Mentors, Dead Pets, News & Passion (“Of Interest” Ep. 8)
This week I share an interesting article about the death of family pets, an interesting resource for how to watch the news, and then we’ll be continuing our interesting study of John Bunyan’s classic, Pilgrims Progress.
Interesting Links:
Article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/god-dog-dies/
Resource: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/wisely-consume-news/
Study: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-pilgrims-progress
Support Links:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/artofthechristianninja
Al’s 3D Printer:
On Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/als3dprinter/
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Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Als3DPrinter
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Craving Controversy – “Of Interest” Ep. 7
This week I share an interesting article about controversy, an interesting resource for answering tough questions, and continue our interesting study of John Bunyan’s classic, Pilgrims Progress.
Interesting Links:
Article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/unhealthy-people-crave-controversy/
Resource: https://www.gotquestions.org/
Study: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-pilgrims-progress
Support Links:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/artofthechristianninja
Al’s 3D Printer:
On Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/als3dprinter/
On Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/Als3DPrinter/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Als3DPrinter
Website: http://www.als3dprinter.ca/
A Personal Update – “Of Interest” Episode 6
This week’s episode is something a bit different. It’s an update on the interesting things that have been going on in my life. Thanks for your support!
Support Links:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/artofthechristianninja
Al’s 3D Printer:
On Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/als3dprinter/
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Website: http://www.als3dprinter.ca/
My Last Sermon, Ever?!
We had a phone call last Sunday afternoon that informed us that this could be my last week as pastor of Beckwith Baptist Church. As I said in the announcements, there’s a vote on Wednesday that will determine whether I’ll be around for six more months – or that this will be my last sermon – maybe ever. Many of you know the situation, so I’m not going to go over it here.
But, it’s a sobering thought. What if this really is my last sermon, ever? What if, after today, I go home, get told on Wednesday that I’m done, and then never stand in a pulpit again? Spending the week trying to figure out what that might look like has been strange and difficult – as all of life’s major transitions are.
I’m sure many of you have been through something similar. The death of a loved one, moving to another place far away, divorce, changing churches, some environmental disaster… all have a seismic impact on our lives. And it’s not always bad things that rock our little boats. Sometimes it’s good things – a new opportunity, a missions opportunity, meeting someone special, getting married, coming into some money, moving on to university, or starting a new career, are all events that cause stress and make us totter a bit, forcing us to find solid ground, get our bearings, and evaluate our lives.
For me, this week, the thought, “If this is my last sermon ever, what should it be?” has stuck in my mind. And as I chewed on it, one passage kept coming to mind – the Sermon on the Mount. It’s probably the best place I can think of to turn to find solid ground, true north, and a proper assessment of what our priorities should be.
Turn with me to Matthew 5-7 – the greatest sermon ever preached, given by the Lord Jesus while He sat on a hillside facing a magnificent view of the Sea of Galilee, to a huge crowd of people who had seen His miracles and wanted to know what He was all about. Jesus sat down to teach the small group that were committed to following Him – but the picture is of literally thousands of people all leaning over their shoulders listening in.
The Sermon on the Mount
If you’ve read this passage, then you’ll know there’s a lot going on here, and it’s very impactful – and there are a lot of perspectives on it. Some see Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as a list of instructions, the marching orders of their life, and check-list of ways to try to earn their way into heaven. Others see it as hyperbole, an over exaggeration of some unachievable ideal we should be shooting for, but can never achieve. Some see this as an instruction manual on how to be a super-Christian, better than everyone else, or think that it was only meant for the apostles, so it doesn’t apply to them. Some say we should be living these words out every day, while others teach that it only applies during the end times.
But what the Sermon on the Mount really is, is an inaugural address, a manifesto, a constitution, a sort of throne speech / state of the union address, where Jesus outlines what life in His Kingdom is all about. He, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, is looking at those who chose to follow Him – and those who were thinking about following Him – the nation He had founded when He chose Abram and Jacob and Moses so long ago – and told them what life in His Kingdom was supposed to look like, what He as King expected, what God as Creator expected, what the governing laws and judgments and priorities of His kingdom would be. The crowds had been schooled in the Pharisees version of what God’s ways were (which we’ve covered a lot of times so I won’t repeat it now) and here, Jesus gives a huge list of corrections.
If you’ve read it, you’ve probably noticed that Jesus goes through a lot of the Old Testament. He’s basically trying to rewire all the mess the Pharisees had created and give the proper interpretation and application of the Law and the Prophets. Why? So He could create a list of rules to live by? No…that’s what the Pharisees did. What Jesus was doing was giving people the recipe for an abundant, Godly life, full of peace, hope, joy, freedom, and forgiveness.
All they had heard before was about God’s anger and wrath, and how the only way to appease Him was through obeying depressing lists of joyless rules that made life miserable. They had been taught that anyone who was sick, oppressed, persecuted, poor, or miserable was clearly under God’s judgment. And that religion was a path to worldly health and wealth. Jesus corrects all of that.
At first, the Sermon on the Mount looks like a list of rules, but if you look closer, it’s actually a list of freedoms! It’s the words of a gracious and loving God showing His people how to live free of sin, vice, error, darkness, and fear of man. It’s teaching us how to really love people, and really connect with God – not just how to do religious stuff. It paints a picture of a God who knows us, loves us, even likes us as individuals, so much so that He wants us to have all the things our hearts desire – and is more than willing to give it. It’s a sermon full of unfiltered, unadulterated, clear, clean truth. No couching, no hemming and hawing, no giving two sides of the argument, no differing opinions, just the way of truth that leads to life – from the One who is “The Way, the Truth and the Life”.
Matthew 5
Jesus kicks off the sermon with a bang, completely upending humanity’s entire understanding of how life works. He gives what we call “the Beatitudes”. Beatitude comes from the Latin word BEATUS which means “blessed” or “happy”, because that’s how they all start.
He begins:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (5:3)
In other words, the citizens of the Kingdom He is about to describe, those who will be King Jesus’ workers and soldiers and priests, His adopted brothers and sisters who will be the co-heirs to the throne – will be people who realize they are spiritually bankrupt, unable to give anything of value to God, and who know they must absolutely depend on His mercy and grace for everything.
In one sentence Jesus blows their entire, corrupt, works based, honour based, hypocritical, religious system out of the water. He says, “My people, God’s true followers, aren’t the self-sufficient, arrogant, pious, holier-than-thou, popular, powerful, whitewashed-tombs you think are God’s favourites. God’s favourites, the blessed ones, the ones who have God’s ear, are those who know they have no good thing in them, no reason for God to love them, nothing to offer, and know they are wretched, sinful, and broken –but who know that every day they must depend on God for anything good, completely hoping in Him.”
And the rest of the Beatitudes, and really the rest of the Sermon on the Mount are about taking that first sentence apart. What does a humble, dependant, follower of God look like? Look at the rest of the beatitudes:
A citizen of God’s Kingdom mourns their sins, and the effects of sin in this world, and comes to God for their ultimate comfort. They don’t run to drink, drugs, sex, money, power, entertainment. They know their only real protection from sin is in the arms of God.
They are meek, or gentle, not lording power over others, but instead, serving them.
They are hungry for righteousness, thirsty for a clean, unpolluted soul.
They are merciful, showing undeserved kindness and forgiveness and patience to difficult people, treating them as they would want to be treated.
They are pure in heart. They don’t merely put efforts into looking good on the outside, but spend a lot more energy on asking God to purify their inner thoughts, motives, and desires.
They are peacemakers, overlooking the wrongs people do to them, and even putting themselves in places where there is strife and conflict, so they can infuse it with the love and forgiveness and the justice they’ve been shown by God.
They are the ones willing to face persecution, hate, reviling, gossip, slander, and all kinds of evil – doing battle for their King, entering the fray, taking the slings and arrows of the devil and the people that work for him –because their eye is on a greater prize, standing in the throne room of heaven and hearing, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
And you can see all these Beatitudes echoed throughout the rest of the sermon. Look at the next part about how the citizens of heaven are salt and light in the world. Salt isn’t seen when it’s at work, it’s humble in its influence. Light is always doing battle with the darkness, it’s brave in its influence.
Look further down to verse 21 about anger. Of course Jesus’ disciples get angry, just like God gets angry, but they know that what they do with that anger is what’s important. It’s not just about not hurting people, but about using that anger as fuel for righteousness.
Lust is similar. Just like getting angry isn’t something we can control, being attracted to someone isn’t either. It just happens. But godliness isn’t just about avoiding sleeping with them, it goes deeper. Lust isn’t about sex – it’s about controlling our appetites. Like our hunger for food, our sexuality isn’t something we can avoid – it can only be fed in a healthy, godly way. And the follower of Jesus hates sin so much, hungers for righteousness so much, longs for a pure heart so much, that they are willing to do anything, go to extremes, to avoid letting sin take residence in their heart.
And Jesus continues in verse 33when He talks about oaths. Godly people shouldn’t need external forces like contracts and oaths and promises and rules to make us keep our word. A Kingdom follower doesn’t need to lie, manipulate, or pretend. We know that words matter, that God is our provider, that we have inherent value, and that God is watching everything we do –knowing even our thoughts and motives – and so we simply live honestly.
The same with revenge or our enemies in verse 38. Think back to the description of a Christian in the Beatitudes. Before you stands your enemy. They’ve hurt you or someone you love, have lied to you or about you, have created a lose-lose scenario for you, and are standing there laughing. Now, if you are the king of your own universe, then you get to be judge and jury and executioner too. If your identity is in your pride, then you’re going to want to restore it at all costs. And so your anger will cause you to retaliate, seek revenge, dole out punishment. But, if you are poor in spirit, meek, merciful, a peacemaker who is willing to be treated badly for righteousness’ sake, then you’re going to have a completely different response. You’ll pity them, trust God to deal with them properly, forgive as you have been forgiven, let it go as Jesus let you go, give grace and love to this undeserving person, just as Jesus gave grace and love to an undeserving you.
Matthew 5 isn’t about rules – it’s about finding freedom in doing things God’s way. Religion, pride, out of control anger, lust, revenge, hatred – those are terrible burdens that ruin your life. Here, Jesus teaches us how to live free of those burdens through a life of love and grace.
Matthew 6
Not turn to Matthew 6. I think Matthew 6 is probably my favourite part of the Sermon on the Mount – and not just because I wrote a book on it. It’s why I wrote a book on it!
A lot of Matthew 5 was action based. Do good deeds. Here’s what to do if you get angry. Here’s what to do if you lust. Here’s what to do if you have marriage problems. Here’s what to do at work and with social agreements. Here’s how to deal with difficult people.
But now the emphasis changes from things “to do” to “don’t do this”. I want to read this section a bit closer because, for me, it’s really applicable for today. Should this be my final sermon, I think the most helpful thing I could leave you with are the Lord’s words in Matthew 6. So let’s read them together:
Jesus begins,
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (6:1–4)
Again, this is obviously an indictment of the Pharisees, but also of everyone who thinks that God wants an external show of how religious you are. It’s a message to everyone who comes to church (or the Temple in their case) with anger, lust, fear, judgementalism, worry, pride, corruption in their heart, habitual sins that have taken over their lives – but have no intention of dealing with it. They walk into service with a heart crusted over with sin, and so everything in the service – the songs, the message, the scriptures, the people serving them, the opportunity to give generously, the chance to serve others, the needy people around them, the helpful people around them, the reminder in the Lord’s Supper and the preacher’s petition to repent – everything that is designed to help them to meet Jesus, to connect with God, to be renewed by the Holy Spirit – all bounce off and have no effect. Sure, they sing, and bow their heads, and chat afterward, ask how you’re doing, even bring a box of cookies to share, but none of the spiritual stuff affects their heart, lives, decisions, or souls. They always leave the same way they came in, unchanged, unrepentant, unaffected – ironically, usually thinking themselves better than everyone in the room who actually wept over their sin, shared their weaknesses, asked for help, sang with gusto even though they don’t have a good voice, who showed they didn’t know something by asking a question – they mock those people as weak and stupid – and leave church with an even harder heart.
Jesus says here, and really all over scripture in the Old Testament and New, that He couldn’t care less about you attending church, singing songs, or doing any other religious actions if you are not intimately connected to Him.
God hates hypocrites: people who pretend to be something they are not – religious hypocrites most of all. Which is why Matthew 7 – and so many of New Testament letters – spend so much time warning His followers to watch out for wolves that pretend to be sheep, thorn bushes that pretend to be grapevines, clouds without water, wandering stars that steer ships to the rocks, shipwrecking reefs hidden under the water. People who look like prophets, teachers, and miracle workers, but are actually liars and workers of lawlessness, sent by Satan to destroy the faithful and corrupt the church.
Perhaps the ultimate religious hypocrite is the one who is a hypocrite in prayer. Look at verse 5,
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
How can we know who these hypocrites are? Because they love to be seen as pious people. Their whole identity is wrapped up in people thinking how good they are. These are people who attend church, teach classes, serve on committees, play in the worship band, go on mission’s trips, and do all the Christian stuff – buy they’re not actually Christians. They’re not “poor in spirit”, they’re prideful and unrepentant. They don’t “mourn” their sin, they hide it. They’re not “meek”, they actually try to make sure they have the positions of highest influence. And they’re certainly not “merciful”, their critical, judgmental, and wrathful against anyone who opposes them. If you ever wonder if you’re dealing with a religious hypocrite, just imply that perhaps there might be some sin in their heart, that they might have the wrong motives, or that they’re not spiritually qualified for a position. This type of person will absolutely flip out.
I can’t tell you how many of these people I’ve served with, or watched serve, on various committees and boards over the past 20 years of ministry – and I’m sure you have too. They’re like a cancer on the church, and I’ve watched them ruin a lot of ministries, churches, pastors, and turn a lot of faithful, young Christians away from the church.
Worrying About Money Ruins the Church
The final part I want to go through, I think, is especially poignant for this church. I’ll leave Matthew 7 for you to study yourself, but I think verses 19-34 address something that I’ve heard talked about almost endlessly for the last 20 years: worrying about money. It really has been a non-stop topic for as long as I’ve been a pastor. It seems as though Christians believe that God will provide for them at home, at work, for missionaries, for their friends, their family, and every other ministry – but when it comes God miraculously providing for their church, suddenly all that faith goes out the window. It’s all impossible. There’s no money, no hope, no faith, no possibility of God providing.
They look at the budget and the money is a little down, and the response is always the same. For 16 years I’ve been attending church board meetings, and the response is always the same. Panic, argue, tighten the fist, and stop ministering to people.
If someone came to you as an individual and said, “I’m really worried about my finances. I’m losing my job, I’ve got bills to pay, and I don’t know what to do.” Or they said, “I believe God is calling me to go to the mission field, but I need to raise a bunch of money, and I have no idea what to do…” What would you say?
Pray about it. Trust God. Share your needs with friends. Keep tithing and be extra generous with your money, because God loves a cheerful giver and honours those who trust Him. Right?
Do you know what I hear from church boards, trustees, and church meetings? It’s the same thing every time: “What if we need to replace the roof? What if the furnace quits?” and the next thing is always the same: “We’d better cut all our funding to missionaries, stop doing outreach, kill our community programs, stop benevolent giving, stop buying Sunday school material for the kids…” Suddenly the physical building is far more important than any believer, ministry, or needy person in the community. Essentially, the church stops trusting God, stops being generous, stops doing ministry, tighten their fists and panics. Then they find a scapegoat and sacrifice them, because that’s easier than talking about the systemic sins within the whole church. Every single time.
You’d think that, as a group of believers, that when a financial crisis hits there would be more prayer meetings, more serving others, more generosity, right? That they’d unite together as a church family and bang on the doors of heaven, begging for mercy and provision. Nope. Suddenly, every meeting is about money. In fact, prayer meetings are cancelled in favour of meetings to talk about money. The elders, pastors, deacons, and ministry leaders are told to step aside, while the treasurer and trustees take up the time to talk about how dire things are, how desperate things are, and how hopeless things are. I’ve watched it happen so many times.
Then the younger Christians start to get confused and upset. Why are we talking so much about money? Why did we stop doing things for the community? Why did we stop helping missionaries? Why are there so many budget meetings, and why is everyone so upset all the time? So they leave the church.
Then the generous Christians, the faithful tithers, start to see that a bunch of people int eh church, the ones in leadership, don’t actually care as much about worship, evangelism, missions, and discipleship as they thought. It turns out that when the rubber meets the road, it’s really the building, the roof, the furnace, and the bills that matter. So they leave the church.
Then even the faithful Christians start to get frustrated. They want to do ministry. They want to pray. They want to talk about Jesus and trust God for help. They don’t want to argue about money and bewail how hopeless everything is, turning on each other to toss accusations and place blame. But they are told to be quiet, to not be so naïve. And, eventually, they leave the church too. Again, I’ve seen time and again.
And all that’s left are a group of people who talk about money, blame others for their problems, talk about the good old days, and spend their meetings talking about what they really reassure: the roof, the furnace, the floors, the carpets, the parking lot… and occasionally someone says what they really need is to “get some young people” into the church. I’ve seen it over, and over, and over…
But, let’s read Matthew 6:19-34 and see what Jesus has to say about this:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Conclusion
The secret sauce for a joyful, abundant, growing Christian – and a joyful, abundant, and growing church – is there in verse 33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Instead of worrying and arguing and blaming and panicking – the simple questions are these: “What does God tell us to do? What does Jesus want from us? How should a kingdom citizen react to this situation? Is our King, our God, trustworthy, and kind, and generous, and helpful? If so, what does He want from us? What is the most righteous thing to do right now?” Even if it’s hard. Even if it’s counter intuitive. Even if it’s costly.
If we want “all these things to be added to us”, whether in our individual life, our family life, or our church life, we must ask, “What is the most righteous, godly, biblical, Christian thing that I can do, right now?” Is it to sell our possessions and give generously? Is it to seek or grant forgiveness from someone you’ve been avoiding? Is it removing an obstacle or temptation from your home because it’s corrupting your heart? Is it changing your schedule and priorities so you can pray and read and serve more? Is it to get on your knees and repent for the sins you’ve been keeping secret? Is it confessing your sins to another believer in hopes of getting healing and help? I don’t’ know what it is for you, but whatever it is, whatever the Spirit has been telling you for so long, that you’ve been ignoring and refusing – choose today to seek it first, as a Kingdom follower, a disciple of Jesus, and pursue that righteousness with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength… and trust that God will meet your needs “far more abundantly than all you might ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20) because that’s exactly what He promises.
We’ve Been Here Before – “Of Interest” Podcast Episode 5
The 5th Episode of “Of Interest” talks about the Spanish Flu vs Today , an amazing blogger named Tim Challies, and how John Bunyan’s Suffering led to Pilgrim’s Progress
Interesting Links:
Resource: https://www.challies.com/
Study: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-pilgrims-progress
The Lord Jesus, The Pharisees, and The Sabbath
**Sorry, no audio this week due to technical issues (of me not changing the batteries in the mic…🙄)**
Let’s turn back to our passage from last week, John 5:1–18.
“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.’ But he answered them, ‘The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’’ They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?’ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
Last week, I began with the reminder to try to put ourselves into the passages we are reading, especially with those who Jesus interacts with, because if we are careful and willing, we will see ourselves reflected there. But the scriptures aren’t about us… they’re about Jesus. So in the forefront of our mind must always be not just “What is this saying about me?” But more importantly, “What is this saying about Jesus?”
Quick Review of the Structure of John
Remember, that’s John’s intention when writing this gospel – to paint a portrait of who Jesus is through story, symbolism, contrast, and reflection.
If we go back that that first graphic we looked at when starting this series, you’ll remember that John uses a lot of 7s in his book. In chapter 1, the introduction to the book, as Jesus gathers His first followers we see seven different titles for Him: “Lamb of God”, “Son of God”, “Rabbi”, etc. Then, in the first half of the gospel we see seven miracles, or “signs”, that point to important revelations of who Jesus is and designate the author’s divisions of thought: water into wine, healing the centurion’s son, healing a paralyzed man, feeding the 5000, healing a man blind from birth, and raising Lazarus from the dead. And peppered throughout the whole book are two sets of seven “I am” statements from Jesus, where He either make a claim about Himself, or simply uses the divine name that God gave to Moses, YHWH, as His own name. As I said before, there’s a lot of intricate story weaving in this book.
In the first four chapters (our chapters, not John’s), which we’ve already covered, we see Jesus interacting with five different types of people: a small gathering of Jewish people at a wedding, a larger gathering of people and Jewish leaders at the Temple, a one-on-one talk with a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, a one-on-one talk with a Samaritan woman at a well, and then Jesus talks to all of them while talking to a gentile, Roman centurion, about healings and signs.
In each of these interactions, Jesus shows something important about Himself. At the wedding, Jesus is inaugurating His Kingdom, kicking off His earthly ministry with a celebration, generosity, and all the symbolism that comes along with wine (which we talked about already). At the temple Jesus reveals that He is the true “temple of God” where heaven and earth meet, and declares Himself to be the Son of God, Messiah, and King. When meeting with the Rabbi in the middle of the night, He declares that He is the One sent by God to be a sacrifice for sin, and anyone who believes in Him must give up their religious hypocrisy and be born again with a new heart, through faith in Him alone. And then, all of those revelations come crashing together as he tells the most unlikely person, a sinful, socially rejected, Samaritan woman, that He is the Living Water, the Source of Eternal Life, the Perfect Rabbi, the Messiah and Christ – and she runs into town sharing Jesus claims with the other Samaritans and many are saved.
Last week, we moved into another sort of division where John shows us another sign, with more subdivisions. The sign, the miracle that designates the change in the story is the healing of the lame man at the Sheep Gate pool, but the subdivisions this time aren’t about connecting with people groups, but interacting with the important Jewish celebrations and religious feasts. And now, instead of Jesus going from place to place being accepted and followed – like the first four interactions were all about – now we see a whole bunch of rejection. The same groups that accepted him during the first section of the book all start to turn away until everyone is arguing about Jesus, the Jewish leaders do everything in their power to arrest, stone, and kill Jesus, and the only people left following Him are the twelve disciples. In fact, the opposition gets so fierce that right before the final miracle of the seven, the raising of Lazarus, as Jesus is about to walk back into Judea, the Apostle Thomas is so convinced their walking into an antagonistic hornet’s nest, says to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (11:16) And the story of Lazarus leads directly into the second half of the book, all about Passion Week, the last seven days before Jesus was crucified.
Jesus, the Sabbath, and the Pharisees
So, as we turn back to the story we are looking at today, the healing of the man at the Sheep Gate Pool, we have to ask ourselves, “What does this say – what are we meant to see – what is the sign pointing to – about Jesus?” and “What is this saying to us?”
Last week we covered the miracle. Jesus walks into the Sheep Gate, sees a superstitious, hopeless, old man who has been an invalid for thirty-eight years, heals Him, and says in verse 8, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” (5:8) That’s critically important. Verse 9 says, “And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.”
The next line reveals what this story is all about. Not only is the miracle a chapter division, but John here reveals that his subdivision theme is changing too. We’ve already been introduced to “the Jews” (which in John always means the “Jewish Ruling Class”), but now we see an other critical piece of information that leaps off the page. “Now that day was the Sabbath.”
That would be an “oooooohhhh…” moment for anyone reading. The Sabbath was a pretty famous Jewish peculiarity. No other people in the world took a whole day off – including their servants and slaves – to stop working, selling, cooking, farming… just to worship and rest. Everyone else had a 7 day work week. But for the Jews, everything stopped on Friday night and didn’t start again until the appearance of at least three stars in the sky on Saturday night.[1]
If you recall the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, you’ll remember in Chapter 13, after the walls and gates had been rebuilt, when the Sabbath came around, Nehemiah commanded that all the gates of the city be shut and locked until after the Sabbath. All the merchants and sellers from all over the land came up to the doors, and for the first time in decades, couldn’t get through. Let me read that portion to you, because it’s great:
“As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, ‘Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.’ From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy.” (Nehemiah 13:19–22)
If you think that’s serious, then fast-forward a few hundred years to the birth of an extremist group called the “Pharisees”, or “the separatists”, the “separated ones”. Essentially the “we’re better than everyone else and God love sus more” group.
By the time of Jesus there were three different groups that were in charge of the Jewish people. John summarizes them by just calling them “the Jews”, but he’s referring to the Jewish Ruling class: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. Essentially these groups were the lawmakers, police, and lawyers of the time, and therefore pretty much everything in Jewish society – except for what their Roman government dictated – ran through them.
And this group took it upon themselves to decide not only that everyone had to keep the Sabbath or get in trouble – but exactly how the Sabbath was to be kept. So they made and enforced a whole bunch of extra laws that make sure no one would ever break the Sabbath again. No planting, or plowing, or reaping, or sorting, or chopping vegetables, or mixing anything together, or cooking, or laundry, or tying knots, or untying knots, or hunting, or smoothing, or chopping, or writing, or erasing, or making things, no starting a fire, or putting out a fire even if your house is going to burn down, and definitely no carrying things outside – or “transferring anything between domains”, and especially not “transferring anything through a public thoroughfare”. Well, technically, if you absolutely had to move something, you were allowed to move it 4 cubits (or 6 feet).[2]
Remember, none of this was in the Old Testament Law, it was all invented by the Pharisees as a way to make sure everyone “kept the Sabbath”. God had created a day for His people where they could rest, worship, enjoy each other… where they weren’t expected to produce anything, but just had to remember that God was their provider, God had everything under control, and the whole point of existence wasn’t to do work, make money, produce things… but to connect with God and be with the people you care about.
But the Pharisees had taken the God-given gift of the Sabbath and turned it into a huge burden. Now people dreaded the Sabbath because they couldn’t do anything. It wasn’t enjoyable. Now, around every corner was a Pharisee watching to see if you’d pick anything up, make yourself a snack, write a note, smooth out a wrinkle, or – you know – prevent your house from burning down. It was awful. But the Pharisees had a huge amount of power. If you broke their laws, you could be kicked out of the synagogue, shunned by your community, arrested, beaten, even threatened with death.
That’s what makes verses 8-9 such a critical part of the story. Jesus commands the man to break the Pharisees Sabbath rules, and then sends him to walk through a public thoroughfare with his bed under his arm. You can imagine how that would be received.
Well, as per usual, there’s a Pharisee lurking around somewhere nearby and the man takes, probably, like 20 steps, and some Jewish Officials jump out and say, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” (5:10)
The man, quickly dodges the accusation and deflects the blame, “Hey, it wasn’t my idea, someone came up to me after being a hopeless invalid for thirty-eight years and healed me. Then he said, ‘take up your bed, and walk’. I wasn’t about to argue with a guy that powerful!”
The Jewish Official’s eyes get all squinty and aggressive, ready to come down like a sack of hammers on that guy, ask – “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
Pause there for a second and notice that question. Do you see anything missing? The miracle, right? It wasn’t, “Show us the one who had the power to heal you from decades of hopeless pain and misery… we’re very interested in a person like that…”. No, all they could think about was “Someone told you to break our rules!? How dare they! We need to get this guy! Arrest Him! Make an example out of Him! He’s a lawbreaker, sinner, and he’s spreading His evil among these poor, unfortunate, sick people! He’s making them break the Sabbath!” How crazy is it that a guy who had been lying around for almost 40 years, finally gets up and walks, and is told to lie right back down by the most religious, supposedly godly people in town?
Now, Jesus hadn’t told the man who He was and had already left, so there was nothing for these guys to go on, but then Jesus does something really interesting. He finds the man he healed to introduce Himself properly. “Hi, I’m Jesus, the guy who healed you. I have already demonstrated that I have divine power, and you have already demonstrated faith and obedience toward me. Look at yourself! You are well! I healed you. But I have a further message for you. I didn’t simply heal you so you can go back to a sinful life. I, your new master, the source of your new hope and new life, want more for you. I not only want you free from worldly misery, but from the misery of sin. So ‘sin nor more, that nothing worse may happen to you.’” The implication there is that the man’s condition may have been a result of his own foolishness and sin getting him into trouble.
To modernize it, imagine a semi-religious man, goes to church Christmas and Easter, is a kind of ok guy. One day he drives drunk, gets into an accident, and wrecks himself. Snaps his spine and ends up in a wheelchair. He’s in that chair for almost 40 years. Over that time everyone in his life has abandoned him, he’s tried every kind of remedy, spent all his money on treatments and pills, and now spends all day watching tv, and decides to put his hope into one of those health-and-wealth, false gospel, televangelists. He sends his last few dollars, gets kicked out of his apartment, and ends up in some kind of hostel. Jesus comes in, asks if He wants to be well, heals him, and then tells him, “Ok, I’ve healed your body, but that’s not your real problem is it? Your real problem is guilt, shame, fear, anger, betrayal, and selfishness that led you into sin, that caused this to happen, and has driven you into more and more misery, right? Your problem is sin. Now, I’ve healed you. But, I didn’t heal you so you can go back to drinking and foolishness – go live rightly, godly, as a follower of mine. Change your heart, repent of sin, put your hope in me, and live my way – or the misery that will come to you will make these last forty years look like a picnic – because you will end up in Hell. Now, go, live as a Christian.”
What is this man’s response? Well, as soon as He obeys Jesus, by picking up his mat and walking, He immediately gets into trouble. Now, I figure one of two things is happening here. Either he’s obeying Jesus by making sure He submits to the Jewish Ruling Authorities and does what he’s told – or he’s slipped back into his former pattern of self-centredness, blaming others for his problems (like he did at the pool), and immediately throwing Jesus under the bus.
We don’t know. But the application is the same here. People’s response to Jesus’ grace is often surprising. Some people are thankful, others aren’t. Some respond with obedience, others don’t. Some meet Jesus and follow Him, others just go back to their old lives. It’s amazing that Jesus’ grace doesn’t come with strings – instead it comes with an invitation.
That’s the man, but let’s get back to the Jewish Rulers. Look at what’s going on here, because it’s really ironic. A man who has been unable to move, or work, or mix, or tie or untie anything, who has probably been technically keeping the Sabbath perfectly for 40 years because He was unable to move, meets Jesus, the rightful King of the Jews, the one who gave the law to Moses, the perfect Rabbi, the Messiah, the true temple of God, the source of Eternal life – and completely heals this guy and sends him out on a mission. Did Jesus do anything wrong? No. Did He have the right to tell that man to “take up his bed and walk”? Absolutely! Did Jesus know how the Sabbath works? Yes, it was His idea in the first place.
But Jesus sets up this confrontation on purpose so that He can reveal something about Himself to all these people, especially the Pharisees. Look at the titles of the next sections and you’ll see what. In the ESV they are, “Jesus is Equal with God” and “The Authority of the Son”.
He took that man from invalid to missionary in an instant. Then He offered to save the man’s soul. And then, after demonstrating His power, and declaring His authority, He confronts the Jewish leaders with a huge speech about who He really is: Look down to verse 39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
Jesus set up a confrontation where He said, in no uncertain terms, that He is the Lawgiver, the Perfect interpreter, the Son of God, and equal to God Himself. That He alone has the right to pass judgment and decide who lives and dies – not them! He is the perfect interpreter of God’s will – not them! That He is the real Jewish Ruler – not them. And they should be bowing down and obeying Him, not everyone bowing down and obeying them.
He says, “You guys think you know so much about the Bible – but God Himself is standing in front of you and you can’t even see it. Instead you reject and persecute me.” And he gives them, in much more detail, the same message He gave the man he healed, “Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
Again, Jesus gives grace. He doesn’t judge and condemn them immediately but gives them the truth and then some time to accept it. And again, that grace is presented with an invitation – this time to the Pharisees. “Repent, submit, be healed, or be damned.” Needless to say, that didn’t go over too well.
Application
Let’s leave it there this week, but draw out a couple applications.
The first application is that Jesus is gracious and kind, giving favour to everyone on earth. Matthew 5:45 says, “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” But that miracle, that grace, comes with an invitation and a warning: Deal with your sin before the worst possible thing happens to you. The first application is a reminder that Hell is real and Jesus’ invitation is urgent. If you aren’t a Christian today, then you must realize that you are living on borrowed time, that every moment you’ve been alive has been an act of undeserved grace, and that it can end at any time. You are alive today because Jesus keeps you alive and is giving you time to repent, deal with your sin, and turn to Him as your Lord. You don’t know when that grace will end, so you must take your spiritual reality, the condition and destination of your soul, seriously.
The second application is that many of us make the same mistake as the Pharisees do. Some of us, because we’re stuck in our own ways, rules, religion, mindset, tradition, or whatever, look at someone who is obeying Jesus, and because they’re not doing things our way, not following our path, not doing things the way they’re supposed to be done, we judge, condemn, and persecute that person.
Some of you here have looked at God’s perfect will, His design and plan for someone else’s life, and you have judged it as wrong. You condemned that person, and therefore condemned God. When confronted with your reasoning for why you disliked, judged, attacked and reviled that person, you talked about your feelings and then twisted God’s word to fit your conclusion – and in doing so, condemned God’s will, harmed a follower of God, and did Satan’s work for him. And just like the Pharisees, you need to repent and ask forgiveness of God and the person you wrongly judged.
And the third application, which leads from the previous, is that Jesus is Lord, Jesus is God, and Jesus is the one who gets to interpret scripture – not us. In other words, you cannot expect to come away from a Bible study, class, or personal bible-reading time, with the right interpretation and application of scripture without having first repented of sin, humbled yourself before Jesus, invited the Holy Spirit to show you the truth, and then submitting your interpretation to the counsel of godly Christian elders, teachers and mentors.
Reading the bible alone, in a vacuum, prayerlessly and/or without asking a diversity of more mature, trained believers to help you, is spiritually foolish and dangerous. You will be led astray by your feelings, and turn into either a judgmental, hyper-religious Pharisee, or into a false teacher who accepts sin and error, leading others – and encouraging others – towards sin, idolatry, and licentiousness.
What Does The Healing of the Man at the Pool Tell Us About Jesus? (Gospel of John Series)
Please open up to John 5:1-18 and let’s read it together:
“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.’ But he answered them, ‘The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’’ They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?’ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
A Desperate Situation
A while back I said that as you read through John, to put yourself in the place of the people that Jesus interacts with. I want you to do the same with this passage – we are the invalid and we are the Jews.
Let’s start with the first part of the story. Sometime after Jesus had healed the Centurion’s son, Jesus was headed up to Jerusalem for one of the three feasts that all Jewish males were required to attend. We don’t know which one.
While Jesus was at this feast He chose to head to the Sheep Gate. Jerusalem had all kinds of gates. The Old Testament mentions 17 different gates for the first temple, and eight for the temple that was rebuilt by Nehemiah and added to by Herod. And each gate had a different name and theme. There was a Fish Gate where the fisherman brought their catches through to be sold, the Valley Gate that opened up to the Valley of Hinnom, the Dung (or Garbage) Gate where Jerusalem had their burning waste dump. This gate was called the Sheep Gate and was historically where the sheep and lambs were brought through for the ritual temple sacrifices.
One day, Jesus, the One John the Baptist recently called “The Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the World” (1:36), decides to come up through the Sheep Gate. Don’t miss that, because there’s a lot going on. The Lamb of God entering through the Sheep Gate where the sacrifices come through, which was about 200 meters from where Pilate would condemn Him to death, only a hundred or so more meters to the Via Dolorosa, which was the road Jesus would take to Calvary.
Near the Sheep Gate there was a pool called Bethesda meaning “House of Mercy” or “House of Outpouring” and verses 2-3 gives us a picture of what this place looked like. There was a pool there – (actually by the time of Herod there were 2 pools, one above the other) – with a series of columns holding up a roof that would provide some protection from weather. Instead of being fed by a spring, this pool system was designed to be filled up when it rained[1]. A long time before, this pool was likely used to wash the sheep that were coming into the temple area after being herded from whatever place they had come from, but now it had become a place where sick, desperate people would congregate in hopes of getting some kind of mercy, charity, and maybe even a miracle.
If you have an ESV Bible you’ll notice something interesting in verse 4 – it’s interesting in that there is no verse 4. In other translations you’ll see a verse 4 which give an explanation that the reason sick people congregated there was that there was a superstition that sometimes an angel would come, stir the pool, and the first person to get in would be immediately healed. The reason the ESV doesn’t include this verse is because the oldest, most trusted manuscripts, actually don’t have that line. It was inserted sometime after by a scribe who felt it necessary to add an explanation. But since it’s not in the best manuscripts, a lot of modern translations leave it out. But that doesn’t mean it was wrong – in fact, verse 7 tells us that the stirring of the waters is exactly what the man was hoping for.
But the picture here is one of blind, sick, lame, paralyzed people who were living in a time when they were considered cursed, unclean, and didn’t have a way to take care of themselves. And, if they didn’t have family to take care of them, these people would often become street beggars. And as society condemned them, forgot them, and pushed them aside, they would become more and more desperate.
And desperate people tend to be more easily manipulated, more willing to believe lies and superstitions, more self-centred, selfish, and protective. Jesus walks into an area filled with hurting, forgotten, broken people who – because of their suffering and how they’d been treated – had basically given up on their neighbours, families, friends, religion, priests, and God. They were now a group of superstitious people whose whole lives revolved around waiting for some kind of supernatural stirring of some magic water, which would then lead to a mad dash competition to beat each other to the pool in hopes of some kind of miracle.
We are often no different than these people. Fear, sickness, betrayal, disrespect, being forgotten, living in pain, financial struggles – especially when it carries on for a long while – often leads to a myriad of temptations. When the trouble first starts – the pain begins, the sickness sets in, the emergency happens, the betrayal occurs – we handle it ok. We talk to friends, read the Bible, pray to God – but then it doesn’t go away, the situation doesn’t get better, and sometimes it gets worse.
So, sometimes we press in harder. We call our friends for help, tell our church to pray, spend more time in the Word and in Prayer. But it still doesn’t get better. The pain is worse and more complicated, the doctors can’t find a cause. The betrayals start to stack up as more people believe lies. The bills keep coming but the income doesn’t get better. The emergency keeps affecting you, the stress being drawn out for days, weeks, and months. The sickness doesn’t go away, and you find out its chronic and untreatable.
Then, as friends and family and the church stops calling, stops asking how you’re doing, stops giving you support, and the trips to the doctor all end with the same bad news, and people seem to move on to the next thing – you’re still stuck with the same pain – it’s easy to start to become discouraged and even desperate.
And we are tempted to do what this man did. Go away from people, start skipping church and eventually just leave altogether. Stop praying because it doesn’t work. Leave the Bible on the shelf because it doesn’t help. Start to gather with other sick, pained, miserable people… not because they encourage you, but because they feed your misery and affirm your bad decisions.
And then, as you distance yourself from God, His word, and His people, Satan starts to present you with more and more dangerous ideas on how to feel better. He dangles bait in front of you, leading you toward destruction. He offers you drink and drugs, pornography and entertainment, gambling and garbage food. He offers you loans, and new credit cards, and opportunities to steal. He helps you find people who want to commit adultery with you, hurt others with you, do illegal things with you.
And he shows you stories of people who got the miracle they wanted… through televangelists, superstitions, cults, pagan practices, witchcraft, the occult, moral compromise. Things that would have been unthinkable, ridiculous, and laughable before – start to become more reasonable. The more desperate you get, the more reasonable they become. After all – Christianity didn’t work. God didn’t fix your life when you asked. The Church left you behind. The doctors can’t help, friends can’t help… why not try… crystals, horoscopes, healing services, bank loans, divorce, chemicals, abuse, or maybe even sending money to the guy on TV who promises to send you magic spring water from Russia that will force God to fix your body and fill up your bank account. And if you don’t believe me – then you’ve probably never heard of Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, or Peter Popoff.
Now, you might be thinking, “That’s too extreme, Pastor Al. I don’t do that. I would never do that.” Well, maybe today – but that’s at least one direction the road of spiritual compromise goes. So ask yourself – what ungodly, unbiblical, unfaithful things are you doing right now because stress, fear, lack, sadness, worry, has been pressing in on you.
Are you drinking a little more? Are you distancing yourself from certain godly people because they make you feel guilty? Are you reading and watching videos about how to get miracles and give yourself special spiritual powers? Is your debt creeping up as you use money you don’t have to try to solve your problems? Do you find yourself doing little, superstitious things – wearing a cross for luck, carrying a little pocket angel, repeating special “words of power” that have worked for other people, or adding other spiritual things to your life in hopes of twisting God’s (or the universe’s) arm to make things go your way?
Those are the path to danger. You don’t start as the kind of person who believes God puts sick people in competition with one another to see who can get in the magic angel rain pool… that happens gradually as hopelessness, fear, worry, and sadness take over you faith, trust, and obedience to God and His word.
Do You Want to Be Made Well?
In verse 5 we see that this man had been an invalid for thirty-eight years – longer than many people’s lifespan back then. To everyone, even to himself, he was a hopeless case. His faith was gone, his friends were gone, his family was gone, and to him, God was gone, grace was gone, hope was gone, and he was too weak to even try to work within his own superstition.
Jesus asks a peculiar question: “Do you want to be made well?” It almost sounds sarcastic, doesn’t it? He’s standing in a place full of misery and suffering, surrounded by the most desperate cases imaginable. They were sitting beside what they thought was a magic healing pool. Why else would they be there other than to be made well?
But this man’s understanding of God and spirituality was completely warped. Remember, there stands Jesus, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Creator of the Universe. He is God. His question forces the man to declare what His faith is in.
We read elsewhere of Jesus asking people questions before healing, and many declare their faith in Him for a miracle. The leper comes and says, “If you choose, you can make me clean!” (Mark 1:40) The woman with the years of bleeding said, “If I but touch His clothes, I will be made well.” The leader of the synagogue came and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” (Matt 9:18)
But how does this man answer? With nothing but negativity and hopelessness and blaming others: “It’s impossible. God’s abandoned me. People have abandoned me. The only hope I have is the magic rain water and I’m too weak to get there. For decades now, people have pushed me aside and ran before me to get the miracle. No one cares. Nothing can help me.” Bad attitude, bad faith, bad logic, bad spirituality, and bad theology.
What’s interesting is that Jesus doesn’t argue. There’s no lecture, no teaching, no correction, no sermon. Just the command, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” In fact, as we read, Jesus doesn’t even introduce Himself! At first, after the miracle, the man didn’t even know it was Jesus who healed him!
The man’s greatest expectation was that, perhaps, this stranger might stick around long enough to, maybe get him to the pool. When he answered, there was zero faith in Jesus, zero faith in God, and the thought that He was about to walk out of that place perfectly healed hadn’t even crossed his mind. He’s lying there before God Himself – and didn’t even know it.
What Does This Tell Us About Jesus?
I want to pause the story there this week, even though a lot happens after the man is healed, and I want to ask the question: What does this tell us about Jesus?
First, that Jesus is compassionate. Matthew 12:18-21 quotes Isaiah 42:1–3, which is a description of Jesus’ attitude towards hurting, abused, forgotten, hopeless people: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” He weeps with those who weep, and understands the suffering of hurting, abused, forgotten, slandered, weak people better than anyone. He has empathy, compassion, and kindness. Jesus hates pain, suffering, and sickness because Jesus hates sin – and they are all a result of sin. That’s why He came to die on the cross – to reverse the curse, to destroy the effects of sin, and to make a path for anyone who would believe in Him to be free of those effects forever. The first thing we must see here is that Jesus is kind and compassionate to people who are suffering.
The second thing we ought to see is that Jesus gives grace to whom He decides to give grace. Grace, by definition, is undeserved merit, undeserved favour. Did this man deserve to be healed? No. Did He deserve a conversation with Jesus? No. What did He deserve? As a faithless, hopeless, superstitious, sinner, He deserved nothing more than being condemned to everlasting torment in hell. That’s what he deserved.
I’ve had a few people text me lately that some of the things that have happened to me were “undeserved”. “You don’t deserve this.”, they say. My response is always, “What I deserve is Hell – anything above that is grace.” And I mean it.
This man did nothing to deserve a miracle. I think of Romans 9 which talks about what theologians call “divine election” or “God deciding who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.”
Turn to Romans 9:13–24 and let’s read it together. We’re jumping into the middle of an argument here, but the first line is a good summary, “As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Think of the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau. Esau was older and should have gotten the blessing, but instead God worked it out so Jacob did. Neither was a particularly good person – Esau arrogant, Jacob a liar – but God overturned tradition and expectation and chose the young liar to be His chosen servant. So Paul asks in verse 14,
“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”
What is the biblical answer to “Who gets chosen for heaven and who goes to hell?” Simply, “Whoever God decides.” No one deserves heaven. No one deserves grace. We’re all vessels of wrath prepared for destruction – and some of us get plucked out of the flames and given a place of honour. Why? Because God decided to show us love and grace. That’s it.
The second thing we need to learn about Jesus is that He shows grace to whom He shows grace. He walked into a place full of sick, desperate, superstitious, and selfish people – and decided to save one of them. That’s His prerogative. He’s God, we’re not. Anyone one of us who is plucked from the flames, healed, and adopted – should spend our whole lives praising Him for His undeserved grace!
Third, Jesus has His own schedule. Thirty-eight years that man waited. Until he was utterly hopeless, forgotten, and bitter. God is not obligated to any of us. And He’s not obligated to hurry up and do things on our timeline. God allowed this many to be sick, allowed him to be hopeless, and placed him in that spot – specifically so Jesus could use Him for His glory and purposes on that day. And, as we read, that purpose was to show that Jesus claimed to be God, that Jesus had the power of God, that Jesus had the divine authority to properly interpret and apply all of the laws of scripture – which presented the option to the Jewish leaders to either turn their lives over to Jesus – or to hate Jesus so much that they wanted to kill Him all the more. God isn’t obligated to give us grace – and He always does things on His own timeline for His own perfect purposes. The only question we are asked is if we will trust His timing and His purposes?
And fourth, Jesus’ invitation is always to faith, repentance, and obedience. Jesus did everything. He came through the Sheep Gate, walked to the pool, came up to the man, and offered him healing. When the man answered Jesus’ question with bitterness and hopelessness, Jesus still healed Him. Jesus had the power and did all the work. All the man had to do was get up, grab his bed, and walk.
Every miracle Jesus did required a faithful action – sometimes before, sometimes after – but always contained the invitation to trust Jesus and obey Him. This man went from hopeless to faith in Jesus in a split second – and demonstrated that change by standing up and walking away. He didn’t even know who Jesus was! Jesus didn’t require that – yet – but in His divine plan, Jesus knew that the man would know eventually. All Jesus required at that time was for the man to stand up, grab the bed, and walk away.
That’s the Christian faith in a nutshell. As I said, we are all this man. Lost, hopeless, superstitious, bitter, forgotten, doomed, and unable to save ourselves. Then, the Lamb of God walks into our lives, unbidden, uninvited, and says, “Do you want to be made well?”. Our theology is usually messed up, our expectations confused, our testimony unimpressive, our hearts still torn by selfishness, temptations, and the effects of sin – but Jesus comes anyway, and offers to completely change our lives. But that invitation always comes with an order to believe, repent, and obey Him.
Look at John 5:14–15 again,
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.”
It’s always the same story. Jesus comes and gives undeserved grace to a doomed and broken sinner. He offers healing and demands obedience. The person obeys and is told, “Ok, you’re mine now. Walk with me, trust me, repent from sin, and obey me.” And then we are used to tell the world who Jesus is and what Jesus does – often in ways we could never have planned or expected.
[1] https://www.hopechannel.com/au/read/the-pools-of-bethesda-and-siloam
Jesus & The Centurion: Humility & Trust (Gospel of John Series)
Please open up to John 4:46–54:
“[46] So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. [47] When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. [48] So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” [49] The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” [50] Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. [51] As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. [52] So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” [53] The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. [54] This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”
The Centurion
The story opens with Jesus coming back around to where this whole section had began. If you recall the outline, you’ll remember that John writes using the miracles as chapter dividers (I’m not talking about the chapter divisions that came later in the 16th century.)
This whole section opened with the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine, the inauguration of King Jesus and the start of His earthly ministry. Then we read how his mission expands geographically and by population as He meets bigger and bigger groups from more diverse places – towns to cities to crowds, Jews to Samaritans, and now we see him with a gentile. They all meet Jesus, hear the gospel, and are forced to either accept or deny Him.
Now, we see this section coming full circle, back to where it began, Galilee. John mentions the first miracle right before he closes this chapter with an encounter with the final people group – a Roman Centurion, likely serving in the honour guard of the very wicked King Herod Antipas.[1]
The miracle of the water to wine had happened at a private wedding, but the story had apparently spread like wildfire, not only among the Jews, and not only in Cana, but throughout Galilee – even all the way in Capernaum, a day’s walk away.
I don’t need to tell you that Jews and Romans didn’t get along. The Romans had conquered the Jewish people, taxed them into oblivion, and oppressed them in myriad ways. Any Jewish person who had any partnership with Rome would be kicked out of his synagogue and treated as a pariah.
So, you can imagine the scene when Jesus, His disciples, and anyone else who was tagging along, saw this Roman Centurion, leader of a hundred Roman soldiers, clad in armour and robes, sticking out like a sore thumb among the crowd.
But this man wasn’t coming to Jesus as a representative of the King, a man of influence and power, one to whom many bowed their knee – he was coming as a desperate father with a very sick child.
Our pomp and self-importance sure does melt quickly in the face of illness, death and tragedy, doesn’t it? Most days we walk around thinking we are pretty well off, pretty in control, pretty pleased with ourselves, thinking that the problems of the world are affecting everyone else, and that our choices are why our lives are better than theirs. We look at the old, sick, tired, poor, weary, anxious, fearful, desperate – and we think, “Oh, those people. If they’d only live like me, they wouldn’t feel like that! If they’d just do what I do, they’d be so much better off.” We start to think that we’re untouchable, above the mess of the world, specially blessed, untouched by the curse of sin that weighs so heavily on others.
And then we get sick. Or someone we loves gets sick. Or an accident happens. Or a tragedy strikes – we get laid off out of nowhere, a natural disaster wipes us out financially, we wake up one day and the whole world has changed.
I remember having that experience a few years back when I woke up one day and one whole side of my face was completely paralyzed. It had sunk down like you see when people have a stroke and I couldn’t move it at all. I went to bed feeling absolutely fine – and when I woke up, I couldn’t talk, eat, or even blink. I went to the doctor and got some medication – and then the pain set in. It was excruciating. I remember reading somewhere that because the nerves in the face are so sensitive, so close to the brain, so many nerves bundled up there – that facial nerve pain is some of the worst pain a person can experience. And I can attest that it is absolutely awful. Medication wouldn’t even touch it. The only relief I got was heating up a magic bag in the microwave and, basically, cooking that side of my face. That was a miserable time. And it happened absolutely out of nowhere.
And it scared me. I looked really weird now and couldn’t talk properly. And I basically talk for a living. In a moment, my face was even scarier than usual – and my calling as a preacher was over. It was really hard.
I’m sure you’ve had a similar experience. You’re fine – and then you are humbled by sudden tragedy. It takes you down a peg or two, doesn’t it?
But that’s not a bad thing. It shows us our limitations, reminds us of our humanity, forces us to contend with death, reminds us that we aren’t God, and brings us face to face with just how powerless we really are.
That’s what this Centurion had experienced. You can hear the desperation in his voice in verse 49: “Sir, come down before my child dies.” It’s not an order from on high. It’s not a command from a military leader. It’s a desperate plea from a man who cannot do anything – to the only person he’s ever met that can. That’s the blessing of pain, struggle, sickness, tragedy, and death. It forces us to contend with ourselves, and gives us the motivation to come to God.
Jesus Tests Him
Look at Jesus’ response. Is it an immediate yes? Does He take the 20 mile walk with him? Does he even respond with anything positive? No. Jesus says, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
This wasn’t spoken merely to the Centurion – it was spoken to everyone. The disciples, the Pharisees, the followers, the looky-loos. Why? Because this was their heart. They didn’t want to believe, or follow, or humble themselves, or make Jesus their Lord and Saviour, unless He was willing to perform for them, do what He was told, meet their worldly needs.
The apostle Nathaniel needed a miracle before he believed (1:46-51). Mary wanted a miracle from Jesus when it wasn’t His time (2:4). The Pharisees demanded a miracle when Jesus cleansed the temple (2:18). Those who believed His message kept demanding signs over and over (2:23-25). We learn later, that even John the Baptist doubted who Jesus was until He heard about the miracles (Luke 7:19).
We’ve talked about this lots before, so I won’t belabour the point, but motives are super-critical to God. Doing the wrong thing for the right reason often gets filed under “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 5:8). Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, regardless of how benevolent or costly or positive the effects, is actually credited as sin.
- Proverbs 16:2 says, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.”
- James 4:1 says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”
- Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
- Jesus in Matthew 6:1, during the Sermon on the Mount says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” Later, in verse 5, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.” And in verse 16, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.”
- Hebrews 4:12–13 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Motives are critical to God. And that’s exactly what Jesus is testing here. What are the Centurions motives? Is He coming to have Jesus perform another miracle for show? Is this a test of Jesus’ claims to godhood? Is this some kind of power play to make Jesus do what he wanted? Or was this man really coming to Jesus in desperation and faith, knowing that Jesus was His only hope?
- James 4:6, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 1 Peter 5:5, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
- Proverbs 3:34, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” – which is another way of saying, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
When Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” He knew what was in the Centurion’s heart – and He knew was about to use him as an example to His followers and detractors. Sure, it was a test of the Centurions motivations – but just as much it was a teaching moment for everyone else.
The Centurions response, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”, was a way of saying, “I don’t care about all that. I’m coming to you for help, for a miracle, because I need some grace and you’re the only one in the whole world who can do this. I believe in you. I believe you are touched by God. Please, just help.”
Trust And Obey
Jesus’ response is extremely interesting and very important. What was the request? “Come down and heal my son.” The walk from Capernaum to Cana was a day’s walk uphill, so to go from Cana to Capernaum was all downhill. “Come down and heal my son.”
What does Jesus say, “Go; your son will live.” (v 50) The Centurion says “Come”, Jesus says the opposite; “Go”. What do you think of that? His child is dying, he has just walked or ridden for hours, trying to track down Jesus. He finally finds Him, humbles Himself before Him, makes an urgent, maybe tearful request, and Jesus says, “No, I’m not coming. Just go. It’s done.”
What a moment of crisis for the Centurion, right? Every doctor, every rabbi, every healer, every miracle worker he’s ever experienced or heard of had to be there for it to work.
It reminds me of the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14. Turn there. Let’s read it together (Keep your thumb in John):
“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.”
Ok, so super important, high up, guy. Famous, powerful, a friend of the King of the mightiest kingdom in the world. But, he’s got a problem. (Sound familiar?) He got leprosy. Like I said – sickness is sometimes the only way God can break through our pride and get our attention.
Keep reading in verse 2,
“Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord, ‘Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.’ And the king of Syria said, ‘Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’
So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.’”
Why did the King of Israel freak out? There was an uneasy truce between the nations, but Israel couldn’t hope to defeat Syria in any kind of military engagement. And here, on his doorstep, is the commander of the Syrian army with a letter in his hand from the King that says, “Here’s a huge amount of money. I want you to cure my guy from leprosy.” A seemingly impossible task, but one that if ignored could lead to war and the destruction of Israel. The King of Israel knew he couldn’t do it, but He also didn’t ask God to do it, and didn’t even think of Elisha… he had no faith, no trust, no humility – only fear.
Keep reading in verse 8,
“But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.’”
Look at the similarity between Jesus and the prophet Elijah – because we’re supposed to see that connection. Elisha says, “Where is your faith, king? Why so upset?” Which is very similar to Jesus saying, “Where is your faith, Israel? Why do you need so much proof?”
Consider things from Elishas perspective. There’s Naaman coming down the road; this great, foreign leader parading to his house. He’s a friend of the king, a dangerous and powerful man. Just like the Roman Centurion. What does Elijah do? He doesn’t even come out to meet him. He sends a messenger saying, “Go.” Just like Jesus. “Go and wash… and your flesh shall be restored.”
Same deal, same test. What is Naaman’s motivation? Where is Naaman’s faith? Remember why Elisha got involved? So that the leader of Syria’s armies would know, without a doubt, that God was with Israel, and that there was a real prophet among them – so they’d better be careful how they treated the Israelites. But Naaman needed to see it. Naaman needed the miracle. He wouldn’t believe without the miracle.
But here’s where the stories part ways. Jesus says “Go”. Elisha says, “Go”. The Centurion obeys, leaves in faith, trusts Jesus, and meets a messenger that says “Your son is better.” What does Naaman do?
Verse 11:
“But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.”
Faith. Trust. Motives. Humility. He has none. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” The Centurion was humble. Naaman – not so much. “Why didn’t Elisha didn’t greet me personally! Doesn’t He know who I am? I’m insulted! Why doesn’t he wave his hand and make it better? That’s what the really good prophets do. That’s how it works! What’s with this wash in this dirty, foreign river stuff? And 7 times?! C’mon if all I needed to do was take a bath, I’ve got even better rivers back home! This is stupid! I’m leaving!”
I want to tell you something important here, and I need you to see it. God doesn’t do things our way and has no problem hurting our feelings if it’s what’s best for us. I’m going to say that again: God doesn’t do things our way and has no problem hurting our feelings if that’s what’s best for us. He’s a good parent, a good friend, a good shepherd, a good leader, a good doctor, a good king. He doesn’t do things our way and will hurt us if that’s what will heal us. God will use tragedy to bring about humiliation, so we might have right motives, so we will trust and obey Him.
God wants obedience, humility, worship, deference, respect, submission. He demands it of all of us. The Bible reminds us multiple times that every knee will bow to God. (Isa 45:23; Phil 2:10-11; Rom 14:11) There is no forgiveness without repentance, there is no repentance without obedience and submission to God’s Word and will, and there is no obedience and submission without humiliation. To save you, God must humble you. If God left you proud and full of self-esteem, you would be damned. The God that modernity and liberal churches have created, and some here have created – the God that puffs up your self-esteem, only tells you how great you are, how special you are, how lovely you are, how unique you are, only dice nice, comforting, easy, soft things –is super concerned about your feelings, and would never do anything to make you upset – is a false god.
God cares more about your soul than you do. He cares more about you than you do. He cares more about your spouse, your kids, your parents, your friends, and your church than you do – and He wants them saved and holy and with Him (2 Peter 3:9) more than you do. And so, He’s willing to do more than you will do, to do the hard things you don’t want to do, to say the hard things you don’t want to say, so that they might see their true selves, their true nature, their real problem, and humble themselves before God while they are still alive on earth – so they don’t have to do it later before they are condemned to hell for all eternity.
That’s why the Bible tells us to do hard things – things that sometimes hurt people’s feelings.
- Things like Titus 3:10 where you warn a divisive person twice and then have nothing more to do with them.
- Things like 1 Corinthians 5:5 or 11 where we turn our friend and church mate “over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved” and to refuse to associate with anyone who calls themselves a Christian, but is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or idolatry, or abusive in speech, or addicted, or a liar. To “not even eat with such a one.”
- Things like Jesus says in Matthew 18:17 where if someone refuses to repent from their sin, even after being confronted by their friends and the church, to treat them like they are an unsaved person.
- Or 2nd Thessalonians 3:13-15 which says, “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”
- Or Romans 16:17-18, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”
But that’s not nice! Aren’t Christians supposed to be nice? What if we hurt their feelings? How are we supposed to grow the church and gain followers and fill the offering plate if we do all this and hurt people’s feelings? Won’t that affect our reputation? Won’t that hurt the church?
That doesn’t matter. The glory of God, our obedience to His word, and our humility before Him, is what matters. The purity of the gospel, seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness is what matters. Confronting sin, being truthful, and doing battle against the devil in the name of Jesus Christ, is what matters. God grows and defends the church, and has given us the Word telling us how to do it. Even if someone gets offended, even if their feelings get hurt, even if they get mad, leave, and seek revenge.
1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
We proclaim God’s excellencies and live as His people by doing things His way even when it’s hard any unpopular.
Turn with me to 2 Peter 2 (but keep your thumb in 2 Kings, and your other thumb in John) and I want to read the whole chapter, because I want you to see how serious God is, how serious the apostle is, about standing on God’s truth, protecting the purity of the church, and confronting sin with some pretty serious language that will definitely hurt people’s feelings.
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.’”
Sin within the church, among church members, is no small thing, and God has given us some very specific commands on how to deal with it – even though it’s hard, even though it’ll make us unpopular, even though it will hurt someone’s feelings.
Verse 10, “Bold and willful, they do not tremble…” Why? Pride. And God opposes them. And if we don’t deal with them as God has commanded, God will oppose us too. So what is the kind thing? For God to take away their boldness, break their will, and make them tremble.
Let’s finish the story in 2 Kings 5:13:
“But his servants came near and said to him, ‘My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?’”
Can you imagine how hard that would have been? There’s the greatest military leader in the world, best buddy of the king, and he’s hopping mad – literally raging. And the servant says, “Just do it. Humble yourself. Obey. Oh, great one who commands the greatest army in the world and could have me killed with a word – please humble yourself. God’s prophet told you to do something. Just do it, man. Humiliate yourself and be clean.”
In verse 14 we see the story converge again with Jesus and the Centurion:
“So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
He humbled himself and obeyed. Elisha and Jesus weren’t doing things the way they wanted, weren’t meeting their expectations, were treating them with a sort of insensitivity, and required them to humiliate themselves and obey before they would see the miracle. For the Centurion, it was a long walk back home. For Naaman, it was washing himself over and over and over and over and over in a place he didn’t want to be.
And their humility, obedience, and faith that God’s way was right and better, led to the miracle – and it lead to even more people hearing and seeing and fearing the power of God. Obedience leads to blessing. Pride and fear of man leads to losing God’s blessing.
Conclusion
Let me close with this. God is asking you to do something hard right now. I know this. You have come to Him asking for a miracle because you need something. You see a bad situation and you need God to step in. You are afraid, in need, desperate, anxious, worried, sick – or someone you love is – and you need a miracle. Our church is being asked to do some hard things right now; to confront sin, division, pride, rebellion… and God is asking us to do some difficult things that are going to hurt some people’s feelings.
My question to you is: Are you willing to humble yourself before God, before God’s word, before God’s spirit, and do things His way – even if it means you’ll become unpopular, make someone mad, make someone sad, make someone lonely, hurt someone’s feelings? Are you willing to confront sin and obey Jesus, doing the hard things scripture asks you to do, even if people are going to call you mean, rude, angry, selfish, arrogant, and unfriendly? Will you take that persecution for the sake of Jesus’ name, His glory, His church? Are you willing to say, “Your way God, not mine. Your plan God, not mine. Your will God, not mine. And for your glory, in your name, for love’s sake, I’ll do whatever you ask, no matter what the consequence – because I want your blessing and to see your hand work more than anything else in the world.”
You are being tested right now. In your private life, and in your church. I hope that, like Naaman, like the Centurion, you humble yourself and pass the test.
[1] The Gospel and Episles of John FF Bruce – Pg 117
Break Time
Hey everyone,
I’m taking some time off for the next couple weeks, so there won’t be any posts or podcasts for the next little while.
If you want to see what I’m up to, I’ll probably be posting a bunch on https://www.instagram.com/als3dprinter/ and https://www.facebook.com/Als3DPrinter/
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Fear or Fear? – “Of Interest” Podcast Episode 4
New episode of my “Of Interest” Podcast where I share an interesting article, an interesting resource, and we do an interesting study on Pilgrim’s Progress!
Interesting Links:
Article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/forgiveness-fear/
Resource: https://www.desiringgod.org/labs
Study: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-pilgrims-progress
We are ALL the Woman at the Well (Gospel of John Series)
Please open up to John 4, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, and let’s read it together:
“Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he.’
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you seek?’ or, ‘Why are you talking with her?’ So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’ They went out of the town and were coming to him.” (John 4:1-30)
We Are the Samaritan Woman
I’ve already done a big intro to the story last week, so I won’t repeat it here, but what I want you to remember is that we are all the Samaritan Woman. Consider the outline of this story, and how much it parallels our own lives and the testimonies of those who meet Jesus.
We are Sinners
In verses 1-9 we meet the Samaritan woman. A sinner, despised, rejected, humiliated, ashamed, afraid. And when we’re honest with ourselves, that’s us. But Jesus approaches her anyway. We talked about that last week, so I won’t go over that point again.
We are Ignorant
In verses 10-14 the Samaritan woman shows how ignorant she is about who Jesus is, confused about what He offers her, and totally unaware of a reality beyond her comprehension — and yet, even though she’s ignorant and confused and guilty, she’s also somehow argumentative with Jesus! That’s us. And yet, Jesus, instead of becoming impatient and angry, and walking away, He offers her life and truth. That’s grace and mercy. He offers, for anyone humble enough to admit they don’t know it all, admit their ignorance, and trust what He is saying, access to a brand new existence, a total reframing of your reality, and a never ending spring of eternal life. She came down for water – Jesus was there to change her life.
Look what He says: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” But, here’s the thing – and we’ve talked about this lots before – she didn’t know, we don’t know, and we can’t know until Jesus tells us and shines light into our souls.
But, if sitting there today, you were able to see, able to understand, able to climb out of your darkness and into the light, see reality from God’s perspective, know what God expects, know who Jesus really is, and who you are to Him, you would be begging Jesus right now for wisdom, truth, and salvation. But, so often, we don’t see. In fact, in our ignorance and stubbornness and darkness – we argue with the Creator of the Universe.
How many of you understand this? How many of you have been, or are being, the Samaritan woman? Looking back at your life, those of you who are saved and have been down the road a little bit, how many times do you look back and see that God was telling you something, showing you something, preparing you for something, the Holy Spirit was speaking to you, warning you, teaching you – but, for too long, you refused to listen, refused to obey, stayed ignorant, thick, and too stubborn for God’s voice to penetrate?
Looking back, once Jesus opens your eyes, you realize that so many of your prayers, and plans, and conversations with believers were just you trying to stay in your sin, and arguing with Jesus about things you don’t even come close to understanding. And now, in retrospect, you wished you would have seen, trusted, and obeyed, far sooner. You wish you would have just shut up and trusted what God’s Word said, just obeyed immediately. Instead of “kicking against the goads” (Acts 26:14) and putting yourself through more misery until your life blew up or God forced you into humiliation – you wish you would have just believed what Jesus was trying to tell you in the first place and trust what He was doing.
I can hear Jesus saying to each of us: “If you only knew the gift of God standing before you, the reality of your situation, what’s actually going on… you would be acting and speaking and praying and living and spending and working so much differently right now.”
How I wish and pray for each person here to have the discernment to see what’s really going on in your life, in your church, and among those you love. I pray for that every day: For me, for my family and for all of you, to see what’s really going on; to have God’s eyes. And to finally be humble enough, wise enough, godly enough, to see the truths, the sins, the gifts, the stagnant water in our lives that is poisoning us, to see the reality of Jesus standing before you, hear the truths He’s telling you – and beg Him to give you living water instead.
We are Short-Sighted
In verses 15-26 we see how short-sighted the Samaritan Woman is. “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” We see how she grasps a little bit of what Jesus is saying, gets a peek of light, has a little revelation of who is really standing in front of her, who Jesus really is – at least that He knows something she doesn’t — but then she does exactly what we all do when we get a taste of the reality of God’s existence.
We get a peek of Jesus’ power – in church, in a sermon, by seeing Him work in a friend, by reading a biography, or watching a movie – and it touches something in us. Jesus might be what we’re looking for. So, we come to Jesus and do what she did – ask Him to solve our immediate problems, to deal with our felt needs.
“Ok, Jesus. I need more money, a better family, a more fulfilling job, a really good girlfriend (or boyfriend or spouse), an inspirational mission, a roadmap of my future, and answers to some really complicated questions so I can look smart in front of people, ok?”
All the while we’re evading, denying and making excuses for our real, actual problem: the curse of, and our love of sin that has destroyed our souls, taints our every action, and has caused us to be separated from God, to be under His wrath, and condemned to hell! How many of us would trade our souls, trade a real walk with Jesus with all the risks, dangers, and sufferings that come with it – for a bit more comfort, more respect, more health, less troubles? And yet we do that all the time when we come to God and we ask for superficial solutions to our far deeper, spiritual problems.
But, how does Jesus respond? By confronting the real problem, by making her see her sin. Jesus responds to the superficiality, the short-sightedness of our requests by confronting us with reality. That’s why a lot of us avoid the Bible, avoid prayer, avoid Christian counselling, avoid talking to mature believers, and why so many Christians avoid submitting to elders and committing to a church – it’s because when they look at the Bible, close their eyes to pray, talk to other Christians, listen to sermons, and serve a body of believers – the superficiality starts to show, their real sins start to come up, and they feel fear, guilt, shame, anger… so they run from it – and their spiritual lives remain superficial and powerless.
But that’s not what Jesus wants. Jesus wants us to see ourselves how we really are, how God sees us, how serious our sins are, and to realize that we don’t need more comfort and less troubles – we need a spiritual resurrection, a complete renewal, a total overhaul of our entire being. He wants us to break, to fall on our knees, to see our desperate situation – because He loves us and that’s the only time we will call out for Him to save us. It would be terribly unloving to give you more money and health, but leave you damned and a slave to the Devil.
Then, when we finally realize our real problem, really see ourselves for the first time, and feel the weight of the curse of sin and our powerlessness against it, our heart cries out with the words of the Samaritan Woman, “Give me that… show me where I can find that kind of solution. I wish someone would just fix this deep problem. I wish someone greater than me, someone stronger than me, someone more loving than me – someone who sees what a mess I really am, but loves me anyway – would come and save me. I want someone who will see how much trouble I’m in, and not run from me, but run towards me. I wish there was someone who doesn’t want anything from me, who isn’t trying to manipulate me, who has no ulterior motive, but just wants to help me because they are good and kind and merciful. Where is the Christ, the Messiah, the only one who can somehow, miraculously save me from this guilt, shame, and fear of the wrath of an almighty God who I keep offending over and over and over. I wish that person would just come. I need them so much.” And Jesus says to her and to you, “I who speak to you am he.” “That’s me!”, He says. “I’m right here. I’ll do that. I offer salvation freely to all who ask, to all who trust, to all who will turn from their sin and follow me. I will show you true worship, give you a new spirit, access to perfect truth, and a direct connection to God. But you have to give up your sin and do things my way. My way is better.” He speaks the words of Matthew 11:27–30, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
We are Affected
In verses 27-28 we see the kind of reaction that people are going to have when they see you with Jesus. Once you give your life to Jesus, the people you know – your family, friends, workmates, community, even enemies – are going to marvel at how strange, incredible, weird, counter-cultural, you are now that you’ve met Jesus. The disciples didn’t confront her or Jesus – but only because it was Jesus. Anyone else would have been called out, the woman told to get lost, and the rabbi reported to the Sanhedrin and publicly shamed.
Here’s the thing: If you walk with Jesus – and I mean really walk with Jesus – people are going to react. Some people will react to you like a good smell, like your presence makes things better, and want to know what it is that makes you different. Some are going to see a change in you and wonder why, and then you can share your testimony – and maybe even introduce them to Jesus.
But others are going to get upset. They’ll question Jesus’ motives, argue about how foolish and naive you are, condemn you for being part of a bunch of duped, stupid weirdos, for submitting yourself to an ancient book and unpopular religion. You’ll change for the better, the light of Jesus taking over your decisions, your home, your habits – but they’ll start to get mad about what your life looks like now, complain about how much you’ve changed, worry about your priorities, and become offended by the effect Jesus has had on you.
And it doesn’t change the longer you follow Jesus. The more you follow Him, the more opposition you will face. That’s why so many refuse to change, refuse to obey, refuse to let Jesus transform them into a new creature – because it gets them in trouble. So they try to live with one foot in Christianity, and one in the world – but that’s impossible and their religion, spirit, and life gets corrupted. And, what’s strange, is that they will often champion how much better it is to compromise, and invite people to do the same.
But if you follow Jesus, listen to what He says, and submit to Him as the Way, Truth and Life – you will change. And it will affect every relationship you have.
You know this, and you’ve experienced it, right? You’ve experienced how just using Jesus’ name in conversation – just dropping the J-word as anything other than profanity – immediately changes the air in the room, doesn’t it? How much more will a life completely changed by Jesus affect those around them?
We are Empowered
In verses 28-29 we see that the Samaritan Woman immediately used by Jesus to spread the gospel to the people around her.
Turn to Ephesians 2:8–10 (keep your thumb in John),
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved unto good works. Jesus is planting a vineyard, God is a vinedresser, and His goal is to make fruit. That’s why the love of God, the salvation of your soul, is not merely a gift for you alone – it’s meant to be shared.
You love people because you are loved by Jesus. You forgive people because you are forgiven. You serve people because Jesus serves you. You are honest with people because Jesus is honest with you. You confront sin because Jesus hates sin and it cost Him His life. You join a church, love your church, commit to your church, because Jesus has made you part of His family, and given you a gift to serve His people. You give tithes and offerings generously, joyfully, sacrificially, obediently, and regularly, because Jesus has given you so much, Jesus is your provider, and you want to obey and trust Jesus in all areas of your life.
Whether you accept it or not, the moment you are saved, you are on a mission: To show and tell the people closest to you what Jesus has done in your life, is doing in your life, and about how amazing, different, unique, and powerful He is – by speaking His words and living His way. And I don’t mean a mission somewhere in the world, I don’t just mean people who are called as missionaries, or just pastors, or just teachers, but every single believer has been given the mission to share the love of Jesus with everyone around them through words and actions.
Consider for a moment who this woman really was. She was a social reject, ostracized, mocked, derided, infamous in town for her lifestyle and sin. Whether her husbands had all divorced her or died, she would have been considered a woman under a curse. Her current lifestyle, of living with a man she’s not married to, was sinful and shameful. No one should have listened to her raving and ranting and pleading about coming out to the well in the middle of a hot afternoon to see some Jewish stranger who she thinks is a prophet, and maybe the Christ. Especially, if you remember last week, a group of Samaritans. But God had prepared their hearts to listen, had given her the words to say, and the courage to speak.
If you look down to verses 35-38 (which we’ll study next week) you will see that the fields were “white for harvest” and all she needed to do was to start reaping things she did not sow. In other word, all she had to do was open her mouth, have the courage to speak, and she would see that God had already done all the work of tilling, sowing, watering, and preparing the hearts of the people in her home town to come to Jesus. And we see in verse 39 that the harvest was huge.
Why? Because she was such a good speaker? Because she knew all the answers? Because she was so good at apologetics? Because she had such a good reputation? Because she was wealthy and successful? Because she had so much experience? Because people trusted her?
None of that. The only thing that had changed was that she had met Jesus and was willing to tell people what He had done for her. And that’s all we’re responsible for too. All we are responsible to do is to talk about what Jesus has done for us. Not to answer a million science and history and philosophy questions – but simply to tell our story, our testimony, our perspective on what Jesus has done. And we’ll see that is more than enough for God to use to save souls.
Conclusion
Let me conclude with this: As you read the Bible, and read the Gospel of John, look for see how Jesus treats people, and see yourself in those He is interacting with. Humble yourself and see you are the Samaritan Woman. You are the Pharisee. You are the Lame, the sick, the hungry. You are the grumbling. You are the amazed and perplexed, the obedient and desperate disciples. You are the adulterous woman, and the man born blind.
See yourself – and then see the amazingly deep, personal, genuine love Jesus had for those people – and has for you. And then, as you see and feel that, respond accordingly with thanksgiving, worship, humility, and obedience.
Sipping Poison – “Of Interest” Podcast Episode 3
This week, I’m going to share an interesting article about Why Sipping Poison is a dumb idea, an interesting resource for getting answers to bible questions, and then we’ll be continuing our interesting study of John Bunyan’s classic, Pilgrims Progress.
Interesting Article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/sipping-poison/
Interesting Resource: https://ask.ligonier.org/
Interesting Study: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-pilgrims-progress
Who Should Christians Love? (Jesus & The Samaritan Woman – Gospel of John Series)
**Sorry, no video or audio this week!**
Please open up to John 4, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. We start where we left off last week:
Jews and Samaritans
“Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)”
Pause there for a second so we can see the stage set for this interaction.
As we learned last week, the Pharisees were out there causing trouble for Jesus and John the Baptist, stirring people up and starting arguments, so Jesus leaves. The plan is to head from His baptism spot on the edge of the Judean border to Cana in Galilee, a walk of about 60 miles or 100km, that took three days. If people walk about 5km/hr, then that means Jesus had walked for about 7 hours by the time he got to Sychar. So, obviously he was going to be tired. He sits down near Jacob’s Well, a pretty famous spot in the region going back 1800 years, all the way to Genesis 49. One cool thing about wells is that, because they’re 100 foot holes in the ground, they don’t move, so it’s pretty easy for archeologists to find them. The location is actually inside a Greek Orthodox church now.
Jesus Had to Pass Through Samaria
There’s actually a bunch of interesting things happening in this introduction to the story. First was the fact that Jesus went through Samaria at all. It was the most direct route, but the most devout Jews, in order to avoid defiling themselves by even touching Samaritan soil, would actually go a longer way around. There was a deep and abiding racism against Samaritans and Jews. They couldn’t agree on anything and didn’t like each other at all.
It went back to about 700 years before, in 2 Kings 17, when the king of Assyria brought a bunch of foreign people to settle among the Jewish people living in Samaria. Over time they intermarried and started to fuse together their Jewish and pagan beliefs. This, of course, offended the faithful Jews and that offence turned into hatred. By the time of Christ, the Samaritans had so strongly assimilated into gentile, non-jewish culture, that there weren’t many similarities left.
Except that a lot of the Samaritan’s religion had kept concepts from their Jewish roots. The Samaritans, in response to being rejected and ostracized, developed their own version of the Pentateuch, their own competing version of the Temple on Mount Gerizim, and their own interpretations of Israelite history.
For a modern understanding, think of Catholics or Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons. They have done something similar. God gave us an inerrant Bible, a clear gospel, and a very clear outline on how to be a church. But Catholics, Mormons, and JW’s, while keeping a lot of the same language, wrote their own version of the Bible, added a bunch to it, changed the gospel to be no gospel at all, and use their church structures to control and abuse people. It’s offensive and wrong – and terribly confusing that people lump Christian Churches in with Catholics, JW’s and Mormons, because we are very, very different.
Add to that an unhealthy amount of anger and racism, and you can start to see how Jews felt about Samaritans. It’s why the story of the Good Samaritan would have had such an impact. It would be like telling the story of the Good Baby Eating Satan Worshipper.
But Jesus chooses to go through Samaria. He doesn’t go around. In fact, verse 4 says that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria”. Some take this as “because it was the most direct route”, but based on the rest of the Gospel of John we can see that it wasn’t a practical decision, it was a gospel decision. Jesus had to pass through there, because it was the next mission field.
Remember the outline. Jesus’s mission goes ever outward. He goes from a little wedding in Cana in Galilee, to preaching in more Jewish towns, to the capital city of Jerusalem, to preaching throughout all of Judea, and then, and then into Samaria. The next story, if you look down, is Jesus healing the gentile’s son. From Jews, to half-Jews half-gentiles, to full gentiles. Jesus’ message is preached to everyone. That’s why he “had to pass through Samaria”.
A Samaritan Woman?!
The next interesting thing we see is who Jesus talks to. It said Jesus got there at the sixth hour, so it was about noon. Jesus had been walking for a long while, and it was the hottest part of the day. He sat down, exhausted, and here comes a Samaritan woman.
Jesus starts the conversation. He says, “Give me a drink.” And that’s a really important point. This would have been a huge crisis moment for a traditional Jew – especially a Jewish Rabbi. Jewish men didn’t treat women very well, and rabbis were even worse. Women were supposed to say ‘in their place’. A traditional Jew wouldn’t talk to a woman in public – they wouldn’t even talk to their own wife in public. A rabbi wouldn’t be caught dead discussing anything theological with a woman, because women and tradesman – like fisherman and carpenters – were considered too stupid to be able to understand anything about religion.[1]
That’s one reason that the Sanhedrin was so amazed by Peter and John’s speech in Acts 4:13. They never would have thought a couple of tradesman could ever speak so well and understand so much. And do you know who was considered even lower than a woman, lower than a tradesman? A tradesman’s wife. They were basically nothing in society. And lower than that? A Samaritan Woman. Lower than that? A divorced Samaritan Woman. Lower than that? A divorced Samaritan woman who was living in sin with someone. That’s her.
And this woman, she was coming to fetch water during the middle of the afternoon. Everyone else, all the other women, would have come in the morning when it was cooler and easier. Why did she come in the afternoon? We learn later that it’s because she’s had a pretty rough life, and she has lived as an outsider in her own town. A ostracized person, among ostracized people.
So, for Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, to strike up a conversation with a half-breed, theologically messed up, socially rejected, Samaritan, woman was an incredibly strange thing to do.
And his request is even stranger. He asks her for a drink. We’ve talked a lot before about how important eating and drinking was to Jewish culture. It was considered a very intimate act. And we talked even last week about how important ritual purity was to Jewish culture. While the disciples were off trying to find some kosher food in Samaria, Jesus was sitting at a well, chatting up a woman, and asking her to draw Him some water, touch the cup, and give Him the water to drink.
That’s why it blows her mind. I think in our modern context, with this pandemic, we can wrap our heads around this, right? We don’t touch each other, shake hands, or hug people. We cover ourselves with a mask and refuse to breathe the same air as our neighbour. The moment we walk into a store, we sanitize our hands – and then when we walk out we sanitize again. Paranoia about getting COVID has made people obsessed with paying attention to what they touch, who they are near – every cough, every sniffle, every trip – analyzed and careful and ripe with stress and fear.
That’s what it was like to be a Jew in Jesus time living under Pharisaic rules – but times a hundred.
You’ve probably already had the experience where you’ve needed to hand something to someone, or you wanted to give something to someone, and what did you do – give them a bunch of caveats, right? “Ok, here it is. Don’t worry, I washed it, dried it with a clean cloth, sealed it in a new bag, let it sit out for 10 hours, and I’ll leave it on your front step so we don’t have to even go near one another.”
Put it this way: Imagine if tomorrow you were walking down the street in downtown Ottawa. It feels like 45 degrees, and even more with the pavement reflecting all the heat. You’re tired, hot, and super thirsty. You round a corner and see a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk. His eyes are downcast, he’s dirty, and an old surgical mask is pulled down under his chin. You see him reach beside himself and grab a can of coke. He takes a big drink and sputters out a cough.
Imagine saying to this stranger, “Hey man, can I have a sip of your coke?”
That’s what’s going down here. Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” so that He could have this interaction, to share the gospel with someone, and use her to save a lot of people.
What About Us?
What do you suppose we’re supposed to see in this interaction here? What are Christians supposed to be emulating? What lesson is there for us in these first few verses?
I think there are some other scriptures we can look to in order to help us understand:
Let’s start in Philippians 2:1–9,
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross….”
Jesus, of all beings, could have elevated Himself above this woman. There were a dozen reasons for Jesus to have nothing to do with her. But what did Jesus do? He humbled Himself, humiliated Himself, condescended to her, and loved her. Jesus has the right to be prejudiced. He really is higher and better than we are. He is sinless, we are sinners. He is perfect, we are spiritual dead. He is light, we are children of darkness. He is from heaven, we are captives to hell.
But Jesus didn’t see it that way. Instead, he had “affection and sympathy” for us. He humbled Himself, emptied Himself, didn’t hold onto the glory of God, but instead became the servant of all – Jews, gentiles, Samaritans, prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, enemy soldiers, wicked Pharissees – He loved and serve them all – even to the point of dying on the cross in their place – in our place.
Or how about James 2:1–9,
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
In Philippians we see that it’s a sin for us to think ourselves better than someone else – and here we see it’s a sin for us to think someone else is better than another. Who is God closest to? What does the Bible say? The poor, the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the outcast, the meek, the lowly, the broken, the lost, the sick. Why? Jesus says in Luke 7:41–42, “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
God gets more glory and more love from the people that know they need Him most. And therefore, our preference, if any, should be for the lowly, the reject, the outcast, the broken, the lost. Preferring one person over another, thinking them better than another, because of their wealth or position or some other external reason, is a sin.
How about Romans 12:9–21, entitled “Marks of the True Christian”.
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
This is the heart of God for people within the church. Philippians 2 said that we shouldn’t think ourselves better than others. James 2 said we should think one person is better than another. And here in Romans 12 we see how we should treat those who treat us badly.
The command in verse 9 is for love to be “genuine” – the love that Jesus has is a “genuine” love. Sincere, real, not hypocritical, not a show – but genuine feelings of love.
For who? Look at the list. In verse 9, we see love for what is good. Verse 10, to have a familial love for our fellow Christians. In verses 11-13, to love Jesus by serving Him patienty, faithfully, hopefully, and serving his people generously.
But the list goes on. Who else are we to show genuine love to? Those who persecute us. Those who weep. Those who are lowly. Other words for “lowly” are stooped, helpless, sullen, downcast, depressed. Who else? Love those who try to make life difficult by trying to make peace with them. Love your enemy.
That’s what Jesus is demonstrating here, and that’s what Christians are supposed to be doing – first to each other and their families, then for their neighbourhoods and community, and then to the world.
Pause for a moment and ask yourself, “Does my life reflect the love that Jesus has for people?”
Do you think of others more than you think of yourself, putting other’s interests before your own? Or do your preferences and desires come first? When given the choice to serve or be served, do you chose to serve? How do you treat those who serve you, like waiters, cashiers, custodians, delivery people? With humility and respect, or as though you are better than them? When given the choice to be first, do you step aside and let someone else be first?
Consider your associations. Who do you prefer to be around? Do you seek out the company of the wealthy, privileged, comfortable, safe, easy, good-for-business, enjoyable, positive, people who you know won’t ask much of you, and you can expect reciprocal treatment from? Do you avoid difficult, needy, lowly, depressed, weeping, troubled people, people who cause you discomfort, or grief, because they’re just too much work, not worth your time, not worth your energy? If so, then you would have been one of the Jews who walked around Samaria and would never have taken the cup from the woman at the well.
Or what about Colossians 3:5–17:
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
This is a mega-theme of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is kind and compassionate – and so we are kind and compassionate. Jesus is accepting and patient. We are accepting and patient. Jesus is humble and forgiving, we are humble and forgiving. Jesus is a peacemaker who brought peace to our hearts, we are peacemakers who bring peace to other’s hearts. Jesus teaches us, shares wisdom with us, sings to us, meets us in our spirit and encourages us – and we respond by teaching, sharing, singing, meeting, and encouraging others.
To be a Christian literally means to be a “little Christ”.
My daughter has a job at Subway now and it’s my job to pick her up after she’s done a shift. The moment she sits down next to me, the whole car smells like fresh baked bread. She’s saturated with it – and it immediately makes me want to have a sandwich. It was the same when my wife worked at Tim Hortons and a Bagel shop. She’d come home and I’d immediately crave bagels.
It was the opposite with my dad – sometimes. He was a pipefitter at a stinky, old pulp-mill and would sometimes have to work with something called “black liquor”. Black liquor is essentially concentrated tree gunk that is left over from the pulp making process. It’s super gross, super smelly, super sticky, and super toxic. If one little drop of that stuff gets on your clothes or boots, then you’ll smell awful – and all your clothes have to come off in the garage before you’re allowed in the house.
How do you know someone is a Christian? How do you know someone has met Jesus, experienced forgiveness, loves Jesus, and is walking with Jesus? Their lives look more and more like Jesus’ life. Their words sound more and more like Jesus’ words. Their hearts care more and more about the things that Jesus cares about. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, lies, obscene talk, prejudice all disappear – and when those sins are pointed out, they are quickly repented of. In other words, they walk with Jesus so much that they start to smell like Him – and they make people hungry for what they know, where they’ve been, what they’ve experienced, the Saviour they’ve been walking with.
And the same is true of the opposite. How do you know someone is a hypocrite, a Christian pretender, a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Because they don’t sound like Jesus, serve like Jesus, love like Jesus… and they carry that smell with them in all of their interactions, decisions, ideas, and motives.
How do we get the kind of love that Jesus has? Where does it come from? Is it white-knuckle, guilt trip, self-generated, love that we have to pretend we have so that Jesus will be happy? No. “Love must be genuine.”
Where does that genuine love come from? The answer is in 1 John 4:7–12:
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
Love comes into our hearts as a gift of God, and is perpetuated, motivated, filled-up, by the knowledge that God loved us so much He was willing to pour out the full weight of His wrath against sin – onto His Son instead of us. Verse 11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Knowing God’s love as demonstrated in Jesus’ sacrifice, is the foundation and model for how we love others. Knowing God’s forgiveness, given because of Jesus’ sacrifice, is the foundation and motivation for our ability to forgive others. Knowing that God wanted to be united with us so much that He sacrificed His own Son, put His Hon through Hell for us, is the foundation, the driving force, for why we work so hard to tell people about reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ, and, as a church, why we work so hard towards unity. Those that do not know God’s love, do not do this.
Let’s read one more scripture, a little back from what we just read, in 1 John 3:7–10. Listen,
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
Pause there – How do we know who has that seed in them? How do we know the devils from the righteous?
Verse 10,
“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
Conclusion: From Love to Love
Let me conclude. We’ll get back into the story again next week.
When we say that Christianity is all about love, we sometimes get a little too pie-in-the-sky, ethereal, high-concept. The Bible is much more practical, must clearer about how that works. Those who love Jesus, who are saved by Jesus, demonstrate that love through humility, grace, patience, and a deep love for people who need it most.
Jesus “had to pass through Samaria”, to meet this woman, and had to ask for a drink from her, to show us something very, very important: How to love like He loves… how to love who He loves… how to love the way He loves.
And further, to demonstrate to us that no matter who we are, how messed up we are, how despised and rejected we have made ourselves, how much we have disappointed ourselves and God and others, no matter how bad our theology is, how corrupt our family or our culture, how sinful and lost we are – it doesn’t keep Jesus away. He loves you. He loved you before you were born. He has loved you for your whole life. And He continues to love you no matter what you’ve done. That’s why He went to the cross for you, to save you! Before you ever deserve it, He has already decided you’re worth it.
And if you know that love, have experienced that love, and have participated in that love – then you will, and you must, show that love to others. How do you know a Christian from a non-Christian, a devil from a believer? You will know by how much love, grace, forgiveness, and humility they demonstrate towards those who need it most, and who make it most difficult.
How can you know that you are a believer, that you have been saved? Because your heart starts to fill up with love for people you’ve never loved before, with forgiveness for people you never would have forgiven, with acceptance of those you never would have accepted. Because you start to feel genuine love, real love, unhypocritical love, for Jesus, His word, His church, and for everyone around you, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.
Just like Jesus feels for you.
[1] Borchert, G. L. (1996). John 1–11 (Vol. 25A, p. 202). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
