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1 Thessalonians: A Community of Faith, Love, and Hope

October 8, 2021 By Peter Krol

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church is one of his earliest known writings, likely preceded only by Galatians. As he was still cutting his teeth on this business of writing letters to churches, it shouldn’t surprise us that he’d want to ground them in the basics of church life. Do Paul’s basics line up with what you consider the basics of membership in your church?

Literary Markers

As a piece of persuasive discourse, 1 Thessalonians marks its main sections through logical connector phrases and major shifts in topic. After the salutation (1 Thess 1:1) and extended thanksgiving (1 Thess 1:2-10), Paul takes up the matters of his relationship with these people (signaled by “for you yourselves know” in 1 Thess 2:1) and their relationships with God and each other (signaled by “Finally, then, brothers” in 1 Thess 4:1). As with many of Paul’s other letters, 1 Thessalonians ends with a closing benediction and greeting (1 Thess 5:23-28).

Salutation and thanksgiving – 1 Thess 1:1-10
Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonians – 1 Thess 2:1-3:13
The Thessalonians’ relationship with God and each other – 1 Thess 4:1-5:22
Benediction and closing – 1 Thess 5:23-28

Part 1 Walkthrough

The beginning and ending of Paul’s letters typically give us the best clues as to his intentions and main point, and 1 Thessalonians is no exception. His thanksgiving for these people introduces the triple-layered theme that saturates the letter:

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 1:2-3)

Faith, love, hope. We’re generally more familiar with these virtues in a different order from Paul’s later writing (faith, hope, love – see 1 Cor 13:13). But early in his career—and as we’ll see repeatedly throughout this letter—Paul’s thinking followed an initial pattern of faith, love, hope.

First is faith, which Paul unpacks in the opening chapter. He speaks of what “we know” (1 Thess 1:4), and then of what “you know” (1 Thess 1:5b), before waxing eloquently about this church’s faith in God, which has “gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything” (1 Thess 1:8). This church, clearly, is one characterized by its faith.

Part 2 Walkthrough

Paul recounts the history of his relationship with the Thessalonian church, but it all has a purpose. He’s not simply recording their origin story for the church’s anniversary picnic or memory book. He has a point to make. An argument.

And that argument comes to light at the very end of the section.

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thess 3:11-13)

Here are Paul’s wishes for these people. He wants them to grow in faith, recognizing and trusting that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is the one directing them. He wants them to abound in love for one another and for all. And he wants them to have much hope as they look to the future when Jesus will establish their hearts blameless in holiness. The same three things he gave thanks for in chapter 1 are the very things he wants them to not only continue in but abound in from this day forward. You’re doing well, and keep it on going!

Going back over the section, we ought to see his description of their relationship reinforcing this trifold prayer.

First, he explains how he himself sought to help those he loved among them. He used words (1 Thess 2:1-7). He used more than words (1 Thess 2:8-12). And he gave copious thanks for worthy progress (1 Thess 2:13-16). Or viewed another way, he inspired their faith through the words of the gospel (1 Thess 2:1-7). He showed them the love of a father for his children (1 Thess 2:8-12). And he observed their stalwart hope despite all they were suffering (1 Thess 2:13-16).

Second, he defends his prolonged absence since his untimely departure from them. Paul’s heart emerges in this defense as he speaks vulnerably about his driving motivation:

We sent Timothy to establish and exhort you in your faith (1 Thess 3:2).
I sent to learn about your faith (1 Thess 3:5).
Timothy has brought good news about your faith and love (1 Thess 3:6).
We have been comforted about you through your faith (1 Thess 3:7).
We wish to see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith (1 Thess 3:10).

Why does he care so much about their faith and their love? Because they are his hope and joy (1 Thess 2:19-20). Now we really live, if you are standing fast in the Lord (1 Thess 3:8).

The history of Paul’s relationship with these people is one of witnessing their faith, love, and hope, in imitation of Paul’s own faith, love, and hope, with the intention of further inflaming both their and his continued faith, love, and hope.

Part 3 Walkthrough

Paul moves on to practical matters, expounding on what it might look like to abound in faith, love, and hope, for these folks in this place at this time.

First, he discusses sexual immorality (1 Thess 4:1-8). And the way he discusses it makes it out to be primarily a matter of faith. That is, how does your belief about God shape your sexual ethic? If you trust that God is an avenger (1 Thess 4:6), you will turn away from the passion of lust like the Gentiles who don’t know him. And if you trust that God is a giver of his Holy Spirit (1 Thess 4:8), you won’t presume he’s holding out on you but will find motivation to walk in a way that pleases him.

Second, he discusses brotherly love (1 Thess 4:9-12). Which has to do with further developing the virtue of, well, love. It is something they are already very good at but are urged to practice more and more.

Third, he discusses how to look appropriately to the future and grieve as those who have hope (1 Thess 4:13-5:11).

He sums up his instruction with the metaphor of donning armor—the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of hope for salvation (1 Thess 5:8)—before concluding with a series of highly practical requests (1 Thess 5:12-22).

Part 4 Walkthrough

In closing, Paul wishes that God would sanctify them completely. To fill them out and make them whole. To complete his work in them. To take their great success in faith, love, and hope and make it abound even more, until the day when Jesus returns to judge all and keep his own people blameless in the presence of his Father.

Conclusion

The Thessalonian church was doing a great job in these “basics” of faith, love, and hope. Yet there’s always room to grow even further into these virtues. Such is the way of Christian maturity. How is your local community doing at these foundational principles of the Christian walk? Do Paul’s basics line up with what you consider the basics of membership in your church?

Interpretive Outline

Thanksgiving to God for overflowing faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 1:1-10
Ministry founded on faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 2:1-3:13
Excelling still more in faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 4:1-5:22
Asking God for more faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 5:23-28

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Context Matters: The Man of Lawlessness

October 1, 2021 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Man of Lawlessness, otherwise known as the lawless one, who “opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess 2:4). Sometimes connected with the Beast of Revelation and the Antichrist of John’s letters, this mysterious figure appears in a rather difficult passage, which is certainly to be numbered among those writings of Paul which are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16). Yet the figure has become something of a staple in Christian fiction and end-times theology. What are we to make of him?

We always need to pay attention to the context of our favorite verses and phrases. When we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not just as a code to crack—we may find it has a deeper or different meaning than we’ve assumed.

The Immediate Context

Notice how Paul explicitly introduces this character to his readers:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself…
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Please take a close look once again: “Now concerning the coming of … Jesus … and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed…”

So we may have great confidence that Paul is writing about the coming of Jesus and our being gathered together to him. There is much disagreement over what exactly those things mean, along with when and how they take place. But there ought to be no disagreement whatsoever regarding why Paul is writing about these events. That is, he wants to prevent his readers from being shaken or alarmed. He wants to correct the deception that abounds in Christian teaching and writing regarding these events. He wants to make sure his audience, the church at Thessalonica, knows what to look for before the coming of Jesus or gathering of the saints can take place. And this foreknowledge, when truthfully presented, will neither shake them up nor alarm them.

Therefore we can confidently conclude that, sadly, this passage has been used for centuries, contrary to its stated purpose, to create alarm among those who love the Lord Jesus. Whatever conclusions we may draw about the identity or timing of this Man of Lawlessness and his rebellion, any use of this text that provokes shaken minds or alarmed spirits among Christian brothers and sisters is a deception and a misuse of the text in direct violation of its context.

Let us ensure that the sensational but unclear parts of this text do not overshadow the abundantly clear comfort being offered to believers in Christ through it.

The Broader Context

And the broader context points in precisely the same direction.

Paul’s first letter begins with thanks to God for the people’s “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:2-3). This triple theme of faith, love, and hope can be traced through the letter as Paul’s chief focus. You are doing well in these three areas; now excel still more. (See my upcoming interpretive overview of 1 Thessalonians for more detail.)

But by the time he writes his second letter, only a few months later, something is missing. The object of his thanks is now that their “faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one” of them for one another is increasing (2 Thess 1:3). Some commentators have tried to identify the presence of hope in the following sentence (“Therefore we ourselves boast … about your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions” – 2 Thess 1:4), but it is telling that Paul now links their steadfastness not with hope—which was so prominent in the first letter—but with faith. Instead, Paul seems to remind them of the hope which was once theirs and could be yet again:

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

In many ways, the brief letter of 2 Thessalonians is about regaining hope, receiving its comfort through grace. The church was once characterized by faith, love, and hope. They have continued abounding in the first two; they now need to regain the comfort of the third.

And Paul’s teaching on the Man of Lawlessness is delivered with this purpose in mind. Not to shake them up or alarm them, but to deliver to them eternal comfort and good hope through grace that they might be established in every good work and word.

Conclusion

We ought to be careful not to be seduced by sensational topics, lest we miss the express purpose for which the Lord has revealed such things to us. As Paul had said while he was with them (2 Thess 2:5): Yes, the man of lawlessness and his rebellion must come before the day of the Lord. This is not to alarm you but to comfort you, so you know you haven’t missed it.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Psalm 90: A Brief Life, Our Eternal God, and Unending Joy

September 27, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Some psalms are on everyone’s list of favorites. They contain poignant phrases and urgent cries that resonate deeply with our own hearts.

Sometimes we love these psalms—or portions of these psalms—without looking at them carefully. Today we’ll take a close look at Psalm 90.

Our Sovereign God is Everlasting

This is the only Psalm attributed to Moses, and he wrote the whole psalm as a corporate prayer addressed directly to God.

The theme of time is inescapable in Psalm 90, showing up in nearly every verse. To avoid cluttering this article with these observational details, I’ve put that list in this document here.

God has been his people’s “dwelling place in all generations” (Ps 90:1). This is personal. He is God and has been God even before he created the world (Ps 90:2). So while God is certainly the creator, he is more than the creator.

God created man from dust and calls him back at the end of life. This God is in control of the span of human days (Ps 90:3).

Time does not function for God the way it does for us. A thousand years for God is like a day (Ps 90:4). He sweeps millennia away like a dream (Ps 90:5); they rise and fall as quickly as the morning and evening (Ps 90:6).

Our Short Life, in View of God’s Wrath

The middle of Psalm 90 is unsettling, because Moses makes frequent mention of God’s wrath. God’s “anger” or “wrath” appears five times in Psalm 90:7–11.

God’s anger troubles his people (Ps 90:7). But the reason for God’s wrath is not mysterious.

You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence. (Psalm 90:8)

Because our sins are obvious to God, “our days pass away under [his] wrath” (Ps 90:9). Though we may live to be seventy or eighty, our years are “toil and trouble,” and “they are soon gone” (Ps 90:10). With God’s perspective on time, our lives are a blink on the horizon.

Moses brings us around the corner of somberness in verse 11. Many consider God’s wrath, but who does so according to the fear of the Lord? (See Ps 90:11). This posture, and not one of mere terror before God, leads to a proper, sober application of the truth of a brief life. “So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12). Notably, this is Moses’s first request in this prayer.

God’s Favor Makes All the Difference

While verses 7–12 show us the brevity of life in view of God’s wrath, verses 13–17 point to the mercy of God.

Moses longs for God’s nearness, for the mercy of his return (Ps 90:13). The psalm then explains what such a return would mean for God’s people.

God is not only angry at sin, he is known for his steadfast love. This steadfast love, once shown to his people, would sustain them with joy all of their days (Ps 90:14). Though there has been affliction and evil—think of all Moses and the Israelites experienced in Egypt!—God is able to bring them unending gladness (Ps 90:15).

With this as the backdrop—God’s return, bringing his satisfying, steadfast love to his people—Moses turns to pray about the Israelites’ work in the world. He asks God to show his work and his “glorious power” to his servants and their children (Ps 90:16). Then, in light of God’s work, and if his favor is upon them, can his people pray about their own work in the world: “Establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Ps 90:17)

Application From a Favorite Psalm

In this psalm, God’s people praise God for his sovereign, eternal nature and they consider their own time-bound lives. They consider God’s anger toward sin and his steadfast love. So, what is Moses’s main point in writing this psalm?

In our brief lives, we must seek our satisfaction in the steadfast love of the everlasting God.

What are some possible applications? As we consider our brief time on earth, we should number our days. This means we should celebrate birthdays with both joy and sobriety. We should hold our years loosely. At the start of each day we should commit our upcoming hours to the Lord, and we should return thanks to him as each day comes to a close.

If that was an inward application, here’s an outward one. We can help our friends consider their work in light of the Lord’s work. In our churches, we can regularly celebrate God’s work in our communities, we can pray for his ongoing favor, and we can ask him to establish the work of our hands.

Mark: Can’t You See God’s King?

September 24, 2021 By Peter Krol

Though Mark’s gospel is the shortest in length, his narratives are typically more vivid than either Matthew or Luke, who recount many of the same episodes. In other words, Mark narrates fewer scenes, but each scene tends to include more detail and description than its parallels do. For example, Matthew, Luke, and Mark all tell the story of a ruler who comes to Jesus, kneels before him, and asks him to heal his dying daughter. But only Mark tells us that Jairus falls at Jesus’ feet upon seeing him (Mark 5:22). And only Mark puts the word “saved” (or “made well”) in Jairus’s mouth and, therefore, his expectation (Mark 5:23).

Some may say the devil is in the details. But St. Mark would say instead that in those details you’re more likely to see the Son of God for who he truly is.

Literary Markers

Mark adorns his narrative with such garnished beauty—as befitting the Messiah who rules heaven and earth—that definite markers of distinct sections can be difficult to recognize. Mark masterfully stitches the pieces together and transitions from one scene to the next, thereby leaving few breadcrumbs of any edible size. However, he clearly wants his reader to see Jesus in all his kingly glory, as the first disciples saw him. So he tends to employ those disciples as his chief tour guides.

What do I mean? Mark’s title for his book is clear enough: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). This book presents the first part of the great news about Jesus, known here by two titles: The Christ (Messiah, Chosen One) and the Son of God (ruling king). The book then has two major climaxes where disciples have major aha! moments regarding Jesus’ identity. First, the likely disciple: Peter recognizes Jesus as the Christ (Mark 8:29). Second, the unlikely disciple: The centurion at the foot of the cross recognizes Jesus as the Son of God (Mark 15:39). So, besides the prologue of Mark 1:1-15 and the epilogue of Mark 15:40-16:8, the book divides roughly into two halves, each culminating in a declaration of Jesus’ identity and tying everything back to the opening words in Mark 1:1.

The disciples provide even further tour guidance than this. The book’s first half is structured by the calling and training of the disciples, each section beginning with either their summoning or sending, and each section ending with a narrative summary of Jesus’ work with and through those disciples. The book’s second half is structured by Jesus’ efforts to bring his disciples along with his mission to suffer and die. Three passion predictions reveal three shifts that must take place in the disciples’ expectations. Then Jesus intimately includes the disciples, through sending, teaching, and praying, in the ministry of his week in Jerusalem. For more structural detail, refer to the documents linked at the end of this post.

Prologue Walkthrough

In the first 15 verses, we’re presented with tense anticipation for the king who has come. His messenger goes before him declaring an end to Israel’s exile, once and for all, if they would but turn aside from what they’ve been doing. When Jesus shows up, heaven itself is ripped open to declare him the beloved Son of Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42. He relives Israel’s early history in the wilderness, doing for them what they could not do for themselves, and emerging with the news that, with him, the kingdom of God has finally arrived.

The king is here!

Part 1 Walkthrough

Jesus first needs to establish his authority as king. Mark shows this through an extended chiasm (where the second half mirrors the first half but in reverse order):

Calling by sea – Mark 1:16-20
- 4 healings – Mark 1:21-45
  - Paralytic – Mark 2:1-12
- 4 controversies – Mark 2:13-3:6
Summary of ministry by sea – Mark 3:7-12

Jesus appears to have the authority to both heal and bring salvation, as exemplified in the central story of the paralytic, which is simultaneously a healing and a controversy. In that story, King Jesus is also shown to have the authority to take on (and perhaps take down) those currently in authority over God’s people.

So in the second section, Jesus lays the groundwork for his new kingdom which will end up replacing the old. He establishes his people as a new Israel (Mark 3:13-35). He gives them a new set of stories to understand what is happening (Mark 4:1-34). And he both models and praises the new kind of faith required of his citizenry (Mark 4:35-6:6). Will they see it? Will they receive him by such faith?

In the third section, Jesus doesn’t simply sit back and watch; he gets his hands dirty by training and discipling his people into the kind of followers he wants them to be. He takes them through the same sequence of events twice (feed a multitude, cross the sea, argue with Pharisees, discuss matters of bread, and heal malfunctioning senses – Mark 6:33-7:37, 8:1-26) in hopes that they themselves will acquire eyes that can see and ears that can hear (Mark 8:18-21). When he heals the blind man (Mark 8:22-26), we must see the living parable playing out in the disciples’ own lives. Do you see anything? It takes two tries? Who do people say that I am? But who do you say that I am?

Part 1 then climaxes with Peter’s glorious confession: You are the Christ. (The Chosen One.)

Ah, yes. He sees! But does he see fully? Does he understand what that means? What sort of Chosen One will this Jesus be?

Part 2 Walkthrough

Jesus now shifts from his basic identity to a fuller exposition of it: “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and … be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly.” (Mark 8:31-32). But Peter will have none of it. So Jesus now takes them through three cycles of training to reverse their expectation. Each cycle has the following pattern:

Prediction of Jesus’ suffering.
Misunderstanding on the part of the disciples.
Clarification of what discipleship really means.
Illustration of the principle.

The three cycles (Mark 8:31-9:29, 9:30-10:31, 10:32-52) result in the following three reversals of expectations: The living must die. The first must be last. The great must serve.

The second section of Part 2 is terribly easy to misread if we fail to follow the book’s argument to this point. Jesus has been talking all along about the new kingdom he’s brought to replace the old one. Now the time has come; the revolution will be televised. Chapters 11 and 12 have the explicit purpose of indicting Israel’s current management. This fig tree will not produce figs, so when Jesus curses it, it will wither and die. Then through the temple controversies and all the way to the widow’s meager mite, the witnesses have testified and the evidence is indisputable: This grand system must come down (Mark 13:1-2). But Jesus will not leave his people in the dark. He explains the signs that will mark this coming doom, and he prepares the fainthearted for the inevitable blame they will receive for it (Mark 13:3-36). Then he goes and picks his final fight to get the whole thing moving (Mark 14:1-11).

The third section (which has many parallels to the second section) shows Jesus doing all that he has said. The living one dies. The first of all puts himself last. The great one serves sinners and gives his life as a ransom for many.

In the end, they will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62). But first they want to see the Christ and have missed their chance (Mark 15:32). They wish to see Elijah, but failed to notice him back in chapter 1 (Mark 15:36). And the least likely, the Roman centurion, sees the way Jesus dies and proclaims him to be the Son of God (Mark 15:39).

Epilogue Walkthrough

Mark reminds us that others can also see the truth. Some women saw him from a distance (Mark 15:40). One member of the ruling council was, in fact, looking for the kingdom of God and found it in Jesus (Mark 15:43). The ladies then see the tomb of Jesus empty except for a young man dressed in white, who tells them that their king is not here (Mark 16:5).

But don’t worry. You’ll see him again, just as he told you (Mark 16:7).

Conclusion

Can’t you see that Jesus is God’s chosen king, that you might follow him, even to the death?

Interpretive Outline

The king is here! – Mark 1:1-15
The king’s credentials – Mark 1:16-8:30
- The king establishes his authority – Mark 1:16-3:12
- The king assembles his people – Mark 3:13-6:6
- The king helps his people to see him – Mark 6:7-8:30
The king’s pain – Mark 8:31-15:39
- The king reverses expectations – Mark 8:31-10:52
- The king overthrows the establishment – Mark 11:1-14:12
- The king sacrifices himself – Mark 14:13-15:39
The king is not here! – Mark 15:40-16:8

Here are links for much more detailed observational and interpretive outlines of Mark’s gospel.

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

What Should We Make of Paul’s Shipwreck Narrative?

September 3, 2021 By Peter Krol

When our church’s team of preachers decided to preach through Acts, I knew chapter 27 would be a doozy (notice how I cleverly ignored this chapter in my interpretive overview of Acts). I have always been confused by this chapter and its role within the book, and though I’m sure compelling sermons have been preached on this text, I have yet to hear one of them. I’m used to hearing otherwise fantastic preachers punt on this chapter, in the name of practicality, to talk about “weathering the storms of our spiritual lives.” So the extraordinarily detailed travelogue of Acts 27 is reduced to a parable and a few minor observations (typically surrounding verses 23-25) seeking to inspire us toward deeper trust in Christ—a wonderful thing to be inspired toward, of course!

Therefore, since I’m in charge of managing our sermon schedule, I made sure to assign Acts 27 to someone else. Pro tip: When you don’t know what to do with a text, require a friend or colleague to deal with it instead. This resulted in one of the most exciting “aha!” moments in my Bible study this year.

A Key Structural Observation

The ~~sucker~~ fortunate fellow to receive the assignment was a good man and marvelous student of the word named Tom Hallman. Tom eagerly set himself to observe the text inside and out, to give him the raw materials for a series of interpretive questions. Our practice is that our team of preachers gives feedback on every sermon before it is preached. We collaborate in two phases: the study of the passage and the delivery of the sermon. So in that first phase, Tom regularly laid before us the fruit of his study for comment and evaluation.

And Tom made a key structural observation that shed tremendous light on the passage for me. In following the narrative’s plot, Tom observed that the main conflict centers on the centurion’s failure to listen to Paul’s counsel in Acts 27:11. This led Tom to recognize a few arcs within the plot:

Acts 27:9-20: Paul speaks, and the centurion pays more attention to others. The result is that all hope of being saved is abandoned.
Acts 27:21-44: Paul speaks, and the Romans start listening to him. The result is that all are brought safely to land.

These observations of the primary narrative tension and its accompanying resolution gave us hope that we could sift through the flood of details to discern the author’s main point in this chapter.

Further Dialogue

As we discussed it further and kept staring at the text to observe it more closely, we eventually realized that there were not two arcs but three. Paul actually makes three sizable speeches (Acts 27:10, 21-26, 33-34). He also speaks in Acts 27:31, but that briefer statement does not have the same appearance of introducing a new scene. It is a response to what’s happening in the moment (Acts 27:30).

So we’ve actually got three main speeches from Paul. Do we correspondingly have a clear resolution with each one, to make three complete arcs? This question drove us back into the text.

And sure enough, there it was. So plain and obvious we couldn’t believe we had missed it or ever believed this passage to be opaque to us.

Acts 27:9-20: Paul speaks, and the centurion pays more attention to others. The result is that all hope of being saved is abandoned.
Acts 27:21-32: Paul speaks, and no-one immediately rejects him. But eventually the soldiers heed him. (The centurion and soldiers both hear Paul’s words in Acts 27:31, but only the soldiers are mentioned as acting on them in Acts 27:32.) There is no immediate “salvation,” but only a sense of “let’s wait and see; we hope this works.”
Acts 27:33-44: Paul speaks, and all are encouraged and choose to eat (Acts 27:36). The result is that the centurion has heard enough, and he now wishes to save Paul (Acts 27:43). “And so it was that all were brought safely to land” (Acts 27:44).

These three arcs showed us that the primary tension revolves around whether the Roman centurion (prominent enough to be named in the text—Acts 27:1,3) will listen to Paul or not. And in particular: Will he listen to Paul with respect to salvation? This salvation goes in two directions: Paul wants to save the centurion—along with everyone else on the ship; the centurion, in the end, wishes to save Paul.

In the first arc, Julius will not listen to Paul, and all hope is lost. In the second arc, the soldiers listen to Paul, and it is as though the centurion is watching and deliberating before rendering judgment on this most unusual prisoner. In the third arc, the centurion fully listens to Paul and doesn’t want him to die.

Conclusions About the Text

I’m not weirded out by this chapter any more. It fits cleanly within the book’s main idea that the world’s salvation cannot be stopped. It also masterfully advances Luke’s primary agenda to petition for Paul’s exoneration before Caesar. “Julius was uncertain at first, and unwilling to listen to Paul. But he has been convinced that this Paul is who he says he is, and he refuses to let anyone execute him. Caesar: Why wouldn’t you do the same?”

And not only that, but Acts 27 also serves Luke’s secondary purpose to lead all of Abraham’s children to salvation through the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “Julius was uncertain at first, and unwilling to listen to Paul. But many have been convinced that this Jesus, whom Paul preaches, is who he says he is. Don’t just stand there watching others listen and find rescue. Noble reader: Why wouldn’t you do the same?”

Conclusions About Our Study Methods

If Luke can have two simultaneous purposes in mind, so can I. While I wanted to help you observe and interpret Acts 27 along with me, I also wanted you to see how I got there. And the events that took place this past week in my dialogues with Tom highlight a few conclusions. First, Bible study needs to be a community project. Second, structure conveys meaning. And third, the most important tool for observing the structure of a narrative episode is plot structure.

Hebrews: God has Spoken by his Son Whose Work is Finished

August 27, 2021 By Peter Krol

Hebrews appears to have been a sermon that was transcribed and then circulated in letter form. This theory explains not only the strange opening—with no greeting or identification of the sender—but also the regular alternation between exposition and application, and the label “word of exhortation” used in the appended postscript (Heb 13:22, phrase also occurs in Acts 13:15). Depending on your pace, you can read the whole book out loud in 45 to 60 minutes, which is a reasonable duration for a sermon. Reading the book with a view toward its live, public delivery helps us to grasp its organization and intentions.

Literary Markers

While it’s not difficult to recognize large cohesive blocks within Hebrews, it is notoriously difficult to nail down the precise beginnings and endings of the sections. I believe this is because of the nature of spoken communication. When a discourse is meant more for the ear than the eye, the transitions will naturally be more audible than visible. They won’t appear in sharp pronouncements, but will normally sound quite transitional. That makes it difficult to know whether those transitional statements belong with the previous section or the following section, as they serve as bridges between both.*

To give a few examples:

Heb 1:4 transitions from the prologue by introducing the first topic of Jesus’ more excellent name making him superior to angels. But it is only the final clause in the run-on sentence that begins at Heb 1:1, so Heb 1:1-4 naturally gets put together when we outline the book.
Heb 2:17-18 both concludes the previous section (“therefore”) and introduces the idea the Jesus has become a merciful and faithful high priest, which becomes the topic of the next section.
Heb 5:9-10 again concludes the previous section, while simultaneously introducing the next topic, broken into three parts: Jesus is perfect, the source of eternal salvation, and a Melchizedekan high priest.

I’ll explain the sermon’s flow of thought further in the walkthrough below, but the remaining transitional statements are found in Heb 10:36-39 and Heb 12:12-13. When the book is read out loud, it is easier to hear how those transitional statements are woven right into the conclusion of the previous section, while also introducing new ideas that get explained further in the following section.

Heb 13:20-21 then concludes the sermon, and Heb 13:22-25 serves as a written note to accompany the transcription.

Thesis

Like any good public lecture, the main thesis comes right at the beginning (Heb 1:1-4). Stripping all the dependent clauses away yields the following as the sentence’s essential grammar: “…God has spoken to us by his Son…who…sat down.” There have been many ways God has spoken before now. But now he has spoken by his radiant, appointed, powerful, and purifying Son. And that Son has now sat down at God’s right hand to rule, as the rest of his work is done. God has spoken. Through this Son. Whose first phase of work is now complete.

That is the big idea of this sermon. There are many reasons to listen to this Son. There are many competing voices that may tempt you to listen to them. But his work is finished in a way that the work of the other voices can never be. Implicitly: Do not reject him who is speaking to you.

Walkthrough

The argument of this sermon is both extraordinary and extraordinarily complex, so I wish to do it justice but will only have the space to use the broadest of strokes. The main thing we ought to see (or hear, if you can read it aloud) is how the transitional statements introduce the main topics. The following exposition then takes up those topics, nearly every time, in reverse order.

Having stated the thesis (that God has spoken to us by his Son who sat down), the preacher’s first explanatory point is that Jesus has become superior to the angels because he’s inherited a more excellent name. In this first point, he does us the kindness of taking his two matters in order. First, Jesus is superior to the angels (Heb 1:5-14). Second, his name is more excellent than theirs (Heb 2:5-18). Between those two expositions is the first point of application: Pay closer attention (Heb 2:1-4)!

The next transitional statement (Heb 2:17-18) takes things in a new direction: Jesus had to become a merciful and faithful high priest. Now the preacher begins his pattern of addressing the subpoints in reverse order. First, Jesus is a faithful high priest, greater than Moses and Joshua (Heb 3:1-4:14). Second, Jesus is a merciful high priest, very much like the Aaronic high priests (Heb 4:15-5:10).

Next transition (Heb 5:9-10): Being made perfect, he became a source of eternal salvation, being designated a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Before he can really tackle this material, though, he must offer the second application: You have stopped hearing and doing (Heb 5:11-6:20). But then he explains his ideas in reverse order. First, Jesus’ priesthood is in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7:1-28); he is a better priest. Second, Jesus’ priesthood brings eternal savation (Heb 8:1-9:28); he offers a better covenant in a better tabernacle. Third, Jesus’ priesthood is perfect (Heb 10:1-18); he offers a better sacrifice. This section closes with the third application: Keep helping one another to both hear and do (Heb 10:19-39, this application was previewed in Heb 3:12-13).

Next transition (Heb 10:36-39): You have need of endurance, and we are of those who have faith. He now goes into great detail showing us what faith looks like (Heb 11:1-40) and calling us to run with endurance as we consider the one who endured on our behalf (Heb 12:1-13).

Transition to sermon’s last main section (Heb 12:12-13), which is all application: Straighten that which has grown crooked or lame. Do this first in your walk with God (Heb 12:14-29). Understand how your vertical perspective affects your horizontal relationships (Heb 13:1-6). Then you can straighten out your walk with other people (Heb 13:7-19).

In the sermon’s conclusion (Heb 13:20-21), the preacher return’s to his opening thesis to drive it home. God has spoken in his Son by raising him from the dead. Because the first phase of his work is finished, he may now equip you with everything good that you may do his will. Those who listen to him will be pleasing in God’s sight.

Finally, a personal note has been appended to the sermon, giving a brief update on Timothy’s status and sending greetings from and for the brethren.

Conclusion

Though the argument of Hebrews may appear to meander at times according to the preacher’s stream of consciousness, the transitional statements, and the repetition of key words from those statements in the following section, do illuminate the path he wishes us to follow. Amid the exquisite detail and theology of this masterpiece, let us pay much closer attention to the one who is speaking, that we might keep helping one another to believe and do his word. For the long haul. Forever.

Interpretive Outline

Thesis: God spoke in a Son who sat down – Heb 1:1-4

The Son is superior to angels on account of his more excellent name – Heb 1:4-2:18
- Transition – Heb 1:4
- Superior to angels – Heb 1:5-14
  - Application: Pay closer attention! – Heb 2:1-4
- More excellent name – Heb 2:5-18
The Son is a merciful and faithful high priest – Heb 2:17-5:10
- Transition – Heb 2:17-18
- Faithful high priest – Heb 3:1-4:14
- Merciful high priest – Heb 4:15-5:10
The perfect, Melchizedekan Son brings eternal salvation – Heb 5:9-10:39
- Transition – Heb 5:9-10
- Application: You have stopped hearing and doing – Heb 5:11-6:20
  - Melchizedekan priesthood – Heb 7:1-28
  - Eternal salvation – Heb 8:1-9:28
  - Perfection – Heb 10:1-18
- Application: Keep helping one another to hear and do – Heb 10:19-39
The Son calls us to endurance and faith – Heb 10:36-12:13
- Transition – Heb 10:36-39
- Faith – Heb 11:1-40
- Endurance – Heb 12:1-13
Application: Straighten your walks with God and with people – Heb 12:12-13:19
1. Transition – Heb 12:12-13
2. Walk with God – Heb 12:14-29
3. Connection between walks with God and with people – Heb 13:1-6
4. Walk with people – Heb 13:7-19

Conclusion: May the one who spoke through his Son now equip you to please him – Heb 13:20-21

Postscript: Bear with this word of exhortation! – Heb 13:22-25

*This insight, and therefore much of my outline of Hebrews, is indebted to the keen observations of Albert Vanhoye in his Structure and Message of the Epistle to the Hebrews (affiliate link).

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Context Matters: We Bless You in the Name of the Lord

August 6, 2021 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard it as a greeting or call to worship: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!” (Ps 129:8). Or if you haven’t heard it in such a setting, I suspect it is not difficult to imagine hearing it in such a setting. A simple internet search takes me quickly to a slide with this verse superimposed over a pastoral background image.

Now while it is fully consistent with scripture to pronounce God’s blessing on God’s people, this particular blessing comes in a rather unexpected setting. If we read the Bible’s poetry as we read other poetry and not as a fishing hole for motivational sentiment, we’ll see that some familiar expressions take on a deeper meaning than we originally thought.

The Blessing

Of course, the Bible often tells us of God blessing his people, even from the very beginning (Gen 1:28). He commands the high priest of Israel to pronounce his blessing (Num 6:22-27). In their lowest moments, the people long for this very blessing (Ps 80:3, 7, 19). The apostles often conclude their letters with such words of blessing (e.g. 2 Cor 13:14).

So the pronouncement of a blessing, either in greeting or as a call to worship, is a right and proper thing to do. But let’s not allow that fact to prevent us from reading Scripture as coherent literary texts. Let’s not ignore the context.

Psalm 129

Psalms 120-134 are a collection of “songs of ascents,” which pilgrims to religious feasts may have sung on their climb to Jerusalem for national feasts. As one of those poems, Psalm 129 meditates on the lives on those pilgrims who have suffered under deep affliction. This affliction seems incongruent with the life of blessing promised in Yahweh’s covenant. “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me” (Ps 129:2).

Ps 129:4 is the turning point, where the poet remembers Yahweh’s righteousness, which requires him to fight back against wicked oppressors. The rest of the poem pronounces not blessings, but curses on those who would dare oppress Yahweh’s people. “May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!” (Ps 129:5).

And observe the entirety of Ps 129:8: The final curse is that, regarding these oppressors, nobody will ever look upon them and pronounce Yahweh’s blessing on them.

Nor do those who pass by say,
‘The blessing of Yahweh be upon you!
We bless you in the name of Yahweh!’

Conclusion

The irony of the greeting-card use of Ps 129:8 is that the statement “We bless you in the name of the Lord” is the very thing the poet does not want people to say. He wants those who hate God’s people to go without hearing such words or receiving such a blessing. And when we ignore the context, perhaps we fail to grasp the profound point that there is a time and a place not to bless. Instead, we can set our hope in the Lord Jesus to show up once again and set right everything that has gone wrong.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Psalm 103: Everlasting, Steadfast Love Toward Those Who Fear the Lord

August 2, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Some psalms are on everyone’s list of favorites. Some have memorable lines; some capture just perfectly what we are feeling but couldn’t put into words.

Sometimes we love these psalms—or portions of these psalms—without looking at them carefully. Today we’ll take a close look at Psalm 103.

Bless the Lord!

Psalm 103 begins with a repeated, jubilant call to bless the Lord (Psalm 103:1). Why should we bless him? There are many, many reasons (Psalm 103:2).

The list of “benefits” that David writes is glorious.

who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:3–5)

What is true of the one who is blessed by the Lord? He is completely forgiven, thoroughly healed, redeemed, crowned with love and mercy, satisfied with good, and renewed in his youth. That sounds pretty good! It’s fitting that David calls “all that is within [him]” to “bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1).

Merciful and Gracious

In the second portion of Psalm 103, we learn more about this Lord whom we should bless. David tells us not just what God has done, but who he is.

At the heart of this portion of the psalm (Psalm 103:6–14) is a description of God that appears in multiple places in Scripture.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (Psalm 103:8)

The theme of God’s steadfast love is also apparent later in this section.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. (Psalm 103:11)

The rest of this section explains the meaning of verse 8. He does not repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10). He removes our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12). God is compassionate toward us like a father toward his children (Psalm 103:13). Part of his compassion is shown in remembering our frame, that we are dust (Psalm 103:14).

We need to observe the text carefully. God does not show compassion to everyone; he shows compassion to those who fear him (Psalm 103:13). Fearing the Lord is also a requirement for receiving God’s steadfast love (Psalm 103:11).

From Everlasting to Everlasting

The third portion of this psalm is short but presents a profound contrast. Man’s days are brief, like grass or a flower of the field. They are fragile and can blow away in the wind (Psalm 103:15–16).

There is a fabulous connector at the beginning of verse 17: but. In contrast to the brevity of man’s days, David writes that “the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 103:17). In the flow of this section of the psalm, the subject of this clause is surprising. If man’s days are finite, we expect to read that the Lord’s days are infinite. But David emphasizes that the Lord’s love is everlasting! He comes back again and again to God’s love.

This section of the psalm reiterates the bounds of God’s steadfast love. It is for those who fear him (Psalm 103:17). Those who fear him are marked by keeping his covenant and doing his commandments (Psalm 103:18). This is all God’s prerogative, of course, since “his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).

Bless the Lord!

Psalm 103 ends with another call to bless the Lord. Though the psalm begins with a personal, internal call to the soul, it ends with a summons for all creation—including our souls—to bless the Lord.

God’s obedient angels should bless him (Psalm 103:20). All his ministers who do his will should bless him (Psalm 103:21). Even all his works should bless the Lord (Psalm 103:22).

Application From a Favorite Psalm

This is a psalm of exultation, rejoicing in who God is for the people of his covenant. David calls himself and all of creation to meditate on God’s unending love. What is David’s main point in writing this psalm?

God abounds in everlasting, steadfast love toward those who fear him. So, bless the Lord!

As we wrap up, what are some possible applications? I know that I need to grow in the fear of the Lord, and I can help my Christian friends grow in this fear as well. I can also search for any false ideas about God’s love that I might believe and replace them with the truths from this psalm. Finally, I can call others to bless the Lord with me, rejoicing in all his benefits and his great compassion.

Identifying Stanzas in Lamentations

July 30, 2021 By Peter Krol

For a number of years, I have been following Joe Carter’s excellent Bible reading plan: Read an entire book of the Bible 20 times. Pick another; read it 20 times. Repeat. I just finished working through Lamentations, which was surprisingly refreshing. As my wife just had a baby, I don’t have time to compose a full interpretive walkthrough just yet. But I’d like to comment briefly on the book’s literary units.

Lamentations seems quite straightforward, with five main poems, matching the five chapters in our English Bibles. This seems all the more straightforward when you learn (perhaps from a commentary or study note) that the first four chapters are all acrostic poems in Hebrew, where each verse (or, in the case of chapter 3, every three verses) starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

In fact, my initial take on the book labeled the five chapters with the following headings:

Grief
Loss
Wrestling
Shellshock
Appeal

But David Dorsey, in his masterpiece The Literary Structure of the Old Testament, makes a compelling case for recognizing an additional structure superimposed over the acrostic structure. Upon reading the entire book in one sitting, day after day, I observed that the poems ebb and flow with periodic shifts in the pronouns. For example, chapter 1 begins in third person (“the city … she … her … Judah … Zion … Jerusalem” — Lam 1:1-11) but shifts to first person exactly halfway through, as the people express their groaning (“I … my … me … my” — Lam 1:12-22).

I hadn’t yet sat down to map out the shifts and consider how they might affect the structure and flow of thought. But I was not surprised when I read Dorsey’s analysis pulling it all together. By collecting the pronoun-shifts into the main stanzas, Dorsey (p.251) identifies 13 sections (perhaps we’d consider them lengthy stanzas?) in the book, which match up in mirror-image pairs:

she—Zion—is desolate and devastated (Lam 1:1-11)
- I—Zion—was betrayed and defeated (Lam 1:12-22)
  - he—Yahweh—has caused this in his anger (Lam 2:1-8)
    - they—princes, maidens, nurslings, children, mothers—suffer (Lam 2:9-12)
      - you—Zion—should cry out to God (Lam 2:13-22)
        he—Yahweh—has afflicted (Lam 3:1-20)
        CLIMAX: Yahweh’s great love! (Lam 3:21-32)
        he—Yahweh—afflicts humans (Lam 3:33-39)
      - you—Yahweh—to you I cry out (Lam 3:40-66)
    - they—princes, maidens, nurslings, children, mothers—suffer (Lam 4:1-10)
  - he—Yahweh—has caused this in his anger (Lam 4:11-16)
- we—the people of Zion—were betrayed and defeated (Lam 4:17-22)
we—the people of Zion—are desolate and devastated (Lam 5:1-22)

The heartbreaking poetry of Lamentations is quite moving, and it gives us a vocabulary for our own losses and laments. And the book’s structure greatly helps us to recognize the book’s overall message, which is one of profound hope in the midst of the deepest suffering. Even when the king who was supposed to save is himself wrecked (Lam 4:20), the law and the prophets have failed to provide the life and direction you need (Lam 2:9), and the place where God and man are supposed to be able to dwell together in peace is no more (Lam 5:18)—there is a big “but” writ large across time and space:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of Yahweh never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lam 3:21-22)

The structure gives us every reason to look to the book’s center for the key message, which just might become a hinge for our perspectives on dark situations. As Ryan put it, when he explained why the context of Lamentations 3 matters:

We should remember the steadfast love of the Lord every day, but we need reminders most when we feel it least. When we’re tempted to lose heart, when our souls are cast down, we need to remember what God is really like.
Join the author of Lamentations. Recall the mercies of God throughout history and in your own life. Remember that he is your portion. Wait for him; he will have compassion according to his abundant, steadfast love.

Context Matters: In the World, but Not of the World

July 19, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that Christians are (or ought to be) in the world but not of the world. You’ve learned that those who follow Jesus should interact with their friends and neighbors (the world) but they should also be distinct, with different priorities and standards.

This phrase is common in Christian circles, but many may not know where it comes from. Is this a biblical saying? If so, are we using it correctly? If we read the Bible as a whole and not as an inspirational-motto jukebox, we’ll see that some familiar expressions take on a deeper meaning than we originally thought.

Within the Gospel of John

Let’s dispense with one thing first. “In the world but not of the world” does not appear in the Bible. Rather, it is a simple phrase that joins two sayings of Jesus together in a memorable way.

We find the pieces of this phrase in Jesus’s “high priestly prayer” in John 17. Jesus prays this prayer at the end of his last meal with his disciples, after Judas leaves to betray him (John 13). Jesus addresses the remaining disciples for three chapters (John 14–16) regarding his departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of John 17, Jesus turns from talking to the disciples to praying to his Father for those same disciples.

In the World

My hunch is that “in the world” was pulled from John 17:11.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (John 17:11)

Jesus was thinking about his departure from earth, contrasting where he will be (“no longer in the world”) with where the disciples will be (“in the world”). By “in the world,” Jesus means that the disciples are walking around on the earth like other living humans. This conclusion follows from the beginning of Jesus’s prayer.

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:4–5)

Not of the World

The second part of this saying occurs a few verses later in Jesus’s prayer.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (John 17:14–16)

Whereas “in the world” was used by way of contrast between Jesus and his disciples, the phrase “not of the world” is used to show similarity. The disciples are not of the world just as Jesus is not of the world.

Jesus spoke of this idea in John 15:19. The disciples are not of the world because Jesus chose them out of the world. Put differently, the disciples are “the people whom [God] gave [Jesus] out of the world” (John 17:6). There is a fundamental difference between the disciples and other people now. Instead of being of the world, they are of Jesus.

Jesus’s Requests

The context of words and phrases in the Bible always matters. Both parts of this little saying are located within Jesus’s prayer. How are they connected to his requests?

With regard to the disciples being “in the world,” Jesus asks his Father to “keep them in your name…that they may be as one, even as we are one” (John 17:11). Jesus wants God to guard them, so that none will be lost (John 17:12). The end goal of this preservation is a divine unity.

Part of what identifies the disciples as not being “of the world” is that Jesus has given them his word (John 17:14). Jesus prays that his Father would not “take them out of the world,” but that he would “keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). A related request falls two verses later: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

A Helpful Phrase

Sometimes in these Context Matters posts, we correct a popular understanding of a verse. In this case, “in the world, but not of the world” is not found in Scripture, but the phrase is a helpful summary of biblical truths.

How much greater the reminder this phrase can provide, therefore, when we remember its components lie at the heart of Jesus’s prayer for his followers. Jesus still (and always) prays for his people, so we might conclude he prays these things for us now.

Those who follow Christ are in the world in a way that Jesus no longer is. Because we are still in the world we should ask God to keep us in his name that we might be one.

Those who follow Christ are, like him, not of the world. For this reason the world may hate us. So we should ask God to keep us from the evil one and sanctify us in his truth.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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