judgment – Page 2 – Three Minute Bible

December 29, 2019December 30, 2019

Psalm Sunday – Psalm 1: 4-6

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

The Big Picture

As I read this passage, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day come to mind. They seemed to think of themselves as righteous. They certainly acted like they thought they were God’s gift to humanity. Yet, what they did in conspiring against Jesus was very wicked.

Among all the righteous men who have ever lived, Jesus is by far the most righteous of all. Being without sin, he defines what it means to be righteous. It might be unfair to compare these people to this verse, but it might also open the door to understanding something about God’s perspective.

April 7, 2019April 7, 2019

Judged? – John 12: 47

If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Sometimes it feels like the pace of this blog could be picked up a bit. After all, how much detail can you expect from one verse? Well, quite a bit as it turns out.

Today’s verse turns the picture of God as JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE upside down. Instead of threatening plagues or floods, Jesus says he is not here to judge. What?

Is this the same God we read about in the Old Testament?

Well, yes.

It turns out that God had a plan to save the world from the very beginning. (Genesis 3: 15) Jesus could have come in chapter 4 of Genesis, but who would have crucified him and why? There needed to be an understanding established. God needed to explain what righteousness is, and what the cost of sin is. The animal sacrifices conducted by the early Jews demonstrated the messy, bloody, deadly price required for sin. The priesthood established by God acted as an intercessor between God and man. Both sacrifice and intercessor are needed.

Finally, the time was right, and Jesus entered the world. His job: Not to judge the world, but to save it.

March 30, 2019March 29, 2019

Pondering – John 12: 31-33

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Keeping up with Jesus can be difficult! He is a man, yes, but he is also God. He speaks from the perspective of one who knows God the Father first hand. He speaks as one who has existed before time and who has seen the earth from a heavenly perspective. When he speaks, it is almost always about things beyond everyone else’s experience.

In this passage, he speaks about judgment on this world. What is God’s view of that? Is this like the judgment of the flood in Noah’s day? He is referring to his coming crucifixion, but what exactly does he mean?

He also speaks about driving out the “prince of this world.” In other passages, Beelzebul is referred to as the “prince of demons.” Is this a reference to Satan being driven out?

Jesus says these things will happen “now.” But we already know that Jesus’ perspective on time is much different than ours here on earth. What does “now” mean to Jesus?