Christ Church

Great Grace, Great Fear (Acts of the Apostles #11)

Lindsey Gardner on

INTRODUCTION

We come now to the famous story of Ananias and Sapphira, the moral of which is sometimes thought to be “what happens to chintzy tithers.” But actually, that is not it at all. Many more layers are involved. It is also worth noting that we come across three men named Ananias in the book of Acts. We have this man in our text (Acts 5:1), we have the man who was used to bring Saul of Tarsus into the covenant (Acts 9:10), and the high priest who was so hostile to Paul (Acts 23:2; 24:1). In a figure, we have Achan, we have Joshua, and we have the king of Jericho.  

 

THE TEXT

“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God . . . (Acts 5:1–16). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

So we come to the well-known story of Ananias and Sapphira (v. 1). He and his wife sold a possession, held back part of the price, and brought the rest to set at the apostles’ feet (v. 2). Peter asked why Satan had moved him to lie to the Holy Spirit about the sale (v. 3). Wasn’t the land theirs? Wasn’t the sale price theirs? Why did he do this? He lied to God, not man (v. 4). At these words, Ananias toppled over dead, and great fear descended on everyone who heard about it (v. 5). The young men carried him off (v. 6). Three hours later, Sapphira came in, not knowing anything about what had happened (v. 7). Peter asked her about the sale price (v. 8), and she confirmed the amount. Peter asked how it came about that they agreed together to tempt the Spirit (v. 9). He said the feet of the men who buried your husband are here for you now (v. 9). She fell down dead, and the same thing happened (v. 10). Fear descended on the church, and on everyone who heard about it (v. 11). The apostles were performing mighty signs, and they were all meeting with one accord in Solomon’s Portico (v. 12). They were feared, but respected (v. 13). Multitudes joined them, men and women both (v. 14). Things got to the point where the shadow of Peter passing by was powerful to heal (v. 15). A multitude of sick people from surrounding towns came to Jerusalem, along with those with demons, and all of them were healed (v. 16).         

THE FONT OF SIN

Peter asks about the origin of this sin in various ways. He first asks how it is that Satan “filled your heart” to do this (v. 2). But in the next verse, he attributes it to Ananias himself (v. 3). Why have you conceived this thing? And then in verse 9, talking with Sapphira, he says “ye have agreed together.” It is apparent that Satan’s working does not displace our own complicity in sin. Such things are not billiard balls.

ALL THINGS IN COMMON

Peter is very plain that the possession was theirs, and theirs to keep. There was no obligation to sell. This was not communism—there was nothing coercive about it. And once they sold and the money was in their hand, it was theirs to keep. The donations from the believers were not being strong-armed from them.

The fact that Jerusalem was doomed was unique, as was the fact that there were so many from out of town. But the spirit of koinonia-unity that these believers enjoyed was not a one-off thing. We see it elsewhere in the New Testament.

“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack” (2 Cor. 8:12–15). 

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD

It is important to note how the lie was directed. It was not a lie told to men (v. 4). Peter says plainly the that lie was told to the Holy Spirit (v. 3), and then in the next verse he says that the lie was told directly to God (v. 4). Hang on to this because it will help to clarify everything in a moment. But we should note in passing that to lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God. 

GREAT FEAR

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not a lack of generosity, but rather the lie. But more than this, it was the high-handedness and impudence of the lie. It was the context of the lie, and God’s response to their sin simply added a number of layers to that context. Great fear was already the context: “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:43). 

Great fear came to everyone who heard about this (v. 5). Great fear came on the whole church (v. 11), and to everyone else who heard. The fear was so great that no one dared to join them (v. 13) . . . but then it says a bunch of people were joining them anyhow (v. 14)—multitudes, men and women both.

Now think about Achan back at the fall of Jericho. They had marched around the city repeatedly, then seven times in one day, and then they blew the trumpets, and the city walls collapsed. For a man to think that this was the moment for pilfering is a stupefying testament to the blinding power of sin. What do we have there? A doomed city. By furtively hiding a piece of the doomed city, they turned it into spoil. They attached themselves to the land that was devoted to destruction, and so they were the first inhabitants of Jerusalem to fall. The others were selling and letting go, and these two were “kind of” letting go . . . but reluctantly, the way Lot’s wife died looking back at her favorite shopping malls. Talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, who did Jesus say that Sapphira should have remembered? Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32). The lie revealed that they were trying to preserve a bit of the old world, doomed to destruction, carrying it around with them in their pocket.

But it cannot be. You cannot have the new world and the old world both. It must go one way or the other.    

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Covenantal Education (The Well-Pleased Father #5) (King’s Cross)

Lindsey Gardner on

INTRODUCTION

God created the world with covenantal dynamics wound through everything. This has been the source of our Fall into sin in Adam, but it is also the source of our salvation and new life in Christ. Analogous covenants exist in the family and public square.

One the one hand this explains many of the challenges we face as families and nations, and on the other hand, this is also an invitation into God’s blessing. And the Bible teaches that the curses of covenant rebellion are not as powerful as the blessings of covenant faith (Ex. 32:6-7).

The Text: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Bible teaches that both mothers and fathers have significant duties in the raising of children. This is evident in the biblical requirement of honor and obedience of both mother and father (Eph. 6:1, Ex. 20:12). But the Bible also clearly lays this responsibility at the feet of fathers (Eph. 6:4). This is because of the covenantal nature of the family (Eph. 5:23), which is related the covenantal nature of the world: Adam was the father of the human race (Rom. 5:19), and Abraham is the father of all the faithful (Rom. 4:16). Thus, while mothers play essential roles, fathers are responsible to see to it that their children are not provoked to wrath but raised in the culture and counsel of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 6:4). And because God built the world this way, accepting this responsibility in faith is the path of God’s blessing.

 

COVENANT RESPONSIBILITY

Part of our problem is that we have been marinating in individualism for so long, we often think as mere individuals and think responsibility is either/or rather than both/and. Covenantal thinking teaches us to see the world as layered with loyalties, obligations, and duties (and therefore blessings). Cain was an early individualist: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer was yes, as a brother. A husband is the head of his wife, like the head of a body. This doesn’t mean the wife is passive or has no obligations; it simply means that she is to give input and support as her husband’s body. And a husband is required to nourish/feed his wife as his own body, and the same word is used here for “raising/feeding” children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Practically, this means that a father is responsible for the culture of his family, including the discipline and education of his children. Thankfully, there has been a great revolt among thinking Christians over the last several decades pulling kids out of public schools, but sometimes this has resulted in Christian education being led and dominated by women and moms. This temptation is understandable when the men are hustling to put food on the table and pay the bills, but fathers are responsible to oversee this as well. There is plenty of room for delegating, but it must be true delegation and not abdication.

 

NOT PROVOKING

Colossians says something similar to what is said in Ephesians: “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged” (Col. 3:21). Fathers are often tempted to harshness, and then sometimes in reaction to their failures, absent and distant. But both provoke children to anger.

Faithful fathers imitate the Father: they are present, engaged, consistent, responsible, and generous. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father or lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Js. 1:17). Of course no earthly father matches this perfectly, and therefore our task is to point to that perfect Father with everything we can. One teacher describes faithful leadership as “failing in the right direction.”

While there really is a dearth of fathers in our land, our hope is not in perfect fathers. Our hope is in the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

CULTURE & COUNSEL

The words translated “nurture” and “admonition” are paideia and nouthesia, which literally mean culture and counsel. A culture is a way of life: ways of speaking, dressing, eating, celebrating, customs, traditions, and worship. Counsel is wisdom, teaching, knowledge, history. We see both of these in the great Shema:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Dt. 6:4-9).

All of this is why Christian fathers must provide a distinctly Christian education for their children. This is why we have banded together in schools and coops to accomplish this. This is why our deacons have a Christian education fund to help families accomplish this.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Psalm 127 says that unless God builds the house and guards the city, the builders and watchmen labor and watch in vain. And no amount of anxiety or sleeplessness can make up for this. We must have God’s blessing on our houses and cities and nations. And the psalm says that one of the principle means by which God does this is through the inheritance of children. Children are arrows in the hands of a warrior; they will stand with their fathers in the city gates.

Children are these weapons in our hands as they are received by covenantal faith in the promises of God. This faith is expressed by Joshua’s ancient confession of faith: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). But this is not a mere intellectual ascent. This is a living faith that believes and acts, trusts and obeys, takes responsibility and hustles in the right direction, looking to your Father for blessing.

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God’s Hand and Determinate Counsel (Acts of the Apostles #10)

Lindsey Gardner on

Introduction

 The God of all creation is, of necessity, the God of all history. It is not possible to separate the two, and any attempts to separate the two will only land us in chaos and confusion. God is God, and that is the end of it. This is how the early Christians thought and prayed, and this is something that we must learn from them.

 

The Text

“And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done . . .” (Acts 4:23–37).

 

Summary of the Text

So after they were threatened this way, Peter and John were released. They went back to their own people and reported everything (v. 23). When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voice to God (probably singing together) and glorified Him as the Creator of all (v. 24). The Creator is the one who spoke through David, saying “why did the heathen rage? the peoples imagine vanity? the kings resist? the rulers conspire?” (vv. 25-26; Ps. 2:1-2). How was that prophecy fulfilled? Against the anointed Lord Jesus, Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel had all conspired to do exactly what God had foreordained for them to do (vv. 27-28). And so, Lord, look at their threats and give your servants two things—boldness to preach, and power to heal in the name of Jesus (vv. 29-30). After they had prayed, the place was shaken, they were all filled with the Spirit, and they declared the Word with boldness (v. 31). The multitude of believers were of one heart and soul, and were not possessive; they held everything in common (v. 32). The apostles testified to the resurrection with great power, and great grace fell upon all of them (v. 33). No one lacked anything because those who had homes and lands sold them, and brought the money in (v. 34), and laid the money at the apostles’ feet so that distribution could be made to the needy (v 35). And Barnabas, who was well-named as a son of encouragement, a Levite from Cyprus, sold his land and brought the money in (v. 37).

Liquidating Assets in a Doomed City

Remember that the Spirit had been poured out when the population of Jerusalem was swollen with pilgrims due to the festival of Pentecost. No doubt many stayed over longer than they had budgeted for. Remember also that the gift of tongues was a harbinger of doom for the city, according to Isaiah, and that Jesus had predicted the destruction of the city. He had also predicted His own resurrection, and then He did it, which validated Him as the prophet Moses had predicted. He was the prophet that you must either believe or die.

We see here that the believers began selling both lands and houses (vv. 34-35), which was the obvious thing to do in the circumstances. This gave them the ability to establish a gigantic deacons’ fund, that would take care of everybody. This was mentioned earlier as well (Acts 2:44). We are introduced to Barnabas as someone who did this (vv. 36-37). As the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the next chapter revolves around this, we will discuss it more there.


Integrated Faith

The Jesus who predicted He would rise from the dead is the same Jesus who predicted that Jerusalem would be leveled. It is the same Jesus

The God who created the heavens and earth, and all in between is the God who inspired David to foretell the fact that the ruling elites would conspire against the Messiah. It is the same God.

We must repent of thinking in bits and pieces.


How They Got to the Conclusion

Any Christian who believes in creatio ex nihilo is a Calvinist in principle. And any Christian who does not believe in creation from nothing is . . . not really a Christian. Notice the reasoning of these early Christians: God created everything > God inspired David to predict what would happen > that is in fact what happened > which means that the enemies of God did exactly what He had foreordained to happen. The reality of creation is one of the premises.

The world is one screwed-up place, and who put it here? The Calvinist says He put it here this way on purpose. The Arminian says He put it here knowing what would happen if He did, which means that it was on purpose also, but with this last part whispered. The open theist says that He put it here knowing what might happen if He did so reckless, and so He closed His eyes with a gambler’s hope, and rolled the dice anyhow.


The Plainest of Statements

This point is made earlier in Acts as well. Jesus “being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23). Notice two elements—determinate purpose of God, first, and wicked hands of men second. There is no contradiction. God foreordains evil actions without being Himself evil, and without turning us into puppets without moral agency.

And here it is stated again, plainly, and with no varnish. Who crucified Jesus? Did Herod sin? Yes (Luke 23:11). Did Pilate sin? Yes (John 19:11). Did the Gentiles sin? Yes (Luke 23:34). Did the Jews sin? Yes (Matt. 27:25). Not mentioned here, but did Judas sin? Yes (John 17:12). And did God foreordain absolutely every last detail of this murder that laid the foundation for your salvation and mine? Amen—“Whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (v. 28).

The short form is that if God does not know how to wield sin and evil to His own good and holy purposes, then it follows that God does not know how to save the likes of us.

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Forgiven Families (The Well-Pleased Father #4) (King’s Cross)

Lindsey Gardner on

Introduction

The oil of gladness that keeps the engine of fellowship running smoothly is forgiveness. The forgiveness of God in Christ is what motivates the forgiveness we extent to one another, as well as all the kindness and compassion.

Scripture is abundantly clear that those who call themselves Christians who will not forgive those who have wronged them, cannot be forgiven by God (e.g. Mt. 23ff). We pray this regularly: “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is not a “works righteousness,” as though we are trying to earn God’s forgiveness. It is rather the natural overflow of receiving God’s complete forgiveness.

The Text: “… Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:29-32).

 

Summary of the Text

Going back to the creation of the world, words (and therefore attitudes) are powerful: God created the universe with His Word, and since people are made in the image of God, our words and thoughts have the power to build up or tear down (Eph. 4:29). The Spirit hovered over creation in the beginning and filled the builders and craftsmen of the tabernacle (e.g. Ex. 31:3ff), and ungracious speech grieves Him (Eph. 4:30). Corrupt and destructive words flow out of bitterness, wrath, and anger (Eph. 4:31). Our ministry of grace and edification is to be full of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, all because the Father has forgiven us (Eph. 4:32). Just as the Father is building His Church into a temple by His Spirit, the Spirit is working in and through His people to build generational families that reflect His glory.

 

As You Have Been Forgiven

How does the Father forgive His people?

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him” (Ps. 103:12-13).

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Is. 43:25).

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:18-19).

“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

“To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).

 

Forgiveness is a Promise

Forgiveness is a promise not a feeling. This is the basis of God’s forgiveness: His covenant promises of forgiveness are sealed in the blood of Jesus. If you wait until you feel like forgiving, you are making your feelings the standard and bitterness can often develop. But all human forgiveness is simply agreeing that the blood of Jesus was shed for that sin and promising to consider it paid for.

This is why it is important to confess your sins to God first and receive His forgiveness before going to your neighbor. Your neighbor is not actually taking away your sin (only God can do that). Sometimes a confession is trying to get out of a mere human what only God can do. This is the difference between “getting something off your chest” and reconciliation.

This is also why it is a high-handed blasphemy to refuse to forgive your neighbor; it is insisting that the blood of Jesus is not good enough.

In a healthy family, the words “please forgive me” should be relatively common to hear, followed quickly by the promise: “I forgive you.” And Jesus insists that we must forgive seventy times seven for the same offense (Mt. 18:21-22). This is part of being compassionate and tender-hearted. If you are honest with your own heart, you know the way sin and evil creeps in. You know how much you have been forgiven. As Jesus says, whoever is forgiven little will love very little, but whoever knows they have been forgiven much, will love much (Lk. 7:47).

And wherever forgiveness has not yet been asked for, you ought to have forgiveness waiting and ready for them. As far as it depends upon you, there should be grace in your hearts.

 

Applications

Generational Grace: “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:7).

One of the ways we need to practice generational mercy is upstream as well as downstream. This means parents need to make sure they are not harboring any bitterness or resentment toward their own parents or anyone. As you forgive those who have sinned against you, you are passing down mercy rather than guilt to your own children and grandchildren.

Practice Restoration: Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Cor. 13:5). This is what we call “keeping short accounts.” As soon as sin happens, we want to be dealing with it as quickly as it happened (just like other spills and messes). Don’t let dark clouds hover over your kids (e.g. time outs, grounding, etc.). When discipline has occurred, make sure sin is confessed, forgiveness is extended, and fellowship is fully restored.

Sometimes you’ve practiced bitterness (or guilt), and those thoughts and feelings keep coming back. So have your gospel tennis racket ready to bat them away: Christ died for that. And in place of those old thoughts and words, put on gratitude, compassion, and kindness. Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely… meditate on those things, with the smiling pleasure of your Father at the center of all of it.

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A Dragon’s Lair No More (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #16) (CC Downtown)

Lindsey Gardner on

Introduction

One of the physical responses to fear is the inability to speak. When you are frightened, you tighten up. When you are flustered, words come with difficulty. Fear leads to silence. If monsters are on the prowl, you put your hand over your mouth. You hide in terror. You pull the blankets over your head. But what happens when the fear passes away? You suddenly find your outdoor voice.

 

The Text

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. […]

Mark 16:1ff

 

Summary of the Text

The high Passover Sabbath being over the group of women introduced at the end of chapter 15 attempt to perform the necessary burial ceremonies, as the sun arises on the first day of the week (vv1-2). They are troubled with the difficulty of how to remove the heavy stone which had been rolled in front of the entrance (v3, 15:46). Upon arriving, they are met with three increasingly marvelous wonders. First, the great stone was already removed (v4); second, a young man with a white garment was inside the tomb (v5); third, he declared to them that Jesus was risen, he was no longer where Joseph of Arimathea had laid him a few days before (v6). The man instructs them to go and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus was going before them to Galilee (Cf. 14:28), and they were to go see Him again there (v7). The women quickly flee the tomb, trembling with amazement, telling no man of these things, for they were afraid (v8). Some manuscripts end on this uncertain note of trepidation and fear. And no doubt Mark intended to leave his hearers on the edge of their seats.

Was this angelic messenger right? Could their crucified leader really be alive again? To answer this, Mark commences with a rapid fire description of the Lord’s appearances. First Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene; a woman who had been possessed with seven devils which Jesus had delivered her from (v9). She then rushes off to tell the disciples, as they wept and mourned, but they don’t believe her witness (vv10-11). Jesus then appears to two of his followers, but the disciples don’t believe their witness either (vv12-13). At last, He appears to the eleven and reprimands them for not believing these 2-3 witnesses (v14). How are they to be apostles if they are so slow to believe the very thing which Jesus had been revealing to them all along? That His death would bring about a new creation, and as such, He would rise again to reign over that new creation (Mk. 4:21-41).

Nevertheless, despite their slow faith, He calls them once more and sends them out; He had sent them out in Mark 6:7-13 & 30-32 on an apostolic mission to Israel. Remember that mission had consisted of three things: calling people to repent, confirming this by the twofold sign of driving out devils and administering healing to the sick, and pronouncing judgement on the unbelieving. Jesus again sends them on a similar mission in content, but far more massive in scope. They are sent into all the world to preach the Glad Tidings of the risen King to every creature (v15); those who believe these tidings are to be baptized as a sign of their salvation, whereas those who do not believe shall receive damnation (v16). The Lord promises certain signs that would accompany the believers and serve as a warning to those who believed not; the apostles would proclaim this Gospel in languages they had not learned, demonic spirits and sorrowful illnesses would flee before the Church, and neither serpents or cups of death would do them harm (vv17-18). All of this is evidenced in the book of Acts, and while certain of these signs have ceased, the substance of these signs have continued, for wherever the Gospel goes, the demons flee, the sick are ministered unto, the Word is translated into all languages for all peoples of the earth, dominion is exercised over the beasts, and the deadly schemes of our enemies do not thwart Christ’s Kingdom.

Having spoken all these things to His disciples, Jesus does what He said He would do: He takes up the throne of David at the Father’s right hand (v19). But His work was not done, for as the Apostles went forth in obedience to preach this Gospel everywhere the Lord worked with them, confirming His Word by accompanying it with the glorious sign of a trail of crushed serpentine skulls (v20).

 

Manuscript Cliff-Hangers

A few of the oldest manuscripts that have come down to us simply stop at verse 8. Not only that, but they stop with a preposition. Talk about a cliff-hanger. To oversimplify, we have four sorts of manuscripts. The oldest ones end at verse 8. A few have another verse or so of text that resembles parts of the longer ending. One manuscript includes another lengthy verse within the longer ending, but it is, to put it mildly, a bit off-kilter. Lastly, the majority of the manuscripts contain the longer ending which we have in our Bibles.

While such a discussion is best suited for an academic setting, it’s worth pointing this out  in a sermon for two reasons. First, our doctrine of Scripture’s inspiration isn’t a belief that golden scrolls fell splat into the lap of the prophets and apostles. Rather, we believe that the Holy Ghost inspired the human authors of Scripture and carried them along in their work of composing and compiling the text of Scripture. So-called manuscript problems are only a problem if your conception of authoring a book conforms to modern publishing standards and practices; making and maintaining scrolls/codices in the ancient world held vastly different challenges.

Which leads to the second reason for pointing this out at all. The shorter ending really is a cliff-hanger. Mark clearly intended that section to end abruptly. But why some manuscripts end there is a question we can’t fully answer. What we do have is a broad witness that eventually the church received the longer ending as the authentic––and I would add, fitting––conclusion.

 

Bruise in Us the Serpent’s Head

Many have pointed out the significance of Jesus’ first appearance being to a woman in a garden. A woman whom He had delivered from seven devils. The picture should not be lost on us: Eve beguiled by a serpent, Mary Magdalene beholding the Resurrected Christ. His resurrection was the decisive overthrow of all the devil’s wicked schemes.

The disciples were scattered. Peter had denied Jesus. Even as witnesses testify to His resurrection they were slow to believe. But Jesus was risen. Jesus gathers them. Jesus calls them. Jesus sends them out on a mission to crush devils. He began His earthly ministry by preaching the Good News of His coming Kingdom as well as contending with wild beasts and demonic serpents; now He gives to the church, the new Eve, the task of doing the same as He had done. Earth is no longer a lair for dragons. Their forked tongues will be silenced.

The gravest temptation for those who profess faith in Christ is to live as if the Resurrection did not take place. When you look at your own track record of sin you might be tempted to think this is just the way it will always be. A cold and joyless marriage is all you can expect. Your parenting mistakes are now set in stone. Your habits are unbreakable. The shame of your sin will follow you all the days of your life. But that is not the Gospel of the Resurrected Christ.

 

Silent No More

Fear convinces you that your sin and shame should keep you silent. Fear drives you to imagine that the dragons and monsters are too big and scary. “Stay quiet sinner. How can you dare to speak?”

Despite your sin and shame Christ calls you into His resurrection. By His resurrection serpents, poison, sickness, and sorrow are all passing away. The silence of your fears is replaced by the song of your faith. Jesus insisted on keeping the messianic secret until after His resurrection. Now, He calls His Church to herald this Gospel. Man was sick, Jesus healed every part of him. Man was afflicted by unclean spirits, Jesus drove them out. The remarkable and inescapable story of Jesus is not finished, it carries on louder than ever in our songs, our “Amens”, our baptism, our partaking of bread & wine, and our confession: Jesus Christ is the Risen Son of God.

 

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