New Thoughts (09/06/13-09/10/13)
Technical Matters (09/06/13-09/07/13)
In a sense, we could say that John is himself dealing with technical matters in this final section of the gospel. The nature of those matters, though, renders his concern with them well founded. He is addressing something that had been heard unclearly, misunderstood, and this had promulgated a completely inaccurate set of beliefs. There is a word of caution for us, if ever there was one! But, more of that later. In part, it appears that the misunderstanding arose because of a certain ambiguity in the meaning of what Jesus had said. Answering Peter’s question regarding John, He had responded, what if I want him to remain? Now, there is already the point that this is introduced not as a prediction, but as a hypothetical. But, even then, there remains some question as to what hypothesis He was proposing.
That word, remain, translates menein. Our various lexicons do offer that this can have the meaning, “remain alive, not perish, continue to exist.” It can, however, as easily have a lesser meaning. To abide. To tarry. Of course, we tend to associate these with existence, as well, at least in our Christian circle. Perhaps, it is this very word that has led us to the connection. How about these? To persevere, to stand firm. Or, if we like the rather drier definitions that Strong offers, ‘to stay in a given place, state or relationship’. My point is simply this: We may tend to hear the hypothetical as discussing lifespans and means of death given the proximity of this discussion to the prophecy about Peter’s death. But, so much about the whole discussion is left ambiguous that we may very well be missing the real point by forcing our own.
To hear this remark as suggesting an earthly immortality for John is already to have read into the conversation. If this is how we hear the response Jesus gives, then we are already assuming Peter’s question is about John’s death, and not his mission (or, for that matter, the simple fact that he’s following them).
What about him? We would have to resolve Peter’s question before ever we can hope to resolve Jesus’ answer. It is natural enough to suppose Peter has end-of-life considerations in mind, given what preceded. But, there’s always the question in my mind as to whether the disciples caught Jesus’ meaning at that time, or did it finally sink in later? The record of the Gospels would indicate that they rarely, if ever, got what Jesus was saying right away. A lot of what He taught, I don’t think they ever really understood until He had died, risen, and gone home to heaven. It took years for some of this to come clear, and even then, only after Paul had come along did they arrive at the more complete implications.
So, then: Did Peter grasp that they were discussing death? Maybe, maybe not. If he did, then it’s not unreasonable to suppose this follow up question did indeed have to do with John’s demise. If not, the bulk of the previous discussion, and the point Jesus had repeatedly driven home, would naturally lead Peter to wonder what John’s mission was. If I’m to shepherd the flock, what of him? Why does he not ask about James as well? After all, the three of them had been the inner circle. Well, for one, James, so far as we know, is not following after these two. John is. He has made himself noticed, and therefore gets the immediate attention. Lord, what of him? What’s his role?
I don’t feel it particularly necessary that we resolve the ambiguity here. It is worth noting. It is worth remembering that there is a great deal of context that we simply do not have. We have a relatively bare record of the conversation. We have none of the nuance, no sense of what gestures, for example, Jesus may have been making as He spoke so as to render His meaning clear. And this, I think, emphasizes the point John is making. Listen carefully, people. I was there. The wording was ambiguous, but in no way did Jesus prophesy that I was never going to die. It’s stuff and nonsense, and as I must surely die, like any other mortal, you mustn’t let it disturb your faith. There’s no reason it should!
You must also be ever careful as to what you set your faith upon! There is a True Word, and there is nonsense like this. Believe the True Word. Teach the True Word. For this other stuff? If you hear it, denounce it for the worthless rumor it is. If you have been teaching it yourself, shame! Correct yourself now, and be more careful in future.
Much is made, in the present day, of the need for careful exegesis in studying the Scriptures, of making sure we are taking our meaning from what is written, and not reading our opinions into what is written. To some extent, that is an impossibility. We cannot help but read with some degree of filtration. May as well ask for an unbiased opinion or a newspaper that has no slant on the news. It’s a fine ideal, but an impossible reality. We cannot eliminate opinion from our perception. We can, however, recognize this fact and seek to be that much more careful. That would seem to be the message John conveys here. Yes, it’s understandable that folks would have heard the exchange as indicating such a thing, but it did not. People were so excited to hang on every word Jesus spoke, that they often put far more into what He was saying than what He said. Be careful. Be serious. Be students of the Word and teachers of the Word, not of vain and empty imaginations. Too much is at stake.
As I have read through various translations of the passage, there are those that retain the ambiguity, lest they put their own spin on the words, and there are those who seek to make the meaning clear by adding a bit to it. I do not suggest some base motive behind these efforts. Rather, I expect that the translators, whatever their decision, felt they were doing the best possible by the text, and by the God they served. In what may be a particularly rare occurrence for me, I actually find a certain preference for the King James in this instance. They render verse 21 thus: “Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?” Honestly, other than some of the more paraphrastic translations, they seem to be the only one to remove the ambiguity. The Living Bible pushes us towards the explicit idea that Peter was asking after John’s demise, but even the NLT, which has largely replaced that text, seems to have abandoned such implications, returning to the original ambiguity.
But, I actually rather like the KJV implication. What will he do? Again, it’s possible that Peter had latched onto this issue of death by crucifixion, and was therefore interested in what John’s end might be, but that’s really rather a morbid view, isn’t it? How does this befit the shepherding task he has just been given, and given in triplicate to emphasize the importance? To be asking after John’s work would be far better suited to the shepherd’s role. What is he going to be doing? It may be simply the curiosity, as previously noted, of one recognizing other leaders around himself. It may be asked with the unstated follow-on of, ‘and how can I help him?’ But, I suppose if there are those who wish to hear it as a discussion of death, there’s no particular harm in it. The point is unchanged. However you hear it, do not hear this: Jesus has not said that John shall not die.
The second technicality I want to consider has to do with the final two verses. I have discussed this somewhat in my preparatory work, but I’ll touch on it again. Verse 24 just doesn’t read to me like something John would write in reference to himself. It reads very similarly to his voice, but that business about ‘we know that his witness is true’ seems off somehow. It echoes, to be sure, something John wrote earlier. “He who saw these things has testified of them, and he speaks truly. He knows he is telling you the truth, so you can believe him” (Jn 19:35). But, this was said not of himself, but of another witness, presumably the centurion who had overseen the crucifixion of Jesus.
I just find the statement here makes no sense if it is John speaking of himself. It’s one thing to avoid mentioning yourself by name. But, this is something different. It reads to me more as the statement of a scribe, an amanuensis closing out his work. I have described (in the ‘You Were There’ section), one possible scenario that explains this last chapter. It is, of necessity, speculative. But, between this odd attestation, and the clause preceding it, I find it a reasonable possibility.
Concerning that leading clause, I must state outright that I have little skill with Greek. I can refer to my lexical aids, but if there are nuances to this which are commonly understood by those with greater skill, expect me to miss them. That said, this witness is described by two activities. He bears witness. He wrote. We have two participles before us, the first in the present tense, the second in the aorist. How shall we distinguish these? Well, we are told upfront that with participles, the tense is not so much a temporal matter as a statement of type. One explanation offers that the present participle tends to express a state or condition, whereas the aorist participle describes a ‘climactic’ action – not in the cinematic sense, but in the sense of arriving at some conclusion.
Here’s another description of the distinction. The present participle describes ‘unbound activities’. The aorist describes ‘singular actions’, one shots. And, then there is the perfect participle, which looks at actions resulting in a state, but that may just blur the picture.
OK. So we have a man who bears witness – present participle, and wrote – aorist participle. The first action has been open-ended, continuous, ‘unbound’. The second was a one-off, a completed deal. He already wrote. He continues to testify. Now, it could very well be that I am putting too much emphasis on this distinction. The aorist wrote may mean nothing more than that he doesn’t write all the time. He wrote once, and what he wrote is this text you’re reading. Fair enough. He also witnesses constantly. You have (or will have, when we send it) this record he has written, but you have heard him often enough yourselves. You know his witness is true. You’ve a history with him. He’s got a record to speak from. You’ve tested him, and found him trustworthy. He is trustworthy in this final paragraph as well.
Yet, I would still find it very odd to suppose that this appeal is John speaking directly of himself in so indirect a fashion. “We know.” Well, sure, John would know his testimony is true, but what of it? It needs more witnesses than that to establish his testimony. And who else is in that we? It seems to me that must spread wider than John himself, and the other apostles are presumed gone by the time he writes. Peter’s certainly died already. John’s already made note of his passing. Paul doesn’t enter into the events he is covering, so his death wouldn’t be noted, and in general, the involvement of the Apostles in the Gospel record has always been maintained at a minimum, just enough to validate their witness, never so much as to distract attention from Jesus.
I dare say that describes their preaching as well! And there’s something to ponder. When we teach, when we worship, when we pray – when we do whatever it is we do for Christ, are we so careful that He remain front and center? We are fond of quoting John the Baptist, “He must increase, I must decrease.” But, does this principle truly guide us? Is it more than words? Worth some thought. Worth much prayer.
Lord, let it be that I can, like John, like Peter, like Paul, set You clearly at the fore. Let my involvement be invisible except to the extent that it encourages others to pursue You more fully.
Purpose (09/08/13)
It strikes me that in this debunking of a myth we have arrived at John’s reasons for including this final chapter. It surely seemed that he was done back at the end of chapter 20, yet the book continues. It is very easy for me to see John being particularly concerned about the impact this rumor about him might have when it is proved false.
There was that in the first part of the chapter which seemed to aim at establishing Peter’s credentials, validating his role as leader amongst the Apostles. Yet, hearing the comment in John 21:19, it seems pretty clear that Peter has already departed the stage, and John is likely the only Apostle remaining. Perhaps he felt a need to explain his quieter role. It does seem to me that this final chapter is answering some questions his congregants were asking after he had finished writing. So, John, if you and Peter and James were all so close to Jesus, why is it Peter always seemed to be the leader? James, of course, was gone too soon to really take up the role, but what about you?
It would be very nearly the same question Peter himself is asking in this passage, at least by one take on his intent. What about him? What will he do? I have noted often the way in which Jesus seems to have set these two as partners during the final week, preparing John for the loss of his brother. Here is another brother for you. Here is support and strength to see you through the grief. Here is a partner with whom you shall work, the one I have set to shepherd you all after I am gone. So, yes, there is clearly this aspect of the record to deal with.
Indeed, my inclination is to hear Peter’s question as more than idle curiosity, or worse, morbid interest in how his friends will be dying, now that he’s heard of his own demise. This is, to my thinking, a first effort at being the shepherd he has been commanded to be. It’s as though he is feeling the same question arise. This one has been with me in those most critical moments. He was there at the Transfiguration, too, and didn’t make quite the fool of himself that I did. What will he be doing? Surely, You have great plans for him! Wouldn’t he (a touch of Moses here) be better fit to shepherd than I am? Of course, it’s entirely possible that he is asking after John’s end, and that might still be asked with the concern of the shepherd for his charge. If nothing else, it seems to demonstrate that bond that Jesus has begun to establish between these two. And, the events recounted in Acts show that the bond held.
But, there is this rumor, this myth, that arose about John. So many thought, counted on as fact, that Jesus had said he would never die. For some, this tale had become an article of faith so strong it might even have overtaken the message of the Gospel itself in their thinking. They had, let us say it, made an idol of John. And doesn’t that add a certain poignancy to the close of his first epistle? “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1Jn 5:20). So easy to set them up, so hard to see it when we’re the ones doing it.
And this false claim about his immortality: what would it do to his own flock when they found out it wasn’t true? What damage would be done to their faith, if they were left thinking this statement about a promise from Jesus was accurate, and that in the death of John they would see that promise clearly broken? This must not be allowed! That is John’s clear answer. This nonsense must be cleared up before such damage can occur. Listen people! I was there. I was near enough to hear what both Peter and Jesus had to say, and I can tell you that it had nothing to do with promising ANYthing. He was not prophesying. He was presenting a hypothetical to teach Peter (and us) a simple lesson about ministry. It’s not comparative. It’s not a race between believers. It’s an obedience to Christ. It’s “Take up your cross”, not “Take up his cross”.
I want to look first at the fundamental lesson Jesus was providing here. That is quite simply that the commands of God are often specific to the individual. It is true in Scripture. It is true in present day ministry. The burning fire He sets in my heart for matters of study and teaching are not going to be the same fire He sets in my brother’s heart. There will be those who have a particular calling to pray, those who have a particular calling to worship, those who have a particular calling to evangelize, to disciple, to pastor, to teach, and so on. This in no way abrogates the command on all of us to participate in all these aspects of ministry. But, it should caution us against the tendency we all have to find our own particular calling more critical than all others. I have been called to do this, surely everybody should be just as committed to my call!
But, no. We do not measure the value of our ministry by comparison to the ministries of others any more than we measure our progress in sanctification by comparison to our brothers. That is not holiness. That is pride. That is the urge to boast. And, here’s a worse thing that comes of such behavior. It grows, it spreads. It poisons our very view of God until we find ourselves measuring His goodness towards us by comparing our lot to that of our brother. Oh, look. God must love him more than me. See how He has showered down the blessings on that one! Me? I seem to be getting the trials. I guess I’ve either messed up so bad He wants nothing more to do with me, or He just doesn’t love me as much. Surely, there must be something wrong with me, that He treats me so poorly.
And you know what? It just might be that there is something you need to address. Just might be. It’s worth some prayer, don’t you think? But, this business of comparing yourself to those around you, to see if He’s being fair? No. Just stop it. You know, it’s possible, just possible, that He trusts you more, and that’s why you don’t get quite so soft a life. It’s possible, just possible, that He’s training you up for something significant, that you need the toughening of these current circumstances to weather your calling. It could be most anything. But, if you keep playing these games, you’re only weakening yourself, and denigrating your God.
If you have a calling, be faithful to the calling. Don’t do it in self pride. Don’t do it with the idea that everybody must follow your example. They may not. They are more than likely going to have callings of their own to pursue. What of it? If God calls them to simply remain faithful in attending their churches, to go home and be good parents, what is that to you? If you are called off to the dangerous mission field and your brother is left peacefully back home, does that change your calling? Not in the least. If you are left at home and your brother is sent off to do these ‘big things’, does that make you less important to the kingdom? Not in the least. It is your faithfulness to what God is calling you to do, your willingness to take up your cross and follow, that must be your concern. To the degree you can help your brother be faithful in that same charge (not the same cross, the same charge), bless you! Go help all you can. But, don’t hand him your cross to bear. Don’t demand his purpose be your purpose. He doesn’t serve you. He serves God.
Prophecy or Misunderstanding? (09/09/13)
Seeing this passage as answering a concern raised by his parishioners, it’s very easy to hear John talking about this in person. “He was asking about my future, as long as Jesus was in the mood to tell such things. But, you see, Jesus wasn’t in any such mood. Peter may have misread events just a bit. Or, maybe Jesus just wanted to quell such habits amongst us.” Don’t you see? Somebody, hearing this exchange, latched onto that ‘remain until I come’, completely ignoring the rest of the discussion, and arrived at this idea that I was never going to die. Look back across all that I have been teaching you. So many times we have seen these false teachings creeping in, and they start out the exact same way. Somebody takes a point, even a point of Truth, and exaggerates it, and emphasizes it and elevates it, until it has been distorted beyond recognition, until they have exchanged the Truth for a lie.
You may not see much harm in these myths that suggest I will never depart, but I do. In the first place, they are no less matters of false doctrine than all those others I have fought against. In the second, they have great potential for harm. What will they think, who suppose I have been promised immortality on this earth, when I am taken home? Will they find God a liar? May it never be! God is no liar, but we are forever putting words in His mouth.
This is my concern today. This is my concern, having come to faith amongst believers in the extremely active nature of the gifts of the Spirit. Understand that I do not denounce the gifts. I do not, having considered the Scriptures and having considered my own experience, find sufficient cause to declare those gifts features solely of some past time. What my experience, and the experience of the church throughout the ages, and the churches even as the Apostles were establishing them, teaches me is that a goodly portion of what seeks to pass for Spiritual gift activity is noise and interference. Surely, as Paul and John both warn, the spirits, since there are many such who are opposed to the kingdom of God, require testing. We dare not take every spiritual experience as automatically being ‘of God’.
Let me tell you flat out that you ought not to take every claimant to prophecy or to words of knowledge at face value. I am not suggesting that those who practice these gifts are in fact channeling demons. There is that possibility, but it is not where I would look. The fact of the matter is that we who practice utilizing the gifts of the Spirit are yet fallen creatures with fleshy habits. We are all of us possessed of pride, of an inflated sense of self. So many modern-day prophets seem to have mistaken that gift for the gift of encouragement. Oh! Never prophesy a negative thing. The one you speak to surely knows his negatives already. Prophecy blessing! Dear, oh, dear. Please show me the Scriptural basis for such an approach! You won’t find it. It doesn’t exist.
But, this is the thing: These would-be prophets and encouragers wind up convincing those who hear them that some figment of their own imaginations is indeed a promise of God! And that person launches off from there absolutely convinced that God must act upon this promise. They will, in that degree, suppose they can demand action from Him. Lord! You promised me this! For some, it is a particular ministry. For others, perhaps it has been miraculous cures for themselves, or for some loved one. And when these things fail to transpire? What happens? Do they think to question the messenger’s accuracy or validity? No, no. They jump straight to doubting God. Oh, Lord! You promised, and look! It never happened, nor can it happen. How could You lie to me? How can I trust You? But, it was never God who lied. He was never shown untrustworthy. It cannot be! Yet, our flesh responds to flesh more readily than spirit. The speaker we know. We have interaction with him. We have shared bread with him. He is surely trustworthy. God? All we have is this written record, these ethereal interactions. Human nature will tend to put faith in the human first, if there is need for a decision. Human nature will be wrong every time in doing so, but it will do so anyway.
This is the shipwreck of faith that John observes is in the making, and he is determined to see that wreck avoided. And in doing so, he provides a particularly fit ending to the Gospels. In those early days, it was certain: You will be told things that are patent nonsense, and the teller will claim the very backing of God in what they say. You will encounter far worse: those who purposefully and intentionally pervert the Truth of God for their own ends. They, too, will claim to speak for the very One they reject. Be careful! Test what you are taught. Don’t accept it simply because they can quote Scriptures at you. Remember Jesus in the desert! Satan was perfectly happy to quote Scripture. But, his message was no less a lie for having chapter and verse behind it. The problem only gets worse when you allow for these claims of Spirit-led revelation.
Go back through the history of the Church, and you see it over and over again. Most of the heretical teachings against which the Church found it had to battle were built up from exactly these sorts of root issues. Either one bit of Scripture was being taken wholly out of context and bent to mean precisely what it did not mean, or somebody was laying claim to direct revelatory knowledge that ran wholly counter to the God Who Is. Is it any wonder, then, that so much of the Church leans towards rejecting these claims of Spirit-led activity out of hand? There always was, and ever shall be a certain inherent risk in that aspect of church life. But, this does not automatically make the whole thing false. It cannot be made wholly false without wholly falsifying Scripture itself. It has just been so rarely taught with any accuracy. Paul was exceedingly careful to teach his charges about the proper exercise and bounds of these gifts, with ample warnings against prideful excess. He had to do this, because it was too easy for folks to slip into making the gifts little more than playthings, or worse, thinking their exercise somehow made them more important.
Here is one further aspect of the instruction John provides in this last encounter. It pertains to the art and science of studying the written Word of God. We have here a very clear example of the danger of ignoring context. This, particularly as John is purposefully pointing it out to us, is an obvious case. But, there are others which we may well have accepted as our own views without even thinking about it. I was brought up short against one such case in discussions not more than a week ago. That passage about two or three gathering in His name: Almost anytime we hear that quoted, what are we discussing? We’re discussing prayer. Indeed, you may even hear that reinforced with comments as to how we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit abiding in us, and therefore we’re always have sufficient number! But, the reality is that this message is delivered in the midst of a discussion about church discipline. It is, then, a judicial application. It may sound ever so profound and holy to quote forth this verse in support of a prayer meeting, as assurance of our efficacy, but it’s wholly inappropriate. It is inappropriate not least because the prayers of one man alone, if he be God’s child, are certainly sufficient in Him. Prayer is not some power we wield, by which we can maneuver and manipulate God. It is a privilege by which we are able to speak with our Father in the confidence that He listens and He answers.
There is also a tendency in us, I think, to suppose that every last verse that hints at promise is to be taken as a promise made to us personally. There is danger in this, for it again leads us to holding God’s honor to hinge on coming through on something He never said, at least not as we would hear it. Was that promise made to the people of God at large, or to a specific individual for a specific purpose? Is there anything in that specific purpose that we can reasonably and properly transpose to our own situation? Is there in any sense a more universal message to be heard in that promise? All of this must be considered carefully, again with a weather eye on context, a clear and reasoned pursuit of the meaning. We must, in such things, become rather clinical and unemotional, for we are likely pursuing such promises while in an emotional state, and this is never a recipe for sound study.
Let us take care, then, that we not mistake hyperbole and hypothesis for prophecy. Let us take care that we not receive the word of encouragement as a word of knowledge. Let us take great care that we not allow ourselves to be duped into measuring God’s faithfulness against false standards such as these. Let us, rather, follow John’s example, and have a serious and concerted concern for the accurate understanding and teaching of God’s Truth and God’s Truth alone.
The Conclusion? (09/09/13)
Now, we are arrived at the final two verses. I have already noted my suspicion that these are a coda provided by an aid to the Apostle in writing down these final scenes. I am, however, particularly fascinated with the final verse. It is the thing that first struck my attention as I approached this closing section. “There are also many other things which Jesus did.” Oh, indeed! As I noted in prayer meeting last week, our Lord Jesus has never ceased from doing many other things. Our lives are record of this fact. Our being found in His house of a Sunday, praising His name and learning His message that we may be about doing His will: These are all evidence that He has not stopped.
If I may take the risk of putting words in John’s mouth, after all that warning: I still hear that John who addressed his church as ‘children’, speaking these things. It may not have been on the occasion of this writing. It may not have been at all, of course. It is, after all, my imagination. But, it is easy for me to picture him speaking after such fashion as he sees that he will soon be leaving those sheep he has been shepherding in the care of another shepherd.
Now, children, how I should love to recount all the many other things that happened in those years. But, my time is short, and well, even had I the time and strength to recount all those events in detail, where would we put the books? There’s not room enough in all the world to hold such a record! And you yourselves shall add to it. He’s not dead, you know. He lives! He’s still doing things, just as He has been since before the dawn of creation, just has He shall continue to do right on through the last day. Watch for Him. Recognize His hand in your life, and make your own record. These are things to keep yourselves assured when hard times come. And be assured, hard times come!
Coming into the book of Judges, which I am teaching this fall, the need for current events with Jesus that we can recount seems just that much more necessary. We hold Scripture as foremost and foundational. We test every word, every teaching, every perception against that measure and rule. And yet, if there were not for us some personal record of Jesus’ activity in our lives, on our behalf, not one of us would be around to worship Him. Taken another step, if somebody ahead of us had not been in possession of such personal anecdotes and records of Jesus active in their life, it would be improbable in the extreme that we would have come to our own encounter with Him. There’s a reason He leaves us with the mission of going out and making disciples. It is not only a very public faith into which we have been called, but a very active faith. It is not enough – cannot be enough – that we are sure of our own salvation. His love, poured into us, is an outward-directed love. If we love Him, we cannot but love our brother. And, if we love our brother, we cannot but desire that he know the same faith, the same surety of hope that is ours.
Go, then! Write that book which sets forth what God is doing today, in you, to you, through you. That has been a portion of what transpires for me in these studies. There are records in here of those things God has been doing. As I draw very near the conclusion of this study of the Gospels, I cannot but notice the starting date. 12/24/03. It’s there in print just a few lines down from where I’m now typing. Just a few months shy of ten full years spent in these marvelous books, nearly half of my years as a believer! And, how much has happened in these ten years.
When I began, my daughter, who just dashed out the door to get to work, was in what, fifth grade? Just a kid. Now, she’s a young lady. Me? I was younger, too. We were wading in the wild waters of the Charismatic church and loving it. Yet, I was coming firmly under conviction as to the theological accuracy of the Reformed traditions. And, in time, the wild ride of the charismatic proved to have pushed our little boat dangerously off course. I was a relative naïf as to the nature of God at the outset, and now I find myself an elder in a Reformed church, and loving it. Well: Loving aspects of it. It is work we have been called to, not a party. Therein, I think, lies the greatest change I find across these last years, is a willingness to accept the work and set the party atmosphere aside. There is great joy in the honest work of the Gospel, even if there is great exhaustion as well.
God has been writing a book in me, as He is doing in you. This rising generation needs the record of our generation to help them. Let us, then, leave a record of faith behind us. Let us speak often of the things God is doing in this time and place. Let us, as opportunity arises, point out to them – Look! See what God is doing there? See Him in action in your own lives? There is One, the only One, worthy of your devotion. Serve Him, and let the rest of the noise the world throws at you fade.
The Conclusion (09/10/13)
I’m here! I’m at the final mark in this study, and what shall I add? What more is there to say? I find myself looking to those same words with which John concluded The Revelation, which form nearly the last words in all Scriptures. “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20). He is coming quickly. We may not have the same definition of quickness as He, for our perspective is so limited. But, He does not delay. He does not stall. His perfect plan unfolds right on schedule.
He is right on time, and yet it feels in many ways as though He could not come soon enough. There is something in the air, something in the state of the world that makes one long for the end. Does that sound morbid? Perhaps it does. But, as we watch things growing darker day by day, as we see the shifts in societal norms all sloping off towards Abaddon, is it so odd to long for home, for that day when all the evil consequences of the Fall have been eradicated, and we are entered into the Life – that only Life – which is worthy of the name?
Listen, there is much in this present life to be enjoyed. There is much, even in this present day societal situation, that still manages to produce beauty, even though there seems to be a particular penchant for promoting the ugly as the ideal. Wherefore all this interest in tattoos and piercings and other modes of bodily deformation? Wherefore the music which has less and less of anything musical to it, the artistry whose sole purpose seems to be to offend. Talent doesn’t enter into it, only the willingness to do the outrageous. Decadence on every hand! Our political class seems incapable of thinking through the most basic algebra problem, let alone dealing with the complexities of some system of governance. The populace at large seems to have lost its sense of self. And yet, as I say, there is beauty to be found.
More and more, one is forced to look back to that very creation which God Himself set forth as His own art, if one is to find beauty. While I still enjoy my music, that music which I find most pleasing grows older every day, and is most often older than myself. Something happened. It hit jazz, I suppose somewhere in the mid-sixties. Rock was barely formed yet, so while it hit that form, too, it wasn’t so noticeable until a bit later. And there were times when it seemed maybe music would recover, when skill and artistry might yet reassert their place. But, no. Now we are in the age of drum, bass, and theft. Lyricism? Hardly. For the most part, we barely arrive at doggerel, and even that is entirely expressive of anger, loss, hopelessness.
That, I think, lies at base of this present day. The world around us is hopeless. The rising generation is hopeless. Worse yet, they know it! It’s not ignorance, or that usual angst of youth. It’s a glimpse at the world around them. There is no longer a sense of striving to reach the dream, of pursuing lofty goals. This has been bred out, educated out. There is no sense of purpose, of vocation. There’s only muddling through, trying to make a buck, and later, to drink the pain away.
But, this need not be the case. There is hope! The world, dark as it appears to us, has most certainly seen darker days. That is not to suggest that we are on some slope of inevitable improvement, slowly progressing towards the ideal. Rather the opposite, really. We are all sliding headlong further into the pit. But, God! But, there is a Redeemer. This Gospel I have been pursuing this last decade is the record of the real Redeemer come into real history to reveal the real God. His witness is true. His witnesses, too numerous to count even in the years immediately following, had these first-hand accounts to share. It was not just eleven guys trying to scam their way through life. There were way too many others who could expose their lies in a heartbeat. No. It is those modern scholars of skepticism who are truly scamming their way through life, pretending to have a more intimate knowledge of events than those who lived through them.
Oh, Lord! Come soon! This world grows weary. Yes, the beauty of Your creation yet shines through. Yet, even in that beauty, one sees the pain of sin. If I think no further than the bird-feeders outside my windows: There are the birds, those creatures You held out as an example of Your care. ‘They neither sow nor reap, have no storehouses, no barns. Yet, God feeds them, and how much more valuable are you?’ (Lk 12:24). Yet, one needn’t watch long before he sees these carefree creatures attacking one another, or fleeing in panic at the slightest hint of motion in the house. We love the landscape around our house. And yet, the weeds are ever assaulting the lawn, the vines intrude further upon the trees. All around us, Lord, if we are honest, we see that the Fall continues to have its impact on everything. Why are we surprised that fallen men act in fallen ways? And yet, it weighs down the heart. Oh! Praise be that we have this hope within us! Praise be that we know that our Redeemer lives, and we shall be with You in that day! But, how, like Paul before us, like John before us, we long for that day to be sooner rather than later.
My Father, my King, come soon. Though I know near constant concern that I am not yet ready for Your return, yet I long for it. And, while my heart cries out that I want to be found ready, it cries in confidence, knowing that You, having begun this work in me, are faithful to complete it. This is all my hope, Lord! You are faithful. You have proven it over and over again. What more proof do I need? None whatsoever. Yet, You continue. Thank You.
Thank You, as well, for this study, this journey upon which You have taken me. May my explorations of Your Word be pleasing to You. May I be ever more careful in my teaching, as I present Your Word to those You send my way. I think back, even to this most recent Sunday, and I suspect I have overstepped on a few points. Let this not be my norm. Oh, God, as I teach, would You speak through me, as I study, would You continue to both inform me, and to bound me, that I would not in any way overstep, and wander into vain and prideful imaginations! Let this be my closing prayer. You, Lord, at work in me both to will and to work: It remains my source of confidence, such as I have any. I know You are at work. Yet, I know I am fallen, and only too able to corrupt the good work You are doing. Hold back my hand, then, Holy Spirit, lest I spoil Your labors. Lead me in the paths of righteousness, and grant that I follow Your leading, and it shall be well. Amen.
