{"id":1401,"date":"2015-05-07T02:59:31","date_gmt":"2015-05-07T02:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ndturner.com\/gracePlus\/?p=1401"},"modified":"2015-05-07T03:07:59","modified_gmt":"2015-05-07T03:07:59","slug":"right-and-left-hand-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ndturner.com\/gracePlus\/?p=1401","title":{"rendered":"Right and Left Hand Men"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a couple of common types of exegesis that really bother me.\u00a0 One is extracting doctrine or commands instead of teaching people how to love the text.\u00a0 The other is trying to get to some sort of historical event behind the text.\u00a0 The first is a lack of imagination and the second is imagination run wild.<\/p>\n

I think both problems are indicative of the individualism we Americans worship.\u00a0 Even many Christians, today, believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.\u00a0 Whereas most Christians and even pagans throughout time viewed aesthetics as something that mankind only discovers.\u00a0 The whole idea of the muses was a personification of something that most artists find themselves driven by as they practice their art.\u00a0 Something outside of themselves.\u00a0 The same certainly applies to beauty, as Christians we should realize that beauty, like morals or any other aspect of this world, is based on the character of God. \u00a0And it applies to a text that we didn’t write. Our job is to imagine a situation outside of ourselves, not to apply our view on the text.<\/p>\n

God knows quite well how to communicate with us, he created us.\u00a0 He created the world to communicate to us.\u00a0 I think of Psalm 119<\/a>, or Romans 1<\/a>.\u00a0 But above all he gave us his Word, which is mostly a book of stories.\u00a0 Oh sure he also gave us the compilations of Solomon, the proverbs, which contain much advice in concise pithy sayings.\u00a0 \u201cPride goes before destruction\u201d says Proverbs 16:18<\/a>, \u201cOne\u2019s pride will bring him low. . .\u201d The only problem is that Mark 10<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t really say anything about pride.\u00a0 It\u2019s a snippet of a story, which Mark is telling us.\u00a0 A few chapters back he detailed the transfiguration, which James and John were one of three men on earth to witness.\u00a0 At the beginning of chapter ten Jesus tells his disciples that they will receive a hundred fold what they have given up to follow him.\u00a0 In addition, they were making their way up to Jerusalem, something was about to happen.\u00a0 The crowds felt it as they laid out palm branches a few hours later.\u00a0 It makes perfect sense that they might ask him for a position of honor in his kingdom.\u00a0 Of course it was political maneuvering.\u00a0 But Jesus doesn\u2019t tell them to knock it off, he tells them how to maneuver the right way.<\/p>\n

\"Byzantine<\/a>

Byzantine Mosaic. c. 540. Jesus with John on his left and James on his right. Painted on countless churches throughout the world. A fame like few have achieved.<\/p><\/div>\n

We look at the situation and think they were arrogantly asking to be seated at the right and left hand of almighty God in heaven.\u00a0 The problem was that they didn\u2019t see it that way.\u00a0 They were still thinking in earthly, Jewish terms.\u00a0 They wanted to be earthly advisors to the a conquering prophet-king-messiah, who would put repentant Israel in it\u2019s rightful place at the head of humanity. \u00a0And so he did that, and so much more, but they were not ready for it at the time.\u00a0 Which is why they all fled when he was crucified, and were even leaving town after the tomb was found empty.\u00a0 The battle was over, their messiah candidate was dead.\u00a0 But that was the plan.\u00a0 It was not a new plan, or a plan different from the Old Testament.\u00a0 It was right in front of their face.\u00a0 It was that part of Mark 10, verses 32 to 34<\/a>, that they just skipped over.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s how you conquer the Romans, and the world.\u00a0 That\u2019s how you fulfill the entire Law and Prophets.\u00a0 That\u2019s how the Jews rise to the head of the world, and then bless the world, through the Jew, Jesus, who laid down his life as the perfect sacrifice.\u00a0 And because he did, he will be raised to the right hand, on the throne of thrones, in the glory of heaven.\u00a0 And if we want a similar place of honor, we must do the same, we must not only suffer but die.\u00a0 It\u2019s right there in the other half of that proverb \u201c. . .but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.\u201d(Proverbs 29:23<\/a>).\u00a0 Jesus gives them what they asked for.\u00a0 Both men fell as their master was crucified, they fled in fear.\u00a0 But they were remade, they suffered much for following Jesus.\u00a0 And both became great leaders.\u00a0 We see James leading the way to death on the heels of Stephen(Acts 12:2<\/a>).\u00a0 And John finished out the revelation of the New Testament.<\/p>\n

If you want to boast boast in what the Lord has done for you (Jeremiah 9:23,24<\/a>).\u00a0 If you want a place of honor, give your life.\u00a0 That is the teaching of the Old Testament, and it is the teaching of the New Testament.\u00a0 But the disciples had a tendency to forget it.\u00a0 We too can forget it. Don\u2019t jostle for power as they were attempting to do, as the world always does, scrambling to the top of the rat heap.\u00a0 Instead, sit in the lowest place at the table and let the host bring you up to the head (Luke 14:7-11<\/a>).\u00a0 You will not only find favor with Earthly masters, but with the Master of Heaven.<\/p>\n

So, it’s not so much about shaming us or the disciples for ambition. \u00a0It’s about learning how to read the story. \u00a0Learning how how our evil hearts have turned a good thing on it’s head, and how we can make it aright. \u00a0Take that ambition and use it to serve, to lay down your life, to put others first. \u00a0And you will be a type of Christ, a living story for the world to read. \u00a0So that we all may be seated at the fathers own right hand, in glory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are a couple of common types of exegesis that really bother me.\u00a0 One is extracting doctrine or commands instead of teaching people how to love the text.\u00a0 The other is trying to get to some sort of historical event behind the text.\u00a0 The first is a lack of imagination and the second is imagination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t