Preparation Like Sanctification

Another example of interpretation of a passage based on a difference of vocal tones:  John 21.21 records Peter asking Jesus, "What about [John]?" after learning that he would die a martyr's death.

Earlier that morning, Peter had been fishing with his buddies all night, with nothing to show for the effort. Jesus appears on the shore and suggests they throw their nets on the other side. They catch exactly 153 fish. And the net does not break unlike the earlier incident when the nets were breaking and the boats were sinking (Luke 5.1ff.)  One of the disciples took time to count them, or Jesus told them how many were there. One commentator suggests the number is indicative of the 'mature sons of Israel' and indicative of the number of times Zion is mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures. Zion is where the mature sons of Israel dwell. Unfortunately for this commentator's precision, another source says that Zion is mentioned at least 157 times.

However, let's assume that there is some connection to Zion, the kingdom of Israel or Jacob. Isaiah 2.3 says, "For out of Zion will come the Torah."

Connecting these dots, we might say that John's writings are indicating that the disciples are forming a new kingdom, new tribes, from which a new Word will be spoken to the rest of the world.

People from many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob's God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For the Lord's teachings will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2.3)

Unfortunately, Peter's still in the figurative dog house. He "perfectly" (thrice*) denied being a disciple of Christ, a student of the rabbi from Galilee. Despite having to wanting to be exactly like him, wanting to learn to do everything he does like walking on water, Peter couldn't overcome his fear. He insisted that he was not part of the group when confronted by others while Jesus was on trial. His betrayal was perfect.

Could Peter be part of the new kingdom after his betrayal? Jesus restores him "perfectly" (thrice) to the new role of shepherd. No longer would he be a fisher of men. He's now a shepherd, a lowly shepherd. But he's given the job of caring for his rabbi's flock. He has been restored to the kingdom. With that restoration, Peter has been given an important role in the new kingdom. Not only that, but he'll have martyrdom. He'll leave a legacy for the new church. Perhaps his sacrifice might bring life because new believers will be assured of the truth by Peter's willingness to die for his Lord. Just before his walk with Jesus on the beach, he's a traitor. After his walk, he knows that he will bring honor to Jesus Christ through his new vocation and his death.

As Peter contemplates this honor, he sees John. "What about him?" he asks. Perhaps he might be asking if John will have a similar honor, or maybe it will be worse for John because John did not betray Jesus.

Jesus' reply indicates that each disciples path may be unique depending on the role he or she needs to play in the building up of the church. It may not have been that Jesus was putting Peter down or chastising him. Jesus may have been merely saying, "If John's path and vocation is different from yours, you shouldn't worry about that. That's up to me. You need to follow me and do what I command and ask you to do."

*One thing I've learned from a person I respect: when something is mentioned twice (Song of Songs, king of kings, lord of lords, etc.), it's considered the best of what was mentioned.  If it's mentioned three times, it's perfect, such as the description of God--'holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty...' (Revelations 4.8)

 

A Slight Distraction

Sometimes we can't get past the obvious questions. A few weeks ago, our men's group discussed John 8 and the story of the woman caught in adultery. We asked where her lover was. If she was caught in flagrante and in situ, he had to be there and must have been caught also. Why wasn't he being punished for adultery (Leviticus 20.10)? And then we got to the age-old question of wondering what Y'shua was writing in the dust.

There have been plenty of commentators and speculators. Let me be added to the list.

I told the group, who tries to hold ourselves accountable to overcoming temptation of sexual sins and controlling anger, that knowing this group was probably just like most men that I have two ideas:

• he was writing about adultery and lust. He may have been inscribing his words from the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5.28: "...anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery..." Or he was copying Job 31.11 ("For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished").  Many of these guys may have had affairs themselves, may have been with prostitutes. Certainly their forefathers had as recorded in Genesis. Many of these guys may have been lusting after her as they dragged her before Y'shua. "I wish I had known about her before we caught her. I might have had some fun." Y'shua caught them and revealed their hidden thoughts and sins. He didn't have to go to far in outlining their sins as many commentators think; he just needed to know where men's minds go around a beautiful or promiscuous woman.
• he was writing about pride. Y'shua chastises the attitude of a Pharisee who thanks God for not making him like the tax collector and other sinners (Luke 18.14). It's our pride that allows us to think we're better than others. We can chastise others who do despicable sins like adultery, murder, stealing. But we ignore our own respectable sins (a'la Jerry Bridges' book) of anger, irritability, discontentment, anxiety, unthankfulness, etc. Y'shua by pointing out their hypocrisy and pride may have been writing Proverbs 11.2--"Pride leads to disgrace,but with humility comes wisdom." Or its sister verses like Proverbs 29.23, 16.18 or Psalms 73.6 ("...clothe themselves with cruelty...").

We don't have to speculate that Y'shua was writing down the group's secret sins by name. He easily could have been writing about two of the most common sins known to man-kind: lust and pride. 

What Sorrow Produced in You

"Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you!" (2 Corinthians 7.11a)

A little out of context but it reminds me of the story of Y'shua raising Eliezer (Lazarus) from the dead (John 11). The dear friend that Y'shua loved was sick. Two days later, he leaves for Bethany. In that time, Eliezer has died. By the time, Y'shua arrives he has been dead four days. The mourners are still wailing.

Y'shua and Martha, Eliezer's sister, have an interesting conversation. At one point, she says, "But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." Most of my friends read this as a statement of faith and that she's implicitly asking Y'shua to raise her brother from the dead. We think this only because we know the end of the story.

Y'shua responds, "Your brother will rise again."

"Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day."

So has she decided not to ask Y'shua to raise her brother from the dead? Even later, she raises an objection when Y'shua commands the tomb's stone to be rolled away.

So what is Martha saying in her statement of faith--"God will give you whatever you ask"? In the midst of her knockdown/dragged out grief, perhaps even a little disappointment and anger at Y'shua for being so tardy, I believe Martha is saying, "But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Even though my circumstances have made my faith in you wobble, it is not destroyed. Even though my eyes are puffy with weeping I look to you as my Rabbi. Even though my voice is raw from wailing, I will praise you because you and God are so close and Yahweh loves you so much. I still love you, Y'shua, and will follow you even though I wish you had gotten here at least five days ago to prevent this tragedy."

Can we have that faith in the midst of sorrow? Can our sorrow be godly, in spite of the challenging circumstances, that we still praise Him? Will we still maintain commune in worship?

In 2 Corinthians, Paul applauds the church there for welcoming Titus even though they were dismayed at the harsh words Paul wrote. But their gift of hospitality and welcome was reciprocated by Titus in his affection for those believers. And Paul was proud of them. In spite of the circumstances in the strained relationship with Paul, they had enough faith in God and trust in Paul to overlook that and welcome Titus.

Tough Love

Paul puts it out there and challenges the Corinthians. In chapter 7, he says, "I am not sorry that I sent a severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it...because the pain caused you to repent (turn) and change your ways." (vv. 8-9, NLT)

I was at a conference last week, where tough love was given. We are called to love our neighbors and love our enemies. This requirement is not given by Paul, but by Jesus himself. It is a requirement to get into the kingdom of heaven. If you want to be a citizen, or adopted by the King, you have to obey the kingdom's constitution, its commands. The object lesson here: Muslims. They are our neighbor. Many Christians believe them to be our enemies. If we want to call ourselves followers of Jesus (Y'shua, Isa), we have to love. There are no loopholes.

One teacher talked about how the Samaritans in Y'shua's day might be the Muslims of the 21st century. They have a different holy book. They look back to Moses as a forerunner of the faith in one God. They believe in good works and piety as deeply important. They were considered foreigners (Luke 17.12ff.). They avoid images according to the ten commandments. They have a sense of being chosen. All these statements were true of the Samaritans and are true of Muslims today.

So maybe here's a retelling of a parable:

A village in Kenya did not have a school. The Baptists wanted to build a school in Nairobi that was easier to get to. The Catholics built a church in the village. World Vision thought that the work in the next village over would be enough help for this particular village. A Muslim from Mombasa, a coastal city in Kenya, saw the need and rallied his community to build the school. They collected money and shipped materials for the walls and roofs. They arranged for equipment to level the area so the buildings would be on a firm, flat foundation. They told the principal of the school to contact them if they needed more, like books, paper, pencils, etc. Who then is the village's neighbor?

Most of Kenya calls themselves Christian. But you don't really know. There are animists, Muslims, Hindi and other religions too. So who acted as a follower of Y'shua, loving their neighbor and loving their enemy?

Therefore

Most of us learn the conclusion. Some of our favorite verses are the ones that start with a "therefore". However, we're missing some important lessons if we jump to the conclusion. I had a teacher once who taught that it's worth asking what the "therefore" is "there for".

Recently, at a retreat I asked the men who were gathered to think about Romans 11.36: "For everything comes from [God] and exists by his power and is intended for his glory." (NLT) Everything includes us. I then said, "Paul goes on to write 'therefore' or 'and so'. If you were Paul, how would you continue the thoughts of 11.36 that everything is intended for God's glory? What would be your concluding advice to that truth?"

Likewise, 2 Corinthians 7 starts out with a similar concluding remark: "Because we have these promises, dear friends..." (NLT). How would you continue Paul's thought? The prior verses deal with the truth that we are God's people. We are to be separate from unbelievers and not 'touch' filthy things. He will welcome us if we do. He will be our father and we his family. Therefore...what?

Therefore, it is not our suffering that defiles us. It is our attitude towards the suffering, towards the momentary troubles, to the traffic snarls, to the empty bin of our favorite soup, to the wrongfully made latte, to the dog-walker who ignores the dropping left in our yard...We are to put away filthy things that keep us from God's presence. We are to put away our respectable sins of anxiety, irritability and impatience. We are to be holy as our father in heaven is holy. We are to curb our tongue and guard our heart from lusts and hate. We are to be peacemakers. We are to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

That is my conclusion. Here is Paul's: "Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God."

Great minds...ahhh, shucks.

God Meets Us Where We're At

One of my favorite stories that allows me to persevere is the one about Thomas after the resurrection. He's heard from others that Jesus is alive but he's not sure. He asks for proof. Christ in his compassion gives Thomas exactly what he asks for--the chance to touch the resurrected body (John 20.24-29).

Other doubters included John the Baptist, when he had been languishing in prison (Luke 7). "Are you really the one? I had thought so when I baptized you but some things have happened to me that make me not so sure," John seemed to be saying. Jesus sent back a message to John's prison cell that would reassure him, we think, enough to persevere even in the face of his eventual death. After the message was sent, Jesus seemed to tell the crowds, "Don't think that because John wanted reassurance that he's weak. No, there is no one with faith like this and he was doing exactly what God wills. He is the greatest in the kingdom. What you saw in him when he preached in the wilderness is still there; he's still the same man of God."

Gideon too was reassured multiple times as he doubted that he really got God's word. "Okay, you told me I was going to save the nation when it was being attacked by marauders, but now there are armies lining up against us. Am I still the leader you wanted?....Sure, I got that sign. Can we try it again just to make sure I'm not reading this wrong?"

In Second Corinthians, Paul has been reassuring the church there. His ministry has gone through rough patches, but Paul says they're still strong (2 Cor. 6.3-12). "We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!" (vv. 11-12 NLT). In response, as a sign of faith, Paul asks for one thing:

Don't team up with unbelievers! (vv. 14-16)

And God will be in our midst. Unbelief cannot reside with belief. Questions and doubts will bring God closer. "I will live among them," Paul quotes from Leviticus 26.12, "and walk among them." This should bring reassurance. We need to avoid being tainted by the scoffers and unbelievers. That will just drag us down till the doubts make us drift away.

If you find this is happening, that your faith-strength is waning because your ministering among those who don't believe, ask God to give you reassurance. What is it you need? A message like John and miracles that prove scripture? Do you need to sense His presence? Do you need a definitive sign that you are indeed on the right path? "Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door will be opened." (Luke 11.9 abridged)

Disproving Ourselves

The recent book UnChristian notes that most people outside of the church don't like to be around people from the church. They find them too judgmental and political among other things. Jerry Bridges a few years ago wrote Respectable Sins about those subtle, everyday sins we ignore in ourselves and others. Everyone does them and they're not 'anything' like the big sins of murder, abortion, homosexuality, theft, etc. The respectable sins are ones we don't worry about and feel the need to correct in ourselves. We invite Jesus into our hearts, like our homes, but we don't let him rearrange the furniture or adjust the thermoset; we stay in control.

In 2nd Corinthians' chapter 6, Paul states that we "prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us." What are we proving? That we are followers of Jesus? Of course.

In statistics, you can't prove a hypothesis. You can only disprove it. In US and many other countries' courts, you don't need to prove your innocence, the prosecutor needs to disprove it 'beyond a reasonable doubt.'

In our spiritual walks, how would we disprove our 'being like Christ'? If people see the sinfulness in us, our godliness would be disproved. What are the respectable sins?

• Ungodliness--rarely doing anything for the glory of God, for the honor of God and developing a closer relationship with Him and becoming more conformed with His image;
• Anxiety and Frustration
• Discontentment
• Unthankfulness
• Pride
• Selfishness
• Lack of self-control
• Impatience and Irritability--my personal demons
• Anger
• Judgmentalism--what we are accused of by those outside the church
• Envy, Jealousy
• Sins of the Tongue
• Worldliness

Many of those, I'm sure, sound and look familiar. If you're filled with the Holy Spirit and are capable of bearing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5.22-23), would there be any evidence from the list above to disprove it?

I said impatience and irritability are my personal demons and I've been praying that God would reveal to me and help me to overcome them. Tough sometimes in traffic! But possible.

We Live in Such a Way

One of the methods I use to meditate on a passage is to act it out so I can get a feel for what the people were experiencing; I can imagine what they saw, smelled, tasted, touched and heard. I also try different inflections for the words. For example, say the words from John 7.31 like you'd imagine a Jewish butcher saying the rhetorical question--"When the Messiah comes, is he going to perform any more miracles than this yunger-man, this mentsch?" (paraphrase obviously).

Another method is to emphasize different words. Let's take 2 Corinthians 6.3. Just before this, Paul begs the readers not to ignore God's gift of Christ's sacrifice so that we can be right with Him. Today is the day of salvation.

"We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry" (2 Cor. 6.3 NLT). It's similar to Romans 14.13. Since as believers we are called also to be ministers of Christ, let's look closer at the verse to see if we can pull out different applications for our own lives today.

"We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry." It's our responsibility.

"We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry." We can't hide in seclusion; that wouldn't be living by most cultures' definitions.

"We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry." What complaints do people have about you? Do you not listen? Are you apathetic? Are you irritable? Impatient? What other aspects of your life are like the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit?

"We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry." This includes everyone we come in contact with, including those on social media venues. And those who have heard about us from other people. It especially includes other believers. Here is the toughest group: your spouse, your kids, your parents, your boss, your co-workers, your grumpy old neighbor, your disrespectful young neighbor, your bus mates, your car pool buddies--in short, everyone in close, close contact with you.

"We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry." Christ's reputation is in our hands as His ambassadors. We can block people from understanding who He is and the gift of grace and mercy if we're not living in a gracious and merciful manner. We can lead people astray thinking it's okay to ignore our "respectable sins" (Jerry Bridge's book) because they see us doing it.

Think about these different aspects and you've done some meditation on a verse. Let it seep into your being throughout the day. Then you've fulfilled the command of Deuteronomy 6.6. It will be as if it's written on your hands, forehead and doorposts. You'll see it in your heart wherever you go.

Blessings on you.

There is No Scorecard

In the news recently has been a guy who wants to encourage Christians to vote. So he's created a scorecard with a maximum of 600 points. The purpose is for his political action group to reach out and contact them and inundate them with literature to get them to vote for the appropriate candidates: the higher the score, the more contact you get.

The problem is how he thinks Christians ought to behave and what affiliations they should have. According to the news report, you get points for fishing and enjoying NASCAR, home schooling your kids, being on an anti-abortion mailing list and a list of an organization that's fighting for traditional marriage.

So what if I'm a believer and disciple who'd rather play soccer than waste hours watching hunks of metal circle at high speeds going nowhere? What if I believe the community needs to be strong as a form of loving my neighbors and one way to do that is to support the local public schools? I'd rather get points for being in a small group bible study than because I'm on some church's mailing list as a regular attender. (Regular attendance is important, but being conformed in the image of Christ is more important.)

God's thoughts are higher than a person's thoughts. Just when we think we have it figured out as black-and-white, God upends our dichotomistic thinking for more holism. Touch the ark and die. Yep, that happened. Commit adultery and die. Nope, that didn't happen for Judah, David or the woman caught by the teachers of the law in Jesus' day. In fact, the earthly lineage of Christ comes from prostitutes, adulterers, foreigners and probably some other miscreants (like Abraham's multiple lies). If it hadn't been for adultery, David's lineage wouldn't have happened nor Christ's.

"So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time, we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Cor. 5.16-17)

If we insist that other believers conform to our life, our old secular and non-spiritual life, than we are not seeing with God's eyes. We are seeing with human eyes. We would see Christ as the 'son' of a whore, a mere carpenter's son, who hangs out with drunkards, gluttons and other sinners. We would not see the life transforming and life-saving Messiah. We would be looking for a Dale Earnhart Jr decal on his pickup beside the lake while he casts his line fishing for fish, instead of fishing for people.

Group magazine a few years ago asked: DWKJWETKWHWD? Don't just ask what Jesus would do. Ask whether you know him well enough to know what he would do. "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 7.22). This includes those who did great spiritual acts. Does setting up a voter point scorecard count, Lord?