Our Confidence

Paul says, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”  (Philippians 1:6, NLT)[i]

Let me ask you a question.  What are you certain of?

I am fairly certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning.  A lifetime of experience gave me this certainty.  In my lifetime, the sun has risen every morning.  I have missed a couple mornings, but the sun has not missed a single morning.  Historically, all indications are that this has always been the case.

Certainty comes in varying degrees.  I believe that it will be warm tomorrow.  It is warm today.  It is near the end of June in Kansas, which is usually warm.  However, I have experienced unexpected weather in Kansas, and, consequently, the degree of certainty is not as high as for the sun rising.

Experience and history are two things that help to increase our degree of certainty.  Both experience and history give me my confidence in the sun rising and the weather being warm tomorrow.

While experience and history are not infallible proofs of anything, they are reliable enough that we operate on confidence developed by experience and history.

Paul’s confidence is based on experience and history.  In addition, the Word of God also figures into his confidence.

Paul has made a simple statement of his certainty that God will continue His work in us, and before we examine what that work might be, I want to examine what his confidence is based on.  Can we trust it?

Certainty or confidence implies that we can trust or rely on that which we place our confidence in.

We put our confidence in all kinds of things every day.  Have you ever had your brakes fail while you were driving?  I have and it is terrifying.  Our lives depend upon the reliability of the things we put our confidence in.  We put our confidence in the cars and drivers we ride with, despite the worldwide study that revealed that over two out of every 100 of us will die in automobile accidents.

What we put our confidence in has consequences.

Let’s examine Paul’s confidence.

His statement, once again, is:

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  (Philippians 1:6, NLT)

As we look at this passage, it is clear that his confidence is in God.  God began the work.  God will continue the work.

Historically, we have examples of those who have put their confidence in God.

We have the testimony of family members, fathers, mothers and grandparents.  Not everyone has this testimony, but many do.  My grandmother loved the Lord, and I literally cannot think of a day when she did not talk about Him.  The Lord Jesus was faithful to her.  She relied on Him, and from her I saw that I too could put my confidence in Him.

Historically, we also have the examples of the heroes of the faith:  Billy Graham, D.L. Moody, Hudson Taylor, John and Charles Wesley, David Livingston, Jonathan Edwards, and the list of people goes on and on.  I literally have hundreds of biographies on my shelf and there are many thousands available.  All of these tell us and show us that we can safely put our confidence in God.

In addition, we have the examples of those recorded in Scripture -  Noah, Abraham, Moses, David along with many others including Paul himself – all showing us that it is safe to put our confidence in God.

We all put our confidence in cars and drivers, accepting the risk.  I do not think two out of 100 deaths are great odds, and the odds of injury are much higher.  However, no one has ever lost by taking God at His word.  I must put a caution or a qualifier on this statement though.  Many have been deceived.  Our enemy, the devil, is a liar and he deceives many.  God warns us:

Look to God's instructions and teachings!  People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.  (Isaiah 8:20, NLT)

And also:

Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.  (Colossians 2:8, NLT)

All teaching must be measured by the Word of God.  If we are not measuring everything by the Word of God, then our confidence is not in God.  You can have confidence in me only as far as I am faithful to the Word of God and my confidence in God.

Paul, whose statement we are looking at, was a violent persecutor of those who believed in Jesus Christ.  His own testimony is that he did it out of zeal for God.  He says:

…I used to blaspheme the name of Christ.  In my insolence, I persecuted his people.  But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.  (1 Timothy 1:13, NLT) 

In speaking of our confidence, I must also speak of the danger of misplaced confidence.  Let me again borrow from the Apostle Paul who said:

¹⁷Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.  ¹⁸For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  ¹⁹They are headed for destruction.  Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.  (Philippians 3:17-19, NLT)

History is full of the examples of these enemies of the cross of Christ, and many are turned away because of this.  Many see the fruit of such lives and think that God is not reliable.  However, as Paul says, the conduct of these people shows that they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  Do not judge God by the conduct of His enemies.

I have gone far afield in pursuit of the idea that our confidence is in God.  Experience and history teach us that we can rely on Him.  It is also experience and history that teach us that His Word is absolutely reliable.  His Word is so reliable that Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”  (Matthew 24:35, NLT)  God’s Word is more sure than the sunrise.

Paul brings up his confidence in the context of expressing his gratitude for the Philippian believers.  He says, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”  (Philippians 1:3, NLT)  

Paul labored hard for the benefit of the churches.  In Philippians 2:17, he likens his labor to pouring out his life as a sacrifice. He invested everything in these people and therefore he needed to know his labor was not meaningless or wasted.  Because of his confidence in God, Paul overflowed with gratitude.

His confidence in God in relation to the Philippians was that God would continue the work He had begun in them.

I want you to know how much joy and confidence this gives me.  I want you to share in my joy and confidence.

My heart breaks when I see a person in pain and in my role as pastor, I get to see people in pain.

However, I know the answer.

Our problems all exist because of sin.  Jesus died for our sins and rose again to give us life.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we have eternal life and our sins are forgiven.  However, we are not yet free from the presence of sin.  We still sin, and we still suffer the consequences of sin in our bodies.  For example, we all still grow old and die.  Our sins are forgiven, but the physical death of the body is still there because of sin.  We also are still subject to disease.  Sickness and disease came into the world because of sin.  Jesus died and defeated sin and paid the price for our sins and one day all sickness and disease will be done away with because of what Jesus did – just not yet.  We are waiting. 

Salvation is God beginning a good work in us.  Paul’s statement assumes that the work is not yet completed.  His confidence, our confidence, is that God will continue what He started.  This is exactly why James 1:2-4 says:

²Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  ³For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  ⁴So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  (NLT)

Peter says it this way:

⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 1:6-7, ESV)[ii]

We can rejoice in trials because we are confident that God is working.  We can rejoice in difficulties because we are confident that God is working.  We can rejoice in suffering because we are confident God is working.

Do you have a habit you have not been able to shake?

Do you believe that it is beyond God’s ability to deliver you?

Are you facing a particularly hard work situation?  You know of course that God is good and works all things for the good of those that love Him.  How confident does this make you?

Are you facing a particularly hard family situation?  You know of course that God is there in the middle of it all with you, and you can ask Him to have His will and His way.

You can trust God completely.

Talk with Him now about the trial in your life that is challenging your faith.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Seeking the Lost

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus was passing through Jericho.  He had set His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51).  The redemption of all humanity was His purpose.  According to Luke 19:11, the people were expecting the kingdom of God to be established immediately.  This was obviously a climax.  The people expected great things. 

Today we are looking at Luke 19:1-10.  This passage leads into the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus told in Luke 19:28-40.  The crowd that was following Him and the excitement that surrounded Him continued, climaxing in the Hosannas of His entry into Jerusalem.

This was also the end of Jesus’s ministry.  He traveled about Judea, Samaria and Galilee preaching, teaching, healing and baptizing for three years.  The time had come for Him to complete the work His Father had given Him.

He was on His way to Jerusalem in order to complete His work.  On the way, He warned His disciples what was to come.  He told them He would be killed but that He would rise again on the third day. 

His route to Jerusalem lay through Jericho.  Luke 19:1 tells us He was “passing through.”  

A crowd was following Him.  Apparently, this crowd was not quiet and somber.  (We can assume this crowd started the Hosannas of the Triumphal Entry.)  Just before He entered Jericho, a blind man noticed the noise of the crowd passing by and asked what was going on.  He was told, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”  (Luke 18:37, ESV[i])  When he heard this, the blind man called out saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  (Luke 18:38, ESV)  This term “Son of David” refers to the promise of God to David that one of David’s descendants would sit on the throne of David forever.  Ezekiel 44:3 refers to Him as “the Prince.”

As far as the crowd was concerned, Jesus was on important business.  When the blind man called out to Jesus it says, “And those who were in front rebuked him [the blind man], telling him to be silent.”  (Luke 18:39, ESV)  The crowd thought Jesus was too important and His business was too important for Him to be bothered by a beggar.  However, Jesus “commanded him to be brought to him.”  (Luke 18:40, ESV)  The blind beggar received Jesus’s full attention, was healed and became an important part of the story.

Luke 19:11 tells us of the crowd saying, “…they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.”  The blind man was just a little delay.  Now, they could get on with the journey to the important place, Jerusalem.  But, it was necessary to pass through Jericho.

Luke 19 tells us there was a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus in Jericho.  Zacchaeus was small in stature and the crowd surrounded Jesus.  Zacchaeus, wanting to see Jesus, climbed a tree.  As Jesus passed, He stopped and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’s house, and spent the rest of the day in Jericho.

To the crowd, this was another interruption.  Jesus was on important business.  Jerusalem was where it was all happening.  They were just “passing through” Jericho on the way to the important place.  Now there had been two interruptions in a very short distance.  Some in the crowd probably thought, “At this rate, we are never going to get to Jerusalem.”

They did not complain about the interruption with the blind beggar.  They could understand.  Besides, it did not take long to heal the blind man and it was an incredible miracle, resulting in praise.  However, Zacchaeus was a tax collector, not just any tax collector; he was a chief tax collector.  When the crowd saw that Jesus was stopping and not only stopping but also going to Zacchaeus’s home, the text says, “they all grumbled.”  The text emphasizes the universality of the complaint, everybody objected, everybody grumbled.  The crowd was unified in their disapproval. 

Their complaint was “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  (Luke 19:7, ESV) 

As a tax collector, Zacchaeus was despised by the Jews, and being “chief” made him particularly odious.  Ironically, the name “Zacchaeus” means “pure.”  Can you imagine the slurs people would have made?  “Yeah, pure evil!” 

Zacchaeus apparently heard their complaints because he stood up and said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.  And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”  (Luke 19:8, ESV)

As an explanation for all the delay and the visit to the house of this sinner, Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (Luke 19:10, ESV)

There are two parts to Jesus’s statement, to seek and to save.

You may not feel that you are important enough.  Jesus is just “passing through” on His way to more important places for more important business.

Or, you may feel that you are a sinner and not worthy to have Jesus in your house.

These feelings or objections correspond to the two parts of Jesus’s statement, the seeking and the saving. 

Jesus spoke a lot about seeking.

He told a number of parables to explain His seeking. 

He told of a lady who lost a coin and stopped everything, swept the floor and cleaned house until she found it.  (Luke 15:8-9)  He also used the following example:

⁴“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  ⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  (Luke 15:4-5, ESV)

The blind beggar was the one.  Zacchaeus was the one.  You are the one, the one that Jesus is willing to leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go searching for, the one that takes precedence over His overarching purpose to save the world.  Sure, He has the universe to rule and the world to save, but He is willing to drop everything and stop by your house for the day.  We see this in the story of Zacchaeus, the story of the blind beggar and in the example Jesus used of the sheep.

In case you still do not believe me, I want to use an example from the Old Testament.  2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  Can you imagine, the eyes of the LORD searching the entire earth?  Now, I know you may not have a heart fully committed to the LORD, but we will get to that.  For now, realize with me that God is seeking.  He is seeking the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost treasure.

According to Jesus, this is why He came.  He came to seek the lost.

He also came to save the lost.

The blind beggar had a problem.  He was blind.

Zacchaeus had a problem.  He was a sinner.

If you have no problems, Jesus is not looking for you.  He said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”  (Luke 5:32, ESV)  He also said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do.”  (Luke 5:31, NLT[ii])

There was a group of religious people in Jesus’s day who kept all the rules and never did anything wrong.  At least on the surface, they never did anything wrong.  These people were the first to complain that Jesus ate and spoke with sinners.  These good people had tremendous influence.  You will notice that when Jesus went to Zacchaeus’s house “all the people” grumbled, not just some of the people, not just the super religious, all the people grumbled.  Earlier in His ministry Jesus told these people “…you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”  (John 5:40, NLT) 

The blind beggar was not the only beggar present when Jesus passed by.  Zacchaeus was not the only tax collector in Jericho.  Why did Jesus single out these two out of all the blind men and tax collectors in Israel?

The answer is simple.

They sought Jesus.

The blind man called out to Jesus.  When he was told to be quiet, he called out all the more.  Zacchaeus climbed a tree.  Seriously, they wore robes in those days, not pants, robes.  Personally, I would not have been under that tree for anything.  (As a side note, God forbade the use of steps approaching His altars for this very reason.  Exodus 20:26)  Zacchaeus was serious about seeing Jesus.

There are two aspects to their seeking Jesus that stand out.  One is their acknowledgement of their need, and the second is their faith.

First, they had to acknowledge their need. 

Many people have died early because they did not think the lump they discovered was important enough to go see a doctor.  Or, they were too afraid of what the doctor would tell them.

                                                                     

Many people are dying because they do not think they are bad enough to need a Savior.  Or, they are too afraid to admit they have a problem.

Many of us who have acknowledged we are sinners and have come to Jesus for salvation still live in bondage to one sin or another because we refuse to admit we have a problem.  Have others told you of your problem with anger but you refuse to listen?  Have others told you of your problem with lying, but you refuse to listen?

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.  We need to recognize that we are lost.  In addition, we must also respond to Him.

I mentioned that the second aspect of Zacchaeus and the blind man’s seeking Jesus was their faith.

God responds to faith.

This is why Romans 10:13 says:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”  (NLT)

Salvation is by faith not by works.  (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 1:17)  This is why the promise of salvation is to all who believe.  (John 1:12, 3:16)

God rewards those who diligently seek Him.  (Hebrews 11:6)

In order to seek Him, in order to be motivated to call on Him, we must believe that He can help.  We must believe that He can save us.

The blind man had to believe that Jesus could heal his blindness. Otherwise, why cause a commotion?  Zacchaeus had to believe that Jesus could cure him.  Otherwise, why give up all his wealth?

You and I will have to believe Jesus can heal us.  Otherwise, why give up our favorite sins?

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[i] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

People of Prayer

James 5:7-18

We are living in the last days.

Each generation has had its preachers and prophets who have said this.  However, I want to point out some well-known prophesies.

Look with me at Isaiah 11:11-12

¹¹In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

¹²He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  (ESV)[i]

Isaiah chapter 11 starts out with clear references to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 11:1-2 says:

¹There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  ²And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  (ESV)

From this reference of a “shoot from the stump of Jesse,” Isaiah 11 goes on to talk about the wolf dwelling with the lamb and the lion eating straw like an ox.  Isaiah 11:9 says:

⁹They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.  (ESV)

Jesus is unquestionably the “shoot from the stump of Jesse.”  However, the wolf and lamb thing is not yet a reality.  The wolf and lamb and the references to animals may be symbolic, but I do not think they are.  Whatever the case with these references to animals, the reference to no violence in the Lord’s holy mountain are not symbolic, nor is the reference to bringing back the “banished of Israel.”  Verse 11 says that the Lord will recover the remnant “yet a second time.”

The first time the remnant was brought back was at the end of the Babylonian captivity, which includes the story of Ezra and Nehemiah.  This “second time” referred to in this passage began in earnest on May 14, 1948.[ii]  This is the day set as the birthday of the modern nation of Israel.  Of course much happened before this, and the immigration of the Jewish people back to their land from the four corners of the earth continues to this day.

This one historical fact, interpreted in the light of Scripture, is enough to convince me that Jesus will return soon.

Scripture says much more about the consummation of the ages.  Much has been given for our encouragement as we approach the end.  

James and Peter wrote letters for the encouragement of the Church.  And, James and Peter both begin their letters by addressing these letters to those in the “Dispersion.”  The Dispersion refers to those of Jewish descent, who were scattered throughout the world by persecution.

These letters are addressed to the whole Church, because we Gentiles, as Romans 11:11-31 explains, have been grafted into all the promises of God in order to partake of Salvation.

As the Church, comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, we eagerly await Christ’s return. 

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 says:

⁵¹Behold!  I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  (ESV)

Until the time of Christ’s return, we are to be patient. 

We are to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”  (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)

James 5:7-11 talks to us about patience in the face of suffering.  The Lord Jesus promised us that in this world we will have trouble.  (John 16:33)  In Matthew 24:12-13 Jesus says:

¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  ¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  (ESV)

James 5:7-11 says:

⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  ⁸You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  ¹¹Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.  You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  (ESV)

We have seen how, in the purpose of the Lord, His children sometimes suffer, and we have seen how in this suffering the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  In chapter 1, James told us to consider it pure joy when we suffer; now he is telling us to be patient and “establish your hearts.” 

One cannot help but notice the theme of patience, endurance and steadfastness in the New Testament.  As we eagerly look forward to Christ’s return, we are to stand firm in the Lord.  (Ephesians 6:10)  Jesus left us with the job of making disciples, and while we expect opposition and trials, we are not cast down or discouraged by these.

While we eagerly await Jesus’s return, enduring with patience, we are to be people of prayer.  James 5:13-18 says:

¹³Is anyone among you suffering?  Let him pray.  Is anyone cheerful?  Let him sing praise.  ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  ¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  ¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  ¹⁸Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.  (ESV)

This passage is a call to prayer. 

Just before He went to the cross, Jesus said:

Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  (John 16:24, ESV)

In addition, prior to this He also said:

¹³Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  ¹⁴If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  (John 14:13-14, ESV)

In James 5:13-18, I see three types of praying.[iii]

First, I see people praying for themselves.  “Let him pray” is the instruction for anyone who is suffering.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16, we are instructed to pray without ceasing, and Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times.”  The New Testament is consistent in urging us to pray.

Second, I see people going to the elders of the Church for prayer.  James 5:14 calls for anyone who is sick to call for the elders of the Church.  The word sick in this verse is a word meaning “weak or feeble,” and its primary meaning is physical weakness.  However, it also has connotations for weakness morally as well.  (ESV)

Third, I see people praying for each other.  James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

Jesus taught that the man born blind was not blind because of some sin that he or his parents had committed.  He was blind so that God’s works could be displayed in him.  (John 9:1-3)  Sickness, disease and weakness are in the world because of sin, but this does not mean that your particular sickness is there because of a particular sin.  We will all be sick at one point or another.  We will all die if Jesus does not return before that time.  And, we will probably die of one sickness or another.  For those of us living in the United States, heart disease will probably be the highest cause of death among us with cancer being the second highest cause of death.  For those living in China or Japan, the main cause of death will probably be cancer.  In other words, unless Jesus returns and does away with sickness and disease, we will all be sick at some point in our lives.

We all go to the doctor, and do not feel it necessary to defend ourselves for doing so.  As a church, we pray for each other, and I assume you pray for yourself.  However, we hesitate to call on the elders for prayer.  Pastors and elders are called upon to serve the Body of Christ, and part of that calling is the privilege of being there for you when illness comes.  The anointing with oil is used as a symbolic representation of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  The phrase “in the name of the Lord” serves as a reminder that it is the Lord who heals, not the oil.  However, this is more than a ritual.

Remember when the disciples encountered a demon they could not cast out? (Mark 9:18)  When they asked Jesus why they could not cast it out, He said, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (ESV marginal reading)  Calling on the elders for the anointing with oil and prayer would be similar to this in taking prayer to the next level.  The elders as the leaders of the church represent the whole body.  Therefore, this action represents the unified prayers of the Body for the needs of this one particular member.

The ESV has the following note on James 5:15 with which I fully agree:

RE: the prayer of faith.  Not the faith of the sick person but the faith of those praying.  In this instance, James mentions no requirement for the sick person to exercise faith, only that he call for the elders.  Christians who are ill often find personal prayer difficult.  Will save perhaps carries a double meaning here: (1) the sick person will be physically healed (one meaning of Gk. sōzō), and/or (2) the sick person may also experience spiritual salvation (another meaning of Gk. sōzō), or growth in the blessings of salvation (sins … forgiven).  As seen throughout the Gospels, Jesus healed both physically and spiritually, and the same double connotation may be present here as well.  James is not teaching that all illnesses will be healed if people would simply call on the elders, or try to make themselves have enough faith, or pray with enough conviction.  Healing, when it does come, is always a gift from God, who is sovereign over all circumstances, including sickness and health.  It does not follow, therefore, that lack of faith on the part of the sick person is the reason that the sick person may not be healed. (On the gifts of faith and of healing, see note on 1 Cor. 12:9.)  Some interpreters suggest that James is referring to the promise of the resurrection rather than physical healing.  If, in the phrase “if he has committed sins,” implies that not all sickness is connected to specific sins, though James seems to expect that some sickness is.[iv]

James uses the example of Elijah in encouraging us to pray, and he says specifically, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…”  Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has given access to the Father to each of us.  Consider the effects of Elijah’s prayers…no rain for three years.  Now consider God is calling us to exercise this kind of influence through prayer.

The return of Jesus is going to be soon.  In the meantime, God has not left us without help, comfort and power to act.  He has left us with the task of making disciples, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer.

Are you continually praying for whatever concerns you?

Are you taking the time to pray together with other believers?

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[i] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[ii] https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+Israel+became+a+nation&oq=when+did+&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l4.3848j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8  Accessed May 18, 2016

[iii] The idea of 3 types of praying is taken from John Piper, www.desiringgod.org.  However, the explanation is my own.

[iv] https://www.esv.org/James+5/.  ESV Global Study Bible.  Accessed May 18, 2017.

Barriers

John 4:1-38

The Jews hated the Samaritans.

The feelings were mutual.

The Samaritans lived between Jerusalem, which was in Judea, and the region of Galilee in the north.

[i]

At the time of Jesus, the animosity between the Samaritans and the Jews dated back to the time of Jeroboam, when civil war tore the country in two.  At that time, Jeroboam set up golden calves to be worshipped in the northern kingdom.   

2 Kings 17:21-24 says this about what happened to the northern kingdom of Israel:.

But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin.  ²²And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam.  They did not turn from these sins ²³until the LORD finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned.  So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.

²⁴The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel.  They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.  ²⁵But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

²⁶So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: “The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land.  He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.”

²⁷The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria.  Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.”  ²⁸So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD.

²⁹But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods.  In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built.  ³⁰Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth.  Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal.  And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima.  ³¹The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak.  And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.

³²These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship.  ³³And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.  ³⁴And this is still going on today.  They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.[ii]

A couple hundred years after these events, these new residents of Samaria with their mixture of paganism and Judaism opposed Ezra and Nehemiah when they returned from the Babylonian exile to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

They also taught their children that theirs was the true way to worship God.  Therefore, when Jesus met the woman of Samaria at the well, she said, “So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”  (John 4:20, NLT)

The division, hatred and mistrust ran deep.

Often, Jews would add 30 to 50 miles, or 1 to 2 days extra, to their trip to avoid Samaria by walking on the east side of the Jordan.   Jesus, himself, also followed this circuitous route on occasion.  However, in John 4, John tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria.  (John 4:4)

Since Jesus and His disciples were baptizing in the Judean countryside, and the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was baptizing and making more disciples than John (John 4:1), it is likely that Jesus’s route was calculated to avoid the Pharisees as well as to get Him to Galilee.  By traveling directly from where He was, Jesus could avoid passing through Jerusalem and Jericho to get to the east side of the Jordan River.

Thus, John 4:6-7 finds Jesus sitting by Jacob’s well near the village of Sychar in Samaria.  When He asks the woman for a drink, she is surprised and says, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman.  Why are you asking me for a drink?” (John 4:9, NLT)

The woman is pointing out something obvious.  There were barriers to her having any kind of relationship with Jesus.  She just named two.  She was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew.  She was a woman and Jesus was a man.

Let me point out that every person you meet will have barriers to having any kind of a relationship with Jesus -- that is if they do not already have a relationship with Jesus.  Let them talk about the barriers.  Like the woman, they will know what the barriers are and will be happy to talk about them, if you are willing to listen.  Chances are you will be able to identify with them on some level.

Notice Jesus’s approach.

He says, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”  (John 4:10, ESV)[iii]

Notice, Jesus does not present clever arguments, but He offers to her the gift that He has.

We cannot offer people anything we do not have.  Each person has his or her own story.  Each person meets Jesus at a different place on the road, and that story, your unique story, is your way to overcome barriers.  Where and how did you find living water?  Share what you have with those around you.

Having been offered living water, the woman eagerly accepts saying, “Please, sir, give me this water!” (John 4:15)

Jesus then gets at the real barrier.  He says, “Go and get your husband.”  (John 4:16) 

The discussion that follows is famous. After she tells him her story, Jesus tells her that she has spoken truthfully because she had had five husbands and she was not married to the one she was with.  (John 4:17-18)  In response, the woman brings up the age-old conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans regarding who was worshipping correctly.  Jesus answers it, and then brings her back to the truth that He is the living water.  He is the gift of God.

The real barrier in each of our hearts is never culture, race, history or anything from the outside.  The woman’s real barrier was not the fact that she was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew.  Neither was the fact that she was a woman and Jesus was a man the real barrier.  The barriers of culture and gender are real and must be dealt with.  However, every person will have to face the barriers in his or her heart in order to have a relationship with Jesus.

Notice how defensive the Samaritan woman was.  When Jesus points out her husband situation, she changes the subject.  Jesus does not say it is her fault.  Jesus makes no judgment.  He does not condemn her.  He just states the facts of her case, and then Jesus brings the discussion back to “I am the Messiah!”  (John 4:26) 

The biggest barrier we all face in having a relationship with Jesus is our own brokenness.  It is hard to put a name to it.  Sin fits best.  It is a mixed bag.  We all have pride, shame, selfishness, greed, lust, envy and a host of other vices.  Therefore, it is easy to sum it all up with the word sin.  In addition, we are defensive about it.  We are even tempted to say we have no sin, even us believers.  However, 1 John 1:8 reminds us:

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

We all have a history.

The woman at the well had a national history, and it was a barrier.  She also had a personal history, and it was a barrier.

You and I also have a national history, a family history and a personal history.  All these things have the potential of being a barrier.  However, notice how Jesus deals with barriers.  He keeps coming back and saying in effect, “I am what you need.”   This was His message.  “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  (John 14:6)

The Samaritan woman had barriers to ever having a relationship with Christ.  She was a Samaritan.  She was a divorcee.  She was living in an adulterous relationship.  However, Jesus did not condemn her.  He offered her himself.

What is keeping you from a deeper, closer relationship with Christ?  What is keeping you from pursuing Him with everything you have?

I want to remind you of Romans 8:1-2, which says:

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  ²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

If others have condemned you and turned you away, Jesus will not, even knowing, as the woman said, “everything I ever did.”  (John 4:29)

Come today and drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!  (Isaiah 12:3)

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[i] http://cabinflooresoterica.com/image.php?pic=../images/samaria/samaria-02.jpg.  Accessed May 9, 2017

[ii] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[iii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Above All

Jesus began His ministry in a spectacular way.

For His closest disciples, He performed a miraculous sign that revealed His glory.  John 2:1-12 tells us about this miraculous sign.  Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee.  You will remember that Galilee was Jesus’s base of operation as well as near His hometown.  Jesus’s mother was also at the wedding, indicating that this wedding was for a couple known to Jesus’s family.  At this wedding, Jesus turned water into wine.  John 2:11 tells us:

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.[i]

A few days after the wedding, Jesus made His way to Jerusalem for the Passover.  During the Passover celebration, Jerusalem was a very crowded, busy place.

According to the noted scholar Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem had a population of about 20,000 to 30,000 people.  But at Passover, one of the three festivals that must be celebrated in Jerusalem mentioned in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, the Holy City's population swelled by perhaps another 150,000.  Imagine every room filled, with campsites popping up on every available hillside, inhabited by Jewish people who had traveled from throughout the world.[ii]

Into this crowded, bustling city, Jesus walked in and caused a huge uproar.  John 2:14-15 says:

¹⁴In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.  ¹⁵Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple.  He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.

The nation’s leaders immediately demanded of Jesus what authority He had to do such a thing.  John 2:18-19 says:

¹⁸But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing?  If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”

¹⁹“All right,” Jesus replied.  “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Jesus’s remarkable entry into public ministry got the attention of the nation.  Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, followed up with a nighttime visit to Jesus to inquire what Jesus’s message might be, because it was obvious to everyone that Jesus was a teacher sent from God (John 3:1-21).

Immediately following these events John 3:22 tells us:

²²Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside.  Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

After the Passover, Jesus did not immediately return to Galilee.  He stayed in Judea, but went outside Jerusalem to the Judean countryside.  This would make it necessary for people to come to Him.  It would have reduced or eliminated the disturbance of life in the city, and it would have placed them in a setting where there was plenty of water to baptize large numbers of people. 

John 4:2 explains that Jesus himself did not baptize people but His disciples did.  In addition, John 4:1 makes it clear that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John.  He sprung instantly from being unknown to being popular and famous.

Here at the beginning of His ministry it was necessary to define His place.  Was He a teacher?  Was He a prophet?  Perhaps, He was a great pastor and caregiver.  Perhaps, He was an entertaining sideshow, a diversion.  In a time of political turmoil, Judea had seen plenty of people spring to fame and then disappear or go down in flames.  A famous teacher of Israel, Gamaliel, named Theudas and Judas the Galilean as examples of people who rose quickly to fame and then were killed.  (Acts 5:35-37)  Who was Jesus anyway?

This is an important question for us today.  Who Jesus is, is important not just because of His worldwide fame.  Who Jesus is, is important because of who and what He is.  It is important to you and me because as John the Baptist said:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36, ESV).[iii]

Who Jesus is, is a matter of life and death.

John the Baptist was a man sent by God to be a witness to who Jesus was and is.  John 1:6-7 says:

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus went to John to be baptized.  At that point, John gave clear testimony to the fact that Jesus was the promised Messiah.  In John 3:23-36, John gives clear and complete testimony to who Jesus is. 

John gives a clear statement that Jesus is above all. 

He is the promised Messiah of the Jews.  He is God in human flesh.  He is from Heaven.  He is above all.

Let us now take a look at John’s testimony about Jesus. 

I will summarize John’s testimony by saying Jesus is above all.  John 3:31 offers this testimony and repeats it, saying twice, “He is above all.”

John 3:23-27 demonstrates that Jesus is above the Law.

Of course, it stands to reason that if Jesus is God, and God is the Law-giver, then Jesus is above the Law.  We are taught that no one is above the Law.  And, humanly speaking, this is true.  Especially since we all answer to God.  However, God answers only to God.  He is Sovereign and does exactly as He pleases.  It is at this point that we realize that God is self-limiting.  Jesus said:

“I can do nothing on my own.  I judge as God tells me.  Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”  (John 5:30, ESV)

As the Trinity, God is both Law-giver and Judge, and He sent His Son to fulfill the just requirements of the Law. 

John’s message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”  (Matthew 3:2)  He was dealing with people’s failure to meet the righteous requirements of God’s Law.  Therefore, when John 3:25 points out the debate with a Jew or some Jews over ceremonial washing, the text brings in the righteous requirements of the Law.  How are we to satisfy the just requirements of God’s Law?  Since no one met the just requirements, the Jews required ceremonial washing to cleanse one’s self from sin.  However, this was symbolic and not actual since water cannot wash away sins that happen in the heart.  Therefore, John taught baptism, symbolizing repentance and an appeal to God for a clear conscience.  Now, there was a new person teaching yet another way.  Because of this, John’s disciples went to John to sort things out.  They started by pointing out that people were flocking to Jesus, the new way.  John’s response is unequivocal.  He makes it clear.  He launches into a 30-second sermon that is unparalleled for its clear testimony to who Jesus is.  His whole speech is about how Jesus is above all, which is another way of saying that Jesus is the Way.  John starts out with:

“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”  (John 3:27, ESV)

This makes it clear: as to questions of ceremonial cleansings and being right with God and who people should go to, Jesus has the answer, given by the Law-giver Himself.

As John continues his brief but powerful sermon, he demonstrates that not only is Jesus above the Law, He is also above the prophets.

John was a prophet.  He was the last of the Old Testament prophets.  He was so great that the Jews of His day asked him on more than one occasion if he was not the Messiah they had been waiting for.  Therefore, in his role as prophet, John says to his disciples:

²⁸You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’  ²⁹The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.  The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.  (John 3:28-29, ESV)

John’s role as a prophet was to point to Jesus. 

The prophets spoke for God to the people.  They were not free to speak whatever they wanted, but were tasked to faithfully give the message that God gave.  At times, prophets would complain bitterly to God about the message they were given to deliver.  One prophet, Jonah, even tried to run away rather than deliver the message he was given. 

Speaking of the ministry of the prophets, Jesus said:

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life.  But the Scriptures point to me!”  (John 5:39)

This ministry of pointing to Jesus was the joy and motivation for the prophetic ministry, and it fell to John to be the man who would close out this prophetic ministry and introduce the Messiah to the world.  Therefore, John uses the analogy of a best man and a bridegroom. 

Key to our consideration today is John’s statement, “Therefore this joy of mine is now complete” (John 3:29, ESV).

John is signaling the end of his ministry, both the goal and the completion.  As the last of the Old Testament Prophets, after a 400-year silence, John is signaling the consummation of the ministry of the prophets.  And, he completes the thought by stating:  “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, ESV).

Jesus is greater than the prophets, because He is their goal and purpose.

Questions about ceremonial cleansing led John to declare that Jesus was and is above the Law.  Questions about his own ministry led John to declare that Jesus was and is above the Prophets.  Next, John continues by declaring that Jesus is above all things.

The words of John 3:31-36 are an incredible treatise, exposing John’s deep understanding of Father/Son relationship of Jesus and the Father, Jesus’s Divine nature and the necessity of faith in Jesus for salvation.

John starts in verse 31 by telling us that Jesus is from Heaven. 

The prophets, including John, spoke from what God had revealed to them.  However, John points out that Jesus spoke from firsthand knowledge, what He had seen and heard.  The tragedy is “how few believe what he tells them” (John 3:32)

Jesus uses a parable to speak about what John is pointing out here.  The story Jesus told goes like this:

“A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years.  ¹⁰At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop.  But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.  ¹¹So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed.  ¹²A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.

¹³“‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself.  ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son.  Surely they will respect him.’  (Luke 20:9-13)

God gave the Law to tell us of His goodness, righteousness, love and justice so that we can love Him, be His friends and His people.

 

God gave the prophets to tell us of His goodness, righteousness, love and justice so that we can love Him, be His friends and His people.

Finally, God has given us His Son to show us His goodness, righteousness, love and justice so that we can love Him, be His friends and His people.

But still, how few accept His testimony!  How few believe what He tells them!

Who is Jesus?  He is the Son of the living God, and He is above all. 

Therefore:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  (John 3:36, ESV)

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] http://chosenpeople.com/main/holidays-and-festivals/191-passover-in-israel-past-and-present.  Accessed May 5, 2017.

[iii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.