R.P. Nettelhorst's Blog, page 92

The Sabbath

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:23–28)

When Jesus told the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath he was trying to teach them an important principle that they had somehow missed in all their study of the Scriptures.

The Pharisee’s concern for the Sabbath was genuine. But as well-intentioned as they might be, they had forgotten the reason that the Sabbath existed. Moses himself had written, “on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the foreigner among you as well, may be refreshed.” (Exodus 23:12) The Sabbath existed because it was important for people to take time off. It was created in order to improve their lives. And such is the case with every law that God created. He didn’t come up with the rules arbitrarily. The rules exist to benefit us, as expressions of his love for us, so that we can live well and have the best lives possible.

Of course, supposedly the laws created by our government, whether city, county, state or nation are supposed to benifit us. But sometimes I think both the politicians as well as those implementing the laws have forgotten why they exist. Too often it seems that all that matters to them is “well, it’s the rules; we’ve got to follow the rules.” If it’s hurting people, if it isn’t making things better, if it’s not fulfilling the purpose of the law, then it’s not a good thing, no matter how carefully the law is followed, no matter how well-intentioned it might have been.

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Poor of Spirit

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:1–12)

Many believe good things come to the good and bad things go to the bad. But Jesus challenged that lie. When Jesus gave his sermon on the mount, he explained to his disciples and the crowd that those they would least expect to be the recipients of God’s good favor were in fact the ones who were the ones whom God would bless most of all. The word blessed simply means happy—a happiness in this instance given to them by God. Jesus wanted his listeners to discover that having money or power were not the basis of a happy life. Happiness could come when they recognized that their life belonged to God. God loved them and it was his love for them that served as the basis for happiness.

Too often we believe that the reason we are not happy is because we’ve done something wrong, or because we haven’t found the right prayer, church, or program. As if God were a vending machine waiting for the right change. Instead, we only need to realize that because God loves us and we love others, we already have joy, satisfaction, and success no matter the immediate circumstances of our lives. We are God’s children. He walks with us every day and he will always be with us. We have all of eternity to live with him and those we love. How much more blessed could we possibly be?

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New Year

Traditionally people begin the new year by making resolutions that they will mostly have broken by the time February arrives. For instance, many Christians have resolved to read through the entire Bible over the course of the earth’s annual trip around the sun. Chances are, they will bog down by the time they get to Genesis 10. If not, Leviticus will doubtless kill the project.

Other people will of course determine that they will exercise more. The local gyms will be full of these people and the nearby 24 Hour Fitness place will be packed night and day. Until about February. The gyms won’t mind the drop outs, because it will take a full year for most of the new signups to admit to themselves that they aren’t going to use their new memberships; and in the meantime, the gyms will continue to collect their monthly fees that are being automatically deducted from their checking accounts.

The desire to improve oneself and to set goals in that direction is not a bad thing of course. But I wonder what effect the sense of guilt that comes when the goals are not met might have on people. Do they understand that there is no federally mandated requirement that resolutions be made? There are no police that will come to their doors when they eat that extra piece of chocolate cake. Sixty Minutes is not planning an expose about how you rolled over and went back to sleep instead of getting up to go jogging at five AM before you headed off to the office.

You’ll scan the Bible in vain for any commandments ordering a yearly requirement to set goals for self-improvement. And there is nothing within its pages demanding that you read the scriptures even once, let alone for some specified time every morning.

No, the yearly tradition of setting resolutions on January 1 is just that: a tradition, like sleeping on one side of your bed instead of the other, or keeping your keys in the left hand pocket of your jeans rather than the right hand pocket. You could just as easily decide to make a resolution on the first day of summer or the last day of winter. Or perhaps you could simply decide to start doing something to improve your life on any random Thursday.

Still, it is not a bad idea to occasionally look at one’s life and the choices one is making and decide that something should be changed—and then set out to change it. And the beginning of a new year, when you put up the fresh new calendars after the holidays are over seems like a good time for it.

So is there a way to make resolutions that one can actually achieve?

The cliché would be to say that you should pick achievable goals. For instance, resolving to flap one’s arms and fly to Chile is probably not an achievable goal. Of course, no one in their right mind is likely to set such a goal. But people will resolve to do things that are not a whole lot easier to achieve.

Instead, you should think about the sorts of things you enjoy doing anyway and see if any of those things might work to achieve the self-improvement goals you would like to make. For instance, if you think you’re out of shape and believe that you need to exercise more, think about the sorts of games or sports that you enjoyed in years past, before you got too busy to do them. Did you like playing tennis? Racket ball? Golf? Maybe you like riding a bike or taking walks or hiking. Maybe bowling? So resolve to get back into one of those games. If you resolve to do more of something you like doing, that also turns out to be good for you, then you’ll be more likely to succeed.

And if you don’t like getting up at 5 AM, and you know you’re not a morning person, then don’t try to resolve to do something that requires you to get up earlier. That’s doomed to failure. I know from personal experience.

If you want to go back to school to finish a degree, then start out with a single class in the evening. Pick a subject that you find interesting. Don’t jump back with a full load of classes that are on topics you don’t care about. You may eventually need to take those classes, but wait until you get in the habit of being in school again, to where being in class is once again part of your normal lifestyle. Then you’ll be up to persevering through the hard stuff.

Think in terms of incremental changes and linking them with what you enjoy doing; resolve to do things that you enjoyed once and somehow got out of the habit of doing. Your success in that sort of resolution is much more likely. And remember, you can start fresh any day of the week in any month of the year. Something to remember if you break a resolution on January 23. You can start over right away on January 24. Why wait until the next new year?

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Greater Works

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:5–14)

What are the biggest, most spectacular miracles of all? The apostle Thomas asked two questions: where was Jesus going and how could they follow him? Philip just wanted to see the Father. Jesus’ responded with three points.

First, Jesus said that he was going to the Father and that Jesus alone was the only way for them to get to the Father. Second, if you know Jesus , then you know the Father. Third, those who believe in Jesus will be able to do more and better works than Jesus ever did.

How can that be? Just as Jesus told parables to make his words more easily understood, so he painted pictures with his miracles. Healing the blind and deaf, raising the dead—these were metaphors for what Jesus came to do spiritually. In his life, Jesus reached but a handful of human beings. Since his resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, untold millions have been brought from spiritual death to spiritual life through the message of the Gospel. That’s how we’ve performed works greater than Jesus. We make a mistake if we imagine there are greater works for us to do than removing spiritual blindness, deafness, and death.

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God’s Will

When Martha had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.

Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept.

So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” (John 11:28–37)

The best thing for you may turn out to be very unpleasant. Jesus’ will for Lazarus was that he get sick and die. Jesus’ will for his friends and relatives was that they experience grief. Why? To bring glory to God. There is more to our lives than just us. And even if it is all for the best, the pain is no less intense.

After Jesus learned where Lazarus had been placed, in the shortest verse of the Bible, we learn that he cried. Why did Jesus cry when he knew Lazarus would be alive so soon? Jesus cried over the death of Lazarus for the same reason any human being has ever cried over the death of a loved one.

Christians find it easy to think of Jesus as God. Too often, we have trouble accepting the fact that he was also human. Jesus laughed and Jesus cried, for the same reasons that any human being laughs or cries.

The death of Lazarus and Jesus’ interactions with the mourners gives us added insight into the heart of Jesus: we get to know Jesus not just in the words he spoke, but also in his tears, no different from the ones we shed in our darkest hours. Like Jesus, we know that the resurrection is coming. But like Jesus, we still must cry.

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How Long?

Jesus and his three disciples came down from the mountain and were met by a large crowd. Just then someone in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, please do something for my son! He is my only child! A demon often attacks him and makes him scream. It shakes him until he foams at the mouth, and it won’t leave him until it has completely worn the boy out. I begged your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.”

Jesus said to them, “You people are stubborn and don’t have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you?”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son to me.” While the boy was being brought, the demon attacked him and made him shake all over. Jesus ordered the demon to stop. Then he healed the boy and gave him back to his father. (Luke 9:37–42)

Because he loves us, Jesus never gives up on us. Jesus words to his disciples may seem harsh. In the face of the boy’s suffering, Jesus berated them for being “stubborn” and having “no faith.” He then wonders aloud about how long he’s going to have to stay with them and put up with it all.

Where was Jesus’ compassion? Why was he suddenly so cross with them? The context explains it all. Jesus had sent his disciples two by two to preach about the kingdom, with Jesus’ authority to heal and cast out demons. He had fed the five thousand. Peter had declared that Jesus was Messiah and Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection. Then three of his closest disciples had witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, saw Moses and Elijah, and heard the voice of the Father. It was only after all of that, that Jesus blew up at his disciples when they failed to help a poor man and his son. Nevertheless, Jesus solved the problem, despite the stubbornness and faithlessness around him. He healed the boy from the demon and restored the son to his father.

Jesus may be disappointed by our failure, just he was with his disciples, but he’ll keep working with us, even as he kept working with them. How long did he put up with his disciples? The rest of their lives, and for all eternity. But Jesus more than just puts up with us. He loves us and will be with us always.

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With Us

As soon as the meal was finished, Jesus insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead across to Bethsaida while he dismissed the congregation. After sending them off, he climbed a mountain to pray.

Late at night, the boat was far out at sea; Jesus was still by himself on land. He could see his men struggling with the oars, the wind having come up against them. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. He intended to go right by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and screamed, scared out of their wits.

Jesus was quick to comfort them: “Courage! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” As soon as he climbed into the boat, the wind died down. They were stunned, shaking their heads, wondering what was going on. They didn’t understand what he had done at the supper. None of this had yet penetrated their hearts.

They beached the boat at Gennesaret and tied up at the landing. As soon as they got out of the boat, word got around fast. People ran this way and that, bringing their sick on stretchers to where they heard he was. Wherever he went, village or town or country crossroads, they brought their sick to the marketplace and begged him to let them touch the edge of his coat—that’s all. And whoever touched him became well. (Mark 6:45–56)

Jesus doesn’t want us to be afraid. When the disciples were rowing against the wind, while they were stuck trying to cross the lake that Jesus had told them to cross, they got scared by the unexpected appearance of Jesus. Rather than assuming that Jesus would be with them in their hard struggle, they were more willing to believe in ghosts. Mark commented that the implications of the feeding of the five thousand hadn’t yet penetrated the disciples’ hearts. What was the implication of those miraculous loaves and fishes? Just as God had fed the Israelites in the wilderness with bread from heaven, so had Jesus fed the multitude in Galilee. That meant that Jesus was God come down to Earth in human form.

Therefore his disciples should have understood that Jesus would that they were always safe and that without question they would arrive on the other side of the lake since they were going there because he told them to. But like the disciples, too often we find it easier to trust our circumstances—that is, to believe what are eyes show us—than to trust the one who is Lord over our circumstances. Jesus told his disciples not to fear, because he was with them. Likewise, Jesus is always with us.

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God’s Gifts are Irrevokable

It happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11–19)

Jesus made a habit of going to all the wrong places and hanging out with all the wrong people. Not only did he go to Samaria, but then he met up with its lepers. According to the law, they had to stand apart from others and call out “unclean” so that people would know to avoid them. When the ten wanted Jesus to heal them, they didn’t come near. Instead, they begged for mercy from a distance. Jesus’ response was simply to tell them to go show themselves to the priests. A leper had to go through a lot in order to gain official recognition of his cleansing. Leviticus 14 lays out all the details. There were ceremonial washings. He had to shave off of every last hair on his body. And he had to perform a series of sacrifices.

As those ten men started on the journey to present themselves to the priests their disease left them. Nine of the men continued on their way. But one of them, a Samaritan, turned back to glorify God. Jesus thought that it was strange that only one, the one who wasn’t even an Israelite, expressed thanks. Jesus told that man, and that man only, that his faith had healed him.

But notice: the other nine remained healed. Jesus did not take back his blessing from the other nine lepers who failed to thank him. God’s gifts are irrevocable. Jesus intervenes in our lives because of his mercy, not because he gets something from us. But he still appreciates getting thanked.

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I Want to Believe

“Whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades.

“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:10–16)

What does it take to get people to believe? It depends on whether people want to believe. Jesus did most of his teaching and miracles in the region around the Sea of Galilee. Chorazin was a town about two miles north of Capernaum. Bethsaida was located at the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee where the Jordan river flows into it. Both cities had witnessed Jesus’ teaching and his miracles. But most of the inhabitants had not been convinced. So Jesus condemned them by suggesting Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they’d gotten to see such marvels.

But if Tyre and Sidon would have repented had the miracles that were done in Chorazin and Bethsaida been done in them, then why didn’t God do such miracles for them? Isn’t it God’s will that no one should perish? If there was a way of saving those cities, then why didn’t God save them?

By condemning Chorazin and Bethsaida Jesus was not suggesting that there had been hope for those wicked cities of the past. Jesus’ point was simply that Chroazin and Bethsaida were without excuse. Jesus had done enough for them. They should have believed. Now that they had rejected Jesus, their blood would be on their own heads. Those ancient, evil cities had only had God’s prophets in their midst, men like Isaiah and Ezekiel. Chorazin and Bethsaida had God himself in their midst, in the person of Jesus Christ. To whom much was given, much would be required. Like them, we have no excuse for not believing.

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Faithless

Jesus and his three disciples came down from the mountain and were met by a large crowd. Just then someone in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, please do something for my son! He is my only child! A demon often attacks him and makes him scream. It shakes him until he foams at the mouth, and it won’t leave him until it has completely worn the boy out. I begged your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.”

Jesus said to them, “You people are stubborn and don’t have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you?”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son to me.” While the boy was being brought, the demon attacked him and made him shake all over. Jesus ordered the demon to stop. Then he healed the boy and gave him back to his father. (Luke 9:37–42)

Because he loves us, Jesus never gives up on us. Jesus words to his disciples may seem harsh. In the face of the boy’s suffering, Jesus berated them for being “stubborn” and having “no faith.” He then wonders aloud about how long he’s going to have to stay with them and put up with it all.

Where was Jesus’ compassion? Why was he suddenly so cross with them? The context explains it all. Jesus had sent his disciples two by two to preach about the kingdom, with Jesus’ authority to heal and cast out demons. He had fed the five thousand. Peter had declared that Jesus was Messiah and Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection. Then three of his closest disciples had witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, saw Moses and Elijah, and heard the voice of the Father. It was only after all of that, that Jesus blew up at his disciples when they failed to help a poor man and his son. Nevertheless, Jesus solved the problem, despite the stubbornness and faithlessness around him. He healed the boy from the demon and restored the son to his father.

Jesus may be disappointed by our failure, just he was with his disciples, but he’ll keep working with us, even as he kept working with them. How long did he put up with his disciples? The rest of their lives, and for all eternity. But Jesus more than just puts up with us. He loves us and will be with us always.

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