Category Archives: The Good News of Jesus

Real Life

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Now that’s really living!  What were you doing the last time someone said that?  Eating?  Playing with grand-kids?  Water skiing?  Not everything we do in life is “really living,” right?  There are some moments in life when we feel more “alive.”  Life is full and rich, satisfying or meaningful.  So, not all life is “real life.”  If you understand how the same word, life, can be used to mean simply having a heart beat but can also mean the best vacation you ever had, then you can better understand Jesus, when He says:

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

Jesus used the same word to mean two things:

1) All the things we hang on to in this world, believing we need them to be happy and secure.
2) The rich and full life that God intended for us to have as humans, being connected intimately and eternally with Him.

You can’t grab onto #1 and also have #2.  Holding on to #1 is a “death-grip.”  #2 is “real life.”  That is why, in the previous post, I used the video of a baby robin, screwing up his courage to fly for the first time (See: The Life You’d Die to Have).  As long as he clung to the safety and comfort of his nest, the only “life” he’d ever experienced, he could not experience the “real life” he was designed to possess – flying.

Similarly, Jesus continued:

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26a)

The word, soul, in that question is the same word Jesus used for “life” previously.  He used the same word in this teaching, too:

” “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25 – I’ve crossed out the word, important, since it is not in the original text.)

Real life is more than food and clothes.  The “real life” God intended for us was eternal life, the life of His Spirit within us.  So long as we maintain our “death-grip” on life as we have always known it, our “nest” of stuff that makes us feel comfortable and safe, we will never “find” the “real life” God intended, flying with His Spirit.  When we let go of life and trust Jesus, He gives us “real life.”

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

The Life You’d Die to Have

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You have been invited.  Act now and you can be rich, just like the guy in the infomercial, who’s standing in front of his new mansion, his arms around babes in bikinis, just back from a spin in his Maserati.  If you accept his invitation, you can have all that too – and more!  …Unless you read the fine print.

Jesus has a different invitation for you, but He begins with the fine print.  He invites you to deny yourself and die.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

Which invitation looks better to you?  Self indulgence or self denial?  Obviously, the “get rich quick” guy is  scamming us.  But why would anyone sign up for “losing his life to find it?”  It sounds like Jesus asks us to leave behind the life we’ve worked so hard attain, along with all the its comforts. Do we really want to let go of all that?

Before you decide, watch this:

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Better Proof

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If you really want proof for Jesus, there is a way.  Jesus refused to give miraculous, tangible proof of His identity to the religious experts (See: Proof).  But He led His disciples to a better proof, a proof you can check out for yourself.  It began like this:

” When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”” (Matthew 16:13-14)

Going to the region of Caesarea Philippi was no accident.  It was 25 miles out of their way, north of Israel – a hotbed of paganism and humanism.  Formerly known as Paneas, for Pan, the god of fertility, the city was renamed for Caesar and Philip, Roman leaders who wanted to be worshiped as gods, themselves.  This place epitomized what Jesus had criticized in human attitudes (See the explanation of “a wicked and adulterous generation” in: Proof).  Jesus took them to that place and asked them, “Who do PEOPLE say the Son of Man (Jesus) is?”  What do people say?  What to “they say?”  It would be like taking us to the most humanistic, atheistic, politically correct university campus and asking us to take a survey about “Who is Jesus?”  And the disciples responded with a variety of superstitious things the people were saying, as if to say, “Who knows?”

But then He asked:

““But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.“ (Matthew 16:15-17)

There is a lot of noise out there, a lot of opinions and a lot of shouting.  Jesus asked His disciples to shut all that off and consider what God the Father was revealing to them, personally, from inside their own hearts.  In effect, He said, “You will never know Who I Am by listening to what “they say.”  You will never find proof by listening to others – even the others who are telling you the truth!  Proof will come to you personally, from God.  He will reveal to you Who I Am.  You will know.  And you will be blessed.”

Do you want to know Who Jesus really is?  Do you want proof that will really convince you once and for all?  Stop listening to what “they say.”  There is way too much confusion and ignorance dressed up as wisdom in this world.  Instead, ask God to show you Who Jesus is.  Ask Him with all sincerity, expecting to receive an answer.  Keep asking, watching and listening.  He will show you and you will have a better proof.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.“ (Matthew 7:7-8)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Proof

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Want proof that Jesus is God’s Son?  Tangible proof?  You are not alone.  Trouble is, tangible proof never seems to be enough.  Back in Jesus’ day, He was healing people, calming storms and feeding thousands, but that wasn’t enough for the religious experts.  They wanted more.

” The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” (Matthew 16:1)

By the way, in today’s terminology, these two groups represented the extremely conservative and the extremely liberal religious groups.  But they shared a human trait in common:  The things He was doing right there in front of everybody were not enough.  “Show us something from Heaven,” they asked.

“He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, ….” (Matthew 16:2-4a)

The wickedness Jesus referred to, at its core, is the human desire to be god, to be in charge and control.  We want to say what is right and wrong.  We like to think we are in control over everything (even the temperature of the planet!).  The adultery Jesus pointed to is the human tendency to chase after new and different gods.  We want to go off and study under some spiritual mystic or medium, to change our names and adopt another religion that catches our fancy.

“Wait a minute,” you ask, “didn’t you just say that we wanted to be god? Isn’t it logically inconsistent to want that and also chase after new and different gods?”  Yes it is.  But then again, I said these were “human” tendencies!  Since when have humans been entirely logical and consistent?

Signs on the highway don’t help those who are too distracted to see them.  They don’t work for those who think they already know the way.  Jesus had been performing many signs, the things He called the “signs of the times.”  But they wanted more.  God gives signs, but they are of value only to those who are humble and open, to those who are ready to receive them and respond to them.  God’s signs sail right past the “adulterous” and “wicked.”  That’s why Jesus said,

““Be careful,” … “Be on your guard against the yeast [the teaching and attitudes] of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”” (Matthew 16:6 excerpts – with my explanation)

If you understand this blindness of the religious experts, you can see the contrast in what happens when the disciples begin to “have eyes to see.”  It’s pretty cool and we’ll take it up next time.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Across the Divide

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One reason Ebola is so hard to contain in West Africa is that many people in that region distrust western medicine. It is very tough to leap by faith across a cultural divide.  That’s also why westerners have a hard time trusting Chinese medicine.  Culture gets in the way of faith.

For that reason, it was startling when Jesus encountered a woman from a pagan culture, north of Israel.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite (not Jewish) woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”  Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”  He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”  The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.  He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” (Matthew 15:21-26 – with my added comment)

Why did Jesus call this woman and her people “dogs?” Was He being racist?  To the contrary, I think He was chiding the disciples for their attitude.  A woman comes, crying out in desperation and they want Jesus to send her away, presumably, because she wasn’t Jewish!  Jesus was using irony, and He softened the insulting word, using an affectionate word for puppy or pet instead.

And Jesus didn’t send her away!  He spoke to her, recognizing that she had dared leave her culture to trust in Him. Her people worshiped the pagan god of healing, Eshmun, whose temple was only about 3 miles away. But Instead of going to Eshmun for help, she had come to Jesus!  Even as He was subtly rebuking His disciples, He also was checking to see if this woman really had faith in Him.

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:27-28, NIV)

Did you notice that this woman didn’t have all the “right” doctrine?  She’d never been to Sunday School.  She simply believed that Jesus could help her and she wasn’t taking “no” for an answer.  And He did help her.

God’s rescue began with the Jewish people.  But it was always meant for all peoples.  Even for you.  Maybe you have wrapped yourself in a culture that makes it hard to trust Jesus to help you.  Maybe you don’t think you know enough about the Bible.  But if you need Jesus, and if you are ready, so is He.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

 

Inside Out

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Can you control your thoughts?  Don’t think about a red door.  Can you do that?  How about things you really wish you didn’t think?  How can you control those?  Not by willpower, right?  You can’t tell yourself, “I won’t think that…”

Bruce Cockburn had a great line about that: “When thoughts you tried to leave behind keep sniping from the dark…” (from “Southland of the Heart”).   You’ve probably seen things you can’t “un-see.”  Thought things you wish you didn’t.  How can we get rid of those?  It’s not by telling ourselves to be nice, to follow the rules.  You can’t do it from the “outside in.”  It has to happen from the “inside out.”

“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:10-11)

““Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:17-20)

In that culture, part of how you became righteous was by strictly following the rules of what and what not to eat.  Jesus said eating pork doesn’t show you to be morally defiled, your words do, since they reflect the condition of your heart.  How about you; how is your heart?  Have you ever entertained or expressed any of the thoughts in Jesus’ short list of examples?  Me too.  We cannot control our hearts and thoughts.  We cannot cleanse ourselves from the inside out.

But Jesus offers to do just that:

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…” (John 7:37-39a)

He was making good on this promise from God:

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

If you open up a spring into a muddy pond, eventually the water in that pond will become pure.  When Jesus gives a believer His Spirit, He changes that person’s heart, from the inside out.  We become “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2).

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

A Closer Walk

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It was the religious people who gave Jesus fits.  Jesus showed great compassion to those who were stuck in sin.  Jesus loved the unlovable, not by overlooking their bad stuff but by showing them the path to forgiveness, restoration and freedom.  But the religious people, the self-righteous, legalistic, judgmental people?  Jesus blasted them with harsh criticism.  Because He loved them, too, and they were traveling a far more dangerous road.  When you are in trouble, it is far more dangerous if you either don’t realize it, or pretend that you are not.

After being challenged one day because His disciples were not strictly following the religious ritual of hand washing before eating, Jesus turned on His accusers.  He pointed out how they used religious tradition to thwart the real purposes of God.  (See Matthew 15:1-20).  He said:

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”” (Matthew 15:7-9)

When people try to make themselves righteous, they do so by following religious rules.  The problem with that approach is that, inevitably, they begin to keep score, becoming proud and looking down on others.  When people try to make themselves righteous, they become self-righteous.

Much of the time, religious rules are designed and followed to make a person look good to others.  Instead of expressing genuine love for God, rule-followers say, “Look at me, people; I’m religious, I’m better than you…”  Sometimes when people say things in a way that sounds religious, they do it for the same motive.  But God says, when people “honor Me with their lips, but not their hearts” they are “far from Me.”   Their worship does not cause them to draw close.  No matter how religious it sounds, their worship has no real effect.  It is “in vain,”  which means it is empty.

God’s Word is given to us with the purpose of drawing us into a living and loving relationship with Him.  You don’t form that kind of relationship with anyone by following rules and keeping score.  That, in a nutshell, is the problem with most religion.  It’s why religion doesn’t work.

But relationship does.  You want to draw close to God?  Stop being religious, and get close to Jesus.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Imposs-ability

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What the heck just happened?  Or, what was that all about?  When you read about Jesus, you may find yourself scratching your head, asking that kind of question.  Good!  If you want to get the most out of Jesus, you have to ask.  Because Jesus frequently used object lessons, where there was more to be learned in what just happened than there was in what He said.  Here’s a good example:

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if (since) it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” (Matthew 14:25-32 – I’ve changed “if” to “since” in v. 28 for clarity)

What was that all about?  What just happened?  One obvious lesson is this: When  Jesus asks the impossible, keep your focus on Jesus, not on all the scary things that hinder you.  Jesus let Peter learn that truth through what happened to him.  Jesus underlined the principle with what He said to Peter:

…“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”” (Matthew 14:31b)

That important principle, is repeated in the Book of Hebrews:

” Therefore, …, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  [How can we do that?] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, ….” (Hebrews 12:1-2 – excerpts plus my question in brackets)

Jesus frequently asks or motivates us to do things considered impossible in the world.  Impossible things like forgiving.  There are times that forgiveness seems as impossible as walking on water.  But, when you fix your eyes on Jesus, and not on all the hurt, when you allow faith to push aside doubt, you can walk across that impossible “water,” you can walk toward Jesus.

That’s just one example.  When Jesus asks the impossible, do what Peter did.  Call out to Jesus and say, “Lord, since it is You, tell me to do the right thing, the thing that looks so impossible.”  Then trust.  Likely, you will be amazed, as were His disciples on that windy night:

“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”” (Matthew 14:32-33)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Why and How

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Do you want to know how Jesus walked on water?  You’ve probably heard people telling jokes about walking on water (I think my wife walked on water once when she saw a snake) but how did Jesus do it?  What Jesus told His disciples gives us a clue.

“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”” (Matthew 14:26-27)

You may want to review how Jesus set this experience up (See: Jesus Throws a Combination).  Point is, they were really terrified.  When you first experience terror, it’s like suddenly falling.  Most people scream and their arms fly out involuntarily.  Some faint.  Like that time your brother pranked you with a fake spider that dropped on your head?  Like that.  Jesus set that up.  He deliberately terrified them.

And then, He told them three things, important things.  Things He wanted them to really know.  Us too.  Two of those things were commands:

  • Take courage!
  • Don’t be afraid

Essentially, “Stop freaking out and get a grip.  Allow your heart to be filled with understanding and confidence.”  And then, “Don’t become afraid in the future.”

But it’s what Jesus said in between those two commands that is the key to why they make sense.  (It’s also the key to how He walked on water.)  It’s not clear in the English translations, but Jesus pronounced the Holy Name of God, applying it to Himself.  He said, “I Am!”  Which meant, “I am God!”  In our culture, where people use the names for God in a casual and disrespectful way, it’s hard to understand what a big deal this would have been.  But know this: when Jesus said those words in public (John 8:58-59), the people picked up rocks and tried to kill Him.

Jesus could have gone with the disciples in the boat.  But He sent them off by themselves, into a developing storm and came to them, walking on the water.  He intentionally blew their minds, shaking them loose from everything they thought they understood.  Then, with them in that vulnerable condition, He explained, “You can take courage and confidence; you can put away fear.”  Why? “Because I, Jesus, am God. With Me, all things are possible.”  That is why Jesus walked on water, so they would know that in their bones.

So then, how did He walk on water?   Same answer.  He is God; He did it any way He wanted to.  Sorry about that…   But the important thing is to know why He did it, to fully understand it and believe that He is God, take courage and put away all fear.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Jesus Throws a Combination

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In a fistfight, an uppercut rarely works by itself.  You need a combination, at least two punches, deployed in quick succession and without a pause.  The most basic combo starts with a jab, to distract your opponent, followed by a cross, to take his head off.

Jesus threw a combination of miracles at His disciples, first to startle them and then to take their heads off.  His “jab” was multiplying 5 loaves of bread to feed many thousands of people.  Then, immediately, He threw a “right cross” – walking on the water.  When you study this “one, two punch,” of miracles in Matthew 14, you begin to see many layers of meaning and purpose.  But first, let’s focus on the word “immediately.”  Both Matthew and Mark say these two events were a one, two punch; Jesus set up the second one immediately.

” Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.” (Matthew 14:22, NIV)

Why immediately?

Consider the flow of this:  First, Jesus shows them He can miraculously multiply bread.  He throws them off balance.  They are amazed and awestruck, but they are also feeling secure, because Jesus is with them and He can do anything.  Then immediately Jesus sends them off on their own.  They think, “No problem, we can do this; we’re good at rowing.”  But then, just when they feel competent and in control, a terrifying wind comes up against them.

“… but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.” (Matthew 14:23b-24)

 First they pull harder; “Come on guys, we got this… ”  Then they become fatigued.  And frightened, fighting off panic.  Their competence and camaraderie evaporates as the wind blows harder and the waves buffet them with menacing power.  The storm intensifies, continuing on through the night until after 3:00 in the morning.

Then, BOOM!  The second punch.

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”” (Matthew 14:25-27)

Why did Jesus set that up immediately?  What was He trying to do to them, sending them from their confident glow in His presence to a terrifying ordeal in the midst of their comfort zone?  Jesus set up the first miracle by saying, “You feed these thousands of people.”  Their response was “There’s no way we could do that!”  With His first punch, Jesus did it, He fed the people.  Then, immediately, He sent them off to do something they were sure they could do.   Only to discover they could not.  In the midst of their fatigue and panic, here came Jesus, walking to them on the water!

One, two punch.  Before we continue to look at the rest of what this means, ponder the word, immediately, and let Jesus knock your head off.