New Thoughts (07/30/08-08/06/08)
Given that John sees fit to note the approach of the Feast of Booths, it seems to me I ought to take some time to understand this feast. It may be that John was doing little more than setting a marker upon the time of these events. But, if I do not miss the mark greatly, he was not writing to a Jewish audience so much as a Gentile one. As such, his readers would have little reason to be any more familiar with the calendar of Jewish feasts than I. Unless curiosity led them to investigate the matter, it may not have even served any great purpose in marking out the timing for them.
They, like I, could search the Scriptures, to see where this feast had sprung from. But, beyond this, they would need to seek any greater information from the Jews themselves. We have the benefit of a fair body of reference materials that we may consult on the subject. This is exactly what I intend to do as a starting point: consult one or more references.
Immediately, I read this point in the ISBE: These feasts are set by divine appointment and with a divine intent. While they may coincide with certain seasons or events of nature, this is not to be mistaken as being their point. Their point is to reveal by type some aspect of God’s plan of redemption. They serve to express the moral obligations of the people of God, to remind of God’s past actions on their behalf, and as a means of present sanctification.
As regards the feasts instituted through Moses, it is interesting to note that while there are five such feasts, they include seven Sabbaths, being extensions of the Sabbath observation. Of the five feasts, three were particularly noted as occasions for pilgrimage to Jerusalem, this being one of those feasts. Interesting that this particular feast begins five days after the Day of Atonement, particularly given that it is designated as a time of rejoicing in God’s providence. It is noted that this feast took on greater significance for Ezra and those with him in the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh 8:13-18). By the time which John writes of, certain traditions had been added to the Feast of Booths, such as the procession to draw a water libation from the pool of Siloam. Another note for a later period: there is a tradition of doubling the day upon which these longer feasts begin and end, out of concern over uncertainty as to the proper timing. These are counted as single, 48-hour ‘long days’. There is also an association of this feast with the phrase hosanna, which is recited often throughout the celebration.
Turning to Fausset’s next: All Israel was to appear before the Lord for the three great feasts, there to make glad offerings. These three feasts were significant in many ways. First, they marked the seasons of harvesting the fruits of the earth. Second, they were indicative of three periods of Israel’s history. Third, they typify or prophesy of three major events in redemptive history.
To the first point: Passover marked and sanctified the barley harvest, and Pentecost, the wheat harvest. Booths, rather than a time to consecrate, was a time to celebrate the fullness of the completed harvest. It marked the end of both the civil year and the religious year (of seven months duration).
To the second point: Passover reminds of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt. Pentecost reminds of the giving of the Law at Sinai, the beginning of national covenant with God. Tabernacles reminds of the settling of the Promised Land, the end of that exodus which had begun at Passover. Solomon, in particular, celebrated this last feast when the ark of the covenant was finally moved from the Tabernacle and into the Temple.
On the third, and major point: Passover points to Jesus as the Lamb of God sacrificed for our deliverance. Pentecost points to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church through those disciples gathered in the upper room. Note the echo of Sinai in this. There, God had written His Law upon stone. Here, that same Law had been etched upon the hearts of men, even as He had promised.
Coming to the Feast of Booths, note that in Christ’s resurrection we have the first fruits from the dead, echoing the barley consecrated at Passover. The Holy Spirit, then, come to abide among men, is in some sense (less clear, to be sure) the wheat consecrated at Pentecost. What remains is our inheritance of a heavenly home, and so awaits its true fulfillment. Note that we have record of its particular celebration by Joshua, who typifies Jesus as the Captain – the Victorious Warlord, our Salvation. We have record of its particular celebration by Solomon, who typifies Jesus as the Prince of Peace. Our final celebration at the fulfillment of this feast shall mark the end of our long sojourn in the world, now forever past.
Salvation is the theme, particular in the Feast of Booths, and it was in connection with this theme that the procession to the pool of Siloam was added, recalling Isaiah’s promise that they should draw with joy from the wells of salvation. Take notice, as well, of the cries of “Hosanna!” that marked Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, another echo of tradition associated with this feast, and a cry meaning, “come save us!”
One may also find the Trinity reflected in these three feasts: Jesus in the Passover, the Holy Spirit in Pentecost, and the Father Creator in the Feast of Booths which so celebrates the goodness of His creation.
Next, I should examine the Scriptural record more fully than I have thus far. I’ll start with the institution of the feast, which is recorded in Leviticus 23:34-43. This chapter lays out the framework of the Lord’s assigned observances, starting with the Sabbath, proceeding to the Passover and its subsequent Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then to that which we know as Pentecost. Interestingly, the command to leave a portion of the field unharvested to provide for the needy comes in conjunction with this feast (Lev 23:22). Then comes the Feast of Trumpets, which is barely noted, and the Day of Atonement, a day to be humbled before the Lord or cut off entirely (Lev 23:29). Finally, closing out the calendar of events, comes the Feast of Booths, which would appear to last 8 days, the first and last being days of ‘holy convocation’ on which no labor should be done. Interestingly, on that first day of rest, in which no labor is to be done, the call is to go obtain foliage from the trees with which to rejoice for the whole of seven days. This is, after all, to be a celebration, yet a celebration with its own hardships. The people are called to live in tents for the duration as a reminder of the tents in which they lived as they traversed the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land.
In Deuteronomy 16, Moses goes over the schedule again. Here, it is made clear that the Passover is to be celebrated not at home, but in the place God marks as His own – i.e. Jerusalem, and before that, Shiloh. I would note that the place is not specified here, for Moses was not given to know where that place would be, nor was that place permanent. Witness Shiloh and Shechem, which were so marked out for a time, but then abandoned. Likewise, Jerusalem has at the least known times when God removed His mark from that place. However, it seems clear that this is the final choice God makes until heaven and earth are shaken and reformed. There is no mention of celebration in conjunction with this first Feast. It is time to be in your own tents, eating unleavened bread. However, with the Feast of Weeks, there is a command to rejoice, even if you are a stranger in the land of Israel. Here, again, there is the command to come to the place God chooses for the celebration.
Then, we arrive at the Feast of Booths (Dt 16:13-15). It comes after the gathering of both field and vineyard is complete, and is again a time to rejoice in such a way as includes even slaves and aliens in the party. Once more, the command is to go to the place God chooses. However, we are given a reason for this feast which is somewhat unlike the others. It is because God will bless you in all you do. This is surely cause to be ‘altogether joyful’!
Finally, in this reiteration of the schedule, Moses notes that on these three occasions, the attendance of every male Israelite is required, and he must come prepared with the offerings the occasions demand (Dt 16:16-17), but always ‘as he is able’.
Later, in Deuteronomy 31:10-13, with Moses nearing the end of his days, there is another command given with regard to this closing Feast of the cycle. In the seventh year, the Sabbath year, when debts are remitted, there is an added requirement for the Feast of Booths. The Law is to be read to the people who have gathered. Thus, they are assured that their children will hear and learn the fear of the Lord.
As to particular occasions associated with this feast, the great celebrations of Solomon are noted in 2Chronicles 8:13. It is the briefest of mentions, to be sure, but the attentiveness of Solomon to God’s ways is on full display in this passage. Having married Pharaoh’s daughter, he would not suffer her to dwell in the house David had built, because the ark had been there, and it was therefore holy as she was not. Instead, he had a house built specifically for her. Then follows note that Solomon was careful to make the offerings required by the Lord on the altar of the temple He had caused to be built. Thus, the daily offerings, the Sabbath offerings, the new moon offerings, and also, the three annual feasts, as God had commanded. Here, it is also noted how he set out the divisions of service amongst the priests and Levites in accord with his father’s command to him. Now, it seems to me that this passage is really speaking of the constant habit of Solomon, at least during the period of Temple construction and shortly thereafter, as opposed to one specific year of great attentiveness.
Ezra records events during the reconstruction of Jerusalem when the Babylonian Exile was nearing its completion. Those who had come back to Israel to rebuild the temple came together in the seventh month and the priests who were there assembled an altar according to God’s commands to make offerings day and night, “for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands” (Ezr 3:3). They celebrated the Feats of Booths in full accord with the written Law, making offerings each day as each day required. From there, they proceeded to reestablish the whole calendar of observances which Moses had laid out, but as of yet, the Temple foundation had not even been rebuilt (Ezr 3:4-6).
Then comes the remarkable prophecy of Zechariah (Zech 14). This deserves to be considered in its full setting, so that we can understand his mention of that feast in its context. Wow! That is some prophecy! It begins with the certainty of Jerusalem’s downfall: certain because it is God who gathers the nations against that city, but only as a precursor to His own battle against those nations. He will move mountains to save His people, and He will come with the host of heavens to join battle against the nations. He declares that He shall cause the land to level out south of Jerusalem, even as the city itself rises up. Then, the description of what shall befall the enemies of God’s people, which sounds not unlike the effects seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And, such shall be the fear of those people that they shall fall to warring with each other in their confusion whereas for Judah, there is the dividing of the wealth of nations. But, as with Israel in punishment, so with the nations: there will be a remnant, and it in regards to these that we find the Feast of Booths mentioned (Zech 14:16-19).
When it comes to those who survived amongst the nations, it is required of them to come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. This is in keeping with the institution of that Feast, for from the outset, God required that all aliens then in His lands should join in at the feast, and in this prophetic vision the time has come when all lands are His lands and there is but one Lord and King. It is also noted that for any family that refuses to join in this Feast, there will be no rain upon their lands.
There is more to the prophecy beyond this point, but most interesting is the closing note: There shall be no more Canaanites in the house of the Lord (Zech 14:21). One could consider that in one of two lights, I suppose. Either the Canaanites have finally been utterly purged from the land (and again, note the sense here that all lands have become the land), or the very concept of Canaanite has been eradicated. What do I mean by that? Well, if we arrive at a time when every tribe and every nation truly confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, that there is but one God of all mankind and all creation, who is left to pursue the ways of the Canaanites? All false idols have been cast down and destroyed in that day, and, as the intervening verses note, every means of sacrifice has been sanctified as Holy to the Lord. There remains no means of continuing the idolatries that defined Canaanite life.
To put it more succinctly, if every man has become a citizen of God’s kingdom, there can no longer be any foreigners. If God has become the Ruler of all nations, as He surely will, there can no longer be any man who is not His subject.
With that in mind, come back to this matter of the Feast of Booths. That feast is established particularly as a celebration and a reminder of God’s perfect Providence. It is an annual reminder of how well He has provided for the needs of life by providing both harvest and vintage, both food and drink. Thus, the choice of punishment for those who refuse to give thanks (and isn’t that at the root of this!) If you are not thankful for His provision this year, there shall be no such provision next year. Perhaps then you will learn some appreciation. Yet, it is not some fit of petulance on God’s part that He should react so.
Recall that these are confirmed rebel forces with which He is dealing. They survived the war that they could not hope to win. The question remains, though, whether they will prove themselves true subjects of the King. Obedience in joining this celebration is a proper test of loyalty. It is one thing to obey when the threat of force is in evidence. It is another to obey in willing and joyful participation when the state rejoices.
Think about the episode of Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s courts. There was much that he was willing to do as a captive to that regime. But when the call came to go out and worship the statue of the king, to celebrate his rule: this Daniel could not do. It would honor another as greater than his God, and this was not to be contemplated. So it is here. The Feast of Booths is a celebration and honoring of God, Jehovah Jireh, the Provider for His greatness in providing for His people throughout the preceding year. To refuse Him this honor is to suggest that there is another more deserving of credit for last year’s profits.
Were I to bring it forward to our own day, it would be either the state or science or the man himself to whom that credit was improperly diverted. All of these three vie against God for the right of glory. We tend to look at the more visible competing religions as being our greatest challenge, but that’s not entirely true. They are false and must necessarily be challenged if we are purveyors of the Truth. However, the more dangerous enemy is that one which attacks from concealment. Government and the so-called new atheism of science are of such a nature. As much as we tout our democratic form of government, it continues to move farther and farther into socialism, the religion of the state. We, your government, shall provide for all your needs. No! My God shall provide all my needs according to His riches in glory, and He shall not share His glory with any other, certainly with no government!
Alternatively, we have scientism. Now, there is nothing inherently evil about science, about seeking to understand the workings of this world in which we find ourselves. This is a laudable and worthy pursuit. However, when pursuit shifts into the realm of worship, there’s a problem. When facts and mechanics are offered as meaning and moral basis, there’s a problem. What is this, after all, but to make the fallen condition of the world our standard? Science is, at its foundations at least, looking into the order of God’s creation. However, that creation as we have it presented to us today is not the perfection of creation. It is creation suffering the corruption caused by the fall of man. How are we to find a sound basis in a broken system? At best one could speculate on how that broken system was intended to work. But, that is to lay one’s foundations on little more than vain imaginations.
What of humanism? Man is no longer the subject but the lord. Yet, if man is the pinnacle, ought he not to be able to abide in harmony with others who have achieved that same pinnacle? Ought we not see a far greater tendency towards cooperative achievement than we do? I dare say, if man is the measure, then we must confess that the experiment is an utter failure. For, man is everywhere shown to have a well developed tendency for evil of every sort. Man left unconstrained will settle into such a lethargy as socialism finds its opportunity in. The nanny state of socialism could not find a foothold if man were not inclined to sloth. If man is the measure, and yet we have so many occasions of slaughter, than man’s measure shows man a failure. We can lay the blame on society or on learned behaviors or on the corrupting influence of dogmatic religion, but that is only to make one or the other of these things the measure and man the subject. If man is the measure, then he must lay the blame upon himself.
The demand for all nations and all peoples to observe this Feast of Booths, this celebration of the Providence of God is an acceptable proof that all of these other competing isms have been rejected. It is an open acknowledgement that however advanced we may be, we are still as nothing. However marvelous our inventions, it remains a fundamental law that apart from God we can do nothing. It remains a fundamental law that it is in Him that we have being, and should He remove His attention from us for the briefest of moments, we should cease to have life. This is the significance of the Feast. Do this in remembrance that He is the fountain of Life, He is your Provider.
It is also a celebration of having come into the fullness of His Promises. The feast commemorates the end of the desert exodus, and the provision of God throughout that long trek. Think about it! Forty years of wandering with an entire nation in the camp. Where is the countryside that could support such a thing? Consider that throughout history, wars have been won and lost largely on matters of supply. If supplies cannot be shipped to the place where the army is, the army is lost. There simply is not the possibility of the local countryside supplying such concentrated need for long. And here, we don’t have an army passing through farmlands. We have an entire nation passing through scrubland, waste land. Yet, God provided sufficient food for all. Think about Moses’ wonder when God promised meat to the people. What? Are You going to slaughter every fish in the sea to feed this crowd? But, with God all things are possible. Not only this, but God had so perfectly provided that even their footwear and their clothing was preserved. For, if they had been allowed to wear out, where would they find replacements? No shopping centers out there in the desert.
Not only had He preserved them through this whole period, but He had brought them into the land they had deemed impossible to take. He had promised and they had doubted. But, He had proven Himself. This feast would remind them both of His faithfulness and of their unfounded doubt. Reminded of their previous failure of faith and of His proof, it would serve as a reason for faith going forward. And, it was timed to coincide with the completion of the year’s harvest, a visible reminder that the God Who had provided so faithfully before continued to do so now.
So, we have some understanding of the establishment and the significance of this feast. But, the question remains: why does John bring it up? Is it strictly to mark the timing of this particular event? I cannot think it would be so.
I just took a few moments to look back on my initial observations regarding the background of John’s gospel. Can it really have been five years ago! My. Two things to note there. First, it seems that in that initial assessment I was supposing a predominantly Jewish audience for his text, or at least one quite familiar with Jewish religious custom. His mention of things such as these feasts without any further explanation is something of a basis for that thinking. I also note this comment: “Perhaps he seeks to display what the feasts of Israel were intended to symbolize, and how clearly the fulfillment had come.”
If that’s the case, does that explain why he brings up the feast at this point? To really answer this, I think we have to back away from the picture a bit, so we can capture the scope more effectively. In particular, I think we must jump down to John 7:37-38 wherein Jesus cries out, “If you’re thirsty, come to Me and drink! Believe in Me, and as the Scripture says, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” What has that to do with anything? OK. Recall the note regarding how the Jews had added in this ritual of going to the pool of Siloam to draw out an offering of water to pour out to the Lord. Where had that come from? It would appear to me that it comes from the prophecy of Zechariah that I considered earlier. For there, in proclaiming the ascendant Jerusalem, it is declared that living waters will flow from Jerusalem to both east and west (Zech 14:8).
Join that image with the picture Ezekiel paints of the final temple (Eze 47). Water flowed from the house, just south of the altar, and that which began as a trickle by the threshold of the temple quickly became a river so deep it could not be forded. And, of this river the angel of the Lord declares that every creature that comes to the place this river goes will live (Eze 47:9). It will abound with fish to sustain life, and groves of trees for food and for healing will grow upon its banks. Truly, this is a river of living water, of life-giving water!
Jesus, in His declaration, is pointing to that deeper reality that we are the temple, that it is from us that these streams are intended to flow. There are echoes of Isaiah in His message, particularly that place where Isaiah says, “Every one who thirsts, come to the waters… Come buy without cost” (Isa 55:1). There is also that from Isaiah 58:11-12 – The Lord will guide you and satisfy you and give strength to you. You will be like an unfailing spring of water. And there will be those among you who will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise up the old foundations. You will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets and dwelling places. Wow, the close of that chapter is powerful, too. You will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for I have spoken (Isa 58:14).
All of this prophetic history seems to have had some bearing on Israel’s understanding of this Feast of Booths, and it was not terribly far off, either. But, Jesus takes them the next step. It’s not this temple of stone that Herod has been constructing. It’s you. It’s not some unexpected spring here in the mountains of Jerusalem, it’s God Himself pouring out of you. I AM the river of life. God is your source, your provision, your everything. Put your trust in no other – no army of Rome, no rebel of Israel, no Pharisaic stridency, no withdrawal like the Essenes have been trying. Put no trust in your own flesh, for the flesh avails nothing! Put your trust in God, in I AM. There is no other.
With that in mind, I think we can answer that John’s mention of the Feast here at the beginning of the chapter is not just a marking of the date, nor is it necessarily something with deep spiritual significance. It is a necessary precursor for understanding the setting in which Jesus made that declaration, because without the setting, the full significance of His message must be lost. If I was correct in supposing that John was writing to a largely Jewish audience, then all this freight of history and prophecy would be understood in the simple message that the Feast was at hand. His readers would have all this in mind as they followed Jesus up to Jerusalem and found Him in action at the Feast.
Here’s an interesting thing to note, although it fits more properly in the next section or so of this study: When Jesus goes up to the feast, he goes right to the temple and begins to teach (Jn 7:14). I wonder if this was not the seventh year. Recall that during the seventh year celebration of this feast, the people were to stand and hear the Law expounded. If ever a teacher expounded the Law in its fullness, it was Jesus. And, I note that He turns to the giving of the Law and the import of the Law rather quickly, at least in the portion of His message that John transmits.
OK. Allow me a bit of speculation here. Let me suppose that this truly was a seventh-year feast, a Sabbath year feast. Let me further recall that seven is that number of completeness. Well, is this not the final cycle of the calendar of Mosaic feasts that will pass before the work of the Son is completed, and their shadows fulfilled in reality? If I am not mistaken, the next feast on the calendar is that Passover upon which the Lamb of God was sacrificed for our sins, an eighth-year Passover, if you will, marking out the beginning of something new. How fitting, if this is the case!
One last point I should like to make: Given that this was one of the three feasts at which God required attendance, particularly for the Jewish male, and that it is also the one feast which carries that prophetic weight of mandatory attendance by all peoples, it is beyond imagining to think that Jesus truly meant that He was not going. The issue is not attendance, for attendance cannot have been a question to One who set Himself to fulfill all of God’s Law perfectly. In fact, I should think that if His brothers had heard any such meaning in what He said, they would have felt it necessary to remind Him of duty. But, Jesus! God requires it. The Law demands it! If, then, all these deeds of Yours mean anything at all, how can You not go up? But, the issue is not attendance, it’s timing. Or, if not the timing, it’s the approach that is far more the point.
His brothers are insisting that He should make a show of it, advertise. It’s not important, by their way of thinking, that He has proved Himself to folks around Galilee. Even if He’s picked up the support of some of the local rabbis, what is that? It’s Jerusalem that matters. If He’s not willing to make Himself known there, then how much truth can there be to His claims? Like so many, His brothers were not ready to accept a humble God. The God of Israel, after all, was the Almighty, the Mighty One! He is the Rock like no other. So David described Him. He is the Strong Tower, our Strength and our Shield. He is surely not one to hide away from a man, nor are His servants.
Of course, such an opinion must neglect any number of His servants. But, it is the pride of man on display. It is that pride which cannot deal with humiliation. It cannot deal with its own humiliation and it is for this cause that it cannot accept humility in its gods. This is big! I had understood that it was man’s pride that could not tolerate having his gods humiliated. But, I had not previously made the connection that when a man’s god is humiliated, he feels himself humiliated and it is this, at root, that he simply cannot tolerate. Frankly, if it did not reflect on himself, he probably wouldn’t care all that much about the reputation of his god. Indeed, I think that may be part of the disease that plagues modern Christianity. By and large, we are not so terribly concerned about the reputation of God, so long as our own reputation remains intact. My, but we’re in trouble, when this is the case! We are not so very far removed from Jesus brothers in this regard!
How we need to understand that connection. If my concern for God’s name is less to me than my concern for my own name, then the truth of the matter is that I have become my god, and God has become a matter of convenience. The truth of the matter is that I have the world’s opinion and approval in sight, and that this is the thing that matters to me. The truth of the matter is that if I value the world’s opinion so, and care so little for God’s reputation, then I am not in all honesty a Christian at all. I believe Him no more than His brothers did on this occasion.
This is what’s at play in their advice. Go, Jesus! Go earn the acclaim of the world! Do us proud, bro! Then, maybe we can commit to Your cause. But, You’re acting like You have something to hide. You’re acting in a way that threatens to shame us by association, and we aren’t going to sit by and let it happen. Either prove Yourself or give up the game.
But, Jesus is unconcerned with His own reputation, insomuch as that reputation is found in the opinions of man. He is concerned that God’s word in no way be made void. He is concerned that not a single one of His actions or even His inactions should run athwart the purpose of God. While it must be held that no man, however conscientious, could purpose to fulfill any number of prophecies by his own attention to events, Jesus was deeply conscious of the prophetic nature of His life. He was more conscious of the details of the timing and fulfillment of all that the prophets had written than any mere man could be. It was these timetables of fulfillment that concerned Him, because the accuracy of those timetables as they were played out on the earthly stage were the things that would reflect upon the glory of God.
The right thing done at the wrong time is of no more value than the wrong thing done at the right time. Jesus was focused on upholding the Truth as God proclaims it. This required that His every action, His every word, be in full accord with the proclaimed purposes of God. It also required that those same words and actions be in full accord with what remained veiled and hidden in God’s secret purposes. Publicity meant nothing to Him. If this is what His brothers thought He was after, then they had completely missed the point.
Really, it was the people that wanted publicity for their Messiah. They were looking for a hero, a warlord, a charismatic king to come lead the masses in revolt against their Roman overlords. That’s a large part of why Jesus kept removing Himself from amidst the crowds. He knew what was in their hearts, and He knew it was not the plan and purpose of the Father. It was the plan and purpose of pridefulness, and no such pridefulness could accomplish the will of God.
This whole issue of mindset requires a bit of a personal checkup. It’s easy enough to look at His brothers and mark their failings. It’s easy enough to look at the Church at large and proclaim its shortcomings. It’s almost comforting in a way. For, in doing so, I can easily slide into that Pharisaic, “at least I’m not like that” perspective on life. But, I would be far better served to ask, “am I really?” Or, is this as much a description of my own spiritual estate? What concerns me? Am I really so concerned that God’s reputation be upheld, or am I more concerned with my own? Am I willing to be considered as a fool for my faith by men of learning and reputation? Or, do I hide my beliefs away lest I be laughed at?
I really need to dwell on the message Jesus delivers to His own later in John’s Gospel. “If the world hates you, it is because they hated Me first. Were you of the world, they would love you as one of their own” (Jn 15:18-19). I need to stop right there. Because, the implications here are critical to understand. If you were of the world they would love you as their own. Turn it around! If the world loves you as one of its own, you are of the world. If it is the world’s approval you want, this is the only way you obtain it, by joining the world in its worldliness. If the world hates you, it is because it hates Me. The implication is that they hate you for being so clearly associated and aligned with Me. If, then, they don’t hate you, what does that imply? It can only mean that they do not associate you with Me.
You may still be a Christian, but you’re so careful to conceal that fact that nobody suspects. But, how does that fit with being like your Lord? Look at what He says in following up on this point. Because I spoke to them, because I made their sins impossible to ignore any longer, they no longer have any excuse for their sins (Jn 15:22). If I had not done the things I have done, they would have no picture of purity to contrast their own sinful ways to. But now they have no excuse. They have seen the contrast plainly and, having seen, have hated the purity, hated Me, hated the Father (Jn 15:24).
So, what of me? Do I so act and so speak that those who know me must recognize in me something that contrasts with their own sins? Or do they see just another sinner like themselves? Look! It’s not about making yourself odious to everybody around you. That’s really not the point. It’s not about going out and intentionally seeking to offend the nearest atheist. In fact, I’m not even all the certain its our job, by and large, to point out our neighbor’s sins to him. Not that bluntly, anyway. There’s a time for that, to be sure. But, that time is generally when it is our brother, our fellow believer who should know better, who has been found in sin. For the unbeliever, the matter is one of our own constancy.
That, I think, is the question. Am I constant and consistent in living a life that reflects my beliefs? I am not required to go about with some sort of testimonial t-shirt on. I don’t need to post signs in my cubicle proclaiming the name of Christ. A giant cross in my front yard won’t accomplish what is called for here. It’s not about my signage. It’s about my example, my character. How do I go about my life? How do I treat people? How do I treat people who spitefully use me?
In the face of office politics, do I insist on pursuing the path of right rather than the path of being right? I’m not sure that will make sense immediately. Let me try it this way: in a debate or a trial of any sort both sides seek to be considered right. Take the trial. Our laws require that a defendant, however clearly he may be guilty of the crime of which he is accused, shall have a legal defense. That lawyer who works for his defense, in spite of knowing that his client is guilty beyond all doubt, binds himself to work for that man’s freedom, to get him off of the charges by any means within the bounds of law. He is concerned with being considered right even though he knows full well he is wrong.
Granted, that’s a rather extreme case to use by way of considering office politics, but it’s not that much different in the end. In the political games that plague our life, it’s easy to get caught up with winning the point, being considered right. God’s more interested in those who will choose to be right, to do right, even if it means being considered wrong. He’s interested in a body of believers who are more concerned for His good opinion than for their reputation – even their reputation within the Church.
He’s looking for individuals who show this same mindset. Forget about what you say and do while you’re in the church or attending a church function or otherwise in the company of believers. What about what you say and do when you have every reason to think you’re the only believer in sight? Is that any different? If it is, then something rings false in you.
I want me to consider this passage from John’s letters again – I say ‘again’ because it’s been years since I was actively studying those letters. But, look at this: Why did Cain kill his brother? It was quite simply because he saw the righteousness of his brother’s deeds and it revealed the evil quality of his own! So, John concludes, don’t marvel if the world hates you! (1Jn 3:12-13). Rather, be deeply concerned if it doesn’t! For, if it doesn’t there can only be one of two reasons: either the world has suddenly become entirely righteous, or your own actions are such that no difference can be found. Frankly, that first option is highly unlikely. The second, sadly, is far more probable than it should be.
If the world does not hate us, I have to suppose that we have not been speaking plainly. That’s not necessarily a matter of shouting out our denouncements of the sins we see in the world. Maybe it’s right and critical that we should be mounting protests around every abortion clinic, or maybe it’s not. What cannot be doubted, though, is that by our lifestyles, by our own choices and actions and reactions, we ought to be mounting such a shout of righteousness as cannot be missed. That’s the thing that will prove most powerful. It’s not about how we try to impress the unwashed masses with our love of God. It’s about how we are when we’re not trying. It’s about what should come natural to us.
Now, lest I allow that point to carry too far, let me say plainly that this must not lead us to the place of accommodation. I am no more suggesting that we ought to wink at sin than I would suggest that God does so when He deals with us. It just is not the case. More to the point, if our opposition to another’s sins is a matter of vocal condemnation, and yet, we continue to accept the sin in our own lives, we have only convinced that other man of our own hypocrisy. We have only increased the burden of our own sins. If, on the other hand, my life is giving consistent evidence of a determination to live in righteousness – not perfection, which is beyond me as it is beyond any man’s power, but a determined effort combined with an open confession in the face of failure; well, then our words will become unnecessary. That is what we find in Jesus. He didn’t really have to say much of anything. He very rarely found it necessary to speak out against the sins of those with whom He was dealing. His very nature, His constant character, these things spoke volumes. His insistence upon speaking the Truth of the situation accused no man directly, yet left every man who heard it convicted.
It’s funny. Somehow we in the church in America today think it’s supposed to be different for us. Somehow, we believe that our society should accept what the Church has been saying and rejoice in it. Our country was founded on Christian faith, we note, as if this was in itself reason to expect that the effects of the Fall would cease within our shores. We are shocked beyond measure to discover that so much that is false is being promulgated under the banner of Christianity. We are shocked at the false teachers who promote a gospel of anything goes. Why? Why do we think it shocking that the unrepentant sinner continues to sin? Why do we find it surprising that the Liar continues to do his utmost to corrupt the Truth? It is sad, yes. It is cause, no doubt, for us to increase our efforts to promote the Truth. But, surprising? What ought to surprise us is our own foolishness in thinking it could ever be otherwise! The world hates you because it hates Him. The world mocks you because it must mock Him. The world lies about you because it needs to lie about Him to avoid the consequences of Truth.
I have to turn back to that passage from John 15 once more. Remember what Jesus said to us: “A slave is not greater than his master” (Jn 15:20-21). Now, consider carefully what He says immediately following. If they persecuted Me, they will likewise persecute you. But, if they kept My word, they will also keep yours. Now, very carefully indeed: All these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, for they don’t know the One who sent Me. OK. So, Jesus’ focus is clearly on the persecution side of that equation. Why? Because it is in the face of persecution that we will feel the greatest need for courage. Yet, there is that other side: If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. It seems to me that we need the reminder that even in this case, it’s all for His name’s sake. We might better hear that as, ‘if they keep your word (inasmuch as your word reflects Truth), it is only because they keep Mine.’ You still have nothing to boast of. They are not your followers or your disciples. They are Mine. However big your ministry may be in earthly terms, it remains nothing. It’s not yours. It’s Mine. Those who flock to your doors, who give into your coffers, they are not yours, they are Mine. They do it for My sake, or else you are no servant of Mine.
So, in light of this, I have to wonder when I hear that a particular ‘name’ in Christian circles is suddenly being favored by both of the political parties involved in the upcoming elections. On the one hand, we have a candidate who lays claim to the Christian title, but whose expressed beliefs belie any such claim. Oh, I’m sure that there are plenty of folks who would get their dander up over such a statement, but that’s the way of it. This is the man who made the statement that “our individual salvation depends on collective salvation.” This is so utterly at odds with any conception of Christian faith! This is completely backwards! First and foremost, our salvation does not, cannot depend on any man, group of men, or societal organization or movement. Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus the Christ of God, else there is no salvation at all. Secondly, if there is such a thing as ‘collective salvation’ at all, which is pretty doubtful, it can only come about as the sum of individual salvations. No, this is not the expression of a Christian worldview, but of a socialist, collectivist worldview.
On the other hand, we have a man who makes no particular claims to faith, which may or may not be the sign of a more honest approach. If I give this man the benefit of the doubt and suppose that he does indeed have some foundational faith in Christ to guide his life, then I must count it rather refreshing that he doesn’t seek to make political capital of his faith. If, on the other hand, he is simply an atheist hiding behind non-confession, then there is something less honorable at play. Either way, though, what is he doing by allowing an interview with this alleged man of God?
Now, let me say, I have no means of measuring this man, whether he is earnestly devoted to Christ or whether he is earnestly devoted to profit. As such, I feel I cannot refer to him simply as a man of God, nor can I deny him the possibility of a right to such title. I can only acknowledge that such is alleged of him. But, then I have to ask: How does this fit with the prescription Jesus has just given? How is it that we don’t find the world hating this guy, but rather making him rather wealthy? Is it simply the playing out of what so many have said is a Biblical law? Perhaps. Or, is it simply the world loving one of its own? I cannot give answer to that question, for it is hardly in my power to judge the hearts of men. But, when I hold these things up to the light of Scripture, I find room for questions.
However it may play out, I can at the least offer up my heartfelt prayer that God would make His choice for leader of this country a cause for blessing and not for cursing. I can and do. I pray as well that whomever He chooses to set upon the seat of power over this nation, He would also fill with His wisdom, however ill-prepared that one may seem in our estimation. For, it is in Him to assess the heart of a man, and it is in Him alone that a man can hope to serve in any manner that is worthy. May He bless this nation with the leadership it needs in these times, and may He confound every stratagem of wickedness that seeks to pull this nation farther down the slopes of sin. May we, against all odds, stand out as an island of light in this ever-darker world. God, cause us to stand!
Love and hate, light and darkness, these are related by the comment Jesus makes to His brothers. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me. Why? Because I testify about the nature of its deeds, that they are evil to the last one. The parallel verses at this point lead back to an earlier conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. There (Jn 3:19-21), Jesus notes the judgment of God. Light has come into the world, but the world preferred to remain in the dark. Why? Because Light exposes evil, and evil hates to be exposed. By contrast, those who practice Truth are glad to come into the light. Their great desire is that their deeds might be clearly visible. Why? So they can boast? No. So that they can feel good about themselves? No. It is so that the evidence can clearly show what God has done in them! That’s the motivation of righteousness!
Those who function within the law of love which is the absolute core of the Gospel and the absolute core of the Mosaic code, rejoice to see the light. For they understand that whatever love they are able to show to a brother is no more than an evidence by reflection of the love God pours out on them. If they are able to love God, it is likewise nothing but clear evidence of His love for them. The testimony that the Light reveals in us is quite simple: We love because He first loved us (1Jn 4:19-20). That is the only possible confession of a real Christian. And, as John continues by saying in that letter, if that confession is by word only, then we are liars plain and simple. If love does not act, it is not love. If love does not address the clear and present need of a brother, it is impossible that there should be love in us for a God we cannot see except indirectly. Let me say it another way: If we cannot actively express our love for God as He is revealed in that brother who is His creation, how can we claim any real sort of love for the inexpressible essence of God?
Love seeks the light that the God it loves might be loved by all. Yet, the lover knows that not all will love Him. The lover has been warned by the Object of his affections that this is going to be the case, ever and always. The light that we cause to shine in this world must, I fear, always be shone from a minority position. Until He returns to make an end of every opponent, we shall remain a remnant. But rejoice! For we shall remain!
Do not be surprised, my brothers, if men revile you when you force their eyes to see the Christ. Do not be surprised if they seek your destruction when your example leaves them no further room to hide from their own. You have brought them to a crisis point. By your presence and by the power of your testimony (and again, I stress, the power of your testimony is not in speeches but in constant example) you have brought them into their own kairos moment. For us, that concept has such joyful connotations. It’s a God-ordained moment, a moment when His power is going to be evident in our lives. All that is true. And yet, it is a moment of crisis. It is, perhaps most importantly, a decisive time.
When a man is confronted with the Light, he must make a choice: come into that light and be exposed, or seek the shadows in which to hide. I have to declare that it is only by the grace of God that any man ever steps into that Light. The very appearance of the Light at the farthest reach of our senses is sufficient to convict us of our sins. It cannot help but cause the multitude of our sins to bubble up before our mind’s eyes. And, with that evidence in mind comes the question: what are you going to do? There is, of course, that sense of the Light exposing. That is clearly the point Jesus makes in regard to the Light that He Is. But, there is also that sense of cleansing. The wound opened to the light of day is swifter to heal. That wound which is wrapped up and hidden away finds opportunity to fester and worsen.
What will you do? The Light has come. Will you humble yourself to all it exposes, knowing that as it exposes it heals? Or will you hide away? Will you find a dark corner where you can seek to preserve that false dignity of yours, which is really nothing more than preserving your filth? That’s the kairos moment, that’s the crisis. And the most terrible judgment of God is found in His accepting your choice. That is by and large the summary of what Paul says in his opening arguments as he writes to Rome. God’s wrath is revealed against those who suppress His truth because they are strenuously ignoring the clear evidence of Him in His creation. They know God, but they will not honor God. Their thinking becomes futile as their hearts remain darkened. They lay claim to wisdom, but they are shown to be fools. They have seen the offered glory of God and have rejected in favor of idolizing what is but a created object, even if it be a living one. For all this, the terrible judgment of God is that He has left them to their lusts. He does nothing to stop them from pursuing the darkness they have so fallen in love with, and as such, their condition steadily worsens – a living hell with no possibility of escape (Ro 1:18-32).
Let me say it again, though, because we need constant reminding: It is no cause for boasting that we who have done so stepped into the Light. It was beyond our power to do so. Were it not for the merciful intervention of God, we should be there cringing in the darkness right next to all those others. He brought that moment of crisis upon us, but He had already so willed and so worked in us that we would indeed humble ourselves before Him (Php 2:13). He so willed and worked in us that we were found willing to confess our sins as He revealed them to us, and so, we were able to find forgiveness in Him (1Jn 1:9).
It must also be said that this was hardly a one-time event for us. No! It’s daily. We are not such as can claim any sort of perfection in our pursuit of righteousness. Yet, even as we realize the impossibility of attaining to that goal in this lifetime, yet, if we are His in Spirit and in Truth, we do not slacken our efforts in the least. Those who practice righteousness come to the Light so that the Light can show one and all what He has accomplished. Practice, in some way, supposes a need for practice. A need for practice supposes a remaining lack. Now, I know I cannot push that comparison too far. As a musician, I know that however accomplished the artist, the necessity of practice remains. Yet, this is still but evidence of a lack. The perfect has not come. The fingers that are not constantly reminded of their duties will soon forget. The mind that is not kept sharp on the details required for a particular task will soon find it necessary to return to the manual, looking for the instructions once more. And, woe to that one who comes to the performance having neglected that practice! Woe to the one who comes to the Light having neglected the many opportunities he has been given to practice righteousness!
What have those moments of crisis in your life revealed? And, what have you done about that? Wow! Here’s my message for today! After all, it seems as though my recent days and months of days have been little more than one crisis after another.
Is this what it’s been about, God? I have to confess that what it’s revealed in me has been for the most part distinctly unsatisfactory. Yes, You have revealed certain strengths in me that I would never have suspected. But, if there is strength in me, it is only You. What is far more telling is the weakness. How often have I been reduced to cursing? How often have I been all but completely debilitated by circumstance? Where is this faith I profess in such times? How greatly do I really admit to my desperate need for You? In all these things I find myself wanting. In all these things I can only confess that my faith is yet a weak and fragile thing.
My, and how often have I been so proud of this stand or that? How often have I been willing to boast (yes, with due credit to You, but boasting in myself nonetheless) of some wondrous feat of righteousness I have managed? Why, look how I stood against that temptation. Look how I insisted on the right thing there. Yes, and all the while refusing to look at the far more numerous wrong things. Surely, I’ve been doing good enough! Oh, but my God, Your word is true, and I am found once again a liar! No, it’s not good enough. The mere fact that I still fall into thinking “I’ve been doing” is proof enough that I still have a long ways to go in this struggle for righteousness.
So, Lord, I confess these things to You (as if You were not already keenly aware!) I confess, and I would that I had it in me to repent in any meaningful fashion. My heart, my mind, they repent in this moment. My spirit longs to avoid falling into those traps of foolish and sinful thought and action again. Yet, the flesh remains. Yet, the weakness of this life remains. How, Lord? If not in Your own strength, how? It is beyond me. So, I can but lay myself upon Your mercy and beg that You would change this heart of mine; that You would work in me that work of repentance that alone can matter.
Lord, how often have I given You my permission to work as You saw fit to bring about the change in me that You seek? As if You really required my permission! Yet, it comes to me this morning that what I am experiencing is indeed Your hand at work. Oh, God! Forgive my complaining! Forgive my stupidity in the presence of Your efforts on my behalf. Let me rather rejoice to see the strength that You have been building in me. Let me rejoice to see the goodness that You have caused to dwell in my being. Yes, Lord, and may I be so bold as to ask that You make me swift to learn what remains of this lesson, that the times of great trial might pass?
Father, God! You are the Creator and rightful Owner of these tents of flesh. You are, as You have said Yourself, Merciful and Compassionate. Look, then, upon these weak frames, my Lord, with kindness! Let Your healing hand be upon that wonderful woman You have blessed me with. Let her see an end to the constant trial that her life has become – not in death, my God, but in restoration. Even the finest gold, my Lord, must come out of the refiner’s fire eventually. Let her come out and shine for Your glory. Only for Your glory.
Let me come back to this matter of kairos once again. As I have noted, it carries that sense of crisis. But, there is also another sense to the word, one far more applicable to the case of Jesus. It is time not in as a measure of passing intervals, but time as appointment. The term carries with it those appointed things which must come to pass at the appointed time. It speaks to the events of the time or the state of the time. It is time as fulfillment, prophetic fulfillment.
With all that in mind, what Jesus says to His brothers is particularly curious to me. “My time is not yet, but your time is always seasonable and at hand” (verse 6). What are we to make of that? In both cases, Jesus is speaking of kairos time, appointed time, purposeful time. Well, if no other meaning comes, there is the fact that the Feast approaches, and that is, in its own sense, an appointed, kairos time. It may not, in its annual celebration, bear all the prophetic freight of this particular event in Jesus’ life, but it is appointed.
On the other hand, it might simply be that chronos would never be used in such a context. It may very well be nothing more than to say that any time is good for them. After all, their activities, other than the general requirement of attendance at the Feast, do not bear the heavenly consequences of serving such a high purpose. They can get there whenever is convenient for them, by whatever means suit them. It seems to me that this is the great distinction that Jesus is making here. They are not bound and circumscribed by heavenly mandates and prophetic announcements. They are not on a strict schedule as He is. They can, by and large, do what they want and be perfectly secure. His case is otherwise. In a sense He is under threat by both heaven and earth. Should He stray from the times appointed for Him, He has the wrath of God to face. Should He abide by those appointed times, He has the wrath of man. Either way, it seems, death is assured. But, as He would teach us: there is but One who can destroy utterly, and it is this One He shall fear and obey.
This is the thing for Jesus: If He rushes events, as He would do by heeding His brothers’ poor advice, He has utterly failed of His purpose. In so doing, He has failed to abide by the Father’s plan. He has failed to do only that which He hears from heaven. He has failed to be Messiah, Savior of mankind, and we are all of us lost. It is not one whit better than if He should refuse to do as He is commanded from that same quarter. To rush the mission of salvation is to fail the mission as fully as it would have been failure to have hidden away from the Cross. For Him, there is only the one way to successful completion of His purpose, and that is the way of full and perfect obedience to every command of the Father.
His brothers were under no such compunction. Or, to be more accurate, they had long since refused any such compunction upon their lives. They would abide by the rites. They would make their pilgrimage. But, they had by this point broken with God’s Law on so many occasions as to have earned the full punishment of that Law. Continuing now could hardly be expected to increase their punishment.
Isn’t this how it was with us, before God sovereignly moved in us? We were, to a man, sinners accused before the courts of heaven. We were guilty beyond doubt and without any reasonable hope of pardon. We knew the sentence: death. And, we knew we had it coming. So, what could possibly make matters worse? Might as well eat, drink and be merry. The condemned have little enough reason to try and make a change, after all. But now! Now, the Savior has come. Now, the most unexpected pardon has come down from the Prince of heaven. He has declared our case closed and all charges dropped. Having found ourselves so close to the death sentence and now set at large once more, we have greater cause to abide by the Law of heaven than ever we had before! Granted, we continue to fail most egregiously in doing so, but what greater reason could we ask for? We who have sat under the sentence of death now find ourselves the inheritors of life. We who have rebelled against the King of kings find ourselves in the shocking situation of being declared His own legal sons and heirs. If this is insufficient cause to do our utmost for His Highness, we are indeed the most vile ingrates, deserving of worse than the death we escaped.
In all, I would have to say, may we never hear Jesus telling us, “your time is always opportune.” The implications are too terrible to contemplate. It is as much as to hear Him saying, “depart from Me, you faithless servant. I never knew you.” It is an abandoning of our case, leaving us to the world we have chosen over heaven. It is the final assurance that the death sentence, while delayed, will most certainly be served. What mercy, that we discover that at least one of His brothers was able to repent, even after this!
Oh, sinner! Understand that whatever you may have done, however terrible your crimes, they have not put you beyond His power to redeem, to save, to restore. So long as breath remains to you, hope is not closed off. But don’t think this is reason to procrastinate! Don’t think that all is well, then, and you can continue as you were until you feel death closing in. Death doesn’t always knock. Death doesn’t introduce itself first, and give you time to settle your affairs. Death comes with the announcement, “You fool! Today it is required of you.” And in that moment, hope not already firmly established on the Rock, Christ Jesus, is lost – eternally lost.
Don’t let this be your story. Not when Salvation is at hand and asks only that you repent and turn away from your wicked ways. I have seen those who have been rescued from the most absolute wreckage of life and who now, abiding in the Lord of Hosts and He in they, are joyful, filled with life and so completely different from what they had been as to be unrecognizable. I have seen in these cases a clear picture of who I could have become had God not sought me out as His own. I am no better than they. Each of their stories could easily have been my own. But God. Each of their stories, like my own, could easily have ended long since, and ended in most terrible fashion. But God. Your story has not yet ended. Your life does not have to continue on this downward trajectory. Your life does not have to continue to be out of control; a constant cause of pain. Hope has not been cut off from the land of the living. Only seek Him and He has promised that He shall be found by you. Only come to Him and ask forgiveness for what you have made of the life He created, and His promise is that He shall indeed forgive you, take you in hand, and redeem you as His own dear brother.
That’s hope and change that no politician can offer. Nor can any man take it away!
