Who are You Following?
January 28, 2024Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "Who are You Following?" A video of the message is here. The name of this series is "What Everyone Wants to Know."
There are a number of Biblical Hebrew words that carry a meaning akin to "follow" (meaning the word is sometimes translated as follow). Contained within the list and the various meanings are ways to ponder following someone. So, with that in mind...
One is radaph (רָדַף) which has a pursue or chase kind of meaning. This is usually in a negative sense as in chase to overtake or capture.
Another is halak (הָלַךְ) which has more of the physical movement feel to it as in walking, going, or coming. In Exodus 9:23, the lightning "darted" (halak) fire to the ground (one of the plagues in Egypt).
Yet another is dabaq (דָּבַק). Dabaq has a sense of clinging, cleave to, or keep close. Not a bad sense for following Jesus. This is the word used for a man leaving his family and cleaving to his wife (Genesis 2:24). Brings to mind the bridegroom imagery of Jesus with his Church.
And lastly (for now), the one that "spoke to me," is hayah (הָיָה). It has a less physical sense and a more cosmic feel to it. It can mean "to fall out" like the answer falls out given this knowledge. It can mean "come to pass" as in it follows that this will happen. It can mean "become" or simply "be" as in "let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). This suggests that following Jesus is attempting to be Jesus in the sense of acting like Him.
Bonus
Jesus Christ Superstar (JCS) - 50th Anniversary Tour
Several members of the family saw this production at the Buell Theatre in Denver this past weekend. Wow! It's been a favorite of the whole family since it came out 50 years ago. It was hard to imagine making it any better. Then they did...In keeping with a trend these days of extensively upping the choreography to enhance virtually every moment of the show, JCS did that. And the movement was quite in keeping with the music. It was like watching the Danube River move while Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz played.
If you're not familiar with this production, here's some key information. It's a "rock opera" with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. The music is fairly modern ("rock") and it's an opera, meaning every word is sung. Like opera, it's a concert and a play all in one.
The story mainly follows Judas, Jesus, and Mary Magdalene during Holy Week up until and including the Crucifixion. Pilate has some key moments and there's a fantastically hilarious scene with Herod.
Don't miss the Da Vinci Last Supper moment.
The only part of the original movie that I missed was Jesus desperately climbing the hill during the Garden of Gethsemane scene with the classical art flashing in and out as he asks that this cup be taken from him.
The production's website is here. If nothing else, check out the Gallery section to see what the show looks like. While you're at it, read the Denver Post review, here. The production website shows dates through May 1st around the country.
If you've never seen the show, I'm sure you can find the original 1973 movie streamed from various platforms. IMDB entry.
Bonus2
Does the "Old Covenant" Require Perfection?
This question keeps coming up, and it haunts me to some degree. I think the reason why it haunts me is that this claim (that the old covenant requires perfection and that is no longer required under Jesus) tends to dissuade people from interest in the Old Testament, the Old Covenant (the two words are very similar in meaning).
I dealt briefly with this a couple weeks ago: here.
This week I'll throw an article onto the fire: Is the Old Covenant Legalistic?, by Jonny Atkinson.
I don't think perfection has been expected or required since Man chose freewill over the perfection of Eden. I think it makes sense that someone who has faith in someone else would want to follow what that someone else says to do. To me, then, the question becomes, how do we faithfully follow God/Jesus? Answer: by doing what He asks. And what does He ask? Read the Bible, both testaments. It's all there. And bonus! Lots of wisdom, too.
Certainly now that Jesus is on the scene, there is no expectation of perfection relative to the old covenants. However, that's no excuse to ignore the teachings. They're still excellent standards to follow.