THE LOOK OF A BOY FROM ABOVE

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

We have a skewed imagery of what perfection looks like.  We are only able to imagine someone who thinks he’s perfect; and the person who thinks he’s perfect is self-deceived and annoying. However, throughout Jesus’ ministry there is no record of his acting holier-than-everyone-else, even though he was exactly that. Reactions were to his claim, not to his character.

Therefore, as a wrap on this series about Jesus’ development into a twelve-year-old conversationalist who could hold his own with the religious leaders of his day, let me say a little more about his kid brother – James - the Spirit directed author of a letter in the New Testament.

In the middle of his letter, James pulls together all he has said and has yet to say. There he speaks of the character of wisdom that is from above – a phrase which easily relates to Jesus. He describes this wisdom in terms of a person who will not defile you, and who will not instigate unnecessary conflict. He has a good bedside manner, is approachable, and will not flaunt your failures. He is one whose conduct will be an attractive alternative to the belligerence of the self-seeking crowd. He will not separate people by artificial distinctions (wealth, ethnicity, etc.), and he will not say one thing to your face and something else behind your back.

James would have seen this character in him as a Junior High kid as well as an itinerant Rabbi. Character descriptions in James’ letter can be transferred to Jesus at any age. He who intrigued the religious leaders long ago ought to intrigue us today.

Search the Scriptures. Don’t pick and choose. Let them give you the whole picture of this One who warns us of our danger, and promises forgiveness, life, and destiny to sinners who will come to him in faith – sinners in need of someone to stand between us and our just condemnation.

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JESUS BEYOND CHRISTMAS

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

I would like to suggest that we may be able to piece together more of Jesus’ home life than we think we can. Did you realize, two New Testament letters were written by half-brothers who grew up with him?

Scripture gives us the names of at least four of his half-brothers: James, Joses (Joseph), Simon, and Judas (Jude). We know they went through a phase of unbelief as to his ministry. Like others from their hometown of Nazareth, they may have wanted to see more proof of his claims. But it may have been more an unbelief of doubt than the unbelief of rejection. It does not seem to have been rooted in any perceived moral flaws. What is most significant is that they were believers by the time of Pentecost, after Jesus’ resurrection. There we find them gathered with the other disciples in the upper room, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit.

James and Jude would have grown up with Jesus. They would have seen him in all the contexts where sibling friendship and fury could show itself. Could it be that in their letters we might learn something about the character of their big brother as seen through their eyes? In Jude we may see a reflection of Jesus’ attitude toward false teaching. In James I think I catch glimpses of him with regard to his interpersonal relationships.

With regard to James, it is important to notice he was a no-nonsense man when it came to double-mindedness. Authenticity was important to him. If a man made a personal claim, he better back it up with his works. So, it seems highly unlikely that James would have come to faith in his older brother had there been anything smacking of duplicity. That being the case, his letter may afford some quick sketches of character qualities in Jesus which he admired.

  

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NOT A MAMMA'S BOY

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

John Everett Millais’ 1850 painting, “Christ in the Carpenter Shop,” intrigues me. Its departure into realism stirred quite a storm and even brought down scathing criticism from Charles Dickens. What catches my eye is not the artistic issues but the message; and here I see something different than the artist intended.

Millais’ intention was symbolism in realism. Jesus has injured his hand on a protruding nail. Gramma Anne is belatedly pulling out the nail, Mom is offering her cheek for comfort (I’m not sure who’s comforting whom), and Dad is inspecting the wound. So far so good. However, Millais intended the boy with the wash basin to be John the Baptist – foreshadowing the day he would baptize his cousin.

Personally, I believe Millais created a more realistic picture than he realized. He gave us a glimpse at the sterilized view we have of Jesus in general. One of the great, unaddressed issues of the Incarnation is our imagery of what it would have been like for Jesus’ siblings to grow up in a home with a perfect big brother. My take on the painting sees the boy with the basin not as John the Baptist but as one of his brothers; and, if looks could kill, his could, as he watches his pampered sibling in his pretty robe being mollycoddled while he has to plug away at his dirty job in his grubbies.

In wondering what the conversational life of Jesus’ home may have been like, it is important that we dismiss this wimpy portrayal and reassess the matter of what it would have been like to have had a big brother who never sinned and, yet, grew up tempted in all ways as we are, in the full rigors of a lower middle class home – one of five boys and with at least two sisters.

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JESUS' HOME: IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

While both Joseph and Mary needed a Savior like any other sinner, there must have been some factors in place which prepared them to cultivate the character and skills of the boy who knocked the sandals off the established teachers at the temple when he was twelve.

We know that Joseph was a just (righteous) man – which has to do with his upright conduct in the community and not his standing before God. We know that Mary found grace (unmerited favor) before the Lord – a grace which developed in her a gracious, discerning, obedient, and contemplative spirit.

With that in mind it is no stretch to assume that they implemented the principles of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in their home.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

It is likely that in most Nazarene households these commands had degenerated to Phylacteries and Mezuzos if anything at all. But I suspect that may not have been the case in the home where Jesus grew. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Joseph and Mary may have set aside the outward superstitions of rabbinical law and focused on the spirit of the command. We know that Jesus had a well established habit of doing that in his ministry.   

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A CHALLENGE FOR NOT-GOD PEOPLE

Couldn't resist plugging a now-twelve-
years-old grandkid here :-) 

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

When doctrine is put into creed the devil can be in the details. I don’t mean to say it is wrong to establish creedal statements. I appreciate the passion of our Pastor to keep such statements before us. What I have in mind is the tendency to become doctrinally imbalanced when we read the Scripture. In the previous devotional I expressed fascination with Jesus’ ability as a boy to listen, ask questions, understand, and give answers which knocked the sandals off the rabbis with whom he spoke. Why I am intrigued is that I don’t slip into the analysis that, Oh yes, he was God. That's why he could do that.”

Of course I believe he was (and is) God. The Bible gives me no alternative, nor do I want one. But there is another creedal issue involved. I also believe he became perfect man and from infancy he grew in wisdom as well as stature. The Bible gives me no alternative with regard to that either; and neither do I want one. Therefore, when I see him functioning as a man and doing so in an exemplary way, I do not assume that he is functioning as God unless the behavior is clearly a violation of God-ordained natural law, as in walking on water or radiating a drop-dead brilliance.

That having been said, is there something I can discover in this perfect boy-who-was-God concerning growth in wisdom which applies to me as a believing man-but-not-God? And, if so, what does that tell me with regard to encouraging other believing but not-God persons to grow in wisdom? First Peter 3:15 suggests the importance of my questions.

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give an answer (defense) to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

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THIS KID KNOCKED THEIR SANDALS OFF

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

I have in mind a Christmas play. It would begin with a boy sitting among grown men. Although the audience would not hear, the men and boy would appear to speak about great things and with great interest until the session is interrupted by the arrival of a man and woman - clearly, the boy’s parents. At that point the audience would overhear an exchange between mother and son; and one of the men would hustle them closer to the audience while the boy and the other men exit to carry on their discussion somewhere else. When they’re gone, the man would want to know more about this boy who "knocked the sandals off the rabbis."  

I have never met a boy with so many questions; and they’re such good ones; and… well… I have to admit, I’m not always sure who’s doing the teaching. I think I’ve learned more in two days of talking with your son than I learned in a month from my Rabbi when I was his age.

From that point the scenes of the familiar Nativity account pass before us on stage as Jesus' parents share their memories with the excited rabbi. 

Even as a youth Jesus had the self discipline of listening and asking questions in such a way as to impress men of education with his understanding and answers. In fact, “impress” is an understatement. The word astonished has the idea of standing out of position, like an occasional judge on a Got Talent audition who can’t stay in his seat when confronted with totally unexpected excellence.

The encounter does not align well with a concept of teaching as telling, and learning as passing tests. His skill intrigues me, not so much with regard to formal education as to the possibilities of ongoing education in the neglected art of conversation. 

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The Voice of Many Waters

Judy and I thoroughly enjoy Florida; however, we also enjoy traveling north from time to time to the land where water moves and makes noises when it tumbles over stuff. There is something about a water “fall” which can beckon us to take long hikes on winding trails in the eastern-southwest North Carolina mountains, or pull off the main highway to see less concealed spectacles. For those who, like us, are short distance, day-time hikers, I strongly recommend both venues. 

Find mountains and you will find waterfalls. The various sections of the Blue Ridge chain afford many well defined trails. . 

Some are easily navigated.

   

Others, not so much. 

And the last few yards of your quest can be... well... an adventure. 

Nevertheless, the discovery of a hidden cataract makes the effort worthwhile, whether from a distance, 

                         or close up.

Hunting, fishing, and boating shops have a variety of maps to guide you

Looking for Something a Little Less Tangled?

A ten-minute drive west of Goldbug, KY (I-75 exit 15) brings the road-weary traveler to a well developed site which affords a relaxed waterfall opportunity. Beginning at the ample parking lot, a level sidewalk allows a casual stroll along the southeast bank of the Cumberland River. 

A gift shop tempts with enticing memorabilia. Signs tell the story of the area intermingled with mother nature fantasies. Then come well constructed stairs and ramps which allow access to satisfying views of the falls themselves.  

Whenever I have the opportunity to enjoy such scenes I am reminded of Scripture's description of unbelieving mankind as a cacophony of voices deluded by the false religions of devil, man, and apostate.  However, I also remember Jesus possesses a voice of many waters  which calls out individuals from every ethnic group and language dialect and blends them into a cataract of faith. If you have ever been in a room where scores of conversations created one massive jumble of unintelligible sounds, you can appreciate the fact that Jesus is able to speak into those discussions and offer the good news of forgiveness and life and destiny to those who will receive it. I am so grateful that his voice reached me, and that his ears hear me personally in the cataract of the voices of those who sing of his glory and majesty, and his dominion and power. 

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Have At It

I invite you to enter this awesome mystery of Jesus Christ – God manifest in the flesh. Pause every time you read Scripture in general and the Gospels in particular. Remind yourself of First Timothy 3:16. Let it invite you to enter and explore.

However, as I mentioned regarding the Grand Canyon, the invitation also warns you to step back and be careful. Beware of those who claim "real meanings" of Scripture which, say they, are known only to a select few. Beware of those who tell you the important meanings are “hidden” messages discovered by counting letters or adding numbers or by using other gimmicks. The awesome mystery of the Scripture is not wrapped in secret, mystic formulas or private interpretations outside of the ordinary meanings of words.

Especially beware of those in clerical garb or doctoral hoods who pretend Scripture did a poor job expressing “truths” which are now re-interpreted by more enlightened philosophers.

There is nothing difficult to understand in these words.

For God so loved the world,

That he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him

should not perish but have eternal life.

The Old Testament narrates the events which led to those words. The rest of the New Testament unfolds their impact on the lives of those who receive them. And that is the point: there is a difference between understanding and receiving. The message of God sending his Son to die in the place of believing sinners is stupid and offensive to most because they do understand it, they do not want it, and they will go to any length to destroy, dilute, or derail it.

Do you understand the footprint of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Gospel accounts? If so, have you acted on the invitation to believe on him as Lord of your life and Savior of your soul? And, if you have, are you growing in grace and the knowledge of him?

Step up to the rim of the canyon of the mystery of Jesus Christ. Acknowledge him as Lord and Savior, and let God's Word take you to the awesome depths of his grace and coming Kingdom. Have at it!    

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And There's More

Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

When one stands at the rim of the Grand Canyon he finds himself warned to stand back and, at the same time, invited to enter and explore. I believe that illustrates the fear of the Lord. I also believe it links the fear of the Lord with the word godliness – to be awed by that which is truly awesome.

First Timothy 3:16 describes true godliness as the breathtaking mystery of God among us as one of us. It has to do with authenticated reality, not some occult hocus pocus. The footprint of the God-man was clearly predicted by the prophets of old and was fully vindicated by God’s Spirit in the claims and actions of Jesus of Nazareth. In the process it was observed in the angelic realms and by human angels/messengers in the world of man. But there is more. The wow-factor of this mystery is expressed in three more amazing categories.

God preached to the Gentiles

He who came to Israel as the promised Messiah of the Jews, brought hope to Gentiles! He invited people who were legitimately afar off and wrongfully scorned to come to him and trust in him and receive from him forgiveness and life. Although prophesied, even the Apostles seemed not to have seen that one coming.  

God believed on in the world.

From his closest family and friends to sinners drawn from the fringes, in spite of entrenched opposition, his invitation was received, and he became the object of a forsake-all faith.  

God Received up into glory.

His last footprints were left on the hill top of Olivet. From there his followers walked away to urge others to trust him and look forward to his return. In the decades before the political church, they carried this message across continents without brandishing a sword or planting of a bomb. Since then, in spite of the political church, others have continued to offer his saving grace even though victimized by defamation, legislation, isolation, and execution.

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The Mystery of the Truly Awesome

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I believe First Timothy 3:16 is a text which should be read before any reading of the Gospels. No matter what facet of Jesus’ life and ministry we study we ought to let the Spirit remind us that we are dealing with a mystery which should bring thoughts and actions of awe (godliness) to our lives – thoughts and actions which mimic the footprint of the King whom we serve now in hostile territory and in whose Kingdom we will serve “when the dark night has ended, and the storms come no more.”

The text tells us that the mystery of godliness is nothing less than the incarnation of Christ. Here are the first three categories of that awe inspiring mystery.

God manifest in the flesh.

In some respects I fear that people who reject this truth have a better grasp of it than those of us who believe it. They understand its ramifications on their lives and hate it. They grasp the “impossibility” of it apart from an act of God and they scorn it for that very reason. We, on the other hand, seem to treat it as an oh-yeah-that part of our faith and, for eleven months of the year, live our lives woefully unconcerned with the spine-tingling, miraculous wow-factors which surround it. 

God justified in the Spirit

The biographies of Jesus' walk among us reveal that the Father, through the Holy Spirit, orchestrated every aspect of his earthly pilgrimage so that his identity and his authoritative claims were thoroughly authenticated and declared to be right and righteous. This is vital to the peace which belongs to those of us who are justified by faith in him, and it is the basic reason for this series of devotionals.

God seen by angels

This can refer to the fact that Jesus’ authenticity was witnessed in both the natural and supernatural realm; and, also, because angellos (angel) can refer to human messengers who bring good news (eu-angellion), it can also refer to the many witnesses who observed his life and gave testimony to its authenticity even to the point of laying down their lives. 

God, give us grace to stand at the threshold of such a panorama of mystery with such awe that we step back in stunned wonder and step forward with a longing to explore it deeply.

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What About Earthquakes and Fire?

Steadily Jesus’ expanded the visible perimeters of his authority. Animal life, spirit beings, physical illness, and even death responded to his command. Then, on two occasions, he demonstrated his power to command two of the four major forces of nature: wind and water. Not long after that James and John were ready to add a third when they requested permission to call down fire on a Samaritan village. Jesus rebuked them and subsequently left us to wonder: why is there no record of a summoned splitting of the earth or explosion of a lightning bolt during his mission? Some translations of Luke 9:55-56 give us what may have been the content of Jesus’ rebuke. John 3:17 gives us an undisputed text:

God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;

but that the world through him might be saved

Earthquake and fire are especially the elements of judgment; and because Jesus’ first visit to earth was not as Judge but as the seeking and saving Shepherd, it is likely that is why they are absent from his mighty works.  

As for water, while it is associated with the first world-wide condemnation, it takes on a symbolism of death, burial, and resurrection in the New Testament church; and wind, while it plays some role in Old Testament prophecies of end time judgment, is a minor player in the New Testament where its greater significance is as a picture of the various works of the Holy Spirit such as the new birth.

During Jesus’ earthly sojourn, it was in his preaching the gospel, where the fire of future judgment played its greatest role; and once the duties of Calvary were complete, the rumblings of Jesus’ future return as judge began. At his death and at his resurrection the earth shifted beneath the feet of mankind.  

  

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Wind, Water, Fire, and Quake

There is much concern about “carbon footprints” today. Others speak more broadly of “man’s footprint” on the planet. The point: mankind is stomping on the environment. I respect the concern even though a lot of power seeking and cash flow opportunities make me ill at ease with regard to what information is accurate.

The reason I respect the concern has to do with the fact that Scripture is very frank about the devastating impact of mankind’s footprint on environment, neighborhood, and human souls. That is why I have spoken in these articles of another footprint. The one God gave people in order to recognize the King who will one day set things right. His footprint speaks of care for those who have been squashed by mankind’s boots. His miracles, which reflect the same care. They also demonstrate his authentic and all encompassing authority, and they underscore his - including the forgiveness of sins. 

It must be remembered that the miracles were not precedents. They were authorizations for godly caring. Now, before the King returns, his citizens are to imitate his footprint in a world that hates him. This brings me to one more pre-Calvary demonstration of his authority.

Western philosophy has generally thought of four basic forces in the cosmos. They are built around the four basic threats they impose: earthquake, wind, fire, and flood. On two occasions Jesus actually demonstrated his authority over two of those forces. He stilled the wind and calmed the sea. 
The response was slack-jawed awe.

Who is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?

and

Truly you are the Son of God.

Of special importance, however, is that he did not give examples of authority over earthquake and fire even though some of the disciples were keen on the idea. I believe it relates to that part of his footprint which rankles most.

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The Author's Heart

Jesus’ lordship over the Sabbath has a bearing on the church age in which we have lived since Pentecost. Sin is still sin and each individual is responsible for his response to the message of conscience and Scripture to seek God’s mercy. Beyond that we are not under the Mosaic governmental regulations. They provide categories for any nation, but the narrative of Scripture shows they will only be justly administered when the King himself reigns. The Church was given a message, not a political mandate.

More importantly, though, holy days, holy foods, and holy places have no legal or sacramental power for the believer in Christ. They were foreshadowings of the King himself. He is the sacrificed lamb, the redemptive tabernacle, the great high priest,  and, the believer’s Sabbath.

In Hebrews chapter four, we are reminded that Israel's entrance into the promised land did not fulfill the rest God promised his people. That meant another rest (Sabbath) remained to be fulfilled by Jesus and it is directly related to the forgiveness of sins.

Faith now looks beyond the Law Book to the Law Giver and finds him willing and able to give forgiveness rest. It does not change the identity of sin. It changes the identity of the sin-bearer. He himself fulfilled the righteousness and the penalty of God’s Law for each who would yield to him in faith. Freed from the impossible task of bearing the sin-penalty, the believer declares war on his old ways in an atmosphere of grace and develops new ways in Jesus’ resurrection strength. At the same time he becomes a joyful doer of good works out of gratitude. Life becomes a perpetual Sabbath of rest in redemption, and ministry to the glory of God. 

Jesus described this rest/serve Sabbath succinctly in Matthew 11:28-29 and in so doing described his heartbeat both for this age and the age to come. If you would live in the future reign of such a King, you must surrender to him now in a world that hates him.

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The Saber Finds Its Mark!

Lightsaber Wallpapers

For our epic movie buffs, shifting our analogy from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, it did not take long after Jesus unsheathed the light saber of his lordship over the Sabbath for him to strike a blow at the pretenders to power. He could count on the Pharisees to create the opportunity. Another Sabbath, another synagogue, and, well well, what have we here, a man with a withered hand. 

Jesus did not wait for them to throw down the challenge. He brandished the saber of his authority with a canny question.

Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?

It was “canny” in two ways. First, he did not give them a third (do-nothing) option. (A foreshadowing of James 2:16.)  
Second, because of the word “lawful.” The Pharisees themselves used the word concerning the grain field incident. Having introduced the issue of his authority over the Sabbath, Jesus returned the word "lawful" to its core significance. It is a form of (exousia); and, corresponds to our word "authorized." It reminds us of a command's known source whose intention can be searched out. It stands in contrast to our tendency to look at “lawfulness” as having to do with faceless orders on dusty books at the courthouse.

I think the Pharisees understood what Jesus just did. The question was rhetorical. It was a tacit dismissal of the Pharisees from their seats of power; and it may have plunged the light of his sword into what remained of a conscience in these men who would suddenly remember a very important fact about the Law.

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No, Jesus Was Not a Wizard. But...

Photo Credit 

At a critical moment in the hall of Theodin-King in Tolkien's The Two Towers, the good wizard, Gandalf, sheds his gray mantle to reveal that he has become "Gandalf the White." In this new role he has power to hurl the evil Sauron backward and cast him out of the enslaved king. This scene comes to my mind when I read of an event which followed Jesus' blockbuster words to a paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven you,” and then authenticated the statement by healing him.  

The power to actually forgive sin, take away guilt, and provide some way to shield the sinner from his justly deserved doom, put Jesus in a new light in the eyes of his critics. It was nothing short of a declaration of godhood. He who can forgive sins exercises life-and-death jurisdiction of eternal consequence over every soul in the whole human race and over the cosmos in which the race dwells.

As soon as Jesus made this claim he sought an occasion to reveal the implication of his authority; and he started with the Sabbath enforcers: those masters of contrived ritual correctness who took a major command God gave to the Jewish nation and made it into a whip of their own nanny laws.

His strategy was masterful. First, he allowed his disciples to snatch some grain as they passed through a field. This was permissible by the Law. The problem for the committee of the concerned was, they rubbed off the chaff in their hands. That had been decreed as “work” and, therefore, was a violation of their laws.

When challenged, Jesus brought out an illustration from the Old Testament which may well have left the Pharisees as confused as it does modern readers. He referenced the time when David and his men ate the holy bread of the tabernacle. That bread, by God's decree, was reserved for the priests. Following that, Jesus (like Gandalf in the hall of Theodin King) dropped his mantle of rabbi-hood and stood before them in the light of his real authority. His words were unmistakably clear: 

The Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath

Then he left them to fume until another opportunity came to drive home his point. 

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He Can Do WHAT?

Photo Credit 

At a critical moment in the hall of Theodin-King in Tolkien's The Two Towers, the good wizard, Gandalf, sheds his gray mantle to reveal that he has become "Gandalf the White." In this new role he has power to hurl the evil Sauron backward and cast him out of the enslaved king. This scene comes to my mind when I read of an event which followed Jesus' blockbuster words to a paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven you,” and then authenticated the statement by healing him.  

The power to actually forgive sin, take away guilt, and provide some way to shield the sinner from his justly deserved doom, put Jesus in a new light in the eyes of his critics. It was nothing short of a declaration of godhood. He who can forgive sins exercises life-and-death jurisdiction of eternal consequence over every soul in the whole human race and over the cosmos in which the race dwells.

As soon as Jesus made this claim he sought an occasion to reveal the implication of this newly revealed authority; and he started with the Sabbath enforcers: those masters of contrived ritual correctness who took a major command God gave to the Jewish nation and made it into a whip of their own nanny laws - laws which kept the “sinners” in line; with their bureaucratic overkill .

His strategy was masterful. First, he allowed his disciples to snatch some grain as they passed through a field. This was permissible by the Law. The problem for the committee of the concerned was, they rubbed off the chaff in their hands. That had been decreed as “work” and, therefore, was a violation of the Law.

When challenged, Jesus brought out an illustration from the Old Testament which may well have left the Pharisees as confused as it does modern readers. He referenced the time when David and his men ate the holy bread of the tabernacle. That bread, by God's decree, was reserved for the priests. Following that, Jesus (like Gandalf in the hall of Theodin King) dropped his mantle of rabbi-hood and stood before them in the light of his real authority. His words were unmistakably clear: 

The Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath

Then he left them to fume until another opportunity came to drive home his point. 

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