Kindness for the controller

𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 11:21 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨, “𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙.”

The would/could/should haves – part of our entitled commentary to God about our take on life after events happen. While it’s perfectly understandable and good to review things that went wrong in order to prevent them from going (as) wrong next time, it’s presumption to read God the riot act. We simply don’t have the equipment or certainly the authority to instruct the Lord of our lives as to how things SHOULD have gone.

For Martha, this was completely in character. Though she followed this statement with “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (v 22), that was a self-perceived consolation to the sovereign will of Martha. This was the person who bossed her family around – taking umbrage that her sister Mary would not help her do her frantic, frenetic (and never ending) preparation, cleaning and (re)ordering of things for the guests. No, said Jesus, you can be like that, but Mary will certainly be allowed to sit and listen regardless.

It’s miraculous Jesus did up upbraid Martha – cut her down to size and knock her off her high horse. But he did not. As always, Jesus knew what was in a person, and Martha was hurting inside. We have no history regarding her past, but the need for control and intolerance of things not going according to plan is well understood even in our own lives. Martha had just lost her brother. Among the spectrum of things going wrong, that would be a biggie. Her pain in watching a loved one get sick and die is a well-known human experience. One of the earliest expressions of grief is anger – which blames. There’s little question that Martha had seen loss, along with personal criticism and shame. She felt things deeply.

It would seem a suitable emotional reaction to put Martha in her place, to let her know how selfish her manipulative control really was. But Jesus didn’t do that and it’s remarkable. Instead, Jesus grieved with her and then showed real sovereignty – that of Almighty God – and raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. That’s how God moves in the lives of the bossy, controlling, bullying people – shows them goodness in the dearest way.

It is so easy to sting back the people who dig and weasel and push and scratch their way into ordering your life according to THEIR program. Jesus shows what they need. Hardly acquiescence to their insistent wranglings but kindness in spite of them and in response to them. As usual, Jesus turns the world upside down and heals it. He’s glorious.

Finishing the project

Luke 14:28-30 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Jesus described the all-too-familiar problem of lowballing estimates for projects.  In a corporation, it’s common practice to preach cheap to management then ask for leniency when there are cost overruns.  And given the miserly control and fear of investment among C level executives, it is arguably the only way to get anything meaningful and substantial done.  Projects are treacherous ground even so because funding can be pulled any time.  Monies are counted quarterly no matter what projects are happening.  I will personally testify about 60% of my projects being canceled before completion, with people who were vital to those projects summarily laid off.

But this mini-parable is applied to a life following Jesus.  The level and cost of a lifelong commitment is often underestimated.  If you’re going to put parents, family or life’s pursuits ahead of your devotion to Jesus Christ, don’t bother saying you’re his disciple.  The balance here is that devotion to Christ will make you love your family even more.  It’s a matter of what reigns supreme.  And in this passage, Jesus stresses the long-term nature of a life given to him.  If your weariness causes you to abandon following him, you failed in your original estimate of cost.  Those around you who said it was only a phase are proven right in what they said.

There is no management to appeal to in order to increase corporate commitment to the project called my life.  Jesus paid for that life on the cross once for all.  It’s never the case that there isn’t help for me to continue in my following him or in all he’s called me to.  But there is also a giving up I can fall into if I try to do things on my own too much, things don’t go my way or my resilience is so low that fatigue makes me simply walk away.  Following Jesus, carrying my particular cross and letting him mold me into all he wants me to be is a lifelong project.  Indeed, I am his project.  For life.  May I finish (or be finished) well.

Hometown mediocrity

𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝟰:𝟮𝟯‭-‬𝟮𝟰 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, “𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯, ‘“𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.” 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗺, 𝗱𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹.’” 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱, “𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆, 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻.”

When Jesus came to Nazareth in Galilee after being tempted by Satan for 40 days, he was confronted by offended unbelief. When they heard the grace that he spoke, the people noted he was (only) Joseph’s son, which was not accurate biologically/spiritually. They could and would not allow anyone from their midst to attain any exalted position and gifting. The status quo of “normalcy” – meaning mediocrity at best – needed to be maintained.

There is no person upon whom God coerces faith. It must come from within a person; an act of spiritual volition. The good news is that it can grow, and that involves tearing down strongholds of pride and envy. Those things stand in the way, and from this passage we see that they are tribally enforced and expressed.

Where do I deny the supremacy of Christ? Where do I insist upon his mere humanity? I may well hold his deity in formal belief, but what about his effect upon my own life? Do I hold up my requests and intercessions as proof points of his power and care on my behalf? That’s subtle, but greatly effective at putting myself on the throne where I do not belong. He needs free reign in me, not the restrictions created by my being his “hometown”.

On the flip side, where do I see myself and others pulled down, dumbed down and made to conform to the lower expectations, talents and attainments of others? It’s inappropriate to exalt oneself and completely in order to serve. And service will, by nature, grow people in gifts and talents well beyond those of others. But let it be known – envy is not absent among those beholding such growth – whether they behold as leaders or followers. There are resident controlling spirits that keep people where they are even as they atrophy and the grace that had been there dissolves.

The counter to the offense taken by the people is humble spiritual organism – a unassuming faith that is ever out-looking and growing. I need to allow it in me and foster and contend for it in my environment.

Matthew 8:9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Being under authority provides a flow of power and blessing.  Of course, it can also perpetuate a flow of hideous destruction.  It is the top-down course of permission and command that empowers the individual.

The Centurion was saying that he knew Jesus received his power to do the miraculous from God on high, just as he received his own power to act militarily from the hierarchy of Roman command above him.  Jesus was astounded by his understanding and faith and showered the human saying with praises heard nowhere else in the gospels.

Among Jesus followers, there is a tendency to either shirk or overplay human hierarchy.  After all, Jesus was only “under” God, right?  And there is another tendency to force submission and thus, proudly build ecclesiastical reporting structures that serve to build denominations or movements.  There is no question that hierarchy was in place in the early church, but there were no denominations and splinter groups were on their own.  So, we see human authority both abandoned and over-emphasized.  And while there is apparent freedom in refusing to submit, there is equal pride in being lone believers or leaders.  Pride will crimp the flow of God’s power, as it is pointedly opposed (see James 4:6).

In the story, power was needed for healing.  It was not power for power’s sake or just for show.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

The dynamic, timely flow of power from hierarchical structure heals and delivers.  This does not negate relationship – indeed, the motive of love is ever present in the exchange.  The need to be “plugged in” to a corporate “tree” – even in Christ – is intrinsic. 

So let me heed and continue to be one “under authority”, in the right heart and the right place that I might avail the power of God in time of need.

Natural lawlessness

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟲:𝟭𝟵-𝟮𝟭 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, “𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗜; 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱.” 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Enroute to Capernaum, the disciples set out in a boat across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was not with them. He followed on foot, and on water, towards the same destination. The sight of a human form defying the laws of nature – in particular the human body being more dense than water – terrified them. Jesus identified himself and they took him aboard. The boat was then translated to (or gained such speed that it instantly arrived at) its destination.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line and Jesus walked that line. The fact that it crossed water was inconsequential to the Son of Man. There is no evidence that he didn’t regularly walk on water.

The terror in seeing such a thing showed how used to the normal reign of the laws of nature people had become. Doubtless they had known people who drowned in those waters that were firmly under Jesus’ feet. There was and is some resolute comfort in the limitations of those laws. Bodies sink, gravity pulls, the dead stay dead. If/when God broke the rules – and there is no reason given here other than Jesus’ desire to go to Capernaum – it violated that comfort. Since the Savior could stroll on the waves, what other expectations would be breached? Indeed, many.

Have I walked so long in natural law “normalcy” that I cease to ask for God’s intervention? Do I limit my prayer by those laws? I mean for salvations and healings and deliverances and restorations and edifications.

Jesus nonchalantly walking on water was visible proof to his disciples of WHO HE WAS. He wasn’t showing off; he was doing what the Son of God freely does. And, it was part of their salvation testimony as we read it in multiple gospels.

No, I will not attempt a sea water power walk. Only Peter tried it among the disciples and he needed rescuing (see Matthew 14:30). Bending nature’s ordinances is God stuff. Believing God can and will do it is disciple stuff. Undivided, resolute faith is a requirement (per Matthew 21:21), but the invitation to possess and exercise such faith is wide open. It’s not for show but according to God’s purposes to save, heal and restore.

May I (and may we) believe and see natural lawlessness, that the name of Jesus be lifted high!

Of slap happy tyrants

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟴:𝟮𝟮 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, “𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁?”

…. and …

𝟮𝟵-𝟯𝟬 𝗦𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱, “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻?” “𝗜𝗳 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹,” 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱, “𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”

Responding to accusatory questions about his ministry, Jesus asked “Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” (v 21). That was considered impudent and disrespectful towards the high priest Caiaphas, for which he was struck by those around him. Yet, as the Jewish leaders turned him over to Pilate, Rome’s authority over them, they felt very free to answer his question with their own arrogance. There was a clear, ongoing conciliatory placation of the people of Israel by Pilate; it was in his interest to maintain civil calm and good relations with the nation of Israel.

This afforded the chief priest and his henchmen the opportunity to push Pilate around. There was no love lost between the two layers of power and authority. The Jews hated the Roman occupation and the occupiers themselves. And vice versa, to be sure.

It is a clear sign of a despot in power that demands compliant respect and abuses those who it believes fails to tow the line. In that regard, even asking honest questions that interrupt the human -ordained rush to “justice” – is seen as rebellion. And the attitude towards authorities above despots – whether human or divine – is lip service to protocol formalities with an underlying acrimony to anyone or anything that would presume to hold power over the tyrant.

This is a direct mirror of the posture of Satan in Isaiah 14:

𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝟭𝟰:𝟭𝟯 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, “𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻; 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱…”

That is, the Jewish leadership longed to rule over all the world and thought themselves worthy of that rule. The ultimate riddle was that they crucified the only One who was worthy of that rule, out of spite and rivalry.

Where is my despotism? Where do I presume to know it all and see it all? Where do I practice Joe Walsh’s lyrics:

𝑌𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢, ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡. 𝑁𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡

… where I should be advancing those below me and supporting those above me (vs. merely passing a test)?

There is no authority above Jesus Christ; every earthly tyrant will one can concede that. And Jesus rules with love and mercy, which are the delightful enforcers of his reign. Let me live in love knowing that His kingdom is not of this world.

Promised faithfulness .. even though I fail

Leviticus 26:42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

Leviticus 26 is a list of rewards and punishments.  If the children of Israel were faithful to obey God and put into practice the law of Moses, things would be great, not just okay.  Every blessing would be bestowed upon them, every aspect of life would be prosperous and protected from harm.  However, if they disobeyed, progressive misery would befall them.  The list of horrible results worsened as they continued to disobey and despise the law they had been given with the final effect being banished from the very land God had given them, after going through starvation and utter destitution.

But the list of bad things didn’t end that way.  Even in their exile, God promised to be with them and restore them if/when they cried out to him in order to obey once again.  The verse above cited the eternal covenant – agreement – God had made with the patriarchs of the people of Israel.  It was on behalf of His faithfulness – not that of the people – that restoration was to be accomplished.

God’s promises are not like those of politicians, or even of the most faithful human.  They span generations, circumstances, mass movements of people and really all human affairs.  It’s not that humankind can’t sin its way into destitution; it has been proven over and over that it can.  It is that though it sorrows the Almighty to mete out punishment – really consequence to be accurate – His ultimate posture towards humanity is to prove that unlike them, He remains faithful to his promise.

But, the history in the “bad part” of Leviticus 26 takes generations to take place.  So there is no guarantee that a given generation will see the redemption promised, but only that redemption will happen if/when there is a turning.

I am not subject to the Law of Moses.  But I am subject to righteousness.  Nor am I looking across the ages with respect to the obedience of a whole nation as was the case in Leviticus 26.  No, I have one life to apply this too, though the effects of that one life will go on long after it ends.  At this writing, there is not only the nation of Israel hearing the law, but rather individuals – God’s kids – around the world.

My failures are well-known (by me at least) and my success is largely unheralded though the reward it yields is ever with me.   Yet even when my shortcomings cause consequences that would choke the life out of me, I can remember that God is faithful even when I am faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).  There are bitter valleys to cross in this life, but the destination remains shining and pure.  I don’t speak only of heaven, but of the good things in this life God has in store.  May I remember that during all that I go through.

Kingdom expectations

Scripture:

Acts 1:7-8 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Observation:

The apostles were speaking with the risen Christ, not Jesus before he was crucified – this was after all that. They asked him, according to their understanding, if this was the time for his kingdom to be established on earth. That is, was his resurrection – the final proof of who he was – a signal of the arrival of heaven’s political reign on planet earth – for certainly it was not only over Israel that God would rule. His answer above was not only “no” but it was a dismissal of this kind of inquiry. He had spoken before about the end times, saying that only Father God knew the day and hour of those events. But the apostles continued in their queries, reasoning that it was imminent by virtue of his demonstrated indestructible life. They were not even to ask such questions, for they were distracting to the real event to come.

And that event was the coming baptism in the Holy Spirit. They were correct in yearning for the coming of God’s Kingdom, just not in the manner and timing they had expected. The Kingdom was to come within them, consuming them and changing them to be witnesses of the all that was shown and taught to them by Jesus. Even the timing was given to them – they were to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit’s coming. It was imminent.

Application:

What are my expectations about the coming of the Kingdom of God? Do I want God to plow into the lives around me, showing dictatorial power and overriding sovereignty? Do I want him to tear down godless nations, destroying leaders and their corrupt systems? Or am I a marker of days, forever calculating the hour of God’s overthrow of worldly systems?  If those are my desires and practices then I miss the Kingdom within me.  Where there is resistance to the message of grace – and it is both intense and everywhere – I have the power of witness within me. I need to apprehend – to recognize and utilize – God’s Kingdom I possess with the Holy Spirit. Too often I shrink back, letting darkness reign because of the will and established policy of those in power. This belies the power within my life. And this power is not wielded as political clout or authoritarian rule. It is often in submission, closing the mouths of lions or enduring the unendurable. It gives love for malice and enmity. It prays for the prayer-less oppressors. The move of God is undetectable even by his own people sometimes. Yet the Kingdom grows even as seeds fall and die.

Let me plant today. Let me pray and seek open doors to show God’s love. Let me cease to scheme and pine for political power. If it is given that’s fine, but never let me mistake it for the power granted at Pentecost. Let me love with supernatural love and believe for healing, deliverance and the glory of God to be revealed, on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer:

Father, I thank you for making this clear yet again. I long for your Kingdom but I want it to come in your way, not mine. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conditions of surrender

Scripture:

Matthew 27:2 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. “

Observation:

Jesus was dying on the cross, his back laid open by the Roman whips and arms and feet run through with spikes nailing him to the Roman cross.

And though there were Roman guards attending the execution, both the followers and opponents of Jesus were Jewish. The dialog is completely within the community of Israel. That’s important because these words, spoken by Jesus’ countrymen seem to lay out a pathway to their believing in the one whose brutal death they had so carefully arranged. They had seen miracles and kindness practiced by Jesus that had challenged their caste system and well-ordered theology. He had “saved others” by touching their lives at the lowest point and healing them of disease and/or elevating their status by forgiving their sins and opening for them new lives of dignity and honor. And so they projected a further work they required to put their faith in Him as savior. He would need to come down from his suffering on the cross and they would become His followers. No one reading this verse should believe their words at all. What they were interested in is being lords over Him, naming conditions and manipulating miraculous powers to their own ends. If they were to “believe in him” it meant belief in his power, not in his lordship. They had no intention of stepping down from their coveted social stations and power positions. In their mind, they were putting the world back into order by crucifying Jesus, the upstart from Galilee who had dare to challenge their authority. The trouble for them – and it’s still trouble for tyrants – His challenge was turned to triumph on the cross. There was no greater blow ever laid upon oppression than that of the shed blood of Jesus.

Application:

Do I make conditions for faith? How about for obedience? Do I make bargains with God, refusing to budge my inner or outer man until the right things happen? At the extreme, do I desire a genie who does what I want, when I want it rather than a sovereign God who knows better than I do what is good for me? No, I don’t think I want a genie and though I’m hardly alone, I’m sad to say yes sometimes I do bargain and obstinately hold my breath like a spoiled toddler. Let me come to appreciate the suffering endured for me personally that I might emulate it and endure it as well in my world and situation. Do I show contempt for the work of Christ to undo the tyranny around me? Where are people institutionally limited and kept down? Am I letting Jesus confront those systems and even the people upholding them, that liberty and grace could abound? I surely want to be doing that, and by His grace I believe I am. Let me see where else I might do that, for it is truly fighting the good fight. Finally, am I showing the crucified Christ to the world around me? Am I communicating the redemption accomplished by his death? I confess it has been discouraging sometimes to do so. People don’t see a need for redemption in their lives but choose to measure them in comparison to others, assuring themselves of their high standing. May I learn to partner more and yet again with the Holy Spirit to open eyes to the need for Christ. He is indeed all we will ever need.

Prayer:

Let me drink in all the scene of the Passion of Christ has to teach me and walk in the light of Your word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Authority over knowledge – Luke 4:31-32 (January 4, 2014)

Scripture:

Luke 4:31-32 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

Observation:

Jesus had been rejected in his home town of Nazareth. He was, after all, Someone who had grown up in their midst, now claiming to be a person of standing and indeed, the Son of God. They were furious at His claims, for in them was an indictment of their own spiritual state. And they tried to kill Him, to no avail. Then we have the verses above. Capernaum was not far away and we’re not told that He went to the synagogue to teach, but only that He taught on the Sabbath, a day the people would be in the synagogue. But it’s the last part of verse 32 that makes this stand out – the people were “astonished”; it does NOT say “impressed”, “informed” or “enlightened”. And what He taught was not necessarily something they had not heard before, for we know He taught from the Old Testament. But when He taught it, it was done so with authority. The passage goes on to describe His casting an unclean spirit out of a man, as an example of this authority in practice.

Application:

The tendency is to settle for information. Jesus was a “teacher” after all and that’s what teachers do in the school systems of the world – convey knowledge and make their listeners more qualified as they are enriched (or even “armed”) with newly acquired data with its application and utility. As the saying goes, and it is true to an extent: “knowledge is power.” Yet that power pales in the face of the teaching of and by Jesus. There were experts in the Law back then, and they promoted its transference across the castes and across the generations. Even foreigners could glean knowledge of the Word through them. But the astonishment of the people of Capernaum speaks of a power that dwarfs the power of knowledge. The Word had authority, in the person of Jesus, to heal and deliver. It was not a theory or mere historical anecdote that identified the nation of Israel or made it special in its mere mention. It was now something that touched lives in the present. It changed people and brought an entirely new entity – the Church – into being. If I am found in any retreat from that authority, from that hands-on touch by Jesus, I have forgotten my roots and given place to the knowledge-hording of the world. For sure knowledge matters, but this same superior authority is applied by the risen Christ to the making of disciples in the church age.

Prayer:

Lord, it is Your will to call me back to simple faith, to basic trust and reliance upon Your authority, which is astonishing. Do so this day I pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.