Helping God [part 2 of 2] ...

In our previous study, we examined how we might have been a positive part of helping God in the form of providing Him comfort when He needed it most.  All we needed to do was to pray to avoid temptation.  But instead we slept.  By contrast Judas may demonstrate what it looks like when man helps God accomplish what man thinks needs to be done.  For not all the disciples were sleeping that fateful night.  None were aware of the stakes for mankind.  But one would play his role in the story.  For motives we may never fully understand.  Greed (i.e. pieces of silver) may look like motive, and certainly it plays a part in it, but simple greed may be too simplistic an answer as to why.  Think of it, Judas healed the sick, cast out demons, and testified as to the divinity of the Messiah in his own commission while partnered with another disciple.  Judas in fact was most admired by the other disciples (not Peter, he was the loudmouth).  Judas may have been the best student or perhaps most educated.  He was less common, and more like the one we would all aspire to be.  The disciples did.  But appearances are unimportant.

Judas may have developed his own ideas about how to help God.  The Messiah was supposed to be throwing off Roman oppression and bringing about a kingdom that would have no end.  Jesus had all the tools needed to do this, but was not getting it done.  Judas may have reasoned, that if Christ were in real jeopardy of losing His life, He would do what all humans do to survive, but He would do it in divine fashion with power and glory.  Judas would see himself has being the catalyst to bring all this about, even if this plan needed deceit and betrayal to get it going.  And if you could take money from priests who stole it from the poor themselves, why not add that into the mix.  Judas had it all reasoned out.  His plan made sense.  It would help God do, what God promised to do.  All God needed was a little properly placed motivation (like survival) and a little push.  If nothing else Jesus might be forced into defending his disciples and become the King He was destined to be.

Now keep in mind, everyone shared these beliefs about the role of the Messiah in the time of Christ.  It was not just Judas.  Matthew, Peter, pick your disciple, they all hoped for this.  They were even making plans about who would sit where when the Jesus administration took over.  Judas might have thought that doing this would make himself the right choice for the number two position – or at least head of the intelligence agencies.  After all there was a war coming with the Romans in this scenario.  A war long over due and easily winnable, but a war none the less.  And then what?  Perhaps a war with Egypt?  A war with Ethiopia? Or Greece? Or India or England at the far stretches of the world.  The Jesus administration was to be a worldwide power with no end in land or time, and Judas perhaps thought to be a key part of it.  The only thing that needed to be done was to get Jesus up and going, finally.

Of course Matthew did not care for the “why” Judas would betray Jesus.  Only that He did.  Picking up in His gospel in chapter 26 and verse 46 he continues with the words of Jesus saying … “Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.  [verse 47] And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.”  Jesus had hardly finished waking up his sleeping disciples than the one who had no sleep enters the scene.  Not fresh from prayer, but fresh in his own ideas about how to help God fulfill the promises God has made to us, according to the vision of Judas.  And he brought with him a sizeable crowd of armed men in order to insure Jesus takes the threat as real.  The fact that his disciples were just waking up, unprepared to mount a defense was just perfect.  Judas could present Jesus with a threat to Himself and to the others in order that Jesus might have to defend them as well.  No better way to kick off a kingship that was long overdue.

Matthew continues in verse 48 saying … “Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. [verse 49] And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.”  It was dark out.  Hard to see who-was-who in the darkness, even with torches.  Judas knew the logistics needed to be insured, thus he set up a sign for his soldier to take note of.  After all they did not want Jesus to just disappear like He had done before, and wind up grabbing the wrong disciple thinking it was Jesus.  So Judas decides to betray Jesus with a kiss.  This should help Jesus see that Judas still loved Him, and was only doing this for Jesus’ best interests.  Jesus responds in verse 50 saying … “And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.”  Jesus greets Judas (despite knowing all of this) with the term “friend”.  He does not condemn Judas even now.

And here is where comparison is worth making.  How often do we “the church called by His name” treat others even in the act of public sin with greetings of love and brotherhood?  More often, we are like Matthew, obsessed with calling out Judas as the betrayer in chief, wanting to make sure everyone knows what evil he has done, and seeming far less forgiving in the process.  Judas’ ideas of helping God were completely wrong and misplaced, but Judas the person was still precious to Jesus even then, even in the act of betraying Him.  Jesus still reaches out with a term of reconciliation (not in ignorance) but by intent.  For Jesus still wants Judas in His kingdom.  But do we?  Matthew didn’t.  We are all too content to leave the public sinner on display for all to ridicule and condemn – none to love or reach out despite what they do.  Jesus does not stop for a minute and call out Judas for all the wrong he is in the middle of doing, instead He reaches out to try once more to reclaim Judas with a term of friendship and love.  Judas thinks he is helping God.  Jesus knows better.  Judas needs to stop helping, and get help, and so do we all.

The analogies of Judas and Abraham’s attempts to help God are stunningly close to what we do with respect to our own salvation.  We too attempt to help God, by doing what we think He wants us to do, and has promised to do for us.  We too break trust in God, because God does not do things in our timeline, or how we think they need to be done – so we take action instead to help.  And our “helping” only makes a mess of things with lasting consequences that might otherwise have been avoided if only we had trusted in God, instead of trying to take over ourselves.  There would be no salvation for us at all, if Jesus had not submitted His own will to that of His Father, trusting His Father instead of trusting Himself.  Yet we take all these examples of man’s intervention, discard them, and then instead try to find things in them we can use as an example of what to do, instead of what to avoid doing.  We follow the footprints of Judas with our own salvation, and think this is what scripture demands.  Just as he thought when all this was occurring.

The analogies continue in verse 51 saying … “And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. [verse 52] Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”  Peter decides to defend Christianity with his sword.  How often this path has been repeated over the last 2000+ years, with nothing but death and woe as its legacy.  Christ and Christianity do NOT need a sword to defend it, or to push it forward.  Only love can do either.  Only God can truly defend it.  Yet American Christians are as married to their guns, and their ideas of self-defense, and self-reliance as they have ever been.  How few would put down both, and trust in God no matter what the outcome.  And ALL ignoring the second half of the cause and effect of swords, that to live by them, is to die by them (regardless if there is another opponent in the equation).  To extend that just a little; to kill anyone else, is to die inside – and to repeat this is only to make it worse everytime, until there is nothing left of you inside anymore.  Helping God, by drawing the sword, is only helping Satan instead.

But then things take a remarkable left turn.  Jesus continues answering in verse 53 saying … “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? [verse 54] But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? [verse 55] In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. [verse 56] But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”  The plans of Judas to “help” Jesus become the King He is destined to be have been completely on track right up until this.  Jesus plainly states He is ABLE to call down from heaven more than 12 legions of angels (an army no man could even contemplate defeating).  But He does not call it down.  Instead He heals the wounded servant’s ear (continue to show love).  He asks them the cutting question of why now, why in the dark, and in secret?  He reminds them that ALL of this was prophesied in scripture and is now being fulfilled.  And when the disciples see first hand that Jesus has no intentions of avoiding death, they ALL flee, including Judas.

Plans to help God do what we think He should, end as they always do, with us making a huge mess of things, and God not performing as we expected.  This has never been more true than with our own salvation.  Our role, is NOT to save ourselves, that is the work of Jesus alone, and we must trust Him to do it.  We must submit our will to His, despite what we want to do.  Just like He did in the garden.  Or we wind up looking back on a series of unfortunate events no different than Judas did all those years ago.  Membership in the church is no defense, Judas was a founding member.  Spiritual gifts are no defense, Judas had a full measure of the Holy Spirit when he followed the directions of his Lord.  Faith in scripture is no defense, as Judas was well read, well educated, and following devoutly a set of beliefs everyone shared (even though they were mistaken about them).  Only submission of your will works, as it did for Jesus.

The plans of Judas would read soundly to any military general in our intelligence agency in today’s world.  Humanity would see them as completely viable.  It is only that divinity has different ideas, much greater ideas, ideas beyond our limited imaginations that keep us from seeing what God sees.  God does not fault us our limitations, instead He asks us to trust Him to know better, to do better, and to make things so, which we could never make so.  It is NOT the plan of God to leave you in your sins, or struggling with your sins, but to releieve you from your sins entirely.  You cannot do this.  But God can and will as quickly as you submit your will to Him.  Learning that submission should be your life’s goals.  Learning how to get better at it, your greatest ambition.  Because trying to do it yourself, is like becoming Judas, and picking up a pencil to sketch out “how to betray a God and create a King”.  Only to find the execution resulting in how to break a man, and lose all hope, to the point of death.

While we may glorify the mistakes of Abraham, or Jacob, or David – those mistakes were not written for this purpose.  They were stories to teach us not to break trust with God, and do what we think should be done.  At least Judas gives us pause.  But does it take this much to get it right?  Can’t we learn from Jesus Himself, in the garden, submitting what He wanted, in favor of the will of the Father.  It is that submission we are looking for.  It is that submission we need.  It is that submission that will save us.  By contrast our ideas of helping God, could put everything at risk as it did for Judas, and create consequences we will live with forever.  Let us hold firm our trust in the divine to accomplish what God promises, having no need to help Him, only to be grateful that He does what He promises.  As it turns out, human ideas about helping are just not all we thought they might be.

 

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.

 

The Critique of God ...

How scary is that?  How scary is the idea of having God Himself give your life, your work, His critique?  Keep in mind He sees all, He knows every motive, every failure, every shortcoming.  It’s not like a human version of this where some life coach tries to give you tips on how to live better.  We are talking about an impromptu critique by God Himself.  Has that ever happened?  I mean, short of our ideas about a judgment that nearly everyone places sometime in the future, has Jesus ever offered a critique on a living person’s life (well living at the time anyway)?  The short answer is yes.  And what would you imagine that critique to be, a stinging rebuke to the leadership of the church for their hypocrisy and refusal to submit themselves to the will of God?  Yes, Jesus gave a number of those, each one designed to wake up those church leaders, and stun them into the awareness of their true condition, hidden by the masks they wore, and the self-image they had constructed for themselves.  But perhaps more surprising to us, Jesus also gave out a “glowing” review as well.  Imagine that, perhaps the best review in history, handed out by the highest authority in the Universe, the one who created it.

Think about the significance of this.  An imperfect being, with imperfect doctrine, granted a glowing review by Jesus Himself.  Let’s get it straight, it was not the imperfections that were glorified.  But it was the submission in spite of imperfections that was.  Again, this is another departure for the Jewish people in the days of Christ of what they thought about the character of God.  To them, and to us, God was always some highly critical God, just waiting to point out everything we do wrong, to the point where nobody would ever be good enough to be in His company.  How well, the devil has been able to maintain this lie about the nature of our loving God, who would die Himself, rather than be separated from we who He loved so much.  The improper view of the nature of our God, was not only held in the days of Matthew, and another reason why he penned his gospel.  It is held in our own days, because what we read, we ignore.  The words of our Bibles pass our eyes, but do not penetrate our hearts.  Because like our forefathers we do not yet read them after submitting our very thoughts for Jesus to mold and reshape.

Matthew persisted nonetheless.  He begins his revelation, his uncovering, about the real nature of our God in form of Jesus, picking up in chapter eleven beginning in verse 7 saying … “And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?”  The disciples of John were just leaving to relay to him the good news of everything they had seen and heard of Jesus Christ.  That would be a message to cheer his heart, affirm his faith, give him the strength to face death.  And the crowd who remained behind was clueless of all of this.  So Jesus calls their attention back to the ministry of John the Baptist.  He poses the question, what did you go to wilderness to see? 

Were you looking for someone who is shaken with the winds of popularity?  Were you looking for someone who preached what was popular in order to gain favor?  Mega churches have been built upon this approach.  But John did not follow it.  He was firm in his singular doctrine that burned within him with a roaring fire of the Spirit.  His doctrine was absent all hate; and constructed on redemptive love.  He did not rail at the people, accusing them of every sin.  Instead he shouted of repentance and the healing it alone can bring.  He was not shaken by criticism, nor by the threats of the organized church, nor even by the ruler who would imprison him.  He was firm in pointing the people to redemption beginning in repentance.

Jesus continues his critique of John in verse 8 saying … “But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.”  Jesus asks the multitude again, what did they travel to the wilderness to see?  Did they expect to see a prince perhaps, someone of wealth and status, someone rewarded of God with fine things, and fine clothes?  John had enough listeners to regularly pass the collection plate for tithes and offerings.  Had he done this, his wealth would have certainly amassed.  He would have been justified in doing it, as he was certainly doing God’s work, and was certainly a minister of God.  No one, including us, would have questioned it.  But John accepted NO MONEY at all.  He did not change his eating habits (the things one can find in the desert on their own).  Nor did he change out his clothing (skins he made by himself, even for the linen robes the priests wore).  He constructed no mansion either.  If ever a minister “could” have earned a living in the ministry, it was John, and he chose to accept NONE of it.

Jesus continues once again picking up in verse 9 saying … “But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  [verse 10] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.”  Jesus asks the multitude for the third and last time what did they travel to the wilderness to see?  Perhaps they went to see the crazy man.  Often crazy men like this were prophets who heard clearly the word of the Lord.  All through history prophets were always a little outside of normal society, maybe John was just one of them.  But Jesus says “more” than a prophet.  For while John prophesied about the coming Messiah, he also had a burning conviction inspired by the Holy Spirit.  He was God’s messenger.  He had a message of repentance, the people needed to hear, and needed to respond to.  John was making straight the way of the Lord, in the hearts of the people, by speaking the words the Holy Spirit would bless.

John had a conviction beyond the prophetic.  He had a conviction for the practical.  His message was not just to excite the people about what was coming.  It was to prepare the people in their hearts to receive what was coming.  Without repentance there is no room for submission, there is no room for the Truth, they are crowded out by self, and self-interest, and self-love.  Repentance leads to an opening, a re-beginning of the journey towards God, a reconciliation between man and God.  The message of John is one of the most important ones throughout all of history.  It was not just designed to be spoken or accepted in his day, but in every day.  Had Cain repented of killing Able, instead of lying to avoid penalty, his fate might have been different.  Were I to repent of my sin, and pain it causes others, my relationship with God might enter a new level I have not even imagined as yet, my heart beginning to become in even more harmony with His heart.  That message still works.  It still has relevance and meaning and depth.

Jesus continues his critique in verse 11 saying … “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  Imagine these words spoken of you.  Among children born of women there has not risen a greater than “you”.  The decisions of John the Baptist lead him to this great compliment.  How he lived; by choice in poverty, depending upon God every day for his food, water, clothing, and shelter.  How his mother raised him as a Nazarite from birth, honoring the traditions of the faith, to commit his body to God and offer signs in his hair and flesh that he was to be offered to God, even before he had the maturity to understands what this means.  The ministry of John, both prophetic, and practical.  Everything about John had led to this compliment by the Savior of the Universe, in spite of the fact that the organized church did not care for John, and that John was sitting in prison on death row at the time.

But, says Jesus as well.  The human greatness of John, is nothing next to the least of people within the Kingdom of Heaven.  Yes, you heard that right.  Hitler, Saddam, Al Capone, pick the greatest villain you can imagine.  Have that villain submit to Jesus right before he dies and be saved in his final thoughts.  And that forgiven villain, least in the Kingdom of Heaven, is now greater than John the Baptist.  It is hard to imagine Jesus offering a critique that could potentially place Adolph Hitler or Pol Pot (the Cambodian genocidal leader) as greater than John the Baptist.  How could this be?  Because our earthly lives will never measure up, to our eternal ones.  Submission to Jesus, and the salvation that results, puts our lives on course for a greatness that simply cannot be achieved in the world in which we live, no matter how well we think we live here.  Submission is greater than sacrifice.

Then Jesus shifts from direct critique of John, to a critique of His own church, continuing in verse 12 saying …” And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. [verse 13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”  The fate of nearly every prophet all the way through John was a fate of suffering, and of violence.  Satan takes advantage of the long-suffering nature of God, hurling violence against the innocent, to test the patience of God, and attempt to lure Him into retaliation and violence in return.  But Satan does not understand the nature of God.  God loves the victim, as He loves the perpetrator, longing to save both from the fates Satan would devise.  The messages of the Prophets were designed to help those trapped in error to see that error and turn from it.  The Prophets were God’s way of warning those trapped in the snares of Satan, that he had doom in mind for them.  The Prophets tried to challenge evil with the message of a loving God, not content to see those He loved, suffer the fates they had chosen.  But these same Prophets were met with violence more than listening ears.

Jesus continues His critique of John picking back up in verse 14 saying … “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. [verse 15] He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  This is where scripture is interpreted by Jesus Christ Himself.  The prophecy of the return of Elijah before the promised Messiah, is now attributed to John the Baptist and the message and ministry he has accomplished.  The prophecy interpreted in this way, means there will be no literal return of the prophet of old for them to look for, but a literal return of the message of repentance, the only way it is possible to make straight the way of the Lord, in the heart of the people.  Jesus tweaks His audience, all of whom have perfect hearing, some likely restored of His hands to be just so; to think about what He is saying.  Jesus asks them to see the wisdom of what He is saying - about both the scriptures, and the message and ministry of John.  This is not an insult to his audience.  It is a challenge for them to think differently about what they think they know about the scriptures.  To embrace a new way of looking at old scriptures.  Outside the purview of the organized church leadership, but inside the direct teachings of Jesus Christ Himself.

Are we too ready to examine our scriptures in this way?  Or do we continue in our certainty of what we know, allowing no room to be taught, even if that teaching were to come from Jesus Christ Himself?  Our will must ever be subservient to His.  Our wealth of knowledge, and understanding, must stand the shadow of a fool, compared with the wisdom of our God.  The doctrines we cling to, enforced by years of tradition, should be pillars we gladly release, when the voice of Jesus bids us … those who have ears, let them hear.  So much of how we view our Bible’s begins first with the notion of a cruel and just God, interested more in our punishment, than in our redemption.  Our preconceptions begin that redemption is hard, and sin is easy and fun.  But in truth, our sin is the source of our pain and our punishment.  Our redemption is easy, and the only way to escape the fate we have otherwise doomed ourselves to suffer.  In the light of Jesus Christ, many of our false ideas and rigid doctrines, seem to melt away.  And this is how it was meant to be.  Jesus the Messiah, was meant to rid us of the notions of men, and the burdens of traditions, and free us to love in a way we have yet to imagine.  To love as the heart of God loves.  To value others as the heart of our God truly values others, even when they are still steeped and trapped in sins they have no way to escape on their own.

The critique of Jesus Christ of John was a glowing one.  Your critique could easily be the same.  Through the lens of Jesus Christ it already is, but it could be even better.  Through the lens of full submission of who you are to Jesus Christ, your critique becomes one infinitely better than it is today.  The true meaning of life you begin to experience.  True obedience based in harmony with the heart of God, something that naturally occurs in your fingertips and feet.  All of this is available to you, if you but ask, and submit to Jesus who longs to give it to you.

And while Jesus had so many good things to say of John, His critique of His own church was not quite so glowing …

 

The Prosecution Against Truth ...

In the work of condemnation, there is always certainty.  Isn’t it amazing how those two things always seem to go together, bound by the human glue of pride.  In our legal system, a jury is asked whether they believe the defendant is guilty beyond a “reasonable” doubt.  This means we look for convictions despite those nagging doubts that may linger, despite a casual doubt a jurist may have in the back of his mind.  The term “reasonable” must be interjected in our jury instructions, or nearly every defendant would be set free.  But the prosecution reflects NO doubts in the case they present.  The prosecution lays out a set of facts and puts together a narrative of what happened, who did it, and why they would do it.  If the only entirety of listening to the case was that of the prosecution, you would have no choice but to convict every time.  Because the prosecution does not present a case with any doubt in it.  They reflect only certainty, no matter what all the facts might reveal.  It is their job to convict no matter what, no matter what truth is.

When was the last time you heard a prosecutor (especially in a high profile case where America was watching), stop the trial and say … you know what, we got it wrong, this defendant is innocent and this case needs to be closed, we are dropping all charges.  Nearly never.  What happens instead is that trials continue despite truth, and the prosecution relies upon the defense to overwhelm them with truth, such that a jury must undo unjust prosecutions.  But then, this places the defense team in the position of striving for acquittal despite the truth as well.  Indeed, defense lawyers are not allowed to state that their clients are guilty and should be punished.  They must fight the prosecution every inch of the way, looking to let go murders, rapists, drug traffickers, simply because our prosecution must ignore truth and reflect certainty once a trial begins.  Our defense must then meet the prosecution’s certainty with certainty of its own.  Legal trickery then becomes the standard for talent once the fray begins.

And lost in our legal system becomes truth.  But it is worse, in the judicial proceedings of our religious bodies, of our churches.  Once a group of our religious leaders reaches unity in the ideas of casting someone out for their sins (perhaps now public), they are rarely if ever deterred.  And it may never get as far as a public ex-communication, it need only get as far as gossip in the mind of the religious leader.  The defendant in these cases can be subtly restricted from roles of leadership & service in the church, because the existing leadership simply thinks that they are “not right for that role”.  The existing leaders of the faith do not want upstarts, free thinkers, or revolutionary’s admitted into leadership roles alongside themselves.  People like “that” must be kept “in their place”.  In our modern age church leadership is not allowed to kill them for heresy (a procedure often used in our past for just such problems), instead we destroy reputations, and restrict service, until they “get the hint”, or have no choice but to move on.

But what happens when the prosecution is dead wrong?  What happens when the facts are contrived to look a certain way, because of the heart of the prosecutor?  What happens when those you personally state are condemned to the fires of hell for their grievous sins, are NOT actually so condemned?  What happens when your certainty is the problem all along?  Religious condemnation never occurs without certainty.  And in a belief system where God alone judges, and He judges based on the heart, and looks to redeem every soul no matter how “evil” they appear … how could any condemnation be so certain?  When mankind attempts to take the role of judge upon himself, when he attempts to dictate the religious standing of another human being, he looks to make himself equal to God.  This is what Satan did before us, and encourages us to do to this day.  It is what Satan inspired a former religious leadership to do.  After all, this Messiah named Jesus, did not conform.  He was not doing what scripture said He should do, according to the church.  He had to be stopped.  And since only death would stop him …

Peter recounts the prosecution of Truth, that is The Truth, from the first point of view that matters – from the religious leadership of the church, the true church.  Keep in mind, the right scriptures, that is the bible will be used in this prosecution.  This is not based on the Quran, or some ancient Hindu book of wisdom, it is based on the Biblical scriptures available in that day, held in Jerusalem where nearly all books would be present.  The prosecutors are not just lay people run amuck.  This is not some out-of-control deacon who thinks he knows best.  This is the pope.  This is the general conference leader.  These men are the esteemed leadership of the day, and they are united, acting in concert for the very first time, over one singular issue … to destroy this upstart Messiah wannabe named Jesus Christ.  A stark mantra emerges in the halls of the Pharisees … The Truth be damned; this prosecution must succeed.  That stark mantra echoes in the hearts of those who call themselves by His name today … The Truth be damned; we must condemn those still steeped in sin, instead of work for their redemption.

Peter begins his recollection to John Mark in his gospel in chapter fourteen picking up in verse 53 saying … “And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. [verse 54] And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.”  This was a momentous trial.  This was not a matter that only 2 or 3 priests need deal with, everyone in power is here.  Chief Priests, Elders, Scribes, from every part of church leadership, all in power were there.  Peter too, has regained his courage enough to follow at a distance.  He has gone undercover, and now hangs out with the servants, warming themselves by the fire.

John Mark continues in verse 55 saying … “And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. [verse 56] For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.”  In Jewish law, there must be at least two witnesses whose testimony agrees before a man can be put to death.  So the hunt for such men begins, but with no luck.  It is very hard to coordinate lies when the witnesses are kept separate.  Guessing at what the other guy said, becomes very difficult, and everybody that night was getting it wrong.  The Truth was hard to testify against.  What could be said against it but lies.  Certainty does not equal correctness.  One can be extremely certain, and extremely wrong.

Mark continues in verse 57 saying … “And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, [verse 58] We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. [verse 59] But neither so did their witness agree together.”  The subject of the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem came up.  But the liars could not get that story right either.  They had the jest of it, but again their testimonies stepped upon each other so badly, that facts were getting destroyed.  The prosecution was getting stumped, and this could not happen.  This Man must be found guilty no matter what, no matter how.  Finally, the high priest himself was getting angry.

Mark continues in verse 60 saying … “And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? [verse 61] But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”  The prosecution had counted on something they were not getting.  They expected for Jesus to argue with each false witness that came up.  They expected to get Jesus tripped up in His own words, and somehow break His own defense through argument and exaggeration.  But the strangest of all things was happening, Jesus the Lamb of God was remaining perfectly silent.  What should have enraged each of us if we were an innocent party, did nothing to get Jesus talking.  He just sat there and took it all in silence.

Here is the first distinction between The Truth, and those of us who claim truth is on our side.  The need to defend it.  The Truth will stand against all the lies of the evil one.  The Truth needs no defense, for it is The Truth.  We who claim the truth is with us, and bolster our claims in certainty, are rigorous to defend our positions.  We are happy to argue how we are right, and all others are wrong.  We are happy to prove it based in the interpretations of the scriptures we are certain are correct.  Just as these prosecutors of old.  We will fight for our truth to the point of death.  Not our own deaths mind you, but those who claim we are wrong, we are happy to fight with, all the way to the point of killing them to insure our truth lives on.  But this is not needed.  The Truth will live on no matter what the opposing argument comes up with.  It needs no help or defense or violence from us.  Rather it needs our testimony in how we live The Truth in silence, not how we speak about it.

Finally though, the high priest challenges the Superhuman to identify itself.  Strangely this same challenge works on angels of light, and angels of darkness.  It is as if God has setup a rule which cannot be broken.  If asked who they are, a superhuman being must answer in truth, to the human who asks it, whether it is demon, or it is God.  This challenge is meant to protect us.  If or when we encounter the superhuman, the entity that exists beyond our realm, we need only ask it … in the name of Jesus Christ, who are you?  And it will be compelled to answer.  Most of those who encounter the supernatural are not inclined to use this challenge.  They are told by the entity that it would represent a lack of faith.  They are told the encounters between them might stop after that.  They are lied to, and eagerly accept the lie, because most demons tell us what we want to hear, not what we need to hear.  But God has no fear of this challenge.

Jesus answers in verse 62 saying … “And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”  Here is where OUR human nature takes over.  We read this text as a threat, as a condemnation to those conducting this trial.  We are absolutely certain of it.  But there is more to it than may first meet the eye.  The prophecy of Christ not long ago, predicted the denial of Peter of even knowing Jesus before the rooster crowed.  Yet that prophecy was not to condemn Peter forever for his sins.  The prophecy here lays out a coming of Christ to this world.  It could be His second coming to gather His redeemed, those who have repented of deeds even as terrible as the prosecution of The Truth unto death.  It could also represent His third coming when the Holy City descends to our earth and the wicked are raised for a final judgment one last time.  The words of Christ are true either way.  But which version of His return these men see, will be a function of their repentance, and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our only Messiah.  This was also true for Peter.  The sins were committed.  The question is only whether a repentance was sought.

The high priest was anxious to get this trial done with.  The story continues in verse 63 saying … “Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? [verse 64] Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.”  The religious leadership of the church prosecuted The Truth, and pronounced Him guilty because He spoke the Truth.  The mob joined in.  There was not one free thinker in that jury box, not one sympathetic ear who might have voiced an opposition to this farce of a trial.  Certainty overwhelmed the mob in that hall.  Certainty backed by Satan himself, that death was needed, blood was needed, an example must be made to keep the faith pure.  So Satan does with us nearly 2000 years later.  He tells us to expel those caught in sin in order to keep the faith pure, keep the leadership pure.  There is no forgiveness in the mind or heart of Satan, but there is overwhelming certainty, certainty steeped in pride.

Whose follower are we truly?  Then begins to happen what happens when Truth has been devalued and discarded; it is hated.  John Mark concludes this section in verse 65 saying … “And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.”  How we spit on The Truth.  When once we embark on the path of certainty, and when we add our voices to those of condemnation, we spit right on the face of Truth.  We ignore how often our own sins must have been cleansed by the sacrifice of Christ.  We ignore how much we too have earned the sentence of condemnation, and that but for the love and grace of Christ, we too were bound for the hell of separation from God.  So we spit in the face of God, in the face of Truth, with our hypocrisy, and our prosecution of others still steeped in sins (we too so often commit).

Then we torture Truth.  We contrive scriptures and interpretations to support our condemnations of others.  We mangle the Bible, and turn the image of God from one of Love to one of vengeance.  We put a bag over the head of Christ so that He can no longer see.  Then we bang upon His precious face, hitting Him with our palms, and our pretenses.  We take pride in our differences.  We consider only ourselves as right and all other Christian faiths as wrong.  We are absolutely certain of it.  And in our certainty we slap the face of Christ, telling Him He is unable to lead any other faith but ours to Truth, and to the Kingdom of God.  It is not those men, and those hands who remain stained, it is our own.  And still we continue, absolutely certain of our cause, certain of our faith, certain of our interpretation, certainty steeped in a pride of our forefathers and our faith.  We believe we must lead the fight against sin, certain this is our calling, ignoring the calls of Jesus to Love, instead leading a war against evil with the voice of our condemnation. 

This is not the trial against The Truth that happened in the days of Christ, it is the prosecution against The Truth that happens in the hearts of his modern day followers from every denomination.  But like the priests of old, there is still hope held out to us.  Hope that begins in repentance of our certainty.  Hope that grows in the transformation of our hearts by the power of Jesus alone, that leaves our hearts unable to condemn, but infinitely interested in redemption.  When love is our only motivation, we see our hearts brought into alignment with the God of Love, and vengeance has no part in it any longer.