Continuing our series in Galatians: chapter 2: Paul defends his gospel and apostleship against his opponents. The faction who have influenced the church in Galatia are forcing obedience to the Jewish law on everyone. This for Paul is not just adding to the gospel of Jesus but turning into something it is not and robbing it of all its power, specifically the power of the Spirit to bring people into freedom. We are all called to be free. Free from all skewed versions of the gospel. And free to experience the life of the spirit. We should share Paul’s determination and violently oppose all attempts to control or limit the scope of the message, freedom and power of Jesus and his spirit.

Ch1 of Galatians. Paul wants to be very clear. He’s answering accusations that he’s watering down the gospel to make it more palatable to the gentiles, but it’s the Judaizers who’ve got it wrong. It’s not that the law is wrong - per se. But it is no longer what marks us out as saved. Jesus has already done it. What the Judaizers were actually doing, with their millennia of cultural heritage based on their covenant relationship, was nationalising. This was cultural imperialism. Conform or be cast out. They were entering into the age-old, evolutionary urge to form tribes of in and out/right and wrong/us and them. It is a human instinct as old as the hills, so it’s pretty important to consider how we’re guilty of doing the exact same thing in church today. The gospel is pretty clear. It’s for everyone.

The book of Galatians is absolute dynamite. It is dynamic, thought-provoking and challenging, whilst also being filled to the absolute brim with God’s freedom and unrelenting grace. As we embark on a new series - Legalism v Spirit - let’s start by asking some key questions: Why is Paul so angry and dissatisfied with the churches in Galatia? And how are they perverting the gospel message? Paul is consistently clear that experiencing a ‘lesser gospel’ is the equivalent of experiencing 'no gospel at all'. In light of this statement - in particular: in what ways could we be subtracting from the true power of God’s love and forgiveness?

In this final installment of our Encounters With Jesus series, the focus is on what the giving of the Holy Spirit achieves for all those who believe in Jesus. He brings not just intimacy with god, but also forgiveness and restitution, healing and wholeness, and power and purpose. The Christian life is a life of the Spirit. So the more we know and experience of Him, the more we are able to be and do all that we were created for. 

The most important moment in history. The gospel writers describe the events of Jesus’ resurrection as happening in time and space. This is no myth or metaphor. As an historical event it has great power for belief and life. The implications of the resurrection life are that firstly we can all receive it, no one is excluded, all are endorsed; and secondly that it is a life of the spirit. Jesus’ resurrection means a deeper degree of godly intimacy and power is available to us all.

The crowds who greet Jesus as he enters the city of Jerusalem have, like so many before them, missed the point when it comes to Jesus the Messiah. Rather than the triumphant military king they want him to be, he is a humble suffering servant. He turns all human understandings of weakness and strength on their heads. And he weeps over the city and its people for what they have become. They who were supposed to be unique are now like everyone else: marked by pride and concerned only for their own wellbeing. And so they are blind to the real Jesus. And they do not see what will bring them peace. We though, do not have to be blind. We can see Jesus for all He is. We can look back to His ministry to the weak, the outsiders, the outcasts, and we can look forward to His mighty work of power at the cross and His vindication at the resurrection. Here is where we receive all of Him. And here we receive His true lasting peace for ourselves. As we receive it, let us give it away to our city which is in desperate need.

The death and resurrection of Lazarus is a spectacular miracle, right? Most famously, it is here that we read of Jesus weeping at the entrance of Lazarus’ tomb and joining Mary and Martha in their grief. For this reason, this story often leads us to consider themes of faith, grief and compassion. But - what could we be missing? Is Jesus weeping with grief? How could we take a bird's-eye view of this passage and widen its meaning? Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus listening and responding to his Father’s voice, being filled with His compassionate heart, and being empowered to beckon the Kingdom to earth. Let’s follow his lead.  

Jesus’ ongoing encounter with the religious rulers. Jesus’ message to the religious leaders of the time is clear. These were the ones who were supposed to look after God’s people and enable them to thrive. They were to be the shepherds of Israel. Instead they acted selfishly and destructively and now their time is up. Now Jesus is building a new community around himself, the good shepherd. It is one of security and fullness; one which he leads; and one in which he enjoys perfect loving intimacy with his people. It is the one that everyone is created for and all are welcomed into. Jesus message to the religious rulers of our day may well be the same as it was then. Certainly his message about himself is. He has come to free all people from spiritual, religious and societal oppression. He brings an end to all abuse and ministers healing to its damaging effects. He sets people free and brings them into life - life in all its fullness.

The scandal of grace is more outrageous than we can ever know. The Adulterous Woman who is brought before Jesus in John 8, provides us with one of the most evocative and famous interactions in all of the gospels, but it’s also one that provides many questions. What did Jesus write in the sand? Why did the Jewish leaders walk away, and what can we take from what Jesus said to the woman, after he told her she was not to be condemned? There is SO much more to this interaction than meets the eye, and so much more depth to his rebuttal of these men than a simple ‘yeah but we all sin sometimes' … he knows exactly how they’ve laid this trap and he calls them out - no holds barred. It’s a little-known fact that early church leaders tried to have it excluded from the bible (grace to an adulterous woman is grace too far!) but Jesus sees the woman, he sees her shame and he frees her from condemnation… “Go and sin no more” raises some questions too, but this passage shows as clearly as ever, that the extend of the grace that Jesus shows knows absolutely no limits. It’s utterly absurd.