Acts 4 -- putting toothpaste back in the tube

The rulers of Israel are worried. They can't admit that they badly misread the situation, and blundered on a history-making scale, when they got rid of one noisy troublemaker. This troublemaker, however, has friends. And a power to grip allegiances and imaginations. This troublemaker is out of their reach, now that he's dead -- but he's also alive, making more news, making more trouble.

Act 4:15 Kurul üyeleri onlara dışarı çıkmalarını buyurduktan sonra durumu kendi aralarında tartışmaya başladılar.
Act 4:16 "Bu adamları ne yapacağız?" dediler. "Yeruşalim'de yaşayan herkes, bunların eliyle olağanüstü bir belirti gerçekleştirildiğini biliyor. Biz bunu inkâr edemeyiz.
Act 4:17 Ama bu haberin halk arasında daha çok yayılmasını önlemek için onları tehdit edelim ki, bundan böyle İsa'nın adından kimseye söz etmesinler."
Act 4:18 Böylece onları çağırdılar, İsa'nın adını hiç anmamalarını, o adı kullanarak hiçbir şey öğretmemelerini buyurdular.
Act 4:19 Ama Petrus'la Yuhanna şöyle karşılık verdiler: "Tanrı'nın önünde, Tanrı'nın sözünü değil de sizin sözünüzü dinlemek doğru mudur, kendiniz karar verin.
Act 4:20 Biz gördüklerimizi ve işittiklerimizi anlatmadan edemeyiz."

Censorship clamps down. The disciples are threatened (tehdit emek) and told to shut up. To say nothing more about this troublemaker, to do nothing else in his name. The beginning of the West's tradition of political liberty appears in their words: God on the front side of (Tanrı'nın önünde, ), God's word not (Tanrı'nın sözünü değil) but your word to listen to/heed (de sizin sözünüzü dinlemek) is / is not right, (doğru mudur, ) of yourselves a verdict give. (kendiniz karar verin. ) Or, as the King James puts it, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. "

The early Christian leaders refused to be silenced. "We, those things that we have seen (gördüklerimizi ) and those things that we have heard (işittiklerimizi ) must be made known.

At the moment, the people of the lie hold the upper hand. It is sad that the lies the Jewish leaders told to protect their own stinking careers closed the doors of paradise to their children for thousands of years.

May God grant us the grace to live in truth, for the sake of those who will come after us.

Acts 3 -- resourceful people

The best tasks seem humanly impossible, shortly before they are accomplished. I am wondering, for example, how to finish my dissertation within the next few weeks, when time, energy, and focus all seem to be in short supply. Yet, time and again in the Bible, we read of supernatural resourcefulness in the face of apparent lack. For example, when Peter and John encountered a beggar at the door of the temple:

Act 3:4 Petrus'la Yuhanna ona dikkatle baktılar. Sonra Petrus, "Bize bak" dedi.
Act 3:5 Adam, onlardan bir şey alacağını umarak gözlerini onların üzerine dikti.
Act 3:6 Petrus, "Bende altın ve gümüş yok, ama bende olanı sana veriyorum" dedi. "Nasıralı İsa Mesih'in adıyla, yürü!"

Peter with / John / at him / carefully / looked. / Afterward / Peter / "To us / look" / said.

The guy looks at them, hoping to get something.

Peter, "On me / silver / and / gold / there is not (amazing how much mileage you can get out of that three-letter word yok!) / but / on me / that which I have / to you / I give," / he said.

And a miracle happened. The power found in the name of the Nazarene, Jesus, enabled a life-long cripple to leap up and walk. That same power makes us equal to our assigned tasks and opportunities today.

Believing Christians who home-school their kids for a few hundred dollars per year achieve better results than secular schools that pour more than $10,000 / year into each child.

Jesus makes a difference. Scrupulously screen him out of a project, and you get the results America is experiencing. Honor Him from day one, and the world will marvel.

Acts 2, July 20, Tisha B'Av

Today, observant Jews around the world commemorate the destruction of their two temples on this date, the Ninth of Av. Solomon's temple temple fell beneath the heels of the Babylonians about 2,500 years ago, and Herod's temple fell nearly 2,000 years ago. It's traumatic when the heart of your religious identity and practices is violently desecrated. "That's a hard thing to bounce back from." Every time a Jewish couple marry, the groom breaks a goblet underfoot, as yet another reminder that something bad went down.

I wish these dear people would get the point, and get with the program. I mean, their greatest Prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, told them ahead of time that their clock was running out.[1] Soon after our Lord's resurrection, Peter explained again what had happened:

Act 2:31 Geleceği görerek Mesih'in ölümden dirilişine ilişkin şunları söyledi: 'O, ölüler diyarına terk edilmedi, bedeni çürümedi.'
Act 2:32 Tanrı, İsa'yı ölümden diriltti ve biz hepimiz bunun tanıklarıyız.
Act 2:33 O, Tanrı'nın sağına yüceltilmiş, vaat edilen Kutsal Ruh'u Baba'dan almış ve şimdi gördüğünüz ve işittiğiniz gibi, bu Ruh'u üzerimize dökmüştür.
Act 2:34,35 Davut, kendisi göklere çıkmadığı halde şöyle der: 'Rab Rabbim'e dedi ki, Ben düşmanlarını Ayaklarının altına serinceye dek, Sağımda otur.'
Act 2:36 "Böylelikle bütün İsrail halkı şunu kesinlikle bilsin: Tanrı, sizin çarmıha gerdiğiniz İsa'yı hem Rab hem Mesih yapmıştır."

Let's unpack one chunk of this message, a quotation from Psalm 110. It's obviously an important point, since this is the Old Testament chapter that is most frequently quoted from, or referred to, in the New Testament.

'Rab Rabbim'e dedi ki, Ben düşmanlarını Ayaklarının altına serinceye dek, Sağımda otur.'

The Lord / to my Lord / said / this, / I / your enemies / your feet / below / placed / until, / by My side / sit.

The people of Israel crucified the Lord of life -- who disagreed with their verdict so passionately that He overturned it by rising from the dead. Jesus was right. The Jews were wrong. And still are, til this day.

So, they do well to mourn the loss of their temple, and to ponder the reasons thereof. May God grant that, as time moves on, an ever-growing number of the Jewish people will find in the Messiah they spurned the true Sacrifice, and the ultimate Temple.

_________

[1] "Running out the clock" is an idiom from American sports. When a game is nearly over, the team that holds the lead sometimes slows down the pace of play, seeks to control the game, and simply prevent the other team from scoring any points.

Acts 1, 2 -- a new catalogue of nations

In Acts 1, as I've pointed out before, we encounter "the stupidest question in the Bible."

Act 1:6 Elçiler bir araya geldiklerinde İsa'ya şunu sordular: "Ya Rab, İsrail'e egemenliği şimdi mi geri vereceksin?"

Let's see -- Israel had just repudiated God's Kingdom, by orchestrating the brutal murder of the King. Jesus had already told all who would hear what to expect in their immediate future: a destruction so total that "not one stone will be left upon another." Maybe, though, Jesus didn't really mean it this time. After all, Israel was the special nation. The idea that the birth of the new order might require the discarding of the old was just a bit too much to wrap their minds around. Jesus must have sighed at their stubborn unwillingness to face the facts and get with the program. Then, he offered a compassionate answer:

Act 1:7 İsa onlara, "Baba'nın kendi yetkisiyle belirlemiş olduğu zamanları ve tarihleri bilmenize gerek yok" karşılığını verdi.
Act 1:8 "Ama Kutsal Ruh üzerinize inince güç alacaksınız. Yeruşalim'de, bütün Yahudiye ve Samiriye'de ve dünyanın dört bucağında benim tanıklarım olacaksınız."

(a) God knows, you don't, leave that question alone. Let that sleeping dog lie, for now.
(b) Think bigger. Think beyond this city, this nation, and your immediate neighbors. I will equip you to take on the whole world, to all four corners.

On the day of Pentecost, in chapter two, we see a a cinematic trailer, a sneak preview of coming attractions:

Act 2:6 Sesin duyulması üzerine büyük bir kalabalık toplandı. Herkes kendi dilinin konuşulduğunu duyunca şaşakaldı.
Act 2:7 Hayret ve şaşkınlık içinde, "Bakın, bu konuşanların hepsi Celileli değil mi?" diye sordular.
Act 2:8 "Nasıl oluyor da her birimiz kendi ana dilini işitiyor?
Act 2:9-11 Aramızda Partlar, Medler, Elamlılar var. Mezopotamya'da, Yahudiye ve Kapadokya'da, Pontus ve Asya İli'nde*, Frikya ve Pamfilya'da, Mısır ve Libya'nın Kirene'ye yakın bölgelerinde yaşayanlar var. Hem Yahudi hem de Yahudiliğe dönen Romalı konuklar, Giritliler ve Araplar var aramızda. Ama her birimiz Tanrı'nın büyük işlerinin kendi dilimizde konuşulduğunu işitiyoruz."

In Genesis 11, in the account of the Tower of Babel, we see how humanity went in a moment from speaking one language to chattering away at each other in mutually incomprehensible dialects. This chapter goes on to list the founding nations of humanity.

In Acts 2, we see how people from a variety of nations can all, supernaturally, hear the same message of God's greatness. Let's unpack one sentence:

Ama her birimiz Tanrı'nın büyük işlerinin kendi dilimizde konuşulduğunu işitiyoruz."

But / every / one of us / of God's / great / his works / his own / in our own languages / being described / we hear.

Turkish is fun, since it lets you assemble big thoughts from small syllables. dilimizde combines the word for tongue, language (dil) with the first person plural possessive (imiz) and the locative (de -- in, on, at) suffixes.

For many years, the number 1 hymn in the Methodist hymnal was Charles Wesley's "Pentecost Carol." Note how the themes of that event are celebrated in these verses:

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heaven.

Look unto Him, ye nations, own
Your God, ye fallen race;

Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature’s sleep,
And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,
And wash the Æthiop white.

Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.

Murderers and all ye hellish crew
In holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.

John 20 -- things that go bump in the night

"Things that go bump in the night" is a wry cliche in English. As this site explains, it means "Frightening but imagined supernatural events." Apparently, this phrase comes from an incantation that was well-known in the Cornish region of western England a century ago:

From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord, deliver us!

A 19th century cynic and poet wrote,

From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free,
We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be
That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never;
That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea.

Charles Algernon Swinburne does not sound like a happy camper,[1] now, does he? Fortunately for humanity, Swinburne was a pompous fool, and dead wrong about dead men. We know what lies on the other side of the grave, for One has been through death, come back to tell us about it, and lives still to assuage our fear of the final adventure we all must face.

Yet, when we read the gospels, they have nothing in common with the typical ghost story. Jesus does not "go bump in the night." He shows up in broad daylight, solid and exuberant with vibrant life. Catering a breakfast, and enjoying a snack himself. Sounds too good to be true? Thomas thought so:

Joh 20:25 Öbür öğrenciler ona, "Biz Rab'bi gördük!" dediler. Tomas ise, "O'nun ellerinde çivilerin izini görmedikçe, çivilerin izine parmağımla dokunmadıkça ve elimi böğrüne sokmadıkça inanmam" dedi.
Joh 20:26 Sekiz gün sonra İsa'nın öğrencileri yine evdeydiler. Tomas da onlarla birlikteydi. Kapılar kapalıyken İsa gelip ortalarında durdu, "Size esenlik olsun!" dedi.
Joh 20:27 Sonra Tomas'a, "Parmağını uzat" dedi, "Ellerime bak, elini uzat, böğrüme koy. İmansız olma, imanlı ol!"
Joh 20:28 Tomas O'na, "Rabbim ve Tanrım!" diye yanıtladı.
Joh 20:29 İsa, "Beni gördüğün için mi iman ettin?" dedi. "Görmeden iman edenlere ne mutlu!"

The last sentence in the bottom line. Tomas saw and believed -- but how much more blessed are those of us who have not (yet) seen the risen Jesus, but still believe in Him.

___________

[1] "Happy camper" is another sarcastic cliche, and refers to artificial, coerced cheerfulness. The idiom is rooted in summer camps where children would spend a week, or longer, away from their families and sometimes desperately homesick. The adult camp counselors demanded cheerful dispositions, and required their charges to be "happy campers."

John 19 -- Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok!

This is a key verse for understanding the Kingdom of God, and the plight of Israel. In the book of judges, several times, we read the following explanation for Israel's misbehavior: "There was no king in Israel in those days, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

First of all, they refused to have God as their king, and drifted into all kinds of immorality. In the Kingdom of God, we govern ourselves, reign over and rein in[1] our own unruly appetites, leave our neighbors at peace, and sit "every man under his own vine, and under his own fig tree, and none can make them afraid."

As things got dicey, Israel could have repented, and come under God's gentle yoke again. Instead, they opted for Plan B -- "We want to have a (human) king, to rule over us, and to lead us in warfare against our enemies." Samuel warned Israel about the consequences of what they were demanding -- see I Samuel 8. A human king would eventually start demanding more than God Himself requires of us, a tithe on our "increase." God required Israel to kick back and loaf for one year out of every seven. A human king would demand his taxes, seven years out of seven.

Jesus, God's messiah, came along and took up the message John the Baptist: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." We can find all that is most wonderful in this life and the next if we start with personal submission to the Heavenly King. The title of today's post reflects Israel's answer then -- and, all too often, today:

Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok!

Caesar than / other / our king / there is not!

We can govern ourselves. Or, we can be ruled by tyrants. As John Wycliffe, an early translator of the Bible into English explained, "This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people, and for the people." An American tyrant, who deliberately provoked the bloodiest war in our nation's history, a war that left 600,000 combatants and innumerable civilians dead, perverted that sentiment in his Gettysburg Address. Forget God. Forget the Bible. We have a new deity -- "This government of the people, by the people, and for the people."

_____________

[1] Reign (to rule) and rein (noun: strap attached to a bit used to control a horse. Verb: to govern, to curb, to control.) both are pronounced like the word rain. Reign has more expansive, positive connotations.

John 18 -- in broad daylight

I'm a big fan of open-source software. For example, anyone who wants to can download the source code for Linux, and adapt it to his unique situation. The deal, of course, is -- you let other members of the community profit from your work. IBM is a major fan of open source software, and invests, I believe, somewhere north of $250M / year in these kinds of projects. The word has gone out to IBM staff -- use Mozilla Firefox, the open source alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Internet Explorer.

In the open source universe, volunteer coders, testers, and documenters keep the momentum going for continuous improvement. You have fewer concealed flaws popping up later -- "given sufficient eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." If enough people are working on a program, flaws in logic and design are easier to find.

One of the more appealing aspects of Christianity is its open-source convictions. True, every now and then you'll get a Dan Brown trying to beat an old dead horse, and claiming to disclose a secret core to public Christianity, something known only to a relative handful of initiates. Many of the later gnostic "gospels" contained little history, little narrative -- just a collection of saying Jesus allegedly passed on to his inner core of intimates. Freemasonry attracts adherents with its pageantry and ritualism, true. But the main drawing card is the sense of participating in a secret, a select brotherhood with a non-public agenda.

Yet, what did Jesus say, when on trial for his life?

Joh 18:20 İsa onu şöyle yanıtladı: "Ben söylediklerimi dünyaya açıkça söyledim. Her zaman bütün Yahudiler'in toplandıkları havralarda ve tapınakta öğrettim. Gizli hiçbir şey söylemedim.
Joh 18:21 Beni neden sorguya çekiyorsun? Konuştuklarımı işitenlerden sor. Onlar ne söylediğimi biliyorlar."

Gizli hiçbir şey söylemedim. In secret / not one / thing / I never said.

The Latin translation (in occulto locutus sum nihil) has one easily-recognized word, the root of the English word "occult."

Or, in the words Jesus Himself used, ἐν κρυπτῷ ἐλάλησα οὐδέν. κρυπτῷ , of course, is the root of our word "cryptic."

Those who love Jesus are the children of the day, living openly and joyfully in terms of insights they are glad to share. 2B1 ask 1.