The Woman at the Well

This is an amazing video about the woman at the well... It's worth checking out.

This is the passage from John 4.

Where did Lazarus go when he died?

This question came to me this week so I thought I would post my thoughts on this here.

I have a long version and a short version answer to this. 

Where did Lazarus go?

SHORT ANSWER: Abraham’s Bosom – boy did he have some stories to tell!  And then he’d have to die again!

LONG ANSWER:

The Hebrews and other ancients thought that death was a three day journey.  Sheol was your destination.  So you would make your journey and you probably did not know anything about your journey on your way there.  Nor would you know anything if you came back from the “dead” before your journey was complete.  Part of this may have come about because they would see people seemingly expire and then resuscitate.  Of course, we have a more technical understanding of this now and don’t see it quite the way they do.  This is interesting in context of Jonah, by the way.  Some folks think he may have actually died and God resurrected him in the belly of the whale.  This would further explain why Jesus compared himself to Jonah when speaking of his D.B.R., but  I digress.  Lazarus as it reads in John was in the tomb four days.  He had already completed his journey in the minds of the Hebrews which made his resurrection more interesting. 

 

So, what did he see?  Jesus gave us the story in Luke 16 of the rich man and another Lazarus (poor man).  He went to Abraham’s bosom.  This place was apparently separated from hell by a gulf and each side could see the other.  I am not sure if the geography should be taken literally on this.

 

The bigger question is really where did Jesus go? 

Okay, I am going to finally answer your question.  Some I have read on this believe that prior to Jesus’ death everyone went to Sheol: saints went to Abraham’s bosom, non-saints went to tartarus or hades which was/is a holding place for those without Christ awaiting judgment.  At the judgment then those without Jesus will be cast into gehenna – lake of fire burning with sulfur (some may not equate hades and tartarus with actual burning).  I can track down the scriptures on this later.  Basically all three of these words are used for hell and this creates a lot of discussion.  Hades and maybe tartarus correspond to the basic OT idea of living without God and being cast into a holding place.  But then Jesus comes along and talks about gehenna quite often. 

Insert here the Apostle’s creed which says Jesus descended into hell… or more correctly … Sheol. 

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm 

Matthew 12:38-41 

38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For 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. 41The 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 one greater than Jonah is here.

Did Jesus just die and do nothing or did he do something else?

See 1 Peter 4:6 (New International Version)

6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

Hmm…

If we take 1 Peter 4 with Luke 16 then perhaps the Creed is correct and Jesus went to preach the good news to Abraham and the others and bring those people out of Abraham’s bosom and take them to heaven.

Answer to the question then is that Lazarus went to be in Abraham’s bosom and then Jesus called him back.  Jesus therefore is truly the master over death and the grave.  That is the point of the passage – not where he went, what he saw, or what he did!

1 Corinthians 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

Other texts:  Job 38:17, Psalm 68:18-22; Matthew 12:38-41; Acts 2:22-32; Romans 10:7; Ephesians 4:7-10, 1 Peter 3:18-20, and 1 Peter 4:6.

See also: http://www.creeds.net/ancient/descendit.htm

Knowing God

I am re-reading J.I. Packer's classic, Knowing God.  I certainly think I know some things about God, but what Packer wants to do with this book is to help us to know God.  Most people think they know about God (or even know him).  My kids do this as well.  They will joke with one another say, "Hey look out you just sat down.  God is in that chair...you sat on him!"  They laugh and my wife and I sort of grimace at their callous joking.  We try to carefully explain that this is not how it works.  God is everywhere but he is not in the chair, per se.  That's hard for me to understand much less for kids.  Now that I am a minister, people expect you know more about God and to actually lead them to God.  I can't really do that.  In fact I don't think anyone can.  There was a man who died to bring us all to God.  Of course his name is Jesus.  I wrestle with this question of how well I know God.  How well do I really know him, his ways, and what he wants of me?

Need Discernment

I am memorizing Philippians 1:9-11 which says "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."  This captures our vision of "Commit, know, do because it is all about him" at our church.  But I also think I need the discernment for ministry to young adults.  Statistically they are supposed to be here but where are they?  I need help from God to do this ministry.  But gratefully it is God will complete it, and not me....

Busy Summer

It has really been a busy summer, but I have had some good experiences recently.  I attended a singles Connect Conference in Charlottet which I found helpful.  It helped to give me a greater passion for our emerging generation and how to reach it for Christ.  A link to the "Threads Conferences" can be found at: http://www.threadsmedia.com/index.php?/events/connect

Psalm 62

Psalm 62 is one of my most favorite Psalms. Take a minute and read it if you like. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2062&version=31

My refuge is in God alone. I must admit I don't always do this. Taking my heart and soul to God and looking to him for everything I need is more than I can muster. That's why David said that his honor and his salvation depend upon God alone.

The psalms are such a great collection of writings by people who want something to happen but cannot make it happen on their own. Or they want deliverance from something that is beyond their control. Their satisfaction and hope come from God so that whether the situation changes or not, God is there to deliver them.

Who Knows?

Years ago in rural Alabama, a regular tradition in my family was to visit my grandparents. I am not that old but I can remember as a child that country-folk would take Sunday afternoon and visit other people in the community. Whether folks went to church or not people would show up at my grandparent’s house and “shoot the breeze” (that is, they would talk). My grandfather would ask someone who came, “what do you know?” “Aw, nothing good” they would respond. But then they would proceed to talk on for hours. Those long, hazy, lazy days of summer – dog days – as we call them – were passed talking about stuff and discussing the local gossip. Frequently you would hear someone ask, “Who knows about …” and then they would proceed to ask their question.

These were the days before the internet and instant information; before Google search engines and minute by minute updates of football scores. Information passed slowly and deliberately by word of mouth and people depended upon individuals who were in the know to tell the news of what was happening in the next county.

No wonder that in many of these sorts of cultures people give themselves over to superstition and cult logic. When information is scarce, then we tend to rely on rabbit’s foots and voodoo dolls to make sure that we cover our tracks against anything that might happen. Who knows, it might work.

But then at times things would happen to shake these individuals out of their superstitions. A major natural disaster such as a tornado or flood would jolt them out of their normal sensibilities and then strangely the church would fill up and people would return to something more firm than their rabbit’s foot or witchin’ wands.

Ancient peoples did the same things, but when a prophet named Jonah showed up on the scene declaring that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days, the people stood up and took notice. The King heard it and declared a fast for everyone – even the animals. He said in Jonah 3:9 "Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

In the OT, there is this sense of “who knows.” Who knows if perhaps God will relent and leave a blessing? The King of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s preaching and asked the same question, “Who knows?”

Unfortunately in our information-crazed era our sense of superstition has not vanished with our knowledge. After 9-11 we filed into the churches looking for some sort of answer to the question “Who knows why this happened?” This is not even a prediction but it will not be surprising to me if our country embraces Islam after these attacks because we will instinctively think that if we go to that religion then it will keep “bad things” from happening to us. Who knows, it might happen.

But in reality, we do not need to worry nor do we need to think “who knows” when contemplating whether or not God will destroy us. God has already delivered his ultimate punishment. Yes, in case you missed it, he has already inflicted his wrath and he did this to his own son, Jesus. His anger and his penalty was taken out on him. There is no longer any reason to question and worry as the King of Nineveh did. Jesus answered the question of “who knows?”