Jesus Had an Interesting Entourage

I am intrigued at Jesus’ command that we are to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:16, 18). It forces us to determine where our loyalty lies; and not to run from the lost in favor of our own holy huddle with other believers. Our primary fellowship is changed from old friends to new believing friends, but we cannot forsake our old friends. Our relationship changes from one of fellowship to one of evangelism. While going alone to reach out to old unbelieving friends may cause one to revert back to old patterns of behavior, going with a strong fellow believer may provide the strength and security needed to reach out to lost friends. After all, Jesus sent the first missionaries out in teams of two (Luke 10:1, 2-3).

But before he sent out the 70 (or 72) take a look at those who were closest to Jesus:

Soon afterward, Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women he had healed and from whom he had cast out evil spirits. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. (Luke 8:1-3).

This is one of those passages from the Gospels that receives relatively little attention, but when you read it carefully, you may be surprised by what you learn.

The passage begins by describing Jesus’ kingdom ministry, which is no surprise. We know that Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom of God in the region of Galilee, and that he took his twelve disciples with him (Luke 8:1). But then Luke describes an interesting group of Jesus followers, people who were essential to his ministry but are rarely remembered: some women he had healed and from whom he had cast out evil spirits like Mary Magdalene (from whom he had cast out seven demons), Joanna (the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager), Susanna, and many others who were contributing their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. (Luke 8:2-3).

There are several surprises here:

1. The first is that Jesus’ traveling entourage included many women. Not only did most rabbis in the time of Jesus exclude women from their teaching, but associating with women would have led to suspicion and criticism.

Why did these women follow Jesus? Luke says that Jesus had healed them and cast out evil spirits from them. This implies that they followed Jesus out of gratitude and love, an implication that is supported by the passage in Luke that precedes this one (Luke 7:36-50).

Among those who followed Jesus were Mary Magadalene, who is mentioned for the first time in Luke. Another follower was a woman named Joanna, who was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager (Luke 8:3). To me, this comes as a bit of a shock! We would not expect such a woman to follow Jesus, both because of her connection to Herod Antipas, who was no fan of Jesus, and because she was surely a person of financial means. Her experience of God’s love through Jesus was powerful enough for her to leave her comfortable and safe life in order to support Jesus.

2. Luke notes that Joanna was one of those who were contributing their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples (Luke 8:3). But using their own savings, and perhaps by earning money along the way, the female followers of Jesus provided the financial base for him and his followers to focus on proclaiming the kingdom of God.

The presence of these women among the close followers of Jesus serves as an encouragement to women today, who can sometimes feel like second-class Christians in our male-leadership dominated church culture. It emphasizes the fact that all Christians have a valuable and necessary role to play in the ministry of the kingdom. Some, those who are gifted for preaching, should preach. Others, who are gifted for making money, should provide financial support for the mission of Christ. The church of Jesus Christ will be what God intends it to be only if each and every person, male and female, faithfully utilizes the gifts and opportunities God has given.

Application: When you picture the traveling entourage of Jesus, do you include the women who traveled with him? Why or why not? How does the presence of these women who supported Jesus and the twelve encourage you in your discipleship and Christian service?What are some things that you have given up to follow Jesus? What may be keeping you from following Jesus and you sense God may be asking you to give up. In what ways has God called you to support the mission of Christ? Tithing? Giving to missions? Serving in missions? Impacting your community, school or office? Have you ever taken a spiritual gifts inventory to discover the areas of ministry that would best suit your wiring, talent and personality? [ Take a free online inventory here ]

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The Godless without Faith

Chapter two of Second Peter brings the whole topic of false teachers. Ever since the time of Christ there have been those who twist the teachings of Jesus and the doctrines of the church. At times these differences have brought about greater understanding and clarity involving theology, like during the Reformation. Other times brought about significant deviation from the truth, which have been called heresies.

  1. Why do people follow false teachers?
  2. What are some false teachers they have been aware of in the last few years.
  3. What motivates false teachers to work their way into churches? (Several of Paul’s letters are written to refute false teaching and false teachers (2 Corinthians 11:3–15, Galatians 2:1–5; 1 Timothy 6:3–5).
  4. What kind of tactics do false teachers use to gain followers?
  5. Why will there be certain punishment for those who turn others away from God?

Jesus was warning the people of His day to be on the lookout for gifted leaders who would take advantage of them and lead them astray. They would be men who looked good on the outside but were corrupt on the inside. They would perform well. To put it bluntly, great preachers are not necessarily great Christians.The people can be fooled and led astray.

The best picture of what a Spirit-filled man looks like is Christ. His life was characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit in the midst of a world characterized by just the opposite of those characteristics.

  1. Jesus stood up to His opponents when it was appropriate, but He also knew when to be silent.
  2. He had the courage and wit to take on the intellectuals of His day on their turf according to their terms.
  3. He spoke with authority.
  4. People, especially children, were attracted to Him. Even sinners loved to be with Him.
  5. He was a very secure man. There was nothing pretentious or intimidating about Him.
  6. He didn’t need those props.
  7. At the end of His life He tackled the toughest account of all—death. And He won!

Questions to Consider:

  1. What makes false teachers popular today?
  2. How can we recognize false teaching?
  3. There are times when we need to confront and expose sin in the life of other believers. What are some guidelines for deciding when that is appropriate?

Commentary:

Peter warned his readers of the false teachers who presented a message contradictory to that of the apostles. He wrote of the characteristics of false teachers, the consequences of their teaching, their conduct, and their condemnation.

The Characteristics of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:1–3)
False prophets in Old Testament times sought to lead God’s people away from the revelations of the true prophets, and false teachers in Peter’s time tried to lead God’s people away from the teaching of the apostles. The heretics added some of their own false teaching to the orthodox faith, thereby denying the One they professed to submit to as Christians. Their judgment would be sudden. Reckless and hardened immorality would accompany their doctrinal error. False teachers typically desire to satisfy themselves rather than God, which leads them to take advantage of their audiences. God is never late or asleep in executing justice, though He is patient (see 2 Peter 3:9).

The Consequences of False Teaching (2 Peter 2:4–10a)
Peter next described the consequences that follow false teaching to help his readers see the importance of avoiding it. He gave three examples of apostates in the past.

  1. His first example is the angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4), an example of how the devil works.
  2. His second example is the unbelievers of Noah’s day (2 Peter 2:5), an example of the world.
  3. The third example (2:6) is the turning of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, an example of the flesh.

All three examples show that God will not only punish the wicked, but will also rescue the righteous from the judgment He will send on the ungodly who surround them.

The Conduct of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:10b–19)
Peter emphasized the conduct of false teachers in order to motivate his readers to turn away from them. Rather than behaving as good angels do, the false teachers acted like animals. Peter believed the false teachers therefore deserved treatment similar to that of animals. God will give them punishment in keeping with their crimes. Their practices were similar to stains on the clean fabric of the church, blemishes on its countenance, since the practitioners claimed to be Christians. The false teachers sinned without restraint and lured people not firmly committed to Jesus Christ to join them. They were also trying to get the Christians to participate in idolatry and immoral practices. Like the springs and mists Peter described (2 Peter 2:17), the false teachers failed to deliver what they promised and so were hypocrites. They appealed to their audiences with boastful words, promising more than they could deliver. They appealed to people who were only just escaping from those who live in error, probably new Christians and/or older carnal ones who were still in the process of making a final break with their pagan practices.

The Condemnation of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:20–22)
Peter focused in these verses on the false teachers’ final doom to warn his readers of the serious results of following their instruction. The false teachers in view had evidently heard the gospel preached and fully understood the apostles’ teaching that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior but had rejected it. They only escaped the defilements of the world in the sense that they had understood the gospel, which liberates sinners. But they had thrown away their key to deliverance and had thereby become entangled and overcome again by the defilements of the world. Their first state was also eternal damnation without having heard the gospel, but their final state was eternal damnation for having rejected the gospel.

It would have been better for the false teachers never to have gained full knowledge of God’s commandment regarding holy behavior than having gained it to reject it. Dogs return to corruption that comes from within themselves, and pigs return to filth they find outside themselves. False teachers do both things.

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You of Little Faith

This post is back to my teaching notes for my Wednesday evening Bible study at King’s Grant, which should take us through the end of the semester (December 15). The whole series of lessons can be found here.

Previously we looked at some sayings of Jesus in the context of his healing sick and demon-possessed people. Today we look at other types of miracles, one involving power over death, the others involving power over the forces of nature.

At the Heart of the Lesson: As part of his mission to usher in the kingdom of God, Jesus performed miracles over the powers of nature. In so doing he evoked faith in many people, but hostility and skepticism in others. This group of lessons is about signs and skeptics. We will also look at the nature of faith and how it relates to Jesus’ miracles.

Key Verse: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

Key Term: Signs. John refers to miracles as signs that point to a higher reality. They are not done for only material purposes, but to draw out one’s faith. Jesus’ enemies could not see Jesus for who He was.

Conquering Death: (Mark 5:22-24, 35-43)

  1. Jesus on many occasions healed society’s outcasts, crippled beggars, lepers, the demon-possessed. Here a miracle takes place among the respectable.
  2. Jairus is a ruler in the local synagogue. The “ruler” of the synagogue was elected by its elders and was in charge of caring for the building and administering the services. He was not what we would call a preacher or minister.
  3. He treats Jesus as his superior, one of the few cases in the Gospels where any Jewish official showed Jesus respect. Jairus is an establishment figure, not one of the sinners (which Jesus took heat for).
  4. The Greek word for “daughter” is thugater, but Jairus uses the diminutive, thugatrion, “little daughter.” The girl was twelve; considered of age. The tragedy in the story is not just that a child has died, but that the child was on the verge of womanhood. Luke’s Gospel adds the detail that the girl was the man’s only child.
  5. Jesus’ words “Don’t be afraid, only believe” is in contrast to the mourners. In the atmosphere of mourning he brought hope and serenity.
  6. After going inside, the first thing Jesus did was to send out the mourners; the cause for mourning was about to end.
  7. There were and still are professional “wailing women” in many places around the world. As silly as it sounds to us, one purpose was to create an atmosphere in which people were free to release their own grief. Jesus puts them out, they we no longer needed.
  8. “The child is not dead but asleep.” Death is sometimes referred to as sleep, like when Jesus spoke of his friend Lazarus falling asleep. Jesus was assuring them that death had no hold on her, that he would awaken her just as if she had fallen asleep. For the believer, death is indeed like sleep, it is not a permanent state.
  9. The laughter at Jesus’ statement is not the laughter of humor, but mocking. Maybe he was making light of someone just dying.
  10. Jesus’ words to the child can be translated “get up” or “arise,” but also “wake up.” This is one of very few places in the Bible where we have the actual words Jesus spoke in his native Aramaic: Talitha koum, “little girl, get up.” The little girl “got up,” which is the same Greek verb used in other places to refer to Jesus’ resurrection.
  11. The people who saw that the child were “completely astonished.” The great Hebrew prophets Elijah and Elisha both restored dead children to life (1 Kings 17: 17-24, 2 Kings 4: 18-37). They understood that someone great had come to town.

The First Sign: (John 2:1-11)

  1. The miracle of turning water into wine was, according to John’s Gospel, the first of Jesus’ miracles. The story is familiar, yet it is still mysterious. It tells us about the mission of Jesus and about his relationship with his family.
  2. Jesus addresses his mother as “woman.” This was not rudeness or coarseness, but Jesus was asserting his independence and manhood.
    1. He is now doing the will of the Father and is no longer subject to human authority. He was a good and obedient son in all ways, but now that he is “about his Father’s business” (the words he spoke in the temple when he was twelve years old), he is no longer subject to her authority.
    2. Later he honors her request anyway. The Cana incident was, in a sense, Jesus’ coming of age event.
  3. Mary may have had some position of authority at this wedding, seeing how she addresses the servants.
    1. Jesus’ words to her, “Why do you involve me?” is puzzling, but the general meaning is probably “Let me do things in my own way.”
    2. “My time has not yet come” is also puzzling. Some think it refers to his “time” of suffering on the cross. More likely the meaning is that Jesus alone will know when his time to begin doing miracles has arrived. Jesus never did miracles on demand. He and his Father have their own sense of timing.
  4. The water in the stone jars is mentioned as being for the Jewish rites of purification.
    1. One meaning of the miracle is that the water represents the old covenant, the Jewish law with its many regulations, while the wine represents the new covenant, the gospel.
    2. The ceremonial cleansing water was nothing compared with the wine of the new age.
    3. The Jewish teachers of Jesus’ day spoke of the Law of Moses as “water,” in the sense of purifying, quenching thirst, promoting life and health. But of course, the wine is better.
  5. The “master of the banquet” would have been a friend of the wedding party or family; an honorary position. He seems surprised: The best wine has been saved for so late in the festivities, the time when the guests (perhaps mildly intoxicated at this point) could expect the inferior wine to be brought out.
  6. “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. Jesus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him” (John 2:11).
    1. Signs, the Greek word is semeia, are important in John as pointers to a higher reality. A miracle is not done for purely material reasons, but to elicit faith, to draw men nearer to God.
    2. Turning water into wine is not done to dazzle people with an act of magic but to make them see the divine glory of the man who performed it. The guests at the wedding may not see the significance of the miracle, but Jesus’ disciples do, and at this point they put their faith in him.

The Heavenly Picnic: (John 6:1-15)

  1. The miracle of feeding the five thousand must have made a deep impression on the first believers, because it is one of the few miracles that is recorded in all four Gospels.
    1. To understand why, we need to remember that the Jews of Jesus’ day expected their Messiah to spread a great banquet for all Israel to enjoy.
    2. They also expected that there would again be manna. In a sense this miracle is both a kind of preview of the messianic banquet and also the giving of bread from heaven.
  2. The people followed Jesus a long way on foot. This indicates there was already a deep spiritual hunger.
    1. Jesus had withdrawn for a time after he heard of the death of John the Baptist. He wanted to be alone, but the crowds would not let him-and instead of rejecting them, he fed them.
    2. People with spiritual hunger are not a nuisance or an encumbrance, but an opportunity.
  3. Jesus’ reaction to the people’s hunger is: “Feed them” but the disciples doubt their ability to do it. When Jesus says to Philip “Where shall we buy bread?” he is likely testing the disciples. Philip says it simply can’t be done, but Andrew mentions the boy with the loaves and fishes. This is one of the few miracles in which the disciples themselves are involved (Jesus performed the miracle, but the disciples gave the food to the people).
  4. The bread at the feeding of the five thousand was barley bread, the bread of the poor, considered to be food for animals, not people.
    1. The “loaves” were not what we would consider full loaves of bread, but more like rolls.
    2. The fish, opsarion, was a small fish of the lake, roughly equivalent to a sardine.
    3. The baskets were the common wickerwork baskets of the poor.
  5. Fun Fact: The miracle of feeding the five thousand was a common subject in the earliest Christian art, even found in the Roman catacombs.
  6. The Messiah’s “banquet” was not bountiful, but it fed the hungry crowd and displayed the power of God.
    1. The people received “as much as they wanted,” and there are even leftovers.
    2. The miracle is not exhausted, for others can be fed. God will continue to provide for his people with leftovers.
  7. There were five loaves, with twelve baskets of leftovers–coincidence, perhaps, yet the number five for Jews brought to mind the Pentateuch, and twelve the tribes of Israel.
  8. One obvious lesson of this episode is that a little goes further with God than we might expect, maybe an enacted version of the mustard seed parable.
  9. In assuming he is “the Prophet,” the people connect him with Moses and the supply of manna in the wilderness, and also with the prophet Elisha, who multiplied bread for a hundred men (2 Kings 4:42-44). In both cases there were leftovers.
    1. The great prophet John the Baptist was dead, and the people were hungry for another prophet to follow.
    2. Muslims teach that this is a reference to Muhammad.
  10. The people’s hunger, both physical and spiritual, causes them to want to make Jesus king. Although they are sheep without a shepherd, he withdraws from them. He was at the peak of his popularity, but he knew he was not the type of Messiah (or king) the people expected.

Rebuking the Elements: (Mark 4:36-41)

  1. The Sea of Galilee’s storms could appear out of the blue, with some uncertainty and risk in setting out in the water. Most of the time the lake (which lies 695 feet below sea level) is calm, but the hills around the lake at times act as funnels for sudden gusts of wind.
  2. Matthew’s version of the story refers to the storm as a seismos, meaning an earthquake or something violent. At least four of Jesus’ disciples, the fishermen who were familiar with storms. The fact that this storm had them so frightened tells us it was no ordinary storm.
  3. Jews believed that the entire creation was in a sense hostile to mankind since Adam’s fall, backed up by Paul in Romans 8:20. Jesus calming the storm showed that he could rebuke and control all that was hostile to man: disease, demons, even storms. Jesus spoke to the storm just as he spoke to the demons, with authority and with the full expectation that it would obey.
  4. Jesus’ command to the storm is literally, “Be silent! Be muzzled!” The one Greek word he speaks to the storm, phimao, is the same word he speaks to the demon in Mark 1:25. After the storm dies down and Jesus questions their faith: and they are even more afraid . They literally “feared a great fear.”
  5. This story is about “discipleship under stress.” It is easy to talk about faith when things are calm, but not when your life seems to be in danger. In
    1. Mark’s Gospel, the stilling of the storm follows Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32), in which he spoke of how powerful just a small amount of faith can be.
    2. The disciples have seen him cast out a demon and heal the sick, yet they still cannot trust him, as they question Jesus, “Don’t you care if we drown?”
    3. Under duress, they do not have this mustard seed faith, but “no faith.” The disciples’ question, “Who can this be?” is not faith, but perhaps it is the beginning of faith.
  6. An Historical Note:
    1. In the period between the Old and New Testaments, the tyrannical Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, who believed himself to be a god and persecuted the Jews, claimed he could command the waves of the sea.
    2. The Egyptian pharaohs boasted they caused the annual flooding of the Nile River.
    3. Worldly rulers have frequently made such proud (and false) claims, but the humble carpenter from Galilee could actually do such amazing things.

You of Little Faith: (Matthew 14:22-32)

  1. This is not a repeat of his earlier stilling of the storm. The disciples in the boat are not in danger, but the “wind was against” the boat. Jesus comes to their rescue when life goes against them.
  2. Peter was the one to take the plunge, walking out to meet Jesus on the water. While he overestimated his own faith, his faith was deep enough to say the words, “Lord, save me!”
    1. Peter’s life was filled with good intentions and poor follow-through. His story tells us that he was truly human, a fallible man.
    2. Matthew’s Gospel is often accused of whitewashing the disciples, omitting some of the down sides that Mark records, but obviously in this case Peter is displayed warts and all.
  3. This is one of five places in Matthew where Jesus refers to someone or a group as “little-faiths,” holigopistoi. The disciples have some faith, but it is small.
  4. Peter attempts to walk on water. Often in the Old Testament God has to assure his people he will rescue them from the deep waters.
    1. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:1).
    2. “Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea-the Lord on high is mighty” (Psalm 93:4).
    3. Jesus’ disciples would have known these passages by heart, and it must have strengthened their faith to know their Master was Lord over the waters.

Spiritually Blind Galileans: (Matthew 11:20-24)

  1. This passage catches many readers off-guard, because Capernaum was one of the most blessed cities in the world. Jesus left Nazareth to live there and many of his miracles were performed there. Reading only about the miracles and the people’s response to them, we might get the impression that Capernaum was full of Jesus’ devoted followers. The statement here corrects that: Apparently most of the people did not respond to Jesus in faith and repentance.
  2. Jesus’ frustration is not a matter of selfish concern for his own reputation, but of the people’s stubborn resistance when the Son of God is walking their streets, healing people, and reaching out to them with compassion. Jesus’ response fits in well with a theme of the Old Testament prophet: privilege demands responsibility.
  3. The Jews were the chosen people of God, yet rather than responding with obedience and love, they were more often disobedient and faithless.
    1. So the harshest words of the prophets are not for foreign nations, but for God’s chosen ones, the supreme ingrates.
    2. The people of Capernaum and Bethsaida were not really hostile to the Son of God, but, worse, they were indifferent to him.
    3. In the time of his ministry, they had come to take his miracles for granted.
  4. According to Jesus, pagan cities like Tyre and Sidon would have been more responsive.
    1. These were two Phoenician port cities on Israel’s western border. Jesus spent some time in the region and performed at least one miracle there, healing the demon-possessed daughter of the Syro- Phoenician woman.
    2. According to Luke 6:17, people came to that region to hear Jesus teach. There were Jews in the region, but most of the people were pagans, though many were eager to hear him. Both cities had a long and mostly unpleasant history with their neighbor Israel.
    3. Hiram, the king of Tyre, was on good terms with Israel’s kings David and Solomon, but Sidon was also home to one of the great villains of the Bible, the wicked Queen Jezebel, who married King Ahab of Israel and did her best to stamp out worship of God while promoting Sidon’s gods, Baal and Ashtoreth (1 Kings 17-22).
    4. Both cities were famously wealthy and corrupt, and Israel’s prophets frequently spoke out against their immorality.
    5. When Jesus spoke out against Capemaum and Bethsaida and compared them to Tyre and Sidon, his listeners would have understood what he was driving at, that the Jewish towns of Galilee were as spiritually empty as the notorious pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon—or as the city of Sodom in Genesis, destroyed by God for its wickedness.

Signs on Demand: (Matthew 12:38-42)

  1. The Pharisees are asking for a miracle “on demand,” but Jesus consistently refuses the request, which is a repetition of the temptation by Satan.
    1. Occasionally a false prophet or false Messiah would promise to perform an awesome miracle. What the Jews were hoping for was a “biggy” miracle, for the public, that would remove all doubt that the man was sent by God.
    2. But the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were not convinced by any of Jesus’ miracles.
  2. Those who saw the raising of Lazarus, the greatest of Jesus’ miracles, reported back to the priests in Jerusalem, who then determined that Jesus must die (John 12:46-53). This “wicked generation” was not convinced by a miracle that Jesus was from God.
  3. The phrase “adulterous generation” echoed the familiar biblical theme of spiritual adultery. The prophet Hosea was ordered to marry an adulterous woman so that his own life would be a living parable of Israel’s faithlessness. All the other prophets lamented the “adultery” of Israel. In the time of Jesus, nothing had changed.
  4. As so often in Matthew’s Gospel, the hostility of the Jews is contrasted with Gentile believers, in this case the repentance of the people of Nineveh when the prophet Jonah preached to them, and the long journey of the Queen of Sheba (“the queen of the South”) to pay homage to, and learn from, the wise Solomon.
    1. As Jonah came to Nineveh from a distant land, so Jesus comes from heaven to earth.
    2. The pagan queen journeyed far to hear the words of a wise Jewish teacher.
    3. Fun Fact: The Jews read the entire Book of Jonah aloud on the annual Day of Atonement, appropriately so, since the day was the yearly honoring of divine mercy.
    4. Solomon and Jonah were both flawed figures.
      1. Solomon, though blessed with exceptional wisdom, catered to his many wives’ desire to have temples set up for their own gods (1 Kings 11).
      2. Jonah, though he did preach repentance to Nineveh, did so with great reluctance, and after Nineveh repented, instead of rejoicing, he went and pouted like a bratty child. Yet the people of Nineveh were saved because of the preaching of the reluctant prophet.
      3. The queen of Sheba praised Israel’s God after being overwhelmed by the great wisdom of Solomon, but whose pagan temples showed he was not fully devoted to the Lord. Jesus was a far greater figure than these two, yet most of the people rejected him.
  5. Jesus saw clearly that the spiritually blind would not be changed by seeing a sign (John 12:37,42-43). This was the effect of Jesus’ miraculous signs: some believed, others did not, and others kept their belief to themselves for fear of what their friends would say.

Putting it into Practice:

  1. “Signs” is a key theme. What were some signs in your own life, occurrences that, seen through the eye of faith, taught you something important about God and his plan for you?
  2. “Don’t be afraid, just believe” is a key verse in the story of raising Jairus’ daughter. As you go through the day, repeat this verse to yourself several times. Make it a point to counter fear with faith.
  3. When the storm strikes their boat, the disciples lose faith, asking Jesus, “Don’t you care if we drown?” Today, and in the days ahead, resolve to respond to difficulties with trust, not doubt.
  4. In the episode of Peter trying to walk on the water, his faith fails him, and Jesus calls him “you little-faith.” Think of some times in your own life when your faith was almost, but not quite, adequate.
  5. Imagine yourself living in Capemaum or one of the other cities where Jesus performed miracles. How do you think you would have reacted? With faith? Puzzlement? Hostility? Be honest with yourself and keep in mind that many good people of Jesus’ day were hostile to him.

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Paul’s Thinking About Christ

Firstly, Paul was not a systematic theologian with a vast library in his office. Paul first and foremost argued from experience. It is true to say that Paul’s interest was not in theology, but in religion. He was concerned for a well balanced faith by which men might live.

Secondly, there was nothing static about Paul’s belief. He was faced with ever changing situations and human experiences. Basically, Paul’s theology was an adaptable theology. It was always deepening and developing to meet new situations which the life of the growing church brought to him.

The two exceptions to mentioning Jesus: 2 Thessalonians and Philemon

Jesus as the Son of God: a unique relationship

  1. And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, [that is] Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
  2. To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, (Galatians 1:16)
  3. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)
  4. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, (Galatians 4:4)
  5. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
  6. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us–by me and Silvanus and Timothy–was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. (2 Corinthians 1:19)
  7. Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; (2 Corinthians 1:3)
  8. Concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, (Romans 1:3)
  9. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the [preaching of the] gospel of His Son, is my witness [as to] how unceasingly I make mention of you, (Romans 1:9)
  10. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
  11. Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3)
  12. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, (Colossians 1:3)

Jesus is never equated with God: but Paul tries to define the relationship between God and Jesus Christ.

  1. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, (Colossians 2:9)
  2. If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)

In a sense, Jesus is subordinate to God: nothing distracted Paul from the supremacy of God alone.

  1. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
  2. And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
  3. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. (1 Corinthians 3:22-23)

Pre-existence of Jesus Christ: a characteristic of John’s writing.

  1. And all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4)
  2. [This was] in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, (Ephesians 3:11)
  3. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. (Colossians 1:15)

Paul’s summary:

  1. God was always like Jesus: not Old Testament law against New Testament grace.
  2. The doctrine of the Trinity: Father (life-giving work in creation), Son (saving work of redemption), Spirit (illuminating work of revelation). We must avoid this thought as a series in time.
  3. To speak of the pre-existence of the Son is to say that God did not begin to redeem men when Jesus came into the world, but that throughout all ages the redeeming power and the sacrificial work of God had been at work.

This material is from William Barclay, the Mind of St. Paul, 1975.

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Too Much Emphasis on Conversion

One of the themes in the book I am reading (unChristian) is that Christians put too much emphasis on converting people to their way of thinking. This is a barrier to many people on the outside of the Christian faith.

 

Think about it, how do we react when the Mormons or the JW’s come to our door? We usually say exactly the same thing! “They’re looking to convert people to their religion” or “I just don’t want to talk with them, I don’t want what they’re selling.” Just as I would never take their invitation to consider their religion seriously, why would I think anyone would do the same when I knock on their door “peddling the truth?” (That is in quotes because do not all religious groups claim to have the truth?). The barrier is that there is no relationship established.

 

One story in the book was about a guy that moved across the country to NYC. He met another guy in town and they had a good conversation. The New Yorker was friendly, something the guy from out west did not expect. Eventually the Christian guy from NYC invited the newcomer to a Bible study. When he said, “no thanks” he never heard from the Christian guy again.

 

Wow, that sure emphasizes a negative side of Christians! Are they looking for the next convert; a notch on their conversion belt? Or are they genuinely interested in people?

 

I was on a business trip to China when I found a fellow believer who was teaching in a school in Shanghai. She told me a fascinating story about her work, the children, the city and the new friends she had met since arriving in town. Since it is not illegal to be a Christian, she would tell her friends (in the normal conversations of life) that she was a follower of Jesus. One new friend said, “You only want me to believe like you do.” The teacher corrected her and said, “I want to be friends whether you believe like me or not.” Great answer!

 

I’m convinced that Christianity is more caught than taught; living a life that honors God and hope that people see our sincere love for God shining through. Hopefully in the normal conversations of life, we will find opportunities to put in a good word for Jesus, not because we want to convert people, but because it is hard to keep silent about the greatest thing that has ever happened to us!

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How to Spot a Disciple of Jesus

Look around at the Christians you already know. How would you define what a follower of Jesus really looks like? Perhaps your list looks something like this:

  1. Careful student of Scripture
  2. Zealous and active in their stand for God
  3. Appetite for worship and prayer
  4. Consistent in worship attendance
  5. Practices Scripture memorization
  6. Not afraid to pray in public
  7. Active in the local church
  8. Fasts and tithes regularly
  9. Has desire to stand against blasphemy and ungodliness
  10. Has firm grasp of basic foundational theological truth

For a long time I thought this is what would bring honor to God and help me become more like Jesus. In my early years of ministry, when I was young and stupid, I thought helping people to “look like this” was making disciples. But look again; these are behavior traits not of Jesus’ disciples, but of His chief opponents, the Pharisees.

I’m convinced that real-life discipleship (becoming more like Jesus in character and attitude over a lifetime) is what happens between the gathering times at church. What are people like at home, at school, in the lunchroom, in the office, on dates, at parties, in the locker room, in the boardroom, on the computer, or the after-school job? What are they like when no one is looking? Do they demonstrate unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, concern for others, kindness, servanthood?

Real-life discipleship is marked more by footprints than by monuments. For me, discipleship focuses on our long-term commitments rather than a one-time decision to “accept Christ.” It is forward motion, a journey, a marathon. People may look at imperfection and failures of so-called Christians, but remember that the word disciple means learner, not expert.

Basically, what we need is to develop what I call a firsthand faith. This is not faith that is inherited from parents, or Sunday school teachers, or the pastor, but we take ownership of our own faith. Once faith becomes firsthand, it transforms into a conviction that will not be swayed by competing worldviews or other religions. Is there little wonder why teenagers often leave the faith when they leave home, but also graduate God after they graduate high school?

The church must stop trying to cram our bags with only the right beliefs and make us carry it because they said so. Rather, use questions and strategies that help people unpack the baggage they’ve been carrying. Re-examine the faith they have and discover why it’s in there.

My mentor Rick Leineweber gave me this definition of a disciple; “A disciple is a follower of Jesus who is developing the convictions, character, competencies, and compassion of Jesus, and at the same time, leading others to do the same.” These four mentioned areas deal with the head, heart, hands, and heels of the person.

For more on this topic of discipleship, find my booklet called, “The Discipleship Pathway.”

After all this, what should a disciple actually look like? Check this out.

 

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Things Jesus Would Not Say

Inspired by our friends down at the Wittenburg Door I wanted to see what type of insight and creativity might come from our WordPress community. Think of things that Jesus would not say…

  1. Oops.
  2. That never occurred to Me.
  3. Do you know the way to San Jose?
  4. Finders keepers, losers weepers.
  5. If you have sinned only a little, cast the first stone.
  6. Best two out of three?
  7. Don’t stop to help, we’re late for church.
  8. Well, I suppose it’d be OK. But just this once.
  9. What’s the matter with you guys? Can’t you take a joke?
  10. How long must I put up with you? (no, wait, He did say that).
  11. You’re not the boss of me.
  12. Do they want red or white wine?
  13. Do you want fries with that broiled fish?
  14. Maybe I should write this down.
  15. I’m pretty good at division, but I’m great at multiplication.
  16. Broadcast into all the world and make giving units.
  17. Peter, sometimes you’re such a poopy head.
  18. How the heck should I know why fools fall in love?
  19. Would you consider giving me half the kingdoms of the world if I fall down and worship you for, say, ten minutes?
  20. Just between you and me, I walked because I don’t know how to swim.
  21. Blessed are the … are the … um …
  22. If anyone desires to come after Me, let him attend church, pass an offering plate and follow the pastor.
  23. What in My name is going on in here?
  24. Has anyone seen my keys to the kingdom?
  25. The choir is so much better now that Tammy Faye is here.
  26. I’m not riding into town on that donkey.
  27. I have to buy a new suit for Easter.
  28. How many more of these seals do I have to break?
  29. Judas, am I not worth more than only 30 pieces of silver?
  30. Do I look fat in this robe?
  31. What Would I Do?
  32. How many angels really can dance on the head of a pin?
  33. Happy holidays.

What about things Jesus WOULD say today, like…

  1. A-Rod wants how much for 10 years?
  2. No, Benedict, you can’t exchange a beer stein for the wine chalice.
  3. See, this is what happens when you make Me illegal in America.
  4. I don’t believe in atheists, therefore atheists don’t exist.
  5. “What we have here, is, failure to communicate” (Cool Hand Luke).

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