It's Saturday, December 28, 2024.

Today’s edition covers persecutions that Christians faced around the world this past week, the latest development in an ongoing controversy between popular pastors, what Jesus meant about seeing Nathanael “under the fig tree,” and more.

This week’s sobering installment may be best preluded by these reminders:

Of Christian Concern

CHRISTIANS AROUND THE GLOBE PERSECUTED DURING CHRISTMASTIME

Christmastime around the world is, for many Christians, a time of persecution. Some notable occasions made their way into the news this past week.

• Vietnamese officials arrested Christians from several villages on Dec. 21 for preparing to celebrate Christmas and for worshipping in churches not approved by the government.

• Armed men killed 14 Christians on Sunday, Dec. 22, after a Christmas carol service near Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria. The victims included a pregnant woman and a 1-year-old girl.

• Syrian Christians protested after a public Christmas tree burning in Al-Suqaylabiyah, a Greek Orthodox Christian city. The incident comes despite the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham regime’s calls for religious tolerance. Analysts doubt the sincerity of those calls.

• A district education officer in India, after complaints by the Hindu nationalist political party Bharatiya Janata Party, suspended a teacher for allegedly distributing Bibles to students in Christmas gift boxes.

• Nepali pastor Janmajya Bhattarai was arrested on Dec. 24 for promoting religion after distributing bags, clothes, and educational materials “to underprivileged children in the Lamkichuha area.”

• Palestinian Muslims threw stones and fired shots at a Palestinian Christian church in Bethlehem during a Christmas rehearsal on Dec. 24 (see video here). News outlets report a second year of “somber” and “subdued” Christmas celebrations in Jesus’ birthplace in light of the Gaza war.

Scripture exhorts Christians who are not experiencing such severe persecution, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” (Hebrews 13:3)

Also Noteworthy

→ Canadian pastor Derek Reimer was sentenced on Dec. 23 to a $500 fine, 12 months house arrest, and two years probation. His crime? Reimer was found guilty in August of criminal harassment and breaching bail conditions after voicing disapproval to and about a public library service delivery manager over drag events for children. Some of the additional terms of his sentencing include no contact with any LGBTQ+ person, writing a letter of apology, and prohibition from entertaining friends in his home.

→ A Christian teacher in Ohio was awarded $450K in settlement over unlawful termination for refusing to use trans pronouns for students. A federal judge found that Jackson Local School District violated Vivian Geraghty’s First Amendment rights by forcing her to resign.

→ A new Pew Research Center study found that in 2022, the number of countries with ‘very high’ government restrictions increased, and the number of countries where religious groups were harassed reached a new peak level.

→ A gay Georgia couple was sentenced to 100 years in prison for regularly raping their adopted sons. William and Zachary Zulock, 34 and 36, made pedophilic pornography from the abuse and allegedly pimped the two adopted boys out to at least two local men. The Zulocks had adopted the boys, now 10 and 12, “from a Christian special-needs agency,” the New York Post reports.

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content of Christian interest.*

→ Antisemitism, The Antioch Declaration, & Ogden: Continuing an ongoing controversy about antisemitism and leftist tactics among Christians, Pastor Brian Sauvé of Ogden, Utah, and his associates released an episode of their podcast The King’s Hall detailing their disagreements with Pastor Douglas Wilson of Moscow, Idaho, and his associates. This is the latest development in what some on social media have been calling “brother wars.” (Video)

→ Andrew Woodard LinkedIn Lies: Christian activist James Silberman posted a thread meant to expose former New York pastor Andrew Woodard, a once-vocal presence in Christian social media circles, for lying on his LinkedIn profile about his past work experience after fleeing church discipline twice — both from churches he planted — due to alleged abuses he committed. (Thread)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

The Bible, Briefly

Under the Fig Tree

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” (John 1:47-48)

What It Means

What did Jesus mean by saying he saw Nathanael “under the fig tree”?

Commentator David Guzik suggests, “It is possible Nathanael liked to pray and meditate upon God and His Word under the shade of an actual fig tree. Yet, under the fig tree was a phrase Rabbis used to describe meditation on the Scriptures.”

Commentator G.H. Trench notes, “It is said of Rabbi Hasa in the tract Bereshith that he and his disciples were in the habit of studying under a fig tree.”

Scholar F.F. Bruce speculates, “Perhaps it was a place where Nathanael had recently sat in meditation and received some spiritual impression. It is impossible to be sure. Certainly the shady foliage of the fig tree made it a suitable tree to sit under in the heat of the day.”

How It Answers The Question

OK, so, how does Jesus’ seeing Nathanael under the fig tree answer Nathanael’s question, “How do you know me?” — which, recall, was his response to Jesus’ declaration of who he was, as if He knew him intimately: “an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” The famous French reformer John Calvin comments:

The reply of Christ, however, appears to be inappropriate; for though he saw Nathanael under the fig-tree, it does not follow from this that he could penetrate into the deep secrets of the heart. But there is another reason; for as it belongs to God to know men when they are not seen, so also does it belong to Him to see what is not visible to the eyes. As Nathanael knew that Christ did not see him after the manner of men, but by a look truly divine, this might lead him to conclude that Christ did not now speak as a man.

So, since Nathanael knew that Christ had not physically seen him under the fig tree, the fact that Jesus had some knowledge of a presumably private and personal experience suggested that Christ had some divine knowledge. Calvin continues:

The proof, therefore, is taken from things which are of the same class; for not less does it belong to God to see what lies beyond our view than to judge concerning purity of heart.

In other words, God sees all things, not with eyes like humans do, but by virtue of His omniscience (all-knowingness) — so, just as He is aware of all physical realities, like someone seated under a fig tree, He is aware of all spiritual realities, like a person’s heart. Jesus demonstrated that He knew both, which may account for Nathanael’s answer: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).

In light of Christ’s omniscience, Calvin draws a point of application:

We ought also to gather from this passage a useful doctrine, that when we are not thinking of Christ, we are observed by him; and it is necessary that it should be so, that he may bring us back, when we have wandered from the right path.

What did you think of today’s briefing?

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Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.