Douglas Young

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).

Over Spring Break our family went camping at the entrance of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We met some friends from Dallas and camped for a few days. Our friends got there the day before us. They selected a site that was perfect.

It wasn’t primitive camping. It was a facility set up with multiple tent camping sites. There were bathrooms, showers and even BBQ grills at each respective site. It was a nice place to be sure.

The weather wasn’t great for a delightful camping experience, at least at first. It was cold, rainy, and of course, windy. After a day, though, the weather greatly improved. The wind subsided, the rain ceased, and the skies opened up most majestically. In, too, came the campers. By Tuesday evening, the campsites were nearly full.

Later that night, a rather large group showed up and pitched an enormous tent- in the dark mind you- right in the center of all of us. Unfortunately for them, this wasn’t exactly a tent site. It was a place where horses could be tied off. There were, hyperbolically speaking, tons of left over hay and horse dung all over the place and that group slept right on top of it.

Now give the guys a break. It was dark and the lighting was rather poor, so it was difficult to tell what was on the ground beneath them. But that is what happens when you’re operating in the dark, you often do things you wouldn’t normally do if you could really see.

I think that is why Jesus, John, and Paul spoke so frequently about the light and darkness contrast. They spoke of the power of light, the doom of walking in darkness, and the miseries of darkened eye-site. Bad things tend to happen in the dark, things a lot worse than pitching your tent on top of a bunch of horse manure.

Walking in darkness, though, is not an uneasy thing to find yourself doing. Those who walk without Jesus are doing it now and don’t even know it. Some even effort to walk with Jesus but it is as if they are hiding him with a quilt, or even worse, a straight-jacket. It’s as if he’s the delusional friend they are trying to control lest he make them do irrational things. But he’s hidden to be sure.

Jesus is to be put on, though (Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 3:3-4). He is to be worn by us. And when he is, he actually makes his way inside us and dwells there. His light radiates in and through us so that we do not walk in darkness, but instead walk in truth, because he is truth (John 14:6).

I’ve tried walking with Jesus in futile, unproductive ways. It has made a laughing-stock of him and has often hurt his cause. It was walking in a way of darkness. I cannot contain or restrain Jesus. The man who could not be contained in a tomb definitely cannot be contained by me! Approaching Jesus this way isn’t much different than unknowingly pitching your tent on dung.

Early this morning, Tisha and I read through Matthew 26 as a part of our daily bible reading and devotional time. When we were done, we discussed the events surrounding the betrayal, denial and desertion of Jesus, all of which were predicted by him prior to His prayer at Gethsemane. Jesus’ frustration with Peter, James, and John not being able to stay awake and pray with him, apparently, was so that they wouldn’t “enter into temptation” (v. 35). Temptation from what? Or temptation to do what? Could some of his prayer, and the agony that accompanied it, have been for the disciples, that they, especially Peter, not succumb to what he’s already predicted? Interesting enough, the last thing he says before Judas and his contingent arrived was, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Matthew 26:45).

The pains of Jesus in the garden had to have been numerous, but I wonder how much of “the cup” that Jesus prayed for God to remove was oriented around bypassing the betrayal, denial, and desertion by those he loved? I’m not suggesting that the agony with which he prayed wasn’t, in any way, about the death process he would experience. But I am saying that the context that Matthew paints seems to be aligned around his three predictions of betrayal by Judas (vv. 14-16), denial by Peter (vv. 30-35), and desertion by the others (v. 31). In fact, that is precisely Jesus’ concern in Matthew 26:45.

It had to have been tough for someone who loved so much to have experienced such betrayal. Think about Peter’s firm affirmation that there is no way in the world that he would deny Jesus (v. 35). It’s a grave warning to all of us: We should be very careful with our confidence.

We know their actions caused significant trauma. Judas took his own life. John actually reflects upon the effects Peter’s denial had upon him (John 21:15-23). Read it for yourself. It’s not as apparent in the English, but in the Greek we see that Peter couldn’t so much bring himself to say that he loved Jesus with agape love. Jesus asked him, the first two times, if he loved him with agape, but all Peter can muster is that he loved him with phileo love. Ouch. Peter, apparently, was devastated to the core. I’m inclined to think that Jesus, seeing it coming, was as pained by what Peter would do as Peter was after he did it.

I know there is a lot that is going on that the text simply doesn’t reveal. But this has stuck with me since this morning. At the moment, I am thinking about my friends. I am thinking about the pain I might have caused some of them. I am letting go, though, of the pain other friends might have caused me. Thank you God for opening my eyes to all this!

To say, “It’s easy to get sidetracked.” is a major understatement. My ability to get sidetracked is probably one of my worst flaws. I know it has hindered me from improving my blogging. Journaling is tough when there is little continuity to a schedule. Today, my next module in my Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation program begins. That is going to add another measure of difficulty to my project of getting lost in Jesus. Which reminds me, there is a comical section in Ed Dobson’s, The Year of Living Like Jesus, where he tells of getting together with a youth minister with whom he was friends who had committed to living like Jesus as Ed was. Ed writes,

In January he started growing his beard, eating kosher, and reading through the Gospels too. But he only lasted a few weeks. He told me, “I can’t keep this up. I work at a church full-time– so I can’t live like Jesus.”

When I first read this, I was sitting on an airplane in flight to Houston’s Hobby airport for the holidays. I laughed out loud so loudly that I drew significant attention to myself. I just smiled and said, “Funny story.”

You can probably understand why it was so funny. How could it be that a guy in full-time ministry would struggle to live like Jesus. You have to be familiar with The Year of Living Like Jesus to understand the degree to which Dobson sought to live like Jesus. He went all out. He ate kosher. He kept the Sabbath. He studied Torah. He sought to live out the very teachings of Jesus as Jesus did himself. Understandably, it was no easy task. Dobson’s a retired minister, but he suffers from ALS. His challenges were unique nonetheless.

So when the young man said, “I can’t keep this up. I work at a church full-time– I can’t live like Jesus,” he was suggesting one thing, but I read it to imply something he didn’t intend to convey. It sure sounded funny as I read it though. But was he really off the mark?

Full-time ministry, as it is played out in 2010, does make it difficult to live like Jesus. The pace moves too quickly. The calendar has so many things listed on it. Then, throw in a wife and three kids. Maybe this is why men like Jesus and Paul weren’t married? There just seems to be an enormous gap between the life Jesus lived, even if  you look at it solely in principle, and the lives that those who profess to follow him today live. Am I off the mark?

Suffice to say, it feels as if I’ve watered down what it means to live like Jesus. This bothers me. Sure, I know that over 2000 years of history and changing cultures that we aren’t expected to do everything as Jesus did it. But the barriers to living out the way of Christ are obvious: fame, fortune, status, and etc. All of these are hindrances that we all know affect our era. But I shall continue to pursue Him in the way.

One of several books I’ve been slowly, but steadily trudging through is Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by authors Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. If you are interested in seeing Jesus in his original light, instead of how the Western world has formed him, I recommend it. I feel as if Spangler and Tverberg are taking me back in time, to see the culture of Jesus’ day, so as to shed increased insight into his words and actions.

There is a growing concern amongst some, inasmuch as the Gentiles of old fashioned gods after their own imaginations (Romans 1:21ff.), that we’ve done the same thing with God the Father and His Son Jesus. To some, this formulation of God based on human conceptions was a problem of the past. But if it happened then, it most certainly can happen now.

In a way, he’s been Westernized to fit our needs. Think about it…many of us see him as white, Republican, and concerned about making us rich. But this is not the Jesus of Scripture. He wasn’t white. He wasn’t political (John 18:36). He wasn’t concerned about making you rich (Luke 12:15). His concern was that you have life in him (John 10:9-10).

It’s never easy to have your notions of things broken down, but sometimes they must for us to see clearly. Veils must be torn; haze must be lifted; light must penetrate darkness. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus is helping do some of this for me. It can do the same for you.

For some things there are just no words. No matter how hard we try, the words we conjure up just don’t seem to do the job. And that is frustrating.

So it is with the love of Christ. How do you accurately explain it? It’s virtually impossible. Know why? Because it transcends human thinking capabilities. Don’t get me wrong, we can know the love of Christ, but maybe not like we would like to.

Paul’s prayer for Christians was that they be “rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19, ESV). I don’t think that knowing the love of Christ is a “head thing.” It’s a heart thing because that’s where he’s to dwell. Study will only get us so far. The love of Christ “that surpasses knowledge” has to be experienced.

What is it that stands out to us about Christ’s love? It’s what he did, namely, the offering of himself upon a cross for humanity. But for us to experience the transcendent love of Christ ,we must experience it with him by doing the things he did. It comes by teaching with relevance, serving with compassion, and giving with spiritual substance.

The matchless love of Christ transcends our words though. Words are the product of thought; thought is the product of knowledge; Christ’s love surpasses them all!