Thoughts going in, Sunday July 29th

Eph 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

            We continue this week with the sermon series "God's blueprint for the Church." So far we've seen God's marvelous overall PLAN (week 1) and that it entails an EXTREME MAKEOVER (week 2). In chapter 3 of Ephesians vss 1-13 Paul continues to unpack what he calls the "mystery" that has been revealed now in these latter times--the mystery that God had no intention of leaving the Gentiles out of the picture forever. This is a major recurring theme in most of Paul's writings. This makes sense given that Paul felt a primary calling to be the "Apostle to the Gentiles."

            After further summarizing the revelation of the mystery--that God would have ONE covenant people, comprised of both Jews and Gentiles based on faith in the Messiah Jesus--Paul finishes out chapter 3 with the verses chosen as this Sunday's reading... what amounts to a beautiful prayer.

            The metaphor of building/blueprint is taking shape. Paul uses such terminology himself. Already in chapter 2 he said:

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

            So... the structure may not have WALLS (we saw that last week), but it does have a foundation, a chief cornerstone,... and in this prayer of St. Paul we can even discern what I would call "pillars of support." This brings me to a note before proceeding further. Ephesians can be very easily divided into two main parts: DOCTRINE (chapters 1-3) and RESPONSE, or 'ethics' (chapters 4-6). In other words, Paul spends the first half instructing his audience about what they should believe and why, and the last half remarking about the difference it should make in their lives. As he does this, Paul is providing more and more detail regarding what God's blueprint for the Church should look like.

            Hence, regarding the 'pillars' of this structure that God is building... these pillars that individual believers, you and I, are to be, two things jump out at me specifically:  (1) we are to be STRONG pillars, " strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (vs 16)." And, (2) we are to be STEADY, 'grounded' pillars, "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love (vs 17)."  Strength that comes not from worldly concepts of power but rather from the Holy Spirit.... and groundedness that comes from.... of all things... love. This sounds very counter-cultural! This sounds like it could only come from the heavenly Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

cheers,

TM

Soreg, Middle wall of Partition, Herod’s Temple, Jerusalem, ISRAEL

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September 27, 2011

Istanbul Archeological museum:  Greek:  “No intruder is allowed in the courtyard and within the wall surrounding the temple. Whoever enters will invite death for himself!”

This was a warning stone placed in the partition wall of the Herodian temple at Jerusalem. The wall was designed to partition access to the area for worship preserved for the Israelites, and separated access from the gentile. This was a literal interpretation of the intent of Num 1:51: “and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death“. The wall or “soreg” was described as being 3 cubits high by Josephus (1) Along the top of this wall at regular intervals were placed stones, an example seen in the photograph above. Interspaced was lattice-work or “a reticulated fence of sticks” ten hand-breadths high (7) which was perforated by 12 gates.  The photographed stone was discovered by Clermont and Ganneau in 1871 at the northwestern corner of the graveyard abutting the temple mount wall.  The court styled ”hieron” or sacred is referred to in John 2:15 and Acts 21:28,29 and was the issue of the dispute with Paul that he had brought gentiles into the very sacred area of the temple itself. The reason for the dispute being his presence in the city previously with Trophemus. There was a progression in height of the court floors, with an elevation of 8 feet to the court of the women, then again another further 10 feet to the court of Israel, then another 3 feet to the court of the priests and then another 8 feet to the floor level of the holy place. (2) The wording on the stones was engraved some in greek, and others in latin (3) The intention of the partition was captured in a speech recorded by Josephus by Titus, that by “our” (roman) permission the wall was allowed to be constructed before the sanctuary. Have we not given you leave to kill such as go beyond it, though he were a roman? (3b).

Rabbinic traditions have Alexander the great coming to Jerusalem, and not crossing this wall of partition: “This far are we allowed to enter, but interior to this point we have no permission to penetrate” (4) Later in Hasmonean times, there was greek desecration of the fence in 13 places. These breeches were restored, but marked as to allow remembrance of the victory that deity had provided over the greek power. (8)

This middle wall of partition became a feature used by the apostle Paul in Eph 2:14 where he describes access through Christ to be not determined on national merit, but access through the merit of faith see also Rom 5:2. A willing gentile could not access temple worship even if wished to, and the character of his access to God relied not on ritual worship but through a system of acceptance outside the mosaic traditions.

This provision was written into the prophets when the Elohim of Israel would say that He would create peace for him that was near, and tho him that was far off Isa 57:19 and that the nations will bring an offering come into his courts Ps 96:7,8 and all flesh shall worship Isa 66:23 The testimony of Isaiah became the words of Christ in his cleaning of the temple: His house will be a house of prayer for all nations Isa 56:3-7; Luke 19:46 but the Jews had robbed Yahweh of service.

The spiritual obligation of permission of entrance was an important one, carefully guarded by the sons of Korah who learnt the lesson of thoughtless approach, and speaks loudly to us the importance of thinking before engaging in worship. The Soreg inscription is also a rich example of the confidence we can have in the reality of the structures spoken of in our scriptures.

1. Josephus antiq: 15.11.3ff
2. Eastons Illustrated dictionary pg660
3. Josephus wars 5.5.2 (3b) 6.2.4
4. Gen Rab 61:7
5. GASmith: Jerusalem the topography, economics, the history from earliest times to AD70 1. pg 511
6. Sharon E. J. Gerstel: Thresholds of the sacred pg 15
7. Mishnah Middot 74;   Kelim i. 8
8. Tractate Middot 2.3

Thoughts going in, Sunday July 22nd

Eph 2:11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)-- 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

            This week we continue the sermon series "God's Blueprint for the Church," using St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians as our text.

            Our passage this week uses very strong "building/construction" imagery. It begins by discussing the specific building material...herein stating that at one time... simply BEING GENTILE... aka not being Jewish meant that one was not suitable building material. This is a very heavy "before & after" statement made by Paul. Once you were nothing, now you are something. So what changed? More specifically what change caused this change in their status? Vs 13 answers that question: But **NOW** in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (14) For he himself is our peace...

            Very often (if one reads them) we come upon the term the "Christ event" used by theologians. What they're trying to get at is the truth presented here by St. Paul, namely, that the birth/death/resurrection of Jesus Christ--the Christ event--is the epicenter of ALL of human history. Human history culminated THERE. Up until that time God was preparing for it; and since that time the Gospel has been spreading out into all lands.

            As is so often the case, the Bible presents a truth without going into great detail as to the mechanics of that truth. So for instance, a brief glance at human history is enough to instruct us as to the 'enmity' that existed between Jew and Gentile. The Jewish Scriptures not only encourage this separation/division.... they DEMAND it! And the entire oral tradition that grew up around these Scriptures supported the idea of separation/division.

            Nowhere was this separation/division more keenly evident than at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. There is more than a little irony here. On the one hand the Jews had a long tradition of seeing themselves as a "Light" sent to "illumine the Gentiles." They were supposed to be a beacon in a world of darkness, urging the Gentiles to forsake their false gods (and/or even the false belief in "no god") and embrace the one true God. Yet, upon coming to the Temple Mount... the focal point of God's PRESENCE on earth, a "dividing wall of partition" existed. More on this can be read online at:

http://biblicalgeographic.com/2011/09/27/soreg-middle-wall-of-partition-herods-temple-jerusalem-israel/

But suffice to say, this dividing wall meant business. The inscription upon it read:  "No intruder (aka foreigner, Gentile) is allowed in the courtyard and within the wall surrounding the Temple. Whoever enters will invite death for himself."  The above article goes on to say: "The wall was designed to partition access to the area for worship preserved for the Israelites, and separated access from the Gentiles. This was a literal interpretation of the intent of Numbers 1:51 (regarding the tabernacle... the pre-temple structure) "And when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

            **THIS**, then, is the context for our text. No little separation existed; this is no minor issue. But NOW everything has changed, St. Paul says: 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. Somehow, the death of the Jewish Messiah removed the covenantal distinction in God's eyes between Jew & Gentile. Again, Paul is short on the details of how. Yet, I suspect that it has to do with the idea of "fulfillment." Jesus said I came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it (Mt 5:17). Once fulfilled, however, ... once Messiah had come... and suffered... and died... and rose again for the sins of the world, the need for a distinct covenantal ethnicity to produce the Messiah had been fulfilled. The door of covenantal relationship could now be thrown wide open. There is also another way to look at it--and that is in terms of "guilt" for Messiah's death. Both groups are equally "represented." The Jewish leaders incited the crowd to "crucify him, crucify him," but it was a Gentile Roman governor who gave the order and Gentile soldiers who drove the nails into his flesh. Covenantal distinctions were erased at the death of God's Chosen One. And with His resurrection, covenantal distinctions remain erased.

            Did all of this take God by surprise? Not at all. It was the goal all along... with the ultimate idea being to BUILD SOMETHING NEW; a NEW HUMANITY that was neither Jewish nor Gentile, but believers in Jesus. Not only that, but this new building would be THE NEW TEMPLE. Check out the flow of Paul's logic: 15 His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple 22 to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

            In short, there's a new "Temple" in town. One without dividing walls; one without "ranks"... one without "divisions."

cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday July 15th

Eph 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment--to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

            This week we begin a Summer sermon series on St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This letter is not without some scholarly debate surrounding it. Those who have made the study of language and rhetoric their expertise have noted that the 'style' of this letter is markedly different from others written by St. Paul. This has caused some to doubt his authorship. Others point out that within the text the author mentions that he has "heard of their faith," yet we know from the book of Acts that Paul had done more than "hear" of their faith--he witnessed it first hand on several occasions. Finally, some ancient manuscripts don't even include the word "Ephesus" in the opening lines--leaving the question wide open as to the addressees of the letter.

            So what should we make of all of this? First, it is important to remember how a letter would've been composed in these days. You or I sit down to our keyboard, or if we must, to pen and paper, and we WRITE a letter. But 2,000yrs ago writing was a highly skilled trade that few people possessed. Oh, sure, the average person could sign their name, or write out a receipt in the marketplace, but that's a far cry from COMPOSING a lengthy document. So, WHOEVER "wrote" this letter must be thought of as a scribe following DICTATION. This brings to mind another matter. What if the person dictating the letter spoke in one language, say, his mother tongue, while the scribe translated on the fly into the common Greek of the day? This, too, is not unheard of. Finally, there may even have been more than one scribe receiving the dictation. Some think that the absence of an 'addressee' in some ancient manuscripts means that this letter was originally sent not to the CHURCH at Ephesus, but rather, the CHURCHES of Ephesus and the surrounding environs.

            Back to the authorship question... when one factors in scribal presence and the likelihood that different scribes may have been used at different times, combined with the likelihood that this letter was meant for more people than the core group Paul had met personally during his missionary journeys in the book of Acts, the "problem" of authorship sorts itself out and there's really nothing preventing us from accepting Paul as the letter's author.

            The "group" he's addressing is a mixed group consisting of both Jewish and Gentile believers. He will have much to say on this throughout the letter, and his own Jewish background is woven in throughout. This is nowhere more evident than the opening of this Sunday's text: Praise be to God... This long prayer/doxology/hymn has a distinctive "synagogue" ring to it, yet it would be "synagogue-rebooted" from the standpoint that the doxology is TRINITARIAN. Paul's "b'rakha" (a Jewish/synagogue ceremonial benediction) includes praise to God as Father who has chosen us; praise to God as Son who has redeemed us; and praise to God as Spirit who has marked/sealed us for eternity. Those who are familiar with Luther's explanation of the Creed in the Small Catechism may think this all sounds a little bit familiar.

            There are a lot of things we could focus in on this week, but given that this is part one of a whole series, perhaps the best thing to do is look at the big picture. The "A-Team's" Hannibal was fond of saying "I love it when a plan comes together." Evidently, so does St. Paul. As we prepare to spend some weeks together in Ephesians, we're going to be struck by God's magnificent plan, His "Blueprint for the Church."

cheers,

TM

Getting ready for Ephesians

Background info...Paul in Ephesus:

The book of Acts contains the travels of St. Paul and hence the "background info" behind his epistle to the Ephesians. Paul stopped at Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, left Priscilla and Aquila there, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-21). Apollos preached in Ephesus soon thereafter and met Priscilla and Aquila who “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26).

Acts 18:18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. 24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

 Paul, on his third journey, spent more than two years in Ephesus teaching and preaching in the synagogue and in the hall of Tyrannus. The success of his preaching at Ephesus triggered a riot headed by the silversmiths who feared that their business of selling miniature replicas of Artemis (Diana) or her temple would suffer severely (Acts 19:24-41). After the town clerk quelled the disturbance, Paul left Ephesus for Macedonia.

Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. 21

The Riot in Ephesus

23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the skilled workers there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: "You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed together into the theater. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. 32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "People of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his associates have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it." 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

At the conclusion of this missionary endeavor, on his way back to Palestine, Paul stopped at Miletus and sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus so that he might speak with them (Acts 20:17).

Paul's Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Acts 20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of the Jews. 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. 22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. 25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of everyone. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number some will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " 36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.