Tag: Bible Original

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Romans

Loved and called by God

Romans

And so we hit Romans, perhaps the most important book in the New Testament, because it so clearly sets out what the gospel is.

It was written by Paul to the church in Rome before he had had the chance to visit there.

And unlike many of his other letters, he is not addressing any church-specific problems or issues. Instead, all his focus is on the gospel God had set him apart from birth to preach.

In his greeting, Paul talks about how God had called him to be an apostle and set him apart to specifically reach out to the Gentiles.

It would be easy to take this almost as boasting. “God chose me! God loves me!”

But then Paul wrote,

And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. (Romans 1:6-7)

You also.

I love those words.

You also.

Paul told the Romans, “You also are called to belong to Jesus Christ. It’s not just us Jews. It’s not just us ‘special people.’

You too are special. You also are loved by God. You also are called to be his saints.”

Sometimes, we wonder how God could possibly love us. We’re nothing special. Why would God even bother with us?

And yet God looked down upon us, even before time began, and said, “I choose you. I love you.”

He saw all our faults, all our sins, all our weaknesses, and despite all that, said, “I set you apart for myself.”

And that’s actually what “saint” means. It means “people set apart for God.”

A lot of us look at the word, “saints,” and we think, “Me? A saint? I’m no saint?”

We think that because we picture saints as people with this halo over our heads who live perfect lives.

But you are a saint not because you are intrinsically better or purer than anyone else, but because God has loved you and chosen you.

That’s grace: the imparting of God’s love to you though you did nothing to earn it. Though you are no better than anyone else. And because God has bestowed his love upon us by grace, we have peace with God.

We don’t have to worry about whether God accepts us or not. We’d only have to worry about that if we had to earn God’s acceptance. But we don’t.

Before the creation of the world, he already chose you and accepted you. And if we could only understand that, how different would our lives be?

No longer striving, no longer fearful. But resting in the love, grace, and mercy of God.

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Acts

A story that doesn’t end

To be continued

We now come to the end of the book of Acts. I can’t believe that with this, we come to the end of Biblical history. All that remains are the letters that were written by the apostles and the Revelation given to John.

But the story ends in an unusual way. It in fact has no ending.

We see Paul arriving at Rome and sharing the gospel with the Jews who were there.

As was the case throughout his ministry, some people believed, and some didn’t. And when some utterly rejected his message, he moved on to preach to the Gentiles.

At the end of the book, Luke tells us,

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.

Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 28:30-31)

You’d expect to read about his appearance before Nero. Or to at least hear about the end of Paul’s life. But you hear neither. Instead, you just see him preaching the gospel to all that would listen.

Why does the story end this way? I don’t know.

But perhaps it’s a way of telling us that the story of Acts goes on to this day.

To this day, the gospel continues to go out. Some people when they hear it close their eyes and ears as the Jews did and continue to do to this day.

But God has made sure throughout history that his gospel, despite persecution and all kinds of attacks on the church, both from within and without, has continued to go out.

And now we are a part of the story.

We have heard the gospel and come to believe it. Now, like Paul, we are called to go out, filled with his Spirit, and preaching the gospel to every nation.

Are you? Are you filled with his Spirit? Without him, we won’t have the power to share the gospel as God has commanded us.

A lot of people call this book the “Acts of the Apostles.”

But from the very beginning, it has truly been the acts of the Holy Spirit working through his people.

So as I finish this book, I go back to the beginning to where Jesus told his apostles,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

May we all go out, filled with the Spirit, continuing the story started 2000 years ago.

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Acts

When the Spirit is working within us

Acts

There was an old action show I remember that was based on the phrase, “One man can make a difference.”

We see that here in this passage.

But perhaps I should probably amend that earlier phrase to, “One man filled with the Spirit of God can make a difference.”

Paul and his shipmates landed on the island of Malta, and cold as they were, they built a fire.

Paul, being the kind of man he was, instantly volunteered to help build the fire. But as he put some wood on the fire, a viper came out and bit him, literally hanging on his hand until Paul shook him off.

When the islanders saw this, they said,

This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live. (Acts 28:4)

And they waited for him to die. When he didn’t, however, they changed their minds and said, “He must be a god.”

I’m sure Paul quickly disabused them of that idea as he introduced them to the one true God.

Then, Publius, the chief official of the island welcomed them onto his estate, and when Paul saw that Publius’ father was sick, he prayed for him, and immediately, he was healed.

When the people on the island heard of this, they came from all over to be healed by Paul. The result of this?

Malta eventually became a Christian nation, and remains so to this day.

The point? When the Spirit is working within us, we can make a difference.

We may not be shaking off poisonous snakes or healing people, but when the Spirit is working in us, people will notice and lives will be changed.

So as Paul once put it, let us continue being filled with God’s Spirit day by day (Ephesians 5:18) that others may see him in us and come to know him themselves.

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Acts

A beacon in the storm

Acts

Jesus once said to let our light shine before men, and you really see Paul’s light shining through in this passage.

At a time when everyone on the ship he was sailing on had lost hope because of the storm, Paul brought hope. He told them,

But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.

Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (Acts 27:22-25)

Later, with things still dark, and the men still discouraged, he told them,

For the last fourteen days…you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food–you haven’t eaten anything.

Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. (Acts 27:33-34)

He then broke bread, gave thanks to God, and ate. By doing so, he gave the men in the boat hope, and they ate too.

That’s part of what it means to be light. To give hope to the hopeless.

So many people in this world are without hope because of their circumstances. But in Jesus, we have the source of hope, and as he shines through us, it gives hope to those around us.

But Paul was light in another way. By his words and his life, he encouraged people to do what was right.

We see this first when some of the sailors were planning to sneak off of the ship without the prisoners and leave them all to die.

But Paul warned them,

Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. (Acts 27:31)

And so they let the lifeboat go.

Then, after the ship had run aground, the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners lest they escape.

But because of the light that Paul had been, the centurion in charge refused to give them permission to do so, and in the end, all were saved.

In the same way, being light means showing people what it means to live right, both through our words and through our lives.

And as people see our lives, it should inspire them to do what is right as well.

How about you? Are you light to those around you?

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Acts

Following the majority

Acts

Following the majority is always the easy thing to do, especially when it happens to be what you want to do. But it’s not always right.

That’s what the centurion in charge of taking Paul (and the other prisoners) to Rome learned in this chapter.

Because of weather conditions, they were making much slower headway than they had hoped, but Paul knew that the weather would only get worse. So he warned them,

Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also. (Acts 27:10)

Whether this was direct revelation or insight from God, or merely Paul’s own sailing experience is not clear.

What is clear is that the centurion didn’t want to wait. And after consulting with the pilot and the owner of the ship, the “majority” decided it would be best to sail on and winter at another harbor.

Why didn’t they listen to Paul?

For one thing, they probably figured he wasn’t a sailor, and they trusted their own judgment over his.

For another, they were impatient. They had lost time and probably wanted to make up for it.

But by following the “majority,” it nearly cost them their lives.

How about you? Do you follow what God is telling you, or do you simply follow the majority?

Sometimes, we follow the majority in terms of peer pressure. Everyone is doing something we know is wrong, and it’s hard to go against the grain.

Sometimes we follow the majority in terms of culture. I see this often times in Japan where Christians will compromise their faith at Buddhist ceremonies for the sake of “culture.”

But just because you’re following the majority does not make you right. And there are times when it puts you at odds with what God is telling you to do. Not only can that lead to disastrous consequences, those decisions also pain God.

Paul tells us,

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

When we follow the majority at the expense of turning our backs on what God has said, that’s exactly what we end up doing: grieving God.

Who are you following?

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Acts

Compelled

Acts

In this passage, we see three reactions to the gospel.

One is persecution, like the Jews persecuted Paul.

The second is people thinking we’re crazy, as Festus thought of Paul.

The third is a patronizing attitude toward us and the gospel, as Herod had. An attitude that looks upon us as naive children for believing such a thing.

And yet, Paul continued to speak.

Why? I think we see the reason in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Paul wrote,

If we are out of our mind (as Festus contended), it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind (as Paul asserted), it is for you.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (1 Corinthians 5:13-14)

Why did Paul speak? Because he was convinced in his heart that Christ loved us so much that he died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins.

And the love of Christ that had touched him now compelled him to share that news with others, no matter what they thought of him.

And that’s the attitude that we should have.

If we truly believe that Jesus died for us, if we have been truly touched by his love, that love should drive us to share the gospel with those around us that they too may receive the same gift of life that we have.

Some may persecute us. Some may think we’re crazy. Some may look on us patronizingly.

But does the love of Christ drive you to share the gospel with them anyway?

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Acts

Obedient to the call

Acts

As we look at this passage, we see Paul’s appearance before Festus and Herod Agrippa II.

This last of the Herods that we see in the New Testament was the son of Herod Agrippa I who had killed James and had attempted to kill Peter.

At any rate, the Jews once again tried to get Paul to be brought to Jerusalem so that they could kill him, and when Festus tried to convince Paul to appear in Jerusalem (not knowing the Jews’ plot), Paul appealed to Caesar.

That left Festus in a bit of a quandary because he wasn’t sure how to present the charges that were made against Paul, which were purely religious ones.

So when Herod came by for a visit, Festus consulted with him, and Herod agreed to hear Paul’s defense.

And so for the final time in the book of Acts, we see Paul give his testimony. Each time he spoke, we see a bit more of his story.

One of the most interesting things here was the mission Jesus gave to Paul on the road to Damascus.

I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:17-18)

The same mission that Jesus gave to Paul, he gives to us.

We are to share the gospel with those around us that they might see their own bondage to sin and the darkness that they’re in.

We do this so that they might be set free from the kingdom of Satan and brought into the kingdom of God, forgiven of their sins and adopted as his children through faith in Christ.

Concerning this mission given to him in the vision, Paul told Festus and Herod,

I was not disobedient. (Acts 26:19)

How about you? God has told us to go and spread his gospel to those around us.

Are you? Are you fulfilling the mission he has given you?

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Acts

Integrity

Acts

Although Felix had been freaked out by Paul’s discussion of God’s coming judgment, he nevertheless, continued to call Paul in to chat. Why?

He was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. (Acts 24:26)

One wonders what kind of subtle hints he gave Paul.

“It sure must be tough being restrained as you are. You’re so gung-ho for your religion. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just get out of here so you could spread it more easily? Your God would want that, right?”

Or,

“Your church must be really worried about you huh? Say, how big is this movement? What kind of resources do they have? I’m sure they’d do anything to help you, right?”

Paul wasn’t dumb. He knew what Felix wanted. But he refused to violate his integrity.

For two years this went on until finally, Felix was replaced by another man named Festus.

It would have been so easy for Paul to take the easy way out and give Felix the bribe he wanted. And there were so many “good reasons” he could have given for doing so. But he refused. Why?

One, he loved his Lord. And he put his trust in God that in his timing and his way, God would set him free…or not.

Either way, he refused to do anything that would displease his Lord.

Second, it would have destroyed his witness before Felix.

Think about this. He had just been lecturing Felix about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment for sinners. What would have Felix thought if Paul had suddenly turned around and offered a bribe?

Felix would have thought, “There must be nothing to what Paul said. If there was, he wouldn’t have offered me this bribe. He’d be too worried about this coming ‘judgment.'”

But Paul never compromised and his testimony stood.

How about you? Do you hold on to your integrity even though it may seem more convenient not to?

Hold on to it. Keep putting your trust in God, knowing that he would never ask you to do something that he has said is wrong. Commit yourself to doing things his way.

To do otherwise would not only sadden God, but destroy your witness with those you’ve been sharing Christ with.

Are you holding on to your integrity?

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Acts

The whole counsel of God

Paul and Felix

Paul once told the Ephesians,

I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26-27, ESV)

What did he mean by “the whole counsel of God?” I think we catch a glimpse of it here.

Paul was brought before the Roman governor Felix to face his accusers. After the initial hearing was held, Felix called in Paul more than once to chat, and Paul took the opportunity to talk about his faith in Christ.

But Paul didn’t stop at talking about God’s love, the cross, and the salvation that comes by faith. Rather,

Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. (Acts 24:25a)

In short, Paul told Felix, “You know that your life is not right before God. You know that you have sinned, and unless you turn from your sin, you will be judged someday.”

The result?

Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” (Acts 24:25b)

The gospel is not all God’s love and good, warm, fuzzy feelings.

The gospel also is, “There is a serious problem. The true King is coming, and he is going to judge this world and make all things right. But you’re not ready to meet him. You have sinned against your rightful king and are facing his righteous judgment.”

If we fail to tell people this, we are not giving people the whole counsel of God, and we will be responsible for their blood if they go to hell.

I’m not saying we should literally “scare the hell out of them.”

The Gospel is “good news.”

Our King is good and he loves us despite all we’ve done.

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God made a way, not only for us to escape hell, but to live a life that’s full and complete. To have a life filled with his joy and peace.

That’s where our main focus should be when preaching the gospel.

But we do need to warn people, “If you refuse your King, you will face his judgment.”

Some people, like Felix, may become fearful as a result.

They may chase us away until a more “convenient time.”

But how they respond is not our responsibility. All we can do is share the message God has given us.

How about you? Are you giving the people the full counsel of God?

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Acts

A God whose purposes cannot be thwarted

Acts

I mentioned yesterday that God will accomplish his will in our lives and no power on this earth can stop him. We see an example of this in this passage.

Some men had taken an oath to kill Paul, and had asked the chief priests to assist them in this.

I wonder what kind of an oath they took? That is, did they swear before God that they would do this? That would be the ultimate irony. “I swear before you, O God, that I will break the sixth commandment and murder a man.”

Now I’m sure they didn’t word it that way, but that’s essentially what they said. Even worse, the priests not only condoned it, but agreed to help them keep their oath.

But God is not one whose purposes can be thwarted. And so he placed Paul’s nephew in such a position that he somehow heard about the plot.

God then put favor in the heart of the Roman commander to not only listen to the warning, but to do everything possible to keep Paul safe until he could have his trial. As a result, the murder plot went for naught.

That should encourage us in our lives. Sometimes the world can seem against us as we do God’s will. Sometimes they actually are plotting against us.

But ultimately, nothing can thwart God and his purposes. So as Moses once told the people at the Red Sea,

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you… (Exodus 14:13)

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Acts

The God who stands near us

Acts

Sometimes, we tend to think of the apostles and other people in the Bible as superheroes. That they always faced death courageously and without fear.

Certainly there were times they were like that. (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego certainly seemed that way, among others).

But I don’t know if that was always the case. They were human just like us, after all.

And as I read this passage in Acts 23, I wonder what was going on in Paul’s heart.

He had just been involved in a situation that had become so violent that the Roman commander got him out of there thinking Paul was going to get torn to pieces by his accusers.

As Paul lay in bed that night, what was he thinking? Was he experiencing doubt? Fear? Was he worrying about if he could accomplish the things he had thought God desired him to do.

Whatever he was thinking, it says in verse 11,

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

A few things strike me here.

First, the Lord stood near Paul. And it’s a reminder to me that even through our darkest times, through our trials, and through our doubts and fears, the Lord is always standing by us.

Second, the Lord told Paul, “Take courage.”

Why would you tell someone to take courage if they already had it?

Perhaps because of all his circumstances, Paul was wavering a bit. But the Lord steadied him and said, “Take courage.”

Sometimes we too waver a bit in our faith. We waver concerning the path God has put us on. But God gives us the same message he gave Paul. “Take courage.”

Why should we take courage?

Because God will accomplish his will in our lives and no power on this earth can stop him. He told Paul,

As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.

In other words, “Don’t worry about all those opposing you. You will fulfill the purposes I have called you to. Just stand strong and keep trusting in me.”

How about you? Are you starting to lose faith because of your circumstances? Are you starting to give in to fear because of the opposition you’re facing?

Take courage. Know that the Lord is near. And keep trusting and following him, knowing that he will accomplish his will in your life.

Let us remember the words of Paul himself, who said,

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-7)

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Acts

Shrewd as a serpent

Acts

I think in this passage, we see a perfect example of someone being as shrewd as serpents as Jesus told his disciples to be in Matthew 10:16.

Surrounded by a pack of wolves, Paul shrewdly divided those who would attack them. How? By claiming his heritage as a Pharisee.

He told them,

My brothers, I am a Pharisee the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead. (Acts 23:6)

This was completely true. He was on trial because he believed in the resurrection of the dead, namely Jesus.

Of course he didn’t mention the latter part, but by saying what he did, his accusers became divided between those who believed in the resurrection of the dead (the Pharisees) and those who didn’t (the Sadducees).

Not only that, one wonders what later impact he might have had on some of the Pharisees who had initially opposed him. For some were saying,

We find nothing wrong with this man…What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? (Acts 23:9)

The point is, know the people you are talking to.

There are people that may oppose you and be utterly hardened toward the gospel. But by knowing who they are, and how they think, God can give you insight in how to turn the tide in their hearts.

And with some shrewd words, the seed of the gospel may be planted in their hearts.

So remember the words of Jesus.

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.

Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

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Acts

Blinded by our prejudices

Acts

It’s very interesting here to see Paul confronted by two groups that were blinded by their prejudices.

The Jews, were so blinded by their prejudices as God’s people that they couldn’t see that God wanted to reach “Gentile sinners” too.

To them, for any Gentiles to be saved, they had to become just like them, and even then, there were limitations in how much they felt these converts were truly accepted by God.

So when Paul even mentioned the fact that God had sent him to reach the Gentiles, they immediately rejected the idea.

The Romans on the other hand had a very low view of the Jews. And they automatically assumed that no Jew could possibly be a Roman citizen.

As a result, they were ready to flog Paul, even though it was illegal to do so to a Roman citizen without a trial. Even when Paul told the Roman commander he was a citizen, the commander found it hard to believe.

But when the commander finally realized the truth, he was alarmed at what he had done (put Paul in chains) and what he had been about to do (flog Paul).

The point is that we can all get in trouble when we get blinded by our prejudices. We can get in trouble with other people, but more importantly, we can get in trouble with God.

God loves all of us, and he sent Jesus not just for the sins of a certain race, but for the sins of all peoples. He came not just for a certain select among the people of the world, but for all.

And when we become Christians, God makes no distinction at all among his children.

As Paul himself would later say,

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

So let us toss aside our prejudices and see people for who they really are. People created in the image of God, all of whom are loved by him and in need of Christ.

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Acts

Misunderstood

Acts

It’s interesting to me that while Paul was trying to clear up a misunderstanding between the Jewish Christians and himself, he caused another misunderstanding in the process.

Apparently, the Jews, both Christian and non-Christian, were under the impression that Paul taught that if you were a Jew, you should just abandon the law of Moses completely.

Because of this, James and the other church elders suggested he join in on a purification rite along with four other Jewish Christians.

More, they suggested to Paul that he should pay their expenses so that their heads could be shaved as part of a vow they had taken. (They had perhaps taken a Nazirite vow as described in Numbers 6).

Paul assented. Some commentators claim this was a mistake, that Paul should not have compromised in this way.

It’s hard to make a definitive statement on this, but my guess is that he didn’t. That rather, he was becoming as a Jew to save the Jews. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Mistake or not, while it may have helped his standing among the Jewish Christians, he was still accused by the other Jews of not only teaching against the law of Moses, but of defiling the temple by bringing a Gentile into it.

(Paul never did, but they made that assumption based on seeing him hang around with an Ephesian in Jerusalem).

The point is that when you follow Christ and do the things he’s called you to, you are always in a position where you could be misunderstood.

You can be misunderstood by people inside the church, or even outside the church. And regardless of what you say or do to clear up the misunderstandings, some people simply will not understand you.

So what can you do?

Keep following Christ. Keep doing the things you feel he’s asked you to do. That’s really all any of us can do. And leave the judgments up to him.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t take a close look at our own actions. Maybe the criticisms made of us are completely without basis.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s something in those criticisms that we need to take a closer look at.

So take a look at your actions and motives. Then act according to what you feel God is telling you.

But in the end, take the attitude of Paul himself who said,

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.

At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)

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Acts

No matter the cost

Acts

It’s a little tricky trying to interpret this passage. Were the prophesies concerning Paul going to Jerusalem meant merely to warn him of what was ahead of him? Or were they meant to turn him from the course he was headed?

My guess is the former. From the very day he was converted, he was told that he would have to suffer for the name of Jesus in taking the gospel to both Jew and Gentile. (Acts 9:15-16)

It was perhaps because of this, that when the people pleaded that he not go back to Jerusalem, Paul said,

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 21:13)

In other words, he was determined to follow Christ no matter the cost, and nothing and no one would ever dissuade him from doing so.

How about you? God never promised that life would be smooth if we followed him. He never promised that everyone would love us for doing so. In fact, he promised the exact opposite. (John 16:33 and 2 Timothy 3:12 among others).

It’s one thing to know God has said this, however. It’s another to face it head on. Will you?

May God give us the grace and courage to face such situations when they do come.

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Acts

Finishing the race

Acts

There are several things that strike me about Paul’s final address to the Ephesians.

First his words in verse 24. After talking about all the trials he had been warned by the Holy Spirit were coming, he said,

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.

For Paul, that meant the proclamation of the gospel. And that he did to the point where he could say,

Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. (Acts 20:26-27)

But then he encouraged the elders of the Ephesian church to finish their race, to take care of the church God had placed in their care. And so he told them,

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28-31)

If there is one thing that Paul makes clear here, it’s that Satan will try to keep us from finishing the race God has given us.

One way he does this is through attacks from outside the church through persecution. But another way he attacks is from inside the church by bringing in false teaching to lead us astray.

And so Paul warned them to watch out for it. Yet we would do well to be prepared as well.

We need to know that some will hate us because of our faith. And we shouldn’t be surprised if persecution comes, even from those closest to us.

But we also need to know God’s Word so well that we are not deceived when we come across false teaching, whether on TV, in books, or even in our own churches.

It might seem a bit intimidating to know that we have an enemy that wants to take us down. And we might wonder how we can possibly handle it.

But Paul said,

Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

In other words, ultimately it is God and his grace that will keep us in the end. It is his grace that saves us, and his grace that keeps us.

As John wrote,

The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

So let us run the race God has given us knowing that we don’t run it alone or in our own strength. And by God’s grace, we will finish it.

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Acts

Serving man-made gods

Acts

Here in this passage, we see a riot that started because of the worship of man-made gods.

It’s interesting to me, though, that it was the god of money that seemed to be the most important to Demetrius, the silversmith who started the whole uproar.

When speaking out against Paul, he mentioned first the loss of income that he and the other tradepeople would incur if the people started to believe in the one true God.

The loss in “dignity” their goddess Artemis would suffer was almost an afterthought to him.

But because of his worship of these two “gods,” it nearly led to violence and could have caused utter disaster for the city had not the city clerk stepped in to quell the uprising.

Even today, however, the worship of man-made gods continues to cause havoc in the lives of people everywhere.

The love of money has destroyed marriages and relationships, caused scandals in churches and governments, destroyed the lives of many through the sale of drugs and other harmful substances, and caused countless other problems in the world around us.

Worse, the love of money, false idols, and other “gods” turn people from the one true God. And unless the people who serve these gods repent, their souls will be lost for all eternity, separated from Him who is the source of life.

How about you? Are you serving man-made gods or the one true God?

The worship of man-made gods ultimately leads to destruction. Only He who alone is God can give you true life.

Who are you serving?

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Acts

Putting away the past

Acts

Happy New Year!

I suppose as we head into a new year, it’s only natural to think of it as a time to start anew. And the good news of Christianity is that God does give us a new start when we come to him.

That’s what he did for the people in Ephesus. As people came to believe in Christ, they turned away from their sins.

Many who had been involved in sorcery went so far as to burn the scrolls they had used when practicing sorcery, which was worth no small amount of money.

Just as importantly, they did all this publicly so that all would know about their decision.

What can we get from all this? A change in heart should lead to a change in our actions.

If we have truly come to believe in Christ, it should cause us to put aside the things in our lives we know are wrong, even though it may be costly to do so.

Maybe up until now, our business practices have been profitable, but shady. God calls us to put those practices aside.

Or perhaps we’ve been sleeping with our boyfriend or girlfriend. God calls us to start living in sexual purity, even though it may cost us that relationship.

And as we do, we need to be clear to those around us just why we are making these changes.

We do them, not simply because we want to turn over a new leaf, but because of the gratitude in our hearts toward God for all he’s done for us. That through the cross of Christ, he has granted us forgiveness for our sins and a new start in life. A life filled with his love, joy, and peace.

Some may become angry with us for it. Some may mock us and reject us. But some may be touched by the love of Christ through us and find him, as happened in Ephesus.

For because of those believers and the change God worked in their lives,

The word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:20)

How about you? What is God asking you to put aside in your life this new year?

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Acts

Second-hand relationship?

Acts

Jesus told his disciples before he went to the cross that they would do greater things than he did.

You see some of that in this passage where handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul had touched were taken to the sick and they were healed, while those who were demon-possessed were set free.

Apparently, however, there were some men (who were sons of a priest) who fancied themselves as exorcists and attempted to use the name of Jesus “whom Paul preaches,” to cast out demons.

But the demon replied, “Jesus, I know and Paul too. But who are you?” The demon-possessed man then beat and utterly humiliated them.

What can we get from this? When it comes to God, a second-hand relationship means nothing.

It doesn’t matter if everyone in your family is a Christian. It doesn’t matter if you go to church and hang around Christians. If you don’t have a first-hand relationship with God, you have nothing.

Satan and his demons certainly won’t recognize you as God’s child, but even more importantly, neither will God.

When you appear before him on judgment day, you can say, “Don’t you know me? I went to church every Sunday. My dad and mom knew you. So did all my friends.”

But God will say, “I know your parents, and I know your friends, but who are you?” And you will be separated from him for all eternity.

How about you? Do you have a true relationship with God? Do you truly know him?

Or do you only have a second-hand relationship with him?

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Acts

When to move on

Acts

It’s hard to see people we love and care about reject the gospel message. But eventually there comes a time when we simply have to move on and leave them to God.

When does that point come? I think we find the answer in this passage.

As usual, Paul was preaching about Jesus in the synagogue while in Ephesus.

He did this for about three months, but at the end of that time, the people there were “obstinate,” “refused to believe,” and worse, went out of their way to “publicly malign the Way.” (Acts 19:9)

Paul’s response? He moved on to preach to others who would listen.

Sometimes, when we preach the gospel, we get the sense they are open to hearing more. And as long as they are, we should keep sharing with them.

But if we sense they are instead hardening their hearts, or worse, becoming hostile to the gospel, then it’s time to leave them in the hands of God, and move on.

To keep pushing the gospel on them not only does no good, it can become counterproductive. We cannot make people believe. Only the Holy Spirit can.

As Paul wrote, we can plant the seed of the gospel, we can water it, but only God can make it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

So when people are rejecting what we have to say, let us step aside so that He, who alone can change the human heart, can do his work.

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Acts

Going beyond repentance

Acts

In this passage, we see some people that were similar to Apollos, but different.

Like Apollos, they had been disciples of John, but unlike Apollos, they were unaware of the one John had been pointing to.

So while they had been baptized by John, they had probably left him before Jesus’ baptism and John’s declaration of him as Messiah.

In other words, they had repented of their sins, but were not yet following Jesus.

And so Paul taught them about Jesus, after which they believed and were baptized both in water and in the Holy Spirit.

I suppose that if there’s one thing to get from this passage, it’s that it’s not enough to be sorry for your sins and repent. It’s not enough to say that you want to follow God. You also must put your faith in Jesus.

Jesus isn’t one of many ways to God. He is the only way. And if you don’t have him, you have nothing.

How about you? Have you put your faith in Jesus?

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Acts

A teachable heart

It is so easy sometimes to think we know it all. We come to church on Sunday, and hear the message, and as we do, we say, “I knew that.”

This is especially a problem for those who have been in church for a long time. I admit, I have been guilty of that kind of attitude more than once, and I still struggle with it sometimes.

Maybe the things we know are accurate. But that doesn’t mean that we no longer have things to learn.

Apollos was that way. Apparently, he knew about Jesus, and his knowledge was accurate to a point, but it was incomplete. And so Aquilla and Priscilla “explained to him the way of God more adequately.” (Acts 18:26)

I think the important thing was that Apollos was teachable. He didn’t shrug off their teaching, saying, “I already know it all.”

Rather, he drank it all in, and as a result, his ministry became more powerful. I’m also sure that his life became more fruitful as well.

How about you? You may be a mature Christian that knows much about scripture. But do you still have a teachable heart? Are you humble enough to admit you don’t know it all yet?

Only with that kind of heart, will we continue to grow as Christians and bear the fruit that God desires from us.

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Acts

Fulfilling our responsibilities

Acts

One thing that Paul did was he preached the gospel. Wherever he went, he preached to the people that Jesus is the Christ.

Why did he do so? One reason, of course, was that Jesus commanded him to. And it was not a one-time command either. Jesus first gave him that charge when Paul was saved (Acts 9:15), and we see it again here where Jesus told him,

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. (Acts 18:9)

But there was another reason. Paul remembered the words of God to Ezekiel. Namely,

When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:18-19)

That’s why after the Jews rejected his message in Corinth, he told them,

Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. (Acts 18:6)

He would later tell the elders in Ephesus something similar (Acts 20:26-27).

The point is, we have a responsibility to share the gospel to those we know.

We are not responsible for how they react, but we are responsible to tell people the truth. And if we don’t, God will hold us responsible for their blood.

Paul understood this. Do you? Are you taking the gospel to the people God has put in your lives.

As Jesus told Paul, he now tells us:

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. (Acts 18:9)

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Acts

A second Christmas

Acts

Well, Christmas has come and gone here in Japan. I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I did mine.

As I read this passage though, it strikes me that there is still a Christmas we are yet waiting for.

The first Christmas marked Jesus’ first coming. His purpose? To bear our sins on the cross. To take the punishment that we deserved that our sins might be forgiven.

But Paul tells us here that Jesus is coming again. And this time, he will be coming for judgment. Paul said,

For he has set a day when [God] will judge the world with justice by [Jesus whom] he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)

To those who reject him will come condemnation for all eternity. But to those who receive him as Lord, their ultimate salvation from this fallen, broken world will come, and all things will be made new.

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)

The question is, are you ready? There is only one way to be ready. Paul told the Athenians and us,

Now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent. (Acts 17:30)

To repent means to turn around. To stop going your own way and to start going God’s way. To stop putting your trust in yourself, and start putting it in Jesus Christ.

And if you do, you will be ready when “Christmas” truly rolls around again.

Are you ready?

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Acts

Made known, not far

Acts

Merry Christmas from Japan!

This morning I watched my five year old daughter open her presents, and as I think about the expression on her face as she did, I think about the opening words of an old song.

As little children, we would dream of Christmas morn,
And all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find.

But we never realized a baby born one blessed night gave us the greatest gift of our lives. — David Meece

It was the night when the invisible God became visible, the night the unknown God became known and drew near to us.

And that’s one of the things that Paul wanted to let the Athenians know. They had made an altar for “The unknown God.”

And Paul told them, “He is no longer unknown. He has revealed himself to us. He is not one of many gods. He is the one who created this world and everything in it. He is the Lord of all and the giver of life. And he has done everything just as he has planned it.”

Why did God do all this?

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. (Acts 17:27a)

The good news as we seek him?

He is not far from each one of us. (Acts 17:27b)

One of Jesus’ titles is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”

The good news of Christmas is that God drew near to us, and we can now know him, truly know him, and come into a close relationship with him through Jesus Christ.

As John put it,

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (that is, Jesus), who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. (John 1:18)

On that first Christmas day, God drew near to us.

This Christmas, let us draw near to him.

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Acts

Provoked

Acts

It can be easy, sometimes, to get numb to the evil that we see in the world.

Perhaps at first, the things we saw bothered us, but as time passed, we started getting “used to it all.” Now we barely notice it at all.

Paul certainly didn’t have that problem. He walked into Athens and saw a number of idols all over the place. And Luke tells us,

He was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. (Acts 17:16)

The NASB puts it this way,

His spirit was being provoked within him.

The word provoked is used only twice in the New Testament, once here, and second, in of all places, 1 Corinthians 13:5 where Paul writes that love is not easily provoked or angered.

Yet Paul was provoked here. Why? Because people were going to hell because of these idols. Satan had deceived them and was making a mess of their lives.

And so he did something about it. He boldly took the gospel to these people that they might be saved.

How about you? Are you provoked by the evil around you? By the injustice? By people calling what’s evil good? By Satan’s work that causes people to be destroyed every day?

If not, there is something wrong. People inhabited by God’s Spirit cannot just look at evil and yawn. We cannot be indifferent. We need to go out led by God’s Spirit and be light and salt to the world around us.

Jesus said,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (Matthew 5:13-15)

Are you tasteless salt because you’ve become numb to the evil that’s in the world? Are you a hidden light because of your indifference?

Let us be neither. Rather let us be provoked in our spirit to the point that we do something about it.

Let us no longer sit in silence, but go as God’s light in a darkened world.

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Acts

Testing what we hear

Acts

In this day and age, we can get information from just about anywhere. Radio, TV, and especially the internet has made it easy to get news and hear opinions coming from every possible angle.

This is also true concerning our faith. People from pastors to laymen write and speak out their views of God and the Bible, and can attract great followings. But how often do we test what we hear?

Unless we test what we hear, we can easily be swayed by those who really don’t deserve our trust.

We see this with many of the people who lived in Thessalonica and Berea. Many of the enemies of the gospel found it quite easy to stir up the crowds against Paul and his companions.

Why? Because the crowds didn’t test what was said. Instead, they simply believed the lies that were told to them.

But even the people who believed Paul’s message didn’t always test what they heard. Luke compared the believers in Thessalonica and Berea by saying,

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)

Think about this a moment. Paul was one of the greatest of the apostles. And yet Luke, through the Holy Spirit, praised the Bereans for not simply believing what Paul had said, but for checking that what he said matched scripture.

If the Bereans checked out what Paul said, shouldn’t we be doing the same with our pastors? Shouldn’t we be doing the same with the Rick Warrens, Joel Osteens, John Pipers, Joyce Meyers, and Billy and Franklin Grahams of the world?

(I personally have my reservations on two of these names. I’ll leave you to test their teachings with scripture to figure out who. :))

The problem with too many people is that they don’t check out what they hear. They simply believe because someone sounds good or makes them feel good.

The result? They end up by being blown around by every wind of teaching and away from the path God has for us. (Ephesians 4:14)

Let us not be that way. Let us not miss the path God has for us because we fail to test what we hear. Instead, as the apostle Paul says, let us,

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

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Acts

Set free

Acts

If there is one theme in this chapter, it’s being set free.

Lydia and her household were set free from their sin, and perhaps the Jewish requirements of the law as well.

The girl was set free from the demon possessing her.

The jailor was set free from his sins, and perhaps so were many of the other prisoners.

And of course, Paul and Silas were set free from their chains.

All of this, in fact, is summed up in their prison experience. As they were sitting there, probably in great pain because of the beating they had taken, they nevertheless started singing and praising God.

At first, all the other prisoners must have thought they were nuts. But somehow they sensed a reality to what they were hearing. Perhaps they even sensed God’s presence in the prison and started asking Paul and Silas questions.

The jailer, meanwhile, probably just went to bed thinking they were all crazy. But then, an earthquake hit, and when it did,

All the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. (Acts 16:26)

Those words strike me. Because when we let God work in our lives, that’s exactly what happens. Prison doors fly open, and everyone’s chains come loose. Not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those we touch.

God’s love touched the prisoners in the jail cells to the point that none of them tried to escape when Paul asked them to stay. And it touched the jailer to the point that he cried out,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30)

And because of that love and compassion that flowed out of Paul, the jailer and his family were set free from the chains of Satan that had bound them all their lives, and they were all filled with great joy.

God wants to set those around you free. That’s why Jesus came 2000 years ago. So let us spread the love of God to those around us, especially this Christmas. And let us share the message of the gospel that Paul did.

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household. (Acts 16:31)

And people will be set free.

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Acts

When our plans are not God’s plans

Acts

We see a very interesting passage here in which time and again, Paul and his companions try to go to different places, and each time are told no by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, after probably more than a few days and perhaps weeks of frustration, Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia saying,

Come over to Macedonia and help us. (Acts 16:9)

At this, they immediately made plans to leave for Macedonia.

What can we learn from this? It’s so easy for us to go about here and there doing what we think is God’s will, but instead we find obstacle after obstacle and end up in utter frustration.

What’s the problem? Many times we’re not doing God’s will. We’re doing our own will in God’s name.

So what should you do if you’re finding yourself frustrated in ministry? Take a step back. Seek God. Stop saying, “God, please bless what I’m doing.”

Instead, pray, “God show me what you’re doing and how I can join you in your work.”

And as you seek his will, he will make it known to you.

How about you? Are you truly doing God’s will? Or are you simply doing your own will in his name?

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Acts

Becoming all things to all people

Acts

In this passage, we find a very curious thing.

On one hand, Paul was going from city to city to tell the Christians about the council’s decision that the Gentile believers didn’t have to be circumcised.

But then he circumcised one of his traveling companions, a man named Timothy. Why?

I believe that if Timothy had been 100% Greek, that is, a full Gentile, Paul would not have let him be circumcised any more than he allowed another man named Titus to be circumcised. (Galatians 2:3)

As a full Gentile, it’s likely Titus’ main ministry would have been to fellow Gentiles, not Jews.

But Timothy was already a half-Jew who was also trying to reach out to the Jewish community. And unfortunately, there was no way the Jewish community would have accepted him if, being a Jew, he was not circumcised.

And so in order to be an effective witness to them, he allowed himself to be circumcised.

Paul put it this way,

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law…

I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9:20, 22)

What does this mean for us? Do what you can to identify with the people you’re reaching out to. If people can’t identify with you, they will not listen to anything you have to say.

Here in Japan as a missionary, that means learning the language, the culture, and how people think.

But even if you’re reaching out to people in your own country, you need to learn how they think, what they enjoy, and how they live. And do what you can to meet them where they are.

Maybe you’re a really outgoing person that loves huge crowds.

But if the person you’re reaching out to is the type that’s really uncomfortable with a lot of people, it’s not wise to throw them into a huge church event where they have to interact with a lot of people.

Rather, it’s better to spend one on one time with them.

Maybe you’re not so into sports. But if they invite you to watch or play a game with them, join them in their world for a few hours.

In short, for the sake of the gospel, learn to identify with those around you. That’s what Timothy did, and that’s what Paul did.

How about you? Who has God put in your life? And what can you do to identify with them so that some might be saved?

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Acts

Giving people a second chance

Acts

We see in this passage a break in the partnership between Paul and Barnabas. And it came because of a young man named Mark.

Mark had initially joined them on their first missionary journey, but for some reason had decided to go home early.

Why, we don’t know. Perhaps he had been homesick. Maybe he hadn’t been ready to handle the opposition they faced.

Whatever his reasons, Paul apparently felt they weren’t good ones, and he had felt abandoned by Mark.

So when Barnabas suggested taking Mark again on a second missions trip, Paul vehemently nixed the idea. Barnabas got so upset about this, that he parted company from Paul.

Barnabas then went with Mark to do missions work in Cyprus, while Paul went his own way with Silas.

I can totally understand Paul’s feelings. It’s hard to work with someone you can’t trust. But in this case, he forgot the very thing he preached: grace.

Later, he would come to recognize this. Given a second chance, Mark proved himself faithful, to Barnabas, then to Peter, and ultimately to Paul. Some time later, Paul wrote to Timothy, saying,

Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. (2 Timothy 4:11)

Ultimately, when you think about it, there had to be grace on both sides. Paul in forgiving Mark’s past failings, and Mark in forgiving any hard feelings he had had on Paul’s rejection of him.

But they both gave each other second chances and were blessed because of it.

How about you? Has someone let you down? Has someone hurt you?

Just as God has given us second chance after second chance, we need to give others second chances too.

Am I saying that we must put our full faith in them right away after they have failed us? No. But we should give them a chance to earn that trust.

And as they prove themselves worthy of that trust, gradually let go of your reservations, and start believing in them again.

Our Father is the God of second chances. As his children, shouldn’t we be the same?

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Acts

Grace alone

Paul and Barnabas

This was probably the biggest theological debate the early church faced, and it was a critical one.

Paul and Barnabas had been taking the gospel to the Gentiles, but not everyone was happy about the gospel they were preaching. Paul and Barnabas were telling the Gentiles (and Jews),

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)

But not all the Jewish believers, particularly those who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, could fully accept this.

Yes, they believed in the forgiveness of sins through Christ, but they added an additional requirement, that Gentiles be circumcised as Jews and follow all the requirements of the law.

I like how the ESV puts the situation.

Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them. (Acts 15:2)

I can bet there was no small dissension between these men.

And so a great council was held in Jerusalem to discuss the question.

First, Paul and Barnabas talked about all that God had done among the Gentiles. Then the Pharisees stood up and basically said, “That’s all well and good, but they still have to be circumcised and follow all the Jewish laws.”

That set off a round of heated discussion.

I can only imagine the conflict going on in Peter’s heart.

On one hand, he had been born and raised a Jew, following as best as he could the law of Moses. It was still probably hard for him to accept completely God’s message of grace to the Gentiles, and he probably sympathized with these Pharisees.

But it was he who had opened this can of worms in the first place by taking the gospel to Cornelius.

And through these discussions, he probably went through the same war in his mind that he had when God first told him in a vision to kill and eat from the unclean animals and to not call, “unclean” what God had made clean.

But ultimately, it was those words, and the lesson that God shows no distinction between Jew and Gentile (Acts 10:34-35) that swayed Peter.

Finally, he spoke out.

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. (Acts 15:8-11)

That quieted everyone, and lent more impact to Paul and Barnabas’ words when they reiterated their experiences with Gentiles.

Finally, James confirmed everything they had been talking about by quoting from scripture. With that, all objections died.

What can we get from this? Simply this: it is by the grace of God alone that we are saved.

We’re not saved by Christ’s work and our work. We are not saved, as the Mormons would put it, “by grace after we’ve done all we can do.”

Nor are we saved by grace plus all we can do.

We are accepted by God because of Christ’s work alone.

Like Peter, though, we often struggle with this idea. And because of it, we find ourselves struggling with God’s acceptance of us because we’re not “good enough.”

Or worse, we start looking down on others because they’re not “good enough.”

The truth is that none of us are worthy of salvation.

That is in fact the whole point of grace. That though none of us are worthy, through the blood Christ shed on the cross, we are made right with God.

We don’t have to worry about making ourselves worthy before God. We are already acceptable in his eyes.

Do you believe that? Do you really believe God accepts you?

Never forget the words of Paul who said,

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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Acts

Through many hardships

Acts

One thing you could say about Paul and Barnabas’ missionary journey: it certainly wasn’t boring.

As well as having much success, they also went through many trials, even to the point of Paul getting stoned and left for dead. It would have been easy to get discouraged and give up.

But not only did they not get discouraged, they returned to the places where they had been persecuted.

Why return? To strengthen the believers there and to encourage them to remain true to the faith. What did they say to encourage them?

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather hear about the blessings of God.

But Paul knew that these new converts would go through some tough times. If the people in those cities persecuted Paul, they were sure to do so to these new converts. And so Paul didn’t sugarcoat his words. They would go through hardship.

What was the good news then? They wouldn’t have to go through the hardships alone. God himself would be with them, just as he had been with Paul and Barnabas through their hardships.

And so just as Paul and Barnabas had been committed to the grace of God when they had been sent out from Antioch for this journey, they now committed these new converts to the Lord.

They knew that God’s grace would carry these believers through whatever hardships they might go through. (Acts 14:23)

In the same way, no matter what trials or hardships you may go through, God will always be with you, and his grace will ultimately bring you through to the other side.

The same God that was with Paul and Barnabas is with you now. So whatever you’re going through, don’t give up. And don’t get discouraged.

As the old hymn goes,

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

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Acts

Only men

Pedestal

As I read this passage, I think of the number of high profile pastors that have fallen over the years. People that were put on a pedestal only to be knocked down. And with their fall, everyone was reminded that they were only men.

Yet it is so easy to put people on that pedestal. Perhaps because God is intangible, we like to put people up that we can see as our examples, as the ones we admire and follow. But they are only men (or women).

That’s something we all need to remember, both leaders and those who follow.

It was something that Paul certainly kept in mind.

When he and Barnabas went to Lystra, they healed a man in Jesus’ name. And when the crowd saw this, they immediately wanted to worship them as gods.

The reason was that in their mythology, Zeus and Hermes had come to earth posing as humans once before. Most of the people had ill-treated them and were punished, while the one couple that had welcomed them was rewarded.

Determined not to repeat that mistake, the people tried to offer sacrifices to them. But Paul and Barnabas cried out,

Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.

We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God… (Acts 14:15)

Yet despite their words of protestation, they still had trouble stopping the people from sacrificing to them.

Paul faced a similar problem in Corinth, where people in the church this time were arguing about which leader was the greatest. But Paul asked them,

Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:13)

And again,

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)

It is always dangerous to put even the godliest of men or women on a pedestal.

They are only human.

And humans fail.

Humans let us down.

And if our faith is in them, rather than God, they will ultimately let us down. And then where will we be?

Paul warns us,

Each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

What foundation are you laying your faith on? On your pastor? On your favorite author or speaker? Or on Jesus Christ?

Always remember that it is only Jesus who is a sure foundation. And the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame or be dismayed. (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6)

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Acts

Opposition

Acts

If there is one word that comes to mind as I read this passage, it’s “opposition.”

As Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel, they faced opposition from Elymas and the Jews.

One was spiritual opposition. The other was opposition that sprang up from human jealousy and sin. (Although you could argue that all opposition to the gospel is ultimately spiritual.)

How did Paul and Barnabas respond? When the direct hand of Satan was involved, they confronted it by the power of the Holy Spirit, as they did when dealing with Elymas.

One thing we cannot do is face spiritual powers on our own. They are more powerful than us. But as John wrote,

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

And by the power of the Spirit, Paul and Barnabas vanquished Elymas, and Sergius Paulus and his family were saved.

When confronted by humans in their jealousy and pride, Paul and Barnabas continued to stand boldly and preach the gospel.

And when the people hardened their hearts, Paul and Barnabas moved on. First to the Gentiles in the city, and then, ultimately leaving the city to minister to others.

In the same way, we will face people who will oppose us for their own selfish reasons. And we will face others that simply will not believe no matter what we say.

Eventually, the time will come when all we can do is to leave them over to God and his judgment. We cannot make them believe. All we can do is to preach the gospel. The rest is up to them and God.

So when people reject the message, don’t get discouraged. Simply move on, and continue speaking boldly.

All of us will eventually face opposition. But when you do, remember the words of Paul himself, who said,

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

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Acts

Set apart for God’s work

Acts

I remember the first time I ever considered being a missionary. I was talking with a friend, and somehow we got on the topic of missions. And I remember telling him, “I don’t think I’m called to be a missionary.”

My friend, responded, “How do you know? Did you ask him?”

“Well….no.”

That night (or the next, I can’t remember), I was talking with God and recalled my conversation with my friend.

“Tony was saying I should ask you about being a missionary.”

At that point, a thought popped into my mind. I know it wasn’t from me because there is no way I would have ever thought it.

God told me, “Yeah, ask me.”

I immediately replied, “I don’t want to ask you. What if you say yes?”

I then got into this long argument with God, the kind where he lets you talk and just kind of sits there in silence until you talk yourself out.

When I finally saw how fruitless it was to argue, I said, “Okay, Lord. Do you want me to go?”

I didn’t get an answer that night, but it was the starting point of my journey to Japan.

Two or three years later, I was seeking God’s direction for my life, and another friend encouraged me to make sure I had given everything up to God. That I had not taken anything back from him.

As I was driving home that night, God spoke again. “Bruce, you’ve taken Japan back from me.”

It was something I had not realized. I had gone to Japan on a short term mission, but when it was over, I didn’t think it was for me. And though it was not a conscious choice, I had taken it back from God.

So once again, I surrendered my will to his. I have now been in Japan for about 20 years.

Why do I mention all this?

It seems all so similar to what happened in this passage. Christians seeking God, and God saying, “Go. I’m setting you apart for my purposes. Go.”

It’s in this passage, by the way, that you see the clear personality of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit himself who tells them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

And after more prayer and fasting, they went.

I’m still wondering about all the reasons God sent me here. I don’t think I’ve nearly accomplished all that God brought me here for. And so as I write this, I’m thinking I need to be seeking God on this once again. Why am I here?

But God has not just called me, or pastors, or missionaries. He has called you as well. He has set you apart for his purposes.

Do you know what those purposes are? And are you doing the things he is asking you to do?

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Acts

A pride that leads to destruction

Acts

Solomon wrote,

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

We see this in the life of Herod Agrippa I.

To be clear, this is a different person from Herod Antipas who had been involved with John the Baptist and Jesus in the gospels.

Herod Agrippa was the grandson of King Herod, who had attempted to kill Jesus as a baby. And he was just as bloodthirsty as his grandfather was.

He was responsible for the death of James, and would have killed Peter had God not delivered him. And for Peter’s escape, Herod killed the men who had been guarding him.

Herod was a powerful man…and very proud. He had exerted his power to the point that the cities of Tyre and Sidon, two cities that had been in dispute with him, had humbled themselves and sought to make peace with him.

And as he sat before them, they shouted out,

This is the voice of a god, not of a man. (Acts 12:22)

Herod accepted this praise, and because of it, an angel struck him, and shortly thereafter, he died.

If there is one thing that God hates, it’s pride, because pride places a wall between us and him. We start to think we can live without God and that we don’t need him.

Our pride also puts a barrier between us and others. How often, because of our pride, do we destroy our relationships, our friendships, our marriages, and our families?

And as with Herod, pride will ultimately lead to our destruction if we refuse to repent.

If we in our pride say, “I don’t need you God,” God will eventually give us what we want: life for all eternity without him.

But when we get it, we’ll find out that we’re cut off from life, love, joy, and peace. Because all of these things find their source in God. That’s what Herod found out.

How about you? Is your pride standing between you and your friends, your spouse, the people at work, or the people at church? Even worse, is it standing between you and God?

As Peter wrote,

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:5-6)

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Acts

God’s response to prayer, our response to him

Acts

This is a very interesting story on many levels. The most amusing part of it is Peter showing up at the door after being released from prison, and Rhoda the servant girl being so excited that she left him at the door to tell the others.

But as I look at this story, I can’t help but ask one question.

Why did God save Peter, but not James?

Answer: we don’t know.

You have to believe that the believers prayed for James at least as much as they did for Peter.

And you can’t say that it was a matter of having enough or not having enough faith when they prayed, because they clearly didn’t believe Peter would be set free despite their prayers.

Had they really believed Peter would have been set free, they would have immediately run to the door to let Peter in. Instead, they wasted time debating Rhoda’s sanity.

You can’t really blame them for their lack of faith. After all, their prayers for James seemed to have been in vain. And they had probably had more faith praying for James than they had praying for Peter because of God’s deliverance of the apostles in Acts 5.

Yet God delivered Peter and not James.

What can we get from this?

First, God will not always grant us our prayers no matter how much faith we have. Sometimes, what we desire is simply not his will. For his own purposes, he tells us no.

The question then becomes, “How do we respond to his nos?”

Will we keep trusting him though we are disappointed? Will we keep believing that his way is best? And will we keep praying despite our disappointment?

That’s what the believers did in this passage. Despite their disappointment, they didn’t give up on God. They didn’t get bitter.

Instead, when another problem came, they immediately went to God again. And despite their lack of faith, God in his grace answered and delivered Peter.

That brings up the second point. God is not limited by our faith or lack of faith for a certain request.

Certainly, he prefers the former to the latter. But he is not limited by it. Because he is a God of grace, giving to us what we don’t deserve.

The key though, is that we continue coming to him, believing that he is good, and that he will do what is best.

And though God will not always give us what we want, he will always bless that kind of faith. Because it is that kind of faith that pleases him.

As the writer of Hebrews said,

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

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Acts

Filled with the Spirit and full of faith

Acts

Barnabas was a remarkable man. We saw him first in Acts 4 where he sold his land and gave the proceeds to the church so that they could help the needy.

We saw him again in Acts 9, when he brought Saul before the skeptical and fearful apostles, and vouched for Saul before them.

Now we see him again, reaching out to the Gentiles. When the Christians finally started reaching out to the Gentiles and saw fruit, the apostles sent Barnabas to them, and it says,

When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. (Acts 11:23)

He then reached out to Saul, and asked him to join him in ministering to the believers in Antioch (where we first hear the name “Christian” being used).

And when a prophesy was made that a famine would hit Jerusalem, Barnabas and Saul took the gifts that were collected in Antioch and brought them back to Jerusalem.

The verse that strikes me, however, is verse 24.

[Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. (Acts 11:24a)

That’s the kind of man I want to be. A good man.

Barnabas was actually this man’s nickname. His real name was Joseph, but he was so beloved, he was called, “The Son of Encouragement,” by those who knew him.

Why was he this way? He was full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

He was a man so filled with the Spirit, that fruit burst out from his life.

Love poured out from him, causing him to see the best in people, to believe in people that others wouldn’t, to give generously of his time and money, and to speak words that encouraged all who heard.

His faith went far beyond just simple belief. It permeated every aspect of his life. And people noticed. Because of this,

A great number of people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:24b)

That’s what I want. To be so filled with the Spirit and faith, that people can’t help but notice and be attracted to our Lord.

For some people, faith is simply a personal thing, something to be kept private. And for others, the filling of the Spirit is again, mostly for their own personal benefit. A way to feel blessed.

But when we are filled with the Spirit and with faith, it changes us. It changes the way we think. It changes the way we live. It flows out of our lives and it touches other people, causing them to become interested in God.

How about you? Are you filled with the Spirit and with faith?

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Acts

Opposing God

Acts

When Peter came back from Cornelius’ house, he returned to an uproar in Jerusalem.

Rumors had spread about how Peter, a leader of the church, had actually welcomed Gentiles into his house and then went to visit one of them. Not only a Gentile, but a Roman centurion.

And so as soon as Peter entered, they converged on him and accused him, saying,

You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them. (Acts 11:3)

To these men, what Peter had done was utterly scandalous. He had, with full knowledge, made himself “unclean” by associating with these men.

And so Peter related to them all that had happened: his vision, Cornelius’ encounter with the angel, and finally the Spirit falling on Cornelius and all who had been with him.

Peter concluded,

So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? (Acts 11:17)

Who was I to think that I could oppose God?

I like the ESV translation here.

Who was I that I could stand in God’s way?

How often do we stand in the way of what God is doing?

Because of our prejudices?

Because it’s something new that we’ve never seen before?

Because it goes against everything we were taught to believe?

Because of our own hardness of heart?

Because of our pride?

One of the hardest things for people to admit is, “I could be wrong.”

Another hard thing for people to admit is, “God could be using them too.”

And if we refuse to humble ourselves, we could find ourselves fighting against God.

Ultimately, we need to do what the apostle Paul commanded us to do.

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

Of course we should test new things to see if they are from God. But we should also test our hearts. Test our beliefs. Test our pride.

That’s what the Jews in Jerusalem had to do. Their conclusion?

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18)

And they no longer stood in God’s way, but joined in with his work. (Acts 11:19-26)

How about you? Are you standing in his way? Or are you rejoicing in what he’s doing and joining in with his work?

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Acts

Breaking through the barriers

Acts

God had to break through some pretty great barriers to get the gospel to the Gentiles. Ironically, one primary barrier that he had to break through was one he had pounded into the Jews’ minds, the idea of clean and unclean.

If you look at the book of Leviticus, this is an idea that is repeated time and again. “Don’t do this. It’ll make you unclean. But if you do this, you’ll become clean again.”

Or, “Don’t eat this. It’s unclean. But this other food is okay. It is clean to you.”

What was the whole purpose of these laws? It was to imprint in the minds of the Jews the need to be holy as God is holy.

The problem was, the Christians failed to recognize that these (and other such Mosaic laws) were mere pictures of their relationship with God, and that with the coming of Jesus, these pictures were fulfilled.

And so throughout the early church, you see this battle between those who contended that these ritualistic laws (as opposed to moral laws) were no longer relevant, and those who contended that they were.

At this point, Peter and the rest of the Jews were squarely in the realm of the latter.

But with one fell swoop, God knocked it all down. He gave Peter a vision in which he presented a number of “unclean” animals, and told Peter to kill and eat them.

Peter was appalled. Perhaps he thought God was simply testing his faithfulness. So he said,

Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. (Acts 10:14)

But God’s rebuke was sharp.

Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. (Acts 10:15)

And to make the point crystal clear, he repeated the vision two more times.

At that point, Cornelius’ men came, and God told him,

Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them. (Acts 10:19-20)

Prior to the vision, there is no way Peter would have gone to them. To enter the house of a Gentile and fellowship with him would have made Peter, “unclean.” But with the vision still fresh in his mind, he went.

And when Peter heard the story of Cornelius, and saw the Spirit fall upon Cornelius, his family, and his friends, the church was changed forever.

So what do we get from this? I think the main thing is what Peter told Cornelius.

God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. (Acts 10:28)

Nowadays, we don’t have the problem of whether to follow Jewish laws and rituals or not. But how do we look upon the people around us?

Do we see certain people as beneath us? As unworthy of salvation? Do we loathe to even hang around them because of their race or social status?

Or perhaps we think they’re beyond salvation because of how badly they’ve treated us or how badly they’ve hurt us.

Jesus died for us all, including them. And we have no right to call them “impure” or “unclean.”

Yes, like Cornelius, they are stained with sin. But Jesus can take anyone and make them clean. And like Peter, we may just be surprised that the same Spirit that fills us can fill them if we will only take the gospel to them.

What barriers of prejudice or bitterness have you set in your minds against the people around you?

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Acts

Those who have not heard

Acts

One of the big conundrums Christians come up against when saying Jesus is the only way to heaven is the question, “What about those who have never even heard about Jesus? Will they go to hell too?”

And because of this question, many people start to wonder if perhaps there is another way. Everything we read in scripture, however, clearly states there is no other way. And we see it in this story as well.

Here was another man who, like the Ethiopian eunuch in chapter 8, was a God-fearer. He gave alms to the poor, and prayed continually to the one true God.

The problem was that while he had no doubt heard about Jesus, he nevertheless didn’t know the way of salvation that comes through Jesus.

So God sent an angel to him. Cornelius, understandably, was terrified. “Why has this being come to me? Has he come to kill me for my sins?”

But the angel said,

Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Therefore, I have come to tell you that salvation is yours. Peace to you. Rest in your salvation.

Is that what he said? If you believe the people who say that there is another way to salvation for those who have never heard the gospel, it sounds right.

But that’s not what the angel said. Instead, after talking about how God accepted Cornelius’ prayers and gifts, he said,

Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. (Acts 10:5-6)

Why did the angel tell Cornelius to do this? So that he could hear the gospel and be saved. Hearing the angel’s command, Cornelius obeyed, and sent men to bring Peter to his house.

Peter, when he came and heard Cornelius’ story, exclaimed,

I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. (Acts 10:34-35)

In other words, “God is fair. God accepts anyone who fears him, no matter what nation he is from.”

Peter then said, “God bless you,” and went on his way.

No?

No!

He preached the gospel to them. They believed and were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

What can we get from this?

First, there is only one way to heaven. By hearing the gospel and believing it. Everything in this story makes that crystal clear.

What about those who have never heard? I believe that if they respond to what God has given them, God will respond to them.

Cornelius responded to what he had heard from the Jews about God. So did the Ethiopian.

And I believe if there is someone out there in an unreached country, that sees creation, realizes that there’s a creator, and cries out, “God reveal yourself to me,” he will. Because God is fair. And he is faithful.

How will he reveal himself? Either by direct revelation, by sending someone, or both. In this chapter, we see both.

I was reading in a missions newsletter of just such a man. He had known there was a “Most High God,” but didn’t know who he was. Every day for 20 years, he prayed, “God, send somebody to me to explain who You are.”

And when the missionary came, the man immediately believed.

God is just. No one who truly seeks him will die without hearing the gospel. But let us not fool ourselves into thinking there is another way. There isn’t.

So let us obey our Lord’s command, taking his gospel to the utter ends of the earth that all may hear and believe.

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Acts

The God who heals and raises the dead

Acts

In Acts 9:32-43, we see two powerful stories. The thing that struck me the most were Peter’s words to Aeneas and Dorcas (Tabitha).

To Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, and who had probably lost all hope of ever getting up again, Peter said,

Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat. (Acts 9:34)

Instantly, the man was healed, and got up.

To Dorcas, who had died, he said,

Tabitha, get up. (Acts 9:40)

Her eyes opened, her life fully restored.

Simple words. But they are words people need to hear even today.

Jesus Christ heals you.

Certainly there is physical healing that can happen even today. But so many people are in need of healing in so many other ways as well. Hurts from their past. Hurts from their present. Emotional hurts. Spiritual hurts.

And people around us need to hear us say, “Jesus Christ heals you.”

Because the same Jesus that healed Aeneas on that day, can heal people now.

Get up. Rise from the dead.

People today look at their lives and they see dead hopes. Dead marriages. A dead future.

And they need to hear from us that Jesus can restore what is dead. That there is hope for their marriages, hope for their futures, hope for their lives.

We need to tell them, “Get up. God can give you life again if you’ll just turn to him.”

These are the messages people need to hear. Let’s take them out to a world in desperate need of Him.

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Acts

Believing in people

Acts

Again, as I look at this passage, I try to imagine the reaction the believers had toward Saul when he first came to Jerusalem.

What was their first interaction with him? The last time they had seen him publicly, he had been giving his approval to the death of Stephen.

Did he try to see them privately first? Or did he see the apostles worshiping at the temple one day and say “Shalom. Hey, I’m one of you now.”

I think of Raul Ries who’s the pastor of a large church in California. He had been a very violent man before he found Christ, and had abused his wife to the point where she was about to leave him.

When he came home one day and found his wife’s bags packed (she had gone to church), he was ready to kill her and his kids.

But God intervened through, of all things, a TV program in which he saw Pastor Chuck Smith talking about the love of Christ. And upon hearing it, he fell to his knees and received Christ. He then went looking for his wife to tell her the news.

He couldn’t find her, but when he returned home, he found the door locked and heard his wife weeping. (He had trashed the house while he had been waiting for her).

He knocked on the door, and after latching it, she opened it and asked, “What do you want?”

He told her, “I’m born again.”

Her response?

She slammed the door on him.

Eventually she let him in, and after a year or two of watching him, and the change she saw God doing in his life, she came to fully believe in him.

That was the response of the apostles to Saul. When Saul told them, “I’m born again,” they slammed the door on him.

I can totally understand their reaction.

But just as Ries’ wife chose to open the door to him, so Barnabas did to Saul.

He had probably had the benefit of either actually seeing Saul in Damascus or talking to the brothers who had been there. And because of that, he stood with Saul, and told the apostles, “I believe in him. He really has changed.”

It probably took time for the apostles to fully accept him. But as they watched him, and saw the work God was doing in his life, they came to totally believe in him too.

What’s my point? Even the worst people can change when they come to Christ. And we need to give them that chance.

There may be people who have hurt you. But then they come to Christ, and say they have changed. Yet despite this, we keep them at a distance, refusing to believe that they have really changed. I can understand that reaction.

But like Barnabas, we need to give people a chance. I’m not saying that we need to fully open the door of our hearts to them right away.

If they have a track record of hurting us in the past, then I think it’s only prudent to keep your guard up, at least to an extent. But give them a chance. And watch them.

If you see God working in their lives, then gradually start opening the door of your heart to them.

After all, God has given you grace and many second chances. As his children, it’s only right that we extend that to others as well.

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Acts

When Christ changes your life

Acts

As I read this passage, I tried to imagine what was going on in the minds of those in Damascus.

After Saul’s conversion, he marched into the synagogue, and was probably asked to speak by those in charge. They probably expected that he would say something to denounce the Christians. After all, the whole reason he had come to Damascus was to arrest them.

Imagine the shock the synagogue leaders received when Saul started preaching that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

What things rolled through their minds?

At first, they probably were just stunned, unable to take in what Saul was saying.

Then maybe they thought to themselves, “Could it be that Saul is just trying to set a trap for the Christians here by pretending to be one? He surely can’t believe all that he is saying?”

Maybe with that in mind, they debated with him and questioned him, expecting him to give a weak defense for Christianity. But instead, they found themselves being utterly defeated in their arguments.

And as day after day passed, they realized, “Saul really believes what he is saying!”

The result? They tried to kill him.

What can we learn from this? Not everyone we know and love will be pleased when we start to follow Christ.

Maybe at first, they’ll be too shocked at the transformation to say anything. Then maybe they’ll think it’s just a phase that will pass. But as they realize we are serious about our relationship with Christ, some may become hostile.

I’m not saying all will become this way. Hopefully, none will. But some may, including those among your family and friends. And it can be painful.

But Jesus did warn us,

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (John 15:18-21)

Jesus never promised that all would love us for following him. What he did promise was that he would love us and would always be with us. (John 14:21, 23)

Not only that, through Christ, we receive new brothers and sisters that will love us and support us when others turn away from us.

So don’t get discouraged. Rather,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

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Acts

Chosen…to go

Acts

I said yesterday there were two stories in Acts that shows both the election of God, man’s choice, and our need to go and spread the gospel.

Looking at today’s story, I think I should make that three stories. (The third is that of Cornelius in chapter 10).

Here is Saul, a Pharisee, totally hardened to Christ, and determined to wipe all Christians off the face of the earth. And had God simply let him be, he would have gone straight to hell.

But then God intervened. Why? Because he chose to save him. We see this in God’s conversation with Ananias.

When God told Ananias to go and help Saul, Ananias basically said, “God, are you serious? Don’t you know this guy is trying to kill us?”

God’s answer?

Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)

I alluded to this yesterday, but God’s answer here again blows up the argument of, “If God has determined that certain people be saved, then we don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to go and evangelize others. God’s already chosen those who will be saved.”

Can you imagine Ananias using that type of reasoning with God?

“Well God, if you’ve already chosen him, there’s no reason for me to go.”

How would that line of reasoning flown with God? Not very well I suspect.

Why? Because God commanded Ananias to go. And he has commanded us to go as well.

Certainly, God could save people without our help. But for the most part, he has chosen to effect his salvation through us. He has put the keys of the kingdom in our hands. And if we don’t go, those gates will remain locked to those who don’t know him.

Note that particularly in this story and in the story of Cornelius, while Jesus appeared directly to Saul, and an angel appeared directly to Cornelius, still God required that his people go and talk to them.

He requires the same of us.

Ananias was chosen by God and told to go.

Phillip in chapter 8 was also chosen and told to go.

And we see here in this chapter that God called Saul also that he might go and preach the gospel to both Jew and Gentile.

You were chosen to go as well.

I heard someone say something once that I’ve already remembered. He asked, “What are the first two letters of the word ‘God?'”

Then he asked, “What are the first three letters of the word ‘Satan?'”

What will you do?

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Acts

Unless we go

Acts

This is one of two stories in the book of Acts where we see the election of God, the choice of man, and our need to go as God’s witnesses all interacting with each other.

Many people wonder about the first two in particular. How can God choose people to be his own, and yet be held accountable for accepting or rejecting him?

And for some, they wonder why we even need to go to the lost and share the gospel if God has already elected them?

I don’t have all the answers, but that all are true is made clear in this passage.

Here we see an Ethiopian eunuch who had a high position in his queen’s court. Yet, somehow, he had heard about the God of Israel, and had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

Note here that though he was a God-fearer, God did not simply say, “Well, he doesn’t know about Jesus, but that’s okay. That he fears me and is trying to serve me is enough.”

Instead, he sent an angel to Phillip and told him to go out to where this man would be. And when Phillip saw him, the Spirit whispered to him, “Go up to him.”

Phillip did and heard this man reading from Isaiah 53, a chapter that specifically prophesies about Jesus. And Phillip asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The man’s answer is very striking.

How can I…unless someone explains it to me? (Acts 8:31)

Reading that brings to mind Paul’s question to the Romans.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)

The answer: They can’t. The eunuch certainly couldn’t. And so he invited Phillip to join him on his chariot.

Phillip explained the gospel, and upon hearing it, the eunuch believed and was baptized. He then took the gospel back to his own country, and Christians in Ethiopia today trace their roots back to this man.

Several points to be made.

First, before a person can be saved, they must hear the gospel and believe. If it was possible for a person to simply be a God-fearer and go to heaven without the gospel, God would not have gone out of his way to send Phillip to this Ethiopian.

Paul, in the same passage in Romans I mentioned above, asks,

And how can they preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:15)

The answer again is that they can’t. But God does send us out to go and preach the gospel that people might believe, just as he sent Phillip to go to the eunuch.

Second, God clearly chose this man to be saved. This man was on the way to hell with no way of hearing the gospel. God intervened so that he could hear the gospel. Without that intervention, this eunuch would never have been saved.

Third, this man still had to make the choice to believe in order to be saved. He did, and was saved.

How do these all intertwine philosophically? I don’t know. But somehow in the mind of God it all makes sense. And that’s good enough for me.

The main point: Go.

There are so many people like this Ethiopian who are headed for hell. There are so many people like this Ethiopian who need to hear about Christ. And just like God called Phillip to go, he calls you to go as well.

Let us remember the words of our Lord, who commanded us,

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20)

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Acts

A gift

Acts

One of the things that people have a hard time understanding about Christianity is that all that we have is a gift from God. All that we have, and our very lives are gifts from God.

And of course, salvation is the greatest gift of all, as God saves us from our sin and comes to dwell within us through the Holy Spirit.

When we truly understand the grace that we have received from God, it changes our whole view of life as we start to understand his love for us and how much we truly are blessed no matter our circumstances.

In this story, Simon the Sorcerer never grasped this. Before Phillip came, he had everything he could have wanted, power and fame.

His powers, if real, were most certainly not from God, but because of them, he boasted that he was someone great and people believed him.

Then came Phillip, an ordinary man except for one thing. He was filled with the Spirit of God.

And apparently the signs and wonders he performed far outstripped anything that Simon could do. As a result, the people turned from Simon, listened to Phillip, and eventually turned to the Lord.

It’s hard to say whether Simon’s conversion was genuine or not. It’s possible that it was, but his later actions seem to indicate otherwise.

Whether it was genuine or not, it’s clear that he did not truly understand the concept of grace. That it is a gift received and cannot be paid for or earned.

And so when Simon saw the people receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit when Peter and John laid hands on them, he wanted the ability to bestow the Spirit on others and offered to pay Peter and John for it.

But Peter said,

May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. (Acts 8:20-23)

What happens when we fail to understand the grace of God?

We think of ourselves too highly.

We think that somehow we deserve the things that God has given us. And when we don’t have the same things that others have, we become jealous and bitter.

Simon was certainly that way. Before Phillip came, he was a somebody. But now with Phillip, Peter, and John there, he was a nobody. And he wanted to be a somebody again.

He was bitter at his loss of stature and jealous of what Phillip, Peter, and John had. And that’s why he tried to buy the gift of God. Not for God’s glory, but for his own.

But while some of us may think of ourselves too highly, others of us have the reverse problem.

We think of ourselves too lowly.

We think that we are so bad, even God cannot save us. Or we think we are so unworthy, that God would never think to give us any good gifts.

If Simon was an actual believer, it’s possible that he swung from one end of the pendulum to the other. That after Peter’s harsh rebuke, he felt his unworthiness to the point where he felt he couldn’t even approach God to ask for forgiveness. Instead, he asked Peter to pray for him.

But the writer of Hebrews tells us,

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

None of us deserves God’s grace. So let us not take pride in what we have received nor be jealous of what God has graciously given others.

On the other hand, let us also remember that God delights in giving good gifts to those who are his children, though none of us are worthy to receive anything from him.

That’s what grace is all about.

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Acts

Spreading the joy

Acts

Well, Christmas season is upon us. It is officially December 1st here in Japan, and my 5 year old daughter and I put up our Christmas tree and all the Christmas decorations yesterday.

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but this is truly my favorite time of the year.

In this passage, we see the church going out and spreading the joy of Christ to the areas beyond Jerusalem. But it wasn’t without a push.

With the death of Stephen, persecution swept the Christian community in Jerusalem under a Pharisee named Saul.

The ironic thing is that he hoped to squash Christianity, but not only did he unintentionally cause its initial spread by persecuting the church, he would eventually be responsible for its spread throughout the known world as a minister of the gospel.

I wonder, though, if such persecution would have come to such an extent if the apostles had done what they were supposed to do.

Jesus told them,

Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)

Then just before his ascension, he told them,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

And yet though the Spirit had come upon them, they all stayed in Jerusalem.

Had they all left Jerusalem to do what Jesus had commanded, would the church still have been persecuted with all the main leaders out of sight of Jerusalem?

Perhaps, but it’s possible that a lot of the trouble they suffered would have been avoided.

Even after persecution struck the church, the apostles still refused to leave. Why? I don’t know.

Maybe they felt they needed to show their courage to the rest of the church. But in doing so, they continued in disobedience to the Lord’s command.

But others did go out.

One of the deacons, Phillip, went to Samaria, a place where Jesus had visited before, but which was despised by the Jews. But Phillip followed in the footsteps of his Lord, not only by preaching the gospel there, but by performing miracles as well.

The result?

There was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:8)

It can be so easy to become self-centered at Christmas. To focus on ourselves and the things we want.

But let us remember that Jesus doesn’t want us to focus simply on our own joy. He wants us to take the joy we have received and to spread it to the people around us.

So many people are hurting and are in need of Christ.

So let us seek to be filled with his Spirit. And then let us go out, praying that he will use us to touch and change every person we meet.

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Acts

A pattern of rejection

Acts

In this passage, we see the church’s first martyr, Stephen. Stephen was one of the seven deacons that had been chosen by the apostles in the first part of chapter 6.

But in preaching the Word of Christ, he came into conflict with the Jewish leaders, and he was hauled before the Sanhedrin, with false witnesses testifying against him.

When asked to give his defense, Stephen went into a detailed account of Israel’s history. His main point? That the Jews, time and again, rejected those God had sent to save them.

They did it with Joseph, sending him to Egypt as a slave, only to have Joseph save their lives later from the famine that had struck their land.

They did it with Moses, not only rejecting him before his encounter with God at the bush, but after he had led them out of Egypt.

This pattern continued even after they entered the land God had promised them as they rejected the words of the prophets and worshiped false idols.

And now, they had rejected the Christ himself. And still they claimed they were God’s people because they worshiped in his temple. But as Stephen said,

The Most High does not live in houses made by men.

As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.’

What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things? (Acts 7:48-50)

In other words, “The temple means nothing if you have rejected and murdered the one God sent to save you!”

The Sanhedrin’s response? They continued in the pattern of their fathers. They murdered a man sent to warn them to repent.

How about you? What kind of pattern do you have in your life?

You may be religious. You may go to church every week and do a lot of good things. But if you reject Jesus as Lord and Savior and reject those who share the gospel with you, all your religious acts mean nothing to God.

Instead, you will find yourself condemned along with all the others throughout history who have rejected Jesus and those whom Jesus has sent to warn them.

There is only one way of salvation, and that’s through Christ. Won’t you receive him today?

Father, I have sinned. All my life, I have lived my own way and rejected the One you sent to save me. Jesus thank you for dying on the cross to take the punishment for all the wrong things I have done.

Now I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with your Spirit, and teach me how to follow you each day. In your name I pray. Amen.

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Acts

What pastors and leaders cannot do

Acts

The early church was not without its growing pains. And we see an example of it here.

Among the things the church did was provide for the needs of the poor among them. But as the church grew, the responsibilities for this ministry grew exponentially.

At first, the apostles took care of the collecting and dispersing of the money. We see this when Barnabas and Ananias came before Peter and the apostles to present the money they had received from selling their land.

But now, with the great number of believers within the church, balls were starting to get dropped.

Not only that, a racial divide started to develop between the Hebraic Jews and Grecian Jews, with the needs of the Grecian widows being neglected in favor of the Hebraic widows.

How could this happen? I don’t know. I don’t believe the apostles were purposefully racist. But with too many other things to attend to, they definitely dropped the ball on this.

Their solution? They said,

It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:2-4)

Upon doing so, the Word of God spread, and the church continued its rapid growth.

What can we get from this? One major thing.

There is one thing that our pastors and leaders cannot do: everything.

Yet so often, we leave ministry to the “professionals.”

The truth is, all of us are part of the body of Christ. We all need to do our part. But to do our part, we all need to be filled with God’s Spirit.

Too many people in the church complain when balls get dropped in the church and they criticize the leaders for it.

But are we daily being filled with God’s Spirit, and doing our part to take the burden off of them so that they can do the things that God has specifically called them to do?

Are we helping them to avoid getting distracted by the things that would detract from their calling?

I suppose the question from the pastors’ side is what do they feel their main calling is as a pastor? What is God calling them to do within the church? And what things do they need to let go of so that they can focus on that calling?

Just as importantly, are they raising up Spirit-filled people who can take on the other responsibilities of the church?

Pastors and leaders can’t do everything. And if we can learn that, from the pastor down to the newest member in the church, God’s church can grow.

But if we don’t, we will face definite limits going forward in trying to extend God’s kingdom.

How about you? Are you doing your part?

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Acts

Unstoppable

Acts

If there is one word that comes to my mind when I read this passage, it’s “unstoppable.”

But I’m not talking about the apostles. I’m talking about the work of the Spirit.

First, we see the apostles going out and performing miracles, and preaching the gospel, and because of this, more and more people were entering the Kingdom.

When the priests saw this, as was the case when Jesus was around, jealousy arose in their hearts.

I wonder if in their hearts, they wondered, “We’re the priests. We’re the representatives of God. Why is God doing these things through them, and not us?”

Yet deep in their hearts, I think they knew the answer. Because in their rebuke of the apostles, they said,

Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood. (Acts 5:28)

Already, you can see a desire on their part to disassociate themselves from the death of Jesus. Why? Probably because after the resurrection, they had to be thinking, “What if we’re wrong? What if Jesus really was the Messiah?”

Not that this caused the chief priests and the members of the Pharisees to change their minds. But we do find in Acts 6:7 that others among the priests actually started to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and put their faith in him.

At any rate, the Sanhedrin had the apostles arrested again, and then berated them for continuing to preach despite the warnings the Sanhedrin had given them earlier.

Peter’s response was incredible.

We must obey God rather than men!

The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (Acts 5:29-32)

Looking at these words from a 21st century Christian’s perspective, Peter’s words were not something particularly startling.

But from their perspective, it must have blown the priests and Sanhedrin’s minds.

For one thing, they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. But not only did Peter preach this, he said that Jesus was resurrected and that it is through him that God gives repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

More, they pointed to the work of the Spirit as proof to the truth of all they said. This in a day and age when the work of the Spirit had not really been seen in hundreds of years until John the Baptist showed up.

And now the apostles were proclaiming that the Spirit was being poured out not just on a select few, but on all followers of Jesus.

Think for a moment about to whom the apostles were saying all this to.

They were telling this to the priests, who should have had God’s Spirit in them!

Well, the priests and the members of the Sanhedrin couldn’t accept this, and they were ready to murder the apostles right then and there.

But Gamaliel stepped in, and said,

Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.

But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God. (Acts 5:38-39)

I said earlier that the chief priests themselves must have started having doubts about if they had been wrong about Jesus, and their reaction to Gamaliel’s words are why I think so.

If they had had no doubts at all concerning Jesus, if they had had no doubts that Jesus was an impostor, there is no way they could have seriously considered the possibility that the apostles’ work was from God.

But because of their nagging doubts, they let the apostles go. And the apostles went out and continued preaching that Jesus was the Messiah.

What can we get from all this? When God’s people are filled with his Spirit, his work cannot be stopped.

We can get discouraged by looking at the direction society is going. We can get discouraged by the persecution we’re starting to see.

But if we are filled with God’s Spirit, no matter what people may do to us, God will use us and his kingdom will increase.

So let us not get discouraged. Instead, let us be bold, going in the power of the Spirit, and do the things he’s called us to do.

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Acts

The seriousness of sin

Acts

This is perhaps the most shocking story in the book of Acts. It also shows us the seriousness of sin.

Two people in the church, Ananias and Sapphira, had seen Barnabas generously sell some of his land to help the poor.

Perhaps after seeing the praise Barnabas had received from the others, they too wanted to show off their generosity. The problem? Their generosity was purely superficial.

Oh, they sold their land. But instead of giving all of the proceeds from the sale, they kept some of it for themselves.

That in itself wasn’t so bad. As Peter later told them, it was up to them how much they wanted to give. If they had only wanted to give 50%, that would have been fine. If they had only wanted to give 10%, that too would have been fine.

The apostle Paul would later write,

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

In short, God is not so interested in how much of our money he has. (Actually, as I pointed out yesterday, all of it really belongs to him).

God is much more interested in how much of our heart he has.

I don’t know how much of Ananias’ and Sapphira’s heart he had, but it obviously wasn’t 100%. They were more interested in money, and the pride of life. Of being admired by others.

And because of this, they lied. Not just to Peter. Not just to the church. But to God himself.

It’s also possible that it wasn’t any mere lie. It’s possible that they had even sworn to dedicate the proceeds of the land to the Lord, according to the law of Moses. (Leviticus 27:28).

And by keeping back some of the money they had promised to the Lord, they broke their oath.

This was so serious in the eyes of God, that Ananias and Sapphira paid for it with their lives.

That may seem harsh. And it was. But I think we learn one very important thing from this: Sin is a serious thing to God, no matter how little it may seem to us.

Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira thought, “It’s only a little lie. Who could it hurt?”

But though the actual sins we commit may seem small, they show the state of our hearts. Ananias’ and Sapphira’s sin showed the jealousy, greed, pride, and hypocrisy that was in theirs.

And while telling a little lie may seem trivial to us, the issues that lie behind them are very serious. So serious, that Jesus had to die on a cross to pay the price for it.

Are there sins in your life that you brush off as trivial? They are not trivial in the eyes of God. So search your heart.

What do the sins you commit show about the state of your heart?

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Acts

Unity, power, and grace

Acts

What is the church supposed to look like? I think we get a picture of it here.

Unity.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)

How many churches can say this of themselves? One in heart and mind. One to the point that they didn’t even see their possessions as their own.

All they had belonged to the Lord, and whenever they saw need among their brothers and sisters, they shared what they had to the point that there were no needy persons among them.

But nowadays, many people in the church don’t think that way. When they hear about tithing, they get offended, and say, “It’s my money. All this about tithing is Old Testament law. It has no relevance to me.”

I’d agree that tithing is Old Testament law, and that we are not bound to it.

But to say that it’s your money is not true. God ultimately is the one who made you able to earn your money, giving you your gifts and your talents. So anything you earn off of those gifts and talents ultimately belong to him.

The early church recognized this, and because of it, they were generous with what God had given them, and as a result, there was much…

Grace.

As it says in verse 33,

Much grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33b)

God, of course, shows much grace to us directly, forgiving our sins, and showering his blessings on us every day.

What we need to remember, however, is that God desires us to be agents of his grace. He wants us to share the grace we have received with others.

But when we are self-centered, holding on to the things God has freely given us, the pipeline of grace gets clogged.

On the other hand, if we get our eyes off ourselves and on to others, grace flows freely within the church.

Power.

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 4:33a)

Power included miracles as well as the Spirit-infused power of their witness turning them from ordinary, uneducated fishermen into people that turned the world upside-down.

The same Spirit that did that back then can do it today. We need to be praying for that. Not only for the miracles of healings, but for the miracles of changed lives as the Spirit speaks through those who bring us the Word.

A pastor’s words are nothing if they are not infused by the Spirit of God. So let’s pray for our pastors that they would be filled with God’s Spirit, and that he would speak his words through them.

But let’s also pray that God would speak through us as well as we touch the lives of those around us. After all, we are God’s priests to the world too.

Unity, grace, and power. May Christ’s church be filled with these things like it was 2000 years ago.

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Acts

Filled and refilled with the Spirit: What does it mean?

Leaky vessel

As I look at this passage, there are two things I notice.

First, the filling of the Spirit was not a one time thing. Instead, time and again, the Spirit filled God’s people.

We see it in this chapter, and we see it in the subsequent chapters throughout the book of Acts.

Second, for what purpose did the Spirit fill his people?

In this chapter, I see two main purposes: power and boldness.

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard Peter speak, it says,

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

Think about this for a moment. In arresting Peter and John, throwing them in prison for the night, and then dragging them out for questioning in front of them, the religious elite, they probably expected Peter and John to be intimidated.

Yet, the two apostles stood there boldly proclaiming Jesus to them, quoting scripture, and making the stunning statement that,

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

Here were these ordinary fishermen, uneducated, and yet speaking with great boldness and power that could not be quelled or denied.

The Sanhedrin couldn’t explain away the resurrection of Jesus. (Even they didn’t believe their own story that they had tried to spread through the soldiers.)

Nor could they explain away the healing of the man they had passed by for roughly 30 years at the temple gate.

And because of all this, they were rendered speechless.

Finally, after withdrawing and discussing the matter, they tried once again to intimidate Peter and John, warning them never to teach in the name of Jesus.

But once again, Peter and John refused to be intimidated, saying,

Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19-20)

After further warnings from the Sanhedrin, they returned to their fellow Christians, and together they prayed that God would continue to fill them with boldness and with power that the people might know that Jesus was the Messiah.

When they had done so,

…the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

What can we get from this?

If we are ever to make a difference in this world for Christ, we need his Spirit within us. Through him, and the power and boldness he gives us, though we may be ordinary people, God can do great things through us.

How often, though, do we lack that power and boldness in our lives?

I know I do. Too often, I lack confidence because of who I am, with all my weaknesses and limitations.

And that’s why I, and all of us for that matter, need to be constantly filled and refilled with the Spirit.

As one person put it, we are vessels of the Spirit, but we are leaky vessels. We can get tired. We can get distracted. We can get discouraged. So moment to moment, day to day, we need his filling in our lives to do his work.

Holy Spirit, I need you. So fill me this day and every day. Fill me with the power and boldness to do the work you’ve called me to that I may touch this world which needs you so desperately. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Acts

Before we can receive blessing

Acts

Lots of people desire to receive blessing from God. And God is a Father that gives his children good gifts. We can expect blessings from him as his children.

But before we can receive blessing, there is something we must do first. Peter told the Jews,

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you–even Jesus…

For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.

Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.’…

When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. (Acts 3:19-20, 22-23, 26)

Now Peter, as I mentioned, was talking specifically to the Jews.

And he told them, “Moses himself told you that someone like him would come and that you must listen to him. If you don’t, you will be cut off from God’s people. That prophet has now come in Jesus.

“So listen to him and repent. God sent him to bless you, but first you must repent from your wicked ways. And if you do, he will wipe out your sins and times of refreshing and blessing will come.”

What Peter said to the Jews is true for us in many ways as well.

God sent Jesus to the Jews first, but now he has come to us non-Jews. And just as he came to bless the Jews, he has come to bless us.

But before that blessing can happen, we must repent from our wicked ways. We can’t keep living our own way. We must listen to Jesus and follow him.

If we don’t, we’ll never receive God’s blessing in our lives. Worse, we’ll be cut off from his kingdom forever.

Too many people want God’s blessing in their lives, but continue to live their own way. They expect God’s blessing on their terms. But if you want God’s blessing in your lives, you must come to him on his terms, not your own.

That starts with salvation. You can’t earn the blessing of salvation on your own terms. You can’t earn it by doing a lot of good things.

Rather, you must put your faith in Jesus and his work on the cross. Only through faith in Him can you ever be made righteous in God’s eyes.

But this truth continues after we have received his salvation as well. We can’t consistently expect God’s blessing in our lives if we continue to live our own way. We need to live his.

Am I saying that we have to earn God’s blessings in our lives? No. None of us could ever do that.

But the thing that God is looking for from us is our faith. Do we trust him enough to do what he says? And if we do, he will bless us.

Noah found that out when he built the ark. Abraham found that out when he left for Canaan. Daniel found that out when he refused to eat the king’s food. And so have many others down through history.

Are you seeking God’s blessing? Then the question you need to ask is “How much do I trust him? Do I trust him enough to stop living my way, and start living his?”

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Acts

Not about us

Acts

As the man Peter and John had healed was making a ruckus in the temple courts, all the people gathered around.

They were amazed that this man who had been crippled for 40 years was walking. But then, they started looking at Peter and John in wonder as well.

But Peter told the people,

Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk…

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.

It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:12, 16)

And here we see something that I think is really important to remember. This life is not about us. It’s not about who we are. It’s not about what we can do.

Rather it’s all about who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he is doing around us now.

It would have been so easy for Peter and John to strut in front of the crowd, and say, “Look at what we did. See how God’s favor and power rests on us?”

But instead, they pointed everyone to Jesus. They noted that it was Jesus who performed the healing, not them. And it was Jesus who they should direct their attention and faith to, not them.

After all, it was Jesus who suffered on the cross for them. It was Jesus that Moses and all the prophets had pointed to saying, “Listen to him!”

Too often, however, Christians are not focused on Jesus.

They are focused on themselves. They are focused on their gifts. They are focused on what they can do. They are focused on the attention they get.

And in doing so, they miss the whole point of life.

The whole point of life is to know Jesus and point others to a relationship with him. But as long as we’re focused on ourselves, we’ll never know the life or the joy that God intends us to have.

How about you? Who are you focused on? Who and what are you living for?

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Acts

Joining in with God’s work

Acts

I have to admit, too many times in my life I have missed opportunities God has given me to touch a life. Why? Because I’m too focused on my own agendas.

I can’t count how many times I have had opportunities to touch a life and I’ve missed it because I had to do some shopping. Or because I had to go to this place or that.

And sometimes, they were legitimate reasons. But even if I truly couldn’t afford to stop and talk for long, how difficult would it have been to say, “Hey, let’s hook up later,” and make plans to do so?

But too often, I simply made excuses and just went on my way.

Peter and John, in this passage, could have made similar excuses as they passed the man begging for alms.

After all, they were going to the temple. They were going to worship. Surely, they couldn’t stop simply to engage with this man. Especially since they didn’t have any money to give him.

It would have been so easy to simply ignore him. Or to say, “Sorry, I don’t have anything on me” and pass on by.

But instead, they stopped and actually made eye contact with this man.

And instead of focusing on what they couldn’t do (give him money), they focused on what the Spirit could do.

Peter said,

Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. (Acts 3:6)

Then he picked him up, and immediately, this man could walk. Not only could he walk, he started jumping around and praising God to the amazement of all the people.

How about you? Do you get so focused on your agenda that you can’t see what the Spirit is doing around you? And are you so focused on what you can’t do, that you can’t see what the Spirit can do?

Let us walk each day, led by the Spirit. Let us become aware of what he is doing around us, and as he leads us, join in his work.

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Acts

Together and in one accord

Acts

As I wrap up this section, the words that strike me are in verses 44 and 46: They were “together” and in “one accord” (KJV).

It comes back to what was said in verse 42, really.

They devoted themselves to the…fellowship. (Acts 2:42)

They considered time with each other to be important, and so they made it a point to be together with each other.

This does not just mean once a week at the temple. They were meeting daily, not only at the temple, but at each other’s homes.

More, they truly cared for each other. If they saw other brothers and sisters in need, they were quick to help them.

And they were in one accord. I really like that translation in the King James. It gives the idea that the Christians lived in harmony with one another. Or as the NASB puts it, they were of “one mind.”

Does this mean they always agreed? No. Does this mean they never fought or argued? No.

But in the end, they were able to look past their differences and see each other as brothers and sisters. They were able to see that they actually needed each other. And they devoted themselves to each other.

So often Christians say that married couples need to be committed to each other even during the hard times. Even through their disagreements. Even through the hurts they sometimes cause each other. And this is true.

But how often do these same Christians walk away from relationships from each other, and it never crosses their minds that God calls us to be committed to each other too.

We are to be committed to each other even during the hard times. Even through our disagreements. And even through the hurts we sometimes cause each other.

Like a marriage, this requires commitment. It requires hard work. But like a marriage, if we are committed to each other and put in the hard work, the rewards are vast.

Ultimately, we will be blessed by staying committed to each other. But even more than that, the world will see the love we have for each other and be attracted to Christ because of it.

That’s what happened in the early church. Because of the love and unity among God’s people, and all that God was doing among them,

The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

The church has many problems; that is true. As long as the church has people in it, there will always be problems.

Why?

Because Jesus didn’t come for perfect people. He came for the sick. He came for the broken.

Pastors and leaders will make mistakes. People in the church will hurt each other.

But will you commit yourself to them anyway? Will you lay aside your pride, and put in the hard work needed to work through the problems you have with others in the church? If not for your sake, for Jesus’ sake?

Let us always remember the words of our Lord.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

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Acts

Devoted to praying…together

Acts

Before I get into today’s topic, a note.

I’ve been thinking about the last few blogs I’ve written, and praying about whether I’ve been perhaps too harsh on those who are “Dones.”

I’m honestly not sure.

Here’s what I can say: I know that there are many people who leave the church because they have been hurt by others in the church. On that level, I have sympathy for them.

But to me, the answer is not to abandon the fellowship of believers. Learning to forgive is difficult and painful. But if we truly love and desire to follow Christ, it is a lesson we need to learn.

Why? Number one, to live in bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness grieves the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:29-32)

And you know that if you’re grieving the Holy Spirit, you’re grieving the Father and Jesus too.

Second, if we don’t learn to do this, what message are we sending to the world when Christ’s own people can’t love and forgive each other?

I suppose the people who I have the most problems with are the “Dones” who have hardened their hearts to the Word of God, and the “Dones” who simply feel they don’t need the body of Christ.

People who in the words of Paul, say to the “hands”, “feet”, and other parts of the body, “I don’t need you.” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

If there was one person who might have been able to say that, it was Paul.

He was out in the world doing ministry. He was spreading the gospel, going here and there to do God’s work. In that sense, I don’t think he had a “home church” that he went to every week.

Nevertheless, he had a passion for fellowship. He always longed to be with his fellow believers. (Romans 1:10-12, 2 Corinthians 1:15-16; Philippians 1:8)

His main reason? He wanted to give to them what he could. (Romans 1:11; 2 Corinthians 1:15)

In other words, he recognized they needed him.

More, he affirmed his need for them, especially in their prayers, but also in their encouragement. (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Romans 1:12)

For a person to say, “I don’t need the church,” is both arrogant and selfish.

Arrogant in the sense that we all need each other. Selfish in the sense that even if they feel they don’t need us, we need them. We all have a part to play in the body.

Anyway, back to the passage from Acts. It says that the people were devoted to prayer. It occurs to me that this does not mean just in their prayer closet. In the context, the idea is of people praying together.

Why is it important to pray together, not just by yourself?

I think the main reason is that in doing so, not only are we aligning ourselves with God, but we are aligning ourselves with each other.

We are fulfilling the words of Christ when he prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one. (John 17:20-21)

This was the practice of the church from the very beginning. (Acts 1:14)

And when the church is united, we can do great things for the kingdom of God.

But when we are divided, saying we don’t need each other, and biting and devouring each other, we are rendered weak and powerless to Satan’s great delight.

Let us not be that way. Let us be united as Christ’s church.

We don’t always have to agree on everything. We don’t always have to do ministry the same way. But let us declare our love and need for each other.

And as we do, Satan’s kingdom will be brought to its knees, and Jesus Christ will be exalted in our lives and in this world to the glory of God the Father.

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Acts

Despising the body of the Lord

Acts

As I continue thinking about the “Dones” (see the previous two blogs), there is another issue I think that’s easy to forget: communion. And we forget it because we don’t really think about all that communion means and symbolizes.

It says in Acts 2:42,

They devoted themselves to…the breaking of bread.

You could make the argument, I suppose, that the breaking of bread just meant eating meals together as seen in verse 46. But if you look at 1 Corinthians 11, a lot of that dining together was an extension of sharing communion together.

What is communion? It is remembering the night before Jesus was crucified, where upon taking the bread and breaking it, he said,

This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:24)

And again, when taking the wine, he said,

This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Here’s the thing to note about this: communion was meant to be taken with other believers. The bread was meant to be broken and shared.

Why? I think one reason is it’s a sign that we all have a part in the body of Christ. He died for each one of us who believe in him, not just the Christians you happen to like, or enjoy being with.

One wonders. At the first communion table, how much did each of the disciples actually like each other right at that moment?

They had just finished arguing with each other about who was the greatest. They had refused to wash each other’s feet, leaving Jesus to do it.

Also think of the personalities. A person like Simon the Zealot trying to deal with a guy like Matthew. One person who had sought the overthrow of the Roman government, while the other had actually worked for the Roman government before they both dropped all to follow Jesus.

Such was the relationship between the disciples that he actually commanded them to love each other. Had all of them had the closest of relationships, would he have actually had to say that to them?

Yet by taking communion together, it was a reminder, “We all have a part in Jesus. We are all one in Christ.”

That’s why Paul got so upset with the Corinthians. There were divisions among them with people arguing about which leader they followed.

In addition, the well off among them despised those who were poor, and in so doing, despised the church of God. (1 Corinthians 11:22)

They were despising people who were part of the same body that they were in.

And so Paul said,

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 11:27)

What does it mean that they were guilty of sinning against the body and blood of Jesus? Basically, it means they were sinning against Christ, by despising the body and blood that he sacrificed for us.

They were saying, “I know that you died for this person. But what you did for them doesn’t matter to me. I personally have no part with them.”

And with that attitude, we sin against the body of Christ that is the church. Because other Christians, whether you like them or not, are part of his body.

When you are in a church with people that you are upset with, with people you don’t like, with people you violently disagree with, communion, taken correctly, forces you to reevaluate your attitudes toward your brothers and sisters.

For Paul wrote,

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (1 Corinthians 11:28)

And primarily, in the context of 1 Corinthians 11, that means examining your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The “Dones” don’t do this. If they take communion at all, they take it with those they like. With those they agree with. And they never examine their relationships with those they don’t.

They never make their peace with them. Instead, they simply avoid them. And in doing so, they despise the body and blood of Christ.

If you’re a “Done” that claims to follow Christ, here’s the test for you: Would you take communion one on one with each person you used to be in church with?

And as you take it, can you say to that person, “We are one as Jesus and the Father are one. We are in complete unity that the world may know that Jesus was sent by the Father.” (John 17:21-23)

Even if you’re not a “Done”, how do you take communion?

Are your relationships with those you take it with right? Are your relationships with your brothers and sisters at your local church right?

Or in your heart, are you despising the body and blood of the One who loved you so much that he gave his life, not only for you, but for those you despise as well?

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Acts

Devoted to the fellowship

Acts

This is a continuation of the blog I started yesterday on “The Dones,” people who still follow Christ but have dropped out of the church.

I addressed the point of “being lectured to in sermons” and “having heard it all” yesterday. Today, I’d like to look at an issue that is probably even bigger.

I think for most people that are true believers, the sermons are not the reason they drop out. It’s the people in the church, whether it’s their fellow members or the leaders.

The article I mentioned (you can google it, I’m not sure if I’d be allowed a direct link — it’s actually a blog, now that I look at it carefully) is a little confusing to me as I read it.

The very first “Done” they mention says he didn’t leave because of a blowup with a church staff or member. Rather, it was long-considered, thoughtful decision. Based on what, we never find out.

That seems to minimize the relationship aspect of leaving the church. But ultimately as you read the rest of the article (and the comments below it by others), relationship problems are at the very root of many people leaving the church.

Sometimes it’s philosophical differences on the direction of the church. Other times it was how the leadership treated the members. And yet other times, it was a simple lack of love and brotherly kindness in the church.

And because of that, people leave the church and never come back.

But look at what the early Christians did.

They devoted themselves to…the fellowship. (Acts 2:42)

In short, they made fellowship with other believers a high priority. They were passionate about it.

Some of my friends say, “Well, you know, I have my group of Christian friends, and we are committed to each other for spiritual and personal growth.”

I hope that’s true. But what does that mean? You call each other once a week? Once a month? Once a year?

Are you making it a high priority to spend time with them, talk with them, encourage them, and if necessary, admonish them. Do you devote yourselves to prayer with each other? Do you share communion with them?

Or are these things down on the list after “real life,” work, family, school, etc?

The Christians of that day did make it a priority.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:44-46)

The Christians were so passionate about the fellowship, they met every day in the temple courts. They spent time together in their homes. And when they saw each other’s needs, they helped each other.

The result?

The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

Why did the church grow? It was a fulfillment of what Jesus told his disciples.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)

Note that Jesus said, “By this all men will know you are my disciples if you love everybody.”

He said, “By this men will know you are my disciples if you love one another.”

Certainly it is important to love people outside the church. As Christ’s church, we can’t solely be focused inward and loving each other. We must reach out beyond our walls to a dying world.

But if the world looks at us and sees us fighting amongst ourselves, with unresolved differences, anger, unforgiveness, and bitterness, what will they think?

If a person you’re sharing Christ with says, “Hey, can I visit your church?” and you say, “Well I don’t go,” and they ask why, what are you going to say?

“Well, I had some relationship problems with people.”

Or, “I got into a fight with leadership over the direction of the church.”

What are they going to think? If we are disparaging the very church Christ loved and died for, will they still want to become a Christian?

Let me rephrase a verse from 1 John, and maybe it will hit home.

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet refuses to associate with his brother, he is a liar.

For anyone who cuts off his relationship with his brother, whom he has seen cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)

Can you really claim to love God if you refuse to associate with your brothers and sisters at your local church? Can you really claim to love God if you cut yourself off from a relationship with them?

It’s easy to love your friends. Do you love your family, warts and all?

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Acts

Devoted to the Word

Acts

A friend of mine posted an article on Facebook talking about the “The Rise of the Dones” in the church.

It was talking about the “life-long believer, well-studied in the Bible, [who] gives generously, and leads others passionately,” yet who dropped out of the church.

They didn’t drop their faith, they just dropped church. This, though they were “among the most dedicated and active people in their congregations.”

There were a few reasons given for becoming a “Done,” and over the next few blogs, I’d like to address some of these things. Because to be quite honest, it’s troubling to me to hear people I care for say they’re feeling the same way.

And since the timing of my Bible reading just so happens to match the topic, I might as well work out my own feelings on the matter.

Among the reasons given for leaving the church was thinking they had heard it all after hearing countless messages, and a tiring of being “lectured to.”

But in this passage in Acts, we see a model of how Christians should live and what the church should look like. I want to focus on the first thing today.

They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching.

In other words, they had a passion for God’s Word. They desired to know it, and they desired to live it.

I suppose my first question for those that tire of being “lectured to” is how devoted are you to the Word?

Do you really believe it is God’s Word? Do you believe it contains the very words of God? And do you have the same passion for the Word that the early Christians had?

Or are His words to you just an outdated way of thinking that has little if any relevance to our lives here and now?

Now I can agree that there are pastors that can seem condescending to those they preach to. That act as if they’ve already “made it.”

And if that’s so, then I can understand people’s feelings. But is that really the problem?

So the question that you need to ask yourself is, “When I read the Bible, do I feel lectured to when I read the things that I don’t like to hear?”

The problem with many Christians is they have their favorite passages, and only read those in their quiet times, while avoiding those that make them feel “lectured to.”

And perhaps that’s why they feel that way at church. The pastor brings out passages they don’t want to hear.

But if we are truly Christians, we need to be devoted to the Word, whether it’s encouraging and comforting words we hear, or whether it’s words of challenge or rebuke.

As for the hearing of countless messages and thinking that you have heard it all, I suppose the same kind of question needs to be asked.

“When I read the Bible, do I feel like I’m getting nothing from it? Have I heard it all? Or is God still speaking to me?”

I have to admit, there are (many) times I do feel like I’ve read and heard it all. That being said, I would say two things.

First, after 35 years of being a Christian, I’m still learning. And every once in a while, God will bring something to light, either in my reading or in a message that I’d never seen or heard before. And that’s exciting to me.

Second, for all the times that you’ve heard something, are you practicing it? Has it gone from your head to your heart?

You’ve heard it’s important to forgive. Have you forgiven those who have hurt you the most? You’ve heard that you need to let go of anger and bitterness. Have you?

In short, is the Word of God living and active in your life, penetrating your heart, dividing between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, judging the thoughts and attitude of your heart?

Or is it just going through one ear and out the other?

Like I said, I can’t speak to your experience or the experience of the “Dones.”

If your pastor is speaking from his high horse, maybe you need to find another church.

But my question to you is this: is the problem really the sermons? Or is it your heart’s response to the Word of God?

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Acts

The message of the gospel

Acts

This was the first ever gospel message preached in all its fullness. All the preaching that had gone on before was prior to the death and resurrection of Christ.

Now, all things had been fulfilled, and Peter preached to the people that this Jesus whom they crucified was both Lord and Christ (i.e. God’s anointed King).

The people, cut to the heart cried out, “What shall we do?”

Peter replied,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)

That, in a few sentences is the gospel message.

That first, we need to repent of our sins. In other words, we need to stop living our way. By living our way, we grieve God, we hurt each other, and we hurt ourselves.

Instead, we put our trust in Jesus and come under his good reign. 

We say, “Jesus, be my king. You loved me so much that you went to the cross to take the punishment I deserve for all the grief I’ve caused God, myself, and others by living my own way. Now, I want to follow you. I’m putting my trust in you and following you.”

Baptism is a sign of that decision you make. It’s saying, “I’m dying to this old way of life. I’m dying to ‘My way.’ And I’m coming up a new person. Washed by the blood of Christ from my sins and empowered by the power of his Holy Spirit to live a new life.”

And it is this promise of the Holy Spirit that is the best gift of all. Because the Holy Spirit is God himself dwelling in you.

We no longer have to be separated from God. We can walk in close relationship with him.

And as we do, he heals us of our hurts and he transforms us into new people. More, we find life as God intended when he first created us.

Eternal life doesn’t start in heaven. It starts right here, right now.

That’s the gospel message. Have you truly accepted it in your life? It’s as easy as the prayer I wrote above. If you pray it, please tell me about your decision. I’d love to hear from you.

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Acts

This same Spirit

Pentecost

It’s hard for me to imagine the day that the Spirit came upon the church in power. To hear that sound of a rushing wind (was it just as sound, or was there an actual wind?) come upon that house, and to see tongues of fire rest on each person there as each was filled with the Spirit of God.

Then to see them go out into the streets declaring the praises of God in languages they had never learned to the shock of the Jewish proselytes that had gathered from all over the world. I would have been wondering too, “What’s going on?”

But Peter proclaimed,

This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:16-18)

Peter then went on to proclaim the gospel, and 3000 people got saved in a single day.

It’s easy for us to look back on that and marvel and say, “Why isn’t this happening now? Why doesn’t the Spirit act in the same way?”

I would argue that he does. Peter told the people,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)

Peter said the promise of the Spirit was not just for his generation. It was for the next generation. For peoples of every land. In fact, it was for ALL whom the Lord would call unto salvation. All would receive and be led by his Spirit.

The church I attend here in Japan was started because of a literal dream God gave my pastor at a time when his life was falling apart.

I can look back on my life and see God speaking to me through others.

I remember at a time when I was seeking the Lord for direction for my life, a friend of mine, who had no idea what I was praying, said out of the blue, “You know Bruce, I can’t see you working behind a computer at some office somewhere. I see you doing ministry.”

And I can look back, not only at people’s words to me at that time, but things God did in my life that caused me to leave my comfortable life in Hawaii to come to Japan.

I can say with confidence that it is because of the Spirit that I am here today. And I’m realizing more and more that I need his leading in my life so much more.

Too often, I have been going on my own wisdom and strength. A lot of what I said a couple of blogs ago, I can say about me. But I don’t want that anymore. I want to be filled with his Spirit as the church was 2000 years ago. Do you?

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Acts

The One who knows our hearts

Acts

In this passage, we see the choosing of Matthias to take Judas’ place as one of the 12. A couple of minor points before I get to my main point.

Some people think that Peter and the other apostles made a mistake in appointing Matthias as the one to replace Judas.

They say that Paul should have been the one who took Judas’ place, and that Jesus in appearing to Paul and appointing him as an apostle had, in effect, appointed him as the one to take Judas’ place.

I used to think that, but now I’m not so sure. In particular, because Paul himself recognized Matthias’ position as one of the 12 in 1 Corinthians 15:5.

He hardly could have meant the resurrected Jesus appeared to Judas when Judas was already dead. So he must have meant Matthias.

Paul also said of himself that he was the least of the apostles and was not even fit to be called an apostle (although he clearly was one). (1 Corinthians 15:9)

The second point is on Judas’ death.

Matthew 27 says that the chief priests took the money that Judas had scattered before them and bought a field while Judas went and hung himself.

However, here in Acts, it says that Judas bought the field, and that he plunged headlong and his body burst open. How do we reconcile the two?

Apparently, Judas had hung himself on a cliff over the valley of Hinnom, and perhaps some time later, after his body had started to decompose, the rope snapped or was cut and his body fell headlong into a field in that valley.

Perhaps having heard what had happened, the priests then bought the field in Judas’ name, as it really wasn’t “temple money.” (Matthew 27:6)

Now on to the main point. It’s very interesting that the other apostles talked about how Judas had shared in their ministry.

There can be little doubt that he had preached the good news of the kingdom, cast out demons, and healed the sick as Jesus had commanded them on their two mission trips throughout Israel (Luke 9-10).

Yet even then, Jesus knew his heart. That though Judas did all these things, his heart was not truly with Jesus. And the time came when Judas was exposed and ultimately cast out from his position.

He was then replaced by another whose heart was right before God.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that for those of us in ministry, we really need to search our hearts every day. To search our motives. To see if our hearts are truly His.

We can do many things in Jesus’ name. People can even get saved in our ministry. But God knows our hearts. And if our hearts are not right before him, the time will come when we will be cast out from our position and be replaced.

Even worse would be if the day came when we stand before Jesus and say,

Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? (Matthew 7:22)

But Jesus looks at us, and says,

I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! (Matthew 7:23)

Where is your heart? Have you truly given your heart to Jesus? Or are you just playing a role?

If you are simply playing a role, whether you’re a Christian or not, eventually your position will be taken from you as it was taken from Judas. And it will be given to someone whose heart belongs to Christ.

Who does your heart belong to?

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Acts

Waiting for his return

Acts

It must have been awesome to see Jesus suddenly start ascending into heaven. And I think it’s perfectly understandable that the disciples were standing slack-jawed looking into the heavens where Jesus disappeared. I probably would have done the same.

But then two angels appeared. And they said,

Men of Galilee…why do you stand here looking into the sky?

This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)

I think we see two things here.

First, the hope that we have. That though this world is a mess and will only get worse, Jesus will return. The day will come when he comes back and makes all things right.

But second, we have work to do until he does come back.

I think the angel was implying to the disciples, “Don’t just stand there slack-jawed. Do what Jesus told you to do.”

For the disciples, the first thing they had to do was go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come. And before we can do any kind of ministry, so do we.

Like I said in my last blog, while we can “accomplish” much on our own, it is nothing compared to what we can do when we are filled with his Spirit. It is people filled with God’s Spirit who can turn this world upside down (Acts 17:6 — ESV).

So let us not just look at this world and complain. Let us not just look at the heavens longing for Christ’s return. Instead, let us be filled with his Spirit, doing the things God has called us to do.

Categories
Acts Luke Luke 24

The power to change the world

Jerusalem

And so with today’s blog, we exit the gospels and enter the book of Acts.

I’m not sure if it ever occurred to me that what Luke referenced in Acts 1:4 was probably the same event that he talked about in Luke 24:49. Specifically, that the apostles were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came.

At any rate, about 40 days later, Jesus led them into the vicinity of Bethany, namely the Mount of Olives.

I wonder if as they were standing there, they thought of the prophesy of Zechariah, who said that after the conquering of Israel by the nations, the Lord would arrive on the Mount of Olives, fight those nations, and become king over the whole earth (Zechariah 14).

Perhaps that is why they asked,

Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)

But Jesus replied,

It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8)

Too often people worry about when Jesus is coming back. And we should be aware of the signs of his coming.

But more than worrying about when Jesus is coming back, we need to be concerned about what he’s called us to do until he comes.

What has he called us to do? To preach the gospel. To be his witnesses.

What does it mean to be a witness? Essentially, it’s to tell all that you’ve seen, heard, and know.

All that you’ve seen Jesus do in your life, all that you’ve heard from the Sunday messages and know from the Word, you are to share these things with the people around you.

And as we do, we will change this world.

But the power to change the world is not found in us. It is not our words in themselves that will change people’s hearts.

Rather, it is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that will change the world.

By ourselves we can do nothing. And so Jesus didn’t tell his disciples, “Okay, you know everything you need to know to change the world. Now go!”

Rather, he said, “Wait for the Holy Spirit. He will baptize you with the power you need. Once he has done so, then go.”

So often, we do things in our own strength. Our own wisdom. And we can “accomplish” a lot in doing so.

But if we truly want to change the world, we need to be baptized with his Spirit. To be filled with his power.

Human power and human wisdom has its limits. But with God, there are no limitations.

Holy Spirit, fill me now. So often I do things in my own wisdom. In my own strength. In my own power. But without you I can do nothing.

I’m tired of living life on my own. Of trying to serve you in my own wisdom and strength.

So Holy Spirit, fill me. Fill me with power so I can make a difference in this world as you have called me to. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 28

The one who is always with us

Matthew

We are rapidly coming to the end of the gospels. It certainly took a lot longer than I expected. I thought harmonizing the gospels would make things go a lot faster.

Maybe it has, but it’s still taken nearly 11 months to get through them. But it’s been fun, and I’ve really enjoyed it.

I wanted to talk about this in the last blog, but it was getting long as it was. After giving all his instructions to his disciples, Jesus encouraged them saying,

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus was soon going to heaven. And after he left, the disciples would have a great work to do, to spread the kingdom of God.

While there would be great joy in that, Jesus also knew they would suffer persecution and hardship as well. Most of his disciples would die for their faith.

But the one thing Jesus promised them was that though they would no longer be able to see him with their eyes, he nevertheless would be with them.

He would not leave them as orphans, but send his Spirit to dwell within them and be with them. (John 14:16-20)

He makes the same promise to us. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, no matter what joys or hardships we go through, he will never leave us lonely. He is with us. And always will be.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 28

Making disciples

Matthew

Somehow in 35 years of reading scripture, it never really occurred to me that the events in Matthew 28 and Acts 1 were two separate events. One happened in Galilee and the other on the Mount of Olives.

It was perhaps here in Galilee that Jesus appeared not only to the 11, but to 500 other followers of Jesus as well, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:6.

It would also perhaps explain why “some doubted,” not the 11 disciples who had already seen him before, but the others who had come and who had yet to see the risen Lord.

Whatever the case may be, there was no doubt remaining once Jesus appeared and started speaking to them. He said,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20)

It’s significant to me that Jesus didn’t simply say to go out and preach the gospel, although they were to do that too.

He told them to make disciples. Not of themselves, but of Jesus.

How were they to do that?

They were to baptize new believers first, as a sign of their commitment to Jesus.

What is baptism? What does it mean? It basically identifies you with Christ.

It’s saying, “Just as Christ died and rose again, I am dying to my old way of life, and rising up as a new person. And one day, after I die here on this earth, I will rise up and be with Christ forever.”

I think it’s very interesting that here in Japan, in some sense, even the non-Christians have a stronger idea of the implications of baptism than believers in the States do.

I have heard many stories of how parents have told their (adult) children, “Well, you can go to church, but don’t get baptized.”

That’s one of the biggest struggles that young believers face here. Will I take that step of baptism at the risk of alienating my family?

I think for many of the Jews, they faced the same kind of pressure from their families.

But if we are going to become true disciples of Christ, we need to get to the point where Jesus is more important to us than anything else. And baptism is a very visual and public way of proclaiming that.

Jesus also told his disciples that they were to teach people everything that he had taught them. And not only that, to teach them to obey.

A lot of Christians feel uncomfortable with that idea. After all, doesn’t it smack of legalism? And aren’t we saved by grace?

Yes, we are saved by grace. And no, we shouldn’t be presenting Christianity as a series of dos and don’ts.

But what we should be doing is reminding people that God really does love us. That he desires the very best for us.

And if we trust him enough for our salvation, shouldn’t we also trust him enough to believe that his way is best and to follow that way?

More, if we truly love him, shouldn’t we do the things that we know will please him?

In short, we need to be teaching people to draw closer to God in a relationship where they learn to love and trust him more every day.

It is, unfortunately, an area that the church all too often fails at.

As a result, we have a bunch of baby Christians that never really grow up. Christians who though they say they love God, nevertheless never really learn to trust God.

And because of that, their lives remain an utter mess.

Let us not make that mistake.

Let us not just preach the gospel, but teach young believers to be disciples of Christ, so that they will become people who love, trust, and obey him, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Categories
John John 21

Keeping our eyes on Jesus

John

It must be disconcerting to hear about how you’re going to die. And so after Jesus told Peter exactly how he was going to die, there probably was an awkward silence.

Peter then suddenly realized that John was walking not far behind them, and so he said, “What about him Lord? Is he going to die for you too?”

But Jesus replied,

If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. (John 21:22)

So often, as we are serving the Lord, we compare ourselves to others.

Sometimes we are jealous of the gifts and talents they have. Other times, we look down on others because our gifts and talents are “better” than theirs.

Sometimes as with Peter, God calls us to do something, and we ask, “Why me? Why don’t you send that guy or that woman instead?”

But the answer Jesus gave Peter is the same that he gives to us. “Don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of them. You follow me. Don’t focus your eyes on others and compare yourself to them. Keep your eyes on me and you do the things I tell you.”

Honestly, that can be hard to do. Our eyes are so quick to drift to others. Our hearts are so quick to compare ourselves to others. That’s something that I struggle with even now.

But if we are to bear fruit as God desires, then we need to get our eyes off of others serving God and put them solely on Jesus.

How about you? Where are your eyes? On yourself? On others? Or on Jesus?

Categories
John John 21

A God who believes in us

Jesus and Peter
www.LumoProject.com

This is another of my favorite stories in the Bible.

Here we have Peter. Brash Peter. Bold Peter. But because of his failure in denying Jesus three times, a lot of that has been stripped away, leaving a man not only humbled, but perhaps questioning himself.

I would have loved to see an account of that first appearance Jesus made to Peter. We have no record of it.

Peter had seen the empty tomb, and was probably in great confusion. Had Jesus risen? Perhaps he thought to himself, “I almost wish he hadn’t. I don’t know how I could face him.”

And then, suddenly Jesus appears before him. How did Peter respond? Shock? Joy? Perhaps. But I can also imagine Peter falling before him, weeping, and saying “I’m sorry” again and again.

But Jesus probably told him, “It’s okay. That’s why I went to the cross. For people like you. I still love you Peter.”

Perhaps for a while, Peter was okay. But as time went on, perhaps a thought started to creep into his mind.

“Has Jesus really forgiven me? Even if he has, there’s no way he could accept me as a disciple again, could he. I’ve just failed too badly.”

And perhaps after days of not seeing him, Peter was feeling so discouraged that he thought, “It’s hopeless. Yes, Jesus said he’s forgiven me. But there’s no way he could ever truly accept me again. I might as well go back to my old life.”

And so he said to the other disciples who were with him, “I’m going fishing.” Having nothing better to do, they joined him.

They go out into the lake, and fish all night, but catch nothing. And perhaps, Peter was thinking to himself, “Am I good at anything anymore? I can’t even catch fish.”

Then they hear a man on shore asking, “Have you guys caught any fish? Throw your net on the other side, you’ll catch some.”

They do, and suddenly their nets are completely filled with fish. At which point, John says, “Hey! It’s the Lord!”

Peter, upon hearing this, immediately jumps into the ocean to swim toward Jesus.

I can imagine Jesus laughing as he saw him coming up and saying, “Hey Peter, go help the guys bring in those fish you caught.”

And so he helps the other disciples bring the fish in, and when they arrive, Jesus already has some grilled fish ready for them.

I can imagine there was a lot of talking and laughter as they ate. But as the meal wound down, Jesus looked at Peter and said, “Hey Peter. Walk with me.”

And at that point, Peter probably was thinking, “Oh, oh. Here it comes. Jesus is going to tell me I can’t be his disciple anymore.”

And perhaps with a feeling of dread, he starts walking down the beach with Jesus.

Perhaps they walked in silence for a bit, and Jesus said, “Peter, do you love me more than these?”

It’s not clear what he meant by “these.”

Many people think he was asking, “Do you love me more than the other disciples?”

But considering his failure, I can’t see Peter telling Jesus, “Yes I do.”

I think that perhaps they were passing the boats, the fish, and the nets, and Jesus was saying, “Do you love me more than all this? I go away for a short time, and you’re already back to your old life. Do you truly love me more than these things?”

And to this, Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

They walk a little further, and Jesus says, “Peter, do you really love me?”

Again, Peter says that he does, and so Jesus says, “Take care of my sheep.”

They go further, and a third time, Jesus says, “Peter, do you love me?”

Peter was really hurt at this point and he said, “Jesus you know I love you.”

And Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. (John 21:18)

Here Jesus was talking about Peter’s death. That the day would come when Peter would be crucified for Jesus’ sake. And that’s exactly what happened years later.

Why did Jesus tell him that?

I think he was telling Peter, “I know you failed. But I still believe in you. And I’m telling you, the day will come when you will again be forced to make the choice to deny me or die for me. And you will choose to die for me.”

Then he said, “Follow me.”

All of us, like Peter, fail. And many of us like Peter, start to wonder, “Can God still use me? I’ve failed so badly. Can God still even accept me?”

The answer is yes. Because God not only sees who you are now, he sees what you can become. And he believes in you.

So don’t rest in your own strength. Don’t rest in your own wisdom. But rest in the knowledge that God accepts you and he believes in you. Then go…and follow him.

Categories
John John 20

Though we have not seen him

John

Seeing is believing. At least sometimes it is.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law saw all the miracles Jesus performed and they still didn’t believe.

They saw Lazarus alive after he had died and they plotted to kill him because people were believing in Jesus because of it.

The main problem: They didn’t want to believe. And as long as you don’t want to believe, you can explain away anything.

Thomas, on the other hand, wanted to believe. But his head would not allow what his heart wanted to be true, and so he told the other disciples,

Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. (John 20:25)

So when Jesus showed up for a second time in the midst of a locked room, I imagine he smiled at Thomas’ astonished face as he said,

Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. (John 20:27)

Thomas’ reaction?

My Lord and my God! (John 20:28)

Jesus replied,

Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:29)

In other words, you only believe because you see. But true blessing comes when you believe having not seen.

It was the blessing that Abraham received, who trusted God and left everything behind, not even knowing where he was going, but believing that God would do what he had promised.

It was the blessing that Noah received by building a huge boat because God told him a flood was coming.

It was the blessing that David received, trusting that God would make him king, and never trying to seize the throne with his own hands.

It was the blessing Mary received by believing the angel who said she would become pregnant with God’s Son. It is the blessing that people all throughout history have received all the way down to us.

But it is not a blind belief. We see Christ in the prophets who predicted numerous things about him hundreds of years before he was born.

We see Christ through the experiences of those who actually met him face to face and recorded all that happened. John wrote,

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

We see Christ in the experiences of those throughout church history who have encountered him in their lives, people like Augustine, Luther, and Calvin.

We see Christ in the lives of those around us today, whom God has changed and transformed through the gospel.

And we see him as we ourselves encounter Christ, and see his work in our lives.

But it all starts with one choice. To say, “Lord Jesus, though I have never seen you with my own eyes, yet I believe.”

And as we follow him, walking in trust and obedience to him, he will reveal himself to us more and more. And we will find blessing.

Peter puts it this way,

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8–9)

Categories
John John 20 Luke Luke 24

Filled and sent out

The gospels

It seems like there was quite a bit of confusion and disbelief among the 11 and the others gathered in the upper room that Sunday.

Here was Mary, the women, the two followers of Jesus, and Peter himself saying that they had seen the Lord. And even then, many of the other disciples simply could not bring themselves to believe.

And then Jesus appeared. Understandably, they were freaked out, thinking he was a ghost, particularly those that hadn’t seen him up to that point. And Jesus said, “Peace with you.”

That was actually a very common greeting, like “Hi.” I wonder if that’s how he meant it the first time. “Hi guys.”

But everyone freaks out thinking he is a ghost so he says it again more seriously, “Hey relax. Be at peace. It really is me.”

He then shows them his hands and feet and even eats some fish to prove he is not a ghost.

I can imagine that everyone wanted to touch him to make sure it was really him, and when they did, they were filled with unspeakable joy.

Then Jesus explained to them how all that had happened to him had been prophesied in the Old Testament, and he probably reminded them of his own words to them as well.

Having said these things, he then told them,

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. (John 20:21)

You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:48-49)

At that point, he breathed on them, and said,

Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. (John 20:22-23)

It kind of reminds me of another event in Genesis, where God breathed physical life into Adam.

Here, Jesus breathed spiritual life into his disciples. The Holy Spirit came into them as a seal of their salvation, and as Jesus promised, he would teach them all they needed to know and would be with them wherever they went.

Not only that, we find in Acts that he would fill them with power to do all that he asked, to take the gospel to every nation.

In the same way, Jesus breathes life into us when we receive him as Savior and Lord. His Holy Spirit comes into us to lead us and guide us. More, he gives us the power to live the life he calls us to, and to accomplish purposes.

In short, we are not alone. The Christian life is not about trying to please God and accomplish his purposes in our own strength and by our own efforts.

Rather God himself, through the Holy Spirit dwells in us, he fills us, and gives us everything we need for life, for godliness, and for his service.

And the main task he has given us is to spread the gospel. To declare to those who repent and turn to Jesus that their sins have now been forgiven. And to warn people of the judgment to come if they refuse to repent.

God has given us the keys to the kingdom. When we share his gospel, we open the doors wide open to those who would walk in. So let us go out, filled with his Spirit, and open those doors to a lost and dying world.

Categories
Luke Luke 24

Slow to believe

Luke

This appears to be the third or fourth appearance of Jesus after his resurrection, depending on when Jesus showed himself to Peter.

And here we see two followers of Jesus walking down to Emmaus, which was perhaps their hometown.

As they did, they talked with each other about all the women had said, and what Peter and John had found at the tomb.

But it’s obvious from their sadness that they still didn’t believe Jesus had risen.

Then Jesus appeared. But it says that these followers couldn’t recognize him. The New King James puts it, “Their eyes were restrained.”

In other words, they could see Jesus, but he purposely kept them from recognizing him. It is perhaps the very thing that Jesus did with Mary Magdalene in the garden.

And he asked them, “What are you talking about?”

The two followers must have been shaking their heads in disbelief as they said, “You don’t know? You were in Jerusalem right? You must have seen and heard what happened.”

But playing dumb, Jesus simply said, “What things?”

And the two followers poured out their hearts.

They talked about all the hopes they had had that Jesus was the Messiah and that he would set them free from the Romans, only to have them dashed when he was crucified.

They then shared the bewildering news of how Jesus’ body had disappeared and the stories of his resurrection.

At which point, Jesus said,

How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? (Luke 24:25-26)

And then he gave the first “sermon” on the prophesies of a suffering Messiah that would die for our sins and be resurrected.

When they arrived at Emmaus, Jesus acted as if he would continue on, but stirred by all the words of Jesus, they begged him to stay. And as they sat down to eat, Jesus broke the bread and gave it to them.

Perhaps as he did, it sparked a memory of how he had done the very same thing on the day he fed the 5000 or the 4000. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. When they did, Jesus disappeared.

They said to each other,

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32)

They then rushed to the eleven disciples and told them that Jesus was alive, confirming the women’s and (apparently) Peter’s testimony.

What can we learn from this? How often are we slow of heart to believe what God has spoken?

Oh, we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again. But what about his other words to us?

Sometimes we are slow to believe because like these followers, we have been disappointed in the past. Or things are not going as we had hoped.

And so we question God, asking, “Is your Word really true? Are you really here with me? Are you really going to provide for me? Do you truly care for me?”

I know I have experienced those doubts more than once.

Or perhaps we doubt that his way is best because our way seems better. Or going his way seems hopeless.

I’ve known more than a few people that have married non-Christians because they couldn’t find a suitable Christian partner.

So instead of waiting, they just plunged into a relationship with an unbeliever. Too many times, I have seen that decision end in regret.

And because we fail to believe, like those two followers, we walk through this life in disappointment and sorrow.

But the good news is that Jesus does not give up on us. He is still there walking with us.

And if we will pour out our hearts to him, and if we open up our lives to him, and let him pour his word into our lives, he will bring us healing and renew our hope.

So let us not be slow of heart to believe. Let us open up our hearts to him and believe. For,

Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed. (Romans 10:11 NASB)

Categories
John John 20 Luke Luke 24 Mark Mark 16 Matthew Matthew 28

The One who is always with us

The gospels

A couple of notes on the resurrection.

I think I will be cutting out Mark 16:9-20 from my commentary since it is considered by most scholars to not be in the original text.

It was apparently added on to Mark by someone, either because Mark died before it was completed or because the original ending was lost.

Second, there is some difficulty in harmonizing the events of the resurrection. What I give here in my blog is my best guess.

The thing to remember, though, is that all the essential facts are the same.

The tomb was empty when the women arrived there. Angels appeared to the women to tell them that Jesus had risen. Jesus appeared to Mary and the women. They all went to tell the disciples.

Lawyers today will tell you that in a court of law, any apparent discrepancies in the testimony of these four sources would not be able to overturn these essential points.

With that, a very quick summary as to what I believe happened.

The women went to the tomb and found it empty. When Mary entered the tomb and found the body gone, she immediately left to tell the disciples.

The other women lingered, however, and at that point, two angels appeared, with one giving them the good news that Jesus was alive. The women ran to tell the disciples talking to no one else along the way. (Matthew 28:5-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-10)

Meanwhile, Mary told the disciples that the body was gone. (John 20:2). And so Peter and John (probably) went to investigate, with Mary following after.

After they had left, the other women arrived with their tale of the angels. (Luke 24:9-11)

Peter and John then arrived at the tomb and found the body gone, and while John seems to have believed that Jesus rose from the dead, Peter wasn’t so sure. Perhaps discussing the situation, they then left. (Luke 24:12; John 20:3-9)

Mary, by this time had arrived at the tomb. Whether Peter and John were still there when she arrived is not clear, but it’s possible they had already gone.

Jesus then appeared for the first time and spoke to her. She then went to tell the disciples. (John 20:10-18)

As she was on her way, Jesus then appeared to the other women, perhaps as they were on their way back home, discouraged that the disciples had not believed them.

Encouraged once again, they returned and told the disciples what Jesus had told them, bolstered by Mary’s testimony. (Matthew 28:9-10)

I don’t know if that was the exact order of events, but it seems to be a reasonable harmonization to me.

At any rate, I want to focus on Mary for a moment.

The image that strikes me most was Mary in the garden, in the depths of sorrow and despair.

If the order of events were as I imagine, she had not heard the story of the other women. All she knew was that Jesus was gone.

She enters the tomb, and sees the two angels, but because she never heard the other women’s story, she doesn’t recognize the angels for what they are.

So when they ask her, “Why are you crying?” she simply says, “They’ve taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

Perhaps the angels were about to tell Mary the truth when they saw Jesus appear behind her.

At first, through her tears, she couldn’t recognize him, but then he spoke her name, “Mary.”

And in an instant, all of her tears of sorrow were washed away by joy.

How often are we like Mary? We’re going through a tough time, and God seems far away. We pray but our prayers bounce off the ceiling. We seek him, but we can’t seem to find him. For all we know, he’s dead.

But the truth is, he is there. Like Mary, we can’t see him, but he is there. And at the proper time, he will reveal himself to us.

So don’t give up. We all go through times of sorrow. We all go through times when God seems distant.

But he is Immanuel. He is God with us. And through the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, he will change our sorrow into joy.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 28

A people that will not be convinced

Matthew

The hardness of heart that the priests and Pharisees had is simply unbelievable to me. Despite all their efforts, the tomb was empty. That is one thing even they did not dispute.

They had the testimony of the guard who told them that there was an earthquake, and then an angel rolled away the stone.

More, they had to have heard of all the people that had died who were suddenly now living again. (Matthew 27:52-53)

But with all this evidence before them, they still didn’t believe Jesus was the Christ. Instead, they went out of their way to bribe the guards so that they would spread a false rumor that the disciples had stolen the body.

And these were people that prided themselves in keeping God’s law.

It just goes to prove what Jesus said in his story about Lazarus,

If [people] do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. (Luke 16:31)

Jesus rose from the dead and so did many others. But the Pharisees and priests refused to believe.

And there are many people like that today. You can throw out all the evidence there is for God; you can answer all their questions about the Bible and Jesus.

They may even see things they can’t explain, people healed of cancer or other terminal illnesses. Yet they still won’t believe.

Ultimately it comes down to the fact that there are people who simply will not believe. It’s not that they can’t believe. They choose not to. And apart from God’s grace, they never will.

So what am I saying? Pray. For only God can open the eyes of such people.

The apostle Paul tells us,

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

What do we pray? That God would make his light shine in their hearts to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Indeed, that was what saved Paul. In his blindness and rejection of the truth, God shined his light upon Paul both literally and figuratively and it changed his life.

Are you discouraged by the hardness of heart in the people you love? You cannot change their hearts. No matter what you say or do, you don’t have the power to change a heart.

But God does. So don’t give up. Pray. Fervently.

And by his grace, God will bring his light of salvation to them.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 27 Matthew 28

A God who cannot be thwarted

Matthew

This is perhaps one of the more humorous incidents in the Bible if you really think about it.

The Pharisees and chief priests were concerned that perhaps the disciples might come to steal the body and claim that Jesus had risen from the dead as he had prophesied. And so they asked Pilate to make the grave secure so that no one could come and steal the body.

Pilate assented, and gave them a guard (that is, a group of soldiers), to protect the tomb from any robbers.

But on the third day, there was an earthquake, and an angel rolled away the stone and sat on it. This so freaked out the guards that they fainted dead away.

Imagine the consternation of the priests and the Pharisees when they heard this.

They had to have been questioning themselves, “Why in the world did we set that guard? All we did is make it more inexplicable that the body has disappeared?”

But it all goes to prove one thing. People can make all their plans to achieve their purposes while denying God’s. But God is not someone who can be thwarted. And his purposes will stand.

Many people wonder about the tension between God’s sovereignty and our free will.

I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I think you catch a glimpse of the answer here. By their free will, the priests and Pharisees put out a guard to prevent Jesus from coming out from that grave.

God didn’t interfere with that choice at all. But after they made their choice, God made his. He raised Jesus from the dead, rolled away the stone, and scared the living daylights out of the guards in the process.

In the same way, we make our choices, and God lets us do so.

But then God makes his choices, and his purposes will not be thwarted. It wasn’t thwarted then back at the tomb. Nor will it be thwarted now nor into eternity.

So let us praise him and walk with confidence knowing that no matter what happens, God is in control, and his purposes will be accomplished.

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John John 19 Luke Luke 23 Mark Mark 15 Matthew Matthew 27

That scripture would be fulfilled

The gospels

One thing that becomes crystal clear as we look at these passages is that Christ’s death was no accident. It was no mistake on the part of God. Rather, he had planned it from the beginning of time for our salvation.

The irony was that when the chief priests asked for a sign from Jesus to prove that he was the Messiah, Jesus did give them a sign. They were just too blind and deaf to perceive it.

They demanded he come down from the cross. He pointed them to prophecy.

He couldn’t have been more clear when he cried out,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

The priests thought he was calling for Elijah. But Jesus was actually pointing them to Psalm 22. Why? If they had only seen, they would have understood that Jesus was fulfilling many of the things that David had written.

He was scorned, despised, mocked, and insulted. In fact, the chief priests themselves used virtually the very words that David prophesied they would say.

He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him. (Psalm 22:8)

He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ (Matthew 27:43)

David also gave a graphic description of suffering on the cross. He said,

All my bones are out of joint. (Psalm 22:14a)

This disjointing of the bones is what often happened to people hanging on a cross.

David then said,

My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. (Psalm 22:14b)

John records that when the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, water and blood flowed out, which doctors today say is a sign that he had suffered heart failure.

David prophesied Jesus’ great thirst upon the cross, saying,

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. (Psalm 22:15)

And he prophesied Jesus’ hands and feet being pierced. (Psalm 22:16).

More, a person hanging on a cross could probably see his ribs pressing against his flesh, thus David saying,

I can count all my bones. (Psalm 22:17)

And of course, David prophesied the casting of lots for Jesus’ clothing, saying,

They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Psalm 22:18)

All these pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, but the chief priests who knew the scripture, couldn’t see it.

John points to other scriptures, Psalm 34, Psalm 69, and Zechariah 12, all of which point to the cross.

And of course, Isaiah 53 describes even more.

Jesus being pierced for our sin and taking our punishment for us.

Being silent in front of his accusers.

Interceding for those who killed him.

Being originally assigned a grave with the wicked, but instead being buried in a rich man’s tomb.

And of course, being resurrected from the dead.

In short, again, this was no accident. It was planned and purposed by the Father for our salvation from the beginning of time.

So let us never take the cross for granted. Instead let us praise God with hearts full of thanksgiving for the price his Son paid for our salvation.

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John John 19 Luke Luke 23 Mark Mark 15 Matthew Matthew 27

Paid in full

The gospels

If there is one thing I hate to do, it’s pay taxes.

Every year, I have to go down to the tax office to declare my income, and then a month later, I collect my refund…only to have to give all of that refund back and more to pay my property taxes as well as my city and prefectural taxes.

Nowadays, I tend to pay these taxes all at once. We have the option to pay in installments, but it’s nice to get it all over with. And when I pay, my tax bill is stamped, to show that my tax debt is paid in full.

And that is exactly the picture Jesus invoked when saying his final words at the cross.

At around 12:00 p.m., the gospels tell us that it became dark, and that the sun did not shine its light.

I doubt that it was an eclipse because those last only a few minutes, and this darkness lasted 3 hours. But however God did it, a darkness fell on the land.

My guess is it was a picture of God placing all of our sin upon Jesus. That all the darkness in this world that comes from sin, was put on Jesus during that time.

Then at around 3 p.m. Jesus cried out,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

At that moment, I believe that God the Father turned his face aside from Jesus because of the sin that had been placed upon him.

If so, it was the first time ever that the relationship between the two had ever been broken, and Jesus suffered what all of us deserve: separation from the Father.

Separation from he who is love. Separation from he who is joy. Separation from he who is life.

That’s what hell is. And so in that sense (and that sense alone), Jesus suffered hell. He took upon himself the punishment that we deserved.

And having suffered that, he looked up for the last time, and said,

“It is finished. Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46, John 19:30)

It is finished.

Those were the words that were often printed on the bill of those who paid their taxes in Jesus’ day. And they literally meant, “paid in full.”

And by Jesus’ death on the cross, he paid in full the debt we owed because of our sin.

What’s the result? We can have a new relationship with God.

God tore the curtain that hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. (Mark 15:38). And by doing so, he was telling us, “The barrier that stood between me and you is gone. You have now free access to me through my Son.”

We no longer have to stay at a distance from God as the Israelites once did. (Exodus 20:18-21)

We can draw near. So let us draw near.

As the writer of Hebrews exhorts us,

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

Categories
John John 19

Seeing beyond our misery

John

I suppose one of the biggest tests of how selfish we are is how we respond in times of misery. When we are suffering, when we are going through trials, where is our focus? Is it on us?

That would only be human, I suppose. To wallow in self-pity. To ask, “Why me?” To ask, “How long will I have to suffer like this?”

But from everything we see of Jesus on the cross, his focus was still more on others than on himself.

We saw it with the thief on the cross. We saw it in his intercession for those who persecuted him. And we see it here in this scene with his mother.

Here is his mother, weeping at the foot of the cross. Her firstborn is dying a horrible death. Apparently, her other children are not even there.

We’ve seen in the past how they thought Jesus was out of his mind (Mark 3:21).

Perhaps they were embarrassed by him and thought he had brought dishonor on the family by his crucifixion.

And so from a family standpoint, Mary stood alone. Her other children would be of little comfort to her. So when Jesus saw the disciple he loved (probably John himself) standing by her, he said to his mother,

Dear woman, here is your son. (John 19:26)

And to John, he said,

Here is your mother. (John 19:27)

From that time on, John took Mary into his home.

Jesus had every right to focus solely on his suffering. He was innocent. He deserved none of what he went through. And yet, he continued to focus on and care for others.

How about you?

One of the most remarkable women I have ever met was the wife of one of my pastors. She was one of the most caring people I have ever met. And that continued even to her death.

She went to be with the Lord a couple of years ago, a victim of cancer. But even though at the end, she was forced to stay in bed and to be cared for by others, she didn’t wallow in self-pity. To the end, she was still trying to minister, even to the person who had been hired to care for her.

This is not to say that she was perfect. I’m sure she went through times of depression. But her focus never stayed inward. And in that, she was a picture of our Savior.

What struggles are you going through? What problems? What trials?

As you go through them, where is your focus? Is it solely on yourself? Or can you see beyond your misery to see beyond yourself?

A heart that focuses on itself in times of misery stays in misery.

A heart that can see beyond its misery to the needs of others rises above it.

And ultimately finds joy.

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John John 19 Luke Luke 23 Mark Mark 15 Matthew Matthew 27

Railing at God, humbling ourselves before him

The gospels

This is one of the most famous stories from the cross. Along with Jesus, two robbers were crucified by his side. And at first, both mocked him. In the ESV, it says,

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)

Somehow, that word, “railed,” really strikes me. It makes me think about how many people rail at God when they face the consequences for their sin.

Here was this criminal who had done wrong and was being punished for it, but far from being repentant, it seems he felt that he was being wronged.

Perhaps he felt justified in the things that he had done, and so as he railed at Jesus, he said, “Are you really the Christ? Then save me from this! I don’t deserve this!”

Apparently, according to the other gospels, the second criminal joined in with the first in railing at Jesus, at least at first.

But perhaps as Jesus refused to answer, but instead only looked with pity upon his abusers, the second criminal started to quiet down.

He saw the dignity of Jesus in a situation where all dignity had seemingly been stripped away from him.

He saw the compassion, love, and forgiveness Jesus had for those who had crucified him.

And as he did, perhaps he remembered all the stories he had heard about Jesus. Perhaps, he had even gone to listen to Jesus at one time and seen him perform all those miracles.

As he considered all these things, perhaps he then looked at himself, and for the first time, admitted, “I was wrong. I made all these excuses for what I did. But ultimately, those were just excuses. I was wrong. I deserve this.”

And so after hearing again the railings of the man beside him, he said,

Don’t you fear God…since you are under the same sentence?

We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. (Luke 23:40-41)

Then he turned to Jesus, and pled with him,

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. (Luke 23:42)

I’m not sure, but perhaps for the first and only time on the cross, Jesus smiled. And he said,

I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)

And in that moment, the man was saved. In death, he found life.

As I said, so many people are like the first man on the cross. They do wrong, but when they are caught in their sin and suffer for it, instead of admitting their wrong, they rail at God.

Sometimes, people wonder how God could allow eternal punishment.

I think part of it is because there is no repentance in hell. Rather, there is an eternal railing against God.

They rail that they were justified in their actions. And they rail that God would punish them for what they know deep in their heart is wrong.

And part of hell is the knowing they are wrong and are getting what they deserve but being too proud to admit it.

But for those who will only recognize their sin, humble themselves, and repent, as the second criminal did, there is forgiveness and there is life.

But that time is now. Because once you are dead, it is too late. As the apostle Paul wrote,

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

How about you? Have you humbled yourself before Jesus? Have you received his salvation?

Categories
Luke Luke 23

Forgive them

Forgive them.

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult things people struggle with. The reason is that the hurts we experience go straight to the depths of our hearts. And as deep as our wounds go, they can be very difficult to heal.

For a simple prick of the finger, healing is generally quick; for a deliberate knifing, healing takes much more time.

That’s what makes Jesus’ response to his enemies so remarkable. He said,

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)

Think about that for a minute.

Obviously, it’s easier to forgive someone who literally doesn’t know what they’re doing. They accidentally hurt you and when they find out, they’re quick to apologize. That kind of wound is relatively easy to forgive.

But what of the person who knows exactly what they’re doing. That type of person is much harder to forgive.

Which category do the Pharisees and chief priests fall into. Did they say, “Oh, Jesus, how in the world did you end up on that cross. My bad. Let me help you get off of there.”

No. From the very beginning, all their actions were quite deliberate.

They paid Judas to betray him. They got false witnesses to lie about him in the Sanhedrin. They then lied to Pilate and Herod about Jesus. They incited the crowd against him. And now with him on the cross, they ruthlessly mocked him.

How in the world could Jesus say, “They don’t know what they’re doing.”

They knew exactly what they were doing.

And yet they didn’t. They were blinded by their own jealousy. They were blinded by their own pride. They were blinded by their own sin. They were blinded by Satan himself.

Just as we all were at one time.

When people hurt you, no matter how deliberately, they do it because they are blind. They can’t see how their actions could be hurtful. Or perhaps they can’t see the value you have as a person in God’s eyes.

It’s also possible that they have their own hurts that they’ve never come to grips with, and those hurts cause them to lash out in ways that even they can’t understand sometimes.

I know of a man who really struggled with forgiving his father for all the physical and emotional abuse he had poured out on his family.

But the day came when God opened his eyes and he realized that his father had been abused too. That because of the hurt his father had experienced as a child, and his inability to deal with it, he grew up to be the man he had become.

And because he could finally understand his father, he suddenly felt compassion for him and was able to forgive.

That’s what we need to pray for when we’re struggling to forgive. That God would help us get our eyes off of ourselves and our hurts. That he would help us to understand the hurts and needs of those who have hurt us so that we can have compassion on them.

That’s what Jesus did. Jesus saw beyond his own hurt to the utter need of those who hated him. They never ever repented for what they did. But he was able to forgive.

Though God gives you understanding of those who hurt you, they may never change.

But as you start to understand them, you will change. You’ll start to focus on their hurts and needs instead of your own. And because of the compassion God puts in your heart for them, you will be able to forgive.

Is there someone you’re struggling to forgive.

Pray for understanding for why they act the way they do. And as he gives you that understanding, pray for them as Jesus did,

Father forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.

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John John 19 Luke Luke 23 Mark Mark 15 Matthew Matthew 27

What has been written

The gospels

The interaction between Pilate and the chief priests is very interesting. Pilate put up the “charge” against Jesus, calling him the “King of the Jews.”

The priests immediately went up to Pilate, asking him to change it to, “He claimed to be king of the Jews.” But Pilate simply replied, “What I have written, I have written.” (John 19:21-22)

It strikes me that many people take the same kind of attitude toward Jesus that the Jews did.

They don’t want to recognize Jesus as their king. They don’t want to admit that he’s God’s Son. They don’t want to admit he’s the only way of salvation.

So they complain to Christians saying, “He just claimed to be the king. He just claimed that he was God’s Son. He just claimed that he’s the only way. But don’t go telling us that he really is all these things. We don’t believe it.”

But unlike Pilate, we have a higher authority than ourselves to point to. And we simply have to say, “What God has written in his Word, he has written. You cannot change what he has said. Nor can you convince him to change his mind.

What he has said is fixed for all eternity. And all your unbelief will not change it.”

People won’t like to hear that. The chief priests certainly didn’t. But the question is not whether you like it or not. The question is whether it’s true.

And the question is whether you will bend your heart to that truth or attempt to bend the truth to what you want to believe.

But if you try to do the latter, it’s not the truth that will shatter, but you.

Jesus said of himself,

Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone (that is, Jesus) the builders (the chief priests and other religious leaders) rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’…

He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. (Matthew 21:42, 44)

The chief priests rejected Jesus, and as a result their whole world was shattered. Jerusalem was conquered, their temple destroyed, and worse, they will find themselves condemned before God on judgment day.

The same will happen to anyone who rejects Christ. What God has written is written.

The only question is, “What will you do with what he has said?”

Categories
Luke Luke 23

The heart of Jesus

Luke

If there is one thing that always astonishes me, it’s the heart of Jesus. And it is as he goes to his death, that we see the compassion that caused him go to the cross in the first place.

On his way up the hill, he saw the women weeping for him, and he said to them,

Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.

For the time will come when you will say, “Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!”

Then “they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!'”

For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? (Luke 23:27-31)

Here Jesus looked beyond his circumstances to what would happen to the Jews because they had rejected him.

He was basically telling them, “If the Romans are willing to do such things to me, though I am full of the life of God, how much worse will they treat those who are withered spiritually?

“The days will come when you will wish for death, and envy those without children because of what they do to you.”

And that’s what happened when Rome destroyed Jerusalem in some 35 to 40 years later.

The point is, however, that Jesus didn’t want that, even for those who hated him. He longed for them to be saved. He longs for us to be saved. And that’s why he went to the cross.

Jesus died because he looked beyond himself to us and our needs.

The old hymn captures the wonder I feel at such a thought.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
–Wesley

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John John 19 Luke Luke 23 Mark Mark 15 Matthew Matthew 27

If we were forced to bear the cross Christ bore

The gospels

We know very little of this man of Cyrene, this Simon. It is conjectured that he is the father of the Rufus mentioned in Romans 16:13, the only other Rufus mentioned in the Bible.

In all probability, he was a pilgrim from Northern Africa, a Jew who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, perhaps for the first time ever.

But when he arrived, he got more than he expected. He saw the true Passover lamb sacrificed for him. (I Corinthians 5:7).

For a time, though, Simon had to bear the cross Jesus was eventually crucified on.

As Jesus was going up the hill, the physical strain, the loss of blood, the scourging, the beating he had taken at the hands of the soldiers, and the emotional strain, of being betrayed and abandoned by those he loved most dearly, became too much and he fell under the weight of the cross. He could no longer bear it.

And so Simon had to carry it for him.

And it makes me think. What would have happened if Jesus had said to us at Calvary, “Enough. I can’t bear this anymore. You carry the cross. You die on that cross. You deserve it, after all, not me. I’ve never sinned. You have.”

In a sense, Simon had to experience that, if only for a short time. A cross that he should have been carrying anyway because of his sin, was put on him because Jesus simply couldn’t do it anymore.

Did he realize later, “I was doing Jesus no favor by taking up that cross for him. I was carrying the cross I deserved anyway.

It was he who was doing me the favor by trying to carry my cross up to Calvary. It was he who helped me, he who saved me by dying on that cross when I should have been the one hung there.

But what if he had chosen not to? What if he had simply felt like he could not bear it any longer? Where would I be now?”

The answer? Hell. Because that’s what we all deserve. Hell.

But Jesus did bear the cross. He loved us so much that he died there, and by doing so he took the punishment we deserved upon himself.

And now, because of what he did, our sins can be forgiven, and we can find life as we were meant to have it. A life in relationship with the God who loves us more than any other.

So let us never take the cross for granted. And when we look at it, may we look to the One who died there with hearts full of gratitude.

Jesus Christ,
Praise your name,
Lord, I sing
Without shame.

You bore the cross.
So much love.
All my life, all I need is you.
–James Gabriel

Categories
Matthew Matthew 27

His blood upon us

Crucify! Crucify!
www.LumoProject.com

As I look at all the gospel accounts, the cries of the crowd shouting “Crucify! Crucify!” resonate with me.

How it must have broken the heart of Jesus to see the ones he loved reject him so.

Pilate, in his utter despair of the situation, finally washed his hands in front of them, and said,

I am innocent of this man’s blood…It is your responsibility! (Matthew 27:24)

To which the people responded,

Let his blood be on us and on our children! (Matthew 27:25)

Ultimately, that’s what happened. Because of their rejection of Christ, they and their children perished when Titus came to destroy Jerusalem in AD 70.

But as I reflect on Pilate’s words and the crowd’s, two things strike me.

First, it is our responsibility that Jesus died. It was because of us that he died.

Had we never rejected God, had we never sinned, Jesus would never have had to die. And so his blood is not only on the Jews of that time, it is on us as well.

Paul says,

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Because of this, there is no one who can say as Pilate tried to, “It is not my responsibility.”

We are all responsible.

But there’s another way to look at the phrase, “his blood be upon us,” and this is the second thing.

Certainly, the crowd meant that they were responsible when they said it. But the irony is, it is now his blood upon us that cleanses us from our sin.

When we put our faith in Jesus, his blood covers our sin and makes us righteous before him.

The writer of Hebrews tells us,

Jesus entered the Most Holy Place (in the heavenly tabernacle) once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (Hebrews 9:12-14)

So let us cry out to the Savior, “Your blood is upon us. We are responsible for your death because of our sin. But now may your blood be upon us, and by your grace and mercy, cleanse us, forgive us, and make us whole.”

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John John 19

Who is your king?

John

As we look at the interaction between Pilate and the chief priests, we see one of the great ironies of scripture.

On one hand, we have this pagan governor who has little or no concept of who God really is, telling the Jews, “Here is your King.”

And he was absolutely right. Jesus was their rightful king.

But here were the religious leaders of the Jews, the ones who should have known God better than anyone else, insisting, “We have no king but Caesar.”

The one that should have been insisting Caesar was king (Pilate) was saying Jesus was their king.

The ones who should have been insisting that Jesus was their king (the chief priests) instead declared Caesar as their king.

Even if the priests didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah, they still should have proclaimed God as their king. But in their fervent hatred for Jesus, they called Caesar their king.

How about you? Who is your king?

Maybe unlike the priests, your mouth declares Jesus as your king, but how about your actions?

When people look at your actions, would they say your job is your king? That is, your job considerations trump every other consideration? Or would they say it’s your family? Or your hobbies or interests?

Here in Japan, one of the biggest gods is the god of culture. Even among Christians, culture often reigns as king.

The pressure to yield to cultural norms is tremendous whether it’s to maintain family harmony at the expense of compromising your Christian faith, or whether it’s to place job above church or even family.

If someone were to look at your life and based on that said, “Here is your king,” what would they be pointing at?

Would they be pointing to your job? Your culture? Yourself? Or would they be pointing at God?

More importantly, what would your response be? Could you honestly acknowledge God as your king? Or would you have to point to something else?

Who is your king?

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Luke Luke 23

Those to whom Jesus has nothing to say

Luke

We now see in this passage Herod’s response to Jesus. Perhaps, though, it would be better to call it Jesus’ response to Herod.

This was the same Herod that had beheaded John the Baptist, and had wondered if Jesus was John raised from the dead. (Matthew 14:1-12; Luke 9:7-9)

When Herod had first heard of Jesus, he had tried to see him, and failed. If the Pharisees weren’t lying, it’s also possible that he had even tried to take Jesus by force, but failed. (Luke 13:31-33)

Now at long last, Herod had Jesus before him. But though he asked him many questions and tried to get him to perform some miracles, Jesus said nothing.

Why not? I think Jesus knew that no matter what he said or what he did, Herod would never believe.

Herod had had John before him many times after he had imprisoned him. But though he had been intrigued by John, and “liked to listen to him,” he refused to repent. (Mark 6:20)

He treated Jesus the same way. As a curiosity. As a person of perhaps some interest. As a person who could perhaps provide some entertainment.

But he certainly didn’t look at Jesus as someone to obey. And he most certainly didn’t see him as someone he should take seriously. And so Jesus said nothing.

The warning for us is this: If we harden our hearts to him, Jesus will have nothing to say to us.

Jesus is no genie to perform for us. Nor is he one to be treated as a curiosity that we can take lightly.

He is God himself. He is the King. He is the Lord.

How about you? How do you see Jesus?

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John John 18 John 19 Luke Luke 23 Mark Mark 15 Matthew Matthew 27

When we have nothing to stand on

The gospels

I will start by saying that it’s a bit hard to harmonize these passages. Here’s how I see it, but I encourage you to look at it yourself, and come to your own conclusions.

  • The priests and council members bring Jesus in front of Pilate with their initial accusations. (Luke 23:1-2, John 18:29-31)
  • Pilate then talks to Jesus the first time. (John 18:33-38 gives us the most details of this conversation while the other gospels give the briefest of summaries).
  • Pilate proclaims Jesus innocent but after further accusations, decides to send him to Herod. (Mark 15:3-5; Luke 23:4-12)
  • Herod returns Jesus, and Pilate proclaims him innocent again. (Luke 23:13-17)
  • Pilate proposes releasing Jesus or Barabbas, and the crowd demands Barabbas. (All the gospels.)
  • Pilate releases Barabbas, but then proposes punishing Jesus instead of crucifying him. Ultimately, he has Jesus flogged. (Mark 15:16-20; Luke 23:21; John 19:1-7)
  • Pilate makes one last appeal, but ends up giving Jesus over to be crucified. (John 19:7-14)

With that background, over the next few days, I think I’ll go over the main characters in these events.

Today, I want to look at Pilate. You can read about Pilate in history, but I want to stay with what we see here. And what I see is someone who had nothing to stand on when it came to how he made decisions and how he lived his life.

When Pilate first called Jesus in for a private interrogation, his main concern was whether Jesus was truly an insurrectionist or not. So he asked point blank whether Jesus was a king or not.

When he found out that Jesus did claim to be a king, but that this kingdom was “not of this world,” and was certainly no threat to the Roman empire, that was all that mattered to Pilate. (John 18:36-37).

But Jesus would not let things rest there. Instead he challenged Pilate, by saying,

In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. (John 18:37b)

Basically, Jesus was asking Pilate, “What about you? Are you on the side of truth? Are you a lover of truth? Are you willing to stand on truth? If you are, then you must listen to me and believe it.”

It’s the challenge that faces all of us. What do we base our lives on? Do we base it on truth? Do we believe that Jesus himself is truth?

Pilate faced that question in that moment. His response?

What is truth? (John 18:38)

I really wish that we could know the tone behind his words. Did he say this with the implication of, “Who do you think you are? You think you know better than everyone else?”

Or did he say it with a voice dripping with irony? “Truth? There is no truth. Truth is what people in power say it is.”

Or did he say it with despair. “Is there really any truth out there? Is it really possible to find?”

Whatever his feeling, his ultimate response was to reject the idea of absolute truth. Specifically he rejected Jesus as the source of truth. The result?

He had no foundation by which to make his decisions. Instead, he was tossed and blown by the winds of the words of others and the pressures they put upon him.

The pressure of facing a riot. (Matthew 27:24)

The pressure of being reported to Caesar. (John 19:12)

The pressure, ultimately, of his own fears. And because of this, he made a decision he knew was wrong.

The same will happen to us. If we refuse to make truth the foundation of our lives, if we refuse to make Jesus himself the foundation of our lives, then we will be blown and tossed by the opinions of others and by our own fears. And we’ll end up making decisions we know are wrong.

How about you? What do you rest your decisions on? What do you rest your life on?

Do you seek God’s counsel? And do you have the faith to believe that what he has said is true?

James tells us,

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (James 1:5-8)

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Matthew Matthew 27

A sorrow that leads to death

Matthew

Here we see the end of Judas Iscariot’s life.

Upon seeing that Jesus had been condemned to death, he became remorseful, and went to the priests and elders saying,

I have sinned…for I have betrayed innocent blood. (Matthew 27:4)

He even tried to return the money, but when the priests and elders refused to take it, he threw it into the temple and went and hung himself.

The apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 7 talks about two kinds of sorrow. Paul tells us,

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. (2 Corinthians 7:10a)

This is the kind of sorrow that we eventually see in Peter. Devastated as he was by his failure in denying Jesus three times, he nevertheless repented, and was eventually restored.

Judas, on the other hand, never did repent.

Certainly he was sorry for the results of his actions. But instead of coming before God for forgiveness, he killed himself.

Paul calls this kind of sorrow, “a worldly sorrow that leads to death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10b)

Unfortunately, far too many people have Judas’ kind of sorrow.

They see the damage that they have done through their actions. But they see no hope for forgiveness. They think that what they’ve done is just too awful for even God to forgive.

The question is, what are we doing about it?

The people that should have helped Judas find the forgiveness of God, the priests, were of no help.

They basically said, “What’s your sorrow to us? If you think you’ve done something wrong, that’s your responsibility. Don’t come crying to us about it.”

The priests, of course, were too hardened by their own sin to be of any help. To have helped Judas would of course have meant recognizing their own sin. And they weren’t about to do that.

What’s so ironic is that they felt they couldn’t put the money back in the treasury from where it came because it was “blood money.”

Obviously, somewhere deep inside, they knew they were wrong.

But getting back to the point, as God’s priests, we should be helping people who are sorrowful for the mess they’ve made of their lives.

Are we doing that? Are we letting people know that God’s grace is there for them if they’ll just repent?

Or are we happy they are suffering? Are we saying, “That’s your responsibility. You’re reaping what you sowed. So don’t ask me to come help bail you out.”

Jesus had every right to do that to Peter. For that matter, he had every right to do that to each disciple that abandoned him.

Instead, he showed them grace. He showed them God’s forgiveness. That led to their repentance and completely changed their lives.

That’s what Jesus calls us to do for others. Are you?

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Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

The ultimate question

The gospels

The trial of Jesus was an atrocity on many levels.

Among them, the priests and Sanhedrin knew Jesus was innocent. Yet because of their jealousy and hatred of Jesus, they were desperate to find a reason to kill him.

Jewish law required that two witnesses agree before condemning a person, but time after time, the testimony was completely uncollaborated.

Finally, they seemed to find two people that could agree. Two witnesses came up and said that Jesus had threatened to destroy the temple and that he would build a new one.

This, though Jesus had meant, “Though you destroy this temple, I will raise it up,” and that he was referring to his death and resurrection, not the destroying of the Jewish temple. (John 2:19-21).

As a result, there were contradictions between what even the two witnesses said and in the end, their testimony became completely invalidated.

The high priest was so frustrated at that point, that he finally questioned Jesus directly, and when Jesus refused to answer, he said,

I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. (Matthew 26:63)

And that is the ultimate question. Who is Jesus? Is he really the Christ? Is he really the Son of God? Because if he is, we owe him our lives. More than that, we are accountable to him.

Jesus warned them as such, saying,

But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven. (Matthew 26:64)

The reference is to Daniel 7, where all authority, glory, and power were given to the Messiah, and judgment would be pronounced on all who warred against him.

The reaction of the priests and Sanhedrin? Rejection. They refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. That he was their Messiah. Instead, they accused him of blasphemy and condemned him to death.

Many people do the same today.

They are exposed to the gospel. They are exposed to the claims of Christ. And they reject him. They trample underfoot the one who loved them enough to die for them.

As a result, the writer of Hebrews tells us they will be judged. (Hebrews 10:28-30)

But for all who believe in him and receive him, he gives the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

The choice is yours. What will you choose? What will you do with Christ?

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John John 18

Striking those who tell us the truth

John

We now go to the first hearing Jesus had, this one before Annas.

Annas had been the high priest before Caiaphas but had been deposed from his position by the Roman government. Nevertheless, he was still held in high regard by the spiritual leadership, and his influence was still very strong.

At any rate, he questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. But Jesus essentially deflected the questions and said, “My ministry has always been public. Everyone knows what I have taught. Ask them.”

In saying this, Jesus was pointing them to the law that they claimed to revere, and was basically telling them, “If you are going to charge me for some wrongdoing, call witnesses up and have them testify. That’s what the law says, isn’t it?”

At which point, one of the officials struck him in the face, saying, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

Jesus replied,

If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me? (John 18:23)

In other words, “I’m merely pointing out that you should be following the law and calling witnesses. If what I said is wrong, tell me exactly how I’m wrong. But if I’m telling the truth, what right do you have to strike me?”

There was no answer the high priest could give to this. Jesus was right, after all. And so they had him sent to Caiaphas for the formal hearing.

But Jesus’ words make me think, “How do we respond to the truth when people confront us with it, particularly when we know we’re wrong?”

Are we like Annas, proud and refusing to admit our wrong? Are we like his officer, and abuse those who tell us the truth?

Or do we humbly accept the truth?

Truth can be hard to hear sometimes. Honestly, there are times when I can be really hard-hearted. And more than once, God had to step into the situation and say, “Bruce, listen.”

Even then, there was a struggle. I don’t like to admit I’m wrong. And oftentimes, I simply want to do things my own way.

But as followers of Christ, we can’t live that way. We need to be lovers of the truth. Even when it hurts.

So as James said,

Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:21–22)

How do you respond to people who confront you with truth?

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John 18 Luke 22 Mark 14 Matthew 26

Taking a hard look at ourselves

The gospels

We’ll get to the trial of Jesus in the next few blogs, but first, I’d like to deal with Peter.

It’s a bit tricky trying to harmonize the gospels on this point because there are variations in the testimony. If I’ve pieced it together properly, there were actually four denials with three coming before witnesses.

The first came as Peter entered the courtyard of the high priest.

Another of the disciples (perhaps John, or perhaps a disciple who was not one of the twelve) was well known to the high priest, so he was able to enter the courtyard, and on his word, Peter was able to enter too. (John 18:15-16)

Enter a very persistent servant girl. She was the one watching the gate, and as Peter entered, she asked, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” (John 18:17)

At a guess, she recognized him as one that had been with Jesus. This was probably confirmed in her mind by the fact that his friend who had vouched for him was a disciple too.

Peter denied it, saying, “I am not.”

The first denial before witnesses came shortly thereafter. As Peter was warming himself by the fire, the same girl came up to him, peered closely, and convinced that she was right, said, “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus.” (Mark 14:67)

She then announced to everyone in the courtyard in a loud voice, “This man was with him.” (Luke 22:56)

At that point, one of the people at the fire questioned Peter, “You’re not one of his disciples are you?” (John 18:25)

Peter answered. “I am not. I don’t even know the man. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” (Mark 14:68; John 18:25b)

He then moved off to the entryway. A short while later, the same servant girl came with her friend, another servant girl who had perhaps seen Peter with Jesus before, and pointed him out to her, saying, “This fellow is one of them.” (Mark 14:69)

Her friend then said for all to hear, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” (Matthew 26:71)

One of the men in the area looked over, recognized Peter and he too exclaimed, “You also are one of them.” (Luke 22:58)

Peter then swore that he didn’t saying, “Man, I am not. I don’t know the man.” (Matthew 26:72; Luke 22:58b)

Perhaps that satisfied everyone for a while, but after about an hour, one of the priest’s servants walked by and saw Peter.

Worse, he was a relative of the man Peter had attacked in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he said, “Didn’t I see you with him at the olive grove?” (John 18:26).

When Peter denied it, another piped up, “Surely you are one of them for you are a Galilean. Your accent gives you away. (Matthew 26:73; Mark 14:70)

At that point, Peter lost it and started to call curses on himself swearing, “I don’t know the man.”

And then, he heard a rooster crow. He then heard a commotion in the courtyard as Jesus was being led out to be taken to Pilate, and as he turned, he saw Jesus looking right at him.

Realizing what he had done, he ran out, weeping bitterly.

So much for that. What can we get from this?

It would be so easy to criticize Peter. To criticize him for his cowardice and hypocrisy. But I think we would be better served to take a close look at ourselves.

Personally, I don’t know if I would have done any better than Peter.

I remember as a teenager, basically doing the same thing. When asked if I was a Christian, I didn’t deny it, but I avoided the question entirely, either by silence or by trying to deflect the question.

It’s something I’m ashamed of to this day.

But going beyond that, I have seen people fall into other kinds of sin. Particularly sexual ones. And knowing the temptations that I face daily, I know that I could be like them if I’m not careful. Because I am weak. And only by the grace of God, can I stand.

And that’s what we need to remember when we see others fall. That we are all weak. We are all sinful. And we can all fall. So let us not stand in judgment so much as to have compassion for them and seek their restoration.

Let us remember the words of Paul who wrote,

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

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John John 18 Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

Power and authority, mercy and grace

The gospels

In this passage, there are three things I see in Jesus.

1. His power and authority. Though surrounded by his enemies, he was in total command of the situation. Standing to face his enemies, he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”

And when they said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” he answered, “I am he.” (John 18:4-5)

At this, his enemies immediately fell to the ground at his use of the divine name. (Exodus 3:13-14; John 8:58)

What fear must have struck their hearts at that moment? Jesus then asked again, “Who are you looking for?” (John 18:6-7)

Completely shaken and with a lot less confidence in their voices, they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and probably braced themselves to be knocked down again.

But instead, Jesus simply said,

I told you that I am he… If you are looking for me, then let these men go. (John 18:8)

And though they went up to arrest him, I don’t think there was any doubt in their minds who was truly in control of the situation.

2. His mercy. Jesus’ disciples, however, perhaps thought to take advantage of their enemies’ uncertainty, and one of them cried out,

Lord, should we strike with our swords? (Luke 22:49)

Not waiting for an answer, Peter dashed up and chopped the ear off of one of the men that had come to arrest Jesus.

(Either he had very good aim going for the ear and hitting it, or he was trying to slice the guy in two, and missed. I kind of think it was the latter).

But Jesus rebuked his followers, and told them,

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)

There’s an old song that says Jesus could have called 10,000 angels to destroy the world and set himself free.

Actually, the songwriter miscalculated. 12 legions would be more like 48,000 to 72,000 men. (Then again, maybe the songwriter just thought ten thousand sounded better).

Whatever the case, the point is Jesus could have destroyed them all. But he showed mercy to them. He spared their lives, and in fact, ultimately gave up his life for theirs.

3. His grace. While mercy is not giving a person the punishment he deserves, grace is the giving of something the person does not deserve.

And Malchus, the high priest’s servant, found Jesus’ grace as Jesus took Malchus’ severed ear and restored it. (Luke 22:51)

It was the last healing that Jesus ever performed here on earth. Physically, anyway.

For it was through the cross that Jesus brought spiritual healing. And by his grace, our sins are forgiven, and we can find eternal life. And he gives it to anyone who will believe.

Power and authority. Mercy and grace. Are there any better descriptions of our Lord?

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Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

When my will is not God’s will

Gethsemane

There are times in our lives when we go through trials and suffering. It may be an illness. It may be family troubles because of our Christian faith. It may be problems in our ministry. And so we pray for relief.

Sometimes God says yes, and we see him work in a powerful way to transform our situation.

But sometimes, God says no. And we see that in this passage.

Jesus asks three times that the Father would take away the cross from him. He says first,

My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. (Matthew 26:39)

This was no calm, serene prayer. So troubled was he that he fell to the ground praying to the Father. (Mark 14:35)

So stressed was he that he sweated blood. (Luke 22:44)

So often we think of Jesus as being perfectly calm and collected at all times. This was certainly not true at that moment.

God knew his feelings. God sympathized. God cared for and loved his Son. But God said no.

Knowing this, when Jesus started to pray again, he said,

My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. (Matthew 26:42)

Still, I have to think that he continued to pray that God would provide another way.

But each time, God said no.

What can we get from this? I think there are several things.

There are people out there, Christian people, who claim that if you just have enough faith, God has to do what you ask.

But if we are going to claim that, then we have to say that Jesus didn’t have enough faith.

Are we going to condemn the Son of God for not having enough faith? I don’t think any rebuttal to that notion is needed.

The truth is that there are times when our will is not God’s will.

God is not a genie that we should make his will bend to ours. Rather, we need to bend our will to his. And that’s exactly what Jesus did.

Rather than insisting on his will, he conformed his will to the Father’s. We need to do the same.

And faced with his no, we need to do as Jesus did at the end of this story. Rise up, go, and do the Father’s will.

But when we make that decision, know that you are not alone. You don’t have to face your situation alone. Jesus didn’t.

In the midst of his struggle, in the midst of his agony in the garden, God sent an angel to comfort and strengthen him. God will do the same for you.

I actually think we can say more than that. Through his Holy Spirit, God himself will comfort us. That in fact, is one of the names of the Holy Spirit: the Comforter. (John 14:16—KJV)

And as I mentioned in an earlier blog, Paul tells us in Romans 8 that when we are weak, he intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will.

Because of that, we can have confidence that God will work out everything for our good. (Romans 8:26-28)

So what do we do when God says no?

Trust him. Trust that his way is better than your way. Trust that he will see you through whatever you’re going through.

Then rise up, go, and continue to do the things he has asked of you.

Categories
John John 18 Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

Weak

The gospels

Nobody ever said Satan fights fair. And he doesn’t. When he sees us in our weakness, whether it be physically or emotionally, he will attack.

You see this in these passages. When Jesus and his disciples arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus warned them,

Pray that you will not fall into temptation. (Luke 22:40)

The disciples had been through an emotional wringer.

They were still trying to make sense of all that Jesus had said, words about his betrayal, words about their betrayal of him, and the thoughts of him being taken from them.

Because of that, they were weakened, not just physically and emotionally (Luke 22:45), but spiritually.

So though Jesus asked them to stay with him and keep watch with him, they fell asleep. Not just once, not just twice, but three times. This despite all Jesus’ pleas and admonishments to keep watch and pray.

The result? When it came time to face Judas and all of Jesus’ enemies, they fled.

Jesus, on the other hand, faced even harsher realities. He was going to the cross, with all the sins of the earth upon him, and his Father’s face turned from him.

We see only a glimpse of his prayers here, but consider that they went on for at least an hour for the first prayer, and that he returned twice more to pray.

He prayed so hard, that drops of blood started to fall from his brow (a condition called hematidrosis—Luke 22:44)

Not only that, with his disciples sleeping, he had no emotional or spiritual support.

But in his weakness, God strengthened him, even sending an angel as support and comfort. (Luke 22:43)

Thus, when the time came for his arrest, he was calm, and fully prepared to face his final trials here on earth.

When I think about why Jesus could do this and his disciples could not, here’s the guess I would hazard.

Jesus throughout his life watched and prayed. Every morning he did so (Mark 1:35), and we can guess that he often did this at night too (Matthew 14:23)

So when the time came when he was weakest, he naturally responded the way he had trained himself.

His disciples, however, had not disciplined themselves that way, so in their weakness, they fell.

I remember reading about a famous football coach named Chuck Noll.

As he was watching film of a game with his team, he pointed out an opposing player who repeatedly made errors late in the game.

And he told his team (this is my paraphrase), “When he was practicing, he was probably lazy about working on his technique. He probably thought to himself, ‘Well, I don’t need to work so hard on this. I know what I need to do, and in the game, I’ll do it.’

“But when you’re tired and beat up late in the game, you don’t think, you react. And you react in the way that you trained yourself.”

The same is true in the spiritual world.

If you tell yourself, “Well, when I’m in trouble, I know what to do. I’ll pray,” but never make a daily practice of that, when you’re tired and beat up spiritually, you’ll find yourself unable to do even that.

And like the disciples, you’ll fall prey to your own weakness when your greatest hour of trial comes.

But if like Jesus you make a practice of seeking God, of watching and talking with him, when your hour of trial comes, you’ll find yourself able to do what you know you should. And you will stand.

How about you? Are you making a daily practice of watching and talking with God?

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. (Mark 14:38)

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John John 17

Jesus’ desire for us

John

I wonder just how much people in the church really know the deepest desires of Jesus?

We saw one of those desires a few days ago, that he really desired an intimate relationship with us. That eternal life is all about drawing close to him, knowing him, and being known by him.

But that’s not his only desire for us. He desires us to be in complete unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. He prayed,

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20–23)

Jesus desires that we have the same kind of relationship with each other as he does with the Father. A relationship where we are one. What does that mean?

Part of that means unity in purpose. That we are all working together toward the same goal: the preaching of the gospel.

But I think it also means a relationship where we are honoring each other above ourselves. Where we’re looking out for each other’s interests above our own. (Philippians 2:3–4)

But too often, we don’t live that way. And when people walk into the church, they see the same bickering, resentful spirit that they see outside the church. The result? They walk away.

Meanwhile, the people in the church are so self-involved, they don’t even notice what just happened. And because of that Jesus grieves.

How much do you grieve Jesus by how you treat others in the church? By the jealousy, the backbiting, and the resentment you hold in your heart.

Not only are we hurting him, but we hurt ourselves. Worse, we cause the world around us to continue stumbling in the dark because they’re convinced they won’t find any light in the church.

How about you? Are you one with those in your church?

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John John 17

Sanctified, being sanctified

John

Sanctification.

It’s one of those words that could best be described as “Christianese.” A word that has meaning in the church, and very little outside of it.

It’s a word you often see in scripture, and one that you might hear thrown around in Sunday messages.

But what does it mean? Essentially, it has two meanings. It means “to be made separate for God’s purposes.” And it means “to be made pure.”

We see both of these ideas here. Jesus prayed for his disciples,

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:16–19)

Let’s take a look at verse 19 first. Jesus said that he sanctified himself that his disciples (and us, for that matter) would be sanctified too.

In other words, he set himself apart for the Father’s purposes by coming to this earth and going to the cross.

By doing so, he has sanctified us, both in the sense of purifying us of our sins, and also of making it possible for us to become truly his.

Now we are no longer truly of this world, though we are in it. Our way of thinking, the way that we live is completely different from the way the world thinks and lives.

That’s why they can no longer understand us, and some even hate us.

But each day, we are being sanctified.

Through God’s word, he shows us what is sinful in his sight, and he causes us to hate such things. And when we sin, his Word causes us to mourn over our sins and repent. In that way, he is constantly purifying us.

But through his Word, he also shows us day by day what he wants of us. He shows us how we are to live our lives and fulfill the purposes of his kingdom. And as we read and live these things, we become set apart for his purposes each day.

So in one sense we have been sanctified, having our sins cleansed because of the blood Jesus shed on the cross. And in another, we are constantly being sanctified day by day.

And since Jesus prays for this in our lives, let it be our prayer too.

Lord Jesus, please sanctify me through and through each day. Make me more like you, hating sin, and seeking to join the Father in his work every day.

Lord, where I fall, please forgive me and pick me up. Purify me, and make me yours each day. Amen.

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John John 17

Prayed for in the midst of a hostile world

John

If there’s one thing I see in this passage, it’s the tender care that Jesus has for us as he prays for us.

And he does pray for us.

So often we pray for others. But Jesus, as our high priest, prays for us. And one thing he prays for is our protection.

Yes, I know Jesus in this passage was specifically praying for his disciples, but I do believe that he prays the same for us even now.

Because just as Jesus sent his disciples out into a hostile world, he sends us out. And just as his disciples faced spiritual opposition, so do we.

So Jesus prayed (and prays),

Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me…

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (John 17:11, 14–15)

There may be times you face spiritual attack. There may be times when people hate you because of the gospel. There may be times you will be persecuted.

But because Jesus is praying for us, the Father puts definite limits on what Satan can do to us, and we will never be given more than we can bear.

So whatever you are going through, no matter how hard it is, stand firm.

Stand in hope that God is still with you. And stand in the knowledge that you will come through whatever you’re going through in victory. Because Jesus is praying for you.

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John John 17

What eternal life truly is

John

A lot of times, we think of eternal life as simply living forever in heavenly bliss. Certainly we will experience that, but to many people, strangely enough, it’s a life devoid of God.

Oh, they have some concept that God will be there and that we’ll know his love, but the idea of really knowing him and being known by him is the last thing on their minds. And that’s the way they live their lives.

And I’m not just talking about non-Christians. Even Christians have a tendency to live that way.

They go to church, they sing songs, they hear the message. Maybe during the week, they even crack open their Bible and pray from time to time.

But the rest of the time, their relationship with God takes a back seat to everything else that goes on in their lives.

Work, family, recreation. All these things are good in themselves, but too often, they leave too little time for us to truly develop our relationship with God.

And ultimately, that’s what life is all about. That’s what eternal life is about: our relationship with him.

In his “Great Priestly Prayer,” Jesus prayed,

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

Note that Jesus doesn’t say eternal life is living forever (though it is).

Note also that Jesus doesn’t say eternal life means being forever happy (though that’s true too).

Rather, he says eternal life is knowing God. It’s knowing Jesus. Not just knowing about them. But truly knowing them in a deep intimate way.

Jesus prayed,

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…
I in them and you in me…

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world…

I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:21, 23, 24, 26)

Life is all about knowing God. To draw near to him. To know him intimately. And to be known by him.

That’s why eternal life is not just future, it’s right here, right now. Jesus is saying here that even now, he has revealed the Father to us and is continuing to do so.

And when we go to where Jesus is after our time is done, it’s not the start of something new, it’s a continuation of what we started here on earth.

Wouldn’t it be sad though, to go to heaven with only a passing acquaintance with God? To have a relationship where you “passed a few emails between you,” but no real relationship?

How much more joyful would it be if all along, you’d been in close relationship with him?

Talking to him, and hearing from him daily? Seeing him work in you and through you every day? And having had that relationship all along, then seeing him face to face?

I don’t know about you, but I prefer the latter. Having said that, am I really living that way? Probably not. But I want to. How about you?

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John John 16

Finding peace and joy

John

It’s very clear from this passage that all that Jesus was saying was weighing heavily on the disciples, mostly because they were so focused on the idea that Jesus was leaving.

As a result, it overshadowed everything else he was saying.

Instead of hearing all that he said about the Spirit and the good things he had in store for them, the only thing they could think about was, “Jesus is leaving. What are we going to do?”

And so Jesus both warned them and encouraged them, saying,

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:20–22)

All this was realized in Jesus’ death and resurrection. When Jesus was crucified, his enemies rejoiced while his disciples fell into utter despair. But when they saw him alive again, triumphant over the grave, their grief turned into joy.

And despite all the persecution and hardship they endured, no one was able to take away their joy, and because of that, they changed the world.

But I think the same is true of us in many ways. Until Jesus returns, we will face many troubles in this world. Now is our time of grief.

Paul puts it this way,

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22–23)

But when Jesus comes again and we see him face to face, we will rejoice and no one will be able to take away our joy.

Until he comes, however, because of Jesus’ work on the cross, we now have direct access to God. Because of that, we can ask anything we wish of him in Jesus’ name and he will give it to us, and we can find joy here and now. (John 16:23–24, 26–27)

I think we spend too much time making disclaimers about Jesus’ words here.

Yes, our prayers need to be according to God’s will. Yes, God reserves the right to say no if we’re asking for a scorpion, thinking it’s a fish.

But we spend so much time making disclaimers that we become afraid of asking at all. And our Father wants us to ask freely.

How much blessing do we miss out on because we don’t ask?

How much is our joy incomplete because we fail to ask for the things we desire in our hearts?

So let us ask. And again, remember the words of Paul who said,

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Romans 8:26–27)

Sometimes in our human weakness, we do not know what to pray for and sometimes even pray for what is bad for us.

But during those times, the Spirit intercedes for us and prays for what’s good. That’s why Paul can say,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

So let us rest in these things:

  • That no matter how bad things are now, Jesus is coming back and will make all things right.
  • That because God loves us, we can ask of the Father anything, knowing the Spirit intercedes for us and will only give us what is good.
  • That God is working all things out for our good and for his purposes. And no power on earth can stop him from doing so.

With these things in mind, I think Jesus’ words ring even more powerfully.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

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John John 16

The work of the Spirit

John

Who is the Holy Spirit? Even today, many Christians are confused as to who he is.

And that’s one thing to remember. The Holy Spirit is a “he,” not that he’s literally of the male gender—although God chooses to reveal him that way—but that he is a person.

Not a thing. Not a force. A person.

We see this clearly in the title that Jesus gives him. He calls him, “The Counselor.”

The word counselor here is very much like the title we give lawyers today. They are advocates for the ones that they represent. They give advice, they help, and they defend against those that would condemn them.

This is hardly something you could attribute to an impersonal force.

So let us make it clear in our minds: the Holy Spirit is a person.

When Satan tries to condemn us, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us along with Christ.

When we don’t even know how to pray, he prays for us (Romans 8:26–27, 34).

When we start to question God’s love for us, he reminds us we are God’s children (Romans 8:15–16, 1 John 3:24).

But Jesus tells us more. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts people in regards to sin, righteousness, and judgment.

So often, we think that we are the ones that have to change people’s hearts. But while we are responsible for scattering the seeds of the gospel and watering it, only the Spirit can make it grow. Only he can change the human heart.

He is the one who convicts people for rejecting Christ. (Notice here, by the way, that sin, more than simply doing “bad things,” is associated first and foremost with a rejection of Christ.)

With Christ’s visible example of righteousness gone from this earth, the Holy Spirit is the one who shows people what is right and points to Christ as the only way to salvation.

And it is the Holy Spirit who warns people of the coming judgment, not only for the prince of this world (Satan), but for all those who reject Christ.

One last thing that Jesus tells us about the Spirit is that he leads us into all truth. He takes the things that Jesus has said and shows us what they mean.

Words that we can’t understand when we first read them in the Bible, he will bring to mind and shine the light of understanding on when we need them.

The thing that you can’t help but notice in the last part of this passage is the interaction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

All that the Father knows, Jesus knows. And all that Jesus knows, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us at the appropriate time. For all three are the one God, and they all work together in perfect concert.

What does this mean for us? When Jesus says that it was for our benefit that he departed, he meant it.

For through the Holy Spirit, God dwells in each one of us who believes in Jesus. He works in us to bring others to him. He intercedes for us and defends us. He teaches and guides us. And he comforts us.

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of your Spirit. That through Him, you are truly Immanuel, “God with us.”

Holy Spirit, lead us, guide us, teach us, and help us each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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John John 15 John 16

An occupational hazard

John

I remember one time working for a church here in Japan, and the pastor’s daughter was working at a Christian pre‑school.

One day, she complained that one of her students stabbed her hand with a pair of scissors. (Fortunately, it was a blunt one, but still.)

Later on, she told me, “We need an English teacher at our school. Don’t you want to come?”

Needless to say, I declined. Getting stabbed in the hand is one occupational hazard I could do without. 🙂

As Christians, however, we do face an “occupational hazard” that we cannot avoid.

If we are going to testify for Christ, there will be people that will get angry with us. There will even be people that will hate us for it. Jesus said,

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Remember the words I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master.”

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (John 15:18–21)

Jesus was perfect love. He lived a perfect life. And still people hated him. Can we expect to escape the same fate as Jesus?

This is not to say that all will hate us. Some will love us for telling them the truth about Jesus. But to expect no conflict at all is unrealistic unless you compromise the message.

And unfortunately, far too many Christians do. Why? Because they don’t want to be hated. They don’t want the conflict.

I’m not saying that we should go out of our way to generate conflict and hatred. We’re going to generate enough as it is just by representing Jesus.

But neither should we be afraid of conflict by telling people the truth. Not just part of the truth, but the “whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27)

Jesus never shrank back from it. Why should we?

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John John 15

The command of love

John

I wonder if we really understand the implications of Jesus’ command that we love one another.

One of the clear implications is that love is not merely a feeling but a choice. No one can command a feeling, not even God himself.

If I were to tell you, for example, “Get angry at me,” you’d have a tough time doing so unless I hit you a few times, because anger is a feeling. It comes out based on the circumstances around us.

Neither could you tell a person who is depressed, “Be happy!” and have them respond in a truly happy manner within seconds. Happiness too is a feeling that is based on our circumstances.

Yet Jesus commands us to love. If love were merely a soupy feeling, Jesus could not command us to love. Our love would be based instead on the kind of relationship we had with the people around us.

If our relationship were good, we’d love them. If it were bad, we wouldn’t.

So what is love? It is to place high value on people, and to treat them that way. Jesus tells us the ultimate expression of that kind of love when he said,

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

In other words, ultimate love is when we value the lives of others even more than our own lives.

It is, in fact, the kind of love Jesus showed us. He valued us so highly, that he left his rightful place in heaven to come to this earth and die in our place. He loved us so much that he took the punishment for our sins that we deserved.

And so Jesus tells us that just as he valued us, we are to value others. We are to value others so highly, that we are willing to sacrifice our lives for theirs.

“But that’s impossible,” you say. “You don’t know the kinds of people I have to deal with every day! I’m supposed to sacrifice myself for their sake? To value them more highly than myself?”

Yes. And that takes a total change of heart. The kind of change that only comes when you’re connected to the Vine.

As you receive love from God, and as you understand just how highly God values you despite your weaknesses and despite your failures, it then gives you the ability to value those around you despite their weaknesses and failures.

Until you truly understand this, however, it’ll be tough to show the kind of love that God does.

Are there people that you struggle to love? I know some people I struggle to love.

But love is not a mere feeling. It is a choice. A choice that we can only make when we truly understand God’s love for us.

So let us draw near to God and root ourselves in his love.

And as his love flows in us, we will bear the fruit of love that God desires of us, and that this world is desperately searching for.

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John John 15

Asking that we might bear fruit

John

In this passage, Jesus makes a very powerful promise.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

A lot of people take these kinds of words to mean that if we ask God to make us rich, he will.

But look carefully at what he says. “If you remain in me. And if my words remain in you.”

We talked yesterday about what it meant to remain in Jesus. It meant to live a life of trust in him. Trusting that he knows what is best and is looking out for our best. And because of that, we do the things he asks.

But if a person is truly putting his total trust in God, how in love with money will that person be?

Instead of seeking temporary things like money or possessions, what will such a person pursue? A relationship with God. And a life that makes an impact on the world around them for the kingdom of God.

A life, in short, that bears fruit for God. And that’s why Jesus says in the very next verse,

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8)

The whole context of asking what we wish is of bearing fruit. Jesus again says later,

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. (John 15:16a)

And immediately after that, he says again,

Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 15:16b)

What is the one way that God wants us to bear fruit more than any other? He tells us in verse 17.

This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:17)

If we do this, if we love one another, and show the people around us who God really is, we will make an impact in this world. We will bear fruit. Fruit, as Jesus said, that will last.

And with a heart that is transformed, with a heart that looks not to temporary things but eternal, God will be more than happy to give us whatever we ask in his name that we might bear even more fruit for him.

So the question is, “Are you remaining in him?”

Is your heart focused on him and pleasing him? Is your heart focused on serving him and touching the world around you with his love? Or is it still focused on temporary things?

Where is your heart today?

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John John 15

The need to abide

John

Yesterday I talked about the Father’s work in our lives. That our righteousness, our fruit, does not come from our own efforts but through his work in us.

He cleans us through his Word (verse 3), he lifts us up out of our sin and failures, and he prunes us so that we can bear fruit.

If bearing fruit does not come from our own efforts then, does that mean we don’t need to do anything?

Not at all. There’s one thing that’s utterly essential for us to do. We need to abide (the NIV says “remain”) in him.

What does that mean? It means to walk in close relationship with him. To keep him at the center of your life. To spend time with him. To listen to him. And then to do what he says.

Jesus said,

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:9–10)

We said in an earlier blog that more than merely saying, “Do what I say!” Jesus is saying, “Trust me. I love you. I want what’s best for you.”

It’s hard to have a relationship with someone that you won’t trust. And when we say to God, “I can’t trust you,” it puts a distance between us and God.

But as we trust him, and obey him, it becomes a cycle that draws us ever closer to him.

We trust him, so we do what he says. We see the blessing that comes from obedience, and we see that he really wants what’s best for us.

This causes us to love and trust him more, and so we obey more, we get blessed more, and we end up loving and trusting him even more.

And it’s that kind of relationship with God that leads to fruitfulness in our lives.

But what happens if we live in continual distrust of God? Then we will never bear fruit for God.

Jesus said this,

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. (John 15:4–6)

How about you? Are you walking in a relationship with God where you love and trust him completely?

Only by doing so can you bear fruit. Apart from that kind of relationship, we can do nothing that will please God.

And if you walk in continual distrust of God, you will end up like Judas, withered, thrown into the fire and burned.

But if you walk in relationship with God, you will bear fruit, and you will find joy. As Jesus said,

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11)

A relationship with God starts by trusting Jesus in the most important thing of all: your salvation. John tells us in one of his letters,

And this is [God’s] command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ… (1 John 3:23)

If you haven’t already, won’t you make that decision today?

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John John 15

Lifted up and pruned

John

One of the biggest differences between Christianity and every other religion is that our righteousness does not depend on our own efforts. Rather, it comes from God’s work in us, changing us from the inside out.

God first introduces that concept in the Old Testament, where he said through Jeremiah,

“The time is coming…when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…”

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD.

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33)

And again, in Ezekiel, where God said,

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26–27)

Now in this passage in John, Jesus shows us further the work of God, as he says,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1–2)

Here we see the work of the Father, first cutting off branches that bear no fruit while pruning others so that they will be more fruitful.

What does it mean that God cuts off branches that bear no fruit?

I don’t believe from other scriptures that it means that we can lose our salvation. There are two other possibilities.

One is that he’s talking about people like Judas who came to learn of Jesus. But after years of learning from him, he bore no fruit. He never came to true faith. And so he was cut off.

Many people today go to church, they learn many things from the Bible but never come to true faith. And so eventually, they’re cut off.

There is another possibility, however. The words “cut off” can be translated “lifted up.”

It’s possible that Jesus is saying that the Father lifts those branches that are not bearing fruit up into the sunlight to better nourish the plants so that they can start to bear fruit.

In the same way, God lifts us from out of our sin and failures and works in our hearts to bring about change so that we can start to bear fruit.

And as we start to bear fruit, he prunes us, cutting out the things from our lives that would hinder our fruitfulness.

I think God’s work in Peter’s life illustrates all this.

At a time when Peter was depressed and discouraged for having failed Jesus so badly, Jesus lifted him up and encouraged him.

He didn’t wait for Peter to change himself. He went to Peter and started to work in his heart, pulling him out of his depression, and then challenging him to move on. (John 21)

And though Peter started to bear fruit, Jesus didn’t stop there. Rather, he pruned away Peter’s prejudices and caused him to become more fruitful as he started to reach out to the Gentiles he had once despised. (Acts 10–11)

But it was a continual process, and when Peter fell again, Jesus lifted him up and pruned him further. (Galatians 2:11–14)

How about you? Are you discouraged about where you are as a Christian?

Remember that God doesn’t condemn you. Nor does he give up on you. Rather, he will continue working in you until you become all he desires you to be.

So don’t shy away from him. Draw near. Remain in him. And you will bear fruit.

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John John 15

Chosen to be fruitful

John

This is one of the most famous passages in the Gospels in which Jesus shows us a beautiful illustration of our relationship with God.

Here he calls himself the vine. In the Old Testament, Israel was referred to as a vine. They were to bear fruit for God so that the nations would see them and be drawn to God.

But through their disobedience they bore only bad fruit, and as a result, God brought judgment upon them. (Isaiah 5:1–7, Jeremiah 2:21)

So now Jesus doesn’t just call himself the vine, but the “true” vine. A vine whose fruit would not only draw people to God, but save them.

And Jesus tells us we are the branches to the vine. He tells us in verse 16,

I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. (John 15:16)

What does it mean to bear fruit? I think the first thing it means is the fruit of a changed life.

Paul, after talking about the kind of sinful life we once lived, tells us,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. (Galatians 5:22–23)

In other words, if we are Christians, it should be evidenced in our lives. Our lives should be different from what they once were.

And as our lives change, we’ll see fruit in that we’ll start to make an impact on the people around us. People will see God himself in us, be drawn to him, and be saved.

That’s what God originally intended for Israel, and that’s what God intends for us now. Peter puts it this way,

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

You were chosen to be fruitful. Are you?

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Luke Luke 22

Preparing to face a hostile world

Luke

As Jesus led his disciples out of the upper room, he asked them,

When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything? (Luke 22:35)

This is referring to the two times he sent out the disciples to preach the gospel throughout Israel (Luke 9 and 10).

At those times, he told the disciples to bring no provisions with them, but to rely on the hospitality of those they were reaching out to.

And at that time, at the height of his popularity, that was perfectly fine. Despite hostility they might face, there would always be people to welcome them. (Luke 22:35b)

But now, the situation would be changing. Jesus would be “numbered among the transgressors,” (37-38) and they would face more hostility than ever. People who once might have welcomed them would do so no longer.

So Jesus warned them, saying,

Now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. (36)

In short, “It’ll be even more dangerous for you out there than ever before because you follow me. Be prudent. Be careful.”

But Jesus’ disciples responded,

See, Lord, here are two swords. (38)

In other words, “Lord, don’t worry. We’ll take anyone down that comes after us.”

Peter would later show that exact attitude in the garden of Gethsemane.

So Jesus curtly and perhaps exasperatedly told them,

That is enough. (38)

Jesus’ point wasn’t that they should turn to violence against those who attacked them, but simply that they should be prepared to face a hostile world.

But Jesus’ words were not just for the disciples, they were for us.

As we’ll see later in John, Jesus specifically warns us that people will hate us on account of him. There will be persecution. And he basically tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised by this when it happens.

So while we are to love and reach out to those who are lost, we are also to be on our guard. People will hate us. People will betray us. People will hurt us. Even those we love.

Because of this, let us always remember the words of Jesus when he told his disciples,

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men… (Matthew 10:16-17)

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John John 14

Never alone

John

One thing my five‑year‑old daughter used to do quite often, and even does now from time to time, is crawl into my wife’s and my bed and snuggle in between us. When we ask why, she’ll say, “I was lonely.”

I think all of us can relate to that feeling sometimes. And the disciples themselves were feeling lonely when Jesus said he was going away.

But Jesus told them,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.

He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him…

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:16–21, 23)

Here we see the Trinity in all its fullness. And it tells us a very important truth: God is with us.

Jesus said he would send a counselor to us, God the Holy Spirit. And that the Holy Spirit would teach us and remind us of the things that Jesus said.

Then Jesus said that he himself would come to us and that he would be in us. That he would not abandon us as orphans.

Finally, he said that the Father himself would make his home in us.

The key? We walk in obedience to him. And that all comes down to what we talked about yesterday: trust. Do we trust God enough that we obey him?

That’s why Jesus said at the beginning of this chapter,

Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)

It is impossible to have a relationship with God if we refuse to trust him.

Closely related to that is love. Do we love God enough to want to please him? Do we love him enough to avoid the things that hurt him, and to do the things that bring a smile to his face?

If we love, trust, and obey him, then we’ll find that God is right there with us, through the good times and bad. And because of that, we can find peace.

Jesus told his disciples,

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

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John John 14

If we truly love Jesus

John

This is one of those passages that would probably make many people turn their heads if they really thought about it.

Jesus says to start off,

If you love me, you will obey what I command. (John 14:15)

Think about that a minute. If your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend said to you, “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” what would your response be?

Most probably, “I’m outta here. Forget this relationship.”

I think there are certain things to keep in mind, however.

First, Jesus is not only our Savior, but our Lord. Yet he’s not some tyrant looking to make our lives miserable just for his own pleasure. Rather, he genuinely loves us and is looking out for our good.

More than that, he’s our creator, and he knows exactly how our lives were designed to work.

And so this idea of obedience is not so much a matter of, “Do what I say!”

Rather, Jesus is telling us, “Trust me. If you really love me, trust me. I truly know what is best for you, and I truly want what is best for you.”

Our problem is that we’ve seen so many people trying to order us around not because they’re looking out for our best, but because they’re looking out for their own interests.

That’s why when God tells us, “Trust me, I want what’s best for you,” we tend to look at him with a jaded eye.

This is not a new problem. It goes all the way to the garden of Eden.

God told Adam and Eve, “Trust me, I want what’s best for you. So stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Believe me, you don’t want to know what evil is.”

But Satan caused Eve to become jaded to God’s intention. To start thinking, “God doesn’t really want what’s best for me. He’s holding something back from me.”

And to this day, people hold that same way of thinking.

The other thing to remember is that our sin really hurts God. He is so pure, and righteous, he can’t even stand the sight of sin.

Do we really want to do something that hurts him? Rather, wouldn’t we want to do things that please him?

If you love your wife or husband, for example, will you purposely do things that hurt them? “Yes, I know it will hurt them, but I’ll do it anyway.” Of course not.

Rather, we do things that we know will bring a smile to their faces.

And that’s what our relationship with God should look like.

We love him so much that we do the things that please him, and we stay away from the things that we know will hurt him.

Jesus modeled this with his own life while he was on earth.

He loved and trusted his Father so much, he always did what his Father said, even though it meant going to the cross.

Why? Because he believed his Father knew what was best.

How about you? What does your relationship with God look like? Do you trust him enough to do what he says?

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John John 14

Powerful promises

John

Jesus made some pretty amazing promises here. The type that make you say, “Really? Are you serious?”

Jesus said,

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)

Jesus did some amazing things. He healed the sick. Raised the dead. Taught thousands, bringing the good news to those without hope.

And anyone who has faith in him will do these things too? And even greater?

I suppose you could look at the church in the book of Acts, and say that Jesus was specifically talking about them.

And certainly, they did all that Jesus did and more. Not only that, they did it on a larger scale, not only taking the gospel to Israel, but beyond Israel to the world.

But Jesus said, “anyone who has faith in me.” Anyone. Not just the disciples. Not just the people in the New Testament. Anyone who has faith in Jesus will do what he did and even greater things.

How could Jesus say that? Because he was going to the Father, and he would send his Holy Spirit to live in each one of us. And through his power working in us, we can change the world around us.

Does that mean we’ll heal the sick and raise the dead like Jesus did? I wonder sometimes how much we limit God by our lack of faith.

I have heard of cases in third world countries where such things actually happened because people were too “ignorant” of the realities of life, and simply took Jesus at his word, and God worked miracles as a result.

My former pastor in Kobe was dying of cancer, and to the shock of his doctor, refused to give up at his diagnosis of 6 months to live. Now he is healthier than ever, and his doctor can only say, “Keep doing whatever you’re doing.”

Another woman in our church had a grandmother who received Christ recently, and though she had once been almost deaf, now she can hear clearly.

A part of me is skeptical. How long will these things last? Can it last? I don’t know. All I know is that God is working. And he is working today.

Maybe we should take him more at his word when he says,

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:13-14)

This is not to say that Jesus will give us a sports car if we ask him for it in his name.

But if we ask things, seeking not our own glory but God’s, seeking that his will be done, and not ours, then we will see answers to prayer. Answers beyond what we can even ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

God wants to shape the world around us. And he wants to use us to do it.

The only question is, do we believe that he can use us? And will we surrender our prejudices, our skepticism, and our lack of faith to him, and simply say, “Your will be done. Use me as you will.”

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John John 14

To see and know God

John

How can we possibly know God? How can we know what he is like?

Obviously, when we’re talking about an invisible God, there can only be one answer: if he chooses to reveal himself.

God first revealed himself through direct contact, through visions, through dreams, through angels, and through prophets.

Then Jesus came. And when he did, he was no mere man. Rather, he was God himself, coming down and living among us. That’s why he could say,

If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:7)

And when Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus responded,

Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?

The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. (John 14:9-11)

This is not to say that the Father is Jesus, or Jesus is the Father. But as Paul wrote,

The Son is the image of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15)

All that God is, we see in Christ. When we hear Jesus speak, we hear the Father’s words. When we see him react to situations, we see how the Father reacts.

So if we want to truly know the Father, all we need to do is look at Christ.

Let’s put it this way. When people see my daughter, they say, “She looks just like you.”

And as she grows up, a lot of the way she thinks and acts will mirror the way I think and act. You can learn a lot about me by looking at her. It’s the way of fathers and their children.

But while she is an imperfect mirror of what I am like, Jesus is a perfect reflection of what the Father is like.

So what’s my point? Do you want to know God? Look at Jesus.

Do you want to know how God thinks? Look at Jesus’ words.

Do you want to know how God responds to different situations? Look at how Jesus responded.

We don’t have to guess any longer what God is like. We can know because he came down to this earth and he became one of us.

So let us pursue a relationship with him. And if we do, we will find him.

As James wrote,

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

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John John 14

The Way

John

This is the one passage that provides such a stumbling block to so many people in the world today.

Many people simply refuse to believe it because the implications of what Jesus said are so deep, and they are simply not willing to accept them.

What did Jesus say?

He had just told the disciples that he was going away to prepare a place for them and that they knew the way to where he was going.

Thomas, who had no idea what he was talking about, then asked the obvious question.

Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? (John 14:5)

Jesus replied,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Jesus didn’t say, “I will show you the way to the Father.”

He didn’t say, “I’ll show you the things you need to do to get to the Father.”

He said, “I AM the way to the Father. If you want to go to heaven and see the Father, you need to go through me.”

That’s an amazing statement. But let’s put it this way.

If you want to see the President of the United States, you can’t just walk into the White House and into the Oval Office.

Assuming you have an invitation, someone will meet you at the door and escort you in. Without that escort, there’s no way you’re getting in to see the President. That escort is your path to the President.

Well, Jesus is much more than an escort. He is God’s Son. And it is only because he paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross that we now can have access to the Father.

He takes us in before the Father and he intercedes for us as our high priest. (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 10:19-22).

But without his sacrifice on the cross, and without him by our side, there is no way we’re ever going to heaven, no less see the Father.

Jesus also told Thomas, “I am the truth.”

Many people are looking for truth. Others are convinced that truth really does not exist, particularly when it comes to spiritual matters.

But Jesus says, “I am truth. My words are truth. Truth is not relative. All that I say is absolute truth. And you will never find truth apart from me.”

More, Jesus said, “I am the life.”

So many people seek for the meaning of life. They’re seeking a life that matters. They’re seeking a life that’s worthwhile. And ultimately, they seek life beyond the grave.

To that, Jesus says, “I am life. Do you want the meaning of life? It’s found in me.

Do you want a life that matters? A life worth living? You can try finding life in money, possessions, power, marriage, children, sex, or a thousand different things.

But you will not find life in any of these things. Ultimately, these things will leave you empty. I’m the only one that makes life worth living.

And if you want life beyond the grave, you won’t find it in Buddha, or Muhammad, or any other religious leader. Only in me can your sins be forgiven, and you can find eternal life.”

But like I said, people don’t want to accept this. The implications are too deep.

It means casting aside the things they value most highly. It means that they can no longer simply live as they want to.

And so they say Jesus was a liar. Or misguided. Or misquoted.

But if you want to find true life, you can only find it in Jesus.

Truth is absolute and it is found in him. And if you’re ever going to see heaven and meet the Father, you can only do so with Jesus by your side.

I can’t make you believe that. You need to find that out for yourself. And you will, one way or another.

So as Isaiah urged the Israelites, I urge you now.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

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John John 14

What’s waiting for us

John

As I said in my last blog, the disciples were both stunned and troubled by what Jesus had just told them.

First, he told them he was leaving and they could not follow, and then he told them that they would all abandon him.

If that weren’t enough, he told them that Peter, who seemed the strongest of them all, was going to deny Jesus three times.

Jesus must have read their hearts, for he immediately tried to comfort them saying,

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)

In other words, “Don’t worry. I know these things sound awful. I know you can’t imagine these things happening. But God is still in control. Trust him. Trust me.”

He then gave them a glimpse of the future and why he had to go. He said,

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.

I am going there to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3)

Here we see three promises Jesus gives us.

First, he’s preparing a place for us. If we have put our trust in him as our Savior, he is preparing a place for us in heaven.

I don’t know if it’s a “mansion” as translated in the King James Version, or if it’s a deluxe condo. But whatever Jesus is preparing for us, I know it’s going to be glorious. Jesus would make nothing less.

I love the sentiment of Keith Green who wrote in one of his songs,

In six days You created everything,
But You’ve been working on Heaven [for] two thousand years.

Jesus then promises that he will come back again.

The disciples were freaking out that he was leaving them. But Jesus reassured them, it would not be for forever. That he would come back. First, by sending his Spirit to dwell in them, but also, someday, by coming back literally in physical form.

And when he does, Jesus promises that he will take us to be where he is.

The apostle Paul writes about it this way,

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Think about this, though. Jesus made these promises to a bunch of people who he knew would be unfaithful to him and would abandon him within hours.

How could he promise them these things? Because he wasn’t finished with them yet. And there was no way that he would ever give up on them.

And neither will Jesus ever give up on you. Whatever struggles you may go through, however badly you may fail him, he is preparing a place for you.

So don’t get discouraged. Keep getting up, and pressing on.

As an old song once put it,

So why should I worry?
Why should I fret?
‘Cause I’ve got a Mansion Builder
Who ain’t through with me yet.

– 2nd Chapter of Acts

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John John 13 Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

A God who knows our weakness and accepts us anyway

The gospels

When Jesus told the disciples that he was leaving for a place they could not follow, it must have really troubled them. He was their teacher, and they couldn’t imagine life without him.

As usual, it was Peter who spoke out, saying,

Lord, where are you going… why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. (John 13:36-37)

Jesus then stunned Peter and the rest of the disciples by saying,

Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:38)

He then said,

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift (all of) you as wheat.

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. (Luke 22:31-32)

Again, Peter declared,

Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death. (Luke 22:33)

But again Jesus replied,

I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me. (Luke 22:34)

Perhaps, at that point, the other disciples thought that Peter was the betrayer that Jesus had talked about earlier. Perhaps even Peter was wondering.

So Jesus said,

You will all fall away… for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. (Mark 14:27-28)

Still Peter continued to insist,

Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will. (Matthew 26:33).

So Jesus made his declaration even stronger and more specific saying,

I tell you the truth… today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times. (Mark 14:30)

Even then, Peter refused to believe it, and insisted with all the other disciples that he would never do such a thing, even if it meant death. (Mark 14:31)

In the end, of course, they all did as Jesus had predicted. All of them ran away when Jesus was arrested, and Peter ended up denying Jesus three times.

What’s my point? Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our weaknesses, even when we can’t see them ourselves. And yet, he accepts us.

That’s the amazing thing of all of this. He never condemned Peter.

Rather, he tried to encourage him saying, “I’ve been praying for you that your faith will not fail. You will fall, but you will get up again. And when you do, encourage the others.”

In the same way, Jesus knows our weakness. Yet he doesn’t condemn us.

Rather, he, as our great high priest, prays for us daily. He reaches out to pull us up when we fall down. And when we get up again, he tells us to have mercy on the others we see around us who have fallen as well.

So in our weakness, in our failures, let us always remember,

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

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John John 13

That the world may know

John

With Judas now gone, Jesus begins his final address to his disciples before the cross. And to this bickering, prideful group, he said,

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

This was the group that even up to a few hours before, were arguing about who was greatest among them. Who were too proud to take the role of a servant to wash each other’s feet.

And so Jesus wanted to drive home what was really important to him: that they love one another.

Notice he doesn’t say, “Love everyone around you,” although most certainly he wanted them to do that too.

He said, “Love each other.”

Why?

Because that’s how people will know we are truly his followers.

Yet even today, the church is so lacking in love. We fight among ourselves, as prideful and bickering as the disciples were.

And when people walk into the church, they start to think, “Is this what followers of Jesus are like? Is this what Jesus is like? If so, I want nothing of it.”

I remember walking into a church once, and for some reason, the worship leader wasn’t leading worship. Another guy, who was just a beginner, was up there struggling to lead the worship.

The worship leader, meanwhile, was just sitting in the back stone-faced. And the tension in that room was utterly palpable.

I later found out that he had just had a falling out with one of the leaders just prior to my arrival.

The sad thing about it all? A visitor came that day. And I think she noticed it all. She never did come back, so far as I know.

If we can’t learn to love the people in the church, how can we love the people outside of it? And if we act just like the people outside of the church, how in the world are they ever going to see Jesus in us?

How about you? You can’t change the other people inside of the church and make them more loving. But you can shape your own attitude with God’s help.

How are you responding to those in church around you?

Are you looking down on others? Sniping at others? Tearing them down? Grumbling about their shortcomings? Or are you approaching them with the same love that Jesus approached you?

The next time you go to church, or even as you go to church today, think on these words. Meditate on them. And ask God to help you live them.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

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Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

Pictures of the cross

Matzah

The Old Testament is rich with pictures of Christ. And in this passage, we see the fulfillment of them in Christ.

The disciples were having the Passover meal, and after the first cup of wine, Jesus pulled out a piece of bread from a bag, a bread called matzah.

There were actually three pieces of bread in this bag, which were put into three different compartments.

Why three? Some people said it represented Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Others said it represented the priests, Levites, and the people.

During the meal, the second piece was pulled out and broken. And for the first time in any Passover meal, Jesus gave his disciples the true meaning of the bread. He said,

This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19)

Jewish Christians tell us now that they believe the three pieces of bread represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But it was Jesus who came out and lived among us. And in the matzah, we see what he was like.

Matzah was made without yeast. In the Bible, yeast is always a picture of sin, and so the bread was a picture of Jesus’ sinless nature.

The bread was also pierced, so that the bread would stay unleavened during the cooking process. In the same way, Jesus was pierced for our sins.

And then the bread was broken, just as Jesus’ body was on the cross.

Then Jesus took the cup, and the cup he took was what the Jews called the “Cup of Redemption.”

It was a reminder of how God had bought the Jews out of slavery to Egypt and set them free.

But Jesus, instead of pointing back to the past, pointed to the future, saying,

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

Luke, in his gospel, adds the word “new” to covenant.

What did Jesus mean by new covenant? Well, when God brought the Jews out of Egypt, he gave them a covenant. An agreement. That if they would obey his laws, he would be their God and they would be his people.

But there was a problem. No one could keep those laws perfectly.

And so God promised in the book of Jeremiah that he would make a new covenant that would not depend on our effort.

He said,

I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all will know me from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

In this new covenant, God made several promises.

First, he would change us from the inside, changing our hearts and minds so that we can obey him.

Second, we would have a new relationship with him. We don’t need priests or pastors to stand between us and God. We can have a close intimate relationship with God himself.

And third, all our sins would be wiped away. He will remember our sins no more.

Now Jesus was saying, “The time for the new covenant has come. My blood will be poured out for you so that your sins may be forgiven and you may find new life.”

So because of Jesus and what he did for us,

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22-23)

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John John 13 Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

Betrayal

The gospels

As I’ve mentioned before, harmonizing these passages is a little tough.

One question is whether Judas participated in the first communion. Luke seems to imply so, while the other gospel writers seem to say Judas didn’t.

It’s just my opinion, but I believe Judas was there, and that the other writers, for whatever reason, didn’t keep things in chronological order.

At any rate, in these passages, Jesus dealt with his betrayer Judas.

There are some interesting things to note here.

While it was John who sat on one side of Jesus (assuming that he is “the one Jesus loved,” there seems to be a good chance that it was Judas that was on Jesus’ other side. It seems hard to believe that Jesus could say what he did to Judas without the others hearing unless this were so.

Unlike most pictures you see of the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples did not sit in chairs. They sat on couches.

And when they reclined, they didn’t lean back, rather they leaned to the side, resting on their left elbow, right near the bosom of the person on their left.

Thus, it seems John was on Jesus’ right, and Judas on Jesus’ left.

Like I said before, to be seated next to Jesus at the table was an honor to the people there. And Jesus let Judas sit next to him. In short, he honored Judas.

Yet despite all of this, Jesus never fooled himself concerning Judas’ true nature. He told the disciples,

I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me. (John 13:21)

This of course, shocked all the disciples, and they started to ask Jesus one by one, “Is it I?” Judas himself asked “Surely not I, Rabbi?” (Matthew 26:25)

Perhaps Judas thought he had fooled Jesus. But Jesus whispered to him, “Yes, it is you.”

Imagine the look of shock that must have come on Judas’ face. He was totally exposed. Perhaps he was afraid that Jesus would now denounce him before his disciples and have him killed.

At about that time, Peter nudged John and said, “Ask Jesus who he’s talking about.” (John 13:24)

When John did, Jesus replied, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” (John 13:26)

He then (in the eyes of the other disciples watching) honored Judas once again by offering a morsel of bread to Judas.

To everyone except John, they must have been thinking, “Wow, Judas is more special than we thought!”

Judas himself must have been wondering at all this honor that Jesus was bestowing upon him. Maybe he thought he had misunderstood Jesus. Then Jesus told him,

What you are about to do, do quickly. (John 13:27)

And Judas quickly realized that Jesus knew exactly what was in his heart. And he went to betray Jesus.

What can we learn from this? Two things.

There are people that will betray us. That will hurt us. And it is easy to get bitter against them. To dishonor them as they have dishonored us.

But just as Jesus honored his betrayer, we are to show the same kind of honor and respect to them.

At the same time, however, we should know exactly what kind of person they are. We should not deceive ourselves about their nature. And we should protect ourselves from them.

When you look at the life of Jesus, he always did this. When people sought to kill him, he got out of there. The only time he didn’t was with Judas, and that was because it was his whole purpose to die. His time had finally come.

But God generally does not call us to submit to abuse from others if we don’t have to. Stay away. Keep your distance.

And if that’s not possible for some reason, keep your armor up around them. The chances of them hurting you deeply is much less if you have not fooled yourself concerning their character.

That said, we are called to forgive them. And even more, to treat them with respect and honor. As Peter wrote,

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9)

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John John 13

Getting our feet cleaned

John

One more point from this story before I go on.

As Jesus went to wash Peter’s feet, Peter exclaimed,

No…you shall never wash my feet. (John 13:8)

When Jesus replied that Peter would have no part with him if he refused, Peter then went over the top as he usually did, and said,

Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well! (9)

But Jesus replied,

A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you. (10)

What was Jesus saying?

He was telling Peter, “Because you have put your faith in me, you are already clean. Once you’ve been made clean from your past sins, the only thing that you need to deal with is the sin you accumulate as you walk through this life every day.”

The same is true with us. When we come to Jesus and put our faith in his work on the cross, he washes completely clean from all the sins of our past.

But each day, as we go through life, we get stained by sin once again. We do things that hurt God, hurt others, and hurt ourselves.

This does not mean that we are no longer Christians and need to be saved again. But it does mean that every day we need to come to Jesus so that we can be cleansed once again. Not for the sins of our past. But for our sins of the day.

And John tells us in his first epistle that when we do, that

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I have to admit, I need to get my feet washed a lot more. Too many times, I forget to look back on my day and confess my sins. And that sin can put a barrier between me and God if I let it go unconfessed.

So let us make it a daily practice to come to Jesus and get our feet washed. To confess our sins, and to ask his forgiveness.

And if we do, he is faithful, and he will wash us clean.

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John John 13

The ultimate servant

John

The Bible is full of pictures concerning Jesus and his work on the cross, starting from God’s promise of someone to come stomp on the serpent’s head even while getting his heel struck in the process, to Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, to the tabernacle sacrifices.

And this is not even including all the prophesies made by Isaiah, and the ones made by David in the Psalms.

And now, just before the cross, Jesus gave two more pictures.

One, of course, is communion which we’ll get to in a few blogs. But the other is right here in this passage. And because of the beauty of the picture Jesus painted, I would be remiss in not talking about it.

It says that Jesus got up from the meal, he took off his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist.

What was this a picture of? The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 2.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7)

Jesus, though he was God, made himself nothing. The NASB puts it this way, “He emptied himself.”

He took off the outer garments of his glory and became one of us. But not only did he become one of us, he wrapped a towel around his waist, and in so doing, took the very nature of a servant.

Paul goes on to say,

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)

Just as Jesus humbled himself and washed the feet of his disciples, so did he humble himself, going to the cross, that our sins might be washed away by his blood.

That’s why when Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet, Jesus replied,

Unless I wash you, you have no part with me. (John 13:8)

In other words, “Peter, you’re messing with my picture here. Just as I am washing your feet, so will I need to wash away your sins. And unless you allow me to wash away your sins, you will have no part with me. You cannot have a relationship with me.”

After Jesus finished washing their feet, he then put his clothes back on and returned to his place at the head of the table. And in the same way, Paul tells us,

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and underr the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Now Jesus asks us the same thing that he asked his disciples.

Do you understand what I have done for you? (John 13:12)

Do you? Do you understand all that Jesus gave up and sacrificed for you so that your sins might be forgiven? If you do, then Jesus tells you,

You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:13-15, 17)

Jesus was the ultimate servant. And he calls us to be like him. Are you?

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John John 13 Luke Luke 22

True leadership

The gospels

Trying to harmonize the gospel accounts at this point is a little sticky. I get the impression that things were not always told in chronological order and that there were little asides thrown in.

This passage in Luke, in my opinion, is one of them.

It says that at the meal that the disciples started arguing with each other about who among them was the greatest.

I don’t know how this argument started, but at a guess, it started when they were deciding the seating arrangements after arriving at the upper room to celebrate the Passover.

In their culture, the person sitting to the right of Jesus would be considered the most important, and the person sitting to his left would be second most. And the further you sat away from Jesus, the less important you were considered.

And so it may be that they were arguing about who should sit next to Jesus.

Peter may have been saying, “Hey I’m the leader of all you guys. I should sit there.”

John may have replied, “Yeah, but Jesus loves me more.”

Even Judas might have gotten into the act. “Everyone knows I’m the most important. I handle all the money.”

How long Jesus watched this, I don’t know, but perhaps after everyone finally settled down into their places, with some still grumbling about where they were sitting, Jesus did something that shocked them all.

It was customary in situations like this meal, that someone would wash the feet of the others. With everyone wearing sandals on dirt roads, feet could get pretty filthy.

Usually, a servant would do the washing, but in circumstances where a servant wasn’t present, typically it was the lowest person on the totem pole who would do this.

John, being the youngest, might have been expected to do so. But he apparently somehow managed to weasel his way right next to Jesus (John 13:23) and was not about to give up his place to do a “servant’s job.”

And after this big blowup, none of the others were inclined to do so either.

Jesus could have rebuked them. But instead, Jesus “showed them the full extent of his love.” (John 13:1)

He got up, took off his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist, and started washing their feet and drying them.

How embarrassed the disciples must have been that Jesus was doing the job that one of them should have been doing.

After Jesus had finished, he sat down and asked them,

Do you understand what I have done for you… You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. (John 13:12-14)

He continued,

The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.

But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves.

For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table?

But I am among you as one who serves. (Luke 22:25-27)

He then concluded,

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:15-17)

What was Jesus telling them? These were the men that Jesus had chosen to have great responsibility.

The day will come when they will sit on thrones and judge the 12 tribes of Israel. They will have the privilege of sitting at Jesus’ table and eating and drinking with him. (Luke 22:28-30)

But as he had pointed out earlier, leadership is not about lording it over people. It’s about servanthood.

Jesus served them by washing their feet. Jesus served them and all of us by dying for our sins. So now he tells us that as leaders we are to do the same.

And Jesus tells us that the true blessing of leadership comes not from all the “privileges” we receive as leaders. It comes not from exercising our authority over others and telling them what to do. Rather it comes from serving as Jesus did.

That’s what leadership is all about.

How do you see leadership? As being served? Or as serving others?

Categories
Luke Luke 22 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

Room for the master

The gospels

Jesus’ final public appearances (of his own volition, anyway) are now over. And he now knows that the time of his arrest and crucifixion is close at hand.

But before that happens, Jesus prepares to have one last meal with his disciples.

It’s kind of an unusual account that’s given concerning the preparations for the Passover meal.

Did Jesus supernaturally know that a man would be carrying a jar of water around (something only women generally did)?

Or had he worked out an arrangement and a special signal ahead of time with the parents of John Mark (the author of the book of Mark)?

Whatever the case, when the disciples entered the house, they found the upper room furnished and ready for them.

It’s very interesting to me that at the time of Jesus’ birth, there was no room for him. But now, just before his death, there was a room already prepared and ready for him.

How about your heart? Is it always prepared and ready for whatever Jesus wants to do in it?

Or is it so cluttered with sin or your own desires that it’s impossible for him to make use of it?

Lord, may there always be room in my heart for you. More, may my heart be cleared out from any clutter that would prevent you from doing what you want to accomplish in me and through me.

May my life always be used for your glory. In your name I pray, amen.

Categories
John John 12 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

True love, false love

The gospels

Here we see a stark contrast in love. One person’s love came from the heart. The other’s came only for what profited him.

Jesus was in Bethany having dinner at the house of a man named Simon. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were all there, as were Jesus’ disciples.

And at the meal, Mary took some expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet and on his head.

Judas’ reaction was immediate.

Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. (John 12:5)

And apparently, the other disciples chimed in with Judas.

John tells us, however, that Judas’ love and concern for the poor was not genuine. Instead,

He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:6)

But of Mary, Jesus said,

Leave her alone… Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.

She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.

I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. (Mark 14:6-9)

Judas’ reaction? He went to the chief priests and betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

We will always wonder why Judas decided to do this, but I don’t think it was simply because Jesus rebuked him in front of the disciples.

I think it went much deeper than that: His love for Jesus (and for others) apparently didn’t go much further than what it benefited him.

As treasurer among the disciples, he was happy to give to the poor as long as he could help himself to some of the money himself. And as a disciple, he was happy to follow Jesus as long as it seemed Jesus would become king.

But time and again, Jesus talked not about ruling as Messiah, but of his death. Perhaps frustrated and fed up with this, Judas thought, “Fine, if you want to die, die.”

And he went to betray him.

Mary’s love, on the other hand, came from her heart. And unlike Judas, who followed Jesus for what he could get, she loved Jesus enough to give him what was precious to her.

I love what John said about what happened when she opened the bottle of perfume. He said,

The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

And that’s what our love for Jesus and others should be like. It should permeate the world around us. It should be so evident, that no one can miss it. Some people, like Judas, will criticize us for it. But to Jesus, it’s a sweet-smelling aroma.

How about you? Is your love selfish, only interested in what you can gain? Or is it a sweet-smelling aroma to Jesus and the world around you?

Categories
Matthew Matthew 25

Parable of the sheep and goats: How we treat others

Matthew

Jesus finishes his dialogue on the end times with this last story. And it talks about the final judgment following the tribulation.

At that time, God will judge the nations, separating the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Considering the context, it seems God will specifically judge the nations for how they treat his people during the tribulation.

Some, who out of their love for God and faith in Jesus, work to help them in their time of need will be blessed and welcomed into the kingdom.

But those who participate in their persecution, or who simply turn a blind eye to them will be condemned.

But there’s a broader application that we can get from this. For as much as people will be judged for how they treat God’s people during that time, we will be judged for how we treat them in the here and now.

Jesus said,

The King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36)

And when these people asked when they did such a thing for him, the King will reply,

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)

But to those who did not help others in their time of need, he will say,

I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. (Matthew 25:45)

When we see our brothers and sisters in Christ in need, how do we react? Do we reach out to them in the love of God? If we do, we do so to Christ.

But Jesus says that if we instead turn a blind eye to them, we are turning a blind eye to Christ and we will be held accountable for it.

John wrote,

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18)

Jesus has given us so much. He laid down his own life to give us life. How then can we not do the same for others?

Let us turn a blind eye to Jesus no longer, but reach out and touch the lives of those he loved enough to die for.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 25

Parable of the talents: Being faithful

Matthew

The second parable in this chapter goes to the point that Jesus brought up earlier. That we need to be faithful, doing the things that God has called us to do until he returns.

In this story, Jesus talks about a man who gave money to three different servants to invest.

To one, he gave five talents (a talent was a measure of weight for precious metals, usually 58-80 pounds) of silver, to another 2 talents, and to the last servant he gave one.

And it says that he gave to them, each according to their ability.

In the same way, God has given us different talents (not money, but abilities) and resources. He does not give them equally to us, but rather according to what we can handle.

And like the story, God requires us to use and invest what he has given us. If we are faithful, doing what he’s asked us to do until he returns, then like the master in the story, he will tell us,

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matthew 25:21)

In the story, the master said this to two of his servants.

But there was a third servant, who instead of investing what his master had entrusted to him, buried it in the ground. And when his master returned, he had nothing to show for what he had been entrusted.

Why? Probably more than anything because he did not honor his master.

He saw his master as unfair, as a man who merely leached off the work of others. And he feared that his master would be unfair in judging him were he to try to invest, but instead lose everything.

Many people look at God the same way. They don’t truly honor him.

They see him as unfair. They see him as too harsh. They throw all kinds of criticisms his way. And they use these criticisms as an excuse to live for themselves, instead of investing what God gave them and living for him.

This will especially happen in the last days when everything is falling apart. Earthquakes, famines, wars, and plagues.

And people, even more than they do now, will throw criticisms God’s way, rather than turning from their sin and serving him.

But when Jesus comes back, they’ll find out that all their criticisms and excuses are empty.

They’ll realize that God is completely fair and just, and that it was they who were wrong. It was they who were selfish, wicked, and lazy. And they will be judged for that.

Part of faith is believing that God is good. That though there is evil in this world, it is not God who is evil. That though there is injustice in the world, it is not God who is unjust.

Rather it is we who have made a mess of things.

But as long as we fail to honor God and criticize him for the mess we made, we will make all kinds of excuses for why we need not be faithful with all he has given us.

How about you? How do you see God?

Do you honor him enough to honor him with your life? Do you honor him enough to be faithful and use what he’s given you to make a difference in this world as he has called you to?

Categories
Matthew Matthew 25

Parable of the ten virgins: Being ready

Matthew

In this chapter, we see two parables on what Jesus was just talking about, watching for his return and also doing the things he’s asked us to do until he comes.

In this first parable, I think it’s easy to try to over-interpret each facet of the parable, and I think we can get into trouble trying to do so.

The main point, again, is that we are to watch and be ready for when Jesus comes back, because he will come back when we don’t expect it.

That’s what happened with these bridesmaids.

The bridegroom had gone to the bride’s house and was due to return to his home for the wedding banquet, and so everyone was waiting for his return.

But for some reason, it took more time than they expected, and so when the bridegroom finally came, they were fast asleep.

Awakened from their slumber, the bridesmaids quickly realized that their lamps were going out and needed more oil.

Five of them were ready for such a situation and quickly refilled their lamps.

The other five, however, were not ready and as a result, had to go out and buy more oil and by the time they came back, the doors were shut, and they could not enter.

The point? Some thought they were ready and were not, while others were truly ready for the bridegroom’s return.

Those who were ready were able to join the banquet, while the rest were shut out.

Many Jews will be like this when Jesus finally returns. They have been yearning for the Messiah for so long. And some will be ready; they will have already acknowledged Jesus as Messiah, been filled with his Spirit, and be ready to enter the kingdom when Jesus comes.

But others, though they claim to be waiting for the Messiah, are not ready. And they will find that out when Jesus returns. That the Messiah they’d been waiting for had been Jesus all along.

But when they find out, it will be too late, and they will be locked out of his kingdom.

But the same can be said of the rest of us. Many people claim to be Christians but have never truly received him as Lord and Savior. Rather, they merely have the “form of godliness but deny its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

They claim to follow Christ, but in their hearts, merely live for themselves. And when Jesus returns, they’ll realize that they are not ready for his return, and will find themselves locked out of his kingdom.

How about you? Are you ready for when Jesus returns? There is only one way. The apostle Paul wrote,

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Are you ready for our Lord’s return?

Categories
Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 13 Matthew Matthew 24

Being ready whenever

The gospels

There are a lot of people concerned about when Jesus will return. And over the years, many people have predicted when he will come back.

I remember back in my high school days, a book came out called, “88 reasons why the rapture will happen in 1988.”

Needless to say, it never happened. Not that it stopped the author from making more futile predictions.

For some reason, such people seem to ignore the words of Jesus who said,

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32)

God has his plans, and he hasn’t chosen to reveal to us when Jesus will return. What he has given us is signs to look for, which we’ve already talked about.

And he’s given us an admonition that too few Christians follow today: watch, and be ready.

Jesus said,

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.

It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.

If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.

What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ (Mark 13:33-37)

I know I mentioned this yesterday, but considering that Jesus repeats the same admonition 4 times in the same passage, I figure it can’t hurt to repeat it again.

A lot of Christians argue about when Jesus will rapture the church. Will it be before the great tribulation? Will it be in the middle? Will it be after?

I’m not saying these things aren’t important. What I am saying is that it’s not so important when Jesus is coming, but to be ready whenever he comes. And if you are ready whenever he comes, you’ll never be caught by surprise.

That is the whole point of what Jesus is saying here.

So before you start arguing about pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib, or premillenial, postmillenial, or amillenial, ask yourself one question: If Jesus were to come today, am I ready?

Am I doing the things that he has asked me to do? If he were to come today, what would he say to me?

And if you have that question settled, everything else will work itself out.

So…are you ready?

Categories
Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 13 Matthew Matthew 24

Until our Lord returns

The gospels

The Lord talks a lot about the events that will occur before he returns. And the thing that you get from all he says is that things will get worse before he returns. A lot worse.

There will be wars, earthquakes, and famines. And because of all these troubles, false prophets will arise, trying to bring hope, but instead deceiving many. And if that weren’t bad enough, Antichrist will appear.

The result? Persecution.

There will be a persecution of the Jews in particular, but also of any who follow Christ, leading to a great falling away from the faith.

You won’t see what you see today with many people claiming to be Christians, all the while living as they please.

And because of all the wickedness surrounding them, the love of most will grow cold.

Trust, I believe will be in short supply as well, as people will be turning on each other, especially on those who are following God.

And then celestial phenomena will start to occur that will further shake people’s hearts.

But just when things reach their worst, Jesus will appear and bring an end to these things, and his kingdom will finally come.

Having said all this, Jesus gives us warning and encouragement.

The first warning he gives is to be careful of false Christs.

When Christ comes, he’ll come from the sky and the whole world will see his coming. So don’t waste your time running after rumors.

And though people may come with great signs and wonders, if they claim to be Christ, don’t believe them. For that is exactly how the Antichrist will come, performing signs and wonders, deceiving many. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9)

He then warns us and encourages not to lose hope through this time of trouble, but to be ever watchful doing what he has called us to do. He says first,

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28)

In other words, don’t fret when these things happen. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose hope. Because all these things mean that Jesus is truly coming soon.

But then he says,

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. (Luke 21:34)

It will be so easy in those days to fall into discouragement and depression from all the evil you see around you. And so Jesus says to be careful not to let that happen to you.

He also warns us not to become jaded and cynical, and to start thinking that Jesus will never return because of all the evil we see.

Instead, we are to continue waiting in hope. Waiting in terms of watching for his return. But also waiting in terms of serving him and doing the things he has asked of us.

If we do, we’ll be rewarded. If we don’t, we will be punished. (Matthew 24:46-51)

I know that there are a lot of people thinking, “Well, this isn’t really for me. I’ll be raptured by then.”

I certainly hope you’re right. But if the day comes that you see the Antichrist, then know that these words are not only for the Jews. They are not only for those who become Christians at that time. They are for you.

And no matter what happens, no matter what trials we may go through, let us keep watching for our Lord, serving him faithfully until he returns.

Categories
Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 13 Matthew Matthew 24

A sign of things to come

The gospels

I mentioned in my last blog that this is one of the more difficult passages in scripture, and part of the difficulty comes in the harmonizing of it.

Jesus had just told the disciples that the temple was going to be destroyed, and troubled by this revelation, the disciples asked when this would happen and what would be the sign of his coming and the end of the age.

I’m trying to think of this from their perspective.

At this point, it still had not sunk in that Jesus had to die and be raised to life. It had never even crossed their minds that Jesus would ascend to heaven and depart from them.

So when they asked about his coming, they weren’t asking when he would come back from heaven. They were probably asking when he would set up his kingdom.

They had heard all the prophesies of the “Day of the Lord” from the Old Testament. A day of judgment for the nations, and a time when Israel would be restored.

But now Jesus was saying that this temple would be destroyed. The Day of the Lord could not certainly happen before that.

And yet, that very week, they had heard the people in Jerusalem shouting “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!”

As a result, they were understandably confused.

The truth is, I’m still working through all Jesus said in his answer. And as time has gone on, my perspective has changed on what it means from when I first wrote this particular article, and thus a slight revision has been made.

At any rate, in Luke’s account, Jesus talks about how in the future, there would be false Christs, wars, and disasters. But he warned the disciples that before these things happened, they would be persecuted and even be put to death.

All this happened in the book of Acts. We also see when they were put on trial, the Holy Spirit gave them the words to speak in such a way that their opponents couldn’t answer them, just as Jesus promised.

He then warned that when they saw armies surrounding Jerusalem, to get out of there because Jerusalem would be destroyed and the people taken captive. And he talked about how terrible it would be for those women who would be pregnant or nursing at that time.

All this happened in AD 70, and most if not all the Christians at that time took Jesus’ warning and were not there when Jerusalem was destroyed, while many other Jews stayed in Jerusalem thinking it was their only hope for safety.

In Matthew and Mark, we also see Jesus referring to an abomination that causes desolation standing in the temple.

The book of Daniel refers to this event, and it was originally fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes set up an idol of Zeus in the temple and then sacrificed a pig on the altar of God.

There was no such desecration of the altar when the temple fell in AD 70, but there are Bible scholars that feel (and I agree) that during the destruction of the temple, the Romans nevertheless defiled it, albeit in a different way from Antiochus, and that fulfilled Jesus’ prophesy.

And Jesus said of that time,

Those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. (Mark 13:19)

I originally felt that at this point, Jesus couldn’t be talking about Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70, as I felt that the future tribulation to come would be much worse.

But when you look at history and all that actually happened in Jerusalem at that time, I’m not so sure anymore.

All that said, I still think the things that happened in Jerusalem in AD 70 were a sign for what will happen in the future. After all, we see some of those things happening now.

Even now, we see wars and rumors of wars. We see famines, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. We see false Christs popping up all over the place. We see persecution.

And all this will not end until Jesus comes again. And when he comes, all will know it because he will appear in the sky for all to see, and at that time he will call his elect to him.

I know that many people think that Jesus will rapture all Christians before Antichrist even comes. I certainly hope so. I’m willing to be convinced. But I wouldn’t count on it.

Whatever you believe, here’s the point I want you to remember: Jesus’ words concerning Jerusalem came true, exactly as he had said. We see his words coming true even today.

And so when he says he will come again, we can know it’s true. Because he said so. Jesus said,

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Luke 21:33)

So no matter what trouble we may suffer through, let us wait in hope, and be ready whenever he does come.

Categories
Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 13 Matthew Matthew 24

When our temple becomes corrupt

The gospels

We now come to one of the more difficult passages in scripture.

I want to say straight off that if you’re hoping to get all the answers for what all this means, I don’t have them.

There are other people much more qualified to espouse their views on the matter of whether pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, are correct and all that goes with it.

More than anything, as I have through my blogs, I want to stay with what’s clear and what things mean practically for us.

(Although I’m sure all the pundits for the different positions will argue that the scriptures are clear about their positions).

Today, though, I want to look at what started this whole discourse.

After this final day of arguing with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Jesus’ disciples said concerning the temple,

Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings! (Mark 13:1)

And indeed from the outside, the temple was beautiful indeed. But Jesus quickly doused their enthusiasm by saying,

Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. (Mark 13:2)

That was exactly what happened. When the temple was attacked in A.D. 70, a fire started, and the gold from the roof melted into the cracks of the walls of the temple.

As a result, the commander of the attack ordered that the temple be dismantled stone by stone so as to retrieve all of the gold.

Why did this happen? We saw the answer earlier.

While the temple looked beautiful on the outside, and though there were certainly some good things that happened on the inside, nevertheless, the corruption was so great that it could not stand.

There was greed (as seen in the cleansing of the temple), and even worse, a rejection of the very God they claimed to serve.

They couldn’t even recognize him when he stood right there among them. Rather, they were determined to kill him.

All of us as Christians are God’s temples. But how often have we seen high-profile Christians, particularly in ministry, fall because of corruption. And not just fall, but fall utterly, with “not one stone left on another.”

But before we start judging others, we need to look at our own temples. What is there? Is there any hint of corruption? Greed? Hypocrisy? Jealousy? Pride?

These things in particular were in the temple of Jerusalem. Are they in your temple?

What about other things that can corrupt a temple? Lust? Bitterness? Unforgiveness?

And are there things that should be in your temple, but aren’t? Things like love and mercy?

Our temples might look good to those who see us from the outside. We might seem to be shining examples of what a Christian should be.

But if our temples are corrupt, eventually, they will utterly collapse and be exposed for what they really are.

What’s in your temple?

Categories
Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 12

What God is looking for

The gospels

After the blistering criticism Jesus gave the Pharisees, he settled back, and quietly started to watch the people walking past the place where offerings were put.

A number of rich people walked past, and with great ceremony dumped in large amounts of money. And perhaps as they did, Jesus’ face twisted in consternation.

Person after person walked by, giving their offerings, but somehow, I imagine Jesus’ face only grew darker.

And then a poor widow walked by.

Unlike many of those who had dropped in their offerings, this woman only dropped in two coins. There was no pride in it. No seeking of attention. I imagine there was only a heart filled with love and gratefulness toward God.

At this, Jesus’ face lit up. And he quickly pointed her out to the disciples, telling them,

I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. (Mark 12:43)

The disciples must have thought Jesus was out of his mind. They probably said, “Jesus, what are you talking about? You can barely buy anything with what that woman gave!”

But Jesus replied,

They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on. (Mark 12:44)

I don’t think it’s coincidence that Jesus pointed this woman out after all he had said about the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He had just scathed them for all their hypocrisy, because all of their righteousness was merely for show.

And so when he finally found the kind of person that God was really looking for, he said to his disciples, “This is what I’m talking about. This is the kind of person God is looking for.”

What kind of person was that? A person whose heart truly belonged to God.

A heart that didn’t worry about what others thought about her. A heart that didn’t cling to what was hers. But a heart that said, “Here I am. Here’s what I have. I give it to you.”

How about you? Is that the kind of heart you have?

Can Jesus point to you and say, “Here is a person whose heart is mine?”

Categories
Matthew Matthew 23

When we reject those sent to us

Matthew

Nobody likes to be rebuked. To be told you’re wrong. But how do you respond when you are?

The Pharisees followed the long line of their ancestors throughout Israel’s history. Instead of listening and repenting when rebuked, they turned on those sent to them.

They turned on Jesus, murdering him, and they turned on his disciples, all the while claiming that they would never have murdered the prophets that their ancestors murdered long before.

And so Jesus said,

You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.

And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:33-36)

Jesus then wept, saying,

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Look, your house is left to you desolate.

For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ (Matthew 23:37-39)

And that’s what happened. Within a generation of the people that murdered Christ, Israel fell, their beloved temple demolished until this very day.

What happens when we reject those God sends to us to rebuke us? Ultimately, our lives will fall apart. And we will be judged.

God takes no pleasure in this. He weeps over it. But there can be no life, there can be peace until we acknowledge him as Lord over all in our lives.

Solomon wrote,

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. (Proverbs 27:6, NASB)

The truth can hurt. It can be painful to hear. But if we take it to heart, it can bring healing.

What do you do when you are rebuked?

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Matthew Matthew 23

Cleaning out the inside

Matthew

Jesus continues his scathing of the Pharisees and teachers of the law by saying,

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:25-28)

Scathing indeed. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were held up as so righteous by the people. But Jesus exposes every filthy thing in their hearts, their greed, their self-indulgence, and their utter hypocrisy.

He called them whitewashed tombs which look so beautiful on the outside, but are filled with rotting bones on the inside.

How about you? What would Jesus say about you if he saw you? Would he call you a whitewashed tomb? A cup that is clean on the outside and filthy on the inside?

It is so easy to put up a front. In fact the word “hypocrite” originally came from the word for “actor.”

But God looks beyond your exterior to your heart. And when he does, what does he see?

For that matter, what do you see? Can you even see the areas in your heart that are ugly in the sight of God? Or are you so blind that while you can see everyone else’s sin, you can’t even see your own?

I suppose the real test is this: Do you feel compassion for those “sinners” around you because you know just how much mercy you yourself have received from God, and continue to receive day by day?

Or do you just feel utter contempt for them, thinking, “I would never do something like that!”

What is in your heart? What needs to be cleaned out from your cup?

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Matthew Matthew 23

Remembering what’s important

Matthew

It’s really sad the reputation that a lot of Christians have in the world, particularly in the States.

Some of it is the natural response of the world to people who love the Lord. Jesus did say that there would be people who hate us because of him.

But I wonder sometimes how often Christians get a bad reputation, not because they are following Jesus, but because they’ve forgotten what’s important.

Many of these Christians go to church every Sunday, perhaps go to a Bible study during the week as well, they read their Bibles and pray daily, and they are very loud in their championing of Christian values.

There was a group very similar to that in Jesus’ time: The Pharisees and teachers of the law. Yet Jesus said of them,

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin.

But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.

You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matthew 23:23-24)

Jesus adds another thing they neglected in Luke 11:42, “the love of God.”

Jesus said in another passage that the world would know that we are his disciples by the love that we have for one another. (John 13:35).

I suppose the question I have, not just for you but for me, is this: “Is my life marked by the love and mercy of God?”

When people look at me, do they see these things flowing from me? Do they know that I truly do care for them? Do they see the compassion I have for them?

Or do they merely see a person who constantly condemns them and their lifestyle?

When people see me at work, do they see a person of integrity, a person who does what is right even when it hurts me?

Do they see a person who is faithful at what he does, or someone who slacks off whenever he can?

If people don’t see these things in our lives, the condemnation and criticism we receive from the world will be well deserved. And sadly, they may never come to Christ because of it.

And while God will hold them accountable for the decisions they made, we also will be held accountable for giving them the opportunity to blaspheme God and to hold him in contempt. (2 Samuel 12:14)

How about you? What’s coming out of your life? Love? Mercy? Justice? Faithfulness?

These are what is important to God.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 23

Loopholes

loopholes

I’ve mentioned before the different problems of legalism.

Here we see another problem. People who are legalistic tend to try to find loopholes. They may keep the letter of the law (as they see it), but try to find ways to avoid keeping its spirit.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law were masters of this, and we see an example here that Jesus brings up.

The law said that you were to keep oaths that you made to God. But these men made all kinds of rules of what that actually meant.

If you said, “I swear by the temple,” you weren’t bound by your oath, but if you said, “I swear by the gold of the temple,” you were required to keep it.

If you said, “I swear by God’s altar,” you weren’t bound by your oath, but if you said, “I swear by this gift on the altar,” you were.

And Jesus points out the utter fallacy of this way of thinking.

It is the temple that makes the gold holy, not the reverse.

It is not the gift that makes the altar holy; rather, it’s the altar that makes the gift holy.

Lest the Pharisees try to squirm out from under that concept, he goes on to say that if you swear by the temple, you’re swearing by God who dwells there.

And if you swear by heaven, you swear by God’s throne and by God himself.

What was Jesus’ point?

Just do what’s right.

When God said, “Keep your oaths that you have made to me,” the point wasn’t that it’s okay to break your oath if it isn’t made in God’s name.

While keeping your oaths is certainly important, the real point was that your word is important. If you say you’re going to do something, do it.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law focused on “oaths to God” rather than “keeping your oath.”

In so doing, they “strained the gnat,” in making rules on what “oaths to God” meant, and “swallowed the camel” by consistently breaking their other oaths. (Matthew 23:24)

How about you? Do you have a heart that truly wants to please God and do what’s right? Or do you have a heart that only does so grudgingly, and is always looking for loopholes?

You cannot please God by claiming to find loopholes and slipping through them in your daily life.

Let’s get rid of that kind of attitude.

Rather, let’s do what we know in our hearts God has told us to do.

Categories
Matthew Matthew 23

When those who teach are bad

Matthew

For some reason, one of the English teachers in the Japanese high school I teach at was showing Karate Kid 2 to his students yesterday.

I can’t say much for the film, but the one character I really like is Mr. Miyagi, the mentor to Daniel who was his karate student.

What does Karate Kid 2 have to do with this blog? Absolutely nothing. But the original Karate Kid does.

In the original (and much better film), Daniel asked Mr. Miyagi why the karate students who bullied him acted the way they did. Mr. Miyagi answered, “No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher.”

Now I don’t know that I completely agree with this statement, but there is some truth to it.

When a teacher is bad, then those who follow him or her will almost inevitably go down the same path.

That’s what you see in this passage. Jesus continues his scathing of the Pharisees and teachers of the law by saying,

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to…

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (Matthew 23:13-15)

These teachers of the law and Pharisees had a lot of problems. They were hypocritical, legalistic, and completely blind to what was truly important to God.

The result? All their students were the same way, and even worse. You see this in Saul of Tarsus before his conversion.

What can we learn from this?

First, as a teacher, what are you like? The apostle James wrote,

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1)

While James is primarily talking about what we teach, he is also talking about our lives. As teachers, we cannot be like the Pharisees and teachers of the law who did not practice what they preached. (Matthew 23:3)

So if you’re a teacher, are you living what you say? Or are you hypocritical?

And as you teach and live your life, do you always keep in mind what is most important to God? Justice. Mercy. And faithfulness.

For what we need to remember is that God will not only hold you responsible for what you teach and how you live, but to the degree that you are faithful to the position he put you in, he’ll hold you responsible for the kinds of students you produce as well.

The other question you need to ask is who is your teacher?

How is he living his life? What kinds of things is he teaching? Because if you are not wise in choosing your teacher, you’ll be going down the same road as they are, and that can be disastrous.

Who are you listening to at church? Who are you listening to on podcasts? Whose books are you reading?

Teachers are responsible for what they teach, but you are responsible for what you let in.

So as I’ve said before, I’ll say again,

Test everything. Hold on to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

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Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 12 Matthew Matthew 23

A wrong view of leadership

The gospels

What is leadership? What is leadership not?

In a scathing criticism of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Jesus gives us insight into what true leadership is about.

He first warned the disciples and the crowds,

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.

But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. (Matthew 23:1-2).

Here, Jesus tells the people that though they were to respect the offices of authority, nevertheless they were not to do what the teachers of the law and Pharisees did because they didn’t practice what they preached.

Oh, they kept all the minor details of the laws, as well as the traditions of the elders, but when it came down to what was most important, justice, mercy, and faithfulness, they failed miserably. And it showed in how they treated the people, and how they related to God.

It also showed in how they viewed leadership. They saw it merely as telling the people what to do, not serving them. Jesus said of them,

They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (Matthew 23:4).

These men poured out law upon law, rule upon rule on the people.

But when people started to crumble under the burden of guilt for not being able to keep all these things, they didn’t encourage them; they didn’t pray for them; they didn’t think how to help them. Rather, they condemned them.

They also saw it as a point of pride to be in that position.

Their phylacteries (boxes that held writings of scripture in them) were wide and their tassels which also had scriptures written on them were long so that all the world would be impressed by their spirituality.

They then abused their position for financial gain. Jesus said, “They devour widows’ houses,” probably meaning that they used the respect they gained from their position to get money from the widows.

They also gloried in being called “teacher” or “father” by those around them because it showed their high position among the people. But Jesus said,

But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.

And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. (Matthew 23:8-10).

And that’s what a leader is to remember. Titles are nice to have, but in reality, all of us are equal, and God is the only one who is truly above all.

Yet even God came down to earth as a servant. He healed the sick, he brought good news to the poor and downtrodden, and then he died on a cross to take the punishment for all of our sins. And that is the attitude that leaders are to take.

Jesus said,

The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:11-12).

True leaders are servants. They don’t look for what they can gain in terms of respect, pride, or money. Rather, they are willing to sacrifice all for the sake of the people around them.

What kind of leader are you?

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Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 12 Matthew Matthew 22

Son of David, Son of God

The gospels

Perhaps tiring of the hypocrisy of those questioning him, Jesus posed his own question to them that ultimately shut them up. He said,

What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? (Matthew 22:42a)

This was an easy question for the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and they immediately answered,

The son of David. (Matthew 22:42b)

Then Jesus challenged their thinking of who the Christ, the Messiah really was. He asked,

How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him “Lord”?

For he says, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.'”

If then David calls him “Lord,” how can he be his son? (Matthew 22:43-45)

The answer is simple. Jesus is not simply the Son of Man (namely David), he is also the Son of God. As a man, he was the son of David. But as the Son of God, he was also David’s Lord.

But this was something the Pharisees and teachers of the law could not see. Or perhaps did not want to see.

There are many people like that today. They are willing to see Jesus as the son of man. A good person. A great teacher even. But they are unwilling to acknowledge him as Son of God.

But Jesus is not simply a son of man. He is the Son of God. And as such, he is worthy of our honor, our trust, and obedience. More, he is the only way to the Father.

How about you? How do you see Jesus?

Categories
Mark Mark 12 Matthew Matthew 22

What we need to understand to enter the kingdom

The gospels

Of all the people that had come to question Jesus, there was one that seemed to be impressed with what Jesus had to say. And so he asked Jesus,

Of all the commandments, which is the most important? (Mark 12:28)

Jesus answered,

The most important one…is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no commandment greater than these.

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Mark 12:29-31 and Matthew 22:40)

In other words, if you keep these two laws, to love God with everything you have and you love your neighbor as yourself, you will have kept all of the laws. All of the laws are summed up in those two commands.

The man questioning Jesus answered,

Well said, teacher…You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.

To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:32-33)

This man was unique among the other Pharisees and teachers of the law in that he understood that it was not enough to be ritually clean.

He understood that to please God meant going beyond the letter of the law to the spirit beneath it, to love God and to love others. And if you don’t do these two things, all the “righteous” things you do are worthless.

When Jesus saw the man understood this, he said,

You are not far from the kingdom of God. (Mark 12:34)

Notice he didn’t say, “Good job. You are now part of the kingdom!”

Rather, he said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

What was this man lacking? He was lacking one further insight. That none of us keep these two commandments perfectly. And because of that, we need a Savior.

Once this man realized that and put his faith in Jesus, then Jesus could say, “Welcome to the kingdom.”

And that’s what all of us need to realize. None of us are good enough to earn our way into heaven. Because no matter how hard we may try, all of us fail in loving God or loving others in one way or another.

That’s why Jesus came. He died on a cross to take the punishment for our sin. He then rose again three days later, and if we will put our faith in him, then and only then will we be saved.

Have you done that? If not, will you do it today?

Lord Jesus, I realize that I have sinned. I have not loved you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And I haven’t loved my neighbor as myself. Instead, I have hurt you and others through my actions. Forgive me.

Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin and taking my punishment. Now come and be Lord of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Categories
Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 12 Matthew Matthew 22

When we fail to understand the scriptures and the power of God

The gospels

There’s a children’s song that humorously describes the Sadducees. It says, “I don’t wanna be a Sadducee, ’cause a Sadducee is ‘sad, you see?'”

Yes, I know, a very bad joke. 🙂

Nevertheless, they were a sad bunch of people because of one main thing. They had no hope for a resurrection. They thought this life was all we have.

And because of that, it shaped the way they saw God, the way they saw life, and the way they saw scripture.

They didn’t understand God’s power, nor his desire for a lasting relationship with us.

They didn’t understand that life goes beyond the grave, and so they were more interested in the power and influence they had on earth, as well as their wealth.

As a result of these things, it also affected the way they saw scripture. They only accepted the first five books of the Bible as scripture, and rejected everything else as divinely inspired.

They therefore came up to Jesus with a question that had apparently stumped the Pharisees who did believe in the resurrection of the dead.

It was essentially an asinine question, although it brought up a situation that was technically possible.

In Jewish culture, if a person’s brother died without having a son, they would have to marry that brother’s wife and have children through her so that their brother’s family line could continue.

So the Sadducees asked Jesus if a man had 7 brothers, and this happened 6 times because the woman failed to have a son, whose wife would she be in the resurrection?

Like I said, an asinine question, on the level of asking, “Can God make a rock so big that he can’t move it?”

Jesus answered the Sadducees,

You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. (Matthew 22:29-30)

Then he stuck the needle in by using a passage from the book of Exodus that they had never really thought through (and most people don’t to this day).

He said,

But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

He is not the God of the dead but of the living. (Matthew 22:31-32)

In other words, God could have said, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

But he purposely said, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even now, I am their God.”

Meaning, of course, that they were still alive, not dead, utterly destroying the Sadducees’ argument, using the only possible passage they would accept as scripture.

What does this mean for us? Let us not put God in a box that he has not put himself in.

In the Sadducees’ case, they had boxed him in as a God that could not raise the dead because they did not understand his power. And the reason they didn’t understand his power was because they did not understand scripture.

Let us not be like the Sadducees. Let us thoroughly study God’s word and seek to understand it.

And where it contradicts our ideas of God, let us not cast it aside as the Sadducees did. Rather, let it transform the way we think about God and cause us to draw closer to him.

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Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 12 Matthew Matthew 22

Giving to God what is his

The gospels

I hate paying taxes. When March rolls around (tax time in Japan), it’s not so bad in that I actually get money back (after the pain of filling out all the tax forms).

But when June rolls around, that’s when it really hurts because that’s when I have to pay property taxes as well as city and prefectural taxes.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but the Jews in Jesus’ day especially loathed it because they were paying it to their conquerors.

And so the Pharisees and Herodians thought they had come up with the perfect question to trap Jesus, saying,

Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? (Luke 20:21-22)

If on one hand, Jesus said they shouldn’t pay taxes, the Herodians would have immediately reported Jesus to the Roman government accusing him of being an insurgent.

If on the other hand, Jesus said it was right to pay taxes, he would instantly lose popularity with the people.

Jesus, however, knew what they were trying to do. And once again, he answered a question with a question.

After having them pull out a coin that they would use to pay their taxes, he asked,

Whose portrait and inscription are on it? (Luke 20:24)

When they answered, “Caesar’s,” Jesus replied,

Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. (Luke 20:25)

What was Jesus saying? First, “You are using Caesar’s money, aren’t you? If you are using Caesar’s money, then isn’t it really his? Give to him what belongs to him.”

But he didn’t stop there. He said, “But make sure you give to God what belongs to him.”

In one short sentence, he both tactfully attacked what Rome claimed, and taught the people a very important lesson.

The Romans claimed that Caesar was God, and such was written on the inscription of the coin the people showed Jesus.

But Jesus clearly draws a distinction between Caesar and God. “Give to Caesar, the man, what is his. But make sure you give the only true God what belongs to him.”

It is the second point Jesus was making, however, that I want to focus on.

Just as the Roman coins had Caesar’s image and inscription on it, so we too have God’s image and inscription upon us.

The Bible says we were made in the image of God. And in II Corinthians 3:3, Paul tells us,

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

God has written his name upon our hearts, showing that we belong to him. And though his image upon us has been marred by our sin, nevertheless, through Christ,

We…are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

What am I saying? That we belong to him. And because we belong to him, we need to give to him what rightfully belongs to him. Not just our money. But our lives.

Are you giving to God what is rightfully his?

Categories
Matthew Matthew 22

Parable of the Wedding Feast: Entering God’s kingdom on his terms

Matthew

In this story, we see continued warnings from Jesus about rejecting him and the consequences of doing so.

He told the story of a king who invited people to his wedding banquet. But when all was ready, the would-be guests refused to come. Another translation puts it, “They were unwilling to come.”

And though time and again, the king sent messengers to plead with them to come, they “made light of it and went their ways.” (KJV).

More, they even turned violent, beating and killing those sent to them.

This was a picture of Israel as we’ve seen in the other parables, but it’s also a picture of how many respond to the gospel today.

God pleads with us to come into his kingdom. He himself makes all the preparations; all we have to do is come.

But many people make light of his invitation and go their own way. And some even abuse and persecute those who offer the invitation.

The result? Judgment and death.

The king then sent invitations to all, both good and bad. This is a picture of how after Israel rejected the gospel, the gospel was then taken to the whole world. And many who were invited responded and entered the kingdom.

But then we see a twist in the story.

As the king looked at those in the banquet, he noticed a person without wedding clothes. He was simply dressed as he wanted to be with no regard for the host’s requirements. The king went up to him and asked,

Friend…how did you get in here without wedding clothes? (Matthew 22:12)

The man had no answer and was cast out in the darkness, “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:13).

In the same way, many people today hear God’s invitation to the kingdom, and they try to enter. But they try to enter on their own terms with no regard for God’s requirements.

What is God’s requirement for entering the kingdom? John tells us,

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12)

In other words, in order to enter the kingdom of God, we must be clothed with Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there can be no entering the kingdom.

But many people do not want to enter on God’s terms. They want to enter on their own, spitting on the very invitation God has sent them and the price Jesus paid on the cross that they might come.

We cannot do that.

You can either go to heaven on God’s terms or to hell on your own. There is no in-between.

How about you? Are you coming to God on his terms? Or are you trying to come to him on your own?

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Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 12 Matthew Matthew 21

Parable of the tenants: When we reject Jesus

The gospels

After nailing the leaders for their unbelief, he then told a parable warning them of what would happen if they didn’t repent.

And the start of it is very similar to Isaiah 5 in which God describes a vineyard that he planted, the vineyard representing Israel and Judah.

And in both cases, we see that the owner does not receive the fruit he deserves from the vineyard. The one difference is that Jesus places the blame specifically on the tenants who were put in charge of the vineyard.

The tenants, of course, were these very leaders that had rejected Jesus, and all those that had come before them.

They had been put in charge of the spiritual welfare of Israel that they might bear spiritual fruit for God. But instead, they became corrupted and failed in the charge they had been given.

Why? They failed to honor God, instead focusing on themselves. They focused on money, power, and the praise of man.

Is it any wonder that Israel failed to produce fruit when its very leaders failed in their responsibilities?

And so God sent his servants. Throughout Israel’s history, he sent prophet after prophet to warn and admonish the people. But time and again, the leaders of Israel rejected the prophets, beating and/or killing them.

Finally, God sent his Son. But now the leaders planned to kill the Son, hoping to take what rightfully belonged to him.

When Jesus asked the people what would happen to such people, the people replied,

[The owner] will bring those wretches to a wretched end…and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time. (Matthew 21:41)

Nevertheless, the people were astonished that such horrible people could exist, saying, “May this never be!” (Luke 20:16)

Jesus answered,

Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. (Matthew 21:42-44)

What was Jesus saying? He was saying that he is the one on whom everything rests. He is the cornerstone (probably a better translation than “capstone” here) of everything.

The cornerstone was always laid down first when constructing a building, and everything was built around it.

In the same way, Jesus is the one we are to build our lives and his kingdom around.

But the Jewish leaders rejected him, and so the kingdom of God would be given to those the leaders despised, the tax collectors, prostitutes, and the Gentiles who would turn to Jesus and embrace him as Savior.

The leaders, meanwhile, would be judged and lose everything.

How about you? How are you building your life? Are you building it on money? Possessions? Power? The things of this world? Or are you building it around Jesus? Is he the chief cornerstone of your life?

God has given you your life. You and all you have ultimately belong to him, and he will demand that you produce fruit in your life for his kingdom.

But you cannot produce fruit if you are living for yourself. And if you reject him who is the cornerstone, you, like the Jewish leaders will lose everything and be judged.

Who are you living for?

Categories
Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

When you’re too proud to admit you’re wrong

The gospels

It’s hard to admit when we’re wrong. I know I struggle with it at times. The reason? Pride. It takes a great deal of humility to simply say, “I was wrong.”

But if we want relationships that last, relationships with others and with God, we need that kind of humility.

This was exactly what the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not have. Time and again, Jesus clearly showed them they were wrong, and they simply could not bring themselves to admit it.

We see this several times over this last week of Jesus’ ministry before he went to the cross.

It starts here, however. The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders all came up to Jesus asking by what authority he had come to the temple and cleared it out.

Jesus, as was typical, answered their question with a question.

John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin? (Matthew 21:25)

Immediately, these men were in a quandary. If they said it was from heaven, then Jesus would say, “Why don’t you believe his words that I am the Messiah, then? If, however, you do accept them, then you know exactly where my authority comes from.”

On the other hand, they didn’t want to say it was from men because everyone else in Israel believed John was a prophet and would not stand for them denigrating him.

So, they answered, “We don’t know.”

And so Jesus said, “Fine. You don’t answer my question, I won’t answer yours.”

Then he told them a parable of two sons. One was asked by the father to do something, and he said “Sure,” but ended up doing nothing. The other refused his father’s request at first, but later changed his mind and obeyed.

This of course was a contrast between these leaders and the “sinners” Jesus ministered to.

Outwardly, these leaders were “righteous.” But in truth, they rebelled against God.

They saw John and immediately dismissed him as a kook.

But then they started to see the impact he was having, and all the lives that were changing because of John. They had to know in their hearts that he really was from God, but in their pride, they rejected him anyway.

Then they saw Jesus, they saw all his miracles and heard all his teaching. Despite all this, they rejected Jesus too.

Even when he shredded all their arguments and left them speechless, they still clung to their old way of thinking.

On the other hand, these “sinners” the leaders despised had outwardly rebelled against God, ripping people off and selling their bodies for sex.

But then John and Jesus came, and as a result they repented of their sins. They were humble enough to recognize their wrong, and so turned from their sins.

And so Jesus told these leaders,

Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. (Matthew 21:31)

How about you? Are you so proud that you can’t admit when you’re wrong?

It’s bad enough when that pride tears apart your relationships with others. It’s worse when it keeps you from a relationship with God.

So let us have hearts that are humble and soft to correction. That can admit when we are wrong.

Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves in the same position as these leaders. Separated from others and separated from God.

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John John 12

When we see and hear Jesus

John

So many people say, “I believe in God,” but refuse to put their faith in Jesus.

But if you truly believe in God, that is exactly what you cannot do. Jesus says here,

Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.

The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (John 12:44-46)

Jesus is saying here that to believe in him is to believe in God. To see him is to see God.

He then said,

For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. (John 12:49-50)

So to hear Jesus also means to hear God, because he speaks the very words of God. And to reject Jesus’ words is to reject God’s words. More, to reject Jesus means to reject God himself.

And Jesus says,

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. (John 12:48)

All of us will be held accountable for what we have heard Jesus say.

If you believe him, you will find light and life. But if you reject him, you will find only judgment and darkness.

What will you choose?

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John John 12

From whom we seek praise

John

One of the saddest comments you’ll ever read in the Bible comes from these two verses.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.

But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. (John 12:42-43)

Basically, you see in this passage a bunch of undercover believers.

They had seen all that Jesus had done and had heard all his teaching, and they believed. But they did not tell anyone because they feared being put out of the synagogue. And to be put out of the synagogue was essentially to be cut off from society.

But what that showed was that they were more interested in what people thought of them rather than what God thought of them.

If Satan cannot prevent you from becoming a believer, the thing he wants to do most is to prevent you from sharing your faith.

And his best weapon in doing so is asking the question, “What will happen if others find out if you believe?”

For some, the answer is clear cut. It means rejection by their family, their friends, and those around them.

That’s what these leaders faced. A certain excommunication from the synagogue and society.

For others, the answer is not so clear. But they are ruled by the fear of what others might think of them.

I know I was that way all the way through my sophomore year in high school. I didn’t tell anyone I was a Christian, not because I knew I would be rejected, but because I feared I might be rejected.

But God does not want us to live that way. He wants us to make a difference in this world for him, but we cannot as long as we are afraid of what others think.

Some people will reject us for our faith. As one preacher put it, that is an occupational hazard of being a Christian. Not everyone will like us.

As I’ve said before, Jesus was perfect, and people still hated him. How can we expect to be any different from our master?

But what we’ll find is that if we share our faith, some will receive it and be saved.

So let’s not worry about being rejected because of our faith in Christ. Let us proclaim it boldly and let the chips fall where they may. For as Jesus said,

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

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John John 12

Before it’s too late

John

Sometime people put off following Christ thinking they can always do it later. But in this passage, we see the danger of that.

Jesus in thinking about the cross and his determination to follow the Father’s plan cried out,

Father, glorify your name! (John 12:28a)

In a voice that all could hear, the Father replied,

I have glorified it and will glorify it again. (John 12:28b)

Yet though all could hear the voice, it seemed that few if any actually heard it.

Some said it was thunder. Others said it was an angel. Why couldn’t they understand the Father’s words? John later comments,

This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. (John 12:38-41)

I’ve explained this passage in another blog, and essentially what it comes down to is that the people couldn’t hear the voice because they had already hardened their hearts to Jesus.

Some hardened their hearts because his background as a carpenter from Nazareth was not what they expected from a Messiah.

Others rejected him because he exposed the hypocrisy of their religion.

Others rejected him because his teaching went against their religious rules and traditions.

And when Jesus performed miracles that proved who he was and the truth of his words, they tried to explain it away saying he did them by Satan’s power, or in this case, by trying to say it never really happened. That they were just imagining things.

The problem was, the more they hardened their hearts, closing their eyes and ears to the truth, the more blind and deaf they became.

And so Jesus tried to warn them, saying,

You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.

The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.

Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light. (John 12:35-36)

In other words, “Your time is short. If you don’t soften your hearts, you will become blind forever. Put your trust in me and the light I bring while you still can.”

Jesus says the same thing to you. He was lifted up on a cross that all people might be drawn to him and be saved.

But if you harden your heart to him, if you close your eyes and ears to what you know is true, the time will come when you can no longer recognize the truth though it’s right in front of you. And then it will be too late.

As Paul wrote,

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

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John John 12

In order to serve

John

With all the buzz surrounding Jesus, both with his spectacular entry into Jerusalem, and his just as spectacular cleansing of the temple, it’s little wonder that first time visitors would wish to see him.

In this case, it was some Greek proselytes who became interested in who this Jesus was. Perhaps it was because Phillip had a Greek name that these men approached him first.

And together with Andrew (someone who always seemed to be introducing others to Jesus), Phillip brought these men to Jesus.

Jesus responded by saying,

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:23-24)

In saying this, Jesus was talking about his death and resurrection. As long as he was alive, his ministry would be limited to what he could do in Israel.

But after his death, through the Holy Spirit, his work would spread all over the world, touching not only the Greeks, but every tribe and nation.

But Jesus then said to his disciples,

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. (John 12:25-26)

Here Jesus says both the blindingly obvious, and the paradoxical truth.

The blindingly obvious? That whoever serves Jesus must follow him, and that wherever he is, his servant must be.

It’s very hard to serve a person when you’re never around him. And if you really want to serve Jesus, you need to be in a place where you can see and hear what he wants.

But in order to be where Jesus is, you sometimes need to leave things behind, including things and people you love.

And that’s why he says something seemingly paradoxical: Whoever loves his life will lose it, but anyone who hates his life will keep it for eternal life.

This doesn’t mean that we should hate everything and every moment of our lives. But the things and people we love in this world need to take second place to Jesus.

If, for example, Jesus leads you to leave your country in order to serve him in another, then you need to follow him there.

Or if Jesus says, “Leave your high-paying job so you can serve me better,” then you need to be willing to do so for the sake of his kingdom.

Sometimes following Jesus means change. Sometimes it means sacrifice.

But we can’t serve Jesus if we’re not where he is. And while the change or sacrifice might seem painful at the time, in the end, we’ll find it was all worth it.

I found that out coming to Japan. I never dreamed that I’d ever leave Hawaii.

But when I came to Japan, I found out that I was happier here than I ever was in Hawaii. I found life by leaving what I loved in Hawaii in order to follow Jesus.

And so will you.

How about you? Are you where Jesus is?