March 11, 2020
Dear Allen Temple Family and Friends,
Our Lenten Series continues this week with the theme of Your Hookup with Dr. Lani Wilson, Teacher of our Deep Sunday School Bible Study.
Forward Together by Faith,
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Senior Pastor
Your Hookup
Let’s look at the seventh chapter of John, that mysterious Gospel. How mysterious? Consider chapter 1 verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In John, Jesus’ life and ministry are not highlighted in the same way as His teachings: It’s like a different flavor of gospel: Chapter 7 fits this category.
Jesus won’t accompany his brothers to the Festival of Booths in Jerusalem because it’s not His time. But they think it’s a great PR move. Halfway through the festival, Jesus secretly slips into Jerusalem. He must have 
heard the discussions about Him: “Where is he? He’s a good man. No, he is deceiving the crowd.” It gets serious when He starts teaching in the temple. He tells the Jews He is sent from God; He seeks God’s glory, not His own; Moses gave them the law that they aren’t keeping; He knows they want to kill him. The people of Jerusalem notice that Jesus must be the Messiah if the authorities are silenced by Him. The Bible says that Jesus “cried out as he was teaching in the temple,” that they know Him but not really. Pursued by the temple police sent by the Pharisees, Jesus astounds them and explains more of His mission: He will be with them only awhile; they won’t be able to find Him; He will quench spiritual thirst. People continue debating Who He is: Prophet? Messiah? From Galilee? From the line of David? Through all of this, no one dares touch Him. The temple police are reprimanded reporting their astonishment about Jesus. Even Nicodemus defends Him after having slipped away to talk with Jesus one night. The chapter ends with an ironic accusation: ”Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” Chapter 7 encapsulates the whole of Jesus’ origins, mission, and ministry, His future and ours after Him, His personality, everyone’s response to Him. It’s a setup for a layup for the hookup.
heard the discussions about Him: “Where is he? He’s a good man. No, he is deceiving the crowd.” It gets serious when He starts teaching in the temple. He tells the Jews He is sent from God; He seeks God’s glory, not His own; Moses gave them the law that they aren’t keeping; He knows they want to kill him. The people of Jerusalem notice that Jesus must be the Messiah if the authorities are silenced by Him. The Bible says that Jesus “cried out as he was teaching in the temple,” that they know Him but not really. Pursued by the temple police sent by the Pharisees, Jesus astounds them and explains more of His mission: He will be with them only awhile; they won’t be able to find Him; He will quench spiritual thirst. People continue debating Who He is: Prophet? Messiah? From Galilee? From the line of David? Through all of this, no one dares touch Him. The temple police are reprimanded reporting their astonishment about Jesus. Even Nicodemus defends Him after having slipped away to talk with Jesus one night. The chapter ends with an ironic accusation: ”Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” Chapter 7 encapsulates the whole of Jesus’ origins, mission, and ministry, His future and ours after Him, His personality, everyone’s response to Him. It’s a setup for a layup for the hookup.The setup : Jesus’ origins, his ministry.
The layup : Jesus’ challenge to disobedience of the law; his exclamation that where He is going they won’t be able to find Him.
The hookup: Nicodemus and the guards’ conversions; the Pharisees claim that no prophet comes from Galilee.
The layup : Jesus’ challenge to disobedience of the law; his exclamation that where He is going they won’t be able to find Him.
The hookup: Nicodemus and the guards’ conversions; the Pharisees claim that no prophet comes from Galilee.
Chapter 7 is Jesus in a nutshell. Lent is our preparation, our training for the coming hookup with Jesus. Accused of demonic possession, He continues to heal. Attempts to arrest Him fail and He slips away. His foes denounce Him and he defiantly teaches. The people want to believe Him yet they struggle against the law.
Lent isn’t really sacrifice. Lent weighs our beliefs, practices, and forces us to confront ourselves: Do we believe? Can we find Him? Jesus knew what was coming: Hell on earth in His journey to the cross. For me. For you. And still He went because He knew what came after.
Happy travels. You are not alone.
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Thursday: II Chronicles 35:10-12: Mathew 2:1-3, 21-23
Friday: Isaiah 43:10; John 5:36-38
Saturday: Mathew 4:23-25, 8:32-34
Sunday: Luke 4:30; John 5:13, 8:59, 10:39
Monday: Exodus 19:11; John 8:14
Tuesday: Isaiah 9:1-2; Mathew 27:55-56
Friday: Isaiah 43:10; John 5:36-38
Saturday: Mathew 4:23-25, 8:32-34
Sunday: Luke 4:30; John 5:13, 8:59, 10:39
Monday: Exodus 19:11; John 8:14
Tuesday: Isaiah 9:1-2; Mathew 27:55-56
Lani Wilson was born and raised in Hawaii with her four brothers to Rose (first and second generation Local Chinese woman) and Nick (Booker T., Georgia-born, Southern and East Coast Black man), both formidable persons in their own right. She was way over educated at Punahou School in Hawaii, Stanford University (Go, Red!), the University of California, and the Wright Institute, both in Berkeley, and now at the United Theological Seminary Twin Cities to follow God’s call into Pediatric Ministry, beginning a Chaplaincy Internship at Kaiser San Leandro in April and a Residency at John Muir Medical Center-Concord in September. She is most importantly, she is the mother of Wilson Costa (Daughter-in-law Whitney), and Banyan Wilson, the finest gifts whom God can bestow upon adults. Amen.
