DEEP THOUGHTS, by Ken Bailey

I told Steve there is no way to articulate what I want to write about without just straight copying Bailey!  Pages 429-436 are absolutely awesome. It has been a challenging mental gymnastic routine to meditate on the resurrection during the advent season... I suggest you try it!

Some of my favorites from the chapter........ 

"Why did the early church, at this very early stage, conclude that the death of Jesus was different from the death of John the Baptist?"

  N.T. Wright answers the question this way....
"Without the resurrection, there is no reason to suppose that Jesus' Crucifixion dealt with sins, or with sin.  But with the resurrection, the divine victory over sin(s), and hence over death, is assured." 

"Herod surmised that Jesus was John, who had been raised from the dead, but he was mistaken, and no one saw John alive after his murder.  Jesus, however, appeared to the disciples after the cross, and that made all the difference.  The fact of the resurrection brought unmistakable victory over sin and death.  Their studied conclusion was, "Christ died for our sins."  For the disciples it was not merely Rabbi Jesus who died but rather the Messiah of God, hence the confession, "Messiah [Christ] died for our sins."


Merry Christmas,

Reid

Comments

  1. Steve MannDecember 21, 2018 at 5:50 PM

    There’s really nothing quite like ritually meditating on the resurrection during advent. It’s really quite refreshing. I suggest you try it!! Thanks for these words. Your post reminds me that the resurrection constantly redeems all things - even Christmas and the most “evil” among us and of course the evil within us!

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