What Did Jesus Do?
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;
and it is they that bear witness about me.
John 5.39
Though Jesus did not come seeking the spotlight, He wasn’t about to hide His light under a bushel (John 8.12; Matthew 5.14-16). The Lord wanted to be encountered by people. In John five Jesus holds up three different witnesses whose testimony, if received, pointed directly to Christ.
The first witness was John the Baptist. (John 5.32-35) John came and testified to the light and the truth of Jesus; and he had a certain audience for a time. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1.29) But John was not embraced by the religious leaders, and ended up being executed while imprisoned by Herod. The second witness leading to an Encounter with the truth of Jesus as God’s Son was the very works of the Father that Jesus performed. (John 5.36) Finally, Jesus cited the Scriptures, particularly the books of Moses, as unmistakable witnesses that lead believers to encounter and know Jesus as the Messiah.
Yet even a parade of witnesses cannot prevail upon those who, because they are far too secure in their own truth, are blind and deaf to The Truth. But make no mistake, Jesus came to encounter and be encountered. And, as just pointed out above, the Father supplied ample witnesses whose only purpose was to facilitate encounters with Jesus. The key was that of all who encountered Jesus, only those who believed could see, hear, understand, and accept the testimony of the witnesses.
Others dismissed John as a wild ascetic; wrote off the works of Jesus as demonic; and appropriated the books of Moses to prop up their personal perspective on faith.
The witness of John is perpetuated by those who continue to affirm Jesus as the Lamb of God. The witness of Jesus’ works continues in the work of the kingdom performed by the Body of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the witness of Moses abides in the Old Testament, now affirmed by the words of the New.
Genuine encounters with Jesus always involve the revelation that He is the Son who was sent by the Father. This is the essential content of Christian witness. And that’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Jesus Copied
What Did Jesus Do?
…the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.
John5.19
“Copy Cat!” Ugh. Didn’t you hate it when someone at school called you a copy cat? “Am not!” “Are too!” And back and forth it would go until, unable to think of anything else to say, you would “Oh yeah, well, am not!” And you would turn sharply on your heal and just walk away. Jesus was a “Copy Cat,” and not afraid to admit it. The Son, if you will, flattered the Father with the sincerest form of flattery, He copied him. Jesus was not interested in making a name for himself (He already had a name even more excellent than the angels. See Hebrews 1.4); but He sure wanted to make certain people knew the Father (John 5.19b-23).
For you or I to try and copy God would be absurd, for Jesus it what simply part and parcel of His nature, which he shared with the Father. But that’s what so outraged the Jews wanted to kill, for the blasphemy of claiming equality with God (John 5.18) Again, for you or I to claim such equality would be utter blasphemy, but Jesus was just stating fact. When sinful man tries to assume the place of God the results are always disastrous. It doesn’t matter if it is Pharaoh who is claiming to be a god, or the leader of a modern day cult who makes bondservants of their followers, lives are inevitably destroyed.
But with Jesus, it’s another story. For when the Son copies the Father He frees from bondage all who believe, and the end is always love and life (John 5.24). In fact, it would only have been a problem if the Son didn’t imitate the Father, but instead chose to go His own way.
Jesus asks noting more of His disciples; we don’t need, in fact we do well not to even try, to come up with our own agenda. All we need to do is follow Him, walk in His footsteps, and copy Him. Of course, this in itself sounds pretty blasphemous, and it would be if we tried it on our own. Fortunately Jesus asked His Father to send the Helper to enable us to follow faithfully (John 14.15-17).
So, don’t be afraid to admit to being a “Copy Cat” of the Son who imitated the Father in love and truth. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
…the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.
John5.19
“Copy Cat!” Ugh. Didn’t you hate it when someone at school called you a copy cat? “Am not!” “Are too!” And back and forth it would go until, unable to think of anything else to say, you would “Oh yeah, well, am not!” And you would turn sharply on your heal and just walk away. Jesus was a “Copy Cat,” and not afraid to admit it. The Son, if you will, flattered the Father with the sincerest form of flattery, He copied him. Jesus was not interested in making a name for himself (He already had a name even more excellent than the angels. See Hebrews 1.4); but He sure wanted to make certain people knew the Father (John 5.19b-23).
For you or I to try and copy God would be absurd, for Jesus it what simply part and parcel of His nature, which he shared with the Father. But that’s what so outraged the Jews wanted to kill, for the blasphemy of claiming equality with God (John 5.18) Again, for you or I to claim such equality would be utter blasphemy, but Jesus was just stating fact. When sinful man tries to assume the place of God the results are always disastrous. It doesn’t matter if it is Pharaoh who is claiming to be a god, or the leader of a modern day cult who makes bondservants of their followers, lives are inevitably destroyed.
But with Jesus, it’s another story. For when the Son copies the Father He frees from bondage all who believe, and the end is always love and life (John 5.24). In fact, it would only have been a problem if the Son didn’t imitate the Father, but instead chose to go His own way.
Jesus asks noting more of His disciples; we don’t need, in fact we do well not to even try, to come up with our own agenda. All we need to do is follow Him, walk in His footsteps, and copy Him. Of course, this in itself sounds pretty blasphemous, and it would be if we tried it on our own. Fortunately Jesus asked His Father to send the Helper to enable us to follow faithfully (John 14.15-17).
So, don’t be afraid to admit to being a “Copy Cat” of the Son who imitated the Father in love and truth. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Worked
What Did Jesus Do?
My Father is working until now, and I am working.
John 5.17
Sometimes people move because they want to get away from the hustle and hassle of urban life. Others move to the city because they want to be near “the action.” Often people have to move because of work; my family has moved five times in the last twenty years to take up new callings. Jesus can relate to those who relocate because their work required it, He did.
It wasn’t because He wanted a change of scenery that Jesus left heaven and came to earth, and the Lord certainly didn’t come in order to enjoy a little rest and relaxation—He came to work! Because it was a family “business” (See Luke 2.49) Jesus had to be about the work of the Father. This, however, meant that Jesus inevitably ran afoul of those who felt compelled to enforce the “labor laws” of Israel; and those laws clearly delineated what could and what could not be done on the Sabbath. Carrying sleeping mats was strictly forbidden!
One would have thought that after thirty-eight years the defeated and isolated paralytic who had long lain next to the pool of Bethesda could have waited another day to respond to the command of Jesus to rise and pick up his bed and walk (John 5.8). But no, the man impetuously leapt up and walked, carrying his bed roll. The piety police busted him on the spot; no one was going to go around carrying a bed on the Sabbath on their beat, even if they had been waiting thirty-eight years to do it! But the one they really wanted to get their hands on was the person who had encouraged the paralytic to become a scofflaw (John 5.12).
Funny, isn’t it, how God can perform miracles right under our noses, so to speak, and we can’t see them because our notion of what God should do, and when and how he should do it, is so pinched and pernicious as to make us blind to the work of the kingdom going on right in front of us. How many miracles are missed because of such self-imposed blindness? Make no mistake, neither the Father nor the Son take a holiday when there are sinners to be set free, the ill to be cured, the lame to be made strong, the broken to be made whole.
None of this is to suggest that we should throw out the creation ordinance of a Sabbath. God truly desires that we take time one day each week to rest and renew our fellowship with him, setting aside the normal business of the other six days. But that is setting aside “normal” business. It was hardly an every day occurrence for paralytics to stand up and start walking after thirty-eight years of lying about helpless. That was extraordinary kingdom work; that was Father and Son work. And that is work believers should be open to, and willing to perform 24/7/365. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
My Father is working until now, and I am working.
John 5.17
Sometimes people move because they want to get away from the hustle and hassle of urban life. Others move to the city because they want to be near “the action.” Often people have to move because of work; my family has moved five times in the last twenty years to take up new callings. Jesus can relate to those who relocate because their work required it, He did.
It wasn’t because He wanted a change of scenery that Jesus left heaven and came to earth, and the Lord certainly didn’t come in order to enjoy a little rest and relaxation—He came to work! Because it was a family “business” (See Luke 2.49) Jesus had to be about the work of the Father. This, however, meant that Jesus inevitably ran afoul of those who felt compelled to enforce the “labor laws” of Israel; and those laws clearly delineated what could and what could not be done on the Sabbath. Carrying sleeping mats was strictly forbidden!
One would have thought that after thirty-eight years the defeated and isolated paralytic who had long lain next to the pool of Bethesda could have waited another day to respond to the command of Jesus to rise and pick up his bed and walk (John 5.8). But no, the man impetuously leapt up and walked, carrying his bed roll. The piety police busted him on the spot; no one was going to go around carrying a bed on the Sabbath on their beat, even if they had been waiting thirty-eight years to do it! But the one they really wanted to get their hands on was the person who had encouraged the paralytic to become a scofflaw (John 5.12).
Funny, isn’t it, how God can perform miracles right under our noses, so to speak, and we can’t see them because our notion of what God should do, and when and how he should do it, is so pinched and pernicious as to make us blind to the work of the kingdom going on right in front of us. How many miracles are missed because of such self-imposed blindness? Make no mistake, neither the Father nor the Son take a holiday when there are sinners to be set free, the ill to be cured, the lame to be made strong, the broken to be made whole.
None of this is to suggest that we should throw out the creation ordinance of a Sabbath. God truly desires that we take time one day each week to rest and renew our fellowship with him, setting aside the normal business of the other six days. But that is setting aside “normal” business. It was hardly an every day occurrence for paralytics to stand up and start walking after thirty-eight years of lying about helpless. That was extraordinary kingdom work; that was Father and Son work. And that is work believers should be open to, and willing to perform 24/7/365. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, May 28, 2010
Jesus Led the Lost
What Did Jesus Do?
Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.
John 4.48
I remember driving around in circles on the road that passes by all the terminals and parking fields for some time at Newark Airport because I couldn’t remember the airline my friend was arriving on, I didn’t know my destination. It didn’t do me any good that the airport authority had lots of very large, brightly colored attention getting signs. I mean, the signs were very nicely done, but in themselves they did me no good since I was without a clue as to where I needed to go. The lost need one thing more than signs to show them the way, they need a destination or they have no “way.” Jesus was, and is, “the way.” (John 14.6)
Yet, many who were lost, unbelievers who had no clue where their life was heading, wanted Jesus to supply them with impressive signs (miracles) without their knowing the way. When the “way” is right in front of you and you can’t see Him, what real good can signs do? If the BIG question we all will one day have to answer before the Judge of all is, “Who do you say Jesus is?” the answer is not “Signpost!” All the popular answers of the day, John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets of old (Luke 9.19), were nothing more than signposts intended to lead people to God which the LORD had provided his people. But when Peter said that Jesus was, “The Christ of God” (Luke 9.20) he revealed that he understood that Jesus was not just another signpost, but the destination!
The frustration Jesus had with the peoples’ demand for signs was because He knew signs really did little or no good for people who didn’t believe. Miracles without belief are no better than signs for the lost who don’t know their destination, they can’t help you get where you need to go. It has been said that miracles are a poor foundation for faith, while faith is the essential foundation for true miracles. Everywhere that Jesus encountered people who believed in Him signs abounded, but where people did not believe, like in His own hometown of Nazareth, miracles were scarce. (See Mark 6.1-6)
When a man came to Jesus asking Him to come and heal his son who was deathly ill, Jesus, who had come back to the area of non-believing Nazareth, was little inclined to perform wonders for an unbeliever. But when the man continued to beg Jesus to come, revealing his actual faith in who Jesus was, the Lord spoke a word of healing that cured the boy “long-distance” if you will. (John 4.49-53)
If we follow someone because they are wealthy, what do we do when their wealth is used up? If we follow someone because of their feats of strength, what do we do when they grow weak? Jesus did not want people to follow Him because of what He did, but because of who He was. Peter’s answer, “The Christ of God,” did not come by signs and works but by revelation from the Father. (Mathew 16.17) Even so, no one can truly call Jesus Lord because of any sign, but rather by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (1Corinthians 12.3)
Jesus led people to the Father not because of what He did, but because of who He was, because He and the Father were one. (John 10.30) It didn’t matter how many miracles and signs He performed, if people would not believe who He was, mighty works would avail them nothing in the end.
We can tell people about what Jesus did so that they can know a lot about Him, but in the end they stand a good chance of getting that all important question wrong when asked, “Who do you say that Jesus is?” far better to introduce the lost to the destination than to give them signposts when they don’t know where they need to go. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.
John 4.48
I remember driving around in circles on the road that passes by all the terminals and parking fields for some time at Newark Airport because I couldn’t remember the airline my friend was arriving on, I didn’t know my destination. It didn’t do me any good that the airport authority had lots of very large, brightly colored attention getting signs. I mean, the signs were very nicely done, but in themselves they did me no good since I was without a clue as to where I needed to go. The lost need one thing more than signs to show them the way, they need a destination or they have no “way.” Jesus was, and is, “the way.” (John 14.6)
Yet, many who were lost, unbelievers who had no clue where their life was heading, wanted Jesus to supply them with impressive signs (miracles) without their knowing the way. When the “way” is right in front of you and you can’t see Him, what real good can signs do? If the BIG question we all will one day have to answer before the Judge of all is, “Who do you say Jesus is?” the answer is not “Signpost!” All the popular answers of the day, John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets of old (Luke 9.19), were nothing more than signposts intended to lead people to God which the LORD had provided his people. But when Peter said that Jesus was, “The Christ of God” (Luke 9.20) he revealed that he understood that Jesus was not just another signpost, but the destination!
The frustration Jesus had with the peoples’ demand for signs was because He knew signs really did little or no good for people who didn’t believe. Miracles without belief are no better than signs for the lost who don’t know their destination, they can’t help you get where you need to go. It has been said that miracles are a poor foundation for faith, while faith is the essential foundation for true miracles. Everywhere that Jesus encountered people who believed in Him signs abounded, but where people did not believe, like in His own hometown of Nazareth, miracles were scarce. (See Mark 6.1-6)
When a man came to Jesus asking Him to come and heal his son who was deathly ill, Jesus, who had come back to the area of non-believing Nazareth, was little inclined to perform wonders for an unbeliever. But when the man continued to beg Jesus to come, revealing his actual faith in who Jesus was, the Lord spoke a word of healing that cured the boy “long-distance” if you will. (John 4.49-53)
If we follow someone because they are wealthy, what do we do when their wealth is used up? If we follow someone because of their feats of strength, what do we do when they grow weak? Jesus did not want people to follow Him because of what He did, but because of who He was. Peter’s answer, “The Christ of God,” did not come by signs and works but by revelation from the Father. (Mathew 16.17) Even so, no one can truly call Jesus Lord because of any sign, but rather by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (1Corinthians 12.3)
Jesus led people to the Father not because of what He did, but because of who He was, because He and the Father were one. (John 10.30) It didn’t matter how many miracles and signs He performed, if people would not believe who He was, mighty works would avail them nothing in the end.
We can tell people about what Jesus did so that they can know a lot about Him, but in the end they stand a good chance of getting that all important question wrong when asked, “Who do you say that Jesus is?” far better to introduce the lost to the destination than to give them signposts when they don’t know where they need to go. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Jesus Rocked
What Did Jesus Do?
And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Matthew 27.51
World Series winners, Super Bowl champs, and an endless succession of overblown celebrities can inspire parades and pandemonium nowadays. It may be that fifteen minutes of fame are reserved for everyone, but more of the infamous and, in the big scheme of things, irrelevant, seem to be taking advantage of the public’s low threshold for being impressed these days. It seems that pretty much anybody nowadays can rock the world, and ridiculous (Even blasphemous?) shows like American Idol reveal how desperately some seek acclaim, and how desperately many wish to acclaim, well, idols.
In the ancient world there were many idols, but instead of rocking the world most of those idols were simply rocks. But there was a day when the arrival of someone who definitely did not want to be anyone’s idol, set off such a spontaneous commotion in Jerusalem (Matthew 21.1-11) that the “PFD” (Pharisaical Fire Department) tried to squash the crowd’s enthusiasm before the whole city became enflamed. (Luke19.39) But Jesus told them that if the crowds were silenced on that day the rocks themselves would give voice to His praises. (Luke 19.40)
Well the Pharisees let the crowd have free reign that day, but a few days later they so stirred another crowd into a senseless frenzy that the people cried out for the death of an innocent man, and so intimidated the Roman governor (Pilate) that he submitted to the will of the mob. (Matthew 27.15-23) So Jesus was crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb which was sealed with a great rock, but not before His very death rocked the world as noted in the verse captioned at the top. Then everything quieted down, for three days. (Matthew 27.57-60)
But early on the first day of the week Jesus started “rocking” the world, and He hasn’t stopped since. First the earth itself shook and one of God’s angels joined in the rocking, removing the stone from the tomb where Jesus had been laid. (Matthew 28.2) Addressing some women who were faithful disciples of the Lord, the angel rocked them with the news that Jesus was risen, and, all but bowled over by this report of the angel, the women ran to tell the other disciples. (Matthew 28.5-8) But before the women made it back they were rocked again when they ran into Jesus himself. (Matthew 28.9)
And, from the women to the disciples, to those whom the apostles would witness to, right on down to today, Jesus rocks the lives of all He encounters, making them, by the power of the Holy Spirit, “rockers” who in turn keep rocking the world with the Gospel. Yes, there are still plenty of idols who would seek to rock the world, and they stir up plenty of commotion for their fifteen minutes or so. But there is only one Rock of Ages who has kept on rocking the world for nearly two thousand years now, and who will continue to “rock” until the day when the world itself will pass away. So, rock on! That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Matthew 27.51
World Series winners, Super Bowl champs, and an endless succession of overblown celebrities can inspire parades and pandemonium nowadays. It may be that fifteen minutes of fame are reserved for everyone, but more of the infamous and, in the big scheme of things, irrelevant, seem to be taking advantage of the public’s low threshold for being impressed these days. It seems that pretty much anybody nowadays can rock the world, and ridiculous (Even blasphemous?) shows like American Idol reveal how desperately some seek acclaim, and how desperately many wish to acclaim, well, idols.
In the ancient world there were many idols, but instead of rocking the world most of those idols were simply rocks. But there was a day when the arrival of someone who definitely did not want to be anyone’s idol, set off such a spontaneous commotion in Jerusalem (Matthew 21.1-11) that the “PFD” (Pharisaical Fire Department) tried to squash the crowd’s enthusiasm before the whole city became enflamed. (Luke19.39) But Jesus told them that if the crowds were silenced on that day the rocks themselves would give voice to His praises. (Luke 19.40)
Well the Pharisees let the crowd have free reign that day, but a few days later they so stirred another crowd into a senseless frenzy that the people cried out for the death of an innocent man, and so intimidated the Roman governor (Pilate) that he submitted to the will of the mob. (Matthew 27.15-23) So Jesus was crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb which was sealed with a great rock, but not before His very death rocked the world as noted in the verse captioned at the top. Then everything quieted down, for three days. (Matthew 27.57-60)
But early on the first day of the week Jesus started “rocking” the world, and He hasn’t stopped since. First the earth itself shook and one of God’s angels joined in the rocking, removing the stone from the tomb where Jesus had been laid. (Matthew 28.2) Addressing some women who were faithful disciples of the Lord, the angel rocked them with the news that Jesus was risen, and, all but bowled over by this report of the angel, the women ran to tell the other disciples. (Matthew 28.5-8) But before the women made it back they were rocked again when they ran into Jesus himself. (Matthew 28.9)
And, from the women to the disciples, to those whom the apostles would witness to, right on down to today, Jesus rocks the lives of all He encounters, making them, by the power of the Holy Spirit, “rockers” who in turn keep rocking the world with the Gospel. Yes, there are still plenty of idols who would seek to rock the world, and they stir up plenty of commotion for their fifteen minutes or so. But there is only one Rock of Ages who has kept on rocking the world for nearly two thousand years now, and who will continue to “rock” until the day when the world itself will pass away. So, rock on! That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Jesus Watered
What Did Jesus Do?
…whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.
John 4.14
Human beings can live for a surprisingly long time without food, but cut us off from water and we’ll soon die. Thirst is a serious matter. So, when someone tells you that they can open within you a spring of living water so that you will never thirst again, well, that is going to get your attention.
It was not at all coincidence when a woman from the village of Sychar fetching water at the well of Jacob encountered Jesus. (John 4.3-7) She is one of the most thirsty characters in the Bible. Socially she was of the despised Samaritans, whom the Jews would have cut off from God if it had been in their power; instead they avoided all contact with the Samaritans. A pious Jew would take the long way from Jerusalem to Galilee, rather than the direct route through Samaria. There was Jesus, in the heart of Samaria. That fact in itself must have startled the woman. For Jesus to talk to her directly would have been unthinkable.
For she was not only cut-off as a Samaritan, but dismissed because she was female; Jewish men were not in the habit of striking up conversations with strange women, it was beneath them. Better to speak to a slave than a woman. There was Jesus, talking with her as if it were the most natural thing to do. (John 4.9)
And it would appear that this woman had quite a few issues when it came to her relationships with men. She had already gone through five “husbands” and was living with number six, though she admitted she wasn’t married. (John 4.16-18) A promiscuous Samaritan woman, a life just about as dry and barren as we could imagine, no wonder she was at the well!
The promise of living water captured her interest, yes, but it also refreshed and reclaimed her soul, so much so that she left her jar beside the well empty, as she went away to summon others to come and meet the man who revealed Himself to be the Messiah. (John 4.25-26) Like a spring in the middle of a dry and thirsty land God set his Son in the midst of people spiritually parched and dying. There is no less need today for the living water Jesus brings us.
Everyone we meet has a definite physical need for water, and it is unlikely that we would turn away anyone who asked us for a simple drink. Far greater than the need of water is the absolute necessity of our knowing Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, and God the Father, who sent Him, and the Holy Spirit who is the very spring of living water in all who believe. We’d share a drink with family or friends who are thirsty, would we share the living water with strangers and those we might normally seek to avoid? That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
…whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.
John 4.14
Human beings can live for a surprisingly long time without food, but cut us off from water and we’ll soon die. Thirst is a serious matter. So, when someone tells you that they can open within you a spring of living water so that you will never thirst again, well, that is going to get your attention.
It was not at all coincidence when a woman from the village of Sychar fetching water at the well of Jacob encountered Jesus. (John 4.3-7) She is one of the most thirsty characters in the Bible. Socially she was of the despised Samaritans, whom the Jews would have cut off from God if it had been in their power; instead they avoided all contact with the Samaritans. A pious Jew would take the long way from Jerusalem to Galilee, rather than the direct route through Samaria. There was Jesus, in the heart of Samaria. That fact in itself must have startled the woman. For Jesus to talk to her directly would have been unthinkable.
For she was not only cut-off as a Samaritan, but dismissed because she was female; Jewish men were not in the habit of striking up conversations with strange women, it was beneath them. Better to speak to a slave than a woman. There was Jesus, talking with her as if it were the most natural thing to do. (John 4.9)
And it would appear that this woman had quite a few issues when it came to her relationships with men. She had already gone through five “husbands” and was living with number six, though she admitted she wasn’t married. (John 4.16-18) A promiscuous Samaritan woman, a life just about as dry and barren as we could imagine, no wonder she was at the well!
The promise of living water captured her interest, yes, but it also refreshed and reclaimed her soul, so much so that she left her jar beside the well empty, as she went away to summon others to come and meet the man who revealed Himself to be the Messiah. (John 4.25-26) Like a spring in the middle of a dry and thirsty land God set his Son in the midst of people spiritually parched and dying. There is no less need today for the living water Jesus brings us.
Everyone we meet has a definite physical need for water, and it is unlikely that we would turn away anyone who asked us for a simple drink. Far greater than the need of water is the absolute necessity of our knowing Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, and God the Father, who sent Him, and the Holy Spirit who is the very spring of living water in all who believe. We’d share a drink with family or friends who are thirsty, would we share the living water with strangers and those we might normally seek to avoid? That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Jesus Washed
What Did Jesus Do?
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7.14
For the longest time the worship of God was appointed for the seventh day of the week—the Sabbath. Like everything else in the beginning that is recorded in Genesis, God willed it and it was so. Amen.
Now the Sabbath’s initial purpose was rest, a cessation from the labors of the rest of the week. For God had made Man to share in His labor, not the work of creation itself, but of sustaining and multiplying what the LORD created until all the world should be filled with its goodness, or everything God made He had declared “good.”
As we might imagine, after six days of work there was need to get cleaned up by the time the Sabbath came around each week. Fortunately, there was ample water all around, and washing wasn’t that hard a chore. And so, all cleaned up, Man could join his Maker in enjoying the Sabbath rest together.
But with the Fall it became impossible for Man to ever clean himself enough to be with God and truly share in the Sabbath. The Sabbath continued, but there was now work to be done on the Sabbath as well, for the stain of sin had to be removed. The only problem was, nothing Man could do could ever make him clean again. And so the perfect rest of the Sabbath was lost to Man forever, or so it seemed.
For the Father love the world so much that he would send the Son to wash away the stain of sin forever. The work Jesus did on the cross, the washing by the blood of the Lamb, has freed us to again come into the presence of God to rest and to worship now, and for eternity.
It was on the first day of the week that the Son arose. And ever since it has been the first day of the week when Christians celebrate their having been washed by the blood of the Lamb, and worship God who sits upon the throne of heaven, and the Lamb who stands before the throne. What take place on the first day of the week in Christian worship, or at least what is supposed to take place, is the very thing the apostle John was shown in heaven, the worship of the washed who forever celebrate the salvation wrought by God and by the Lamb. If we are not rejoicing in our being made clean, and praising the Father and the Son for washing us, there just isn’t much point in worship.
For God shelters with his presence the washed who come before the throne, satisfying their hunger, slaking their thirst, turning away the sun and any scorching heat, as the Lamb, who is their shepherd, guides them to springs of living water. (Revelation 7.15-17) No more Sabbaths of working to be clean, but celebrating on the Lord’s Day being washed by the blood of the Lamb. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7.14
For the longest time the worship of God was appointed for the seventh day of the week—the Sabbath. Like everything else in the beginning that is recorded in Genesis, God willed it and it was so. Amen.
Now the Sabbath’s initial purpose was rest, a cessation from the labors of the rest of the week. For God had made Man to share in His labor, not the work of creation itself, but of sustaining and multiplying what the LORD created until all the world should be filled with its goodness, or everything God made He had declared “good.”
As we might imagine, after six days of work there was need to get cleaned up by the time the Sabbath came around each week. Fortunately, there was ample water all around, and washing wasn’t that hard a chore. And so, all cleaned up, Man could join his Maker in enjoying the Sabbath rest together.
But with the Fall it became impossible for Man to ever clean himself enough to be with God and truly share in the Sabbath. The Sabbath continued, but there was now work to be done on the Sabbath as well, for the stain of sin had to be removed. The only problem was, nothing Man could do could ever make him clean again. And so the perfect rest of the Sabbath was lost to Man forever, or so it seemed.
For the Father love the world so much that he would send the Son to wash away the stain of sin forever. The work Jesus did on the cross, the washing by the blood of the Lamb, has freed us to again come into the presence of God to rest and to worship now, and for eternity.
It was on the first day of the week that the Son arose. And ever since it has been the first day of the week when Christians celebrate their having been washed by the blood of the Lamb, and worship God who sits upon the throne of heaven, and the Lamb who stands before the throne. What take place on the first day of the week in Christian worship, or at least what is supposed to take place, is the very thing the apostle John was shown in heaven, the worship of the washed who forever celebrate the salvation wrought by God and by the Lamb. If we are not rejoicing in our being made clean, and praising the Father and the Son for washing us, there just isn’t much point in worship.
For God shelters with his presence the washed who come before the throne, satisfying their hunger, slaking their thirst, turning away the sun and any scorching heat, as the Lamb, who is their shepherd, guides them to springs of living water. (Revelation 7.15-17) No more Sabbaths of working to be clean, but celebrating on the Lord’s Day being washed by the blood of the Lamb. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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