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.