Bible Study and Commentary on Zechariah 9:9-10

1. What do you think of when you hear the word, “king”?

2. There are 28 men named Zechariah (or variants) in the Bible. But who is this Zechariah? To start with, he is called the, “son of Iddo” (see Ezra 6:14). Iddo was properly his grandfather in our way of geneologizing, but in the Hebrew style, “son of” can refer to any ancestor in the blood line. He prophesied in Judah after the Babylonian exile, probably beginning around 520BC. He is one of the last prophets before the silent period of several centuries between Malachi and the New Testament. The book of Zechariah appears to be divided into two parts with the latter half, beginning at chapter 9, being written late in Zechariah’s time, possibly even at the same time as Malachi. So this is some of the very last writing in the Old Testament. As you think about this passage, bear in mind that Judah has not had a time of significant peace since 930BC when the kingdom split in two (northern kingdom = Israel, southern kingdom = Judah) after Solomon’s reign.

3. Read Zechariah 9:9-10

4. The terms “daughter of Zion” and “daughter of Jerusalem” all refer to the “children of Israel,” or “children of Abraham.” Who does Paul equate with the children of Abraham in Galatians 3:7?

5. Jeremiah (not the bullfrog) prophesied in Judah during the time leading up to the Babylonian captivity and so was a generation or two before Zechariah. Look up Jeremiah 23:5-6 and compare the “king” described there with the king in Zechariah

6. Ephraim is the second son of Joseph (Manasseh is the first). Near the end of his life, Jacob (Joseph’s father) recognized Joseph’s two sons with a blessing, even though Joseph’s wife, Asenath, was Egyptian. Manasseh was the older, but Jacob blessed Ephraim with his right hand, indicating that Ephraim would be greater. “Ephraim” also became, in later times (like the time of this writing) another name referring to the northern kingdom, Israel. Likely in this passage, “Ephraim” does refer to the northern tribes who had been decimated by the Assyrians in the 700’s BC. (cf. Hosea 4:17) Jerusalem refers to the southern kingdom of Judah.

7. Chariots, war horses and bows are powerful implements of war. These will be cut off either as in “the enemies will be cut off with their weapons” or “my people will no longer need their weapons” or both. “Riding on a donkey” also symbolizes times of peace. Nobody fights a war on a donkey!

8. How far and wide does the peace this king brings spread?

9. Matthew, seeing Jewish people as his primary audience, takes care to point out prophecies fulfilled in Jesus’ life. Look up Matthew 21:4-5 to see an example of this emphasis that relates specifically to this passage.

10. How does this king’s reign sound to you? Would you like to be ruled by a king if it was this kind of king?

11. In what ways did Jesus act like a king? In what ways didn’t he act like a king? Where did Jesus tell Pilate his kingdom was?

12. How does it impact your life to look at the life of Jesus and know that he will one day show himself king over all?

13. What else struck you?

14. Close with prayer.

Criticism, a Golden Opportunity

Somebody recently told me that one of my sermons was long winded that day. What do you think I did? I thanked them.

Why? Because I want to be a better and better preacher and a better and better pastor. The only way I'm going to do that is to get feedback from people. The only way I'm going to get feedback from it's if I welcome it when they give it.

This person took a chance on telling me something that no pastor really wants to hear. Not directly anyways. I would rather hear, "Pastor, your sermon touched my soul."! But, a person who wants to grow will want to know where they fell short.

And so this person told me I was a little long winded that day. So this is what I texted that person the next day:

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Thanks for telling me I was a little long winded yesterday! No, seriously. I was a little long winded and it's nice to have people around me who offer honest and loving and good-natured feedback. Don't stop.
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Then my philosophy of thanking people for constructive criticism was really tested, because the person offered me additional feedback! But this, too, is good because it indicates that my thanks was received as genuine and so the trust in our relationship grew.

So criticism, accepted well, provides a double opportunity. Personal growth and relationship growth.

This isn't always the case, of course. Some people may hit you with criticism out of fear or anger or something else. But even in that case you have a chance to respond with kindness and build the relationship. Often a person's angry criticism comes out of pain they are dealing with them their own life.

Also, this attitude doesn't develop overnight. In the beginning, you may have to be very contemplative and intentional about cultivating your positive responses to criticism. But in the long run, it is very worth the effort.

So next time someone offers you criticism, be thankful! It's your chance to learn, your chance to grow, and your chance you build the relationship. What an opportunity!

Pearl Harbor Day - a Day of Memory and a Day of Hope

December 7 is a day that will live in infamy... but it is also, for me, a hopeful day. As I remember the attack on Pearl Harbor, I am reminded that Japan and the USA are no longer enemies. Horrible violence and ethnic prejudice can be overcome. This is a hopeful observance during a time in which many are looking for hope.

We are in the midst of difficult times with outbreaks of horrifying violence... violence that some celebrate. But we can overcome the violence and move beyond the hatred and prejudice. It will not be without cost and it will not be on a path of certainty. But we must never lose hope for peace. We can never give up.

I don't know how terrorism will be defeated because the violence is idea-based and seems to simply infect certain people like a disease. Probably it can only be minimized and suppressed because the human condition seems to include a certain proclivity for violence.

But today, on Pearl Harbor Day, I look at former and current relationship between Japan and the USA, between Americans and Japanese, between Christians, Shintos and Buddhists, and I choose to live in hope.

Observations & Commentary on Acts 27:1-44

For your pleasure, some observations and commentary on Acts 27. You will want to read the actual Bible text along with this. The New Living Translation and The Message are great for reading. But for studying, I recommend the English Standard Version (though there are many good translations out there).

• Acts 27:1
• Note that Paul is traveling with a group (cf. “ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:10 (ESV))Some appear to accompany Paul long term while others accompany Paul for a while and then return to their home.
• THE AUGUSTAN COHORT. This does not appear to signify anything special. A Roman cohort officially consisted of 600 soldiers (though it could vary from 500-1,000) divided into hundreds, each hundred being overseen by a centurion. Cohorts were often given honorific titles, such as this one named after Augustus. There is external evidence verifying the existence of this cohort. A Roman legion consisted of 10 cohorts.
• Acts 27:2
• The company taking Paul to Rome would assume that somewhere along the coast of Asia they could connect with a ship headed to Rome.
• ARISTARCHUS. Aristarchus had been Paul’s traveling companion since Thessalonica. He was one of the people dragged into the theater at Ephesus by an angry mob led by Demetrius the silver smith. So we know that at least Aristarchus and the writer of Acts (presumably, Luke) are accompanying Paul.
• Acts 27:3
• JULIUS TREATED PAUL KINDLY. Paul had obviously won the trust of the centurion who was transporting him to Rome. One commentator suggested that, based on this respectful treatment, Julius had been present at Paul’s trial. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Julius did not send a soldier with Paul as an escort.
• Acts 27:4-8
• SAILED UNDER THE LEE. This is a nautical term referring to sailing in the shelter of an island because the winds are not favorable for the direction you are heading.
• SHIP OF ALEXANDRIA. Alexandria was a major city on the Northern coast of Africa on the west side of the Nile River delta. Egypt was a great producer of grain. This was a big ship, a freighter, with room also for passengers — 276 people, we find out later. 
• Acts 27:9
• DANGEROUS. “Dangerous” is specific, for it refers to the period between the middle of September and the first part of November; after November 11 all navigation ceased until March 10. (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles (p. 1069). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.)
• THE FAST. The Fast is the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, the most solemn holy day on the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur falls on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (the 7th month). Because the Jewish calendar is set by astronomical events, the dates move around with respect to our dates. On our calendar, Yom Kippur moves around last September and early October.
• Acts 27:10
• Was this simply Paul offering wisdom or is this a revelation to Paul? (in verses 23-24, Paul reports an angel appearing to him to tell him everyone will survive.
• Acts 27:11-12
• Can you blame the centurion for listening more to the pilot and the ship’s owner than the Jewish Christian Pharisee prisoner?
• PHOENIX. A harbor further along Crete. They supposed they could safely hug the land for this short voyage.
• Acts 27:13
• The pilot and captain didn’t sail foolhardily into bad whether. They had decided tentatively to move on and, since the weather looked good, they decided to go for it.
• Acts 27:14-15
• TEMPESTUOUS WIND. The Greek word used here is the word from which we get “typhoon.” The mountains of Crete are 7,000 feet tall and created a swirling gail as it blew them uncontrollably away from land into the open sea.
• Acts 27:16-17
• SECURE THE SHIP’S BOAT. This was not a lifeboat as modern ships have. This was a boat used for ship-to-shore transportation when the vessel set anchor in a harbor. Typically this boat would be towed. When the sailors had the opportunity under the shelter of the island, Cauda, they hoisted it up on deck and fastened it firmly in place. It was probably a fairly sizable boat, since it had to service a ship that could hold over 275 people (see verse 27)
• UNDERGIRD THE SHIP. These were wooden ships made from timber laid stem to stern. Violent weather put great stress on the ship which could cause the timbers to separate leading to taking on water and sinking. Even today some ships sink in storms because the plates of the hull separate under the violent twisting forces. To “undergird the ship” is to pass several coils of rope around the entire ship to strengthen it and, hopefully, hold it together.
• LOWERED THE GEAR. There is some disagreement as to what this means. Come believe they lowered drag anchors to slow their progress toward Syrtis. The other explanation is that they lowered the mainsail, etc. and used a small sail to keep the boat pointed in the right direction during the rest of the storm (which they could not escape). This would preserve the mainsail for when the storm abated which would allow them to sail on and find land rather than continue to drift in the sea. Unfortunately for those of us trying to understand the details, the Greek word for “gear” in verse 17 is “skeuos,” which simply means object, thing, jar, possessions.
• Acts 27:18
• JETTISON THE CARGO. This is very generic. The Greek simply says “jettison.” So they started throwing stuff overboard.
• Acts 27:19
• Again, they were throwing stuff overboard. This time “the ship’s tackle with their own hands.” This can’t be the necessary tackle such as the mainsails and the anchors because those are used later. This is that generic word “skeuos” again! It appears that they started throwing their own stuff overboard: furniture, chests, whatever weighed anything substantial.
• Acts 27:20
• Most people reading this will never have experienced “all hope” being lost in the way these people adrift in a storm in the open sea for many days.
• Acts 27:21-26
• Paul starts by pointing out that he was right and they were wrong. Probably not to shove it in their faces, but to give credence to what he is about to say. Then he makes very specific predictions: no human loss, but the ship will not survive. Paul, as ever, is not afraid to talk about supernatural things. He encourages the people with the message of the angel.
• SOME ISLAND. But Paul doesn’t know exactly where or when this will happen.
• Acts 27:27-28
• ADRIATIC. This is the “Adria” as defined in Paul’s day, not the Adriatic Sea as we define it today.
• FATHOM. A fathom is six feet. Fathoms are measured by lowering a weighted rope down to the sea floor and then counting the number of lengths of rope between two outstretched hands there are until the end of the rope is reached.
• Acts 27:29
• ANCHORS. Note that they had not jettisoned essential tackle.
• Acts 27:30-32
• Some sailors try to escape under false pretenses using the ship’s boat. By this time, the centurion has enough trust in Paul to set the ship’s boat adrift!
• Acts 27:33-38
• This illustrates the difference between positional leadership that comes from rank, (such as the centurion, the pilot and the boat’s owner possessed) and persuasive leadership, which comes from trust placed in the leader. The positional leaders may have been officially “in charge,” but we clearly see that Paul has become the leader by this point.
• Acts 27:39-44
• And so it happened.

A little shout out to my friend, Mathew, who provided a metaphorical lesson from this text. The sailors did two things to weather the storm: they bound up the ship and they jettisoned unnecessarily things weighing them down. In your life, what are you going to do when the storms come? What is binding your life together? And what are you carrying around that could be jettisoned? Good thoughts worthy of personal contemplation.

Peace!

Pastor John

Feeling Stuck in Some Way? Maybe You Need to Become Comfortable with Discomfort.

Sometimes parts of our lives seem stuck. A valued relationship isn't growing. Your career isn't moving forward. You just don't feel like you are personally growing. One cause might be that you are turning away from the very door you need to walk through, metaphorically speaking. One problem we face is that discomfort is uncomfortable, so we avoid the things that cause us discomfort/emotional pain/anxiety. But sometimes it is the very thing making us uncomfortable that we need to face into in order to keep growing.

It's natural to avoid pain and discomfort. There are many times when this is the right thing to do. If you feel pain in your hand, you take it quickly off the stove. Pain avoidance serves a purpose, but it can also keep us from growing.

When athletes are training, they actually look for a little pain. They want to "feel the burn." It is the pain the tells them that they are getting somewhere. That's not natural response to pain. Athletes have to train themselves to push through it. But they do and they grow stronger.

Discomfort with ourselves and our relationships can function much the same way. If you have a relationship that is stuck, it may be stuck because you are avoiding the uncomfortable. If you feel stuck in your personal growth, it may be that you are having trouble facing some uncomfortable or painful truths about yourself.

Can you imagine retraining yourself so that if you are in the middle of a conversation and you find yourself becoming uncomfortable or anxious, you think to yourself, "Now we're getting somewhere," instead of thinking about how to steer the conversation in a different direction? Can you imagine having a mindset where you could look at yourself honestly and, without judging yourself, say to yourself with regard to something that happened, "That really made me uncomfortable. I wonder why?" instead of trying to make sure that thing doesn't happen again.

Not every moment of discomfort is an opportunity for growth, but many are.

For the Christian, trust in God's unconditional love frees us to face into these moments of discomfort/pain/anxiety with others or with ourselves because we don't have anything to earn or prove to God. God displays his love for us on the cross of Jesus Christ and shows his power for our lives in the empty tomb that could not hold Jesus. All this he does without condition or restraint. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less.

That kind of unconditional love creates a free space in our hearts wherein we can face discomfort/anxiety/emotional pain and ask what it is about instead of running from it.

Pause for a moment and reflect. Recall a recent time you felt uncomfortable, nervous or anxious? Why is that? What is going on inside of you that let you to discomfort at that point?

So go ahead, get uncomfortable. It might be just the thing you need!

Peace to you.
John

LifeGroup Study on Acts 22:30-24:47

1. What is something you remember getting in trouble for as a kid that you look back on now and laugh?

2. Read Acts 22:30-Acts 23:11

3. Did the Roman tribune seem to know what was going on?

a. TRIBUNE: Commander of an ancient Roman cohort, a military unit ideally comprising 1,000 men. Some English versions use this term for the Greek word chiliarchos (as does our text in this study - PJ), which is also rendered “commander.” The Greek word for “cohort” is speires, which is sometimes rendered “regiment” (cp. Acts 21:31–33; 22:24–29; 23:10–22; 24:22; 25:23). According to Josephus, the Romans stationed a cohort in Jerusalem at the Antonia Fortress to suppress disturbances in the city (Clendenen, E. R. (2003). Tribune. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (pp. 1624–1625). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.)

b. ANTONIA TOWER: Also note that the Roman soldiers were stationed in the corner of the temple, in the Antonia Tower (or Fortress). This piece of the temple was built by Herod the Great in the first century B.C. and named for his friend, Marc Antony. Yes, that Marc Antony of Cleopatra fame. Paul was most likely held in the Antonia Tower. The High priest’s vestments were held in the Antonia Tower between festivals.

c. On Acts 23:2, with regard to Paul not knowing who the High Priest was, remember that Paul had been gone for many years. There appears to have been seven different High Priests since Paul began persecuting the followers of Christ under Joseph Caiaphas, one of whom, Jonathan, served from AD36-37, was deposed, and then reinstated in AD44, if that tells you anything about the political nature of this “religious” position.

4. How did Paul use knowledge and wisdom to divide this group that was united against him?

5. Read Acts 23:12-22

6. Was the plan to kill Paul fair, just or lawful for the Jewish leaders?

7. How did Paul display wisdom in the way he handled the news he heard from his nephew?

8. Read Acts 23:23-35

a. Note: 40+ men sworn to kill Paul is a big number. The tribune takes it seriously and ensures that such overwhelming force (470!) surrounds Paul that only a fool would attack with 40 men.

9. Was it important that Paul was a Roman Citizen? Did Paul use that to his advantage?

10. Read Acts 24:1-21

11. How would you characterize the tone of Paul’s speech? (boisterous, timid, in-your-face, polite, factual, etc?)

12. Read Acts 24:22-27

13. How long was Paul in prison up to this point?

a. Paul’s behavior during this time calls to mind Jesus’ direction to his disciples: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16. How did Paul fulfill each part of this instruction from Jesus?

14. What kinds of situations in life tempt people to not be innocent as doves?

15. Is there ever a conflict between what is apparently the wisest response vs. what is a response of faith to a given situation?

16. What else strikes you?

17. Close in prayer.

A Tale of Two Fish

Once upon a time, two fish were talking about water. One said, "I believe in water." The other said, "I've never seen water. I don't think it exists." The first fish said, "I still believe in water." The second fish said, "I will prove to you that there is no water." The second fish then went on a long journey, searching far and wide for water. After many miles and countless hours of searching, the second fish returned to the first fish and reported, "There is no water. I have looked everywhere there is to look and I have yet to find evidence for water. How can you go on believing in water?"

Once upon a time, two people were talking about God...