Tag Archive - Faith

Questions (Part 2)

August 6, 2010 in Faith with 3 Comments

What could have made John the Baptist question the Messiahship of Jesus? Something was at work, but what was it? I believe the answer lies within Matthew 11:6: “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

The key word is “offended.” Contextually, it is clear to me that Jesus is speaking of John, here. But why would John be offended by Jesus? The to this question is elsewhere.

John had some sharp opinions about Jesus that were expressed through his preaching ministry. In the following passage, I’ve emboldened some words and phrases that give indication to John’s perceptions about the ministry of Jesus.

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

(Matthew 3:10-12).

John was speaking to Pharisees and Sadducees who’d come to him. “Even now” seems to suggest that the judgment of which he speaks, he believes to be imminen, and that the Pharisees would not escape it. His conception of Jesus’ ministry is that he would be carrying his “winnowing fork,” chucking people into everlasting and unquenchable fire. But was this so?

The story of Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3) casts Jesus in a much different light than  what John the Baptist preached. Jesus is conversing with a Pharisee- not just a Pharisee, but a ruler of the Pharisees- yet Jesus says nothing about judgment, being cut down or unquenchable fire. He simply says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3). I don’t sense, at all, that Jesus is trying to scare him. In fact, he goes out of his way to not scare him.

It is easy to forget that the words of John 3:16 were offered, still, in the context of Jesus and Nicodemus. But they were. I’m inclined, though, to think that verse 17 is more profound than verse 16, especially, given expectations about Jesus during his earthly ministry. Brace yourself here…“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

John believed Jesus was coming to the world to condemn it, but Jesus, essentially, said: “No, that is not why the Father sent me.” In fact, he stated in no uncertain terms that he didn’t come to condemn the world! The conclusion: John had expectations of Jesus that Jesus didn’t live up to! That is why, I believe, John has reservations about Jesus.

Did Jesus recognize this? I think so. I’m convinced that this is why Jesus said to John’s messengers, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” John was offended that Jesus didn’t live up to his expectations. So he question him.

John fell into the trap of doing what so many of us do…casting Jesus in our own light instead of seeing him for who he really is. If you see Jesus as American, Republican, and/or White, you are guilty of making Jesus into who you want him to be. The inevitable conclusion will be that you will formulate expectations of him that he’ll never live up to. In the end, you’ll be let down.

John’s doubts weren’t the end of him. He died a martyr’s death as a kingdom servant. Our questions aren’t the end of us, either. They are crucial to our development. Jesus could handle John’s question and he can handle ours, as well. He didn’t get mad at John for asking, nor will he be upset with us. Our questions are opportunities to grow and he will show us what we need to see and give us what we need.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

Questions

August 4, 2010 in Faith with 5 Comments

“There’s no such thing as a stupid question!”

We’ve been told this is true but many of us are not compelled to believe it. And it’s not that we don’t believe the statement, in principle, to be true. We just don’t believe that those who often utter these words always mean it. I’m not convinced we should, either.

Ask a few questions and you’ll get vilified. Put some things to the test (1 Thess. 5:21) and you’ll quickly assume a label you didn’t ask for. Why? Because you asked a few questions?

For those of you who’ve got some questions but haven’t asked them because you’ve come to believe that asking them comes with a price, I want to remind you of John the Baptist. On one occasion, he asked a question of utmost importance. To be honest, I can’t believe he asked it at all. But he did, and my consideration of the question he asked has helped me over the years. I hope it helps you, too.

John is in prison. He’s literally going to lose his head. So he sends messengers to Jesus to ask… “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). This wasn’t a harmless question. It was a question upon which everything that would come would hinge. We might ask it like this…”Are you really the Christ?”

Now remember, John is blood kin to Jesus. They are cousins. John’s time in his mother’s womb bore supernatural distinction. John is foreshadowed in the Old Testament scriptures (Isaiah 40; Malachi 3 & 4). He even baptized Jesus (Matthew 3). John the Baptist is no small player in the scheme of things. But in prison, amid the doom and gloom of what was before him, he doubts.

And it was John who was doubting, not his messengers. I’ve found some who’ve given treatment to this story who found it inconceivable that John would possess such doubts, so they surmised that John is not one with the questions, but rather the messengers are the uncertain ones. Jesus eliminates this possibility when he sends them back, encouraging them to “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Matthew 11:4).

Given his role, and who he is, how could he ask such a question?

It must have infuriated Jesus, right? Nope. Not one bit. And that is what makes me marvel.

I know some people who if they were in Jesus’ shoes would have responded….

Who’ve you been listening to?

Who’ve you been reading?

John has fallen off the deep end. Mark him and stay with us.

But Jesus says none of that! He says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” This is an effort to affirm and shore him up, not write him off. And that is the difference between Jesus and a lot of people today!

In fact, Jesus actually does the unthinkable when the messengers leave. In verses 8ff, Jesus actually commends John for who he is and what he has done. Wow.

You may have some questions for which you are searching for an answer. It’s OK. Before God, you’ll not get crucified for asking them. But before you ask them, think about who you are asking. Find someone you trust. Find someone with the heart of love. Find someone who deals with the things that matter most. But ask the questions. You are doing yourself any good by not asking them. God can take them. He’s been doing it for a long time.

Later this week, I am going to posit some thoughts about why John the Baptist was in doubt. I’ll focus on Matthew 11:6. John does something that a lot of us have done.

Thanks for reading!

Playing it Safe…

May 28, 2010 in Faith with 7 Comments

Earlier this week I heard a missionary tell of his work in Africa. I loved listening to him and I think he does amazing work. He repeatedly brought up, though, how Americans were being targeted, kidnapped and held hostage in nearby areas, but American churches were paying large sums of money to buy their release. I remember thinking, “Hmmm. Isn’t that just fueling the fire, enabling groups to do more of the same?” But that’s another subject, maybe, for another time.

It got me to thinking, though, about the inherent dangers involved in mission work. Missionaries know that there is serious danger in that kind of work. To a large extent, that is exactly why I appreciate them. But the know the dangers are more than hypothetical, they are real, and yet still they go. But what should happen when the unthinkable actually happens?

If we will think about it, danger lurks around every corner, hides in virtually every crevass, and can happen anywhere. Danger can found on the Mexico border, in the African village, as well as on the suburban street corner. There is no escaping it. You can try, but it will be to no avail!

I don’t believe Jesus launched his mission into world so that we might play it safe. What we refer to as The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) wasn’t a proposition to simply take the gospel to places where we’d be sheltered from harm. There was no caveat which stated: “Go into all the world..except for the high risk places.” After all, there really is no 100% safe place. Evil is everywhere and harm is indiscriminate about where it will emerge. If we only played it safe, we’d go nowhere. But for some reason, I don’t think, in our heart of hearts, we believe that’s the right thing to do.

Think about it…Daniel lived for God in the middle of a Babylonian firestorm of danger. He was in a foreign land, and yet he was open about his faith and devotion to God, even if it meant a front row seat a lion’s den or a fiery furnace. I know he was taken into captivity by force, but that didn’t change how he acted while there. It was in those situations that Daniel’s faith was exhibited, regardless of what would befall him. How comfortable would we feel telling Daniel our stories about how we didn’t go to the risky places because it was dangerous? Not me.

And then there’s Stephen in Acts 7. That guy was nuts to preach that kind of message, to that group of people, in that kind of place. Didn’t he know it might get him killed? Didn’t he know that he might better serve the cause of Christ by going on his way and finding a people to preach to who wouldn’t start chucking rocks at him? After all, he might die of such treatment. Err…he did die. But Stephen was outright foolish to do what he did, wasn’t he? But again, doesn’t it sound odd to suggest such? It does to me. After all, we extol martyrs. He loved the Lord and was willing to die for him.  We are supposed to be “faithful” even if it might cost us our lives (Rev. 2:10). But what does it say about us if we only go where it is advantageous to us?

A Testament of Faith, Acts 1:1-3

February 18, 2010 in Acts with 1 Comment

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:1-3, ESV

According to Luke 1:1, many sought to provide a narrative of the life of Jesus. The penman of the book that bears his name saw himself as one of many. The penmanship of the Gospel of Luke is attributed to him because of the certainty by which it is believed he penned Acts. If he wrote Acts to Theophilus as a continuation of “the first book,” then he would be responsible for Luke as well. I don’t deny this.

Luke traveled with Paul. He was a physician (Col. 4:14) and the only Gentile penman for the New Testament. I don’t know why, but the work of Luke through divine inspiration appeals to me. There’s something about his life that appeals to me.

Despite his not having been the visible, eyewitness to Jesus that others were, he still was a man of incredible faith in Jesus. This is attested to by the prologues of the books he penned (Luke 1 and Acts 1).

Consider the certainty with which he writes Theophilus. No hesitation. No couching his words with: “I think…” or “It’s my opinion…” There is no question in his mind. “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” His is a strong affirmation, as strong an affirmation as there is without belaboring the point, of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4) and his faith in it.

These first three verses are a strong statement, a testament of faith that echoes through 2000 years of history right to our hearts. Nothing can quench the echo; no one and no thing can stop its reverberation.

The testament of faith lies in the ability to see with the heart’s eyes (Eph. 1:18).  That’s how Luke saw. I love how Peter, one who spent three years in intimate connection with Jesus, writes to those who weren’t afforded his privilege: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8, ESV). Peter saw Jesus’ life with his physical eyes and was impacted. Others see his life through spiritual eyes and are no less impacted.

We, too, are able to stand with Luke in firm conviction. Being lost in Jesus makes it possible. I need not see him in the flesh. I need not have a vision that takes me into the 3rd heaven to believe. I believe because I sense his presence on the inside, giving me the fullness of God (Ephesians 3: 17-19), and no one can take that away.

Time to Journal the Converging Process

December 21, 2009 in Christian Life, Faith, Jesus with 0 Comments

I’m convinced Christ is looking for my life to converge with his (Colossians 3:3-4), but I’m not necessarily certain about the “hows” of this process. I do know that the transformation process itself, though, isn’t totally a self-help project. He is at work, doing something to facilitate “being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” I know this because “this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

It’s time I get lost; I need to get lost in him. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God” (Colossians 3:3, HCSB).

This blog really hasn’t been about a guy “converging with Christ…” I’d like to think that it was, but it’s just not so. But all of that is about to change.

For a number of reasons, some of which are deeply personal, I’ve decided to journal on a daily basis. I want to chronicle my own conscientious effort to take my faith in Jesus seriously and get lost in him. I believe it will happen, and I plan to journal about it.

I’d love for you to join me. Let’s get lost together!
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