In Gennesaret

[Resurrection Station #7 – Matthew 28] Go and make disciples! Each of my other Resurrection Stations started with a question Jesus asked (in case you hadn’t noticed). But Jesus doesn’t ask questions here; he gives a bunch of commands. Go. Train. Baptize. Teach. This is the Great Commission, a passage pounded into me throughout my Southern Baptist upbringing By many good and faithful Southern Baptists . . . like David Platt. I am quite fond of David Platt. His book Radical and the videos from his many years of Secret Church conferences had a profound impact on me at significant points in my life. He seems well-grounded, genuine, and compassionate. I respect the guy greatly . But I have to admit, he sends me on serious guilt trips sometimes. "There are 3.2 billion people with little to no access to the gospel. That's 40% of the world's population," he tells me on Facebook. He is all about evangelism, reaching the unreached people round the world with the good n...

[Resurrection Station #6 – John 21] Do you love me? After the fish breakfast with his disciples, Jesus turns to the impulsive Peter for some one-on-one business. “Do you love me, Peter?” he asks. “Of course! You know it!” Peter replies. “Then take care of my sheep,” the Lord responds. And . . . then they rewind and replay a couple times with some small modifications. Hmmm. This repetitive exchange between Peter and Jesus is one I’ve pondered deeply. Of course, the teaching most of us have heard, I’m guessing, is that Jesus asks him the same question three times to be reminiscent of the three times Peter denied him. He was forgiving each denial individually. And sure. Maybe that's it. My perspective on this conversation changed completely when somebody pointed out to me the Greek words being used for love here. The first two times Jesus asks the question, he uses the word agape . This is the deepest kind of love – completely selfless love – the kind of love God has for us. B...

[Resurrection Station #5 – John 21] Haven’t you any fish? In a moment that I suspect was meant to be intentionally reminiscent of one of his first encounters with these disciples, Jesus calls to them in their boats after a night of unsuccessful fishing: “Haven’t you any fish? No? Aw, that’s a shame.” Then he tells them to throw their nets on the other side – and once again, their catch is suddenly too large for them to even haul in. On one level, this seems like a story I wouldn’t relate much to. I don’t fish. Oh, Lord, no. Physical labor in general is not my cup of tea . . . not that I’m proud of this fact. As much as I greatly appreciate and admire people who do the work to fulfill that essential need to get food on my table, I have little to no interest in taking part in that process. Not my gifting, y’all – not my kind of work, although I honestly wish it was some days. I deal with words and ideas and people, stuff higher up in Maslow’s hierarchy. Maslow, anyone? Abraham Ma...

[Resurrection Station #4 – Luke 24 and John 20] Why do doubts rise in your minds? Today’s question is not actually from the Thomas story as recorded in John. It’s from the first time Jesus appears to the other disciples in Luke 24, which I talked about last week. And you know, that’s kind of interesting. We give Thomas all sorts of crap for being THE Doubter. Doubting Thomas. THE one – the only one -- who doubted that Jesus could have come back from the dead. But he wasn’t the only one. Apparently, they all were doubting it the week before . . . and doubting the evidence of their own eyes, his risen body standing in from of them inviting them to touch his flesh and be convinced. Interesting that we gloss over that. Interesting that the next week, Jesus doesn’t chide Thomas at all for his doubts. He just puts out his wrists to be handled for evidence and tells him it’s time to stop doubting now. Interesting also that John doesn’t tell us that Thomas actually handled the bodil...

[Resurrection Station #3 – Luke 24 and John 20] Why are you troubled? Mary told them . . . the Emmaus boys told them . . . but the disciples still weren’t sure about this story that Jesus was alive again. And who could blame them? I mean, back from the dead? Seriously?? These people sound like they're a half-bubble off plumb . . . But Jesus swept away all doubt when he showed up on Sunday night. “It is I, myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones.” Now there are a few interesting things about this encounter with the risen Lord. For one thing, he didn’t seem to need to use the door. Luke says that all of a sudden, “Jesus himself stood among them.” John adds that the doors were locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and Jesus simply “came and stood among them.” He was just there . We get no explanation of that. And yes, as much as I would like an explanation, I don’t suppose I need one. It’s just one of those stories I’ll have to ask abou...