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Glimpses Of The Great God: Day Twenty Eight

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DAY TWENTY EIGHT

I,  John….was on the island of Patmos

because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus….

On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit

and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet…

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me.

And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands,

and among the lamp stands was someone “like a son of man,”

dressed in a robe down to His feet

and with a golden sash around His chest.

His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow,

and His eyes were like blazing fire.

His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,

and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

In His right hand were seven stars,

and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.

His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.

Revelation 1:9a, 10, 12-17

The Jesus we worship is not a baby in a cradle, a carpenter in his workshop or an itinerant preacher walking the dusty roads of Galilee.  He is a glorious and glorified Lord, majestic, beautiful and so terrifying that John, who once leaned on His breast, “fell at His feet as though dead.”  We need to lay aside the image of the human Jesus and focus on the risen Christ who is God and who stands in our place in the presence of the Father to intercede for us.

Greater Than John

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GREATER THAN JOHN

“‘Let me lay it out for you as plainly as I can: No one in history surpasses John the Baptiser, but in the kingdom he prepared for you, the lowliest person is ahead of him. The ordinary and disreputable people who heard John, by being baptised by him into the kingdom, are the clearest evidence; the Pharisees and religious officials have nothing to do with such baptism, wouldn’t think of giving up their place in line to their inferiors.” Luke 7:28-30 (The Message).

What on earth was Jesus talking about? John the Baptist the greatest and yet the least? It doesn’t make sense, does it?

According to Jesus, John was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, not because of the length of his ministry but because of its importance. All the other prophets, so said Peter, “…Who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.” 1 Peter 1:10b, 11 (NIV), spoke of events that were still far off in the future.

It was John who was privileged to announce and introduce the Messiah to his people, and yet he himself did not witness His ministry or hear His preaching. As soon as Jesus appeared on the scene, he was removed by Herod into a dungeon from which he was never released. He had stood on the brink of the era of the New Covenant but never experienced it for himself.

It must have been very frustrating for John to have been so near and yet so far. Perhaps he had longed to be a part of what Jesus was doing, to be more than his forerunner, even a prominent member of His band of disciples. But it was not to be. John’s work was done, short though it had been, and Jesus graciously acknowledged the value and importance of what he had done.

But, at the same time, He did not overplay John’s role. He was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets but the least in the kingdom Jesus had come to inaugurate. Why?  Because, through Jesus, people could enter and experience what he could only announce.

When the Holy Spirit came in His fullness to continue the work of Jesus, He would take up residence within every believer, making everyone who embraced Jesus as the Son of God and His teaching as His yoke, His dwelling place. It was no longer the privileged few who experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit with them; but all who believed would have Him in them, even the lowliest in man’s eyes.

The high-and-mighty religious ones who thought they were in, were actually out, while the ones they regarded as of no consequence, occupied a more privileged position than they. That’s how it is in God’s kingdom — the world’s value system is reversed. The places of highest honour are reserved for the ones who least expect it. If you think you are important, you are not!

John’s baptism was received by those who welcomed his message and identified with the one he was introducing. Of course, the religious leaders, who thought they knew better, refused to be a part of it. They would not participate in anything that attracted the riff-raff. How tragic that their proud, know-it-all attitude excluded them from the greatest moment in their history and their own personal lives!

What about us? How much have we missed of the grace of Jesus because we think we know better, or because we refuse to humble ourselves and change the way we think. Jesus’ way is open to all, but there are many who miss it because it demands our shedding all our preconceived notions about how it should be.

He said, ‘Follow me.’ That’s all! Are you following? If you are, you will be part of the many who are greater than John the Baptist.

He Understood

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HE UNDERSTOOD

“After John’s messengers left to make their report, Jesus said more about John to the crowd of people. ’What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pyjamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A messenger from God? That’s right, a messenger! Probably the greatest messenger you’ll ever hear. He is the messenger Malachi announced when he wrote, “I’m sending my messenger on ahead to make the road smooth for you.”‘ Luke 7:24-27 (The Message).

Why this vehement defence of John the Baptist?

John had just publicly revealed his vulnerability in his extreme circumstances. It was Jesus’ turn to set the record straight, not only to defend John but also to save his ministry.

He was God’s appointed forerunner of the Messiah, the one foretold by Malachi four hundred years before. He had come, as predicted, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to announce and prepare for the coming of the Messiah. People had flocked to hear him in the wilderness. They had received his message that the Messiah was on the brink of being revealed to them. Perhaps some had even been present when Jesus was baptised and had heard the Father’s affirmation of His Son.

Now John was wavering and who can blame him? The all-powerful Messiah had not lifted a finger to rescue him in his predicament. Perhaps John did not realise that his work was done, short though it had been, and it was time for him to step aside and allow Jesus to stand in the limelight for a season until He, too, stepped aside when His work was complete.

Jesus did not want the crowd to think that John was undoing all he had said and done by wavering in his conviction that He was the Messiah. Turning to the Scriptures, He demonstrated to John’s followers that He fulfilled everything the Scriptures had said about Him to that point. His own circumstances aside, John had to believe that Jesus was all that John had reported Him to be.

But Jesus was not only protecting John’s ministry, He was also protecting John himself. This temporary lapse in John’s conviction, this wobble in his faith, was not who John was. In his weakest moment, Jesus was there for him and quick to point out that he was no fly-by-night, self-appointed prophet. God had foretold his coming through His messenger centuries before just as surely as He had prophesied the coming of His Messiah.

In glowing terms Jesus began to correct any misgivings people the crowd might have had about John. John was no holiday maker or member of the idle rich, on public display for their entertainment. He was a messenger sent from God, whose arrival was foretold in the Scriptures as surely as that of the Messiah. The implication was that the people had better heed what John had preached. It was serious business and, even though John was shaky in his faith right then, his doubts did not cancel out who he was and what he had done before his incarceration.

Don’t you love Jesus for this little interlude? It reveals His heart once again. A lesser person might have criticised John for vacillating in his circumstances, but not Jesus. No matter how weak he was right then, his work remained and Jesus acknowledged that.

This should give us the courage to know that God is tender towards us in our struggles. He does not judge the process through which we have to go to reach our conclusions. How many times we have been where John was, only to emerge stronger and more secure in our confidence in God because God sees the whole picture and accompanies us to a place of greater strength.

So don’t give up. Jesus will never stab you in the back. He will walk with you through the valley until you reach the other side.

The Inside Story

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THE INSIDE STORY

“The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, ‘Could this John be the Messiah?’ But John intervened: ‘I’m baptising you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house — make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God, everything false He’ll put out with the trash to be burned.'” Luke 3:15-18 (The Message).

Just imagine! These were the people who stood on the threshold of a new era in Israel’s history. Messiah was about to be revealed! And they were in on it.

No wonder they ran after John, even putting up with his scathing accusations to hear what he had to say. There was something in the air and they did not want to miss it. But, just like Jesus’ disciples, they all suffered from selective hearing. They associated Messiah so closely with their hope of deliverance from Rome that they conveniently missed the crux of Messiah’s purpose for coming.

John could not have made it clearer: kingdom life; fire; Holy Spirit; changing you from the inside; clean sweep; true/false…all these things had to do with the heart, and attitude, and behaviour, and relationships, and people — the inner being — and nothing to do with politics and Roman occupation. But they just didn’t get it.

Funny how little has changed. Judging by much of what is propagated by so-called Christian television, the message still has to do with externals — blessing and prosperity and houses and cars and me, me, me; a free passport to heaven and everything I can get out of it now while I wait.

But that’s not what John told them. Messiah was about kingdom life and fire! If we read this like a Hebrew, fire was not about hell for those who don’t believe; fire was about purifying and burning off everything that contradicted the nature of God and His way of doing things. There is no place in His kingdom for anything false, like greed, selfishness, bitterness, anxiety, fear, unforgiveness, unbelief, jealousy, discontent and everything that makes our lives fall apart. It’s got to be burned off, burned up, if we are to have any place in God’s kingdom.

Unless a person is willing to let the fire burn, following Jesus becomes a very uncomfortable business. He’s not afraid to turn up the heat because He is passionate about presenting to His Father a family that resembles Him. If we are not prepared to let the fire burn off what does not resemble Jesus, the alternative is “torment”.

Torment is very much about “hell” now — the unquenchable fire of inner pain and turmoil. Have you ever been there? Jesus’ fire works quickly — it burns off the offending thoughts, attitudes and behaviour that contradict who He is, and peace is the blissful outcome, His peace that makes no sense but it’s real anyway. Hang on to your “stuff” and the fire burns slowly and never stops. It does not consume your issues but it does consume you.

When you think about it, God’s fire is pure mercy. Who, in his right mind, would want to hang onto the things that cause torment anyway? I recently read an article in a popular South African magazine about a woman who spends R3,500.00 a month (about $350.00) on tranquillisers because she was raped. I have a young woman in my study group who endured the same terrible experience but she’s free because she allowed Jesus to “burn off” her anger and bitterness, and the torment has gone.

What John was introducing was something far better than a “Romans-free” life. When you are free inside, the outside has no power to enslave, no matter how bad the circumstances are. With shredded backs and their feet in the stocks, Paul and Silas sang in the jail because they were free.

That’s what Messiah came to do!

Israel’s “Billy Graham”!

Bible Study, , ,

ISRAEL’S “BILLY GRAHAM”

“When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: ‘Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskin is going to deflect God’s judgment? It’s your life that must change, not your skin. And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as “father”. Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there — children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children of stones if He wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s dead wood, if goes on the fire.'” Luke 3:7-9 (The Message).

Talk about a fiery preacher! John wasn’t exactly “seeker-friendly” and he was seriously lacking in people skills!

Who were the people who made up the crowds? From the other gospels we learn that there were people from among the religious hierarchy; there were taxmen and there were even Roman soldiers among them; the good, the bad and the ugly. What attracted them to John? Did they enjoy getting a tongue-lashing? Was it his brutal honesty? Were they fascinated by this wild man from the wilderness? Was it his message?

Perhaps the angel’s prediction before his birth may give us a clue – he was filled with the Spirit from birth. The Holy Spirit must have played a big part in the response to his preaching. Obviously there was a high expectation that Messiah was coming. The presence of the Romans was intolerable; like the Gestapo in Nazi Germany, they were everywhere, it seemed, breathing down people’s necks.

On top of that, John’s message was riveting. Isaiah’s prophecy was actually happening! ‘A voice thundering in the desert,’ is what John called himself. But isn’t that what Isaiah said would happen? “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'” Luke 3:4b (NKJV). ‘Messiah is on the way!’

Did John really understand the hearts of these people or was he just having a bad day? ‘Basket of snakes!’ he called them, ‘slithering down to the water.’ Was there a subtle reference to their origin – children of the devil, as Jesus called them? Whatever John meant, it was enough to get their attention. Were they being like sheep, following one another out of curiosity and John knew it? It was time for them to wake up and think for themselves.

What was the point of John’s baptism? Baptism, or ritual washing, was a common practice in Jewish culture. It was called “mikvah”, washing. It was the prescribed way of “cleansing” after any period of ritual uncleanness; it was a form of initiation into a new function or office, for example, the priesthood; and it was a form of initiation into a new movement (Gentiles who adopted Judaism were baptised into their new religion).  Archaeological digs have uncovered ritual baths in many places in Israel.

John was calling people to return to their original purpose in God. This demanded a change of heart and a change of lifestyle. It was to be something much deeper than just a symbolic washing. It was to be a change that affected every part of their lives. John’s challenge was: ‘Are you in this for the ride or do you really mean business with God?’

God called Israel to be His representatives in a world of people who were in rebellion against Him; who were creating and worshipping gods in the form of His creatures rather than the Creator, and who were, in turn, being created to be just like the evil gods they were worshipping.

Israel was to be different. Their lives were to reflect the kindness and generosity of their God. God prescribed a lifestyle in His Word that taught them what He was like so that they could mirror His way of doing things that worked, bringing peace and harmony to the community. But it had not worked because the Jews had followed the ways of their heathen neighbours instead of God’s ways.

John’s message was ‘Return!’ It was a simple as that!