Don’t Be Bound by What Was and Embrace a Better Way Forward
We need to stop using the phrase “dysfunctional family.” Every family is dysfunctional. Only the degree of dysfunction varies.
Dysfunction exists on a continuum, from highly dysfunctional to marginally dysfunctional, but all families—as with all relationships—have some dysfunction.
Not an Excuse
When people say they come from a dysfunctional family, they often use it as justification for their own dysfunction and an excuse for their own less-than-ideal behaviors.
Yet embracing this label as who they are holds them captive to dysfunction and allows them to pass on their negative behaviors.
Though dysfunction may explain their issues and help them to understand the root cause of their actions, it need not—it should not—stand as an excuse.
Where they once were does not need to determine where they are now or dictate where they will be tomorrow.
The Result of Sin
Dysfunction is the result of sin. And we all sin and fall short (Romans 3:23). So, too, with our families: they sometimes fall short. As long as we have sin in the world, dysfunction will exist.
But this doesn’t mean we should accept dysfunction as inevitable—or irreversible. Whatever degree of dysfunction we experienced growing up does not need to determine our future.
With God’s help, we can change. He gives us the strength to do so (Philippians 4:13).
Worldly Influences
Since we live in a fallen world, we live in a world full of dysfunction.
When the world influences our behavior, we follow its example and embrace its dysfunction (1 John 2:15-17). We perpetuate it in our lives and pass it on to our children.
How this must delight Satan—and disappoint God.
The Biblical Approach
Instead of embracing what the world does and blindly letting it guide our conduct, we should let Scripture influence our behavior, pointing us toward God and away from evil.
We must hide God’s truth in our hearts (Psalms 119:11).
Since dysfunction is the result of sin, to live in dysfunction is to live in sin. The Bible points to a better way—God’s way.
Functional Families
The opposite of dysfunctional is functional. Therefore, the opposite of dysfunctional families must be functional families. Just as every family has a degree of dysfunctionality, every family also has a degree of functionality. Pursue functional.
A functional family attends to the needs of its children. It feeds, clothes, and nurtures. It provides a safe environment, a haven from life’s storms and the world’s negative influences.
We must escape dysfunction and embrace function. And with God’s help, we can.
All we need to do is ask him for the wisdom to do so (James 1:5).
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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Wrapping Up Our Journey of Visiting 52 Churches in a Year
We’ve just completed a stint of visiting churches in three specific geographic areas. Now our focus shifts to a fourth: the churches to the east of us. We’re on the home stretch of visiting 52 churches in a year.
We’ve already visited eight of them (Churches #9, 11, 13, 15, 20, 24, 25, and 26) with scores more remaining, but we only have seven weeks to squeeze them in. We strategically select which ones we’ll visit, skipping the rest—at least for now.
Our journey is winding down. I have mixed feelings. Visiting a different church each Sunday has been fun, enlightening, and educational.
Already, I’m lamenting that our adventure will soon end. We must skip many churches, with dozens more that, although further away than ten miles, would be illuminating to visit.
But I’m anxious to return home, to revisit the familiar and reconnect with friends. The pull of reunion is powerful.
Our journey has worn on us. Every week we must plan where to go, confirm service times, and verify their location. Each Saturday night we go to bed asking, “What time is church tomorrow?”
Our schedule for the entire day hinges on the answer. We hope we’ll remember the right time and not be late. And even though you’d think I’d find visiting churches easy by now, I’m still anxious every Sunday morning.
Takeaway for Everyone: Remember that visiting a church is hard. Do everything you can to embrace visitors.
Part Four Perspective
To wrap up our adventure, we visited some of the churches (#45–52) on the western side of the area’s largest city.
Our home church, Church #53 (Home for Holy Week), which we returned to for Easter, is also in this city, located in the downtown area, but it falls outside of our ten-mile criteria at eleven miles away—and a twenty-one-minute drive.
With many more churches on our list than the number of Sundays left, it was hard to pick which ones to include. Our decisions involved much discussion between Candy and myself, a bit of give and take, and a couple of last-minute changes.
We picked churches which would provide the most varied experiences for this phase. Church #51 (The Megachurch) is our area’s largest, with #52 (Playing it Safe) and #49 (Large and Anonymous) being close behind.
These comprised our extra-large church encounters, offering insight into the pros and cons of “big.”
On the other end of the size spectrum was one small congregation, Church #48 (Small, Simple, and Satisfying) and one medium-sized congregation, Church #47 (Significant Interactions).
The rest of the churches were large congregations. Church #46 (False Assumptions) had a huge facility—suggesting a once prosperous past—but it now has barely enough attendees to fit the large category.
The other two sizable churches were Church #45 (Another Doubleheader) and Church #50 (Saturday Mass).
We included Saturday mass for multiple reasons: another Roman Catholic encounter, a church with a campus connection, and a Saturday night service.
We doubled up that weekend and one other, when we went to a Seventh Day Adventist Church (Church #31, A Day of Contrasts) on Saturday, and an Episcopal Church (Church #32, Commitment Sunday) the next day.
Although it would have been possible to double up and visit two different churches on Sunday mornings, we opted not to do so as it taxed us to go to two Sunday services at the same church.
By going to church on two Saturdays, as well as every Sunday, we were able to complete our fifty-two-church journey in fifty weeks, allowing us to return to our home church for Easter.
On this, the final phase of our journey, my thoughts center on church size, with my overarching concern for community hovering in the background. I claim I want to attend a small church, one with a close-knit and spiritually-significant community.
Yet, my actions belie that as our home church is a large one, bordering on extra-large. Also, and ironically, of the fifty-two churches we visited, Church #51 (The Megachurch) appeals to me the most.
The reason I don’t warm up to most smaller churches—the ones I claim I want to attend—is that they’re frequently older congregations. They have traditional services, don’t embrace newer methods, and are composed of aging parishioners.
I’ve often criticized older congregations, but I’m not against older people. I’m concerned for people who coast toward the finish line, hoping to hang on to the status quo until they go to heaven.
Their focus is on maintaining what they have, not expanding their church or preparing it for the next generation. Yes, they say they want their congregation to grow, but it’s often little more than a hope.
In vain, they expect that if they keep doing what they’ve always done, they will one day gain members. These congregations seldom do something different to attract new people.
Even though using newer practices might help embrace visitors, that would make the people of the church uncomfortable. And comfort, as they drift toward life’s end, is what they seek.
Though there are certainly exceptions, this is the attitude in most older congregations.
That brings me to Church #48 (Small, Simple, and Satisfying). By far the smallest church on the final leg of our journey, and one of the smallest overall, this church holds great appeal.
They earn high marks for conducting their service without the help of paid clergy or a guest speaker, which they did with excellence. They improved many aspects of a typical church experience.
This includes the placement of the cross, how they communicate announcements, the congregation praying without first sharing their needs, many members being involved in the service, and the easy, informal fellowship time afterward.
I assume these are all intentional tweaks made to maximize worship and strengthen community. They possessed a real sense of family, which all churches should have, but too many don’t.
Though the service was more formal than I prefer, it’s easy to overlook, given all the other pluses. My one concern is their future.
Candy and I were among the youngest present, so without an infusion of younger attendees, the church could be serving its final generation.
Though many of these older members are young in their heart, this church offers little to attract a younger crowd who can sustain and perpetuate it.
This isn’t their dilemma alone, but one shared by all the small churches we visited, as well as some medium-sized ones.
If the solution to numeric decline was obvious, churches would pursue it, but the only small churches I’ve ever seen grow are new ones. The established ones keep getting smaller until they close. This isn’t a lament so much as a reality.
The real problem is expectation. A congregation—or even denomination—shouldn’t expect to continue forever. Instead, it’s organic, following an expected life cycle: gestation, birth, growth, plateauing, slowing down, dying, and death.
In fighting this natural progression, members turn their focus away from worship, community, and outreach to concentrate on survival, as if that’s the goal. But it’s not; God is.
Yes, leaders can take steps to lengthen the life of a local church or denomination, but to assume it can—or even should—live forever, misses reality. The only way to last indefinitely is to become an institution.
With religious institutions, the primary focus switches from God to ensuring survival. Paid staff eventually place their continued employment ahead of all else, losing passion for their primary mission.
God isn’t impressed with our religious institutions or the people who strive to sustain them. What he desires are followers who will make a difference, advancing his kingdom for his glory—not their own agenda.
Our Home Church
Although outside our ten-mile requirement and fifty-two-week window, I shared about our home church. What happens there contrasts—often sharply—with many of our church visits.
Although some aspects at a few of the churches were like our home church, none of them matched it.
Our home church remains the lens through which Candy and I evaluate other congregations. Our children did this, too, with their experiences at our home church forming their expectations when they moved and sought a new church.
I’m sad our adventure is over, and at the same time, I’m glad to reconnect with friends and once again establish a regular rhythm to our Sunday worship routine.
Takeaway for Leaders: Individual churches should be organic, with an eventual life cycle that will one day end.
The only way to ensure they last forever is to turn them into a religious institution. Don’t do that.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.” (Matthew 21:2)
As Jesus and his followers approach Jerusalem, he sends two of his disciples on a mission. He sends them to borrow a donkey and its colt.
Though they don’t know the reason for this request, he plans to ride the colt into Jerusalem. This will fulfill the Old Testament prophecy that the king will come to them—righteous and victorious—riding the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
Jesus doesn’t tell the pair to seek the owner and ask permission first, which seems like the proper thing to do. Instead, he tells them what to say if questioned. This implies they will, in fact, be stopped and quizzed.
When we consider this request in a modern context, what he asks them to do is even more astounding. It would be like Jesus telling us to take someone’s bicycle or even a car.
Certainly, this would be a risky thing to do, as we could be arrested and prosecuted for stealing—for taking what isn’t ours. I’d certainly balk at Jesus’s instruction. I’m not sure I’d be willing to break the law for him.
As for his disciples, they don’t question him. They obey. They are, however, no doubt familiar with the Old Testament law that stipulates the punishment for taking someone’s donkey.
The penalty is to pay back double, to make a two-fold restitution for having a stolen donkey (Exodus 22:4) or being in the illegal possession of one (Exodus 22:9). They are to not even covet—that is, to want—it (Exodus 20:17).
Although Mark and Luke say that Jesus tells them to take the colt, Matthew notes that Jesus tells them to take both the donkey and her colt. This makes sense.
The donkey is trained and will go wherever they lead her, with the colt following along. But the colt alone may fight them for trying to separate it from its mother. So, in this case, they take two donkeys, which would require a restitution of four animals.
Yet, the disciples do as Jesus instructed. And they do so without question or hesitation.
Mark and Luke both mention that people nearby question what the disciples are doing. I suspect they know who owns the pair of animals—and it isn’t the disciples. But the disciples don’t explain.
They say what Jesus tells them to say. “The Lord needs them and will send them back shortly.”
The people accept this.
Questions
What does the Lord need us to do?
What is our response when God tells us to do something that makes no sense or is even illegal?(Would you borrow a donkey for Jesus?)
Prayer: Lord, may we hear you, listen, and obey—in all situations and at all times.
Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
In reading about Balaam’s story in the post “The Error of Balaam, it’s difficult to see what he may have done wrong. Indeed, based on this record alone, he seems like an upstanding guy.
Therefore, we need to dig into his story to what he did wrong.
He practiced divination (and was ultimately killed for doing so).
He taught and advised Israel’s enemies on how to distract them from God and sin against him.
He was willing to do the wrong thing, as long as there was reward.
He tried to curse Israel, which God turned it into a blessing. (This would explain why the king gave him three chances to issue a curse and why the king blamed God for Balaam not receiving his promised reward).
This certainly provides a different view of Balaam’s story.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Focus verse:This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)
So far in John’s letter he’s already talked a lot about love, building up to this passage in chapter four, where the topic of love becomes the focus. In the rest of chapter 4, John mentions love twenty-seven times. That’s a lot of love.
Building on his encouragement to love one another from the prior chapter, John again reminds us—his dear friends—to love one another.
This is because love comes from God, and he empowers us to love others. When we are born of God and know him, we’re able to love others well. But those who don’t know God aren’t able to love.
Loving others is the fruit of our relationship with our Heavenly Father; it’s proof of our right standing with him, through Jesus.
Though we love God, he loved us first (1 John 4:19). He proved this by sending his precious Son to earth so that we might live eternally through him. Father God sent Jesus into our world as the sacrifice to atone for our sins (1 John 4:10).
We often think of Jesus’s great love for us. He showed this ultimate expression of love through his willingness to die in our place for all the wrong things we’ve done in our life—and all the wrong that we will do.
Jesus endured a most painful death, tortured at the hands of his Roman executioners. Dying in our place is the epitome of love, and we celebrate him for making this supreme sacrifice. In turn, we love him back to the best of our ability.
Yet John isn’t talking about Jesus’s love for us by dying in our place. Instead, the apostle is talking about Father God’s great love for us. God showed his immense love for us by sending Jesus to save us.
For those of us who are parents, we don’t want to see our children suffer. We’d gladly stand in their place if we could shelter them from the pain of their struggles.
Our Heavenly Father is no different from us in this regard. How hard it must have been for Father God to send his precious Son into our world, knowing what he would have to endure.
That’s real love. And God’s immense love for us is why we should love one another.
When we do, “God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12).
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The Father Is the Destination and the Savior Provides the Path
Jesus tells Thomas, “I am the way.” The only way to get to the Father is through the Savior (John 14:5-6). He’s not a way. He’s the only way.
Though many people uphold the Christ as the primacy of the Trinity, we must remember that Jesus is the way. He is not the destination. The Father is the destination.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
John preaches a message of repentance. He baptizes those who confess their sins. This is to prepare the way for the Lord (Matthew 3:1-12).
Though many people assume John is the one foretold by the prophets, he plainly confirms he is not. In fact, he is so insignificant in comparison that he is not even worthy to untie the Savior’s sandals (Acts 13:24-25).
John’s father pronounced this truth that John will prepare the way at John’s birth (Luke 1:76). And this is exactly what John does (John 1:23).
Jesus Is the Way
John prepares the way for Jesus. Jesus is the way. The Savior provides the way to the Father.
Our sin separates us from God, from being in the Father’s presence. But Jesus redeems us from the wrong things we have done and restores us into right relationship with his Father—with our Heavenly Father.
Not only is Jesus the way, but he is also truth and life (John 14:6). He shows us the way to the Father. He teaches us the truth about the Father. And he gives us life with the Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
This all comes through our Messiah, and he is the way to the Father.
The Church Shows the Way
The book of Acts refers to Jesus’s followers as the Way (Acts 9:1-2).
This doesn’t mean they replace Jesus as the way to the Father. Instead, they function more like John and show the way to the Father through Christ. He remains the only way to the Father.
As Jesus’s followers we should point the way to Jesus so that through him they can be brought into fellowship with the Father.
Jesus is the way, and the Father is the destination.
Our Role Today
The people we know may not know Jesus, but we can show them to him and he will provide the way to the Father. All they need to do is follow him.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The churches are starting to blur. Every week seems the same, offering only slight variations on a theme. I’m growing weary of our journey. I’ve realized this for a few weeks but didn’t want to admit it.
Yes, I still notice kindnesses offered and innovations presented at the various branches of Jesus’s church. But I worry that I notice more the actions that discourage me and disparage the reputation of my savior.
Have I become cynical? Am I truly able to see what God wants me to see?
My prayers before we leave for church lack freshness. Have they become vain repetition? Matthew 6:7 in the KJV says, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
My anticipation for the service is no longer as expectant, yet God prevails and teaches me anyway.
For the first half of our journey, I picked our destinations solely by the driving distance from our home.
But heading in different directions each Sunday became disconcerting, making it challenging to synthesize an understanding of congregations within communities.
In retrospect, I should have divided our fifty-two churches into four groups: those within our local school district, those in the village to our west, those in the village to the southwest of us, and those on the western edge of the city to our east.
For the third part of our adventure we focused on the first three of these geographic areas, while remaining within ten miles of our house. This allowed us to better comprehend the churches within their local context.
The village to our west has twenty-one churches. We visited twelve in the first half of our journey, calling on the remaining nine for this phase (Churches #27–36). Together they comprise a wide-ranging group, offering an array of options.
Next, we turned our attention to the village to our southwest, with its five churches (#37–41). Although one was struggling, the other four weren’t.
They were vibrant and growing, each with its unique appeal and offering a different approach to worshiping God.
To conclude this phase of our sojourn, we visited the remaining three churches in our local school district (Churches #42–44).
Along with Churches 1 through 7, these ten churches are noteworthy because our local food pantry serves people living in the school district. Sometimes pantry clients ask me about area churches.
Now that I’ve visited all ten, I can share firsthand information, directing people to the one that best meets their needs and preferences.
Some of our clients attend church outside of the area, and I’ve seen them at several of the gatherings we’ve visited. I have mixed feelings about this.
Part of me wishes each congregation would care for the needs of their own, while the other part of me would decry each church replicating the same program.
Having an area food pantry is not only practical, but it’s also a great community service, with five of the district’s ten churches involved in a truly ecumenical outreach.
Greeting and Community
At the halfway point in our journey, I noted the importance of community, with some churches excelling at it, a few failing, and most falling somewhere in between.
The prelude to community is greeting. Churches that greet well embrace visitors and foster connections.
Liturgical churches, I observed, struggle with greeting and fail at community.
Fortunately, this isn’t an absolute principle, merely a tendency. Church #43 (A Welcoming Church with Much to Offer) and Church #32 (Commitment Sunday and Celebration) proved liturgical churches can greet well and foster meaningful community.
Church #43 excelled at this, perhaps even more so than the non-liturgical Church #22 (A Caring Community). Two other non-liturgical churches that greeted well were Church #38 (A Refreshing Time) and Church #41 (People Make the Difference).
I’d like to revisit them all, simply because of the amazing way they greeted, welcoming us into their community. We made connections. We had relevant conversations. We shared a spiritual camaraderie.
There are three opportunities to greet visitors: before, during, and after the service. Churches need to master all three. Few do, but Church #43 did.
Two churches ignored us beforehand and had no greeting time during the service, but they did embrace us afterward: Church #28 (Intriguing and Liturgical) and Church #35 (A Well-Kept Secret).
But it’s hard to overcome a bad first impression. While Church #28 did, enough so that I want to return, Church #35 didn’t.
The opposite error is not ending well. Church #27 (A Charismatic Experience) ignored us afterward. With no one who approached us and no one available for us to approach, we had two choices: stand there and look pathetic or leave. We left.
Then, one church, a non-liturgical one, failed at all three opportunities: they ignored us. This was Church #31 (A Day of Contrasts). It was as if we were invisible.
Though their service was most impressive, their cold demeanor isolated us, effectively pushing us out the door as soon as the service ended.
Yes, they did have two assigned greeters at the front door, but the personable pair couldn’t overcome the 150 indifferent people inside.
Yes, greeting well is important. Without it, visitors cannot hope to find community. So why would they want to come back?
Highs and Lows of Our Journey
Overall, our time at charismatic gatherings continues to disappoint.
While Church #27 (A Charismatic Experience) came close to providing a true charismatic encounter—or at least my perception of one—they also had some disconcerting shortcomings, including a rambling message and not being friendly.
The narrow doctrine at Church #34 (Acts Chapter Two) and Church #36 (The Surprise) especially dismayed me.
Like Church #14 (The Pentecostal Perspective), they placed an unbiblical emphasis on speaking in tongues, viewing it as a requirement to signify true salvation.
Church #42 (High Expectations and Great Disappointment) went to the opposite extreme, dismissing charismatic followers of Jesus as heretics and doing so with a most dogmatic fervor.
The way these otherwise well-meaning clergy divide Jesus’s church grieves me.
This error, of rejecting other Christians because they fail to meet some personally held opinion, is perhaps the biggest shortcoming we’ve seen at any of the churches.
I wonder if they’ve lost their first love. (Consider John’s stinging rebuke in Revelation 2:4–5 against the church in Ephesus). Do they truly comprehend what it means to follow Jesus? I seriously doubt it.
Conversely, Church #29 (Led by Laity) greatly encouraged me; they conducted their entire service without any clergy. I wish more churches would follow their example.
I beg churches to do so. Through Jesus we are all priests. We shouldn’t need ministers to do for us what we’re supposed to do ourselves. (See 1 Peter 2:5, 9 as a starting point.)
In considering Church #37 (Another Small Church), sometimes a church just needs to close. This church has more people on the outside trying to save it, than there are local people who attend.
Yes, God can do the impossible, but without a clear instruction from him to persevere, the wise action, the prudent option, is to simply shut down and stop wasting resources on an unpromising situation.
Interestingly, there was once local interest for this church to merge with another, but their respective denominations wouldn’t permit it. Their decision was self-serving and not kingdom-focused.
Lastly, some churches, despite many good traits and positive elements, showed us some bizarre practices:
Greeting strangers with a holy kiss was creepy, Church #28 (Intriguing and Liturgical).
Church #30 (Misdirected and Frustrated) duped us into attending Sunday school and angered me.
Avoiding all forms of promotion made them hard to find, Church #35 (A Well-Kept Secret). We stumbled upon them by accident.
Cancelling services because the minister was called away disappointed us, Church #36 (The Surprise). Hold services anyway. Church #29 (Led by Laity) did.
Having a dirty sanctuary made me reluctant to sit down, Church #37 (Another Small Church). The overall neglected condition of their facility didn’t help.
Heading to a restaurant after the service was interesting but unusual. Arming us all with coupons may not have left the best impression on the restaurant staff, Church #39 (A Great Way to End the Year).
Takeaway for Everyone: Set divisive theology aside and celebrate commonality in Jesus. Seek ways to work with other churches, not oppose them.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. (John 11:43–44)
The Bible tells us about three siblings: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Yet Matthew and Mark don’t mention them at all.
Only Luke and John tell us about Martha and Mary, while Lazarus only shows up in John, chapters 11 and 12. (Though Luke records a parable about a man named Lazarus, he’s a different person.)
John says that Jesus loves Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Though our Savior loves everyone, Scripture seldom names them, but it does specify Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. This should get our attention as to how important they are to Jesus.
In today’s account, Lazarus is sick. Sick enough for the sisters to worry. They send word to Jesus. They don’t ask for him to come heal their brother, but merely state that he’s ill.
Knowing what will happen, Jesus says Lazarus’s illness will not end in death but in glory to Father God and his Son. But he does nothing for two days.
In a delightful exchange, Jesus tells his disciples that Lazarus is sleeping, and Jesus will go wake him. The disciples take this literally, but Jesus means it figuratively. In truth, Lazarus is dead.
Jesus uses the euphemism to wake him to mean resurrect him. The implication is that, to Jesus, raising someone from the dead is no harder than for us to wake someone from a deep sleep. So it will be with us when we die.
Jesus will wake us to live with him in paradise forever.
Jesus heads for Bethany, where the siblings live. He arrives to find that Lazarus is four-days dead and buried.
Both Martha and Mary have confidence that Jesus had the power to heal their brother and prevent his death. And Martha has faith that her brother will one day rise again. But neither sister expects Jesus to do anything for their dead brother now.
Jesus goes to Lazarus’s tomb. Martha, Mary, and the many Jews mourning with them follow.
When Jesus arrives, he instructs them to remove the large stone that blocks the entrance. He thanks Papa for hearing his prayer and commands Lazarus to come out of his tomb.
To everyone’s amazement, Lazarus hobbles forth, still wrapped in his burial cloths. It’s a miracle of miracles.
Though this isn’t the first time Jesus raises someone from the dead, this is the most spectacular one—and the most memorable.
Many people witness Lazarus’s resurrection, creating quite a stir, which we’ll cover in a few days.
In the end, Lazarus doesn’t die, and God and his Son receives glory.
Questions
How well do we do to accept that Jesus loves us?
What do we think about Jesus raising someone from the dead?
Prayer: Father God, may our lives—and death—give you glory.
Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The Old Testament law of Moses commands multiple tithes, not just one. The one in today’s passage is a triennial tithe—every third year. The purpose of this one is to help feed the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows.
Giving this tithe to the Levites suggest it may also include priests since they all descend from Levite.
The priests, however, are covered elsewhere, so we can understand the meaning of Levites in this passage to include all the rest of the Levites who are not priests.
Their job supports the work of the priests in worshiping God. They deserve to eat, and this tithe helps.
The other three groups of people covered by this triennial tithe are foreigners, orphans, and widows. They all face a disadvantage in life.
First, foreigners are outsiders and not included in God’s promises to his chosen people. Yet the Lord wants his children to provide for their daily nutrition.
The orphans and widows struggle to take care of themselves, which presents a challenge in the male-focused culture of their day. God wants his people to likewise help feed them.
In addition to this triennial tithe, God has other provisions to help care for the needy. He permits gleaning and commands that the harvesters facilitate the effort.
There’s also the year of jubilee, which occurs every fifty years. This provides for debt relief and property restoration. He also prohibits charging excessive interest. These provisions all serve to help the poor and needy.
Do we need to follow this example today and give a triennial tithe to help the staff at church, foreigners in our land, and orphans and widows? We can, but we don’t have to.
Remember that Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17).
Therefore, our Savior offers us a better way. Instead of a tithe, Jesus tells us to give generously to the poor (Luke 11:41).
We should do that. And generously may mean giving more than ten percent, that is, going beyond Moses’s triennial tithe.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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Focus verse: The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
After talking about the Holy Spirit and false prophets—that is, false teachers under Satan’s control—John gives us a comforting truth.
As Father God’s children who believe in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit (whom John calls the Spirit of truth) living in us. Greater, John says, is the one who lives in us than the one who is in the world.
Many people don’t realize this, and their behavior belies John’s teaching. They view God and Satan as equal and opposing forces. They’re left quaking, wondering which force will win—and praying that they haven’t misplaced their faith.
Yet this perspective is incorrect. God and Satan are not equal. God, as Creator, made all the angels—including Satan, a fallen angel. The Creator is clearly superior to his creation.
That’s why John can confidently teach us that God—who lives in us—is more powerful than the devil who lives in the world around us.
Yes, God has granted Satan a bit of authority in our world for a time. But our Lord will one day take back that authority and punish the evil one forever.
This victory over Satan began when Jesus died in our place for the wrong things we have done, defeating death and our enemy who specializes in death (John 10:10).
We’ll find the finale of Jesus’s victory revealed in full at the end of time, when Father God ushers in a new heaven and a new earth where we’ll live forever (Revelation 21:1–2).
We must focus on God’s power and Jesus’s victory. John reminds us that we are children of God. As his children, our heritage comes through him. He has overcome evil, and as his children we can overcome evil too.
God is greater than the devil. The battle has already happened, and God has won. We are on the winning side. And God is in us. Through him we can overcome the evil one’s opposition and the evil that is in the world.
We can count on God as the ultimate power and should live confident lives as a result.
Questions:
How can we better embrace God’s spirit who lives in us?
In what ways do our lives show we believe we’re on the winning side?
When have we placed too much emphasis on the power of our enemy?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
