Tag Archives: Jesus

What Really Matters

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Eric Wallace threw himself out of an airplane and parachuted into the middle of the Air Force Academy football stadium, just before the game.  But when he landed, he knelt down before his girlfriend, Melanie and asked her to be his wife.  The parachute part was sensational.  The proposal was more important.  The day will come when what really matters to Eric and Melanie is that they agreed to be husband and wife, “’til death do us part.”  On days like that, how he showed up to ask her won’t be so important.

Matthew focused in on what really mattered when he told about the paralyzed guy and Jesus. The way Mark and Luke tell the story, his friends smash a hole in the roof and lower him down on ropes, to get him to Jesus.  But Matthew leaves that part of the story out, skipping ahead to what really matters.  He wrote:

“Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)

Being lowered through the roof was the sensational part.  Being healed of paralysis must have been what the man was hoping for.  But Jesus jumped right to the part that really mattered: “Your sins are forgiven.”  I realize that some priests and clergy presume to pronounce sins forgiven, but in truth, only God has the authority to forgive sins.  That is why…

“At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” (Matthew 9:3)

The blasphemy they accused Jesus of was taking on the role of God.  In Luke’s account, they asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21)

“Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” (Matthew 9:4-8)

The startling part of this story was when they tore open the roof.  The sensational part was when the man stood up and walked home, healed.  That part wowed the crowd!  But the healing was only a sign, a sign to prove the part that really matters.  What really matters for you and me is that Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins.

When you go to Jesus, seeking forgiveness, it makes no difference what you had to do to get there.  If He heals your body when you come, that is a bonus, of only temporary significance.  But what really matters to you eternally, is that your sins have been completely and eternally forgiven.  When your mind wonders and doubts if it is really true, you can be sure it really is, because Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins.  That’s what really matters.

The Path to Freedom

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When he pushed a 2×4 into the bear trap, the huge, rusty, steel jaws of that thing snapped shut, breaking that piece of lumber like a toothpick.   Everyone in that football stadium, attending Promise Keepers, flinched from the violent sound of it.  Then a father and his son were invited up onto the stage.  The son was blindfolded while a few bear traps were placed in the middle of the stage.  The father then called to his son, telling him to listen to his instructions as he walked across the stage.  At one point, as the kid was heading right toward a trap, the father shouted, “STOP!”   He did stop.  He followed his father’s spoken instructions, eventually winding up safely in his father’s embrace.  As you can imagine, this object lesson was indelibly pressed upon us that day.

Jesus said,

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

We are blindfolded from the truth in this earthly life, deceived by our limited understanding and false assumptions.  We stumble through life, unknowingly and inevitably heading toward peril.  That is, unless we “hold to” the teaching of Jesus.  It’s not enough to hear Him say, “STOP!”  Holding to His teaching means also responding to what He says.  If we do, Jesus says, we will “know the truth and the truth will set [us] free.”   Real freedom comes to us when we carefully follow the instructions spoken to us by the One Who knows where the traps are.  Real freedom is the path that leads to the full embrace of our Father.

July 4th is the day we celebrate freedom in this country.  According to our Declaration of Independence, we believe all people have been “endowed by their Creator” with the “unalienable right”  to liberty or freedom.  Such freedom may be our right but it is not guaranteed to those who refuse to listen and respond to the Creator.  It is those who “hold to [His] teaching” who “know the truth” and are thereby set free.

Even You

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How would you feel if China called in its debts from the US, foreclosed on us and took over our country?  What if China invaded, abolished our government and put Chinese troops in every community to keep order?  If that happened, everywhere you went you would have to deal with soldiers from a foreign culture who would tightly regulate what you could do.  Can you imagine how resentful you would be, what simmering anger would fill your heart?  Put yourself in that frame of mind, and you have some idea of what it was like for the Israeli people, as they lived under the dominion of Rome in the first century.  But they had one hope: God had promised to send a Messiah, a Savior.  They assumed that when He came, He would overthrow Rome and re-establish their independence.

Imagine, in that situation, how it must have felt as people began to sense that Jesus might be the One.  Many signs seemed to confirm that He was the Savior.  Excitement was building and crowds were gathering around Him.  But then He started smashing the preconceived notions of the religious leaders.  He taught a radically different interpretation of God’s laws.  He called simple people to follow Him and argued with the scholars and priests.  He dared to touch a leper and healed him.  But then Jesus agreed to heal the servant of a hated Roman centurion!  Can you see how shocking this would have been?  How could the Jewish Savior consent to help one of their enemy oppressors?  Worse yet, Jesus praised this soldier’s faith, said it was better than the faith of any of the Israelites!  When the soldier said,

“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:8b)

Jesus said,

 “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (Matthew 8:10b)

As the leaders’ indignation was building, Jesus offended them even more, by suggesting that this Roman centurion was closer to the Kingdom of Heaven than they were!  He said:

“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12)

God’s promise to Abraham was that “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3b).  The religious leaders had forgotten God’s plan and assumed that God cared more about His Chosen People than He did about everyone else.  What’s more, they had forgotten that this whole plan was set into motion by Abraham’s response of faith in God.

God’s Kingdom exists for anybody who will enter it by faith.  Jesus came for you.  It makes no difference what nation or culture you were born into.  What matters is whether or not you trust Him.  Like the Chinese… I mean, Roman soldier did.

Lessons from a Leper

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If you had been there, you would have ridden an emotional roller coaster.  The Sermon on the Mount was over.  The large crowds were so blown away by  the authority of Jesus’ teaching that, when He walked down off the mountain, they just had to follow Him.  They could sense it; they were in on something big.  Jesus was going to be really famous and popular. But then:

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:2-4)

It’s hard for us to appreciate how jolting it would have been for the people following Jesus, to suddenly discover a leper in their midst.  People with leprosy were so horribly disfigured that they were severely ostracized and shunned.  They were considered unclean, spiritually dangerous to be near.  And here comes a leper, right up to Jesus.  It was shocking and revolting.  But then Jesus touched him, making Himself  unclean by the rules of their day, and risking catching the disease.  Jesus went from being the grand winner of “Galilee’s Got Talent” to making Himself unfit to be near.  You can imagine how the crowd’s emotions were tossed back and forth.

Before anyone could recover from the shock of those two things, the leprous man was instantly healed!  Fear and revulsion would have suddenly turned into amazement and awe!  Let’s sound the trumpets!  Jesus can stand up now and loudly proclaim His Divinity.  He can bask in the glory of His great power.  The crowd would have gone wild…

But that’s not what He did.  Jesus told the man not to tell anyone.  Instead, He said, he should follow the customary procedure for someone who was healed – get checked out by a priest and bring an offering.  Why would Jesus tell this man to keep it a secret?  Why would He set it up for the priests to get the credit?   Confused?  So were all the people in the crowd.  Jesus didn’t say why and Matthew doesn’t tell us.  He just let them ride the roller coaster.

Maybe you have felt a little like the leper – too much like damaged goods to be able to get near Jesus.  Maybe you see all those Christians crowding around Jesus and think, “I’m not like those people; they wouldn’t want me to come in and ruin the celebration.”  Maybe you are wondering if Jesus would reach out and touch you, if He would heal you from whatever kind of moral, spiritual or physical “leprosy” that afflicts you.  If so, carefully consider three things about how he brought his request:

1.   First,  he kneeled before Jesus and called Him “Lord.”   Mathew used a word for prostrating oneself as an act of wholehearted worship.  The leper approached Jesus with humility and reverence, with a deep sense of how needy he was and how Holy Jesus was.

2.   Secondly, he acknowledged Jesus’ power and authority.  He said “… you can make me clean.”  This was a profound statement of faith.  “You can do it.”  Trusting Jesus means believing He is able.

3.   Finally, the leper accepted that Jesus would only heal him if He was willing.  He left the decision up to Jesus.

We would do well to remember these three attitudes whenever we bring a request to Jesus.  Remember his attitude of humble reverence before the “Lord,” His faith in Jesus’ great power, and how he submitted himself to what Jesus willed.   Jesus, Himself modeled these 3 attitudes in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

When you approach Jesus, don’t come with the crowd.  They can be easily confused.  Instead, come with the leper.  He knew what to do.

The God of Jesus

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The pictures of my dad as a boy and as a young man do not look exactly like the guy I remember who rode me around our back yard on his shoulders.  They don’t look exactly like Dad did as an old man, either.  But I am sure that those pictures are of the same man.  There is a basic identity revealed in those pictures – the set of the eyes, the shape of the hands – and there is no doubt about who they are.  If someone asked me to prove it, I could go on and on.

It seems like I’ve been “going on and on,” showing how the identity of the Old Testament God is the same as the God revealed in the New Testament.  Once you look for evidence of that, there are many ways to prove it.  But, before we leave this topic, let’s reflect on how Jesus saw the God of the Old Testament.  Did He recognize Him as the same God He called His Father?   Even in answering this question we could “go on and on.”  But consider how Jesus answered the angry accusations and questions of the Jewish leaders of His day.  When they asked Him:

“Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.” (John 8:53-55, NIV)

There it is, in Jesus’ words.  The God of the Jewish people in the 1st century, the God Who called Abraham, back in Genesis 12, is the same God. Jesus refers to as His Father.

Ancient Wisdom

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I found a 110 year-old book, “The New Idea,” that summarizes everything known in 1904.  It’s a fun read.  We’ve learned a bit more since that book was published.

What is the oldest book you have ever seen? The most ancient book in the Bible may well be Job not Genesis.  Genesis, the first book in the Bible, was written by Moses.  The folks that study these things tend to believe Job came before Moses, probably even before God called Abraham.  If so, then Job’s understanding of Who God is, and what God is like, is as early as it gets.  Was Job’s God the same as the God of Jesus?

Consider what Job said:

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Whoa…   When I grapple with these words and ideas, the small hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention!  Not only did Job know God, but He knew God’s future plan:

–  He would send a Redeemer (One Who would purchase us from slavery)

–  This Redeemer was already alive in Job’s time and would still be alive “in the end.”

–  Job’s Redeemer is God.

–  Job knows that, after he has died, after his body has decayed, he will see his Redeemer.

–  Job knows his “seeing” will be a physical reality – that he will see him with the eyes a restored body.

– In the midst of his worldly trials, he yearns for this future certainty.

All those assertions, convictions of this most ancient witness, are truths taught by Jesus in the New Testament.  Ponder how long-lasting and unchanged those ancient concepts of God have been!  Job must have had a sense, when he uttered those words, that he had tapped into a deep, eternal truth.  Because he preceded them with this urgent appeal:

““Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!” (Job 19:23-24)

He got that right, too…

Could God be That Cruel?

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What kind of god would command a father to kill his only natural son?  In Genesis, we read how God told Abraham,

…“Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Genesis 22:2b)

Some say there is no way this God could be the same God described in the New Testament, the God of Jesus, the God of love.  In their opinion, there is no way a “good” God would even suggest child sacrifice.  Makes sense, unless you know the whole story…

First, we must understand that it was not unheard of for pagan gods to require child sacrifice.  Abraham’s unquestioning obedience gives a strong indication that he had been aware of such practices.  Secondly, as you read through the account, just before Abraham stabs his son, Isaac, to prepare him as a sacrifice, God puts a stop to it.  Instead, God Himself provides the sacrifice.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:12-14)

God’s purpose, He said, was to test Abraham’s faith.  Even as a test of faith, however, this seems unnecessarily cruel.  Why would God put both Abraham and Isaac through such torment?  But there is more going on here.  God tells Abraham:

“I swear by myself, … that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you … and through your offspring [literally seed] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:16-18, excerpts only, for clarity)

God’s plan to redeem and rescue “all nations” is reaffirmed after Abraham’s act of faith.  How will His plan be accomplished?  “Through [Abraham’s] seed.”  Who is that “seed,” that descendant?  It is  Jesus.  How do we know it is Jesus?  Because through Jesus, God fulfilled the plan.  How?  By sacrificing His One and Only Son as a sacrifice for our own sin.  Where did this happen?  On the same mountain!  Do you see the beautiful symmetry?

With that information in mind, reread this:

So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

The God of the Old and New Testament does not require sacrifice from us.  This same God provided the necessary sacrifice, for us.  (If you don’t understand why the sacrifice was necessary, click here.)  Jesus, God’s One and Only Son, went to the cross on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem, to pay for our sins.  Here’s how this was foretold by the prophet, Isaiah:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  (Isaiah 53:5)

This profound gift of grace, given to redeem and rescue all those who will receive it by faith, is perhaps the most compelling evidence that God has not changed.  He is the same God throughout the whole Bible.

Lovingly Tough

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Even if Bowe Bergdahl is found guilty of desertion, it is unlikely he would be executed.  But that has been the customary punishment for those who desert the military during war.  Why such a tough punishment?  Two reasons: In such dangerous and unpredictable conditions, without enforcing strict discipline, the disobedience of a few could threaten the survival of everyone else.  Secondly, the stakes of failure are very high.  In wartime, rules are strictly imposed and punishments for violating the rules are exceedingly tough.

Some people look at the strict rules and harsh penalties of the Old Testament and conclude that the Old Testament God is not the same as the God Who teaches forgiveness and love in the New Testament.  Why, for example, does God require the death penalty for someone who curses his parents?  Surely adultery is a serious offense and worthy of punishment – but death by stoning?  How could these be the commands of the God of love, joy, peace, patience, etc.?

The answer lies in the dangerous conditions faced by the people to whom He gave those laws, and the extremely high stakes involved.  What were the conditions?

Imagine a few hundred thousand people who had known only slavery for 400 years (as far back as the Mayflower!), people who had no need to govern themselves and had a resentment toward those who did.  Take this people, release them suddenly from slavery, put them out into a desert wilderness without adequate food and water, and try to lead them toward a new homeland, passing through the territory of hostile tribes.  Can you see the need for some pretty strict rules?  Now, consider that this whole enterprise was God’s first step toward rescuing the whole world from destruction! (See Sourdough Theology)  The stakes could not have been higher.  Without severe penalties imposed, the laws would have been ignored.  Rebellion would have been widespread.

But when you read through those tough laws, you can clearly see God’s deep desire to keep His people safe, well nourished, healthy and secure.  To see this, zoom through the whole book of Leviticus at about the speed of a crop duster, just looking for broad sweeping themes.  You will see laws pertaining to their health and safety and laws designed to keep order and laws to prevent disputes from getting out of hand.  Many of the laws show this ignorant people how to relate to a God they did not know, how to worship Him and how to take care of the sins that would otherwise keep them separated.  Are the laws tough?  Yes they are.  Are the punishments severe?  Yes, that too.  But the goal of them all is for God to get them safely settled in the Promised Land, and to bless them.  He said:

“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit.Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.“ ‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.“ ‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you.I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.“ (Leviticus 26:3-12)

The Same Plan

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There was no Plan B.  God’s plan in choosing Israel was to bless “all peoples” (Genesis 12:3).  There is evidence throughout the Bible that this plan has not changed.  It is a strong theme that ties the Old and New Testament together.  Here is an example of that from the prophet, Isaiah, who lived roughly 1000 years after Abraham and 700 years before Jesus:

” This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:1-3)

Isaiah used the word, mountains, to symbolize nations or people groups.  Notice that the plan was for “all nations” to be attracted to “the God of Jacob” (Israel) and to learn “His ways, so that we might walk in His paths.”  God’s blessing comes to those who discover that life works best when they follow the “Manufacturer’s instructions.”  God’s plan is for “many peoples,” “all peoples,” to recognize this simple truth and live by it.  When this plan is fully accomplished, Isaiah foresees international peace!

“…They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4b)

And, with that goal in mind, that he urges the people of Israel:

“Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2:5)

They could not do it.  Despite being chosen and uniquely blessed, Israel could not bring themselves to “walk in the light of the Lord.”  Nevertheless, God’s plan continued, unchanged, through Jesus.  Born to the people of Israel, He was the “word of the Lord” that would go out from Jerusalem!  Amazing…

Sourdough Theology

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Why would a loving and just God have a “Chosen People?”   What is so special about Israel?  Does God play favorites?  It seems petty for God to focus His attention on one small tribe – just one man, originally.  What about everybody else?  Isn’t this a sure example of how the Old Testament God is nothing like the God of the New Testament, the God Who “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”? (Matthew 5:45)

To examine this, look carefully at what God said to Abram (later renamed Abraham) when He first called him:

” The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”” (Genesis 12:1-3)

When you bake sourdough bread, you begin by making starter.  Starter is made with ordinary ingredients – flour and water – but it requires a lot of special attention and It takes awhile.  You can’t use just any old container.  You can’t use chlorinated water.  You need to keep it warm but not too warm.  Periodically, you have to discard half of the starter and feed the rest.  But when you have good starter growing and bubbling, a small portion of it will cause a whole batch of bread to rise.

Israel was God’s “starter.”  He gave that small group of people special attention and required they follow special strict laws so that, like growing and bubbling starter, through them “all peoples on earth [would] be blessed.”  Read back through God’s call to Abram, thinking about sourdough starter, and reflect upon the history of Israel.  It’s amazing, really, after all they have been through, how many times they have been conquered, exiled, dispersed and slaughtered, how central they are to world events right now.  There is no other nation that compares.  Consider how the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, has spread His influence throughout “all peoples.”  God’s “Starter.”

No illustration works completely but I like the sourdough starter analogy for another reason.  God’s ways seem so mysterious to us.  Can you imagine, if each of us was a particle of rye flour in God’s bread bowl, with some of us in the starter and some of us added later, how we might have a few questions?  “Does God know what He is doing?  Why is He so particular?  Why does all this take so long?”

Maybe you think it’s time I got some professional help.  On the other hand, maybe it’s time to toast up a fat slab of sourdough with lots of butter and strawberry jam…  Either way, it’s time to recognize that the God of Israel loves you and has reached out to you through Jesus!