First, there is the obvious. Jesus' detractors only hear references to the Temple made of stone. Second, there is the deeper level of insight. Later the disciples remembered. Surely those of John's day remembered and it was the remembering that became the avenue of revelation. Now they see God once again making himself known.
Conclusion: Revelation has not ceased. While this does not mean God will give up on the Christ revelation and try something new, the congregation should be led to see that there are many places and events in which the truth continues to break through to us and, when it does, it always reveals the same God shown to us by Jesus.
OUTLINE III
The Law That Sets Free
Exodus 20:1-17
Introduction: Since people never tire of hearing the story again, go back as far as you dare, even to Abraham, and review the story. People have little swatches of the story tucked away in the backs of their minds. It helps to hear a review that ties it all together.
A. And God Spoke: Point out that in the Old Testament God brings all things into being by speaking. See the Genesis 1 Creation Story. When God speaks the law, it means that the true law expresses his will and character. The commandments, therefore, say more about God, who he is, and what he expects than they say about us.
B. Note the commandments cover our relationship to God, vv. 2-7; ourselves, v. 7, and others, vv. 12-17. All dimensions of our lives are covered.
C. With the exception of the sabbath command, all commandments are in the negative, "Thou shalt not ..." This may sound arbitrary and capricious. In fact the negative is there for a positive purpose. It serves as a reminder that these are axioms we violate at risk. When they are violated, they bring serious consequences. It is the way life is. The writer might have put it, "You can't do this and not expect some consequence." Those who have tried it can witness to the truth of that.
Conclusion: The law is given for our sakes. While many of us see the law as robbing us of our freedom, it is meant for just the opposite. Those who observe the law are freest of all. Here we are talking about the law of God (will and character), not laws, rules, regulations. There is a mighty difference.
