New Thoughts (02/06/08-02/10/08)
Levites (02/06/08)
I’m beginning this time with something of an aside. It is a topic of no direct bearing on the present passage, so far as I can see. However, being a reference to the Levites, and given the connection we who serve in worship have with them, it captures my attention. Looking into Moses briefly, I was considering the setting of that promise he gave of the prophet to come. At the beginning of that particular portion of Scripture, Moses is discussing the Levites and their inheritance (Dt 18:1-8). This opens with the rather amazing description of that inheritance. While they would have no inheritance in the land itself, they gain this: The LORD is their inheritance and they shall eat of His own portion!
Can you imagine the privilege? Do we even begin to appreciate the honor He does us in this? We not only eat at His table, but we eat from His larder! We don’t do this as guests invited for an evening social. We do this, as it were, as regulars in His house. It is, in essence, the only place we ever eat. Talk about adoption!
For the majority of those listening to Moses, the more immediate concern he addresses is that they are to provide for the Levites, that they are to provide God’s portion. I recall coming across this in looking at the tithe a little more closely at my father’s request. It came to my attention in that brief study that there was actually a second tithe instituted in the land to provide an annual banquet for the Levites, and some banquet it must have been, being so well provisioned! What Moses lays out here, though, provides the basis for the daily provision. In other words: God provides, He is the source of all Providence. But, you are to be the instruments of provision. You are given an opportunity to be part of His work. It is not so much an obligation laid upon you as it is a privilege given to you. Have you ever looked at your giving in that light?
What really caught my eye, though, is what Moses declares in Deuteronomy 18:6-7. The Levite comes ‘whenever he desires’. Where he comes to is the LORD’s choice, but the choice of coming is his. No, let me restrict that choice just a bit. When he comes is his choice. That fact that he will is God’s. He appointed the Levites. His authority already determined their service as fact. But, the time at which they enter into that office, that’s their call. But, notice this: when they come they shall serve, just like all the other Levites. The shall serve, standing before the LORD.
Here, is a key point, found in the following verse: They shall eat equal portions (Dt 18:8). This is of an accord with Jesus’ message about the eleventh-hour laborer (Mt 20:1-16). It’s not when you come, it’s that you came. In His service, there is no rank based on years served. In His service, there is to be no pecking order. In our workplaces, it is often that case that with seniority comes privilege. God says it is not so with Him. You shall have the same from Me. If you brought extra for yourself, that’s fine, but when it comes to what you have from Me, I give to each equally.
OK, let me expand the scope of this just a bit. As I said, we who serve in worship feel a particular connection to the Levitical order. But, the Truth is that all who are in the body of Christ serve in the Levitical order, or are at least called to do so. Perhaps some of us haven’t chosen to come into service yet, but we are called to do so nonetheless. What is it that we receive from God’s larder? After all, the whole focus of this passage in John is that we have to get our focus off of the physical benefits and start being more concerned with the spiritual purpose of this Christian life. Well, as I shall shortly be considering further, there is righteousness. This is, I believe, the immediate focus of what Jesus is talking to this crowd about. There is also faith, which we are told we each have as God measures it out to us (Ro 12:3). Recognize always that even this faith by which we are saved is a gift, given to us by God lest we should boast (Eph 2:8). Likewise, the righteousness by which we are satisfied is not our own. Our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags (Isa 64:6). It is only the righteousness of Christ, given unto us as a gift which fits us for being in the presence of God. These are our wedding clothes, apart from which we will be asked to depart (Mt 22:12)! How dare we think those clothes are something we have purchased from our earnings!
Do you see where this leads? Both faith and righteousness are things provided to us from God’s larder. They are the portion from which we derive sustenance in this most spiritual sense. They are our inheritance, the only inheritance that matters beyond this present life: faith to believe, and righteousness the result of belief. Now, make the connection: These are the True inheritance of the Levite, the portion from which they draw their daily sustenance in the Lord. Returning to that last bit from Deuteronomy and combining with the confirming point of Mt 20:16, these things are shared out to us in equal measure. In other words, when Paul says that we each have faith according to God’s measure, we need to understand that he is telling us we each have an equal measure, for that is the way God measures it!
There is no earning more of it from Him. There is no having less of it from Him. We might be wise or foolish, I suppose, in how we avail ourselves of what He has given, but there is no room to complain of lack and no room to boast of plenty. Each has the same measure given to him.
We might ask how we shall understand that final exception clause in this light. God allows that the Levite who receives from the sale of his father’s estate may have that above and beyond the portion God provides. However, I think we dare not press this too far. We do not sell our father’s estate of righteousness and faith. It is not ours to do. There is, of course, benefit to us when we enjoy the blessing of growing up in a faithful family. In that light, we might consider that we have brought an extra portion with us, but certainly not to sell. We need not sell it to enjoy its benefit. Indeed, the warning of God is that even with such a benefit in our youth, if we yet choose to pursue the course of evil, it avails us nothing. Likewise, however vile the family we were born into, if we rise above that environment and choose righteousness, there is no inheritance of the judgment those before us have drawn down upon themselves. No longer will it be said that the fathers ate sour grapes and therefore the children’s teeth are on edge (Jer 31:29-30). No, but everyone will die for his own iniquity. By corollary, every man shall live for his own righteousness (but that righteousness is his only because it was given to him by God in consideration of the work of Jesus the Christ).
So, dear Levites, let pride not be found among you, for you share equally. Let competition not be found among you, for whether you have served for years or whether you have newly come to the place of God’s choosing, you are His choosing and your service is His choosing. His choice is that we all serve alike, and we all receive from Him alike.
Seeing (02/06/08-02/07/08)
With that, let me turn my eyes upon the conversation of Christ as it is relayed to us here in John’s Gospel. One thing I would like to note up front is the development of a them of seeing across this whole section. The people ask for something to see, and Jesus proceeds to tell them that they have already seen. Then, in closing His response, He speaks of those who behold, or see, the Son. In each case, the word which is translated for us is different, and in each case, there is a difference in the details of meaning.
Start with the request for a sign. Here, the one asking the question uses the word idoomen. This is a form of eido. The word carries many different shades of meaning depending upon the form of the word and the context into which it is set. In its root form, it is a matter of knowledge. That being another term for which there are several different words in Greek, one must ask what sort of knowledge. In general, what sets eido knowledge apart from other forms of knowledge is that eido knowledge is gained intuitively based upon the evidence of the senses. It is this relationship to the senses which leads to the alternate group of meanings related to seeing. In a broader sense, it can indicate the data returned by any of the senses, and even applies to the concept of seeing in thought, thus comprehension, and thus, back around to knowing. I note this morning that in some of its forms, it can also be a matter of showing respect and honor towards somebody.
I think, although I can not offer a scholarly discourse on the idea, that one should always have this dual sense in mind when encountering this word. If the focus is on knowing, it is knowing as the mind sees things. As the Exegetical Dictionary has it, it is the ‘theoretical possession of knowledge’. Or, we might say it is to possess knowledge of the theory. It is knowledge gained through observation. An a rather curious note, I cannot find any reference to eido or its derivatives in Louw and Nida under the topic of sight. It is strictly referenced in matters of knowledge and knowing. This would seem to support my hypothesis in some degree, at any rate.
The next form of sight, that which Jesus attributes to these same questioners as their experience up to this point is heoorakate. This can share many of the same meanings as eido. It, too, can involve either the eyes themselves, or the mind. In terms of knowledge, it targets the knowledge gained by experience as opposed to the result of cogitation on the data. However, heoorakate can take on an additional sense of responsibility that arises from what is seen or known. We might think of it in the sense of ‘see to it’. You know what needs doing, now take care of it. In another sense, we might understand it more as a matter of taking heed of what has been observed or learned. You see the results of disobedience, now take heed, and do what’s right. See that you obey. How can this form of sight best be fit into what Jesus is saying? “You have seen Me and yet do not believe.” Understand, then, that there is a certain responsibility for belief, having seen the evidence.
There is another sense given to this word heoorakate that we might want to consider, and that is the privilege associated with being given opportunity to see. For instance, this is the term which might be used in reference to being given audience with a king. Not only an audience, as a matter of fact, but being allowed ‘into intimate fellowship’. Well! Put that conception back into what Jesus has just said. “You have been privileged to enter into intimate fellowship with Me and yet you do not believe.”
Before I put all the pieces together, let me turn to that last form of seeing we encounter here. This time, the word is theooroon, which we have translated as ‘behold’. The concept here is that one is viewing attentively, not staring, perhaps, but giving it far more than a passing glance. This is seeing with active participation, seeing with intent, you might say. The one seeing in this fashion is connected, interested. He has a purpose in mind in observing what he observes. He is carefully noting the details and distinctions of what he looks at. Here, too, there is a connection with understanding and knowledge. In this case, having so carefully observed the data, the implications are clear to the observer. He understands what his observations mean. There can also be a factor of astonishment in this sort of observation. In that connection, we might say that the immediate sense of astonishment at what is seen captures the attention and causes one to pay close attention to what is unfolding.
With these things in mind, consider the flow of the narrative through this section. They come asking for a sign that they might see and believe. The implication here is that they are telling Jesus that He must give them some physical data upon which they can base any theories they might form which would lead them to honor Him as they ought. Remember that this same crowd was just referring to Him as ‘Rabbi’ and will, in almost their next breath, refer to Him as ‘sir’ or ‘Lord’, depending how one chooses to hear their response. Also consider that they have just been given instructions by Jesus that run counter to much of what their religious upbringing has instilled in them. They have been trained to observe a long list of ritualistic minutia if they would wish to be considered righteous by God, and Jesus has just turned that whole corpus of training material on its head. God just wants one thing, and that is your belief in the Son. In fact, if I am hearing Him right in that passage, He is at the very least hinting at the fact that even this one thing God wants from us is His own doing anyway.
So, we must hear this response as it connects to what Jesus just said. You want us to accept Your teachings? Prove your authority! Why should we listen to You over the scribes? Show us something by which we can judge whether You are truly a prophet, truly speaking God’s words. Give us the evidence. Is it truly this combative? That’s hard to read from the text. That first question they have come with seems earnest enough: What should we be doing to please God? But, the whole flow of Jesus’ reply indicates that it is only an appearance of earnestness, even as the righteousness they had been taught to pursue was only an appearance of righteousness. He’s breaking the truth to them, and quite often hearing the truth we have been denying can lead to a combative state of mind. So, yes, it’s entirely within the tenets of human nature for them to be turning against Him rather quickly during the course of this conversation. It’s entirely reasonable to think that a touch of cynicism or wounded pride has already begun to color their attitude even at this early point in the exchange.
As Jesus develops His message to them, having already shown them the foolishness of the particular sign they sought by which to prove Him, he then says, “but you have already seen.” Remember the implication of this particular seeing. You have seen enough to understand and know. What you have seen leaves you with a certain obligation to respond, and the response should have been clear from what you saw. What you have already witnessed of Me is already more than sufficient to lead to belief. And yet, you do not believe. You refuse the evidence you already have of Me. Let me bring in a touch of that last shade of meaning I mentioned for this particular seeing: You have been given the immense privilege of sharing in intimate fellowship with the very Son of God and yet, you refuse Him your fealty. You have sat with the King, dined from His bounty, and yet you give Him no honor. The ‘Lord’ by which you just addressed Him was as hollow as your ritual approach to righteousness. It meant nothing from you just as His clearly manifest holiness has meant nothing to you.
I think, however, it is the sense of responsibility for what has been seen that we must take away most fully from this. Recognizing that we are in Capernaum for this conversation, it really doesn’t matter whether these particular folks had been there for the bread and fish, or were merely townsfolk. So much of what Jesus said and did transpired around that town that even without these latest events, the evidence they had been given was more than enough. The honor that had been done to their town, to have been chosen as the seat of operations for Jesus’ ministry was already so great that any ingratitude on their part was inexcusable.
This is all of an accord with Paul’s explanation of man’s condition in the opening parts of Romans. The evidence is all around you and yet you refuse to recognize what is being made obvious. Even what cannot be seen directly of God is made so blatantly obvious by His creation that you are without any excuse for your refusal to believe. And that is what unbelief amounts to: refusing to believe. You’ve got the facts. You’ve got the evidence. You’ve got the brainpower to comprehend it all. It’s not that you haven’t yet been given a reason to believe, it’s simple, flat out refusal. It’s rejecting the evidence. It’s purposefully and maliciously suppressing the evidence so as to cling to your lie.
Finally, we come to the description Jesus gives of those who have been given to Him, those called by the Father. They saw. They saw, and there was an immediate recognition that here was something astonishing. Here was something so very far from the ordinary, so thoroughly superior to anything that might try to claim similarity, that one’s attention is all but demanded by it. They may not have understood of an instant, but they knew this was something they must understand, and so they devoted their attention to it. They sought to understand. They didn’t ask for more data, they dug for it. They didn’t request some passive sign that would simply overwhelm any possible skepticism in them, they hungered and thirsted after understanding.
It is the difference between the diligent and the sluggard. The ones we are encountering here are firmly in the latter camp. They are those that Proverbs describes as having their hand in the food dish, but too lazy to lift the food to their mouth so as to eat. The ones Jesus describes last, here, are the exact opposite. They have smelled a wonderful meal, and they are doing everything in their power to partake of it.
This whole contrast in seeing really ought to be in our thoughts as we encounter the miraculous or the appearance of the miraculous. Let us assume for the moment that the miracles, the healings, the deliverances we witness are real. Well, what do we make of them? For that matter, what is it about these things that we find so attractive? These folks that took the boats into Capernaum to find Jesus had most assuredly seen the real deal. There was no question of fraud here. They had seen the unfolding of events with their own eyes. They had seen the sick healed. They had seen the crowds fed from next to nothing. They had eaten themselves! Some of them may have been healed themselves. But, what did they make of it?
From the sounds of it, what they took away from all that they saw was that here was an opportunity for a life of ease. “You just came because you had a good meal yesterday, and you’re expecting another today.” That would seem to be borne out by that reaction they have to the bread of heaven. “Well, then, by all means bring it on! Give us some now, and for that matter, let’s have it every day.” It’s all about the physical. It’s all about the here and now, the day to day, and nary a thought for God or heaven.
The reality of the truly miraculous is that it lays us under obligation to believe. Now, that’s going to have to consist of more than simply shouting out, “Lord! I believe!” That’s good and all, but it’s hardly sufficient. If that belief is real and not simply the overflow of emotions, then it’s got to result in some changes. It’s got to lead to some real effort at really obeying the real intent of the Law. For, if we believe He is Who He says He is, and if we believe God is Who HE says He is, then our obedience to His least request should be absolute and immediate. If all of this that we claim to believe is really True, then our every effort ought to be going into doing the things that please this God Who has revealed Himself to be so gracious towards us.
If He has been so unutterably kind as to allow us into this intimate fellowship – and that, whenever we please to have audience with Him – how great of an offense must it be when we barely even give His desires consideration? How horrible a crime against His Lordship that we treat Him so lightly? And yet, His mercy continues to be poured out upon us! And yet, He suffers us to continue our existence. If nothing else wakes us from our spirit’s slumber, certainly that ought to. Yet, I know from my own experience, that such wakefulness is fitful at best.
I can come away from these times of study so full of Him, so enrapt in what He has been showing me; and yet, an hour or two hence, when I am wrapped up in work or in family or in whatever events are unfolding in my day, how swiftly I find myself setting it all aside. That’s not to say it’s utterly fruitless. It most assuredly is not. Yet, however fruitful my studies, however much I may see things changing in me, in my character and my perspective, still it is not even close to what He has deserved of me, what His revelation demands of me.
You know, it’s one thing to realize that perfection is not going to be part of our experience this side of heaven. It’s quite another thing to be OK with that. Yes, we must be content to develop at the pace He opts to develop us. But, there are moments where I understand Paul’s anguish at the process. Why, God? Why is it that I desire so much to be that which You created me to be, to do the things You have shown me I ought to do, and yet it seems I am forever going in the exact opposite direction? How long, O, Lord? How long must this go on? Who shall save me from my wretched self? How can You possibly love this mess? And yet, through it all, God’s word rings out: “My grace is sufficient.”
God, Your grace is my only hope. This much I know, and in that I am probably more thankful than anything else. For, I know I fail You hourly. It seems as though there are things I will never know victory over. There are things that offend me terribly about myself, and yet, I allow them to continue. Were it not for Your grace, where would I be? I should be far worse than I am. That much, I have evidence of, for You allowed me my time, didn’t You? Oh, but You are merciful. You show me the progress, slow though it may be. You show me that I am indeed learning, I am indeed changing. Yes, and You constantly remind me that it’s Your own right arm that is doing all this. No place for boasting here. Only for a gratitude that looks forward to that time when I can look back on Your completed work in me and know I have all the time in eternity to express my thanks to You.
Signs (02/08/08)
I have been considering the subject of sight and the implications of having seen. To see the Truth brings with it certain responsibilities and obligations. I cannot look upon the Truth of God with understanding and do nothing with what I have seen. To reach an understanding of the Truth is to know I am obliged to pursue the Way of Truth. To begin to understand the realities of righteousness and sanctification is to know one’s need to set aside all that is sinful, all that tends away from that sanctification.
In this chapter of John’s gospel, the whole focus seems to be on the distinction between seeing with nothing but the senses and seeing with the eyes of the spirit. Were we merely considering normal, earthly phenomena as a scientist might, I would mark the distinction as being between the gathering of data and understanding what that data indicates. However, what is transpiring here transcends the realm of science. We enter the world of spirituality, of character and most specifically, of God’s revealed Truth.
Revealed Truth is, by definition, something beyond the ability of man to simply fathom out for himself. If he could come to grips with the evidence unassisted, it would not be revelation. It would be reason. Reason is not, however, to be disposed of in pursuit of God. It is, after all, as much a part of His creation of us as any other. Knowing that we were created in His image and knowing that we have this faculty of reason, we have every reason to expect that God is reasonable. He does not defy reason. He does, however, transcend the capacity of our reasoning. So, in His kindness, He stoops down to our level. He shapes explanations of Himself more fit to our level of understanding. He does this to help us draw closer to His level, not so as to attain to it, but so as to approach ever nearer to it as we mature in Him.
All of this is said to set the stage for a proper understanding of signs and miracles, which are, after all, synonymous terms. The whole flow of Jesus’ message through this chapter should give us a firm foundation for our understanding of these things, and it is a foundation we are just as desperately in need of as those who first heard it. We may look at them and smile at their cultural gullibility. We of the modern age are so far advanced from them. We would never get so caught up in the excitement of things such as this. Why, the whole rationalist movement which all but destroyed whole swaths of the Church went so far in this direction as to utterly reject anything that even hinted at the miraculous. And thus they traded the Truth for a lie.
On the other end of the spectrum, we find a longing for the miraculous, a hunger for the miraculous. It is most prevalent, at least inside the Church, within the Pentecostal / Charismatic movement.. But, even outside the Church, it seems that mankind recognizes by what is written on their hearts that something’s missing from the purely rational, purely scientific view of life. There is a hunger for something greater. It is there because we understand innately that there must be something greater, however much we may seek to hide that understanding from ourselves.
So, we find crowds of people even today who are still chasing after miracles. Frankly, their motivation for doing so is by and large just as misguided as these poor folks. They chase after the signs and wonders, but they never really come to an understanding of the implications of what they chase. We are told in Scripture that when the enemy comes to disrupt the Church, he comes with signs and wonders just as splendid (in our assessment) as those which marked out the prophets and the apostles who stand as the true agents of revelation. He, too, can work works well beyond the capacity of man, and he can endow those men who work for him with that capacity as well. Indeed, he must, for his whole mission is to infiltrate and pollute the real works of God. As such, he must do all he can to mimic those things that are real. He comes with signs and wonders, but he comes to deceive rather than to point us to the Truth.
Here, however, we are focused on real signs, real miracles. As such, we are focused on events whose importance is not in having happened, but in what their having happened indicates. In other words, miracles are not there to draw attention to themselves, and those in whom God works these real wonders will not suffer the miracles to draw attention to themselves, either. Those miracles are not about the event or the person. They’re about God. They’re about God stooping down to make Himself known and understood.
If you listen to what Jesus says throughout this chapter, it becomes very clear that this is the view He advocates Himself. It’s there in His reaction to these folks who have sought Him out. “You didn’t come because you understood. You came for a free lunch.” In other words: You don’t get it. It isn’t about the miracle. It’s about God. He’s trying to get through to you. The kingdom is here. The time for your freedom has come. The time to live for living solely for this world is over. You must get your eyes on the things of heaven.
Earlier this morning I was looking at Luke’s Gospel, where he covers that day Jesus declared His ministry in Nazareth (Lk 4:16-30). He stood to read, there in the synagogue, and what He was given to read was Isaiah’s prophecy. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel, the good news, to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, to tell the blind that it’s time to see again, to liberate the oppressed, and to declare that this is the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk 4:18-19). And, we know that when He had sat down He declared, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). As I read that this morning it struck me that there is so much more to that closing statement than normally comes to mind. It is one of those things, those bits of Christian culture, that we know the point of the passage so well that we miss the point. I mean, we know that this is understood as the announcement of His ministry. We see, in what follows, how quickly the mood of the crowd turns against Him. And knowing what is coming and that one significance of the message, we miss it.
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Yes, we recognize that He is claiming for Himself the “Me” of “He anointed Me to preach”. And this is where we stop. Look! He’s declaring Himself as the Messiah! But, that’s as far as we get. Well, think about the rest of that message. He’s also saying, “Today’s the day! It’s time for you who have been imprisoned to be released. It’s time for you blind ones to start seeing. It’s time to gain your liberty from oppression. It’s time!” All of this is fulfilled in your hearing. ALL of it.
Now, if you follow through the rest of that event, you discover that those in Nazareth had the exact same problem as these in Capernaum. They want signs. They want to see the show. “Do it for us, too, Jesus! We missed out on that last event.” In response, Jesus points out to them from the record that how it seems that Israel was forever missing out on events. My, but they didn’t like that! Had they been listening with something other than the ears of cultural pride, though, they would have heard the warning. Had they been in the place where they could hear His first declaration with a spirit hungry for God, they would have heeded the warning they received in the second. They would have turned their thoughts and their reasoning to the question of why it was that only Naaman and only that Sidonian widow were given to experience what God did. What was wrong with Israel then, and what was wrong with them now? More importantly, how do we fix it?
Now, here are these crowds asking for signs again. “Do it again, Jesus!” What You did yesterday was so cool, but now it’s today. Ooh! Give us a fresh anointing. Sound familiar? C’mon God, we want to see the dead raised. We’ve heard about it. We get those reports from Africa and from South America and even from that Church out in the Midwest. Hey! You’re no respecter of persons. Do it for us, too! Do those things here that you did over there. Wow! And, we completely miss the similarities, don’t we? No, no. We’re not looking for proof. We already believe. But, we’d like the healings.
You know, I have no doubt that there are those whose motives are found in a real, heartfelt compassion for those they see suffering. Far more, though, are motivated by something else. Some are there because it’s their suffering. After all, we’ve been hearing for years how the saints shouldn’t be suffering in this world. We’re blessed after all! Have we not seen? Haven’t we heard? “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Ac 14:22). “The same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren in the world. But, after you have suffered awhile, the God of all grace will strengthen and establish you” (1Pe 5:9). “I have been explaining all this to you that you may have peace in Me. In the world you have tribulation, but I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Notice, in that last, that while Jesus declares His victory as accomplished, present fact – I have overcome – the promise of tribulation remains. You have. Still. “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence, knowing God has laid it upon him” (Lam 3:27-28). The testimony seems consistent. It’s not all about a comfy life in the present. It’s about a secure hope for eternity. It’s about a character being proven, a steadfast devotion to God no matter what, knowing He is in control, and what we are tested by is sent for our growth.
Alright, then. Why the miracles? Why sometimes in some places and not in others? You will find those who blame the absence on the weakness of our faith. They will point to that passage where Jesus, it is said, couldn’t do much because of the lack of faith in that people. However, the overarching message of Scripture is that faith isn’t even of ourselves. It is a gift of God. We know that, don’t we? So, what to make of that passage? Is it not the case that if there was a lack of faith in the people, it was because these were not numbered amongst those whom God was drawing to Himself, those He would give as a gift to His Son? In other words, He did almost no signs because there was almost nobody there that God was looking for. Or, put it another way: It wasn’t in God’s plan to do such things in that location at that time, and therefore the obedient Son did not do them.
There was a time and a place for doing these things in the face of unbelief, and in those times and places, He did them. By doing them, He but made the justness of their condemnation more evident. Here it in the passage we’re in. “You already saw. You’ve been seeing the evidence of Me for months, now. And still you do not believe.” “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! And you, too, Capernaum. With all you have been witness to still you don’t get it. You refuse to get it!” (Mt 11:21-24).
Look! It’s not about the event. It’s not about the one around whom the event happened. It’s about God. Miracles have a point, and the point is not that it was a miracle. The point is not that the natural order of earthly life was set aside. The point is God’s trying to tell you something, to teach you something. Why did He have Jesus feed those crowds, and specifically with bread? I tell you, they had walked to that place and they could as easily have walked home and taken care of their own dinner. No! That meal was saying something! God was trying to break through with understanding, but that understanding had nothing to do with the physical necessities of bodily life. It had everything to do with the spiritual necessities of real life, life with significance, life in the soul in His presence and in eternity.
Even as Jesus makes the point clearer to these misguided souls, they refuse to take their eyes off of the immediate, biological application. “Come to Me and you’ll never be hungry again. Believe in Me, and you’ll never be thirsty again.” But, what have they been asking for? OK, Jesus, give us this bread you’re talking about every day from now on. Let’s have that in writing, a guarantee, so we know we don’t have to worry about it anymore. Promise us that, prove Yourself with that, and then we can all just relax, knowing You’ve got it covered. But, people! You’ve already got that promise! He is Jehovah Jireh. He is your Provider, and the standing testimony remains, “Never have I seen Your children out begging.” Well, then. What shall we make of your begging Me for this bread? Perhaps it is just proof that you’re not His children? You don’t believe, after all. If you did, you wouldn’t need to ask for this. You’ve had plenty of proof already, all the proof you need. But, you refuse to accept that proof. You don’t lack the evidence. You obstinately refuse to look at the evidence.
I fear that when we insist on being a ‘miracle center’, when we start demanding of God that He defy the laws of nature for us right here, right now, we declare much the same thing about ourselves. We don’t really believe Him, yet. We don’t really trust Him to take care of our needs. We want some proof of His love. And, Jesus, Who died upon the cross for love of us, for God’s love of us, looks upon us and says, “You already have the proof. What more could you possibly want?” He gave His life for you so that you could come into the full experience of God’s love, yet you insist that He must give you more. That’s not good enough? Beware! No sign will be given, because every necessary sign has already been given.
There is another class of ‘seekers’ that come for the show. They don’t want any particular need taken care of. They don’t even sense any need. They just want to be entertained. They’ve heard about these magicians and they’d like to see it. Couldn’t care less about any significance that might be in what they see. They never see the significance in anything anyway. It’s just about staying entertained, fighting off the boredom of life for a moment. It’s no different to them than a movie. It’s just live, is all. If all they’re going to get is a sermon, what’s the point?
The reality, as Jesus makes so clear here, is that miracles are important not for what they are but for what they indicate. These folks have some sense of this, it’s clear. But, their sense of it is distorted. Here’s their idea: Do what Moses did. It worked for him, it gave Israel reason to believe him. So, why not? Do the same now, and maybe we’ll have a reason to believe You. What does Jesus say in response? “Moses didn’t do a thing. It wasn’t about him anyway. It was My Father who did the work then, and it’s My Father who is doing the work now.” As we move further along in this dialogue, we’ll see Jesus build on this point. “Sure, your fathers ate that manna, that bread which God supplied out of heaven. And every one of them died just the same. We’re talking about something bigger here. What they experienced was just the type. Now, the reality has come. Now, the prophetic sense of that event is fulfilled in your seeing. The real bread of heaven stands before you, and those who partake of Him will never die” (Jn 6:58).
OK, Jesus. Sure. We who are at this far remove from those events can be quite certain from the records that all the apostles died, most of them in rather horrible fashion. We know that they continued to find it necessary to eat and drink, even as You did Yourself. So, what’s all this about never being hungry again? What’s all this about never being thirsty? What sort of nonsense are You talking? My friend, it’s only nonsense because you can’t get your thoughts off of the physical. You are so caught up in this present life that you don’t have any consideration for what lies beyond, what follows. You are so wrapped up in bios that you are choking off every hope of zoe. You, who has been created after the likeness of God eternal, have settled for being no better than a dog. Even a slug has bios. Anything that moves has bios. It has biological functions. It can take nutrition in, excrete waste out. It can reproduce after its kind. But, man alone amongst all creation has been given to have something more, something greater, something that remains when the flesh is gone and the bones lie in utter decay. Man alone amongst creation is privileged to know the opportunity of zoe – life with full significance, life with an eternity laid out ahead of it. Certainly, your days on this earth are numbered, as assuredly as they are numbered for any other living organism. But, you know there’s something more. It’s written into your genetic code. You may hide from it. You may live in fear of it. But, you know it’s there. There has to be more to life than this.
I tell you with certainty, there is more. There is more, and you shall someday know it with certainty yourself. The question is whether you shall come to know it with regret or with rejoicing. Apart from Jesus, the Bread of Life, that eternity which lies beyond this earthly veil can have but one possibility for you, and I would that you never have to experience it. It is not eternal life. It is eternal death, eternal agony. It is an eternity in which to realize what was offered to you and what you refused. It is an eternity in which to know what could have been, and to suffer the full consequences of rejecting the Creator in favor of your few moments of pleasure. But, come to this One Who offers Himself on your behalf. Eat! Drink! You will be satisfied. That’s the promise. That promise is in regards to righteousness. It is in regards to the necessary requirements for those who would come into eternity knowing themselves in right standing with the God of all Eternity. Would you come into eternity with the assurance of His pleasure in your company? Then come! Eat, drink. That which you seek requires righteousness, for He takes no pleasure in sin nor in the sinner who practices it. Yes, and that righteousness you require is found only in the Christ He anointed for the express purpose of dealing with the sin you cannot overcome in yourself. Come to Him and you need no longer hunger after righteousness, for in Him that hunger is satisfied. Come to Him and you need no longer thirst for the quality of life that is His, for in Him, that thirst is fountain-fed, springing up fresh every moment. Come to Him and, though this body of flesh die and decay, yet you will never die. You will not have to suffer that eternity separated from the One Who created you in love.
There is a choice to be made. That is what every sign and miracle points to. There is a choice to be made as to how you shall relate to your Creator. He is, as is preached so loud and clear today, the God of Love. No, far more than that, He is Love. Ah, but you can be equally certain that He is a God of Wrath, and vengeance shall certainly be His upon all who have the audacity to affront Him. You have seen Him. You have been granted audience with Him, given the incredible gift of joining Him in close fellowship. The Lord of all Creation has invited You to come into His house as an honored guest and far more! He has offered to not only treat you like family, but to make you a part of His family. All of this lies on the side of life, of zoe. They come as a set. You cannot have one without the other. Reject this honor that is done you, stand up the Bridegroom and His Father, and you have made your choice. You have refused the fellowship of the king, declared that being in His family is not good enough for you. As if you knew what was good! You have chosen death, a death far more permanent than the grave. You have chosen to be a child of wrath, and sadly, that choice shall be honored.
Hunger and Thirst (02/09/08)
So we have this basic disconnect happening throughout this conversation. Jesus, whose thoughts are never far from heaven, is teaching on spiritual matters, speaking on spiritual matters, and acting on spiritual matters. These people, having seen His work, heard His speeches, and sat in on some of His teaching, can’t get their minds above the dirt. They bring their Scripture quote, and yet the very choice of this quote in the thrust of their demands shows the same problem. They can quote it, but they don’t really understand it.
Think about it for a moment. “What are You going to do. Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from out of heaven.’” It’s pretty clear, that they’re taking Scripture’s “He” as being Moses. That’s why Jesus responds as He does. “Moses didn’t do it. God did.” A large portion of the signs and wonders crowd could stand to review that lesson. The man on stage is not made impressive by these things. He’s not the one doing them, after all. God is. Those signs and wonders, in the long run, can’t even be trusted as proof of the man. After all, even the devil’s own can put on quite a performance, and you, who keep slipping into the idolatrous habit of honoring the man on stage as somehow being the one doing these things, are clearly unfit to discern the difference. I include myself among those unfit to discern the difference. But, I will not place myself in that particular sect of idolatry. Rather, I will let the signs be. The one around whom the signs are happening? Let me consider those fruits in his life that cannot be counterfeited. If he is real, then in the long run he’s not going to need signs and wonders to prove it.
Let me make this as clear as I can. He is not an agent of revelation. He may speak of having revelation knowledge, but he knows full well that he has no such thing in the strict theological sense. He has Spirit-led illumination, to be sure, and it is this which he imparts. But, revelation knowledge? Things previously unrevealed by God, fit to change the course of the Church as a whole? Not a chance! It was the depth of true revelatory knowledge which would pour forth from the prophets and the apostles, their foundational position in building the real temple of God amongst His people, which required such astounding evidence. Moses had come at a truly pivotal point not so much in Israel’s history as in God’s redemptive plan. He was ushering a radical change of course for God’s people, and such radical change was going to require a lot of heavenly confirmation for His people to accept His man.
Jesus is the ultimate in pivotal importance, when it comes to that redemptive plan. From the perspective of Israel, He was essentially declaring an end to the system of types and shadows. He was declaring an end of the tutorial period, and the beginning of mature faith. He was declaring, in some ways, the end of God’s patience with this people. It was a crisis point. Here was the Leader to bring them through that crisis into a newness of life, a life free not only of the physical slavery that they had known in Egypt, but free of the spiritual slavery of sin. This Leader had come surrounded by signs and wonders. Wherever He went, things happened that defied the norms of nature. Wherever He taught, things were said that defied the norms of ceremonial, hide-bound religion. Here was the real deal, attested to daily by God Who sent Him, because God was declaring a course change.
Understand that His plan was not suffering a change. It is simply that His plan required a change in our course.
The apostles, establishing as they did a new Way for the Jews and an all but unthinkable inclusion of the Gentiles, likewise stood in need of proof from on high, and they received it. We are no longer in that position. We are no longer steering God’s people through a radical change in the way God has chosen to administer His rule. No. Jesus has ascended on high, and He remains there upon His heavenly throne. When He returns, there will be a time for radical change. But, He will be here live and in person to usher in that change. It’s not our job. Our job is to tend to the sheep while He is attending to His high priestly duties.
What I am driving at is this: for our time and our position, it seems to me that this hanging upon and demanding of signs and wonders is a sign of great sickness. Not the diseases that we come seeking miracle cures for. These are not the sickness that concerns me, for be those healed as they may, the grave still awaits if He tarries. No, it is a spiritual sickness. It is an idolatry, and we have by and large blinded ourselves to it. We even promote it! Come to Toronto and see! Come to Pensacola and see! Come to Africa and see! See what? See the miracles! See the man who does the miracles! Come and bow down to the super pastor! No. No. We won’t take it that far, not in words. But, how often is that the real story lying behind the words? We want to become a miracle center? Why? Why not choose instead to become a Truth center, a reality center?
How much better to be able to say with utmost sincerity that here is a place where we will teach the Truth, the whole counsel of God, the bitter with the sweet! How much better to be able to declare that here is a place where we are going to be real with God and allow Him to be real with us. Because, when we have this real relationship with God established, the same sorts of relationships are going to exist between us.
Have we had it backwards, perhaps? We are, by and large, convinced that we can’t love God aright until we learn how to love our brother as we ought. Now, we understand that God has already declared through His apostle that we cannot honestly claim to love Him when we don’t have love for our brother. But, really, we should fully understand as well that we can’t possibly know what real love is until we have experienced His love for us and come to the place where that love is reciprocal on our part. That takes time. That’s a process, just like everything else apart from our justification. Justification came the moment Christ called us. Everything else, God is gracious enough to work out in us over the blessed gift of time, lest we be utterly overwhelmed by it all.
The sum of all this is that we, like these people in Capernaum, have a terrible time getting our eyes off the earth. We do what we can to be spiritually minded, but by and large we are utterly flummoxed when it comes to worshipping in Truth. Look at these folks! They point to their stomachs. Jesus points them back to God. “Feed us.” “It wasn’t Moses, lift your vision higher! He who gave bread to your fathers in their day gives much more! He gives life to the world!” And, what’s their reaction? “Feed us! In fact, feed us forever!” I can almost see Jesus shaking His head, now. Man, they’re so slow, Father! How long?
But, He is a patient Teacher, and He again lifts their mental chins so that they will consider heaven instead of hunger. “Look! That bread of life, I told you about? I’m it, folks! Come to me, and it becomes impossible that you should hunger at any time. Believe in me, and it becomes impossible that you should thirst at any time.” Well, where do you suppose their minds are at after hearing that? To suggest that He can somehow disrupt the physical order to that degree, that we shall never again even experience hunger or thirst? It’s unthinkable!
There is so much that could be said about this. But, the sum of what I want to say is that it should be perfectly obvious to us that Jesus is not talking about physical matters at all. We know full well that to a man we still experience hunger and we still experience thirst. There has not been a follower of Christ in all the ages since who didn’t. In fact, we can state with high confidence that even Jesus knew hunger and thirst. In fact, we have His own testimony from the Cross on the thirst part. Likewise, we have Paul’s testimony, as he defended his record to the Corinthians. “I have labored, and known hardship. I have known many a sleepless night, spent in hunger and thirst. I have had to do without food. I have been cold and exposed to the elements” (2Co 11:27). Well, what is Paul describing? He’s describing his life as an apostle and ambassador of this very Christ Jesus Who just said, “You won’t ever be hungry or thirsty again!” It’s not about food and drink, people! It’s about God! It’s about eternity! Get your thoughts beyond the daily bread business. Your Father in heaven knows your needs, and He has already told you that He will provide for those needs.
No, the key to grasping what Jesus is talking about here goes back to the lesson He was teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. As I was reading yesterday, those same lessons were doubtless taught on many other occasions. It wasn’t as though these people, if they had missed that one event, had never heard what He taught there. There had been many such opportunities with much the same message. What had He to say on that occasion? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6). Notice the focus of those who are blessed? They are in hot pursuit of righteousness. They thirst for it like a deer wandering the Negev. They hunger for it as if they hadn’t eaten in days. And they find it impossible to satisfy either their thirst or their hunger. All the myriad habits of the righteous which the Pharisees promoted were doing nothing for that thirst, weren’t even touching that hunger. But, here is the One Who in Himself is the satisfaction of that hunger and thirst! Why? Because He is the Righteousness of God, and He imparts His essential righteousness to each and every one who comes to Him! Having received of His righteousness, here is the Promise – the Promise upon which our hope is made certain – and it comes from His own lips! “It is impossible that they should hunger and thirst ever again.” Do you here the blessed assurance in that? Do you hear the perseverance of the saints in that?
Listen up! Everything about what Jesus says here tells us that ministry, real ministry, cannot possibly be focused on physical benefits. That’s not what it’s about! That’s not to say that we will never know physical benefits in ministry. But, we may just as likely find ourselves in the end with a testimony more like Paul’s. We may find we’ve had to suffer, suffer a lot, as we pursue the course God has for us. We may have to deal with losses in material terms that would be unimaginable to the unbeliever.
I went through a period of unbelieving unbelief when my own father began to go into ministry. Here, he had set aside the career he had built up for more than a quarter of a century, set aside his main source of income, to enter seminary. He had been uprooted from his hereditary lands, a house he had done a great deal to maintain, lands he had grown up on, as had we, to move to a new town and serve a church full of people he didn’t know. And what, as my eyes saw it, was his reward for all this? His wife, my mother, dies a slow death by cancer. This, I thought to myself, is how God rewards His servants? Well, then, I want nothing to do with Him! Yet, Dad persevered in pursuit of God, he persevered in serving God. He was not, to be sure, a man without faults. But, he wasn’t going to walk away from the call. Looking back with the understanding God has given me over the years, I know it was really impossible that he walk away from the call for one, very simple reason: Jesus never loses a one.
Through the years since, there have been times when I wondered about Dad, worried that he seemed to have walked away from ministry after all. And, perhaps, to some degree, he did. But, the Truth of Jesus remains, and He has proven Himself. “I have not lost a one.” That was His testimony en route to the cross, and it hasn’t changed since!
But, let me return to the bread of life. The manna in the desert had been God’s Provision, to be sure. Moses certainly couldn’t do it himself. But, it was provision in type only. It was a physical manifestation of a spiritual Truth. That is by and large, the definition of miracle, anyway – at least as far as its true purpose. Those who ate the manna would be just as dead before Israel entered the Promised Land as they would have been without it. It was provision from heaven, but it was provision that aimed at teaching God’s people a greater Truth. It was a pointer to Jesus, although few if any would understand that at the time.
See, Jesus comes to us in a wilderness of sin. He comes to us where we are, and where we are we can find no means to satisfy our desire for righteousness. However much we may long for it, we find it is utterly beyond us to provide it for ourselves. We know it’s necessary for life; more important than eating, more necessary than breathing. But, we can’t satisfy the need. We can’t even scratch the need. But, God provides. He knew, even as He handed down the Law to Moses, that there wasn’t a soul in all Israel that was going to achieve righteousness by perfectly following the Law. That was the point! Israel was in a spiritual wilderness so vast they didn’t recognize it as wilderness anymore. It was all they knew. So, God opened their eyes with the Law, that they might know there was something better. He fed them physically in that physical wilderness, but He was ever and always seeking that they might lift their eyes and their thoughts to heaven. He was ever seeking that they might get beyond the physical needs and see the reality that all His signs were pointing to.
God did all this for them as they wandered through the desert, and what is the testimony that comes out of it? “Lord, You provided food from heaven for their hunger. You brought water forth from a rock for their thirst. Yes, and You commanded them to go take possession of the land You had sworn to give them. But, they were arrogant. They would not listen to Your orders” (Neh 9:15-16). Why was He doing it, then? He answers that one at the very institution of the manna. It’s a two-fold explanation. Part one: to test them and see if they can follow His instructions, who call Him ‘Lord’ (Ex 16:4). Part two: So that they will know of a certainty that He is the LORD (Ex 16:12). It’s not about eating and drinking.
But, that testimony from Nehemiah is particularly chilling. All this God did and the reaction was, “they were arrogant and wouldn’t listen to Your orders”. God had proven Himself as Jehovah Jireh, but the people declared that God’s provision wasn’t good enough for them. Yeah, yeah, You’re giving us all this bread, but where’s the meat? Comes Jesus, the True Bread to which the manna pointed, and their response was much the same. Yeah, yeah, You’re giving us salvation, but where’s the superiority? We’re supposed to be victorious! What’s up with the suffering servant thing? We’re supposed to live long and prosper! You know, every man healthy, wealthy and wise, living a life of ease amidst his inheritance of olive trees and vineyards. So, what’s up with all this, “you will know tribulations” stuff? That’s not the God I know!
Oh, but we’re far from that, aren’t we? We’ve advanced on our understanding of God. Really? Yet, when we hear about God’s wrath, how many of us are quick to point out how that was an Old Testament thing. We’re under grace, right? God is Love, and we will cling to that to the total exclusion of pretty much everything else that He is. We hear that God is our great Friend, and we lose all conception of Him as our Master. You don’t think so? Well, how often do I hear believers praying not in faith in supplication, but in imperious, demanding ways that God must do such and so? Listen up! The bread of heaven is God’s to give, not ours to demand! He is Lord, not you! There was never an apostle or a prophet in all the course of redemptive history who took upon himself to demand that God act according to his words. I don’t even see a record of one whining and saying, “God, You promised! So, why is this happening?” Oh, there’s plenty of occasions where that question comes up. “Why is this happening?” is something I suspect we all experience in this walk. But, that “You promised” thing I hear so often, that’s just petulance. No, worse. It’s unbelief disguising itself in piety.
Do you know what I see in the examples of the godly, as they are recorded for our benefit? I see this attitude: “I don’t understand what’s happening, but I know You, and I know You will see me through.” It’s not a complaint department visit, it’s an assuring of the speaker’s own soul on the confidence that comes of really and truly believing that God means what He says. It’s an attitude that goes beyond the present circumstance and focuses on the certainty of the future outcome. It’s a declaration of knowing that the Lord God is Lord. He is in control and He is not a fickle and untrustworthy ruler. He is steadfast. He is a Rock. He changeth not, nor is there in Him any least shadow of turning.
Types Fulfilled (02/10/08)
Jesus comes as the fulfillment of every prophecy. He comes as the reality to which every type and sign pointed. It begins from the first testing of Adam, and the gospel that was delivered to him alongside the curse upon his failure. That Adam failed the test of obedience to God’s command and all who have lived since pay the price. If there be any real generational curse, this must surely be it. Because our first representative failed, failure is measured to us at birth. But, comes the good news! Jesus, the second and final Adam passed His test! This, too, is measured to every man who is found to be amongst the descendents of Jesus.
The descendants of Jesus are those who are declared the true sons of Abraham, heirs not through the flesh, but through the spirit, through faith. The true sons of Abraham believe God. They do not accept Him in the good times and doubt Him amidst the hard times. They do not come with their demands as though He were their banker or their rich uncle. They believe Him. “Though He slay me, yet will I serve Him.” “Nevertheless, Lord, Thy will be done, not mine.” Jesus passed the test every step of the way. Tempted by Satan in the desert, attacked in a time of physical weakness, He rejected every opportunity to take a shortcut. He would not only achieve what His Father wished to see achieved, but He would be scrupulous in making certain He did so as the Father intended to see it done.
Abraham fell short of this. He understood the Promise. He believed the Promise. But, he grew impatient waiting for the Promise, and so he took matters into his own hands. A sad day for mankind that has turned out to be! Jesus, shown these several ways to avoid the wait, to avoid the agony, rejected them out of hand, for they were not what God had required of Him. The final Adam took no shortcuts, accepted no substitutes, but lived a life in which every step was truly guided by God and truly followed that guidance.
Now, we come to that motif of the Prophet like Moses. Moses stands as a towering giant amongst the men who have taken up their role in the course of redemptive history. Even King David would be challenged to match him for importance. Even Solomon would be marginalized by comparison to this man. Here was the man who had challenged Pharaoh face to face and won. Here was the man who had taken an enslaved people – a particular obstinate and oft-times stupid people – and led them through every trial for forty odd years to bring them to the place of God’s choosing. Here was the man who was privileged to meet with God, as it were, face to face, who was entrusted with the Law which God Himself inscribed upon the covenant tablets. But, Moses, as great as he was, fell short. He, too, failed the test in the long run. His temper got the best of him, and he circumvented the methods God prescribed for the situation at hand. God, the Provider, continued to provide in spite of this disobedience, but Moses had lost the prize. His disobedience left him just short of the Promise to which he had led this nation of God’s choosing.
In the events of the Transfiguration, we see God’s mercy in allowing Moses to finally set foot upon that land of promise, but my point here lies in the fact that Moses the prophet of Israel was but a type. In Jesus, the type which was imperfect is completed in perfection. Why is that important to us here? Well, we need to be very clear in our minds that Jesus, the Prophet Who Comes Into the World, fulfilled that role as perfectly as He fulfilled His role as Adam, the federal head of His people. That is to say that in both cases, He obeyed God’s will perfectly, not solely as concerned the desired end, but also as concerned the means. In no least part of God’s plan did He settle for less than exact and complete adherence to that plan. So, bearing that in mind, listen to those last few statements of His in this particular section.
“This is My Father’s will: That I not lose even one of those He has given Me, that I shall raise every lost one of them up on the last day. God wills that everyone who concerns himself with carefully observing the Son, seeks to emulate Him as best he can, and believes in Him as He truly Is, should have eternal life, and these I will assuredly raise up on the last day.” Let me put this in full focus. This is the Father’s will, and Jesus never once failed to satisfy the Father’s will! That will includes this most marvelous declaration: He wills that Jesus shall not lose a single one of those who are given to Him, entrusted to Him! That’s us! That’s me! That is the absolutely solid, unshakable ground for the certainty that is declared in the perseverance of the saints. That is the reality of salvation. That is the assurance by which we are blessed.
Listen! Jesus never fails. Never!
God’s Gift (02/10/08)
There is something else I would that we could see in this marvelous message. We are a gift from God. We are a gift He has given to Jesus. Look at what is said here: “He has given Me”. That runs as a constant theme through the message Jesus declares to His presents. Jesus is most certainly a gift to us from our Father in heaven. Indeed, that fact that we can call Him Our Father is wholly because of the gift of Jesus. But, then, He turns about and makes of us a gift for His Son. Isn’t that, in some wise, what the bride is? The bride is God’s gift to the groom. In an age of arranged marriages, we might look upon the bride as a gift the father has arranged for his son, and the groom a gift the bride’s father has arranged for her. At least, this is the most positive perspective on such a marriage. Surely, a good father has this in mind, and not merely his own fortunes. Certainly God, the Father par excellence, has this in mind. And, He has chosen you as that most wonderful of gifts for His Son, His only Son, His beloved Son in Whom He is well pleased!
Here, I find that Jesus continuously emphasizes what has come down through Reformed doctrine as the tenet of Irresistible Grace, the “I” of the TULIP. In some ways, it also upholds the “U” of Unconditional Election, but more so the irresistible nature of God’s grace in saving us. You are a gift given. What give is ever allowed the option of refusing to be given? Does anybody ever ask the present they have chosen whether it is willing that it should be wrapped and labeled for our the intended recipient? Of course not! The will of the present is completely irrelevant to the equation!
That the recipient might refuse the gift; well, amongst men, one might imagine such a thing, but when the gift comes from a king? It becomes a dangerous proposition at best. When the gift is from your father? Perhaps, for some have so thoroughly rejected their parents that even gifts from them become an offense. But, here we are talking about the Father, the definition of all that fatherhood should be, giving to His beloved Son. And, here we are talking about the Son, the Prophet who fully complies with and completes every will and desire of His Father. That will includes cherishing these gifts Father has given.
This is, to me, the source of great excitement in my spirit. This is a large part of what had me excited and ready to jump straight into the New Thoughts phase of study almost the moment I started reading this passage. You see, the tenets of Reformed theology are things I generally have associated with Paul’s writings. The great theologian, don’t you know, who gave such a powerful presentation of Christian doctrine that it seems every denomination has found itself within the pages of his writing. Here is the man whose letter to Rome brought Augustine from a life of debauchery to become another of the great towers of sound doctrine. In that same letter, Martin Luther found the truth of the Gospel, which had lain hidden away by a corrupt religious order for so long. But, I had stopped there. Romans was the font of doctrine. Yes, of course Jesus lay behind what Romans laid out, but I just never made the connection between the doctrine Paul expressed in such detail, and the doctrine of Jesus. Well, here it is! And, it echoes over and over again, particularly through John’s Gospel. And to think, there are those who insist that John and Paul had very different perspectives on doctrine!
Well, hear election declared over and over again. Hear the irresistible grace by which we are made a present to Jesus. You give Him authority over mankind, so that He may legally give eternal life to every last one of those which You have given Him (Jn 17:2). For all of these whom You have given Me, I would ask that the be with Me to see Me in the glory You have given Me. Yes, You loved Me even before the world was created (Jn 17:24). I give them eternal life [even as You have authorized] and they shall never perish, for no man can take them from Me! My Father gave them to Me, and He is greater than all. No man can take them from My Father! (Jn 10:28-29). I have made Your Name, Your Truth, Your Essential Being manifest to those whom You gave Me from amongst the world. [Whoa! Jesus declares limited atonement, too!] They were Yours and You gave them to Me and they kept Your word (Jn 17:6). I don’t ask for everybody, but for those You gave Me, for they are Yours (Jn 17:9). I kept them on Your authority. I guarded them, and I did not lose a one apart from the son of perdition (Jn 17:12). Of those You gave Me, I have lost not a one (Jn 18:9). No man whom the Father has not sent can come to Me. It is those He draws to Me that I shall raise up on the last day (Jn 6:44). You did not choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and bear fruit that remains in order that the Father may give to you whatever you ask for on My authority (Jn 15:16).
So, there I see repeated assertions in support of at least three of the major tenets of Reformed theology. There, particularly in the High Priestly prayer of Jesus, I see it over and over. You gave, I chose, He draws. This is irresistible grace in a nutshell. None can take them from Me, from My Father. I haven’t lost a one. That’s the foundation of our perseverance. It’s not that we’ve become so strong in ourselves. It’s that He Who keeps us never fails! Not everybody, those the Father sends, from amongst the world. It’s a limited atonement. Not all are given, so not all are kept. Yes, that’s hard to take. Yes, that seems to fly in the face of other aspects of God’s revealed will.
If it is His will that all be saved, then how is it His will that some are not? After all, we also know Jesus declares, “It is not the Father’s will that any of these should perish. So, go and reprove your brother if you see him sinning. If he listens, you have restored him” (Mt 18:14-15). Well, here, the situation is not too difficult to resolve. He is discussing the straying sheep, the one who has indeed been given to Him, but still insists for a time on roving, returning to old ways and old habits.
More difficult to resolve is Paul’s declaration that God desires for all men to be saved (1Ti 2:4). Well, God, if this is Your desire, Your will, and Your will is irresistible, how is it that this is does not turn out to be the case? After all, as nice as it would be to think that in the end everybody wins, it’s patently clear that such wishful thinking is not reality. The best answer I can provide on this is that God, while He is Love and He is merciful, is also and simultaneously Just and wrathful. He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires, and our reaction to this is to wonder what cause He has to fault man for the results. After all, His will is irresistible, right? Well, yes. And, He is also sovereign, righteous and just, so on what basis do you think to call Him to task? Is the creature really in a position to complain to his Creator about his shape? If God has chosen to make His wrath and His power known upon some, and His glory and mercy evident upon others, that’s His choice to make, and righteousness is upheld on both hands (Ro 9:18-23). Well, given that it is the same Paul who admits God’s choice of some and who declares God’s desire for all, it would seem we must understand that the desire he speaks of is in some way different than the will that has chosen.
In a perfect world, as we might say, there would be no call for the wrath of just vengeance. There would be no fallen proclivity for sin in man, and therefore no reason for God to punish. But, this is not a perfect world. Adam did fall, and with his fall, mankind – indeed all creation – suffered the consequences. Were it not for God’s mercy, the end result would be that none were saved. But, God was not taken unawares by the situation. He had already accounted for it before there was an Eden for Adam to lose. He had not only accounted for it, but I think we must understand that He had planned it. Why? Because apart from the fallen condition of sinful man, the full magnificence and mercy of salvation could not be known and appreciated. The full glory of the Light is not something that can be appreciated without darkness to contrast it to. The full glory of God could not be made clear to His children until they had suffered its absence.
You know, Scripture tells us that we are privy to an understanding that even angels long to fathom. Michael, Gabriel and their many cohorts have never suffered an absence from God’s glory. Even in their most pitched battles with that fallen angel who has so long attempted to steal the throne, they have never been out of sight of God’s glory. It cannot be cut off from them. As marvelous an existence as this provides for them, it leaves them somehow less able to appreciate the marvel. Though the elders around the throne are fully consumed by the presence of God, and can but sing out declarations of His perfect holiness one to another, yet the full appreciation of that is in some wise reserved to man, for it is they who have suffered such remove from His perfect holiness. Once restored to that Presence, what joy there shall be! What fullness of appreciation for His mercy and His wisdom there shall be! We, who have so fully deserved the full punishment of His wrathful justice have experienced something totally different, something totally unexpected. We have become His gift to His Son, and His Son, our Father’s gift to us!
This is the Lord’s doing, and it’s marvelous in our sight!
On the List? (02/10/08)
All of this leaves each of us with one question to answer. Am I on the list? I find it the most utterly fearsome statement out of this whole discourse when Jesus says to these ‘seekers’, “I already told you: you have seen, and you don’t believe.” The implications of that statement should have struck terror in the hearts of those who heard it. “You’re not on the list.” All these marvelous promises you’re hearing about? Sorry, they’re not for you. You’re one of those other vessels, the ones set aside for wrath and destruction.
Listen. There is a solid foundation for knowing an absolute and unshakable assurance of salvation. It’s not just a matter of emotional response. It’s not just a case of psyching yourself up. There’s a case for the certainty of hope. It lies in the very fact that it’s not your doing. God chose. God gave. God will not suffer your loss. In many ways, I feel sorry for those who think they have found Jesus, that they have chosen to accept Him. Why? Because if it was by their free-will choice to come to Him it’s just as much up to their continual and constant choosing to remain in Him. It’s no longer about the impossibility of anybody taking them from His hand. They make it a matter of themselves remaining strong enough and steadfast enough to continue clinging to His hand. And that, it seems to me, is a path destined to fail. If it’s up to me to stand firm to the end, if it’s only my strength I’ve got to stand on, then I am already as good as lost. But, praise be to my God and King, it’s not! He who began the work will perfect it (Php 1:6). That’s not me, folks! I didn’t start me on this path, and that I know with certainty. So, I can know with equal certainty that I’m not the one who’s going to perfect it. Nope! Before ever I read this in Paul’s letters, before ever I even cared that Paul had written any letters, this was made clear to me: “It is God who is at work in you” (Php 2:13). The way in which God chose to call me to His Son let me with no other possible way to understand what happened. I wasn’t seeking, yet I was found. I wasn’t willing, and yet I was drawn.
“God is at work in you, both to will, and to work for His good pleasure.” That’s the full declaration. It was God’s will that I was found on the list. It was God’s will to make of me a gift fit for His Son. So, He set to work within me to bring me to the place where He could cut through my foolishness and rebellion. He spoke to me in spite of my unbelief. He planted the necessary seeds of faith in my heart and in my mind with me all unawares. Upon this He built, and within me there was found a willingness to believe – a willingness not of my own fashioning, but solely the result of God who was at work in me. And, it is that will which He has worked in me that has brought to the place of being pleased to work for His good pleasure. Indeed, if there is anything good in me (and there are times I wonder), it is most assuredly His doing.
Father, I thank You. I thank You for the excitement You have generated within my heart, my mind, my soul as I have made my way through these words from Your Son. I thank You for choosing me as a gift for Him, that You have pledged us one to another. Jesus, my Gift, my Beloved! How wonderful it is to hear these things not from Your servants, but from Yourself! The joy that I have in knowing Your perfect pursuit of Father’s will keeps me, even in my imperfections. The certainty of that hope You have provided. The certainty of Your Provision in all things, these are simply too wonderful for me! Though I understand it is yet beyond me. Though it is beyond me, yet I understand. How shall I explain this? I shall not. I shall simply rejoice in the reassurance You give. I shall rejoice in knowing that You continue the work, and You shall perfect it. Oh, speed the day, Lord! Speed the day!
