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“Now I am giving you a new command — love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another. This is how all men will know that you are my disciples, because you have such love for one another.” (John 13:34,35)
The Disciples of this new command, the Body of Believers of this new Way, will be characterized by the selfsame love as Jesus’ love. No difference at all. Exactly the same in every way. Which begs the question, just as certainly as it begged the question on the night of the Last Supper: How did Jesus love? What makes for that difference between people who talk about Jesus’ love and those ones where we can actually see His love flowing from them? Well, first, let’s talk about what Jesus’ love was not; what it didn’t contain: It was without self-absorption, self-advancement, self-belief, self-conceit, any overdone self-confidence, self-congratulation, self-consciousness, or self-criticism. It was without any self-deception, self-defense, self-delusion, self-determination, any grounds for self-doubt, no self-excitation, certainly no self-flattery, entirely bereft of self-importance. It was without self-indulgence, self-interest, self-justification, self-love, self-pity, self-pleasure, self-preservation, or self-promotion. It was totally disinterested in any form of self-reliance, self-righteousness, self-satisfaction, self-seeking, self-styling, self-sufficiency, or self-support. And most importantly: Jesus loved without self-protection. He gave His all that all might know His love. For us, the Self-life is the final wall that needs to be toppled over in order to enjoy the kind of love that He’s ready now to give us, to pour forth from us. That selfsame love as Jesus’, the love we see play out all across the Church of Acts, actually has no need of the human Self. It only needs Jesus Himself.
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Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich people dropping their gifts into the treasury, and he noticed a poor widow drop in two coppers, and he commented, “I assure you that this poor widow put in more than all of them, for they have all put in what they can easily spare, but she in her poverty has given away her whole living.” (Luke 21:1-4)
As He said in Matthew 6: "When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward…" Back in those days, the wealthy would literally herald their generous giving through the use of artificial fanfare and pageantry on the way to Herod's Temple... But now imagine this woman, as she puts on her worn old shawl, heaves a sigh of fearful poverty, and picks up her last two coins to walk there. And, on the other end of her journey to give those coins, stands the Messiah, her God, watching her actions with pure joy. Again, Matthew 6: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Just one more way that intimacy with Him, living our whole lives before Him, turns every act of our lives into a wondrous glory! "On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn." G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
Imagine Jesus on the Cross, one moment after His death. His body hangs limp: all his weight sagging down and forward against the pinioning of the nails. His face is unrecognizable, bruised and bloodied. His nakedness is covered head to toe with black and blue, with threads of flesh hanging here and there; and all of this is crowned by thorns.
Now imagine Jesus less than forty-eight hours later. The earth-shaking sound of the stone rolling away; the presence of the angels; the sight of Roman soldiers falling down like dead men. And here He comes: His head stopped as He clears the low ceiling of the tomb until, outside, He stands full height with the rising sun on His face. He looks around at the soldiers, at the angels, and then walks out into the coolness of the garden. This Jesus derives “his priesthood not by virtue of a command imposed from outside, but from the power of indestructible life within” (Heb. 7:16). Human beings can try to make any man anything. But, really, a man can only truly be what he is. In the old days, Aaron and his sons were made into high priests. Jesus is our High Priest forever. His Priesthood existed before creation; it preexisted everything; it is indestructible, unchangeable and solely His. This is who we’re dealing with when we wake up in the morning… After this, Jesus moved about in Galilee but decided not to do so in Judea since the people there were planning to take his life. (John 7:1)
Have you ever stopped to consider the almost unbelievable pressure under which Jesus lived and ministered throughout His life? All of His loving, gracious actions and words were given with the complete certainty hanging over His head that this all would end in excruciating death. And, even worse, He had to live carefully throughout, in order to avoid the wrong death! Let’s let this be an immediate reminder for us, as we open up this new week: There is no circumstance or struggle in your life right now that precludes your faithfully, lovingly ministering in the spirit of Jesus. In fact, take a deep breath right this minute, think of “the thing” (or things) hanging over you, and, in actuality, hand it over to Him. He can certainly handle whatever it is and, of course, you and I need to always be in the habit of handing over our life and its struggles to our Savior. And thank you, Jesus, that you’re willing to receive them! Christ came to open up the way, and bring us back to God. It was God who created us for himself: that he might be our blessedness and we his: that we might have our abode in him, and he in us. It is God we have lost through sin; it is to God Christ would win and take us back. God is more, infinitely more, than salvation, and than heaven: God is the eternal life and eternal love who longs to live in us, and to fill us with his love and with himself. For this Christ came; for this he suffered; that he might bring us to God. Andrew Murray, The Cross of Christ
When the Sabbath was over, just as the first day of the week was dawning Mary from Magdala and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. At that moment there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven, went forward and rolled back the stone and took his seat upon it. His appearance was dazzling like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards shook with terror at the sight of him and collapsed like dead men. But the angel spoke to the women, “Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here—he is risen, just as he said he would. Come and look at the place where he was lying. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And, listen, he goes before you into Galilee! You will see him there! Now I have told you my message.” (Matthew 28:1-7)
'He is risen... just as He said He would." What a wonderfully matter-of-fact way the angels speaks that: 'He is risen... just as He said He would." RISEN: ἠγέρθη: He has "been raised from the dead, awakened, stirred up, been excited by passion, arisen like a song, awoken to battle." So, right now, right as you're reading this, according to this angel, Jesus of Nazareth is alive, awake, stirred to His depths, impassioned by His Passion, singing over His people, as He rides into battle? Sounds about right to me! 'HE IS RISEN... JUST AS HE SAID HE WOULD!" Let's go encounter that Alive Jesus all day today! A little inter-linear walkthrough of Luke 17:3,4 -
“If your brother offends you, take him to task about it." Which is helpful. Because Jesus doesn’t say to embrace an unthinking Christian passive-aggressiveness. He says, “If you’re hurt, you should talk to that person. Don’t be afraid to be open about wrong-doing and hurt…" "And if your brother is sorry, forgive him." "Oh no, Jesus! But this person really did me wrong! I was thinking of holding onto this offense for one, maybe two, decades… Well, at least I only have to forgive this guy once, right?" "Yes, if he wrongs you seven times in one day and turns to you and says, ‘I am sorry’ seven times, you must forgive him." Or, in other words: We must learn to become experts in forgiveness. In fact, following Jesus, our best posture is to forfeit all rights or expectations of ever actually “being right.” As Paul said, “Why not rather be wronged?” (1 Cor. 6); why not learn to enjoy the fellowship with Jesus that comes from not getting your own way, ever? Friends, we will never grow in our faith while refusing to forgive; there’s simply no way to dam the tides of His grace and personally experience His grace at all. Today, let's look for new and unexpected ways to let loose of our offense, our past hurts; anything that He'd bring to mind. "The eleven went to the hill-side in Galilee where Jesus had arranged to meet them, and when they had seen him they worshipped him, though some of them were doubtful. But Jesus came and spoke these words to them, 'All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. You, then, are to go and make disciples of all the nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and, remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.'" Matthew 28:16-20
Friends, all the power in the universe has been put into the hands of the One who's our Friend, our Teacher, our Savior (who’s with us always, including right now, right this minute, today) and, in that power, we’re called to go. Not to stay. To Go. To Go Out. And we are called to make NOT church-attendees, Christians, or converts; we are called to make disciples: students of Jesus who are coming, ever more, to look like Him. These disciples should be from every nation, every tribe, every tongue: there are no national or ethnic boundaries available to us anymore. And WE ALL must repent, be baptized into the Way of Jesus, by the Father and the Spirit, and FOLLOW ONLY HIS VOICE. No one else’s… WHAT AN ADVENTURE. WHAT A CALL. WHAT A LIFE. THANK YOU, LORD JESUS. "I cannot help pointing out what a perfect illustration this is of the way you have been admitted to the safety of the Christian 'ark' by baptism, which means, of course, far more than the mere washing of a dirty body: it means the ability to face God with a clear conscience." 1 Peter 3:21a
Wouldn't that be a wonderful line to open any baptism with: "This 'means the ability to face God with a clear conscience'"? I love the simplicity of that language. And yet I'm not sure if we really, truly believe it. But let's think of the context: These words are coming from the pen of the very first person in human history to prescribe being "baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you may have your sins forgiven and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) This man, Simon Peter, had seen the baptism of John the Baptist, had helped administer the baptism of discipleship before the Cross, and now knew the glorious power of baptism into the Jesus who was risen and alive. So I'm kinda liking his theology around the freedom we have in Jesus. He feels like a fairly credible voice and authority, right? So, you and I - today - may face God the Father with a clear conscience because of the finished work of His Son. Thank you, Jesus! What a way to start another week of our lives! John the Baptist, speaking: "For the one whom God sent speaks the authentic words of God — and there can be no measuring of the Spirit given to him! The Father loves the Son and has put everything into his hand. The man who believes in the Son has eternal life. The man who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; he lives under the anger of God." (John 3:34-36)
While John the Baptist lands with a THUD on that position of non-acceptance, let’s go back and consider all the glories he first attributes to Jesus: 1) He “speaks the authentic words of God” – The Incarnate God, the “Word,” cannot fail, every time He opens His mouth, to speak the authentic, fresh, original words of God. In other words, Jesus letting out a sigh is Scripture! 2) “there can be no measuring of the Spirit given to him” – And, actually, because the Greek in this phrase is fairly porous, it can also mean that there’s no measuring of the Holy Spirit Jesus can give. Glory! 3) “The Father loves the Son…” – John the Baptist is the first Christ-follower who understands the Father-Son relationship going on in front of him; he’s the first to speak of the Father-God as Father. 4) “and [the Father] has put everything into his hand” – It’s difficult to put this concept into other words. It’s almost like the exact polar opposite to the power of the U.S. President as he carries around with him the nuclear launch-codes. That power, in the negative, is the power of universal catastrophic death. Instead, Jesus carried with Him the fullness of all the heavenly things; He, a Man, walked along holding universal supernatural LIFE. 5) So, INDEED “the man who believes in the Son has eternal life” – And that’s not just “someday in Heaven” sort of language. The word for “has” here is in the 3rd Person, Present Indicative Active; the one “believing” today “HAS life eternal," ALREADY, TODAY. Are you presently experiencing that verb-tensing as your inheritance-in-Him? And how do all these descriptions hit your heart today? Then Jesus took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be in terrible distress and misery. “My heart is nearly breaking,” he told them, “stay here and keep watch with me.” Then he walked on a little way and fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me—yet it must not be what I want, but what you want.” (Matthew 26:37-39)
Words with which we're intimately familiar. We've all heard all the talks and sermons about this passage before. But: did you know that, in Matthew's account, that's not actually what He says? Read it in the original: "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you." Out of His own experience of being human, Jesus has learned the inner reality of what it means to have a will and to express - to act upon - that will. Like us, He had a mind that perceived, pondered and made decisions; like us, He had a will that operated at His soul/spirit level. But read it again: "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you." What if Jesus is telling us here that what we think of as "the will of God" is inseparable from the very nature of God: "but as you"? What if the seat of the so-called "will" in God is actually only His soul/spirit, ie. the Holy Spirit? Thus, what if to know the Spirit is to know all the mysteries of God? What if to release our own will is the first step into a complete absorption into His very being: "but as you"? I think we think of our lives as this balancing act between "my will" and "God's will"; what if it's actually a question of your will vs. the I AM? Your little drop in the bucket vs. THE WHOLE OCEAN? “Once upon a time,” Jesus said, “there was a magistrate in a town who had neither fear of God nor respect for his fellow-men. There was a widow in the town who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Please protect me from the man who is trying to ruin me.’ And for a long time he refused. But later he said to himself, ‘Although I don’t fear God and have no respect for men, yet this woman is such a nuisance that I shall give judgment in her favor, or else her continual visits will be the death of me!’”
Then the Lord said, “Notice how this dishonest magistrate behaved. Do you suppose God, patient as he is, will not see justice done for his chosen, who appeal to him day and night? I assure you he will not delay in seeing justice done. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find men on earth who believe in him?” (Luke 18:2-8) These two paragraphs show the heart of the constant pray-er and the heart of God, who is so much better than that magistrate, patient and kind, never failing to respond to us... But did you notice the “Yet” that begins that last statement? It would seem that Jesus is far more interested in our complete belief in Him, in His person and His goodness, than in acting as an arbiter in worldly matters of “justice.” (And, truth be told, our belief in One who took a total injustice to settle the demands of Eternal Justice would tend to calm our desire for personal, day-to-day justice!) As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his Ethics: "Jesus concerns himself hardly at all with the solution of worldly problems. When He is asked to do so His answer is remarkably evasive (Matt. 22.15ff; Luke 12.13). Indeed He scarcely ever replies to men’s questions directly, but answers rather from a quite different plane. His word is not an answer to human questions and problems; it is the answer of God to the question of God to man. His word is essentially determined not from below but from above. It is not a solution, but a redemption." “Then the king will say to those on his right ‘Come, you who have won my Father’s blessing! Take your inheritance—the kingdom reserved for you since the foundation of the world! For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was lonely and you made me welcome. I was naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you came and looked after me. I was in prison and you came to see me there.”
“Then the true men will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you lonely and make you welcome, or see you naked and clothe you, or see you ill or in prison and go to see you?’ “And the king will reply, ‘I assure you that whatever you did for the humblest of my brothers you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40) Because - did you know? - this Jesus made all flesh - created it as the "Word" whose voice breathes life - and He made all men sacred by making them "in his own image and likeness, and then He took on flesh Himself, so that He might experience this journey alongside us, and then He returned to the Throneroom of Heaven - as that Man! - so that humanity now has a place there, with Him... Everyday, meeting each other, we are always meeting Him. No matter the place or station we each, as people, inhabit. How might that change the way we encounter this particular day ahead? On the following day John the Baptist was again standing with two of his disciples. He looked straight at Jesus as he walked along, and said, “There is the lamb of God!” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Then Jesus turned round and when he saw them following him, spoke to them. “What do you want?” he said. “Master, where are you staying?” they replied. “Come and see,” returned Jesus. So they went and saw where he was staying and remained with him the rest of that day. It was then about four o’clock in the afternoon. (John 1:35-39) The very first impulse of these first two followers’ hearts carried the seed of what will become the full flowering tree of the Kingdom of Heaven. Consider verse 39 in the most exact wording of the Greek: “He says to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ So they went and saw where He ABIDES; and with Him they ABIDED that day.” How beautiful that when the Savior’s eyes fastened upon them, asking, “What do you want?” that these two men fastened their lives to His, went to where He abided and chose to abide in Him. If they never did much of anything else, they’d already done everything right… Let us do the very same thing today. Then Jesus went out of the Temple, and was walking away when his disciples came up and drew his attention to its buildings. “You see all these?” replied Jesus. “I tell you every stone will be thrown down till there is not a single one left standing upon another.” And as he was sitting on the slope of the Mount of Olives his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the signal for your coming and the end of this world?” Matthew 24:1-3
Now this I find fascinating - and, in a way, fascinatingly familiar. Here the disciples are: Sitting on a shoulder of the Mount of Olives, under the shade of the trees, looking across the Kidron Valley toward the city and the Temple. Right next to them is the Event-of-all-human-history Himself: the One who has come: the Bringer - for all time - of the Kingdom-Age of humanity: He who makes it "on earth as it is in heaven." And their questions to Him? "When will some events happen? When will you show up? When will Heaven's ways arrive?" And while I know that they are thinking toward the Second Coming, I don't think their questions are too terribly dissimilar to how we like to ask: "When will things change for me? Are you really with me, Jesus? Can't you just do this one little thing for me?" If the disciples had had the self-possession to actually possess the moment they're now in, they might've wanted to use this conversation this way: "Jesus, you've been mentioning being betrayed, being killed, rising from the dead: can you tell us more about that?" Or: "Jesus, what would you like each of us to do for you... even just for the rest of this day?" For us - and did you know this? - the greatest answer to all our theological questions and the very best way to await the Second Coming with great expectancy is to actively, demonstratively, listen to and obey this Jesus of Nazareth - today. The future is His realm: Eternity. Our place, our time, is Today. With Him. What are today's questions you have for Him? "You, my brother, are not a servant any longer; you are a son. And, if you are a son, then you are certainly an heir of God through Christ.
"At one time when you had no knowledge of God, you were under the authority of gods who had no real existence. But now that you have come to know God, or rather are known by him, how can you revert to dead and sterile principles and consent to be under their power all over again? Your religion is beginning to be a matter of observing certain days or months or seasons or years. Frankly, you stagger me, you make me wonder if all my efforts over you have been wasted!" Galatians 4:7-11 Consider the underlying statements in that second paragraph, one by one: 1) “gods who had no real existence” – Can you picture people who’ve made their own god by their own labor and now bow down to worship it in all its false glory? “Oh, thou Chair that I hath crafted and hath hewn with my own hands, certainly you are the god of all the planets!” 2) “you have come to know God, or rather are known by him” – Aren’t you floored by that sentiment?! The actual God of the universe who actually crafted the entirety of Creation is the One who actually knows you! The One who saw our fallen sinful selves and wouldn’t accept our separation and, so, sent His Son to redeem us by His blood! The One who literally took on flesh and then walked out a perfect life, giving us a glimpse of the immensity of the Godhead in human form! The One who took the penalty of our sin – tried, mocked, flogged, condemned, murdered – so that we might taste His life eternal! The One who strode out of the tomb to show the power of the unquenchable Life and ascended to take His kingly-priestly place at the right hand of the Father! Yes, that One “knows” us! 3) “Your religion” is becoming a matter of “seasons or years” – If you and I choose to become “Sunday-only Christians,” observing only one day as our “season” for worship, we’re taking the enormity of our God and treating Him as befits a mute idol. Essentially, we’re sitting ourselves down in the lap of that false god “Chair”; we just so happen to call it a church pew... You see, the greatest glory in all human history is the Eternal God conforming Himself into the shape of a man to save us from our sin. But then the greatest human tragedy is when we try to conform that overwhelming glory to the whims of our lifestyle. May it never be so for us, Brothers and Sisters! We are Sons and Daughters now! In Luke's Gospel, we get to witness an interesting little scene between Jesus and His disciples, regarding prayer and "how to pray." The text from Luke 11 is below in bold italics with some thoughts to follow each stanza:
One day it happened that Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us how to pray, as John used to teach his disciples.” "When you pray,” returned Jesus, and you can picture the Twelve piously closing their eyes… “you should say, ‘Father… All their eyes must’ve immediately opened. “No, Jesus! We want you to teach us how to pray, not just hear how you do it! Something like, ‘O Eternal Smiter of the Amalekites, Jebusites, Hittites etc…’” But Jesus actually meant this opener, didn't He? He wants you and I to draw near to the Creator and Sustainer of all things, lifting up our hands and hearts to Him, and begin with…"Dad!" Doesn’t that thought make your heart leap with joy? may your name be honored… By which we’re expressing both our desire and our personal intent. Do we want to see His name honored? Well then, let’s honor it ourselves... may your kingdom come! When we pray these words, we’re doing three concurrent things: 1) We’re drawing a demarcation between this world and the Heavenly Kingdom of Jesus 2) We’re expressing our desire that His Kingdom’s “otherness” would actually show up 3) Hopefully we’re aligning our lives and hearts with the doings that actually cause that Kingdom to arrive on the scene. Give us each day the bread we need… This phrase reminds our minds and hearts that only He provides for our needs. And that our need/desire/gratitude should only look to this particular day, not to the future. For He gives no frame of reference for weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual consumption of bread, does He? He is the provider of the manna, after all... and forgive us our sins, for we forgive anyone who owes anything to us… This is the only phrase He prays with a qualifying clause: “Please do this for us because we’re already doing it ourselves…” And I love how casually He seems to throw that last part in! Imagine Him looking at His friends with twinkling eyes and a hint of a smile, as He prayed these words. That clause calls up - or it should call up - hearts of true forgiveness in us everyday: Our forgiveness by Him must elicit forgiveness of others for Him... and keep us clear of temptation.’” Remember: Our greatest weapon against sin – in fact, our only weapon against sin – is the hand and presence of our God, leading us along. Truly, we have nothing else but Him! “Alas for you, you blind leaders! You say, ‘if anyone swears by the Temple it amounts to nothing, but if he swears by the gold of the Temple he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools, which is the more important, the gold or the Temple which sanctifies the gold? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar it doesn’t matter, but if he swears by the gift placed on the altar he is bound by his oath.’ Have you no eyes—which is more important, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? Any man who swears by the altar is swearing by the altar and whatever is offered upon it; and anyone who swears by the Temple is swearing by the Temple and by him who dwells in it; and anyone who swears by Heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the one who sits upon that throne." Matthew 23:16-22
Yesterday, at the Anchor gathering, we talked about how, if you invert the wordings/meanings of Matthew 23, you end up with a glorious picture of the New Covenant life that is ours. Take a look at these seven verses, turned upside-down into the Way of Jesus and see what I mean: “Oh, and blessed are you, you wide-eyed servants! You say, ‘if anyone lives by the Presence of God it amounts to absolutely everything, and if he lives by the inheritance of the Kingdom he is freed by the blood of Jesus.’ You brilliant friends, they are really the same, aren’t they: the Kingdom-inheritance and my Presence that brings the Kingdom? And you also say, ‘If anyone is saved by the Cross, it is life, and if he then lives by the power of the Resurrection, he is given a brand new life.’ Oh! I’m so impressed by your spiritual eyes! For, yes, the two go perfectly together, don’t they: the Cross and the New Life that springs from the tomb? So, any man who lives under the blood of the Cross need only go a step further to meet me at the dawn of Easter and receive the ‘life, life to the full’ I offer. And anyone who lives by my Presence is living already in the Kingdom and by me who dwells in it; and anyone who delves deep into my inheritance is living at the throne of God already, and by me who sits upon that throne." Isn't it amazing that we follow the Man who spoke Matthew 23's judgments in the new and living Way given by His Spirit? Thank you, Jesus! "Then the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is quite ready, but those who were invited were not good enough for it. So go off now to all the street corners and invite everyone you find there to the feast.’ So the servants went out on to the streets and collected together all those whom they found, bad and good alike. And the hall became filled with guests. But when the king came in to inspect the guests, he noticed among them a man not dressed for a wedding. ‘How did you come in here, my friend,’ he said to him, ‘without being properly dressed for the wedding?’ And the man had nothing to say. Then the king said to the ushers, ‘Tie him up and throw him into the darkness outside. There he can weep and regret his folly!’ For many are invited but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:8-14
Since you and I have already been "invited" to the Wedding Feast, and now are getting ready, standing in front of the mirror, combing our hair, checking our teeth, what are we meant to be wearing... today and everyday? How about these: Isaiah 61 – “he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…” 1 Peter 5 – “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Ephesians 4 – “… be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Colossians 3 – “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…” Oh, but how will we ever put on all of these things; how will we ever be properly clothed; how will we ever fit in at this wondrous Wedding Feast?! Romans 13 – “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…” The reason that the king in the parable so immediately noticed the wrongly-dressed man was that he specifically wasn't "dressed for a wedding." The reason that this Christianity thing doesn't seem to be working, seems hard, seems burdensome, is because we haven't started by putting Jesus on. "Abide in me," He says, "and I in you." Friends, don't try to come to the Wedding Feast dressed as yourself: the only way through the door, the only way out onto the dance-floor, is in His likeness. The Father wants to see Jesus. He is the Bridegroom and the way for the Bride to get into the party. "Think of Abraham, our ancestor. Wasn’t it his action which really justified him in God’s sight when his faith led him to offer his son Isaac on the altar? Can’t you see that his faith and his actions were, so to speak, partners—that his faith was implemented by his deed? That is what the scripture means when it says: ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.’ A man is justified before God by what he does as well as by what he believes." James 2:21-24
How does that last verse - 2:24 - read in the language of the original Greek? "You see that a man is set right by works, and not by faith alone." Let's examine that idea, step by step: If Jesus came to live the works of the Kingdom of Heaven, then we can see precisely what the life of Heaven is like by reading His exploits in the four Gospels. Yet external works were not enough for Jesus, were they? He wanted to get those works inside the hearts of those who'd repent and believe in Him. So He died to end the separating influence and condemnation of Sin, thus giving us the possibility of being made a pure dwelling-place of His Presence. And then He rose to conquer human death, and so that He might be alive to reign over the Kingdom and rule it from within us. Then, ascending, He took His place at the head of all Kingdom of Heaven affairs, and, in sending the Holy Spirit, took His place directly in the hearts of His people... So the reason that our justification - our being "set right" - is found in both faith and works is because, in faith and works, we are a union-place of Jesus-then and Jesus-now: we show the Kingdom as it was in the three years of His personal ministry - when He was making humanity right - and the Kingdom as it is now - with Jesus forever on the throne. It is our joy - and our job - to act as the junction for the inner and outer workings of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us be living that life with relish this Easter Week! One of the twelve, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came [back from the dead]. The other disciples kept on telling him, “We have seen the Lord,” but he replied, “Unless I see in his own hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe!” (John 20:24,25)
Can you imagine how long this next week must’ve been for Thomas? After arriving back to the upper room, after seeing the looks on those faces, after hearing the explanation of the Resurrection, Thomas probably felt so confused by something so implausible, hurt to be the only outsider, and, maybe, a little annoyed at the appearance of the disciples’ giddy group-dynamic. So, immediately, Thomas takes up what will become his weeklong litany to the others: “Unless I see, I won’t believe.” Really, Thomas has chosen one of the only three available positions for all mankind in face of the news of the Resurrection. These are: 1) Total disbelief without provisions or conditions 2) Potential belief, entirely conditional upon further proofs (this is Thomas) 3) Belief as the foundation, with expectancy as the new condition of life Since you’re reading these words from me, chances are you’re not currently in the first group: you’ve probably already opened your heart to, at least, the beginnings of Belief. So then, from there, what sounds better to you: To base your every single decision about belief on the closed system of your own intellect, knowledge, personal experience and emotion; or, beginning with belief that “It is finished,” that death is dead, that you are a Son or Daughter of God, to instead deliver over your intellect, knowledge, personal experience and emotion, in order to be invested with the very life of Heaven? Thomas’ first impulse is to say, “If it’s real, Jesus can come to me.” (And you and I do the same - and say the same - and feel the same - all the time.) But, friends, Jesus already has come to us, visited us, done absolutely everything that we might experience the fullness of the heavenly life today. True life is found in being swallowed up in these promises, not in constantly postulating on whether or not belief is in our day-to-day best interest. Jesus, teach us how to believe you without reservation - today! We want more! At this point the mother of the sons of Zebedee arrived with her sons and knelt in front of Jesus to ask him a favor. “What is it you want?” he asked her. “Please say that these two sons of mine may sit one on each side of you when you are king!” she said.
“You don’t know what it is you are asking,” replied Jesus. “Can you two drink what I have to drink?” “Yes, we can,” they answered. “Ah, you will indeed ‘drink my drink’,” Jesus told them, “but as for sitting on either side of me, that is not for me to grant—that belongs to those for whom my Father has planned it.” (Matthew 20:20-23) Do you know "for whom the Father has planned it"? Have you ever dug a little deeper into that enigmatic turn of phrase? From Revelation 20: “And I saw thrones, with appointed judges seated upon them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for proclaiming the Word of God… They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years… This is the first resurrection. Happy and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death cannot touch such men; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him for the thousand years.” And who was the one who saw this vision, this Revelation? John, the son of Zebedee. And who was one of the "souls" he saw, the first, in fact, to be "beheaded for his witness to Jesus and for proclaiming the Word of God"? John's own brother, James. The two men who, on this day, allow their mother to approach Jesus to secure a position, who so confidently affirm their ability to drink the cup of His sufferings, will eventually stand face to face in the Throneroom of Heaven - one there by revelation, the other by gruesome death - and, you know what? It'll all be worth it. For the sake of this Man, no sacrifice is any sacrifice at all. Losing all, everything is gained in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even to die is to live. Forever. At the right hand of this Man. Let us run the race He's given us this week with joy... and endurance. He is worth it all. “It is impossible for a good tree to produce bad fruit — as impossible as it is for a bad tree to produce good fruit. Do not men know what a tree is by its fruit? You cannot pick figs from briars, or gather a bunch of grapes from a blackberry bush! A good man produces good things from the good stored up in his heart, and a bad man produce evil things from his own stores of evil.” (Luke 6:43-45a)
What do you think Jesus’ “fruit” really is; where does it come from? Well, how do you usually define earthly, natural fruit? Isn’t it the sum total of the nutrients, water, oxygen and nourishing sap that flows into the grapes or apples or oranges or berries that are then mindlessly borne? In the same way, “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (Jn. 15) and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5). Remember: You and I aren’t called to muscle it out as “good Christians” today. Those who are saturated with the Spirit of Jesus will never fail to bear His fruit… "Now that you are employed by God, you owe no duty to sin, and you reap the fruit of being made righteous, while at the end of the road there is life forevermore." (Romans 6:22) As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (Matthew 21:1-5) A prophecy which, in case you're wondering, is from Zechariah 9, which also has some other words that I want you to read about this Jesus. Take a look: “As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double… Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds... On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.” Yes, yes, YES! For, friends, hasn’t the “blood of the covenant” set us free, no longer to be prisoners, but now to be carriers of His hope? Hasn’t His personal, personalized presence struck among us like lightning? Haven’t we heard the great trumpet-blast: that sound that throughout all human history has called His “ekklesia” – His called-out ones – together? Are we not this Man’s flock: the jewels in His kingly crown? And oh! is it not the bread of life Himself – the grain we may eat and “never die” – who makes us “flourish” eternally; is it not His “new wine” – His personally poured-out Spirit – that we may drink and live forever? May today be triumphant in the spirit of His great Triumph! This is our King! |
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