My Review of Love Wins: Chapter Four

Does God get what God wants?

That's the first big question of the chapter.
And the last big question of the chapter is:  
Do we get what we want?

Yes. To both. But not a simple yes, rather a tension, drama-full yes.

Rob is going to make a case from Scripture that God "wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." [1Timothy 2]

And so the big question of the chapter: Does God get what God wants? Or in the end, "will God shrug God-sized shoulders and say, 'You can't always get what you want.'" (103)

It is pointed out in Luke 15 that "the God Jesus teaches us about doesn't give up until everything that was lost is found. This God simply doesn't give up. Ever." (101) Rob insists that God accomplishes what he purposes to do, and that the Scriptures point to a God who "will be united and reconciled with all people." (100)

Some will say, though, that we only have this lifetime on planet Earth to make a decision that will effect our eternal life in heaven or hell. They emphasize the nature of love - that it requires freedom. (103) God allows people to choose, God allows people to get what they want. If people want God in this life, they will get him in the next; if they don't want God in this life, why would they want him in the next? And thus there will be eternal reward for those that love God in this life and eternal torture for those that didn't love God in this lifetime.

Though this has been the majority view, Rob goes on to point out other perspectives Christians have held to over the years. Some, like C.S. Lewis, proposed the idea that a person's humanity just ebbs away after refusing to love God in this life and the next. A few have suggested that we maybe God gives us a second chance after death. Or endless chances, believing that "the love of God will melt every hard heart." (107)

What Rob will do then in the rest of the chapter is increase the tension between believing that both God and people get what they want, that "love, then, wins and all will be reconciled to God." (109) Rob upholds the free-will nature of love, that God allows people to reject him, but also that God never stops inviting people to repent - in this life or the next.

At the heart of this proposal is a focus on three main texts - here's how Rob writes it:

And so beginning in the early church, there is a long tradition of Christians who believe that God will ultimately restore everything and everybody because Jesus says in Matthew 19 that there will be a "renewal of all things", Peter says in Acts 3 that Jesus will "restore everything", and Paul says in Colossians 1 that through Christ God was pleased "to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven." (107)

Because there are Eastern Church Fathers who upheld a belief in the reconciliation of all things and people, and these three texts as well as the one initially referenced in 1Timothy 2 are in the Scriptures, Rob wants Christians to be gracious to one another when it comes to the eternal destiny of mankind. He points out that within the Christian texts and tradition there has always been "that vast a range of perspectives" (110), and that "one has to admit that it is fitting, proper, and Christian to long for it." (111)

It's Rob's way of saying that he could be wrong, or that you could be wrong. Either way, we're still Christians, we're still Christ-centered, and we can still accept one another. The problem can arise when one group of Christians are convinced they are right and that the other group is wrong - even heretical. Interestingly, the early Eastern Church was more reluctant than the Western church to condemn and declare an idea heretical. And it is in the Eastern Church fathers that we find more openness to the idea that through Christ God will save everyone.

In chapter three Rob argued that the purpose of hell was correction, that it was form of judgment intended to bring about repentance. In this chapter Rob is arguing that the correction and judgment will be effective - not because of the torture but because of God's love for them and how he works in their heart. Rob is insisting that those who go to hell when they die will not stay there because of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Since love requires free will, God will not force his love on people, nor will he ratchet up the torture to coerce confession. Rather the emphasis seems to be on letting people live out the consequences of their actions - both in this life and the next, while at the same time being continually loved by a God who doesn't ever give up. As the Apostle Paul says, "Love never fails."

The chapter ends with an overview of Revelation - a book of the Bible that is highly influential on people's understanding of heaven and hell, who is in and who is out. It's a book "written by a real pastor in a real place to a real congregation going through very real suffering." "At the heart of the letter he paints a picture for them of God acting decisively to restrain evil and conquer all who trample on the innocent and the good." "But the letter doesn't end with blood and violence." (112)

Here is Rob's three summarys about the final two chapters of the book - and the Bible: 
 "God must say about a number of acts and to those who would continue them: not here you won't." (113)
He also observes that the gates of the New Jerusalem will be open. He wonders if this implies that for those that continue to choose hell in the next life, God keeps the gates open, that repentance will always be an option. "Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God for ever because of their choices? Those are tensions we are free to leave fully intact. (115)
Finally, "God announces, 'I am making everything new.' That is what God love does. It speaks new words into the world and into us." (115-116) This leaves open the possibility for God to do a new thing - even for people in hell.

In Revelation, death and Hades (hell) get thrown into the "lake of fire." Rob doesn't really ever explore what is this lake. It's a metaphor for something. The end of hell? The end of the judgment and correction? The end of wickedness? The beginning of something new? The emphasis has been on the torturous nature of the "lake of fire." But what if is supposed to emphasize a cleansing, much like a raging forest fire is necessary for an old forest to become renewed? It's this kind of direction that Rob seems to be pointing.

His final paragraph:

That's how love works. It can't be forced, manipulated, or coerced. It always leaves room for the other to decide. God says yes, we can have what we want, because love wins.

Rob seems to believe that people get a second chance, that hell is corrective, that people choose their own hell now and then, he thus also believes that God seeks to save people from their sins both now and then. God's love compels him to rescue people from their hell now, and their hell in the life to come. 

God will give people as much time as it takes for them to repent. He'll let them live with the consequences of their sins as long as they want. When they're ready to turn around and love God and neighbor, he'll be there to help them start over again. So love wins - love waits, but love also actively works. Love is both the end and the means.


Where Rob is most vulnerable in this chapter is his interpretation of Scriptures. To keep the book accessible to a wide audience, he can't do thorough exegesis of each Scripture he points to that supports his ideas. And he can't address every Scripture that would seem to undermine or challenge his suggestions. For those who don't know their Bible well, his use of Scriptures may or may not be helpful. For those that do know their Scriptures - well, it's up to them to do their own comparing and contrasting.

Rob is a savvy writer and pastor - part of his argument hinges on people considering the consequences of their own life now. As they consider whether or not they believe in hell or a loving God, he's attempting to get them to look at their life now. It's not really about whether a loving God sends billions of people to a torture cell for a billion years. The real issue is that you have to live with the consequences of your actions. 

For Rob, speculating about heaven and hell distracts you from actually becoming the kind of person who loves God and neighbor. God is holy, God is just, God is righteous, God is lots of things - including love. And the Great Commandment is not "Be holy as I am holy." It's not, Be without sin as I am without sin. It is: Love God and love your neighbor. And love always perseveres. And thus it is permissible for Rob to point people to a God who doesn't quit in this life or the next.

A logical response to this chapter and idea: what if Rob is wrong? What if it is only in this life? What if people read this chapter and decide to procrastinate on making a decision for Christ because they think they can repent in the next? What if more people go to hell because of Rob's book? What if Rob is leading people astray by this teaching? Is the risk worth it if Rob is wrong?

This a very Evangelical Christianity kind of question. And so it's true - he could be wrong. But since it's mostly American evangelicals that will be reading this book, and since most American evangelicals aren't actually evangelizing, the concerns of American Evangelicals may not be so warranted. I don't like it when Rob uses a straw man to support his arguments, and I don't like it when others use a straw man to undermine Rob's points.

Rob is reaching out to people who already have rejected some form of Evangelical Christianity. And in doing so have left behind church, a vibrant faith, and some even their faith in God. They are already doomed to hell, according to American Evangelicals. Rob is trying to help them find a new way to connect to the God of the Scriptures - which is a very Evangelical thing to do. For Rob, everything centers on Christ - that's very orthodox. But for Rob, he doesn't hold to the Evangelical version of hell - and that's unacceptable for many.

So how great is the risk? Would you stop evangelizing if people didn't stay in hell forever? Would you cease to invite friends to church if you knew that in Christ all will someday go to heaven? Would you stop encouraging people to follow the way of Jesus if you knew that God has already forgiven all our sins? Would you quit reading your Bible and neglect growing in Christian maturity if you knew that God would let you into heaven anyway?

My Review of Love Wins: Chapter Three

Hell is real.

That's my initial summary of the third chapter in Love Wins. For Rob Bell, as he works his way through the whole Scriptures, hell is real for Jesus.

Not only is hell real, it is a real experience that begins now, in this lifetime, for far too many people. It can be an individual experience, or it can be the torment of a whole society. For Jesus, hell is a future destination for those that refuse to repent from their sins - for those individuals who stubbornly live according to the evil in their hearts - for those societies that fuel chaos and corruption. It's a future destination as soon as tomorrow - and as far away as the day of your death.

Hell, for Rob, is a consequence for our sins. Jesus makes that really clear. But it also seems to be clear in Scripture that God intends consequences to be corrective. God brings judgment and punishment to us for the consequences of our sins so that their might be repentance and restoration. And Rob deduces that God purposes the same for the experience of hell - in this lifetime and in the one to come.

The chapter gets broken down into two main sections: an exploration of the Scriptures that explicitly refer to the place of hell. The second section refers to those Scriptures that are clearly about judgment and punishment, but don't mention hell. In his summary of this Scriptures, Rob is searching for what is the revealed purpose of hell, who goes there, and where is it.

In the first section he briefly examines the Hebrew word Sheol and then the Greek words Gehenna, Tartarus, and Hades. These are often translated as hell in the KJV and most modern translations. Rob comments that Sheol and Hades carry similar connotations - a murky underworld, a dark abode of spirits of some sort. The Hebrews are very imprecise about the nature of Sheol, mostly using words like grave and pit to describe it. The Greeks have a vivid and rich mythology surrounding Hades and Tartarus, but at the end of the day, it is netherworld of sorts for all people like Sheol.

Then there is Gehenna - the real place known as the Valley of Hinnom on the south and west side of Jerusalem. Rob focuses on the legend that Gehenna is the city dump. This is an unproven theory. What is known specifically is that it was the place of child-sacrifice by Jewish kings where they burned up in the fires a son or daughter to idols. Their practices were an abomination to God and the cause for threats of impending judgment and punishment. Rob would have been better off citing the Scriptures own reference to the Valley of Hinnom as a valley of graves, a place of slaughter, a place of curses with a legacy of abominations and wickedness.

Those are the references to hell - only one of them points to a real place, the others point to ideas that get loosely translated as the grave. A far cry from the vivid imagery we've come to believe about the terrible flames of hell that are the dancefloor for a prancing devil with his pointy tail and jabbing pitchfork.

Rob asks: How should we think, or not think, about hell? (70)

He is not about to waver from a belief in hell. He challenges those who say they don't believe in hell or that are uncomfortable with the idea of sin. "My first response is to ask, 'Have you ever sat and talked with a family who just found out their child has been molested? Repeatedly? Over a number of years? By a relative?' Some words are strong for a reason. We need those words to be that intense, loaded, complex, and offensive because they need to reflect the realities they describe." (72)

This is an important point for Rob: the repulsiveness of hell is intended to reflect the repulsiveness of our own personal and collective sins. We are repulsed by a notion of hell as punishment - but Jesus intends for us to see how repulsive is our individual sins and the chaos of cultures in decay. We need detestable visions of hell to help us see the detestable nature of our unconfessed and stubborn sins. They wound and hurt others - and hell helps us imagine the consequences for us, for how our sins ruin others.

Sure Jesus uses hyperbole. Cutting off limbs will not prevent more lusting. But it makes the point. And so do the Lord's hyperbolic descriptions of hell. Rob uses the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus as an example of this. The point of the parable isn't to describe the literal physical features of hell, but to point out the consequences of not loving one's neighbor. God will judge and punish those who don't love their neighbor. The rich, though they consider themselves blessed, will be punished for their refusal to love their poor neighbors. And Jesus reminds them of this old prophetic theme by using imagery of Hades.

There are individual hells, and communal, society-wide hells,
and Jesus teaches us to take both seriously.
There is hell now, and there is hell later,
and Jesus teaches us to take both seriously. (79)

This is really the point of the chapter - pointing to ethical behavior that reflects the heart of Jesus' teachings to the disciples and Pharisees and anyone else who would listen.

The second part of the chapter focuses on those passages about judgment and punishment. Before he gets into specific Scriptures, he makes two observations that will help keep this whole conversation in context. He discusses the political context of Jesus' teachings, as well as the religious audience to whom most of his words about hell and judgment and punishment were directed.

Judgment and punishment for not loving one's neighbor, for Israel rejecting the Messiah, for individuals not embracing God's way of peace and insisting on resistance to Rome - this all came to pass in 70AD. Jesus' warnings had "now" implications. To reject him, to not repent of their sins, to continue in their rebellion to God's ways would lead them to a confrontation with Rome which result in their destruction. Slaughter in the Valley of Hinnom could have been avoided had the religious leaders and others followed the ways of Jesus.

Teachings of hell and judgement and punishment were most often made to the religious people - to those who thought they were "in" and part of the covenant people, the believers. God didn't refer to coming destruction as incentive for pagans to convert, but to religious people who failed to obey God's word to them in Jesus.

In this political and religious context, Rob points out Jesus' use of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of judgment and punishment. He'll go on to refer to Scriptures from the Prophets. The point he will be making is that God's judgment and punishment is corrective and redemptive in purpose and effect. His example with Sodom and Gomorrah is a bit weak and unconvincing. Rob effectively makes the point that Israel will be judged more harshly than Sodom. I suppose one can then deduce that since the harsher punishments that Israel will receive are still corrective in nature, so it is for Sodom. Sodom's sins of inhospitality and injustice to the poor are similar to the evils of Israel - except that Israel had God incarnate come and instruct them, and still they hardened their hearts.

For people are not cast off
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to any human being. [Lamentations 3v31-33, TNIV]

Return, Israel, to the LORD your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you
and return to the LORD.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.
Assyria cannot save us;
we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
to what our own hands have made,
for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
“I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them. [Hosea 14v1-5, TNIV]

The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.” [Zephaniah 3v15-17, TNIV]

Judgments have a purpose, punishment is for the sake of correction, for inducing repentance.

In the New Testament Rob points out the Apostle Paul handing Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan [1Timothy 1v20], a punishment intended to bring about correction. Another similar example is given in 1Corinthians 5v5.

This punishment is to allow them to live with the full consequences of their choices, confident that the misery they find themselves in will have a way of getting their attention. (90)

Finally, Rob deals with Matthew 25 and the idea of eternal punishment. Interesting that those that get eternal punishment are those that do not give a cup of cold water to Jesus. One would think that it would be for not confessing Jesus as Lord, or believing in him, or praying to receive forgiveness of sins. Rob points out that the Greek word used for punishment carries with it the meaning of pruning or correcting. And as for the idea of eternal, he goes back to his insistence that it doesn't mean unending, but rather something like a period of time. Aside from the unconvincing ideas on eternal, the point remains that the punishment will go on as long as there is stubborn refusal to repent. Resisting correction requires the punishment to go on and on and on.

In summary:
For Rob, hell is real. 
It is both a present experience and a future one.
Hell is the consequences for our individual and society-wide sins.
Jesus gave us hyperbolic descriptions of hell to catch our attentions - to reveal the true nature of the effects of evil within us and around us.
Our repulsiveness to hell should result in a repulsiveness towards the effect of our sins upon our neighbor - and thus prompt repentance and restoration.
The consequences of hell are to be corrective. Judgment and punishment are from God, as an act of justice, to stop the horrific sinning, and to provoke repentance and restoration.

Notes on Hell: Hades, Tartarus & the Underworld

What does the Bible teach about hell? 

If you've got an old King James Version of the Bible, you'd find over a hundred references to hell. Except that in the original languages, there are a few different words for hell. And they don't all carry the same nuances. And so the vision of hell gets a little more complicated.

First we looked at the Hebrew word sheol that the KJV often translates as hell. Then we looked at the Greek word hades, which the KJV translates as hell, especially those uses that seemed to be similar in usage to the Hebrew word sheol. However, there are other uses of hades that don't seem to refer back to the Hebrew idea of sheol.

For example, when Jesus tells the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus, Luke records the story by having Jesus use the Greek word hades. The parable has the Rich Man and Abraham having a conversation. Granted it is a parable, but it's not one that is referring to a Jewish idea of the afterlife. So which hades is Jesus referring to? Maybe the one of popular culture, the idea of hades that floats around in the minds of people who have been influence by Greek and Roman culture for the past three hundred years?

In sheol, dead men don't talk. In a Roman vision of hades, they would. So it seems that here we have Jesus using the popular notion of hades to make a point about how the rich ought to treat the poor. Does this mean that Jesus is giving us a literal description of what hell is really like? Or is it more likely that since Jesus is telling a story, he's referring to the legends of hades? It doesn't mean he's affirming that the Roman view of the afterlife is correct, but rather that he is using those stories for great effect.

Another example: Peter in his two letters refers to Tartarus and to a prison. In Virgil's map of hades (as seen in Alice K. Turner's book: The History of Hell) there is a prison of Tartarus that is separated form the Elysian Fields by a great river of fire. Tartarus is a deep abyss, an inescapable prison where there are terrible torments and endless torture. Peter says that God sent rebellious angels to Tartarus. He also says that Jesus went and preached the gospel to these spirits. So is Peter saying that Tartarus really exists? Or he, like Jesus, is using a common notion for the after life to make bigger points about judgment and the scope of Jesus' ministry.

Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians that there will come a day when every being in the heavens, upon the earth, and under the earth will bow down before Jesus. The ancients believed in a three tiered universe - so this is Paul's way of saying that every being in existence will acknowledge Jesus as Lord. But Paul also seems to be asserting that there are beings in the Underworld that exist - which is not a Jewish idea. Paul seems to be referring to notions of classic hades rather than sheol - and this is a big deal. In sheol there is nothingness, but in hades there is a shadowy existence. Whatever beings are there, they will someday confess Christ as King.

Hades does not carry the same meanings as sheol. Often times the gospel writers used the words hades when quoting an Old Testament verse that originally used the word sheol. Did that writer mean to change the meaning? Or was it a "dynamic equivalent" situation? Hades was the closest meaning available in Greek? Simple research shows that what the ancients believed about hades is not the same as what the Jews believed about sheol.

So there seems to be a shift within the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New Testament in ideas about what happens after you die. In sheol, everybody is in the grave or the pit, eaten by worms and no hope for the future. In hades, everybody goes down to the depths to a shadowy existence crossing the River Styx maybe into the Elysian Fields. Some part of the man or woman, the soul or spirit, continues existence in hades, not as punishment or reward, but a listless abode of the dead. And some New Testament Scriptures seem to affirm that there is some kind of place that exists, which is in conflict with what the Old Testament teaches.

Up to this point in the study, we've examined the use of sheol and hades. It's not revealed anything definitive about hell as we moderns understand it. It's not a place of torment for everybody. It's not a place of punishment, it's not the destination of sinners - it's just where everybody goes after they die, according to Greek and Roman notions about the afterlife.

In Revelation it describes death and hades being thrown into the lake of fire. Since hades has been our understanding of hell up to that point in the Bible, it makes you wonder what John means when he prophesies that event happening. How does death and hell get tossed into a lava pit? What happens to death and hades in a pool of flames? Is this a reference to sheol and classical hades? Is this a reference to general pagan notions of death and the afterlife? What is the lake of fire? It can't be our definition of hell, since hell gets thrown into it. Rather then getting a clearer picture of hell, the vision is getting murkier.

And so it is that there is more the Bible has to say about hell then just references to sheol and hades. Next week we explore the idea of gehenna as Jesus used it. This is another word that the KJV translated as hell, though it likely refers to a ghastly place called the Valley of Hinnom.

My Review of Love Wins: Chapter Two

Here Is The New There

That's the summary of the chapter, as well as the title. Rob is going to argue that eternal life/heaven/life in the age to come/God's kingdom/God's will begins now, in this life and continues into the next.

It's not really a radical position to take.

Rob makes the not-so-obvious point in the middle of the chapter, though: What you believe about the future shapes, informs, and determines how you live now. (46). And that's what this chapter is really about - digging through the Scriptures to present to the reader a very Jesusy vision of heaven. This will mean we get a very Jewish vision of heaven. And that's where some people may get very uncomfortable.

Rob starts the chapter by describing an ugly picture that used to hang on the wall in his Grandma's house. It represents popular notions about heaven, notions that Rob wants to push back against. To start his argument, Rob begins in Matthew 19, a story where a Rich Man asks Jesus how to enter into eternal life. From there Rob will unpack his chapter, tackling three big themes: our notions of "eternal life," "treasure," and "heaven." (29)

Rob tries to argue that the traditional exegetical interpretation for "eternal life," which is the Greek word "aionon," fails to incorporate the Hebrew concept of "olam habah." Aionon gets translated "eternal life" and we think time without end, minute by minute, day after day, century following century without end. But Rob points out in the Old Testament that "olam habah" carries with it the idea of "life in the age to come." He implies that we're missing the point of olam habah by focusing on a traditional interpretation of eternal life.

Different scholars have pushed-back against Rob and his attempt to add a new nuance to "aion." However, I think the point still stands: Jesus is a Jewish prophet who's words were recorded in Greek. Whatever the Greek word "aion" traditionally means, we have to take into consideration what the Jewish tradition meant by the idea Jesus was addressing. The New Testament is written in Greek, but Jesus is Jewish - so he might be recorded as using the word "aion", but it's likely he was referring to the Jewish idea of "olam habah." Rob is not convincing in his case to present a nuanced meaning to "aion." But I don't think it undermines his bigger points about eternal life.

Rob walks through the OT prophets to make points about what "life in the age to come" would be like. Isaiah 2 & 25, Ezekiel 36 and Amos 9 are used as examples of how God's prophets described eternal life, or life in the age to come. He summarizes thus: "It's here they were talking about, this world, the one we know - but rescued, transformed, and renewed." (34) This is what Jesus and the Rich Man had in mind.


This provides the transition to the discussion about "treasure in heaven." Rob phrases it like this:

How do you make sure you'll be part of the new thing God is going to do? How do you best become the kind of person whom God could entrust with significant responsibility in the age to come? The standard answer was: live the commandments. God has show you how to live. Live that way. The more you become a person of peace and justice and worship and generosity, the more actively you participate now in ordering and working to bring about God's kind of world, the more ready you will be to assume an even greater role in the age to come. (40)

When Jesus lists the commandments to obey, he lists five of the final six, omitting the one about coveting. The rich man insists he's kept the five Jesus listed, but he can't commit to keeping the sixth one.  As Rob puts it, Jesus is inviting the Rich Man to use "his wealth to move creation forward" and if he can do it, "he'll have 'treasure in heaven.'" And so ideas about reward and "treasure in heaven" imply direct connections between life now and life then. The reward of quitting coveting now begins now - and it carries over into the life to come. To the degree that we enjoy the reward of living the commandments now, we can appreciate the rewards of heaven now.


So what is heaven like then? "Heaven comforts, but it also confronts."(48)  Rob points to John the Revelator's reference to Isaiah, about a day coming when there will be no more tears or pain. Comfort. But then Rob points to Paul and his insistence that on the day of judgment some will enter heaven "even though only as one escaping through the flames."  "Flames in heaven." (49) Heaven confronts. To enter heaven is comforting, then, but there is some kind of purification that must occur in order to prepare each human for life in the age to come. Purification implies transformation, which implies change - which sounds a lot like repentance.

It's important, then, to keep in mind that heaven has the potential to be a kind of starting over. Learning how to be human all over again. Imagine living with no fear. Ever. That would take some kind of getting used to. Soul would a world where loving your neighbor was the only option. So would a world where every choice was good for the earth. That would be a strange world at first. That could take some getting used to. (50-51)

Rob reflects that peoples confusion about heaven comes from their assumption that the change will be immediate. And that's where a lot of resistance is going to emerge to what Rob is suggesting about entering life in the age to come, about getting eternal life. What if it is not immediate, but something that takes time?

One last thing about heaven: who will be there? Rob goes to the story in Matthew 25 where Jesus distinguishes between two types of people. One group will assume that heaven is their destination, and be surprised when it is not. Another group will not consider heaven as their destination, and will be surprised when it is. Rob summarizes: "Heaven, it turns out, is full of the unexpected."

I'll let Rob give the summary of his own chapter:

...when Jesus used the word "heaven," he was simply referring to God, using the word as a substitute for the name of God.
Second, sometimes when Jesus spoke of heaven, he was referring to the future coming together of heaven and earth in what he and his contemporaries called life in the age to come.
And then third - and this is where things get really, really interesting - when Jesus talked about heaven, he was talking about our present eternal, intense, real experiences of joy, peace, and love in this life, this side of death and the age to come. Heaven for Jesus wasn't just "someday"; it was a present reality. Jesus blurs the lines, inviting the rich man, and us, into the merging of heaven and earth, the future and present, here and now. (58-59)

Rob seems to be attempting to invite readers to swap visions: their fluffly cloud, obscure and super-spiritual vision of heaven for an earthy, love your neighbor, feasting kind of heaven. If anything, Rob is trying to help people incorporate Jesus' Jewish beliefs about life in the age to come into their modern visions of what heaven might be like.

But Rob is also trying to make you reconsider about who will also be in heaven with you. We might be surprised at who Jesus welcomes in the age to come. But rather then focus on who is in and who isn't, Rob is pleading with people to start living "eternal life" now, live in light of the age to come now, be part of the answer to Jesus' own prayer: "...your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." It's this kind of activity that will make any kind of evangelism we do much more fruitful, much more Jesusy.

Notes on Hell: Sheol & Hades

In the King James Version of the Bible, sheol and hades are almost always translated hell. Sometimes death or grave, but mostly hell. Thus we get our many of our notions of hell from those verses using sheol and hades. However, as we probe each word, we find that sheol and hades carry different nuances. And sometimes the use of hades in the NT is a reference back to the OT, meaning we ought to consider the original meaning before we add a new meaning. And this has implications for which verses we draw on to construct our vision of hell.

In examining the different occurrences of the word "hades" in the Greek New Testament, it seems that often it is referring to the Jewish word "sheol." This prompts the question: what does Jesus mean when he uses the word "hades"? Does he mean the common Greek culture perception of hades? Or, as an observant Jew, does he mean sheol, even though his words were recorded in Greek?

For a review of the usage of sheol in the OT, see last weeks' notes on Hell.

A clue to how to translate and understand the different uses of the word hades has to do with context. There are some verses where it seems that Jesus is either indirectly or directly quoting from the Old Testament. Thus, though the word in the New Testament is the Greek hades, the original word is the Hebrew sheol.

Below are Scriptures in the New Testament that use the word "hades," accompanied by Scripture from the Old Testament that I think is the original reference.

Matthew 11:23 (NIV) And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. [see also Luke 10:15]

Sheol Reference: Isaiah 14:15 (YLT) Only -- unto Sheol thou art brought down, Unto the sides of the pit.

Here it seems that Jesus is drawing on Isaiah's prophecy of doom towards Babylon, and using it to denounce the unbelief of Capernaum. It's very similar language, such that whatever connotations come from the use of "hades" to the reader of Matthew, it is likely that Jesus quoted from Isaiah using "sheol". Thus this description of hell by Jesus points us back to our understanding of sheol.

Matthew 16:18 (NIV) And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Sheol Reference: Isaiah 38:10 (YLT) `I -- I said in the cutting off of my days, I go in to the gates of Sheol, I have numbered the remnant of mine years.
Job 38:17 (YLT) Revealed to thee were the gates of death? And the gates of death-shade dost thou see?

There is one use of "gates of Sheol" in the OT. Often times sheol and death equate a very similar idea, and thus I've included the reference that uses "gates of death." One wonders if Jesus is inferring back to the story of Hezekiah when using the phrase "gates of Hades." Or the suffering of Job?

Others point to archeological evidence that Jesus is referring to geography and mythology. Jesus makes this statement while in the area of Caesarea Philippi, also known as Panea. Worship of the god Pan was common in this area, and at one of the worship areas to Pan was a Gate of Hades.

Click here for a helpful website with pictures of the Gates of Hades and archeological insights.

Click here for a blog with good insights on Caesarea Philippi. Context is everything!

So here we have an example of where the gospel uses the word "hades," and while there seems to be slim evidence that Jesus is referring to the Jewish idea of sheol, it's more likely that he is referring to the notions of Greek mythology held in the popular imagination.

Acts 2:27 (ESV) For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
Acts 2:31 (ESV) he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

Sheol Reference: Psalm 16:10 (YLT) For Thou dost not leave my soul to Sheol, Nor givest thy saintly one to see corruption.

Peter is preaching, making the case that King David was referring to resurrection in Psalm 16, and that Jesus was the one actually resurrected. Peter then goes on to point out the implications of this fact. What's interesting is that the author of Acts quotes Psalm 16:10, substituting the Jewish word sheol for the Greek word hades. King David meant sheol when he wrote Psalm 16, not hades. To those that heard Peter's sermon, it's likely he directly quoted Psalm 16 and used sheol. But Luke records the sermon in Greek, and uses the word hades. This dosen't mean that hades and sheol mean the exactly the same thing. There is a reason for this substitution, including for cultural reasons.

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 (YLT) and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, `The Death was swallowed up -- to victory; where, O Death, thy sting? Where, O Hades, thy victory?'

Sheol Reference: Isaiah 25:8 (YLT) He hath swallowed up death in victory, And wiped hath the Lord Jehovah, The tear from off all faces, And the reproach of His people He turneth aside from off all the earth, For Jehovah hath spoken.
Hosea 13:14 (YLT) From the hand of Sheol I do ransom them, From death I redeem them, Where [is] thy plague, O death? Where thy destruction, O Sheol? Repentance is hid from Mine eyes.

Here Paul is writing at length about resurrection. He is nearing the end of his piece when he pulls together two direct quotes from two different authors, Isaiah and Hosea. The two poems that Paul pulls from are compelling, imaginative, resonating ideas about what God will do in the future. The NT Greek has hades, but the original OT has sheol. The KJV here uses the word death in the OT. But it's the same word sheol that in other contexts it translates hell.

Revelation 1:18 (NIV) I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Sheol Reference: Matthew 16:18, Hosea 13:14 (see above)

John the Revelator is quoting the words of Jesus to him. The idea of death and Hades together points back to the Hosea text. Jesus' reference to the gate of Hades earlier now comes to mind as he describes holding the keys to Hades. Here the KJV uses the word hell. But when examining the Hosea and Matthew texts, Jesus seems to be implying something else other than our popular notion of hell. 

Revelation 6:8 (NIV) I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Sheol References: Deuteronomy 32:22-25, Ezekiel 14:12-23, Leviticus 26:14-39, Hosea 13:14

Again, John uses "death and hades" together, though he seems to personify them in this text. His usage of the ideas of sword, famine, plague, and beasts all come from previous texts in Torah and the Prophets. Whether John is referring to Hades as the Greek mythological god, or a personification of sheol, as sometimes the OT does, is not abundantly clear. What is clear is that the KJV usage of hell here does not clear up any notions of how we ought to think of hell.

Revelation 20:13-14 (NIV) The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

Sheol Reference: Deuteronomy 32:22 (ESV) For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Song of Songs 8:6 (YLT) Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings [are] burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!,

Daniel 7:10 (YLT) A flood of fire is proceeding and coming forth from before Him, a thousand thousands do serve Him, and a myriad of myriads before Him do rise up, the Judge is seated, and the books have been opened.

This is an interesting and creative use of references to "death and hades", as John the Revelator has done elsewhere in Revelation. I looked for references in the OT where there is a connection between sheol and fire. I included the reference from Daniel since it refers to a "flood of fire" which seems metaphorically close to "lake of fire" and it includes a reference to the book of life, which is in the same verse of Revelation as sheol and fire and death. According to the KJV, hell is cast into the lake of fire. However, it seems clear that hell here means sheol. And the end of sheol has been prophesied elsewhere using different imagery. So we don't have here a very clear notion here of what the popular vision of hell is like.

These have been examples of the usage of hades in the NT and it's referring back to OT uses of the Hebrew word sheol. I am contending that in these instances, though the Greek word hades was used in the written text, the original meaning was Hebrew. Thus, though the KJV often translated hades and sheol as hell, getting clarity on what those two different words mean shapes what we understand hell to be. These usages of the words hades points more back to a Jewish understanding of sheol then our current popular notion of hell.

Victory Over Gluttony

If you've come to the conclusion that you wrestle with the deadly sin of gluttony, now what? How do you achieve victory over gluttony?

We saw that Jesus was initially tempted with gluttony. Those first temptations were very powerful, much like the ones we face on a regular basis. Somehow Jesus continually found ways to be victorious over gluttony. How? Through  fasting.

WHAT IS FASTING? Abstaining from food and/or drink for a period of time as a way of worship, a humbling of oneself, a form of contemplative prayer, a preparation for service to others.

Not only was fasting a key reason for why Jesus was able to be victorious over the temptations to gluttony in the desert, it was a regular part of his ministry. He would often withdraw to the mountains to pray. It's hard to believe that Jesus would pack a papersack of bread and dried fish as he trekked through the hills in order to get away to pray. 

If you struggle with gluttony, you ought to become familiar with the themes of Isaiah 58 - it reveals the heart of God and what he wants to accomplish in the world through his people. If Isaiah 58 gave direction to the life of Jesus, it ought to be instructional for us. It reveals what is true fasting, what God expects from us, as well as what God wants to do in the world through us.

Here's how I would summarize Isaiah 58 (from the Message):

Hey, You’re a Glutton!
1-3 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what's wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They're busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?'
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
'Why do we fast and you don't look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?'


Your Gluttony Plugs Up God’s Ears
3-5"Well, here's why:
"The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won't get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?


Fasting That Feeds Your Neighbor
6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed, cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
THEN WHEN YOU PRAY, GOD WILL ANSWER.
YOU'LL CALL OUT FOR HELP AND I'LL SAY, 'HERE I AM.'

Generosity On An Empty Stomach
9-12"If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.


Jesus Triumphs On An Empty Stomach
13-14"If you watch your step on the Sabbath
and don't use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
God's holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing 'business as usual,'
making money, running here and there—
Then you'll be free to enjoy God!
Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob."
Yes! God says so!

A Summary: Turn Away From Gluttony To Fasting That Feeds Others

Turning away from gluttony will be a continuous process. The temptations will grow in intensity to the degree that you learn to resist them. The ongoing response to the temptations of gluttony will be to turn towards serving and blessing others with generosity and food and justice. Think about it: the temptation of gluttony can be your reminder and prompt to lifting up your neighbors out of poverty and hardships!

WHAT IS FASTING? Abstaining from food and/or drink for a period of time as a way of worship, a humbling of oneself, a form of contemplative prayer, a preparation for service to others.

Your fasting is not about impressing God or seeing how long you can go without food. We traditionally think of fasting as a spiritual discipline that is to benefit ourselves. But clearly from Isaiah 58, while fasting does have obvious personal benefits, it is at its best when it blesses others. Our fasting is worship and prayer, but God wants it to alleviate the suffering others.


Which is why I think Jesus entered Jerusalem as king on a growling belly. Victory over gluttony comes from fasting that results in generosity to those who hunger and are oppressed. Apparently it takes a lot of work to overcome gluttony. And it also takes a lot of work to alleviate suffering in the world. And God makes a connection between the two with his idea of fasting. Jesus the starving king who saves the world.


If you are considering a lifestyle of fasting, you must consult your doctor. If you have any ongoing medical conditions or on any medication, you need to discuss with your doctor how you can make fasting a regular part of your diet without harming your self. Everybody can fast, and fasting can take many forms.

Victory over Gluttony. Where there is a will, there is a way.  
And where there is unwillingness, there is an excuse.

He is Not Here. He is Risen!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared, and went to the tomb.

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground.

But the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He’s risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee? ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again.’”

Then they remembered his words.

Then they remembered his words.

They had forgotten his words.

How could they have forgotten Jesus’ words about crucifixion and resurrection?

Didn't they believe in resurrection?

Why didn’t they remember Jesus’ words? Didn’t they believe Jesus? Maybe they didn’t remember because they didn’t really believe that Jesus would be resurrected. Maybe they believed that once Jesus died, that was it. Done. Finished. Over.

Even though they had heard Jesus repeat his little line about death and raised to life at least three different times, they must not have really understood what he was talking about. They didn’t understand, and so they didn’t really believe.

How could you be a friend of Jesus, feed him, care for him, and then forget about his dire warnings of death on a cross? How could you forget about your friend promising to be raised up again?

Sometimes people have no imagination.

Sometimes people only hear what they want to hear.

Sometimes you have to believe something in order to see it.

Mary Magdalene loved Jesus. Joanna financed Jesus’ ministry. Mary the mother of James took care of everyone, including Jesus. How could they not remember his words about resurrection?

How did Mary Magdalene not remember Jesus’ words?

Jesus had saved her life. He had rescued her.

She had been home to demons. Seven of them ravished her soul.

She was helpless. Mary of Magdala was driven to madness. Until she met Jesus. Or, until Jesus met her.

Maybe a friend dragged her screaming and frothing corpse to the feet of Jesus. Maybe Jesus heard her wails and seen her writhing as he passed through the dirty streets of her hometown.

When Jesus arose to deliver her, when Jesus placed his weathered hands on her worn out body, when Jesus’ stern gaze caught her tear-drained eyes, when Jesus commanded with steely authority for the demons to depart, when Mary’s exhausted body dropped into the carpenter’s arms, she had been born again. She had a new life. When she woke up, she was starting over. She was loved. She was healed.  She was at peace.

So when Mary hears a few years later that Jesus is telling the apostles about upcoming tragedies, she is frightened. She wonders: what does Jesus mean that he must be delivered unto the hands of sinners and crucified, and on the third day raised again?

What does Jesus mean? Crucifixion? Why will he let that happen to himself? What will we do if that happens? What will happen to us? And what does he mean that he’ll be raised back to life again on the third day? On the third day you’re dead-dead. Maybe I could believe that he’d be raised again on the first day, but the third day?

No way.

Is this another parable? I don’t understand what he’s saying.

How did Mary of Magdala not remember Jesus’ words?

She got busy? She stayed confused? She couldn’t believe in resurrection? She loved Jesus, but she didn’t always understand Jesus. She didn’t always understand Jesus, and she didn’t always agree with what she did understand.

Crucified and raised again on the third day?

To be crucified is to be cursed. Cursed by God.

If Jesus is crucified, does this mean he is cursed by God? Why? What would Jesus have to do in order to be cursed by God? I understand why some of the Pharisees and Herodians want Jesus crucified, but God? Surely God won’t allow Jesus to be cursed and crucified?

Didn’t Peter confess that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is the Son of the Living God? What about the stories that we heard from Mary and James about when Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Surely God won’t let the Savior of Israel be crucified! Why would God let Israel’s Deliverer become accursed? And if God curses Jesus, why would he bring him back to life three days later? Why would God curse Jesus on one day, and then raise him back up on the third day? What does this mean?

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here, He is risen!

You can imagine the two men rehearsing their lines. Should they shout it out loud and full of joy, or should they come across as serious and exasperated? Should they say it together in unison, or take turns with the different lines?

Here’s what I think they were supposed to say when they confronted the unbelieving women coming to put the burial spices on Jesus’ entombed body – it comes from Deuteronomy 32:29, a chapter that charts out Israel’s history – a history that God is prepared for, a history that God is preparing for:

See now that I myself am He,

There is no god beside me:

I put to death and I bring to life,

I have wounded and I will heal,

And no one can deliver out of my hand.

I think that was the first line, and here’s what was supposed to be the second line, a portion from Isaiah 53:

After he has suffered, 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.

But I think the men – messengers from God, clothed in gleaming garments of flashing lightening – they got so excited about announcing this good news to the women that they blurted out a much shorter, concise, and memorable announcement:

Why do you look for the living among the dead, he is not here – he is risen!

And then they remembered his words.

The Son of Man must be delivered over to sinners and be crucified.

And on the third day be raised again.

He is not here – He is risen.

So don’t go looking for him.

So now what. What do we do now? This is crazy good news! We’ve got to tell the others! Except we know what they’re going to say: you girls are crazy!

Jesus is dead! He’s been crucified! Cursed of God! We’re doomed! Doomed I tell you! You’re crazy to leave this Upper Room. You’re crazy to visit the tomb. You’re crazy if you think we’ll believe it’s empty and that two linen-lightening clad men told you that Jesus is alive. You’re crazy and we’re doomed. All is lost.

Even when Jesus did show up in the flesh – with obvious wounds to his hands and feet and side – everyone was very frightened. They just didn’t expect to see a resurrected Jesus. Even with Mary and Joanna’s crazy good news, even with Peter’s confirmation of a missing body and empty tomb, even with the weird story of Cleopas claim having broke bread with Jesus – nobody was ready for Jesus to show up amongst them.

Jesus was hard pressed to convince the cowering crowd that it was really him and not a ghost. What to do with disciples who are more apt to believe in ghosts then resurrected rabbis? What do with doubters?

Jesus had to eat fish to show his friends he was really alive. You got to wonder how much fish did he have to chew up before the doubting turned to delightful belief?

Maybe He spent the first hour disproving he was a ghost by downing bowls of broiled fish. Then maybe he spent the next hour with a stomachache while letting James and John stick their fingers in his feet, letting Peter and Andrew hold up his wrists and peek at each other through the holes.

Enough!
Jesus pulls his friends together, big smiles, big eyes, big hearts – and he reviews with them his version of what’s happened, what’s going on, and what’s going to happen.

This was the way things had to be.

It was hard. It was tragic. It was difficult. It was confusing. It had to be this way.

And this changes everything.

You know how I healed you Lazarus. You know how I rescued you Peter. You know how I delivered you Mary. And now I’m back – I was crucified by sinners and cursed by God, and I’m back – blessed by God and ready to forgive sinners!

You didn’t believe me. You betrayed me. You abandoned me. You denied me. You ran away. You fell asleep on me. Yet hear me now: I. Love. You. I. Forgive. You. We. Are. Friends. My. Peace. I. Give. You. God has blessed you. God has been making you a blessing. And now God is ready to bless the world through you.

Now hear this – this is what’s next for you:
I’m going to send you out into the world that God loves. You remember how through God’s Spirit I helped you change your life? Well you get to go into the world and help sinners and cripples and the brokenhearted, showing them how to change their life. You get to preach repentance and demonstrated forgiveness of sins with that Same Spirit of God!

Just as I invited you to change your life – so you get to go and invite others to change their life. Just as I forgave you, so you go and forgive others. Just as I taught you how to forgive others, so you go and teach others how to forgive. Just as I healed you, go and heal others in my name, with the Same Spirit of God. Just as I saved you, rescued you, delivered you – let me save and rescue and deliver the world through you.

Don’t just believe in resurrection. 
Live in light of the resurrection.

Resurrection. Raised up. New beginnings. Born again. Invincibility. Getting back up. And the resurrected Jesus – what’s the first and best message he gives his followers? Forgive. Teach others to forgive.

How do you sow seeds of resurrection in the world God loves? Repent. Change. Forgive. Love. The resurrected Jesus came to forgive and save sinners. To those that remember his words: remember to forgive, to help others forgive.

Don’t just believe in resurrection. 
Remember the words of the resurrected Jesus.

This is how the world that God loves learns to believe in him. When those that follow the resurrected Jesus remember his words and choose to proclaim forgiveness of sins.

Don’t just believe in resurrection. 
Believe in the resurrected Jesus.

He is not here, he is risen!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

It's Resurrection Sunday!

Resurrection!

What do you believe?

Do you believe in resurrection?

I do.

resurrection announces that God has not given up on the world
because this world matters
this world that we call home
dirt and blood and sweat and skin and light and water
this world that God is redeeming and restoring and renewing

it’s easy to be cynical

everybody believes somebody
Jesus invites us to trust resurrection
that every glimmer of good
every hint of hope
every impulse that elevates the soul
is a sign, a taste, a glimpse
of how things actually are
and how things will ultimately be
resurrection affirms this life and the next
as a seamless reality
embraced
graced
and saved by God

resurrection says that what we do with our lives matters
in this body
the one that we inhabit right now
every act of compassion matters
every work of art that celebrates the good and the true matters
every fair and honest act of business and trade
every kind word
they all belong and they will all go on in God’s good world
nothing will be forgotten
nothing will be wasted
it all has it’s place
~ Rob Bell

Why Is Today Called Good Friday?

Why is today called Good Friday?

As my six year old son said, “Shouldn’t it be called Sad Friday?”

His twin brother suggested that it be called Bad Friday, since Jesus was killed on a cross.

Indeed it was a bad day for God. His one and only son was unjustly condemned, slandered, betrayed, abandoned, tortured, mocked and murdered.

It was a sad day for God. It was a sad Friday for Jesus.

Why call it Good Friday when it is a day of grief, of sorrow, of suffering, a day of affliction and transgressions, a day of iniquities and wounds?

Why call it Good Friday when God’s Son is humbled and crucified for preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom?

If anything, it should be called God’s Friday. On it God’s Son was killed by God’s people, they had killed another of God’s Prophets as they had done in centuries past, another of God’s Servants rejected. On this Day it was God’s Kingdom that was resisted, God’s good News of Deliverance and Salvation of Peace and Righteousness was rejected.

God the Father sent His Son to be the New King of Israel; to fulfill that ancient promise to Abraham: I will bless you, I will make you a blessing, through you I will bless the world.

They killed their king.

It was a bad Friday for God the Father. Why call it Good Friday when it’s a day marked by violence, rebellion, and defiance?

If nothing else, call it God’s Friday, just not Good Friday.

The earliest Christians called today Holy Friday. Holy carries with it the meaning of set apart, unlike all else. For obvious reasons, today is holy, unlike all other Fridays in all of history.

Today also became known as Great Friday. A tradition developed in early Christianity when every Friday became a Holy Feast Day in remembrance of Christ’s crucifixion. This day today became known as Great Friday, a distinction from all the other Holy Feast Days.

Holy Friday. Great Friday. Those are the ancient names for today.

Maybe we should reclaim those early titles for today. Instead of calling it Good Friday, call it Holy Friday, or Great Friday. Just not Good Friday. For too many years now, whenever someone hears the title for today, it often prompts that searching question: Why is today called Good Friday?

For obvious reasons, today is God’s Friday. It’s when God died. We believe that God was in the flesh on the cross. Here’s how St. Paul writes it:

Who, being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he made himself nothing,
By taking the form of a servant
Being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human being,
He humbled himself
By becoming obedient to death
Even death on a cross.

You could say that God’s heart was hammered onto a hardwood tree that day. A day of rejection, a morning of brokenness, of shattered, bleeding love.

Instead of calling it Good Friday for all these years, we should’ve been calling it God’s Friday. All by itself, there is nothing good about today. When you look at just today, it’s not a Good Friday.

It’s God’s Friday. God suffered on this Friday. God in the flesh was staked to a rough-hewn pole amidst criminals. On this Friday God the Son who came to serve and save was ripped to shreds. His life and blood pouring out onto the stones on this Friday.

God gave a vision of this many centuries earlier to a prophet who was also rejected and tortured and destroyed on a tree. Well, according to legend, in a tree. It is told that on his final day, Isaiah was stuffed into a hollow tree and then sawn in half.

Isaiah was a servant that suffered. He was the servant of a God who suffered. He was given words to remember about another servant to come who would suffer. A poem for how God would suffer again:

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.
Yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him and afflicted.
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 its shearers are silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away,
yet who of his generation protested?
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 found in his mouth.

This makes for a Sad Friday. As my son Levi said, “It should be called Bad Friday.” Or at least, instead of Good Friday, God’s Friday.

If any of you know your German, you’ll remember that today is known in their land as Gottes Freitag. For a nation that predates ours, they carry the tradition of calling today God’s Friday. But it also seems that some in Germany long ago referred to today as Gute Freitag.

Gute carries with it the meaning of Benevolence, Charity, Kindness, Goodness.

And so it seems the tradition of calling today Good Friday can stand.

Today is God’s Friday. And on His Friday, God turned a Bad Day into a Good day.

As we read the sorrowful story in the Gospel According to Luke, amidst the words of grief and paragraphs of pain, there is a simple, stunning line from God’s Son that transforms God’s Friday into a Good Friday:

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with them to be executed. When they came to the place of The Skull, they were crucified him there, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left. And Jesus whispered amidst his tears groans: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

He’s not supposed to be there, between two brigands.

Jesus was a good man. He brought good news. He was good news. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, befriended the poor, lifted up the lame, set sinners free, generously gave away faith, hope, and love.

It can’t be a good day when God’s good Son is unjustly put to death. But even amidst the torture and agony and pain, God’s Good Son lets his body:

Be pierced for our transgressions,
Be crushed for our iniquities.
He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

This is the Father’s Friday. For those that believe, trust, accept, want it, today can be a Good Friday.

How would someone know that you believed that today is a Good Friday?

How would someone know that you trusted in the Father’s Forgiveness?

How would someone know that you believed that on Good Friday the Father laid on his Son the iniquity of us all?

How would someone know you want today to be a Good Friday? They would know it when they hear you whisper those same words of Jesus on the cross amidst your own sorrow and suffering.
Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.

When you are afflicted and crushed, we’ll know you believe God’s Friday is a Good Friday when you whisper the words of God’s Son.

Why is today called Good Friday? Because one by one, Christians quietly choose to respond with forgiveness when they are sinned against.

It’s always been God’s Friday. Through our response to the Father’s forgiveness, our lives, our words, our forgiving just as God forgave us – this will become the best answer to the annual question:
Why is today called Good Friday?

Notes on Hell: Sheol

In beginning to understand what the Scriptures teach about hell, one must start at the beginning. For those that grew up reading the King James Version of the Bible, the word sheol was translated hell. So to understand what we mean by the word hell, we ought to become familiar with the word sheol.

I typed in the word sheol using BibleGateway.com, selecting Young's Literal Translation. Here's what I found. I used YLT because it is consistently gives us the word sheol in its translation from Hebrew to English. Most other translations give it a variety of words like grave, realm of the dead, or place of the dead.

Using YLT, there are 62 occurrences of the word sheol in the Hebrew Scriptures. By glancing through each verse, you would could conclude that the Hebrews don't believe in an afterlife, that there is no reward or punishment after death. Sheol is not what we typically think of when we use the word hell.

Here's the summary of some of the best Christian scholars on the meaning behind sheol.

In the Torah, Sheol carries with it two general meanings: that of the grave, as well as some kind of netherworld in the "lowest depths of the earth." (Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch - Life, Disease and Death, Cosmology).

Burial is simply recorded as an event, with no religious ceremony. The destiny of the dead is not generally addressed in the Pentateuch. ...the world of the dead was cut off from Yahweh, and it's exploration firmly forbidden. Yahweh is the author of life and the God of the living, and this life is the sphere of obedience and blessing. (536-7)

For the wisdom, poetry and writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, Sheol is the destiny of all people, used as a description for death as well as some kind of place, an underworld of "non-life." (Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings - Afterlife, Chaos & Death).

Poetry in psalms and wisdom is by nature evocative and elusive, and their references to death reveal as much about its emotional impact as its conceptualization. Alternative views of destiny after death emerge in other, nonpoetic texts. The emergence of these views is often dated well into the postexilic period for many reasons, including the possible influence of Persian dualism and the development of apocalyptic. (5)

Ecclesiastes is the only OT book to contain significant reflection on death itself. The Pentateuch prescribes death as a penalty, the Historical Books record it as an event, and the psalms offer prayer against its untimely occurrence. (7)

Together, these books illustrate well the traditional Hebrew focus on this life and its events and the general disinterest in any individual consciousness beyond death. (8)

...Death enlarges its appetite (Habakkuk 2:5), opens its throat wide (Isaiah 5:14), swallows people (Psalm 69:15, Proverbs 1:12) and is never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20, 30:15-16). Death's power over humankind is seen in the fact that all people die (see Psalm 89:48), and that those who go to the grave do not return to life (Job 7:9-10, 10:21). (52)

The imagery of death as voracious swallower meets an ironic reversal when we learn that YHWH will permanently "swallow up death" (Isaiah 25:8). Since death is the ultimate opponent of divine order, the death of death represents the establishment of the ultimate divine order. (53)

To conclude: death and sheol go together. The Hebrews reflected little upon death and sheol, they did not expect to return from it, did not hope for it, did not plan for it. However, there are glimpses here and there of yearnings for the "death of death." It is this glimpse that gets magnified in the New Testament. With this understanding of sheol, we learn that it modifies our traditional understanding of hell. Whatever it is you believe about hell, it must be rooted in what the Scriptures actually teach.