Ashamed

On entering a new section of the words of Jesus, the Challenger Deep, there are new challenges to understanding the deep mind of Christ. (The text is Matt.16:27-28; Mark 8:38-9:1; Luke 9:26-27.) We will get into some of these in future blogs, but today, I want to address Mark and Luke's introductory statements about being ashamed of Jesus and His words.

The word ashamed comes from two words meaning to disfigure or dishonor, and upon. So literally it would mean to to put a disfiguring face upon Jesus and His words. The word is used in several similar contexts. In Romans 1:16 Paul says he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. Why would one want to display the gospel as something disfigured when it is the means by which we are saved? The opposite view is found in Romans 6:21 when Paul talks of the things we used to do when unsaved that we are now ashamed of, and in which there was no benefit. (Remember Jesus has just talked about the benefit of exchanging our soul for the world.) Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord nor of Paul the gospel's prisoner (2 Tim.1:8). When someone is imprisoned for the gospel it appears that the world is stronger and more beautiful than what comes with the gospel. Another twist is given in Hebrews 2:11 when we are assured that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. In other words he doesn't mind being seen with disfigured people who He has made holy. Along with this, God is not ashamed to be called the God of the faithful (Heb.11:16). Now let's add another bit of information to this thought process. Mark adds the context of being unashamed of Jesus, i.e. in this adulterous and sinful generation. The word adulterous means to be unfaithful, diluted, or corrupted, i.e. disfigured. The word sinful means to miss the mark.

So we live in a disfigured world filled with what one author calls beautiful evil, and we are confronted by true beauty, Jesus and His words. But, we are so accustomed to seeing the so-called beauty of the world that Jesus looks plain and ugly to us. He is not attractive. His image was marred or disfigured beyond human recognition (Isa.52:14; 53:2,3). Most actually hide their faces from the most beautiful person whoever lived, and stare daily into the face of sheer ugliness. How warped we are turning good to evil, and evil to good. But, what did Jesus do with the shame heaped on Him by a jealous, ugly world (Sound like the Cinderella story)? Heb.12:1-2 He despised the shame sitting down at the right hand of God where He was glorified and declare King of kings. Paul understood this and exalted the beautiful crucified Christ in his body (2 Cor.10:8; Phil.1:20). Peter urged that our suffering as a Christian, which is being disfigured by the world just as Christ was disfigured on the cross, is nothing to be ashamed of but an opportunity to glorify God. John adds that the one who abides in Christ will not shrink from Him in shame when He returns but will recognize the beauty of Jesus (1 John 2:28).

Isn't it the way of the world to want to be surrounded by cool, beautiful people, like us? We tend not to want to spend much time with the uncool, those we don't have much in common with, those who don't appear to be "with it." When we step into the company of Jesus by accepting His challenge to come follow Him, we are made to be in company with all the other very uncool people who would follow the most uncool person in history, Jesus. And, what of His words. Not cool today. They are too true, too restrictive, too against the culture. Believe it or not they even say marriage is between a man and woman. How less cool can you get, and many Christians are turning their heads in shame to be associated with such words and with such a Jesus! So what do we do? Either get over it and recognize the truly beautiful from what is truly ugly, or give Jesus a make-over, recreated in our beautiful image, so we do not have to be ashamed of calling ourselves Christians.

Gaining the World

Jesus made the statement: "For what will a man be profited if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  (Matt.16:26) Have you seriously considered what it really means to "gain the world." When Jesus was tempted (Matt.4) the devil offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if He merely fell down and worshipped the devil. Jesus' reply was "We must worship the Lord our God and Him only must we serve." The combination of worship and service (latria which is used in Romans 12:1-2) is powerful in the picture that is painted for us. The path to gaining the world is worship and service. But it is not Christian worship and service. It is a worldly style that turns Christian worship upside down (as Satan often does). Christian worship/service is about "give, give, give...let go, let go" but the kind of worship/service that gains the world is about "take, take, take...hold on, hold on...."

The word "world" is cosmos and means primarily to order or arrange. If I owned the world, then I could have the power to order and arrange it as I saw fit. I could change things. I could make things better and provide a much better quality of life for me, my family, my friends, and all mankind. Gaining the world implies that I will have some great ability to fix everything. We despair often over the quality of our lives. We seek to order our own world. Frankly we really don't like what God has done with it. Is that over the top? I don't think so. We want it, or at least a significant part of it so we can be more OK. Most of us sober up from this thought and are more content to seek to have just enough of the world to make our lives better. So we gain stuff, and influence, and freedom and the like so as to have some measure of control over our lives. We moan as these things are taken from us either through loss of employment, loss of health, loss of influence, and the like. We struggle mightily in this way always looking at our balance sheet, investment versus return to see if we are really gaining or losing.

This morning I wrote, "Learning to be content with what we have and using what we have for Him and His cause insulates us from seeking to gain the world. Why we do what we do. This is key! Any pursuit here that is not kingdom oriented contributes the the losing of our souls (psuche). Our natural lives dwindle away day by day when we do not live them with kingdom purpose. Our thinking should be "'f I do this or that, the kingdom will grow and prosper.' The connection between personal salvation, family life, employment, church, and mission causes us to properly integrate the various aspects of our lives so as to not be seeking to gain the world. So if we do good works without kingdom purpose we forfeit our lives for the world. If we leave church (local) out of the equation we exchange our souls (earthly existence) for a man-made order (our cosmos). God's order includes all the above."

I am reminded of the old hymn: Take the world, but give me Jesus. It is time for Christians to renounce the world, and whole-heartily seek to gain Jesus.

The Tale of Two Models

We all need life-support. God's Second Law of Thermodynamics insures that we will be one day stone, dead cold. So we anxiously run around town looking for some life-support machine to plug into. Though there seems to be countless models, there are basically only two. The first is the World Model with many variations on the same theme. The guts of this machine is the same no matter how it is dressed up on the outside. It comes in all colors and has something for everyone from the straight-laced to the wild. You will find something you like and something to give your life to. You will find you can plug into this machine, its portable, and stylish. Everyone seems to have one version of it or the other. There is one major design flaw in this model you need to know about. It has limited battery capacity, has to be recharged regularly, and more and more frequently to get the same power level. The quality of this machine is not too good either. It tends to promise a lot more than it can deliver  and tends to be in the shop a lot.

The other life-support machine was given to you (its in stock with your name on it). There is only one model style. It is called the Eternal-Jesus model. It has unlimited battery power, and no need to recharge, ever. It is also portable. You can take it with you everywhere. Maintenance only consists of user error, like a cord that is not firmly plugged in or something fairly simple. There are no design errors in the machine itself. It gives a person total freedom to roam throughout the world. It is implanted internally as opposed to the much more bulky World machine which has to be carried externally. And with the Eternal-Jesus model which keeps body, soul and spirit completely integrated (unlike the World model which tends to fragment the system often) it is the only machine that functions in the rarefied air of eternity, after our death.

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37) Why would anyone who is hooked up the the Eternal-Jesus machine exchange it for the World model? What advantage or profit is there in this for one's soul (psuche). Paul highly recommends the Eternal-Jesus model over the World model. In Phil.3:7-8, Paul writes, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be a loss in the view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I might gain Christ...." This is the clear choice Jesus is presenting to the crowds that day. The cost we count is whether we want to be hooked up to a failing life-support machine that will one day shut down, or whether we want to accept the gift of the Eternal-Jesus machine that is good not only in this life, but in the one to come. It is time to make a deal.

Save

We throw around the word "save" or "salvation" at lot in religious circles. I wonder if we really know what it means? Sozo is an oft-used word in Scripture. It is the verb of the bunch. It simply means "save." In our text (Mat.16:25; Mk.8:35; Lk.9:24) it is a main verb. (As I wrote this the "save" icon blinked to indicate that my writing was being saved. I hope it keeps doing that throughout my writing.) There are many contexts in which "save" is used. It has to do with salvation from the effects of sickness, demon-possession, peril such as war or storms, death, and of course things eternal. There is always present a corollary to "save" and that of some THREAT. What is being threatened is our well-being, either temporal or eternal, either external or internal, either material or spiritual. We fear loss of what we have, whether health, life, or peace. We normally want to be in control of these, and fight whoever wants to separate us from our health, life and peace. So sometimes we seek to be the one in the position of "saving" us. We mostly believe we are in the best position to save what is ours. We can function in this way, under this illusion for long periods of time until something happens to threaten our well-being, and we call on our powers to save us, and they fail. We might try over and over to save ourselves through various means until we reach a point of desperation, and almost instinctively cry out "Save Me." We may not know to whom we cry. We may not have rationally thought through this, but it is in us. In dire need we have a sense that there must be someone or something more powerful who is able to preserve my well-being when all else fails.

We use phrases like "there are no atheist in fox-holes." We mean that under pressure the most intellectually certain person that there is no "higher-power" will call out to this so-called, non-existent one for deliverance. You see when a bomb is bursting in air above MY head, it is pretty easy to feel vulnerable and in need. I don't have to program a cry for help. It just flows out of my inner being. HELP! So when it comes to threats to my health, and my life, or even my emotional well-being, I can feel the desperation strongly and will seek help instinctively. We speak sometimes of the silent killers that might lurk within our bodies, such as diabetes. There may not be any dramatic effects on us for a long time, but the disease is silently taking its toll on our physical system. Then, something changes and I recognize something is eating away at me, and I get desperate to fix it. I change my diet and my exercise pattern, and maybe start sticking needles in my fingers to check my blood, or such like. Why? Because the threat that has been there has become real.

But what of eternal matters? If matters of health, emotional peace, and financial well-being are more or less in tact, am I concerned about eternal salvation. Here is what we need to hear. Listen to Jesus on this. We must stop compartmentalizing salvation. We are an integrated being. When Jesus speaks of salvation in our text and talks of saving our lives or losing our lives He is using the word psuche which is the SOUL word (as opposed to the body or spirit words). It is the Soul part of man that connects body and spirit. The things that threaten the soul (life) of a person are also threatening in some way the whole person. So to say "I don't feel spiritually lost" because I don't have a sense of impeding eternal danger is to miss the way we were designed by God to operate. When we "feel" vulnerable in one part it is God's way of demonstrating to us our vulnerability in all parts of our being. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (not judge or condemn us). He wants to save all of our being, body, soul and spirit. So when you are sick or in peril, know that God is sending you a message that you cannot protect your own life, you need him, and the sooner you let go of your life, the sooner you can begin to experience the effects of real life, eternal life. Think about it.

Core

"Core" is over used, in my opinion. But, I mean it. This is "core." One reason I know it is core is because it is the only words of Christ recorded in all four Gospels. Another reason is that it strikes at the core of who we are and what we want and need, and what Jesus came to do. If the gospel were sucked into a phrase, I believe this would be IT. Now in our context, this is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but Matthew's version is a little different. He says, "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." Do you see the two different words used here, "save" and "find."  Mark and Luke only use "save" in both parts of the equation. If you compare this to Luke 15 about the lost sheep, coin, and son you will see that the word "save" is not found, but you know it is all about salvation. Another thing to know about this text (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24) is that the word for life is psuche which pertains to our earthly existence instead of our eternal life (zoe). This is important. We have to know what kind of "life" we are giving up, and what kind of "life" we are getting.

So with that said, here is the picture. Imagine we have a great chasm to cross and there are two ropes we must use to cross it. The first rope is anchored in this life, on the earthly side of the chasm. The other rope is dangling over the center of the chasm, but is anchored on the other side, the eternal side. Now one more twist. If I choose to swing out on the first rope over the chasm I must decide whether I will grab a hold of the other rope that will swing me to the other side. If I do not let go of the first rope (we will call this the psuche rope) and grab the other rope (we will call that the zoe rope), then we are left hanging over the chasm on the psuche rope. This is not good. We are stuck over a chasm and our whole existence is at stake. But, if we grab the zoe rope and amazing thing happens. Not only do I have the power to swing over into eternity, I am instantly free from any vulnerability I have by holding on the the psuche rope.

You see we will one day have to let go of our lives (psuche), and if we don't have something else we have grabbed hold of we are in trouble. But, when I let go of my life now, I get a double benefit-eternal life and a better quality of life now. It takes a lot of trust to let go of this present life, this earthly life, this psuche life. We are wired to hold on. Jesus came to convince us that what we are really looking for, what we really want, what our deepest parts long for and need, is zoe life. It is the pearl of great price, it is the treasure in the field, it is the prize for which we strive. We want and need it so badly but the only way to "get it" is to let go of our weak and miserable present existence. If only this truth were held in sharp focus daily how our lives would change. This is what we must share with people. This will resonate with them. This will speak to their deepest desire and need. This will spark the thoughts that will lead to repentance and salvation. People must see that what they really want and need will not, cannot, be found in earthly things or by trying to protect our earthly lives. We have to let go of them to have real life, true life, eternal life, life with Jesus. This is core.

Simply Follow

Jesus concludes His fourfold invitation (behind Him, self-denial, and take up our cross) with "Follow Me." Simple right? It is like Jesus meets these men, takes off running as he says, "Follow Me." Will they respond? Will they take off after Him? Or will they say, "Wait, let me do this or that first." And, He says, "No time to wait. Let's go." You are either in or out. You are either ready or you are not. Some ran alongside curious as to what the commotion was all about. But, when they saw the race was a lifetime journey, they dropped off and went home. They did not understand the nature of following Jesus. Simply following is not simple. There are some things we need to understand about the nature of following.

• Presence: It is not enough to say to Jesus "Just tell me where we are going and I'll plug it into my GPS and meet you there." It is not just getting a Jesus Map and figuring out the best route. Following is about being with Jesus. It is follow ME. We have to be close enough to see Him and know when He changes directions. Most of following is simply about being with Him.
• Direction: It is impossible to follow Jesus without moving in the same direction. The directions are marked out. Sometimes we might think we can simply draw a straight line between two points and have the best route. That is not how it works in life or in following Jesus. That kind of thinking will take you through a swamp or over a mountain that you need not cross. Jesus is the guide who knows the way. Just leave your map at home. You will not need it. All you need is to follow Him.
• Company: The word Follow means to Accompany. We not only accompany Jesus but we accompany all those who accompany Jesus. Jesus chose the apostles. They did not get a vote. This is not a democracy. We don't pick the team or our teammates. When Jesus started naming the apostles I wonder if John was thinking, "O Jesus please don't pick that one." Once we board the plane or the cruise ship we are stuck with the companions we have for the journey. We are all there because we trust the captain to get us there.
• Purpose: To what were we called. Why are we making the journey. Some will say "to get to heaven." Well, ultimately. But that is not the sole purpose of the journey. We are on the journey following Jesus so we can BECOME. It is about change, growth, learning, and becoming. "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." It is a change of purpose for us. We leave our lives behind and take up His agenda.

So the question remains. Will I simply follow knowing that I get to be with Jesus, heading in His direction, with His company, and for His purpose? That is what the decision to follow is about.

Attached to the Upright

When you think you know it all (this is a joke), there it is. In Jesus' outline of proper responses to the gospel, i.e. 1) Come after (behind); 2) self-denial; 3) daily cross-bearing; 4) following, there is an obvious picture of what it means to be in relationship with Jesus. This idea of "take up his cross" and that is our cross, not Jesus' cross, there is a precise picture of the salvation we have. Get the picture in your head. There are two pieces to the cross. There is the upright pole or post that vertically goes into the ground and stretches out toward heaven. Then, there is the cross beam that stretches out horizontally. Jesus is the upright piece, the righteous one, completely perpendicular to the earth. Where Jesus intersects the earth there is a right angle. Now each day, we hoist our cross beam up and attach ourselves to his vertical pole forming a union with Him in His death. We do not become part of the right angle until we attach to Him. But, once firmly in place we form the perfect picture of what salvation is, us attached to the right angle making us a part of the right angle. Let that picture sink in. The word Jesus uses is "to lift up, or take up, or bear. It is used in Matt.11:29 to depict our taking up Jesus' yoke, a very similar picture as the cross. It is often used of the taking away or bearing up of sin (John 1:29; 1 John 3:5). Ironically the cries of John 19:15, "Away with Him! Away with Him!" screamed out by the crowd who wanted Jesus crucified is from this same word. "Lift Him Up! Lift Him Up!" was the sentiment. Now, each morning there should be in our ears the cries of "Away with him! Away with him!" meaning away with self, away with self..attach self to the cross of Christ and kill it.

If we would have daily forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption, righteousness, and sanctification we must be attached to the upright. The cross is stauros, stake or post. Paul wove cross-theology throughout his writings. He did not want to do anything that would cause the cross to be overshadowed or to lose its power (1 Cor.1:17-18). Some push other agendas to avoid the message of the cross (Gal.6:12). But the cross was Paul's boast (Gal.6:14). Here Paul describes what Jesus was talking about, "through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world." His upright beam and my cross beam when attached securely put me in proper relationship to the world. When attached to the upright I am not vulnerable to the world's influences. This is why Luke adds "daily" to the mix. I cannot afford to go one day unattached to the upright one. This is why Paul says, "I die daily." (1 Cor.15:31) This is a deliberately death. This is profoundly radical. Each morning we Christians are to reenact the crucifixion, not His which was "once for all" but ours which is daily.

Our Position

If we take Luke's text of Jesus' response to Peter, delivered to the apostles and the crowd, we will have the most complete rendering (Luke 9:23). There are phrases I fear I run over too quickly and do not really see for what they are. All Jesus' words are important, and I think He said it just as He wanted it said. I have often wondered why we have the doctrine of this and that, and not other things. Well today we might look at the doctrine of coming after Him. This phrase "coming after" could mean two very different things. If I say to someone, "Come after me," I might mean "Come get me or catch me," like children playing a game of chase.  But, Jesus meant, "Position yourselves behind me" like a guide taking us through a dangerous jungle might say. Our position is behind Him. In some cultures women must walk behind a man to show their submission. Someone trying to protect another person might say "Stay behind me." There is a sense in which we at times walk WITH Jesus or BESIDE Jesus, but here it is BEHIND Jesus. Peter gets it by the time he writes his book. He states it this way: "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps." Read his book. He outlines what that means in many situations of life. I cannot follow in one's steps if I am not behind them. The woman who anointed Jesus' feet was behind Him (Luke 7:38). John heard a voice like a trumpet coming from behind him (Rev.1:10). When fleeing from a doomed Jerusalem don't fall behind (Matt.24:18). And, don't be like Lot's wife looking at the things behind.

Jesus gives three meanings to coming after Him. They are: 1) Self-denial; 2) Daily cross bearing; 3) Following. Let's look at the first one. The word deny is used in a negative and positive sense, and they are mutually exclusive. The negative is denial of Christ and what His will is. Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. (Matt.26:34,35) Peter claimed it would never happen. It did, and right on cue. His denial consisted of saying that he did not know Jesus. This proved his double-mindedness because Peter was the very one who confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter boasted that he would following Christ even to the point of laying down his life for Him (John 13:36-38). He did both. In this same vein, Jesus says that the one who denies Him before men, He will deny before the angels in heaven (Luke 12:9).

The positive sense of denial is self-denial, meaning we disregard all personal interests and enjoyments for higher interests and enjoyments. Someone has to get their way, and we are "behind." Jesus has His agenda, His mission, His course, His goal, His purpose, His way. We are "behind." His is great, worldwide, all consuming, all inclusive of life. It cuts in many directions. Self-denial means much more than just giving up stuff. It means actively pursuing His lead. In recent days I have been admonished not to work so much, to pursue things I enjoy, especially at my advanced age! I will not argue that I am "balanced." I do enjoy bug-collecting, guitar playing, reading a good-no purpose-book, and I do these things some. But, my commission is to fall in behind Jesus and to deny myself. And it is not my pace. It is His. So when the call comes in to serve, and when I believe it is an opportunity to serve Him, what am I to do? What are you to do? My position is "behind." If He leads me to a place of rest, and sometimes He does, then I am to follow. But, if He leads for days and days into areas of service for the sake of the kingdom, then there I must go. That's my position.

The Will

We call it volition. Volunteer comes from this. It is a free choice. It is the opposite of someone imposing their will on us, even God. God states His will. We have to conform ours to His if we really desire to walk with Him. Jesus moves from merely talking plainly to His disciples to now talking to them along with the crowds. (Mark 8:34) So what He is going to say about following Him applies to all and not just some "clergy" folks who wear funny collars and have a church office. Jesus wants to make sure they understand that His requirements for following Him applies to everyone equally, and not just to a select few. Everyone has a will and everyone has to choose for themselves. This is not a group decision. It is a personal decision. Do you desire to follow Jesus? Is this what your will wants? Are you drawn to Him as the one you will fall in with and go where He goes? Or does your will pull you in a different direction?

When Jesus says, "If anyone wishes to come after me.." He uses a very common word, Thelo. It is used over 200 times in the New Testament and it would be a great study to see all the various context in which our will and God's will is exercised. For instance it is used in the story of John the Baptist after his arrest. Three wills aligned against John, Herod, Herodian, and Herodian's daughter. They all eventually desired the same thing, the head of John the Baptist on a platter. It was done. (Mark 6)  A leper once asked Jesus if He were willing to heal Him, and Jesus was willing. (Mark 1)  In this case Jesus' emotion of compassion caused His will to be exercised to heal. Here we see how often emotion and the will work in concert with one another to produce an action.

Here is my journal notes: Here Jesus is discussing the will to follow. Do we really wish to follow Him? Everywhere? Falling in behind Jesus requires we give up our direction, our pace, our destination, our route. Jesus' statement in the Garden sums it up: "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; Remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will but what you will." (Mark 14:36) Following Jesus is often a struggle of the will. Whose will will be done? Who gets their wish? Whose way will be followed? It is easy when we want the same things, but so difficult when we want what is in contradiction to His way. Man's will is strong. It does not lay down easily. But once we turn a corner in our minds and desire, wish, will to follow Jesus, then we must take some very specific actions to make it a reality. If I wish to loose weight, quit smoking, run a marathon, climb a mountain, or master an instrument or 1000 other things-what follows that wish is the same..But one thing is different. Jesus is a person with His own will.

Jesus confronts each of us with this fundamental question: What do you really wish? Be careful how you answer that question. You might get it. Or you might not. The only sure way to get what you wish is to wish to follow Jesus, and really wish it. The end of that road will not disappoint.

Jesus' Rebuke

One rebuke deserves another. Peter merely thought his rebuke was warranted; Jesus knew His was. Jesus is not shy about rebuking His disciples when they need it. Jesus doesn't sugar coat things, especially something as important as the death, burial and resurrection. When critical matters are at stake there is no room for niceness. So Jesus responds to Peter's rebuke with a threefold rebuke of His own. The first prong of the rebuke identifies Peter with the activity of Satan. Jesus was not merely calling Peter a name. He already gave Simon the name Peter. Jesus was saying that Peter's thinking was more in line with Satan's than His. Jesus did a similar thing in John 8 with the Jewish leaders telling them that their father was Satan, the father of lies. Peter had stumbled badly into enemy territory without even knowing it. Peter's intent was good, but dead wrong. He thought he was serving God's kingdom, but he had actually given aid and comfort to the enemy, and that is treason. Jesus is also letting us know that we can find ourselves on the wrong side of a matter and actually be opposing God. Gamaliel's advise in Acts 5 is wise. We must be careful not to be fighting against God.

Jesus' second prong of the rebuke is recorded by Matthew only. Jesus tells Peter that he is a stumbling block to Him. The word is scandalon. It is used often in Scripture. Jesus Himself is a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Cor.1). It is anything that hinders one from the goal. Peter was not being an encouragement. He was making Jesus' road more difficult. It is recorded that John the Baptist's mission was to prepare the way for the Lord. He was to lift up the low places and level out the high places making the way smooth, as slaves would make the road smooth for a coming king. But, Peter was creating pot holes for Jesus. Again, how do we do this? How do we make the mission of Jesus on earth more difficult by our actions? Do we slow Jesus' mission to take the world by our selfish decisions? I can certainly say that as one who tries to follow Jesus and to fulfill His missions in places like Haiti, Kenya, and Sarasota, the way is often made more difficult by friends and not enemies.

The third prong of the rebuke concerned Peter's mindset. He did not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. He did not put God's interests first, but his own. It is so easy to rationalize here. I can make it seem that I have God's interest at heart while all the while doing what I want to do. We saw this in Jesus' words about Corbin in Matthew 15. We all need to constantly check ourselves regarding this. Whose interest am I serving? Mine or His? The word could be "mindset." What do we set our minds on? It is used in Phil.2:5 regarding the mind of Jesus who totally submitted to the cross. We are to have this mind in us. In this we see Peter's struggle to have the mind of Christ. He was 180 degrees off course on this one. His thinking was totally upside down. How could Peter be so blind as to oppose the very center of God's will? Peter deserved Jesus' rebuke. But the rebuke was meant to help, and not harm. It was correction and should be received as such. We see that Peter did and became one of the greatest evangelist ever seen in the kingdom of God.

Peter's Rebuke

Peter was a reactionary, an impulsive man. He often spoke before he thought. He often charged into areas as much over his head as the sea of Galilee had been when he attempted to walk on water. The old saying, "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" was true of Peter. He opened his mouth and inserted his foot. He is kind of like a vice president I know. But he means well. His heart is basically in the right place. Which is worst? Someone who has an evil heart and plots evil against you or someone who has  a good heart and unknowingly gets in the way of God's business? Paul had a good heart when he persecuted Christians. He thought he was doing God's will. However, he was on the wrong side of it. Do we often get ourselves like Peter on the wrong side of God's will? Do we stumble into forbidden territory? There are somethings that are simply none of our business. We are not in charge of many things that we try to control. I know Peter was probably just being protective. But, really, should one who just confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, turn around and tell this same Jesus that he would not allow to happen to Him the very thing Jesus said MUST happen to Him? We think we are being noble at times when we are just being plain stupid.

The phrase Peter used translated "God forbid" is really one word. It means to be cheerful, propitious, favorable, or merciful. The sense of the phrase is "God please show mercy and prevent this from happening."  Now does this sound familiar? Didn't Jesus pray something similar in the Garden a few weeks later? Is Jesus rebuking Peter for something He himself would do? There are a number of differences between Peter and Jesus. Peter spoke out of ignorant impulse. Jesus had complete knowledge and spoke to His Father deliberately. Peter was not considering God's will in the matter. He simply did not want to see Jesus suffer and die. Jesus knew God's will and prayed that His will be done in the matter. Peter was being defiant and Jesus was being submissive. But in the end there was no other way. It was a MUST. It was imperative.

From my journal today: We tend to fight the things we think will upset our well-being. We often do not wait on the Lord to see whether a certain matter will turn out for our good and how. In this case if Peter had gotten his way it would have prevented that which gives well-being (eternal life) to the entire world. What Peter wanted would have compromised the very nature of God. It would have made God to be a liar, Jesus' coming to be pointless, all the prophets of the Old Testament to be false prophets, and made Satan the winner. There are so many implications when we seek to prevent what God has ordained. It really is not a good idea to rebuke God.

Plain

This next section of the journey of Jesus shows a turn from figures of speech to plainness. Jesus is becoming more direct, at least with the Twelve. He had always taken them aside and explained the meaning of parables and figures He used. He deliberately couched His public speaking in less direct speech. But, now he "began" to speak plainly (Mark 8:32). He lays out the heart of the plan of God in some detail as recorded here and perhaps in more detail than was recorded. He tells them where the action of the near future must happen, i.e. Jerusalem. He tells them who will do the deed, i.e. the chief priest, elders and scribes. These are the elite of the Jewish ruling class. He tells them He must suffer "many things" at their hands. He tells them he will be killed by them. He tells them He will be raised, specifically on the third day. This is the historical facts of the gospel and the earthly correspondence to the heavenly will of God. This plain message has been in the mind of God before the creation of the world (Eph.1). This plan has been carefully crafted by a wise and holy God who has in mind the salvation of the world. And, now Jesus Christ, the Son of Man lays it out plainly to some Jewish commoners who were ill prepared to hear it. This plan was what the ancients longed to look into and angels long to see. Now in a remote part of Israel miles and days from Jerusalem Jesus tells a group of fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and even the one who will betray Him to death how things will play out.

Jesus is demonstrating a freedom of speech, a confidence, a frankness and openness that is like a splash of cold water on a winter's morning. He suddenly adjusts the telescope of prophetic history to a precision that brings the plan of God into clear focus. He gives each apostle a turn to look through the eyepiece that portrays the future. They hear the words. "Rejection!" "Suffering!" "Killed!" Why must these words be in the plan? Why all this "bad news" in the name of "good news?" Surely, Jesus must have known He was scaring them. Surely it was not clear that they could handle the truth. But, He is their friend and a friend tells another friend His business. The hard to face things in life must be laid out plainly. I have had the responsibility of telling a parent that their child has died. How do you do this? Plainly. There is no way to sugar coat it. Jesus told the apostles plainly that Lazarus is dead (John 11:14). You come out with it. You speak boldly. You don't beat around the bush. The commander has to tell his troops the truth. Many of you, perhaps all of you, may not come home. The doctor tells the patient plainly that there is a possibility they may not survive the surgery but they will surely die if they do not have the surgery. Harsh realities are hard to face. You just have to come out with it.

Jesus will have some harsh realities for the disciples too. He will tell them about the roles they will play in the drama. He will speak to them of betrayal, denial, rejection, retreat, but also of resurrection and victory. There is the other side of harsh realities. There is hope and because of that hope we can speak with boldness and confidence (2 Cor.3:12). I tell you plainly that there is a heaven and a hell, and there is one savior and one way, and that you will die, and that you will stand before God your judge, and that you do not have all the time in the world, and that all of this is real.

Keys

We know about keys. They open things and shut things. They allow and prevent. The person with the key can cause those without a key to have to wait on entering. The person with the keys usually has authority to carry the keys. So in Matthew 16 Jesus in talking with the apostles, and specifically with Peter since he is the confessor of Jesus here, tells them He will give them the keys to the kingdom. He adds that there is authority in these keys to bind and loose correspondingly on earth and in heaven. Some see the binding and loosing of demons in this, but that seems to me to be totally out of the context of the passage. Others connect it to Numbers 30:1ff to the Jewish practice of a young woman making a vow which had to be approved by her father for it to be validated. There might be some connection here. Others point out the connection with Eliakim in Isaiah 22 who was given the key to the house of David around his shoulders, and a reference to the Messiah in Isa.9:6 who has the government on His shoulders. What Eliakim opens no one can shut and what he shuts no one can open. This connects to Rev.3:7 and Jesus who also holds the key of David and does the same as Eliakim, shutting and opening. This text bears very close scrutiny since it has some elements of the text of Matthew 16. Jesus places the open door before this church and no one can shut it. The Philadelphian Christians are confessors of Jesus' name. They did not deny Him. And Jesus will give them a new name, just as He did to Simon (i.e. Peter). Now there are also a couple of other connections to our passage. In Matt.18:18 after giving instructions on the unrepentant brother Jesus tells the apostles they can bind and loose. Immediately after this in 18:19-20 Jesus speaks of people agreeing and coming together in Jesus' name. Finally, Jesus, in Luke 11:52 and in Matt.23:1`-4, upbraids the Jewish authorities for taking away the key of knowledge and binding up loads on people with their rules, and not raising a finger to lift those loads.

OK! What do we make of all this? The apostles are being entrusted with a solemn responsibility. They are Jesus' chosen vessels to unlock the chains of binding sin through the truth of who Jesus is, the Son of the Living God. This is their proclamation to the ends of the earth. They are entrusted with making confessors of as many as possible, loosing them from the loads placed on them by man-made religions and their own sins. They are to do as Jesus did, set the captives free. They do this by means of the gospel. However, this same gospel binds those who do not confess His name. It binds them over as it does Satan. It holds the non-confessors behind the bars of Hades. The apostles are forgiveness brokers. It is Jesus' forgiveness, but they are like midwives assisting in the new birth. They are like match-makers helping to arrange the marriage between Jesus and His bride, the church. This same responsibility is not exclusive to the apostles as they are entrusted with the responsibility to instruct those who in turn can instruct others also (2 Tim.2:2).

1 Chronicles 9:27 tells us of the gatekeepers of the Tabernacle. Every morning they would open it so the business of the Jewish religion could be carried out. Imagine if one morning the designate to unlock the doors could not find his keys. The chaos that would follow would be great. Imagine if this happened on the Day of Atonement and this most important service could not take place because of his incompetence. You and I have the keys to the kingdom. Do we know where they are? Are we using them regularly to set the captives free?

Church and Hades

Read Matthew 16:13-20 first. Now, we have Jesus inquiring of his apostles (amateur pollsters) about the opinions of the crowd, the conclusions of the apostles themselves, the confession of Peter for the twelve, and Jesus' corresponding confession of Peter (and any other who confesses Him). Remember that this mutual confession is essential in the relationship between Jesus and his disciples. They confess Him before men, and He confesses them before the Father. It will be on this foundation that the church will be built or established. Those called out of the world, which is the meaning of the word church, who assembly together, do so as confessors of Christ. This could also be called a mutual blessing. Jesus blesses us and we bless Him. In order for Jesus to be able to bless us He had to die and be raised for us. The ability to confess and be blessed was won in victory at Calvary and at the Garden tomb. Now for the idea of "church and Hades."

Hades is the unseen world and is sometimes translated "hell" (though there is another word for hell, gehenna) or "grave." It is closely associated with death. In Acts 2, Peter, who is holding the keys of the kingdom, keys that will unlock people from the hold of hades, proclaims that death and the grave could not hold Jesus. Jesus escaped my means of the resurrection. Paul proclaims that death is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor.15). The people of Korazin and Capernaum were destined for Hades because they would not confess Jesus before men (Matt.11:20ff). The rich man of Luke 16 ended up in Hades trapped without a key to get out because he did not confess Jesus while on earth. We are told again in Rev.1:18 that Jesus has the keys to death and Hades. Rev.20:13-14 tells us that Hades will give up her dead to be judged, and that death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire. All of this is pertinent to understanding Jesus' exchange with Peter and the rest of the apostles.

Jesus says the gates of hades will not prevail against the church. He is saying that those in Christ will not be overcome by these gates. These gates will not hold you. He is not describing the church as storming the gates of Hades. He is saying that those who are destined to spend some time there, even as He did, will get out because He has a key, and he will give that key to His people. In the book of Acts we see many times that God's people were saved from imprisonment and death, while others went down into the grave. But just as easily as Paul and Silas were set free from a Philippian cell at midnight so all of God's people, the church, will be set free from Hades and her gates at the resurrection. This picture fits perfectly with the theme of Revelation where God's people need hope in the midst of persecution that they will not be overcome by Rome's power. In order not to be overcome but to be overcomers they must hold on to their good confession that Jesus is the Christ, and be assured that Jesus will hold on to His confession of us that we are His children. You want to get our of Hades then be the church, a called out one. 

You Are Peter...What?

The phrase in Matthew 16 in the exchange between Jesus and Peter has always bothered me. I knew the Catholics did not have it right (with all due respect Francis). But, our play on the words "stone" which translates Peter and "rock" was really not working for me either. It always seemed so forced as an interpretation. I do believe the idea of confession is the key to understanding this exchange. Perhaps if we see it in light of Matthew 10:32-33 we might have something.Jesus tells His apostles if they confess Him before men He will confess them before His Father in heaven. But, if they deny Him before men He will deny them before His Father in heaven.  What had Peter just done in answering Jesus question? Right! He confessed Jesus before men. So what did Jesus do? Right! He confessed Peter before His Father who was in heaven, the one who revealed that Jesus was the Son of God. This makes so much sense. Once this key idea is seen, then the more theological doctrine of the church can be seen.

The basis for the idea of "church" which Jesus was building is fellowship, the relationship between the Head and the rest of the body. There has to be a connection between Jesus and His followers. This connection constitutes the church. When a person recognizes the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God and confesses Him as such as Peter did, Jesus will in turn acknowledge who you are before His Father. Remember when the apostles returned from that limited commission where they went out and confessed Jesus before men, and healed and casted out demons? They were so excited that even the demons submitted to them. Jesus said that that was really not the most important thing. He tells them to "rejoice because your names are written in heaven." This mutual confession is the foundation of the church. The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom.8). This why Peter's temporary denial of Jesus was a big deal. He unconfessed Jesus. But Jesus gave him the opportunity to reconfess him (John 21).

Jesus clearly says, "And I also say to you that you are Peter..." I feel sure if Philip had spoken up first it would have been his name inserted there (and then the Catholics would say Philip was the first pope--sorry to be on the Catholics today, but they are in the news). Imagine what would have happened if it were Judas who had spoken up first? That would cause some problems for us all, wouldn't it? Unless you see that mutual confession seals the deal. This is exactly what the Jewish and Roman persecutors focused on when they tried to destroy the church. They wanted to attack the very foundation of the church by getting Christians to deny Jesus. It had the opposite effect. The more they killed these confessors, the more who confessed that Jesus was the Christ.  Truly confession is essential to salvation after all!!!

Impluse Control

Jesus hones in on the apostles after learning of the common scuttlebutt of the people. They had established their top answers like they were playing family feud. "And the number one answer is 'John the Baptist.'" This was followed closely by Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. The survey says. But, Jesus is looking for something more personal. He wanted His disciples to commit to their number one answer. He couldn't sending them out into battle without knowing exactly who He is. There could be no doubt. As I write this Cardinals from around the world are meeting in The Vatican to elect a new Pope. They are resting this tradition on our passage (Matt.16). They are under the mistaken assumption that Peter was the first Pope, and that all others are his direct successors. The chain of authority must not be broken. They claim that Peter was the rock on which Jesus built His church. Peter's name does mean "rock" or "stone," but Jesus is making exactly the opposite point from the one the Catholics have concluded. Consider this:

Peter was the impulsive one. He was the one bowing down because of his sinfulness in the presence of holiness. He was the one jumping out of the boat to walk on water. He was the one wanting to build tents for Moses, Elijah and Jesus on the mountain. He was the one who said he would defend Jesus to the death. He was the one to pull his sword and come out fighting. And, he was the one who not only ran away, but denied Jesus three times when his faith wavered and he was not so sure who he thought Jesus was. He was the one who impulsively wanted to return to the fishing business before Jesus had "the talk" on the beach. Have you ever seen this? Peter is the rocky soil Jesus describes in Matt.13, the kind of soil that cannot produce a good crop because it gives way to the hot sun of persecution and trouble. Jesus is definitely not building His church on "rocky soil" Peter. His name does mean "rock" but not the kind the Catholics are thinking about.

But also notice the use of Peter's name in the Matthew's text. Jesus refers to him as Simon Barjona, the name he was physically born with. This was his human name. This was his fleshly nature. This was his natural impulse. This was his personality to speak up like the kid in the classroom who is always first to raise his hand whether he knows the answer or not. Simon is the human Peter. He has a new name, i.e. Peter given by Jesus, but he is not ready to fully live up to that name. He is still too impulsive. Jesus certainly is not going to build his church on such impulsiveness. But, Jesus will build the church on His own commitment and His own name or identity. Jesus never acted impulsively. He was always deliberate in His faith and His walk. Jesus always lived up to His name and identity. He never once acted contrary to it. Peter betrayed his own name often. He was no rock yet, except for being rocky soil. Jesus wants a different kind of foundation for His church, one He speaks of in Matt.7, a house built on the rock of hearing His words and putting them into practice. Peter is not there yet. And when he does get there, and he will, it will be Peter's commitment to a Jesus who was committed and to a Jesus who knew who He was that will be the basis of the church.

Opinions

When Jesus left Bethsaida He and His disciples traveled north, probably along the upper Jordan toward the head waters. The going was tough uphill into the mountains of northern Israel. The journey could have been as much as 25 miles and in sight of Mt. Hermon, the highest point in Israel at over 9000 feet. This was no mere Sunday stroll. This was some serious hiking taking many days. Jesus had been doing this sort of thing a lot of late, i.e. staying in more remote areas and spending time with Gentiles. They did make a short visit to Galilee of late, but did not stay long. But, perhaps it was long enough for the disciples to hear things. People like to talk. We like to talk. It is so easy to stand around at the gathering places and talk. Everyone has an opinion about just about everything. We have opinions about politics, religious, family life, finances, and food. We like to share our opinions because if we are right it makes us look smart and like we have something significant to offer others. As a society people like to figure things out in groups. Remember Jesus had recently warned the Twelve to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. Now He wants to know about the leaven of the crowds. All these opinions swirling around the disciples might be turning their heads. Remember in John 6 the disciples stood alone in proclaiming that Jesus has the words of eternal life and that there is no where else to go even when everyone else's opinion was that it was not worth it.

Opinions are powerful things. Those who study Sociology know all about this. We are mostly followers and we do not want to stray too far from the crowd and common opinion. We like to fit in and be accepted. Our well-being depends on it. If we are too "out there" or different then people will shun us and we can't do business or get married or run for office. We have to be liked and to be liked we have to think like the herd. Jesus cuts to the heart of the real question: Who do others say I am (Matthew adds "Son of Man")? This is the key question. Everything hinges on the identity of Jesus. Who is He? Their opinion doesn't change who He is. His mission does not change because of what they think about who He is. He is not going to be stopped in fulfilling His mission because of what they think about who He is. But, we often are affected greatly by what others think of us. So why is Jesus asking? It is not for His benefit. He is asking for the benefit of the disciples. This is a faith building exercise. Very near where this question is being asked sits a pagan temple. Jesus is sitting in the shadow of world opinion, a world filled with opinions as to who God is and what He is like. And, sitting before these twelve common men is the embodiment of God Himself. Before them is the clearest picture of God Himself on earth. From pagans, to Jewish religious leaders, to the everyday people, and now to the Twelve Jesus wants to know their opinion.

What shapes our opinions? Many things, of course. For the disciples and us, it should be the presence and words of one person. There is one, single, solitary life that should form our opinion about all things, that puts all things into perspective, and gives us informed direction for our lives. All the other voices combined should not overwhelm this one voice. His is not opinion. His is truth.

Gradual

When care is taken to consider the text and context of the ministry of Jesus carefully we can see that Jesus is very deliberate in His method of bringing people to understanding. The disciples grew in understating during their tour of training at the Master's feet. And the Holy Spirit helped the writers of the Gospels to arrange the accounts in a way that made his work clear. Such is the case in Mark 8. Recall the context. The 5000 Jews were very dull in their understanding and so fixated on bread that when Jesus spoke of deeper matters they all began to walk away offended. These were followed by religious leaders who were extremely dull in their understanding of Jesus message, and they too were offended. However the 4000 Gentiles spent three days with Jesus with little provisions soaking up his teachings. Now in a boat crossing the northern part of the lake Jesus warns of the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians, and the disciples are dull in their understanding changing the conversation to bread when Jesus was talking about influence. Nowwe have the story of the blind man whose eyes are opened with the aid of some Jesus spit. Yet, the miracle was gradual. Jesus did not heal the man all at once. He saw men looking like walking trees. Jesus applied the spit again and he saw clearly. So what to make of this? Was Jesus' powers waning? Was Jesus losing His touch? Hardly. His actions were deliberate, merely another lesson, a mixture of parable and miracle. And His target audience was the dull minded apostles who were often like the blind man being healed seeing only gradually.

Jesus asked the blind man after the first application, "Do you see anything?" He asks us the same after each encounter with Him. Do we see anything? Does His message or example reach our understanding? Or, do we like the blind man merely see it dimly? Paul mentions our seeing through a glass darkly and one day face to face, to know even as we are known. Paul also speaks of the veil being taken out of the way when we turn to the Lord, but our minds made dull while the veil remains. Then, there is James who talks of our looking intently into the perfect law of liberty, and if not being forgetful but doers of it. We avoid being like the man who looks at his face in a mirror yet forgets what he looks like. The blind man in our story looked intently too. To look this way means to look with great intent. All our learning will be gradual, for that is the nature of learning and understanding, little by little. Yet we can speed up the process if we are intentional. When we devote ourselves to understanding we will gain it.

Why so many times does Jesus talk about seeing and hearing and understanding? This is truly a major theme in understanding the Mind of Christ. Jesus is not seeking mindless slaves. He is looking for disciples. He is looking for those intensely intentional about knowing Him. And even with this we will all see gradually.

Ponder

I always loved the word "ponder." Maybe it is the fact it contains the word "pond." I see someone sitting by a pond early in the morning with the mist rising off the top, holding a cup of coffee, staring out lost in thought about something that really matters. Reflection, meditation, deep thinking..it is more than study for the sake of facts. It is really trying to understand. As I have pondered the mind of Christ seriously each morning for the past three years I am getting it that if we are going to get Jesus and what He is really saying to us we are going to have to slow down and listen carefully. We are loosing the ability to savor life. Constant movement does not allow for pondering. The old days of sitting by a fire at night with no electronic devises listening to the crackling of water molecules bursting through the membrane of the wood and sending sparks flying, with the sounds of crickets rubbing their legs together, and momma singing softly while she finished up a little bit of sewing before turning in lent itself to reflection. We have to have apps today that create that can of pondering environment.

Those get it moments should come pretty often for the pondering Christian. Scales should regularly fall from our eyes. That moment of enlightenment should invade our mundane world more often. We should be saying more often "Now I get it, now I see, now I understand." Discoveries of the treasures stored up in Jesus should be an everyday occurrence. There are certainly enough to keep us in the discovery business for a long time. This present text reveals that Jesus expected His disciples to understand the context of life. Jesus continues conversations along themes that may have started hours earlier. He brought up the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians as they rowed across the lake, but the context began while they were on land. He expected them to keep up, pay attention, and put it together. He expected that they were tuned into what He was trying to teach them. Too often our lives are about bits and pieces, unconnected events and information without context for what Jesus is teaching us. Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, daily as we do life. But, do we connect the dots any better than they did? Do we really believe that Jesus through the Spirit of truth is discipling us each day? If so, we need to pay attention and connect the dots and stay in context as He moves us along in our learning.

If this is going to happen then we are going to have to have quiet times of reflection. I am at my daughter's house in Texas, and up early before others to get this time alone with Jesus. He will provide tutoring for each of his disciples 24/7. But, as grand kids wake up,,,even now one of them is reaching for the remote to the Gameboy....my time with Jesus is being pulled away, or is it? Maybe He is merely starting a new lesson to teach me. I better take some time to ponder this.

Forgetful

Remember yesterday we talked about the disciples changing Jesus conversation to their conversation. It is often hard to follow THE conversation set by Jesus because we have a little ADD. We are easily distracted and very forgetful. Read Matt.16 and Mark 8 on this. You will see that Jesus nails the problem of changing conversations by identifying three problems: 1) Little faith; 2) Faulty eyesight; 3) Lack of understanding. These three in combination lead to hardness of heart. But what causes such a condition, such a process to be in place in our lives. If we are constantly missing Jesus' point and running off on our own tangents and having our own conversations, and not His, what do we do to stop it. Again, Jesus tells us in the text the key to fixing this problem. We need to fix our rememberer. Jesus says, "Don't you remember?" The present is so noisy that we forget yesterday. The current situation dominates, we get sucked into it, and forget the context of our lives. The current situation does not set the tone for the whole of life. It does not define you. This morning I wrote:

"So why do we so often forget what God has done, even in our own lives? That's simple too-the current situation, the immediate stressors, the contemporary concerns, are often more powerful that previous victories. Our brain is wired to return us to our previous feelings we felt when we were threatened in other situations. This auto-response is powerful and can shut down our rememberer. We see it played out throughout the Bible story. The children of Israel experienced great deliverance from Egypt but forgot it when they saw the giants."

Peter was in the boat that day listening to Jesus explain what went wrong with the conversation. Later he wrote 2 Peter 1:3ff. In this Peter reminds us we have 1) everything we need for life and godliness through Jesus; 2) great and precious promises which make us partakers of the divine nature; 3) escaped the corruption in the world. Since these things are Really our present Reality (not merely the circumstance we are currently experiencing) then we are free to grow and add godly traits to our lives making us useful and effective. But if we do not have these qualities in increasing measure it is evidence we have an eye problem and a memory problem (read the text). Peter goes on make it clear an essential ingredient to staying on the Jesus conversation is to remember. He says, "I shall always be ready to remind you of these things...." We change the conversation to meaningless trivia or pointless worry because we don't remember the larger context of life which includes what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives. We need to pay attention and stay with the program and follow His script and get in sinc and keep in step and learn to key life off of the key he is playing in. When we change keys in the middle of the song it sounds awful.

Changing the Conversation

Jesus was talking about the teaching of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. The disciples were talking about bread. Jesus was talking about being born again of water and the spirit. Nicodemus was talking about being born a second time when he was old. Jesus was talking about water that gives eternal life. The woman at the well was talking about some special water that would make it possible not to have to haul buckets. Jesus called to the children in the marketplace to come play His game and they changed the conversation. Ever been trying to have a serious discussion with someone about something and they change the conversation and make it about something else? Its frustrating. So here is Jesus in the boat with his captive audience, the twelve. He opens the conversation about the leaven of the religious and political leaders of His day, the ones he had just been battling over signs. Then the disciples change the subject. They don't even know they did it.

We often discuss things that Jesus and the disciples never discussed. We have burning religious topics that Jesus never brought up. And, there are lots of subjects Jesus did want to discuss that we never touch. Who is supposed to be setting the course of the conversation, the dialogs, we are to be having. We debate topics Jesus never debated. We show up to fight on battlefields He never told us to fight on. We waste a lot of time on foolish and unlearned questions, old wive tales, and matters of dispute about the law. Jesus keeps trying to steer the conversation back to significant and important topics. I know I have spent too much of my life talking about things that do not matter and are not on His topics. They missed the point on two counts. First, Jesus wasn't even talking about physical bread. Second, if he had been there would not have been a supply problem as He has already demonstrated in feeding the 5000 and the 4000. Here is an insight for you: we often discuss the wrong issue leaving the more important ones alone, while forgetting so easily how easily Jesus can take care of our needs. They did both that day in the boat.

May I speculate (from my own experience) how the debate may have gone that day. Andrew says, "Well guys we did it again. We are out on the lake with not a 7-11 in sight with no bread. Philip, you bone-head,  I think it was your job to take care of that. Jesus gave that assignment to you two crises ago." Philip chimes in, "I would have taken care of it but tight-wad Judas never wants to turn loose of a dime to buy anything and John keeps telling us how a little fasting never hurt anyone." Matthew pipes us, "We have to get organized and get a committee going to take care of this. So what should we call this committee?" Peter holds up his hand excitedly, "I know, I know. How about the Bread Committee?" James responds, "That's stupid. I say we call it The Picnic Catering Committee." Matthew with his expertise in tax-collecting says, "But someone might think we are running a business out of the church and the IRS will come and tax us." James adds, "But if we call it the Bread Committee the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) might want to do inspections and the DOH will want to set a lot of regulations and the Fire Dept will require a hood in the kitchen, and Judas would never pay for that."  And, Jesus is standing in the bow of the boat listening, rolling his eyes and saying, "Really?"

Of Parties and Philosophies

A new section of the life of Christ is covered in Matt.16:5-12 and Mark 8:13-26. Jesus crosses over the lake on the reverse route from his walking-on-the-water trip after feeding the 5000, the trip when Peter walked on the water. On this occasion he used the opportunity to teach the disciples. His admonition was simple: "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Matt or) and the leaven of Herod (Mark)." Between Matthew and Mark we have warnings about three groups, all who have one thing in common, i.e. they did not like the fourth group, the Jesus group. We have three political parties lined up against Jesus. He is the odd man out. Any other time, they would not be caught in the same room together, but they now perceive a common threat, a man from Nazareth. Funny how enemies can agree when they think their existence and power is threatened. How could the Prince of Peace engender such opposition? This is the question for the ages. The fact is He does. Since He is often the odd man out, so will be those who follow Him. Christians are not odd because they are Christians, but because they do not think like those of other parties who are organized around the principle of Power.

The three groups are comprised of the Conservative Pharisees, the Liberal Sadducees, and the Political Herodians. Each has a philosophy. Each has a view. Each has a goal. This goal is to create through their own means a way of life that is utopic and free for those like themselves. Their way of thinking was distorted and dangerous because it was powered by human motives, human sources, human ends. Jesus was most definitely a threat to their systems. Jesus calls their teachings "leaven." Leaven spreads and permeates dough and makes it rise. Leaven is influence. This is what all parties want, influence to affect change so that they can order society the way they see fit. They are not focused on "getting to heaven." They are focused on here and now. The Conservatives are usually the most religious and cloak their agendas in religious language, even quoting the Bible. These may be the most dangerous because they appear so much like God-fearers. The Liberals are usually the elite who think they are smarter than others. They scoff at miracles and the supernatural, and put forth a more "rational" point of view. (Jefferson would have made a good Sadducee.) The Herodians were purely political in nature, and would have been alright with a strict separation of church and state. They believed all problems of society can be solved by government. Does this sound familiar, and it doesn't matter which party you belong to?

Whose mind? Life and its problems and needs will be filtered through someone's mind. Certain minds will gain influence and persuade others to look at the world the way they do. When enough do this you will have a party and perhaps a movement that will effect change within the culture. So which mind? Pharisee, Sadducee, Herod, or Jesus? Please, please stop listening so intensely to the parties, the opinion leaders of this world no matter if they are conservative or liberal or presidential! There is only ONE we must listen to intensely. There is ONLY ONE who has correct thinking about how this world should be ordered. Beware of all others.

Walking Away

In this latest section (Matt.16:1-4) Jesus has another discussion with the Jewish leaders about signs. This is not the first one (See Matt.11 &12). He characterizes His generation as "evil and adulterous" for seeking more signs. The adulterer is not satisfied with the one he has and seeks another to satisfy his lust. This is the nature of adultery and fits perfectly for these sign seekers who are never satisfied with the ones Jesus provides, and constantly look for one more to satisfy their avoidance of having to commit. The adulterer does not want to commit. But, I do not want to repeat the discussion on signs. Rather it is the last phrase in the section that captivates me and gives me insight into Jesus' mind. That phrase is "and He left them and went away." I think I will just give you what I wrote in my journal:

"But the last phrase of this section is merely "and He left them and went away." He just spent three days with 15000 Gentiles and a few minutes with these sign seeking Jewish leaders. The message could not be clearer. Who does Jesus want to spend time with? Let this sink in. This is really startling! As a boy Jesus spent time in the temple debating with these (or similar) Jewish leaders. But now He spends time with Gentiles, sinners and honest seekers. No games. He is looking for true worshippers (John 4). He is looking for folks who know they are sick, those who will miss a few meals to sit at His feet and learn. He is looking for those who actually read signs and heed them instead of those who want more. It is not a good sign when Jesus walks away. He is giving them a very ominous sign! What happens when Jesus leaves the room? When He is there His presence fills the room. He is bigger than life. His glory is there. All eyes are on Him. He is the star. But when He leaves, what a void! In John 6 the Jews left Him. In Matthew 16 He leaves them. There is no discussion, no debate, He merely walks.

Did they talk about Him when He left? You bet they did and it probably was not a nice discussion. Jesus' words stung. It stirred up a hornet's nest. It caused them to plot and want this irritant out of their systems. Jesus is beginning to become a real bother. They saw that Jesus was not weak. He stood His ground and landed solid punches at their very gut. But, Jesus knew this was not the main event and there would be a time coming where He would fight to the death and win. This was a mere heat, a warm up. The main event is coming, but for now it is just a "walk away." This is insight into Jesus' thinking. The main opinion leaders of His generation are attacking Him and He is fighting back at the heart of the opinion leaders. He is exposing their incompetence as sign readers. They should resign as religious leaders and become weathermen. That would be more useful to their generation."

Weather

Weather is a topic we love to at least mention every day. You know the old saying, "everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." Actually if you let this sink in you might find a little truth there. Often truth is found in the obvious, hidden in plain sight. Weather signs are meant to be "read" not to be changed. The trappers who came to Jesus asking for more signs, needed a weather lesson and Jesus gave it to them. These same men began and ended their days looking at the sky to see what the morrow would bring. Red sky in the evening means the day will be fair. Red sky in the morning means the day will be stormy. We have gotten much more sophisticated today in reading the weather signs. I get an update every so often from our local EOC(Emergency Operation Center) when threatening weather is approaching. Predictions are getting pretty good. We sit glued to out sets when a hurricane comes into our neighborhood of the world. People are also good at interpreting the economic, business, political, and societal trends. We have an entire discipline devoted to reading the signs to gain some advantage over the competition.

But, the reason Jesus brings up the weather is to show that those who are very good at reading the signs within the atmosphere are lousy at reading the important signs of the times. All these earthly signs are important to people because they see how they directly affect their lives. I don't want to leave my umbrella at home on a rainy day. I don't want to leave my money in a market too long. I don't want to vote for the looser. We listen to pollsters, prognosticators, and even sorcerers when we have something at stake. What we spend the most time predicting tells us something about what is truly important to us. So what if we predict the right team in the Super Bowl (unless we have some money on the game)? But, the real problem for the Pharisees and Sadducees is not that they were spending too much time predicting trivial things.

Their problem is that the signs of God's visitation are easy to read and they are feigning incompetence in reading the signs. They see but they don't see. They hear but they don't hear. They get it but they don't "get it." It is a heart problem, not an evidence problem. Some will not trust Jesus until they get a myriad of other questions worked out. These are mere diversions because a person either has something to hide from Jesus (something in the heart that needs to be worked out) or just does not want to submit to Him.When we realize that Jesus affects our daily lives much more than the weather perhaps we will heed the signs. 

Trappers

Jesus is on the move again. He gets into a boat with his disciples after dismissing the 4000+ well-fed Gentiles and crosses the Sea of Galilee to a hard to find place with two names, Magadan or Dalmanutha. The location is probably near Magdala and Gennesaret, but in a more obscure place. This seems to be the way of Jesus right now to seek out the out of the way places. But, He is discovered by an unlikely duo, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These folks don't usually partner up. But they can be friends for a day since they have a common enemy. They were together back in days of John the Baptist a couple of years earlier. They came to be baptized and were called a brood of vipers (Matt.3:7). They had some very different views from one another. But, they both agreed that Jesus was a threat and must be stopped. Their strategy was to trap Him. When you are hunting a prey you can either shoot it or trap it. For now they are trappers. When they discover Jesus cannot be trapped, they will become shooters. We will see these two sects working together in the future but in two waves, first the Sadducees and then the Pharisees (Matt.20, Mark 12, and Luke 20).

They came to test Him. The word can be used in a good way depending on the intention. They did not mean it for good. They were trappers. Jesus tested Philip at the feeding of the 5000 by asking him to take care of the catering. But, Jesus wasn't trying to trip Phil up. He was just being playful and teachful (I know that probably is not a word, but it matches playful). So what was the test. These folks are not very creative. They ask for another sign. "One more sign please" seems to be all they can come up with. Imagine driving up I-75 from Sarasota to Atlanta. I haven't counted them, but once you hit the Georgia line you will probably begin seeing signs telling you how far to Atlanta with increasing frequency. Let's say there are ten. But someone is overheard at a rest stop conversing with a Georgia State Patrol Officer about the need for another sign telling them how far it is Atlanta. Really? Another One? With all the healings alone Jesus has erected hundreds if not thousands of signs all from heaven. It would be like having ten Romney for President signs in your yard and a neighbor comes up and asks you who you are voting for, and if you could put up one more sign to make it clear.

Some folks do not want truth or a road map. They prefer to be lost. They prefer to do it their way. They prefer to be stupid and blind and dense. They are convinced they are smarter than everyone else and their purpose on earth is to trap the rest of us, even Jesus.

Glimpsing the Mystery

Be careful how you read the text. There are small, yet profoundly significant, insights awaiting you on every page, stuffed neatly in every nook and cranny of the text if we have eyes to see and hears to hear. The ministry of Jesus could be described as the unveiling of the mystery. Jesus is exegeting God, His nature and His plan. For instance in 1 Cor.15:51 Paul says "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed..." Jesus was revealing this truth in his ministry as He demonstrated the power of God to raise the dead and to reverse the decay of four days in a tomb (John 11). But there is another mystery that Jesus is revealing that is at the heart of Christian ministry. Paul again goes into depth on this mystery in Ephesians 2-4. Paul as an apostle to the Gentiles speaks of "the stewardship of God's grace" toward the Gentiles. The specifics of the mystery include: "...that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel..."(Eph.3:6) Ultimately through the uniting of Jew and Gentile in Christ God would reveal His "manifold wisdom" to the unseen world which is in harmony with His eternal purpose carried out IN and BY Christ Jesus our Lord. (Eph.3:10)

So we look at the feeding of the 4000. Is this just an 80% model of the feeding of the 5000? Hardly. There are significant differences. The 5000 were Jews. They had been with Him hardly a day. They were there for the bread and the healing. When the preaching started they walked away. They were trying to force Jesus to become the Messianic King in reality to lead them against the Romans. But, the 4000 were Gentiles. They remained with Him for three days with dwindling provisions. They came from long distances to be with Jesus. Remember Jesus had just proclaimed a Gentile woman to have great faith. Matthew with one phrase gives us insight into the mystery. It is found in Matthew 15:31. "...and they glorified the God of Israel."  If they had been Jews it would have simply said, "they glorified God." But this was Israel's God they were glorifying, not some pagan God. Clearly the Gentiles were getting it in the same way the Samaritans got it (John 4). This turning to the Gentiles is huge. Jesus is nearing the end of His ministry and He is spending three days in the wilderness with Gentiles, perhaps as many as 15,000 of them. Could this later have figured into the accusations that led to His death. It is one thing to be encouraging Jews to throw off the Roman yoke, but very much another to be leading Romans away from Rome.

Jesus followed the prescription of "Jew first and also the Greeks" in His ministry. He sent the disciples to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt.10), but in these more recent days He is introducing these same disciples to the other sheep that are not of this fold (John 10:16). "And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd."  How difficult it must have been for someone as prejudiced as Peter to spend those three days in the hill with 15,000 Gentiles! But, he was witnessing the mystery unfolding before his very eyes. Lift up your eyes and see that the harvest is great and the unity will be a testimony to the wisdom of God.

A Gut Level Life

The story of the feeding of the 4000 sounds a lot like the feeding of the 5000 including the disciples not really understanding where the food is going to come from. But, for me one of the more interesting parts of this story and others is the empathy Jesus felt for these people. Both Matthew and Mark tell us he was moved with compassion. This movement was gut level from within the deepest part of a man, his intestines. That is literally what is said. For the Greeks the head was the seat of the rational man; the gut the seat of the emotional man; and the heart was where the two were combined. I do believe the mind and the emotions are centered as a bridge between body and spirit and reside in the soul of man. The rational and the emotional when integrated can be very powerful, either for good or evil. When one has strong feelings and a sharp mind they can either be diabolical like Satan (Note in Rev.12 he was furious) or they can be compassionate like Jesus. Satan and Jesus represent the two extremes of this combination.

In studying this word I was struck by its use by Zachariah, John the Baptist's father, in Luke 1:78. "Because of the tender mercy of our God, from which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet in the way of peace." Wow! Is this a powerful picture or what? But notice what moves God to cause the Sunrise (Jesus and John's ministries) to lighten up our path in darkness and death, i.e. the tender mercy of our God. Literally this says God is moved in his gut to help us. We have a Father who is touched by our condition. He sees and feels. He is affected by what affects us. He cares. Since Jesus came to exegete God for us (John 1:18), we would expect to see Him being motivated by his gut too. And we do. In Matthew 9:36 his gut is moved for a crowd that are distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. It moved him to feed the 5000 and the 4000. It moved Him to heal two blind men and to raise the widow of Nain's son. It is expressed in His story about the master who was moved to forgive His slave of a massive debt. (Even though this compassion was reversed when the slave would not do the same for his brother.)

A gut level life is one motivated by empathy. When you are no longer moved by the hurts of others you better do a gut check. What touches you? What moves you to action? What causes you to sacrifice and to champion causes marred by injustice and cruelty? Does maltreatment move you? Does poverty grab your intestines? Does mental illness hit you in the inner places? How do we teach this to our children? We model it. I am so glad I was able to send my children to Honduras. They needed to see something that was in stark contrast to the way we live here. I know my intestines have been trained in Haiti and in the numerous counseling sessions with those abused and harmed by the heartlessness of others. Compassion does not make us human. It makes us divine. How's your gut?