The Growing Tension: A Holy Tuesday Meditation

Nick Minerva • Apr 12, 2022

If you thought yesterday had its tense moments, wait until you get through today. Tuesday of Passion week is full of drama. The morning starts off pretty regular. The disciples rise early and begin the hike from Bethany back into Jerusalem. On the way, they pass the fig tree that Jesus cursed the day before. The disciples point out that the entire tree has withered. (Mark 11:20-21). Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach on faith. 


Mark 11:22-25

Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”


What an amazing promise. And what a needed promise! Faith was going to prove to be much needed in the days ahead for the disciples. Initially, it may seem like they missed the lesson, but later in the book of Acts, we see that this truth sank in as we witness the confidence they had in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Would to God that we had this type of confidence in God as we pray.


As Jesus and his disciples enter Jerusalem the chief priests, scribes, and elders seem to be waiting. They have their tests ready. They want to either publicly discredit him and end this whole charade or find a reason to arrest him. Either way, they were determined to stop Jesus. 


Initially, they challenge Jesus’s authority. But Jesus doesn’t bite. He turns the tables (see what I did there) by stumping them with a question of his own. He makes them choose between believing John the Baptist’s message or upsetting the crowd of people who believed John to be a prophet. Jesus then proceeds to teach three parables; one about two sons, a vineyard owner whose son is brutally murdered, and a wedding banquet. Each of these parables drove home the point that the religious leaders were rejecting their Messiah and the kingdom of God was going to people they considered “outsiders.” (Matthew 21:28-22:14) Jesus also demonstrated how this was actually a fulfillment of prophecy. As he explains his second parable Jesus says…


Matthew 21:42-44

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

This is what the Lord has done

and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”


Here he quotes Psalm 118:22-23. And this upsets the religious leaders even more. They knew what he was saying (Matthew 21:45-46) but didn’t know what to do because they were afraid of the crowd. So they try to trap Jesus into supporting Rome and thus ruining people’s expectation of him overthrowing Rome, or saying people shouldn’t pay taxes and then giving them a reason for arresting him. But Jesus again skillfully avoids the verbal bait by saying give to Caesar what was Caesar’s and God what was God’s, leaving them stumped and amazed. (Matthew 22:22)


Then the Sadducees (who didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead) question Jesus about marriage in the afterlife. They didn’t believe in the afterlife so this was clearly a set-up. But Jesus rebukes them because they are demonstrating that they don’t know the Scriptures (there is no marriage in the resurrection) or the power of God (he can raise people because he is the God of the living!) And so in a last-ditch effort, the Pharisees combine forces with the Sadducees and send in a scribe with a question that will really stump him. What is the greatest commandment in the law? (Matthew 22:36) Jesus replies…


Mark 12:29-31

Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”


Then something surprising happens. The scribe actually agrees with Jesus. Jesus tells him that he isn’t far from the kingdom of God. Unfortunately for the religious leaders, this was not how they expected their day to go. Every time they thought they could discredit him it backfired. 


Jesus then proceeds to warn this listening crowd about these religious leaders. In Matthew’s account, it’s a scathing rebuke. They like to make a big show of their religion, but their “worship” is all for show. They actually make it harder for people to find God. All they seek is position and power. He pronounces woe after woe to them for their fake religion and neglect of true religion-justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Jesus teaches that true greatness is found in serving. 


Matthew 23:12

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.


Lines have been drawn. There is no going back. As the dramatic day winds down and Jesus is once again leaving Jerusalem, the disciples marvel at the impressive buildings they are walking past. But there is coming a day when there will be nothing. Jesus teaches them about the end of the age, the great tribulation to come, and his second coming. He then returns to where the day began - the fig tree. Just as they could look at a tree and know that summer is near when they saw these signs they could know that his return was coming. The purpose was for them to stay vigilant and faithful. And that call extends to us today. So as we continue our march through Passion Week, let’s renew our call to be vigilant and faithful. 

A Creed To Remind The Gathered Church Of Its New Life In Christ

By Nick Minerva • 14 Jul, 2023
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen

A Praying Church: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 23 May, 2023
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.

Non-Toxic Masculinity: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 28 Apr, 2023
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.
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