They Laughed at Him

June 3, 2023

The situation was grave, and the request was urgent. Jairus’ daughter was dying, so he sought Jesus’ help. When he found Jesus, he fell at his feet and implored him to come to his house. Think about this for a moment. Have you ever felt so desperate that you fell at someone’s feet to make your plea?

Jairus’ only daughter was dying. Let the word “only” sink (Luke 8:42). It is not that with several children you have one that can be expendable. The death of any child would be horrible. Yet, there is a special pain that accompanies the word only. To lose an only daughter is to have no other daughter left to comfort you. To lose an only daughter is to have no other daughter to give you grandchildren.

Do you think Jairus was urgent getting Jesus to move in the direction of his house? After all, the crowds pressed around him. It would be like seeing an ambulance with lights flashing and siren sounding stuck in a traffic jam. Then Jesus himself stopped to ask who touched him. And then a further delay as Jesus spoke with a woman who had been ill for twelve years but was now cured. No doubt a wonderful cause as you worry that the joy of the past twelve years of your life may be fading away.

While Jesus was speaking, the bad news from home arrived: “You daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” Yet, Jesus pressed on. He assured Jairus that she will be well. But when they arrived, they were confronted with the realities of death — weeping and wailing. Jesus responded, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” But the hearers knew death only too well, and they laughed.

This laugh of derision was changed to joy. Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter, but I suspect that the disciples of Jesus heard this kind of laugh again.

  • Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. Acts 17:32, ESV
  • And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” Acts 26:24, ESV

With this laugh, I am reminded that the disciple is not above his master, and what they do to the master, they will do the one who follows. They laughed at Jesus, and some may very well laugh at us, but I am persuaded of the power and reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

—Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden

Do You Know Jesus?

December 22, 2021

Was Jesus born on December 25th? The answer is probably not. We do not know the month and day of Jesus’ birth. The celebration of Jesus’ birth began in the fourth century. Emperors in the third century had celebrated the sun cult on December 25th, and this was continued by Constantine. In the latter part of the fourth century, Christians began to celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 25th in effect continuing a celebration but changing the meaning of it. The fact that Luke mentions the shepherds in the fields (Luke 2:8) would suggest that the birth was between March/April and October/November.

Was Jesus born in a stable? If you say yes, you are being influenced by the fact that Jesus was placed in a manger. Certainly some traditions place the birth in a stable. The non-canonical work, the Protevangelium of James (c. 200 A.D.), has Mary giving birth in a cave, which was used as a stable. However, the typical house of this period also had mangers in them, because animals were brought into the house at night.

The “inn” of Luke 2:7 is not the word for a commercial inn as in Luke 10:34. The word in the birth narrative means a guest room. The same word is used to describe the upper room of the Last Supper (Luke 22:11). It is possible that the guest room was already taken, and that Mary and Joseph were housed in the main living quarters of the house, which would have had a manger.

Were there three wise men? The text of Matthew does not tell us how many wise men (Magi – the word means “magician” or “astrologer”) visited Jesus. The tradition of three wise men is likely based on the fact that three gifts are mentioned: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

Did the wise men arrive the night of Jesus’ birth? Matthew 2:1 indicates that the wise men arrived in Jerusalem to inquire about the birth of the king after the birth of Jesus. A comparison with Luke also suggests this. Jesus was presented in the temple 40 days after his birth according to the law (Leviticus 12:3-4 – 8 plus 33 with the days counted inclusively). Jesus’ parents gave the offering of the poor, a pair of turtledoves (Luke 2:24, Leviticus 12:8). Joseph and Mary would surely have had enough funds for a lamb offering if the wise men’s gifts had been received prior to the presentation in the temple. Most chronologies of Jesus’ life would place the coming of the wise men after the presentation in the temple.

No, I’m not a curmudgeon when looking at nativity scenes grumbling that they have it wrong. But it is important to know the facts. The eyewitnesses of Jesus point us to Jesus. The most important question you can ask yourself at this season of the year or any season of the year is: do you know Jesus?

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Posted by Russell Holden

The Value of Jesus

March 12, 2021

The aroma of very expensive ointment filled the house. While Jesus reclined at table, a woman had poured the ointment on Jesus’ head. It was a lavish gift. The anointing of a guest’s head with oil was customary, but not like this. The expense was extraordinary. One gospel placed the value of the ointment at 300 denarii – the pay of a common laborer for 300 days (Mark 14:5).

The objections came. It could have been sold and given to the poor. But Jesus said it was a beautiful thing. She had prepared Jesus for burial. We don’t usually sit at the dinner table, while the undertaker prepares us for our funeral. Jesus’ words would have struck them just as odd. The cross unspoken lingered like the aroma of the expensive ointment. Yet, he said to them that her deed would be proclaimed to the whole world wherever the gospel is proclaimed.

Judas, one of the Twelve, plotted with the religious leaders, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” The price was thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). The betrayal price set in motion the events that led to the cross. It was a large amount, but not nearly as large as the expensive ointment. How odd those thirty pieces of silver gained was a terrible loss, and “wasted,” expensive ointment was a wondrous gain!

It is as if the woman in the story said, “Jesus, I love you so much that I give you this ointment and so much more, I give you myself.”

It is as if Judas said, “Jesus, I don’t love you enough to pass up thirty pieces of silver.”

Two juxtaposed stories (Matthew 26:6-13, 26:14-16) both contain something of value. In both the valuable things say something about the participants and reveal spiritual priorities. Both stories foreshadow the cross.

Wherever these stories are told, an uncomfortable truth follows. We must make the same sort of decision. We will either be like the woman and say, “Jesus, I love you so much that I give you this and this and even my very life,” or we will be like Judas and say, “Jesus, I don’t love you enough to pass up this or that” as we name our price: jobs, family, possessions, pleasures, or thirty pieces of silver.

We all put a price tag on Jesus either to follow or reject. In your life, what’s the value of Jesus?

−Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden

The Gift

December 18, 2020

It is one of our funny, family Christmas stories. By funny, I mean awkward, painful, and only slightly humorous at the time. It has become funnier with time and retelling.

My wife and I purchased a Christmas gift for one of our nephews. The gift was a hardback copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, one of the books in The Narnia Chronicles. This C.S. Lewis children’s story is a favorite in our family. I had read it in college and had wished it had been read to me as a child (and yes, the books are old enough that it could have happened). Before our son was born, we had purchased a set of The Narnia Chronicles, so they were his first, earthly possession. I say this to indicate from our point of view, this was a precious gift.

Our nephew opened our gift and immediately his face fell with disappointment. He threw the book on the floor and stormed off nearly in tears. The adults experienced the laughter of awkward moments. As I said, it’s become funnier with the retelling.

To be fair, he later read the book and enjoyed it, and maybe he wasn’t old enough at the time we gave it. But I suspect that many of us have that awkward, painful, and only slightly humorous gift story to tell.

Gift giving involves the transaction between two parties: the giver and the recipient. What is precious to the giver may not be precious to the recipient. If in doubt on this point, please check the gift exchange line the day after Christmas at your nearest, busiest store.

This brings me to the most important gift. God gave his only son. God had no more precious gift to give. The gift was costly beyond measure. The price included the suffering of crucifixion and death. It was costly to be a sin offering for others, and our need for the gift couldn’t be greater.

So how have your responded to this precious gift? Have you headed to the exchange line for what the world can offer in its place? Or have you received with joy and learned how precious is the gift!

—Russ Holden

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Jesus is the Solution to Our Problem

November 17, 2020

Didn’t know you have a problem? All of us sin. We make mistakes. We fail to do what is moral at the time. But the context of these failures is that we and our world are the products of a Creator God. And God is holy. No sin. No moral failures. So, our sin becomes a barrier to fellowship with him. And that is very bad news for us.

But God doesn’t let it end there. He sends his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is sinless. It has to be that way. Someone with the sin problem can’t save people with the sin problem. Yet though sinless, he willingly dies on the cross for the sins of the world. Paul explains this solution with a number of terms (Romans 3:21-31).

It means we are justified. This is a law court word. The charges are dropped against us in Christ, not because we are innocent, but because the demands of the law have been satisfied by our substitute. For those of us who are united to Christ this is great news. And Paul says later in Romans, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, ESV)

It means we have redemption. Redemption is a marketplace term. It means to buy back or release by payment of a price. An Old Testament example of redemption is the buying back of the firstborn male sons of a family (Exodus 13:11-13). The firstborn male animals were to be sacrificed except the donkey which could be redeemed for a price or killed, but it couldn’t be sacrificed. The unfortunate practice of slavery gave another example of redemption. A price could be paid so that a slave was set free.

It means we have a propitiation (“sacrifice of atonement” NIV, “mercy seat” NET, CSB cf. Heb. 9:5). This word comes from the setting of the temple. Propitiation is a sacrifice which averts the wrath of God. Paul makes clear that the wrath of God is revealed again all ungodliness and unrighteousness (Romans 1:18, 2:5, 2:8, 3:5).

Jesus is the solution for our sin problem, but how is the solution applied to our lives. It is applied to “the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). The opposite would be by works (or earning it.) Yet, Paul’s definition of faith is not mere intellectual assent. Paul teaches “the obedience of faith,” that is obedience that is produced by faith and is an example of trust. So, within Romans, Paul mentions a number of things that clearly are not merit but fall under the category of faith/trust: repentance (Rom. 2:4), baptism (Rom. 6:3-4), and confession (Rom 10:10). We must trust in what Jesus had done for us with all that this trust involves.

Jesus is the solution to our problem!

— Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden

The Humor of Christ

November 7, 2020

In the introduction to his book, The Humor of Christ, Elton Trueblood tells of a family devotional. He was reading from the Sermon on the Mount and came to the section where Jesus says: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3, ESV) His young son began to laugh hilariously. Trueblood notes that the child had gotten the joke that sometimes adults pass over. Jesus used a very incongruous picture, a staple of humor, to make his point. Humor often punctures us and gets our attention in ways that a simple declaration fails to do.

We see examples of Jesus’ humor when he speaks of the religious leaders scrupulously concerned about the outside of a cup or plate, but the inside of the cup is full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25). Or again, the religious leaders are so concerned about ceremonial cleanness that they will strain out a gnat (an unclean animal according to the law), but swallow a camel (another unclean animal). Such incongruent images may have resulted in laughter from his audience. Trueblood notes the value of such humor:

If it were not for the medicine of created laughter, there would be no adequate antidote to pride and vanity among men. God has created us with a self-consciousness which makes conceit possible, but He has also made us able to laugh and thus to provide a balance to our danger. (The Humor of Christ, p. 36)

Recognizing humor in the teaching of Christ is one step in seeing the many facets of Jesus. We get the impression that Jesus laughs, but he also weeps, becomes angry, can be stern, but also loving and gentle. Jesus himself says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, ESV). Jesus helps us see God more clearly. Trueblood remarks:

The deepest conviction of all Christian theology is the affirmation that the God of all the world is like Jesus Christ. Because the logical development is from the relatively known to the relatively unknown, the procedure is not from God to Christ, but from Christ to God. If we take this seriously we conclude that God cannot be cruel, or self-centered or vindictive, or even lacking in humor. (The Humor of Christ, p. 32) 

— Russ Holden

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The Meaning of Jesus’ Resurrection

April 10, 2020

How can we express what the resurrection means?

It means vindication. Jesus really is the Messiah, the Anointed One, who fulfills the promise made to David. The chief priests had rejected him. The crowds had cried, “Crucify him!” Peter preached that the resurrection gives us the certainly “that God has made him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

It means forgiveness. The wages of sin is death. God warned against eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17, ESV). The sacrificial system of the Law of Moses was a pointer to what God would some day do on the cross. Life was in the blood. A life was accepted in exchange for the life of a sinner. “He (that is God) made him who did not know sin a sin offering in our behalf, in order that we may become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, my translation*).

It means reconciliation. Adam and Eve had walked with God in a way that it is difficult for us to imagine. Our only hint is in Genesis 3 when they heard the sound of God walking in the garden, and they knew what the sound meant, so they hid themselves because of their sin. Paradise was lost. Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden. Yet, God has sought to reconcile the world to himself. Because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, we can approach the throne of grace with confidence. As Christians, we become a temple of the Holy Spirit. We look forward to once more having access to the Tree of Life and walking in God’s glorious presence.

It means transformation. Yes, I need to be forgiven of my sin, but I also need a moral makeover. I need to become a better person. Following Jesus and putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit is the process of that moral transformation. God’s desire is that we be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29).

It means eternal life. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead anticipates and is the basis of the resurrection at his coming. Death has been conquered. Yes, we may still have to experience physical death, but those who are in Jesus have life and hope of eternal life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24, ESV). “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (1 John 5:11, ESV).

How wonderful and marvelous — He is risen!

—Russ Holden

*The word “sin” is frequently used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) for “sin offering, so I’ve rendered it that way here for it makes the passage clearer. 

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Posted by Russell Holden

What Jesus Means to Me

March 13, 2020

Jesus is the wisdom of God. I probably would not have called it wisdom as I was first coming to know Jesus. The more common phrase would be moral teaching. But it may very well be that Jesus attracts us at this beginning point, and we begin to connect with him.

The moral teachings are accessible. Even a child can understand the basics. The greatest command is to love God with all of our being. The second greatest command is to love our neighbor as ourself. We need to control our anger. We shouldn’t lie. Jesus teaches us a simple beginner’s prayer. We need to trust God as our heavenly Father. We must build our house on the rock, and not be like the foolish man who builds his house on the sand.

As we mature, it may hit us how challenging some of these teachings are. To love our enemies is not an easy task. To go the second mile may chafe us like an ill-fitting suit. We may also grasp that Jesus is the wisdom of God because he has come from the Father. Jesus is the one who has come down from heaven to reveal God. “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus is Immanuel — God with us.

Jesus is the gift of God. At a young age I learned “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” Jesus died for my sins.

To understand those words, we must come to accept that God is holy. The basic human problem is sin — moral failure. My moral failings estrange me from God. They lead to my spiritual death if not forgiven. Forgiveness is possible because of a life sacrificed in my place. Jesus is that sacrifice, that offering.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Seen by witnesses and predicted by prophecy, the resurrection is also God’s great affirmation of Jesus. Sin and death are conquered. New creation has begun. In Christ, I am a new creation having been born again of the Holy Spirit. With God’s help, a moral transformation is at work in my life. The same Spirit will raise me from the dead giving me a resurrection body or transform me in the blinking of an eye if I’m alive at Jesus’ coming. Because of Jesus we experience new life now, and we look forward to resurrection and life with God for eternity.

Jesus is wisdom, a gift, and life. And Jesus is so much more. Jesus means much to me. What does Jesus mean to you?

—Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden

To Decide to Follow Jesus

December 21, 2019

There is no neutral position on Jesus of Nazareth. We may follow him as the Christ, or we may reject his claims, but there is no undecided point of view. We have either come to him in faith, or we are outside of Christ. We may be undecided as we investigate the claims of Jesus, but being outside of Christ is perilous spiritual position to be in. The relationship to Jesus Christ is binary: we are either in Christ or we are outside of Christ. So it is interesting reading in the gospels people’s responses to Jesus.

Jesus went up to the Feast of Tabernacles at about the middle of the feast, because the religious leaders were seeking to kill him. On the last day of the feast, Jesus cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37–38 ESV). This teaching as John noted is about the coming reception of the Holy Spirit.

John provided us with some responses to this speech. Some said, “This really is the Prophet.” This is a reference to the prophet like Moses found in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. Peter will later preach that Jesus is the prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22-23). Jesus is the Prophet, but he is more. Others said, “This is the Christ.” This confession was more on target, although one suspects that Jesus is different than their expectations. Some questioned, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?” They knew the prophecy of Micah 5:2. However, their knowledge about Jesus was deficient. They were asking a good question, It would all depend whether they sought the answer.

John also recorded a conversation with the chief priests and Pharisees. Soldiers were sent to arrest Jesus, but they returned empty handed. Their defense was “No one ever spoke like this man” (John last 7:46)! Note the religious leaders response: (1) have you been deceived?, (2) have the authorities and Pharisees believed in him?, and (3) this accursed crowd does not know the law. When Nicodemus interjected, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” Their reply was a bit of a sneer, “Are you from Galilee too?”

Making a decision for Christ takes the right information and teaching about Christ. It also takes a willingness on our part to consider this message as true, and a heart willing to change. The journey to faith may not be smooth. Note the religious leaders were trying to intimidate the soldiers and Nicodemus. They were not engaged in a reasoned discourse about Jesus, a let’s consider the evidence for and against Jesus. They were attempting to keep the soldiers and Nicodemus in line by ridicule and intimidation. Don’t be surprised when those same strategies show up in the modern world.

We must be spiritual truth seekers. Because the most important decision you will ever make is to decide to follow Jesus.

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Posted by Russell Holden

“President/Owner”

July 20, 2018

Computers are wonderful machines, but one of their less desirable traits is the ability to generate tones of supposedly “personalized” mail. We recently received an envelope with the following:

PRESIDENT/OWNER
GRANDVILLE CHURCH OF CHRIST

No doubt we were on a mailing lists mainly of businesses for which the addressee of President/Owner was more appropriate, but with that title staring me in the face, I couldn’t help but think.

In a sense we do have a “President/Owner,” although the more familiar and biblical terms are “Lord” and “head of the church.” (Ephesians 1:22, 5:23) God is in fact the sole owner. No stocks were sold; no shareholders were invited to participate in the financing. Christ alone gave His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). That should say something about the kind of allegiance we owe him.

He has even given us inter-office memos and memorandums to follow. We call them the New Testament. He has set up an organization to provide for the proper training of people. “ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:11–12, ESV). And he has even been known to threaten closing down a “branch office” when it failed to live up to the task. “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5, ESV).

We are conditioned to give due respect to presidents, urgent memos, job training, and the like. When we turn from the world of business to the church, let us not loose reverence for our Lord, urgency for His word, dedication to his training, and respect for His warnings. He is after all our “President/Owner.”

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Posted by Russell Holden

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