Oh, sure, you may say that there's lots about Jesus in the Bible, but think long and hard about it, his life as recorded in the scriptures I mean. For in the scriptures, you have the account of his birth, his presentation in the temple, a moment when he was a child in the temple, and then BAM, he's thirty. That's quick.
Sure, you will look at the scriptures, and say that of course, Jesus is very prominent, which he is, but hold on, because the Gospels deal primarily with Jesus after the age of thirty, and all the way up to thirty-three. That's it, really, a three year period. A three year period which is the most important three year period that has ever existed. Think about this, though. The Gospel of Mark, the shortest Gospel, the one that starts with John the Baptist's ministry, so Jesus is effectively beginning his ministry in it, and it lasts, in my Bible, for about 30 pages. That's not that long. But we know that there's an incredible silence there, an incredible silence that exists there, in which there is a massive gap between what happened at the birth of Jesus, and what happens when he turns thirty.
We have tried at many times, as human beings, to try to fill in the gaps. We really, really want to know what Jesus did in that time. And because we want to know what Jesus did in that time, in that 30 year gap, we tend to want to fill it in . We want to speculate, to imagine what might have happened in that time. We want to picture what it would have been like in Nazareth, growing up as the word made flesh. But that almost always leads to trouble, as we see in the infancy gospel of Thomas, in which Jesus ends up killing one of his playmates because he doesn't know his own strength or power, and it's an absolute nightmare. This obviously doesn't fit anything else that we know about Jesus Christ, and nor does most of the rest of the story of the infancy gospel,long thought to be a heresy by anyone reputable (except Mohammed). I get the deal, I understand why you would want to do it, why you'd want to fill in the gap, because we are naturally curious about what happened in the life of the most influential man in all of history. But the Scriptures remain staggeringly, unnervingly silent on the topic.
What's up with their hats?
This is where we kick and scream, and insist that we want to know more, of course we do. But there's a snag built into it, which is that our desire to know more is, and must always be tempered by the reality that more content doesn't always make a better story. Sometimes, less is more. Sometimes, you know what you need to know. Sometimes what you have is what you need. Consider for a moment, the Gospel reading we had from Sunday, which is the reading in which Jesus is presented in the temple, and is recognized as the savior of the world by both Simeon and Anna. Both Simeon and Anna are aware of the great and wonderful things Jesus will do, but they don't talk about animating birds, killing playmates or carrying water in his lap. They don't discuss feeding five thousand, four thousand, or lengthening a beam in the carpenter's shop. They don't talk about water into wine, or walking on the water. Simeon goes straight to the crucifixion.
It may seem strange to our modern ears, to hear the words that Simeon speaks immediately after the Nunc Dimittus, where he talks to Mary and lets her know that this boy has been appointed for the falling and rising of many, and a sword would pierce her own soul too. Not the words that we would want to hear at the dedication of one of our children, but Simeon wants you, and everyone else too, to keep their eyes on the prize. The prize of the cross.
When Paul speaks of the work that he does, he says that he did not come with fancy words, or human learning, he came that they may know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. That's it, the beginning and the end of things. I came that I may know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. That simple sentence may just as well be the mission statement of the entire scriptures, the whole Bible reduced to that simple mission statement, that we may know nothing but Jesus Christ and him Crucified. That's what the good news of the Bible boils down to, that's what it's all about, the presence of Jesus Christ, his work, his life, is all leading up to his death, which is why the narrative of the Gospels accelerates at such a breakneck speed. The rapidity of the narrative, spending some time with the infant king but beyond that moving immediately to his baptism, to his ministry, because it hastens to what you need to know as a person who needs to be saved. It's moving directly towards the cross. The Gospel of Mark, the shortest Gospel, in my Bible lasts only 30 pages. It moves along at an incredibly rapid pace, bringing you from the baptism of Jesus to his death in 30 pages. Now, you and I, we may wish very earnestly that we had more knowledge about the early days of Jesus, but honestly, if the Gospel of Mark were ten times as long, at 300 pages, would that make you more likely to read it?
Well, how likely to read it at 30 pages are you?
Remember the end of the Gospel of John and what it says, that there are many other things that Jesus did that are not recorded here, but these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and by believing you may have life in his name. And what are you supposed to believe in? The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You're supposed to believe that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, was nailed to a cross, and left there to die, and after doing so, rose triumphantly from the grave and broke death itself while doing so. You are meant to believe that this was accomplished for you, that you may do likewise. He came to earth to redeem it, to die for it, to be slain for it, and to give to all believers the power to transcend death itself. That's the key story in the gospels, and that's what you need to know. And if you took a lifetime to meditate on that story, the only one, thinking on nothing else, about the mystery of the eternal immortal God only wise veiled in flesh, working undercover to redeem his own broken creation, about the death of God himself and his triumphant rising from the grave, if you had forever to think about that it still wouldn't be enough.
I know that Simeon, Anna, and the whole scriptures move faster than you want them to, that they get to the conclusion while you're still trying to catch your breath. I know that you want to know more, but there are depths and majesty that you still need to plumb. If you think to yourself that you would like 300 pages on the life of Christ, I have an alternate suggestion.
The Gospel of Mark, the story of the baptism of Christ to his crucifixion, three years that shaped the world, is only 30 pages.
Read it ten times instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment