Easter Week 4

Psalm: Psalm 23

Acts: Acts 9:36-43

Gospel: John 10:22-30

Epistle: Revelation 7:9-17

We continue with the Easter Season this Sunday and also continue our readings from Acts, John, and Revelation. On the surface this week we have 4 very different passages and it is difficult to see where they intersect.

First let us look at Acts. These verses relay the story of Tabitha being raised from the dead by Peter. This is the first of two people confirmed to rise from the dead due to the Apostle's ministry. (The other being Eutychus by Paul in Acts 20:9-12) Of course, Jesus raised a few people from the dead and also arose from the dead himself. What is interesting here is that the people in Joppa didn't ask Peter to bring Tabitha back to life. It is actually unclear why they send for Peter, but perhaps it is because Tabitha was a well-respected leader in the church. (This goes back to the role of women in ministry which we have discussed the last two weeks.) I think this is most likely because the text doesn’t say they sent for Peter for him to perform a miracle, and indeed they were preparing Tabitha's body for burial. But when Peter showed up, he sensed (Spirit lead?) that he should bring her back to life. So, like Jesus in Matt. 9, Peter asked the crowd to leave the room. But unlike Jesus, he prayed before he told Tabitha to “arise.” This is a minor detail, but one which revealed who Jesus is and where Peter drew his power.

Real quickly let us look at John 10. The heading in my Bible says, “Jesus Asserts His Deity.” Most of these verses are Jesus explaining who he is relation to his followers and to the Father. He says his sheep are in his hand and also the Father’s hand. Speaking to the unity of him and the Father. The closing verse, sums up the passage succinctly, “I and the Father are one.” (30)

Moving on to the reading from Revelation, I don’t actually know if I have ever written on a passage from Revelation on this blog, but I may have. This is partially due to the confusing nature of the book and also the difficulty of finding applications and relevance to modern life. Our verses today from Revelation 7 are a vision of the heavenly throne room and a great multitude of people from all tribes and people standing before the throne of the Lamb declaring “blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever, Amen.” (12) The people who make us this crowd are those who have come out of the “great tribulation…” And at these words, things take a turn towards the confusing. Pre-trib? Post-trib? No-trib? Whatever can be said about these verses, the image is clear on at least one point; In heaven, all praise will flow towards God and to the Lamb. (10)

So far I feel like I haven’t really said anything so let's move on to our Psalm. Psalm 23 is perhaps the best known Psalm of all time. David declares that God is his comfort and peace when he walks among the streams and meadows of life, and also when he walks through the valley of the shadow of death. David knows that he is in God’s hand and ultimately, he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I think trying to tie all of these verses together would do a disservice to them. I can see a little bit of a connection between John and Psalm 23 concerning being in the God’s hand and not being able to be plucked by the enemy, but that is about it. I don’t really have any other insight to give this week. But I am still glad I read the Lectionary every week and engage with the text, even though sometimes I leave thinking, “how does that relate to us today?” The main thing is that we don’t stop reading and engaging the text and that we don’t stop seeking a relationship with who the Bible is pointing to: God the Father, as revealed in Jesus, through the presence of the Spirit.

Grace and Peace.