John: The Disciple Jesus Loved

Spirituality Column #125
March 31, 2009
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current in Westfield (IN) newspaper

John: The Disciple Jesus Loved
By Bob Walters

The Fourth Gospel, written by the disciple John between 50-100 A.D, is different from the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in that John begins his Gospel at the beginning of the world and links Jesus Christ directly to God at Creation.

“In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was God,” reads John’s lyrical first chapter. Jesus is the Word of God. “And the Word became flesh …” says John 1:14. God, in Jesus, became man.

John the Evangelist was the cousin of both Jesus and John the Baptist – their mothers were three sisters: Salome, Mary and Elizabeth. It was Salome (the wife of Zebedee) whom Jesus sternly rebuked in Matthew 20:20 after she asked Jesus to favor her sons John and James.

Despite that rebuke, Salome (John 19:25) was at the foot of the Cross with her sister Mary, son John, Mary Magdalene and another Mary, wife of Clopas, who is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible.

John’s Gospel, considered more mystical than the Synoptics, is highly focused on identifying Jesus as fully man, fully God and fully man’s sole chance for salvation. It is also called the Book of Signs:
1) Water into wine – v. John 2:1
2) Healing the nobleman’s son – v. 4:46
3) Healing pool at Bethesda – v. 5:1
4) Feeding the 5,000 – v. 6:1
5) Walking on water - v. 6:16
6) Healing the blind man – v. 9:1
7) Raising Lazarus – v. 11:1-44

John 3:16 is one of the best known verses in the Bible, partly because of that rainbow-haired nut who used to wave the “John 3:16” sign at ball games on TV, but mainly because it contains Jesus’ core message:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

Sadly, the follow-up John 3:17 may be the most overlooked verse in the Bible: “God did not send his son to condemn the world … but to save the world.”

John introduces us to the Holy Spirit (14:15-31, 16:5-16) and records Jesus’ fabulous prayer for disciples and believers in the Garden (17:6-26).

The bottom line? John, the disciple Jesus loved, tells us Jesus’ salvation is for everyone and that God’s love is for everyone … if only we believe.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) has filled 23 pages with notes while re-reading the Gospels. The richness of the message never tarnishes.

Luke: Jesus Came for All

Spirituality Column #124
March 24, 2009
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current in Westfield (IN) newspaper

Luke: Jesus Came for All
By Bob Walters

My favorite passage of scripture has to be Luke 2:1-14, the Christmas story.

“And it came to pass … ” and “on Earth peace, good will toward men.” Beautiful.

The most elegantly written of the four Gospels, Luke’s name is not in the Gospel as its author, but unmistakable evidence exists that Luke and Acts were written by the same person. Both are addressed to Luke’s probably-Roman patron Theophilos, and Paul mentions his “dear friend Luke, the doctor” in Colossians 4:14 and “fellow worker” in Philemon 24.

Luke, a non-Jew, was perfectly positioned to tell the story of Jesus to the Gentiles. He was obviously trained in classical Greek culture, possessed a scholar’s sense of investigation and viewed Israel with an outsider’s perspective.

Tradition tells us that Luke was one of “the 72” Jesus sent out in Luke 10:1-24. We don’t know how Luke first came into the company of Jesus, but his carefully researched Gospel bears both great similarity to, and striking differences from, the other Synoptics.

Only Luke, in chapter 1, gives us information helping us figure out John the Baptist is a Levite. Only Luke reports Jesus being “in my Father’s house” teaching in the Temple at age 12 (Luke 2:49). Only Luke reports Jesus’ lineage back to Adam to include all mankind; Matthew stops at Abraham (Luke 3:23-38).

Luke is rich with stories of non-Jews who Jesus helped. The story of the Centurion’s sick servant in Luke 7:1-9 tells us that Jesus checks only faith, not our ID, when we cry out for help. The story of the bleeding woman in Luke 8:42-48 tells us that Jesus feels each one of us, individually.

Luke reports how Jesus raised the widow’s son in Luke 7:14, and brought back to life Jarius’s daughter in Luke 8:40-56.

Luke’s investigation produces rich, powerful and exclusive sections of parables (Luke 10:1 to 18:14, 19:1-28). Luke notes, as do all the Gospels, that at the Cross it was a Roman Centurion – a Gentile – who observed after Christ’s death: “Surely this was a righteous man,” i.e., the son of God.

It is Luke who tells the story of two men who encounter Jesus on the Road To Emmaus, giving us the name of just one man, Cleopas. Why?

Because, as my scholar friend Dr. George Bebawi reminds, according to St. Jerome and Origen of Alexandria, the other one was Luke himself.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) encourages fellow-Christians to re-read the Gospels during Lent. It’s amazing what you forget when it’s been a couple of years. Next week: John.

Mark: Succinct for the Romans

Spirituality Column #123
March 17, 2009
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current in Westfield (IN) newspaper

Mark: Succinct for the Romans
By Bob Walters

John Mark, a close associate of the Apostle Peter, is credited with writing the Gospel of Mark between 50-65 AD somewhere in Italy.

With its succinct, active, and direct style – an apt metaphor for the Roman way of life – Mark describes what Christ did more than what Christ said.

Scholars regard the book of Mark, which not surprisingly focuses on persecution and martyrdom, as a portrayal of Peter’s teaching and sermons to the Romans.

Tradition suggests Peter lived his later years in and around Rome and was martyred there. John Mark – who we see elsewhere in the Bible as the man who ran naked from Christ’s arrest in the Garden (Mark 14:51), deserted Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:13), and later regained Paul’s favor (2 Titus 4:11) – was, like Luke, not one of the 12 Disciples.

This is the kind of scripture background available from a standard study Bible.

When I first read the Bible a few years ago, it was an edition with a minimum of notes because I wanted to focus on the scripture and not have my eyes and thoughts jerked around a maze of notes, footnotes, citations, charts, and maps.

A study Bible is an entirely different animal. I often have to look twice to find the actual scripture amid the above-mentioned maze of study material.

The variety of information especially facilitates a curious phenomenon that befalls every person who reads any Bible on a regular basis: With each reading, new bits of insight and previously unnoticed facts fairly jump off the pages.

I like to think this is the Holy Spirit’s way of keeping our thirst whetted for continued scriptural study and a deeper relationship with God through Christ.

A new insight? It occurred to me that Jesus’ famous statement about money and taxes, “Render unto to Caesar …” (Mark 12:17), positions money as an earthly thing, not a divine thing. That sort of knocks a hole in the popular prosperity preaching that promotes “God wants us to be rich.” Hogwash. How many rich Christian missionaries do you know? Money rich, I mean.

A typical study Bible note? Mark 6:3 is the only place in the Bible where Jesus is referred to as a carpenter.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com), in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, notes that Mark 16:18 is the “snake handling” scripture. You can look it up. Next week: Luke.

Matthew: Gift of God

Spirituality Column #122
March 10, 2009
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current in Westfield (IN) newspaper

Matthew: Gift of God
By Bob Walters

“The name Matthew means ‘gift of God,’ and that’s exactly what Matthew presents to us in the life of Christ.”

That’s a recent note from Dave Faust, who as my then-pastor and mentor first inspired me to read the Bible. He suggested getting acquainted with the Bible by reading Genesis, Isaiah, Matthew, and Revelation.

Dave – well, “Dr. Faust” – is now president of Cincinnati Christian University. I emailed him about this “reading the Gospels” series during Lent and asked him why he recommended Matthew.

He wrote back: “I like the idea that Matthew was once a tax collector who hung around with some pretty sinful friends. Then the Lord invited him to ‘Come, follow me,” and he … became a disciple.

“I believe it was William Barclay,” Dave said, “who pointed out that the only thing Matthew took with him from the tax collector’s booth was his pen! (And thus wrote the Gospel.)”

In describing the book, Dave notes: “Matthew portrays Jesus as an authoritative teacher, a kind care-giver, a supreme storyteller, a powerful miracle worker, and a fulfiller of prophecy. Most of all, Matthew’s Gospel shows that Jesus is the promised Messiah, born of a virgin, put to death by crucifixion, and raised from the dead for salvation.”

Tax collectors were the worst of the worst in Jerusalem society, and we must pay attention to the fact that if God could use Matthew for good, he can use just about any of us for good.

When I asked friend and pastor John Samples about the Gospels, he pointed out that Matthew – with its approximately 50 direct quotes from Old Testament prophecy – was written to the Jews. Mark’s Gospel, short and direct, was written to the Romans; and Luke, the Greek physician, wrote his eloquent Gospel to Gentiles. John is considered a universal Gospel.

Matthew is loaded with common sayings – “man does not live by bread alone” (4:4), “blind leading the blind" (15:14), is home to the Sermon on the Mount (5-6-7), says that John the Baptist is Elijah (17:12-13), and so much more. Reading it anew was wonderful.

I wrote down seven pages of notes; verses and ideas I want to remember.

One of the greatest things about reading any part of the Bible is that it always brings new thoughts, and this is a season for renewal.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) is now reading Mark, who along with Luke was not one of the 12 Apostles.

Kick This Habit Up a Notch

Spirituality Column #121
March 3, 2009
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current in Westfield (IN) newspaper

Kick This Habit Up a Notch
By Bob Walters

How’s this for great advice?

Read the Gospels.

Recently I heard a sermon about another topic entirely, but the pastor made the corollary point, “If you haven’t read them lately, read the Gospels.” What a capital idea.

Over the remaining five weeks of Lent, which started last week with Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25, and ends with Easter, April 12, why not take the time (daily if you can) to grab a Bible, sit down and read – or re-read – the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

Read one book a week – 28 chapters of Matthew, 16 chapters of Mark, 24 chapters of Luke and 21 chapters of John.

That’s what I’m going to do, and write about them weekly. I’m “in” the Gospels all the time, but I haven’t read them end-to-end in five years.

If you’re not now a regular Bible reader, they say habits form over a period of 21 days. I don’t know of a better habit than daily time spent with God’s word, reading the Bible. We make lots of attempts to break bad habits at the start of each New Year. Why not resolve to create one new good habit at the start of this season of renewed life?

This is a “habit” we – Christians or anyone who’s interested in Christ – could work on together, even though many Christian churches don’t implore their congregations to read the Bible, and many other Christian churches do not celebrate Lent.

The good news is … well, the Good News is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But for the purposes of this particular plea, the good news is that all Christian churches celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It’s what we call common ground, and that’s the message of the Gospels.

This is a good season to put away sectarian disputes about Biblical origins, versions, translations and interpretations, and just read. Let’s not fight about “The Bible.” What we want as Christians – regardless of doctrine – is for everyone to know the Gospel message, and to read the Bible.

So, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John over the next four weeks.

Know the best way to start? Pray. Get the Holy Spirit involved.
Need a prayer? Try, “Lord Jesus Christ, help me understand what I’m about to read, that it may bring Glory to You. Amen.”

Need a Bible? Let me know.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com), who reads the NIV Bible because it’s easy, will find you a Bible if you don’t have one.