What Did Mary Know?

By | March 5, 2011
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Near the end of Jesus’s ministry, he came to the town of Bethany where his friend Lazarus had recently died.  The dead man’s sister Mary said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32).

A few months later, Jesus is back in Bethany for a dinner in his honor, with the risen Lazarus sitting next to him.  Mary pours out an enormously expensive jar of perfume on Jesus’s feet.  When Judas gets upset at the “waste,” Jesus explains that Mary did this to prepare Jesus for his burial (John 12:1-7; cf. Matt 12:6-13).

Putting things together, you see that (1) Mary knew Jesus had the power to prevent Lazarus from dying; (2) Mary knew that the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus because he raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:45-57); (3) Mary knew that Jesus was going to die.

It seems reasonable to think that if Mary knew that Jesus could keep Lazarus from dying because of illness, she believed that Jesus could keep himself alive by avoiding Jerusalem. Mary knew that Jesus did not come to avoid death, but to endure it.

On the one hand, it should not be surprising that Mary understood a truth that Jesus repeated many times to his disciples (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34).  On the other hand, none of the apostles seemed to understand, judging from the way they responded to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  Even after his resurrection, two of his disciples were distraught because they believed Jesus was a failure because he had been killed (Luke 24:17-18). 

Mary not only understood, but she believed, pouring ointment upon Jesus that cost the equivalent of one year’s wages.  Perhaps we haven’t given her enough credit.

Teenager in the House

By | March 3, 2011
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We have joined the club.  Should the Lord will, we will be part of this group for the next 19 years. 

At one point I had hoped to finish my doctorate before our oldest turned 13 and I turned 40.  I have now missed the first goal.

The preparation for today’s test was the most difficult I have endured in as long as I can remember.  The Lord was gracious and I did not die.  In the process I learned a lot.  And I was pleasantly surprised that the test didn’t include most of the killer questions I thought of in the last few days.

I have one more to go, but I’m not really sure what I need to study.  I’m not going to think about it until tomorrow morning.

Exam Midpoint

By | February 26, 2011
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Thank you for praying for me during my exams.  I am halfway through the written exams now and have clearly seen the Lord’s answers to our prayers for health, mental strength, and freedom from distractions.  I think I’ve done well enough on the first three tests (Old Testament), but I expect the next three to be more challenging.  I appreciate your continued prayers.  The family is doing well and hanging on through this season of “testing.”

One Day

By | February 24, 2011
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One day I will stand before a class of freshmen and say:

When you were in seventh grade, I left my home, my school, my passion, and my paycheck to go and prepare to teach this class today.

I hope you listen.

Three Goats

By | February 22, 2011
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Don’t read this verse too quickly:

Then you [Saul] will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. (1 Samuel 10:3).

I’m trying to picture how they came to this arrangement.  Was it rock, paper, scissors?  The guy who won took the three loaves of bread and the loser had to carry the three goats?

Alone in a Room

By | February 20, 2011
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Tomorrow morning I will walk across campus to the PhD Studies office to pick up a specially prepared envelope.  About three minutes later, I ‘ll be sitting in a designated carrel in the library with my computer and wristwatch.  Five hours and 54 minutes later I will walk back across the courtyard to make a deposit at the aforementioned office.  That’s it.  Why all this fuss?  Why all these long days?  Why skip soccer games and teaching opportunities?  Why cogitate on enigmas through the “watches of the night”?

I’ve love to feel like so much of this was unnecessary after I get through.  I’m guessing that instead I’m going to feel like a whipped puppy who also should have skipped meals and writing blog posts.

Here’s my anticipated schedule (9-3 each day):

Mon., Feb 21: Pentateuch

Wed., Feb 23: Joshua to Song of Songs

Fri., Feb 25: Prophets

Mon., Feb 28: Gospels and Acts

Thurs., Mar 3: Romans to Revelation

Mon., Mar 7: Hermeneutics and Backgrounds

Apart from the obvious canonical order, I’ve also chosen to take the tests in this sequence because I believe this generally reflects a progression from lesser to greater ignorance in my knowledge.  I’m not trying to put off the pain, but I think that I ‘ll be better prepared for the later ones after I know the style and approach of the exams.  I also have a little more time in between exams after the first week.

If you missed the post where I described the exam content in a little more detail, see here.

Ephesians

By | February 19, 2011
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This book is mostly about how God is working through the church. Jesus is the head of the church, and the unique thing about the church is that it is not only a group of Jews, but it is Jews and Gentiles together (not Gentiles who became Jews by converting). In the first three chapters, Paul mostly explains what the church is and the great privileges that believers have. In the second three chapters, Paul tells the believers how they should live. Thus there is a lot of good, practical wisdom here.

The verse that most closely captures the argument of the book is 4:1: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy [chapters 4-6] of the calling you have received [chapters 1-3].”  Located in between the two halves, this verse serves as the book’s “hinge.”

411

By | February 18, 2011
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Here is a cool verse:

Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).

I can’t seem to find one that also mentions Jonathan.

Perhaps it’s worth noting that these are probably the very last words that Paul wrote.  Interesting that Luke was faithful with him to the end, and that he desperately wanted Timothy and Mark to get there asap.  Good guys!

We probably won’t be naming our next son Demas (2 Tim 4:10).