New Thoughts (9/25/06-9/30/06)
Jesus went out preaching the kingdom of God. We know from elsewhere that the message was, “the kingdom is at hand,” or “the kingdom is here.” For all that is said with regard to the kingdom, it seems that this message is rarely declared: “The kingdom is here.” Yet, that is the message that our Savior brought. “Repent, for the kingdom is here.” That kingdom is clearly not here in its fullness and perfection. Yet, He has said it is here, and He does not lie. We have been taught, rightly enough, that the kingdom of God is in the heart. We are, after all, His temple of flesh. Yet, I must say that this is but the seed of the kingdom, the birthplace of the nation.
The kingdom is not intended to remain a place only known in our hearts. Zhodiates, writing of the kingdom, says that the kingdom comes first within us on earth, and will only later know completion of its glory at the return of Jesus. Again, this is true enough in what it says. However, it leaves rather a lot unsaid. We are pointed to the beginning and the end condition of that kingdom, but nothing is spoken of with regard to the progress from that former state of a kingdom in the heart alone to the latter state of a perfected glory.
The kingdom of heaven, quite apart from being a matter of the heart, is, as Thayer points out, a kingdom in which everything is in perfect order and everything is intimately united with God. I am reminded of Pastor’s favorite portion of the definition of shalom, “everything back the way it should be.” Well, in the kingdom of heaven, everything is back the way it should be – in perfect order. Everything is at perfect peace because everything is intimately united with the Prince of Peace.
The Gospel of the kingdom, then, is not simply the declaration that this kingdom exists. It cannot be. To know that there is a kingdom of perfect peace is only good news if I am a citizen of that kingdom. Otherwise, it must be a source of constant torment to know there is such a place and I shall not have access to it. The good news is that One has come and purchased our citizenship for us.
This may sound odd to one born in America, but it surely was no foreign concept at the time, and probably isn’t to many an immigrant to this country. In Rome, there were those citizens who were born Roman and there was the far larger body of citizens who had purchased the right of citizenship. Bigotry and elitism aside, these two forms of citizenship were on equal footing legally. A citizen is a citizen, just as a naturalized immigrant is as much a citizen of this nation as is the one born here. Citizenship comes at a cost to those who are not born citizens. When citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven, the cost is high indeed. But, the price has been paid. That is the good news. Not only does this kingdom exist where perfect peace is the rule, but we are legal citizens of that kingdom, although we are not there yet.
Now, if that kingdom is in perfect order and we are citizens of that kingdom, then it would seem we ought to be in perfect order as well, right? We ought to be dedicated and intimately united with God in that same perfect order that is already established in heaven. However, any one of us knows that such perfection is not our current reality. Yet, if indeed the kingdom has come in our hearts, then our intimacy with God is surely growing day by day. The disorders of our natural condition are slowly being put in order. The process is slow because the instant work would likely unhinge us! God is looking to heal and deliver, not to overwhelm and make mad.
So, let me turn to the subject of healing and deliverance for just a moment. If I may, I will state plainly that Jesus did not have a healing ministry. The Apostles did not establish a healing ministry after His ascension. Yet, healing and deliverance were a common occurrence for both His ministry and theirs. Why is that? I would maintain it was because the ministry was concerned only with the kingdom. It wasn’t the kingdom and healing, nor was it healing with the kingdom as a bonus. It was the kingdom, period. However, the kingdom was and is preached into a world oppressed. The kingdom must come as a conquering army, as an army that has been long away at war and returns to find the homeland overrun and in the hands of the enemy.
The citizens who remain have been so long under enemy rule that they have all but forgotten what citizenship used to mean. They have not known their own king, for he has been gone since before their birth. They know only the slavery and oppression that has been their lot under the power of the usurper. The true king, returning to such a scene, must first seek out those who remain loyal to him, must move with a certain stealth to establish his presence once again. He must first let his supporters know that he has returned. Then, together, they must carefully spread the word, reminding others that this is not the way the land should be. A people so long oppressed must first be made aware of the oppression, then pointed to the true authority, taught of the good way. It will take time to awaken the real citizen from the oppression he has grown up in.
This is what deliverance and healing are about. They are the shedding of habits learned under oppression. They are the beginnings of restoration to our proper order, our proper condition. We must learn the difference between the authority which is tyranny and the authority which is wielded for good. We begin to see our overlords for what they are, and to see our true King for what He is. And, like Robin Hood at the return of King Richard, we can only rejoice in our King and swear service to Him.
Yet, the habits of oppression and slavery cannot be unlearned over night. Some of these things will surely be undone in a moment, but others we must overcome through training in a new way. A farmer does not become a warrior just because somebody comes by and declares him one. He must train in the use of weapons more deadly than his rake or hoe.
Healing and deliverance are preparatory actions. They are the beginning of our process of naturalization. The immigrants who come to this country are not instantly and immediately familiar with our customs or even our language. However, the sensible course for naturalization will make sure that they become familiar with both language and custom. If they would be citizens, then surely they must come to share our values and our ways. Otherwise, there is nothing of citizenship in the process at all. We are yet in the process of becoming naturalized to the heavenly kingdom. The process is made harder in that we are doing so in foreign lands. As we become more familiar with heaven’s ways, we are not immediately brought into the kingdom, but instead, we are sent out to help other citizens on their way home. Isn’t that something?
This is an ambassadorship like no other. No other ambassador goes out with the primary purpose of recruiting new citizens for his own country, at least I don’t think so. Yet, that is our first calling as ambassadors. Go, and make citizens from all tribes and nations. Find your fellow citizens and let them know that the true King walks the land. Let them know what the real law of the land is, that they may walk in it. Let them know who the true King is that they may serve Him joyfully.
I notice that in this particular portion of Scripture there is a sequence of events that should be understood. As Luke mentions the women who joined themselves to this ministry, he begins with their reason for coming in the first place. They were suffering from sicknesses both of body and of spirit. The women had been ‘healed of evil spirits.’ Their needs had been met. In response to this, they attached themselves to the ministry which met their needs.
Before I go any further, I had best consider that matter of meeting needs just a little. Somehow, it seems that the Church can only meet the needs of the people or proclaim the Gospel. We appear to find it impossible to maintain a balance between these two. Those corners of the Church that want to remain devoted to preaching the Gospel look upon the need serving folks as conforming themselves to the world. Those who want to meet the needs look upon the Gospel preachers as cold and loveless men of dead faith. The simple fact would seem to be that one can lean too far in either direction and make the opposing observations true. Jesus displays another answer. He does both. We see it here. He preached proclaiming the kingdom of God. “The kingdom is here.” He also demonstrated it by meeting the needs of those to whom He preached. Not only is the kingdom here, but it’s here for you. The God Who Is cares knows your circumstance and provides for it. If preaching proclaims the kingdom, His ministry of healing and deliverance to those in need gave manifest evidence that His preaching was true. So, I think we must accept that there is a place for meeting the needs of the lost in our ministry efforts. It ought not, I think, be the primary focus, but it ought not to be neglected either. It is the good work that gives evidence to a real faith. If I see your need and have nothing better to offer than to tell you that there is this kingdom around you, how is that love? Love takes action, even as it cares enough to let you know about home.
So, these ladies had found their needs served. So often, when Jesus heals, it is described by that word from which we get our word therapy. It is a word used to describe a miraculous healing, yet it is at the same time a word used to describe one who simply serves the need. Here, there is apparently room for debate as to whether that word is in the text, or another. Yet, the fact is evident that He served their need. It is equally clear that they knew it, and that they recognized how that meeting of their need gave evidence to the kingdom of which He spoke. The connection was made plain. Otherwise, they might well have wandered off as so many others did, having received what they came for.
It is a sad statement on mankind that so many will come to God only long enough to get what they want, and will leave Him behind so soon as they have it. We are all graceless children in this regard. We’re like the child that tells Mom and Dad how much they are loved, does whatever they ask, brings them slippers and water and whatnot; but only in preparation for asking the big favor. If that favor is refused, the child will sulk. If the favor is granted, the child is so wrapped up in the favor that all thought of Mom and Dad disappears. Too often, this is how we treat God. He told us it would be this way. When you come into the land, and the fruit of the land is flowing into your lap, and all is peace and prosperity, you will forget Me. He told us this would happen, and yet, when it happens we manage not to notice. We just wait for the next emergency to bring us back to His place.
These ladies were different, though. They were the exception to the rule. If His healing them was proof of the kingdom, then their response was proof of the grace. They demonstrate what ought to be the hope behind any ministry outreach. When we labor to serve the immediate need, it ought always be with an eye to drawing those served to the place where they can find their eternal need met. If our community service is not about confirming the Good News of the kingdom, then our community service is a dead work of no use. Jesus’ work was by no means dead. It was tied inextricably to the word of hope: the kingdom is here! People may not have always discerned or accepted that connection but the connection was always there. These ladies saw it. They understood it, and understanding, they responded to it in the only way that makes sense. They joined themselves to the ministry of hope.
Oh! See this! They were content with their position in that ministry! They did not insist that they ought to have a place amongst the inner circle, did not even insist that they should be counted amongst His disciples. They did not gnash their teeth over some imagined slight against women. They found their place in the ministry and being content with it, they excelled in it. Their place was not in the healing ministry, nor was it in the teaching ministry. For them, the position was that of provider, a position for which, not surprisingly, they were particularly well prepared.
There’s so much that needs to be said, now. I can go back to what Chief Big Pond said at our church last Sunday, about finding one’s position, one’s gifting and talent. God creates us for a purpose. We have our common purpose of enjoying Him, of course. But, we also have our unique purpose, the particular reason for which He created us. To meet that purpose, He has provided each of us with a unique combination of talents, gifts and abilities. If we neglect what He has given, then we cannot fulfill our purpose. If we reject or misunderstand our purpose, we cannot fully employ those talents, gifts and abilities. If we are constantly looking for some other place to serve than our own, all our energy is wasted in futility.
This is much the same story as that slave that Jesus healed in Capernaum. Had he not recognized his place and chosen to excel where he was, the centurion would have found no reason to seek his healing. Had these who had benefited from the ministry not opted to support the ministry, and to excel in that support, the ministry might well have faltered.
We may have a tendency to frown upon what seems to be ministry for profit. If our assessment is accurate, and that ministry truly is concerned solely with profits, then our condemnation of them is just. If, however, they simply profit because those to whom they have ministered have profited by that ministry, where, then, is the wrong? Some might well have looked upon Jesus and His followers, wandering from town to town, supported out of the accounts of women who were perhaps widowed and alone, as a bunch of freeloaders – good for nothings avoiding the working life of an adult. We may look upon some modern ministries in that same light, but we need to be careful. We cannot see the heart, so we must look to the fruits of that ministry with earnest discernment. If the ministry is being blessed because it has truly done something worthy of such blessing, then we have no cause for complaint.
Ideally, it would be well to know why those who send money do so. Do they think it is somehow required, like the Christmas presents we send only because that one sent us a present last year? Do they think that they might lose whatever benefit they think they have received if they don’t pay up? Are they in fear of some spiritual repo-man? Or, are they, like these women, simply expressing an inexpressible gratitude for what God has done for them? These ladies moved beyond simple gratitude for their own gain. What their support indicates, more than just gratitude, is a desire for others to experience what they have experienced. Oh! How grateful is that one who finds he has miraculously survived a mortal illness! How glad is that one who emerges from the torments of depression or other such oppressive spirits! Tasting freedom from a pain that has been with one for so long that painlessness is a forgotten sensation can only release such a wealth of joy that it must find a means of expression. Such relief must surely bring one to a place of wanting nothing more than to see every person who suffers from the same issues brought the same relief.
As I said, there is a sequence of events to be found here. The women received tangible healing. They benefited. But, they didn’t simply walk away. They waited to learn more about this One who had healed them, and having learned more, they found Him utterly worthy of every respect and support. Having discerned the quality of the ministry, they gladly threw their support behind that ministry in the way that was given them. They might not be casting out demons themselves, but they were allowing those who did to labor undistracted by questions of food and clothing. They were providing the means to live as Jesus taught, being not anxious as to what one might eat or what one might wear. God had it covered then, and He has it covered now. Don’t be offended if He doesn’t feed you by raven, choosing more mundane methods. It’s still provision, and it’s still from His hand, as every good and perfect gift always is.
One other matter that ought to be laid to rest for us skeptical, post-modern, intellectual types: demons are a reality. It’s rather unfashionable for a thinking man to suggest such a thing, but there it is. They are a reality, and they are a torment. We tend to look everywhere else for the explanation when we are angry for no appreciable reason, or when things are just getting too hard to deal with, but this is at the root of it. Are we laboring under false accusations? Are we the butt of undeserved ridicule and sarcasm? Are we depressed, and can’t figure out why? For all that, are we depressed and we think we know full well why? Certainly, we can point to any number of contributing factors, but there is something we miss.
I see it go one of two ways. Either we do everything we can to find another explanation, denying the possibility of demonic activity, or we fly off in the opposite direction, blaming every least inconvenience on demonic activity as though we were the only project that hell had going at the moment. Both approaches need to go. Demonic torment is real. Demonic activity in opposing the work of Christ continues, however futile it may be. When we face such things, denial is not going to change anything. On the other hand, if we go about seeing demonic activity in every little thing that happens, our focus is no longer on the kingdom. We have allowed ourselves to get so caught up with what the enemy is doing that we stop living in the reality of the kingdom. We forget Whom we serve. We allow our fear and concern for the demons all around to overwhelm the confidence that should come from knowing that the Holy Spirit lives in us.
Greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world. That’s the reality in which we walk. We may be quite right that there is demonic activity all about us, but think about Elisha’s servant. All he could see was the enemy, and fear overwhelmed him. All Elisha could see was the Lord’s army, and his confidence was unshakable. Why, he would invite the enemy in and show them what kingdom living looked like. What enemy can long remain an enemy when he is blessed with the kingdom blessing? Bless your enemies, don’t shake in fear of them. You serve the Almighty One, Who is perfect in power and perfect in wisdom. Whom shall you fear? The darkness cannot overwhelm the Light, cannot comprehend the Light. The darkness cannot win. End of story. Live like you know that.
So, here we have our introduction to Mary. What we are told here is almost everything we ever know about her. She was delivered of some seven demons. This was to be the defining moment in her life. The fact that her deliverance was of such great note in the Church, would suggest that either she was well known to all prior to these events, or that the events had such a great impact on her that she took every opportunity to speak of them. I rather think it was the latter.
Look at the testimony of her few mentions in the Gospels. She remained steadfast. That deliverance truly was the defining moment for her. From then on, her testimony to anybody who cared to hear was, “This is what I was like, and then He healed me.” What she was like thereafter required no further testimony. She was living the testimony. Because of this, for the rest of history, she is known not simply as Mary of Magdala or Mary the Magdalene, but as Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out – Mary of the great deliverance.
In the prior chapter, Luke writes of another occasion with another woman who experienced God’s forgiveness. At that time, Jesus declared that her love was great because she had experienced great forgiveness, whereas the one who has only been forgiven for a small matter only loves in a small way (Lk 7:47). That declaration is somewhat of a segue into this current introduction. Mary M was another who had experienced God’s power in a great way. She had not been healed of a cold, or some other, relatively minor malady. She was suffering greatly, and that great suffering had been brought to an end by Jesus. The devotion that flowed from that deliverance was as great as the previous suffering had been. Nothing was going to come between her and her Savior from that point onward.
It was this same reciprocal power of devotion that led to her being the first to meet Jesus after His ascension. If we fast forward to John’s account of that time, we find the ladies whom we have met here near the beginning were still there near the end. It was they who kept watch to see where His grave would be, so that they could come provide a proper burial. It was they who discovered the tomb opened and empty a few days later. This much we know from all the accounts. But, John tells us a bit more (Jn 20:1-18). From him, we learn that he and Peter rushed to see this open tomb that Mary told them of. She apparently was not far behind in returning thence. However, the response of Peter and John was that of lost hope. They saw the grave emptied, and to them it meant that everything they had been hoping, everything they thought was coming in this Messiah had proven false. They were crushed. So far as they were concerned, these last three years had been a total wash, and there was now nothing for it but to go home and face the music. There would be ridicule, certainly, for these two who had gone running off after some wild hope. But, what else was there?
See, they had not experienced what Mary had experienced. Yes, they had been close to Jesus, right there in His inner circle, witness to all He was doing. But, Mary was more than a witness. She had experienced directly what He was doing. She had known great deliverance and it had caused a reaction of great devotion. Though the inner circle departed for home, Mary remained. Nothing was going to separate her from her Savior; not His death, not even the absence of His dead body. She would wait there until, what? Until death took her, too? Perhaps. But, God had another defining moment in store for her. She who had been known these several years as Mary who was delivered of so grave an oppression would now be known through all history as Mary who was first to meet the risen Christ. Praise be to God for that meeting, and praise be to God that hers was not the last!
The big question that arises for me, here, is why these other two ladies are mentioned. Susanna we known absolutely nothing about other than that she, like Mary, was still there at the end. But, who was she? Clearly, she was somebody still known to the Church when Luke was gathering his report. Apparently, she was well enough known that he thought it useful to mention her to distant Theophilus. She must have been so well known that he found no reason to explain who she was. That, however, only explains Luke’s coverage. It doesn’t explain God’s purpose. Why did He desire to see her name recorded here, yet without explanation?
Can it be as simple as the fact that God likes to honor the nameless? God honors the humble, who serve His purpose for no other reason than the love of Him. They seek no name for themselves. They are not forever pointing out what they have done, how they have excelled in their religion. They simply live as He teaches them to live. They are known to their contemporaries solely because such an example cannot help but be recognized. No odes are written of them. No great eulogies are recorded at their passing. No statues are erected. Yet, they have a name, and that name is recognized and honored by the only One that matters.
Many labor long and hard to establish some sort of worth to their name. They think to find their worth in fame, in riches, in deeds that are recorded in the records of mankind. Yet, God has no use for that sort of worth. He measures worth by His own standards. Those who have sought to make a name for themselves fade from the pages of history, yet those for whom God has made a name, they remain. Susanna, about whom we know nothing more than her name and that she helped support Jesus’ ministry, has a name established so long as history continues. Why? Because she never sought fame, she sought God, and God honored her with a name in return. She established worth for her name by forgetting herself completely in pursuit of Him. In knowing that, we know everything we need to know about Susanna.
From Joanna we can learn another lesson even though we never hear about her again. What we are told here is important. I am again reminded of my pastor’s declaration that every word of Scripture is important. There is a reason, then, that Luke tells us that she was married to Herod’s steward. It tells us where she had access – in the very halls of power. At a later date, we will learn that there were believers even in the court of Nero, but for now, the important issue is that there were believers in Herod’s service. Whether or not he accepted word of the Messiah, he was hearing it, as were those who shared his household. Why is this important, though? Well, because as we read through the history of the early church in Acts, we find out that one of Herod’s foster brothers became a teacher in the Church up in Antioch (Ac 13:1).
The combination of these two events provides our lesson. Like Joanna, we are each placed in a unique situation in life. We have our particular neighborhoods in which we reside, our particular jobs in which we are employed, our particular extended families. Even within those categories, we have a smaller circle of those with whom we have regular contact – those with whom we have influence. So, lesson one: We are there for a reason. We are not in his specific neighborhood simply because it is convenient. There are people around us that we were uniquely created and positioned to reach. We are not at a particular job simply because it pays the bills. There are those in the surrounding cubicles who need to hear that Messiah is real, and we are uniquely created and positioned to tell them. We were not born into our specific family by accident. We were born for such a time as this, to bring the light of life to those we are closest to.
Lesson number two: All that effort is not in vain. It may seem so. If we are being faithful to our purpose, that is no guarantee that it’s going to feel rewarding. We are not promised that we will see the fruits of that labor. We are promised that such labor will be fruitful. There’s a difference. There is no reason to believe that Joanna thought her talking about Jesus in Herod’s house was doing any good. The rest of the staff may not have appeared to take notice. Certainly, Herod’s own behavior at the end of Jesus’ ministry showed no great effect of having heard about Him. All he seemed to have comprehended was that Jesus had some sort of magic He could do. Neither do we know much of anything about what happened to Joanna after this period of ministry. She more or less disappears from the scene. But, the fruit of her efforts is to be seen in this one who came out of Herod’s household to serve the Church. There is nothing more that we learn about him, either, except that he was a teacher or a prophet in Antioch.
Oh, but there’s lesson number three! There is no heritage, no history either personal or familial, that can utterly shut off hope! We would look at Herod and his household and see no chance of belief. The curse of his family line was too strong. The curse of Roman polytheism was too strong. So much was operating against that family and that household; what hope could there be for faith under such conditions? But, God is not constrained by our limitations. He can and shall save whom He will. He can work in the most unworkable situations to bring life.
For us, then, the message is clear: don’t give up. Remain faithful to speak to any who will listen, and even to those who won’t, for you know not whom God will choose to soften. You know not which seed has fallen in the place where it will grow and bear great fruit for the kingdom. Don’t plant with an eye to benefiting from the harvest yourself. Plant with an eye to benefiting the purposes of God. And, never grow weary in well-doing and well-speaking.
Now I must turn to what strikes me as the most alarming and sorrowful part of this passage. There next to Joanna, is mention of her husband Chuza. Why is this alarming or sorrowful? Simply because of this. For all of history, Chuza will be known solely for being Joanna’s husband. The only thing we can say for this man is that his wife was a believer. His wife was doing something for the kingdom of God. As for himself, we can say nothing. The best that can be said is that he allowed his wife to believe, although even that is only supposition. For all we know (and some texts suggest as much), he may have simply passed on, leaving Joanna free to pursue God as she wished.
I know I speak for many a pastor when I say that this is sadly the case for too many men in the Church today. Too often, we have proven willing to let our wives do the heavy spiritual lifting. If we look at the ranks of the ‘prayer warriors,’ the majority are seen to be women. If we look to those who have shown themselves willing to teach the children about God, we see the women far outnumbering the men. If we look to see who is taking charge of the home, here, too, we will more often see the woman taking the brunt of it. This is not as it ought to be! This is not how our wives would have it to be! If we had a lick of sense, it is not how we would want it to be. We have, by and large, allowed society to unman us. We have been subsumed by the counter-culture of our early years, which has become the de facto culture of the present. It is time to strike out with a new counter-culture, a counter-culture that reaffirms the proper role of the husband in the household – not as tyrant, but as head.
I recall that the word lord indicates one who has power and authority, and uses it to good purpose. A tyrant, by contrast, uses it to oppress and harass. Both may have their way, but only one worthy of the title lord will have his way such that it benefits all over whom he holds authority. That is how the man of God is supposed to operate within his household. He is not to be a tyrant, ruling the roost with an iron hand and severely punishing every least infraction against his will. He is to love his household (not just his wife) as Christ loves the Church. That is a high calling – an impossible calling, but for God. Yet, this is what the current so-called culture is in such desperate need of. It is exactly this abdication of proper position that weakens the Church in our society, and leaves the world subjected to darkness and futility.
If we are distressed by the state of our culture today, then we must take up the challenge to be the answer to its problems. As men, we must return to our proper purpose, excel in the position God placed us in. If we will not begin to stand up as the husbands our wives deserve, as the fathers our children need, as the pillars that God created us to become; we will have condemned another generation to suffering worse than we suffer ourselves. God has a plan to give us hope and a future. If we will not accept our part in that plan, though, what outcome can we expect? We, too, will go through eternity as a footnote, like Chuza; known only for being related to somebody that mattered.
Father, let it not be so. I echo my own father’s question, this morning. Is there such a thing as a prodigal father? I know there is, and I know I fit the type. I, too, have been lax in pursuing the role You have placed me in. I, too, have been willing to be simply the husband of the one who does things for the kingdom, in many ways. Thank You, I know that there is plenty that I do for You, too, yet I have neglected too much that matters far more. God, though I tire of having to come with what seems like the same request, still I come, knowing that You will answer: Bring the boldness! Bring the willingness to stand up and be counted as Yours. Let this prodigal come home, both to You as Your child and to this family as its head. Let me, my God, excel in the position You have given me, instead of looking for other, more glamorous missions to fulfill. Thank You, for I know You hear, and I know You are anxious to answer.
