Why Jesus Casting Out Demons Is Still So Important to Understand.

Began preaching in the book of Mark. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry is a good parallel for the beginning of the Christian faith in the weeks after Easter. It sets the tone for Jesus’ ministry.

This ministry is marked by the sharing of the word, casting out demons and evil spirits, healing the sick, and taking time away from the crowds to be spent in meditative prayer His Father. The turning point of these passages is the driving power of the Holy Spirit. It came down upon Jesus as His baptism. What is in it for us as Christians? What are the gifts of the spirit? How do we discern what we have in Jesus to do?

 So, if I am doing my job, the sermon should be an exposition of God’s Word to inspire worship in the faithful. In response to a sermon, we share an Affirmation of Faith, usually drawn from our Book of Confessions or Scripture. I draw on denominational resources for that, to connect with other churches as they draw together their own orders of worship. But I noticed that in our affirmation from the PCUSA’s “Brief Statement of Faith”, it gave a more comprehensive list of what it is that Jesus does among us, but did not specify the casting out of demons.

Not sure if that was an editing choice for the affirmation or something that points to a ‘kinder, gentler’ rendition of the faith. But it is difficult.

Finished a novel where the father of the main character was called a coward. It was at the beginning of the Second World War in Canada. This father mounted a campaign in Quebec designed to keep Canada out of the war. He did not believe in violence or that the nation, especially the French Canadian portion, should engage. In the plot of the novel, he managed to delay the entry as the two cultures in Canada negotiated things out.

To be against THAT war in any circumstances was unpopular. To be politically active about it was far worse. The gentleman does not enter the Army but joins the Red Cross instead, seeking to help that way. Which he does until British and Canadian troops liberate Bergen Belsen concentration camp, at which he is present. Where he admits that he was wrong. That there is evil to be fought against.

Was watching Daredevil, the Netflix adaptation now on Disney+. Matt Murdock was talking to his priest, when he asked the priest if he believed in the devil. The priest related a story of how he was in Rwanda during the genocide. Knew a good man in a village who helped everyone. The militia were seeking to get one tribe to murder the other, but they would not harm this good man. So the commander sent soldiers to do it. They went, met the good man, heard the stories, and they did not want to carry out the orders. So the commander himself came. Spoke to the good man for hours in his home. Finally, the commander brought him out and murdered him brutally in front of everyone. The point of the story? The priest had seen the devil in that commander.

So, okay pastor, these stories are fiction. No, they are real enough, but told within a fictionalized setting. That is what good fiction does. 

I want to believe in a kinder, gentler world, one where the devil can be relegated to myth or to the role of the boogyman. But I cannot. The world is not a kind, gentle place. Evil exists, the devil is embodied in human beings. And what the Bible tells us is that Jesus tossed demons and evil spirits out of people, AND THAT THOSE BEINGS FEARED HIM. They feared for their very existence.

Jesus saves us from our sin. I think it is good to be reminded exactly what He is saving us from. And what the Spirit did for Him can be done for us. 

Peter Hofstra

When They Mobbed the House Where Jesus Stayed

         From Mark 1: That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. vss. 32-22

          Can you imagine? Jesus was in church (okay, synagogue, the Jewish version of church) on a Sunday (okay, Saturday, the Jewish version of the Lord’s Day and, yes, the original one that we changed to Sunday because of Jesus’ resurrection), and he was teaching (okay, we pay ministers who need a Masters in Divinity, but Jesus was, lets face it, the true Master of the Divine, so we’ll give it to him) and there is a congregant possessed by an evil spirit.

          It might be argued that there are a lot more people like that in church than we have ever really thought about, but that is another blog post.

          In this case, the evil spirit knows Jesus, and reacts. Goes into the whole mover and shaker thing we associate with movies and shows. It seems to fear its own demise at the hands of God's Holy One.

          To make a long story short (and it is probably too late for that), Jesus tosses out the evil spirit in front of the whole congregation. And our verses at the lead of this post are the result.

          Now, the people follow the rules of Sabbath. Jesus and his disciples travel ‘a sabbath’s journey’, as far as Simon’s house. The rest of the city waits until sunset, as days are measured sunset to sunset, and then they move-when the day of rest is over.

          For us, it might be like gathering the collected persons on our prayer list, those whose names we lift in our time of concerns, those among our family and friends who are in hospital, rehab, nursing home, homebound, ill and infirmed, and carry them all to the door of the house where Jesus is staying, but this time physically instead of (I hope) prayerfully.

          We carry them in and they walk away, dancing and singing and praising God. When was the last time we prayed to our Lord Jesus in the sure and certain knowledge that this is what power he holds?

Peter Hofstra

Galilee, Jesus’ Home Base

          The Bible records that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  This is a town that is about an hour south of Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people.  Jerusalem itself is about halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River valley.  If you ever want to find it on a map, find the Jordan, follow it to where it intersects with the Dead Sea, that go west.  Jerusalem is perpendicular to the line of the Jordan.

          Why is this important?  History is said to be shaped by the geography in which it takes place.  And this includes the formation of the gospels.  We need to understand that around Jerusalem was the ‘heartland’ of the Jewish people.  It sits upon the remnants of what was the inheritance of Judah among the Twelve tribes.  It is ruled on behalf of the Romans by a ‘client king’, known to us as Herod from the gospels.

          It was in this territory where Jesus was welcomed by John the Baptizer.  John was baptizing at the Jordan River, welcoming people from the Judean countryside and from Jerusalem itself.  This same territory.  This is where Jesus is baptized by water and the Spirit, the water from John and the Spirit from God.

          From here, Jesus is sent by the Spirit into the desert.  He probably went south, toward the Negev.  As one travels further south through the land that makes up the modern nation of Israel, the more desert-like are the conditions.  Now, in Mark, this time is summed up very quickly. “…he was in the desert forty days being tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”

          From here, we have no clear sense of where Jesus was until John the Baptizer was arrested.  In that moment, Jesus went north.  To travel in the Promised Land at the time of Jesus, in the southern regions was desert.  This desert extended west to Egypt across the Negev and east across the nation of Jordan into Saudi Arabia.  Coming up from the Negev is the Judean countryside, an area that is ‘feast or famine’.  When the rain is sufficient, it is a bounty.  When not, it is an extension of the desert.  It rises into the hill country, with Jerusalem at the head of those hills.

          Keep going north, one enters the hill country of Samaria.  It was said that armies seeking each other in this territory could literally march past each other around opposite sides of one of the hills.  This area was politically and culturally separated from the area of Jerusalem.  The Samaritans and the Jews were at odds with one another, sharing the same religion, but convinced the other was ‘doing it wrong’. 

          When it led to strife, it is compared to the Civil War in the US, where there was such hatred between north and south, between children of the same nation.

          The gospel records Jesus making specific excursions into Samaria, but when John was arrested, when the politics around Jerusalem got a little warm for those connected to John, Jesus went even further north.  There is no clear highway through Samaria, but rather alongside.  One could go up the coast or up the Jordan Valley.  The Valley seems to be the preferred route.  That took one to the Sea of Galilee, the northern terminus of the Jordan, and into the Jezreel Valley, far enough north with that much more rain that it was swamp laden.

          This is where Jesus grew up, in a little town called Nazareth.  He knew the space, spoke with that accent.  Mark records that Jesus recruited his first disciples from among the fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, preached and did miracles at the synagogue in Capernaum-on the shore of that Sea.  This area was connected to Judea as a place of ‘proper’ Jews according to the leadership in Jerusalem.  It was also under a different political authority, although the people would still travel to Jerusalem for the festivals as that was the center of Jewish worship at the time.

          For Jesus, it was his home.  It never carried the threats to his health and safety that Jerusalem did.  He was out of reach of the political and religious authorities.  So after John’s arrest, it was a natural place for him to go until he was ready for his own challenge to Jerusalem. 

          It is where Jesus will develop his ministry and his base of followers.

So What Exactly Is The Bible?

           Sixty six books, of a wide variety of literature types, including some that are unique to this book.  The fancy word is “Canon”, the accepted ‘God-inspired’ list of the biblical books.  This is so important, it is shared in the second paragraph of the first section of the Westminster Confession of Faith, perhaps the most central document to the Presbyterian Church’s historic confessions. (http://files1.wts.edu/uploads/pdf/about/WCF_30.pdf) But what are they?

          First, two ‘testaments’ worth, the Old and the New, essentially pre- and post-Jesus.  There are 39 in the old and 27 in the New.  But on the whole, the Old Testament books are quite a bit longer than their New Testament counterparts so it is around three quarters the length of the gathered document.  Then they break out as follows:

“The Torah”: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  Attributed to Moses, this is the Law of Moses.  It takes us from creation to the edge of the people entering into the Promised Land.  It is history, law, covenant, sacred architecture, census, narrative, anecdote, and so much more.  The Ten Commandments show up twice.  These books serve as the legal and historic foundation for the people of Israel.

“The Histories”: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.  It takes us from Jericho-at the invasion of the Promised Land, to the Restoration after the Babylonian Exile.  It is not a continuous history, but there is overlap.  There are also some ‘one off’ stories (Ruth & Esther), and a compilation of such stories (Judges). 

“The Poetry”: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.  This is a more diverse list.  Job is ALL about suffering.  The Psalms serve as the hymn book of the Old Testament.  Proverbs are just those.  Ecclesiastes is a hard reflection on life. The Song of Solomon is erotic poetry.  Yup. It is.

“The Prophets”, Major and Minor.  The Majors are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (a second piece attributed to Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel.  They are major because they are longer.

The Minors provide a great pool of names to get your child picked on in school, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obabiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi.

The books of the Prophets contain their words as commanded by God, sometimes with historic context and even some narrative to set the stage, but often without.

          This brings us then to the New Testament, again, 27 books.

“The Gospels”: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, four books covering essentially the same time period and the same person.  Each has a different point of view, there are commonalities and differences in the narrative, but in the end, they come to the same place, Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. 

“The History”: The Acts of the Apostles is the only dedicated book relating history in the New Testament.  It is not a stand-alone, but is part two to the gospel of Luke (we know this because both are addressed to Theophilus).  It takes us from Jesus’ Ascension to Paul’s being transited to Rome in an appeal to the emperor (I invite you to read it to find out why an apostle has the power to appeal to the emperor).  It seems to be a gathering of tales about various apostles and their work at the establishment of the church.

“The Pauline Epistles”: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.  They are called “Pauline” because they are written by Paul, according to the testimony of the text (but scholars like to argue about this stuff).  The first batch are written to churches that Paul has or is going to while the last four are to those so named in the title.  It is personal correspondence of which we only have one half, Paul’s.

“The Anonymous Epistle”: Hebrews. In the line of Paul’s correspondence, this one is written to the Jewish people, providing powerful and explicit connections between Jesus and what came before, what comes in the Old Testament.  We do not have an author listed but some suspect Paul and others suspect just about everyone else you can think of. 

“The General Epistles”: Or, the epistles of everyone else, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 & 2 & 3 John, and Jude.  Unlike the more specifically targeted correspondence that comes before, these seem to be regionally addressed, thus attributed to the authors instead of the destinations.

“The Apocalypse”: or the Book of Revelations, the book of the End Times.  Written by John (traditionally the one of the Gospel and the trio of Epistles), it is filled with imagery and a ‘history’ of the end of time.  The most important thing to remember is that the Good Guys win. 

          So this is the Canon of the Protestant Church, the ‘top’ 66.  There are a few more books in the Roman Catholic Bible, which we (the Protestants) collectively refer to as the Apocrypha.  That is not my tradition and I do not have much familiarity with them.  What I will say is what the Westminster Confession says, “The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture, and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings”. (Chapter 1, Section III).

          SO THEN, where does one start?  Gospels.  Start at the gospels.  That is Jesus, the Reason.  I like John as a starting point, it makes no bones about the connection of Jesus and God from verse 1.  If you do Luke, you will see it is written as a ‘comprehensive’ account for Theophilus, Part 1 to Acts as Part 2.  Mark is the shortest.  Matthew starts with a genealogy-important to set the context of the time-but something of a snooze-fest to the uninitiated.

 

If You Like Murder Stories with Unique Twists and Turns, This Is For You. Holy Week and Murder.

             This blog is about Bible things, so how about a beginning? Look to Jesus, in four gospels, as the centerpiece of the Bible. How about from the point of view of murder? Through the eyes of multiple witnesses?

          The Japanese move “Rashomon” did it, Law and Order tried a series based on this idea, Star Trek: The Next Generation used this to profound effect.  What are the points of view of varying witnesses? What did each person see and how was it different, in detail if not in the main points? How does one find the ‘truth’ in and amongst these different ways of looking?

          Such are the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Four people writing four accounts of the gospel of Jesus, the Good News of Jesus. Why four? Why not? According to how the New Testament was assembled into an ‘official’ form, one key convention was that the gospels included needed to be in wide circulation among the congregations of the time, telling this story of murder.

          There is something of a bitter irony, now that we are in Holy Week, that the Gospels are of a similar nature to the modern media use of multiple perspectives.  The centerpiece of each gospel too is a death, but strangely, we do not usually call it ‘murder’, although it fits the criteria.

          Murder is a human planned, intentional (if in the first degree) process to kill another human being.  Which is exactly what was done to Jesus.  The Leadership planned his death, dragging him up on false charges for a “conviction” and then using the threat of political unrest to manipulate the Romans into carrying out his execution.

          Unlike a ‘typical’ murder portrayed in the media, this one did not end in the arrest and conviction of the murderers, but their forgiveness. “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Jesus, on the cross). But if they were somehow tried and convicted, how do you sentence murderers when the victim is resurrected to new life?

          Another question to ask is if the victim knows they are going to die, and they share that information generally in their circle of acquaintances, knowing full well they will rise again, do they have some kind of conspiratorial involvement in this murder? (Or is it attempted murder? Or maybe failed murder? Or murder reversed?)

          A significant story arc in each gospel is how Jesus gets to that point, the point of the conspiracy that is carried out to murder him. It is about the power of authority and who wields it, a combined religious and political authority that the conspirators-who held the power-felt threatened by Jesus and his agenda. It might be shown from the gospels that Jesus, the victim, did not only have foreknowledge of his impending murder, but that he acted out in a way that premeditated his death. Normally, a murder fits into the plans of the murderer (often sick and twisted though the plans may be). In this case, the victim, Jesus, drove the story to the point where they had him killed. But again, that was not the end point. The end came in Jesus’ resurrection.

          That is why the key to understanding the bible, for me, comes in seeking out Jesus. In particular, seeking out what is happening in the conspiracy of His murder, which ends not in his death, but his restoration to new life. There are four witness accounts, four gospels, to be considered for their testimony about Jesus. Read the accounts with an eye to consider why Jesus died. And, even more significantly, why Jesus rose again.

Prophesying Palm Sunday

           I was listening to the book of Ezekiel.  Why? Some may ask that.

This is how I am carrying forward my Biblical devotions at the moment, listening to the Bible.  I am alternating between an Old Testament and a New Testament book as I listen.  One axiom I have in biblical interpretation is that Jesus is found on every page.  Not literally the person, but his presence, his history, his role as our Messiah, his fulfillment of what came before.

          Two things have emerged that reflect the beginning of Holy Week from the Old Testament.  The first is from Ezekiel itself.  Ezekiel was written during the Babylonian Exile.  Ezekiel’s visions look from that Exile at the reason for, the restoration from, and the continued fortunes of the people in their time of punishment. 

          Two things I remember from Ezekiel growing up (yes, I actually remember things from Old Testament prophets from my childhood).  One was that Ezekiel has UFO’s in it.  “Ezekiel saw the wheel…” was part of the introduction of a television show in the 70’s.  The other is the Valley of Dry Bones, for the literally visceral reaction that it brings out. 

          But there are other visions, some extremely harsh, and many that powerfully reinforce the misogynist history of Biblical interpretation.  But there are other moments where it speaks of Jerusalem-looking forward to their return there from the Exile.  And it speaks of the Prince, the leader of the people who will be going up to the temple, describing his route fairly precisely. 

          For me, listening to this prophecy, it connected the return from the Exile, the return to Jerusalem in triumph to Jesus’ own entry of triumph.  Although Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” has a far more ironic twist considering what then happens during Holy Week.

          Then, another detail, this time buried in 2 Kings, specifically 2 Kings 9.  Jehu is called to be king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), to fulfill a prophecy that the evil of Ahab and Jezebel will be purged from the land.  Elisha came to Jehu, anointed him, prophesied his kingship “then he opened the door and ran.” (verse 10).  Jehu, an officer in the army, was surrounded by his fellow officers who wanted to know what Elisha (or, in their terms, ‘this maniac’) wanted.  Then, from verses 12 and 13, “Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’” They quickly took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps…”

          The first reaction I had was that these passages are extremely obscure and not (to my knowledge) referenced in the Gospel accounts themselves.  So am I reading into the text?  Well, when I consider what I know of Israel at the time of Jesus, I know that they are feeling God’s punishment, this time under the Romans.  I know that this punishment is expressed as their disobedience to God, that obedience will bring their independence once again. 

          I also know that the Jews were an extremely literate people, focused on what we know as the Old Testament.  It is from their history that they find hope in the promises of God, as they have been fulfilled in the past, so they will be fulfilled again.  And these passages are about God’s restoration of power, the call to a new and faithful king, the call to be restored to their land and city.  Such language, not simply of hope but of hope fulfilled, would that not be the focus of a people who are looking for deliverance once again?

          There are patterns in the Bible, patterns of punishment and restoration, patterns of loss and renewed hope.  These patterns, as everything else in the Bible, find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.  I wasn’t looking for connections, wasn’t searching for answers, but just listening.  It has led to some amazing revelations.

Peter Hofstra

How Does The Bible Lay Out the Work of the Holy Spirit? A Scriptural Consideration

          The Holy Spirit seems to be the most nebulous of the Three Persons of the Trinity.  It struck me as fascinating how Luke unfolds an understanding of the Spirit in his gospel.  There is a sequence in Luke chapters 3 and 4 where the Holy Spirit is considered in four distinct ways.  I believe those are distinctions that are worth exploring.  I invite you along with me, to agree or disagree with what I am seeing in the text.

          The first mention of the Spirit is in 3:21-22.  It is the baptism of Jesus.  “…Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

          This is the moment when the Spirit comes upon him.  It might be referred to as a ceremonial or a liturgical moment, because it is accompanied by the voice of God, acknowledging God’s beloved Son and giving God’s evaluation of Him.  “With you I am well pleased.”  I call it a ceremonial moment because this action marks the beginning of Jesus’ active ministry in the gospel.

          The second (a dual reference) is in 4: 1-2.  First, we recognize that the Spirit has filled Jesus, from its descent upon Him at His baptism.  But now, there is direct action in the Spirit.  “Jesus…was led by the Spirit into the wilderness…”  he was led into his confrontation with the devil, into the First Temptations of Christ.  It is not simply a ceremonial presence, but a directive presence. 

          We can argue about free will or not, but that is beside the point.  The point is that the Spirit is active with its filling our Lord Jesus with its presence.

          The third reference is in 4:14.  Jesus has completed his time of temptation and news of him spreads through Galilee on his return to the region where he grew up.  But this time, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news…” went out from there.  This time, Jesus' actions are not tied to the direct action of the Spirit.  It is a fine point, but I believe a significant one.  Before, the Spirit led Jesus.  Now Jesus returned (from the wilderness) in the power of the Spirit.  To me, the language reads of the Spirit being an enabling presence.  The focus is not Spirit, but power of the Spirit, as Jesus 'wields' that power. 

          So Jesus has received the Spirit, been filled with the Spirit, led into the wilderness by the Spirit, and now returns filled with the power of the Spirit.  It is as if in the temptations of the devil, Jesus came into His own to use the Spirit as sent by God.

          The final mention of the Spirit is in 4:18.  In his return to Galilee, Jesus has returned to Nazareth, the town where He grew up, and He is sharing from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news…”  In this moment, there is fulfillment in the Spirit.  The Spirit was prophesied to come down and come down with a purpose.  It is “to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

          To me, this connects what all the Spirit has already done, coming onto Jesus, filling Him, directing Him, empowering Him.  It is not a new thing, but a promised one.  Then he did a one-line sermon, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

          As near as I can tell, direct mention of the Spirit in connection to Jesus’ ministry disappears in this moment.  The ministry goes forward, its context in the Spirit has been established, and the proclamation of the year of the Lord’s favor goes on.  (metaphoric year, we figure Jesus ministered for about three years).

          While this is interesting for understanding the unfolding of Jesus’ ministry, it also seems to set the pattern for how the Spirit works in our own lives.  But more on that in this Sunday’s sermon.

Peter Hofstra