What Did Jesus Do?
Jesus went from there [Bethany] to the region near the wilderness...
Now many went up to Jerusalem before the Passover.
John 11.54-55
If the high priest and the Pharisees hand been able to get their hands on Jesus they would have arrested him on the spot, following the raising of Lazarus. But Jesus, keeping an eye on the calendar, secluded himself beyond their reach. The Son of God knew that it would not be right for the sacrifice to be offered before the Passover.
So it was that many who had arrived in Jerusalem early, that they might complete a ritual purification before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, were left to speculate on the whereabouts of Jesus (John 11.56). If there had been betting parlors in Judea I would imagine that bookmakers would have transacted a brisk business in wagers on whether or not Jesus would dare to show his face at all in Jerusalem for the Passover. Of course, all such speculation would have ended if the people had only known that Jesus was the Lamb of God, how could he not come, there truly couldn't be a Passover without him.
In a way, the anticipation of a possible clash between Jesus and authorities might have insured that an even larger than usual crowd was going to try to get to Jerusalem, kind of like boxing fans swarming to see a championship bout. The clash of “heavyweights” would be something far greater than the many ballyhooed “fights of the century” we see being hawked regularly on pay-per-view (There' an invitation to spend $45 to watch some silly UFC “World Championship” sitting in my “inbox” right now.). The contest—though it really was no contest at all, the outcome was assured even before the days of Abraham—would in fact be the fight of eternity.
Oh sure, the high priest and the Council thought they had it all planned, were sure that they would determine the fate of Jesus. But the Father had in fact ordained the exact timing of events, and so the Son kept an obedient eye on the calendar, so that he should not arrive a day sooner, or later, than the precisely appointed Kairos moment to fulfill the sovereign will of God. The fact that there was, in effect, a standing arrest order for Jesus (John 11.57), shows that the minds of the Jewish leaders had already reached a verdict, because you know they were not going to bring him in and charge him with jaywalking or littering—they were out for blood. Thanks be to God, the Lamb would willingly shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins! And he would do so on the annual day of Israel's perpetual remembrance of its delivery from bondage in Egypt. But this time, it would be both Jews and Gentiles who would be set free, and from bondage and slavery far worse than that imposed by any nation. The chains of sin and death would be broken forever, and prisoners set free, by the blood of the Lamb.
The folks who stood in the temple discussing the hot topic of the day had no idea what would soon occur. But Jesus kept his eye on the calendar, because he had a divine appointment to keep for our sake, and for the glory of his Father.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Ten "Other" Commandments
SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN THESE BEAUTIFUL WORDS. MUST READ AND TRY TO
UNDERSTAND THE DEEP MEANING OF IT.
THEY ARE LIKE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS TO FOLLOW IN LIFE ALL THE TIME.
1] PRAYER IS NOT A "SPARE WHEEL" THAT YOU PULL OUT WHEN IN TROUBLE,
BUT IT IS THE "STEERING WHEEL" THAT DIRECTS THE RIGHT PATH THROUGHOUT.
2] WHY IS A CAR'S WINDSHIELD IS SO LARGE & THE REAR VIEW MIRROR SO
SMALL? BECAUSE OUR PAST IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS OUR FUTURE. SO, LOOK
AHEAD AND MOVE ON.
3] FRIENDSHIP IS LIKE A BOOK. IT TAKES FEW SECONDS TO BURN, BUT IT
TAKES YEARS TO WRITE.
4] ALL THINGS IN LIFE, OTHER THAN GOD'S LOVE FOR US IN CHRIST JESUS, ARE TEMPORARY. IF THINGS ARE GOING WELL, ENJOY THEM, THEY WILL NOT LAST FOREVER. IF THINGS ARE GOING WRONG, DON'T WORRY, THIS WON'T LAST LONG EITHER.
AND BESIDES, YOU GET TO BE WITH JESUS FOREVER!
5] OLD FRIENDS ARE LIKE GOLD! NEW FRIENDS ARE LIKE DIAMONDS! IF YOU GET A
DIAMOND, DON'T FORGET THE GOLD! BECAUSE TO HOLD ON TO A DIAMOND, YOU ALWAYS
NEED A BASE OF GOLD!
6] OFTEN WHEN WE LOSE HOPE AND THINK "THIS IS THE END," GOD SMILES FROM
ABOVE AND SAYS, "RELAX, SWEETHEART, IT'S JUST A BEND, NOT THE END!
7] WHEN GOD SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS, YOU HAVE FAITH IN HIS ABILITIES;
WHEN GOD DOESN'T SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS HE HAS FAITH IN YOUR ABILITIES.
8] A BLIND PERSON ASKED ST. ANTHONY: "CAN THERE BE ANYTHING WORSE THAN
LOSING EYE SIGHT?" HE REPLIED: "YES, LOSING YOUR VISION!"
9] WHEN YOU PRAY FOR OTHERS, GOD LISTENS TO YOU AND BLESSES THEM. SO REMEMBER, WHEN YOU ARE SAFE AND HAPPY, SOMEONE HAS BEEN PRAYING FOR YOU.
10] WORRYING DOES NOT TAKE AWAY TOMORROW'S TROUBLES, IT TAKES AWAY
TODAY'S PEACE. SO, AS JESUS TAUGHT, "DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE," FOR YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED.
UNDERSTAND THE DEEP MEANING OF IT.
THEY ARE LIKE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS TO FOLLOW IN LIFE ALL THE TIME.
1] PRAYER IS NOT A "SPARE WHEEL" THAT YOU PULL OUT WHEN IN TROUBLE,
BUT IT IS THE "STEERING WHEEL" THAT DIRECTS THE RIGHT PATH THROUGHOUT.
2] WHY IS A CAR'S WINDSHIELD IS SO LARGE & THE REAR VIEW MIRROR SO
SMALL? BECAUSE OUR PAST IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS OUR FUTURE. SO, LOOK
AHEAD AND MOVE ON.
3] FRIENDSHIP IS LIKE A BOOK. IT TAKES FEW SECONDS TO BURN, BUT IT
TAKES YEARS TO WRITE.
4] ALL THINGS IN LIFE, OTHER THAN GOD'S LOVE FOR US IN CHRIST JESUS, ARE TEMPORARY. IF THINGS ARE GOING WELL, ENJOY THEM, THEY WILL NOT LAST FOREVER. IF THINGS ARE GOING WRONG, DON'T WORRY, THIS WON'T LAST LONG EITHER.
AND BESIDES, YOU GET TO BE WITH JESUS FOREVER!
5] OLD FRIENDS ARE LIKE GOLD! NEW FRIENDS ARE LIKE DIAMONDS! IF YOU GET A
DIAMOND, DON'T FORGET THE GOLD! BECAUSE TO HOLD ON TO A DIAMOND, YOU ALWAYS
NEED A BASE OF GOLD!
6] OFTEN WHEN WE LOSE HOPE AND THINK "THIS IS THE END," GOD SMILES FROM
ABOVE AND SAYS, "RELAX, SWEETHEART, IT'S JUST A BEND, NOT THE END!
7] WHEN GOD SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS, YOU HAVE FAITH IN HIS ABILITIES;
WHEN GOD DOESN'T SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS HE HAS FAITH IN YOUR ABILITIES.
8] A BLIND PERSON ASKED ST. ANTHONY: "CAN THERE BE ANYTHING WORSE THAN
LOSING EYE SIGHT?" HE REPLIED: "YES, LOSING YOUR VISION!"
9] WHEN YOU PRAY FOR OTHERS, GOD LISTENS TO YOU AND BLESSES THEM. SO REMEMBER, WHEN YOU ARE SAFE AND HAPPY, SOMEONE HAS BEEN PRAYING FOR YOU.
10] WORRYING DOES NOT TAKE AWAY TOMORROW'S TROUBLES, IT TAKES AWAY
TODAY'S PEACE. SO, AS JESUS TAUGHT, "DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE," FOR YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED.
Jesus Moved Many To Believe, Some To Inform, And One To Prophesy
What Did Jesus Do?
“Many of the Jews believed in him...some went and told the Pharisees...
But Caiaphas prophesied.”
John 11.45,46,49-51
The only people with unformed opinions about Jesus are people who are totally uninformed about Jesus. Everyone who has heard about Jesus either believes what they've heard, that he is who he is, the Son of God, sole Lord and Savior of lost sinners, or, not believing, they seek to connect with others who are sure they know who Jesus is not, or, unwittingly, they utter prophecies about Jesus. Personally, I wouldn't get too close to those who prophesy about Jesus, because though what they say about him may be the unwitting truth, how they act/react to Jesus is always wrong, dead wrong. Just like Caiaphas.
You do know that Caiaphas is dead, don't you? It's funny, though the high priest was determined to see Jesus dead, and led the way in making the plans which led to Christ's crucifixion, there is no evidence today that Jesus is dead, but, on the contrary, mountains of evidence that Jesus lives. On the other hand, you can go to a museum in Jerusalem and view the ossuary (bone jar), that still contains the mortal remains of Caiaphas, who has been quite dead for nearly two thousand years now. As I said, though Caiaphas prophesied truth about Jesus, his actions were dead wrong. Thankfully, God's people benefited from the huge mistake of Caiaphas, for in seeing that the Lamb of God was slain, Caiaphas offered to the Father the one acceptable sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin—the Son.
It seems to me that what still matters is what do we do with what we have heard and seen about Jesus. Do we, like many who accompanied Mary to the tomb of her brother Lazarus, and witnessed his being called out from the tomb after being dead for four days, believe? If we are believers, then it's the whole truth about Jesus that we believe. Unlike those who pick and choose from the Scriptures to fashion what in reality is nothing more than an idol to suit their personal likes and dislikes, believers embrace the entire Word of God, as it is the Holy Spirit who reveals, well, all truth. Believers receive, from the Spirit, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them. And, yes, it is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who “so help” all believers.
Of course, there are still plenty of “informers” out there. These people, having heard and seen the same things about Jesus as believers, choose instead to “inform” themselves and others about who they are certain Jesus is not. The Jesus Seminar comes to mind. The members of the Jesus Seminar spend all their time talking and writing about who Jesus isn't, and what he didn't do or say. Like the people who felt compelled to run to the Pharisees and inform on the whereabouts and works of Jesus, folks today like those in the Jesus Seminar refuse to accept the testimony of what they have heard and seen, and go about trying to tear Jesus down. But, it doesn't matter how lofty the pretensions of informers are, they can't come close to touching the Savior who has been raised on high at the right hand of the Father for two millennia now.
As for the prophesiers, well, as I said, I wouldn't get too close to them. Though they may speak truth, the conclusions they come to about the truth, and which direct their actions, are wrong. And their end will be like that of Caiaphas, who, though he prophesied truth about the One who had to perish in order that many should live, never understood or accepted that truth, and so he is dead, while the Lamb of God, whose death he orchestrated, lives!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“Many of the Jews believed in him...some went and told the Pharisees...
But Caiaphas prophesied.”
John 11.45,46,49-51
The only people with unformed opinions about Jesus are people who are totally uninformed about Jesus. Everyone who has heard about Jesus either believes what they've heard, that he is who he is, the Son of God, sole Lord and Savior of lost sinners, or, not believing, they seek to connect with others who are sure they know who Jesus is not, or, unwittingly, they utter prophecies about Jesus. Personally, I wouldn't get too close to those who prophesy about Jesus, because though what they say about him may be the unwitting truth, how they act/react to Jesus is always wrong, dead wrong. Just like Caiaphas.
You do know that Caiaphas is dead, don't you? It's funny, though the high priest was determined to see Jesus dead, and led the way in making the plans which led to Christ's crucifixion, there is no evidence today that Jesus is dead, but, on the contrary, mountains of evidence that Jesus lives. On the other hand, you can go to a museum in Jerusalem and view the ossuary (bone jar), that still contains the mortal remains of Caiaphas, who has been quite dead for nearly two thousand years now. As I said, though Caiaphas prophesied truth about Jesus, his actions were dead wrong. Thankfully, God's people benefited from the huge mistake of Caiaphas, for in seeing that the Lamb of God was slain, Caiaphas offered to the Father the one acceptable sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin—the Son.
It seems to me that what still matters is what do we do with what we have heard and seen about Jesus. Do we, like many who accompanied Mary to the tomb of her brother Lazarus, and witnessed his being called out from the tomb after being dead for four days, believe? If we are believers, then it's the whole truth about Jesus that we believe. Unlike those who pick and choose from the Scriptures to fashion what in reality is nothing more than an idol to suit their personal likes and dislikes, believers embrace the entire Word of God, as it is the Holy Spirit who reveals, well, all truth. Believers receive, from the Spirit, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them. And, yes, it is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who “so help” all believers.
Of course, there are still plenty of “informers” out there. These people, having heard and seen the same things about Jesus as believers, choose instead to “inform” themselves and others about who they are certain Jesus is not. The Jesus Seminar comes to mind. The members of the Jesus Seminar spend all their time talking and writing about who Jesus isn't, and what he didn't do or say. Like the people who felt compelled to run to the Pharisees and inform on the whereabouts and works of Jesus, folks today like those in the Jesus Seminar refuse to accept the testimony of what they have heard and seen, and go about trying to tear Jesus down. But, it doesn't matter how lofty the pretensions of informers are, they can't come close to touching the Savior who has been raised on high at the right hand of the Father for two millennia now.
As for the prophesiers, well, as I said, I wouldn't get too close to them. Though they may speak truth, the conclusions they come to about the truth, and which direct their actions, are wrong. And their end will be like that of Caiaphas, who, though he prophesied truth about the One who had to perish in order that many should live, never understood or accepted that truth, and so he is dead, while the Lamb of God, whose death he orchestrated, lives!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Jesusu Exercised (All) Authority
What Did Jesus Do?
...he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The man who had died came out...
John 11.43-44
Except at his trial, the ministry of Jesus was all about his exercise of authority. This is not surprising when we recall that all authority has been given to him (Matthew 28.18). Yet, when it came down to sparing himself the agony of the cross, Christ refused to use his authority to call upon the Father to send down legions of angels to deliver him (see Matthew 26.53).
But the Lord never hesitated to exercise his authority for the sake of others. Jesus used his authority to order demons and unclean spirits to come out of their hosts and stop afflicting them (see Mark 1.26). Indeed, Christ's very teaching was so brimming with authority it astounded people (Mark 1.27-28). But Jesus had authority over more than thi8ngs of the spirit.
The Lord's authority extended to dread skin diseases (see Matthew 8.1-3), paralysis (Matthew 8.5-13), fevers (Matthew 8.14-15), blindness (Matthew 9.27-30), and all manner of illness and infirmity (Matthew 8.16), so that the words of the prophet Isaiah were fulfilled (see Isaiah 53.4). Even so, the authority of Jesus was not limited to the physical and spiritual maladies suffered by people.
The raging elements were obedient to Jesus (see Mark 4.35-39). All nature bows to the commands of the Lord. A fig tree so foolish as to bear no figs when the Lord was hungry had no choice but to submit to his authority when Jesus declared that no one would ever again eat fruit from the tree (Mark 11. 12-14, 20-21). If necessary, Jesus had authority even to make stones cry out (Luke 19.40).
And, when the chief priests, scribes, and elders sought to challenge the authority of the Lord, his wisdom left them confounded and speechless (Mark 11.27-33). In truth, the authority of Jesus knew no bounds. Even death it self was subject to the Lord's authority. When death had the temerity to snatch Lazarus, the good friend of the Lord, people never expected to see Lazarus again before the last day (see John 11.24). But even death had to concede that it had no power to resist the authority of Jesus; so when Jesus ordered him to come out, out Lazarus came.
Unless we fail to understand the concept of “all,” we too must acknowledge that Jesus meant exactly what he said to his disciples when he addressed them just prior to ascending back into heaven. And, therefore, in Christ's authority, we have no choice but to go into all the world to make disciples, baptizing in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching all to acknowledge and obey his every word (Matthew 28.18-20).
So it is that, in the name, and under the authority of Jesus, his Church simply cannot fail in its mission. All that the Lord has purposed for his Church will, sooner or later, be accomplished by his saints who exercise his authority.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
...he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The man who had died came out...
John 11.43-44
Except at his trial, the ministry of Jesus was all about his exercise of authority. This is not surprising when we recall that all authority has been given to him (Matthew 28.18). Yet, when it came down to sparing himself the agony of the cross, Christ refused to use his authority to call upon the Father to send down legions of angels to deliver him (see Matthew 26.53).
But the Lord never hesitated to exercise his authority for the sake of others. Jesus used his authority to order demons and unclean spirits to come out of their hosts and stop afflicting them (see Mark 1.26). Indeed, Christ's very teaching was so brimming with authority it astounded people (Mark 1.27-28). But Jesus had authority over more than thi8ngs of the spirit.
The Lord's authority extended to dread skin diseases (see Matthew 8.1-3), paralysis (Matthew 8.5-13), fevers (Matthew 8.14-15), blindness (Matthew 9.27-30), and all manner of illness and infirmity (Matthew 8.16), so that the words of the prophet Isaiah were fulfilled (see Isaiah 53.4). Even so, the authority of Jesus was not limited to the physical and spiritual maladies suffered by people.
The raging elements were obedient to Jesus (see Mark 4.35-39). All nature bows to the commands of the Lord. A fig tree so foolish as to bear no figs when the Lord was hungry had no choice but to submit to his authority when Jesus declared that no one would ever again eat fruit from the tree (Mark 11. 12-14, 20-21). If necessary, Jesus had authority even to make stones cry out (Luke 19.40).
And, when the chief priests, scribes, and elders sought to challenge the authority of the Lord, his wisdom left them confounded and speechless (Mark 11.27-33). In truth, the authority of Jesus knew no bounds. Even death it self was subject to the Lord's authority. When death had the temerity to snatch Lazarus, the good friend of the Lord, people never expected to see Lazarus again before the last day (see John 11.24). But even death had to concede that it had no power to resist the authority of Jesus; so when Jesus ordered him to come out, out Lazarus came.
Unless we fail to understand the concept of “all,” we too must acknowledge that Jesus meant exactly what he said to his disciples when he addressed them just prior to ascending back into heaven. And, therefore, in Christ's authority, we have no choice but to go into all the world to make disciples, baptizing in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching all to acknowledge and obey his every word (Matthew 28.18-20).
So it is that, in the name, and under the authority of Jesus, his Church simply cannot fail in its mission. All that the Lord has purposed for his Church will, sooner or later, be accomplished by his saints who exercise his authority.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Monday, April 25, 2011
Jesus Cared About Bystanders
What Did Jesus Do?
“I said this on account of the people standing around...”
John 11.42
Ever think about how much time we spend standing, or sitting, around not really doing anything, just waiting for something to happen? The light to change. The bell to ring. The line to move. Sometimes, just by standing, or sitting, in a particular place at a particular time, we may see or hear something that we think has nothing to do with us, but may in truth be for our benefit. In fact, Jesus cared about bystanders.
And this is very important, because there are times when a lot of us wonder if everyone else is getting so much more done with their lives than we are. Sometimes, we might even despair that we're just hanging out in the world, standing or sitting around with no good purpose. Well, there's good news for all of us, even those of us who feel like there is simply too much standing around, and not enough doing, in our life. This might be especially important for people to hear when so many have been thrown out of work for months, even years. We too can serve, who stand and wait. For, sometimes, just standing around, being close enough to what is going on to overhear, is enough.
As he stood before the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus had a brief conversation with his Father. First of all, the Lord thanked the Father for hearing his prayer ((John 11.41). Then he acknowledged something all of us need to receive, that it might encourage us in our prayers: “I know that you always hear me.” Have you ever prayed and wondered if anyone is listening? Well, here is assurance, for all who know Christ as their Lord and Savior, that all our prayers are heard. The Father never dozes off. He never turns down the volume. Neither does he ever get too busy with other business. Listening to our prayers is just about his top priority. The truth is, the Father's heart suffers for all the time he sits in silence listening for our prayers while we are doing anything and everything but praying. But that's another subject. For today it is enough to know that he always hears. Even more, it is good to know that he has no problem when people, just standing around as it were, listen in on others' conversations.
The prayerful words Jesus spoke in front of the tomb which held Lazarus were not just so that the Father would know that his Son appreciated his listening heart. It was far more important to Jesus that people in the crowd which had come out from Jerusalem to weep and mourn with Martha and Mary, who were just “standing around,” should overhear his prayer to the Father, “that they may believe.”
Here's the thing, many times we may think we are just standing around idle, when, in fact, the Lord's desire is for someone to overhear our words to him, and to come to believe. And this is where we may be able to redeem some of that time we spend standing or sitting around. Because we can always talk with the Father while we're just standing or sitting there, since we, like Jesus, know he always hears us. But, as we're talking with the Father, you never know who else might overhear our conversation with God, and believe. As it turns out, caring for bystanders is something that Jesus did, which we can and should do too!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“I said this on account of the people standing around...”
John 11.42
Ever think about how much time we spend standing, or sitting, around not really doing anything, just waiting for something to happen? The light to change. The bell to ring. The line to move. Sometimes, just by standing, or sitting, in a particular place at a particular time, we may see or hear something that we think has nothing to do with us, but may in truth be for our benefit. In fact, Jesus cared about bystanders.
And this is very important, because there are times when a lot of us wonder if everyone else is getting so much more done with their lives than we are. Sometimes, we might even despair that we're just hanging out in the world, standing or sitting around with no good purpose. Well, there's good news for all of us, even those of us who feel like there is simply too much standing around, and not enough doing, in our life. This might be especially important for people to hear when so many have been thrown out of work for months, even years. We too can serve, who stand and wait. For, sometimes, just standing around, being close enough to what is going on to overhear, is enough.
As he stood before the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus had a brief conversation with his Father. First of all, the Lord thanked the Father for hearing his prayer ((John 11.41). Then he acknowledged something all of us need to receive, that it might encourage us in our prayers: “I know that you always hear me.” Have you ever prayed and wondered if anyone is listening? Well, here is assurance, for all who know Christ as their Lord and Savior, that all our prayers are heard. The Father never dozes off. He never turns down the volume. Neither does he ever get too busy with other business. Listening to our prayers is just about his top priority. The truth is, the Father's heart suffers for all the time he sits in silence listening for our prayers while we are doing anything and everything but praying. But that's another subject. For today it is enough to know that he always hears. Even more, it is good to know that he has no problem when people, just standing around as it were, listen in on others' conversations.
The prayerful words Jesus spoke in front of the tomb which held Lazarus were not just so that the Father would know that his Son appreciated his listening heart. It was far more important to Jesus that people in the crowd which had come out from Jerusalem to weep and mourn with Martha and Mary, who were just “standing around,” should overhear his prayer to the Father, “that they may believe.”
Here's the thing, many times we may think we are just standing around idle, when, in fact, the Lord's desire is for someone to overhear our words to him, and to come to believe. And this is where we may be able to redeem some of that time we spend standing or sitting around. Because we can always talk with the Father while we're just standing or sitting there, since we, like Jesus, know he always hears us. But, as we're talking with the Father, you never know who else might overhear our conversation with God, and believe. As it turns out, caring for bystanders is something that Jesus did, which we can and should do too!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Risen Jesus Called His Own By Name
What Did Jesus Do?
Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene] ,”Mary.”
She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!”
John 20.16
It was 48 years ago on Easter morning when I first heard John's account of the Resurrection. Young Rev. Doug Smith, Associate Pastor at the Wyckoff Reformed Church, was preaching at the 9:30 service (Rev. “De,” that is Wilbur DeRevere, the Senior Pastor, having done the earlier Sunrise Service). I was ten, sitting up in the balcony of the historic stone church in the center of the town where I grew up in New Jersey.
I really don't remember anything else about the service, or the sermon, but I can still hear Doug Smith reading from John's Gospel. He sure convinced me that Mary was beside herself with grief, and absolutely frantic over what she believed to have been the desecration of the tomb where Jesus had been laid by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and the stealing of the Lord's body. This was a heart-broken woman. I believe the whole congregation was about to burst into tears along with the stricken Magdalene.
But then Rev. Smith got to verse 16, read, “Jesus said to her...” and paused dramatically for a moment. I know I held my breath. It seemed like we, and the grieving woman, hung there for minutes. Then Pastor Doug/Jesus said, “MARY.” I had never heard a name spoken with such tenderness, such warmth, such compassion, such love. “MARY.” My heart started to beat again, for I think it had frozen, along with my breathing. And, I am sure, no one has ever said, “Teacher!” or “Rabboni!” in Aramaic, with more emotion and joy than Doug Smith did with his impersonation of Mary Magdalene.
Ever since then I have been looking forward to the day when the Risen Lord will call to me by name (I get goose pimples just thinking about it!). It's even stuck in my mind, contrary to all the people who talk about how we will instantly recognize Jesus when we first see him, that, among all the glorified saints in heaven, it will take Jesus calling us by name as he greets us before presenting us to the Father, for us know that we have come face to face with our Savior.
I've heard a lot of Easter sermons, and preached a bunch of them myself, but the Easter message that has stuck with me, and has meant the most to me, is that sermon by Doug Smith all those years ago. The cry of disciples on Easter morning is, “He is risen!” But I think a disciple's greatest joy is hearing the Risen One call us by name. That's what Jesus did!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene] ,”Mary.”
She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!”
John 20.16
It was 48 years ago on Easter morning when I first heard John's account of the Resurrection. Young Rev. Doug Smith, Associate Pastor at the Wyckoff Reformed Church, was preaching at the 9:30 service (Rev. “De,” that is Wilbur DeRevere, the Senior Pastor, having done the earlier Sunrise Service). I was ten, sitting up in the balcony of the historic stone church in the center of the town where I grew up in New Jersey.
I really don't remember anything else about the service, or the sermon, but I can still hear Doug Smith reading from John's Gospel. He sure convinced me that Mary was beside herself with grief, and absolutely frantic over what she believed to have been the desecration of the tomb where Jesus had been laid by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and the stealing of the Lord's body. This was a heart-broken woman. I believe the whole congregation was about to burst into tears along with the stricken Magdalene.
But then Rev. Smith got to verse 16, read, “Jesus said to her...” and paused dramatically for a moment. I know I held my breath. It seemed like we, and the grieving woman, hung there for minutes. Then Pastor Doug/Jesus said, “MARY.” I had never heard a name spoken with such tenderness, such warmth, such compassion, such love. “MARY.” My heart started to beat again, for I think it had frozen, along with my breathing. And, I am sure, no one has ever said, “Teacher!” or “Rabboni!” in Aramaic, with more emotion and joy than Doug Smith did with his impersonation of Mary Magdalene.
Ever since then I have been looking forward to the day when the Risen Lord will call to me by name (I get goose pimples just thinking about it!). It's even stuck in my mind, contrary to all the people who talk about how we will instantly recognize Jesus when we first see him, that, among all the glorified saints in heaven, it will take Jesus calling us by name as he greets us before presenting us to the Father, for us know that we have come face to face with our Savior.
I've heard a lot of Easter sermons, and preached a bunch of them myself, but the Easter message that has stuck with me, and has meant the most to me, is that sermon by Doug Smith all those years ago. The cry of disciples on Easter morning is, “He is risen!” But I think a disciple's greatest joy is hearing the Risen One call us by name. That's what Jesus did!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Connected With, And Responded To, The Troubled Spirits Of Those Who Mourned
What Did Jesus Do?
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
John 11.33
There is no one settled opinion as to exactly how Jesus reacted to the unsettling agitation of Mary and the Jews who had followed after, presumably to weep before the tomb which held the body of Lazarus (John 11.29-33). Most acknowledge that the Greek of the New Testament indicates that empathic feelings of grief and sorrow contended with indignant anger, troubling the very spirit of the Lord. Was the anger directed at death for its effrontery in daring to take the life of one of the saints of the LORD? Or was the indignation a response to the hypocritical wailing of the semi-professional mourners who had come out from Jerusalem to Bethany to the house of Lazarus and his sisters? Could it have perhaps even been that the Lord felt exasperation at the failure of Martha and Mary to fully understand that in Jesus, himself the resurrection and the life, those who died would yet live, and that those who lived and believed in him would never die? I believe it is quite likely that the answer is “all of the above,” as the fully divine and fully human Jesus experienced a greater range of emotion and feeling than we can imagine. In any case, it is quite clear that Jesus connected with, and responded to, the troubled spirits of those who mourned that day.
The fully human nature of Jesus felt and shared the grief and sense of loss of the sisters of Lazarus, for the Lord had deeply loved him as a friend (John 11.3). Very soon, the fully human nature of Jesus would be engulfed in its own suffering and sorrow upon the cross for the sins of all those he deeply loved. The fully divine nature of Jesus felt and shared the LORD's anger and indignation over the death of one of his saints, for the Father and the Son were one, especially in their love for humanity. Very soon, the fully divine nature of Jesus would confront and overcome death, and rise up from the grave to the glory of the Father.
The onlookers who recognized how much Jesus loved Lazarus were quite right (John 11.36). And they were quite correct in surmising that Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying (John 11.37). But the people, including Christ's disciples, did not yet understand that he had come, and was about to act, not merely to restore Lazarus to his sisters, but that many of them would come to believe in him as the Son of God come into the world, so that, in believing, they themselves should never die (John 11.25-26). That understanding would remain on the far side of the cross, and for the coming of the Holy Spirit to reveal the whole truth about the breadth and the depth of the love of the Father and the Son for us all.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenminitries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
John 11.33
There is no one settled opinion as to exactly how Jesus reacted to the unsettling agitation of Mary and the Jews who had followed after, presumably to weep before the tomb which held the body of Lazarus (John 11.29-33). Most acknowledge that the Greek of the New Testament indicates that empathic feelings of grief and sorrow contended with indignant anger, troubling the very spirit of the Lord. Was the anger directed at death for its effrontery in daring to take the life of one of the saints of the LORD? Or was the indignation a response to the hypocritical wailing of the semi-professional mourners who had come out from Jerusalem to Bethany to the house of Lazarus and his sisters? Could it have perhaps even been that the Lord felt exasperation at the failure of Martha and Mary to fully understand that in Jesus, himself the resurrection and the life, those who died would yet live, and that those who lived and believed in him would never die? I believe it is quite likely that the answer is “all of the above,” as the fully divine and fully human Jesus experienced a greater range of emotion and feeling than we can imagine. In any case, it is quite clear that Jesus connected with, and responded to, the troubled spirits of those who mourned that day.
The fully human nature of Jesus felt and shared the grief and sense of loss of the sisters of Lazarus, for the Lord had deeply loved him as a friend (John 11.3). Very soon, the fully human nature of Jesus would be engulfed in its own suffering and sorrow upon the cross for the sins of all those he deeply loved. The fully divine nature of Jesus felt and shared the LORD's anger and indignation over the death of one of his saints, for the Father and the Son were one, especially in their love for humanity. Very soon, the fully divine nature of Jesus would confront and overcome death, and rise up from the grave to the glory of the Father.
The onlookers who recognized how much Jesus loved Lazarus were quite right (John 11.36). And they were quite correct in surmising that Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying (John 11.37). But the people, including Christ's disciples, did not yet understand that he had come, and was about to act, not merely to restore Lazarus to his sisters, but that many of them would come to believe in him as the Son of God come into the world, so that, in believing, they themselves should never die (John 11.25-26). That understanding would remain on the far side of the cross, and for the coming of the Holy Spirit to reveal the whole truth about the breadth and the depth of the love of the Father and the Son for us all.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenminitries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Put Flesh On Hope
What Did Jesus Do?
Martha said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection...”
John 11.24-25
While the Messiah remained a hope, and not a reality, to the Jews, the protocols and rituals of grief and mourning, and of consoling the bereaved, were a big deal. So it is not at all surprising that, four days after the death of Lazarus, a crowd had showed up in Bethany to try and comfort Martha and Mary (John 11.17-19). What was a little surprising on that fourth day was the arrival of Jesus (though no one at first could have had any idea just how surprised they would be). Martha and Mary had sent word about their brother's serious illness to their friend from Nazareth in the hope and expectation that he would come quickly and heal Lazarus as he had healed others (John 11.1-3; 11.21). Christ's belated arrival was a surprise because no one who knew him would have ever expected him to be part of a throng of mourners (see Mark 5.35-43 to better understand what little affinity had for those who made mourning something of a profession). But Jesus hadn't come to mourn (though he would weep), but rather to put flesh on the hope of Martha and Mary, and of all God's people.
You see, for hundreds of years Israel had clung to the promise of the coming of the Messiah. While there were a lot different interpretations of just what the Messiah's kingdom would be like, the hope of many was that his coming would bring about the establishment of an eternal peace with God, and the resurrection of the dead. Now hope, even a long-cherished hope, can prove to be rather elusive and remote. Hope in a long-promised, but as yet unrealized, Messianic kingdom was simply not enough for the sisters to cope with the reality, and seeming finality, of death, and both Martha, and then Mary, chided the Lord with their “If only you had been here” statements (John 11.21, 32).
Again, unlike the others, who had come to mourn, and perhaps to console with words of hope in the resurrection, Jesus came to Bethany to put flesh on that hope. When Martha said, “I know there will be a resurrection some day,” Jesus took that hope and put flesh and blood on it by declaring, “I AM the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11.25-26) It matters little what other doctrines we cling to, what creeds we may hold, without believing that Jesus is the resurrection, and that in him we have eternal life, our faith is worthless, and life is, well, hope-less.
Faith is not wishing that dreams will possibly come true some day, but rather here and now the assurance in, the reality of, that which we hope for (see Hebrews 11.1). Martha and Mary would not have empty arms hoping and longing to embrace their departed brother someday, but in and through Jesus would hold the living Lazarus again that very day. The glory of the Father, in and through the Son, would reveal, with the raising of Lazarus, the authority and power Father and Son both possess over death.
Unlike others who seek to comfort those who mourn with hopeful words, we, who believe, share with the bereaved our hope made flesh: Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life. For all who live and believe in Jesus shall never die.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Martha said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection...”
John 11.24-25
While the Messiah remained a hope, and not a reality, to the Jews, the protocols and rituals of grief and mourning, and of consoling the bereaved, were a big deal. So it is not at all surprising that, four days after the death of Lazarus, a crowd had showed up in Bethany to try and comfort Martha and Mary (John 11.17-19). What was a little surprising on that fourth day was the arrival of Jesus (though no one at first could have had any idea just how surprised they would be). Martha and Mary had sent word about their brother's serious illness to their friend from Nazareth in the hope and expectation that he would come quickly and heal Lazarus as he had healed others (John 11.1-3; 11.21). Christ's belated arrival was a surprise because no one who knew him would have ever expected him to be part of a throng of mourners (see Mark 5.35-43 to better understand what little affinity had for those who made mourning something of a profession). But Jesus hadn't come to mourn (though he would weep), but rather to put flesh on the hope of Martha and Mary, and of all God's people.
You see, for hundreds of years Israel had clung to the promise of the coming of the Messiah. While there were a lot different interpretations of just what the Messiah's kingdom would be like, the hope of many was that his coming would bring about the establishment of an eternal peace with God, and the resurrection of the dead. Now hope, even a long-cherished hope, can prove to be rather elusive and remote. Hope in a long-promised, but as yet unrealized, Messianic kingdom was simply not enough for the sisters to cope with the reality, and seeming finality, of death, and both Martha, and then Mary, chided the Lord with their “If only you had been here” statements (John 11.21, 32).
Again, unlike the others, who had come to mourn, and perhaps to console with words of hope in the resurrection, Jesus came to Bethany to put flesh on that hope. When Martha said, “I know there will be a resurrection some day,” Jesus took that hope and put flesh and blood on it by declaring, “I AM the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11.25-26) It matters little what other doctrines we cling to, what creeds we may hold, without believing that Jesus is the resurrection, and that in him we have eternal life, our faith is worthless, and life is, well, hope-less.
Faith is not wishing that dreams will possibly come true some day, but rather here and now the assurance in, the reality of, that which we hope for (see Hebrews 11.1). Martha and Mary would not have empty arms hoping and longing to embrace their departed brother someday, but in and through Jesus would hold the living Lazarus again that very day. The glory of the Father, in and through the Son, would reveal, with the raising of Lazarus, the authority and power Father and Son both possess over death.
Unlike others who seek to comfort those who mourn with hopeful words, we, who believe, share with the bereaved our hope made flesh: Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life. For all who live and believe in Jesus shall never die.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, April 22, 2011
Jesus Awoke The Dead, So That The Living Could Find Rest In Him
What Did Jesus Do?
“Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad...
so that you may believe.”
John 11.14-15
Return to Judea, with all the attendant danger, just to awaken someone who is sleeping? Surely not, Jesus, let him wake up on his own. But the dead cannot rouse themselves, and Lazarus was dead. Yet the death of this beloved friend was, for Jesus, cause for rejoicing. Can any of us fault the disciples for having so much trouble understanding the Lord? Jesus was always doing or saying something unexpected, even inexplicable, and often downright irrational. It was not merely their enmity for Christ that prompted the priests and the Pharisees to declare that he was possessed or out of his mind. Jesus regularly confounded even his closest friends.
Yet, if Lazarus was dead, why disturb him? Surely Jesus would respect Martha and Mary enough not to make a spectacle of them in the midst of their mourning for their departed brother. But it was for the sake of the two sisters, and of all his disciples, that Jesus had waited until Lazarus was dead before starting out for Bethany. For it would be through awakening the dead Lazarus that Jesus would lead the others to find rest, eternal rest, by believing in him.
Jesus clearly knew that his disciples were simply not getting what he was saying with his repeated comments about his coming death, and being raised after three days (see Matthew 16.21-28, Mark 8.31-33; Matthew 17.22-23, Mark 9.31-32, Luke 9.44-45). Even Peter, who had, by the Father, been made to know Jesus as the Christ, vehemently opposed the Lord's predictions of suffering and death, and resurrection. Knowing Jesus was the Son of God, and believing in his power over death were two different things. But, with the death of Lazarus, there was an opportunity to increase the faith of the disciples by showing them the Lord's authority over death itself, that they might withstand the coming ordeal of the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
Still, the disciples could not imagine the trip to Bethany, and the return to Judea, as anything other than an appointment with death (John 11.16). The comment of Thomas says something about the incredible love and friendship of the twelve for the Lord, even as it reveals how much their faith still needed to grow. Willing to go with Jesus, even if it meant courting death, the disciples would soon see, with the awakening of the “sleeping” Lazarus, that Christ was the Lord of life. Apart from believing in Jesus there is no rest for the living, neither is there any peace for the dead. But all who die with Christ live in and through him forever! (see Romans 6.1-11)
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad...
so that you may believe.”
John 11.14-15
Return to Judea, with all the attendant danger, just to awaken someone who is sleeping? Surely not, Jesus, let him wake up on his own. But the dead cannot rouse themselves, and Lazarus was dead. Yet the death of this beloved friend was, for Jesus, cause for rejoicing. Can any of us fault the disciples for having so much trouble understanding the Lord? Jesus was always doing or saying something unexpected, even inexplicable, and often downright irrational. It was not merely their enmity for Christ that prompted the priests and the Pharisees to declare that he was possessed or out of his mind. Jesus regularly confounded even his closest friends.
Yet, if Lazarus was dead, why disturb him? Surely Jesus would respect Martha and Mary enough not to make a spectacle of them in the midst of their mourning for their departed brother. But it was for the sake of the two sisters, and of all his disciples, that Jesus had waited until Lazarus was dead before starting out for Bethany. For it would be through awakening the dead Lazarus that Jesus would lead the others to find rest, eternal rest, by believing in him.
Jesus clearly knew that his disciples were simply not getting what he was saying with his repeated comments about his coming death, and being raised after three days (see Matthew 16.21-28, Mark 8.31-33; Matthew 17.22-23, Mark 9.31-32, Luke 9.44-45). Even Peter, who had, by the Father, been made to know Jesus as the Christ, vehemently opposed the Lord's predictions of suffering and death, and resurrection. Knowing Jesus was the Son of God, and believing in his power over death were two different things. But, with the death of Lazarus, there was an opportunity to increase the faith of the disciples by showing them the Lord's authority over death itself, that they might withstand the coming ordeal of the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
Still, the disciples could not imagine the trip to Bethany, and the return to Judea, as anything other than an appointment with death (John 11.16). The comment of Thomas says something about the incredible love and friendship of the twelve for the Lord, even as it reveals how much their faith still needed to grow. Willing to go with Jesus, even if it meant courting death, the disciples would soon see, with the awakening of the “sleeping” Lazarus, that Christ was the Lord of life. Apart from believing in Jesus there is no rest for the living, neither is there any peace for the dead. But all who die with Christ live in and through him forever! (see Romans 6.1-11)
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Walked In His Own Light
What Did Jesus Do?
“If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble,
because he see the light of this world.”
John 11.9
For the sake of love, and for the glory of the Father (see WDJD 4/21/11), Jesus tarried two days after word had reached him that his friend Lazarus was seriously ill (John 11.6). Then he declared that it was time to return to Judea (John 11.7) But such a mission was fraught with peril, for there were no few people in Jerusalem who meant to do the Lord deadly harm (see John 10.31), and the mere mention of heading back to Judea filled the disciples with alarm (John 11.8).
Yet Jesus showed not the least apprehension, knowing that as long as the work of the Father remained to be done, there would be more than ample light to walk safely in Judea, with no fear of stumbling or falling (John 11.9). Having already revealed himself the Light of the World (John 8.12), Jesus could confidently prepare to go to Bethany, for, even as he responded to the summons of Martha and Mary, he walked in his own light as he went about the works of the Father.
While his disciples feared the darkness, or, what people under the influence of the power of darkness, could do, Jesus had no such fear. Full of light, Jesus wanted to encourage his followers to recognize the light that was in him, to receive the light themselves, and to walk confidently in his light as long as he was with them, with no anxiety about stumbling. The “twelve hours” of the “day” spanned all the earthly days of Jesus, and extend even to eternity future for all who walk in the knowledge and power of the Resurrection. All who walk in the “day,” who see and know Jesus, the light of this world, do not stumble. Only those who walk in darkness, in the “night” of ignorance or rejection of Jesus, stumble, because the light, his light, is not in them (John 11.10).
Thus it is that all who follow Jesus can tread even the darkest paths boldly, confidently, even the “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23.4). They need “fear no evil” because his light comforts and protects them, even as a shepherd's rod and staff protect his sheep. Christ's very words are as a lamp shining before us, a light showing us where to step, safely and securely, all along the path of life (see Psalm 119.105). There is no stumbling, except as we turn away from Jesus, the light.
The problem with the world, and, let us be honest with ourselves, with us, is a preference for darkness over light (see John 3.19). This preference to abide and walk in darkness is the power of sin at work in the world, and in us. Our one and only hope is to look to Jesus, and to pray for the Holy Spirit to overcome the sin and darkness within us. This prayer we can and must pray in confidence, for we know that, though the darkness contends against the light, the darkness can never overcome it (John 1.5). Indeed, Christ came into the world so that all who believe in him should step out of the darkness forever, and into his light (John 12.46).
We, who abide in the power and truth of the Resurrection, do not have to grieve, as the first disciples did, the dying of the Light, for we have seen its victory over darkness, sin, and death! Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is the shining forth of the Glory of the Father in and through the Son, in whose light we walk, even as Jesus himself walked in his own light.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble,
because he see the light of this world.”
John 11.9
For the sake of love, and for the glory of the Father (see WDJD 4/21/11), Jesus tarried two days after word had reached him that his friend Lazarus was seriously ill (John 11.6). Then he declared that it was time to return to Judea (John 11.7) But such a mission was fraught with peril, for there were no few people in Jerusalem who meant to do the Lord deadly harm (see John 10.31), and the mere mention of heading back to Judea filled the disciples with alarm (John 11.8).
Yet Jesus showed not the least apprehension, knowing that as long as the work of the Father remained to be done, there would be more than ample light to walk safely in Judea, with no fear of stumbling or falling (John 11.9). Having already revealed himself the Light of the World (John 8.12), Jesus could confidently prepare to go to Bethany, for, even as he responded to the summons of Martha and Mary, he walked in his own light as he went about the works of the Father.
While his disciples feared the darkness, or, what people under the influence of the power of darkness, could do, Jesus had no such fear. Full of light, Jesus wanted to encourage his followers to recognize the light that was in him, to receive the light themselves, and to walk confidently in his light as long as he was with them, with no anxiety about stumbling. The “twelve hours” of the “day” spanned all the earthly days of Jesus, and extend even to eternity future for all who walk in the knowledge and power of the Resurrection. All who walk in the “day,” who see and know Jesus, the light of this world, do not stumble. Only those who walk in darkness, in the “night” of ignorance or rejection of Jesus, stumble, because the light, his light, is not in them (John 11.10).
Thus it is that all who follow Jesus can tread even the darkest paths boldly, confidently, even the “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23.4). They need “fear no evil” because his light comforts and protects them, even as a shepherd's rod and staff protect his sheep. Christ's very words are as a lamp shining before us, a light showing us where to step, safely and securely, all along the path of life (see Psalm 119.105). There is no stumbling, except as we turn away from Jesus, the light.
The problem with the world, and, let us be honest with ourselves, with us, is a preference for darkness over light (see John 3.19). This preference to abide and walk in darkness is the power of sin at work in the world, and in us. Our one and only hope is to look to Jesus, and to pray for the Holy Spirit to overcome the sin and darkness within us. This prayer we can and must pray in confidence, for we know that, though the darkness contends against the light, the darkness can never overcome it (John 1.5). Indeed, Christ came into the world so that all who believe in him should step out of the darkness forever, and into his light (John 12.46).
We, who abide in the power and truth of the Resurrection, do not have to grieve, as the first disciples did, the dying of the Light, for we have seen its victory over darkness, sin, and death! Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is the shining forth of the Glory of the Father in and through the Son, in whose light we walk, even as Jesus himself walked in his own light.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Spent All, But He Risked Nothing
What Did Jesus Do?
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”
Luke 23.46
I imagine that, at first glance, some people might take exception to my assertion that Jesus risked nothing. But I believe it. Don't get me wrong, the Lord put everything on the line for us, he held nothing back. Christ's suffering is beyond comprehension. His sacrifice immeasurable; truly, he gave up everything for our sake, and so that the will of the Father be fulfilled. But nothing at all was left to chance. The Lord's faith in the Father was absolute. When Jesus committed his spirit into the hands of his Father he was not thinking, “I sure hope this works!” The outcome was never in doubt. The Lord knew that the life he laid down he would take up again (John 10.17-18). Yes, Jesus had faith to be so bold and daring as to still amaze the world. Yet, with the Incarnation Jesus spent all, but he risked nothing.
Risk is involved only when there is some question about the outcome. A thirteen-year-old boy asking a girl on a date for the first time takes a risk (She could shoot him down or, worse, say “Yes!”). People boarding a plane take a risk (You never know when those air traffic controllers are going to take a nap.). Investors take risks with their money every day (As opposed to investment advisers, who take risks with other people's money.). We all take risks, most of them comparatively small, though, on occasion, some of them can be pretty huge. But Jesus, no, he risked nothing.
When he fed the multitude with a few loaves and fish the Lord did not say, “Let's give this a try.” When he stepped on to the waters of Galilee Jesus wasn't wondering if he could walk across the sea. When he walked towards Golgotha, bearing the weight of the cross upon which he would be crucified Christ was not wondering, “Well, here goes nothing!” When he hung in agony on the cross, and make no mistake, his anguish and pain were very real, the thought, “Hmm, maybe I do need to save myself” never entered Christ's mind. The torment was incredible and beyond human endurance, and we must remember that Jesus was fully human. Each minute of suffering must have seemed like an hour. But I believe that the Lord's cry of anguish (see Mark 15.34) was less an expression of doubt and more a cry for mercy. For, you can be sure of this, Jesus risked nothing.
Or do you think that before the Incarnation the Father called Jesus in to discuss his plans? “Son, I have an idea about how we might save my people. It's risky, but I think it should work. I am going to ask you to go down to earth, but don't worry, according to my calculations there is a strong probability that you'll make it back to heaven.” That sounds absurd, doesn't it? Believe me, Jesus risked nothing.
And this has huge implications for us. You see, faith is not a risk. But it is costly. Jesus promised that his followers would each have to bear their own cross. It still takes boldness and daring to talk the talk and walk the walk of faith. But it is no more risky for you or me to trust our lives to the Father than it was for the Son to do so. The thing is, there is so much that we encounter every day that involves risk of some degree, that most of us look at a life of faith as, how should I put this, chancy. We consider our several courses of action, and, time and again, weighing what we consider the risks, play it safe. I'm not saying we should ignore the cost, the Lord clearly warned those who would be his disciples that they should carefully weigh the cost (Luke 14.25-33) of following him. But this was not at all a suggestion that the way of discipleship is a path of uncertain outcome. In the end it comes down to whether or not we believe that what we believe is true or not. If we believe it is true, then faith will be costly, but it is not the least bit risky. I believe the Father is still looking for sons and daughters who trust him enough to spend all while risking nothing. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”
Luke 23.46
I imagine that, at first glance, some people might take exception to my assertion that Jesus risked nothing. But I believe it. Don't get me wrong, the Lord put everything on the line for us, he held nothing back. Christ's suffering is beyond comprehension. His sacrifice immeasurable; truly, he gave up everything for our sake, and so that the will of the Father be fulfilled. But nothing at all was left to chance. The Lord's faith in the Father was absolute. When Jesus committed his spirit into the hands of his Father he was not thinking, “I sure hope this works!” The outcome was never in doubt. The Lord knew that the life he laid down he would take up again (John 10.17-18). Yes, Jesus had faith to be so bold and daring as to still amaze the world. Yet, with the Incarnation Jesus spent all, but he risked nothing.
Risk is involved only when there is some question about the outcome. A thirteen-year-old boy asking a girl on a date for the first time takes a risk (She could shoot him down or, worse, say “Yes!”). People boarding a plane take a risk (You never know when those air traffic controllers are going to take a nap.). Investors take risks with their money every day (As opposed to investment advisers, who take risks with other people's money.). We all take risks, most of them comparatively small, though, on occasion, some of them can be pretty huge. But Jesus, no, he risked nothing.
When he fed the multitude with a few loaves and fish the Lord did not say, “Let's give this a try.” When he stepped on to the waters of Galilee Jesus wasn't wondering if he could walk across the sea. When he walked towards Golgotha, bearing the weight of the cross upon which he would be crucified Christ was not wondering, “Well, here goes nothing!” When he hung in agony on the cross, and make no mistake, his anguish and pain were very real, the thought, “Hmm, maybe I do need to save myself” never entered Christ's mind. The torment was incredible and beyond human endurance, and we must remember that Jesus was fully human. Each minute of suffering must have seemed like an hour. But I believe that the Lord's cry of anguish (see Mark 15.34) was less an expression of doubt and more a cry for mercy. For, you can be sure of this, Jesus risked nothing.
Or do you think that before the Incarnation the Father called Jesus in to discuss his plans? “Son, I have an idea about how we might save my people. It's risky, but I think it should work. I am going to ask you to go down to earth, but don't worry, according to my calculations there is a strong probability that you'll make it back to heaven.” That sounds absurd, doesn't it? Believe me, Jesus risked nothing.
And this has huge implications for us. You see, faith is not a risk. But it is costly. Jesus promised that his followers would each have to bear their own cross. It still takes boldness and daring to talk the talk and walk the walk of faith. But it is no more risky for you or me to trust our lives to the Father than it was for the Son to do so. The thing is, there is so much that we encounter every day that involves risk of some degree, that most of us look at a life of faith as, how should I put this, chancy. We consider our several courses of action, and, time and again, weighing what we consider the risks, play it safe. I'm not saying we should ignore the cost, the Lord clearly warned those who would be his disciples that they should carefully weigh the cost (Luke 14.25-33) of following him. But this was not at all a suggestion that the way of discipleship is a path of uncertain outcome. In the end it comes down to whether or not we believe that what we believe is true or not. If we believe it is true, then faith will be costly, but it is not the least bit risky. I believe the Father is still looking for sons and daughters who trust him enough to spend all while risking nothing. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Jesus Loved the Father, and Loved His Friends
What Did Jesus Do?
“Now a certain man was ill...”
John 11.1
Dramatic actors often approach a scene by asking the question “What's my motivation? Why should I say one thing as opposed to saying something else? Why should I act one way rather than in another way?” What they are searching for is the answer to what makes their character “tick,” as they say. The answer is not hard to find when we are considering the Lord—he was motivated by love. When the brother of Mary and Martha became ill, they simply sent word that “he” whom the Lord loved was sick (John 11.3), because they knew that love motivated Jesus. Jesus loved the Father, and Jesus loved his friends.
Mary too was motivated by love, as is well remembered in the story of her anointing the Lord with expensive ointment made from pure nard (see John 12.1-8). The friendship of the four, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus must have been something very special to be so recorded in the Bible. It was because of the confidence they had in the love of the Lord that Mary and Martha sent for him when their brother suffered from some unnamed mortal affliction. So, what would Jesus do for love? Mary and Martha were confident that Jesus would hurry to Bethany and save their brother Lazarus.
But Jesus knew that, regardless of how serious the condition of Lazarus appeared to be, it was not going to lead to death, but to the glory of God (John 11.4). This is not something that should surprise us, for everything Jesus did and said was for the glory of God. The Son's love for the Father was such that he could not conceive of, much less do, anything other than that which would bring the Father glory. It is one thing for us to know this on this side of the eleventh chapter of John, and on this side of the Cross. But for Mary and Martha, all that mattered was their beloved brother's life. How love, life, and the glory of God all came together in Jesus was beyond anyone's comprehension at that time. For that matter, none of us fully comprehend all there is to know about the person and work of Jesus, at best we now can know only in part (see 1Corinthians 13.12).
Because Jesus loved his friends so, his words and his actions were intended to bring them to a place where they would believe, and, believing, give glory to the Father. This meant that there would be times when the disciples would have to face the problem of feeding a multitude (John 6.1-14), or confront tempests (John 6.16-21), or ponder what Jesus meant when he said that they would feed on his flesh and drink his blood (John 6.53-58), or learn that blindness did not have to be the result of anyone's sin (John 9.3-5). Mary and Martha were about to experience the most bitter loss in their life, yet it would result in their learning that Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11.25), and in their seeing the glory of God in and through the raising of their brother from the dead by the power of love. For the love of the Father, and for his friends, Jesus was ultimately willing to feel the sting of death itself, so that his Father would be glorified in and through the resurrection, and that his beloved friends should not have to fear death, but look forward to eternal life.
But, having examined what motivated Jesus, we need to ask ourselves what is our motivation? What motivates us each day, guides and directs our words and our deeds? If we truly are his disciples then his motivation should be our motivation. In fact, the Lord declared that love would be the tell-tale sign of a disciple (see John 13.35); and this “new commandment” was itself an outgrowth of the two “great” commandments to love God and one's neighbor with all one's being (Deuteronomy 6.4-5; Leviticus 19.18; Matthew 22.37-40). Love the Father and love one another—that's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
Ps 37.4
“Now a certain man was ill...”
John 11.1
Dramatic actors often approach a scene by asking the question “What's my motivation? Why should I say one thing as opposed to saying something else? Why should I act one way rather than in another way?” What they are searching for is the answer to what makes their character “tick,” as they say. The answer is not hard to find when we are considering the Lord—he was motivated by love. When the brother of Mary and Martha became ill, they simply sent word that “he” whom the Lord loved was sick (John 11.3), because they knew that love motivated Jesus. Jesus loved the Father, and Jesus loved his friends.
Mary too was motivated by love, as is well remembered in the story of her anointing the Lord with expensive ointment made from pure nard (see John 12.1-8). The friendship of the four, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus must have been something very special to be so recorded in the Bible. It was because of the confidence they had in the love of the Lord that Mary and Martha sent for him when their brother suffered from some unnamed mortal affliction. So, what would Jesus do for love? Mary and Martha were confident that Jesus would hurry to Bethany and save their brother Lazarus.
But Jesus knew that, regardless of how serious the condition of Lazarus appeared to be, it was not going to lead to death, but to the glory of God (John 11.4). This is not something that should surprise us, for everything Jesus did and said was for the glory of God. The Son's love for the Father was such that he could not conceive of, much less do, anything other than that which would bring the Father glory. It is one thing for us to know this on this side of the eleventh chapter of John, and on this side of the Cross. But for Mary and Martha, all that mattered was their beloved brother's life. How love, life, and the glory of God all came together in Jesus was beyond anyone's comprehension at that time. For that matter, none of us fully comprehend all there is to know about the person and work of Jesus, at best we now can know only in part (see 1Corinthians 13.12).
Because Jesus loved his friends so, his words and his actions were intended to bring them to a place where they would believe, and, believing, give glory to the Father. This meant that there would be times when the disciples would have to face the problem of feeding a multitude (John 6.1-14), or confront tempests (John 6.16-21), or ponder what Jesus meant when he said that they would feed on his flesh and drink his blood (John 6.53-58), or learn that blindness did not have to be the result of anyone's sin (John 9.3-5). Mary and Martha were about to experience the most bitter loss in their life, yet it would result in their learning that Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11.25), and in their seeing the glory of God in and through the raising of their brother from the dead by the power of love. For the love of the Father, and for his friends, Jesus was ultimately willing to feel the sting of death itself, so that his Father would be glorified in and through the resurrection, and that his beloved friends should not have to fear death, but look forward to eternal life.
But, having examined what motivated Jesus, we need to ask ourselves what is our motivation? What motivates us each day, guides and directs our words and our deeds? If we truly are his disciples then his motivation should be our motivation. In fact, the Lord declared that love would be the tell-tale sign of a disciple (see John 13.35); and this “new commandment” was itself an outgrowth of the two “great” commandments to love God and one's neighbor with all one's being (Deuteronomy 6.4-5; Leviticus 19.18; Matthew 22.37-40). Love the Father and love one another—that's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
Ps 37.4
Friday, April 15, 2011
Jjesus Lived Up To The "Hype" And Became Our Hope
What Did Jesus Do?
“...everything that John [the Baptist] said about this man was true.”
John 10.41
I met my good friend Steve for lunch yesterday. While we waited for someone else who was to join us we perused the menu. My eyes wandered down to the list of sandwiches where I saw they had Reubens. I like Reuben sandwiches, good Reuben sandwiches that live up to all the hype in the menu's description: “succulent, lean corned beef piled high, a layer of tangy sauerkraut, topped with aged Swiss cheese and our delicious Russian dressing, all served on scrumptious grilled dark rye bread.” I remarked that the Cracker Barrel (where we met for lunch) made a pretty good Reuben, that came pretty close to living up to expectations. A month ago I had a Reuben at Fatz Cafe that was a real disappointment. As I reflected on my history of taste buds satisfied and disappointed I declared, “You know the old Howard Johnson's Restaurants made the best Reubens.” To which Steve replied, “Yes! They were the best. Are there any Howard Johnson's anymore?” The answer to that very important question is, “Maybe.” Checking on the web I found a posting from January 22, 2007 which reported that at that time there were only three Hojos left, and in fact they had nothing to do with the Howard Johnson's corporate enterprise anymore, which now only operates motels (Sorry, Steve).
My musing about Reubens, and tale of disappointment at Fatz prompted Steve to share about his esteem for Philly Cheesesteaks. One can have a myriad of different experiences, most of them bitter let-downs, when sampling the many sandwiches that claim to be Philly Cheesesteaks. I started laughing, and Steve asked what was so funny, about him so often having to settle for something called a Philly Cheesteak that was nothing remotely like a Philly Cheesesteak. I couldn't help but laugh because just last week I past a sign at a little country convenience store proudly proclaiming on the whiteboard out front “Best Philly Cheesesteaks in McDowell County,” about five miles from our home out here in the Western North Carolina mountains. What was so funny was that the owner of the store is not likely to have ever been within ten miles of a real Philly Cheesteak sandwich, but since the competition over best Philly Cheesesteak in McDowell County is not all that intense, he may not have been over-hyping his creation.
You may be wondering what all this rambling has to do with Jesus, and I don't blame you. By the end of the last paragraph I was starting to lose interest myself. But here's the thing, the world is full of Reubens, and Philly Cheesteaks, and the next Mickey Mantles that all fall far short of their hype. Many of the sandwiches might not be all that bad, but they simply are nowhere near as good as their claims and descriptions. And there have been some pretty good ball players, who have had nice careers, but never come close to the early assessment that they would be the next Mantle (the late Bobby Murcer, for one, comes to mind). Most of us have come to be suspicious about all the hype we hear every day. And with good reason.
Some two millenia ago the people of Israel had been hearing about the coming Messiah for generations. No few hopes and expectations had been dashed and disappointed along the way between the reign of King David and the time of Herod. Many still looked anxiously for the coming of the Christ, which had been predicted in Scripture and foretold by the prophets. Many others had become somewhat doubtful that the prophecies would ever be fulfilled, while still others had come to believe in what amounted to a lot of baseless hype about the Messiah. Into the midst of all the hope and hype about the coming of God's Anointed One stepped John the Baptist, with his call to “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3.4), and his warning to repent in preparation for the arrival of one “mightier” than he (Matthew 3.11), and his declaration that the one whom he had baptized, and upon whom he had seen the Holy Spirit descend like a dove, was indeed “the Son of God” (John 1.32-34). Many refused to listen to John. There were even people who actually met Jesus, heard his words, witnessed his works, yet refused to believe the testimony of their own ears and eyes.
But many, who had certainly been aided by the Holy Spirit, reflected upon all that John had said, about Jesus, which, I grant you, probably sounded at the time like a lot of hype, and they had to admit that Jesus had done all that John had prophesied that he would. And these followed Jesus when he left Jerusalem for a short time and removed himself to the region where John had originally been baptizing on the far bank of the Jordan (John 10.41). The ones who acknowledged that Jesus had lived up to John's “hype” exchanged the hype for hope, and became believers (John 10.42).
In our world full of jaded people who have been burned many times by hype, we do well not to try and “sell” Jesus with lots of hype, but rather share him, and explain how we have traded in all the world's hype for the certain hope that Jesus has lived up to all that has been said about him. In fact, he has accomplished, and is accomplishing still, far more than we could ever ask for or imagine (see Ephesians 3.20). In sharp contrast to all the disappointing Reubens, and Philly Cheesesteak wanna-bes, and very good but not great Bobby Murcers, Jesus has exceeded all the “hype” and has become our one hope.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“...everything that John [the Baptist] said about this man was true.”
John 10.41
I met my good friend Steve for lunch yesterday. While we waited for someone else who was to join us we perused the menu. My eyes wandered down to the list of sandwiches where I saw they had Reubens. I like Reuben sandwiches, good Reuben sandwiches that live up to all the hype in the menu's description: “succulent, lean corned beef piled high, a layer of tangy sauerkraut, topped with aged Swiss cheese and our delicious Russian dressing, all served on scrumptious grilled dark rye bread.” I remarked that the Cracker Barrel (where we met for lunch) made a pretty good Reuben, that came pretty close to living up to expectations. A month ago I had a Reuben at Fatz Cafe that was a real disappointment. As I reflected on my history of taste buds satisfied and disappointed I declared, “You know the old Howard Johnson's Restaurants made the best Reubens.” To which Steve replied, “Yes! They were the best. Are there any Howard Johnson's anymore?” The answer to that very important question is, “Maybe.” Checking on the web I found a posting from January 22, 2007 which reported that at that time there were only three Hojos left, and in fact they had nothing to do with the Howard Johnson's corporate enterprise anymore, which now only operates motels (Sorry, Steve).
My musing about Reubens, and tale of disappointment at Fatz prompted Steve to share about his esteem for Philly Cheesesteaks. One can have a myriad of different experiences, most of them bitter let-downs, when sampling the many sandwiches that claim to be Philly Cheesesteaks. I started laughing, and Steve asked what was so funny, about him so often having to settle for something called a Philly Cheesteak that was nothing remotely like a Philly Cheesesteak. I couldn't help but laugh because just last week I past a sign at a little country convenience store proudly proclaiming on the whiteboard out front “Best Philly Cheesesteaks in McDowell County,” about five miles from our home out here in the Western North Carolina mountains. What was so funny was that the owner of the store is not likely to have ever been within ten miles of a real Philly Cheesteak sandwich, but since the competition over best Philly Cheesesteak in McDowell County is not all that intense, he may not have been over-hyping his creation.
You may be wondering what all this rambling has to do with Jesus, and I don't blame you. By the end of the last paragraph I was starting to lose interest myself. But here's the thing, the world is full of Reubens, and Philly Cheesteaks, and the next Mickey Mantles that all fall far short of their hype. Many of the sandwiches might not be all that bad, but they simply are nowhere near as good as their claims and descriptions. And there have been some pretty good ball players, who have had nice careers, but never come close to the early assessment that they would be the next Mantle (the late Bobby Murcer, for one, comes to mind). Most of us have come to be suspicious about all the hype we hear every day. And with good reason.
Some two millenia ago the people of Israel had been hearing about the coming Messiah for generations. No few hopes and expectations had been dashed and disappointed along the way between the reign of King David and the time of Herod. Many still looked anxiously for the coming of the Christ, which had been predicted in Scripture and foretold by the prophets. Many others had become somewhat doubtful that the prophecies would ever be fulfilled, while still others had come to believe in what amounted to a lot of baseless hype about the Messiah. Into the midst of all the hope and hype about the coming of God's Anointed One stepped John the Baptist, with his call to “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3.4), and his warning to repent in preparation for the arrival of one “mightier” than he (Matthew 3.11), and his declaration that the one whom he had baptized, and upon whom he had seen the Holy Spirit descend like a dove, was indeed “the Son of God” (John 1.32-34). Many refused to listen to John. There were even people who actually met Jesus, heard his words, witnessed his works, yet refused to believe the testimony of their own ears and eyes.
But many, who had certainly been aided by the Holy Spirit, reflected upon all that John had said, about Jesus, which, I grant you, probably sounded at the time like a lot of hype, and they had to admit that Jesus had done all that John had prophesied that he would. And these followed Jesus when he left Jerusalem for a short time and removed himself to the region where John had originally been baptizing on the far bank of the Jordan (John 10.41). The ones who acknowledged that Jesus had lived up to John's “hype” exchanged the hype for hope, and became believers (John 10.42).
In our world full of jaded people who have been burned many times by hype, we do well not to try and “sell” Jesus with lots of hype, but rather share him, and explain how we have traded in all the world's hype for the certain hope that Jesus has lived up to all that has been said about him. In fact, he has accomplished, and is accomplishing still, far more than we could ever ask for or imagine (see Ephesians 3.20). In sharp contrast to all the disappointing Reubens, and Philly Cheesesteak wanna-bes, and very good but not great Bobby Murcers, Jesus has exceeded all the “hype” and has become our one hope.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Jesus Bound His Works To His Words
What Did Jesus Do?
“...but if I do them [the works of the Father], even though you do not believe me,
believe the works, that you may know...”
John 10.38
Most of us know the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It's a pretty lame excuse for when we admit that we “talk the talk” without “walking the walk.” Well, as Jesus talked, so he walked. The Lord's exhortation was that we should do as he said and did. For, unlike anyone who had ever stood up and spoke in the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus perfectly bound his works, which were the works of the Father, to his words, which were the words of God.
To an audience of people who had all lived lives full of inconsistencies between what they said and what they did, Jesus was simply too much. It wasn't that they took issue with his works (though they disapproved of what they saw as Christ's wanton Sabbath breaking), “It is not for good works that we are going to stone you.” (John 10.34). What sent the crowd scurrying to pick up and hurl rocks at Jesus was his words, specifically the Lord's declaration that he and the Father were one (John 10.30). “Why, that would mean Jesus is making himself out to be God!” But, one can only make oneself out to be something one is not. We are who we are. Jesus didn't make himself out to be God, he was God! If you or I had gone around Jerusalem saying the things Jesus did we would have deserved stoning. What Jesus deserved was to be worshiped and obeyed. But those who talked the talk without walking the walk had only one thing on their mind, to arrest Jesus, and ultimately put him to death (John 10.39).
While it isn't difficult to separate much of what we say from what we do, with Jesus there was a complete and unbreakable joining of word and deed. When someone has a reputation for honesty we say, “He/She is as good as his/her word.” The truth is, the only one who has ever been as good as his word in Jesus. I think that may be why it is still so hard for so many people to accept Christ—he is so totally different from anyone else we've ever known. None of us have ever really known anyone, even the person we look at in the mirror, who has actually been as good as their word. It's tough to believe, to trust, someone who is, well, almost too good to be true. That's the thing about Jesus bonding his works to his word, he was good and true through and through.
What would have been blasphemous, if it had come out of any other mouth, was in fact the absolute and complete truth—Jesus and the Father are one. The works Jesus did were the Father's works. The words Jesus spoke were the Father's words. To some it was blasphemy, to others it was the gospel, the Good News.
Though neither you nor I will ever be able to perfectly bind our works to our words, at least on this side of eternity, we nonetheless have the power to do so within us by virtue of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our biggest challenge is to rely more on him, and less on ourselves. And the key to evangelism is keep the focus on Jesus, and not ourselves. Even as we confess our lack of perfection, we must point to the Lord and invite/encourage others to walk as he walked, and talk as he talked. For Jesus did much the same, without having to confess any lack of perfection, by saying in effect, “Walk as the Father walks, and talk as the Father talks.” And, so that we should see and hear what that walk and talk looked like, Jesus bound his works to his words.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“...but if I do them [the works of the Father], even though you do not believe me,
believe the works, that you may know...”
John 10.38
Most of us know the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It's a pretty lame excuse for when we admit that we “talk the talk” without “walking the walk.” Well, as Jesus talked, so he walked. The Lord's exhortation was that we should do as he said and did. For, unlike anyone who had ever stood up and spoke in the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus perfectly bound his works, which were the works of the Father, to his words, which were the words of God.
To an audience of people who had all lived lives full of inconsistencies between what they said and what they did, Jesus was simply too much. It wasn't that they took issue with his works (though they disapproved of what they saw as Christ's wanton Sabbath breaking), “It is not for good works that we are going to stone you.” (John 10.34). What sent the crowd scurrying to pick up and hurl rocks at Jesus was his words, specifically the Lord's declaration that he and the Father were one (John 10.30). “Why, that would mean Jesus is making himself out to be God!” But, one can only make oneself out to be something one is not. We are who we are. Jesus didn't make himself out to be God, he was God! If you or I had gone around Jerusalem saying the things Jesus did we would have deserved stoning. What Jesus deserved was to be worshiped and obeyed. But those who talked the talk without walking the walk had only one thing on their mind, to arrest Jesus, and ultimately put him to death (John 10.39).
While it isn't difficult to separate much of what we say from what we do, with Jesus there was a complete and unbreakable joining of word and deed. When someone has a reputation for honesty we say, “He/She is as good as his/her word.” The truth is, the only one who has ever been as good as his word in Jesus. I think that may be why it is still so hard for so many people to accept Christ—he is so totally different from anyone else we've ever known. None of us have ever really known anyone, even the person we look at in the mirror, who has actually been as good as their word. It's tough to believe, to trust, someone who is, well, almost too good to be true. That's the thing about Jesus bonding his works to his word, he was good and true through and through.
What would have been blasphemous, if it had come out of any other mouth, was in fact the absolute and complete truth—Jesus and the Father are one. The works Jesus did were the Father's works. The words Jesus spoke were the Father's words. To some it was blasphemy, to others it was the gospel, the Good News.
Though neither you nor I will ever be able to perfectly bind our works to our words, at least on this side of eternity, we nonetheless have the power to do so within us by virtue of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our biggest challenge is to rely more on him, and less on ourselves. And the key to evangelism is keep the focus on Jesus, and not ourselves. Even as we confess our lack of perfection, we must point to the Lord and invite/encourage others to walk as he walked, and talk as he talked. For Jesus did much the same, without having to confess any lack of perfection, by saying in effect, “Walk as the Father walks, and talk as the Father talks.” And, so that we should see and hear what that walk and talk looked like, Jesus bound his works to his words.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Jesus Held tight
What Did Jesus Do?
“...and no one will snatch them [his sheep] out of my hand.”
John 10.28
Funny how you can keep an idiot, or a sinner (they are very similar, you know), in suspense. It's really not that hard. You just have to let their natural blindness, deafness, and mind closing and heart hardening unbelief have free reign in them. The perpetual state of suspense is where most lost sheep reside. Now, some lost sheep are just that, lost now and forever. Fortunately for others, there are the Good Hands People.
No, I'm not talking about Allstate. I know the Allstate Insurance Company likes to style itself as “The Good Hands People,” but I've seen them “drop the ball” a time or two. No offense, compared to some companies Allstate still gets the “Gold Glove Award.” But, I mean who hasn't made a bobble or two along the way? Well, I know of One. Not one error, dropped pass, fumbled hand-off, or turnover. Ever. When the conversation around the Hot Stove League turns to sure hands, there is no doubt about who is at the top of the list—Jesus, he always held tight. And it is a very good thing he did, otherwise there's no telling what would have happened to us. Actually, there is telling, but it would not be a pleasant tale.
The Bible calls lost sinners “sheep.” By way of confession, I must tell you that I rather think of myself, when I recall all my many evasions and machinations to get away from God, as more of a “greased pig.” Holding on to a wooly sheep is child's play compared to hanging on to an oily porker. I mean, when the bacon gets shakin' you wish the hog had a handle! But Jesus held tight to me. I pray that he's got a firm grip on you too.
You see, the Good Shepherd and his Father invented the “Good Hands Treatment.” Recognizing just how shifty and stubborn and wriggly the lost members of the flock were, Father and Son approached the process of getting them back safely into the fold, and then keeping them there, as a matter of singular, and eternal, importance. Speaking of singular, when it comes to the hands of the Father and the Son, to be held by one is to be held by them both, for they are one. I am certainly thankful that they are! Otherwise, as I said above, the tale of our lives, if the Father and Son did not have us secure in their hands forever, would not be pleasant.
One of our principle jobs as disciples is to pray for and witness to the lost, that they might come close enough to the Lord for Jesus to get his hands on them. Once in his arms, there is no escaping from Christ. And thank God for that! Jesus held, and holds, tight.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“...and no one will snatch them [his sheep] out of my hand.”
John 10.28
Funny how you can keep an idiot, or a sinner (they are very similar, you know), in suspense. It's really not that hard. You just have to let their natural blindness, deafness, and mind closing and heart hardening unbelief have free reign in them. The perpetual state of suspense is where most lost sheep reside. Now, some lost sheep are just that, lost now and forever. Fortunately for others, there are the Good Hands People.
No, I'm not talking about Allstate. I know the Allstate Insurance Company likes to style itself as “The Good Hands People,” but I've seen them “drop the ball” a time or two. No offense, compared to some companies Allstate still gets the “Gold Glove Award.” But, I mean who hasn't made a bobble or two along the way? Well, I know of One. Not one error, dropped pass, fumbled hand-off, or turnover. Ever. When the conversation around the Hot Stove League turns to sure hands, there is no doubt about who is at the top of the list—Jesus, he always held tight. And it is a very good thing he did, otherwise there's no telling what would have happened to us. Actually, there is telling, but it would not be a pleasant tale.
The Bible calls lost sinners “sheep.” By way of confession, I must tell you that I rather think of myself, when I recall all my many evasions and machinations to get away from God, as more of a “greased pig.” Holding on to a wooly sheep is child's play compared to hanging on to an oily porker. I mean, when the bacon gets shakin' you wish the hog had a handle! But Jesus held tight to me. I pray that he's got a firm grip on you too.
You see, the Good Shepherd and his Father invented the “Good Hands Treatment.” Recognizing just how shifty and stubborn and wriggly the lost members of the flock were, Father and Son approached the process of getting them back safely into the fold, and then keeping them there, as a matter of singular, and eternal, importance. Speaking of singular, when it comes to the hands of the Father and the Son, to be held by one is to be held by them both, for they are one. I am certainly thankful that they are! Otherwise, as I said above, the tale of our lives, if the Father and Son did not have us secure in their hands forever, would not be pleasant.
One of our principle jobs as disciples is to pray for and witness to the lost, that they might come close enough to the Lord for Jesus to get his hands on them. Once in his arms, there is no escaping from Christ. And thank God for that! Jesus held, and holds, tight.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Monday, April 11, 2011
Jesus Spoke And Acted As One Possessed
What Did Jesus Do?
Many said, “He has a demon, and is insane.”
John 10.20
The words of Jesus were not easily ignored. So, if one wasn't comfortable with dismissing his words, then the only alternative was to dismiss him, which many did by characterizing the Lord as possessed by a demon and quite out of his mind. Before we rush to judgment of those who wanted to label Jesus as crazy, let's remember that even his family said he was mad (see Mark 3.21). Actually, I cannot read the words of Jesus without coming to a very similar conclusion—Jesus did speak as one possessed.
But no demon had a hold of Christ. Rather, the Son was completely under the influence of the Father (John 10.15). And Jesus never uttered so much as one syllable apart from what the Father taught him to speak (John 8.28). Besides his words, there were the works of the Lord. Though Jesus spoke as one possessed, who had ever heard of a demon opening blind eyes (John 10.21)? Truly, Christ was indwelt, not by any evil spirit, but by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads those who are in darkness to light. Demons and evil spirits shun light and lead only to deeper darkness.
So then, if the Lord did speak as one possessed, how did some come to perceive that his words and deeds were of God, while others dismissed him as a lunatic at the mercy of a demon? Well, the only way to hear and receive words spoken in and of the Spirit, is to have ears that hear, and a mind that is opened, by the same Holy Spirit. As Jesus had earlier observed, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8.47; see 1Corinthians 2.14)
Would that the Father would take complete possession of us all, so that no words should pass our lips except those the Father teaches us to speak through the Holy Spirit. The truth is, we should be out of our minds, and possess the mind of Christ (see 1Corinthians 2.16; Philippians 2.5). But, in possessing the mind of Christ, it is in fact we who are possessed, being filled with his Spirit.(see Ezekiel 36.27; 1Corinthians 6.19-20)
Everyone is “possessed,” and under the influence of forces outside of us. We are either controlled by the spirit of the age, or surrendered to the Holy Spirit. If our words and actions don't show that we are “possessed,” that we are Christ's disciples and belong to him, we might well ask what spirit animates us. Everything we say and do should reveal the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit within us. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Many said, “He has a demon, and is insane.”
John 10.20
The words of Jesus were not easily ignored. So, if one wasn't comfortable with dismissing his words, then the only alternative was to dismiss him, which many did by characterizing the Lord as possessed by a demon and quite out of his mind. Before we rush to judgment of those who wanted to label Jesus as crazy, let's remember that even his family said he was mad (see Mark 3.21). Actually, I cannot read the words of Jesus without coming to a very similar conclusion—Jesus did speak as one possessed.
But no demon had a hold of Christ. Rather, the Son was completely under the influence of the Father (John 10.15). And Jesus never uttered so much as one syllable apart from what the Father taught him to speak (John 8.28). Besides his words, there were the works of the Lord. Though Jesus spoke as one possessed, who had ever heard of a demon opening blind eyes (John 10.21)? Truly, Christ was indwelt, not by any evil spirit, but by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads those who are in darkness to light. Demons and evil spirits shun light and lead only to deeper darkness.
So then, if the Lord did speak as one possessed, how did some come to perceive that his words and deeds were of God, while others dismissed him as a lunatic at the mercy of a demon? Well, the only way to hear and receive words spoken in and of the Spirit, is to have ears that hear, and a mind that is opened, by the same Holy Spirit. As Jesus had earlier observed, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8.47; see 1Corinthians 2.14)
Would that the Father would take complete possession of us all, so that no words should pass our lips except those the Father teaches us to speak through the Holy Spirit. The truth is, we should be out of our minds, and possess the mind of Christ (see 1Corinthians 2.16; Philippians 2.5). But, in possessing the mind of Christ, it is in fact we who are possessed, being filled with his Spirit.(see Ezekiel 36.27; 1Corinthians 6.19-20)
Everyone is “possessed,” and under the influence of forces outside of us. We are either controlled by the spirit of the age, or surrendered to the Holy Spirit. If our words and actions don't show that we are “possessed,” that we are Christ's disciples and belong to him, we might well ask what spirit animates us. Everything we say and do should reveal the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit within us. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Jesus Laid Down His LIfe
What Did Jesus Do?
“For this reason the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.”
John 10.17
Who controlled what happened to Jesus? Judas, who betrayed him? The armed posse, which arrested him? The disciples, who deserted him? The Council, which “tried” him? Peter, who denied him? The Roman soldiers who scourged him? The crowd, which cried out “Crucify him”? Pontius Pilate, who washed his hands of him? All of the above? I suppose the real question is, who is responsible for taking the life of the Lord? The answer to that question is, “No one.” No one “took” his life because Jesus laid down his life. The Father loved him for this, and I hope you love the Good Shepherd for this as well, because he did it for you (John 10.11).
Now, it can be a noble thing to lay down one's life for another person, or for a country, or a cause. I still remember when I was about 7 or 8 and first read about Nathan Hale, who was executed as a spy by the British during the War of Independence. Hale's only regret as he marched to the gallows was that he only had one life to lose for his country. Hale was truly a hero and a patriot, who lost his life for the cause of American freedom. And, according to his famous last words, Nathan Hale would have been willing to lose his life over and over again for his nation. But, losing his life, Hale could not take it up again.
Unlike Nathan Hale, and unlike anyone else who has lost their life for a cause, Jesus, did not lose his life, but willingly laid it down, fully intending to take it up again. For, unlike Hale, who died a victim of war at the hands of his captors, the Good Shepherd had authority to both lay down his life, and take it up again (John 10.18b). Christ was nobody's victim, but rather a champion, THE Champion, if you will, of love manifest in forgiveness, grace, and mercy.
Nathan Hale was a volunteer for a dangerous mission, and acted under orders. The Good Shepherd too was a volunteer, and acted in obedience to the charge and orders of the Father (John 10.18c). Some, who are ill-informed, accuse God of extreme cruelty, and hold him responsible for the death of his Son. This is a patent falsehood, for when Jesus said of his life, “No one takes it from me,” he meant no one, including the Father.
I'll grant you, no such conversation is recorded in the Bible, but I believe the Father very likely said something like, “You know, Son, you don't have to do this” to which Jesus replied, “Yes, I do know that, Father. But for the sake of your glory, and even more, for the sake of your love for them, I will willingly lay down my life for your sheep. Then I will take up my life again, and give my life to them.” Then, with tears running down, the Father would have embraced the Son and said, “That's my boy!” Fanciful? I suppose. But I am convinced that something like this dialogue occurred before Jesus came down to earth. I am even more convinced that a very similar tearful embrace awaits all the Good Shepherd's sheep, whom the Father will receive with a “That's my daughter/son.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“For this reason the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.”
John 10.17
Who controlled what happened to Jesus? Judas, who betrayed him? The armed posse, which arrested him? The disciples, who deserted him? The Council, which “tried” him? Peter, who denied him? The Roman soldiers who scourged him? The crowd, which cried out “Crucify him”? Pontius Pilate, who washed his hands of him? All of the above? I suppose the real question is, who is responsible for taking the life of the Lord? The answer to that question is, “No one.” No one “took” his life because Jesus laid down his life. The Father loved him for this, and I hope you love the Good Shepherd for this as well, because he did it for you (John 10.11).
Now, it can be a noble thing to lay down one's life for another person, or for a country, or a cause. I still remember when I was about 7 or 8 and first read about Nathan Hale, who was executed as a spy by the British during the War of Independence. Hale's only regret as he marched to the gallows was that he only had one life to lose for his country. Hale was truly a hero and a patriot, who lost his life for the cause of American freedom. And, according to his famous last words, Nathan Hale would have been willing to lose his life over and over again for his nation. But, losing his life, Hale could not take it up again.
Unlike Nathan Hale, and unlike anyone else who has lost their life for a cause, Jesus, did not lose his life, but willingly laid it down, fully intending to take it up again. For, unlike Hale, who died a victim of war at the hands of his captors, the Good Shepherd had authority to both lay down his life, and take it up again (John 10.18b). Christ was nobody's victim, but rather a champion, THE Champion, if you will, of love manifest in forgiveness, grace, and mercy.
Nathan Hale was a volunteer for a dangerous mission, and acted under orders. The Good Shepherd too was a volunteer, and acted in obedience to the charge and orders of the Father (John 10.18c). Some, who are ill-informed, accuse God of extreme cruelty, and hold him responsible for the death of his Son. This is a patent falsehood, for when Jesus said of his life, “No one takes it from me,” he meant no one, including the Father.
I'll grant you, no such conversation is recorded in the Bible, but I believe the Father very likely said something like, “You know, Son, you don't have to do this” to which Jesus replied, “Yes, I do know that, Father. But for the sake of your glory, and even more, for the sake of your love for them, I will willingly lay down my life for your sheep. Then I will take up my life again, and give my life to them.” Then, with tears running down, the Father would have embraced the Son and said, “That's my boy!” Fanciful? I suppose. But I am convinced that something like this dialogue occurred before Jesus came down to earth. I am even more convinced that a very similar tearful embrace awaits all the Good Shepherd's sheep, whom the Father will receive with a “That's my daughter/son.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Jesus Made One Flock From Different Folds
What Did Jesus Do?
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.
I must bring them also...So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
John 10.16
Here in western North Carolina there is no shortage of churches. I rather imagine that McDowell County, with its population of just over 40,000, is a rather wide section of the “Bible Belt.” If you stopped by the County's Visitor Center and requested a listing of churches in the area you would find that there are between 160-170 (The number being uncertain, as a congregation here last month might well no longer exist, but two may have since popped up in its place.). The large majority of McDowell citizens who refrain from attendance at any one of these many and varied flocks, may conceivably be paralyzed by the surfeit of choices before them. How is a lost sheep to decide what fold to enter? The one thing necessary is the presence and lordship of the Good Shepherd.
Without the Good Shepherd the height of the steeple is of no consequence. The beauty of the stained glass is immaterial. The majesty of the organ indicates nothing. The energy and passion of the praise team counts for naught. The 500 pound King James Bible on the pulpit is of no use. Dozens, hundreds, even a thousand and more cheerful and friendly sheep mean nothing if the Good Shepherd is not present and in charge of the fold.
Opinions differ widely on how the presence and lordship of the Good Shepherd is to be discerned. Certainly, the reading and proclamation of the Gospel, the Word of God, is essential. The celebration of the sacraments of Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and of the Lord's Supper, is indispensable. Discipline, which is to say orderliness, and submission to the authority of the Good Shepherd, should be present, or one might question just who is lord in that place.
I believe there is something else that is critical, something the Good Shepherd himself said about his flock. Unity—“one flock, one shepherd.” When a lost sheep looks at the many folds full of sheep apparently doing their own thing rather than His thing, and quite content to do it quite on their own without any real connection to any other sheep in any other folds, much less any evidence of an organic ans spiritual oneness with the sheep of other folds in the Good Shepherd, the lost can hardly be blamed for refraining from entering in.
The truth is, here in McDowell County, and in every place throughout the world, and at every time until the Lord himself returns, if there is not one Church, then there really aren't any churches. The true sheep of the Good Shepherd have an overriding desire to be both one with the Lord, and with all of his sheep. Strident parochialism, and rampant denominationalism are indications of anything but the unity of the Body of Christ in, through, and under the sole lordship of Jesus. This is not at all to suggest that essential doctrines of the faith which bind the Church as one be abandoned, but rather to caution against a proliferation of what is essentially me-ism or us-ism instead of Him-ism, if you will.
“Divide and conquer” is an age-old strategy, and one you can be certain the devil does not disdain to employ. On the other hand, “united we stand,” is an equally proven strategy for success. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, achieved victory on the cross for the one flock he fashioned from the sheep of many folds, who stand united in him.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.
I must bring them also...So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
John 10.16
Here in western North Carolina there is no shortage of churches. I rather imagine that McDowell County, with its population of just over 40,000, is a rather wide section of the “Bible Belt.” If you stopped by the County's Visitor Center and requested a listing of churches in the area you would find that there are between 160-170 (The number being uncertain, as a congregation here last month might well no longer exist, but two may have since popped up in its place.). The large majority of McDowell citizens who refrain from attendance at any one of these many and varied flocks, may conceivably be paralyzed by the surfeit of choices before them. How is a lost sheep to decide what fold to enter? The one thing necessary is the presence and lordship of the Good Shepherd.
Without the Good Shepherd the height of the steeple is of no consequence. The beauty of the stained glass is immaterial. The majesty of the organ indicates nothing. The energy and passion of the praise team counts for naught. The 500 pound King James Bible on the pulpit is of no use. Dozens, hundreds, even a thousand and more cheerful and friendly sheep mean nothing if the Good Shepherd is not present and in charge of the fold.
Opinions differ widely on how the presence and lordship of the Good Shepherd is to be discerned. Certainly, the reading and proclamation of the Gospel, the Word of God, is essential. The celebration of the sacraments of Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and of the Lord's Supper, is indispensable. Discipline, which is to say orderliness, and submission to the authority of the Good Shepherd, should be present, or one might question just who is lord in that place.
I believe there is something else that is critical, something the Good Shepherd himself said about his flock. Unity—“one flock, one shepherd.” When a lost sheep looks at the many folds full of sheep apparently doing their own thing rather than His thing, and quite content to do it quite on their own without any real connection to any other sheep in any other folds, much less any evidence of an organic ans spiritual oneness with the sheep of other folds in the Good Shepherd, the lost can hardly be blamed for refraining from entering in.
The truth is, here in McDowell County, and in every place throughout the world, and at every time until the Lord himself returns, if there is not one Church, then there really aren't any churches. The true sheep of the Good Shepherd have an overriding desire to be both one with the Lord, and with all of his sheep. Strident parochialism, and rampant denominationalism are indications of anything but the unity of the Body of Christ in, through, and under the sole lordship of Jesus. This is not at all to suggest that essential doctrines of the faith which bind the Church as one be abandoned, but rather to caution against a proliferation of what is essentially me-ism or us-ism instead of Him-ism, if you will.
“Divide and conquer” is an age-old strategy, and one you can be certain the devil does not disdain to employ. On the other hand, “united we stand,” is an equally proven strategy for success. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, achieved victory on the cross for the one flock he fashioned from the sheep of many folds, who stand united in him.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, April 8, 2011
Jesus Proved He Is The Good Shepherd
What Did Jesus Do?
“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10.11
There are shepherds, and then there are shepherds. But there is only one Good Shepherd. Some are in the sheep business simply to earn a living, they are, if you will, hired hands (John 10.12). When sheep are nothing more than a paycheck to you, you are going to draw a line when it comes to caring for them, say, when a hungry wolf comes prowling. Then it's, “Every man, and sheep, for himself!” It is not a big deal to the hired hand to lose someone else's sheep, there are always other flocks you can go and get paid to watch until it gets too costly for you to remain with the sheep. Then it's again, “Good luck, sheep. It's been a blast, see you.” And off the hired hand goes again, and again.
In sharp and utter contrast, the Good Shepherd is with the sheep through thick and thin, night and day, regardless of any and all peril. The difference is, the sheep, well, they are His sheep. Bought and paid for with the Good Shepherd's own blood. That's right, the Good Shepherd didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk, all the way to the cross, where he gave up his life in order that not one of his sheep would be lose theirs (John 10.11). A hired hand cares only for himself, the Good Shepherd cares only for his sheep (John 10.13). The Good Shepherd's sole concern is that his sheep should live, and thrive (John 10.10).
Pastors are often referred to as “shepherds” of their congregation. Though I served three different congregations as pastor, I must admit I was not much of a shepherd. I believe I was much more like a ram. I was, really just a sheep myself. Oh, I love the Good Shepherd, and I'd follow him anywhere. And, using my “horns” I'd butt the sheep from time to time to keep them in line. I'd try and lead them as I sought to follow the Good Shepherd. And, when I felt the flock threatened I'd put my head down and charge down the enemy with my horns in, if you'll excuse the expression, ramming position. But a shepherd? No. If I was I'd still be in one of those pulpits, hanging tough for the sake of the sheep.
In truth, there is one, and only one, Good Shepherd, who really hung tough on the cross of Calvary. The best pastors make absolutely sure that the sheep they look after know this. Even more, they do whatever it takes to make sure the sheep know Him.
Now, here's the thing, there may be only one Good Shepherd, and too many hired hands, but there are a lot of sheep. And, in the end, the Good Shepherd has charged and entrusted every one of his sheep who know, to tell the sheep who don't. He's proved that he is the Good Shepherd. Our job, my fellow sheep, is to spread this, the Good News!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10.11
There are shepherds, and then there are shepherds. But there is only one Good Shepherd. Some are in the sheep business simply to earn a living, they are, if you will, hired hands (John 10.12). When sheep are nothing more than a paycheck to you, you are going to draw a line when it comes to caring for them, say, when a hungry wolf comes prowling. Then it's, “Every man, and sheep, for himself!” It is not a big deal to the hired hand to lose someone else's sheep, there are always other flocks you can go and get paid to watch until it gets too costly for you to remain with the sheep. Then it's again, “Good luck, sheep. It's been a blast, see you.” And off the hired hand goes again, and again.
In sharp and utter contrast, the Good Shepherd is with the sheep through thick and thin, night and day, regardless of any and all peril. The difference is, the sheep, well, they are His sheep. Bought and paid for with the Good Shepherd's own blood. That's right, the Good Shepherd didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk, all the way to the cross, where he gave up his life in order that not one of his sheep would be lose theirs (John 10.11). A hired hand cares only for himself, the Good Shepherd cares only for his sheep (John 10.13). The Good Shepherd's sole concern is that his sheep should live, and thrive (John 10.10).
Pastors are often referred to as “shepherds” of their congregation. Though I served three different congregations as pastor, I must admit I was not much of a shepherd. I believe I was much more like a ram. I was, really just a sheep myself. Oh, I love the Good Shepherd, and I'd follow him anywhere. And, using my “horns” I'd butt the sheep from time to time to keep them in line. I'd try and lead them as I sought to follow the Good Shepherd. And, when I felt the flock threatened I'd put my head down and charge down the enemy with my horns in, if you'll excuse the expression, ramming position. But a shepherd? No. If I was I'd still be in one of those pulpits, hanging tough for the sake of the sheep.
In truth, there is one, and only one, Good Shepherd, who really hung tough on the cross of Calvary. The best pastors make absolutely sure that the sheep they look after know this. Even more, they do whatever it takes to make sure the sheep know Him.
Now, here's the thing, there may be only one Good Shepherd, and too many hired hands, but there are a lot of sheep. And, in the end, the Good Shepherd has charged and entrusted every one of his sheep who know, to tell the sheep who don't. He's proved that he is the Good Shepherd. Our job, my fellow sheep, is to spread this, the Good News!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Jesus Provided Access to the Father's Pasture
What Did Jesus Do?
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved
and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 10.9
Thieves and robbers may have other ways of getting in and out of sheepfolds besides the gate (see John 10.1), but sheep have no other access and egress than to enter and leave by the door. Bar the door and the sheep inside cannot get out to pasture and they'll starve, while the sheep locked out are denied the peace and safety of the fold. There is no doubt about it, the door is the most important part of the fold. Jesus is the door who provided access to the Father's pasture and to the fold.
The Father owns the pasture and constructed the fold, and has charged his Son with the responsibility of both protecting the sheep of his flock (letting them into the fold), and of seeing that the sheep are all well fed (letting them out into the pasture). Coming or going, the Son is critical. Enter by the Son and we're safe little sheep. Apart from the Son we're just mutton waiting to be stewed.
Those sheep locked out we might call “lost,” they are on the outside, and their only hope is to come in to the fold, and the only way, the ONLY way, is through Jesus, the “door” to the fold. Some will try and argue that there are other ways into the fold, but that simply isn't so. The only way to keep the fold safe and secure is to have one point of legitimate entry and exit—the Door.
Now, there are some sheep in the fold who are so happy to be safe in the fold they refuse to go out to pasture. “I'm saved. I'm safe. I am going to stay put.” These are the words of a sheep that will never grow and thrive, but rather will remain malnourished and stunted. Think of a believer who never “chews” on the word, who doesn't “feed” the spirit with prayer, who avoids exercising his or her faith. Yes, they are in the fold, but compared to the sheep who follow the shepherd in and out to the good “pasture” provided by the Father they are poor, sick little things.
The Father's flock that passes confidently in and out through the Door is cared for, nourished, and protected. The sheep under the watch of the Son grow strong, and even bold, which is a rather unusual thing for sheep, but what one would expect of sheep that belong to the Father. Why, the Father's sheep dare even to walk through the valley of the shadow, fearing no evil, for they do not walk alone (see Psalm 23.4)
Well, fellow sheep, in considering Jesus, the Door to salvation, and to active growing faith, we have a duty to all other sheep. The lost sheep outside the fold need to hear from us about the One Way they can enter the fold (We have to witness to them). The sheep in the fold who are reluctant to go out and be pastured so that they may grow strong in their faith need to be encouraged, nudged, pushed, and prodded to move (We have to disciple them). In or out of the fold, it is only through Jesus that we have access to salvation and faith.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved
and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 10.9
Thieves and robbers may have other ways of getting in and out of sheepfolds besides the gate (see John 10.1), but sheep have no other access and egress than to enter and leave by the door. Bar the door and the sheep inside cannot get out to pasture and they'll starve, while the sheep locked out are denied the peace and safety of the fold. There is no doubt about it, the door is the most important part of the fold. Jesus is the door who provided access to the Father's pasture and to the fold.
The Father owns the pasture and constructed the fold, and has charged his Son with the responsibility of both protecting the sheep of his flock (letting them into the fold), and of seeing that the sheep are all well fed (letting them out into the pasture). Coming or going, the Son is critical. Enter by the Son and we're safe little sheep. Apart from the Son we're just mutton waiting to be stewed.
Those sheep locked out we might call “lost,” they are on the outside, and their only hope is to come in to the fold, and the only way, the ONLY way, is through Jesus, the “door” to the fold. Some will try and argue that there are other ways into the fold, but that simply isn't so. The only way to keep the fold safe and secure is to have one point of legitimate entry and exit—the Door.
Now, there are some sheep in the fold who are so happy to be safe in the fold they refuse to go out to pasture. “I'm saved. I'm safe. I am going to stay put.” These are the words of a sheep that will never grow and thrive, but rather will remain malnourished and stunted. Think of a believer who never “chews” on the word, who doesn't “feed” the spirit with prayer, who avoids exercising his or her faith. Yes, they are in the fold, but compared to the sheep who follow the shepherd in and out to the good “pasture” provided by the Father they are poor, sick little things.
The Father's flock that passes confidently in and out through the Door is cared for, nourished, and protected. The sheep under the watch of the Son grow strong, and even bold, which is a rather unusual thing for sheep, but what one would expect of sheep that belong to the Father. Why, the Father's sheep dare even to walk through the valley of the shadow, fearing no evil, for they do not walk alone (see Psalm 23.4)
Well, fellow sheep, in considering Jesus, the Door to salvation, and to active growing faith, we have a duty to all other sheep. The lost sheep outside the fold need to hear from us about the One Way they can enter the fold (We have to witness to them). The sheep in the fold who are reluctant to go out and be pastured so that they may grow strong in their faith need to be encouraged, nudged, pushed, and prodded to move (We have to disciple them). In or out of the fold, it is only through Jesus that we have access to salvation and faith.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Jesus Overcame By Prayer And The Spirit
What Did Jesus Do?
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark,
he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1.35
There is a story about a passenger liner that was sorely battered by a stormy sea. The vessel was pitching and yawing as huge waves washed over the deck in sickening succession. An upset, and extremely seasick passenger, having been told that the crew was doing what it could to weather the tempest, inquired of the captain what else could be done. When the master of the ship answered, “I suggest you pray,” the passenger responded by saying, “Has it come to that?” The implication being that prayer was the recourse of last resort—when all else fails, pray!
Such a mindset is not uncommon, even among believers. Our typical response to challenges, crises, obstacles, needs, problems, troubles is to throw our flesh at them. Jesus overcame all, even sin and death, by prayer and the Spirit. We instead strive by might and main to overcome. Then, when things look all but hopeless, we essentially resign ourselves to prayer after we have tried everything else. A couple of personal examples come to mind.
I will probably never forget the time I was five minutes late to a meeting of a congregational nominating committee charged with identifying potential candidates for the offices of deacon and elder. When I came in apologetically I was met with, “That's O.K. Pastor, we've already finished.” Finished, after five minutes? “Yep, we've recruited all the officers we need!” How did you accomplish this in such record time? “We opened up the Church Directory and just started calling people who aren't currently serving.” That's it? Did you pray? “No, we didn't need to.” Well, not surprisingly, that congregation did not experience the best of times under the far less than inspired, much less called, leadership which had been recruited without any recourse to prayer whatsoever. The Nominating Committee had thrown its flesh into the task, and in the flesh pretty much failed in its mission, with the result that the congregation went into a tailspin that lasted for years. Needless to say, I learned never to show up late for a Nominating Committee meeting after that!
There was the year our community was anticipating a particularly severe winter. The Director of the Department of Social Services invited various community leaders, including a pastor or two, to come together to see how we might deal with what he described as a coming “train wreck” of a situation, when the very limited resources for heating assistance and the like would be exhausted. As we went around the table people one-by-one either shook their heads in despair, or offered a thought or two about this contingency or that might be tried. When my turn came I suggested that the first thing we should do was to pray to the one who controlled the weather and ask him to send a milder winter than had been predicted. That brought forth more than a few chuckles, and the rolling of several eyes. But I was serious. At the end of the meeting the various ideas and suggestions were reviewed ending with a rather derisive, “And Jim has suggested we pray for mild weather!” I certainly don't claim any credit for my prayers for the unexpectedly mild winter which ensued, but I do know who I thanked for the answer to prayer.
None of this is to suggest that I never fall prey to throwing my flesh at a problem. I do so far too often. Nevertheless, I am more and more inclined to prayer these days. And I thank the Son for asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit to forestall my reacting in my flesh, and instead inclining my spirit to pray.
It is alarming how many more invitations to committee meetings one receives than invitations to prayer meetings. It may be me, but it appears that most everyone, including much of the Church, puts much more confidence in the flesh than in prayer and the spirit. But the thing is, Jesus never did anything in the flesh except suffer on the cross. And then he of course prepared his flesh by travailing in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. But, if we take a close look a the gospels, we will see that every word the Lord spoke, every miracle he worked, sprang from prayer and the spirit.
The whole idea behind these WDJDs is to present what Jesus did, and encourage us all to follow his example. I hear many today lamenting the state of the Church in our nation and in many of our communities. Something tells me that too much reliance on the flesh, and too little commitment to prayer, may have a lot to do with this situation. And the only way to begin to reverse the disturbing trend is to, you guessed it, pray and call upon the Spirit. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark,
he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1.35
There is a story about a passenger liner that was sorely battered by a stormy sea. The vessel was pitching and yawing as huge waves washed over the deck in sickening succession. An upset, and extremely seasick passenger, having been told that the crew was doing what it could to weather the tempest, inquired of the captain what else could be done. When the master of the ship answered, “I suggest you pray,” the passenger responded by saying, “Has it come to that?” The implication being that prayer was the recourse of last resort—when all else fails, pray!
Such a mindset is not uncommon, even among believers. Our typical response to challenges, crises, obstacles, needs, problems, troubles is to throw our flesh at them. Jesus overcame all, even sin and death, by prayer and the Spirit. We instead strive by might and main to overcome. Then, when things look all but hopeless, we essentially resign ourselves to prayer after we have tried everything else. A couple of personal examples come to mind.
I will probably never forget the time I was five minutes late to a meeting of a congregational nominating committee charged with identifying potential candidates for the offices of deacon and elder. When I came in apologetically I was met with, “That's O.K. Pastor, we've already finished.” Finished, after five minutes? “Yep, we've recruited all the officers we need!” How did you accomplish this in such record time? “We opened up the Church Directory and just started calling people who aren't currently serving.” That's it? Did you pray? “No, we didn't need to.” Well, not surprisingly, that congregation did not experience the best of times under the far less than inspired, much less called, leadership which had been recruited without any recourse to prayer whatsoever. The Nominating Committee had thrown its flesh into the task, and in the flesh pretty much failed in its mission, with the result that the congregation went into a tailspin that lasted for years. Needless to say, I learned never to show up late for a Nominating Committee meeting after that!
There was the year our community was anticipating a particularly severe winter. The Director of the Department of Social Services invited various community leaders, including a pastor or two, to come together to see how we might deal with what he described as a coming “train wreck” of a situation, when the very limited resources for heating assistance and the like would be exhausted. As we went around the table people one-by-one either shook their heads in despair, or offered a thought or two about this contingency or that might be tried. When my turn came I suggested that the first thing we should do was to pray to the one who controlled the weather and ask him to send a milder winter than had been predicted. That brought forth more than a few chuckles, and the rolling of several eyes. But I was serious. At the end of the meeting the various ideas and suggestions were reviewed ending with a rather derisive, “And Jim has suggested we pray for mild weather!” I certainly don't claim any credit for my prayers for the unexpectedly mild winter which ensued, but I do know who I thanked for the answer to prayer.
None of this is to suggest that I never fall prey to throwing my flesh at a problem. I do so far too often. Nevertheless, I am more and more inclined to prayer these days. And I thank the Son for asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit to forestall my reacting in my flesh, and instead inclining my spirit to pray.
It is alarming how many more invitations to committee meetings one receives than invitations to prayer meetings. It may be me, but it appears that most everyone, including much of the Church, puts much more confidence in the flesh than in prayer and the spirit. But the thing is, Jesus never did anything in the flesh except suffer on the cross. And then he of course prepared his flesh by travailing in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. But, if we take a close look a the gospels, we will see that every word the Lord spoke, every miracle he worked, sprang from prayer and the spirit.
The whole idea behind these WDJDs is to present what Jesus did, and encourage us all to follow his example. I hear many today lamenting the state of the Church in our nation and in many of our communities. Something tells me that too much reliance on the flesh, and too little commitment to prayer, may have a lot to do with this situation. And the only way to begin to reverse the disturbing trend is to, you guessed it, pray and call upon the Spirit. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Calls His Own By Name
What Did Jesus Do?
"He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.”
John 10.2
It's pretty difficult to call a stranger by name. The less cultured will typically employ a simple, “Hey, you!” The somewhat more mannered will choose something like, “Pardon me, I don't believe we've met. I'm Jim, and you are...?” Some churches today ask everyone, long time members and first time visitors, to all wear nice big name tags. The hope is to keep anyone from feeling like a stranger. It's a nice try, but not really the same as truly knowing and recognizing someone so that name tags are not necessary. Not one disciple ever wore a name tag, yet Jesus knew them all. How? Because they were his own. Jesus has never called a stranger, but only sheep who have belonged to him from before the foundations of the earth were laid. The Father gave his flock to the Son in the immeasurable recesses of eternity past. And all the sheep will be with him through the measureless time of eternity future.
The gatekeeper to the fold (the Holy Spirit?) bars the way into the fold to all but the shepherd. When the shepherd comes the gatekeeper opens the door gladly to admit him, that the shepherd may come into his own and call his sheep (John 10.2). And he calls each one of his own by name (John 10.3). Though it may be the very first time a sheep meets him, his sheep all respond and follow, because they know his voice (John 10.4).
In contrast to the sheep who belong to the shepherd, who hear him call them by name, and who follow the familiar beckoning voice, I can think of nothing more chilling than to be dismissed by the shepherd with the words, “I never knew you; depart from me...” (Matthew 7.23). While it may have been a figure of speech that Jesus was using when talking about the sheep and the shepherd (John 10.6), the truth is that only those who have a personal relationship with him, who are on a first name basis with the Lord, if you will, who will be saved.
And, believe it or not, everyone who truly cries out to the Lord in reality does so in response to him having called them first by name. Oh, we might not hear an audible voice hailing us, but the Holy Spirit enables our spirit to hear and respond to the voice of the shepherd when he calls us. The one sermon I can remember from when I was a child has stuck with me because of the dramatic revelation of the risen Lord when he called one of his own by name. But I'll save that story for Easter.
For now, it is good to know and give thanks that Jesus knows us and calls us to himself by name. Knowing the shepherd as we do, it is also good for us to pray for others who have not yet heard his voice, that they too may hear him call their name and follow.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
"He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.”
John 10.2
It's pretty difficult to call a stranger by name. The less cultured will typically employ a simple, “Hey, you!” The somewhat more mannered will choose something like, “Pardon me, I don't believe we've met. I'm Jim, and you are...?” Some churches today ask everyone, long time members and first time visitors, to all wear nice big name tags. The hope is to keep anyone from feeling like a stranger. It's a nice try, but not really the same as truly knowing and recognizing someone so that name tags are not necessary. Not one disciple ever wore a name tag, yet Jesus knew them all. How? Because they were his own. Jesus has never called a stranger, but only sheep who have belonged to him from before the foundations of the earth were laid. The Father gave his flock to the Son in the immeasurable recesses of eternity past. And all the sheep will be with him through the measureless time of eternity future.
The gatekeeper to the fold (the Holy Spirit?) bars the way into the fold to all but the shepherd. When the shepherd comes the gatekeeper opens the door gladly to admit him, that the shepherd may come into his own and call his sheep (John 10.2). And he calls each one of his own by name (John 10.3). Though it may be the very first time a sheep meets him, his sheep all respond and follow, because they know his voice (John 10.4).
In contrast to the sheep who belong to the shepherd, who hear him call them by name, and who follow the familiar beckoning voice, I can think of nothing more chilling than to be dismissed by the shepherd with the words, “I never knew you; depart from me...” (Matthew 7.23). While it may have been a figure of speech that Jesus was using when talking about the sheep and the shepherd (John 10.6), the truth is that only those who have a personal relationship with him, who are on a first name basis with the Lord, if you will, who will be saved.
And, believe it or not, everyone who truly cries out to the Lord in reality does so in response to him having called them first by name. Oh, we might not hear an audible voice hailing us, but the Holy Spirit enables our spirit to hear and respond to the voice of the shepherd when he calls us. The one sermon I can remember from when I was a child has stuck with me because of the dramatic revelation of the risen Lord when he called one of his own by name. But I'll save that story for Easter.
For now, it is good to know and give thanks that Jesus knows us and calls us to himself by name. Knowing the shepherd as we do, it is also good for us to pray for others who have not yet heard his voice, that they too may hear him call their name and follow.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Jesus Judged By Faith
What Did Jesus Do?
“For judgment I came into this world,
that those who do not see may see,
and those who see may become blind.”
John 9.39
Illusionists, like David Copperfield, make a fortune by exploiting the fact that our eyes can play tricks on us. Practitioners of slight of hand count on the maxim “seeing is believing” to convince us that the illusions they perform are real. In truth, it is what they don't let us see that makes us believers! The Father is not an illusionist, the Son never practiced slight of hand, and in the kingdom believing is seeing. Jesus came to judge not by sight or appearances, but by faith.
The man who had been blind from birth was not being evasive when he did not point out Jesus to the Pharisees. When Jesus had stood before him he still suffered from the disability that had afflicted him his whole life, so he could not point him out. Nevertheless, his responses to the questions of the leaders of the synagogue convinced them that he was a disciple of the Lord, and so they evicted the man (John 9.34).
Jesus, when he had learned what had happened to the man, sought him out, and asked his own question, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9.35) Unlike the Pharisees, who wanted to know the whats, wheres, and hows, the Lord's only interest is the who. As in, “Who do you say I am?” All that Jesus cared about was whether or not the man believed. While the Pharisees judged according whether or not people correctly answered their questions, Jesus judged by faith. The man who had been blind, certainly had faith in the one who had bestowed his sight, he simply couldn't identify him because he had not seen him. Immediately as Jesus declared that he again stood before the man, the man confessed, “Lord, I believe.” (John 9.38) Right answer!
There are two kinds of people in the world, those who walk by faith, and those who do not. The first, though they may be blind, see. The latter, though they may have 20-20 vision, are blind. The only eye chart, if you will, in the kingdom, bears the image of Jesus. The faithful look upon his visage and believe he is their Savior. Everyone else looks and says, “I do not know him.” All who believe are, like the man blind from birth, in darkness until Jesus is revealed to them. All who see, but never recognize Christ, are blind.
To the extent that our flesh still controls much of what we feel and think, we are unduly influenced by appearances. The more we walk by faith, the less we'll judge anyone or anything by what we see. And this is a good thing because the eyes can deceive.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“For judgment I came into this world,
that those who do not see may see,
and those who see may become blind.”
John 9.39
Illusionists, like David Copperfield, make a fortune by exploiting the fact that our eyes can play tricks on us. Practitioners of slight of hand count on the maxim “seeing is believing” to convince us that the illusions they perform are real. In truth, it is what they don't let us see that makes us believers! The Father is not an illusionist, the Son never practiced slight of hand, and in the kingdom believing is seeing. Jesus came to judge not by sight or appearances, but by faith.
The man who had been blind from birth was not being evasive when he did not point out Jesus to the Pharisees. When Jesus had stood before him he still suffered from the disability that had afflicted him his whole life, so he could not point him out. Nevertheless, his responses to the questions of the leaders of the synagogue convinced them that he was a disciple of the Lord, and so they evicted the man (John 9.34).
Jesus, when he had learned what had happened to the man, sought him out, and asked his own question, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9.35) Unlike the Pharisees, who wanted to know the whats, wheres, and hows, the Lord's only interest is the who. As in, “Who do you say I am?” All that Jesus cared about was whether or not the man believed. While the Pharisees judged according whether or not people correctly answered their questions, Jesus judged by faith. The man who had been blind, certainly had faith in the one who had bestowed his sight, he simply couldn't identify him because he had not seen him. Immediately as Jesus declared that he again stood before the man, the man confessed, “Lord, I believe.” (John 9.38) Right answer!
There are two kinds of people in the world, those who walk by faith, and those who do not. The first, though they may be blind, see. The latter, though they may have 20-20 vision, are blind. The only eye chart, if you will, in the kingdom, bears the image of Jesus. The faithful look upon his visage and believe he is their Savior. Everyone else looks and says, “I do not know him.” All who believe are, like the man blind from birth, in darkness until Jesus is revealed to them. All who see, but never recognize Christ, are blind.
To the extent that our flesh still controls much of what we feel and think, we are unduly influenced by appearances. The more we walk by faith, the less we'll judge anyone or anything by what we see. And this is a good thing because the eyes can deceive.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Monday, April 4, 2011
Jesus Spoke, And The Father Listened
What Did Jesus Do?
“...but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will,
God listens to him.”
John 9.31
For someone who had been blind from birth, the man whose eyes Jesus had opened showed considerable visual acuity, spiritual visual acuity. He certainly saw and understood things the rulers of the synagogue were unable, or unwilling, to perceive. Though they had already made up their minds about the Lord, the Pharisees called the man who had been blind in for questioning a second time. When they continued to assassinate the character of Jesus, “this man is a sinner,” the man who could now see refused to be dragged into the controversy, instead simply stating the one fact he was absolutely certain of, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9.25) This did not satisfy his interrogators in the least; they wanted to know how his eyes had been opened. (John 9.26)
But the man had already told them exactly how, and what had brought an end to his blindness, why did they want to hear it a second time, could they possibly desire to become disciples of Jesus? (John 9.27) Disciples of Jesus, they were disciples of Moses! (John 9.28) “Why, we don't even know where Jesus comes from.” (John 9.29) And here is where the far superior spiritual senses and perception of the man were revealed.
For the man believed and knew that he would have still been as blind as he had been from birth if the man who had anointed his eyes with mud and instructed him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam had not come from God (John 9.33). The suggestion that his healer was a sinner was patently absurd—God does not listen to sinners, but he hears those who worship him and who do his will. (John 9.31) Clearly, Jesus, who had removed the darkness that the man had known all his life, spoke to God, and God listened to him!
This was just too much for the ones who refused to listen to or see the truth, and they made good on their threat to expel from the synagogue any and all who confessed Jesus as the Christ, and they cast out the man who, no longer blind, could “see” what they never would: Jesus spoke to the Father, and the Father listened to the Son.
As it turned out, Jesus could cure congenital blindness, but could do nothing about willful blindness. Thus the saying (non-biblical though it may be), “There are none so blind as those who will not see” is borne out in Scripture. Nevertheless, we persevere in prayer, in speaking to the Father, because we know he is listening. We pray for all who are in darkness because we do not know who the Father may bring from darkness into light this day.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“...but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will,
God listens to him.”
John 9.31
For someone who had been blind from birth, the man whose eyes Jesus had opened showed considerable visual acuity, spiritual visual acuity. He certainly saw and understood things the rulers of the synagogue were unable, or unwilling, to perceive. Though they had already made up their minds about the Lord, the Pharisees called the man who had been blind in for questioning a second time. When they continued to assassinate the character of Jesus, “this man is a sinner,” the man who could now see refused to be dragged into the controversy, instead simply stating the one fact he was absolutely certain of, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9.25) This did not satisfy his interrogators in the least; they wanted to know how his eyes had been opened. (John 9.26)
But the man had already told them exactly how, and what had brought an end to his blindness, why did they want to hear it a second time, could they possibly desire to become disciples of Jesus? (John 9.27) Disciples of Jesus, they were disciples of Moses! (John 9.28) “Why, we don't even know where Jesus comes from.” (John 9.29) And here is where the far superior spiritual senses and perception of the man were revealed.
For the man believed and knew that he would have still been as blind as he had been from birth if the man who had anointed his eyes with mud and instructed him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam had not come from God (John 9.33). The suggestion that his healer was a sinner was patently absurd—God does not listen to sinners, but he hears those who worship him and who do his will. (John 9.31) Clearly, Jesus, who had removed the darkness that the man had known all his life, spoke to God, and God listened to him!
This was just too much for the ones who refused to listen to or see the truth, and they made good on their threat to expel from the synagogue any and all who confessed Jesus as the Christ, and they cast out the man who, no longer blind, could “see” what they never would: Jesus spoke to the Father, and the Father listened to the Son.
As it turned out, Jesus could cure congenital blindness, but could do nothing about willful blindness. Thus the saying (non-biblical though it may be), “There are none so blind as those who will not see” is borne out in Scripture. Nevertheless, we persevere in prayer, in speaking to the Father, because we know he is listening. We pray for all who are in darkness because we do not know who the Father may bring from darkness into light this day.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Jesus Endured Irrationality Among His Critics
What Did Jesus Do?
“We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.
But how he now sees we do not know,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.”
John 9.20-21
Picture this. You have a perfectly healthy newborn son. But you decide from birth to “say” he is blind, and you raise your son to be unseeing. Sounds crazy, doesn't it, who would ever do such a thing? It is completely irrational to even conceive of anyone doing something like this. Yet the critics and opponents of Jesus came to this conclusion.
“It this your son, who you say was born blind?”
John 9.19
That's right, the parents of the man born blind were actually accused of simply going around saying he was blind all those years, when in truth he could see perfectly! Sounds absurd. How could anyone come to such a conclusion? Well, when you absolutely refuse to receive the truth, you may have to come up with some pretty implausible explanations for things. Think about it. In Genesis 1 and 2 the Bible explains how the material universe came into being, and the origins of life. Science refuses to accept this truth, so it instead says that essentially nothing made nothing go “BANG!” and then there was everything. And Christians are said to be foolish and ignorant? Being confronted with a truth you refuse can inspire some extremely irrational claims. Jesus had to endure irrationality among his critics.
In contrast to the Lord, the people who were opposed to Christ inspired fear. John tells us plainly that, although the man's parents were willing to affirm that he was indeed their son, and that he had in fact been blind from birth, they were not about to say anything about how it was that he now could see, and they certainly were not going to weigh in on the debate about who it was who gave their son his sight. The threat of expulsion from the synagogue of anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ was enough to silence the parents about the how and the who of their son now seeing (John 9.22). And, since the man had reached what used to be called “the age of majority,” his parents were quite within their legal rights to say to their inquisitors, “Ask him.” (John 9.21)
The truth is, when it comes to Jesus, no one's opinion matters but our own. Yes, Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him (see Matthew 16.13), but what the Lord really wanted to know was what his disciples themselves had to say (Matthew 16.15). When we finally meet Jesus face to face, we will not be questioned about what others thought of him, all that will matter is whether or not we will be honestly able to say that he is our Lord and Savior.
For those who were opposed to him it really didn't matter, as would be later proved at the farce of a trial where Jesus would be condemned to die, what was put in evidence about his person and his works. Christ's opponents had already made their minds up about him—he was not from God (John 9.16)—they did not accept the testimony of the their own eyes and ears, so whatever anyone else thought about Jesus was quite immaterial to them.
What it comes down to is this: the Spirit of Truth inspires wisdom and truth in believers, while lying spirits inspire irrationality and fear in all who won't believe.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.
But how he now sees we do not know,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.”
John 9.20-21
Picture this. You have a perfectly healthy newborn son. But you decide from birth to “say” he is blind, and you raise your son to be unseeing. Sounds crazy, doesn't it, who would ever do such a thing? It is completely irrational to even conceive of anyone doing something like this. Yet the critics and opponents of Jesus came to this conclusion.
“It this your son, who you say was born blind?”
John 9.19
That's right, the parents of the man born blind were actually accused of simply going around saying he was blind all those years, when in truth he could see perfectly! Sounds absurd. How could anyone come to such a conclusion? Well, when you absolutely refuse to receive the truth, you may have to come up with some pretty implausible explanations for things. Think about it. In Genesis 1 and 2 the Bible explains how the material universe came into being, and the origins of life. Science refuses to accept this truth, so it instead says that essentially nothing made nothing go “BANG!” and then there was everything. And Christians are said to be foolish and ignorant? Being confronted with a truth you refuse can inspire some extremely irrational claims. Jesus had to endure irrationality among his critics.
In contrast to the Lord, the people who were opposed to Christ inspired fear. John tells us plainly that, although the man's parents were willing to affirm that he was indeed their son, and that he had in fact been blind from birth, they were not about to say anything about how it was that he now could see, and they certainly were not going to weigh in on the debate about who it was who gave their son his sight. The threat of expulsion from the synagogue of anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ was enough to silence the parents about the how and the who of their son now seeing (John 9.22). And, since the man had reached what used to be called “the age of majority,” his parents were quite within their legal rights to say to their inquisitors, “Ask him.” (John 9.21)
The truth is, when it comes to Jesus, no one's opinion matters but our own. Yes, Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him (see Matthew 16.13), but what the Lord really wanted to know was what his disciples themselves had to say (Matthew 16.15). When we finally meet Jesus face to face, we will not be questioned about what others thought of him, all that will matter is whether or not we will be honestly able to say that he is our Lord and Savior.
For those who were opposed to him it really didn't matter, as would be later proved at the farce of a trial where Jesus would be condemned to die, what was put in evidence about his person and his works. Christ's opponents had already made their minds up about him—he was not from God (John 9.16)—they did not accept the testimony of the their own eyes and ears, so whatever anyone else thought about Jesus was quite immaterial to them.
What it comes down to is this: the Spirit of Truth inspires wisdom and truth in believers, while lying spirits inspire irrationality and fear in all who won't believe.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Jesus Worked On The Sabbath (But So Did The Pharisees)
What Did Jesus Do?
“Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.”
John 9.14
Jesus had confused and disappointed the “sin spotters,” who were anxious to blame a man's congenital blindness on sin, either the man's or his parents', when the Lord declared that the disability was so that the works of God could be shown in the man (John 9.2-3; see WDJD from 3/31/11). But that confusion and disappointment was nothing when compared to the alarm and indignation of the “Sabbath Sheriffs” (a.k.a. Pharisees) when “the man who had formerly been blind,” the poor guy still didn't have a name, was brought to them.
Making mud and curing blindness on the Seventh Day? Why, there was a dangerous Sabbath-breaker on the loose! So the Sabbath Sheriffs went to work doing what Sabbath Sheriffs do, and launched an immediate criminal investigation. The formerly blind man was interrogated, twice. He had to be questioned a second time because there was a significant difference of opinion over the character of the mystery worker of miracles (John 9.16-17). The now seeing man wasn't really interested in the opinions of others, to him it was as if one of the great prophets of old had come and healed him (John 9.17).
But the Sabbath Sheriffs simply would not rest until they tracked down the transgressor of their law, never mind that rest was the whole idea of the Sabbath. They would work as long as it took them to get their man. Apparently, misguided efforts to try and protect the Sabbath did not fall into the category of forbidden work, but honoring the Sabbath by doing the works of God was a serious violation.
Of course, in a day and age when most folks do the same things on Sunday that they do on any other day of the week, the whole issue of “keeping” the Sabbath might seem rather quaint to some of us. But the crux of the matter wasn't really Sabbath regulations, but rather knowing and doing the will of the Father. Jesus understood that he had only so much time to do the works of the one who had sent him (John 9.4), and even from an early age the Lord knew that he must be about his Father's business (see Luke 2.49).
Now, the Sabbath Sheriffs, self-appointed reckoners of righteousness, didn't know God nearly as well as they thought they did. Their problem was that their hearts were so hard, their minds so closed, their ears so deaf, their eyes so blind, that they could not, would not recognize when God was at work right in front of them. They suffered from a spiritual disability far more crippling than the blindness the man had been born with.
In the end, what matters is not what we believe about one day versus another, but what we believe about the man who gave sight to the blind, and made the deaf to hear, the mute shout, and the lame leap for joy. If we believe and know Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16.16), then we accept his call to take up our cross and follow him every day, as, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we too do the works of the Father who sent the Son to not only cure our infirmities, but to save us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.”
John 9.14
Jesus had confused and disappointed the “sin spotters,” who were anxious to blame a man's congenital blindness on sin, either the man's or his parents', when the Lord declared that the disability was so that the works of God could be shown in the man (John 9.2-3; see WDJD from 3/31/11). But that confusion and disappointment was nothing when compared to the alarm and indignation of the “Sabbath Sheriffs” (a.k.a. Pharisees) when “the man who had formerly been blind,” the poor guy still didn't have a name, was brought to them.
Making mud and curing blindness on the Seventh Day? Why, there was a dangerous Sabbath-breaker on the loose! So the Sabbath Sheriffs went to work doing what Sabbath Sheriffs do, and launched an immediate criminal investigation. The formerly blind man was interrogated, twice. He had to be questioned a second time because there was a significant difference of opinion over the character of the mystery worker of miracles (John 9.16-17). The now seeing man wasn't really interested in the opinions of others, to him it was as if one of the great prophets of old had come and healed him (John 9.17).
But the Sabbath Sheriffs simply would not rest until they tracked down the transgressor of their law, never mind that rest was the whole idea of the Sabbath. They would work as long as it took them to get their man. Apparently, misguided efforts to try and protect the Sabbath did not fall into the category of forbidden work, but honoring the Sabbath by doing the works of God was a serious violation.
Of course, in a day and age when most folks do the same things on Sunday that they do on any other day of the week, the whole issue of “keeping” the Sabbath might seem rather quaint to some of us. But the crux of the matter wasn't really Sabbath regulations, but rather knowing and doing the will of the Father. Jesus understood that he had only so much time to do the works of the one who had sent him (John 9.4), and even from an early age the Lord knew that he must be about his Father's business (see Luke 2.49).
Now, the Sabbath Sheriffs, self-appointed reckoners of righteousness, didn't know God nearly as well as they thought they did. Their problem was that their hearts were so hard, their minds so closed, their ears so deaf, their eyes so blind, that they could not, would not recognize when God was at work right in front of them. They suffered from a spiritual disability far more crippling than the blindness the man had been born with.
In the end, what matters is not what we believe about one day versus another, but what we believe about the man who gave sight to the blind, and made the deaf to hear, the mute shout, and the lame leap for joy. If we believe and know Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16.16), then we accept his call to take up our cross and follow him every day, as, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we too do the works of the Father who sent the Son to not only cure our infirmities, but to save us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, April 1, 2011
Jesus Radically Transformed People
What Did Jesus Do?
“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.”
He kept saying, “I am the man.”
John 9.8-9
His name was, well, we don't know his name. The Bible only identifies him as “a man blind from birth.” (John 9.1) Surely he must have had a name, though to many he was probably just “the man who sits and begs.” When an encounter with Jesus radically transformed the man, people had trouble recognizing him. Some believed it was the beggar, while others were only willing to say that he bore a strong resemblance to the blind man who had sat daily at the Temple and begged. All he could say for himself was, “I am the man.”
But that man was a blind beggar, “How were your eyes opened?” His farfetched report about how Jesus had anointed his eyes with mud and then sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash left the crowd demanding, “Jesus? Where is this Jesus? Point him out to us.” But this was an impossible request, for when he had met Jesus, he was still blind; he had no idea what Jesus looked like. All he knew was that doing what Jesus had instructed had resulted in him being able to see for the first time in his life. Whether or not people recognized him for who he had been didn't really matter to the man. Though he could not identify the Lord, the man certainly knew what Jesus had done for him. The opinions of others were unimportant, the man's life had been changed forever. To put it plainly, Jesus is in the transformation business.
For there are many besides the man blind from birth whose lives changed course dramatically when they met Jesus. The fishermen, Andrew and Peter, James and John, became fishers of men. Levi the tax collector became Matthew the evangelist. Saul the persecutor of the Church became Paul the planter of churches. When Jesus gets hold of someone he doesn't make a slight course correction in their life, he causes a one hundred eighty degree about face to occur. Not infrequently the change is so radical as to make the person all but unrecognizable to even close friends and family. In fairness to the skeptical crowd in Jerusalem, when Jesus is finished with us we bear very little resemblance to the person we were before we met the Lord.
And, like the man blind from birth, we too may be hard pressed for words to describe in detail what exactly Jesus has done for us. Christ's amazing grace tends to leave one speechless, other than to say something like, “I once was lost, but now am found; twas blind, but now I see.” We might not be any more able than the man blind from birth to point Jesus out to someone, but, like him, we can certainly testify about what Jesus has done for us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.”
He kept saying, “I am the man.”
John 9.8-9
His name was, well, we don't know his name. The Bible only identifies him as “a man blind from birth.” (John 9.1) Surely he must have had a name, though to many he was probably just “the man who sits and begs.” When an encounter with Jesus radically transformed the man, people had trouble recognizing him. Some believed it was the beggar, while others were only willing to say that he bore a strong resemblance to the blind man who had sat daily at the Temple and begged. All he could say for himself was, “I am the man.”
But that man was a blind beggar, “How were your eyes opened?” His farfetched report about how Jesus had anointed his eyes with mud and then sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash left the crowd demanding, “Jesus? Where is this Jesus? Point him out to us.” But this was an impossible request, for when he had met Jesus, he was still blind; he had no idea what Jesus looked like. All he knew was that doing what Jesus had instructed had resulted in him being able to see for the first time in his life. Whether or not people recognized him for who he had been didn't really matter to the man. Though he could not identify the Lord, the man certainly knew what Jesus had done for him. The opinions of others were unimportant, the man's life had been changed forever. To put it plainly, Jesus is in the transformation business.
For there are many besides the man blind from birth whose lives changed course dramatically when they met Jesus. The fishermen, Andrew and Peter, James and John, became fishers of men. Levi the tax collector became Matthew the evangelist. Saul the persecutor of the Church became Paul the planter of churches. When Jesus gets hold of someone he doesn't make a slight course correction in their life, he causes a one hundred eighty degree about face to occur. Not infrequently the change is so radical as to make the person all but unrecognizable to even close friends and family. In fairness to the skeptical crowd in Jerusalem, when Jesus is finished with us we bear very little resemblance to the person we were before we met the Lord.
And, like the man blind from birth, we too may be hard pressed for words to describe in detail what exactly Jesus has done for us. Christ's amazing grace tends to leave one speechless, other than to say something like, “I once was lost, but now am found; twas blind, but now I see.” We might not be any more able than the man blind from birth to point Jesus out to someone, but, like him, we can certainly testify about what Jesus has done for us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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