Passover Trek!

For Friday, December 27, 2024:

Luke 2:41 NLT: “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.”

The trek to Jerusalem didn’t involve only Jesus and his family. It probably included most of the people from their local Synagogue – neighbors, relatives and other faithful believers. They’d all travel together. It was one big, long caravan, and as you might expect, children of similar ages would want to be with their friends. Families would meet up when they had reached their destination for the night. So it wasn’t unusual for Jesus to be traveling with another family. But as night began to fall, our seemingly precocious boy was nowhere to be found.

Mary and Joseph decided to return to Jerusalem to search for him there. It took three days to locate Jesus, in the Temple amongst the religious teachers, listening to and questioning them. Mary must have been teary-eyed, wringing her hands. Imagine the grief of any mother whose 12-year-old son goes missing for three days! “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”

"But why did you need to search?” Jesus asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house, about his business?” His parents were confused. Yes, they had seen angels. Shepherds and later Magi worshiped the heaven-sent child. But this was 12 years later, Jesus referring to the Temple as his Father’s house!

Friends, God’s vast eternal plan had been set in motion, and that plan runs on God’s timetable. Jesus didn’t start his itinerant ministry until about 30 years into his life. I’m sure the question came up as to why it took so long to start if this was all good, all God’s plan. Jesus would teach and heal, but most importantly he would be the sacrifice for the sins of the world, your sin and my sin. Jesus would take the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving us forgiven, cleansed and suitable for residence in God’s eternal Kingdom.

So even 2k years later, believers are the beneficiaries of Jesus’ ministry. God knows what he’s doing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

I'll Be Back!

For Thursday, December 26, 2024:

Isaiah 7:14 NLT: “The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”

It’s Dec. 26^th, the day after Christmas – sort of. Most of you know by now that Jesus wasn’t actually born on Dec. 25. Traditional theories say sometime in April or May. Modern thinking says September, probably between 4-6 BCE. In the dead of winter, little work could be accomplished, so Dec. 25, near the winter solstice, seemed a good time for a major celebration. Does it really matter? This isn’t a redeeming ordinance!

God’s timeline is not our timeline. God, through the prophet Isaiah, promised a Messiah would be arriving soon. It took about 750 years for that to happen. If we estimate a generation to be about 25 years, the Messiah’s arrival took about 30 generations! That’s 30 times people watched, prayed, and eventually had to pass the dream on to their offspring! So when Jesus finally arrived, Israel was filled with skeptics and doubters, among them the Pharisees and Temple leaders! They weren’t about to step away from power, position and financial security to let some youngster get into the driver’s seat!

Remember, when the resurrected Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised to return. Optimists thought he meant perhaps by Friday, or certainly later this month. I’m sure the believers were amazed when a year passed and there was still no sign of the Savior! They’d be astounded that 2k years later, we’re still watching and waiting. Jesus may be busy preparing our place in the hereafter.

Everything Jesus ever said was truth, so we fully expect his return. Each day we’re one day closer!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Kangaroo Court!

For Thursday, March 21, 2024:

Mark 14:60-61a NLT: “Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, ‘Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?’ But Jesus was silent and made no reply.”

Imagine being arrested in the middle of the night, and immediate going to trial. No one present would testify on Jesus’ behalf. He had no lawyer and no defense strategy. In fact, everyone in the place was against him.

His accusers presented false testimony; lies! Jesus didn’t answer the charges. If everything being said is a lie, how can you possibly respond to untruths?

Tradition tells us that those against Jesus would have sat in a half circle, facing him. Then the high priest stood, perhaps to be more imposing, more threatening, which tells us that up to that point, Jesus was still considered innocent. Those opposing Jesus hadn’t yet made their case. But someone standing, taking a step forward and yelling appears much more menacing! That’s what the high priest had been reduced to: Putting on a show to support deception; using threats to justify all the lies. I’m glad he’s not my priest!

The conspirators had stacked the deck against Jesus. But it’s not over yet. Remember there are actually six trials, three before Temple leaders and three before Roman leaders. Our place in this is to acknowledge Jesus as the heaven-sent Messiah, God’s Son and our redeemer. Jesus told us he would rise in three days, and we have faith in his words!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Son of God?

April 07, 2014 Monday Message:

High Council: “Are you claiming to be the Son of God?”

Jesus: “You say that I am.” (Luke 22:70)

There was strong evidence that Jesus was more than just a human on this earth. Many had seen the miracles and the healings. They heard him teach from the Torah, like he already knew every word. No mere human could do all these things. The evidence pointed to the fact that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God.

But acknowledging the divinity of Jesus would require big changes in the established religion. Instead of “an eye for an eye, we were to forgive and love our neighbors. Instead of only righteous Jews, we were taught to include sinners, tax collectors, other notorious characters – and – even Gentiles!

Often overlooked, but I believe much more significant, would be the required power shift at the Temple. The Temple Priests, Sadducees and Pharisees were devotees of the OLD covenant, and they and their beliefs would need to step aside to welcome Jesus and the NEW covenant. Power is also money, and no one ever likes to step away from wealth. We oftentimes see strange behavior from people when their money is at risk, and in this case, the desire for power and wealth blinded the leaders to the truth about Jesus.

So in spite of all the evidence, the religious leaders would not admit that Jesus was the fulfillment of Prophesy. Even though Jesus “appeared” to be the Son of God,” they weren’t prepared to act on that information.

Today we know better. We can read the whole Bible; we know how the story ends. We can read and re-read all the evidence pointing to the holiness of the Christ.

Who do YOU say that Jesus is?

Norton Lawellin

Palm Sunday is imminent! Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday, at 10:30am, in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. Dan Pilla brings us up to speed on the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.