Unashamed Studios Blog

Jesus’ Return

July 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Some more really awesome stuff from the email survey of Mark:

Watchfulness in Tribulation and Triumph

Part 2 (13:24-37)

I already covered most of this in the last email, because these sections are so interconnected, but there are a couple more cool things I’d like to bring out.

I like this quote from Edwards:

It is equally important to note what this glorious vision of the future does not affirm. There is no mention of a millennium, no new Jerusalem, no rebuilt temple, no restoration of Israel or the State of Israel, no battle of Armageddon, and no hints how and when Christ will return. About all these things, the text is silent. All these incidentals yield to the preeminent truth of the power and glory of Jesus’ future coming and the promise that His elect will be gathered to Him. This preview of the future ought not lure us to calculate when Christ will return, nor to fear what will happen, but to know that He will come to claim His own. His coming is His promise, and the gathering of believers to Him is our hope.

“you know that summer is near” … “you know that He is near, at the very gates”

“Summer” and “gate” or “door” are very positive words – while Jesus’ return is set in the middle of an apocalypse (v24-25: the sun/moon/stars blacking out and “heavenly powers being shaken”), it is set as a beautiful, positive thing – something we eagerly wait for and yearn for.

Expectancy and Vigilance

While the disciples are asking for a sign, so they can know when these things will happen, Jesus Himself is content that even He does not know. He is content to leave it in the hands of the Father alone – as we should be – and live “awake”, expecting it at any time.

Jesus’ return – seeing Him again and being with Him – was such a big deal for Peter, as we learn from tradition as well as his letters – and such a big deal for Christians in the 1st century. It’s a shame to see it neglected as it is today and consumed with insubstantial quarrels about times and dates. Jesus is coming back! I can’t wait. I love how this yearning is brought out in The Sands of Time are Sinking, one of my favorite hymns:

The sands of time are sinking

the dawn of heaven breaks

the summer morn I’ve sighed for

that fair, sweet morn awakes


Dark, dark, has been the midnight

But day-spring is at hand

And glory, glory, dwelleth

In Immanuel’s land


The bride eyes not her garment

But her dear Bridegroom’s face

I will not gaze at glory

But on my King of Grace

Dear Jesus, come back soon! Thank You for Your promise; teach us to treasure it and hold it close when we’re suffering and waiting. Please rip our minds and hearts from the things of this world, the petty things that charm me like shiny new software and new movies. You know my heart is prone to wander, please bring my attention back to You, help me to live today in the awareness of Your presence, Your compassion for me and Your imminent return. Yet with the same breath, I ask You for patience, that more might be saved. I want to see a remnant brought in from the gothic and indie electronica/dance subcultures. May Your Word go out and may many more be brought into Your amazing salvation!

– peter

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Two-thirds through Mark

July 8, 2009 · 2 Comments

I can’t believe there are only 9 days left in our 29-day study of Mark. Of course, we’ve taken a few breaks in the past month and will likely take a couple more before it’s all finished, but still – I’ve never studied so immersively before, it’s awesome!

Here are the most recent five links, which I just posted to the main outline. There’s tons of good stuff here and I’ve been getting better about being concise. Enjoy!

Mere Discipleship (9:30-50) 21 verses

“On the way” through Judea (10:1-52) 52 verses

The Barren Temple (11:1-25) 25 verses

Jesus and the Sanhedrin (11:27-12:44) 51 verses

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Mark: Removing the Veil, part 1

June 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment

As you (hopefully) know, I’ve been working through a quick survey of the Gospel of Mark this month with my wife, a few students and staff. I normally won’t post these as blog posts, but this one was just too good. I am posting them online as HTML pages and linking them to the outline, as well as sending them out in email form each morning (let me know if you want me to add you to the email list).

Credit: the outline and many of the thoughts are from James R. Edwards’ excellent commentary on Mark.

This is starting to get really exciting, hold on to your britches.

Removing the Veil

Part 1 (8:10-30)

Here we reach Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, which divides Mark in two like the Rocky Mountains. Before the confession, Jesus was criss-crossing the Sea of Galilee doing ministry, afterwards He’s heading resolutely to Jerusalem. Before the confession He was working with the masses, after He’s privately teaching His disciples. After the confession, He solemnly says “I tell you the truth” a dozen times – something He’d only said before once (3:28). Before the confession, He’s casting out demons and telling people to be quiet and not tell anyone who He is – we see none of this afterwards.

A Sign of Disbelief (8:10-13)

Jesus goes in the boat to Dalmanutha, a region probably on the Westernmost shore of the Sea of Galilee, just below the cliffs of Arbel. The Pharisees “come out” against Him, asking Him for a “sign from heaven”. This is different from the word for miracle – Jesus has been doing lots of miracles, but what they’re asking for is “a sign from heaven,” proof that God Himself is cool with what Jesus has been doing. Jesus response, though it doesn’t come across so much in English, is total dismay or despair, groaning in His spirit, signifying that He’s being pushed to the limit. His response of “no sign will be given to this generation” is literally a Jewish idiom that is the equivalent of “over my dead body” (Edwards: “if a sign shall be given to this generation, may I die”).

Right away, Jesus gets back in the boat and takes off. He has so had it with the Pharisees; their hardness of heart and total unbelief has pushed Him to the edge. They want “proof positive”. He’s been doing crazy-awesome miracles all along – He doesn’t require blind faith – but He does require some faith.

The Enemy Within (8:14-21)

In the boat on the way back, Jesus encounters more unbelief – but this time from His own disciples! He uses a riddle involving yeast to warn them to watch out for the hypocrisy and traps of the Pharisees and Herod and they think “yeast?! Oh no, we forgot bread!!” As if their unbelieving response to Jesus request “You give them something to eat” wasn’t bad enough (“Shall we go out and buy 200 days’ wages worth of bread?!”), now they’re freaking out because they forgot to bring the bread.

It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t simple chew the disciples out for having no faith, but He points to the root of their lack of faith: not seeing or understanding. Genuine, saving faith isn’t blind faith, it’s faith based on hearing, seeing and understanding – paying attention to the miracles that Jesus has done for us.

The Touch that Gives Sight (8:22-26)

I’ve always been confused with this miracles – why Jesus does it in stages, making the man’s vision blurry and asking him if he sees – and the guy seeing things blurry “I see men, but they look like trees walking around”. I was like “What?! Why not just heal him all the way, the first time?”

But I never put it in context. It occurs right after Jesus chews the disciples out for not seeing, not understanding – “do you not yet perceive? … having eyes do you not see?” This miracles is all about sight – in the English several of the words for sight are the same, but the original Greek has eight different words for the nine instances of “seeing” in 8:23-25!

The man’s blurry vision at the beginning – “I see men, but they look like trees” – is parallel to the disciples after Jesus confession of the Christ. They recognize that Jesus is the One – the Messiah – but they (like everyone else) are expecting a military campaign and a reigning king. Their vision is still blurred. It’s not until after the resurrection that they will be able to see clearly, like the man at the end of the healing.

Peter’s Declaration of Jesus’ Messiahship (8:27-30)

I really like how Jesus asks “who do others say I am?” and “how about you, who do you say I am?” as two distinct questions, forcing the disciples to think for themselves and venture into the open with their own beliefs on the matter. I also love the question – it’s not about what Jesus has done, it’s about who He is. Who do you say Jesus is? I need to ask this question more often of teens who respect Jesus and Christianity, but haven’t taken the plunge. Who do you say Jesus is? Is He the Christ, the very Son of God?

Jesus, we honor You as the Son of God, the Judge of all, the coming King. We swear loyalty to You, yet we’re acutely aware of our own weakness and faithlessness. Please teach us to see, to hear, to pay better attention to You and all You’ve said and done for us, that our faith may grow and our lives be changed, in order that You may be exalted on earth, like You are in heaven.

– peter

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Gospel of Mark Notes

June 25, 2009 · 6 Comments

As mentioned in the previous post, I’m doing a 29-day walk-through of the Gospel of Mark with eight TFCers, reading about half a chapter each day and emailing study notes and devotional thoughts each day. At Jared’s request, I’m posting the notes here.

I’ll try to link each day’s notes as I complete them, starting with today’s (Mark 7:1-23) as well as gradually going back and posting and linking older notes. I’m not posting each set of notes as a separate blog entry because that would be too much traffic (I try to keep the blog to a max of 2 posts a week).

Credits: Up until Chapter 4, I was just using Scrogge’s Guide to the Gospels and a single-volume commentary by William MacDonald. For Chapter 4 and later, I borrowed Mark Lind’s Pillar commentary by James R. Edwards (edited by D. A. Carson), which has been excellent.

The Gospel Appears in Person (1:1-13) 13 verses

  • The Key to Mark & John the Baptizer: Forerunner of Jesus, The Baptism of Jesus & God’s Son meets God’s Adversaries (1:1-13)

Beginnings of the Galilean Ministry (1:14-45) 32 verses

  • The Gospel in a Nutshell, Calling the First Disciples & the Authority of Jesus (1:14-28)
  • A Day in the Life of Jesus, Journey Inward/Journey Outward & Jesus Trades Places with a Leper (1:29-45)

Trouble with the Authorities (2:1-3:12) 40 verses

  • The Authority of the Son of Man, The Scandal of Grace & Fasting and Feasting (2:1-22)
  • Lord of the Sabbath, A Question of Life and Death & The Open-Air Preacher (2:23-3:12)

Insiders and Outsiders (3:13-4:34) 57 verses

  • The New Israel, The Binder of the Strong Man & The Parable of the Sower and the Mystery of the Kingdom (3:13-4:20)
  • Hiddenness that Reveals & From the Insignificant to the Incomprehensible (4:21-34)

“Who then is this?” (4:35-6:6a) 56 verses

Witness to Jews (6:6b-7:23) 74 verses

Witness to Gentiles (7:24-8:9) 23 verses

Removing the Veil (8:10-9:29) 58 verses

Mere Discipleship (9:30-50) 21 verses

“On the way” through Judea (10:1-52) 52 verses

The Barren Temple (11:1-25) 25 verses

Jesus and the Sanhedrin (11:27-12:44) 51 verses

Watchfulness in Tribulation and Triumph (13:1-37) 37 verses

The Abandonment of Jesus (14:1-72) 72 verses

  • The Sacrifice of Faith, Preparation for the Passover & Oblation and Obduracy (14:1-31)
  • Gethsemane: Prelude to the Cross & the Arrest: Judas and Jesus (14:32-52)
  • True versus False Witness (14:53-72)

The Cross and the Empty Tomb (15:1-16:8) 55 verses

  • Pilate and Jesus & Scourge and Scorn (15:1-20a)
  • Crucifixion, the Son of God, Faithfulness versus Fearfulness (15:20b-16:8)

The Longer Ending of Mark (16:9-20) 12 verses

  • An Early Christian Resurrection Mosaic (16:9-20)

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Gospel of Mark Walk-through

June 9, 2009 · 5 Comments

Adam, Zac and I started today reading through the Gospel of Mark, reading half a chapter a day. We should be through it in about a month. In the mornings, I’m emailing study notes and reflections on the passage. Email me if you want to read it with us and get the emails!

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Stepping on Legos

June 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I have stepped on more toys this past year than in the previous decade: little legos, matchbox cars, etc. The lights are out, I’m on my way to bed and I just need to cross the living room to lock the front door. “I know this room like the back of my hand,” I say to myself, “I don’t need to turn on a light.” A few moments later, I’m wincing in pain and wishing I hadn’t been so confident.

Peter says that we — even Christians — are walking around in the dark. And we would do well to drop our confidence and turn on a light:

Moreover, we have very strong confidence in the prophesies, to which you would do well to pay attention, like you would to a lamp shining in the darkness, until the day breaks the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)

Some guys had been saying that Jesus wasn’t coming back — you can live however you want because everything’s just going to keep on going on as it has for countless thousands of years. Worse, people were believing them. Peter, one of the last living apostles, is likely on death row at this point and sees the clock ticking down for his own life.

He’s just finished telling them he and his fellow apostles weren’t following cleverly invented stories when they spoke about the powerful future coming of Jesus Christ — they were eyewitnesses of His majesty. They saw the transfiguration, a vision of Jesus being chosen and appointed by God as the coming King and Judge.

Now he turns his attention to something he places even more confidence in than his own eyes: the scriptures. Specifically, he’s probably referring to Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1, two of the most popular Messianic prophesies, quoted at the transfiguration, that speak of the Messiah being chosen to come in judgment.

I love the way Peter understates his subtle rebuke here, you would do well to pay attention to the prophesies. Indeed they would do well — and so would we — to pay attention. Incredibly, we don’t have a silent, unknowable God. Our God spoke to us — first by the Prophets, then by His own Son. We would do well to take some initiative to read what He said and pay attention to it.

Then Peter gives this perfect analogy, that the prophecies are a lamp shining in the darkness. Most of the time we feel like we know what we’re doing in our decision-making and day-to-day living, but Peter says that really we’re in the darkness and we desperately need to turn on a lamp — the Scriptures. Sometimes we feel like we just need courage or strength or a change in our circumstances. We may not realize it, but our more basic need is light to see ourselves and our circumstances correctly — we need to dig into the Scriptures.

The final clause in the verse is the most beautiful as Peter turns his gaze to the future, the breaking of that final day when we don’t need the Scriptures anymore because Jesus Christ Himself, the morning star, will rise in our hearts, illuminating everything directly and brilliantly by His very presence. The Word Incarnate will supercede the Scriptures and our lives will no longer be like people finding their way through the darkness with a lamp, but rather like people walking in broad daylight. The best knowledge, of course, will be the knowledge of Him — we will know Him fully, just as we’ve been fully known (1 Cor 13:12).

Note: I will soon post my Translation Notes for this verse, especially since I took an uncommon route with the first phrase (”we have very strong confidence in the prophesies”) influenced by Bauckham’s commentary (Word Biblical Commentary).

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Magazine on Ice

June 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I have to put the Unashamed Magazine on ice (on hold) for a while, which is a little frustrating because it is within a few weeks of completion — but there are changes a-foot that need to be completed before I can work on it. I apologize to those of you who have written articles. Rest assured that I will finish it, it just may be a couple more months. At the latest, I will be able to dive back in at the beginning of September, but I’m hoping it’ll be sooner (possibly July or August).

In the meantime, I’ve been digging into 2 Peter and finding a wealth of awesomeness, so I’ll be sharing that in the coming weeks.

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New Unashamed Studios website

March 11, 2009 · 2 Comments

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here! There’s now an official website for Unashamed Studios – it’s also home to the Night of the Persecuted Church and Unashamed Magazine and is at www.unashamedmagazine.com. On the Night of the Persecuted Church tab, you can view the trailer for the event (it’s pretty intense – thanks Andrew Anderson for your hard work on it!) and on the Unashamed Magazine tab you can view the full-resolution sneak peak of the next issue’s cover. There’s also a Home tab with an overview of Unashamed Studios and a Blog tab that takes you here.

Eventually I’ll add Bjorn’s Game and the Millennial Translation as tabs and, once the event is over, I’ll replace the Night of the Persecuted Church with the Unashamed Conference.

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Issue 2 Sneak Peak: Orissa, India

March 2, 2009 · 6 Comments

Sorry its been a while since I’ve posted — there’s been a lot going on here regarding Unashamed Studios. On January 24, the Teens For Christ Board officially approved the magazine and the mini-conferences which will happen in conjunction with the magazine, starting in July. There will also be an event that happens in conjunction with the April issue called the Night of the Persecuted Church (April 18).

This year, the Night of the Persecuted Church simulation will be Orissa, India. I’ve been reading a lot of good journalism from The Economist on India, but there’s not as much detail on Orissa or the hindus there as I would like. If you or someone you know has been to India (Cameron? Joanna?) and could point me in the direction of good resources on Orissa or people I could contact, I would really appreciate it.

Here’s a sneak peak at (part of) an early draft of the cover of the second issue, to be released in mid-April:

Issue 2 Cover (preview)

It looks even better at a larger size.

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Not the Respectable, but Outcasts

February 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Later on Jesus was having a meal in Levi’s house. A large number of tax collectors and other outcasts were following Jesus, and many of them joined him and his disciples at the table. Some teachers of the Law, who were Pharisees, saw that Jesus was eating with these outcasts and tax collectors, so they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such people?”

Jesus heard them and answered, “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.”

Mark 2:15-17, Good News Translation

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