Why didn't Jesus say, "Game Over" after his resurrection?

Among the five-hundred who witnessed Jesus after his resurrection, it is notable that Pilate and the Sanhedrin were apparently absent (1 Cor 15). You might expect Jesus to have gone straight from the tomb to the palace, yelling, "Game Over! Who was right, after all?" By withholding his glorious appearance from them, it seems that Jesus created room for thousands of years of tension between unbelief and faith, years filled with suffering. Why does he let the game go on, so to speak? 

The question of God's purpose in human suffering tends to arise from personal pain, as much or more than from intellectual or biblical difficulties. Having orthodox answers doesn't always prevent us from wrestling with unresolved feelings about the goodness of God's plan. The so-called "problem of pain" make us groan deeply, "why does God allow his people to suffer?" All the more when that pain settles on someone we love dearly.

As you read the Gospels, you will notice Christ purposely limited whom he revealed himself to after his resurrection. I believe Jesus' decision to veil his resurrection from the authorities was very much intended to foster a certain tension, as well as to serve as a form of judgment. "To everyone who has [faith] will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away" (Mt 25:29). Compare Jesus' motive for speaking in parables:

"Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." (Matt 13:10-11)

Those who believed, Jesus took aside and gave further explanation. Those whom God determined to leave to their own wickedness were excluded from fuller interpretations of the Kingdom message. It is God's right to withhold revelation, including the presence of the risen Son.

Another passage worth considering in connection with Jesus' choice not to appear before the Pharisees is his warning about the Sign of Jonah:

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here” (Mt 12:39-42)

For this warning to hold true, the Jews would have to have been generally persuaded of the truthfulness of Christ's resurrection. Nineveh could not condemn Jerusalem for rejecting the Sign (the resurrection) unless they had in fact been aware of it. Just as all million-plus Ninevites did not see the whale spit up Jonah, but were nonetheless aware of the prophet's ordeal, so it was not essential for every Jewish leader to have witnessed Christ's resurrection firsthand to be accountable for rejecting it. They had plenty of credible testimony from others, beside the Spirit bearing witness in their hearts of its truthfulness. 

Based on Mt 12:38-42, and Paul's testimony in Acts 26:26 ("these things did not happen in a corner”), it is apparent that many leaders did indeed know of the resurrection, even if direct experience of the glorified Christ was a privilege reserved for those who had trusted him before the crucifixion.

To conclude, Christ's self-veiling after the resurrection was part of God’s judgment against the religious and political leaders. He gave enough proof to make them culpable, but also "enough rope to hang themselves" with stubborn denial. Not seeing Christ firsthand, they could persist, even against their consciences, in persecuting God’s people for selfish gain.

It also set up the tension between faith and unbelief that persists until the second coming. As you endure this time of testing, recall Jesus words to his disciples, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn 20:29).

I hope to address the question of suffering more later. For now, God bless you and keep you.

 

Truly Human Sanctification

Sanctification is not the process of becoming more angelic, or even more godly, in some abstract or spiritualized way. What it means to be renewed after the image of Christ, the Firstfruits of resurrected humanity, is only to become human as God originally intended. The ascended Son sends forth his Spirit to renew believers in his glorious human likeness. Sanctification, then, is not mimicry. Not mere imitation of Christ, as though Christian life is external to, and apart from Christ. Such “life” consists in aping rituals and righteous deeds, and is really animated death.

Nor is spirituality a progressive negation of humanity, as if our goal were to “doff this mortal coil” by rejecting corporeality and all its scandalous sensuality. The life working within believers is a resurrecting life. A life that preserves and fulfills humanity, rather than destroying it. At creation, God pronounced humanity “very good.” The Father looks upon his Son dressed in human nature, and again says, “I am well pleased.” In Christ, the divine re-affirms the human forever.

We experience sanctification, then, as participation in Christ's life. The same energies working in the truly human Jesus now vitalize us, so that we are able to commune with God and love our neighbors. Sap courses from the root to the stem. The resurrection life of the immortal Son is likewise communicated to every believing branch by the Spirit. What this means is that holiness is to be experienced humanly. Not ceasing to live as humans, but desisting from that which tends to death. The aim is human life flourishing under the aegis of the Triune presence. Glorification or “divinization”, as early Christians sometimes called it, is not exchanging the human for the divine, but the divine ushering humanity into fullest communion. A communion which, by virtue of its invincible vitality, realizes every relationship in perfect love.

The Meaning of "Christian"

The word "Christian" means much more than following Christ's teachings. Believers share his three-fold anointing as prophets, priests, and kings. Want to learn more? I just completed a three part sermon series, available below. May God bless you through this study.

Can Believers "Leave" Their Salvation?

I have appreciated much of Pastor Chuck's ministry. On this issue, however, I think he made serious errors. Pastor Chuck did not sufficiently recognize the difference between the outward, visible church (everybody who shows up on Sunday) and those who are in fact regenerated by the Holy Spirit (the smaller number of true believers). Struggling to make sense of those who depart from professions of faith, he began to think that saved people could become "unsaved" based on their (un)cooperation with the Spirit.

It is worth noting, this was the central point over which Protestants cut ties with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s, and Pastor Chuck stood with Rome on this issue. Scripture is emphatic, however, that God will always "finish the work he began in you, to the day of Christ Jesus," (Phil 1:6). Those who "leave the faith," as Pastor Chuck says, prove they were never in fact converted by the Spirit. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us" (1 Jn 2:19). Those who are born again have received an "incorruptible seed" that cannot die. "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Pet 1:23).

This beautiful doctrine that salvation rests entirely upon the work of Christ applied by the Spirit, does not make true believers lazy about sanctification or comfortable with sin. How could it, for the same Spirit who grants new birth also imparts a new and living nature! One that loves holiness and thirsts for righteousness.

Moreover, God the Father "disciplines every son whom he loves" (Heb 12:6). Even when they stray, regenerate souls are brought back. In this sense, the Prodigal Son never "lost" or "left" his salvation. He may have forfeited the comforts of home for a time, but he was always hidden in his Father's heart. According to the election of mercy, it was only a matter of time before he was drawn home by cords of indelible love (2 Thes 2:13).

Do not misunderstand me, I do not question Pastor Chuck's faith in Christ. Yet it is worth warning others that this particular view of his tends to make people think of salvation as being decisively conditioned on something we must contribute to God's grace. It causes people to depend on their own inward resolve, something God cannot or will not give or create for them, instead of depending solely on the Father's grace for their entire future of faith and daily repentance.

In reality, regeneration and sanctification are not unlike the gracious transformation we trust God to complete at glorification. Just as our dying day will bring total freedom from inward corruption and unbelief through a sovereign act of transforming grace, so God is always at work in believers, renewing and freeing them from the old nature. This is not a denial of human responsibility. Rather, it speaks to our beautiful faith in God to free us daily from corruption for Christ's sake, so that we may obey in a spirit of gratitude and sonship.

Verses that warn against falling away, I take as means by which God stirs his children up to ask, "what am I really trusting in, and what evidence do I show of having the Spirit?" In this way, we never stop "making our calling and election sure." Each day we are called to self-consciously "set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you in the day of Christ Jesus" (1 Pet 1:10, 13). We continue to "work out our salvation," by constantly reaffirming that "it is God who works in you both to will and to do, according to his good pleasure" (Phil 2:13). It is truly encouraging to find all our hope in the Spirit of mercy, who is "able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy" (Jd 1:24).


POSTSCRIPT: When speaking about Christian perseverance, I have found it helpful to avoid framing the discussion in terms of “freedom of the will.” Rather, I focus on God's power to sanctify. Freedom of the will is somewhat of a misnomer, anyway. God cannot will himself to sin—does that mean he doesn't have “free will”? No, it means that his nature is totally free from corruption and the potential to deviate from holiness. We, however, deal with many corruptions and tendencies to doubt. Our fallen human nature inevitably influences our wills toward unbelief and sin. Thankfully, God is in the process of transforming our nature! That is our hope for endurance, not that we have strength from ourselves, but that "he who has called you is faithful, and will also do it" (1 Thes 5:24).

Overturned in the Desert: An Unconventional Review of the AF Short Story

Driving from San Diego to Phoenix takes six hours along I-8, and can be very scenic depending on the weather. On this occasion, it rained the whole way. The horizon, however, was streaked with alternating bands of blue and graphite, suggesting it would clear up by the time I arrived home. I settled in to enjoy my ride.

An hour in, Kumeyaay Highway twists toward a pass. On either side, yellow granite boulders the size of Buicks cover the earth. If the ancient poet, Homer, were somehow transported to this bewildering landscape, he mighty readily mythologize it to be the Titans' graveyard. An equally surreal structure perches on the summit. This bizarre sentinel of the California badlands is the Desert View Tower, which serves as the gathering place for a motley group of alien enthusiasts who build UFO models.

I decided to pick up a cigar along the way to stave off drowsiness. The nearest city with a decent cigar shop was Yuma, the often overlooked town straddling the State border. In reality, Yuma is home to several worthy attractions. For instance, adventurous eaters can dine at Monster Taco, a make-do Mexican bungalow where off-color menu typos tempt guests to discover “bacon raped hot dogs” and roasted “pappers.” The city also hosts Debbie’s Freedom Tobacco. Debbie's selection is narrow—mostly hookah and pipe tobacco–but she stocks all the reputable brands. Prices are competitive, certainly the best in Yuma. My haul included the Fuente Rothschild, 8-5-8 Maduro, and Short Story. 

The Short Story, part of Arturo Fuente’s acclaimed Hemingway line, was the cigar that taught me just how good small vitolas can be. At just four inches, this diminutive Dominican burns 45 minutes, but does so with consistent, mellow favors and a creamy pleroma of sumptuous white vapors. I set a snack-size Pringles can in the console cup holder (a perfect travel ashtray complete with lid) and cracked the windows to clear air without letting the downpour in. The cigar was dead simple to light and pleasurable throughout. Burn began even enough and the flavors never became acrid. I headed back to the highway.

An inch into the Hemingway, a rainbow formed over the eastern mountains. Meanwhile, striking cobalt stormclouds plotted above the Gray dunes to the south. On the shoulder of the highway, I watched silvery reflections form in the potholes, slick puddles of water mixed with motor oil, shimmering bellies of river bass. Perhaps it was just the namesake cigar making its literary impression?

As I finished the cigar, red and blue lights pulsed in the distance. I slowed to observe an overturned family wagon. Camping gear was strewn among cholla cactus and crushed glass. A single Patrol officer stood nearby surveying the wreck, but no one else was visible. Here in this overturned vehicle was a visceral reminder of the brevity of good things. Like the Short Story burning in my hand, life and health come in a variety of vitolas. Since I have relatively little control over the length of my human experience, I will focus on savoring its goodness while I can. 

With that, I snuffed the nub and placed the lid on the Pringles can.

The Wrath of Man will Praise Him

"Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt." (Psalm 76:10)

The wrath of man is sometimes perplexing. We do not see how God's justice can be upheld when so much evil is done in the world. At the judgment, however, all eyes will be made to see how even ungodly rage redounds to the praise of God. The intricacies of a trillion historical plot lines will then come together to reveal God's overruling power, turning all things to good for those who love him. For now, we take solace in Biblical examples such as that in the book of Esther, where Haman's rage becomes the catalyst for God to bless his people and make his name great. For now, we wait and trust.

Will we eat in heaven?

The other day I came upon this passage in the Psalms: "Man ate the bread of angels, God gave them food in abundance." (Psa 78:25) It is more than a little fascinating to discover that angelic creatures have a staple food, manna. In Hebrew the word means "what is it?" Today, we might call it Who-knows-what-it-is (as we do with hotdogs). According to Exodus, the bread of angels tastes something like honey and has a flaky consistency that can be made into a sort of flatbread. Following Jesus' forty-day fast in the wilderness, angels came to restore his health. No doubt they brought some of their angelic bread for him.

Why do angels eat if they are immortal? Scripture is silent about whether manna is an instrumental means for strengthening them, or if it is simply given for their pleasure. Nor does the Bible satisfy our awkward curiosity about the angelic digestive process—are angel guts, if there be such a thing, so efficient that they have no need to expel waste as we do? Or are there bathrooms in heaven? Of this much I am confident, whatever their bodily functions may consist of, angels do not suffer from embarrassment as we do. I suggest that will be the case for us as well in the new creation.

Are we going to eat manna forever? Perhaps, but I surmise that we will eat other things as well. That our diet in the age to come will consist of more than manna seems evident in passages which say that we will feast and drink wine. King Solomon's reign was a typological picture of the glory awaiting us in the kingdom to come. I believe something is foreshadowed in these words from 1 Kgs 4:20, "Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy."

Whatever such passages signify, it is hard to imagine the new earth being less abundant than the garden in which God placed Adam, full of every variety of pleasant things to eat. I suspect we will have new foods to match our new bodies. Regardless of what we shall find on that glorious menu, we can be assured that we will not suffer from the same degree of fickleness that presently afflicts humankind. Like bees, the angels do not tire of their honey bread. Even so, God will enable us to find delicious enjoyment forever in the cornucopia of delights he is preparing for his children.

The Punishment for Being Deceived

“The punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike” (Ezek 14:9-11)

It is often overlooked, that according to Scripture both deception and being deceived have a moral quality. The person who embraces fatal errors is not simply a victim of clever deceivers, but is himself a partner in evil. This is because deception is made possible only by the deceived person having already craved some excuse or plausible justification to depart from the Lord. By nature, lying doctrine leads to separation from the things of God. But lies take root only because they find soil ready to receive them. 

You see a person's hunger by how he shovels food greedily into his mouth. Likewise, hearts which gulp down fatal religious or intellectual doctrines reveal an appetite for errors which excuse sin. When in God's providence believers are misled to entertain serious error, the Spirit of God who lives within them, who is contrary to lies, makes that error spiritually upsetting and untasteful so that they disgorge themselves of it. It is not in the nature of the regenerate to stomach damning lies, but to be repulsed by them and to vomit them out. 

Saturday Summary

Here's some of what I enjoyed this week on the Web.

“There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who think they are sinners and the sinners who think they are righteous.”
— Blaise Pascal


Ministry Monday: Overcoming Discouragement in Ministry

Nicholas Batzig, a PCA pastor, has written an encouraging post on overcoming discouragement in ministry. He lists seven strategies to repair and renew our spirits for service, including the importance of remembering our call to the pastorate:

In 2 Tim. 1:18 [Paul] told Timothy, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” Remembering that God has set us apart to pastor His people helps fan the flame of our zeal for ministry. This is essential for ministers to remember when the discouragements come in ministry. Knowing that God has called you into ministry enables you to keep going when things get tough.

Check it out. I pray God refreshes you through it.