They are not exactly my "favourite", nor are they the 5 moments which I think were the most important. They are the 5 stories in the Bible that I appreciate and learn from the most. They are events rather than specific verses, and the order is - once again - strictly chronological!
(1) Creation - Genesis 1 (Specifically verses 1-5)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
This couldn't really not make the list! In case you are unfamiliar with the creation story, the gist is that God created everything there is - including space and time - in six "days". In the first three verses we are introduced to God the Creator, the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Foreshadowing if ever I saw it.
What really got me into the Creation story was a talk given by Rob Bell titled "Everything is Spiritual". It goes into all of the scientific truths and poetic intricacies embedded in the story in fascinating detail, and is highly recommendable. Apart from that though, this is where God is arguably at his most creative and active! We can argue about which aspects of the story are metaphorical but the basics are clear: God existed uncreated, then created time space and matter, and set everything in motion. That's fairly awesome!
(2) Parting of the Red Sea - Exodus 14 v 21-22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
As a child I loved this film called Prince of Egypt which was all about the life of Moses. He was brought up in a very strange position and was used by God constantly throughout his life. He did some incredible things but surely this was the most dramatic wonder that God did through him. I mean seriously, an entire sea was parted!
Water is pretty heavy. In fact the total weight of the water in the Red Sea today is about 233 million million tons! Obviously not all of it would have been moved anywhere but even if only 0.000001% of that water was actually shifted when the sea parted, we are still talking millions of tons of water here. That ranks this miracle pretty high on my list!
(3) Turning Water into Wine - John 2 v 3-9
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
... Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”...
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
... Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”...
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.
Firstly it is probably worth pointing out that Jesus calling his mother "Woman" was not disrespectful at all! Secondly I should probably argue my case for this passage being in my top 5 Bible moments. Why not choose a woman turning into a bag of salt, one of Samson's immense feats of strength, or Lazarus being raised from the dead?!
This was Jesus' first miracle. But I don't believe that this was his warm up act. This story contains within it the very heart of the whole redemptive story. Jesus said "My hour has not yet come." What did he mean? Was he not thirsty yet? Did he have a plan for his grand opening miracle that would be better?
The interesting thing to note here is that every other time that Jesus says "my hour" he is referring to his death. Could he be saying that there will come a time in the future where he will provide wine for his guests? That this wedding trick is a greatly reduced version of what will happen? That, when he dies, his blood poured out for us will pay for our sins so that we can join in with the eternal celebratory feast? Where he is the host, and where the wine never runs out, because Jesus' sacrifice was ultimate and everlasting? Maybe.
(4) The transfiguration - Matthew 17 v 1-3, 9
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
...As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
So this story has a fairly high "epicity" rating, and also accentuates the significance of Elijah, whom I feel is often underrated. But to be honest the main reason I included this event is because I really don't get it; Jesus and his mates go up a mountain, then Jesus seems to transform into his post-resurrection state. And suddenly two ancient prophets are joining them.
To make things more confusing, they aren't allowed to tell anyone - though Jesus clearly tells them that he will be raised from the dead, which is nice of him - and the text seems to suggest that John the Baptist was in fact Elijah all along. Except the disciples didn't recognise Elijah on the mountain...
If anyone can enlighten me I'd be very grateful. But regardless this story is very enchanting and deserves its place on the list. It is one of those events that I can't fathom but just know that it has some great eternal significance.
(5) The Day of Pentecost - Acts 2 v 1-4
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty wind-storm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
Woohoo!!!! Sorry, this passage always gets me a bit over excited...
So this is when the Spirit of God descends upon the believers. When they are anointed with tongues and with power, commissioned to go and spread the gospel. As Christians we should gather in expectation of the Holy Spirit's anointing on us before we attempt to do Gods work. If we don't we'll be relying on natural ability, and so will not be as effective. And will quite probably fail!
This passage goes on to describe the radical lifestyle that the early Christians lived; sharing all things in common - property, money, possessions, everything! This was the beginning of the most revolutionary movement the world has ever seen. It is quite possible that the speaking in tongues that started here has never ceased, and that when we speak in tongues we are simply entering into the continuous flow of the Spirit's movement in people, from across the world and through the ages!!
So there you have it. My top 5 Bible moments. I probably share no more than 3 in common with you, so perhaps tell me which ones you would have chosen. Thanks again for reading and I'll see you again soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment