Elijah vs. Jesus

My wife and I are teaching children's Sunday School today, and in the course of planning, I got to thinking.  Elijah was one of the greatest Old Testament prophets and miracle workers.  At his word, the heavens withheld their rain for 3 1/2 years.  He provided a miraculous supply of bread and oil for a widow and raised her son to life, called down fire from heaven, and became one of only two people in history to never die when he was taken away by chariots of fire.

And yet this great prophet and miracle worker does not even hold a candle to Jesus Christ.  John the Baptist, whom Jesus said fulfilled the promise of the second coming of Elijah's spirit and power, said of Jesus, "He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."  Clearly someone greater than Elijah was here.

Here are five reasons why Jesus is greater than Elijah:

1) Elijah's faith wavered.  Jesus remained faithful.
Despite all that he had seen God do, when Elijah's life was threatened by Jezebel, "he was afraid and he arose and ran for his life." (1 Kings 19:3)  Jesus, on the other hand, never wavered in His commitment to Calvary and His Father's will, and thus the author of Hebrews writes, "Christ is faithful over God's house as a son." (Hebrews 3:6)

2) Elijah had to pray to God to affect the weather.  Jesus simply said, "Be still," and the storm stopped.
Most of Elijah's miracles actually involve him praying and asking God to act.  James says that "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain." (James 5:17)  But Jesus didn't ask for anybody's permission; He simply said, "Be still," and the storm ceased.  Thus He proved that He is the God of Psalm 89:9-- "Who is mighty as You are, O Lord?  You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them."

3) Elijah raised a widow's son from the dead.  Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
Elijah is one of the few people in the Bible through whom God raised the dead.  But even though the miracle was spectacular, it is obvious from the account in 1 Kings that it was God who raised the dead, not Elijah.  Elijah pleaded with God, and God answered his prayer.  Jesus, on the other hand, declared about Himself saying, "I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live," (John 11:25), and then backed up this claim by commanding life into the decaying corpse of Lazarus with a simple, "Come forth."

4) Elijah was taken to heaven with fire.  Jesus will come from heaven with fire.
Elijah was taken up into heaven by "chariots of fire and horses of fire." (2 Kings 2:11)  Lest we be too enamored by this spectacle, though, 2 Thessalonians tells us of a greater heavenly fire: a coming day "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God... when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed."  The glory of Jesus' heavenly fire will brilliantly outshine Elijah's, as much as the sun outshines a flickering match.

5) Elijah never died.  Jesus conquered death.
Elijah is one of only two people in the Bible, along with Enoch, to never taste death.  Yet the honor that Jesus has and will receive is infinitely greater, for Jesus is now "crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9)  And Jesus did not just taste death for everyone; "He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death."  Elijah the sinner never died, thanks to Jesus tasting death for Him, and now Jesus has definitively conquered Satan and eliminated the power of death for all time for all who trust in Him.

Elijah is surely worthy of much honor among the great saints of the faith.  But Jesus is surely worthy of much more.  He is a greater miracle worker, greater life-giver, greater sin-conquerer, greater grave-overcomer, greater Savior.

He is a Rewarder

I'm translating the book of Hebrews for my 3rd year Greek class, and I started chapter 11-- the "hall of faith"-- today.  Verse 6 blew me out of the water.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, for it is necessary for the one who comes to God to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder to the ones who seek Him.  ~Hebrews 11:6, my translation

The ESV translates the last phrase, "and that He rewards those who seek Him."  The meaning is the same, but a more literal translation brings out this staggering wonder: "rewarder" is a noun.  A noun!  God doesn't just reward; He IS a rewarder.  He is defined as one who rewards.  In the same way that 1 John's statement that "God is love" rings more powerfully than the simple "God loves," a literal translation of Hebrews 11:6 highlights the amazing truth that God is characterized by rewarding.

Those of us who are seeking God are not just seeking somebody who happens to reward people; we are caught up in the hedonistic pursuit of the Great Rewarder.

Wow.

He lives to plead for me above

I've been translating the book of Hebrews from the Greek this semester, and this week I'm on chapter 7.  Verse 25 in particular is especially powerful during this Easter season, reminding me of why the resurrection is such good news:

Therefore He is also able to save completely the ones who come near to God through Him, because He always lives to plead for them.  ~Hebrews 7:25 (my translation)

The good news of Easter is three-fold: because of the resurrection, we who trust in Christ are "saved completely," can draw near to God, and can know that Jesus always stands before the Father pleading on our behalf.  We have an ever-living Advocate and Savior in the courtroom of heaven.

Hebrews 7-10 unpacks all of this, and ends with the application of what this Easter gospel should mean in our lives every day:  "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain... let us draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith."  Amen!

One of my favorite Easter hymns is "I Know that My Redeemer Lives."  The third verse in particular stood out to me today, in light of Hebrews 7:25--

He lives to bless me with His love

He lives to plead for me above

He lives my hungry soul to feed

He lives to help in time of need

The Founder of Life, Faith, and Salvation

I'm doing independent study third year Greek, which has been a lot of fun so far.  Last semester we translated 1 Peter and James, and this semester we're tackling Hebrews (which is really hard!)  Today we translated chapter 2, and verse 10 got me thinking and doing word studies.

Verse 10: "For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering."

The word "founder" is translated from the Greek "archegos."  It's a rare word, which only appears 4 times in the New Testament.  Here are the other three occurrences, with "archegos" in bold:

"You killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead."  ~Acts 3:15

"God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."  ~Acts 5:31

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..."  ~Hebrews 12:2

The word "archegos" means a leader, pioneer, source, initiator, or founder.  The only times it is used in the New Testament, it is used to describe Jesus Christ.  He is described as the Author of life, faith, and salvation.

Jesus is the Author of Life

"You killed the Author of Life," Peter accused the Jewish leaders.  A remarkable,seemingly contradictory statement-- you killed the One who invented life.  Yet this is the mystery of the Gospel.  John 1 says that "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."  In Colossians 3, Paul writes, "When Christ who is your life appears, then you will appear with Him in glory."  The Author of Life becomes our life.  1 John 5 gives us the precious promise that, "God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  Whoever has the Son has life."  Whoever has the Son has life, because Jesus IS Life; He is the Author, the Source of Life.  St. John Chrysostom wrote, "The life that He has does not come from another; the author of life has to be Him who has life in Himself."  In Him all things live and move and have their being.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  He is the source of everything that exists, and, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:30, He is also the source of our spiritual life.

Jesus is the Author of Faith

"Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith."  In the same way that our life is wrapped up in Christ, so too our spiritual life-- our faith-- flows from Him.  He is the vine, and we are the branches.  He is the Author of our faith because He is the giver of faith.  He "grants repentance," gives faith as a gift, says "Let there be light" in darkened hearts, and invades dead souls with the conquering, life-giving, omnipotent love of Yahweh.  And after giving us new life, He becomes the example of perfect faithfulness that we seek to imitate.

Jesus is the Author of Salvation

"The author of their salvation perfect through suffering..."  Jesus is the Author of Salvation because He is the conqueror of sin, the victor over the grave, and the purchaser of the Spirit.  He is the One who sovereignly elects, calls, saves, justifies, and sanctifies us.  "Those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified."

We Wish to See Jesus

Next week, I am starting my last Bible study at Center Presbyterian Church.  It has been a joy and incredible privilege for me to lead the adult Bible study there for the past year and a half.  We have done studies on Philippians, Hebrews, and Colossians, and this spring we will be looking at the "I am" statements of Jesus in the book of John.  I am really, really excited about this semester, because I see this study as the culmination of everything I have been teaching the last year and a half.  Below is my introduction to our study in John:

"Life in a fallen world is a tightrope dichotomy between searing pain and seductive pleasure.  In a world full of sudden tragedy, seemingly random violence, natural disasters, cancer, illness, heartache, and tearful goodbyes, where is a rock of refuge to which we can go?  And conversely, in a materialistic culture littered with the spiritual landmines of blinding prosperity, numbing comfort, earthly treasures, and broken cisterns, where is a transcendent and satisfying reality to which we can commit ourselves?

What we are looking for is Ultimate Reality, a person and a truth and a life that transcends the problem of pain and pleasure, eclipsing both in all-consuming glory.  The Ultimate Reality that we are looking for is the person of Jesus Christ.  Colossians tells us that He is "the image of the invisible God," that "all things were created through Him and for Him," and that "in all things He has the supremacy."  Hebrews speaks of this supreme Christ when we hear that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of His nature, upholding the universe by the word of His power."  Philippians tells us the implications of Christ's all-satisfying supremacy: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."  Here, then, is the end of all things: suffering and satisfaction, gain and loss, united in the glorious Son.  To know Him will cost everything, yet knowing Him is infinite gain.

How then can we know this Glorious One?  How can we "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge?" (Ephesians 3:19)  Hosea invites us into this eternal pursuit, saying, "Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord."  We want to say with the Greeks in John 12, "We wish to see Jesus!"  But how?"

The first lesson is all about my answer to that last question: God has given us His Word so that we can see Jesus in it and be supremely satisfied in seeing Him forever.

Jacob

Today I finished reading Genesis for my Through-the-Bible reading plan, and I was looking back over what I read.  Of all the characters and stories in Genesis, I think my new favorite has become the life of Jacob.  From Genesis 25 to 49, we see Jacob transformed from a selfish, conniving person into a humble, worshipful, wise man by his many encounters with God and grief.

Jacob starts out selfish and conniving, taking his brother Esau's birthright in chapter 25, and then tricking his father and stealing Esau's blessing in chapter 27.  But chapter 28 begins a dramatic change in Jacob's life-- a series of encounters with God that leave him changed forever.  In 28:12, he sees the vision of "the angels of God ascending and descending" into heaven, and marvels, "How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God!"  Then in 32:24, he wrestles with God Himself, and insists, "I will not go unless you bless me."  God is pleased, and blesses Jacob, naming him Israel.  And then in 35:7, God reveals Himself to Jacob at Bethel, reaffirming all His promises to him.

The last case is the most interesting and encouraging, because it comes right before Jacob is about to enter the hardest period of his life.  Immediately following his encounter with God at Bethel, Jacob is struck by three close deaths in quick succession-- his mother's nurse, his beloved wife Rachel, and his father Isaac.  It is soon after this that Joseph is sold into slavery, completing Jacob's anguish.  How kind of God to appear to Jacob before he knew he needed it, right when he was about to enter a season of suffering and grief.  God appeared and strengthened Jacob for the trials that lay ahead.

Genesis 32:10 shows the transformation from the young, rebellious Jacob to a much humbler, gracious man.  Returning to meet his brother, Jacob prays a wonderful Gospel statement: "I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that You have shown to Your servant."  What a transformation from the sneaky, selfish Jacob just a few chapters before!

Towards the end of his life, in chapter 47, you can see how much Jacob has progressed in walking with God.  He meets Pharaoh himself, and Jacob's first reaction is to bless this man who has done so much for his family.  Pharaoh is impressed by Jacob's age and wisdom and humility.

Throughout Jacob's life, one way we can see his growing intimacy with God is the names that He uses to address and describe God.  Jacob has perhaps the most unique names for God in all of Scripture.  And throughout his life, these names become more and more intimate:

"The God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac" ~31:42

"The Fear of Isaac" ~31:53

"The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day" ~48:15

"The angel who has redeemed me from all evil" ~48:16

"the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel" ~49:24

And finally, the New Testament has this to say about this wonderful man of God and his amazing transformation: "By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff."  ~Hebrews 11:21

I think Jacob is my new favorite human character in the Bible.  I want to be like this man, who is such a testament of grace and the power of God to change a life.  He walked with God, believed through grief, intimately knew his Creator and Savior, and at the end of his life, it could be said of him, "He bowed in worship."  What a man!  What a transformation!  I want to be like Jacob.