Mixed Race Twins Shocks Some. Why? It Shouldn't...

A mixed-race British mom gave birth to twins recently — one of each. No, not a boy and a girl. Two girls — one black, the other white. The odds of such a birth are about a million to one, experts said. "It was a shock when I realized that my twins were two different colors," Kylie Hodgson, 19, told London's Daily Mail. "But it doesn't matter to us — they are just our two gorgeous little girls."
Hodgson and her partner, Remi Horder, 17, were both born to mixed-race parents. Little Kian and Remee share a love of apples and the Teletubbies, their proud mom says. Fertility experts speculate that a sperm containing all-white genes fused with an egg with all-white genes, and a sperm with all-black genes fused with an all-black gene egg to produce the fraternal twins.

This seems surprising, but it is a great confirmation of Biblical creation. The two parents (being what is wrongly-called today, "mixed-race") were much like Adam and Eve in God's original creation. Thus their children, like Adam and Eve's, had the potential to have a wide variety of skin shades. They are wrongly called "mixed-race," because there is only one race - the human race.

The photographs and story excerpted above appeared in a variety of UK newspapers in February 2006. As described, in April 2005 Kylie Hodgson gave birth by caesarean section to fraternal twin girls, one black and one white. Although occurrences of this nature sometimes occur when a woman conceives twins fathered by two different men, this was a much rarer case in which a single pairing produced twins with distinctly different physical attributes (e.g., skin tone, hair color, eye color) rather than a blending of their parents' characteristics. The parents, Kylie and her partner, Remi Horder, are of mixed race themselves, both having been born to white mothers and black fathers. Their twin girls — Kian and Remee — were both born with blue eyes, with Remee having blonde hair and Kian having black hair and somewhat darker skin than her sister. Since then, Remee's skin tone has become lighter, while Kian's has become darker and her eyes have turned brown. The Daily Mail opined that the odds of such a coupling's producing mixed-race fraternal twins were about a million to one:

Skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together. If a woman is of mixed race, her eggs will usually contain a mixture of genes coding for both black and white skin. Similarly, a man of mixed race will have a variety of different genes in his sperm. When these eggs and sperm come together, they will create a baby of mixed race.

But, very occasionally, the egg or sperm might contain genes coding for one skin colour. If both the egg and sperm contain all white genes, the baby will be white. And if both contain just the versions necessary for black skin, the baby will be black. For a mixed-race couple, the odds of either of these scenarios is around 100 to one. But both scenarios can occur at the same time if the woman conceives non-identical twins, another 100 to one chance. This involves two eggs being fertilised by two sperm at the same time, which also has odds of around 100 to one. If a sperm containing all-white genes fuses with a similar egg and a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different colours will be born. The odds of this happening are 100 x 100 x 100 — a million to one.

The TV news magazine Dateline NBC once covered a similar story about mixed-race twin boys named Koen and Tuen, who were born to a Dutch couple, Willem and Wilma Stuart, in 1993. In that case, however, the twins had different fathers — they were conceived in vitro, and evidently a piece of lab equipment was used twice without being thoroughly cleaned first, resulting in another man's sperm being mixed with Mr. Stuart's. Yet another instance of an English couple's producing mixed-race twins (by one father) was reported on back in 2003:

One day, when they were 10 years old, twin sisters Cheryl and Karen Grant were crossing the street when a boy pointed at Karen and started shouting:

"N*gger!" Cheryl took off after him, angrily chasing him all the way home. "I was so furious," Cheryl, now 19, recalls. "Especially when I banged on the door and his grandfather came out and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. I got even madder when he refused to believe we were twins and called me a liar." That kind of ugly racism was rare in Chelmsford, England, where the girls grew up, but strangers' looks of disbelief were more common. Even their parents — Linda, a white Englishwoman who works in a fabric shop, and Carl, a Jamaican bricklayer — were shocked when the nurse directed them to the different-color babies in the hospital. After all, doctors call the odds of such a pair a major long shot. "It's a million-to-one chance," says Karen, adding with a laugh: "As far as the whole science thing goes, I'm normal and Cheryl’s the freak of nature!"

So what happened? Every child receives half her genes from her mother and half from her father. Karen's skin is darker because black pigmentation genes, which are usually dominant, masked most of her mother’s recessive white ones.

In Cheryl's case, though, it appears no black genes at all were handed down. "It is likely that their father has white genes in his ancestry and those were the ones he passed on to her," says Anand Saggar, M.D., a clinical genetics expert in London. (Karen and Cheryl's siblings — Leanne, 18, and Wayne, 17 — look like a blend of their parents' skin tones.) Face-to-face with such rarities, people are far more likely to presume dark-haired Karen and ash-blonde Cheryl are friends rather than sisters. And people who saw them out with their parents often assumed Mom and Dad must be their baby-sitters. "It drove my mom up the wall," says Karen.

Even in today's pagan societies, God offers many reminders of His grace in creation.

The Early Church (1)

This is part 1 of chapter 6 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

The Book of Acts, written by the Gospel writer Luke, describes how Christianity spread from Judea and Galilee among the followers of Jesus, eyewitnesses to His life, death, and resurrection, to Samaria, all over the Middle East, to Europe, and eventually worldwide. Acts reveals how the early Church coped with its trials and tribulations. A thorough study of the problem-solving skills displayed in the Book of Acts can teach us how the methods of the early Church differ from our own. Many evangelical Christian churches today are striving for a renewal of early Church mannerisms; those efforts begin in the Book of Acts.

After the resurrection, Jesus physically appeared on at least twelve occasions to a minimum of 530 people. His appearances strengthened the faith of these people and encouraged them to spread the Gospel to all nations. After Jesus issued the Great Commission, He ascended into heaven. Shortly thereafter, Peter led the large group of Jesus’ followers in constant prayer. They decided to replace Judas Iscariot, who had committed suicide after betraying Jesus; they cast lots between two men, both witnesses to the resurrection and long time followers of Jesus. “The lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:25).

The apostles and disciples were given the Holy Spirit for strength and comfort, and they began preaching in many languages, healing the lame, curing the sick, and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had instructed. Peter gave bold sermons to the Jews, proclaiming that Jesus, Whom they crucified, was the promised Messiah. Upon realizing this truth, thousands of Jews were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37); believing in Jesus Christ, they repented of their sins and were baptized, joining the fellowship of believers, which in time, became the Church. This fellowship loved and served each other, living as the apostles instructed, according to the commands of Jesus Christ; God blessed them and “added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

Later, Peter and John healed a crippled man and were arrested for preaching about the resurrection of Jesus. Despite their arrest, the total number of believers in Christ grew to 5000 men (perhaps 15,000 including women and children). When the Sanhedrin asked how they healed the crippled man, Peter boldly declared that the man was healed in the name of Jesus Christ. He said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Now the Sanhedrin was baffled; they did not want the news of the power of Jesus to spread. So they demanded that Peter and John no longer speak or teach or preach or heal in the name of Jesus. Peter said, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Despite continued warnings from the religious leaders, the word about Jesus spread like a wildfire, and many people believed in Him. In the true Spirit of Christ, the fellowship of believers cared for the poor and needy among them by selling their possessions and sharing what they had.

The guidance of the Holy Spirit led the Church leaders, such as Peter and John, to make wise and discerning decisions; however, others did not have the deep influx of the Spirit. Thought to be members of the fellowship of believers, some followed neither God’s Word, nor the example set by Jesus, nor the instructions of the leaders closely; sin intruded the young Church. The first public sin in the Church occurred when a wealthy couple, Ananias and Sapphira, withheld some of the money they claimed to be giving to the Church. They were struck dead immediately as an example of what not to do.

Despite the clear example of the consequence of sin, people within the young Church continued to sin. Christians today continue to sin as well; as we will see, that has become the biggest turnoff to the Christian life. Non-Christians see Christians sinning, and they immediately think the Church is full of hypocrites. Unfortunately, even in the early Church, there were hypocrites among the believers.

Nevertheless, God continued to work through these sinners, not only sanctifying them, but also giving them the desire to preach Christ to everyone with whom they came in contact. The Sanhedrin continued to despise the preaching of Christ, so again it corralled the apostles and imprisoned them. The Lord opened the jail gates at night, and the apostles went free, continuing to preach in the Temple courts. Though the Sanhedrin desired to kill the apostles to put an end to this new ministry, a knowledgeable Pharisee named Gamaliel encouraged the Sanhedrin to release the apostles on account of previous, similar uprisings from other so-called religious fanatics. Gamaliel said: “If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39). Of course, the apostles, “day after day, in the Temple courts and from house to house … never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 5:42).

Sometime later, the Church had grown too large for the apostles to manage the smaller details while continuing to teach and preach, so they chose seven deacons, men full of wisdom through the Holy Spirit, to handle food distribution to the needy and other responsibilities. “So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of [Jewish] priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

Now one of the deacons, Stephen, was falsely accused of blasphemy. He was brought before the Sanhedrin, where he gave a brilliant defense, professing Christ through the Old Testament Scriptures, which were familiar to the Sanhedrin. He criticized the religious leaders for resisting the Holy Spirit and killing the prophets and even the Savior Himself! The members of the Sanhedrin were furious at Stephen’s defense; they rushed him outside with their ears covered (so as not to hear anymore of the truth coming from his mouth) and stoned him to death. A young Pharisee, an understudy of Gamaliel, was present there, giving approval to the death of Stephen; his name was Saul, who would later become the missionary apostle, Paul.

On the day Stephen was martyred for his faith, a great persecution broke out against these people professing faith in Jesus Christ. Saul became the greatest of these persecutors; he went from house to house and town to town, imprisoning as many of these people as he could find.

Meanwhile, another deacon, Philip, went to Samaria to escape the persecution. There he preached the Good News of Christ and drove out demons; many became believers, “so there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8). Later, an angel of the Lord told Philip to leave Samaria and travel south to the desert road leading to Gaza. There he came across an Ethiopian eunuch, a Jewish man who had been to Jerusalem to worship and make offerings. Philip, noticing the man was reading from Isaiah 53, asked if he understood it. The Ethiopian asked for help, so Philip taught him the Good News about Jesus. The eunuch was baptized on his way home, rejoicing in Jesus. Philip continued preaching as he made his way to Caesarea.

Now Saul, still persecuting believers in Christ, headed for Damascus to arrest more people. Nearing the city, he was blinded by a great light, and Jesus Christ appeared to him. Jesus told him to go into Damascus for more details. Saul was led into the city, because he was still blind; in fact, he remained blind and did not even eat or drink anything for three days! While Saul was waiting, God called Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to go to Saul and restore his sight. Ananias was afraid, because of what Saul had been doing to his fellow believers, but God said: “Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

Ananias went and restored Saul’s sight; Saul was baptized and received nourishment. Saul then traveled to Arabia, probably to learn more about Christ; he returned to Damascus three years later. Within days of his return, Saul was preaching in the synagogues (as he was accustomed to doing as a Jewish rabbi), but now he was preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ! This baffled the Jews, so they thought he must have gone crazy. They conspired to kill him, but learning of the plot, Saul escaped to Jerusalem. Even there, the believers were scared of Saul, not understanding how he could have been converted from the greatest persecutor of their kind to a fellow believer—and a knowledgeable one at that!

Saul was a given a chance to preach, and he did so magnificently. He debated and argued with the Jewish scholars, who eventually tried to kill him. For his safety, the apostles sent Saul to his hometown of Tarsus, in present day Turkey, where he remained for some time. Once Saul had been converted from Judaism to faith in Christ, the believers enjoyed a time of peace without persecution, and the Church continued to grow and thrive throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.

Peter then began traveling throughout the region, where he worked miracles and preached the Gospel. He raised a dead woman to life in Joppa and healed a crippled man in Lydda. Acting on a command he received in a vision from the Lord, Peter went to Caesarea and converted a Roman centurion named Cornelius, along with his whole family, as the first Gentile converts to faith in Christ. When he returned to Jerusalem, Peter was criticized for spending time with non-Jews, but he told everyone about the vision he had seen. “When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, ‘So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life’” (Acts 11:18).

This is critical to Christianity! Prior to this conversion, salvation was preached only to Jewish people and thought to be only for Jews, those physical descendants of Abraham. With Peter’s vision and the conversion of Cornelius, the family of believers learned that (rather than Abraham’s physical descendants) Abraham’s spiritual descendants, all those who have faith in the Messiah of God’s plan of redemption, are marked for salvation.

Paul said in Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Nothing changed from God’s standpoint, but this was revolutionary from the standpoint of man, especially the Jews, who thought they were superior to Gentiles.

As the message of the Gospel spread to both Jews and Gentiles throughout the region, the apostle Barnabas went to Antioch to teach the believers there. Many more came to the Lord in Antioch, and Barnabas went to get Saul from Tarsus. Saul and Barnabas spent a year in Antioch preaching and teaching. The first time that followers of Christ were called Christians was at Antioch (see Acts 11:26). The church in Antioch was so diverse—made up of Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Romans, whites and blacks—that the only way to classify the group was as followers of Jesus Christ—Christians.

The Gospel (6)

This is the final installment, part 6, of chapter 5 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Jesus is the only founder of a religion Whose tomb is empty today. You can visit the tomb of Muhammad in Mecca, as all Muslims are required to do at least once in their lifetime. His remains are still there. You can visit the tombs of other great men and religion founders. Their remains are still there. Only the tomb of Jesus Christ is empty. He is the only Man to rise from the dead never to die again!

Meanwhile, the guards at the tomb went to tell the religious leaders what had occurred. The religious leaders paid them “a large sum of money” (Matthew 28:12) to say the apostles stole the body, which still today is an argument against the resurrection.

Later in the Bible, Paul admits there is no Christianity without Jesus’ bodily resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:13-23). Since Jesus appeared to hundreds of people on several occasions after His return from the grave, evidence exists for the resurrection’s actuality.

The resurrected Christ visited the apostles many times; He even ate fish with them. At one time, He had appeared to each of the apostles except Thomas; Thomas still doubted the resurrection, until Jesus appeared to him personally. Upon seeing the Risen Lord and touching His wounds, Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)! Jesus then said: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Jesus also spoke with Peter, forgiving him for the triple denial and betrayal at His arrest. Jesus told Peter he would die by crucifixion as well. Interestingly, Peter was sentenced to die by crucifixion, but claiming unworthiness to die as Jesus had died, he was crucified upside down!

Jesus met the apostles in Galilee after His resurrection, giving them what is known as the Great Commission. It serves as the mission statement for Christians today. Jesus said:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age
(Matthew 28:18-20).

Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives in the presence of the apostles, and they saw Him seated at the right hand of the Father. Then they returned to Jerusalem, praising the Lord.

Why is it significant?

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? When we examine all the evidence, and there is much to examine, we come down to only three possibilities: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord. Josh McDowell explains this very well in several of his books; C.S. Lewis also discusses it. By examining the life of Jesus, we can rule out the option taken on Him by other faiths—that Jesus was merely a good man. A good man does not make claims about being God in the flesh or teach that He is the exclusive way to heaven if he is merely a good man. Jesus as simply a good man is illogical.

The teachings of Jesus were not delusional, imprudent, irrational, or groundless; rather, Jesus taught wisely and rationally, in a coherent, well-mannered style, providing grounds to believe He was not a lunatic. Jesus was neither deceptive in His compassion, nor ambiguous in His teachings, neither conniving in His forgiveness, nor manipulative with those who surrounded Him; rather, Jesus, by His lifestyle, exhibited genuine care in healing, working miracles, and teaching moral truth, giving reason to believe He was not a liar.

As mentioned earlier, people do not die for what they know to be lies. Jesus’ followers and many other eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection gave up their lives as martyrs for the Christian faith. They certainly believed Jesus had risen from the dead. That leaves us with only one option: Jesus is Lord. If you think Jesus is not God, then you must call Him insane; He clearly believed Himself to be God (see John 4:3-26, 14:6-11, among other verses) and demonstrated by numerous signs, including resurrection from the dead, that He is God.

Listed below are just eighteen of the over 100 distinct prophecies Jesus Christ fulfilled at His first coming:

- Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
- Came into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
- Rejected by His people (Isaiah 53; Psalm 118:22)
- A prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)
- Betrayed by a close friend (Psalm 41:9)
- Tried and condemned (Isaiah 53:8)
- Silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7)
- Mocked and insulted (Psalm 22:7-8)
- Death by crucifixion (Psalm 22:14-17)
- Offered vinegar and gall (Psalm 69:21)
- Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
- Struck and spat on (Isaiah 50:6)
- Lots cast for His clothing (Psalm 22:18)
- Prayed for His enemies (Isaiah 53:12)
- Bones not broken (Exodus 12:46)
- Died as a sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 53:5-12)
- Raised from the dead (Psalm 16:10)
- Sits at God’s right hand (Psalm 110:1)

Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, pure and sinless in every way. He experienced every temptation we experience today, yet He was without sin. We need only accept His gift of life to enjoy freedom from sin. The Bible says: “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Out of love for us, He took our place, substituting His life for the wrath of God and the punishment of death we deserve; in that most glorious and gracious exchange, while we receive His eternal life and are forgiven the debt we owe God for our sin, He takes on Himself, out of love for us, the penalty for our sin—death. Jesus traded His perfection for our sin, so we can spend eternity with Him. This is the hope of the Christian: That we will be declared righteous before God by His grace, through accepting the gift of eternal life made freely available by the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us. We can have faith in our Savior, trusting in His perfect life, His death on the cross to wipe out all of our sins, and His physical resurrection that won victory over death, the ultimate consequence of sin.

The first time your mind and your heart grasp the reality of what Jesus Christ did for you by coming to earth, suffering, dying, and rising again, it will be a moving experience. Marvin and Gentry wrote, “Jesus is our hero in the battle He has won.” Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

When we realize the incredible sacrifice our Creator made, we can rejoice in freedom from sin, praise Him forever, and live for Him out of gratitude! The perfect life of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead are the foundation of Christianity. As we examine the early Church after Jesus ascended into heaven, we will learn more about what it means to be a Christian.

Recent Fossil Find Shows Truth of Scripture

Romans 1:18-25 explains that the wrath of God is being revealed against the sinfulness of impious and immoral mankind. Men suppress the truth by their wickedness. Furthermore, they know that God is divine in nature and has eternal power, because God has made it plain to see in creation. There is no excuse to fail to understand. In other words, if you live in the world and don't see a creator, an "intelligent designer," then you are simply suppressing the truth in sin, and you are accountable for that. The passage continues, saying that evil mankind knew God yet refused to thank Him and glorify Him. Thus, "their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Claiming "wisdom" they became fools and exchanged God's glory (the masterpiece - Biblical creation) for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles (the distorted copy of a copy of a copy of a child's fingerpainting - evolutionary theory). They exchanged the truth of God (creation) for a lie (evolution), and worshiped and served created things (this is the worldview result of evolutionary theory) rather than the Creator (this is the worldview result of Biblical creation), who is forever praised. Amen.

2 Peter 3:3-13 explains that scoffers will mock the return of Christ, thinking that "ever since ... everything goes on as it has since the beginning ..." These scoffers "deliberately forget that long ago by God's Word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water." They also deliberately forget God's judgment in the worldwide flood of Noah. They mock the return of Christ, because it hasn't happened yet. But the Lord is not slow in keeping His promises. He is waiting for His timing to come, for the last of the elect to be brought to faith in Jesus. And we know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and that "the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."

Yet "there is no fear fo God before their eyes" (Romans 3:18). How sad!

Here is the text of the article, with my thoughts in bold, in light of the above Scripture passages.
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Fossil shows how fish made the leap to land:
375 million-year-old remains look like a cross between fish and crocodile...

An artist's conception shows what the ancient croco-fish creature known as Tiktaalik roseae might have looked like 375 million years ago.

How can a fossil show how fish made the leap to land? Do you think there's any bias in this opening statement? Next, "375 million-year-old..." I'd like to hear which dating method was used, so I can point out the plethora of assumptions made in that regard. I'm not a paleontologist, but the fossil photo looks a whole lot more like a crocodile or alligator than a fish. And finally, notice that the artist's rendition is what the creature "might have looked like" long ago. Lots of guess-work being portrayed as fact, right at the start.

Scientists have caught a fossil fish in the act of adapting toward a life on land, a discovery that sheds new light one of the greatest transformations in the history of animals. Researchers have long known that fish evolved into the first creatures on land with four legs and backbones more than 365 million years ago, but they’ve had precious little fossil evidence to document how it happened.

What makes this fossil "in the act of adapting"? This discovery sheds new light? On what? "One of the greatest transformations in the history of animals." Let's worship the creation rather than the creator, huh? I find this next sentence fitting perfectly with the Scriptures passages above. "Researchers have long known that fish evolved into the first creatures on land..." How do they know? Fossils like the one in this story don't say so. Faulty dating methods based on presuppositional assumptions don't say so either. But they have long known.... Yeah. And then the confirmation that their long-held knowledge is bankrupt. I hear, "They claimed to be wise but showed themselves foolish," when I read that "they've had precious little fossil evidence to document how it happened." A fossil is never going to show how it happened, for two reasons: First, because it never happened, and second, because fossils aren't capable of showing this type of change. Where is any evidence that this is not a crocodile kind of animal. The story, in just a minute, will even say that they haven't unearthed the hind portion of the fossilized creature yet.

The new find of several specimens looks more like a land-dweller than the few other fossil fish known from the transitional period, and researchers speculate that it may have taken brief excursions out of the water. “It sort of blurs the distinction between fish and land-living animals,” said one of its discoverers, paleontologist Neil Shubin of the University of Chicago.

I love the presuppositional language from the hefty-titled experts. "It looks more like...than the few others..." "Researchers speculate..." "It might have..." "It sort of blurs..."

Experts said the discovery, with its unusually well-preserved and complete skeletons, reveals significant new information about how the water-to-land evolution took place. “It’s an important new contribution to (understanding) a very, very important transition in the history of life,” said Robert Carroll of McGill University in Montreal. The new find includes specimens, 4 to 9 feet long (1.2 to 2.75 meters long), found on Ellesmere Island, which lies north of the Arctic Circle in Canada. It is reported in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature by Shubin, Ted Daeschler of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and Farish A. Jenkins Jr. of Harvard.

Let me note that, as the article states, complete and well-preserved fossil skeletons are unusual. And that fact only further disputes the so-called "fact" of evolutionary theory. The reality is that the evidence doesn't support their claims. Proclaiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged God's glory for idolatrous, evolutionary icons.

About 375 million years ago, the creature looked like a cross between a fish and a crocodile. It swam in shallow, gently meandering streams in what was then a subtropical climate, researchers say. A meat-eater, it lived mostly in water. Yet, its front fins had bones that correspond to a shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm and a primitive version of a wrist, Shubin said. From the shoulder to the wrist area, “it basically looks like a scale-covered arm,” he said. “Here’s a creature that has a fin that can do push-ups,” he said. “This is clearly an animal that is able to support itself on the ground,” probably both in very shallow water and for brief excursions on dry land. On land, it apparently moved like a seal, he said.

Now how do they know where it swam? Or what it ate? How do they know that it ahrd front fins and not merely front legs. We are supposed to trust the "researchers." "Researchers say..." doesn't tell me anything. Why should I believe "researchers" for the sake of their word. I've certainly noticed researcher bias in the past. Gee, I wonder if any of these particular researchers already believed the theory of evolution when they examined this evidence? Do you think any creationist researchers were asked their opinion? Not that we should automatically believe them either.... How should we go about examining this evidence without presuppositions?

The fact that it's skeletal construction is similar to other creatures doesn't say anything to support evolution. Rather, it points to a Creator!

"It basically looks like a scale-covered arm.... This is clearly an animal that is able to support itself on the ground, probably.... On land, it apparently moved like a seal." Don't you love the language of this "expert"!?! Maybe it was a scale-covered arm, like a crocodile. Maybe it could support itself on the ground, like a crocodile. Maybe it had fins like a seal. None of that says anything about evolution, without the presuppositions. Why not say, "Maybe God made this creature and it was different thatn anything we've ever seen, but it has since gone extinct thanks to the sinfulness of mankind. Forgive us and save us from this corrupt generation, O Lord!"

It might have pulled itself onto stream banks, perhaps moving from one wet area to another, and even crawled across logs in swamps, said Daeschler. The researchers have not yet dug up any remains from the hind end of the creature’s body, so they don’t know exactly what the hind fins and tail might have looked like.

"It might have... perhaps..." It's nothing but loaded presuppositional speculation. And, oh yeah, they've haven't seen it's hind section yet, so they don't know "exactly" what the booty of this thing "might" have looked like. How can you know "exactly" what it "might" have looked like? Absurd.

The creature was dubbed Tiktaalik (pronounced “tic-TAH-lick”) roseae, and also had the crocodile-shaped head of early amphibians, with eyes on the top rather than the side. Unlike other fish, it could move its head independently of its shoulders like a land animal. The back of its head also had features like those of land-dwellers. It probably had lungs as well as gills, and it had overlapping ribs that could be used to support the body against gravity, Shubin said.

Once again, the language gets in the way of an interesting story. "The creature...could move its head independently ... like a land animal.... The back of its head had features like those of land-dwellers." Maybe it was a land animal?!?! But then the presuppositions get in the way. "It probably...."

Yet, the creature’s jaws and snout were still very fishlike, showing that “evolution proceeds slowly; it proceeds in a mosaic pattern with some elements changing while others stay the same,” Daeschler said. If one considers adaptation as a process of collecting tools to live in a new environment, the new finding offers “a snapshot of the toolkit at this particular point in this evolutionary transition,” Daeschler said.
The fossilized creature had a crocodile-shaped head and front fins with bones that corresponded to a shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm and wrist.

"Evolution proceeds slowly." Time + Chance = Anything you want! It's funny that many evolutionists, who of course are attempting to account for the lack of transitional fossil evidence, suggest that evolution proceeded very quickly. This is often called punctuated-equilibrium. Once again, the similar features to those of fish and land animals perhaps points to an "intelligent designer" rather than a random meaningless mutational accident.

In fact, much of its value comes from this insight into the order in which those tools appeared in fish, said Jennifer Clack of Cambridge University, an expert unconnected with the study. Knowing that detail about the transition from fish to land-dweller, she said, “might help us to unravel why it happened at all. Why did creatures come out of the water and get legs and walk away?”

Oh Jennifer.... You're unconnected with the study and yet you offer your presuppositionally-biased, "expert" opinion anyway. Thanks for leading so many astray! But even your testimony leaves us with "might help us unravel why... creatures came out of the water and got legs and walked away." It might? It would if it could but it can't so it won't. How sad. Maybe, instead of poor expert-Jennifer's opinion, we might hear God's testimony on the matter, since He was there and brought it to pass according to His sovereign will and pleasure and purpose?!

It’s impossible to tell if Tiktaalik was a direct ancestor of land vertebrates, she said, but if a scientist set out to design a plausible candidate, “you’d probably come up with something like this.” Shubin said the researchers plan to return to the small rocky outcropping that yielded the fossils and recover more material. “We’ve really only begun to sort of crack that spot,” he said.

"It is impossible to tell...." Thanks so much for the proof of evolutionary theory. Ah, but "if a scientist set out to design a plausible candidate...." Doesn't this just display the errors of their presuppositionally biased efforts to claim wisdom? Doesn't this just display the reality that, professing to be wise they became fools? And then, even with that, "you'd probably come up with something like this." Very scientific....

The site is in Nunavut Territory, and “Tiktaalik” in the creature’s name comes from the traditional language used in the area. It refers to a large freshwater fish seen in the shallows.

The Gospel (5)

This is part 5 of chapter 5 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Jesus went to the Temple and, after getting rid of the marketplace set up inside, cured the sick and healed the lame. He spent the night in Bethany with His close friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus’ body with expensive perfume and wiped His feet with her hair; the apostles were angry at the apparent waste, but Jesus told them that Mary was right to anoint Him. She was preparing His body for burial.

The next day, the Pharisees again questioned Jesus—this time about paying taxes. Had Jesus said it was okay to pay taxes to Caesar, they would have said He was not loyal to God alone. Had Jesus said it was okay not to pay taxes to Caesar, they would have said He was speaking out against the government. Jesus asked whose image was on the Roman currency; the Pharisees told Him that Caesar’s portrait was on the coin. So Jesus said: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25). The Pharisees were amazed at His answer, and they left Him alone.

Then the Sadducees, a religious cult that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, questioned Jesus about marriage traditions and marriage in the afterlife (since they knew Jesus taught about heaven and hell). Jesus told them there would be no marriage in heaven like we observe on earth. He also reminded them that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Living God, which the Sadducees would certainly not deny. Jesus was explaining that beliefs in God and the afterlife go hand in hand; but the finite minds of man cannot fathom the glory and splendor of eternal life in heaven.

The Pharisees came again asking Jesus which of the commandments is greatest. Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12; Joshua 22:5). He also said: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8). If these two commands are followed, then all other laws will naturally be obeyed too! Because Jesus baffled the Pharisees, they went away, never again asking Him any other questions. Jesus criticized and condemned the religious leaders, calling them blind guides, fools, hypocrites, and snakes because of their evil, duplicitous ways.

Jesus taught about the end times from the Mount of Olives, saying to watch out for false prophets. He mentioned that famines, earthquakes, and wars—nations rising up against nations (see Matthew 24)—would be prevalent. Christians will be ridiculed and persecuted, but the Gospel will be preached to all nations. Then the end will come. Interestingly, more Christians have been martyred for their faith in the twentieth century than in the past nineteen centuries’ combined! Our ears have been desensitized to this fact by all the death and violence we hear about from the media today.

In the end times, there will be distress like never before. At that time, Christ will come back, descending from the clouds with a trumpet call to gather His chosen people from all over the world. Jesus made it clear only that God the Father knows when this time will come. It will come when the times are like the days of Noah, when society was violent, chaotic, and careless. It will come quickly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night (see 1 Thessalonians 5; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3, 16:15). Christians can be prepared by having their house in order, ready for Christ’s return.

Two days before the Passover celebration began, a Wednesday, Jesus reminded His apostles that the time for His death was near. The religious leaders, led by the high priest Caiaphas, prepared to arrest Jesus and put Him to death. Judas Iscariot had gone to the chief priests to find out how much money he could get to hand over Jesus at the appropriate time. Perhaps Judas was frustrated, realizing now that following Jesus would not guarantee him financial success and worldly wealth. Judas was offered only thirty pieces of silver, the going rate for purchasing a slave and the amount prophesied in Zechariah 11:12 in the Old Testament!

The next day, Jesus had the apostles prepare the Last Supper. During the meal, Jesus pointed out Judas as His betrayer. After spending some time dining, talking, and singing hymns, the group went out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. There Jesus predicted that Peter would deny knowing Him three times before the next morning. All the apostles promised never to disown Jesus, but they would soon scatter at His arrest, as prophesied in the Old Testament. Zechariah 13:7 says: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (see also Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27). Continuing to teach them, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come upon them to comfort, guide, and empower them after He was gone. He told them there would be much persecution in their lives; He said: “A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or Me” (John 16:2-3). (That sounds like radical Muslim suicide bombers to me!) Jesus also said:

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My
Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am
going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You
know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t
know where You are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the
Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. …
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world
you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 14:1-6,
16:33).

Telling the apostles that His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow, Jesus took them to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He had them wait, pray, and keep watch. Jesus went higher up on a hill and prayed alone. Between each of three prayer sessions, He checked on the apostles and found them sleeping. They were not strong enough to obey Him; the temptation of sleep was too much! Jesus said: “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38).

What was Jesus’ prayer? Jesus prayed for Himself, that He might glorify the Father with what He was about to do. Jesus also asked to be glorified for fulfilling the work He had been sent to accomplish. Jesus prayed for all of His disciples, that the Father would protect them. Jesus prayed for their sanctification by the Word of Truth. Jesus also prayed for all those believers yet to come. Jesus’ prayer continued:

I pray also for those who will believe in Me through [the apostles’] message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May
they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have
given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are One: I in
them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know
that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. Father, I want
those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory
You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.
Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know
that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make
You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I
Myself may be in them (John 17:20-26).

Jesus asked God the Father three times: “If it possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus, fully God, knew He was about to experience the most horrible form of death in crucifixion; fully man, Jesus did not want to suffer through it! Feeling such extreme anxiety, His sweat actually contained blood.

How could He have sweated blood? Sweating blood is a rare, yet well-known medical condition called hematohidrosis. There are several blood vessels around the sweat glands that constrict when under great pressure and stress. As anxiety passes, the blood vessels dilate and rupture, and the blood seeps into the sweat glands. As the sweat glands produce sweat, the blood is pushed to the surface and comes out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.

Jesus sweated blood, because He was about to bear the weight and the guilt of all the sins of every believer who ever lived or ever would live. He knew that bearing this burden would separate Him from God the Father and cause God the Father to forsake Him in wrath. We could never imagine the intense anxiety that our Creator suffered to save us. Could Jesus have avoided this pain? Yes.

Jesus could have easily avoided all of this by disappearing, by calling on angels to protect Him, by making His skin impenetrable, or by numbing His body so He felt no pain. But He chose to do none of these things. Rather, “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2), He chose to be genuinely wounded, suffering human death and truly paying for our sins, purchasing us with a ransom of His own life. Isaiah 53:2-12 told about Christ 700 years before He lived:

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that
we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, and
familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was
despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried
our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and
afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds
we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to
his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was
oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not
open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away. … He was assigned
a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no
violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush
Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt
offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the
Lord will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the
light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous servant will
justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him a
portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because
He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For
He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

After Jesus came down the third time from His solitary praying place, He was arrested by Roman soldiers who had followed Judas Iscariot to Gethsemane. Peter tried to stop the arresting officer by slicing his ear with a sword. Jesus told Peter to stop; this had to be done in order to fulfill Scripture. At that, the apostles scattered and Jesus was taken to the former high priest, Annas, and then to the home of the reigning high priest, Caiaphas, where a court session with members of the Sanhedrin had already prepared to try Him. Remember this happened in the middle of the night on Thursday. The religious leaders wanted to get it over with before the Sabbath, which was Friday night to Saturday night, so they uncommonly rushed through the proceedings without much care for legality.

According to Old Testament law, two people must accuse someone in order for a trial to begin (see Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:18; Revelation 11:3). After some delay, two accusers stepped forward, saying that Jesus committed blasphemy against God. “The high priest said to Him, ‘I charge You under oath by the Living God: Tell us if You are the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied” (Matthew 26:63-64); the entire court said He was worthy of death.

To put Jesus to death, the Roman government had to approve, so they marched Him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to get a death warrant. Pilate found no fault in Jesus; he sent Him to Herod Antipas. Antipas enjoyed meeting Jesus, but he had no jurisdiction to issue a death warrant. He sent Jesus back to Pilate, who again saw no reason why Jesus should be put to death.

Eventually Pilate gave into peer pressure and offered a choice to the crowd of Jews that had gathered. He would release a prisoner, either Jesus or a criminal. The crowds shouted for the release of Barabbas, a murderer and political extremist. They demanded that Jesus be crucified! Pontius Pilate then washed his hands in front of the crowd, so they would see he had nothing to do with their decision. Jesus was flogged, beaten and whipped, and sent with the Roman soldiers to prepare for crucifixion.

While Jesus was undergoing this illegal trial, Peter was trying to find out what was happening. He was accused of knowing Jesus on three separate occasions. Each time, Peter denied Jesus, the final time swearing on his own life that he did not know Him. Upon the third denial, a rooster crowed, and Peter recalled what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown Me three times” (Luke 22:61; Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; John 18:25-27). He wept bitterly upon realizing he had betrayed his Lord.

Probably as Jesus was being mocked, beaten, whipped, and spit on, Judas Iscariot realized what he had done by betraying Jesus was wrong. He went to the chief priests to return the thirty pieces of silver. They refused to take the money back, because it was blood money. Judas threw the money down, as prophesied in the Old Testament (see Zechariah 11:13), ran away, and hanged himself. His body fell from the place and broke open on the rocks below, spilling his insides all over the ground.

Jesus was severely beaten and given a crown of thorns by the Roman soldiers, who mocked Him as King of the Jews. They forced Jesus, along with two criminals guilty of robbery, to carry the horizontal portion of the cross of crucifixion to a hill known as Golgotha or Calvary. Jesus had some help from Simon of Cyrene, a North African Jew who was visiting Jerusalem with his sons for the Passover celebration. Upon reaching Golgotha, the soldiers offered Jesus some wine mixed with an anti-pain drug called gall, but He refused it and was crucified. Jesus endured the full extent of the pain of crucifixion.

I can imagine neither the loneliness of being ridiculed, spit on, and beaten by the very people Jesus loved, nor the agony of the thorns penetrating His head, neither the lashings on His back, nor the weight of the cross, neither the nails through His wrists and ankles, nor the struggle to grasp a breath while hanging on the cross. Jesus suffered the most painful death anyone could experience. In fact, crucifixion was so agonizing that a new word was coined to describe it—excruciating.

Jesus accepted the weight and punishment of all our sins as He hung there alone on the cross. That is why He quoted the Old Testament: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)? At that very moment, Jesus felt the weight of our sin and the wrath and denial of God the Father. He suffered immeasurably for you and me. King David described the death of the Savior 1000 years before it happened:

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has
turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a
potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust
of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they
have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and
gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing
(Psalm 22:14-18).

Then “Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). Interestingly, it is finished in the original Greek, tetelestai, means more than it is finished. Tetelestai means “the debt is cancelled, paid in full.” It signifies completion. Nothing more was needed. Jesus Christ died to pay the debt we owe God for our transgressions.

God said: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Jesus absorbed the wrath of God, the punishment we deserve, to make us pure before God. He is the final and completely sufficient sacrificial lamb we need to approach God in perfection and righteousness. No more sacrifices are needed for the forgiveness of sin.

At the moment Jesus died, the Temple curtain separating the Holy Place, where everyone could go, from the Most Holy Place, where only the priests could go, tore in half; it split down the middle from top to bottom, signifying that the duties of the priest were no longer needed. Jesus is the only Priest we need. The common people could approach God directly through His Son, Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.

There was also a great earthquake. Tombs broke open and many of those who died with faith in God’s plan of salvation prior to Christ’s death were raised to life, appearing in Jerusalem as a testimony to the actuality of life after death. When the Roman centurion saw all that happened when Jesus died, he cried out, “Surely this Man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39)!

After being gouged in the heart with a spear to prove death had occurred, Jesus’ body was taken with permission from Pontius Pilate by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus. Joseph had Jesus’ body prepared and laid in his own tomb, a cave cut out of rock (similar to place where Jesus was born). A stone was rolled over the entrance. A short time later, the Pharisees recalled Jesus’ announcement that He would rise after three days. So they had the entrance to the tomb permanently sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers to keep the apostles from stealing the body of Jesus and announcing His resurrection.

Nevertheless, on Sunday morning, there was an earthquake, and Mary Magdalene, along with other female followers of Jesus, went to the tomb. There was an angel sitting on the stone, which was rolled away from the entrance. With perhaps the most famous words in all of Christianity, the angel said, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said” (Matthew 28:6). On the way to tell the apostles, the women saw Jesus, Who told them to have the apostles meet Him in Galilee.

The Gospel (4)

This is part 4 of chapter 5 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Jesus visited Nazareth, His hometown, to preach there; but the people, who knew His family and remembered His days as a builder, did not believe in Him as the promised Messiah! Jesus had many brothers and sisters, but even they did not believe in Him until after His death and resurrection. Jesus performed few miracles in Nazareth, as the people there lacked faith.

Meanwhile, Herod Antipas beheaded John the Baptist; John had condemned the adulterous relationship Herod was having with his own sister-in-law. When Jesus found out about John’s death, He withdrew to a solitary place on the Sea of Galilee, but the crowds followed Him there. Despite His sorrow over John’s death, Jesus had compassion on the crowd, healing the sick and crippled among them. As it got late in the day, the apostles suggested dispersing the crowd, but Jesus wanted to feed them first. He fed 5000 men (15,000 including women and children) with only five loaves of bread and two small fish. There were twelve baskets full of food left over!

Later that evening, Jesus walked on water toward the apostles, who were at sea. Simon Peter began to walk on water toward Jesus, but he got scared and started to sink. Jesus helped him into the boat, criticizing his doubt and lack of faith.

Weeks later, after returning from a ministry visit to Sidon and Tyre in present day Lebanon, Jesus again healed and taught the crowds on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. He fed 4000 men (12,000 including women and children) with only seven loaves and a few fish; there were seven baskets of food leftover.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees, who asked for a sign of His divinity. Jesus told them that signs were all around. They could tell the weather from its signs, but they could not discern the Messiah despite His deeds. The many miracles (at least thirty-five recorded) and fulfilled prophecies of Jesus were overwhelming, yet the hard-hearted, hypocritical religious leaders did not believe. Jesus warned His followers to be wary of the Pharisees, who were leading people astray and keeping people from having a relationship with God. The Pharisees knew the law, but obeyed it only outwardly for their own glory. We are to obey inwardly and outwardly for God’s glory!

While in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked the apostles: “Who do you say I am” (Matthew 16:15)? Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). That was the right answer! Several days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him up on a mountain. Jesus was transfigured there to show His full glory, power, and identity as the Son of God; and God said: “This is My Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5)!

Jesus continued healing and teaching as He taught the apostles, who were arguing about which of them would be the greatest in heaven. Jesus said the greatest among them would have to humble himself like a child and become the servant of them all.

Jesus was insistent that teachers will be judged more critically than others, because of their role in the lives of children. It would be better for anyone who causes a child to sin and stray from God “to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). If you are a teacher or a parent, please examine yourself, that you may be found righteous in both what you teach and your teaching methods. Jesus also taught that those who know about Him and reject Him will be judged more harshly than those who do not know about Him.

Jesus taught about confronting a fellow Christian who is sinning. First, you are to approach the sinner alone in gentleness and respect. If the problem goes uncorrected, then you are to meet with the sinner with several fellow Christians to confront him. Third, the entire church confronts the sinner, and if he still does not repent, he should be treated as a pagan, which still involves love and care.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three major Jewish feasts (see 2 Chronicles 8:13), the crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching. Some of them praised Him as the Messiah, while others mocked Him in disbelief. Still others did not know what to make of Him. In response to a question of His authority to teach and do miracles, Jesus said: “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own” (John 7:17). Many people tried to stone Jesus, but Nicodemus, a Pharisee, calmed the crowd. He stood up for justice, refusing to condemn Jesus.

Earlier, Nicodemus had approached Jesus at night to ask Him questions in private. Nicodemus wanted to learn the truth; he knew Jesus had it! Jesus told Nicodemus that one must be spiritually born again to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are born again when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Paul, describing spiritual rebirth in Galatians 2:20, said: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Jesus told Nicodemus:

Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because
their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come
into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:19-20).

Later, the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. They wanted to stone her, but Jesus said: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). When no one threw a single stone, Jesus forgave the woman and told her not to sin anymore.

Talking to the crowd of Jews surrounding Him, Jesus said: “You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the One I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:23-24). Jesus went on to say to those who believed in Him: “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Jesus emphasized His eternality; John 1:1-2,14 says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. … The Word became flesh and made His dwelling
among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from
the Father, full of grace and truth.

After spending some time in Galilee, Jesus began His final journey, heading for Jerusalem, where His sacrifice would be made. Jesus continued healing and teaching on the way. He also sent seventy-two of His followers out into many towns, where they healed the sick. They were proud of their abilities, but Jesus told them instead to be proud of having their names in the Book of Life. They were going to be in heaven with Jesus!

Paul confirmed what the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17). Paul also wrote, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). We really have nothing to be proud of in ourselves. Every good thing comes from God (see James 1:17).

Passing through Jericho, Jesus saw a man named Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector despised by most people, sitting up in a tree. When Jesus called Zacchaeus, who was watching as Jesus went by, to come down, the people were stunned that Jesus wanted to spend time with him. Zacchaeus became a changed man, giving half of his possessions to the poor and repaying four times as much to everyone he had cheated.

Continuing on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus healed a man who was blind from birth. The man praised God, because he could see! The Pharisees demanded an explanation for this apparent miracle; they did not believe Jesus was Who He said He was. Jesus continued teaching there, calling Himself the Good Shepherd, Who lays down His life for His sheep. He also called Himself the gate through which all sheep must enter to be saved. Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Many of the non-believing Jews were so outraged at Jesus’ claims to be God that they prepared to stone Him; but Jesus escaped across the Jordan River after explaining that the unbelievers were simply blind, unable to look past their pride to see the evidence of His work. From across the Jordan River, word reached Jesus that His good friend Lazarus was deathly ill.

Days later, Jesus decided to go to Bethany, a small town outside Jerusalem, to heal Lazarus. The apostles did not want Jesus to go, because the Jewish crowds were still looking to try to kill Him. But Jesus insisted, because Lazarus had actually died and had to be raised from the dead. After arriving at Bethany and speaking with Mary and Martha, Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, who had already been entombed for four days. Jesus wept for Lazarus out of love for him. Then Jesus told Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and he did! Now many more people believed in Jesus after this, but there were still others who hated Him. The Pharisees decided to kill Him, as the high priest Caiaphas said, “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50). Of course Caiaphas was not thinking of the sacrifice Jesus would become for His people, but he nonetheless prophesied the truth!

Later, a rich, young man came to Jesus asking what he must do to earn eternal life. Jesus told Him to keep the commandments, which the man said he had done. Jesus also told the man to sell everything he owned, giving the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. The man walked away upset, because he could not part with his wealth. His money was more important than his God. That is why Jesus said: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25). The Bible says: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Before entering Jerusalem, Jesus had a donkey brought out to Him so He could ride into the city according to Scripture in Zechariah 9:9, which says: “See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey.” This was the first day of the week of Jesus’ death, our Palm Sunday. The crowds gathered in praise, waving palm branches, as Jesus rode into Jerusalem.

On Calling (An Overview of Romans 8:28-9:24)

Whew! What a great exposition! It is refreshing to read and hear the Word of God explained in such clarity and passion for truth. To God be the glory!