Making a Scriptural Top 10 List
Michael Sherer
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Making a Scriptural Top 10 List
by Michael Sherer
If you had to choose 10 scripture passages to convey the essence of Christian faith to a friend, which ones would you pick? Why would you pick them? The passages you chose would say a lot about your own faith, your own theology. I'm 48 years old and no one has ever asked me to do this, but today I'm going to try.
I won't be doing this David Letterman style, where you start at 10 and count down to #1 with all its attendant drama. The Bible has a chronology and a natural progression that must be respected. So without further ado, I give you Passage #1 of my Scriptural Top 10 List:
Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
This single, simple verse is absolutely critical to understanding Judaism and Christianity: Our God created EVERYTHING. This is significant on a number of fronts:
First, it is a focused claim-there is one God, the creator of the universe and that is the God we worship. We are not beholden to some committee of minor deities or worrying about good gods and bad gods. Our God is the one, good, creator God.
Second, it is a universal claim-our God created everything, and therefore everyone in the world should ultimately acknowledge and worship Him.
Finally, it is a claim that affirms the goodness of creation. It's a useful reminder that even though Christianity has been influenced by philosophical dualism that says spirit is good and flesh is evil, the fundamental affirmation of our faith towards creation is that God created it and it is good.
Passage #2: When you're trying to capture the essence of the Biblical story in 10 passages, you don't end up with a greatest hits list. You're really trying to find passages that embody key concepts or pivotal moments in Biblical history. Genesis 1:26-27 is one of those key concepts.
Gen. 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
This too is a fundamental affirmation of the created order-that human beings are created in the image of God. Exactly what it means to be created in the image of God isn't specified, but we can safely assume it's good. We are God-like, male and female, and we have a significant role to play in the created order.
Passage #3: I had to skip over some very significant stories to keep this list to ten passages, like the fall and the flood. The next passage I deemed essential was Genesis 12:1-3:
Gen. 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
This is the Abrahamic covenant, the old covenant, the first covenant, that establishes the special relationship between Israel and God. Later on, the apostle Paul would refer back to Abraham and this covenant as a rationale for letting gentiles into the church as equals. Recent New Testament scholarship has emphasized the continuity between Jewish and Christian theology-the covenantal community as the place we receive God's grace, and the work of Jesus on the cross being to open that community to gentile believers.
Passage #4. The first three passages were to some degree obvious choices, but now it gets tougher. Genesis is packed with great stories, full of drama and intrigue, and Exodus is hugely important, but we've only got 10 passages to convey the essence of the Biblical story, so it's on to 1 Samuel 8:4-7
1Sam. 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5 and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them."
The context for this passage is that God has brought the Israelites out of Egypt and under Moses' leadership they have gone through the wilderness, Joshua has brought them into Canaan and they are living in the era of the Judges. It's a theocracy and God is King. The importance of this passage is that it records one of the most significant turning points in Jewish history, the breaking of God's covenant by Israel. And they don't just break it, they break it in a systematic ongoing way. God says "they have rejected Me from being king over them." Their desire to be "like all the nations" sets them on a path that leads to greater and greater infidelity and ultimately the loss of the land of Israel and the Babylonian exile.
Passage #5. God didn't give up on Israel during the era of the Kings and there are wonderful passages I could have chosen about David and Solomon, Josiah or Hezekiah. And of course there are many worthy passages in the Psalms and Proverbs, but remember we've only got 10 passages and we're not anywhere the New Testament yet. So, for passage #5, we move to Jeremiah 31:31-34.
Jer. 31:31 The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
This text comes from a section of the book of Jeremiah referred to as the Song of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah's little book of hope--a ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy book. This passage makes my top 10 list because it comes at another pivotal moment in Jewish history. The forces of Babylon are massing and Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, has foretold the fall of Israel. Soon, Jerusalem would fall and the leaders of God's chosen people would be led into exile. Never again would there be a king to lead Israel. This period in Israel's history was over and even by the most charitable standards it had ended in utter failure. But Jeremiah redeems this dark moment in Jewish history by proclaiming the new covenant. Israel's experiment with national religion is over and has proven to be bankrupt. Only God can change hearts. So the new covenant will be characterized by unmediated access to God by His people. Christians believe that Jeremiah's new covenant was realized in the person and work of Jesus.
Passage #6. We now arrive in the New Testament, which chronicles the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the establishment and growth of the early church. Mennonites might like to just say read the gospels and be done with it, but that doesn't work for a top 10 list. A close second would the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew. For our purposes today, I've chosen Matthew 5:1-11, the beatitudes, as Passage #6:
Matt. 5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
Matt. 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matt. 5:5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Matt. 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matt. 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matt. 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matt. 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
Matt. 5:10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The full Sermon on the Mount starts with chapter 5 and concludes with chapter 7. It's the longest unbroken statement by Jesus in the gospels. Scholars think it functioned as a catechism for new Christians. Mennonites, who cherished the idea of discipleship, following Jesus, drank deeply of each verse, hearing a clear call to holy living far beyond what they had found in the 16th century Catholic church or even Luther's reformed church. In the beatitudes, Jesus gives a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven, what author Don Kraybill so aptly described as the upside-down kingdom. Jesus concludes the sermon by equating wisdom with hearing his words and acting on them.
Passage #7. If you could distill the entire Bible down to a single passage Luke 10:25-29 would come about as close as anything. Reading from the scriptures:
Luke 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Luke 10:26 "What is written in the Law?" replied Jesus. "How do you read it?"
Luke 10:27 He answered: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.''"
Luke 10:28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
Luke 10:29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
This is such a wonderful passage on so many levels. In addition to the distillation of the law and the prophets in 10:27, it captures the everpresent tension between Jesus and his adversaries. It demonstrates Jesus teaching style-when asked a question, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" he responds with another question: "What is written in the Law?" The exchange is so simple and yet so profound. When Jesus says "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." You can almost imagine the lawyer's head exploding. How do I do this? By what power will I do it? How will I know I've done it? And when the lawyer asks, "And who is my neighbor?" you know he's been set up. Jesus transforms a simple, almost perfunctory exchange into something radical-a discourse on neighborly-ness where the hero is...a Samaritan. Verse 29, which asks "And who is my neighbor?" is actually why I chose this passage over the parallel one in Matthew 22, which in some ways I prefer, or the one in Mark 12. I think it shows Jesus at his radical, transformational best. In the context of the story, the Samaritan is the "other". If you've ever had a hatred, a fear or prejudice against another group, you can probably substitute it for Samaritan and begin to get the idea of how Jesus is challenging the comfort zone of his audience. Today it might be Muslims or illegal immigrants. Whatever the case, Jesus expands our understanding of neighbor to include broad humanity.
Passage #8. You probably are already getting the idea that 10 passages isn't going to be enough convey the essence of the Biblical story, and it really isn't, but I'm going to keep trying. So in Luke 24:1-9 we cover a lot of territory. Reading from scripture:
Luke 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
In this single passage we have a testimony to Jesus betrayal, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. This is the pivotal moment in Christian history, and it wouldn't be hyperbole to say the remainder of the New Testament is an exercise in coming to grips emotionally and theologically with this event-the death and resurrection of Jesus, the crucified Messiah.
Passage #9. With 8 passages down, the last two passages need to carry a lot of freight. There would be many possibilities, but I was drawn to Matthew 28:16-20, also known as the great commission.
Matt. 28:16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
This passage is the last paragraph of the Book of Matthew. Jesus is presumably about to ascend, as described in Luke. In his last act on earth, Jesus gives the clear mandate to make disciples of all nations, and the Trinitarian call to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is calling the New Testament church into existence. Disciples are to observe all that Jesus commanded, which hearkens back to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus' promise to be with us always is reminiscent of the closeness of God in Jeremiah's new covenant. Evoking the end of the age, Jesus hints at the eschaton and his return, detailed in apocalyptic terms in the book of Revelation.
Passage #10. Here we are at the last scripture, and here I wanted to select a passage that best captured the essence of the church. For me, that passage would be Galatians 3:26-29:
Gal. 3:26 You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Some scholars think this passage functioned as a baptismal liturgy. We are children of God, part of God's household, through our faith in Christ. We were baptized into Christ, meaning the ‘in Christ' community, and we have clothed ourselves with Christ, meaning we have changed and are becoming like Christ. This points to a very important New Testament theme of new creation. Galatians 3:28 points to the egalitarian nature of the church, the ‘in Christ' community. There is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. We are all one in Christ Jesus. Verse 29 hearkens back to the original Abrahamic covenant. If we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. The significance of these words was that they were spoken to Gentile believers in Galatia. They are now children of Abraham, and heirs according to the covenant, and we are too. This points to a prominent, yet largely overlooked salvation metaphor of adoption. Through Jesus, we who were outside the covenant of the promise have been brought into God's covenant community, and adopted into His household as joint heirs. To sum up, in Galatians 3:26-29, Paul is showing the church to be something both radically new and yet deeply rooted in Jewish traditions and understandings.
So there we have it, Michael's Scriptural Top Ten List. Ten passages that declare the essence of our faith insofar as it can be done in ten passages:
· That God is the Creator of everything
· That humanity is created in the image of God
· That we have a special covenantal relationship with God, rooted in His promises to Abraham.
· That Israel broke the original covenant when they demanded a king and set up a national religion that was ultimately incapable of inspiring true faith and changing hearts.
· That the new covenant foretold by Jeremiah and revealed in Jesus, shows our relationship to God to be personal and unmediated by priests, laws and sacrifices.
· That the kingdom of heaven is radically unlike the kingdoms of this world and that discipleship, hearing the words of Jesus and obeying them is the wise path that gains us entry into that kingdom.
· That love of God and love of neighbor is the essence of the law and the prophets, and our neighbors extend to the rest of humanity.
· That Jesus was crucified, died, and was resurrected as prophecied. And his resurrection would transform the cross from a symbol of Roman terror into a symbol of ultimate victory for Christ and the church over the power of death.
· That we are called to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey the commandments of Christ, until he returns.
· That the church is an egalitarian community where we are all one in Christ. And while this has not been fully lived out in the church, it is a radical, transformational, liberating, and empowering idea that is an essential part of the good news of Jesus Christ. The church is also the extension of God's covenant community into the world. Through Jesus we are brought into God's household as heirs, and in Christ we are becoming a new creation, leaving behind the old ways of sin and death, and growing into the likeness of Christ.
That's my list. It's not perfect and I'm sure I left out some wonderful and important passages, but it's mine. Now I invite you to make your own Scriptural Top Ten List, and to claim the Biblical story as your story.