The Coming of Elias ...

No-one believes in “now”.  Everyone seems comfortable in “someday”.  But to believe that someday is here, seems to much for any of us to accept.  When the time comes, it is time to stand.  But there is the catch, when does “when” truly arrive.  As Christians we await the second coming, we await the end of all things. 2000+ years ago, an oppressed people awaited the first coming, the coming of the Messiah.  The World was around 2000 years old when Noah and his family were saved.  It had been another 2000 years past that when the Messiah would finally arrive.  Abraham was dust by then.  David was dust.  The prophets mostly in their tombs.  Yet alas, not all the prophets were gone.  In fact, prophets were constantly with Israel through the entire passage of time.  They acted as a communication line between Jesus and us.  They were inspired to say, to preach, to warn, to encourage – whatever the Lord our God told them to say.  And while they were not all accepted in their own times; after they died their manuscripts were venerated and became what we now call the Old Testament part of our Bibles.

If you were a Jew, living in the age of Roman supremacy, you longed for the Messiah as well.  But who would believe it was here?  Ask yourself, how soon do you really think the second coming of the Lord will be?  You can perhaps accept it is coming.  But to think it will be next week, tomorrow, today – most of us just say no, we do not believe in “now”, we believe only in “someday”, perhaps someday soon.  So is it any wonder, that the people who lived right up the birth of Jesus Christ, likely looked at time the same way we do?  They longed for it, but “when”; that is an entirely different matter.  The Messiah was believed to solve a number of problems, escape from oppression being number one.  That was then.  The second coming is believed to solve a number of different problems.  Escape from the oppression of sin and our addiction to sin being number one.  We look exactly the same, then and now.  They doubted the timeline, we do too.  We use the excuse they invented – that our grandparents, and parents, all thought it was soon, and they were all dust in the ground with no event to show for it.

There comes the time, when “now”, means now.  No more waiting.  Just now.  Does that idea spark fear or joy in your heart?  Luke gives us an account of a human response to the idea of now.  And there are many parallels for us to discover.  He picks up with the backstory in his gospel letter in verse 5 saying … “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. [verse 6] And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”  Is righteous and blameless the same thing as perfect?  Can you achieve these things by the power of will, or must it take the power of His love completely ruling you, in order for it to occur?  Those ordinances that Zacharias the priest and his wife Elisabeth observed included the rights of sacrifice, repentance, and forgiveness.  Observing those forgiveness rituals would have made them blameless before the Lord, even if they were not perfected yet. 

The question becomes, how often did they need forgiveness?  The measure of love you hold in your heart for others (and the lack of it for yourself) will give you a pretty good indication of how often you need repentance and forgiveness.  But just because 2 servants of God, did what God asked, does not mean they had a perfect life.  They were not blessed in all things, even though they were blessed in many things.  This was not punishment, it was preparation.  Might it be so with you as well.  What you see as punishment, might only be preparation for something far greater.  Can we open our eyes through trust, and find ourselves part of something much larger than the tiny timelines of our own lives?  It was to be so for Zachariah, and Elisabeth, even though their entire youth would pass by barren and without the blessing of children.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.”  First you will note, that Zachariah did not abandon his wife, because she was unable to conceive.  Nor did he pull an “Abraham” and simply add another wife to the equation.  Part of perfection, or rather blamelessness, is to love whether things go our way or not.  He remained a dedicated husband despite her inability to conceive.  Frankly, had Luke not specifically named Elisabeth as the cause it just as easily could have been him.  Inspiration clears that up for us.  But having no heir, was considered a curse in Israel at the time.  That curse then was a reflection of how you were living your life.  It was thought that God withheld His blessings of family from those who carried secret evil in their hearts.  So as usual, the church, and the local people and neighborhood gossips, held a field day at Elisabeths’s expense.  She later refers to this as “her reproach”.

Luke continues in verse 8 saying … “And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, [verse 9] According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. [verse 10] And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.”  The burning of incense was not just done on the day of atonement, but it was a solemn duty none the less.  And the Temple was a Holy Place none the less.  While Zachariah went about this ritual, the people gathered outside the front door of the Temple and prayed and sang hymns to themselves of the love and mercy of God.  You can bet many of those prayers were for the Messiah.  Need drives prayer.  The Romans certainly created plenty of need.  I wonder, do we see our sins in the same light?  Do we see a full and final escape from our sins, from who we are, as a great need that drives us to pray for relief, not just forgiveness?

 Luke continues in verse 11 saying … “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. [verse 12] And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.”  Here is our humanity shining through.  Forgiven is not enough to keep us from fear.  Only a full lack of sin can do that.  While there is still sin in us, there is still fear in us.  When there is only love in us, fear will leave the building.  Zacharias adheres to all the ordinances and traditions.  Yet when confronted with an angel of the Lord, his humanity shines through, and he becomes afraid.  All the sudden, the texts of Old become alive.  All of the sudden, the supernatural becomes very real, very present.  And if it is present, then the presence of the Lord in that Temple becomes even more real as well.  Our minds instantly gravitate back to the last sin we committed.  Did we repent of it?  Do we really wish to be rid of it?  Or do we just want forgiveness number 547 until the next time we commit it again requiring forgiveness number 548.  And when does God run out of patience with us, perhaps on number 549?  And so enters fear as we examine ourselves.

Luke continues in verse 13 saying … “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. [verse 14] And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. [verse 15] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. [verse 16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. [verse 17] And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Wow!  That was a mouthful.  So first things first, the fact that this couple was barren, was not something they just ignored.  They did what all of us should do.  They took their sorrow to the Lord and prayed for His intervention, for Him to do, what science cannot do.  This angel’s first declaration is fear not, for their prayer has been answered.

Now every parent is always happy to know that junior is coming.  But long before ultra-sounds, and chemical testing, the angel tells Zachariah the sex of the child (what dad does not want a boy, at least once).  And the angel names him John.  More good news.  But it gets much better quickly.  Anyone can have a boy, but what if that boy turns out to be Saddam Hussein, or Adolph Hitler?  Not an appealing prospect.  But the angel is saying don’t worry, many people are going to be happy this boy was born.  This child is going to be great in the sight of the Lord.  Talk about an accomplishment there.  So the angel gives the new parents a precaution, we want this kids brain as good as it can be, so ditch anything with alcohol in it.  Nothing, nada, ever.  And the even better upside is that the Holy Spirit is going to be in this kid, even while he is still in momma’s womb.  Maybe not all babies are destined to be babies, but this one certainly was.  Hard to argue with this.

And the last bit of good news was perhaps the best.  This child was going to turn the hearts of the people towards God, in the spirit and power of Elias (just like the prophet of old in other words).  To turn the disobedient back to the wisdom of the just, this is just awesome stuff.  And it would be driven by the Holy Spirit from birth forwards.  The angel has effectively said – time is up, or rather the time is “now”.  Zachariah is being confronted with a message of the “now”.  The reality is that Zachariah is old, and has never seen anything like this.  How old are you?  Better said, are you so old, that you refuse to be confronted with the “now” even though the angels of God would love to give you just that message?  Could you accept it?  Could you believe it, because it comes from the mouth of an angel?

As blameless as Zachariah is, as used to following all the right rituals as he is, this guy is a priest by occupation after all – all of that is not a recipe for lack of doubt.  Luke continues in verse 18 saying … “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”  This is the danger of religion based on so many rituals.  We begin to think that the performance of rituals somehow depends on us, instead of being designed for our benefit.  Zachariah is used to being active in his religion.  So when the angel tells him he is going to have this miracle baby boy, Zachariah immediately assumes he is supposed to get it done.  And he knows Elisabeth can’t, or he can’t.  Zachariah knows that his humanity is now old and tired.  There was no Viagra back then.  And Elisabeth is long past menopause.  If this is meant for humanity to solve, it will not happen.  So Zachariah wants a sign to insure he can believe what he is hearing – all the while forgetting where he is, and who he is talking to.

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. [verse 20] And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.”  Yikes.  Gabriel that stands in the presence of God, that is not just an inconsequential position.  It is the replacement for the fallen Lucifer.  This is the chief angel coming personally to tell Zachariah these things, and yet Zachariah relies upon his own ideas about how to get them done, knows he cannot, and so doubts.  Zachariah wants another sign, and he will get one.  Not a good one, but a sign none the less.  Zachariah will no longer be able to speak until this is all accomplished.  Time to run to Walmart and pick up a chalk board and a ton of chalk and good eraser.  No wait, they did not have Walmart back then.  Oops.

This conversation has taken way longer than burning incense is supposed to take.  The people are getting a little nervous.  Luke concludes this segment in verse 21 saying … “And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. [verse 22] And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. [verse 23] And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.”  Despite being unable to speak, Zachariah still had duties at the Temple that had to be fulfilled.  When all of them were done, he went home, still speechless. 

What happens when the angel of the Lord tells us – it is time.  What happens when someday is converted to “now”?  What happens when what you read becomes real to you in a way you never imagined.  This issue is not just one in the pending pile, it is in the coming pile.  We may not be blessed with the birth of another John the Baptist (who otherwise would have been called John Ben Zachariah as was the custom – his work earned him the more famous title).  But we will face the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  We will be given our own message to carry.  For me, it was – it is time to wake up.  I have known that message since I was in college, and it has never changed.  For me the now, is still now, even though what I long for, is not now yet.  But if there is a lesson in the 5 foolish virgins and the 5 wise, I interpret the now, as the time to prepare and secure oil in our lamps.  Because one day, perhaps more soon than any of us can imagine, that final midnight cry will go out.  And whatever we have secured of His oil, and His love in our hearts, will be all there will ever be.  Perhaps for you, your someday is becoming now right in front of your eyes.  Are you listening for the word of an angel, or discerning it in the scriptures right there in that Bible on the shelf?

Elias has already come.  It was as sure as the word of the angel of the Lord who stands in the presence of God.  But this was not the only back story Luke needed to share with us …

 

The Final Criterion ...

Who you are matters.  Not who you know.  Not what you know.  But who you are in the core of your character, does matter.  Modern Christian churches tend to get this entirely wrong.  They focus on what they can teach you.  The idea is that if you find out enough knowledge, some of it is bound to rub off on you, and perhaps you might become a better person than when you started.  That idea may even have some merit.  But what if who you are is essentially the same as who you were; only after all this education, you have a better understanding of doctrines.  If you think it has never happened before, just spend some time reading about the Pharisees in the time of Christ.  They had immense knowledge of the scriptures, spent nearly every day debating and trying to increase that knowledge.  But it did not change “who” they were.  And when Christ came, they refused to recognize Him.  Why?  Because Jesus was obsessed with loving others, especially those in need.  The Pharisees were more comfortable with a “caste” system where the people in great need were largely ostracized (you know, in order to keep the church pure).

And speaking of the “church”, it can’t save you either.  The Pharisees went to church obsessively.  They had a special temple building that was specifically authorized for this purpose.  They had many rituals designed to point them to the Messiah, ALL of which they followed for public viewing.  They sang all the hymns.  They wrote a few new ones.  They washed themselves up and were “clean” all the time.  Their clothing was “temple proscribed”.  It was conservative (as nearly as conservative as clothing gets).  Their family lives were very regimented with each member of the family knowing their “place”.  Wives and daughters did household chores and only those.  Sons were meant to carry on tradition and were educated thoroughly from an early age.  For our conservative brothers and sisters who think that modern society has gone down hill because we let our standards erode – the Pharisees had the best lock on standards there will ever be, and yet – they missed the Messiah entirely.  Rather, they chose to kill the Messiah rather than adopt another way of doing things.

So what about doctrine?  True doctrine is supposed to point you to Jesus.  If it works, that should lead you to submission and transformation of who you are.  But how many doctrines are really setup for that purpose?  Instead doctrines have become the central pillars that divide one church from another based on what is now called “belief”.  All modern Christian churches believe in Jesus, and yet every distinct denomination is somehow divided over the doctrines they teach.  Again noting the irony of doctrines being supposed to point you to Jesus, yet churches divide over them incessantly.  But let’s assume for the moment that your brand of Christianity (that is your particular denomination or unique set of beliefs) is 100% right, and everyone else is 100% wrong.  What then?  Does holding all the right doctrines to be true, make you a different person on the inside?  To the point, does it change who you are so completely, that you become just like Jesus (hard to tell you apart)?  If not, why?  All that truth must be good for something right.  But then, knowing “about” Jesus, and knowing “about” the Bible, only makes you a good student – not a different person.  To “be” a different person all you need is Jesus (and nothing else will do).

So what kind of person are you supposed to be?  That would be the $64,000 question.  And of course, Jesus left us the answer.  Matthew in his gospel to his Hebrew contemporaries records the words of Jesus Himself on this topic in chapter 25.  Jesus once again transitions the context from prior scriptures, beginning with the signs and wonders, moving to the conditions, moving again to the work or mission, and now to a final judgment scene that most conservative Christians love the idea of.  The last topic Jesus will address is what happens at His second coming (whether at the outset of it, or at the end of it – time is a little fuzzy in this one).  But there is very clear a division of people into two camps.  The saved, and the not saved.  This makes all of us nervous.  And it should.  The selfishness in the roots of who we are, dictates a lot of bad outcomes.  But this story has a twist, in fact a number of them.

It begins with Jesus speaking in verse 31 saying … “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:”  This is the second coming of Jesus.  No longer a humble baby laying in a manger for Herod to plot to destroy.  He is now beyond the reach of plotting Pharisees who want to see Him dead because He will simply not accept their version of the doctrines of truth they believe are beyond dispute.  This is a different picture of the same Jesus, and He is back.  This is not the sign for the atheists to finally accept the ridiculous ideas of a spaghetti monster as opposed to a tangible Son of God who is now here in front of them with all His holy angels (a number likely too large for us to guess at now).  And He brings with Him a throne, that is meant only for Him to sit upon.  This is the revelation of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He does not bow to our money or wealth.  He does not humble Himself to our leaders, for He is the ultimate leader of all time.  The glory of this is beyond our imagination today.  Yet Jesus gives us this small glimpse to get our heads in the right train of thought.

He continues in verse 32 saying … “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: [verse 33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”  Our ultimate shepherd dividing His flocks is something we can kind of understand.  But does He mean His right, or our right?  And does He mean His left hand, or does He me the hand we see on the left from our perspective?  But that’s the thing about sheep, they just do what they are told.  They do not need to understand it.  They just do it.  This is a subtlety we sometimes miss.  Everyone here in this crowd thinks they are the same.  We ALL believe Jesus has come to take US home.  We ALL believe we are His sheep.  Nobody is looking around making accusations.  We’re just ALL happy.  But despite what we think of ourselves, there is a division going on, none the less. And we the sheep and goats are more or less oblivious to it.  Keep in mind two ambitious disciples had asked that when Jesus came into His kingdom that one might be placed at the right hand of Jesus, and one at the left.

Jesus continues in verse 34 saying … “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: [verse 35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: [verse 36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”  The group on the right has made it in to the Kingdom.  Why?  Keep in mind the above set of activities is NOT a definitive list, it is a set of examples.  What drives the behavior above is a core love of others that has become a part of “who” we are.  There is no check list of this stuff.  There is a driving motivation that pushes always into these kinds of behaviors for others, because we genuinely love them.  This set of examples is evidence of a full transformation of the heart and mind.  You leave behind the person you are today (one obsessed with self), and you are re-created into the very image of Jesus Christ by the power of His transformative love you choose to submit to.  The Holy Spirit acts as the mechanism.  And the result is a different kind of sheep.

Now again, I must call attention to the obvious (sorry).  Where is doctrine listed in the above set of final criterion?  Where is our understand of scripture cited, or our perfect knowledge of prophecy tested?  For that matter, where is something as basic as the Ten Commandments examined?  The above set of actions are examples of you loving others (which should be an embodiment of both doctrine and the Ten Commandments) – because it brings you into harmony with God.  But the goal post Jesus lays out is not whether you have kept all ten or any one of the Commandments properly, or whether you broke one tenant of the Law.  He does not have to.  Perfect love of others brings you into perfect harmony with the Law, until the Law is not something you even think about anymore, it is just a basic proscription for how to love others, that you would not think of badly.  You already love God, because loving Jesus is how your transformation began, continued, and finally concluded.  You already love others, so what “not” to do is only a beginning for you.  You have been spending your thoughts on what “to do”.  The above list Christ cited are examples of that thinking.

For some traditionalists, they believe you would gain entry into heaven or not, based on how perfectly “you” kept each commandment.  Sorry guys, that is not enough.  Jesus does not divide sheep from goats based on how many people learned not to steal, or lust, or covet, or commit adultery.  Jesus does not even look at His flock and divide it based on how many people broke the Sabbath, treated it badly, wasted their special day with Him, or worse yet; refused to worship on His day made holy at creation, choosing rather to worship on their own day.  THAT is not the criterion by which Jesus divides the flock.  Treating the time with Jesus how it deserves, cannot be accomplished, until we are brought into harmony with His Laws.  While His Laws are a burden to us, our hearts reflect our lack of transformation.  Once we allow Him to change “who” we are, how we see His special time with us changes, and only then can perfect obedience be found in us.  The Law never goes away.  Our perspective of the Law changes from burden to automatic as we are transformed into harmony with it.  Attempting to keep the Law, without transformation is nothing more than vanity.

Lastly, again notice it is not the brand of sheep that gets you into His Kingdom.  It is not “your” particular brand of Christian that is the final criterion.  Catholics are going to have to share the Kingdom with Protestants, and Mormons, and people of no brand at all.  The criterion laid out appears to be acts of loving Jesus Himself, not of belonging to a particular sect of Christianity.  It is not that only white sheep made it in (representing your faith), and reluctantly spotted sheep (people near your ideas), and from a state of grace black sheep (ones who were complete rebels, but somehow found His grace).  Color or sect or creed was not the deciding factors.  Loving Jesus was (and is).  A tangible demonstration of the first four Commandments, or a tangible demonstration of a relationship with Jesus Himself.  Either or both are true.  Loving Jesus, it would appear, is found in how we love – period.  And it is not found in turning that love inward, but in turning that love outwards to those in need (as this list would imply).

Jesus continues in verse 37 saying … “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? [verse 38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? [verse 39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [verse 40] And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  And here is another evidence of transformation – it is something you do not focus on – it is something happening to you without your knowledge, but within your motives.  The transformed sheep are simply different.  They love others because it is “who” they have been made to become.  As they look at the face of Jesus, they do not remember ever providing such loving acts to Him personally.  Yet Jesus says to them, when you did it “unto the least of these”.  Not to popes or presidents, or Bill Gates.  Not when your actions were designed for credit, or check marks in heaven.  But when your acts of charity and love were done because your heart bubbles over with charity and love.  Notice too, the “least of these” are also in the flock now, perhaps in part, because of your tangible love for them.

The sheep who gain entry into His Kingdom are like two-year-olds, unaware of their state of being, unaware they are the saved of this flock.  They do for others, without the knowledge of being saved, but because it is who they have become.  Think of that.  If it were possible these sheep could be lost (it’s not), they would be going to hell with kindness and love for others as their primary driving motivation.  They lived the way they do, because Jesus re-made them this way.  It is not something they did for themselves, or in partnership with God.  It is something Jesus does for us all, as we submit who we are to Him in the here and now.  He remakes us in the here and now.  And before long, a passion for others begins to develop in you, you cannot explain.  It brings tears to your eyes unexpectedly.  It brings joy to your heart from things you would not even have noticed before.  It is the new you, beginning to learn how to love like God loves, shedding the scales of your self-love behind.  It starts now, and going to heaven merely extends it.

Jesus continues in verse 41 saying … “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: [verse 42] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: [verse 43] I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”  Pay careful attention to the reasons Jesus cites for this group NOT getting into heaven.  Examples of NOT loving others, therefore of being untransformed.  It is NO particular sin that keeps them out.  They are forgiven too, of the bad things they have done.  It is NOT the breaking of the law, or the misinterpretation of scripture that is keeping them out.  It is because they are NOT different people, they are the same at the core of who they are.  Forgiven, but not different inside.  And it shows.

The untransformed heart is all too happy to shower itself with the love of God, never thinking for a moment to share that love with others (perhaps outside of the inner circle of people we say we care about).  We care about very few, and are blindingly apathetic to those outside of our circles.  Even within our circle of people we are supposed to love, our love for them is far from perfect.  Often we choose what is convenient or easy for us, less so for them.  Sacrifice for others is seen as sacrifice (not as joy).  Giving to others is done in moderation (never completely, that would not make sense).  We strive to be “good” Christians (or worse), good people.  We tell ourselves we have achieved our goal of being a “basically” good person.  We tell ourselves that our sins do not matter, because they have been forgiven.  We treat His grace like a diaper we can relieve ourselves upon.  Never looking for an escape from our sins, only an excuse to remain in them.  Our thoughts are filled continually with a reflection of our motives, chief among them is love of self.

And it gets worse.  We too are unaware of our state of being.  Those goats, or active Christians involved in the church, hide our true condition by “working” in the ministry.  We may be the ones preaching, or planning, or helping out in church.  We make a fuss about attending events where the homeless are helped, or houses are built.  We consider these “events” as proof of our love of others (after all, we can point to a dozen of our neighbors who make no such attempt).  We give our means to ministry and again use this as proof of our love of others (pointing to others who make no such gifts, or who are unable to give as much as we).  And all of our “proof”, is proof of something else – an untransformed heart that looks for credit and reputation, not for anonymity.  When confronted with those in need, we pass by, because there is no “event” in it.  We do not make a habit of helping, only special events of helping.  We are quite comfortable leaving the least of these right where they are.  And there is no guilt in us, because who we are, is not someone who burns with the love of Jesus in us, only the love of self.  Our “good” hearts have never tasted of His transformation.  And so our lack of love for Jesus shows.  It is evident.

Jesus continues in verse 44 saying … “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? [verse 45] Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. [verse 46] And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”  These goats are unaware they are goats.  And they too looking at the face of Jesus for the first time, realize they have never met Him before.  So they offer in their own defense, not repentance, but a statement of facts.  We never saw you, so how could we ever help you?  But the “least of these” who are in the flock today are present.  And they were ignored here by the goats who had no time for them outside of scheduled events or charitable donation.  The evidence is in front of them even if now it has been cleaned up significantly at this event.

What cannot be cleaned is the hearts still inside the goats.  It is too late for that.  They have steadfastly rejected transformation when it was offered.  They believed salvation was something “they” could achieve by their own good works, or asking for forgiveness (never a real change), or helping out in church.  They believed themselves “good” when Jesus looks at them they are far from the “good” the universe demands going forward.  Lucifer thought himself good too.  And while he loved others in harmony with the Law he was.  It was when he started loving self that is when Satan emerged.  These goats have known not much more than loving self in their own lives.  They have long evidence of it.  And the irony is that they may have perfect understanding of doctrine.  They may be able to recite a perfect understanding of all prophecy ever recorded.  They may be pastors, or ministers, or elders, or deaconesses.  They may go to church regularly.  They may do everything they thought they were supposed to do.  But they do not really love Jesus.  They mostly love themselves and bringing pleasure to themselves.

It is only in our submission that we find His ability to transform who we are into who He envisions we can become.  That means we turn over to Him our decisions (large and small).  That means we turn over our hearts and passions (for Him to remake, revise, or amplify as He sees fit).  Submission is about wanting to get rid of “who” we are, and trusting that what He will re-create us into, is the best thing we would ever really want.  It is a radical change of who we are.  It will radically disrupt everything about us.  And it will always be the best thing for us.  The evidence of this transformation will be found in the passion we have for loving others.  When we cannot keep still, when we cannot sleep away our time, when we must help that person in need – we are beginning to see them like God sees them.  That is what sheep look like.  You probably already know what goats look like (I do anyway).  But I continue to try to learn what submission means, and how much more of it I can learn to adopt.  Join me in that quest, and learn what Jesus has in store for you.

This concluded the answers of Jesus as to what to look for before the destruction of the Temple, and His second coming from signs, to conditions, to mission, to the final criterion.

 

Castaway's ...

Are we so dull we just don’t see it anymore?  Perhaps so over-exposed that our senses just do not even detect the warnings anymore?  For many in the world, the Bible is just anecdotes and fairytales.  For those folks, the central characters in the Bible are no more real than Mickey Mouse or the Easter Bunny.  And that is the level of comparison that is often made … something harmless compared to the Bible.  But if good comprises the descriptions of God, then evil comprises the description of His enemy.  Satan is not Mickey Mouse, nothing like what Mickey represents.  Satan earned a name change, after destroying the Lucifer he was, and becoming the evil incarnate he chose to embrace and now is powerless to be changed from.  Satan does not want a change.  Satan wants to hurt, destroy, cause death, and control everything he touches before he kills it.  Satan and his now demonic hoard were not cast out of heaven because of a few parking infractions.  They invented war there.  They invented pain there.  They invented lies there.  These castaways were forced out of perfection, away from the love of God, because their evil would have killed every living thing in proximity if it were allowed to remain.

And most modern Christians are content to ascribe red skin, a forked tail, hooves, and a pitch fork to how they consider what Satan is … this, while intently watching episodes of Lucifer on Fox.  And this is hardly a rant against a single show.  Our media is full of the fantastic, all rooted in stories of good and evil, where evil spans a gamut of things intended to scare us, or entertain us, or make us somewhat sympathetic to it.  The word castaways itself is hardly something that strikes fear into the hearts of readers, it is innocuous enough, subtle enough, but it represents a horror that is unrivaled, and a danger we have become so blunted to, that we invite it into our lives and make it dinner, as if it were just an estranged friend with a harmless agenda.  It’s not.  And demon possession is not just something that makes up good horror stories in the movies, with awesome special effects applied.  It is something intended to ruin your life, estrange those you love, disintegrate your family, and indulge lusts within you that would turn you from mild-mannered-you, into the mindset of a serial killer with no remorse or regret; not instantly, but slowly and imperceptibly over time, where there is little defense made, or request for defense.

Modern Christians hardly look for defense against it.  It is easier to comprehend why those who lack a real faith in the Bible, would pick up a Ouija board and dabble.  They are looking to experiment with the supernatural and see if something more truly exists.  Interesting to me, they do not try prayer to the God who represents love and good.  Instead they pick up the tool of evil and invite it to interact with them.  Seems like the answers of a God who loves them deeply would be better for them, than the answers of an entity who would wish to destroy them from within.  Yet Ouija boards are not burned today, they are manufactured today.  The castaways that answer are not harmless, they represent a picture of evil your mind has yet to imagine.  And instead of running from it, too often, it is opened up in the living room and treated as if it were no different than the game of Monopoly or Chess.  It is different.  It has consequence, whether you perceive it or not.  For in this method, as well as a host of others, we take down the “not welcome” signs, and invite demonic castaways to find their homes in our homes, and our hearts.  Even if the special effects we envision never actually materialize in front of us.

I imagine everyone misses those they have lost.  I imagine the idea of continuing to communicate with a dear departed one, who surely exists in heaven (no one we know ever goes to hell in our minds, that is unthinkable); would be great to talk to just one more time.  So because the devil convinces us of the immortality of the soul, that we cannot be truly killed, as he told Eve way back in the Garden of Eden.  We buy his lie.  We begin to believe we are never truly killed, that we simply pass on to the next dimension.  Hell for those other enemies we have.  Heaven for literally everyone we know (and love).  Since their disembodied souls live there, why is it so hard to believe that they may wish to travel back to earth, in some ghostly or spirit-y form to talk to us, perhaps give us advice.  King Saul of Old Testament times believed this, and consulted a witch to get his answers.  But it was not Samuel he raised, only a demon that resembled Samuel.

The departed love one you seek to converse with, may come, but in truth you are now only conversing with a demon who knew your lost one, as well as you do.  They can imitate expressions, gestures, sayings, and looks.  They understand how to mimic us down to the DNA level (why would we think we are the only ones to begin to understand DNA).  So the show is spectacular.  That is if you like watching a horror movie in 4D, that is bent on destroying you, while it portrays the villain as the hero.  And because Christians, let alone atheists, do not believe in the “sleep” of death.  They invite this horror movie into their lives, and do not even ask for a defense.  But this idea is not new.  I imagine two men of long ago, tried this same thing around the campfire.  I imagine at first it was a great experience, getting lots of advice from the long departed they admired, even perhaps loved.  But then something went sideways.  Instead of just talking to them, the demons entered them, and refused to leave.  This would make the men slaves to the will and strength of demons, that up to that point, they did nothing to deter.  And voila, demon possession of the type in the time of Christ.  While it may be more subtle in our day, it is no less effective, brought about by the same ideology, and methods.

Matthew records the story of what had happened to two men who had invited castaways to find a home within themselves, and now were powerless against that earlier decision.  Picking up in chapter eight, and verse 28 he begins … “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.”  Jesus had moved locations from Capernaum (Peters house) across the lake.  The devil had already brought out a great storm on the sea intending to kill the entourage before it could make the far shoreline.  But Jesus simply quieted it with a word, and distance was negated.  Getting out of the boats however, they had landed in demon territory.  These two men, possessed of many many demons, were so fierce, and so superhumanly strong, that no one tried to pass by this way.  Interesting that they lived in a graveyard, a foretelling of what was to become of them, and a perfect metaphor of those who stand without Christ, and in the arms of His enemy.  But what is the strength of mortal men against the fury of thousands of demons?  The word castaways now hardly does the terror justice.  Fear rules this land.  And none of the Rabbi’s or Sanhedrin rulers have any kind of solution.  It would appear the organized religion of God stood powerless against the might of the Satanic kingdom established in these two men.

Matthew continues in verse 29 saying … “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?”  The demons make the argument that they did nothing to seek out Christ.  They remained in their home territory.  So why was Jesus here?  Being next to the Son of God, the source of all love and life, now reminds them of the beings they once were, and the proximity they once held near the throne of the Father.  Their former lives and existence are now pure torture to remember.  They cannot bear to be so close.  They must get away.  They must get away from the presence of Jesus.  They ask if Jesus is here to torment them with memories of what it is to love so purely, or stand so close to love, or to be who they once were?  It is torment to them.  It is anguish to them.  There are no fires present, except the fire of love.  But the torment remains.

Matthew continues in verse 30 saying … “And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. [verse 31] So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.”  The devils, the demons, had planned to kill their hosts over time.  The hosts of this hoard would not benefit in any way.  They would be slaves, until they would be killed.  The methods are no different today, even if the fury is less evident.  Entering your home and sowing discord and fury between husband and wife, or parent and child, is no less effective at destroying relationships, and the love that would normally accompany them.  After all we invite them in.  They come through our habits, our choice of what we focus upon, our sins that we indulge over and over and over again without abandon, or remorse.  And somehow we are surprised that the enemy of the Lord still exists?  The demons knew they were to be cast away, they only wished to move from one target to another.  Have we presented them with a current one?

Matthew continues in verse 32 saying … “And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.”  What the demonic legion had in mind for their original hosts, was now accelerated in the herd of swine.  Destruction, death, frenzy.  Note, that the demons would not be destroyed in this action, only the hosts.  The demons were free to find a new host, in a new time, perhaps in every time.  Only the hosts suffer, are enslaved, and eventually die.  The demon is free to move on.  They hate the love of Christ, but crave the destruction of mankind.  The math is easy.  Since they cannot hurt God directly, they hurt what God loves, and in so doing, they torture the God of love and life.  They will do this as much as they can, until the appointed time comes, and they can do it no more.

Matthew continues in verse 33 saying … “And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. [verse 34] And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.”  Here is where the story goes sideways.  You would think that the town’s people would want a savior to cast away every demon in that area, to free them from the fear of it.  You would think the liberation would be welcomed, even if at the loss of the material possessions of the pigs.  What is the price of a herd of swine to have every demon cast away from this region?  But whether they feared an even greater loss of wealth, or whether they feared they were meeting the boss of all demons, or whether they just refused to believe the Son of God would ever come to see them because they did not deserve it.  The results were all the same, they asked Jesus to leave their region.  How do you ask the one who would liberate you to leave you alone?  How do you choose to be a castaway, or make God one?

Perhaps the same way we do it today.  Perhaps we choose to cling to our habits, our entertainment, our sins of the flesh; until we would rather have Jesus give us some space, than see these attributes about our lives change into something else.  You see only Jesus can drive away the demons of our lives, and out of our homes, and away from us.  But then, Jesus does exactly that.  When we invite Jesus into our homes, the sins we treasure tend to leave.  So the struggle in the human mind begins.  Do I really want change, or do I like my slavery to self?  Do I enjoy the sins I commit, thinking them to be the fun in my life, the spice of my life, believing self-less-love to be boring or too demanding?  And too many of us, like the people of that region, would rather have Jesus a little distant from our real lives, a little ways outside of our hearts.  We will claim to be His followers, but in real life, we only follow a little.  And the demons we entertain instead will allow us to feel as though we are doing “ a good job”.  Demons love us to think we are “good people”.  After all, none of the folks we know and love ever go to hell when they die, always only to heaven, right?  God’s mercy, and all that.  But while we live, we entertain that which would destroy us, even if we do not perceive it.

It is an old saying that “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled off, was making us think he does not exist”.  There is truth to that.  Modern Christians have seemed to have all but forgotten it.  None of us even consider we face the same demonic hoards, those two men succumbed to so long ago.  None of us even consider that tinkering with Ouija board might actually have permanent consequences.  How could watching the show Lucifer ever present any real kind of problem, it is only a show right?  And for that matter, how could watching any show that presents the ideas of good vs evil, as something man gets to choose, present a risk.  It is only entertainment right?  Nobody believes it is real.  Nobody believes that what we focus on might actually change how we think, or what we believe.  Nobody that is, except a huge group of castaways that intend to dominate our lives, imperceptibly, so that we never even know they are there.  Jesus acts just like demon repellent.  But then, do you have Jesus?  Have you made Jesus a permanent part of your home, or is He just a periodic guest, from time to time, when it is “convenient”? 

Man cannot defeat these castaways.  Jesus can.  The math is simple.  What will you do about it?

 

The Death of Justice & Evil ...

There is a difference between the condition of Satan, and the condition of man.  Lucifer (at the time), existed in a state of perfection and made a choice despite his long years, advanced knowledge, and perfect surroundings to break trust with God, to try things his way.  He ignored the warnings of God choosing not to believe them, instead trusting in himself.  This was completely done on his own.  No one led him to these choices, and in fact, many tried to dissuade him from these choices.  But in the end, Lucifer became Satan by using his freedom of choice to focus his love only upon himself.  He degenerated to the point where he cared only about himself, and wanted to be like the Most High, craving His power to compel others and deny them any freedoms at all.  It was Lucifer’s choice to become what he is.

Mankind on the other hand was new to the universe and existence.  We were a young species having just been created out of the nothingness of our rock tumbling through the dark void of space.  We knew nothing but truth, for God only ever speaks truth.  We had every reason to believe that each sentient being in the universe would also speak truth.  But Satan, in the form of a snake, lied to us, in saying that God lied.  We were deceived.  And then Adam made the choice to put himself with Eve, because his love for her was greater than his trust in the salvation of our God.  He chose death because of love, not for himself, but for his wife.

The love of God for every one of His creations is constant and limitless.  Salvation was offered to mankind, not because we deserved it.  But because the circumstances of our fall were different than that of Lucifer.  Eve was seduced by her own vanity, and the deceiving tongue of a talking serpent, something she had never witnessed before.  Adam fell because he chose to, out of his great love for his wife, instead of a greater trust that our God could fix it.  We were offered a second chance.  Lucifer does not see this as fair.  Satan at this point, sees it as unfair, unjust, and a complete hypocrisy to holiness.  To rehabilitate mankind from his fallen state, back to a state of perfection, because of the circumstances of his fall just seems unfair and unjust.  So the rallying cry of Satan has ever been, to give man what is coming to him, what he has earned by his life and his deeds.  Satan cries out for justice.

And Satan seems to have transplanted that cry for justice deep within us.  Even small toddlers on the playground complain when things are “unfair”.  We attribute that “unfairness” to evil, and we are right.  Things are unfair, because one person chooses to love or please himself, at the expense of another, and thus evil is reflected in the world and in the heart.  But the cure for “unfairness” is something none of us could have expected.  It begins with forgiveness.  A trait hard enough to master.  But then it goes beyond that.  It demands that the party who was treated unfairly, offer even more, to the aggressive party.  This is not only more unfair, it seems to make no sense.  Wouldn’t that make the situation even worse for everyone?  Well, therein lies the question.

Jewish society in the time of Christ, just like American society in our day, is built upon a sense of fairness.  The ancient texts of Moses were so often quoted … “an eye for an eye”.  Justice had been defined.  How often has this text been quoted in our day to justify our thirst for vengeance.  You do something to me, you can bet I intend to the same (or worse) to you.  This is our idea of fair play.  This is our idea of justice.  But this does not end the evil that causes unfair acts, it only promotes it.  Because how any of us see what is just, is a matter of subjectivity corrupted by years of bad choices, and a history of loving self.  There is a different way to fix things, a way Jesus Himself lays out.

When Matthew (a former tax collector who had personal experience with the concept of justice or not) heard the words of Christ, he could hardly believe them.  In his gospel, Matthew was attempting to show to his Jewish audience how Jesus was the fulfillment of every Old Testament prophecy.  But in recording what came next, he knew his audience would have a hard time with it.  Many would either reject the words of Christ while choosing to listen to other things, or, they would reject Jesus entirely because of these ideas and words.  Nevertheless, Matthew must record what was said in accurate detail. 

He picks up in his gospel in chapter five, starting in verse 38 saying … “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: [verse 39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  Let’s get a few things straight.  Jesus is not excusing the perpetrator of their crime.  He is not in effect saying, we can all go around and start hitting each other when we feel like it.  Instead Jesus is redefining the end of evil, by the beginning of mercy, forgiveness, and grace from the wounded party, to the guilty one.  And what is more, Jesus is not connecting this first scenario to property that can be replaced.  He is making it up close and personal to your very body and conditions of health.

There will be no eye taken for the eye damaged.  There will be no tooth taken for the tooth we lost.  If this is how you measure justice, then mercy has just killed justice.  But love is not content to leave it there.  Love goes farther.  Love for the one who hit you, allows you to extend your other cheek.  The exact words of Jesus were … that ye resist not evil.  Those are hard words to take.  Those words don’t just imply, they empirically state, you are going to have bad things happen to you because of evil.  And when they do, you are to do nothing in return, not even block the punch. 

To remain docile when you are attacked creates an interesting phenomenon.  Anger feeds on anger in return.  When it gets no fuel, it is nearly impossible to maintain.  To fight, you need someone who fights back.  When they don’t, it makes “you” the schmuck to just keep hitting them.  Most folks lose interest in that pretty fast.  Even the very evil ones.  Why?  Could it be, that the kingdom of Satan is built upon lies, and when truth is illuminated, his kingdom falls apart.  Anger, and fighting, must find some sort of resistance to feed off of, to keep going.  Or it quickly tires, gets bored, and looks for something else to fill the void that only Love could truly fill.

The end of evil does not come from force.  The end of evil does not happen because of the fires of hell.  Those fires cleanse the earth of those who refuse to be transformed.  But the evil that has lived within you for so many years, is not extinguished because you fear hell.  It is extinguished within you, because of the transforming love of Jesus who can literally re-create you from the inside out.  Not just make you pretty on the outside, clearing up all your imperfections, giving you the instant diet, and making your health perfect – all that stuff is the side effect of immortality that Jesus gives you.  The inside.  The places deep within that crave sin, that want to do what we know we should not do.  Those are the places that must be transformed to truly be perfect.  And they are not afraid enough to change from fear.  It takes something more.  It takes more than justice.  It takes the infinite Love of Jesus.

The recipe for ending evil, is that only Love defeats it.  Beyond remaining docile, and humble, while you are attacked … going the extra mile for your attacker, seeing to his needs, even after he has beaten you.  That is a love that changes hearts and minds, and puts evil out to pasture forever.  That is what Jesus has done for you.  That is what He can create in you, so that you can reflect it to others.  But more than just our bodies should be sacrificed if we love enough.  Everything we own should be a cheap price for the redemption of someone else.  Jesus continues in verse 40 saying … “And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. [verse 41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. [verse 42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”

Jesus does not ask if these actions against us are fair or just.  They may not be.  He does not ask us if these actions are convenient with us.  He asks something far more.  He asks that we value nothing we own, more than the relationship we could have with one we would bring into His kingdom.  Greed cannot be satiated.  Greed has no limits, no boundaries, no matter how much you have, greed would have you desire more.  It is a bottomless pit.  The antidote to greed is to value your goods merely as tools that could be used to make someone else happy.  To be willing to give everything you own away, and count that as a blessing, is the antidote to greed.  It ends evil within you.  And it has great potential to end evil in others, as you point them to the Source of how you are able to live like you do in Jesus.

Jesus now hits the Israelite right where he takes the most pride, in his religion.  And His words cut to the heart of the American Christian just as deeply.  Jesus continues in verse 43 saying … “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. [verse 44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”  The Jew was proud of his religion, and prayed usually for himself, and his family.  The American Christian does the same.  But the recipient of our prayers, asks us for something else, something new.  He asks us to take a genuine interest in the salvation and well-being of our enemies, of the ones who “despitefully use” us, of those who “persecute” us.    

When was the last time your heart broke over the pain your enemy lives in?  When was the last time you were compelled to drop to your knees and lift their names up to heaven, asking God to save them, and save you?  When your heart brakes for your enemy, for the one who lies about you, and tries so hard to destroy you, you have found a transformation ONLY Jesus can bring.  Imagine what our country would be like if all those who hate Trump and everything he stands for, decided to make Trump the object of their sincere prayers.  Imagine what our country would be like, if all those conservative Republicans, and Tea Party members who so hate Obama, or Nancy Pelosi, decided to make them the object of sincere prayer for their well-being, even if it was ahead of their own.  Instead of these prayers, we offer biting criticism, and the language of insults and hate.  And then we claim we are doing God’s work.  Obviously, we have found a new god to take credit for us, because it is clearly not the instructions Jesus left.

Jesus continues in verse 45 saying … “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. [verse 46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? [verse 47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? [verse 48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”  Here Jesus defines how love can reach perfection.  By loving not just your family and friends, not just strangers you hardly know, but taking a real interest in the ones you hate, or that hate you.  Our God loved us, while we were still calling Him our enemy.  He loves us even when we do it still.  He is not a fickle God, loving us when we are “good” and hating us when we are “bad”.  He loves us all the time, wishing only that His love is allowed to take us away from the pain our sin causes.

His Love is the medicine we need to stop hurting ourselves with the badness we embrace.  His Love is the motive we need to actually think about wanting to change.  His Love is what will defeat evil forever.  Not just the evil that is washed away in the fires of hell in some distant future, but the evil that once had such a strong hold upon you, your desires, and your actions in the here and now.  That evil must also be washed away.  And the only force strong enough to kill it is His love.  When He is done with you.  Evil will be dead in you.  Dead, because YOU no longer want it.  That is when the death of evil occurs.  It occurs because His mercy killed the justice you deserve, and His love killed the evil you once embraced.

And the sermon was far from over …