Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings on this cold wet morning.

Becki and I managed a walk/jog earlier, in the rain, without umbrellas. We definitely got wet, but not cold with all the exercise going on. I guess there are some nasty conditions in parts of our area—ice and snow—with blizzard warnings in the Columbia Gorge.

Have you ever had butternut squash for breakfast? We did this morning. Good. We tend to be menu rebels. Who is it that prescribes what foods to eat when anyway? And why?

Lots to do out there. I have the mill home right now. I spent some time on repairs yesterday—and changed out the battery. I think I’ll knock out a couple small jobs with it today.

Blessings on your day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Is there any such thing as an absolutely unbiased opinion? I think not. So if all opinions are biased, can we agree that the safest bias is the TRUTH? So what is the TRUTH about Jesus? Is He speaking TRUTH, or is He delusional? To be sure, it can’t be both ways. Jesus puts us all in a corner. We can’t really escape without deciding which biased opinion is the TRUTH, and which we will choose to embrace.

One of the benefits of examining the mindset of Jesus’ enemies is that they expose so clearly the deceitfulness of the NATURAL SIN NATURE—which serves as a warning against that kind of rotten stuff that may still be lurking around in our own imperfect hearts and minds. Notice their first challenge in this particular episode—“How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly” (v. 24). It’s crystal clear that they already held a firmly biased opinion—believing that there was absolutely no way Jesus could be the Christ. They only wanted to hear Him say it so that they could have better justification to kill Him on the spot. They were actually Jewish terrorists in a “jihad” against Jesus—“If you don’t conform to our biased opinion, we will kill you!” Nice people.

These guys were perceptive enough to know what Jesus was implying—that He was indirectly claiming to be the Christ. But then He crosses a line in their biased opinion and went way beyond the question they raised concerning His Messiahship—“I and the Father are one” (v. 30). They got it! He was claiming to be God! That’s when their blood hit a point of spontaneous combustion—and they started grabbing rocks again.

Verse 39 leaves me with a curious wonder—“Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.” My wonder is HOW? Did He run through the crowd like a star punt returner?—maybe punching a few of the leaders out on the way? Did He suddenly go invisible? Did He simply and supernaturally put their brains into temporary freeze mode? Whatever the case may have been, my biased opinion views that escape as miraculous in itself. It just wasn’t quite the right time for His surrender to sacrifice. But that vital crisis was in the making.

A couple questions: Is there any way that Jesus could have pleasantly and without any violence fulfilled His role and function as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”? (John 1:29). Is it possible to enjoy being sacrificed? Ah—but there was joy on the other end as evidenced by this quote: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3). Good advice.

One more question: Do you see any signs of people picking up stones today?