{"id":4134,"date":"2020-08-07T00:57:49","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T00:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takingeverythoughtcaptivetoobeychrist.wordpress.com\/?p=4134"},"modified":"2020-08-07T00:57:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T00:57:49","slug":"a-theology-of-making-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-theology-of-making-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"A Theology of Making Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

31\u00a0<\/sup>The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.\u00a032\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus answered them,\u00a0\u201cI have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?\u201d\u00a033\u00a0<\/sup>The Jews answered him, \u201cIt is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but\u00a0for blasphemy, because you, being a man,\u00a0make yourself God.\u201d\u00a034\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus answered them,\u00a0\u201cIs it not written in\u00a0your Law,\u00a0\u2018I said, you are gods\u2019?\u00a035\u00a0<\/sup>If he called them gods to whom the word of God came\u2014and Scripture cannot be\u00a0broken\u2014\u00a036\u00a0<\/sup>do you say of him whom\u00a0the Father consecrated and\u00a0sent into the world, \u2018You are blaspheming,\u2019 because\u00a0I said, \u2018I am the Son of God\u2019?\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup>If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;\u00a038\u00a0<\/sup>but if I do them,\u00a0even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that\u00a0the Father is in me and I am in the Father.\u201d\u00a039\u00a0<\/sup>Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

40\u00a0<\/sup>He went away again across the Jordan to the place\u00a0where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.\u00a041\u00a0<\/sup>And many came to him. And they said, \u201cJohn did no sign, but\u00a0everything that John said about this man was true.\u201d\u00a042\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0many believed in him there.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today I will be doing something a little different than normal. Instead of it being strictly exegetical, I will give a brief exposition of the text, and then move to preaching a thematic sermon from the text. And that theme, I will call A Theology of Making Fun. But first, the brief exposition of the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exposition of the Text<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the previous verses, Jesus has again said that He and the Father are one, claiming to be God. The Jews respond by picking up stones to stone Him, as they have tried to do before. Jesus responds, quite humorously as we will see in a moment, \u201cfor which good work are you going to stone me?\u201d The Jews say that it is not for a good work, but for blasphemy which they want to stone him. Stoning of course was the punishment for actual blasphemy according to Old Covenant Law. But we know that Jesus did nothing of the sort. Jesus responds to them by quoting from Psalm 82, which calls certain men by the title \u201cgods\u201d and then says that if the Scripture does that, then it is not blasphemy for Jesus to call Himself God (especially since he actually is and was consecrated and sent by the Father). Then He basically says that even if you have a hard time believing what I say, then look at my works, and if they are of the Father, then believe them. The Jews then try and fail to arrest Jesus, as Jesus escapes to the place where John was baptizing at first, and many people believe in Him there, because although John the Baptist performed no signs, everything He said about Jesus was true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 Humor and the Very Serious Jews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that\u2019s the brief overview of the text, now where do I get the idea of making fun, as I have mentioned? I think it is often very hard for us to see humor in these New Testament narrative accounts because we just have the words of the text and we are not watching it play out. But also because our default thinking is just to assume that everything is serious. Since we understand the suffering of the cross and the pain and agony Jesus endured we just assume that He was always completely serious. I think it\u2019s certainly better to err on the serious side of things if we are going to err, rather than making light of serious matters. Nevertheless, we should see the humor where it is. I think you will see it with me here today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it begins in verse 31 with the Jews, once again picking up stones to stone Jesus. Now this is already kind of funny because this is not the first time the Jews have attempted and failed at stoning or arresting Jesus. It\u2019s always funny when you have a group of people being alluded by one man that they can\u2019t capture. They are so mad and so serious, yet they are the ones to chuckle at. That\u2019s the way God tells stories. It\u2019s quite like Psalm 2, where the nations rage and scheme against the Lord\u2019s anointed, yet the Lord holds them in derision while He sits in heaven and laughs. You see God thinks it\u2019s funny when the ungodly try to obstruct God\u2019s plan and set themselves up as their own gods and rulers. He thinks it\u2019s funny because it’s silly to seriously think you can do and everyone should know that it\u2019s silly. If God thinks that’s funny, we should too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the main point of this interaction I want to make is that Jesus makes fun in this situation, and that is what I want us to learn from Him today. Jesus sees that they are picking up stones to stone Him, and He says, \u201cFor which good work are you going to stone, me?\u201d This good work or that good work? Which is worthy of death, feeding hungry people or healing sick people? It\u2019s kinda like the Amish guy a few years ago who was arrested for selling unlabeled soap. It\u2019s like, \u201cfor which am I being arrested for, selling soap or offending the crown?\u201d Jesus of course has done nothing but good works, yet they want to stone Him. So Jesus\u2019 answer of \u201cwhich good work will you stone me for?\u201d humorously shows that it is hilarious that they think they have any reason at all to stone Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well the humor continues as the Jews, very seriously assure us in a very serious voice, \u201cIt is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy.\u201d So basically it\u2019s, \u201cyes Jesus, your works are good, but you said something that offended us.\u201d So it\u2019s not something He did, it\u2019s something He said that hurt their feelings. Now it is true that Israel had good God-given blasphemy laws that required death as penalty, so I do not make light of that at all, but since Jesus clearly never came close to committing blasphemy, it is quite funny they are offended at something He said, that was nothing but the truth. And it is quite funny how much of a similar problem we have today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Christians versus the Very Serious Meanies Today<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to be sure, there are categories of truly offensive, inappropriate, sinful speech that Christians should not participate in, and should repent of, but we are talking today about a culture which has invented terms like \u201chate speech\u201d and \u201cviolent speech\u201d to describe saying things like \u201cmen can\u2019t be women and women can\u2019t be men.\u201d And in a culture that describes such obvious biological statements as violent, we should respond with a good old fashioned belly laugh till our cheeks hurt. They will then assure us that they are being very serious and it\u2019s not funny one bit. But when we see them demanding so-called equal rights for women, while being entirely unable to define what a woman is, since anyone and everyone can be a woman, we should just keep giggling to ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will also have people tell us very seriously that black lives matter, and while we as Christians are the ones that can actually say that the lives of black people matter because they are made in the image of God and are precious in His sight; we don\u2019t need to believe that they actually believe what they say, because they will go out and destroy black businesses, work to dismantle the Christian home of a father and mother, and murder their babies in the womb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have people today who told us back in March \u201c15 days to flatten the curve,\u201d who now want to tell us \u201cno more church until we have a vaccine.\u201d And again much of the same hypocrisy lies here as well, as these same people tell us that if it saves one life its worth it, while allowing abortion clinics to remain open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will also tell us that the earth is going to be destroyed in 12 years if we don\u2019t pass a billion dollar green bill and all stop driving cars and eating beef, all the while flying their private jet plains all over the planet to give these speeches. It\u2019s pretty funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will also tell us that 2+2 does not equal 4 because that is a white european construct of white supremacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now these same, advanced, progressive, science-affirming people would mock the idea of the blasphemy laws in the Bible as extremely archaic and a big mean God. Now I would assert to you that blasphemy laws are unavoidable and if you look, they have blasphemy laws of their own. If you say the wrong thing that offends the gods of this age, you will receive a swift ban on social media. If you tweeted something 10 years ago that offends the gods of this age, the mob will dig it up and you will quickly be fired from your job. Not too long ago there was a man in Illinois who was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for burning a rainbow flag. He broke the blasphemy laws. Another example from just this weekend: a lot of the protests that have been going on have taken to painting words on streets like Black Lives Matter. Even mayors and politicians come out to join in, in order to appease the gods. However, a young man and woman were arrested this weekend for writing in chalk on a public sidewalk outside an abortion clinic \u201cpre-born black lives matter.\u201d They were people who go there every week to minister outside the abortion clinic. But they offended the gods of this age. This is much like what\u2019s going on with Jesus. He committed no actual blasphemy law, but he committed blasphemy against the gods of the age and broke the made up laws by the Jews. And so He made fun in such a situation. The world will tell us, in a very serious voice, things that are not true. There will be times when we have health directors, like in Pennsylvania, who is a man that seriously pretends to be a woman, and wants to lecture us about our health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when the world comes to stone us for something we said, we should learn to find the humor in such a situation and have ourselves a good laugh, while they are very seriously very mad. If they want to throw us in prison for being lawful Christian citizens, our cells should be full of laughter and singing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in the face of this and so much more, we, as Christians, can either become spiteful and bitter, or we can laugh and be happy. And I would contend that being happy Christians in the face of some big serious meanies, can be a very persuasive witness. This of course is not to say that we shouldn\u2019t say serious things and give grave warnings and hard preaching – we should. But a good belly laugh need also be in our repertoire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Fun Making Should be Persuasive (many believed), while Knowing Many will Still be Offended<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now there is certainly a line where our fun making can become sinfully harsh and inappropriate and we ought to stay far away from that line, but that doesn\u2019t mean we stay away from the good fun-making. Our fun making should be persuasive. At the end of our passage, Jesus escapes the Jews, but where He went, many believed in Him. Persuasive fun making doesn\u2019t mean no one will be offended. Someone will always be offended, but it means some believe. To be persuasive our fun making shouldn\u2019t be mean-spirited, but with a true jollyness to it. Fun-making that comes from bitterness loses its tastefulness and persuasiveness. If we are bitter we are not ready to make fun. We need to repent first. Our fun-making should come from an already present happiness in God. That\u2019s persuasive. I also love a good meme and find them persuasive, so meme hard, church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Worldview Basis for Making Fun<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, the foundation of our good fun-making comes from a consistent Christian worldview. As Christians we have every reason to laugh and be happy. Since Jesus rose from the dead, and this world is His, and History belongs to Him, and our sins are forgiven, we have every reason to laugh and be happy. And this comes from our Triune Creator God, who is a happy God. Because our God is happy, and His Son rose from the dead, we should be happy too. There is pleasures and joy forever more at God\u2019s right hand. But you see, the unbeliever, has no worldview basis to laugh and be happy, for the God who is the source of fun-making, is their enemy. You will notice today that in general unbelievers, and the farther left you go, the more they can\u2019t joke or take a joke. Their memes are super lame, and their comedians keep getting cancelled for old jokes they made that don\u2019t please the gods of this age. They are becoming more consistent with their worldview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what does it take to have this happiness in God? What does it take to be able to make fun like Jesus? Because it doesn\u2019t come naturally. We prone to bitterness and sinful anger. How can we have this persuasive fun making like Jesus? A few things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What it Takes to Make Fun Like Jesus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identity<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First it takes identity. We have to know that we are God\u2019s, bought with the blood of Jesus, firmly in His hand, such that none could snatch us out of His hand. And we have to know that as God\u2019s sons and daughters, we are in God\u2019s world. This is His world, that He created, owns, and knows. We have to know who we are and it is our Father\u2019s territory which we are standing on. This is our Father\u2019s world. And if we know these things, then we know that our God sits in heaven and laughs at the raging of the nations, so we can do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have to have a knowledge of God\u2019s law. You can\u2019t laugh at made up blasphemy laws if you don\u2019t understand the real one. You can\u2019t make fun at the inconsistencies of the world, if you don\u2019t understand what\u2019s right and wrong yourself. Part of this is understanding that God made the world to operate in a certain way. There are certain principles that lead to prosperity and happiness, and others that lead to destruction and death. We have to know the way God set up this world, that the wicked are like chaff, but the righteous man is like a tree firmly planted by the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third thing we must have is courage. It is amazing how many people actually disagree with the blasphemy laws of this age, and don\u2019t believe in the gods of this age, yet are too afraid to say anything or have a laugh. We need courage. I think of John Macarthur in southern California, who just opened his church back up last week, despite the governor continuing to demand they be locked down. Well, that Sunday the place was filled up, thousands of people. Most people are looking for someone with a little courage to lead them. It does, after all, take a little courage to make fun in the face of someone who has a stone in their hand to stone you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a little anecdote I like that says imagine you are taken down to the middle of a football field and the stands all around you are filled up with thousands and thousands of people and someone is down there with you with a mic and he asks you, what is 2+2? And he puts the mic in your face. You then answer \u201c4.\u201d The crowd of thousands of people then erupt in laughter, mocking you and having a good time. Then the guy with the mic after a good chuckle whispers to you and says, \u201cjust say 5.\u201d Then he asks again what is 2+2? And you again answer \u201c4.\u201d Well this time the crowd erupts in anger and booing and jeering and they are mad and throwing things down on the field at you. And now, the guy with the mic is very upset and he looks at you and says away from the mic, we\u2019re going to try this one more time, the answer is 5. So he asks again, \u201cwhat is 2+2?\u201d and he points the mic to you. Well now, at this point, it is no longer a math question that he is asking, instead it is a question of courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you see that\u2019s what we need. We need the courage that no matter how they respond to us, that when they want us to give a little nod to their gods, we have the courage, confidence, and Christ-like happiness to see that they are the loony ones and refuse to give in, with a smile on our face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Victorious Gospel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing that we need, and where this courage comes from is a victorious gospel. This gospel tells us in 1st John that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. This gospel ensures us that the wicked will perish. This gospel is the defeat of God\u2019s enemies and trampling of the serpent of old and all his offspring. The death, resurrection, and ascension, and enthronement of Christ is the clinching of victory. We must be confident that the gospel is triumphant and will overcome the insanity of rebellion against God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forgiveness of Sins<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the most important thing that we need in order to make fun like Jesus, is the forgiveness of sins. This of course also comes from the gospel. If our sins have not been forgiven and washed away in the blood of Jesus we cannot have true happiness and joy in order to laugh and make fun. Psalm 32:1-2 says, \u201cBlessed [happy] is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed [happy] is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guilt Free Conscience<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the things that cripples, neutralizes, and weakens men is a guilty conscience. They feel the condemnation of guilt and thus have lost their strength to fight and be potent Christian\u2019s in this world. What we need is a guilt free conscience. That only comes in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The washing away of our sins, the removal of guilt through his death and resurrection, and then believing that to be true by faith. We cannot just believe the facts that Jesus died and rose to forgiven sin and remove guilt, but by faith we must appropriate that to ourselves, believing our sins to be forgiven and our guilt removed. We must believe that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. To a man who has had his guilt and condemnation removed in Jesus Christ is an untouchable man, the world can more condemn and guilt trip that man. The world points fingers of accusation, he says \u201cyes, and I have confessed my sins and Christ has forgiven me and condemned me much more, and besides that I am far worse than you think me to be, but I am freed and made new in Jesus Christ. What can man do to me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you want to have fun in this world. It begins with confession of sin. Confess your sins, trust in Jesus to forgive you, and receive His forgiveness. We are not ready to laugh and make fun until we are forgiven for our ugly and hypocritical sins. But once we are forgiven, we are free. We are free to laugh and live as God’s Sons in our Father’s World. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

31\u00a0The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.\u00a032\u00a0Jesus answered them,\u00a0\u201cI have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?\u201d\u00a033\u00a0The Jews answered him, \u201cIt is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but\u00a0for blasphemy, because you, being a man,\u00a0make yourself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":4138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,27,30],"tags":[205,274,483,529,557,585,678,679,687,699,701,728,729,765,784,816,1105,1114,1154,1161,1172,1237,1279],"class_list":{"0":"post-4134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faith","8":"category-gospel","9":"category-preaching","10":"tag-bible","11":"tag-christ","12":"tag-father","13":"tag-fun","14":"tag-god","15":"tag-happiness","16":"tag-jenkins","17":"tag-jesus","18":"tag-john","19":"tag-joshua","20":"tag-joy","21":"tag-laugh","22":"tag-laughing","23":"tag-lord","24":"tag-making","25":"tag-message","26":"tag-scripture","27":"tag-sermon","28":"tag-smile","29":"tag-son","30":"tag-spirit","31":"tag-theology","32":"tag-triune","33":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/08\/the-hobbit-movie-dwarves.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/if-you-believed-moses-you-would-believe-me-john-530-47\/","url_meta":{"origin":4134,"position":0},"title":"If You Believed Moses, You Would Believe Me; John 5:30-47","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 30\u00a0\u201cI can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and\u00a0my judgment is just, because\u00a0I seek not my own will\u00a0but the will of him who sent me.\u00a031\u00a0If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.\u00a032\u00a0There is\u00a0another who bears witness about me, and\u00a0I know that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/11\/download.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4093,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/before-abraham-was-john-848-59\/","url_meta":{"origin":4134,"position":1},"title":"Before Abraham Was; John 8:48-59","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 48\u00a0The Jews answered him, \u201cAre we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and\u00a0have a demon?\u201d\u00a049\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI do not have a demon, but\u00a0I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.\u00a050\u00a0Yet\u00a0I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.\u00a051\u00a0Truly,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/05\/abraham_lilien.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/05\/abraham_lilien.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/05\/abraham_lilien.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/05\/abraham_lilien.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/05\/abraham_lilien.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3922,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/by-what-authority-john-519-20a\/","url_meta":{"origin":4134,"position":2},"title":"By What Authority? John 5:19-20a","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"October 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 19\u00a0So Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cTruly, truly, I say to you,\u00a0the Son\u00a0can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[a]\u00a0does, that the Son does likewise.\u00a020\u00a0For\u00a0the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. Introduction Verse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/10\/20150728__cct-worth-08021.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4317,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-greater-works-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":4134,"position":3},"title":"The Greater Works of Jesus","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"12 \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/01\/athanasius.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/01\/athanasius.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/01\/athanasius.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/01\/athanasius.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4646,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/pilate-before-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":4134,"position":4},"title":"Pilate Before Jesus","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"28\u00a0Then they led Jesus\u00a0from the house of Caiaphas to\u00a0the governor's headquarters.[f]\u00a0It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters,\u00a0so that they would not be defiled,\u00a0but could eat the Passover.\u00a029\u00a0So Pilate went outside to them and said, \u201cWhat accusation do you bring against this man?\u201d\u00a030\u00a0They answered him, \u201cIf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4012,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/christ-loses-nothing-john-638-40\/","url_meta":{"origin":4134,"position":5},"title":"Christ Loses Nothing; John 6:38-40","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"February 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 38 \"For\u00a0I have come down from heaven, not to do\u00a0my own will but\u00a0the will of him\u00a0who sent me.\u00a039\u00a0And\u00a0this is the will of him who sent me,\u00a0that I should lose nothing of\u00a0all that he has given me, but\u00a0raise it up on the last day.\u00a040\u00a0For this is the will of my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/philipp-pilz-704745-unsplash-e1555081226119-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/philipp-pilz-704745-unsplash-e1555081226119-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/philipp-pilz-704745-unsplash-e1555081226119-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/philipp-pilz-704745-unsplash-e1555081226119-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/philipp-pilz-704745-unsplash-e1555081226119-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/philipp-pilz-704745-unsplash-e1555081226119-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}