Tag Archives: Jesus

Bible, Jesus

The wise men from the East

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January 6th is Epiphany. The day is also known as Theophany. This day is the second oldest Christian holiday after Easter. Before the calendar reform, it marked the beginning of the year.

Today, the revelation of Jesus’ divinity is celebrated on this day. Depending on the region and church, this day commemorates the birth of Jesus with the worship of the Jewish shepherds, the adoration of the wise men, the baptism of Jesus or the first miracle at the wedding in Cana.

We remember the story from Matthew 2:1-12.

There it is not written that the men were kings. The number is also unclear.

It is striking that only the astrologers knew about this star, but not the people in Jerusalem. Therefore, it cannot have been a comet.

If Jesus was born in 7 BC according to the meeting of the planet Jupiter and Saturn, Herod had the opportunity to meet the wise men and try to kill the child before his death in 4 BC.

The three gifts ensure the family’s survival as they flee to the Jewish diaspora in Egypt.

God knows what we need and when. Help came out of nowhere at just the right time.

God’s timetable is not always comprehensible to us. He does not protect us from difficulties, but he helps us through them. God’s timing and his help are what make up the Christian faith.

Bible

The shepherds

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Why does the angel announce the good news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds first?

In Luke 1:32, the angel says to Mary: ‘The Lord God will give him (Jesus) the throne of his father David’.

David was a shepherd in Bethlehem around 1000 B.C. In his insignificant task, his trust in God grew. David described the good shepherd in Psalm 23. Jesus said in John 10:11: ‘I am the good shepherd.’

The shepherds of Bethlehem mainly reared sheep for the sacrificial service in Jerusalem. They therefore had to make sure that the sheep were spotless. Now the experts come and discover the true Lamb of God.

The shepherds are the first witnesses that God’s word can be relied upon. It is worth listening to God, even if some things seem illogical at first glance. By addressing the shepherds, God shows that his salvation is for all people.

Sometimes we think that God should speak through people who are better suited for this. But God loves the testimony of ordinary people.  The many small miracles are often more appealing than lofty theological thoughts.

Bible, Jesus

Love of enemies – God’s trademark

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Jesus describes love for those who are hostile towards me as the hallmark of the heavenly Father (Matthew 5:43-48). We should allow ourselves to be motivated by this love of God.

Someone is an enemy to me, not because I have something against them, but because they are against me for some reason.

Treat all people equally and give even those who are hostile to you a chance to repent.

The heavenly Father, who lets the sun shine on all people and also gives everyone the rain, is a role model.

God wants to reconcile all people with Himself. That is why no hatred should emanate from people who live with God. We wish all people peace with God. And that is why we treat all people equally.

Loving our enemies means treating them with respect and not closing the door to reconciliation. David exemplified this very impressively in his relationship with Saul.

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It’s worth investing in gratitude

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‘We harvested a 38 kg pumpkin. Do you have any idea how we could share the 30 kg we don’t need with others?’ someone asked us by email. We had already distributed 20 kg of grapes from a single vine. Autumn is the time for harvesting and giving thanks. We can enjoy and share what has been produced in the months before.

In giving thanks, we open our eyes to the wonders of everyday life. In giving thanks, we share the fascination of life with each other.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in July 1940 in reference to Psalm 50:23: ‘God shows the way to the thankful’. He had previously said: ‘Ingratitude begins with forgetfulness, forgetfulness leads to indifference, indifference leads to discontent, discontent leads to despair, despair leads to curse’. ‘Ingratitude stifles faith, blocks access to God’ (Gesammelte Schriften, Vol. III).

Zwingli from Toggenburg translated Psalm 50:23 as follows: ‘He who offers thanks honours me and chooses the way in which I let him see God’s help.’

Giving thanks is not always easy for us. But when we get involved, we discover more and more fascinating things. Giving thanks frees us to rediscover God’s help and presence.

In the parable of the merciful father in Luke 15, Jesus has painted a new picture for us of how God waits for us to come to him like the younger son. He encourages the ungrateful older son to become like him.

The more we consciously practise gratitude, the more we will realise it. What we nurture grows and we reap what we sow.

Professor Robert A. Emmons has been researching the topic of gratitude for 20 years. He summarises: People who regularly cultivate gratitude experience a range of measurable and lasting benefits of a psychological, physical, interpersonal and spiritual nature: health, a sense of wholeness and well-being and greater satisfaction in relationships. This confirms that it is worth investing in gratitude.

Hanspeter Obrist, Sunday Thought, Toggenburger Tagblatt, 5 October 2024

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Jesus grants healing

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Peter is allowed to say to Aeneas: ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.’ It says nothing about Aeneas asking him to do this. It is also not Peter who heals and not Peter who asks Jesus, but Jesus who grants healing through Peter. So it is not Peter who takes centre stage, but Jesus who heals. Jesus gives the impulse. That is why it is important to know from God what has to happen.

People are turning to Jesus – not just in Lydda, but in the entire Sharon Plain. This is the coastal strip north of the river Jarkon (Tel Aviv) as far as Haifa. The man with the Roman name must therefore have been very well known. In Roman mythology, Aeneas (Aineias) is the progenitor of the Romans. The Jewish family must have been very cosmopolitan.

How long must Aeneas have prayed before God answered his prayer? It is clear that he was paralysed for eight years and that his healing served the glory of God and Jesus.

more from Acts: https://jesus-news-israel.net/tag/acts/

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Temptation

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After a 40-day period of fasting, the devil challenges Jesus to make bread for himself out of stones (Matthew 4:1-11). It is the temptation to help himself. Jesus refuses.

The devil then tries to persuade him to force God to act by throwing himself off the roof of the temple. Jesus also rejects this with the words: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to test’.

Last but not least, the devil wants to offer Jesus a shortcut and spare him all suffering. ‘I will give you all these things’. But Jesus orders the devil to go away (verse 10). Then the angels serve Jesus.

We are also challenged in these three things: to wait for God’s time, not to put God under pressure, but to endure unchanging situations and not to take shortcuts. We have a God who carries us through. God brings his angels into play at his own time.

The important thing is how Jesus reacts. He says again and again: ‘It is written.’ The confuser even quotes the Bible. But Jesus points out that a passage must not be removed from the overall context of the Bible.

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Lead us not into temptation

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Jesus teaches us to pray: ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’?

The original temptation to mistrust God and to impute negative motives to him comes from the tempter. ‘Did God really say …’.

The real break between man and God lies in the fact that man questions whether God means well with his instructions.

You often have to look behind a story in order not to impute negative motives to God.

God wants to save us from our self-imposed downfall and prevent abuse.

‘Lead us not into temptation’. This means: ‘God help us to trust you in all situations’.

With the prayer ‘Lead us not into temptation’, we acknowledge our weakness (need for help) and distance ourselves from false self-confidence. We are aware that we need the Holy Spirit because he helps us to trust in God.

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Whoever wants receive

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John is not to seal up the revelation of Jesus (Revelation 22:10), but she is to be read, heard, kept and hold on. The Bible reveals to us what God is like and what is on his heart.

The second beatitude in Revelation 22 follows in verse 14: Blessed are those who “wash their robes”. These are the people who turn to God, claim his forgiveness and allow themselves to be changed by the Holy Spirit. They are allowed to enter through the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Those who do not want God’s truth and “love lies”, as it says in verse 15, remain outside. They do not want to come into God’s light. It is logical: anyone who avoids God their whole life will also have no desire to be close to him later on.

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come! If anyone is willing, let him receive the water of life free of charge!” Revelation 22:17.

Bible, Jesus

Trinity Sunday

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The Trinity is the logical consequence of divine revelation in the Bible.

God reveals himself in three personalities. He is Father because a Son was born.

The Son carries the DNA of the Father and is not an inferior being because of his sonship, but voluntarily subordinates himself to the Father because of his sonship.

God is present because he is spirit and can be and act everywhere at the same time. God is not human and is therefore beyond our imagination.

No one does anything that the other would not do.

We cannot grasp this unity with our minds. When the Holy Spirit comes, Jesus promises: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). “And we will come to him and make our home with him” (Johnn 14:23). This unity is ultimately a divine mystery. For God cannot be grasped by our thinking. Otherwise we would be divine. Because we cannot grasp it does not mean that it is not so.

Anyone who wants to explain God with human logic cannot believe that God is one and not one (achad and not jachid). Jesus already had the problem that people did not understand. He encourages them to believe (John 14:11).

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The great theme of Jesus is the kingdom of God.

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The kingdom of God does not begin by creating a perfect world, but by bringing salvation into this world.

The kingdom of God is not about presenting something, but about admitting that we all need change.

In this kingdom, it is not the sword that rules, but the word. People are invited in a promotional way, but not forced to do anything. Continue reading The great theme of Jesus is the kingdom of God. →