Monthly Archives: September 2013

Missing!

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MISSING!

“When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on Him.

“Every year Jesus’ parents travelled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When He was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. When it was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents didn’t know it. Thinking He was somewhere in the company of pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for Him among relatives and neighbours. When they didn’t find Him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for Him.” Luke2:41-45 (The Message).

What a contrast! Twelve years of trouble-free childhood, and then He goes missing!

Twelve was a magical age for a Jewish boy. Bar Mitzvah! He had come of age. He was permitted into the company of the men to take His place among them. Admittedly He was still a “junior” man and had lots to learn, but nevertheless He was still a MAN. As a man He also had responsibilities. He took part in the Jewish “rehearsal” feasts. Did Jesus know at this stage that He was celebrating the ritual of His own death?

Luke pulls a veil of secrecy over the first twelve years of His life — His apprenticeship for manhood. Instead he sweeps it aside with a summary statement that says everything; no intimate details about nappy rash, teething problems, potty training, learning to walk, measles, chicken pox or a runny nose! Did Jesus participate in all these minor details associated with growing up?

A healthy, strong, wise child — that’s all we know. Those of us who are parents can fill in the details against the backdrop of our own experience! His family life must have been chaos; at least six brothers and sisters pitted against Him. Did they victimise Him because He was the firstborn and had to take the rap for everything they did? Did they gang up against Him and deliberately do things to make trouble for Him? Did Mom try to shield Him from their vindictive pranks?

We know that His brothers refused to believe in Him until after the earth-shattering event that took place in Jerusalem thirty three years later. He walked out of a sealed tomb – alive! That shook them to the core. They mocked and ridiculed Him because they didn’t understand. He knew exactly how it felt to be the cause of a split right down the middle of a family. He spoke about it. “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword…a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” Matthew 10:34b, 36 (NIV).

And then, after twelve years of a perfect record, He goes missing! What was He thinking?  Was He aware of the anguish He was causing His parents? This seems to have been the moment when He crossed over from boyhood to true manhood. In the rituals of the Passover He began to see His role in God’s big plan. With His mind filled with the Torah, which He already knew by heart, He pondered the greater truths hidden in the old story of deliverance from Egypt.

His parents had not caught up with Him. They were still Mom and Dad, doing their best to raise this kid who was placed in their trust, the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. They didn’t learn that at school! What crazy thoughts went through their minds as they frantically searched through the company for their missing son? Were they thinking, ‘After twelve’s years He’s gone and blown it. Has He been kidnapped? We’ve messed up. It’s our fault. We didn’t keep an eye on Him.’

They were so used to an obedient and compliant Jesus that this shook them to the core. What were they to do now? What if they never found Him? How would they explain that one to God?

A Dark Shadow

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A DARK SHADOW

“Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary His mother,

‘This child marks both the failure and

the recovery of many in Israel,

A figure misunderstood and contradicted —

the pain of a sword-thrust through you —

But the rejection will force honesty,

as God reveals who they really are.’

Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher.  She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshipping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:33-38 (The Message).

A cloud passed over the son!

Simeon was a realist. He had to tell the whole story as it had been revealed to him. He saw only dimly the road ahead for the little angel who slept in Mary’s arms, but he knew that it was a way of pain for mother and son. Jesus would have to endure the hatred and rejection of His own people and the humiliation of Roman torture at the instigation of the religious leaders while His mother looked on helplessly and suffered with Him.

Mary was soaking everything up like a sponge. She had to keep her feet firmly on the ground. The road for the little boy she held in her arms was not going to be strewn with roses. Although He was a perfect child like no other, there would be pain for her and Him as they walked the road of their destiny as mother and son.

Only a mother can identify with Mary. Jesus was her boy, her firstborn. Every emotion a mother feels when she cradles her firstborn in her arms after the agony of childbirth was pulsating through her being. She had such hopes and dreams for her son — fired by the angelic message she had heard nine months before. But there was also a warning from the old man. ‘Mary, stay on the ground. There’s going to be pain before you see the final outcome. Be prepared, but remember — God’s in charge!’

Simeon, a nobody; Anna, a somebody — they were in it together. Simeon was just Simeon. Anna had a name, an office, a pedigree. God was not about any earthly who’s who. Both of them qualified to be in on the secret by other criteria: they lived God. He was their source, their life, their focus. That was all that mattered.

Anna was not a mother, so it seems, but she vicariously celebrated motherhood through the little scene she entered that morning. But it was motherhood far above the ordinary — a privileged mother and a unique child — Israel’s Messiah at last! Like Simeon, she had been worshipping and waiting and now, at last, He was here.

The wizened old woman, well over a hundred years old, was so invigorated by what she had just encountered that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She had to tell everyone she met that she had seen the Messiah. At last, her final chapter had also been written.

There were two funerals in Jerusalem shortly afterwards — Simeon and Anna, laid to rest, complete, satisfied, content because their beloved Israel was in good hands!

In On The Secret!

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IN ON THE SECRET!

“In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought Him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took Him into his arms and blessed God.

“God, you can now release your servant;

release me in peace as you promised.

With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;

it’s now open for everyone to see:

A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,

and of the glory of your people, Israel.”  Luke2:25-32 (The Message).

Who was Simeon? Was he a Pharisee? A member of the Sanhedrin? The royal family? A religious boffin? Apparently none of these!

What was his claim to fame? From God’s perspective (and He was the one guiding Luke’s writing), he was “a good man, who lived in prayerful expectancy of help for Israel”. It’s natural, don’t you think, that God would choose someone like him with whom to share His good news?

I can imagine that the Father was brimming over with excitement when the most important phase of His recovery plan was in place – centred in a small baby who had just been born. Like any human being, He was bursting to share the news with someone, especially someone who was eagerly looking forward to the announcement.

Years before, the Holy Spirit had whispered in Simeon’s spirit that he would still be around when it happened. That morning when he woke up, he felt that gentle prompting again. ‘Simeon, go to the Temple. I have something to show you.’ Obedient to the impression, he shuffled through the streets of Jerusalem towards the gleaming white building on the hill. His old legs needed pampering as he slowly climbed the steps of his favourite place in the city.

Stopping to rest after the steep climb, he noticed a young couple entering the courtyard through the massive door. The mother looked so young, hardly more than a child. She was cradling a baby in her arms and the father was carrying a cage with two pigeons in it… Again he heard the voice in his spirit, ‘That’s Him, Simeon.’ Simeon’s heart leapt for joy. ‘God’s Messiah!’ He could hardly believe his eyes.

Stepping forward as they approached him, he held out his arms for the baby. Without hesitation Mary placed her beloved little one in the arms of the old man. Simeon gazed with wonder into the face of the sleeping child. He was actually holding the One of whom the ancients prophets has spoken over centuries of interaction with God.

Simeon began to speak, softly at first but with rising confidence as the full impact of this moment dawned on his spirit. ‘Lord, I can go to my fathers in peace now because my eyes have seen your promised Messiah. Your rescue plan is on track, not only for Israel but for the whole world. It’s here for everyone to see if they have the eyes of faith to believe.’

Simeon was uniquely privileged to be one of the few, a nobody in the world like the shepherds, to be in on God’s secret. Why did Luke choose these incidents, shepherds, old man, told by no other New Testament writer, to include in his story? Luke’s gospel is a message to the world. Himself a Gentile, he wanted his reader, Theophilus, and, through him, the whole world to know that this Jesus, a Jewish Messiah, was God’s gift to everyone, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, male and female, somebody and nobody; He came to restore everyone and everything to God’s original plan.

What’s In A Name?

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WHAT’S IN A NAME?

“When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived.

“Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took Him up to Jerusalem to offer Him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.” Luke 2:21-24 (The Message).

What’s in a name?

In western culture we pay little attention to the meaning of the names we give our children. We like the sound of them; they have some family significance; or we name our children after some person who has meaning for us. Some people even invent names just to be different. In some cultures children are often named after the circumstances of their birth.

Both the parents of John the Baptist and of Jesus were careful to name their babies according to God’s instruction via the angel Gabriel.

In Hebrew thought, a name was a prophetic utterance of character. In the case of John and Jesus, their earthly mission was prophesied in their names. “John” – the anglicised form of the Hebrew, “Yochanan”,  means “Jehovah is gracious”. It was John’s task to be the forerunner of the one who would bring “grace and truth” (John 1:17) from the Father. Jesus (Yeshua) was to be the Saviour of the world.

Perhaps one’s mind immediately strays to a significant personality in the Old Testament – Jacob, Isaacs’ son. He was the second of twin sons. He was born clutching the heel of his brother and was given the name Jacob, meaning “one who follows”. His character, however, followed another meaning, “supplanter” or “cheat”, and he lived up to his name until his encounter with the angel of the Lord at Peniel when his name was changed to “Israel” meaning “prince with God”.

When Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18), God responded by saying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.” (Exodus 33:19 – NIV). What a moment for Moses! He was to be given a private and intimate revelation of the deepest depths of the heart of God.

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” (Exodus 34:6 -NIV).

The angel Gabriel announced to the shepherds that a Saviour had been born in Bethlehem; “He is Christ the Lord.” If we recognise that it was to the second person of the Trinity that God the Father assigned the earth, then it was the pre-incarnate Jesus who revealed Himself to Moses. To Him was given the name above every name – Jesus – to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:11- NIV).

Enshrined in that name was everything that He was, everything He came to do and everything He was to be on the earth and in the lives of people who believe in Him. When we address Him as the Lord Jesus Christ, we attribute to Him and affirm all the offices He fulfils — absolute Sovereign, Saviour and Anointed One.

Jesus is the name in which we find salvation (Acts 4:12); shelter (Proverbs 18:10); forgiveness (Psalm 25:11); provision (Genesis 22:14); healing (Exodus 15:26); peace (Ephesians 2:14); righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21); and the comfort and nearness of God’s presence (Matthew 1:23).

Just An Ordinary Kid?

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JUST AN ORDINARY KID? 

“About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral home town to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

“While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped Him in a blanket and laid Him in a manger because there was no room in the hostel.” Luke 2:1-7 (The Message).

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? A young man and his pregnant fiancée! It could be the story of any young couple in today’s world of free sex and blurred morality, in fact, very little morality when you come to think of it. Anyone reading this story for the first time would think that this is a story about our times.

However, Luke has already made it quite clear that Mary’s pregnancy was not the result of a one night stand or a young couple who couldn’t wait. She was a highly favoured teenage girl whom God chose to be the earthly mother of His Son. The baby who was so soon to be born was no ordinary kid. Yes, He was an ordinary human being like you and me and yet His conception was the union of the human and the divine, God stepping down for a season to become one of us.

Because of a government decree, Joseph and Mary had to make the gruelling journey to Bethlehem to join the head count in their ancestral home town. Why then, of all times? Mary’s pregnancy was almost full term. How could she make the long trip before the baby came? There was no train or bus service and certainly no plane to make the flight in an hour or so. This was a long journey on the back of a donkey over rough terrain which would take many days.

But they had to go and they went.

To crown it all, every nook and cranny of the town was filled with visitors. Every house with a spare room was full. There were no luxury hotels to make the situation easier for them. They had to take what shelter they could get and make the best of it. The only space in the local hostel was the downstairs room where the cooking was done and where the animals were sheltered at night.

And then, on top of that, Mary went into labour! What did she think about all this? Didn’t God know that this was not the place for His Son to be born? After all, He was the Son of God. At least God could have arranged it that they have a place in someone’s home where there was female help for this young girl having her first baby.

But God knew exactly what He was doing. Centuries before, through the mouth of the prophet Micah, God promised a ruler who would come from Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2 (NIV). But Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth.

They would have to be moved from Nazareth to Bethlehem at the right moment for the child to be born there. How could they be forced to make the journey at such a crucial time? Only a government decree would motivate them to relocate to Bethlehem. And why in such a lowly place? It was God’s idea to stage His Son’s entry into the world in a place so humble that no one could ever think that they were excluded from His grace.

This is just like God, isn’t it? He didn’t only come to earth but He came to a scenario that was below the level of human beings so that He could lift us up. Even His death was the death of the lowest of the low. He could not go any lower.

And now, He cannot go any higher, because He is the highest of the high!