Unlearning Tradition, Relearning Scripture

Tag: Resurrcetion

  • “Loving One Another” Cliché

    Christians tend to believe what they are told, instead of what Scripture has taught or Scripture itself. Yes, there is a huge difference between the two.

    For instance, we were told that Christ Jesus was nailed to the cross and died of crucifixion on a Friday, and He was resurrected early Sunday morning. Yet in Scripture, Jesus Christ clearly said, “He would be three days and three nights buried in the ground.” See Matthew 12:40. Jesus said: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

    No matter how good a person is at manipulating days and nights, no way can three days and three nights be fitted into Friday to Sunday. TRADITION has it that Jesus Christ resurrected early morning of Sunday. Jesus Christ clearly died at three in the afternoon (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34; Luke 23:44-46, 9th hour, Jewish time) and was buried before the Special (high) Sabbath. See the following statements in Scripture. First, John 19:30-31.

    “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.”

    Next, John 19:38-42.

    “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”

    Jesus Christ was buried before the “high Sabbath,” the Jewish feast day, on the 15th of Nisan. The “Jewish Day of Preparation” was the 14th of Nisan before sundown. At sundown, at the start of the “high Sabbath”, no work can be done. The conditions for a Sabbath day when no work can be done apply to a special Sabbath. Yes, the “high Sabbath” could be any day in the week, for as long as it’s the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nisan.

    So we see the Jews wanting to take Jesus down from the cross before sundown – the beginning of the “high Sabbath” – and also, Joseph and Nicodemus taking the body of Jesus, making all the necessary Jewish burial customs and laying Him in an empty and unused tomb before sundown. This was before the “high Sabbath” kicked in.

    Now, to illustrate the impossibility of fitting Friday to Sunday to three days and three nights, let’s just – FOR THE MOMENT – agree with a Friday death by crucifixion at 3:00 PM, yet be mindful that the Jewish cycle for a day begins at sundown (6:00 PM) to before sundown the next day. Friday, 3:00 PM to before 6:00 PM (sundown) cannot be a day by any count. So the truth of the matter is, there was only one full Saturday, then at sundown it’s Sunday – which again, according to tradition, just hours later, Jesus Christ resurrected.

    Obviously, Friday to Sunday is a misrepresentation of the Word of God. Mind you, it’s not a non-essential detail because the integrity of Jesus’ words is at stake.

    I recall once, while I was still a seminary student, we had a mission exposure trip encountering Muslims. We met an Imam (a spiritual advisor and expert in Islamic Law), who is well-equipped with the Christian Bible. So he asked us a few questions that were based on Christian tradition but not supported by Scripture. One of the questions he asked was about Jesus’ three-day and three-night statements vis-a-vis Christian’s claim of Friday to Sunday burial and resurrection. No one was able to defend the faith when confronted by knowledgeable questions. Consequently, it’s not enough that we claim faith that is not according to knowledge. We will forever be struggling when confronted with legitimate challenges. How then can we convert intelligent people of other faith?

    Christians have been chopping up theology or chopping up reading of the Bible and have become easy prey to tradition. Soteriology (doctrine of salvation) was disconnected from ecclesiology (doctrine of the church), also from eschatology (doctrine of last things), etc. Then, sad to say, once rebuked or challenged, they would justify it as inconsequential compared to the overall message. Worse, they would bring the “love one another” cliché.

    We all commit mistakes believing in traditions that are not founded in Scripture. However, when corrected and proven wrong, we should not justify ourselves by using the “love one another” cliché. The Christian “love one another” teaching of Jesus Christ cannot be divorced from the need to hold on to the truth of the Scripture. See John 15:12-15.

    “This is My (Jesus Christ’s) commandment, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for his friends. YOU ARE MY FRIENDS IF YOU DO WHAT I COMMAND YOU. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his Master is doing; but I have called you friends, FOR ALL THAT I HAVE HEARD FROM MY FATHER I HAVE MADE KNOWN TO YOU.”

    Christians cannot simply “be the kind one”. The apostle Paul never used the “love one another” cliché when there was wrong committed. Persisting on a wrong can be a sin against the body of Christ, the church. See 1Timothy 5:17-20.

    “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”

    Now, going back to my discussion on Jesus’ death and resurrection. For context, in Matthew 12, the Pharisees had been challenging the miraculous deeds (signs) of Jesus Christ. Among other things, the Pharisees attributed Jesus’ healing miracles and His casting out of demons to that of the prince of demons, Beelzebul. In response, Jesus made clear He cast out demons by the Spirit of God, thereby announcing the arrival of God’s kingdom (Matthew 12:28), which of course also meant He was the Messiah. In return, the Pharisees continued in their disbelief and asked Jesus to provide a sign that He indeed was the Messiah.

    To prove without a doubt that indeed Jesus Christ was the Messiah who was to come, He gave them the sign of Noah – that, He would be three days and three nights in the ground before His resurrection.

    To briefly point out the truth, allow me to highlight key passages only. See Matthew 12:22. “Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to Him (Jesus Christ), and He healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Can this be the Son of David?” (Take note, the “Son of David” was the prophesied coming Messiah; see 2Samuel 7:8-16; Matthew 21:9) But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, He (Jesus Christ) said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

    See also Matthew 12:38-40. “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him (Jesus Christ), saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

    Consequently, Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection have to be exactly three days and three nights before He would be seen alive. Anything short of that would be a discredit to His claim that He was the Christ, the Messiah. That can’t be non-essential in any sense because it had to be fulfilled exactly as Jesus Christ had pronounced, authenticating that indeed He was the Messiah. And if there was any contradiction to His pronouncement of three days and three nights, just a fraction short of that, the Jews could have denounced Jesus as having a fake claim to God’s promise of the Messiah.

    The Jewish religious leaders of Old Covenant Israel recognized the veracity of Jesus rising back to life after three days and three nights, so they made sure it could not be fake. See Matthew 27:62-64.

    “The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while He (Jesus Christ) was still alive, After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples go and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.”

    Christians ought to be apologists (defenders) of the faith, not defenders of themselves. Once truths of the Scripture are challenged, compromised, or inadequately presented, we have a responsibility to correct and explain the truth. But we ought to know the truth firsthand before we can do so. In the Book of Acts, Apollos was described as eloquent in Scripture, but he only knew about John’s baptism. So he too was instructed by Priscilla and Aquila on the Scripture more accurately. Priscilla and Aquila practiced the Christian virtue of “loving one another” they taught Apollos more accurately about Christ Jesus our Lord. Similarly, Apollos embraced the correction and instruction in the spirit of loving one another. Go read Acts 18:24-28.

    No Christian can sincerely say they are obedient to Christ’s command of “loving one another” – at least, not until we learn to love Christ Jesus and His word. Loving God’s Word means we are ready to protect at all times the integrity of Jesus’ Words and declarations. No ifs and no buts.

    Perhaps for a time, some passages in Scripture might be unclear or vague to us. Yet, Scripture said, “Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3-5)

    In conclusion, let us meditate John’s writing on the virtue of love. See 1John 4:7-19.

    “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.”


    “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit     [Keep in mind, Jesus said “His Words are Spirit and life, see John 6:63; John 12:49-50; Romans 10:17; 1Corinthians 2:9-14; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 1Peter 1:22-23]. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not abeen perfected in love. We love because He first loved us.”

    Also, Peter’s words on God’s Word and loving one another. See 1Peter 1:22 to 2:3.

    “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”And this word is the good news that was preached to you. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

    Let us refrain from using the “love one another” cliché as a way of escape when we have committed wrongs or misrepresentated the Word of God. Christ Jesus died for our sins to free us who believe in Him from our wrongdoings and shortcomings. Salvation is never a pass for saying nonsense and then atoning by claiming the “love one another cliché”. Scripture said, “Put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander (1Peter 2:1)”.

    Christians should always be humble before the Word of God. Always ready to be corrected and rebuked when confronted by Scripture. Similarly, always be ready to learn and be equipped by the Bible.

    “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2Timothy 2:15)

    The apostle Paul instructed, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Take note, Paul’s words and doings are in the Scripture. We can surely learn from him.)

    Again, Paul instructed, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2Timothy 2:1-2)

    Once more, Paul instructed, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

    Blessings!

    If you want to follow our journey of unlearning tradition and relearning Scripture, you can stay updated just head to our about page and subscribe directly to receive notifications in your inbox. Subscription is free.

  • The Essence Of Our Faith

    Christendom has two important annual occasions – the celebration of Christmas and the remembering of the Holy Week. It is widely acknowledged that the month of December, a winter time in Bethlehem (December to February), cannot be the time of Christ’s incarnate birth, given that Scripture spoke of shepherds in the field at the time of His birth (Luke 2:4-16). Let me be very clear here: The incarnate birth of Jesus Christ is factual and historical but the celebration of Christmas in December is more highly a tradition.

    It must have been a little over a month since I last wrote a blog. I came out writing this blog since our calendars once again reminds us of the supposed Holy Week. The idea of the Holy Week was never mentioned in the New Testament Scripture, particularly the Book of Acts, written by Luke narrating the beginning and events of the early church. Here is the reason the Holy Week was never mentioned in Scripture:

    Holy Week, in the Christian church, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, observed with special solemnity as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ. In the Greek and Roman liturgical books, it is called the Great Week because great deeds were done by God during this week. The name Holy Week was used in the 4th century by St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and St. Epiphanius of Constantia. Originally, only Good Friday and Holy Saturday were observed as holy days. Later, Wednesday was added as the day on which Judas plotted to betray Jesus, and by the beginning of the 3rd century the other days of the week had been added. The pre-Nicene church concentrated its attention on the celebration of one great feast, the Christian Passover, on the night between Saturday and Easter Sunday morning. By the later 4th century the practice had begun of separating the various events and commemorating them on the days of the week on which they occurred: Judas’s betrayal and the institution of the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday; the Passion and death of Christ on Good Friday; his burial on Saturday; and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

    Britannica.Com, Holy Week

    As you can see, the observance of the Holy Week was a tradition that began in the 4th century, hundreds of years after the inception of Christianity. See Matthew 12:40. Jesus Christ said:

    For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

    See also John 2:18-22; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22-23 and many more. Jesus Christ, the last and great Prophet of God (Matthew 13:57; Acts 3:19-22), proclaimed that He would be three days and three nights buried on the ground. How then can He had died on a Friday, buried on a Saturday and resurrected on a Sunday? Something obviously is wrong or misleading, don’t you think? See also information below.

    Fixing the date on which the Resurrection of Jesus was to be observed and celebrated triggered a major controversy in early Christianity in which an Eastern and a Western position can be distinguished. The dispute, known as the Paschal controversies, was not definitively resolved until the 8th century. In Asia Minor, Christians observed the day of the Crucifixion on the same day that Jews celebrated the Passover offering—that is, on the 14th day of the first full moon of spring, 14 Nisan (see Jewish calendar). The Resurrection, then, was observed two days later, on 16 Nisan, regardless of the day of the week. In the West the Resurrection of Jesus was celebrated on the first day of the week, Sunday, when Jesus had risen from the dead. Consequently, Easter was always celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Increasingly, the churches opted for the Sunday celebration, and the Quartodecimans (“14th day” proponents) remained a minority. The Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.

    Britannica.Com, Easter

    So like the Christmas celebration, the observation of the Holy Week, specifically regarding the day of resurrection, traditionally understood as a Sunday, also was/is more of tradition rather than Scripture.

    Sunday, the first day of the week. It is regarded by most Christians as the Lord’s Day, or the weekly memorial of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. The practice of Christians gathering together for worship on Sunday dates back to apostolic times, but details of the actual development of the custom are not clear. Verse 10 of the first chapter of the Revelation to John (mid-1st century AD) mentions the “Lord’s Day”; this was subsequently interpreted by most commentators as a reference to Sunday. St. Justin Martyr(c. 100–c. 165), philosopher and defender of the Christian faith, in his writings described the Christians gathered together for worship on the Lord’s Day: the Gospels or the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) was read, the presiding minister preached a sermon, and the group prayed together and celebrated the Lord’s Supper.

    The Roman emperor Constantine I (died 337), a convert to Christianity, introduced the first civil legislation concerning Sunday in 321, when he decreed that all work should cease on that day, except that farmers could work if necessary. That law, aimed at providing time for worship, was followed later in the same century and in subsequent centuries by further restrictions on Sunday activities.

    Britannica.Com, Sunday

    Make no mistake that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was/is the centerpiece of our faith. See 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; the apostle Paul explaining the truth concerning resurrection said:

    12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

    Let me be very clear here. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are factual and historical events clearly authenticated by the Bible and is without error. But the day of resurrection is more of a tradition. You may want to read my blog entitled “Small Details May Say A Lot (The True Sabbath Rest)” for further explanation on the topic of the resurrection day and more. But the point of this blog is to align our understanding of Christ’s Resurrection with that of the Bible. Christ’s Resurrection occurred in fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits, (1 Corinthians 15:20). See Leviticus 23:9-11.

    9And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

    Christ’s redemptive work, His death and resurrection, should be understood through the pages of the Old Testament Scripture. See Luke 24:13-27.

    13That very day [the day of Christ’s resurrection] two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. 17And He said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and when they did not find His body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.” 25And He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

    See also Luke 24:44-48.

    44Then He [Jesus] said to them [the apostles], “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things.

    Aren’t the apostles witnessed of the New Testament Scripture, which we believe, proclaim and teach? Sadly, it is quite evident that through the centuries, the Christian doctrine have been diluted with tradition, which has been passed down and repeatedly been taught for millennia now. Shouldn’t it be re-examined, corrected and restored to its original narrative – that is, in fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets?

    Lord willing, in the next few blogs, we hope to go back to the Bible, to unlearn tradition and relearn Scripture. Let us learn from the Bereans: “they received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if what they have been told is true”.

    “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25)

    Blessings!

    If you want to follow our journey of unlearning tradition and relearning Scripture, you can stay updated by heading to our about page and subscribe directly to receive notifications in your inbox.