A Good Friday Reflection from Tony Jones

Tony gets banged around a bit for his recent explanation of his position on “gay marriage.” Others rant about his preferred understanding of the atonement, which by the way does not exclude substution while it does the “penal” adjective.

Today Tony offers a reflection on this Good Friday. What I find important is his expressing his “through a glass dimly” understanding of the things of God. It does not inherently disallow an opposing vision. Instead it make a commitment to a vision while at the same time acknowledging our in-ability to apprehend “it all” is impossible. I may differ with Tony on some or many things. But, it is important where we agree and that all would be wiling to admit we just don’t “have” God in the “figured out” sense of “having God.” On this day the cross may well mean God has us.

He writes,

Another key to my understanding of the end of Jesus’ life is what he did with the three previous years of his life. It seems to me that he did just a few things: 1) He taught about the Kingdom of God; 2) He performed miracles; 3) He developed a following that included 12 close followers and, by the end, hundreds of others.

The importance of 1) and 3) are pretty obvious to Jesus’ mission. The significance of the miracles, however, is sometimes misunderstood. They were not significations of Jesus’ divinity (as evidenced by the other magicians and sorcerers on the scene in Jesus’ day). Instead, they were little in-breakings of the new age that Jesus, as the Messiah, was inaugurating.

What are your thoughts this Good Friday?

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

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