Tag Archives: disciples

What’s The Key?

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WHAT’S THE KEY?

 “‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.

“‘Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’

“‘Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying, ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.'” John 4:34-38 (NIV).

Jesus had just had an astonishing encounter with a Samaritan woman who had been married and divorced five times and was now shacked up with a sixth man to whom she was not even married. That says something about the woman, doesn’t it? There could not have been a worse candidate for a response to Him! At least that’s how we would have judged her.

But Jesus never viewed any person as too far gone. Underneath her hard exterior was what He saw – potential. One just had to know where to find the weak spot to gain access to the heart. This woman’s weak spot was her longing to be loved. She tried five times and five times it didn’t work because she was being used, not loved.

Perhaps marriage wasn’t even an option any more. Just shack up and, if it didn’t work, move on and keep searching. But the problem was that the only ones who wanted a soiled garment were those who were soiled as well. By this time she was so hardened that she expected to be used and abused because she was worth nothing more than that in her own eyes.

To be treated with respect by a Jewish man brought her up short and got her attention, and we know the outcome. Jesus broke down her wall and touched her heart. When the disciples returned and saw Him in conversation with her, unheard of for Jewish man, they could not fathom what was going on. They saw her joy when she abandoned her water jar and rushed back to town and their eyebrows went up!

Jesus had to straighten out their thinking once again. Using imagery with which they were familiar, He challenged them. ‘You guys are thinking, ‘It’s too soon to start harvesting these Samaritans for the kingdom of God. They aren’t ready for it yet. Sometime in the future we’ll preach to them.’ This woman’s response is proof that it’s time for the harvest right now.’

‘I have harvested this woman in a very short time, but there’s a huge harvest out there waiting to be reaped and I can’t do it alone. We have to work together. It’s not important who does the planting and who does the reaping. It’s team work and both sower and reaper get the wages for doing the job.’

What was Jesus getting at? Was He saying that it was not important who did the work but rather that it was important to get the work done. Those who worked together to sow and reap were guaranteed their share of the profits. There were many who had already done the sowing. How else did this half-breed woman know that Messiah was coming? She may not have had it all straight but she was not entirely ignorant of God’s Word

In the natural world there is a time lapse between sowing and reaping but, in the lives of human beings the time for harvesting is always now. Like Jesus and the woman, it’s a case of finding the soft spot. Why did she have this emptiness in her soul which she tried to fill with human love only to be disappointed again and again?

Although she did not know it, she had a craving for a father’s love. We know nothing about her father, and she knew nothing about the perfect Father. He was the key to unlock her heart. Jesus was the mirror of the Father to her. When He introduced her to the Father, everything fell into place!

It is only the Father’s love that can fill your empty heart.

Lion Or Lamb?

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LION OR LAMB? 

“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. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi (which means “Teacher”), ‘where are you staying?’ ‘Come,’ He replied, ‘and you will see.’ So they went and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about four in the afternoon.” John 1:35-39 (NIV).

Jesus rated John the Baptist the greatest of all the prophets. Why? He was not like Isaiah, for instance, who was a member of the royal family and whose long ministry lasted through the reigns of four kings. Isaiah was the prince of prophets in the Old Testament era. He had insights into the nature and ministry of the Messiah like no other prophet. After all, didn’t he write the most profound and sublime chapter in the Old Testament — Isaiah 53? But John was greater.

Why was John such a great man? His ministry lasted no more than six months before he was incarcerated and then beheaded. I believe his greatness lay in the way he fulfilled his assignment. What was his assignment? He was to prepare the way for and introduce the Messiah to Israel. It was not so much what he did but the way he did it that marked him out as a truly great man.

In response to the constant squabbling of His disciples over who would be the greatest, Jesus taught them what true greatness was all about. They thought that greatness was about being the most important and the most visible person in the pecking order. James and John even asked for positions at His elbows in His kingdom! Imagine that!

Jesus was quick to point out that it was they, not He, who determined their greatness. If they were were prepared to stoop down to the level of the lowliest in society, a little child, and lift him up, they would be truly great. Humility and the behaviour it produces, is the way to greatness.

How did John the Baptist measure up to Jesus’ criterion?

When the Pharisees interrogated him, he was quick to point out that he was no more than a voice. He could have claimed to be Elijah come back from the dead, a great prophet who had ministered during a time of apostasy in Israel and who had done amazing miracles – stopping the rain, bringing on the rain and even raising a dead child on one occasion. Jesus identified John as the fulfilment of God’s promise to send Elijah ahead of the Messiah but John made no such claim for himself.

John had the heart of a servant. His fiery preaching was not to humiliate but to call people back to God. When they responded, he spent time encouraging and teaching them about God’s kingdom.

He never lost an opportunity to point people to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Whenever he saw Jesus, he declared, ‘There is God’s Lamb!’ John, unlike Jesus’ own diisciples, had grasped the real mission of the Messiah.

The disciples were anticipating a stand-off with the Romans, their humiliating defeat and an era of glorious freedom for Israel under their new ruler, Jesus. The miracles He did confirmed their notion that He would restore Israel to her former glory under their great king, David, when everyone lived in safety and in plenty under his merciful and benevolent rule.

John, on the other hand, kept insisting that Jesus was God’s Lamb, not God’s Lion, at least not yet.  He was not in any way resentful when some of his disciples left him to follow Jesus. That was his purpose, to point people to Jesus and to introduce Him to the world as God’s sacrifice for sin.

John was faithful to his calling. He had no other purpose in life but to ensure that everyone he encountered knew who Jesus was. He was consumed with the passion to prepare the way so that, when Jesus arrived on the scene, people would recognise and follow Him.

This story speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

Small Is Great

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SMALL IS GREAT

“They started arguing over which of them would be the most famous. When Jesus realised how much this mattered to them, He brought a child to His side. ‘Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts me,’ He said, ‘and whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes the difference,”’ Luke 9:46-48 (The Message).

This issue of who would be the greatest was on-going with the disciples. Being a disciple and follower of Jesus didn’t cure them of their power struggle. What was it that drove them to want the highest position in the kingdom He kept talking about? What did they understand by the “kingdom of God” anyway?

From the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus’ teaching was aimed at loosing both His disciples and the people who came to listen to Him, from their old ideas about the kingdom of God. They still equated the kingdom with their national boundaries and their national pride. David was their greatest king. He was a warrior and a champion. Under his rule, the boundaries of their territory were extended to the greatest Israel had ever been. They were a free people. Their enemies had all been defeated and they were safe and at peace under their own king.

Roman occupation with its oppression and cruelty aroused a fresh expectation of the Messiah who would deliver them from their enemies and re-establish a golden age of peace and safety. In this kingdom, their king would need a council, and they were surely to be it, but who would be top dog in that council? Each of them wanted the glory that went with the position. James and John even involved their mother in their ambition to be at the top. Perhaps her influence would count for something!

Imagine how shocking and revolutionary His solution was to their squabbling. But, like the issue of His crucifixion, everything He told them about greatness fell on deaf ears. It clashed with their ambition and they dismissed it without another thought. To be really great, Jesus told them, was to stoop down and recognise the value and potential of the smallest and least, a little child, but they would not see it that way.

Children had their place in society but it was at the bottom of the pecking order. They had no authority and wielded no influence. They were there, in the family, waiting to take their place when they became useful as partners in the family business, for example. Until that time, they were irrelevant.

What’s the real issue here? To acknowledge a child is to put oneself on his level, to recognise his worth and to see his potential. That means climbing down off one’s high horse and being willing to look beyond the end of one’s own nose. Jesus was insisting that His disciples foster the same attitude towards a child as He wanted them to have towards the outcasts of society.

It’s not about who performs the best for other people to see and congratulate, but it’s about who can see the potential for greatness in others and do what we can to nurture them towards fulfilment. When we can come down to the level of a child, we are putting things in their correct perspective.

It’s more about cutting ourselves down to size than it is about cutting others down to size. It’s about taking authority over our own hearts rather than having authority over other people. Jesus said, ‘If you want to rule, rule over yourself first. When you can do that, you are qualified to have authority over others because your humble attitude will enable you to act with grace and mercy towards them.’

Helpless people, especially children, need protection, not exploitation. Whatever position we occupy in society, it is up to us to take care of those who have no voice or power to protect themselves. How will irresponsible people, both mothers who make the decision to get rid of their offspring and those who perpetrate the evil deed, answer for the wholesale slaughter of unborn babies in the light of Jesus’ attitude towards little ones?

How do you measure yourself in the light of Jesus’ standard?

A Common Phenomenon

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A COMMON PHENOMENON

 “While they continued to stand around exclaiming over all the things He was doing, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Treasure and ponder each of these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human hands.” They didn’t get what He was saying. It was like He was speaking a foreign language and they couldn’t make heads or tails of it. But they were embarrassed to ask Him what He meant.” Luke 9:43-45 (The Message).

This was the second time Jesus told His disciples about His impending suffering and death. The first was in the context of His identity. He had questioned them, in the environment of Caesarea Philippi, the “red light” district of Israel, who they thought He was. Peter’s reply indicated that they were at least a little farther along in understanding than the people who constantly thronged Him.

At the same time it was clear that both Peter and probably the rest of the disciples along with him, had no idea what “Messiah” meant. To them He was no more than a political figure sent to deliver them from Roman oppression. All His teaching and demonstration of the nature of the kingdom of God fell off them like water off a duck’s back.

Why did He repeatedly inform them of His coming ordeal in Jerusalem, even exposing them to what they had just seen and heard on the Mount of Transfiguration, involving two of their greatest historical figures? Was it to inform, to warn, to prepare them for what lay ahead? Was it to expand their understanding of who the Messiah was and what He had come to do?

Jesus was up against something in the disciples that is common in human nature. We all seem to be able to block our ability to understand what we refuse to believe. They refused to believe that suffering and violent death was included in the purpose of His coming. It was not on their agenda for Him because salvation from sin and reconciliation to the Father was not on their agenda. Their tunnel vision prevented them from accepting anything outside of their expectation.

Was there something in the words Jesus used that they could not understand? And yet they did not grasp what He was telling them! We know, from hindsight, exactly what He was saying because we have the benefit of everything that followed.

In the context of our own experience, there are many things in God’s Word that we don’t understand, not because the words are difficult, but because our brains block out our ability to understand those parts that do not fit our expectation.

Take for example, the way we perceive and experience God’s love. The Bible is a continuous story of the way God treats people because of His love for them. His mercy and compassion overshadow the story of His stubborn, rebellious and wayward people. He had every right to take them out and start all over again. And yet, time and again, He forgave them and rescued them from the consequences of their wickedness, Why? Because He loved them.

His Word assures us that He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to redeem all mankind. However, when we go through hard times, what do we do? We blame God and doubt His love! We cannot translate the love that provided a Saviour into a love that cares about us in our troubles and problems.

What is the solution? We find in His Word what our expectation of Him should be. He tells us what He wants to do and is capable of doing in our lives. We will only be transformed when we renew our minds with His Word instead of stubbornly holding on to our inadequate and misinformed ideas of who He is and what He had promised He will do.

What’s on your agenda for God that does not come from Him? Let His Word shape your thoughts and your understanding of who He is, what He says and what your expectation of Him should be, and you will come closer to the truth of what He has in mind for you.

Bible School, Jesus Style

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BIBLE SCHOOL, JESUS STYLE

“Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, ‘Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns — get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you’re not welcomed, leave town. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on.’

“Commissioned, they left. They travelled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the Message, and curing people everywhere they went.” Luke 9:1-6 (The Message).

Step two of Jesus’ training programme for His disciples was about to begin. Mark outlined His strategy in one simple sentence: “He appointed twelve: that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” Mark 3:14 (NIV).

He had spent a considerable time modelling His method and His message, with His disciples with Him day and night, watching and listening to Him and getting the feel of the kingdom He was introducing to His people. Although they still had in mind that He had come to deliver them from Rome, perhaps they thought that what He was showing them was part of His strategy to win the people over.

Jesus considered them ready to go out without Him to do what He had been doing. They needed plenty of practice for the day when He left them on their own for good to get on with what He had started. The day would come when He would give them their commission to a life work to go, not just to the towns and villages of Israel but to the whole world to pass on who they were — disciples of Jesus.

His instruction was simple. ‘Don’t weigh yourself down with loads of baggage and equipment.’ This was a partnership between Himself and His disciples. It was His responsibility to see that they were provided for on their journey. They did not have to run “Praise-a-thons” to raise funds or stay in 5-star hotels or travel in Mercedes Benz vehicles. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, said, ‘God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.’

They were to rely on the hospitality of the local people. Between the lines, He was giving townspeople the opportunity to have a share in the blessing of partnering with His disciples in the work of the kingdom. If there were those who were inhospitable enough to turn them away, it was not necessary to make a fuss about it. They would be the losers and that would be enough.

Jesus’ strategy was brilliant, bringing people and God together and showing His disciples how to trust Him for their resources by giving people the opportunity to be generous. He promised to meet our needs but He does not do it by tossing money from heaven. It is the generosity of people that creates a current and keeps His resources circulating. This principle works in the natural world too.

The disciples did what He instructed them to do and He did what He promised He would do. He was already beginning to multiply Himself in twelve men who were listening, watching, learning and imitating their Rabbi.

Isn’t it sad that the simple message of Jesus has been covered up with layers of stuff and ritual until it had become unrecognisable? There is nothing wrong with using technology to get the message out as long as the message remains unadulterated with human ideas and interpretations. What Jesus came to do should remain unchanged, however it is delivered.

What did He come to do? He came to show us the Father and to take us to the Father so that we can be reconciled and live as His sons and daughters here on earth. Anything else is not who He is and not what He came to do!