New Thoughts (04/22/12-04/25/12)
In preparing this section of study, I found the choosing of a key verse to be somewhat more challenging than usual. But, I settled on verse 3, and I did so for this reason: It reflects and imparts the same attitude which Jesus had as He was upon the cross. It provides the understanding by which He could look upon those who had brought Him to this end and say, “Forgive them, Father. They don’t know what they do” (Lk 23:34). That His followers made the connection might be considered as proven by Stephen’s echoing this same sentiment when he was stoned for confessing Jesus as Lord (Ac 7:60).
In this commencement speech, as I have come to see it, Jesus is imparting both news of the trials ahead for these graduates, and instruction on how to respond. These things are happening, but you mustn’t take it personally. It’s Me they’re reacting to, and it’s ignorance that drives their reaction. They don’t know God. They don’t know what they’re doing. They are not innocent of their actions, no. That’s not the point. But, they don’t really understand. They’re motives are evil, it is true, but if they only knew Truth, one can be assured they would act quite differently.
This is a thing we do well to recognize about our own day. I am not for a moment suggesting that we should presume a core of goodness in every man that is merely buried and suffocating beneath layers of evil laid on by societal influences. No. Man is evil to the core and cannot bring himself willingly to know the God Who is good to the core. The thing that would serve us far better is to remember that such were we. I don’t care if you were raised in a Christian home or not. I don’t care if you were born to pastors, missionaries or unbelievers. This truth remains unchanged. It holds for every man. But for the grace of God, we would still not know Him, still oppose Him, still do our utmost to act contrary to pretty much every law He sets forth.
Now: I’ll admit, as I must, that many an unbeliever displays evidence of God’s Law, all unknowing. They are, as we would measure it, good people. They care for their family. They are often trustworthy in their business dealings. Arguably, they outdo the people of faith in many ways as concerns the Law. I say that to our shame. But, we all know it to be true. Yet, all of this does not suffice to say that they know God. They do not. They would deny any such knowledge were they asked, professing at best some doubtful suspicion that there might be such a being, but if so, He clearly lost interest in man shortly after man arrived, or, being the scientific nation we are, after setting the cosmos into motion. Man just sort of happened. He was like an unplanned child. And, when man dies, it is to dust and dust alone that he returns. So thinks the modern man. He is but a walking sack of fertilizer waiting to be spread.
They don’t know the Father. They don’t know Jesus. Now, I will say that in many cases, they most vehemently do not want to know, will actively pursue whatever course of action is required to avoid knowing. Looking at the landscape in which we live, it is exceedingly easy to find churches that are churches in label alone, serving a god whom they call Christ, but who is not even a god at all. The question came up yesterday as to what was meant by an Evangelical Christian. As opposed to what? Does it simply mean a believer inclined to go spread the Word? A church committed to evangelism? Would that this were an integral part, even! But, no. It has more to do with a church that, more than simply claiming the label of Christianity, actually hold to the fundamental tenets thereof. How many claimants to the label of Christian will accede to the declarations of the Apostles’ Creed? Or, to cast it in a negative sense, how many have instead turned to the rationalistic, barely even deistic ‘belief’ of the liberal wing, putting social cause and multicultural acceptance above any firm declaration of God’s Truth? How is it that we have churches, claiming to be Christian churches, that are nervous about asserting that Jesus the Christ is God exclusive to all other contenders for that office? How can this be? How can it be that a church claiming to be Christian promotes as acceptable those things which Christ pronounces anathema? Why claim to follow Him at all if you are so thoroughly opposed to His teachings?
It is here, to the sort that have a name, that they follow Christ, but do not, that God has ever addressed His wrath most fully, and most rightfully! Again, as I have been reading in Amos, I find the charges leveled primarily against God’s own people, and primarily because while they have been carrying on the forms of worship, they have made quite certain that they are not touched by the forms. There is not meat to their faith. There is no there. All is pretense, pomp and circumstance, and life goes on very much as it has. The world is welcomed with open arms. The ways of the world are adopted with relish, and the ways of the God that is still claimed as assurance and protection are cast aside with total disregard.
Comes Jesus, and He finds the Church once again in this state. The crime of the Pharisees is that they have made form the only thing. All the careful rituals of purity, all the cautious pursuit of rigid adherence to the letter of the Law had become a means for ignoring the moral implication, the purpose of the whole thing. Love was lost in pursuit of reputation. They had a reputation for holiness, but their behavior towards their fellow man proved the reputation to be wholly undeserved. And, God, Whose reputation is wholly deserved, would not be mocked. God, Whose Love is an eternal, integral part of His being, would not suffer such unloving representatives to continue in His service. He would not allow them to continue at all. Yet, from the cross, He would still love. “Forgive them, Father. They don’t know.”
What Jesus did in that most agonizing of moments, we are called to do in our own, much lesser times of trial. Have we been wronged by unbelievers? Forgive them. Have we been misunderstood by our own family, ostracized for our faith? Forgive them. Sorrow for them, for they don’t know what they are doing. They don’t know God. Really, can there be a greater cause for sorrow? They don’t know the One Who would give them Life, and in their hurting state, they lash out. Is it really any surprise? Like any animal that sees death looming, that fight or flight instinct kicks in, and flight is not an option. So, fight it is. Forgive them. They are seeing their own demise in your very evident life, and they simply cannot bring themselves to do what is needful to have life for themselves. So, they seek to destroy life. They seek to bring you down with them. But, Lo! I AM is with you, even to the end. Do not return evil for evil. Forgive as He forgave. Forgive as He forgave you. Remember that you, too, were of those who would seek to bring Him down to your own level. But, He graciously lifted you up to His.
Remember this, too, when the offense comes in the very house of God. Oh! How that hurts. Oh! How we expect that all who believe will be as perfect as our lovely selves. Oh! How swiftly we fall into the presumption that we must be right and all who disagree wrong. We are the advanced ones, and they the poor benighted fools. And, we get this way over such inconsequential matters. We seek division like we were viruses invading a fresh body. But, God seeks unity. God says, value yourself the least in importance. Give way to everybody on these things. There are Truths which admit of no compromise, and we are not speaking of these things just now. But, matters of governance? Matters of interior decoration? Really? These are cause for battle? Choices made in education, in raising family, in entertainment; these are the things that determine who is a believer and who not? I don’t think so! Even, though it may be more difficult for me to accept, questions of Calvinism versus Arminianism, or whether the gifts of the Spirit remain active or not; these are not causes of eternal import.
These are not the DNA of true faith, or its lack. They are debatable matters, points upon which we can disagree and still function in love for one another and love for God. We may just have to walk away with the thought of, “forgive them, Lord.” But, in this case, I would caution that we do far better to think properly. “Forgive us, Lord. We know not what we do.” I would insist that, when it comes to such debatable things in the house of the Lord, we must ever go to prayer with the mindset of accepting change in whichever party to the debate needs changing. We must recognize that for all our pride of self, our sense that we have researched things thoroughly and surely have the right of it, we are not God, and we cannot say that we surely have the right of it. We can be as firm as we like in our beliefs, and yet discover we have believed a falsehood. It is not the strength of conviction that establishes the Truth. It is God. Let us ever give Him room to correct our thinking, lest we find ourselves the Pharisees of our generation, carrying on with our own little rituals, but in reality serving no god but ourselves.
In spite of having chosen verse 3 as the key verse for the passage, it is really the closing thought of verses 5 and 6 that captures my attention at this juncture. It is interesting, though of little note, that there are so many variations of translation when it comes to the connecting word between these two verses. Is it but or yet or instead? Which is it? I think some of the translations just found the repetitive use of but sounding too pedestrian, and felt the need to pull out a thesaurus and see what else they could insert. In doing so, I wonder if they haven’t undone a very purposeful repetition on Jesus’ part.
This isn’t where I thought I was going this morning, however as I’m looking at the passage, the repetition really does stand out. What might be the reason for it? But I have told you all this so you won’t stumble when they happen. But I am going to Him who sent Me, and you aren’t even inclined to ask where I’m going this time. But sorrow has filled your heart because of what I’ve been telling you. But what I tell you is truth! It is to your advantage that I go, for if I do not, the Helper will not come. But, if I go, I will send Him to you.
Turns out that the majority of these buts are translating alla, which Strong defines as meaning contrariwise. Thayer notes briefly that the meaning differs from de, which term appears at that beginning of verse 5, but declines to explain exactly how. It is used to present the ‘nevertheless’, whether as an objection, an exception or what have you. De can reduce to something nearer to and. When used in the sense of but, it tends more towards the additive rather than the contrarian sense assigned to alla. Of course, Thayer contradicts this, saying it is quite often used to introduce the opposition statement. On the other hand, it can also be simply a transitive mark, introducing a new thread of thought or separating explanation from the thing explained. Sadly, all of this leaves me with little ground to distinguish the difference Thayer claims. If one means but, but the other means but, how then are they distinct?
OK. Let me return to the passage. There remains something of a drumbeat happening as Jesus speaks. Admittedly, the way in which we naturally take that but changes as the passage progresses. It is not always a matter contrary to what the preceding but introduced. But, there does remain that contrarian sense. They act out of ignorance of God, but you are being given knowledge. I didn’t speak earlier because I was with you, but now I must go. When I’ve mentioned this before, you always had questions, but now you don’t even ask where I’m going. And, here, the sense of opposition shifts just a bit. Instead, sorrow has filled your heart. OK, proceed. You are overwhelmed by sorrow because of what I’ve been saying, but it’s good news! The Spirit won’t come unless I go, but I go and He will come.
I don’t know. It seems I am not driving towards anything of significance here. It is interesting, but not earthshaking. The key point I would zero in on is that instead that sits in the midst. And, perhaps that is the intention. All of the others were indeed slightly different, and suddenly we hit this de in the middle (which I would note one of the lexicons noted that John uses only rarely in his writing.) De sorrow has filled your heart because of what I said. That natural curiosity, that concern for remaining with Me and in Me has been blocked out by emotion.
Let me put the thought across as bluntly as I found needful this weekend. Sorrow is clouding your hearts to the point that you think on nothing else. That is, after its fashion, a definition of depression, isn’t it? We get locked onto some negative point and before long, we can think of nothing else. It may not be a sorrow per se. But, something is not to our liking. Some decision has not gone our way. Something has changed without our say so, and our mind immediately heads for the cliffs. Oh! Nothing’s ever going to be the same. Nothing’s ever going to be right again! It’s not the way I wanted it to be, and my life is ruined.
The degree to which this sort of response can debilitate us is impossible to overstate. It is the emotional response, and as is so often the case, the emotional response chases reason right out the window and refuses to allow it back in. Here what Jesus is saying (and I must bleed into the next passage to keep the thought together). You’re so caught up in your sorrow that you’re completely missing the point. And the point is good! It’s marvelous. You’re ready to give up and just accept that your whole life has been a waste, and I’m telling you it’s just beginning. Yes, I’m going, but listen when I tell you who is coming! I’m going for a brief time, but He’s coming to stay. It’s going to look like a loss, but it’s victory. You have to see it! You have to get this! You have to remain in Me, because God has not lost control, nor will He ever. He is still absolutely on His throne and none of what’s coming has taken Him unawares. How else could I be telling you in advance? Don’t you get it? It’s His orchestra and He’s playing it. Some of the passages aren’t making sense to you just now, but you’ll see. It’s a beautiful piece.
Yet, we are inclined to jump to the sorrowful response. We are seemingly wired to assume the worst. If it’s not perfect, it must be an absolute disaster. There can’t be anything in between, can there? If I’m not absolutely right, then I must be irreversibly wrong. Surely I cannot change. Surely I’ve been wasting my life and it’s far too late to get it back on track now.
I think in particular of those four fishermen, more particularly of Peter. Is it really any wonder that he seems to have responded most poorly of these eleven men? He had a sound business happening. John and James worked with Dad, and he could keep things going in their absence. Peter worked for himself, and left things in whose hands? Who knows. It was still there, that business, when he went back, but really he’d just abandoned a pretty good thing to go running after this prophet. What a fool he’d been! What an embarrassment it was going to be, going back. Poor Peter. Seems he was forever putting his foot in it. How they would be chiding him about this as the years went by.
Sorrow, self-pity, doubt, it all comes pouring in, and we foolishly welcome it. We’re ready to wallow in it. But, Jesus says, “No!” Don’t allow the sorrows and trials of life to get hold of you. For all that, don’t let the joys and pleasures of this life distract you either. Am I going Stoic? Not really. No, it’s not exactly a case of ‘all things in moderation.’ It’s more a function of Spirit over emotion. We are emotional beings. But, we are also rational beings. We are, after all, made in the image of God. He is not beyond emotion. But, neither is He irrational. In Him, emotion and rationality find their perfect harmony. In us, it’s more a pendulum course. We seemingly find it necessary to give rein to one or the other, and leave the alternate choice idling at the curb. If emotion takes control, rational thought disappears. If we insist on being coolly rational, we become emotionless, or nearly so.
The key for us is that we keep eyes, ears and thoughts upon Jesus, upon the Kingdom of God. If we allow either sorrow or joy to distract us from that purpose, we become valueless, fruitless. Here, the focus is on the debilitating nature of sorrow. But, there is plenty in Scripture to point at the other end of the spectrum. Dare I bring up Amos again? Of course I do! Who will stop me? What is the chief problem amongst God’s people which leads to Amos being sent to speak correction? It’s that they’re enjoying the high life. They are wrapped in pleasure, enjoying every good thing. But, they are enjoying every good thing to an extent that makes the good bad, that leaves God and holiness neglected. They have become distracted.
If we consider the reason for Israel’s being replaced, as it were, by the Church, what is the reason for it? They lost sight of the mission. They took their eyes of the King and His kingdom, and turned instead to themselves. We’re OK, and you don’t particularly matter. If the Church in our own day has lost much of its power and authority, what do you suppose is the reason? We’ve developed that same mindset, taken upon ourselves almost a bunker mentality. We’re OK, and the world can rot around us. I’ve got my ticket and to hell with you. Oh, no, we’d never put it in such words, because then we’d have to face the obvious error in our thinking. But, that’s what our actions say as often as not. Every time we decide not to rock the boat, not to risk offending another culture, what we’re really saying is that they can go on into perdition and it’s not our problem. Oh, dear!
We simply must get it through our heads that this really isn’t about us. It’s about Him. It’s not about our agenda. It’s about His. It’s not about our needs being met. It’s about meeting God, discovering that He loves us, discerning what He wants from us, and then doing it. Now, part of what God wants from us is for us to confront our real situation, to see ourselves without the disguises and pretenses that we have wrapped about ourselves. As He said of the non-elect in the previous chapter, so He says of us, “Now, you have no excuse for your sin” (Jn 15:22). It’s out in the open, and you’re either going to face facts and repent, or your going to go wallow in your own filth and have no grounds for complaining that God was unfair to judge you so.
We’ve seen this happening with the disciples during the course of dinner. Doubts have been planted, but to a good end. Hearing that there is a betrayer in their number, who can help but consider: Is it me? Am I the one? Is it in me to be so duplicitous? Can I truly doubt that it is? Seriously, how do you react when you see a seemingly solid brother fall and fall hard? Do you just write him off as having clearly been faking it all along? Do you sorrow for him, yet at the same time feel a little sense of victory in that you would never have done what he did? Or, do you come to the very real conclusion that it could just as easily have been you that feel and he left to sort out what happened?
There’s an old Phil Keaggy song that speaks to this, considers the case of a believer, presumably one who had become a bit of a name, whose sin became a headline item because he was well known. The reaction? “It could have been me. I could have been the one.” Honestly, there is none so evil that we ought not recognize the seeds of their evil in ourselves. Name your bogey man. It doesn’t matter. It could have been you. It could have been me. All those televangelists whose spectacular flameouts make the news? All those who have been bilking the gullible in the name of the Lord? It could have been me. Those philanderers who have destroyed their marriages in pursuit of sexual entertainments? It could have been me. A dictator whose reign has been murderous death to thousands upon thousands of people? Yeah. Could’ve been me. And, don’t you doubt it. It could have been you. Who knows what evils you and I have been prevented from perpetrating simply because we have never been given the opportunity, circumstances, or character weaknesses, or what have you have either prevented us from being in the time and place where such things were possible, or had us sufficiently fearful that even when the opportunity arose, we dared not avail ourselves of opportunity.
Or, maybe there was something deeper, something grander. Maybe God really is the God of Providence. Maybe there really is no such thing as coincidence. Maybe He really is in control, and really is working within, and the reason we never faced the challenge was because He knew we were unprepared to meet that particular temptation. Maybe the reason we met the temptation but found ourselves too weak of will to attempt whatever it was that offered was not because we were weak at all, but because He was strong.
Even in that positive light, though, the moments of doubt, of self-assessment are needful for us. It is needful that we recognize the seeds of sin that remain in us, awaiting only the moment to burst forth. It is needful that we acknowledge those points where those seeds are taking root in us, and expose them to the Roundup of repentance – real repentance. It’s not enough to consider that I could be the one He’s been talking about, the one who has plans to betray Him. If I just nod my head, say, ‘could be,’ and then move on to some other thing, the seed remains. The danger is unabated. I set myself in position for ‘could be’ to become ‘it was me’. It has to move instead to the point of, ‘how can I change that,’ better, “God, help me to change that.” I see myself and find myself wanting.
But, note this and note this well: We are not to allow these moments of introspection to become debilitating. We are not to become so consumed by what remains to be done in us that we no longer keep our focus on what He is doing. Here that in what He says to His disciples. “You are so caught up in your sorrow over what I have been saying that now, when I tell you I am going, it’s not even registering.” Previously, such statements provoked curiosity. Where are You going? How do we get there? Why can’t we just come with You? Now, though, whether it’s the introspection, or the sense of time wasted, the fear of being seen as fools for having spent three years in this fashion, learning from a loser; now, they barely even hear what He is saying. Yeah, whatever, Jesus. You’re going. Fine. Bye. You’re ready to just end it all, let death overtake You. Hey, it’s Your call, dude. Guess we’ll just have to buck up and face the folks back home. Oh, they’ll be laughing for years over this. No, I mean, we’ll miss You, sure. It’s been great. But, if it’s over it’s over. Not much we can do about that, is there?
But, that’s not where Jesus is going to leave things. It’s not the response of a disciple. It’s the response of the flesh. So, He comes with “Let not your heart be troubled.” How often God has to deliver this message to His people! And, I have to imagine that as often as He delivers that message, the immediate reaction is to be troubled. If He’s telling me not to worry there must be something I should be worried about. If I’m not worried yet, I’ll start worrying as to why I’m not worried. Obviously, if He needs to tell me not to, I should be. Or, so we reason. But, we must win through. He must win through. When He gives us that, “Don’t worry,” message, He doesn’t leave it there. He doesn’t just insist that we ignore the situation around us. Rather, He lifts our eyes to look beyond the immediate situation.
We see the mountainous troubles surrounding us. God says, lift your eyes up to those mountains, sure. See them? Where is your help to come from? Remember, your help is the Lord who made those mountains, made the heavens and the earth! He is God who does not sleep. You need not fear that He has missed what’s happening here. No, but He is your keeper, who will protect you from ALL evil, and He will keep your soul forever (Ps 121). Let not your heart be troubled. I have overcome the world!
And, looking back to the Old Testament, we discover the news really has always been the same for the faithful. Consider this from Isaiah. He is speaking to the faithful, those who ‘tremble at His word,’ and the Lord says to them, “Your brothers who hate you, exclude you claiming My authority in the matter will be put to shame” (Isa 66:5). Now, the middle of that verse is interesting, and makes me wonder what the situation was. These who will be put to shame say to the others, “Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.” What is that? Looking at it in isolation, it’s almost like there was a charismatic renewal thing happening, and the unbelieving majority were poking fun at them. It’s like the bad guy in the saloon in the old western films. “Dance!”
But, that’s not it. If I look back, take in the beginnings of that chapter, the point is a bit clearer. Those who tremble at His word are the humble, the contrite of spirit, and they still have His approval (Isa 66:2). But, the situation in the religious community is awful. One portion is offering such sacrifices as were never authorized, and the other, though offering the proper items does so in a fashion that is so wholly at odds with true piety that they are still as much as idolaters. They are still choosing their own way, doing as they please, and what pleases them are abominations (Isa 66:3). They went about their religious display, but when God spoke, they ignored Him. Even as He looked upon their activities, they belligerently pursued their evil right in front of Him (Isa 66:4). That quotation attributed to them in verse 5, then, demonstrates the depths of their delusion. They still think that they are glorifying the Lord by their perversions, and that those who remain true to God ought to be rejoicing with them rather than pointing out their error.
How this is echoed from the mouth of Jesus! They’ll ban you (as they have sought to ban Me). They will chase you from their synagogues, stones in hand, ready to kill you if they can but find the means and opportunity. And they will think they do God a fine service by ending your life. So deep is their delusion. So far are they from understanding. The have never known the Father. For all their ceremony and ritual, they have never experienced Him. Neither have they any experience of Me. (For the Lord your God, We am One.)
Now, I have to ask you: Hearing that forecast, is this a path you would cheerfully choose? Really, were your high school guidance counselor to ask what you wanted to be, and upon hearing, said, OK, this is what you can expect. Everybody’s going to think you’re an idiot, a blight on society. They will seek to exclude you from every sense of community, and given the chance, they will shoot you, hang you, or put an end to your life by whatever means is at their disposal. Now, doesn’t that sound like a fine career choice? Isn’t that worth training for? Yet, that’s exactly what these eleven men are facing, exactly what their training is preparing them for. The adoring crowd that they met this week are not the promised norm, but rather an anomaly, a distraction from reality.
The whole sweeping into Jerusalem to take the throne and boot the Romans into the dustbin of history business that they had been holding onto even at this late date was a total misreading of their mandate, their Messiah. Oh, to be sure, they would be thrown down. But, then, so would Jerusalem. He is King of kings. But, the kingdom over which He reigns is not of this world. Now, understand that though His kingdom is not of this world, it encompasses all those petty kingdoms which are. Every empire that has been until now has passed, as it must. Every power that remains will also pass. America is not destined to remain preeminent forever, anymore than was England before it, any more than was the USSR, which is no more. Neither, should China or India or whoever be the next big thing in the political arena, will they remain. There is One Who remains, and He is God of all, like it or not. Allah will not remain. Islam will pass from the stage of history at the last, just as the myriad gods of the Hindu. But, Jesus remains, King of all kings, Lord over all lords. He it is who appoints these empires that think themselves so mighty. He it is who appoints their end.
The disciples must have been asking themselves what sort of kingdom they were going to bring about by dying. What sort of victory was this? Where’s the retirement plan? Where’s the reward? Were we honest with ourselves, we would have the same questions. Perhaps we do. What the deal with this whole church thing? Where’s the reward? It seems our numbers are diminishing, that the world wants less to do with us than ever. It seems that the vast majority of those churches which profess to be Christian are but a poor imitation. If seems like we’re losing ground day by day, year by year. How is this winning? Yet, there is Jesus upon the cross, seemingly the ultimate defeat, the final renunciation of His claim. But, He won! He lives! Death could not hold Him Who is Life! The enemy that thought finally to have once for all time usurped His throne finds himself cast down to the lowest pits of hell. And this kingdom, though we do not see it materializing around us as we might like, is the one that lasts.
If we will but keep our eyes on its King, we will see it. With Job, that most ancient of believers, we will say it, and know the truth of it: “Though my skin be destroyed from off me, yet from my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:26). Think of the utter absurdity of such a statement. The flesh has been destroyed from me, and my skeleton lies exposed. Death has taken over and life fled from such a construct. And yet, there it is: From my flesh I shall see God. It’s not final. Death doesn’t get the final say. Life does. My flesh shall live because Life speaks. The dry bones will be knit together and resume their form. They shall once more take on muscle, once more be clothed in flesh, once more serve as vessels bearing living souls within (Eze 37:4-5). Because Life wins. Jesus reigns victorious and that one whose every pursuit was death has finally reached his goal, though perhaps not as he expected. Death itself is dead, and Life is upon the throne now and forever more.
Thank You, Lord! Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done! I pray it for me. I pray it for the meeting we hold as Your local body tonight, seeking Your will to be done in the calling of a pastor to shepherd Your people. Thy will be done, and mine own only as it is submitted in full accord to Thee. May You be truly glorified in the prayerful deliberations of Your children tonight. May we be a people dwelling together in unity as You have desired, of one heart, one mind, one Spirit. Amen and amen!
