Tag Archives: disciples

The Folly Of Tradition

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THE FOLLY OF TRADITION

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, and saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as washing of cups, pitchers and kettles). So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?’ (Mark 7: 1-5).

A good plan – to wash hands before eating, especially after being at the market! And as for washing dishes – don’t we do that every day? So what was the issue? The religious types were not critical of Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands before lunch. They had issues with them for eating with ceremonially “unclean” hands. Their problem was not hygiene but religion.

They were fastidious about keeping the detailed instructions handed down from their sages – the ancient rabbis who spent all their lives debating the meaning of the 613 laws of the Torah, and adding what they considered to be interpretations which were supposed to protect the people from inadvertently transgressing the commandments. The outcome was a top-heavy load of rules that made the ordinary people’s lives intolerably weighed down by so much “do-ing” that they had not time for “be-ing”.

That led to another problem. The emphasis of the rules was so much on the doing or not doing that they lost the implications of the Torah, to show mercy to their fellow beings, both Israelites and foreigners by being generous and kind, like the God they served. They were so self-absorbed in their efforts to be right that they became self-right-eous, and despised those who were not as “holy” as they. The nature of their God was distorted and the ones they were supposed to be influencing toward Him were driven away.

He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.’ (Mark 7: 6-8).

Aha! So this was not new. It was already happening in Isaiah’s day, some six hundred or so years before. It was not new then and it certainly is not new today. Look at some of the additions to Jesus’ simple command to follow Him that have become integrated into the gospel and the Christian way of life. Those who are bent on being true disciples of Jesus might wonder where all that stuff came from.

I have a simple test when it comes to evaluating all the trappings of Christianity. I ask myself the question, “Is this why Jesus came?” Of what value are fancy embroidered robes and sashes, swinging of incense, bowing to altars, wearing of crucifixes, praying to saints and lighting of candles and . . . and . . . and, to people when Jesus only said, “Follow me”? Did He insist that all of that was part of His calling? Did Jesus set up a hierarchy of people so that some are “holier” than others because they have education or a title or wear embroidered robes? What about “That they may be one . . .”?

What about all the other stuff we have added? Some believers in some circles regard other believers in their circles as “second-class” because they don’t speak in tongues, or they haven’t been “baptised” in the Holy Spirit. Where do they find that in the teaching of Jesus? And if there is no being “slain in the Spirit” during ministry, then they say that the Holy Spirit had not “worked”. Really? Who said? Who is the judge?

And what about being called “born-again” believers as though there are two kinds of believers, those who have been born again and those who have not? Jesus told only one man that he had to be “born again” because Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He had such fancy notions about himself that he needed to go back to square one, symbolically, and begin all over again through the power of the Holy Spirit, like beginning life from scratch as a baby in his understanding of God’s way.

Jesus called everyone else to follow Him; to become like Him, to think like Him, to live like Him, to speak and act like He did – to “become” Him so that the world would see what the Father is really like.

Is it any wonder then, that the church in the main is irrelevant in the world? It is no better than any other religion – fragmented, ritualistic and unrealistic, making people slaves to do’s and don’ts just like any other man-made ism.

Jesus came to set people free from all that stuff to become true sons and daughters of God. Over the centuries, rules, rituals and traditions have been so piled on Jesus’ simple call that He has become an unrecognisable caricature of the true Son of God. In some quarters the Bible, God’s Word to His people, has even become a forbidden and hated book! Why? In simple terms, because people love their darkness rather than the light because of their wicked lives.

In some places the church has become nothing less than the temple of Baal – with altars and images all over the place and beads and saints and holy water and every other irrelevancy to draw people away from Jesus. Jesus came as the truth to do away with every picture and symbol so that we can focus completely on Him and Him alone.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3: 18).

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

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Baptising

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BAPTISING

“After this, Jesus and His disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them, and baptised. Now John was also baptising at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptised, (This was before John was put in prison).” John 3:22-24.

What was all this baptising about? Who were Jesus and John baptising and why? Were they sprinkling water on people’s heads or were they dunking them under the water?

Baptism, or ritual washing, was an ancient and common practice in Israel. It was carried out in obedience to the Law of Moses for many different reasons. It was also the way of ritual cleansing and initiation into an office e.g., the priesthood, or a movement.

John was a rabbi who had a following of disciples and a “yoke”, an interpretation of the Torah and a lifestyle that he adhered to and placed upon his followers as did Jesus. As he taught about the Messiah, preparing the way for His coming, people wanted to show that they accepted and identified with what John was teaching and the way to do it publicly was through ritual washing.

It would seem that Jesus was initiating His own disciples into Himself and His teaching as well, so that they would become different people while John was baptising people who were willing to change their minds and accept what John was teaching them about the Messiah. The act of washing in running water was symbolic of washing away who they were and giving them a new beginning in a new understanding and way of life according to what their rabbi had taught them.

Were John and Jesus in competition, each drawing a following and initiating their disciples into their teaching and way of life? For a while they were both teaching and baptising, but John in no way acted like a rival. In fact, John, the author of this gospel, records John the Baptist’s purpose, more than once, of pointing people to Jesus. He did not object when some of his disciples left him to follow Jesus.

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God.’ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” John 1:35-37.

When his disciples questioned John about Jesus’ popularity, he responded that he was only the friend of the bridegroom, not the bridegroom. His job was to attend to bridegroom and announce His arrival. He concluded, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30.

God had a drastic and unusual way of solving this problem. John did not disappear back into the wilderness. He was forcefully removed by Herod who had him thrown in prison at the instigation of his unscrupulous wife, Herodias. Why did God allow that to happen?

I cannot presume to understand all God’s ways, but it seems to me that John’s work was done. It was his task to prepare the way for Messiah, to announce His arrival and to point out who He was to those who heard him. Did he fulfil his calling? Yes, he did. There was no reason for him to continue because he would actually be in Jesus’ way.

His removal seems cruel but we have to ask, “Would it have been better for him to languish in a dungeon for years, never seeing the light of day and living in a hope that was never fulfilled?” It was through God’s mercy that he was taken out suddenly and drastically, leaving Jesus to fulfil His mission without a rival. The people no longer needed John’s message or John’s baptism because the Messiah was among them. John’s work was preparatory and complete.

We cannot always discern the wisdom and ways of the Lord. We know that He is good and always does what is best for us. His ways, Paul said, are “past finding out”. He asks us to trust Him when we cannot see the way ahead.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Not Fired But Refired

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NOT FIRED BUT REFIRED

“Afterward Jesus appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” John 21:1-3.

Does this sound vaguely familiar? When did something like this happen before? Perhaps many times during these fishermen’s lifetime, but only recorded once before in the gospels. Jesus had been preaching on the shore of the lake. The crowd hassled Him so much that He asked permission to use Peter’s boat as a pulpit.

It was daytime, not the normal time for fishing but, when the preaching was done and the crowd dispersed, Jesus instructed Peter and Andrew, his brother, to go back into deep water after a fruitless night’s fishing and throw in their net again. Every fisherman knew that you didn’t catch fish by day. In any case, the night’s fishing had yielded nothing, so what was the point of trying to catch fish by day? Peter protested but they did it anyway and landed such a huge haul that they had to call for help to pull it in.

Peter was so overwhelmed by this unusual event that he pleaded with Jesus to leave him alone. ‘Go away from me,’ he said, ‘for I am a sinful man.’ He recognised something about Jesus that was not like any other person. But not only did Jesus comfort and reassure him, He called him and his fishing companions, Andrew, James and John to follow Him. At His call they left their huge catch and the equipment for their livelihood and followed Jesus.

Just over three years had gone by. So many things had happened in the interim. They had become disciples of an unusual and popular rabbi which was a lifetime calling. Then things had turned sour and their rabbi, young as He was, was executed on a Roman cross for what could only be described as a trumped-up charge. They were left stranded. What were they supposed to do?

By this time they were quite a close-knit group and even more so since Jesus’ death. They were bonded together in their bewilderment and grief and stuck together even though some of them were not fishermen. They had gone back to Galilee, perhaps to try to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on. Peter, as always the leader, on an impulse perhaps, decided to try a spot of fishing. Surprisingly, his boat and net were still there after more than three years. The others joined him, and they set out at sundown to try their luck. It was a fruitless night.

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” John 21:4-6.

Exhausted, weary and disillusioned, they were pulling towards the shore when they saw something unusual. A lone figure stood on the beach over a small fire. Who would be out so early in the morning? At first they did not recognise Him. He called out to them, ‘Guys, did you catch anything?’ and when they answered in the negative, He instructed them to throw in their nets on the right side of the boat.

Hadn’t they heard that instruction before? When they did it, they got the same result — fish galore, so many that the net was too heavy to drag to shore.

“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!'” John 21:7a.

Of course! Who else could it be? They had seen Him in Jerusalem, but they were not expecting Him to turn up in Galilee. There was only one person who could issue a foolish instruction like that to seasoned fishermen and get the result they got. They remembered the previous occasion. It was the never-to-be-forgotten moment of their call to follow Him.

 

What was He saying to them? Was He setting the scene for a renewed call? Was He about to recommission them because He was alive? They had gone back to the old life because they thought their time with Him was over. But it wasn’t. What they thought was the end was only the beginning of a new chapter for them. Jesus had not fired them for their failure. They were about to be refired for a whole new life!

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

He Had The Upper Hand!

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HE HAD THE UPPER HAND!

“He replied, ‘Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!’ Then they asked him, ‘What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?'” John 9:25-27 NIV.

Cheeky! The blind man had become bold.

He must have realised that the Pharisees found themselves in a very embarrassing situation and capitalised on it. That a miracle had happened (and one that would attract attention because the blind man had been a public figure — always begging in the street), was something they could not deny. They had no explanation for what had happened except Jesus…and they certainly did not want to acknowledge Him!

It was just too much for them when the man challenged them. (His words seem to imply that he had already become a follower of Jesus). They turned on him with insults and abuse — the only way they knew how to get out of a tricky situation.

“Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple. We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where He comes from,'” John 9:28 29 NIV.

It’s a pity they did not take the trouble to find out. They would have been surprised to learn that Jesus perfectly matched the prophetic fingerprint of Messiah written all over the Scriptures they claimed to revere and follow.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of weighing up the evidence before dismissing Jesus as a fake. If there was ever a sure way to convince people of the truth of God’s Word, it was to write history before it happened so that, when it happened, no one could dispute the truth. And that is exactly what God did!

When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost to explain the unusual events that were happening under the noses of the visitors in Jerusalem, he turned to the one thing no one could deny – prophecy. When the apostles took the gospel to the Jews scattered across the Roman Empire, their weapon of truth was — prophecy. That prophecy could be so accurately fulfilled in Jesus was beyond possibility unless it was of God.

The Pharisees were outraged that a mere nobody and a beggar at that, could throw out a challenge to them for which they had no answer. Their claim to be followers of Moses was just as hollow as their accusation that Jesus was a “sinner”. Where was the proof? Jesus Himself had exposed their hypocrisy over and over again.

“The man answered, ‘Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where He comes from, yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does His will. Nobody had ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God He could do nothing.'” John 9:30-33 NIV.

This man had them and they knew it! As unlearned as he was, his logic was more plausible than theirs. For him it was simple. God hears a godly man. He heard Jesus and worked a miracle, therefore Jesus was a godly man. No contest.

Why could the Pharisees not get it? It had nothing to do with their intelligence or ability to reason. It have everything to do with their prejudice and their unwillingness to bow to Jesus as Lord and God. They had chosen to reject Him because it did not suit them to believe in Him. It was up to them to find a logical reason for rejecting Him and that was easier said than done. Their best weapon was abuse which did not solve their problem. It only showed them up for what they were.

Many human beings still follow the way of the Pharisees, It takes honesty and humility to acknowledge that Jesus is right and we are wrong and we need to bow to Him.

Have you done that?

Both Lord And Christ

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BOTH LORD AND CHRIST 

“From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.’You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ Then Jesus replied, ‘Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!’ (He meant Judas Iscariot who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him).” John 6:66-71 (NIV)

Good old Peter! For once he got it right!

For all their blundering, misunderstandings, prejudices and misperceptions, of one thing the Twelve had become convinced, that Jesus was the Son of God. They did not fully understand all the implications and they certainly clung tenaciously to the hope that He would deliver them from Rome, but they never abandoned their conviction that He was someone far more than human.

John was careful to identify and isolate Judas Iscariot as the traitor, but that did not mean that Judas was not also convinced of His identity. Why he betrayed Jesus is not absolutely clear. It could have been purely for money or it could have been his way of trying to force Jesus to do what he thought He would do — move supernaturally against the Romans during the Passover when Jerusalem was filled with Jews from in and outside Israel.

John made a clear distinction between two groups of disciples — the ones who were following Him for opportunistic reasons and the Twelve whom He had chosen. The first group was obvious fascinated by and drawn to Him because of the possibilities of what He could do for them. He healed them; He got rid of tormenting demons and He even fed them supernaturally from very little. If they could have a king like that, their troubles would be over.

The problem with this kind of faith is that it places false expectations on Jesus which He is under no obligation to fulfil. It is unfortunate that He is often presented to people as the solution to all their problems. Prayer and faith are a way to get what we want. When He does not meet to our expectations and capitulate to our demands, we either do what we can to appease Him, as though He were some pagan idol, or we become disillusioned and walk away like these fickle “disciples” did.

 

The Twelve followed Jesus because they were chosen. He selected ordinary men from many walks of life; fishermen, tax collectors, political activists, nobodies who were not already fashioned by the religious system to have fixed ideas about God and His Messiah.

When He began to speak about things they could not understand; about suffering and dying, which made no sense to them, they were sufficiently convinced about His identity to wait it out. Their expectations might have differed, even from one another’s but they were prepared to give Him a hearing because they had bonded with Him as a person even if they did not understand everything He said.

Peter voiced the thoughts of the group, and they agreed with him by sticking with Jesus when the others left. It must have heartened Jesus to know that He had a loyal group, even if it was only His intimate group of disciples whom He had personally invited to be His followers. They were not part of the “anyone” and the “whoever”. He called them by name and that meant a lot to them.

The fact that He lost only Judas from the Twelve is also surprising, given the harshness of His words. They may have trembled with fear, abandoned Him and run for cover, hidden in the Upper Room and lost all hope when He died, but that was only part of the process. Resurrection day changed all that. His words, falling on deaf ears then, took on explosive meaning when the implications burst on their understanding.

No doubt, they must have remembered Peter’s expression of their collective faith: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ How glad they must have been to have stuck with Him then! Their faith had paid off. It was not about what He could do for them. It was all about who He was — both Lord and Christ to whom every knee shall bow.

Have you bowed to Him?