Reaction

Ever heard the expression "stuck in his craw?" The "craw" is the crop of a bird that helps digest food. When food gets stuck there it can kill the bird. It is like a hairball for a cat or a bone in one's throat. It chokes. It becomes all you think about. It cuts off your air and makes you feel like you are going to die, and you may. The words and woes of Jesus in Luke 11 got stuck in the craw of the scribes and the Pharisees. Remember the lawyers said, "Teacher, when you say this, You insult us too." (11:45) Words taken as insults stick in the craw. It is kind of strange to think that anything Jesus, the man of love, would say would stick in some one's craw and cause such anguish. Shouldn't we avoid causing such distress at all costs? I guess not, since Jesus is our example. There are times when we need to say things that others will not be able to swallow very well, and it may cause them to choke on our words. We, of course, do not intend for them to choke, but that might be the consequences. So what did these religious leaders do in response?

First, they became "very hostile" toward Jesus. The word used here can be translated "entangled" and has the idea of being trapped or ensnared. It is used in Galatians 5:1 to describe being entangled in a yoke of slavery, in this case trying to be justified by law-keeping. When we are fixated on an offense, swallowing it over and over again, it becomes what eats on us instead of us eating on it. It causes the break down of relationship. These leaders saw Jesus as an irritant that must be flushed out of their eye. He was a royal bother. He was making life hard for them. Just as John the Baptist was a pain in the you know where to Herod, so Jesus is a pain to those who do not want to face themselves. Jesus is right in John 3 when he says people do not come into the light because their deeds are evil.

Second, out of this hostility they question Him closely on many subjects. They are getting much more specific and targeted in their questions. It reminds me of Senate/Congressional Hearings where the law-maker is questioning the person at the table about some matter. Their questions are designed to both preach and to catch someone in an admission of guilt, instead of seeking truth and information, and letting it reveal what it will. Questions are asked and the questionee is unable to get a full sentence out in response before being cut off and told they are unresponsive. It is clear in such cases the questioner is not interested in hearing the answer as their minds are made up. So is the case here. These leaders' minds are made up. Jesus has to be stopped.

Third, they begin to plot against Jesus. Literally they are "laying in wait" to ambush Him. Acts 23:16 tells of a literal plot to ambush Paul. Psa.2:1 asks the question: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" Psa.35:4 says, "May those who seek my life be disregarded and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. Proverbs 12:20 says deceit is in the mouths of those who plot evil. Think how ridiculous it is to think that mere men could devise a plot to bring down God!

Fourth, they are trying to catch Him in something He might say that is contradictory or false. The mouth God sent to teach us the way of life is now being listened to, not to learn about life, but to bring about His death. Irony of irony. If you capture a person in their words you capture the person. They sought inconsistency and half-truths. Did they read Him his Miranda rights: "Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law..."  In this text Luke gives us a good list to look out for when we say something that sticks in some one's craw. So watch out. If it happened to Him, it can happen to you.

Lawyer Woe #3

  Luke 11:52, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered." Those who hold the keys have the power. When people want to get in, even need to get in, and cannot because the person with the key will not open the door, or will not give them the key so they can open the door, the condemnation is heavy. Imagine you are in a room and the room is on fire. The door to the room is locked, and there is one person in the room who has the key to the door. This person will not unlock the door and will not give you the key. Imagine the panic. Imagine the anger. Imagine the chaos of such a scene. Essentially Jesus came to earth from heaven to bring the key that would unlock the doors of sin, fear, anxiety, addiction, and hopelessness. People are trapped in these horrible rooms which are on fire. On the other side of the door is the glorious kingdom of heaven, a kingdom of purity, security, peace, freedom, and hope. People know in their hearts that it exists and they long to live there, but they are trapped behind a locked door. They hear the Savior calling to them from the other side, and they could easily walk through if it weren't for the person holding the key.

 

Sadly the lawyers would not enter the kingdom themselves and they prevented those who would enter from doing so. Jesus proclaims a serious condemnation on them. How could someone be so callous? So what is the key of knowledge? Jesus associates knowledge of the Father and the Son with eternal life. The kingdom of God is the kingdom which has as its quality of life, eternal life. The kingdoms of this world cannot offer this quality of life. Knowing Jesus and the Father is essential to our experiencing life indeed. The true and abundant life of the kingdom is dependent on knowing the Father and the Son. This is what Jesus came to do, to reveal to us the Father (John 14). Our highest calling is to know Jesus, understand His mind, unlock all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge found in Him (Col.2:1ff).

 

The lawyers did everything they could to keep people from believing in Jesus. They devised clever arguments and twisted Scripture and told lies to try to persuade people that Jesus was a false Messiah. They tried to trick Him to discredit Him. They spread rumors and organized mobs to turn public opinion away from Jesus. Jesus Himself is the key of knowledge. He unlocks the secrets of the kingdom. Hearing Him and Knowing Him is the key to all understanding. When we make it difficult for people to know Jesus by 1) not telling them about Him; 2) setting a bad example while saying we follow Him; 3) creating man-made doctrines and systems that obscure Him; 4) failing to know Him ourselves because we are too busy to seek the mind of Christ, then we too take away the key of knowledge. This is a serious matter, and one we should give serious consideration to.

Lawyer Woe #2

 See Luke 11:47-51. In a couple of weeks I plan to stand before the graves of my father and mother in a small cemetery in Dasher, GA. I hope to honor them by taking the time to go there and spend a few minutes. Last week I said a prayer before the mobile Vietnam memorial and thought of the 58,000 men and women listed there. Here is the crux of Jesus' woe. There is something wrong with outwardly honoring the dead, holding them up as worthy of honor for how they lived and died, and then not following the principles by which they lived and died. The lawyers decorated the tombs of the prophets, making a great show of their devotion to what these prophets stood for and what they preached, while all the while not living their lives according to what the prophets said. (It would  be worth your while to read a sermon by John Nelson Murdock delivered on the 4th of July, 1858 entitled "Building the Tombs of the Prophets.")

These lawyers venerated the old Elijah but would not listen to the new Elijah, John the Baptist. They venerated the prophet Moses but would not listen to the one like Moses, even the Messiah Jesus (See Deut.18). Many love dead prophets but show little respect for live ones who tell them things they do not want to hear. Dead prophets can be tamed and entombed. Dead prophets can be quoted. Live ones are hard to tame and should be followed. Before we say that we would not do what they did, how would we treat the likes of John the Baptist if he came to preach at our church next Sunday? It is one thing to set him on a flannel graph board; it is still another to put him in the pulpit. The message of dead prophets can be reshaped. They can be kept in a book on a shelf, tucked away, ignored, neglected, and made irrelevant. Martin Luther King, Jr. was hated while alive, and today we have a national holiday in his honor. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper are we merely decorating His tomb, or are we listening and responding to the living Savior.

It is curious that Jesus says "For this reason the wisdom of God says..." (11:49) Not just "God said" but the "wisdom of God says." It reminds me of Luke 7:35 in a similar context. "Wisdom is proven right by her children." God was prophetically silent for 400 years, and then in the new age he began to send prophets and apostles to that generation. Why? One reason is so that He could hold them responsible for the blood of all the prophets. Their blood was going to come upon Jesus' generation, and within 40 years it did at the destruction of Jerusalem. From one end of the Jewish Bible to the other, from Abel to Zechariah (Gen.4:8 to 2 Chron.24:20,21) the indictments of all the murders of all the prophets, including the greatest Prophet, Jesus Himself was going to be brought to court with God Himself as the judge. The blood of these prophets cry out from the ground against them.

So how do we avoid such a woe? We must stop giving lip-service to those who have gone before, our parents and grandparents, our great moral and spiritual leaders, our heroes who died sacrificially, and our constitutional forefathers and begin to live out the truths and principles which guided their lives. More than this, we must not honor Jesus with our lips and our hearts be far from Him. We must not speak of how great He was. We must speak of how great He still is and how He is the most profound influence in our lives, the one we listen to each day for our faith and direction. Two children before the Lincoln memorial on a field trip; or two children who carry in their hearts the passion and character of Lincoln?

Lawyer Woe #1:

We are still in Luke 11, verse 46. Jesus turns from the "woes" of the Pharisees to the "woes" of the lawyers. Admit it. We have a love/hate relationship with attorneys. They have been called a lot of names. But, it also is true that when we are in some civil or criminal trouble, they are within our top three list to call. I almost became an attorney. It was one of my three choices for a career or life profession (along with something in the music industry, and you know the other one). How different my life would have been if I had chosen this path. I can see how lawyers in applying the law to specific situations can lay heavy burdens on people. It is one thing for the law to create obligations; it is another for a faulty interpretation of the law to create an unwarranted obligation. Truly this becomes a burden.

Jesus says, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." The burden here is like the cargo on a ship. Too much cargo can sink the ship especially in time of storm. Jesus uses this same word to describe his cargo in Matt.11:30 where he says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Paul tells us in Gal.6:5 to bear our own cargo or burdens. Burdens under which we groan are common to men who live in tent (2 Cor.5:4). John tells us that Jesus' commands are not burdensome (cargo) (I john 5:3). So how did these lawyers excessively burden people?

In today's governmental environment we often speak in terms of the constitution, the laws that derive from that constitution, and then the regulations that are involved in the carrying out of the laws. The further we get from the constitution the fewer the people who can affect the lives of the many. It takes a lot of folks to enact a constitution. It takes fewer to make laws. But, a much fewer number of bureaucrats can in a few minutes write policies and regulations that will affect millions and make life very difficult. This is what the lawyers did. They were the "regulators" of the religious life of the people. Constitutions, laws, and regulations should make living easier and doable. These should assist us in tackling the real burdens that are against us, the burdens of sin, fear, death, man-made rules, and our own destructive tendencies. These are burdens for which Jesus had to die. For us as humans to effectively undo the work of Christ by creating regulations that make living out the freedom Christ gives is simply wrong. Jesus did what He did to free us not to have men come along and weigh us down with new obligations which we cannot keep. Jesus did not come to make us spiritually successful just to have men come along and make it impossible to be successful. When a regulation undoes the intention of the constitution or a law, it is a bad regulation. Those who craft such regulations deserve a "woe."

Pharisee Woe #3

The third woe given by Jesus to the Pharisees of His day comes in Luke 11:44. "Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it." Certainly an interesting condemnation. I was always told when I was growing up not to step on a grave because it was a sign of disrespect. On recent visits to grave sites, I find that this thoughtfulness has gone the way of holding the doors for ladies, and saying "yes sir" and "yes mam." Occasionally you will hear of some construction project that will stumble upon a long-forgotten graveyard, and the project grinds to a halt out of respect for those buried there.

It seems that Jesus holds the Pharisees responsible for not marking their own graves well. This lack of adequate markers causes people to inadvertently walk over these graves. Sacred things and places need signage. It should be clear to all when we are in the presence of something great or hallowed. It is horrifying to see young people treat lightly monuments to fallen heroes, or places like Gettysburg where so many fell in battle, or gardens built in memory of some unfortunate child. There should be a reverence that accompanies such places. The National Cemetery outside of Sarasota cautions folks to be quiet when entering this place. Judges do not tolerate dress that is not fitting for a court of law or cell phones going off. When respect breaks down then the honor and solemnness of our institutions falls.

But, what of these Pharisees. They sat in Moses' seat (Matt.23:2). This is a place of honor and importance. Even if they placed themselves there without divine approval or endorsement, just being there creates a responsibility to properly mark their position, just as a grave should be properly marked. So what marks of the Pharisees were missing so as to cause people to walk over their graves without their knowledge. Perhaps a story in Acts will explain. In Acts 23 Paul was before the Sanhedrin, and as he spoke about living in all good conscience,the high priest Ananias commanded that Paul be struck on the mouth. Paul's response was to call him a white-washed wall and says that God will strike him for sitting in judgment of Paul based on the Law by having Paul struck. Paul was rebuked for this comment. Paul's response was that he was unaware that Ananias was the high priest. Now did Paul really not know he was the high priest? Of course Paul knew. But, Ananias' life did not properly mark him as a legitimate priest before God. Ananias was an unmarked grave, one that Paul had no way of seeing that he deserved respect. Ananias lacked spiritual and moral authority, and therefore no one could know he was a bon a fide high priest. Besides he had already been replaced by a real High Priest, Jesus Christ Himself. The Pharisees had forfeited any right to be respected by the people.

If people are going to represent God in positions of authority then there be some signs to mark their lives as being worthy of that respect. Otherwise folks may walk over sacred places and institutions. When our elected official or spiritual leaders do not live in integrity they cause people not to respect the office they hold, and the entire system is demeaned.

Pharisee Woe #2

Luke 11:42, "Woe to your Pharisees! For you love the front seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the market places." Why does Jesus care about where people sit in church (or in stadiums or on planes, et) and how they are greeted in Walmart? This one on the surface seems to hit all of us. I am leaving for Haiti on Thursday and I went online to pick my seats for the flights I will be taking. The best seats were taken, and they cost more too. I have never bought first class seats, but is not because I would not like to, but because I am too cheap. I got bumped up once, and it was nice to see the others glare at me with some envious stares. I also have to admit that when I am out in public and someone comes up to me, especially someone who is important, and says hello, it gives me a little rush of feeling a little more important. In Haiti, I know I will be ushered into the assembly after nearly everyone else is seated, and I will be given the best seat in the house. But, do I really love it? Do I really need it to be OK? Do I want others to recognize how important I am, and how those lesser souls should accept their lot in life and sit in the back of the bus? (I think I remember some civil rights showdowns over where people have to sit and who can talk to them in public.)

So is it wrong for the president at the State of the Union speech in the presence of Congress, Supreme Court judges, joint chiefs of staff, and cabinet members to be ushered into the room amid cheers with outstretched hands waiting to touch his hand and then given the best seat in the house? Does he love it? Or, is he humbled by it? Does he think "he" deserves it or the "office" deserves it? Does he seek it and insist on it or does he accept the honor given by others? Does he believe that all this acclaim is really how everyone feels about him or is it just a formality? Jesus valued servanthood and giving up seats and giving greetings to those society considers unimportant. "If you greet only those who greet you what do you do any differently than the pagans?" "If you take the best seat and someone more important comes in and you have to move over won't you be humbled? So take the worst seat and if you are upgraded then you will be honored." Jesus was not anti-best seat and anti-greetings. He was anti-loving it and seeking it for one's self.

The problem with all this is that these Pharisees wanted true respect but they were getting fake respect. Sure, people were bending and bowing, but they didn't really respect them. It was a hypocritical dance, a game everyone learned to play. It was outward not inward. The Pharisees were looking for advantage and prestige and honor. Jesus was about emptying self, taking up the towel and washing feet. Jesus was about touching lepers and defending prostitutes. Jesus was about getting His hands dirty and taking a manger when all the beds were full. Jesus was about often having no where to lay His head, and walking around the Promised Land instead of riding in style. He was about stopping even when busy and listening to a blind man or a woman hanging on the hem of his garment. Jesus was not humbled; He was humble. He loved people and God, not good seats and "Hello Rabbi" greetings. The false and fake are subjects for woes in His book.

Pharisee Woe #1

Luke 11:42. "But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." This is the first in a series of three woes pronounced against the Pharisees, with another three woes given against the lawyers. These six woes contain some serious errors which are indictments handed down against these leaders by God's chief prosecutor, the very Son of God. No Grand Jury is needed. No convening the Sanhedrin. Jesus has been given authority by the Holy and Righteous God to judge these matters.

This first indictment has to do with priorities. You can tell a lot of about a person as to what they think is most important, or at least more important than something else. What is in a person's central line of vision? There are always matters of interest in our peripheral vision. These have some importance if kept in perspective. The problem is that we can become so focused on these smaller matters that we miss the more important matters right before our eyes. We are like Balaam whose donkey had better eyesight than he did. In Jesus' rebuke, these small garden herbs, mint and rue, received more attention than did justice and the love of God. We are all familiar with mint, but rue is more obscure. Rue can be dangerous to the digestive system if not used correctly. With a bitter taste it is used for cooking in the Middle East. It is capable of producing abortions and is the national herb of Lithuania (and is associated with girls as a sign of virginity). The Pharisees would either carefully measure each herb and separate a tenth to contribute, or estimate a tenth of the value of a herb and contribute the money. Either way, such calculations would require some detailed attention.

The woe was about neglect or disregard, a word meaning to pass by or to render void. It is used to describe passing by a village or when Jesus asked for the cup to pass from Him. The older brother in Luke 15 is said to have never neglected a command of God. In our case what is being passed by is justice and love, some pretty large and important virtues. Justice is about decision, the act of judging or deciding a case in court. In some ways the Pharisees were pretty good at judgment on a human level, but pretty rusty when it came to godly judgment. Jesus uses the highest form of love, agape, to describe their disregard. Both justice and love are followed by "of God." Both pertained to God. The real issue is that these Pharisees did not see themselves under the justice of God and had never really experienced the love of God. Only those who know the verdict is that they are sinners and must give account and that God's great love offers them a way out can have their priorities straight.

Casual Christians often have some strict adherence to some form or ritual that makes them feel ok about their relationship with God. They may read a daily devotional, or go all out at Christmas to let folks know that it is Jesus' birthday, or display their Bible in a prominent place in their home. But, on closer inspection their lives are not about the weightier matters of the law like justice and love. They are very protective of their time and treasures. They are calloused to the hurts and needs of others. For these reasons they deserve a "woe."

Depends on What You Are Looking For

In Luke 11:37-54 we have a rich insight into Jesus' mind. Too often people are casual in their faith because of what they are looking for. What do you see? When someone walks in the room, what do you see? When someone walks by your house, what do you see? Remember how much discussion in the Trayvon Martin case centered around how George saw Trayvon. When Jesus came to lunch at this Pharisees house the host laser-eyed Jesus' unwashed hands. This Pharisee saw "it." What? That Jesus had not ceremonially washed His hands before He came to the table. To come to the defense of the Pharisee, remember Jesus saw dirty feet in the upper room (John 13). But for Jesus dirty feet in another person's face was practical, and an opportunity to teach an important lesson. For the Pharisee Jesus' unbaptized hands were an opportunity to discredit Him as worthy of being followed. The inconsistency was glaring in the eyes of Jesus. Outward washing was important to the Jewish leaders. They majored in this minor observance. They had meticulous rules to govern the practice. This Pharisee saw a violation and like a good ref threw the yellow flag.

Jesus used this as an opportunity to teach about things much more important. In Luke 11:39-41 Jesus points out some unseen offenses which often go unacknowledged by the Pharisees and are often endured by the populace. The outside of the platter and cup is cleaned while the inside is left dirty. Jesus uses two words here to describe this, robbery and wickedness. In Matt.23:25 Jesus uses the duo of robbery and self-indulgence. This trio of inside contamination constitutes a serious allegation. He likens the Pharisees to an invading army who pillages a village. Or, He likens them to one like a Mafia Don who would extort money from people. Or, it was like one who would find some "legal" means to confiscate one's property (See Heb.10:34). Self-indulgence is like the incontinence of one who's bowels cannot be controlled, or one who has an unruly appetite or lust. Satan preys on those who have no self-control (I Cor.7:5). The word wickedness is the same word used in Luke 11:34 for the eye which is bad and causes the entire body to be filled with darkness.

Those who glory in their outside cleanliness while neglecting the filth within are fools according to Jesus. These are unenlightened and ignorant. According to Luke 12:20, the light in them in darkness. They believe it is ok to maintain an double-minded existence, a hypocrisy. Jesus' counter to this kind of lifestyle is found in Luke 11:41, "But give that which is within as charity and then all things are clean for you." This is a curious teaching. The word is compassionateness and is used in Lk.12:33 to teach that selling our possessions and giving to "charity" counteracts greed. The antidote for robbery, self-indulgence and wickedness is compassion, empathy, and caring. Self-centeredness is the opposite of investing in others. This Pharisee did not care about Jesus personally. He had no compassion or empathy. He simply cared about his rules and making sure that everything appeared clean.  True cleanliness was not important to him. Jesus is going to use this myopic view to launch six woes. (More to come)

Illumination

Luke 11:33-36 again. Jesus says, "watch out." If your eye is good then you will be able to aim at things. Scopeo is used to describe aiming for the unseen (2 Cor.4:18), aiming at keeping one's self from being tempted (Gal.6:1), aiming for the interest of others (Phil.2:4), aiming at keeping an eye on those who cause division (Rom.16:17), and aiming for those who walk according the to the gospel pattern (Phil.3:17). But Jesus says to watch out "that the light in you does not become darkness." How could that be? There is a strange phenomenon in Christianity. The religion of light can become the religion of darkness. It is a real danger. Saul understood this regarding the Jewish faith. The light afforded by the commandments became darkness to him until he was illuminated by a light from above. The Jesus who enlightens every man (John 1:9) caused His light to shine on Saul, plunging him into darkness for three days until a gospel preacher showed up. If we were to Anglicize this word photizo as we did baptizo we might add another finger to our five finger exercise calling it photism (in addition to baptism). If a person is going to be saved they have to be photized. The Hebrew writer refers to this spiritual process twice, once in Heb.6:4 and once in Heb.10:32. Every person who comes to Christ must be illuminated or enlightened. Jesus is the true prototype of the Enlightenment.

For all our sophistication the world still dwells in darkness. For a world who survived the Dark Ages and saw the Enlightenment ushered in by such men as Locke and Newton and the advancements that followed their Reason, for many, leaving the Father and the Son out of the picture, their light became darkness. True illumination does not come by human reasoning and worldly wisdom. It can only come by Jesus. He is the light who enlightens every man (John 1:9). Paul taught us that our heart has eyes (Eph.1:18) which can help us see clearly our inheritance for which we hope and our great power which allows us to overcome death as Jesus did. It was Jesus who brought life and immortality to life through the gospel (2 Tim.1:10). And, one day the Lord will bring to light the things that are now hidden in the darkness and expose the motives of men's hearts (1 Cor.4:5). Jesus walked among many whose light was darkness. Of course, they did not know that at the time. Some understood at the brightness of the resurrection at sunrise on a Sunday morning. Others like Paul understood it later when the resurrected Jesus caused His light to shine in their hearts as they heard the glorious gospel. And some never really saw the light. So it is today. If you would be illuminated you must turn to the Lord, look square into His wonderful face, allowing the things of this earth to become strangely dim, going forth with faces aglow in the radiance of His being with the veil lifted (2 Cor.3). Praise God for rescuing us from the dominion of darkness and bringing us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.

The Eye-Light

It is profound. Jesus' words in Luke 11:33-36 should be pondered. Eyes are fascinating. For most of us blindness is a scary prospect. We fear darkness. Stumbling is associated with it. There is a loss of control and defense. We like to see things coming. We want the understanding that sight gives us. Then, there is beauty. Our eyes search for it. Our brain marvels when we behold it. The light in a child's eyes tell us they are smart, alive, and curious. Our eyes talk. A blink, a wink, eye-contact, diverting, closed, dilated, sleepy, wide awake, and propped up are just some of the ways we see eyes.

The eye according to Jesus is the lamp to the body. We desire to have light within. We cherish insight and foresight. We crave seeing the point as a means of getting it. When everyone else is in the light we do not want to be in the dark. An evil eye lets the darkness in. The way we see things determines the way we live. It is sad when we think we see but do not. Often the person who is blind is the last to know it. Then, there is the one who intentionally buries head in the sand and will not see. These prefer to be kept in the dark. Ignorance is bliss because I cannot be responsible for what I do not know. Sufficient light illuminates all the dark places, removes the shadows, and reveals what we need to see. We clean lenses on spiritual glasses wiping away ignorance, prejudice, false presuppositions, and misconceptions. Our cognitive distortions have to be straightened out. Our houses are bleak places without light. Did you see all of this in Jesus' words? He came to fight darkness. He came to reveal truth and to expose what lurks in dark places. He came to be the light that shines in our eyes so we can see the glory of God. Take care of your eyes and they will take care of you. Think about it.

A Generation On Trial

Based on Luke 11:30-32, raw notes from my journal. The picture is dynamic. I imagine a courtroom filled with folks from generations at least past and present. Various generations in certain localities are put into the "dock," the judgment place. They are on the spot and being watched and assessed, So here are the people of Jesus' generation on trial and the judge is looking for testimony. The first witness is the Queen of the South who has traveled across Africa to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Her thirst for knowledge, wisdom, truth and God her to endure incredible hardships of such a journey involving, no doubt, dozens of people and servants. She made a great effort to learn and understand. Her integrity and desire was great and was proven by her actions. She crossed, no doubt, deserts, rivers, mountain and jungle to sit before Solomon. Now one far greater than Solomon is here and His name is Jesus, He has the words of eternal life. He is the true way and no one including Solomon has 1 % of the wisdom and knowledge He possesses, and yet so many of His generation were much too busy and self-absorbed to walk across the street to really listen. When they did many would either be offended by Him and walk back across the street, or would attack Him as if they were of greater stature than He. Candice's testimony surely included all of what Solomon knew of Israel's history and God's purposes being worked out through that people. Solomon was fulfilling God's purpose to be a light to the nations. Surely this knowledge was shared by Candice with others as she traveled back to her home and to the wise men of the land. We may never know the effect of this journey on other generations.

The next witness was the men of Nineveh. The wickedness of Nineveh came up before God, and God dispatched Jonah to cry out against it. This exceedingly great city (a 3 days walk perhaps around it or through it) was given forty days to repent. These people believed in God, called a fast, put on sackcloth, including the king of Nineveh who issued a proclamation to call on God earnestly, cease their wicked ways, and turn from violence. God saw and turned from His plan to destroy the city. God had compassion on the 120,000 people of Nineveh who did not know their right hand from their left. So did the king of Nineveh stand with the Queen of the South (both Gentiles) and bring damning testimony? Surely Jesus was greater than disobedient and reluctant Jonah who had to be disciplined to do what God had told him to do. Every matter is established by 2-3 witnesses-we have three-Jesus, Candice, and the king of Nineveh.

Let me add. Jesus is still here and we must not be like the generation of His day lest these two ancient leaders one day stand up in court against our generation and give the same damning testimony.

Lord of the Flies

Beelzebul is accused of supplying power to Jesus to heal a man of a dumb demon. (Luke 11) Jesus associates Beelzebul with Satan. I wonder how Satan felt being accused (especially since he is the accuser) of supporting the mission of Jesus? Didn't Satan do all he could to destroy the work of Jesus, and even Jesus Himself? Satan is all about tempting folks to fall (Gen.3), moving them to do things that deny the protective power of God (1 Chron.21:1), inflicting pain to get people to curse God (Job), sifting men like wheat (Luke 22:31), blinding the minds of unbelievers, taking people captive (2 Tim.2:26), killing, stealing, and destroying (John 10), and weakening the nations (Isa.14:12). So for him to give Jesus the power to cast out one of his demons is absurd. Perhaps to suggest such a thing was offensive to both Jesus and Satan.

Beelzebul means lord of the flies. It is speculation as to how he got that name. There must be a story behind it. He was a god of Ekron in Philistia. I grew up with flies. I mean they lived in my house. Our late afternoon entertainment was to sit on the front porch each armed with our own fly swatter and see who could kill the most. It was an exercise in futility as there were always as many the next day as the day before. It was especially fun to see if you could catch them in your hand. I wonder if they thought flies were demons and if you swallowed one you were possessed. I made that up. It was one of the Egyptian plagues. In some art work demons are depicted as flies whispering in the ears of men to tempt them to do evil. The flies on a dung heap also seems a fitting connection for Satan.

But it seems to me one of the best stories to help us understand Beelzebul is found in 2 Kings 1. King Ahaziah fell through a lattice and injured himself and thought he might die. So he decided to send messengers to Ekron to enquire of Beelzebul as to whether he was going to die. An angel told Elijah about this and told him to intercept them. Elijah asks, "Is there no God in Israel that you are going to enquire of Baalzebub (another spelling), the god of Ekron?" They reported back to the king who was none too happy with Elijah. Ahaziah sent three separate companies of 50 soldiers to bring Elijah in. The first two were burned to a crisp. The third captain pled for his life, and was allowed  to escort Elijah to the king and delivered the message personally that he would not recover from his fall. Interesting! God does not take kindly to competing with an idol. God does not want His power attributed to another who is nothing at all. When man gives credit to another what God alone can do he is blaspheming God. The next time you see a fly, remember this story.

Snakes and Scorpions

Most folks are fascinated with dangerous critters. We all have stories of creepy spiders, slimy lizards, slithering snakes, and stinging scorpions. Horror movies are made about such scary experiences. Our skin crawls. The fight or flight response kicks in. Anxiety soars. We do the get-away dance. But, I noticed something yesterday as I was teaching that was one of those "connection" moments when two Scriptures come together. The first is in Luke 10:19. The second is Luke 11:11-12. In the first Jesus is telling the 72 of the dangers they are facing as they go out into the world. Jesus assures them that He will be with them. He says they will be able to tread on snakes and scorpions without harm. In the second passage Jesus says that a father will not pass out snakes and scorpions when the kids want eggs and fish.

Snakes are notorious within Scripture since Satan chose to present himself as one in the garden. He is the "serpent of old" or dragon who makes war against Jesus and His children. Snakes have always been associated with evil. In their defense all snakes are beneficial to man, yet some are extremely dangerous. Scorpions are less know and less notorious, but one look at one tells you that you do not want to mess with him. There are 1.23 million cases of scorpion bites per year worldwide, with 32,250 deaths reported. Out of the 1500 species of scorpions only about 30 are dangerous, and these especially to children. The troops in Iraq were warned about Saw-Scaled vipers and two kinds of scorpions, Death-Stalkers and Fat-Tailed scorpions. (Could it be we are making that fat-tailed one mad just by calling him fat-tailed? I wonder.)  These snakes and scorpions are associated with the wilderness wanderings of the Jews (Deut.8:15). One place they traveled was called Scorpion Pass (Num.34:4; Josh.15:3). Rehoboam threated to scourged his people with scorpions instead of whips. The son of man of Ezekiel 2:6 is told not to be afraid of briars and scorpions. These scorpions are associated with agony and torture in Rev.9.

So how do our two passages above relate. It is really very simple. Jesus promises his protection from the things that harm us or can do injury to us, like snakes and scorpions which we simply happen upon. We can step on one without noticing before it is too late. For me this is God's providential leading. Do we have a clue how often God saves us from something and we did not even know He did it? Just because we sometimes do fall into harm's way does not detract from the times we are protected unawares. The same is true of the gifts we receive from God's hand. Do we realize how many good gifts He actually gives us? Do we so take for granted the ones we have that we barely acknowledge that these good gifts come down from above? Whether it is God helping us avoid the bad or God giving us the good, we are under the constant care of a loving heavenly Father who empowers and protects. When this is understood we can live here without a constant fear of such things as snakes and scorpions.

Thoughts on Prayer

In Luke 11 the disciples want to learn to pray like Jesus. So they ask Him to teach them. Their asking is answered. The prayer as given here is similar to the prayer in the sermon on the mount, but not identical. I counted seven differences. Does this indicate Jesus was not trying to given us a rote prayer to be used in all circumstances, but rather a prayer-guide to help us know how to pray, not just what to pray?  After giving us the prayer, Jesus gives us a story to illustrate how prayer works. There are some interesting truths contained in this story.

The gist of the story is there are neighbors, one of which has gone to bed with his children late at night, and the other who has a visitor show up at his door. He has nothing to set before this way-weary guest, and he goes next door, knocks on the door of his neighbor, seeks entrance and asks for three loaves of bread. The sleepy neighbor resists but the knocking does not stop. Eventually he gets up and gives the bread, not because of their friendship, but because of his friend's persistence. So is God a reluctant neighbor who will only answer our prayers if we bug him enough? This is not Jesus' point. I took a risk of checking out the tense of the verbs used in Jesus' explanation, Ask-receive, seek-find, knock-opened. Here is what I discovered. The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are continued actions, but the actions of receiving, finding and being opened are one time occurrences. We in prayer beat and beat and beat on the door, and God answers once in response. Think about this.

Who pursues first? Is it not God who asks, seeks, and knocks first? Isn't He the one pursuing us? He calls us long before we hear. He is the "hound of heaven" on our trail. He comes after us from heaven to knock on our hearts. He is the one who offers salvation. He is the one who extends the invitation, not just once, but over and over again. He is the one who is involved in the continuous action of building a relationship with us. But, as in any relationship He wants at some point to know that we are as enthusiastic as He. A man who pursues a woman may make a fool of himself in trying to win her love, but at some point if it is to work the woman must turn and chase him. The chaser must be chased. In prayer we chase God. It is not just about a transaction like going to the grocery store. We have a need so we go to the store and conduct business. No, prayer is not business, it is relationship. It is the way we chase God in the same way He chases us. It is too easy for us to think of prayer as placing an order at the drive through, and swinging around and picking it up at the window. God wants to pursue Him with the same persistence with which He pursues us. He calls, He writes, He sends flowers, He texts, He carves our names in a tree. He can't wait to see us and talk to us and share life with us. And, though we need Him more than He needs us, He seems to be doing the most to create and sustain the relationship. We need to show a little more passion for Him. Prayer is one of the ways we do that.

Many, Few, One

The story of Luke 10 when Jesus was at the house of Mary and Martha (and Lazarus, though he is not mentioned in this story) has given rise to many teachings. This is a story about where life and eternity collide. Life is about making beds, washing dishes, mowing grass, taking showers, mopping floors, changing oil, balancing the check book, planning trips, going to the doctor, grocery shopping, dropping off clothes at the dry cleaners, cleaning the garage, going out for ice cream, attending a movie, watching your favorite sports team, sitting at a long light, getting stuck on the Interstate, filing papers, pulling weeds, and a thousand more things. But, at any one point in time we have choices to make regarding what we will do in that moment. Yet at other points in time we do what we have to do (or at least what we think we have to do) with a feeling of little choice in the matter. Ordering our lives so that all the MANY things of life does not crowd out the FEW things that are more important is a constant struggle. And even more importantly we struggle to make sure that the FEW things do not cause us to miss the ONE most important thing.

This is the message of Jesus in this story. Jesus tells Martha, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about many things." Jesus uses two words to show Martha's state of mind. The first translated "worried" in the NASB means a divided mind, an anxious interest, or thoughts occupied. It is the thorns of life that choke out the word (Mt.13:22). It is the daily pressure of concern that Paul felt for all the churches (2 Cor.11:28). It is what Paul tells us not to be, i.e. anxious for nothing (Phil.4:6). The MANY are often NOTHING compared to the FEW and the ONE. This type of mindset cannot make you one inch taller (Mt.6:27). It is what causes the married person to have more concerns than the unmarried, concerns for how to please someone else (I Cor.7:32-34). The other word Jesus uses is "bothered" (NASB). This word means an uproar, din, an outward expression of inward agitation, outcry, a tumult, commotion. Martha is visibly and audibly bothered by her sister choosing to sit at Jesus' feet while she was cooking, cleaning, and serving. This word is used of mob violence (Matt.26:5; Acts 17:5) or a scene of utter distress over the death of a child (Mark 5:38,39). Martha was not just mildly agitated. She was noisy about it. She was huffing and puffing. She wanted Mary and Jesus to know she was upset.

Jesus brings the matter back to the choices we have in life. There are MANY choices and all have their level of concern, interest, urgency, and time requirements. We need to be honest there are a lot of things that we choose to spend our time on that are relatively unimportant and not very NECESSARY (to use Jesus' word). Some people will reach a point where they will eliminate many of the MANY, and reduce life down to a FEW things that are NECESSARY or NEEDFUL. This is a good move. Reducing the clutter and chaos and moving parts from life makes things simpler. As John Denver told us, "The simple kind of life never did me no harm..." I have tried to live by a philosophy of seeing it big and keeping it simple. But, Jesus wants to take us to a much more basic level, one that will not eliminate life and its demands but will prioritize life so that we include the ONE thing that is most NECESSARY. It is the ONE things we cannot live without. It is the ONE thing we must have or we will die. Mary chose it and Jesus was not going to take it away from her even at the expense of Martha having a fit. Look closely at the text. "And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord's word seated at His feet."  That's it. That is the ONE thing. Stop, sit, listen to Jesus' words. He means it. He wants us to really do it. He wants us to let MANY, and FEW things go while we do it. We won't regret it, and He will not take it away from us, and He knows all the other things we need anyway. So, do it. Sit at Jesus' feet and listen to His word.

Jesus and the Lawyer

I think lawyers have gotten a bad rap. I considered becoming one when I was 18. There are unethical folks in every profession. But, lawyers are interesting because they are thinkers. They look at words on a page or listen to another person's argument and make very quick judgments and responses that seek to avoid entrapment. They are good at creating pathways that lead to some beneficial resolution for the one they represent. They know that if they can help others get what they want, they can get what they want. But, that doesn't mean that all lawyers care nothing about the law. They see the law as foundational for life. Where would we be without rules? But rules have to be interpreted and applied justly in each situation. So with this in mind in Luke 10:25ff we have such a lawyer who comes to Jesus with a question. This question was a test to see if Jesus was a qualified rabbi. I Thess.5:21 tells us to examine everything. That's what lawyers do.

The question was a good one, in fact, a very fundamental one, and one that Jesus was extremely interested in. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" This wasn't about healing or eating grain on the Sabbath. This was about eternal life. Jesus was a pretty good lawyer Himself so he responds with two questions: "What is written in the Law?" and "How does it read to you?"  Isn't this what is important? This lawyer surely would appreciate that Jesus is not offering some opinion but is going to their point of agreement, the Law, God's revealed will through Moses. It is so important that when we discuss questions of a spiritual nature we all have a common source of authority. This is what Jesus sought. The second question is as important, i.e. once we have agreed on the text of Scripture that answers our question we still must read it and interpret it in a way that will leads to the correct understanding. It is not just "what" we read, but "how" we read it that matters. We all bring something to a text that colors the way we see it. Jesus knew this attorney was biased. That was no great revelation. We all are. The lawyer answers the first question and Jesus agrees with him that he has selected the text that gives the right answer. The key to eternal life is our love for God and one another, our neighbor.

But, then Jesus moves on to the next question, "how do you read this?" The word that stuck out for the attorney was the word "neighbor." A lot hinged on how one defines this word. Most Jews traditionally define the word to mean a fellow Jew. If I can limit my obligation to loving folks who are like me and have the same background I have, then my task is made easier. This though was the point of contention between how Jesus read the Law and how this lawyer read the Law. The lawyer wanted to "justify himself," meaning he wanted to show that by keeping these two commandments as he defined them that he was in possession of eternal life, and really didn't need to follow Jesus. If one could have eternal life by keeping the two greatest commandments of the Law, then why did they need Jesus? The parable that Jesus tells (The Good Samaritan) was not told to merely define the word "neighbor" but to show the lawyer that he needed Jesus to both rightly interpret the Law and thereby hold this lawyer accountable, but by doing so to cause this lawyer to recognize that he was a law breaker in need of forgiveness for being too narrow in his interpretation of "neighbor." Jesus was not merely answering a question. He was convicting a lawyer of sin and his need for a savior. I don't know about you but I am impressed with Jesus' skill.

Book of Life

I love books. I even love electronic books. I downloaded one book that has 50 autobiographies in it. That one will take a while to read. God likes books too. His first one was written with his own finger. Who needs chisels, pens, quills, ink, paper, or pencils when you can write with your finger on stone? God co-authored another 66 books we call the Bible. Revelation says one day the books will be opened (20:12) and one is called the Book of Life in which are recorded all the names of the saved. How would you like to check that book out of God's library for a few days? Who would you look up first? I hope they are alphabetized, and have social security numbers. I would hate to find Rod Myers only to find out it was the other Rod Myers. When the 72 returned from their mission with the freshness of successfully casting out demons dancing in their heads, Jesus told them that there was something a little more important that being able to cast out demons. In fact you could be an exorcist and Jesus still not know you (Matt.7). It is much more important for our names to be recorded in heaven. If that doesn't excite your imagination I don't know what would.

Moses once asked God to forgive his fellow Israelites' sins and if not to just blot his name out of the book (Ex.32:32). Moses, are you nuts? Paul said a similar thought in Romans 9:3ff. I've thought about it. Not me. If my name is there, leave it alone. Fortunately for Moses God would only blot out those who had sinned. King David asked God to blot some folks out of the book, i.e. those who hated him without a cause. (Psa. 69:28) This was the opposite of what Moses said. Isaiah may be referring to this book in 4:3 when he talks of the remnant, "everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem." If not THE book of life, it was at least A book of life. Ezekiel says a similar thing about the false prophets who were not recorded  in the registry of the house of Israel (13:9). Daniel refers to those who are found in the book being rescued (12:1). Whether all these books are synonymous with the book of life, they seem like pretty important books, and I hope whoever is keeping the books knows what they are doing.

In the New Testament Paul refers to those who names are in the book of life in Phil.4:3 as fellow workers who have struggled in the cause of Christ. The Hebrew writer refers to the firstborn ones who are enrolled in heaven. Revelation has the most references to the book of life. In Rev.3:5 Jesus says the one who overcomes will be clothed in white garments and his name will not be erased from the book of life, and Jesus will confess those names to His Father. Those who worship the beast will not find their names in the book of life and the Lamb, names which have been written there from the foundation of the world (13:8; 17:8). In Rev.20:12-15 shows the judgment scene with one of the books being the book of life. Those whose names were not recorded there were cast into the lake of fire. And in Rev.21:27 we learn that the only ones coming into the Holy City (which I believe is the church) are those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

"When the roll is called up yonder..." It is sobering thought to think that there is a list of names in heaven that comprises the entire number of those who are saved, and that it is critical that my name be on that list, and that it is possible for it to be erased (blotted out). Could there be any more important roster to be on? No matter how many rolls your name may be on, to miss your name being in this book makes everything else meaningless. Close your eyes and imagine when your name was recorded there. What decision did you make that tells you that your name is there? Imagine God picking up His pen and writing your name in His book. Imagine a circumstance when he might pick up His eraser and remove your name? But, imagine the peace and assurance you have to know that your name is recorded and one day it will be read, and Jesus will confess your name before the Father.

Theatre, Lightening, Serpents & Scorpions

In Jesus' debriefing of the 72 (Luke 10) he uses language that excites my imagination. You ever met a person who has had so many dramatic experiences that their stories are captivating, drawing you in, and causing you to wish you could have been there, at least as a "fly on the wall?" We might forget that Jesus' stories extend eternally beyond the earthly experiences we read about in the Gospels. His stories are timeless and spaceless (made that one up). For instance when the 72 were telling their stories about demons submitting to them in His name, I can imagine Jesus patiently listening to their stories. You can bet if I ever cast out a demon you will hear the story, and it will be dramatic. Jesus wanted to help them put their stories into perspective. A demon (whether you believe they are fallen angels or evil spirits of dead people) is small potatoes compared to what Jesus saw. "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightening." The word watching is akin the Greek word from which we get theatre. Jesus was a spectator to one of the most dramatic events of eternity. What was it like to see Satan get kicked out of heaven? Did God give him one of those "You're fired" speeches? Knowing something of Satan's temper I would say it was not a humble exist. On another occasion when Satan stormed the gates of heaven to try to take the throne by force John tells us that he was thrown down (says it three times), hurled to the earth (Rev.12). This would explain the lightening. Can you imagine the arm on God and how He could pitch Satan down. Clock that pitch! It was lightening fast and Lucifer (light bearer) struck the earth with lightening speed.

Jesus also spoke of serpents and scorpions. Jesus says, "Behold I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you." (Luke 10:19) This has to be reconciled to other warnings of Jesus that many of them will be persecuted, scourged, and put to death. How did they hear this? How did he says this? "Nothing shall injure you." Bulletproof? Hardly. I have spent much of my life trying to avoid stepping on snakes and scorpions. I was always told to check your boots before you put them on. The word "injure" is found elsewhere. In Rev.2:11 the overcomers are not injured by the second death (but that first death is still a possibility). John the Revelator saw some pretty awesome locust who came out of the bottomless pit. They have tails like scorpions the sting of which can injure men for five months. The horses released after the sixth trumpet were no better. They had tails like serpents with heads that can cause injury. So is there a connection between Luke 10's serpents and scorpions and Revelation 9's? Perhaps. But the former do no harm and the latter do. One thing is for sure. Jesus is speaking of spiritual warfare and the protection He provides us from those who would do us harm. They may be able to kill the body, but they cannot touch my spirit.

So is there a point to all this talk of theatre, lightening, serpents, and scorpions? Of course. We are caught up in a very interesting drama. This is no dull life He has called us to. This is the stuff of adventure. I for one am looking forward to hearing more about Jesus' front row seat at the Fall of Satan, and I am hoping to see this terrible locust in heaven's zoo.

Thoughts on Missions

As I prepare in a few days to travel again to Haiti to celebrate 25 years of missions there, and as I anticipate the launching of a new phase of missions in that fertile country, I reflect on the words of Jesus in Luke 10 in the sending out of the 72. When we slow down and consider the exact words of Jesus we sometimes get a little different perspective. For instance in petitioning the Lord of the harvest, what exactly are we asking Him to do. I have often thought of asking Him to raise up more laborers for the work of missions, and this is a valid petition. But, is that what Jesus is saying here? It seems to me that Jesus is telling the 72 to pray that God will launch missions, i.e. that God will send the labors into the harvest. This paints a different picture from begging God to raise up more laborers. This says that as a laborer I stand ready to be sent. I only await the word from the Lord of the harvest to tell me to go. Do we? Do we stand ready to go and are simply awaiting His orders?

Another observation is in Luke 10:6 of the person the NASB describes as "a man of peace." The KJV says "son of peace." The phrase is based on a compound word (uihothesia) which means the placing of a son, an adoption or sonship. It is used in Romans 9:4 concerning the Israelites to whom belongs the adoption as sons; Romans 8:15 & 23 & Gal.4:4 & Eph.1:5 for the adoption as sons we all enjoy in Christ. It is as if these 72 are going out looking for those who desire to complete the adoption process and become fully sons of the Father. We seek those who are trying to find where they belong, those who desire to be a part of this forever family, those who are orphans in the world, and find their true home in Jesus. Behind every door is a potential adoptive brother or sister. One way to recognize this person is to see if they seek peace in their hearts, to cease from their restlessness.

Another thing I noticed in this text are the three things these 72 were to do when they found the worthy house in which to stay. They were to 1) eat what was set before them; 2) heal the sick in that home; 3) tell them that the kingdom of God has come near. (Luke 10:8-9) Consider this in regard to missions. Table fellowship is a means by which we identify with those we seek to teach. When I go to Haiti and sit at the table with my guests, I should attempt to eat what is set before me. I will admit there have been some exceptions. But this is a way to show that we are conforming to them and not asking them to conform to us. We show that the gospel does not demand that they change all things culturally relevant to them. Next we show concern for the needs of that home. In this case, the 72 were to care for the sick in that home. Prove to the people in that house that you care about their well-being by beginning with the physical things of this life. And, thirdly we must let those whom we seek to reach realize that since we carry the message of the kingdom that when we come into their house they are being offered a very important opportunity, i.e. to be able to enter the kingdom. If the kingdom were a boat, and this family were drowning in sin, this is their opportunity to be rescued. Who knows if such an opportunity will ever come their way again?

There is much we can learn about missions from these simple instructions that Jesus gave 72 disciples 2000 years ago. The mission has not changed, people have not changed, and the laborers are still needing to be sent.

The 70 or 72

From Jesus' teaching about the shepherd, sheep, and strangers he moves to the sending out of the 70 or 72 (depending on the manuscript; I am going to use 70 from here on). This is recorded in Luke 10 and seems to follow chronologically in our Challenger Deep journey. There are some thematic indicators of this. For instance in 10:3 Jesus speaks of sending them out like sheep among wolves, the same language used in John 10. In 10:16 Jesus tells the 70 that whoever listens to them it will be like listening to Him, and this parallels the idea of the sheep knowing the shepherd's voice. In 10:22 the truth of the intimacy of the Father and Son, and our being brought into this through revelation is mirrored in John 10:14-15. So there is continuity of thought in moving from John 10 to Luke 10.

Since the new is the reality of the old, like shadows and substance, it is not unusual that Jesus would use numeric symbolism in the choosing of 70 just as He chose the Twelve. The Twelve represented the Twelve tribes of Israel, and there are Jewish connections with the number 70. There were 70 elders of the Jewish nation. The number of members of Jacob's family who went into Egypt was 70, There are 70 nation/language groups recorded in Genesis 10 coming from Noah and his sons. Daniel outlines future Jewish history (from his day) according to 70 weeks (of years) culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Then there is the translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, called the Septuagint which means 70 because of the 70 or 72 scholars in Alexandria, Egypt in about 200 BC who supposedly completed their work in 70 days. It is most likely that the difference between 70 and 72 came because it was thought there were six scribes from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Surely Jesus is drawing on the significance of these numbers and references to make a point that the new kingdom is the substance of the reflection that is found in the old. If we take the translation of the Hebrew Bible as the primary metaphor in Jesus' mind we can see that this represented the transition from old to new. The New Testament would be written in Greek for the world, not just the Jewish nation, and the Septuagint set the stage for this. The Dead Sea Scrolls brought this to light. Just as Alexandria was the seat of learning in the days preceding Jesus, so Jesus Himself is now the seat of learning for all time. Just as the Old Testament preceded Jesus as a schoolmaster (Gal.3) to bring people to Christ, so do these 70 who are sent out to prepare the way for Jesus' arrival in these villages. Jesus does many subtle things to show the connection between the old and the new, and that a transition is taking place before their eyes. This new revelation is not for the wise, like the learned of Alexandria, but for children, those humble souls in back-water villages in out of the way Judea. The wisdom that will go forth into all the earth will not go forth from Alexandria but from Jerusalem. All the books in Alexandria's massive library, as many as 500,000 scrolls, and the current learning of the time were no match for the wisdom in one Man, Jesus the Christ. Mark Antony is said to have given Cleopatra 200,000 scrolls to place in Alexandria's library. The simple message of the gospel of the kingdom, brought by these most likely unlearned, simple, middle-classed disciples, was more valuable than all of Alexandria's learning.

Shepherd, Sheep and Strangers (6)

From journal entry on 8/24/13. Oneness is certainly a theme of Jesus' ministry. He and the Father's unity is the basis for this unity that extends in all directions, to all people. Here is a good example of what Jesus creates and we must fit into. But we do so either reluctantly or energetically. Some fight the idea of unity and do everything to sabotage it. Others are so eager to embrace unity that they bypass Jesus as the door to the sheep pen. They ignore the basis of His unity and when they get through with it, it looks nothing like what Jesus created. They change it. Our job is to accept unity as He created it and "become one flock with one shepherd." Our job is to personally "become" so we can be a part of what He made. Jesus' contribution (among others) to this oneness was to lay down His life for the sheep. Unity was purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). This unity of Jesus with the Father is rooted in the obedience of the Son to the will of the Father. Conforming to the unchanging God is the only path to real unity. God is not compromising or adjusting to us. This is not a negotiation. This is not countering His terms. He creates unity and invites us to become a part of it. Anything we do short of humbly accepting God's invitation to oneness becomes a means by which this unity is distorted. This is why Jesus on a cross is such an example. He conformed to the Father's will and not to His own. This is the struggle. This is the way unity is designed to be realized on earth.

The realms of unity include 1) personal unity with the Father through Jesus; 2) family unity based on husband/wife unity (mirroring Christ and the church); 3) unity in the body of Christ lived out in local churches as each member struggles together to greater oneness with the Father and as a by-product, greater oneness with all others within the church. If this happens within each local church then these churches will be brought closer to one another and globally the world will see oneness.

This vision for unity is one of the central features of Jesus the Son and God the Father's plan for the kingdom rule. Satan's forces work to divide-to kill, steal and destroy, to scatter sheep (10:12). The opposite of scattering is one flock and one shepherd. Running away from problems, isolating, neglect, ignoring, staying in our sin and anxiety, and not overcoming all (such things) contribute to scattering. Poor leadership also makes it easier for sheep to scatter. But encouragement, healthy teaching, discipling, strong leadership, humble hearts, cooperation, conflict resolution, and the like contribute to unity.

Shepherd, Sheep, and Strangers (5)

I want to tackle a concept that Paul challenges us to measure, i.e. the love of Christ. How high, long, broad and deep is it? Who can measure it? Paul's point is that we will never wrap our arms around the love of Christ. In the story of the shepherd and the sheep in John 10 Jesus as shepherd is contrasted with the hireling. Zebedee was left in the boat with the hirelings when James and John left to follow Jesus. There is a big difference between the business owner and employees. The employees can put in their 40 hours a week and go home. The business owner never fully "goes home." He is always responsible for the business and has to see that it is maintained or no one has an income. This is a poor illustration of the difference between this shepherd and the hirelings. Jesus never "called it a day." Jesus defines the hireling as not being concerned for the sheep. Did he mean they don't care on some level? Of course, they must care to some degree or they wouldn't have a job for long. But, their interest is not a personal one. Of course, there are exceptions to this. There are employees whose loyalty to the employer and the job is so profound that you might not be able to tell the difference between one and the other. But this is rare. Who cares more about the children? The parents or the babysitters?

So what is the point? We must come to understand that no one has ever or will ever care for us like Jesus does. Just as a typical parent cares much more for their children than a babysitter does, so Jesus cares infinitely more for your children than you do. This is hard for us to admit. As parents I want to believe that no one could possibly love my kids more than I do. But, the love Jesus has for my children is so far more than anything I could even imagine. Let that sink in. No one, no one, no one will ever care about me as much as Jesus, the good shepherd does. His love is the purest and richest of any love we have ever known. We as humans simply do not have the capacity to love as He loves. In child welfare there is a phrase that is used called "parental capacity." It is a measurement of sorts to determine a parents ability to care for their own children. Some capacities are measured by the circumstances of life and others by factors like health and income. But, in every case no parent has absolute capacity to love their children. We cannot protect them from everything. We get tired. We get emotionally overloaded. We do not have all the resources we think we need to give our children all we think they need.

The test of capacity used in the text is that Jesus has the authority to lay down His life for the sheep. Can't a parent die for their children? Yes, and some have literally died. The difference between a parent who gives his life to save the life of his child is merely trading one quality of life for another. It is a fair swap. But, Jesus lays down His life not merely to save the life (physical and temporal) of the child but to save the eternal life of the child or the sheep. This is something no parent can do. The purity of sacrifice and motive that Jesus has can never be matched by any human being no matter how much they love another. We praise our troops and first responders for offering and giving their lives for others, but even that sacrifice is a weak illustration of the sacrifice of Jesus the good shepherd for His sheep. As I was journaling these thoughts I saw that day the very end of the movie Independence Day and the bravery of those who risked their lives to save the world. The ultimate hero of the story was the drunk played by Randy Quaid who had one missile left that wouldn't fire, knowing the only way to defeat the enemy from outer space was to fly his jet right into the entrance of the ship. He took one last glance at a picture of his family and with a grin on his face dealt the fatal blow. You can't watch scenes like that and not cheer. Now multiply that by at least 1000 and see Jesus on the cross for his sheep, for you.

Shepherd, Sheep, and Strangers (4)

John 10:10 arguably is the most quoted verse in this text. The contrast between the work of the thief and the shepherd could not be starker. The intent of the thief is to steal, kill, and destroy. The intent of the shepherd is to give abundant life. What will happen to the sheep? Will it be devoured or will it be preserved to live abundantly? The thief wants to take away the identity of the sheep. It goes missing from the fold. There is no sheep to hear its name. An eaten sheep cannot hear. The progression is that the thief steals it in order to kill it in order to destroy it. There are many levels on which this happens. If people are sheep, then what takes them captive? Jesus has already told us in John 8 that one is a slave to sin. Sin takes one captive. Romans 6-7 speak of one being in bondage to sin. Sin robs us, taking our very lives. It kills us and destroys us. It is a horrible thief who has no conscience. Once it gains access into our lives it is not satisfied until we are destroyed by it. It takes and takes and takes, until we are no more. The protection around the sheep pen is not for some occasional wolf who might pick off a sheep or two. This is more than the BIG, BAD WOLF. The monster that lurks outside the sheep pen would make King Kong look like a toy monkey. Its appetite for destruction is voracious. It cannot be satisfied. It is like a roaring lion seeking whom it may devour. We have no protection from this thief without the shepherd. We have no chance of survival without His protection.

So what does our shepherd seek to give us? Abundant Life! The word life is ZOE, which is eternal life. The "abundant" part is the magnitude of life. How much life is this? It is not measured in quantity, but in quality. How would you describe a quality of life on earth? We often speak in terms of end of life decisions as being a matter of quality of life. We might be able to extend the quantity of a life (number of days) without extending the quality of that life. We make decisions on this basis. So what is quality of life? Eternal life is quality of life. On earth we think in terms of having what we need and want (food, clothing, shelter, a degree of comfort, meaningful pursuits, healthy relationships, and exciting entertainment). If we had sufficient resources (i.e. money) we could design the life we would like to have, and once fixed just like we want it, call it quality. However, we observe many who have sufficient resources and do arranged their lives just like they want them and still do not have quality.

Perhaps we should admit that we do not know how to create quality of life for ourselves. This abundant life is a result of Jesus coming. Without His coming we could not have this life He speaks of in this text. A full and abundant life, even a super-abundant life can only be provided by this one shepherd. He alone knows what eternal life is. He alone can provide it. We usually do not believe that. I know we don't because of what we do with our resources. When we get anxious we buy more stuff. When we get afraid we eat. When we get bored we book a flight or go see one more movie. We are constantly arranging our lives to provide for us this quality we are looking for. We chase eternity when it can only be had as a gift. This quality of life Jesus promises is not merely being saved and not having to go to hell (think of the opposite of quality of life). It is an experience God intends for us to have beginning now. We do not have to wait till we die to experience quality of life. But, real living is not in the living-it-up culture of our day. It is going deeper and deeper into knowing the Father and the Son (John 17:3). I am not saying not to enjoy things here. I am saying even the things you enjoy here will leave you empty if you do not experience first and foremost the quality of life that Jesus came to give you as your shepherd.

Shepherd, Sheep and the Stranger (3)

Continuing in John 10, I have always heard you do not eat any animal you have named. My wife had 125 rabbits at one time, and each one had a name. One day dad decided his feed bill was too high and they needed to eat "boppy" and his 124 other brothers and sisters. Jesus knows our names. Some sheep were given new names while on earth. Remember Simon was named Peter by Jesus. Does Jesus give us nick-names? Jesus says he calls His sheep by name, they hear His voice, and go out of the pen to find pasture. Names are personal. The word "name" signifies identity and authority. A name, though shared with others most of the time, often distinguish us from others within a particular group. Names provide some distinction. In Rev.2:17 there is mention there about a new name to be given to His people. Rev.3:5 speaks of our names being blotted out of the Book of Life, and our names being acknowledged before the Father. I prefer an introduction to an erasure. Rev.3:12 speaks of His writing on us the name of God. Rev.13:8 speaks of those who names have not even been written in the Book of Life. Rev.14:1 speaks of 144,000 who have Jesus and the Father's names written on their foreheads. Minimally the sheep Jesus calls by name are those who have put their faith in Him. The named sheep know Him.

Voice recognition technology is amazing. We speak to a device, it recognizes our voice, and responds. Babies learn to recognize the voices of those they hear most often, and associate those voices with a certain emotion. Some hear voices in their heads and when they believe these are real we put labels on them and lock up the guns. But, actually we all hear voices in our heads, even if it is our own. I often tell people to let Jesus be the loudest voice in their heads. But, how can this happen unless they spend time with Him and know Him and know what He would think? Having the mind of Christ is essential to having the voice of Christ in our heads. For the sheep it was a matter of who to follow. We tell our children not to follow a stranger. Little Red Riding Hood knew something was up when grandma's voice was too deep (along with the big nose and teeth). Men have tried to imagine what Jesus would sound like if He were here today speaking through human vocal cords. Movie directors have given instructions to on-screen Jesus' to help them be convincing. I heard one Jesus with a British accent. In the Passion Jesus spoke Aramaic. At least we heard the right language.

I love what Jesus says in 10:5 (NASB), "And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Two actions are contemplated here for sheep who hear strange voices. The first is to stop and not follow. The second is to run. Appropriate fear which helps us to know when to run is natural in some cases, but has to be taught in others. For years I directed our Kids' Safety Rally. One purpose was to train children to know when to flee, and how to do so. In 1 Timothy 6 and 2 Timothy 2 Paul tells us what to pursue and what to flee. Paul says to flee the pitfalls associated with the love of money and youthful lusts. He instructs us to pursue seven virtues: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness, and peace. This is the voice of Jesus. These words describe what Jesus sounds like. These are the types of things that the Jewish leaders neglected (Matt.23). So a good place to begin in getting to know the voice of Jesus would be with these seven words.

Shepherd, Sheep, and the Stranger (2)

In this allegory or "figure of speech" story in John 10, Jesus paints a picture of His framework for ministry. Jesus does not leave ministry definition to us. He defines His ministry and invites us into it. He doesn't want us to rearrange it or tweak it or redefine it. He wants us to discover it and get on board with it, on the ground, in time and space, and in real, meaningful ways. There emerges three works of Jesus in John 10 regarding the sheep.

 

Jesus Identifies His Sheep

Jesus Shepherds His Sheep

Jesus Unifies His Sheep

Imagine a pen full of sheep. On the outside all sheep look pretty much alike. You can't tell by looking at a sheep which one belongs to which shepherd. Cattlemen brand their cows to identify them. Pig farmers tag the ears of the hogs. Jesus calls His sheep. He identifies His sheep by those who respond to His call. Who is listening to Jesus and following Him determines whether they are truly His disciples. In John 8:31 Jesus says, "If you abide in My word you are truly disciples of Mine." Jesus was interested in knowing which sheep belonged to Him and which ones did not. If we switch the word from sheep to Christians we might say that Jesus wants to know who is a Christian (a saved, born again, Holy Spirit filled person) and who is not. Have we become so nervous about such a distinction that we simply allow someone to self-identify. It seems that anyone who claims to be a Christian, we just have to accept as a Christian. This was not Jesus' approach. He identified His own sheep by calling them by name and seeing how they responded to His voice. As His followers we respect this process and know that not all who say "Lord, Lord" are genuine.

 

Jesus also shepherded His sheep. Those who belong to Jesus come under His protection and provision. They are His sheep and He has to take care of them. He watches out for the wolf. He guards against thieves and robbers. He lays down His life for His sheep. He leads them out to find pasture. He is the good shepherd. He does not abuse or take advantage of them (read Ezekiel 34). Jesus has not relinquished His role as Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). Though He has put shepherds or pastors in charge of His sheep, they are still His sheep and not theirs. Jesus is still the Head of His body, the church. He personally is involved in conducting the business of the kingdom. Our constant orientation must be to seek His will on every matter, speak His words on every occasion, and watch for His direction in every situation.

 

Jesus also unifies His sheep. As the Jews were scattered throughout the nations (Diaspora) and as Jesus tells us there are two sheep folds or flocks, God's eternal purpose is in uniting His people. Men divide and denominate. Jesus unites and centralizes His people under One Shepherd and in One Flock. Men resist this move by God. They did in Jesus' day and we do so today. The business of a church or congregation is not to segregate or to isolate but to participate in the unification process. Our job is to make sure we personally are responding to His voice, and then we seek to be united with others who are listening and following His voice. We cannot do that by staying away from one another. We do that by testing what we think we hear and what others say they hear with the actual voice of the shepherd recorded in His word. Coming near others, focusing on His voice, and through prayer and study, seeking His will together, His purpose  in uniting His sheep can be realized.

Shepherd, Sheep and the Stranger (1)

John 10 contextually follows John 9. In 10:21 the crowd is still talking about the FKA blind man. The shift in time comes at 10:22-23 from Fall to Winter. So why talk about a shepherd, sheep and strangers? All of these are in the story of the FKA blind man. Jesus is the shepherd who calls the FKA blind man, who recognizes the voice of the shepherd and follows. The strangers are the Jewish leaders from whom the FKA blind man flees. It helps me to keep a parable or allegory like this in a specific context so I don't let my imagination run wild. John 10 has a cast of characters. There is a doorkeeper who may be the Father. There is a shepherd that Jesus identifies as Himself (10:11). There are sheep found in two folds which seem to be Jewish sheep and Gentile sheep that will eventually become one fold with one shepherd (10:16). There are thieves and robbers or strangers, and possibly a wolf that means to harm the sheep, perhaps a devil-led band if we remember the teachings in in John 8 about the Jewish leaders' father being the devil himself. Then there is a hireling who fails to protect the sheep, perhaps foreshadowing the apostles who ran away when the wolf came after Jesus.

The focus of the story is clearly on the shepherd and His legitimacy. There are several ways this legitimacy is expressed. 1) He enters by the door instead of breaking into the sheep pen. I don't have to break into my own house. I can legitimately walk in the front door because I have a key, a deed, and a mortgage, and I know the security code. I thief is illegitimate because he has none of these. 2) In this case the doorkeeper opens the door for the shepherd. In Haiti when we pull up to the house where we are staying there is a doorkeeper who comes out to the gate and if he recognizes us, he opens the gate and lets us in. The gate is meant to keep the robbers out, not legitimate folks. 3) Jesus is also the door in the story, the means by which the sheep can go out and find pasture. The one who provides access to the sheep for pasture is legitimate. The stranger provides access only to harm the sheep. 4) The shepherd is legitimate because the sheep know his voice. A baby hears mom's voice before they are born and every day afterwards. He knows the voice. He knows he belongs in her arms without anyone telling him. 5) Legitimacy is also determined by who knows certain information, in this case knowing the names of the sheep. When children are picked up at school by someone there usually has to be some way to identify the person who is picking them up. If the person doesn't know the child's name, that might be a dead giveaway that they shouldn't be doing it. In John 8 and 9, the Pharisees did not care anything about the woman caught in the act of adultery or the FKA blind man. Jesus took time to know them and to let them know him. 6) The shepherd is legitimate because He gives life to the sheep. 7) The shepherd also lays down His life for the sheep. A stranger is not going to risk his life for sheep that he steals. Men die for what they value. 8) The shepherd is legitimate because he protects the sheep from what would harm them. 9) The shepherd knows His own and His own know Him. 10) Since the sheep are really the Father's, Jesus proves His legitimacy because He knows the Father and the Father knows Him. A thief can't usually tell you who the stuff belongs to. 11) The shepherd is about uniting the sheep, the two flocks, and not dividing them. 12) The Father confirms the Son's legitimacy by loving His Son. 13) Jesus shows his legitimacy by having authority over His own life, laying it down willingly for the sheep.

Each of these thirteen points in the text point to the credentials of Jesus and His right to be our Shepherd. It is the desire of the Father that there be One Shepherd and One Flock. Anyone or anything that would lead us to any other end is not from the Father and is illegitimate.

Blindness and Sight

It is hard for me to imagine total blindness, and from birth. How I take for granted all I have been able to see in my lifetime! Never seeing the faces of my mother, father, brothers, wife, children, grandchildren and friends alone is enough to make me sad. Add to this all the amazing sights of God's creation, the colors, the words on a page of the Bible and other books I have read, the paintings of man, the performances of artists, the architectural accomplishments of man, and amazing feats of daring, and how rich life is because of sight. I know the blind compensate and often lead very fulfilling lives and make great contributions to the world. I admire the likes of Helen Keller. But I want to see. I long to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord (Psa.27:4). I want to take a long, eternal look, and to stare (I hope that is alright in heaven).

The story of the blind man in John 9 is long. Why? It has a lot to teach us, and the major lessons do not come out until the closing scene. The blind man has sparred with the Jewish leaders about who healed him and how. The FKA(formerly known as) blind man has become exasperated with them to the point of wondering if these leaders really wanted more information so they could become disciples of Jesus. This infuriated the Jews and they made good on their threat to put him out of the synagogue. Jesus heard the news and found the FKA blind man, and a little evangelism took place. Jesus had a very complicated method of evangelism. He simply said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  It requires a "yes" or "no" answer. The FKA blind man had to clarify one matter. Who is the Son of Man? Jesus was happy to supply the answer. Jesus was happy to tell him that the FKA blind man has seen with his own eyes this Son of Man, Jesus and was presently hearing words from His mouth. At this the FKA bind man expressed his faith and worshipped. God had found another true worshipper.

But read what Jesus says next (John 9:39-41). Did you read it? I'll wait. Now in John 3:17-18 Jesus says He did not come into the world to judge the world but to save it. Here He says it was for judgment that He came into the world. Which is it? Both. There is no contradiction in Jesus' words. There are two parts to judgment. Jesus did come to give man a choice so that man could exercise his judgment. Those who know they are blind will seek sight. Those who think they see will not, but remain in their blindness or sin. The judgment of Christ comes later and is based on our judgment of him. If we judge Jesus as an imposter and fail to confess Him before men, then He will judge us as blind and will not confess us before His Father in heaven. Remember this chapter begins with wanting to know who sinned that this man was born blind. Physical blindness is not necessarily caused by sin, but spiritual blindness is always caused by sin.

Rules and Excommunication

John 9 carries with it many lessons. Human nature is woven throughout these Jesus-scenes. Of course, human nature is rooted in the divine nature in which we are called to participate (2 Peter 1), but a flawed human nature, one tainted by sin. This man was healed. This was the fact of the matter. He had been blind from birth and now he could see. He didn't hit his head on a rock or get struck by lightening. Jesus made mud, put it on his eyes, told him to wash and he could see. The Pharisees were divided on the matter (9:16). There are always "some" and the "others." The "some" focused on the rule, i.e. Sabbath rules, and the "others" focused on the miracle which is not normally performed by sinners, i.e. rule-breakers. So what do you do when you cannot agree? Ask someone else, and gang up on him if you don't like his answer. So the "formerly known as blind man" decided to call Jesus a prophet. Sounds safe enough. He didn't say Messiah or God. The Jews didn't like the answer so they move on to the parents, questioning them. They play it safe too. They confirm that the man is their son and was born blind. But, as to his seeing, they toss the hot potato back to their son since he is of age. The reason they do this is because of another rule made up by the Jews (9:22), i.e. that anyone confessing Jesus to be the Messiah would be excommunicated from the synagogue. There were three levels of disfellowshipping (don't look for this in spell check). Level one involved a period of one month where the excommunicate could not bathe, shave or get closer than six feet from a good Jew (of course if I didn't bathe for a month no one could get closer than six feet). They could attend the sacred rites. Level two involved all this plus not attending the sacred assemblies or having any communication with a good Jew. Level three was a perpetual exclusion, civil and religious, from the life of the community. The parents feared this because to be excluded here is to be excluded there, as in "up there."

One of the things that struck me is that for all the contortions of the Jewish leaders in questioning "the formerly known as blind man," his parents, and the neighbors, and eventually Jesus Himself, the one thing they never did was question their rules. Healing on the Sabbath was clearly a violation of the rules as they prescribed them. It would be like a pharmacist prescribing medication that was keeping or making everyone sick and instead of questioning the medicine, they questioned whether folks were taking it properly. Jewish leaders, once a rule was in place, never questioned whether they might have written a bad rule. Pride prevented them from questioning their own rules. The thought that they might be wrong was unthinkable. There is no worse fate for a religious leader than to be wrong. Isn't a leader's credibility dependent on being right, not just about some or most things, but about everything? They thought so. Since they could not, would not question their rule, they looked for someone else to focus on, i.e. "the formerly known as blind man," his parents, the neighbors, and Jesus. And, when a man-made rule has been formulated and broken, then what do you do? You make another rule to enforce the first. Where does it end? There is no end to rule making (in government we call rules "regulations"). The more we make the more we need to qualify, quantify, and sanctify the first rule.

The problem with rules is that miracles do not conform to rules. In fact the nature of a miracle is it is about breaking rules, the rules of nature. A rule maker hates miracles. How can you regulate something that doesn't by its very nature conform to set boundaries? It would be like Pharaoh complaining to Moses that it is not fair for him to be causing all these plagues. For those who remember Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, there are even rules in knife fights. Miracles do not fight fair. Rule makers hate changed lives and clear evidence that God has superseded their rules. How dare He do so? I have a suggestion. When a miracle is present, before you look further, look first at your rule to see if maybe, just maybe, it needs to be rescinded.

We MUST

John 9, I believed, happened six days after John 8. Perhaps Jesus spent some time in Bethany with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for a few days. He got out of Jerusalem to avoid being stoned. But, He came back because had to. It was a Sabbath. Jesus normally got in trouble on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath police were always watching to stop Him from some good work He was sent to do by the Lord of the Sabbath. The occasion this time was a blind man. He had been blind since birth, and old enough to speak for himself. So let's say he was at least 20. He had a pretty good head on his shoulders. He was pretty tough and did not back down from the Pharisees, and even was kicked out of the synagogue, i.e. excommunicated. The scene begins with Jesus' disciples asking Jesus who sinned to cause this man to be born blind. They saw two possibilities, either the man himself or his parents. The first was pretty ridiculous. The second was possible. Maybe mom was a heavy drinker and this man was born with the effects of alcohol fetal syndrome that produced blindness. I don't know if that happens, but I remember somewhere in my upbringing being warned about drinking moonshine because it would make you go blind. No doubt this was a much debated theological issue, much like the question the woman in John 4 asked about where folks should worship. Jesus rarely got pulled too deeply into these questions. And on our occasion He turned the conversation back to a more productive path. We can become so caught up in "cause" that we miss "purpose." If they had spent all day discussing the cause of this man's blindness, he would have still been blind at the end of the day. Jesus, in the words of the country song, wants a lot less talk and a lot more action.

So the purpose was, that whatever the cause of this man's blindness, there is an opportunity to display the work of God in his life. Jesus is about making a difference. Jesus set in motion a series of events that may have not stopped even to this day. Who knows if there may be some descendant of this man who still roams the earth today proclaiming the works of God! It started with a theological conversation. But, Jesus stopped, spat, made mud, put it on a very surprised man, told him to wash, and sat back and watched the action. I was reminded recently of a tract that I gave out when I was a child. It was titled "A better world begins with me" by Becky Burris. I guess I had it in my heart even at 10 to make a difference in the world. So when I look at the child welfare system, or the fire department, or the church, or Drug Free Youth, or Joshua Village, or Haiti I see opportunity for the work of God to be displayed. God's glory MUST be spread throughout the world. It is spread by the work we do in partnership with Jesus. Many see CAN'T. Jesus saw MUST. Many ask HOW. Jesus says MUST. Many say WAIT. Jesus says NOW. It is day. Night is coming. Time is running out. We MUST make the most of the opportunities we have NOW. The lives of the children we serve can be eternally changed if we do not look so much at the obstacles as we look at the possibilities with God's help. We are partners with Jesus. We are junior partners. He is supplies the capital. He provides the wisdom. He provides the miracle. We just work. Yesterday, like the story of Daniel who was allowed to sit in a key place in two world empires, God took me in three years from being a guest to sitting in the inner circle where differences are made. But, why? So that His work can be displayed. So that his work gets done. The children of circuit 12 and the children of Haiti and Kenya are His children, and He is their Father, and they are crying out to Him for mercy and help and life. Surely we MUST answer the call and work while it is day before the long eternal night comes.