Harmony #38: Jesus Walks On Water (Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21)

Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, immediately made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, [past] Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowds. Now when evening came, after Jesus said good-bye to them and sent the crowds away, he went up the mountainside by himself to pray.

Those who started out believing he was a prophet like Moses (he fed people in the wilderness like Moses had) decided it might be time to make him king. I wonder if this is one reason Jesus kept telling people not to speak publically about the miracles. He wasn’t interested in that kind of Kingdom.

The Messiah was never intended to come with a physical sword like they were hoping. If you were here for our Revelation series, you may remember that when Jesus is portrayed with a sword, it’s in his mouth: it’s His words, the gospel message, that will challenge evil in the world before God ultimately bring an end to evil.

His disciples started to cross the lake to Capernaum. (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) By now strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. Meanwhile the boat, already far from land,  in the middle of the sea, was taking a beating from the waves. Jesus was alone on the land, and saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.

Has anyone else noticed that Jesus keeps sending his disciples into storms? More on that later…

Then, when the night was ending and they had rowed about three or four miles, they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, approaching the boat, for he wanted to pass by them. When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them: “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water. ”So Jesus said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

They were completely astonished, because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hard [#hardsoil]. They were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.

In all their hours (6?) rowing against the wind, they had covered 1/2 to  2/3 of their journey by the time that Jesus caught up to them. Sometime between 3am and 6am, Jesus followed the disciples without a boat. The Bible does not record they were frightened of the storm, even though they had been fighting it for hours. They were, however, frightened by what they thought was a ghost walking toward them on the water, as one would be. They relaxed when they saw it was him, but Peter basically says, “Prove it.”

By this time you would think they would be starting to wrap their heads around Jesus ability to do the miraculous. During the last storm, he calmed everything with a word. He just fed 10,000 people by turning something into nothing. Don’t get me wrong - there is no doubt seeing him walking on the water would have been shocking. But the soil in Peter heart was hard, and he wants another sign.

Only one gospel records Peter attempting to join Jesus on the water. It’s a good reminder this story is primarily about Jesus, not Peter. And what we learn about Jesus is that he will, in fact, give Peter yet another sign. Jesus relentlessly reveals himself. Those of little faith are not abandoned by the Savior.

When Jesus asked the disciples how to feed the 5,000, I suspect he wanted them to wrestle with the impossibility of the situation. Kind of like with the raising of the dead child when he said, “Nah, she’s just asleep.” He wanted the observers to confirm the impossibility of the situation and insist that she was, in fact, dead. He wanted them to recognize he was asking them to do something that could not be done. He was prepping an opportunity to show his Messianic credentials.

So here’s Peter asking to walk on water. I don’t know if Peter had considered Plan B if it was a ghost deceiving him, but Peter wasn’t really known for his thoughtful consideration before he did things. In another incident, he jumps out of the boat and swims to shore to see Jesus, so maybe he was a really good swimmer and figured if it didn’t work out, he’d just swim back. I don’t know.

So Peter tried to walk on the water, and he failed. I’m not sure why it took until that moment for him to consider how strong the wind was, and I don’t know what it looks like to walk on water during a raging storm, but I’ve been down to the Open Space when it’s windy, and it’s awesome and terrifying. If I were to walk on the water at that moment, either I am on a crazy rollercoaster as I stay on top of the waves, or the waves are crashing over me if I’m somehow walking on a level path. So, yeah, Peter is overwhelmed. I get it.

Something we don’t often see stressed is that when he is sinking, he does the right thing. He calls out to Jesus to save him. And Jesus does, of course. Saving is what Jesus does. Then he gently rebukes Peter: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Many of the commentaries I read and sermons I have heard focus on Peter’s lack of faith as an explanation for why he couldn’t walk on water, usually with the idea that if he had kept his eyes on Jesus, he would not have sunk. I like that image. It’s a practical way to think about worship. I’m not so sure that’s the primary point of the story, though,so I want to focus on what I believe to be the primary thing Jesus is addressing.

The book of John is famous for focuses on Jesus as the Messiah. All the gospels have a different primary focus as they recount the life of Jesus; John is the most messianic.

This Gospel stands out structurally, as it lays out its thesis in the first chapter. It also emphasizes the signs and wonders performed by Jesus during His ministry on earth, rather than just outlining the totality of it.  Seven of these signs are changing water into wine, healing the royal official’s son, healing the paralytic, feeding the 5,000, Jesus walking on water, healing the man blind from birth, and raising Lazarus from the dead. Each of these signs either fulfills a prophecy, demonstrates Jesus’ authority, or demonstrates His deity. John focuses on Jesus as the Son of God, the Word at the beginning, and the right ruler of all things. Jesus makes seven I AM statements, invoking the name God gave to Moses and to the Hebrew people centuries before.[1]

So this story is one of the 7 signs recorded in John, and John doesn’t include the part about Peter at all. It’s a story that’s meant to make us focus on Jesus, not Peter, because it’s one of the 7 signs of the Messiah. After all, only God “treads on the waves of the sea.” (Job 9:8; Psalms 77:19) The Exodus echo that began with the miraculous provision of food continues in what is one of the clearest revelations of Jesus’ divine nature: his authority over the sea. He doesn’t just part the sea and walk through on dry land; he walks on the sea itself.

There is something else happening here that modern English translations capture well. When we read that Jesus meant to ‘pass by them’, he wasn’t going to cruise on past and leave them behind. This is language for how God revealed himself to His people in the past.

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence… Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.” (Exodus 33: 18-23) 

 “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart… but the Lord was not in the wind.. the Lord was not in the earthquake…the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Jesus walked on the water to show his glory and proclaim his name. Jesus did this to get them to understand what they did not understand the day before: that he was God in the flesh, the promised Messiah.

The more I considered this story in its broader context, I am not so sure Jesus was rebuking Peter for failing to walk on the water as much as he was rebuking him for not trusting that Jesus was who he said he was.

Much like the crowds that keep demanding signs, Peter tested him again after all the signs he had seen already. Jesus allowed it to happen, but notice that Jesus did not float the idea the Peter should walk to him. This wasn’t God’s calling for Peter. This was Peter’s calling for Peter. If Jesus planned for Peter to walk on water, Peter would have walked on the water.

So Peter said, and I paraphrase, “Can I walk on the water to see if it’s you? Because if I can do that, I will know it’s you.” And Jesus said, “Come on over and I’ll show you it’s me.” And you know what? Peter found it was Jesus for real even though his walk wasn’t successful for more than a moment. In fact, he experienced the saving power of Jesus up close and personal. This experience confirmed to him that Jesus was, indeed, a messiah who is strong enough to save and kind enough to do it.

I’ve also been wondering about what it would have done to Peter to be able to make it to Jesus and back into the boat without sinking. Can you imagine life with Peter if he hadn’t sunk?

·  “Hey John, remember that time I alone of all of us walked on the water?”

·  “Hey Thomas, who wants to go storm chasing on the Sea of Galilee? Nobody? Maybe I’ll just walk out there then.”

·  “Who wants to play boat/water/Peter? Boat takes water, and Peter takes boat and water.”

I wonder if sinking might have been a really important part of Peter’s spiritual formation. Very publicly, he failed. No doubt he was impressive for at least a little bit, but then he was publicly frightened and failing. Sometimes that’s a gift not only to the person Jesus rescues, but to those who have to live with that person.

Peter will go on to be called the Rock by Jesus himself. I really hope at least one of the disciples was like, “Yeah, he sinks like a stone.” Then they all giggled while Peter turned red. Peter didn’t have to actually nail the walking on water gig to be used powerfully in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because it was always about the power of Jesus.

“Every moment we stand in need of Christ: while we stand-we are upheld by his power only; and when we are falling, or have fallen, we can be saved only by his mercy. Let us always take care that we do not consider so much the danger to which we are exposed, as the power of Christ by which we are to be upheld.” (Adam Clarke)

After Jesus identifies himself, Mark describes the astonishment of the disciples, their lack of understanding, and the reason for that lack: their hearts were hardened. I don’t think the writers mean to convey that they were actively hardening their hearts as much as that God had called a group of disciples to him whose hearts were the hard ground of the Parable of the Sower, at least to some degree. They had been through a storm he controlled, saw him heal people and even raise them from the dead, had hand-collected the leftovers at the Feeding of the 5,000, and the truth of Jesus’ message about himself was still was not taking root in their hearts.

We will circle back to this next week. I want to finish by focusing on our attempts to walk on water, and Jesus’ faithfulness in pulling us out.

* * * * *

Once the watery storms ended for the disciples, others began. There are always storms. This has been true as long as humanity has existed:

· “In this world, you will have trouble.” – Jesus, John 16:33

· “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” – David, Psalm 23

· “Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds.” – James, James 1:2

· “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” – Paul, Romans 8:18

· “Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.” - Peter, 1 Peter 4:12

So there will be storms. I want to talk about Peter and us in the storms of life, not because this story was about Peter, but because it involved Peter even as it pointed toward Jesus. Let’s look at how the storms in our lives involve us even as they point us to Jesus.

There are storms of the sin that impact us. Things that others do to us that threaten to take us under emotionally, mentally, spiritually, relationally. Sin has a terrible ripple effect, and the greater the sin done to us, the more traumatically it lands in our lives. And there are so many good things that help to keep us afloat: therapy, counseling, spiritual formation, good community, sometimes medication – those boats can keep our heads above water a lot of the time (that’s a good thing). A gracious God has given us boats of common grace (gifts of grace accessible by all) that are for our good. More on this later. But we can row into that storm for years, and finding solid land feels like an unobtainable dream, and we’re exhausted. 

There are times when, like Peter in his first moments. “I think I’ve got this!” And then we realize the winds of the sins done to us are still taking us down even though we have fought so hard. And it’s in the prayer of helpless desperation that his strong right hand, which was there all along, saves us from drowning and guides the boat to shore.

I have this image in my head of what it must have been like in the boat after Peter and Jesus got in. (It’s just my image; it’s not Scripture.)

Peter, after a while, through tears: “I tried.”

Jesus, gently: “I know.”

Peter: “I couldn’t do it.”

Jesus: “You didn’t need to.”

And that’s it. That’s the conversation. Jesus puts his arm over his shoulders and then they just sit quietly until they get to the other side. And Peter has to process the humbling reality that he wasn’t enough on his own along with the comforting reality that the one who saves him is.

I think of relational storms we go through. Since my closest relationship is with Sheila, I’m thinking of what this looks like in marriage, though your relational storms may look different. There were times we were going under, even when we tried so hard. We got water wings and lifejackets and snorkeling gear (we read books, went to counseling, attended marriage retreats – all good things). They kept us afloat for a time, but the wind of our brokenness was strong, and the waves of our baggage daunting. Our most important, transformative moments were those times when all we could do was cry out as we were going under, and Jesus pulled us up.

I distinctly remember a time we looked at each other and said, “What do we do? We are out of ideas. Nothing has worked. This brokenness in us and between us is impossible to fix.” All we had left was prayer for the miraculous intervention of God.

Us, through tears: “We tried.”

Jesus, gently: “I know.”

Us: “We don’t have the tools to do it.”

Jesus: “You don’t need to.”

We went home from that supper, two people in despair. The next day we had lunch just to be together. Then we sat in the van and listened to a comedian to laugh together. We didn’t talk about life or marriage. But we realized in a week or two that everything had changed. There was something about that drowning moment, in which we cried the desperate cries of the drowning, for which Jesus was waiting.

And then I have been in storms where I find that while I am praying for deliverance from that storm, I am a lot like Peter. I know that Jesus is the one who rules the storms, but I am secretly hoping I look amazing too as he goes about rescuing me.

When Covid hit and we were trying to navigate our way through it as a church, I was trying to provide pastoral leadership. I knew it was going to take a miracle, but honestly, I wanted to look amazing as God’s work unfolded. I wanted my wisdom, compassion, truth-telling, and just overall “for such a time as this” persona to shine like bright beacon in a dark world. Bring on that wind full of masks and social distancing and shutdowns: I was ready to walk on that stormy Covid water.

And you know what? That is not at all what happened. I managed to make everybody mad at some point. Even me – I was mad at me. When I stepped out into the storm, I made have gotten a couple steps in, but then down I went. Don’t get me wrong. I was praying passionately what Jesus offered as a model: “Lead us not into the time of testing/storms, but if you do, deliver us from the evil one.” I really knew that was the answer. I just wanted to walk on water while He was working.

Me, through tears: “I tried.”

Jesus, gently: “I know.”

Me: “I couldn’t do it.”

Jesus: “I can.”

And where was Jesus as I – and you - were flailing about in the rising wind? Right there with us. Reminding us that we would get through Covid not because we are great, but because He is great. He pulled me up (and he pulled you up). He kept us disciples in this CLG boat after he carried us back in and dried us off. He brought us to the other side, with better heart soil than when we started.

This church has gone through storms in its 50 years, some minor gales and some hurricanes. Did we bust out onto the waves and impress everybody by owning that storm and tromping on it? No need to make a way through it. We are on top of it!! That’s…not how it went. By God’s good grace, we’ve gotten in some good steps throughout our history, but you wouldn't want your Fitbit to count them. We always ended up treading water in a whirlpool that threated to pull us down – which forced us to cry out to Jesus to do what we, in our own wisdom and power, could not. And he did. He has pulled us back into the boat again and again, dried us off, and taken to where he had in mind for us to go.

And he puts us back in a boat. Jesus didn’t pull an Oprah and say, “You know what? Walking on water for all! You don’t need this boat!” He uses the boat to get them to where they were supposed to go. All the things I mentioned earlier - therapy, counseling, spiritual formation, good community, sometimes medication –those, too, are provisions of his loving grace. Those, too, can be the means God Himself uses to get us to where he wants us to go. We just need the author and finisher of our faith to be the one told us to get in that particular boat, and then be the one who guides that boat to where he plans for us to go.

 And this brings me back to what I love about Jesus. He establishes himself as a Messiah who does not abandon us in the midst of storms. He does not reject us when we fail to see him clearly. He does not despise us when we are too weak to calm the storm. He is always there, holding out his hand, offering to save us, putting us into the boats his common grace provided for us, and showing us the glory of his love and faithfulness.

Recommended Music: Third Day: “Cry Out To Jesus”

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[1] “What Makes Each of the Gospel Accounts Unique?” Biblestudytools.com

Harmony #37: Feeding the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14)

I am skipping a conversation between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders recorded in John 15. I posted it as a bonus entry online, with footnotes to help explain and contextualize the text. In this passage Jesus basically keeps saying, “I’m God; I’m one with God the Father.” And the Pharisees keep saying, “But are you though?” And Jesus says, “Yes, indeed.” And they say, “I don’t think so.” The last thing he says to them, in John 15:46-47, is this:

“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?”

We will come back to the importance of those parting words after we look at today’s text.

When the apostles returned, they gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat).

So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place near a town called Bethsaida, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). But a large crowd was following Jesus because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick.

Many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived there ahead of them. As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd, welcomed them went on up the mountainside and sat down there with his disciples.

Jesus taught them many things about the kingdom of God, and cured those who needed healing. When it was already late, Jesus’ disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place and it is already very late. Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat and find lodging.”

But Jesus answered them, “They don’t need to go. You give them something to eat.” He said to Philip,[1] “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” (Now Jesus said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.)

Philip replied, “Two hundred silver coins[2] worth of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little. Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins and give it to them to eat?”

Jesus said to his disciples, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother found out and said, “Here is a boy who has only five barley[3] loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many people - unless we go and buy food for all of them?”

Then he directed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) So they did as Jesus directed, and sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.[4]

He gave them to his disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among all who were seated, as much as they wanted. When they were all satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces and fish that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets[5] with broken pieces from the five barley loaves and fish that were left over by the people who had eaten. Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.

 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.[6]”

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First, Jesus relentlessly reveals himself.

Remember what Jesus said right before this to the religious leaders?

“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?”

This is primarily a sign to show the people once again that this is the long awaited Messiah, the “prophet who is to come into the world” that Moses had told them about. But rather than just leave them with the words of Moses, he does a miracle of miraculous provision of food, similar to what God enabled Moses (and Elisha) to do.

“The feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels, which signals its importance. Jesus appears as a new and greater Moses, who fed the crowds with supernatural bread in the wilderness (Exod 16), and as a new and greater Elisha, who fed a hundred people with 20 hand-size loaves of bread and still had leftovers (2 Kgs 4:42–44).” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

So, once again, we see an episode in the life of Jesus where he displays his credentials. He’s been doing this over and over. I suspect he knew that, even in a hopeful and expectant people, his claims to be the long awaited Messiah was going to take some backing up.  After all, plenty of people claimed they were this promised Messiah.

1.    Judas Maccabeus 160's BC, entered Jerusalem at the head of an army, purified the temple, destroyed altars to other gods, but was eventually killed in battle.

2.    In 132 BC, Simon Bar Kokhba (“Son of the Star” in Aramaic) tried again to bring down the Roman occupation of Palestine. For two and a half years, following a successful guerilla insurgency, Bar Kokhba ruled over an independent Jewish nation in the land of Palestine. The rebellion was ultimately crushed. The Talmud writes that the Romans killed so many Jews that the blood seeped into the nostrils of their horses and flowed forty miles to the sea.

3.    Judas (of Galilee), founder of the Zealots, led a revolt against Romans AD 6 (Acts 5). He was crushed brutally.

4.    Athronges (4-2? BC) led a rebellion with his four brothers against the Romans after proclaiming himself the Messiah. He and his brothers were eventually defeated.

The people were going to need to be sure about this new man making messianic claims. As hopeful as they were, I suspect they were becoming a bit cynical.

And maybe this is why, in front of his largest recorded crowd (10,000?), this miracle escalated. This is his first recorded miracle where he created something out of nothing, which reminds us of what God did in the act of creation in Genesis. He simply spoke, and from nothing, something began to exist.

I love that Jesus, over and over, provided signs to the people who needed signs. The Bible records Jesus commending those who don’t need them, yet he kept giving them to those who needed them. There is patience here, and gentleness, and a willingness to meet people where they are, not where they aren’t.

Second, we see something about how God works in the world.

“God often used what people had to perform wonders.”[7]

We don’t all have to bring the same thing to Jesus. We don’t even have to bring something impressive. When we give to Jesus what we have, he will do miraculous things with it. Little is much, when God is in it.[8]

I think there is a tendency to compare ourselves to others when it comes to what we bring into the Kingdom. We look around and see people doing things that we consider impressive, and then we look at ourselves and think, “Well, I can’t do that. All I can do is….”

And this is where I note that all you can do is all you can do, and that’s okay, because God will multiply it for your good, the good of those around you, and his glory. I really doubt this kid showed up thinking he had anything to offer that Jesus could you to minister to people.

Francis Schaeffer wrote a book called No Little People. It’s full of good quotes about the importance of every individual. This quote captures the heart of his book.  

We must remember throughout our Christian lives that in God's sight there are no little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated persons in Gods place for us at each moment. Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under his Lordship in the whole of life, may by God’s grace change the flow of a generation. -  Francis Schaeffer

If you are the kind of person who gains a massive following or builds the next big megachurch or global ministry, more power to you. Do it with integrity and holiness to the glory of God. But I have grown weary of Christian celebrityism (and I’m not blaming the celebrities). I’ve grown weary of the idea that bigger must be better when it comes to churches, ministries and platforms.

It’s not just that higher pedestals make for bigger falls; it’s that those who don’t reach a certain level of fame or reputation and places that don’t create massive footprints are seen as “less than.” 

How many times have I heard, “My testimony is boring. It’s not a big deal. I wasn’t saved from addiction, I didn’t lead a gang, I didn’t survive anything too traumatic. I don’t have that much to offer. I am unimpressive.”

Please hear me. In God’s sight, there are no little people or little places.

“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” - Henry Van Dyke

Your life is profoundly significant. Your life ripples into your family or community in ways that echo through eternity.  If you think you are just too small or insignificant, remember that in the Kingdom of Heaven, a mustard seed grows into a massive tree. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are in Kingdom territory, and the King has a vital role for you in the building the Kingdom.   

Third, we see that it is often through the followers of Jesus that the blessings from Jesus spread.

“Jesus challenges the disciples to provide for the crowd; [when they can’t, he does, and then] makes them ministers of His provision.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

God often uses His people to distribute His divine blessings to those who need them. Jesus did what only Jesus could do; he asked his disciples to do what they could do. In this case, the disciples were the hands and feet of Jesus. Huh. That language sounds familiar. Almost as if this story is an image of the church in action.

I love that God ministers to us internally and privately through the work of the Holy Spirit. May we never stop praying for that miraculous and life-changing power. But while we do that, let’s remember that God often ministers to us through others – and will use us to minister to them in turn.

That’s why we never just pray when we are positioned to be an answer to that prayer. Think of the disciples as asking, “Lord, meet the needs of these people!” And Jesus said, “Sure!” And then did it by miraculously multiplying the initial gift of a poor man’s snack and distributing it through the hands of the disciples.

·      Me: “God, my friend needs help paying her bills.”

·      God: “I would love to help her. Use your hands to give what little (or lot) of money you can to her.”

·      Me: “God, my friend is need of some reliable transportation next week.”

·      God: “Yes he is. I have a plan. Hand him the keys to that car you don’t have to have next week.”

·      Me: “God, there is this group of people who is so far from you. Please help them feel the love and hope you have to offer.”

·      God: “Absolutely! When would you like start building a friendship with them on my behalf?”

We are designed to live in our community and broader community in gospel-oriented and Christ-centered relationship; it’s no surprise that God tightens the connections by having us take to others what is coming from Him: not just love, truth, grace, justice, and mercy, but comfort, provision, and care. 

Fourth, God is really good at making much out of little.

This is Mustard Seed image again, but with a different focus. When God is in the midst of it, not only our faith but our talents, gifts and provisions have the potential to grow into a huge tree that fills the landscape and provides safety and hope.

“The hungry multitude is always present. There is always a little band of disciples with seemingly pitiful resources. And always there is the compassionate Savior. When disciples are willing to give Him their little all, He multiplies it to feed thousands.” (Believers Bible Commentary)

We here at CLG are a little band of disciples in the overall scheme of things. Our financial resources aren’t grand – in the eyes of the world. But in the economy of the Kingdom, this church is full of tremendous resources – you - ready to burst into the world and offer what we can, no matter how insignificant it might feel to us, to be multiplied by God to the glory of God and the good of the world.

·      “I can’t put $1,000 in the offering, or even $100. I only have $5 what’s the point?” Besides the character-building practice of generosity, know that God has a plan for how that money will further His kingdom. “What if it’s only a dollar?” Still good. God has a purpose. It will be more impactful and important than you realize.

·      “I don’t know what my gifts or talents are, but… (and this is just one example of something that might feel insignificant to you) I like to play games.” Fantastic. Play games with people. Do you know now many people are lonely, disconnected, bored? Do you know how many people long to have someone set aside time and spend it with them? Play games to the glory of good and the good of those around you. Show them they are valuable, that they matter. God will multiply your expression of care and honor. It will be more impactful and important than you realize.

·      “About all I have to offer is that I can cook.” Excellent. Sign up for a meal train and let someone know God sees them and cares about them by you, in whom God has taken up residence, seeing them and caring about them. God will multiply the hospitality that you offer. It will be more impactful and important than you realize.

·      “About all I can do anymore is pray.” That’s all you can do? That’s hugely important. Keep track of our prayer request page and pray. Read the news and pray. It will be more impactful and important than you realize.

Remember what happened at Asbury a couple months ago? One guy gave what he thought was a mediocre message in chapel. He was certain he had whiffed it. Just a handful of kids stayed afterward. God multiplied it.

Little is much when God is in it. Do not despise the mustard seeds you have, the seemingly insignificant skills or interests, the parts of your life that feel mediocre. Just offer it to God for his use. He will do the multiplying. All you have to do is be ready to hand him your loaves and fishes when it’s time.

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[1]  It’s likely that Jesus asked Philip because he was one of three disciples who came from Bethsaida (John 1:44). He knew the area.

[2] About $1,500 in today money.

[3] The grain typically used by the poor.

[4] “An old tradition recounts that Jesus placed the five loaves and two fish on a large piece of rock and then gave the common Jewish Berakah: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth” (m. Ber. 6:1). (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

[5]  "By the number here particularized, it should seem that each apostle filled his own bread basket." (Adam Clarke)

[6] Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22

[7] ESV Reformation Study Bible. Think of Moses and his staff in Exodus 4:1 – 3; 14:16, and the widow whose olive oil never ran out in 2 Kings 4:1 – 7).

[8] There is a great song by that title sung by the Gaither Vocal Band.

Jesus Claims to be the Son of God, Equal with God (John 5:15-47)

I did not do an entire message on this passage, but you can read the passage and the footnotes that help to explain and contextualize what is happening as Jesus insistently stakes his claim to be the Messiah.

Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting him. So he told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.

So Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative (and act independently of the Father). He can only do what he sees the Father doing, (such that I see the Father’s hand and purpose in every event in this world).[1]

For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes[2]. Furthermore, the Father does not judge anyone, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father.[3] The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.[4]

“I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from from death (eternal separation from God) to life (eternal relationship with God)[5]. I tell you the solemn truth, a time is coming—and is now here—when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father (was never created and was never given life by anyone else),[6] He has life in himself; thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and he has granted the Son authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

“Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out—the ones who have done the (good deeds that follow salvation) [7] to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. I can do nothing on my own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.[8]

“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.[9] There is another who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. (I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time in his light.

“But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds that the Father has assigned me to complete—the deeds I am now doing—testify about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

“I do not accept praise from people, but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don’t seek the praise that comes from the only God?

“Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.[10] If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?”

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[1] ESV Global Study Bible

[2] “Jesus’ statement that the Son also gives life to whom he will is another claim to deity. It shows that Jesus does what only God can do: raise the dead and give life. This “life” is both the new “life” now given to believers (v. 24; 11:25–26; 2 Cor. 5:17) and the resurrection of the body at Christ’s second coming (1 Cor. 15:42–57; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; see Dan. 12:2).” (ESV Global Study Bible)

[3] Jesus offers another proof of his deity, since only God renders final judgment.

[4] “The authority to judge on the last day entails the authority to give resurrection life (cf. the connection between vv. 26–27). judges. A prerogative of God alone (Gen 18:25; Matt 25:31–33; Acts 10:42; 17:31). One of the rights and responsibilities of the king, whether the king is God or someone in David’s line, is to judge impartially and perfectly (see, e.g., Ps 72; Isa 11).” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[5] As explained in the Tony Evans Study Bible

[6] “Jewish sources in the wider Greek-speaking world held God to be the only one with life “of himself” (“uncreated,” “self-begotten,” etc.). As in some Greek writings, they described the supreme God as existing without any source outside himself.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds) 

[7] Believer’s Bible Commentary

[8] “The divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—for all fully share the same divine nature. When the Son is said to obey the Father, this refers to His human will, which Christ assumed at His Incarnation.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[9] Moses wrote that the establishment of truth required 2-3 witnesses at minimum. “Jesus names several witnesses concerning himself: the Father (vv. 32, 37–38), John the Baptist (vv. 33–35), Jesus’ own works (v. 36), and the Scriptures (v. 39), especially Moses (vv. 45–47).” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[10] “Various early Jewish texts present Moses as a continuing advocate or intercessor for Israel, as he had been in the Bible (Ex. 32:32; 34:9; Jer. 15:1). Some scholars argue that these Jewish leaders view Moses as an advocate, the way the Fourth Gospel presents the Spirit on behalf of believers (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) and 1 John presents Jesus (1 John 2:1). If so, Jesus challenges such hopes, declaring that Moses will be their accuser (5:45).” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

Harmony #36: Sending Out the Twelve (Matthew 9:35-38; 10:1, 5-15; 11:1; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6)

 Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.[1]

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.[2]  Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Jesus called his twelve disciples[3] and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness.

Jesus sent out these twelve two by two[4] to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near and to heal the sick.[5]He instructed them as follows: “Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town.[6] Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Take nothing[7] for the journey except a staff,[8] and put on sandals. Do not take gold, silver, or copper in your belts[9] – no bread, no bag for the journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals or staff,[10] for the worker deserves his provisions.

“Whenever you enter a town or village, find out who is worthy there and stay with them until you leave the area.[11]As you enter the house, give it greetings. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.[12]

And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, as you leave that house or town, shake the dust off your feet[13] as a testimony against them. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town![14]

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns. Then the disciples departed and went throughout the villages, proclaiming the good news and preaching that all should repent. They cast out many demons and anointed sick people everywhere with oil and healed them.

A few comments on some dynamics at work here.

• The disciples would do the things that Jesus had been doing to prove their power and message were from him. They were given Christ-like credentials to confirm their message.

• They were to stay in the first house that welcomed them —no rejecting poor accommodations or working toward getting to a nicer place. The value of their host and their relationship with their host was more important than the comfort of their bed. 

• They were not to pressure those who refused to be hospitable to them or their message, but were to shake off the dust from their feet (hospitable hosts would have cleaned their feet for them) and move on.[15]

• This was not to be a means to accumulate wealth. Jerome (347-420) wrote, “Spiritual gifts are defiled if connected with rewards.” He was very concerned that it would look like “they were preaching not for the sake of humanity’s salvation but for the sake of their own financial gain.”[16] They had received their blessings without cost and were to pay it forward on the same basis.[17] Neither the miracles of the Kingdom nor the good news of the free gift of grace in the Kingdom were intended to make one wealthy by earthly standards.

This passage could be mined pretty deeply. There is a lot of treasure here below the surface. I am going to offer six points to ponder in hopes that at least one will challenge or encourage you.

1. The transformative reality that “the kingdom is near” needs to take root here before we take it there.  Jesus wasn’t telling them to only go the Jewish people because he disliked the Gentiles and Samaritans. He had already spoken to the woman at the well  in Samaria (who brought the whole village to see him), so the Kingdom tree was growing in Samaria. He had been healing Gentiles (we read last week that an entire household was converted), and the former demoniac was telling people about Jesus in the largely Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee, so it’s not as if the Gentiles had been ignored.

I suspect he steered the 12 toward the Jewish people for two reasons.

First, the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” are his children, his family. His sheep are wandering around like sheep without a Shepherd because they don’t know who the shepherd is. The Father loves his children, and he begins with them. He has not given up on them. His ministry will not end with his family, but it will begin with His family.

I’ll just note: if God has given you the gifts and talents to do ministry for the Kingdom on his behalf, begin with your family. It probably won’t end there, but it should start there. Trust me, as one for whom it took a long time for this to sink in. This is important.

Second, I wonder if it has something to do with the development of truth and character in those who will spread the message before they spread the message. There was some work that needed to be done so the ambassadors could represent the King well. For example, his disciples will soon ask him to call down fire on a Samaritan town.[18] Yeah, you might not want to send those guys to the Samaritans just yet. They might have known the message of Jesus, but they didn’t understand the heart of Jesus.

There is a lesson here :) It is important that we not neglect our spiritual formation as we build the reach and impact of the Kingdom. We don’t have to be perfect, obviously. We can a mess, in fact, as God is working to heal all the many ways we are broken. But we need to understand the heart of God for people, and we need to be committed to the ongoing serious discipleship that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, increases our likeness to Jesus. If we are planning to head out and beg God to call down fire on those who are lost, we aren't ready. When we see them as lost and confused sheep who need to meet the Shepherd, we are.

2. The crowds were like sheep without a shepherd, a ripe harvest with no one gathering. Is that how we view the lost or wandering crowds around us? It’s worth noting that it’s likely at least some of these people eventually clamored for Jesus’ crucifixion. Perhaps being able to view even hostile enemies this way is how, Jesus, while on the cross,  could say, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”

When we see news coverage of THAT group marching for THAT issue, how do we see them?  Do we see sheep without a shepherd? When we walk downtown during Cherry Festival, do we see a field ripe for harvest, needing to have someone who an ambassador for Jesus enter into their lives with the good news of salvation? And what does your response motivate you to do: retreat in fear, lash out in anger, take an eye for eye, get a hostile bumper sticker that’s sure to trigger somebody? Or are we moved to prayerfully seek them out to share the message - and show with our lives-  that the good news that the Kingdom of heaven is here?

3. What does it look like to live prophetically? “Biblical prophets had to live simply in times of widespread apostasy, not dependent on decadent society (1Kings 17:4 – 6; 18:13; 2Kings 4:38; 5:15 – 16,26; 6:1).”[19]

Do we live in times of widespread apostasy (followers of Jesus falling away from the faith)? Yes, at a record pace for the United States. Is our culture decadent?  Almost 50 years ago, Francis Schaeffer argued vigorously that it is, and I don’t know of anyone who disagreed then or now.

We often talk about speaking prophetically, which 80+ percent of the time in the Bible meant proclaiming God’s word and plan boldly in what called forthtelling as opposed to foretelling about future events (that’s the other percentage points).

We talk about speaking prophetically in both of those ways (as we should), but we don’t so often talk about living prophetically. Why? It’s a lot easier to say some words than it is to change a lifestyle.

I wonder what it looks like for us to live prophetically? I’m not sure where to go with this: maybe… it’s this?  Or that? These are just ideas. I’m spitballing. There is something important here, and I feel like I’m nibbling at the edges. Maybe in Message+ we can get to the core. These are things I thought of this week.

• We refuse to support the destructive nature of greedy consumerism by reigning in our consumption and from our savings, practicing generosity.

• In an age of indulgence - often at the expense others - we practice self-restraint so that we are better able to serve others.

• We refuse to live in luxury when those around us live in squalor. Where is that line? I have no idea. But it’s somewhere.

• We fight the culture’s objectification and exploitation of people sexually and financially by determining to honor the intrinsic value of people with our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

• We refuse to go about our daily life as if everything is okay when it’s not okay. We commit to holy disturbances in the rhythm of our lives to spread the Kingdom.

I’m sure there’ more here. I hope this inspires us to think about it.

4. It is just as important to receive hospitality as to give it. In Jesus’ time, people honored others by showing hospitality. But it works both ways. Hosts were honored when people received their generosity, as simple as it may be. Imagine if a disciple had stayed one night at a house and the next day said, “Hey that was really nice, but I’m going to THAT house.” (Points toward the mansion up the block). Imagine how the poorer host would feel. I love that Jesus’ instructions required his disciples to appreciate people rather than the things that they had.

Also, there is something very, very important about receiving hospitality that affirms the value of the person giving. From a reddit post:

"I heard my mother asking our neighbor for some salt. I asked her why she was asking them as we had salt at home. She replied: 'It's because they're always asking us for things; they're poor. So I thought I'd ask something small from them so as not to burden them but at the same time make them feel as if we need them too.'"

5. The messenger of the Kingdom are purposeful, but not pushy. Notice that the disciples did not hound, berate, yell, march, picket, boycott those who were inhospitable to them or their ideas. They tried, and then moved on to those who were hospitable. I suspect, given enough time, they would have tried again or at least encouraged others to give it a shot. It’s not that they didn’t care. But they had a message of good seeds that needed to be sown in good soil, and there was only so much time.

There’s something here about discerning the moment. Of all the points, this might be the one that most obviously requires a sensitivity to whether the Holy Spirit is pushing you toward or pulling you from someone. The best explanation I have in my life is that there have been times when I’ve been talking to both Christians and non-Christians and it was clear they had heart soil ready for truth about all kinds of things, from who Jesus is to how to love others well or be honest about themselves…you name it, they were ready to have truth planted in their hearts.

In other conversations I’ve had, it became clear after a while that they were only in this to show me how smart they were, or to try to humiliate me, or to defend themselves from any and all attempts to help them see themselves as God and others saw them.

I don’t have a template or a scientific explanation about how you know the difference, but when you know, you know.

I don’t believe for a minute God was done with those villages when the disciples moved on. The Holy Spirit, the Hound of Heaven, will pursue them through someone else. When we feel nudged to move on, remember that just because we aren’t the messenger doesn’t mean there will be no messenger. I suspect God will send other people into their lives who will be far more effective than you or I ever would have been.

6. I wonder what signs are ‘credentials’ in our culture? What things would lay out our credentials as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God? For the disciples it was those specifically miraculous things, many of which directly pointed back to Old Testament prophecy concerning what the awaited Messiah would do. In many times and places throughout history, that kind of miraculous work has been like planting a flag in the ground and saying, “This is Kingdom territory,” and everybody got it.  

In increasingly secular cultures, where all miracles are explained away as unknown science, I wonder if the signs and wonders are sometimes something different. It’s not like God can’t be creative with how He displays His power and goodness to the world.

• In the book of Acts, miracles were the primary credentials. That continues today in many parts of the world, especially in countries where the supernatural world clashes very publically.

• In the first few centuries of the early church, miracles didn’t stop, but it was their love for everybody that awed the Gentiles more than anything else.

• Throughout history, faithful martyrdom has caught the attention of those far from Jesus.

• In the Middle Ages (when things went well) it was hospitable communities and the preservation of schools and libraries that shone like a city on a hill.

• In the Great Awakenings, it was repentant, transformed individuals, who often led the charge to address social issues (poverty, racism, alcoholism, orphans).

• In the Asuza revivals, it was the gifts of the Holy Spirit being used in power and love for the building of the church.

• The 2000s began with a proliferation of apologetics, philosophical, historical and theological arguments in defense of the faith that for many skeptics removed the hurdle of feeling like faith was not for the intellectual or scientific.

• Now, I think the most powerful credentials in the United States is increasingly returning to 1) the testimony of transformed lives, and 2) the witness of church communities characterized by embodied truth, love and grace displayed in the family, church and broader community. As has often been noted, people don’t care what we know until they know that we care.

 None of these are never not important. What is important is “understanding the times,” and entering into what God is doing at a particular time in a particular place for a particular people.

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[1] Ezekiel 34:5

[2] “The state of things suggested two pictures to His mind: a neglected flock of sheep, and a harvest going to waste for lack of reapers. Both imply, not only a pitiful plight of the people, but a blameworthy neglect of duty on the part of their religious guides—the shepherds by profession without the shepherd heart, the spiritual husbandmen without an eye for the whitening fields and skill to handle the sickle.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary) 

[3] “The Twelve were evidently not together all the time (some had homes and families).”

(ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[4] “[This] satisfies the requirement of two or three witnesses and provides them a measure of protection.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

[5] “[This] is not appointment to a permanent office but commissioning for an immediate task.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[6] Jesus had already been to Samaria. Also, “That Jesus felt it necessary to mention the Samaritans at all presupposes John 4. The disciples, happy in the exercise of their ability to perform miracles, might have been tempted to evangelize the Samaritans when they remembered Jesus' success there. Judging by Lk 9:52-56, however, the Twelve were still tempermentally ill-equipped to minister to Samaritans.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary) 

[7] He will send out others where the instructions are different (Luke 22). Don’t think of the specifics as a timeless command. The specifics are for this group of people, at this time.

[8] “According to Mark 6:8, the disciples were allowed to take a staff. Here in Luke’s account, Jesus is probably not prohibiting a staff altogether but prohibiting taking an extra one, as Luke 10:4 prohibits extra sandals.” (ESV Global Study Bible)

[9] “Biblical prophets had to live simply in times of widespread apostasy not dependent on decadent society (cf., e.g., 3:1,4; 1Ki 17:4 – 6; 18:13; 2Ki 4:38; 5:15 – 16,26; 6:1).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[10] Remember how John the Baptist was likely an Essene, or at least heavily influenced by the Essene community? “When Essenes (members of a strict Jewish sect) traveled, they traveled light, depending on hospitality from other Essenes.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible) Then, consider how all of Jesus disciples either followed John or were influenced by him. In other words, these instructions would not have felt unusual.

[11] “Rather than moving from house to house, perhaps in a quest for better housing, the apostles were to establish their ministry headquarters in one home. (ESV Global Study Bible) “They would rely on hospitality, but staying in one house limited the time they spent in any one place.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible) “The disciples should receive hospitality graciously. Hospitality was important as well as necessary in days of difficult travel conditions and poor accommodations at inns. The disciples were not to move about from house to house, a practice that might gain them more support but would insult their hosts.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[12] “The conventional Jewish greeting was shalom, “May it be well with you.” This was a blessing, i.e., an implicit prayer to God.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[13] “Proper hospitality included offering water for guests to wash their feet; here the travelers’ feet remain conspicuously unwashed. Jewish people sometimes shook profane dust from their feet when entering a more holy place (Ex 3:5) [or] leaving pagan territory to enter the Holy Land.” (NIV Cultural Background Study Bible)

[14] Note that this is not a judgment on Gentiles. This is a referendum on God’s people, those who have the Law and are not practicing hospitality. The prophets said that one of the prominent sins of Sodom was inhospitality (Ezekiel 16:49). The people of Sodom were (in a sense) Gentiles who didn’t know any better. What they did was bad, but God’s people knew better. It’s worse.

[15] Believer’s Bible Commentary

[16] As found in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Matthew 1-13

[17] Believer’s Bible Commentary

[18] Luke 9

[19] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

Harmony #35: Faith, Frailty And Miracles

As Jesus traveled to Cana (the village in Galilee where He transformed the water into fine wine), he was met by a government official, a Gentile, from Herod’s court. This man had heard a rumor that Jesus had left Judea and was heading to Galilee, and he came in desperation begging for Jesus’ help because his young son was near death.

 He was fearful that unless Jesus would go with him to Capernaum (20 miles away), his son would have no hope.

 Jesus said, ”My word is not enough; you people only believe when you see miraculous signs and wonder.”[1]

The official replied, “Sir, this is my son; please come with me before he dies.”

 Jesus said, “Go home. Your son will live.”

He believed the word of Jesus and returned to his home. Before he reached his village, his servants met him on the road celebrating his son’s miraculous recovery.

The official asked, “What time did this happen?”

His servants replied, “Yesterday about one o’clock in the afternoon.”

At that moment, it dawned on the father the exact time that Jesus spoke the words, “He will live.” After that, he believed; and when he told his family about his amazing encounter with this Jesus, they believed too. This was the second sign Jesus performed when He came back to Galilee from Judea.

Jesus led His followers to Jerusalem where they would celebrate a Jewish feast together. In Jerusalem they came upon a pool by the sheep gate surrounded by five covered porches. In Hebrew this place is called Bethesda. Crowds of people lined the area, lying around the porches.

All of these people were disabled in some way; some were blind, lame, paralyzed, or plagued by diseases; and they were waiting for the waters to move.[2] They believed a heavenly messenger came to stir the water in the pool. Whoever reached the water first and got in would be healed of his or her disease.”[3]

In the crowd, Jesus noticed one particular man who had been living with his disability for 38 years. He knew this man had been waiting here a long time.

Jesus said to the disabled man,  “Do you want to be healed?”[4]

The man replied, “Kind Sir, I wait, like all of these people, for the waters to stir. But I cannot walk. If I am to be healed in the waters, someone must carry me into the pool. Without a helping hand, someone else beats me to the water’s edge each time it is stirred.”

 Jesus replied, “Stand up, carry your mat, and walk. ”At the moment Jesus uttered these words, the man was healed—he stood and walked for the first time in 38 years. But this was the Sabbath Day; and any work, including carrying a mat, was prohibited on this day.

The Jewish Leaders said to the man who had been healed, “Must you be reminded that it is the Sabbath? You are not allowed to carry your mat today!”

The formerly disabled man replied, “The man who healed me gave me specific instructions to carry my mat and go.”

 “Who is the man who gave you these instructions?” The Jewish leaders asked,  “How can we identify Him?” The man genuinely did not know who it was that healed him. In the midst of the crowd and the excitement of his renewed health, Jesus had slipped away. Some time later, Jesus found him in the temple and again spoke to him.

”Take a look at your body; it has been made whole and strong. So avoid a life of sin, so that nothing worse will happen to you.” The man went immediately to tell the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the mysterious healer. So they began pursuing and attacking Jesus because He performed these miracles on the Sabbath.

But Jesus said to them, “My Father is at work. So I, too, am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 

As I said last week, I think the main purpose of these miracles is to show the deity of Jesus. In the verses that follow this passage, Jesus and the Pharisees have it out about this issue. Today I am going to use these miracles to look at four topics embedded in these miracle stories. I think you will find that I’m only scratching the surface, and I encourage you to read, pray, and meditate on this passage on your own.

God’s good law was never meant to hinder or obscure grace.

The Pharisees completely ignore the lame man’s comments about his healing. All they see is that Jesus broke the law – specifically, their traditions added to the laws that defined how to use God’s law on their terms rather than God’s terms.[1] Jesus heals a man who had been sick for apparently decades, and they don’t realize they are in the presence of the Lord of both the Sabbath and of sickness. All they can say is, “How dare you help him on God’s day. You are working!”

We must be careful. Like the Pharisees, we can create our own set of laws that add to the Bible’s teaching and then use our standard as a measure of not just our righteousness, but the righteousness of those around us. If we begin to so value our additional moral definitions and constraints that we can’t see the goodness of God at work, we are in trouble.

I don't mean we should discard God’s good Law as it applies to us today. Jesus came to fulfill or perfect the moral heart of the Law (Matthew 5:17). The Law is a good thing when rightly understood and followed (it’s a schoolmaster, says Paul[5]), but it’s not the ultimate thing. It is meant to guide us toward a Savior.

So the Law is for our good and God’s glory. If we use it to undermine our good or obscure God’s glory, we have misunderstood the Law. We have to be really careful that we don’t add to it and by so doing make it something it was not meant to be. There’s a point where Jesus says of the Sabbath, “You thought you were made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for you.”[6] As in, you missed the point of this Law.

In the situation with the lame man, Jesus did not break the law of God. He revealed the heart of God. In so doing, he broke an add-on that should not have been added on. The Pharisees heard “work on the Sabbath” rather than “lame man made whole.” Norma McCorvey (of Roe v Wade) came to Jesus while smoking with a pro-life dude in a parking lot. The Pharisee hears “smoking”; grace hears “came to Christ.”

Jesus responds to both our faith and our frailty.

I know we talked about this last Sunday. It’s not my fault that the next stories just keep making the same point. I had a list of six different incidents last week in which faith and frailty were both on display. Here’s two more.

The royal official sought Jesus and asked for his help. When Jesus told him that his son would be okay, it seems that the best translation would be to say the official trusted his word. He had faith in Jesus’ power, which was at least a start. After he found out about his son’s healing, he ‘believed’ again, but this time he and his entire household appear to believe Jesus was Lord. He went from believing in Jesus as healer to believing in Jesus as Lord. 

The lame man didn’t even know who Jesus was. This man made no cry for help.[7] He didn't grab Jesus and say, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" like the blind men did. When Jesus asked if he wanted to be healed, he basically dodged the question (more on that later). The text doesn't record that he ever worshipped Jesus as a result of being healed, yet Jesus healed him, encouraged him, and equipped him to give a testimony.

If you wonder if you have enough faith for God to act on your behalf, take heart. Don’t assume that God has given up on you, even if other people have – or if you have. Pray; ask God to move and work in you to build your faith, follow the disciplines that the Bible says will strengthen the faith you have been given (prayer, scripture reading, obedience, fellowship with God and others), but don’t forget - God moves in in our faith and in our frailty. He brings us life and hope not because we are strong enough and good enough, but because He is.

“Do you want to get well?” is a question we must all answer.

The Bible does not unpack the lame man’s personality or life story, but that has not stopped commentators from speculating for 2,000 years J Many have offered the following observations, and my thoughts will build on this.

·      The rabbis said, "The sick arises not from sickness, until his sins be forgiven."[8] Clearly Jesus didn’t think that was always the case, as this is the first time we see Jesus mention sickness in connection with sin. When Jesus told the lame man to avoid sin so that nothing worse would happen to him – something he doesn’t say to anyone else he healed - it makes me wonder if this man chose to do something sinful that made him lame. If so, that’s a stigma that will follow you.

·      Interestingly, he was probably taken care of decently by the Jewish community. A story in the Talmud gives us some insight[9]:

"A beggar once came to Rava who asked him 'What do your meals usually consist of?' 'Plump chicken and matured wine' answered the beggar. 'Do you not consider this a burden on the community?' asked Rava. The beggar retorted: 'I do not take from them – I take what God provides.' At that moment Rava's sister, who had not seen him for 13 years, appeared bringing him a fat chicken and matured wine. 'Just what I told you!' said the beggar."

That story is one of many in Jewish literature that captures some of the tension in the Jewish community, God commanded them to take care of the poor and lame; sometimes they did a bad job (read the Old Testament prophets), but sometimes they took care of them so well that it was advantageous to be poor or lame, and the broader community became resentful.

·      When Jesus asked if he wanted to be healed, many commentators note that the lame man dodged the question.[10] He didn’t say ‘yes’.  He basically responded, “I don’t have any friends.” Perhaps he has given up hope; perhaps he’s actually not ready to be healed. Either way, after decades of being lame, he’s at a public site used by Jews and Gentiles as they await an event more based on superstition than anything else. He has no family or friends who care enough to get him to the front of the line. That’s not a good sign.  

James Baldwin wrote, “Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch.”  Why? Because with great healing comes great responsibility (sorry, Spider-Man.).

·      If he became well, the community provision would go away.

·      He couldn’t complain about his circumstances.

·      He couldn’t resent those who didn’t care enough to help him into the water.

·      He may need to address sin in his life (if that’s what’s going on here).[11]

·      Perhaps the pity of others mattered more to him than he cared to admit.

Jesus’ question is loaded with insight into human nature. It reminds me a bit of God’s question to Adam and Eve:  “Where are you?”[12] I can envision Adam thinking, “Where am I!?!? Hiding from… oh. I’m hiding from you. What have I done?” If my reading of the lame man is correct, I suspect this question was meant to take the man into the rabbit hole of his own heart and mind. “Do I want to be healed?!?! Of course I…well…? How on earth is that not an easy answer?”

 If we aren’t careful, we can begin to want to keep our sickness.

·      Have you ever avoided doing something you didn’t want to by stretching that cold or flu out one more day?

·      Have you ever used a stressful day at work to get out of some chore at home that you could have done?

·      I found pretty quickly that “I had a heart attack” was a really easy way to not do something I could do because everybody will give me the space. 

·      Have you ever used something from your past as a crutch, a way to justify something you are doing now that you know you should change? (“I know I’m really fixated on money and things, but I grew up poor!” ) And you like being able to justify, so you avoid prayer, counseling – you know, the things that might help.

·      Have you found that the attention and care you get when life is not going well has started to translate into life never going well because you’re afraid that you won’t get the same attention and care?

If we are not careful, our physical, spiritual, or emotional illnesses can become such a core part of our identity that we can’t imagine life without it – and aren’t sure we want to imagine life without it. I am not saying we will automatically do that, or there’s not times that life is relentlessly hard. I’m saying we have to be careful.

Sometimes, we don’t really want to get well because where or who we are feels like home, or we have learned how to leverage our inability or brokenness or weakness to our favor. Being healed will involve an upsetting of the status quo. It may even mean we have to take ownership of some things in our life that had been out of our control.

A practical example: I have dealt with tiredness for years since my heart attack. At times, it was significant enough that my productive time of day was over by noon. I had to nap for hours, and my concentration when I was awake wasn’t good. If I avoided napping, it didn’t help, because I was miserably tired. So, the rhythm of my life changed. It had to. I didn’t like that rhythm, but I learned to be comfortable in it.

A couple months ago, I began to have trouble napping. I just wasn’t as tired as I used to be. Then I got some new meds for a different issue, and my sleepiness went away even more. You’d think this was good news, but it was unsettling. I had my schedule figured out. Now, suddenly, there might be hours more per day where I was not sleepy, and what would I do with my time? And I had started to like a couple hours of downtime. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be less sleepy. It took a while to adjust.

A more serious example: I want to be free of self-righteousness. I can get into the habit of seeing the headlines of the scandalous things that happen to other pastors, and I can adopt the attitude of the Pharisee: “Thank God I’m not like that.”[13] I want to be free of that. But…..I deal with a fair amount of self-doubt and self-criticism. And it’s in those moments of self-righteousness that I feel good about myself comparatively. It’s my time to pat myself on the back. Do I want to be healed? Yes? No? (Just so you know, this issue has been added to my prayers. “Help me be free of self-righteousness. Help me want to be free.”)

Jesus is offering an observation that is of eternal importance then and now: some people love their sin so much that they would rather remain spiritually sick than be made well. “Do you want to get well?” is a question that must be answered honestly.

·      Do you want your marriage to be better even if that means when Jesus begins to heal the sinful dysfunction that you bring to it, you might have to do the hard work of repentance, and counseling, and accountability?

·      Do you want Jesus to heal you of your addictions even if the means he uses include rehab and accountability?

·      Do you want Jesus to fix your relationship with your kids (or parents, or family, or friends) even if that means owning the damage you cause with your sinful words and attitude and doing the hard work of character development?

·      Do you want Jesus to free you of that anger, that lust, that pride, that bitterness that has been such a close friend for so long?

·      Do you want Jesus to free you from constantly living in fear that the sky is falling because of whatever the current culture war is in the headlines?

If you go to Jesus and he heals you, you are surrendering the right to always and relentlessly blame your kids, your parents, your spouse, your family of origin, the economy, your friends and use them as excuses for what you give yourself permission to do.[14] You may need to address the fallout from sins others have committed against you and/or the fallout from the sin you have done to others. It will be disruptive and unsettling. Do you want to be healed?

What I love about Jesus is that he healed the man even though Jesus got a somewhat evasive answer. I wonder if the question was meant to challenge something in the mindset of the lame man.  Almost as if Jesus was going to not only heal his lameness, but he was going to begin a process in the lame man to confront his heart. In my imagination, I can see this man leaving healed (yay!) while also hearing Jesus’ question in his mind. “Do I want to be healed?” He has to challenge himself. Maybe he didn’t. And if that ‘s the case, and he’s honest, there is healing on the other side of that of a different kind.

God intends for our past to point others to Jesus.

Jesus told the lame man to pick up his bed and walk. What better conversation starter was there to point toward Jesus?  I can see people who knew him saying, “What on earth happened? How is this possible?” It’s a guaranteed way for this formerly lame man to point to Jesus. That now unnecessary bed was meant to be a sign pointing to Jesus, an opportunity for others to hear about what Jesus can do – and so point to the Jesus as Lord.

We don’t carry our beds, but we have equivalent opportunities. One of the best ways to point toward the awesome majesty of Jesus is to let people see what God has done in our lives. It’s one thing to say that Jesus saves and heals; it’s quite another to show that Jesus does these things.

·      People need to know that God can deliver from pornography – which means people like you have to tell them how he delivered you.

·      People need to know that God can heal and transform people with destructive personalities and habits– which means people like you have to tell them how God has healed or is healing you from your destructive personality and habits.

·      People need to know that arrogant, judgmental fools can be refined and matured – which means people like you have to tell them how he has turned or is turning the arrogant, judgmental fool that you were into a humble, grace-filled ambassador for Jesus.

·      People need to know that those who are spiritually dead in their sins - hurting those around them, imploding through bad choices, ignoring or shaking their fist at God – can be forgiven, restored, and transformed into the likeness of Christ. And that means people like you have to tell them about you.

An author named Asia Mouzone said, "Never silence your testimony. It's meant for someone else; not you." God’s plan is for even the most broken parts of our past to point toward Jesus. ‘Believing’ and ‘trusting’ includes surrendering our shame, our guilt, our pride to the only one who can heal us.

The Father is at work. We are meant to take up the beds to which our brokenness had condemned us and carry it with us to a world that needs to see that Jesus saves.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

[1] “Jesus detects in the royal official a faith that desires a miraculous cure but that does not truly trust him.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible) 

[2] “The temple authorities undoubtedly did not approve—after all, sacred pools at healing shrines characterized Greek cults like that of Asclepius—but popular religion often ignores religious contradictions that seem clearer to official religious leaders.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary of the New Testament)

[3] I changed the order of this verse for our reading to make it more clear that this is what the people believed; this does not mean it was true. “The material about an angel of the Lord stirring the water and bringing healing appears in some early manuscripts, but not the earliest. Thus v. 4 should not be considered part of Scripture. Still, v. 7 (which is in all manuscripts) shows that people believed something like what v. 4 reports.” (ESV Global Study Bible) “See NIV text note, which includes text that does not appear in the oldest and best manuscripts; but v. 7 shows that it matches a popular belief at the time. Intermittent springs that fed the pools may have stirred the water. But how the pool worked is not essential to the story.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[4] “Sadly, some may prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue exciting the pity of others.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[5] Galatians 3:24-27.

[6] Mark 2:27

[7] “It is not stated that faith in Jesus was required of the man, as was the case in many of Jesus’ miracles (Matt. 9:22; 13:58; Mark 6:5, 6). The focus here is on Jesus’ power.”( ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[8] Barclay’s Bible Commentary

[9] “Begging and Beggars,” http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_02291.html

[10] Other commentators see his response as one of faith, but he had no idea who he was talking to, so that doesn’t make sense to me.

[11] Commentators have different opinions on this. That seems to be implied by the text. However, Jesus may be telling him that if he thought being physically sick was bad, it was nothing compared to the sickness and result of sin. Or both J

[12] Genesis 3:9

[13] Luke 8:9-14

[14] I am NOT saying these things have no influence on us. They absolutely do. I’m talking about settling into a place where we avoid asking God for healing, and then using our agency to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead to get the help we need. 

Harmony #34: No Faith So Feeble (Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56; Matthew 9:18-26)

When Jesus had crossed again in a boat and returned to the other side, a large crowd gathered around and welcomed him because they were all waiting for him by the sea. Then one of the synagogue rulers named Jairus came up because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying.

When he saw Jesus, he respectfully bowed low before him and fell at his feet. He asked him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.” Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around him.

Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years but could not be healed by anyone. She had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all that she had.

("Take of the gum of Alexandria the weight of a silver coin; of alum the same; of crocus the same. Let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that has an issue of blood. If this does not benefit, take of Persian onions three pints; boil them in wine, and give her to drink, and say, 'Arise from thy flux.'

If this does not cure her, set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her right hand, and let some one come behind and frighten her, and say, ' Arise from thy flux.' If these do no good, other doses, over ten in number, are prescribed, among them this:

Let them dig seven ditches, in which let them burn some cuttings of vines, not yet four years old. Let her take in her hand a cup of wine, and let them lead her away from this ditch, and make her sit down over that. And let them remove her from that, and make her sit down over another, saying to her at each remove, 'Arise from thy flux!'"[1])

Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. (In addition, Leviticus 15:25-27 indicates that the woman would have been ceremonially unclean because of her illness. She wasn’t supposed to be around people. She was isolated, alone, and desperate.)

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched the edge of his cloak, for she kept saying, “If only I touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (She likely shared the superstition, common in her day, that the power of a person was transmitted through his clothing.[2])

(“She dimly believes that, somehow or other, this miracle-working Rabbi will heal her, but the cure is to be a piece of magic, secured by material contact of her finger with His robe. She has no idea that Christ’s will, or His knowledge, much less His love, has anything to do with it.”[3])

But at once the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.[4]  Jesus knew at once that power to heal proceeding from him had gone forth. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” (He did it that the woman might confess, so that the power of her faith and the greatness of the miracle might be seen to the praise of God.[5])

When they all denied it, Peter and the disciples said to him, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing against you and you say, ‘Who touched me?’ “ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I know that power to heal has gone forth from me.” He looked around to see who had done it.

 (Jesus wanted to find her, not to rebuke her, but because she needed to know that it was not her superstitious belief that brought about her healing.[6]) Then the woman approached, with dread and trembling, knowing what had happened to her.

 (She may have dreaded His anger, for according to the Law (Leviticus 15:19) the touch of one, afflicted as she was, caused ceremonial defilement until the evening.[7] But Jesus makes the woman clean by his power instead of becoming unclean himself.)

She came and fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. Jesus said to her, (using a title he uses nowhere else in Scripture), “Have courage, daughter! Your faith and trust have made you well. Go, enter into peace,[8] and be healed of your disease.”

(“He put an end to her fear and gives no cause for her conscience to be harmed, as if she had stolen the gift. He corrects her assumption that she has no right to be seen, and he shows her faith and trust to all to encourage others to emulate her faith.”)[9]

 (“He does not say, ‘Understand Me, put away you false notion of healing power residing in My garment’s hem, or I will not heal you.’ He says, ‘Do you think that it is through your finger on My robe? Then, through your finger on My robe it shall be. According to your faith, be it unto you.’[10])

And the woman was healed from that hour. (Since Jesus, a rabbi, has publicly declared to all that she is healed and cleansed, she can truly be part of the community again.) While Jesus was still speaking, someone from the synagogue ruler’s house came and said to Jairus, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.”

But when Jesus overheard this, he told him, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” Now when he came to the house of the synagogue ruler, Jesus did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, and the child’s father and mother.

When Jesus entered the ruler’s house he saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd. There was noisy confusion and (professional mourners, who were paid to attend funerals and express grief over the loss of a loved one). They were mourning for her, weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus said to them, “Why are you distressed and weeping?

Stop your weeping and go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep.” (“Just like he asked ‘Who touched me,’ so the woman could profess her healing before everyone, he said ‘She is sleeping’ so the spectators might testify that she was dead.’”[11] Clever.)

They began making fun of him, (insisting she was indeed dead), because they knew that she was dead. (Then Jesus, who was not interested in a grand spectacle of healing), put them all outside and he took the child’s father and mother and his own companions and went into the room where the child was.

 Then, gently taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Child, arise.” Her spirit returned, and she got up immediately and  began to walk around. They were completely astonished at this.

But Jesus strictly ordered that no one should know about this, and told them to give her something to eat (as is recorded happening after Lazarus and Jesus were raised, as if eating proved they were really back[12] and not an apparition[13]). And the news of this spread throughout that region.

Healing Two Blind Men & a Mute Demon-Possessed Man (Mt 9:27-34)

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (They remembered the prophets talked about the descendent of Jesse, David’s father( Isaiah 11:1) who would bring healing (Isaiah 42:6-7).)[14] When he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”[15]And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, on pain of his deep displeasure if they did not obey,[16]“See that no one knows about this.” (But the men whose faith brought them to Christ for healing did not stay with him to learn obedience.)[17] 

So they went out and spread the news about him throughout that entire region. As they were going away, a man who could not talk and was demon-possessed was brought to him. After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke.[18] The crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!”  

(The Pharisees could not deny the reality of the miraculous works Jesus had done, so they attributed his powers to Satan.)[19] They said, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons.” 

(It’s a foolish and shallow accusation. “Not only did he cast out demons, he also purified lepers, raised dead people, reined in the sea, canceled sins, proclaimed the Kingdom and approached the Father. Demons would never choose to do these things and would not ever be able to accomplish them.”[20])

There’s a lot that could be addressed in these incidents. I’m going to have to pick and choose.

I have often noted that I believe many of the physical stories in the Old Testament (Old Covenant with Moses) are meant to point us toward spiritual realities in the New Testament (New Covenant in Jesus). So, the Promised Land is now the Kingdom of Heaven, etc. Many of the early church fathers saw in the actions of Jesus a similar dynamic. Real things happened to real people, but Jesus was making a spiritually significant point (which to them explains who, why, and how he healed).

• Hilary: “The ruler is understood to be the law.”

• Augustine: “The daughter signifies the Jewish people”

• Cromatius: The entire mystery of our faith is prefigured in the girl: raised from spiritual death to life and immediately begin taking communion.

• Chromatius: The mourners are the synagogue rulers.

In other words, this miracle was to show that the law was not strong enough to bring life to God’s people. They needed Jesus. Thus, the faith referenced is faith that Jesus brings salvation. When this happens, the spiritually dead come back to life.

• Jerome and Ambrose: the bleeding woman is the assembly of God gathered from the nations.

• Augustine: the bleeding woman “signifies the church of the Gentiles.”

In their reading, the Gentiles have been spiritually unclean for a long time. The Jewish people had kept themselves separate and pushed the Gentiles away from their temple and community. Now, Jesus is blessing the presence of Gentiles in his Kingdom. He has healed them and saved them. They may enter into his peace.

There may be something to this approach in that there’s no reason to believe Jesus wasn’t doing things that were more significant than just what happened in the moment. Having said that, I’m not convinced that’s the primary reason he did them, and I think it’s possible to read into these events in a way that makes points that are not wrong – the Gentiles were invited into the Kingdom – but goes beyond Jesus’ intention.

So, file the symbolic approach under “Interesting” as we approach it more literally and compare the record of all the miraculous things we are seeing to see what we learn about Jesus and our faith.

First, the miracles the Gospel writers record tend to be times that make it clear that Jesus is the Messiah the Old Testament prophets predicted. Jesus doesn’t just wave a magic wand for fun when He is doing miracles. He’s making a point by establishing his credentials. I’ve mentioned this quite a few times in our series so far. Jesus is doing things that hyperlink to the Old Testament prophets and their prophecies of a coming Messiah.

Second, the Gospel writers make it really, really hard to create a template for how, when and why Jesus did miracles. The more miracles we see Jesus do, the more I will probably come back to this.

• Disciples in the boat: Faith/trust full of fear and doubt. The disciples were amazed when what Jesus did actually worked. It reminds me of the man who said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”[21]

• Demoniac: The demons inside of him had knowledge of who Jesus was, but certainly not faith/trust. The Bible does not record what the possessed man thought about Jesus.

• Bleeding woman: Her (apparently) superstitious faith focused on her healing, not the healer. She thought he could do it, but the text does not record that she had faith because she thought he was the Messiah.

• Jairus: He had faith/trust in Jesus’ power or miracle-working ability; there is no record that he though of him as the Messiah or followed him. Jesus tells him to have faith, but unlike the blind men, Jairus does not respond that he actually does. Like the disciples, he was also completely astonished when it worked.

• Little girl: She was dead, so…

• Blind men: They had faith/trust that the prophesied Son of David could heal them. They are the closest in all of these incidents of people who believed Jesus was the prophesied Messiah.

• Mute man: We don’t know the status of his faith/trust. Other people had to bring him, and we don’t know if they thought of Jesus as the Messiah or just a healer. Nevertheless, Jesus freed him from demonic possession.

Jesus does not use a template. You can’t magic or manipulate Jesus. Please, be free of the shame and legalism that comes from believing that if you scrunched your face and believed harder, God would do more for you. If that’s where you are coming from, everything that goes wrong is because you or others are weak, and everything that goes well is because you or others are strong. As if God will only work if you earn his attention/care or you’ve reached enough spiritual maturity to deserve his blessing.

The Bible is clear, again and again, that the faith we have is a gift; it’s not something we’ve grown on our own power.

1 Corinthians 12:4,9 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them…to another faith[22]by the same Spirit… All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” 

Hebrews 12:2 “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe[23] in Him whom He sent.’"

 Romans 12:3 tells us that God has given every person "a measure of faith." 

You don’t need to have a greater measure of faith than God has given to you. You can’t. I suspect that the faith Jesus commends in the passages today has to do with how people acted on the faith/belief they had been given. It has something to do with doing in response to believing with whatever measure had been given to them. I appreciate this summary from a commentator named Mclaren:

“There can be no faith so feeble that Christ does not respond to it. The most ignorant, self-regarding, timid trust may unite the soul to Jesus Christ. To desire is to have; and ‘whosoever will, may take of the water of life freely.’ If you only come to Him, though He have passed, He will stop.

If you come trusting and yet doubting, He will forgive the doubt and answer the trust. If you come to Him, knowing but that your heart is full of evil which none save He can cure, and putting out a lame hand-or even a tremulous finger-tip-to touch His garment, be sure that anything is possible rather than that He should turn away your prayer, or His mercy from you.”[24]

Let me mess up the template even more. The apostles did miracles, but we know of no instances in scripture where apostles used healing for each other. Paul didn't heal a fellow traveler (“I have left in Miletus sick”)[25], and rather than heal Timothy he tells him to take a little wine for his stomach (1 Timothy 5:23). Paul talks about an infirmity he had that he asked God to heal, and it was not healed. Paul did not beat himself up for a lack of faith; he saw in this a reminder from God that God’s grace was sufficient.[26]  

Perhaps the early church fathers were on to something important in their symbolic readings. In addition to establishing Jesus as the Messiah, perhaps Jesus did physical healings as a way of pointing to power he had to heal people sick and dead in their sin and bring them back to spiritual life. Maybe that was always the point; “by grace are you saved through faith.”[27]This was always the primary message of the apostles, whose miracles established their credentials as ambassadors for a spiritual Kingdom on behalf of Jesus.

 Bottom line: I wonder if the faith/trust Jesus is affirming here has a lot to do with running to God and not away from Him in the midst of the storms of life.[28] The disciples themselves will learn that not every storm in life ends calmly on this side of heaven; all but one were martyred. John the Baptist is about to find that out for himself. And when John asks, “Are you sure you’re the one?” Jesus simply points to his resume. Yes, he is.

An important aspect of faith is believing that, perhaps in this world but surely in the next, God will calm any storm that comes our way. Jesus has shown that all things are under His feet. To quote Tim Keller, there will come a day when all the bad that has been done to us will be undone.

Third, the compassion of Jesus should inform us: “Daughter.” “Child.” This is emotional and relational language. Jesus cares. I believe these miracles were intended primarily to establish that Jesus was, in fact, the long awaited Messiah that the prophets had foretold. In his tenderness, you see the compassion, the gentleness, the love of God on display through Jesus.

Yes, there are other times (particularly with the religious hypocrites) when he was blunt and confrontational. We will get to those incidents. But here is gentle Jesus on full display. People aren’t tools or stepping stones or inconveniences or pawns in his chess game or chemicals running around in a bag.[29] People are profoundly important. He addressed a woman he had never met as his daughter. The young girl is treated as equally important as the temple leader. The individuals in the kingdom matter to the King.

Fourth, notice that what begins with new life culminates in new testimony. For the disciples, it was their mission and lives. For the demoniac, the bleeding woman, the little girl, the blind and the mute, it was telling their neighbors.

It’s the time of year when graduates are pondering or panicking about what they are going to do with their life. What’s their purpose? Why are they hear? How can they live a life with meaning?

I can tell you right now the purpose of your life. Well, a purpose, but it’s more important than all the others. Tell the people around you who Jesus is, and what Jesus has done or you. You can do that with a degree or without, in any vocation, married or single, rich or poor.

You can fail on all the lofty earthly goals you had when you were young and still live a rich, profoundly meaningful life that ripples into eternity. Tell people who Jesus is and what he has done for you.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Quoted from Lightfoot by Geikie, "Life and Words of Christ." Vincent’s Word Studies

[2] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[3] MacLaren’s Exposotion

[4] Like the demoniac, both stories deal with restoring peace and wholeness to those afflicted in ways that made them ceremonially unclean social outcasts.

[5] Barnes' Notes on the Bible

[6] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[7] Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

[8] This is not merely “go with a blessing,” but enter into peace, “as the future element in which thy life shall move.” Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

[9] An edited-for-brevity quote from the early church father Chrysostom.

[10] MacLaren’s Expositions

[11] Ephrem the Syrian (306-373)

[12] So noted the early church father Jerome.

[13] Ambrose (339-397)

[14] CBS Tony Evans Study Bible

[15] “According to Isaiah, the messianic age is signified when ‘the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear (Is 35:5). These healings are a sign that Jesus is the awaited Messiah, as is the use of the title Son of David by the blind men, which expresses their faith in this truth.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[16] Adam Clarke: “He charged them severely… to roar or storm with anger… on pain of his displeasure, not to make it as yet public.”

[17] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[18]  “Since the same ailment… appears elsewhere without suggestion of demonic activity (Mark 7:32-33), the connection presupposes a real ability Jesus had to distinguish between natural and demonic causes.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[19] ESV Global Study Bible

[20] Chrysostom (347-407)

[21] Mark 9:24

[22] “Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, 4102/pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4).” (HELPS Word Studies)

[23] Vincent's Word Studies   “Faith is put as a moral act or work. The work of God is to believe. Faith includes all the works which God requires.”

[24] MacLaren’s Exposition

[25] 2 Timothy 4:20

[26] 2 Corinthians 12:9

[27] Ephesians 2:8-9

[28] https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/why-doesn-t-god-heal-every-sickness-disease-and-illness.html

[29] The view of Anthon Cashmore. https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/cashmore/

Harmony #33: The Wind And The Waves Obey Him (Mark 4-5; Matthew 8; Luke 8)

In the parables about the kingdom of God, Jesus had claimed that his new Kingdom was going to grow from very small, almost invisible beginnings to fill the whole earth. If he claims a kingdom, he better be a king. Now he will show that he has the power and authority to make that happen.[1] Before we dive in to today’s passage, we need to talk about the time and place where Jesus lived.

The Jewish people were not a seafaring people. They liked land. You see throughout the Old Testament that they associated the sea with the fear and chaos.

·      Psalms describes the sea as a dangerous place (30:1; 69:1-3)

·      The sea contained Leviathan, which symbolized chaos and destruction that only God could control (Isaiah 17:12; 27:1; 51:9-10; Psalm 65:5-7; 77:19; 89:9; 93:3-4; Exodus 14-15; Isaiah 51:10; Daniel 7:2-7; Job 7:12).

·      Once, on the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus walked toward them on the water during a storm, they were like, “Yeah, that’s a ghost,”[2] as if, obviously. That’s the kind of thing that shows up in a storm on the sea.

·      The prophets saw God’s ability to control the sea as proof that God was strong enough to redeem his people (Isaiah 63:11–14; Isaiah 10:24–26; 43:2, 16–17; 50:2; Zechariah 10:11).[3]

·      Isaiah 51:9–10 celebrates the deliverance from Egypt in this way: “Was it not you who cut Rahab [Leviathan] to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?”

The fact that they didn’t like the sea didn’t mean they avoided fishing. In the area where Jesus grew up, the Sea of Galilee was the place to fish. This lake is about 7 miles by 12 miles, so it’s big. Much like the great lakes, strong storms could hit fast. It’s surrounded by hills with openings where a river enters and then exits, and that funnels strong wind. When we read today that Jesus and his disciples went from one side to the other, it wasn’t just a jaunt. And to get hit by a major storm in the middle of the lake was terrifying.

When they get to the other side, they are in an area that is mostly Gentile. The inhabitants apparently came from to the Canaanite nations driven out of the Promised Land by Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 3:10; Acts 13:19). These nations had worshiped Baal, and they ate (and sacrificed) pigs (Isaiah 65:3-5, 66:3).[4] 

The Jewish people who live there seem have assimilated quite a but into the culture of their neighbors, if for no other reason than they are comfortable living around a herd of 2,000 pigs (the Law forbade Jewish people from having or eating pigs). That’s likely a temple herd, which served two purposes: meat for a Roman legion stationed there (whose standard was a wild boar), and sacrifices for the temple. And in an interesting sidenote, these pigs were sometimes sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff and into the Sea of Galilee.[5]

Here, Jesus will meet a demon-possessed man. Keep in mind that Jews, Romans, and Greeks all believed in a supernatural world inhabited by, among other things, demons that could possess people (though they didn’t agree on what demons were). Demons, though below the gods in their pantheons, were semi-divine beings that often became the local spiritual authority (think of Paul talking about people sacrificing to demons)[6]. When people were freed from a demon, typically some type of physical sign was necessary. Here are two examples from the culture at that time. The first is from the Greeks.

But Apollonius… ordered him to quit the young man and show by a visible sign that he had done so. “I will throw down yonder statue,“ said the devil, and pointed to one of the images that were in the king’s portico… when the statue began by moving gently, and then fell down, it would defy anyone to describe the hubbub which arose. [The account concludes with the young man showing his freedom from the demon by giving up his old way of living and following after Apollonius’ way of life.]

The second is from the Jewish community. Josephus records,

“Then, wishing to convince the bystanders and prove to them that he had this power, Eleazar placed a cup or foot basin full of water a little way off and commanded the demon, as it went out of the man, to overturn it and make known to the spectators that he had left the man. And when this was done, the understanding and wisdom of Solomon were clearly revealed.”[7]

So, the story we will read about demon possession and exorcism was not an unusual story for that time. There is record in all of those cultures of how the people went about trying to get demons out of people.

Jesus Calms a Storm (Mk 4:35-41; Mt 8:18, 23-27; Lk 8:22-25)
On that day, when evening came, Jesus saw a large crowd around him and said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was. As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him, and other boats were with him.

 Now a violent windstorm[hurricane] came down on the lake and a great storm [earthquake] developed on the sea. The waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. So they came and woke him up saying, “Lord (Master, Teacher), save us! Don’t you care that we are about to die?”

But Jesus said to them, “Why are you full of fear [fainthearted], you people of little faith [literally, failing to hear his voice][8]? Do you still not have faith [have you still not been persuaded]?” So Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the raging sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!”[9]

Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. But the disciples were overwhelmed by fear [respect, awe][10] and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”

Jesus uses the same language to rebuke the wind as God did when he rebuked the waters at creation (Job 26:10–12) and later the Red Sea (Psalms 106:9).[11] Jesus’ power over nature was a sign that God was working again in history, as he had in the exodus from Egypt.[12]

Healing Demon-Possessed Man (Mk 5:1-20; Mt 8:28-34; Lk 8:26-39)

So they sailed to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat and stepping ashore, a certain man with an unclean spirit (demon- possessed) came from the tombs near the town and met him.[13]

He was extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs. No one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces.

No one was strong enough to subdue him. He would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places. Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. Then he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God—do not torment me! Have you come here to torment me before the time?”  (For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)

Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”[14]And he said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region into the abyss.  There on the hillside, some distance from them, a great herd of pigs was feeding. And the demonic spirits begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.”[15]

 Jesus gave them permission and said, “Go!” So the unclean spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.

 Now the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, telling everything that had happened to the demon-possessed man. So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the “Legion” of demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid [respect; awe].

Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed, and they also told about the pigs. Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they asked Jesus to leave them alone and begged him to leave their region, for they were seized with great fear [dread][16]. So he got into the boat and left.

As Jesus was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Return to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” So he went away and began to proclaim throughout the whole Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.

In both incidents we see:

·      Chaos and violence; a physical and spiritual storm that seemingly cannot be controlled.

·      The command to be silent. Literally, be muzzled.[17]

·      The resultant calm.

·      A ‘fear’ from observers that is at one point awe and another point dread, though the order is reversed: the disciples start with dread and end with awe; the others start with awe and end with dread.

* * * * *

The episode with the storm is not a new kind of story in the Bible. We constantly see a God who brings order out of chaos often represented as a turbulent, storm-ridden sea. Psalm 46celebrates the fact that even while the mountains are falling into the sea and the waters roar and foam, God’s people have no need to fear. ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).

The disciples see clearly that Jesus holds the power that only God has. The same one who can restore peace to a tempest can also restore peace to a demonised life.[18] The King knows how to rule His Kingdom.

As I was studying this week, I found my empathy for the disciples increasing. It’s hard to trust God in the midst of storms. I appreciate this story. Jesus said, “Let’s go to the other side. Let’s go on a trip from here to there.” And the disciples were like, “Fantastic!” They had no idea that before they got to where Jesus intended for them to go, they would fear for their lives a storm hit that threatened to capsize their boat. And as far as they could tell, the King didn’t care that much about his Kingdom. He was asleep at the time they needed him most.

I’m not gonna lie – I would have yelled at him too. I mean, I have. Maybe you have to.

But notice Jesus doesn’t give up on them or leave them. In fact, the only thing he rebukes is the storm. He just reminds them: “If you really understood what I was saying, you would be persuaded to believe I am who I say I am, and you would not be afraid.”

He doesn’t berate or belittle them. He doesn’t shame them. He doesn’t reject them. He does yet another thing that should help them be persuaded to believe his is who he claimed.[19] And then he takes them on his next mission. He takes the ones cowering in the boat to his confrontation of a demon-possessed man who was ripping chains apart. I mean, if I were picking a band of brothers to go with me into that kind of situation, I wouldn’t want the group that had just yelled at me for not caring about them. But it worked out just fine, because Jesus didn’t need their power or their amazing fearlessness to take care of business.

It tends to make stories more meaningful if we can find ourselves in the story. Well, there we are. The disciples. Going from being in awe of Jesus, then wondering why he apparently doesn’t care, then being amazed again. Going from “Life is good!” to, “I might not survive this storm. Wherever we’re going, I’m not sure I’m gonna make it.” Lather, rinse, repeat.

But life unfolds like this story unfolds. There’s calm, then chaos, then calm, then chaos. Hope, then fear; peace, then anxiety; joy, then mourning. The sea of life is at times beautiful and at times not. Meanwhile, the King is in the boat with us.

One thing I know: with Jesus, will get to the other side of the most important journey of all, the one through this life and into the next. The second thing I know is that any storm I face on this of eternity, it will never be stronger than Jesus. He constantly, over and over, “makes a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over.”

The second thing I notice is that these two incidents give a real world example of the parables of the Kingdom Jesus just told.

Parable of the Sower: Jesus said, “Did you fail to hear my voice? Were you not persuaded?” He is pointing out that his word had not take root well at that point. They “received it with great joy,” but it was still shallow, and the cares of the world threatened to choke it out. The truth he had given them was struggling to grow well.

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds: They are heading to a place with more weeds than wheat. When Jesus gets there, he does not destroy the weeds. Similar to what happened in Samaria with the Woman at the Well, he shows that in the Kingdom, the weeds can still become wheat. As long as there is time, we plant God’s truth.

The Parable of the Farmer: Just like the wheat grew without the farmer’s input, the possessed man was freed through no strength of his own. He was in over his head. Only Jesus could do it. And now the word was going to spread and Kingdom grow not because that man was amazing, but because Jesus is.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: As the kingdom spreads (in this case to Gerasenes), others, like the demon-possessed man, benefit from it. And just like the evil birds from the Sower end up in the healing branches of the kingdom, so does the demoniac. The Kingdom rightly expressed should make everyone’s life better. If the branches of the spreading tree don’t provide healing to the nations[20] and hope for the brokenhearted[21], and it’s not a place where the weary and heavy-laden can find rest,[22] it’s not the Kingdom.

The Parable of the Yeast: Jesus just sends one man to evangelize the area. It only takes a spark. In the Hunger Games, they encourage each other with, “May the odds be ever in your favor.” That would be nice, but the odds may never be in our favor, and that’s okay. The power of the good news of Jesus Christ has overcome the odds over and over.

The Parables of the Pearl and Treasure. Notice that the inhabitants of the land don’t want what Jesus offers. It’s too high of a price. Their lives were oriented around the worship of the gods they knew. That pig herd = money. Staying on the good side of their god = comfort. Having a Roman legion that depended on them for food = security. I suspect that when Jesus handled Legion so easily, that was unsettling, which is why awe turned to fear. It’s a sobering reminder of the human tendency to look away when Jesus threatens to upend our lives.

* * * * * *

Parable of the Sower: Are the things we have “received with great joy” taking root? How will we know? There will be a crop of that which was planted. Forgiveness =forgiving. Love = loving. Kindness = doing kind things. Patience = actually being patient. Peacemaking = contributing to peace, not contention. Learning about Jesus = leaning on Jesus.

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds: Take heart: Jesus turns weeds into wheat. He knows which one you are or how much you have of each in your heart, and He plans to do work. He did not come to destroy you; he came to destroy that which is destroying you so that you might have life.[23]

The Parable of the Farmer: Gospel truth will spread and the Kingdom will grow not because we are amazing, but because Jesus is amazing. His strength is perfected – shown in its full glory – in the midst of our weakness. He who ‘began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.’ (Philippians 1:6)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: The Kingdom rightly expressed should make everyone’s life better both in the Kingdom and around the Kingdom. As our branches spread, there is meant to be nourishment, protection and shade for all. It’s yet another way God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain to the just and unjust.”[24] How are the branches of this church? Are we growing and flourishing as God intended: as a healing place of truth and love; a grace-filled place of hope for the brokenhearted; an oasis in the desert of the world where the weary and heavy-laden can find rest? I’m not trying to call us out. It’s just a reminder of what the Kingdom rightly expressed looks like.

The Parable of the Yeast: Your life and testimony matter. You might be that one person going into places that might be indifferent at best or hostile at worst. Go. Tell them what Jesus has done for you, and them, and the world. For some of us, it can sound really intimidating to tell people about Jesus, especially if you were raised in an environment that said, “Evangelism will look like this for everybody! There’s a template!” Jesus’ instructions strike me as simple and doable. The man didn’t need a degree or have memorized the entire Bible or be radically extroverted or have any special skills or talents. “Tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” Huh. If that’s a way to “give an answer for the hope that lies within,” that’s doable.[25] It’s lovely to have a bunch of people doing this, but it starts with one.

The Parables of the Pearl and Treasure. If there is a tendency to look away when Jesus threatens to upend their lives, this is a reminder to see and process Jesus for who he is. The people in Gerasenes loved the life they had too much to be bothered with Jesus. And it’s not as if the disciples didn’t struggle with this. At one point Peter rebuked Jesus for saying Jesus was going to be killed. “That will never happen to you.” Based on Jesus reply, I get the impression that Peter was trying to reassure himself that there would be no hard times if he stuck with Jesus.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

Or, as Paul would later say it:

Whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of Jesus, the Anointed One. And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him…  

I am charging on to gain anything and everything Jesus has in store for me—and nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go.  Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission.

I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed.” (Philippians 3:7-14, excerpted)

___________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Mark: A Ransom For Many, Welwyn Commentary Series

[2] Matthew 14

[3] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[4] https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/a-far-country-decapolis

[5] https://www.mysteriesofthemessiah.net/2016/01/08-06-03-gerasa-in-gadara-demon-possessed-gerasene/ 

[6] 1 Corinthians 10:20

[7] I found both of these stories recounted in “Demon Possession in the Greco-Roman World,” by Alan B. Howell.          

[8] The word used here is used 5 times in the Bible, and it always means failing to listen to what was being said. HELPS Word Studies. https://biblehub.com/greek/3640.htm

[9] ‘He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed’ (Psalm 107:29).

[10] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

[11] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[12] NIV First Century Study Bible

[13] Matthew records two; Jesus only interacted with the one.

[14] “In God’s name.  This language appeared sometimes in magical exorcisms or often in other magical invocations of spirits…What is your name? Magicians often tried to control a spirit by using its name. If the spirits attempted to magically control Jesus in v. 7, they failed; here Jesus demands their name.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[15] If I am connecting the dots correctly between the locals associating demons with their local gods and the herd being for temple sacrifice, Legion basically says, “Those pigs are ours already. Can we just go into them?”

[16] Why dread? I suspect because their god had been beaten.

[17] “The exercising of authority over demons, in the land ‘under’ another god, was a message. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. And the people there were scared, they recognized this, but more, they realized the significance of this. Centuries earlier, just as God demonstrated His power against the Egyptian gods through Moses and Aaron, so likewise Jesus demonstrated His power against the Greek gods. Little wonder that they asked Him to leave. The Egyptians did the same to Moses.”

 https://www.mysteriesofthemessiah.net/2016/01/08-06-03-gerasa-in-gadara-demon-possessed-gerasene/

[18] Mark: A Ransom For Many, Welwyn Commentary Series

[19] It reminds me a bit of Doubting Thomas, who wouldn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he had more proof, and Jesus gave him more proof.

[20] Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:2

[21] Psalm 34:18; 147:3

[22] Matthew 11:28-30

[23] John 10:10

[24] Matthew 5:45

[25] 1 Peter 3:15

Harmony #29: The Bottle And The Jar Luke 7:36-50

Last week, Jesus called out the Pharisees for refusing to properly mourn when called to repentance, and refusing to properly celebrate when they see the Kingdom of God being offered to all. In the incident which follows, we have an illustration of both the fruit of repentance and the beautiful, life-changing offer of the Kingdom to all.

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman[1] (Luke 7:36-50)
 Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table.

When a woman of that town,[2] who used to be[3] a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them,[4] and anointed them with the perfumed oil.[5]

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” So Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied, “Say it, Teacher.”

“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty.  When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

 44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?

I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time she entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil.

Therefore I tell you, because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much; but the one who is forgiven little loves little.”[6] Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”[7] But those who were at the table with him began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” He said to the woman, “Your faith [the faith I have given you][8] has saved you; go in peace.”

* * * * *

I want to unpack this story, then apply it. Here are some things that stand out to me about this story.

1.    The Bible doesn’t say why she was sinful. Tradition says she was a prostitute, perhaps because when the Bible describes Jesus as eating with “tax collectors and sinners” (as the Pharisees did a couple paragraphs earlier), that seems to be a phrase that typically includes prostitutes. It would make sense that one of the Pharisees’ derided ‘sinners’ would show up in this next event.

2.    If a Jewish woman was a prostitute – and this woman seems to be Jewish - then an entire community had failed to keep the Law of Moses. There was no way a woman should have had to resort to prostitution. The Pharisees, as the teachers and defenders of the Law,should have made sure she was taken care of. They apparently didn't.

3.    When guests arrived for a meal, servants typically washed and anointed them with perfumed oils. This did not happen to Jesus. Simon was not a great host. But, to be sure, Jesus had just compared him to children that don’t know how to properly mourn in repentance or rejoice in salvation, so….

4.    The guests reclined as the ate, lying on one side, feet behind them. That’s how the woman had easy access to Jesus’ feet.

5.    Nobody asked this woman to leave and nobody stopped her from anointing Jesus’ feet, even though it’s clear they knew her and her reputation. That’s intriguing to me.  Simon didn’t rebuke her or remove her when she touched Jesus, an act that a Pharisee should never have let happen to a rabbi.

6.    Simon saw this as a test. Would Jesus know secret information about this woman? He would, if he was truly a prophet. Well, the joke’s on Simon: Jesus demonstrated Simon’s expectation of a prophet knowing private things by responding to Simon’s interior thoughts.[9]

7.    What are these tears? Sorrow? Regret? Joy? Relief? Love? Hope? The Bible doesn’t say. Yes to all?  I remember after watching Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and A Monster Calls, I sobbed what I will call beautiful and terrible tears. How can they be both? They just can. It tore my heart and filled my soul. Some of my best soul-cleansing cries not involving movies have been on the other side of repentance when I am overwhelmed first by what I have done, and then by the goodness, grace, mercy and love of God and others who forgive me, love me, and truly believe that my history is not my destiny.

8.    Some think that “washing his feet with tears” was more than just tears in the moment. Keeping tears in a bottle, or a container, was a thing.[10] This bottle was a history of the hardship of one’s life. When a person was buried, the tear bottle was buried with her. If these were tears from her tear bottle, it tells you how deeply this woman was invested in Jesus.

9.      Drying his feet with her hair sounds odd to us, but in that culture, a woman’s hair was her glory. She was indicating to everyone there that her own glory was good enough only to wash Jesus’ feet.[11] I don’t know what the equivalent is today. Whatever it is, it has something to do with laying down our pride and perhaps offering that which the world sees as making our name great and surrendering it for the purposes of making Jesus’ name great.

10.  Kissing the feet of someone was unusual, but not unheard of.

·      When Rabbi Papi (360 AD) got a man acquitted of murder, the man kissed his feet, and paid his taxes for him for the rest of his life.

·      Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Jonathan (220 AD) were hanging out when a man came up and kissed Rabbi Jonathan’s feet. Jonathan explained that the man was having trouble with his son, so Jonathan told him get some men to rebuke and correct his son. When the matter turned out well, the man had showed his appreciation by kissing his feet.[12]

·      “The kissing of the feet is clearly not a kiss among equals or a kiss of familiarity, relation, or intimacy. It is a kiss of profound thankfulness and indebtedness. It is a kiss used to express that one’s life is much improved because of the one being kissed, or even that one owes his/her life itself to the one being kissed. It is a kiss reserved for a savior.”[13]

11. Jesus seems to have met her before. He says she loved much because she had been forgiven much.  For you grammar nerds, the verb tenses matter in this story. She ‘used to be’ a ‘sinner,’ though Simon clearly thinks she still ‘is.’ Her sins ‘have been forgiven,’ an indication of something that already happened. Her love was the effect of her being pardoned, not the cause of it. The woman’s acts of reverence to Jesus honored him as the one who had brought God’s message of grace to her. The tears and the perfume are a response of thankfulness and love. She is one of His children.

"Thanks to thee, most blessed sinner: thou hast shown the world a safe enough place for sinners - the feet of Jesus, which spurn none, reject none, repel none, and receive and admit all.”[14]

Jesus offers her something the Pharisees never could: hope. If tradition is correct, she became one of his disciples - not the 12, but there were many more that traveled with him, including women (see Luke 8:1-3). In Luke 10:1, Jesus sent out 70! As a follower/disciple of Jesus, she was taken care of in a way she was not before, not just spiritually but practically.

* * * * *

It’s often said of stories that readers connect well to the power of a story when they find themselves in the story. So let’s look at the two characters other than Jesus and see if we recognize ourselves.

THE PHARISEE

How hospitable are we to Jesus? Jesus isn’t going to walk in the front door of our house, but he’s knocking on the door of our hearts. (Revelation 3:20.) Do we let him in to clean house? Do we, like Simon, let him in but refuse to show hospitality, reverence, and humility? “Fine, I guess you can be here. Try not to touch anything.” Jesus isn’t someone to be dabbled with, like a hobby or a pet or a toy. He’s not a curiosity to amuse us. He’s a savior set on saving; a shepherd set on directing and caring for us; a King setting up a Kingdom.

Do we see the greatness of our Debt Forgiver? If I am hiking along the Boardman and I wander off the trail a couple yards, I’m not going to be impressed if someone comes running up to me, grabs me by the hand and says, “I found you!” Yeah, I wasn’t that lost. If I am two days off road into an Alaskan forest, with no supplies and suffering from hypothermia, whoever finds me is going to have my life-long gratitude.

How honest are we about how lost we were or are? How honest are we about our need for a Savior? This incident reveals that our response to Jesus comes from experiencing His gracious love for us, demonstrated by paying the debt for our sins and bringing new life to our dying souls. (1 John 4:19)

When we refuse to take our lostness seriously, we won’t see the value of our Savior clearly. This doesn’t mean we have to beat ourselves up everyday. This could go off the rails and turn into a shame-based life if all we do is walk around telling ourselves on repeat that we are losers.

We don’t have to be pulled out of a pit every day to remember the days we are pulled out of a pit. We don’t have to be undone every day to remember the days we were undone – and restored.  We don’t have to be crushed every day by the weight of our sin to remember the days we were crushed – and Jesus took the weight and lifted us up. Those who know they are forgiven much love much. Let’s not look away from the messy and uncomfortable and crucial process of repentance.

What ‘sinners’ are we refusing to love into the Kingdom of God?

The Pharisee knew about the woman. She seemed more like a tool in his test of Jesus than a human being deserving of love - which would have been demonstrated by taking care of her financially and bringing her into the care of the community of God’s people rather than forcing her to the fringes and ignoring her.

·      What sinners do we think are such great sinners that we have lost our love and concern for their physical and spiritual well-being?

·      With what sinners have we contented ourselves with “othering” them in their uncleanness and sin and keeping them at arms’ length lest they dare get to close to us and make us dirty?

·      Who is it we have stopped loving so much that we have stopped going to them and demonstrating, with our words and lives, the good news of the person of Jesus and the community of His church?

Honestly, as I scroll throught the news, I see such fear, anger and disdain directed toward certain individuals and groups of people right now by Christians. When the people of Jesus put those vibes out, why would we expect others to think Jesus feels any differently about them? And where is the compelling good news of the Gospel in that?

There is campaign right now seeking to boost Jesus’ PR. It’s called “He Gets Us.” I am not here to criticize them; I appreciate their hearts. But you know what? If people already knew that from their interaction with the people of Jesus, we wouldn’t need that campaign. And if someone believes the ads and joins a local church but doesn’t experience from the people of Jesus what the ad promised was true about Jesus, the ad won’t matter.

What sinners are we refusing to love into the Kingdom? If we see ourselves in the story in the person of the Pharisee, we’ve got some repenting to do. To use Jesus’ analogy last week, the music is a dirge, and it’s time to mourn.  

THE WOMAN

What brought her to Jesus? The merciful kindness and love of a Savior. Maybe this is you. You have experienced the grace and forgiveness of God, and perhaps experienced it flowing through others. Her response of love, service and adoration makes sense to you. You were the hiker two days out in the wilderness.

When I get my checkups with the doctor who fixed my heart, I have this unavoidable feeling of tenderness and thankfulness. I’m always like, “Hey, thanks again,” which feels totally inadequate.  And he only saved my physical life, and only once. But the one who saves our souls and continues to save, deliver, and heal? The more we see and understand the profound gift of God’s redemption, the more we live in such a way that our lives give out a constant testimony of “Hey! Thanks again!”

Or…maybe this isn’t you, but it’s who you want to relate to in the story. You haven’t experienced this, and you are desperate to know that you are valued and loved by God, and you want to experience forgiveness, restoration and peace that has been so elusive.

Good news: Jesus offers that to you.[15]  “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

What tears do we bring? Repentance? Weariness? Cynicism? Bitterness? Loneliness? Disillusionment? Pain? Sorrow? Joy? Relief? Beauty? Longing?

I suspect we store up those tears; we just do it in our hearts instead of a bottle.

Sometimes it’s just memories, things we hold close because to lose them, even if they are painful, feels like a loss. Life in its fullness has been beautiful and terrible, and we don’t want to forget who we were and who we are, because the entire story matters. That seems like a good and healthy thing.

But sometimes it looks like this: “Do you know what all I’ve been through? I deserve…” Then that bottle of tears become an identity, an obsession, a prison, an addiction, a card to play to excuse and avoid and defend and demand.

I wonder what it looks like to pour that bottle out at the feet of Jesus.  It’s giving up the right to have the final word, to get revenge, to demand pity, to hide behind our history, to cling to the toxic safety that we know and therefore feels comfortable.

What tears do we bring? How might we pour out those tears to Jesus?[16]

With what acts of adoration do we seek to make his name great?

The perfume was a costly act of adoration. We aren’t going to pour out perfume literally like she did, but there are other ways. In 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul wrote,

“Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

He told the church in Philippi that he had,

“…received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.”

David wrote in the Psalms 141:2,

“May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship.“

It’s in costly but sweet-smelling offering of our lives, our fellowship, and our focus that we best respond to the love of our Savior.[17]  We tell others about Jesus; we offer our testimonies; we live honestly so others can see the ongoing work God is doing in us; we enter into the family and church community rhythms of repentance and forgiveness; we seek, as image bearers, to more clearly embody truth, justice, mercy, love.

We have been forgiven much, and it’s glorious. May we love God and others much in return.

__________________________________________________________________________________

[1] https://www.billmounce.com/monday-with-mounce/bible-contradiction-sinful-woman-luke-7-36-50

[2] “The widespread belief that she was Mary Magdalene has absolutely not a single jot or tittle of evidence in Scripture. Nor can there be said to be anything like even a tradition in its favor. The earliest Fathers of the Church are silent. Origen discusses and rejects it. Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine are doubtful. It first gained general acceptance through the authority of Gregory the Great.”  (Ellicott’s Commentary)

[3] “Refers here to the time past, though lately past; she had lately been infamous and notorious, but it appears by what follows that she was not so now, other than in the opinion…of the people.’  (Matthew Poole’s Commentary)

[4] “Among the ancients the kissing of the feet was a proof of deep veneration, which was manifested especially to Rabbins.” (Meyer’s NT Commentary) 

[5] ‘This was doubtless one of the implements of her guilty condition (Proverbs 7:17, Isaiah 3:24), and her willingness to sacrifice it was a sign of her sincere repentance.”  (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

[6] Jesus emphasized that Simon never understood the depth of his guilt. If he had, he would have viewed Jesus as the woman did.  

[7] “Turning again to the woman, in her deep penitence, and at the same time in her deep joy - joy springing from her newly found peace - he formally renews to her the assurance of that pardon which she already was conscious of…” (Pulpit Commentary)

[8] See an extensive discussion on faith as a gift from God at https://biblehub.com/greek/4102.htm

[9] Jesus had already shown he had prophetic insight into people’s lives. #Samaritanwoman

[10] In Psalm 56, David mentions the tear bottle.

[11] https://confidenceandjoy.com/washed-his-feet-with-her-tears/

[12] https://breadforbeggars.com/2013/06/a-kiss-on-the-feet-a-gospel-commentary-by-nathan-biebert/

[13] https://breadforbeggars.com/2013/06/a-kiss-on-the-feet-a-gospel-commentary-by-nathan-biebert/

[14] Bernard, as quoted in Vincent’s Word Studies

[15] Great song for meditation: “Your Kindness,” by Leslie Phillips

[16] Great song for meditation: “Tenth Avenue North, “Greater Than All My Regrets”

[17] Great Song for meditation: “My Jesus,” Anne Wilson

Harmony #28: Wisdom And Her Children (Luke 7:24-35,16:16; Matthew 11:7-19)

Today’s passage contains a number of statements that can make you shrug you shoulders and go, “Well, they sure had an odd way of saying things back then,” and move on.  I will try to explain them as me go through the passage, but we are going to land on the subject of Wisdom and her children.

* * * * *

 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?  What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury are in kings’ courts!  What did you go out to see? A prophet?

Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth, among those born of women no one has arisen greater (Authoritative? Excellent? Weightier?) than John the Baptist.

JOHN WAS ‘BORN OF WOMAN’? AREN’T WE ALL?

Think of what Jesus said to Nicodemus: he had to be born a second time, “of water and the spirit.”[1] It’s a distinction between being a child of humanity and a child of God.

* * * * *

Yet the one who has the lower rank and influence in the kingdom of God is greater than he is.[2]

WHAT’S UP WITH THE GREATER/LESSER LANGUAGE?

We aren’t supposed to created hierarchies in the Kingdom, right? “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”[3] The greatest among us are those who serve.[4] So what’s going on here? John introduced a kingdom that he would not get to see inaugurated. And as great as John was, it is greater (think ‘more spiritually formative’) to participate in the kingdom than to announce it. Those who come after John are able to understand and appreciate more fully the mission of the Messiah and participate in this new covenantal community that Jesus’ death and resurrection bring about. To enjoy the blessings of the kingdom is greater than to be the forerunner of the King.[5]

* * * * *

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. For all the prophets and the law prophesied and were in force until John appeared; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is pressing into it. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

HOW IS THE KINDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERING VIOLENCE, AND WHY/HOW DO FORCEFUL PEOPLE TAKE IT?

First, notice the timetable. “From the days of John the Baptist until now.” It’s a very specific block of time. John’s ‘days’ are apparently the time he spent declaring who Jesus was. When he went to prison, that stopped. Also, it’s a little ominous, as if John’s ministry was done (and it was, as he would be executed shortly). Something has been happening in that year or so. Three possibilities, and commentaries are divided on this.

•  First, those opposed to Jesus and His kingdom are doing their best to destroy them both.

• Second, those who were ready for the Messiah and his Kingdom responded vigorously to the announcement and strained every spiritual muscle to enter.[6] Luke 16:16 phrases it,“every one is pressing into it.” It’s as if the Kingdom is being stormed (in a good way). If that’s the case, Jesus may be referring to people who actively followed Jesus rather than waiting for the kingdom to come their way.[7] According to Chrysostom (400s), this is about those who have such earnest desire for Christ that they let nothing stand between themselves and faith in Him.[8]

• Third, it may refer to the Kingdom breaking into the world “violently,” that is, with great power and force. It’s an image from sheep spilling out into the fields when they are released from their pens in the morning.[9]

 I could see making a case for all three; I most favor the idea that “everyone is pressing into it,” which is Luke’s paraphrase. I think the next thing Jesus says, in which he challenges “this generation’s” lack of response to the message of the Kingdom, suggests it’s not about persecution as much as the lack of response to the Kingdom (through Jesus) breaking into the world.

* * * * *

 Now all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s way was just and righteous, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism [of repentance]. However, the Pharisees and the experts in religious law rejected God’s counsel against themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.[10]

[Jesus continued,] “To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.’

“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated/justified by all her children, [shown to be right] by her deeds.”

WHAT’S WITH THE FLUTING AND WAILING?

The basic point is this: they refused to properly mourn when called to repentance, and they refused to properly celebrate when they see the Kingdom of God being offered to all. [11] 

• It was easier to demonize John than to take seriously his message that they were sinners who had broken God’s law and were in need of repentance. #causeformourning

• It was easier to villainize Jesus than to take seriously his message that God values and loves everyone, and that God offers His Kingdom to the outcasts and the law-breakers. #causefordancing

The Pharisees didn’t like how John was bringing others to God, and they didn’t like how Jesus was living out the values of the Kingdom of God.

• They weren’t happy with the somberness of the kingdom, represented by a self-disciplined lifestyle and rhythms of repentance, which suggested they were failing to keep the Law.

• They didn’t like the joyous grace of the kingdom, represented by Jesus’s fellowship with the marquee sinners of their time, in which he modeled grace to the lawless.

WISDOM IS JUSTIFIED BY HER CHILDREN

This is another way of saying, “By their fruit you will know them.” Those who have been given true, life-changing spiritual insight validate it by their actions—their “children.”[12]Wisdom (God’s way, Luke 7:29-30) is vindicated (shown to be right) by the followers of John and Jesus who embraced God’s way. Jesus is challenging their alleged wisdom by asking what kind of children/disciples/people their wisdom produced.

In Matthew 23, Jesus will tell the Pharisees they are making disciples of hell rather than heaven. In his speech to them, he points out what characterizes them and their deeds - the ‘children,’ as it were, of their way:

2 The Pharisees and the scribes occupy the seat of Moses. 3 So you should do the things they tell you to do—but don’t do the things they do. 4 They heap heavy burdens upon their neighbors’ backs, and they prove unwilling to do anything to help shoulder the load. 

 5 They are interested, above all, in presentation: they wrap their heads and arms in the accoutrements of prayer, they cloak themselves with flowing tasseled prayer garments, 6 they covet the seats of honor at fine banquets and in the synagogue, 7 and they love it when people recognize them in the marketplace, call them “Teacher,” and beam at them... 

13 Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. There is such a gulf between what you say and what you do. You will stand before a crowd and lock the door of the kingdom of heaven right in front of everyone; you won’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from doing so. 

14 Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. What you say is not what you do. You steal the homes from under the widows while you pretend to pray for them. You will suffer great condemnation for this. 

15 Woe to you Pharisees, woe to you who teach the law, hypocrites! You traverse hills and mountains and seas to make one convert, and then when he does convert, you make him much more a son of hell than you are. 

16 Woe to you who are blind but deign to lead others. You say, “Swearing by the temple means nothing, but he who swears by the gold in the temple is bound by his oath.” 17 Are you fools? You must be blind! For which is greater: the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, “Swearing by the altar means nothing, but he who swears by the sacrifice on the altar is bound by his oath…”

23 So woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You hypocrites! You tithe from your luxuries and your spices, giving away a tenth of your mint, your dill, and your cumin. But you have ignored the essentials of the law: justice, mercy, faithfulness. It is practice of the latter that makes sense of the former. 24 You hypocritical, blind leaders. You spoon a fly from your soup and swallow a camel. 

25 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You remove fine layers of film and dust from the outside of a cup or bowl, but you leave the inside full of greed and covetousness and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee—can’t you see that if you clean the inside of the cup, the outside will be clean too? 

27 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like a grave that has been whitewashed. You look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside you are full of moldering bones and decaying rot. 28 You appear, at first blush, to be righteous, selfless, and pure; but on the inside you are polluted, sunk in hypocrisy and confusion and lawlessness.

29 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build monuments to your dead, you mouth pieties over the bodies of prophets, you decorate the graves of your righteous ancestors. 30 And you say, “If we had lived when our forefathers lived, we would have known better—we would not have joined them when they rose up against the prophets.”  

31 In doing this, you make plain that you descended from those who murdered our prophets. 32 So why don’t you, [the children], finish what your forefathers started? 33 

Yikes. These are some sketchy children.

•  Mean (won’t help other bear their burdens)

• Ignored the heart of the law (justice, mercy, faithfulness)

• Proud

• Hypocritical

• Blind/Confused (not as smart as they thought)

• Greedy/self-indulgent

• Whatever the opposite of love is (Indifference? Hate? Callousness?)

Jesus told them he would send them prophets and teachers to call them to repentance. John the Baptist once called them a brood of vipers who needed to flee from the wrath to come and called them to repent (Matthew 3:7-8). They were having none of it. And… they were known by their spiritual children.

Meanwhile, the writer of Proverbs had already given an image of what Wisdom (and her children) looked like. The book of Proverbs spends a lot time discussing Wisdom and Folly, both personified as women, specifically in chapters 1-9.[13] In Proverbs 31, we see Wisdom personified in its fullness as a woman whose flourishing brings about the flourishing of those around her. Most of her description is found earlier in the book when describing Lady Wisdom. She’s what some have called “Lady Wisdom In Street Clothes.”[14]

Though I grew up in a church tradition that read this as a passage about “the ideal woman,” I don’t believe this is meant to be read that way. See all my footnotes for more information. This is a reminder for all of us to be the groom in this parable, making a covenant to cleave to Wisdom, the wife (and mother) in this poetic image.[15]

[Side note: I suspect a lot of the material imagery functioned as ‘hyperlinks’ to the first audience, as in they often symbolized something more than just the physical thing itself. For example, you will see that she makes different garments out of flax and wool. She knew the Law: “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together." —Deuteronomy 22:11]

Who can find a truly excellent woman of valor and strength? One who is superior in all that she is and all that she does? Her worth far exceeds that of rubies and expensive jewelry. She inspires trust, and her husband’s heart is safe with her, and because of her, he has every good thing.

Every day of her life she does what is best for him, never anything harmful or hurtful. Delight attends her work and guides her fingers as she selects the finest wool and flax for spinning. She moves through the market like merchant ships that dock here and there in distant ports, finally arriving home with food she’s carried from afar.

She rises from bed early, in the still of night, carefully preparing food for her family and providing a portion to her servants. She has a plan. She considers some land and buys it; then with her earnings, she plants a vineyard.

She wraps herself in strength, carries herself with confidence, and works hard, strengthening her arms for the task at hand. She tastes success and knows it is good, and under lamplight she works deep into the night. 

Her hands skillfully place the unspun flax and wool on the distaff, and her fingers twist the spindle until thread forms. She reaches out to the poor and extends mercy to those in need. She is not worried about the cold or snow for her family, for she has clothed them all in warm, crimson coats.

She makes her own bed linens and clothes herself in purple and fine cloth. Everyone recognizes her husband in the public square, and no one fails to respect him as he takes his place of leadership in the community.

She makes linen garments and sells them in the market, and she supplies belts for tradesmen to carry across the sea. Clothed in strength and dignity, with nothing to fear, she smiles when she thinks about the future.

She conducts her conversations with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is ever her concern. She directs the activities of her household, and never does she indulge in laziness. Her children rise up and bless her. Her husband, too, joins in the praise, saying: “There are some—indeed many—women who do well in every way, but of all of them only you are truly excellent.”

Charm can be deceptive and physical beauty will not last (#LadyFolly), but a woman who reveres the Eternal(#LadyWisdom) should be praised above all others. Celebrate all she has achieved. Let all her accomplishments publicly praise her. (#justifiedbyherchildren)

Wisdom is grounded in reverence for God. And in that reverence, we are guided into a life righteousness and goodness. When we covenant with God and thus his wisdom, we flourish as God intended, which is to say for our good, the good of those around us, and for God’s glory.

And our hope is this: that the unfindable wisdom of God (Proverbs 31:10) has been found. In Proverbs, Lady Wisdom is not one the simple seeks. Instead, she seeks the simple, the fool. She shows up at the markets (Prov. 1:20), at the crossroads (Prov. 8:2). She enters the world of man and summons mankind to walk in her ways.

And it is here that this woman first drives us to Christ. Lady Wisdom is not Jesus. But her personified quality drives us to what Jesus Himself incarnates. For Christ “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24) has “become to us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30). He is hope incarnate, He is life incarnate, He is truth incarnate – and He is wisdom incarnate...

And now as believers, we drop all our capacity to ever be Lady Wisdom – to ever be infinite or perfect this side of glory. For wisdom has come. Wisdom has come bringing the way of life, the pathway of hope for sinners and fools, like you and me.[16]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] John 3:5

[2] “Those who are in the kingdom, who are brought nearer to God and have clearer spiritual knowledge of God, have higher privileges than the greatest of those who lived before the time of Christ.” (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)

[3] Matthew 20:16

[4] Matthew 20:26-28

[5] Believer’s Bible Commentary

[6] HT Believer’s Bible Commentary

[7] HT IVP New Testament Commentary

[8] Orthodox Study Bible

[9] Orthodox Study Bible

[10] “The counsel of God toward them was the solemn admonition by John to "repent" and be baptized, and be prepared to receive the Messiah. This was the command or revealed will of God in relation to them. When it is said that they "rejected" the counsel of God, it does not mean that they could frustrate his purposes, but merely that they violated his commands.” (Barne’s Notes On the Bible)

[11] “John wore camel-hair clothes and ate locusts and honey (Mark 1:6). As a lifelong Nazirite, he didn't drink alcohol (Luke 1:15). The Pharisees and scribes rejected him for his extreme asceticism (Luke 7:33). Jesus eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27–32). The Pharisees and scribes reject Him for being a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34). They reject the message that they're sinners, and instead look for faults in the messengers who tell them the truth.” https://www.bibleref.com/Luke/7/Luke-7-30.html

[12] Tony Evans Study Bible

[13]Wisdom claims an origin with Yahweh before creation (Proverbs 8:22-31). She also offers the tree of life (Prov. 3:13-18).

[14] https://www.theologyofwork.org/key-topics/women-and-work-in-the-old-testament/lady-wisdom-in-street-clothes-proverbs-31

[15] An approach similar to mine is to see the “Proverbs 31 woman as a human model of personified Wisdom…that canonized her as a role model for all Israel for all time.” See “The Proverbs 31 ‘Woman of Strength.’” https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/proverbs-31-woman-strength/

[16] “Proverbs 31, the Incarnation, and Women (and Men) of God.” https://gentlereformation.com/2020/12/22/the-proverbs-31-woman-the-incarnation-and-freedom-for-women-of-god/

Harmony #27: Miracles and Messiahs (Luke 5: 12-16; 7:1-135; Matthew 8:1-13; 11:2-19 Mark 1:40-45)

After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people and came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him, and he entered Capernaum. 

 A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death, lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. 

When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, because he loves our [Jewish] nation, and even built our synagogue.” Jesus said to them, “I will come and heal him.” 

So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. 

 Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 

When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

Then Jesus said, “Go; just as he has believed, it will be done for him.” And the servant was healed at that hour. So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.
 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground begging him for help, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!”  

The leprosy left him at once, and he was clean. Immediately Jesus sent the man away with a very strong warning. He told him, “See that you do not say anything to anyone, but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 

But as the man went out he began to announce it publicly and spread the story widely. Such large crowds were gathering together to hear Jesus and to be healed of their illnesses, that he was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places. Still they kept coming to him from everywhere. Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.
 Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 

Then Jesus came up and touched the bier, and those who carried it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has come to help his people!” This report about Jesus circulated throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

John’s disciples informed him about all these things. When John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’“ 

At that very time Jesus cured many people of diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and granted sight to many who were blind. So he answered them, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

I want to talk today about miracles and Messiahs. First, the miracles.

Last week we talked about there being no templates for how revival must look other than long-term fruit. Here we see a similar point with miracles. There is not template for how to get them.

Did they have to ask for a miracle?

·      A Gentile Roman army officer did on behalf of a servant

·      A Jewish leper did on his own behalf

·      Nobody did

What kind of person got healed?

·      A respected servant (“He is worthy to have you do this.”)

·      An unclean leper

·      A loved son

The person healed:

·      Didn’t ask (someone asked on his behalf)

·      Asked

·      Didn’t ask (nobody asked)

The amount of faith/trust:

·      Really high – from a Roman soldier who did not follow Yahweh

·      High – at least in Jesus as a healer (“Lord” was a term of respect)

·      Doesn’t say, since the widow didn’t know it was going to happen

When you read the accounts in a row, it’s a good reminder that we have to be careful creating templates for when and how God might or must do miraculous things. The common denominator is Jesus. If we get too caught up in “How can I get my miracle?” we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus our eyes on ourselves.

We will continue to see Jesus defy templates as his life unfolds, so don’t be surprised if you hear about this again J Meanwhile, I want to focus on how Jesus’ miracles established his identity.

We see at the end of that section what I think is the main point of Jesus’ miracle working: to establish who He is. He is the Messiah. He showed this by doing things in line with prophetic promises. John asked, “Are you the one?” Jesus responded, “Look. This is what the Prophets told you the Messiah would do.” 

·      the blind receive sight (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5)

·      the lame walk(Isaiah 35:6)

·      lepers are cured (Isaiah 53:4)

·      the deaf hear (Isaiah 29:18–19; 35:5)

·      the dead are raised (Isaiah 26:18–19)

·      the good news is preached to the poor (Isaiah 61:1)

* * * * *

I’ve long wondered if John’s question wasn’t coming from a place of doubt. John himself proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, “[1]but… now he’s in prison. He stood up to Herod, and it didn’t go well. He’s like, “But are you sure you are the Messiah?” Why would John be doubting now? What changed?

I wonder if it has something to do about the expectation for what the Messiah would be like. So, let’s do some history. 

Every king of Israel was known as “anointed one” (a prophet or high priest anointed him); the Hebrew term was “messiah.”  When the line of kings in both Israel and Judah ended with the exile to Babylon, the title “anointed one” gradually began to mean a future king who would save Israel. The Jews believed that

“The covenant will be renewed: the Temple will be rebuilt, the Land cleansed, the Torah kept perfectly by a new covenant people with renewed hearts.” (N.T. Wright)

A lot of hope was placed in this “age to come,” or the messianic age. The ‘salvation’ would be a rescue from the national enemies, the restoration of the national symbols, and a state of peace.

The Jews people waited…. and waited… through captivity and bondage and despair. They were longing for God’s Kingdom to come - and they had a pretty good idea of what it ought to look like.

There were three main Messianic movements around the time Jesus was born (it’s more complicated than my overview will allow this morning. These are very general categories).[2] 

First, the Warrior/Politician Messiah.  For those who wanted to fight, the Messiah would free them from Roman oppression; there would be a physical rule on earth where other kingdoms would bow to them. These were the Zealots. Just to give you an idea of how serious they were, about 100 years after Jesus died a man named Simon Bar Kochba amassed a rebel army of 200,000 men. He was crushed by the Romans; tens of thousands were slain. Some Orthodox Jews still consider him the closest to a real Messiah the Jews have seen.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, people spread coats (a sign of a king – see 2 Kings 9:13) and waved palm branches, a symbol used by the Zealots.[3] The Jews likely greeted Jesus with palm branches because they thought He would be physically fighting for God’s people. (Jesus’ disciple Simon was a Zealot).

Second, the Torah or Temple Messiah. Under this Messiah, the temple and the Law would finally be exalted over all the earth. The Sadducees were pretty big on piety and holiness (“separate, set apart”) though they recognized they had to work with the Greek and Roman culture. The Essenes, on the other hand? Well, their community in the desert[4] exemplified their desire to be separate from everybody else – including the Sadducees. They just wanted have the space to recreate the theocracy of old and follow the Law freely, fully and publicly as they waited for the Messiah.[5] That’s how the Kingdom of God on earth would arrive. (John the Baptist may well have been raised in the Essene community).[6]

Third, the People’s Messiah. This messiah would do those other things, but he would also bring in world peace.  He would bring freedom from economic inequality and class oppression. They were most inclined of all the Jewish groups to long for a day when societal justice prevailed and everybody would get along. The Pharisees were the most closely aligned with this idea, but they were all over the map.

Jesus’ three temptations in the wilderness were loosely connected to these three Messianic hopes (Matthew 4:1-11):

·      to rule the world (Warrior Messiah)

·      to restore the glory of the temple (Torah/Temple messiah)

·      to turn stones into bread (People’s Messiah)

But then Jesus arrived…and he caused significant confusion. He didn’t fit into these Messianic boxes like the people wanted him to. I’ll bet more people than John were wondering, “Are you the one, or should we be looking for someone else?”

The Jews, like John the Baptizer, were in danger of missing the Messiah because Jesus wasn't what they wanted or expected him to be.

Human nature being what it is (and the world being what it is), I think we experience the same dilemma. We need to be careful that when we talk about what we assume Jesus must be like and therefore must do to bring about His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.

We can begin to long for a Warrior Messiah that will lead His people into physically ruling the world.

If we aren't careful, we will begin to believe that political power and societal clout will bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. That means our human enemies must be conquered. It’s usvs them rather than us for them. When that happens, we start to follow politicians, celebrities and influencers inside and outside the church with almost Messianic expectations, as if they are the solution for the problems of the world.  

To be sure, having followers of Jesus in the halls of power and influence isn’t a bad thing. It’s good to have salt and light everywhere.  It’s just that we can’t afford to get confused about who or what is going to save us.

If we aren’t careful, we can begin to justify any means to achieve our ends. We trade peace for violence; gentleness for meanness; tenderness for callousness, truth for deception in the pursuit of establishing a righteous society, forgetting that it’s through the means that we become the kind of people we will be in the end. We will long for a God of Judgment who gives the world what’s coming to it, and we will just buckle up and watch as all the pagans get theirs.

When you hear people talk about Christians who are angry and hateful, using any means to achieve their ends, they are talking about modern Zealots, those who think, like the disciples did in Samaria, that the Messiah can’t wait to burn the world, and they can’t wait to burn it with Him.[7]

Is Jesus the kind of Messiah that fights and wants us to fight? Well, yes, but on a spiritual battlefield. He resisted the devil; he challenged corruption in the temple and the religious leaders who were making “disciples of hell.” He took on death, Hell and the grave on our behalf - and won. He will return to reclaim the world and redeem it from the ravages of sin.  Is Jesus a Warrior? You bet. Just not like the Zealots expected him to be. Are we in a battle? Yes, but it’s a spiritual one. “We wrestle not with flesh and blood.” Our target is spiritual wickedness.[8]

We can begin to long for a Temple messiah, a savior made of Bible knowledge, obedience to God, pious living, and community flourishing.[9] I want to state this clearly: those are good things, not bad things.

But if we aren't careful, we will locate the Temple Messiah only within what becomes defensive and exclusionary walls around the church. The Essenes weren’t exactly known for drawing in converts to Judaism. The focus was almost entirely on themselves and the spiritual and relational health community. In a similar way, we can overflow with Biblical knowledge that never makes its way to those far from Christ; we can put a ton of energy into building a strong church community that never has an impact outside of ourselves.

The Temple Messiah crowd would never say its us vs. them, but if we aren’t careful, we lose sight of the fact that the Messiah has come for them so they too can be part of us, the church, the family of God.

If our Messiah is a Temple Messiah, we’re not angry, hateful or fearful.  We don’t want to see the world burn and we certainly don’t want to help do it. But we end up looking like we just don’t care because we aren’t engaging the world with truth and love.

Does Jesus value personal holiness and the healthy community of His people? Absolutely. All the letters in the New Testament address both of these things. If the church is the “body” of Christ, then the holiness of the family of God, personal and corporate, matters. #represent  It’s just not meant just for us. Salt does no good just sitting in one big heap. Light does no good against the darkness if it’s hidden. The church is never just about the church in the same way that Jesus was never there just for “His people.” He made it abundantly clear that the church is to permeate the world. The Essenes weren’t wrong about what was important, they just weren’t right about what they were supposed to do with it.

We can long for specifically a People’s Messiah, one who will eradicate poverty and injustice, believing that will bringing the world the peace, hope and joy we are lacking. The People’s Messiah is a social justice warrior in the most righteous way, convinced that God’s Kingdom will come to earth in biblical social structures of equality, fairness, and justice. 

Surely the Kingdom of God has practical impact in the world when it is lived out by God’s people, and I would hope justice characterizes the movement. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.

But if we aren’t careful, we can spend all of our energy fixing symptoms while forgetting that the problem causing all these symptoms hasn’t been addressed. Here’s one example. There’s an international organization that goes around the world and buys people out of slavery. It’s an awesome goal. The only problem is that a lot of places are asking them to stop because they are making it worse. Why? Because now there is easy money to be made. The rate of human trafficking is growing in those areas. Free folks are lining up and pretending they are slaves so they can get a quick $50.

Does Jesus care about oppression, poverty, injustice and want His people to care too?Absolutely. Read the Law in Exodus – Deuteronomy, a law which Jesus himself says can be summarized as loving God and loving others. Read Jesus’ teaching about, “When you have done it to the least, you have done it to me.”[10]  God has always showed His people how to enter into those sin-scarred spaces in the world and bring hope and healing. But that is not the Kingdom in its fullness. It helps – that’s a good thing – but cycles will continue without the transformation Jesus brings. 

* * * * *

God care about all the ways in which the world is broken, and we should too. I’m not suggesting that you don’t get involved in social issues, or that you don’t pursue God through knowledge and experience, that you don’t seek to build righteous community, or that you don’t get involved in politics or entertainment or social media. By all means, be involved in the ways God calls you. There are good and just ways to offset the impact of sinfulness in a fallen world and point toward the ultimate salvation found in Christ.

But good things can become idols, false Messiahs. We begin to mold Jesus in our image and assume His Kingdom only flourishes in our framework. I think this is why John the Baptist was struggling. Jesus (and the way Jesus inaugurated his Kingdom) didn’t fit cleanly with how he thought the Messiah would show up in the world.

And if we get locked into just one narrow focus, it’s easy to judge those who don’t have the same expectation we do.

·      The Zealots think the Essenes are weak and the Pharisees are woke.

·      The Essenes think the Zealots are crazy and the Pharisees are wasting their time.

·      The Pharisees think the Zealots are dangerous and the Essenes are irrelevant.

 I have to imagine the disciples had a grand old time sorting that out between themselves. 

So, how to put a bow on this? If we get Jesus wrong, we will misunderstand His character, mistake his Kingdom, and misjudge His people. What’s the solution? Well, it starts with seeing Jesus clearly. I hope this series helps us, but don’t rely on me.[11]

·      Meditate on Scripture. The Bible is the story of God’s work in, with, and through humanity. Study its entirety. One chapter or even one book doesn’t give a well-rounded picture any more than one event from Jesus’ life would give you a healthy view of Jesus.

·      Study Jesus. Read far and wide within the historical and global church. Everywhere Christians live, it can be easy to simply study Jesus through one cultural or community lenses. It’s worth pursuing how “every tribe, nation and tongue” studies Scripture and experiences life in the Kingdom.

·      Pray for wisdom and clarity.  Surrender your perspective at the foot of the Cross. Ask for correction and insight that brings Jesus into an ever more clear focus.

·      Do life together in diverse community.  Within your circle of friends, learn to appreciate (with discernment) how the Holy Spirit is working to illuminate Scripture and reveal the person and work of Jesus.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

[1] John 1:29

[2] I think I got these three categories from N.T. Wright.

[3] Solomon dedicated the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles using palm branches; when Judas Maccabeas, one of the founders of the Zealots, briefly freed Jerusalem from Roman rule and purified the Temple in 165 BC., the Jews celebrated with palm branches.

[4] They lived in towns too. I’m citing the desert community as a symbol.

[5] They were founded by a Teacher of Righteousness a Messiah figure “predating Jesus by roughly 100 years. This figure…had been a priest and confidant to the king. However, he became dissatisfied with the religious sects in Jerusalem and, in reaction, founded a "crisis cult". While amassing a following, the Teacher (and his followers) claimed he was the fulfillment of various Biblical prophecies, with an emphasis on those found in Isaiah. The Teacher was eventually killed by the religious leadership in Jerusalem, and his followers hailed him as messianic figure who had been exalted to the presence of God's throne. They then anticipated that the Teacher would return to judge the wicked and lead the righteous into a golden age.” Wikipedia, “Teacher Of Righteousness”

[6] https://sjvlaydivision.org/john-the-baptist-essenes/

[7] Luke 9:52-55

[8] Ephesians 6:12

[9] The Essenes were pretty radical in this: they held their goods and property in common even more communally than the early church in Acts.

[10] Matthew 25:40-45

[11] Some books to start with: The Jesus I Never Knew, by Phillip Yancey. The Prodigal God, Jesus The King, Encounters With Jesus, all by Tim Keller. Sitting At The Feet Of Rabbi Jesus, Walking In The Dust Of Rabbi Jesus, and Reading The Bible With Rabbi Jesus, all by Lois Tverberg. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, by Kenneth Bailey. Jesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord. By Rebecca McLaughlin. Reading While Black, by Esau McCauley.  Some books I have not read but that have been recommended: The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views (Spectrum Multiview Book Series) from IVP press. Jesus Without Borders, by Gene L. Green.  The Crucifixion, by Fleming Rutledge.