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Bible

Epiphany – Feast of the Appearance

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every 6 January

Epiphany means the appearance of the Ruler.

Western churches remember the wise men from the East. They honour the newborn Jesus as a king.

The Eastern Churches commemorate the baptism of Jesus with the revelation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the moment when Jesus reveals himself to the world as the Saviour (appears – Epiphany).

Epiphany means the presence of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Depending on the region and church, the birth of Jesus is commemorated with the adoration of the Jewish shepherds, the adoration of the wise men (Matthew 2), his baptism and his first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-11).

Epiphany and the birth of Christ were originally celebrated on 6 January. The 6th of January was considered the beginning of the year, marking the end of the depths of winter.

The presence of God in our lives is a central element of faith. Paul writes in Colossians 1:27: “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) wrote in a hymn: “How shall I receive you and how shall I meet you?” God’s coming is not a story of the past or an expectation of the distant future. It is a present experience that makes life possible in spite of all inner and outer difficulties.

Bible, Israel

Jewish conceptions about the Messiah

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According to Judaism, the return of the people will be followed by deliverance from foreign rule. The exiles will return, harmony and peace will spread.

According to some prophets, there will be material abundance, the land will become fertile, the sick and disabled will recover and human life will be prolonged.

The aim is to bring people back to the lost paradise described in Isaiah 11:6-9, where the wolf, lamb, lion and other animals live peacefully with humans.

According to rabbinic understanding, the Messiah is not seen as the saviour of individual souls. In order for the Messiah’s kingdom of peace to come, people must strive for active retribution and return to religiosity.

Jesus, on the other hand, spoke of a change of heart and criticised the magical understanding of external rites. “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the heart through the mouth; this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11, 18).

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Bible

Motto for the year 2024

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“Let all that you do be done in love“ (1 Corinthians 16:14).

In the original Greek, the word for “love” is “agape”. It does not mean love in the sense of human affection, but divine love.

Agape is a selfless gift given without expecting anything in return. It is a selfless love that sacrifices itself for others. Why does God do this? Because we humans cannot establish a relationship with God on our own. That is why God meets us in Jesus.

Agape is a relational concept. God comes to us of his own free will and enables us to have a relationship with him. When we accept this, agape comes into our hearts. This love becomes our lifestyle.

Paul writes in Romans 5:5: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts.”

“Love means to live and act in such a way that others can grow, flourish and develop together with me” (Pastor Marcus Tesch).

We are only capable of unconditional love because we have agape in our hearts. Continue reading Motto for the year 2024 →

Bible

God give us wisdom in the New Year

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Wisdom is to find a balance between wishes and reality. Aiming to high leads to frustration. If you have no goal, you stand still or go round in circles. Those who are thankful become happier. Nehemiah said: “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

The art of living is to discover the joy of the moment and stop dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

The Jesus Movement should be an oasis and a place of inspiration in the midst of rationalism. A place of vulnerability in the turmoil of the struggle for survival. Hope in the midst of chaos. Appreciation instead of judgement.

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take stock

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At the end of the year, we take stock.

Jesus once said: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

This is where we draw up a profit and loss account and compare the two. What is profit? What is loss?

There is hope. One who balances the books. One who saves damaged souls and gives new life: Jesus Christ. He says: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest“ (Matthäus 11,28). No matter what the balance of your life looks like at the moment.

Before the end of the year, it is good to take a time out, give God our loss, surrender to God and start into the new year with God’s help.

Rashi, a Jewish scholar, made it clear: “When a person is judged, he stands alone before his Creator. He has no one to whom he can transfer responsibility (for his actions) or to whom he can hold himself accountable for his mistakes.”

What matters is not where we stand, but in which direction we are moving.

Bible

The longing for a messiah

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The longing for a particularly gifted individual who will deliver us from the evils of this world and lead us to a “promised land” or “golden age” is an age-old human need.

The hope for a divine Messiah (anointed one, Christ) has its foundation in the religious history of Judaism, where there are countless different Messiah figures.

The origin of the messianic term comes from Genesis 4:3, where it refers to an anointed priest. The same word is later used for kings and prophets.

Even the king of Persia, Cyrus, is called “Messiah” by the prophet Isaiah because he had a divine mission to fulfil. Isaiah 45:1 reads: “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus.”

A Messiah is therefore an anointed person with a divine mission who, according to the Jewish view, is responsible for earthly rule.

Bible

A star from Jacob

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Advent images in the Torah / 24

Balaam prophesied in 4.Mose 24:17: “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel”.

In 132 a rebellion against Roman rule broke out under Simon Bar Kosiba. Rabbi Akiba saw in him the Messiah, the star that the prophet Balaam had seen rising over Judah. So he was named Bar Kochba – son of the star.

After initial successes, the revolt was bloodily crushed by the Romans in 135. His name was reinterpreted as Bar Koziba – son of lies. Jerusalem was turned into a military settlement called Aelia Capitolina and Jews were forbidden to enter the city.

About 140 years earlier, scholars from the East had come to Jerusalem because they had seen in the stars that an important king would be born in Israel. It is striking that only the astrologers knew about the star, not the people of Jerusalem. This suggests that it had something to do with the constellation.

In any case, they were not just waiting for a local king. They wanted to worship him. This suggests a heavenly king. Jesus told Pilate in John 18:36: “My kingdom is not of this world”.

Did the wise men know the promise of the Son of Man in Daniel 7:14? Daniel was a wise man in Babylon and he prophesied: “To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve (worship) him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed”.

In remembering the birth of Jesus, we celebrate the divine light that comes into our world. “The light shines in the darkness” (John 1:5). Jesus says in Luke 18:31: “Everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished“.

Continue reading A star from Jacob →

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A prophet greater than Moses

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In the Torah, God promises a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18,18-19). What this prophet says has a normative value. Anyone who does not keep his words will be called to account by God himself.

Moses is not yet the promised man who can defeat evil (Genesis 3,15). There are many prophets in the Jewish Bible (Tanakh / Old Testament), but none became as important a figure as Moses.

In Exodus 34,10-12, personal relationship with God, miracles and signs are listed as characteristics of Moses.

Jesus says of himself that he has a relationship with the heavenly Father like no other (John 10,30) and that he hears the voice of God (John 8,28). His close relationship with the heavenly Father enabled him to work miracles. He is the first since Moses to heal a Jewish leper (Mark 1,42). He feeds thousands with loaves and fishes (Mark 6 / 8). He calms the storm and thus, like Moses, has power over nature (Mark 4). The honour and will of God are more important to him than his own life (Matthew 26:39). He says: Whoever sees him sees the Father (John 14,9). He is a deeply humble man (Philippians 2). He met Elijah and Moses (Matthew 17,2-3).

Jesus is like Moses, even more so. He explains the context of the Scriptures to his disciples. His message is revolutionary. So Jesus, with his deep relationship with the heavenly Father and his miracles, is the prophet like Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18,18-19.

Continue reading A prophet greater than Moses →

Bible

The rock in the desert

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When there is no water in Refidim (Exodus 17:4-6), Moses is afraid that the grumbling people will stone him to death.

Moses has to take out the staff of Exodus. God uses it to remind the people why they left Egypt and how he delivered them. The same divine power can also bring water out of a rock in the desert. This seemed impossible.

Moses is to strike the rock. Later, Moses should speak to the rock (Exodus 20:8). But the second time Moses acts on his own authority. He acts on his first experience with the rock and makes the biggest mistake of his life.

God always has different solutions. We cannot simply say from our experience of faith that what worked once must work again.

Faith is not a method, but a dependence on God. A conscious listening and doing of what he says. If someone has an experience of faith, it doesn’t mean that if I do the same thing, I will have the same experience.

Verse 6 says that God stands before Moses at the rock. It is a picture of Jesus being struck and then being called (1 Corinthians 1:2). 1 Corinthians 10:4 says, “And the rock was Christ”.

Exodus 17:4-6  4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.”

Continue reading The rock in the desert →

Bible

The snake on a pole

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Nicodemus wants to know how a person can be born again or receive new life (John 3:9). Jesus explains it with the example of the serpent in the wilderness of 4.Mose 21 during the Exodus from Egypt.

All the rebellious Israelites who were bitten by snakes had to look at a snake on a pole so that the deadly poison would be ineffective (4.Mose 21:9). They had to shift their gaze from the problem to the conquered serpent.

In the same way, the Son of God will hang on the pole and eternal death will no longer have power over all those who look at him (John 3:14-15).

This is an indication that Jesus’ death on the cross indicates the end of the serpent’s power (cf. Gen 3:15). By recognising the consequences of our transgressions, the poison of rebellion against God is rendered ineffective.

Anyone who wants to live with God needs a spiritual beginning – a yes to a life with God. When we are born of the Spirit (John 3:8), we allow God to change us according to His will.

Continue reading The snake on a pole →