Groups in the time of Jesus

December 3, 2024

When I was at Bible College one of the assignments I had to do was about the four main groups of people that were around when Jesus walked the earth. This was to give us an idea of what life was like at that time and to give us a context for Jesus’ words.

The four main groups we have to look at were the Pharisees, Saducees, Essenes and Zealots. Here’s a very brief rundown of each group…

Pharisees – very strict sect who followed the law of Moses and had over 600 laws to guide their daily lives. They spent a lot of time interpreting the laws and trying to apply them to their everyday lives. They believed Israel was a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation and thought that if all of Israel could keep the law for one day, then the Messiah would come. Jesus spoke out against them because they were more interested in keeping the law than showing compassion to those around them and looking good on the outside.

Sadducees – they also followed the law of Moses but rejected many of the oral traditional laws that the Pharisees held. Their main focus was the Temple and Temple activities. They did not believe in an afterlife or future judgement. They believed that God did not intervene in the affairs of men and their motto was if it is to be, it is up to me. Because of this they survived by cooperating with the Roman authorities which gave them much power in the Jewish religion. To be a Saducee you must be of priestly heritage. The Saducees were the main teachers in the Temple.

Essenes – this group of people saw themselves as the only people who worshipped the true faith and that they were the true remnant of Israel. They believe all others had left the true teachings behind and the Temple had been corrupted. Because of this they separated themselves in their own communities and lived a very strict monastic lifestyle. They believed that God would come and judge the rest of the Jews and the world and vindicate their beliefs about God and true religion. They avoided all unnecessary contact with non-Essenes.

Zealots – they were part of the Jewish patriotic party and opposed the Roman occupation of the region at all costs. Their motto was we will have no king, but God. Their goal was a land truly free from Gentile defilement, just as God had originally intended according to them. They sometimes used violence to bring their cause to pass. Some of the community of Jews saw them as bandits, but they saw themselves freedom fighters.

The interesting thing about this assignment and it really helped me to understand life in New Testament times a little bit better. It gave me a window in to religious life at the time that Jesus walked the earth.

It also helped me to understand people (and myself) today too. Many people of faith still live out their faith in a way similar to these groups. Some focus on the Bible like the Pharisees. For some it is all about church like the Sadducees. Some separate themselves like the Essenes. While others are like the Zealots and have no king but God.

Vegetarian for 40 years

December 1, 2024

What are your feelings about eating meat?

This is an interesting question from WordPress today. What are your feelings about eating meat?

I have been a vegetarian for nearly 40 years. I decided to make the change when I was 18 for health reasons and I have not looked back.

For me personally, I just feel my body runs better when I eat vegetarian meals. As a child meat did not agree with me and I often was sick after eating it.

So what do I eat as a vegetarian? I eat mainly a lacto- vegetarian diet which includes fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds and dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt.

In saying I am vegetarian, I am not one of those people who judges people for eating meat. We all have to eat the things that we enjoy and make us feel healthy. For me it is vegetarian food.

If you are interested in learning more, there are some good descriptions on the Dieticians Australia website.

Saved by grace through faith in Jesus

November 26, 2024

Bible readings: Ephesians 2:4-10, John 3:14-21

Over the years I have had a lot of conversations with people about faith, life and God. Some have been with people who follow Jesus with all their hearts and I have been inspired by their faith and stories. They have uplifted me. Others have been with people who had a vague belief that maybe there is a God out there somewhere, but He is far off and distant or He is a harsh judge with a big stick waiting for us to mess up.

As I have reflected on these conversations and our Bible readings from today I have come up with three thoughts that I want to share.

1. We are truly saved by Grace

In our first reading from Ephesians chapter 2 we see that we are saved by grace through faith. This means we are saved by God’s mercy because of our faith in Jesus.

In our natural state our sin separated us from God. Paul tells us that we used to follow the ways of the world and lived to gratify the desires of the flesh. But God in His great mercy came up with a way for us to be right with Himself. Jesus paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross for us. God graciously provided a way for us to have our sin forgiven in Christ and come in to right relationship with Him.

As our reading says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT). In His love the Father tells us we are saved by grace and we are welcome home.

2. We need to believe in Jesus as our Saviour

In our second reading we see that God says we have eternal life if we believe in Jesus. God did His part by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. Our part is to believe in Him, and trust Him as Lord and Saviour.

In John 3:16 the Bible says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Faith and trust in Jesus Christ means eternal life.

Many people think this is too simple – just believe in Jesus. They think they need to work for their salvation, follow strict rules or do some sort of penance. But believe me, purchasing our salvation was not simple for Jesus. He gave up everything. He was whipped and beaten. Mocked by those who watched on. He even gave up His own life. We just have to believe in Him and what He has done for us. The Bible tells us that this faith and belief brings eternal life.

3. Jesus came to save us, not judge us harshly

Another point from our second reading is Jesus came in to the world to save us, not judge us (John 3:17-18). To those who think God is a harsh God, who lives at a distance and judges us harshly, just need to look to Jesus. They need look afresh and see what He has done for us.

Jesus is God in person. Immanuel, God with us. In His love He died, so we can live. If God wanted our lives to be judged harshly, He could have done nothing and waited until the end of time to judge us all. But instead Jesus came to rescue us. God intervened in our situation. Luke 19:10 reminds us why Jesus came when it says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Jesus could not stand the thought of us not spending eternity with Him, so He left the glories of heaven to meet us where we are at. He did not come to hit us with a big stick, but to wrap His arms around us in love.

Closing reflection

The great message of the Bible is God’s incredible love for us and His desire to be in relationships with us all. He moved heaven and earth to make this happen.

Jesus came to earth, lived to show us what God is like, then stretched His arms out and was nailed on that cross. The nails pierced His hands and feet, but His love held Him there. Church, God’s grace can be summed up in the letters of the word G.R.A.C.E. – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

Let us pray.

Online church

November 24, 2024

Over the last few year I have been talking to more and more people who are not physically or mentally able to attend church in person.

During these conversations I find out that they love God, read their Bible and pray every day, have attended church in the past, but are just not able to at the moment.

When talking to them I usually talk about how many churches are now online after covid. Of all the negatives of the shutdowns, this is one is a positive. More churches are now online.

During covid my wife and I watched a weekly service from a church in Perth. We chatted with the live chat and made connections with people. When the lockdown finished, we went to visit to say thanks. We found the online connections were there in person.

Now I encourage the people who go online and look on YouTube. You can usually find an online church service pretty quickly. Although you might have to watch a few services until you find the right one for you.

For me personally I really like online church. I like that I can worship God, pray with others, hear the Bible preached and be a part of an online community. One church that does it really well is Life.Church, the creators of the Bible app.

Each week they do an online church service especially for those who cannot attend. They do all the usual things that happen in church like prayer, worship and have a sermon. They also have ways of connecting in small groups online.

If you are interested you can check out their link here. Or you can try the church we attended online while in covid shutdown. If you are Catholic you can check out Mass for you at home. All three are on my links page too.