Resting His Case, pt.2

Friends,

Yep, this is one of those types of stories -- A Roman Catholic priest, a Christian pastor and a Jewish rabbi were talking one day about their belief in miracles.  The Roman Catholic said that he believed in miracles and illustrated it by telling of a recent incident when he had flown to Durban. As the aircraft began its final approach, a tremendous storm broke, the rain was pouring down, there were loud claps of thunder and the plane was being tossed about. The priest had prayed for a miracle and "for a hundred yards all around the plane there was a great stillness and the plane landed safely."  The pastor too said that he believed in miracles. When on a vacation in Cape Town, South Africa, he and his wife had taken the trip out to a nearby island.  On their return to Cape Town harbor, however, a great wind suddenly rose and the waves were very soon many yards high. They feared for their lives and the pastor prayed for a miracle, and "for a hundred yards around the boat there was a great stillness and the boat arrived safely in the harbor."  The rabbi said that he had come to believe in miracles through an event that had taken place the previous Saturday.  During a Sabbath service, a visitor from America had arrived with a suitcase full of ten-dollar notes which he chose to give to the synagogue.  According to the traditions, there was a problem concerning how to count all this money on the Sabbath? So, I prayed for a miracle, and “for a hundred yards all around the suitcase it was Wednesday!"  (Adapted from Andy Barnard's Sermon "Keep the Sabbath")

As we return to a group of people including Jesus, His disciples and some Pharisees, once again, we see how Jesus deals with the Pharisees concerning how they have interpreted the Sabbath.  As we discussed previously, the Sabbath law was given to Israel as a mark of her relationship with God (Exodus 20, 31:13-17, Nehemiah 9:12-15).  The Pharisees, who sacrificed to obey their Sabbath laws, thought that they were serving God by adding a number of regulations to what was already sufficient doctrine and practice.  When they accuse Jesus and His disciples, they believe that they are defending God. (Good thing folks today are not guilty of such actions). :-)

By declaring Himself, “Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus affirms equality with the Father who gave the Sabbath.  In Mark’s account we see that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), so Jesus continues to teach, train.  The context and background for all of this information is that the Sabbath was originally designed for man’s good.  Jesus comes to this place and time in order to point out that the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees concerning the Sabbath actually run counter to and diminish the principle and law of the Sabbath itself. And so, as Jesus came to fulfill the Law, the legal purpose of the Sabbath…in being a part of the Law…was fulfilled and abolished.  Therefore, Christians are no longer under the authority of the Jewish Sabbath. By making the statement recorded in Mark 2, Jesus implicitly challenges the whole Sabbath theology of the post-exile Jews.  As indicated in the last message, to require man to deny his own needs in order to keep the Sabbath was to pervert the institution…men were to be free from the burdensome restrictions in keeping the day.  Jesus declares man’s freedom from the rabbinic Sabbath with all of its traditions in as much as He is Lord of the Sabbath.  All of this allowed Him to have the authority to do healings and perform other ministry on the Sabbath day, as we have seen.  So all of this is why the next part of the story makes more sense. 

Following the first discussion (Matthew 12:1-8), Jesus now actually goes to their synagogue, the Jews place of worship. This serves to reveal the growing tension between Jesus and Jewish religious establishment. A man is there who has a withered hand, which means that it is dry, lifeless…perhaps paralyzed.  The Pharisees quickly seize upon the situation and ask Jesus if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath?  Jesus’ response is not to assert His own authority in any way, nor to quote some example from the Old Testament, but to point out the inconsistency of their own practice.  The religious leaders are strict in prohibiting the healing of someone with a malady, but not where their own property is concerned.  The irony being that they would make rules to save an animal, but would not waive them in order to save a man…so, I guess we now recognize these folks as the original tree huggers. ;-) 

Jesus serves by healing a man with a withered hand, which is almost incidental to the story behind the story.  But, the command for the man to stretch out his immovable hand illustrates that the healing is connected to the man’s faith…which is not unlike how Jesus handles some other healings.  The Pharisees see the healing as a deliberate challenge to their Sabbath traditions. A single infringement upon the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees would not seem to be sufficient to warrant the reaction that they now display.  But, this second “transgression” taking place in such short order appears to be more than they can bear. So, the Pharisees plot together to consider how it is that they can destroy Jesus.  The Lord, understanding their hearts and their nefarious plotting, withdraws from there.

Ross Cochrane offers this -- yesterday, I got rid of some thorny weeds growing like trees in the back garden. The thorns were now like razor sharp nails and so it was difficult to get to the roots without punctures, scratches and a bad attitude. I knew that if I didn’t get to the roots, they would just grow again so I used the mattock. A mattock is a hand tool similar to a pickaxe, particularly suited for digging. Unfortunately, I am not! It took forever to dig around the roots and pull out the bulbous, deformed hand of the root system with its disfigured fingers reaching out insidiously in all directions. Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) warns us "...Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." There were some poisonous, thorny people that Jesus had to deal with that day in Matthew 12. They were razor sharp in their responses to Jesus and just as destructive. The clawed fingers of their law system were distorted, malformed and particularly difficult to uproot. It is not at all surprising that Jesus uses a man with a deformed hand to illustrate what needed to be done if ever they were to be healed of a deformed heart.  This verse says something about Jesus. He didn’t back away from weeding God’s garden. He meets me on my turf. He confronts me about my legalism in the place where I am more deformed on the inside than this man’s withered hand, in the synagogue of my own making

We have to guard our hearts.  We don’t want to become like the Pharisees, making laws and regulations which bind the hearts and actions of men.  Unfortunately, this practice is still all too alive and well today in many places.  But, we must understand that Jesus comes to set us free from these matters.  Remember the beginning of last week’s message – He does not come to add burdens to our lives and spirits, but to give us rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:28-30, see also 1 John 5:1-4)  This principle of rest should follow times of service, as this is what keeps us fresh, energized and avoiding becoming weary or burned out. We do tend to think that we are invincible, however, and that we can work, work and work some more…but, it can and will catch up to us in physical, mental and emotional distress.  There was a very important purpose for the Sabbath from the very beginning, as the Lord planned it.  And it was intended to be man’s servant, not his master, as the Pharisees had made it.  As I mentioned previously, we need 30 hours in a day to sort everything we have going on, which is all the more reason why we must work at resting.  Granted, we do not keep an actual physical “Sabbath” in the literal sense.  But, in a very real, spiritual sense, we need to make and take time for ourselves, and with our families, not to mention some time for the Lord.

Blessings, Don

Resting His Case

Friends,

Alan Smith offers this -- I heard a story about a young mother with three children. The phone rang one day and a voice on the other end of the phone said, "Honey, it's Mom. I called because I know that you're busy with the kids, and I want to give you some help. I'm going to stop by to clean the house, take care of the baby, and prepare dinner for when the boys get home from school. "I want you to get ready to go to my beautician, I've paid her already, and she's going to give you 'the works,' your appointment is at 1:00. Give George a call at the office and tell him that you'll meet him at Olive Garden for dinner, it's on me..." At that point, the young mother interrupted and said, "George, who is George?"  "Your husband."  She said, "My husband's name is John."  "Oh. Is this 365-3212?"  "No this is 365-3213."  The caller said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I've got the wrong number."  After a pause, the young mother said, "Does this mean that you're not coming over?"  Do you ever feel like you could use a phone call like that? Do you ever find yourself wishing someone would just come along and take care of things for you so that you can have a little rest?  I remember back in the 1970's, there was a big concern that computers and technology would radically change how many hours a week people would work.  In fact, there was testimony given to a Senate sub-committee forecasting that within 20 years, the average American would be working only 22 hours a week.  They said, "The great challenge would be figuring out what to do with all the excess time."  Now here we are, 40 years later, after major advances in technology – and how many of us are wondering what to do with all the excess time on our hands?  Our world has become the world of the Red Queen of Alice in Wonderland, who said, "It takes all the running you can do to stay in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that."

Rest is a theological principle that should lead to a practical principle, but it seems hard to come by.  It is interesting to note that this section of Scripture immediately follows Jesus message from Matthew 11:28-29, which says…"Come to me, all you 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."  When Jesus says, "I will give you rest", I believe that He is talking about more than just heaven.  Keeping the Sabbath was a sacred principle for the Jews under the Old covenant…it was an integral part of the fabric of their culture and religion. As we are probably aware, commandment #4 of the Top Ten was, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8ff)  The theological foundation for this principle concerning “rest” is that God created the heavens and earth in six days…and on the seventh, He “rested.”  So God’s people were to consider the seventh day, Saturday as it would fall on our calendars, as a rest from their labors. God intended for this to be a “spiritual principle” that would be beneficial to His people so that they could be restored.

Yet, by the time of Christ, a couple of millennia down the road, the Sabbath was no longer the spiritual/practical principle that God intended for His people.  It had become representative of the many legal traditions that the Jews were now imposing on themselves and others.  They made what was supposed to be a “spiritual principle” a heavy laden burden of rules and regulations that it was never intended to be.  So, it is from this perspective that Jesus presents His case concerning not only the Sabbath, but the entire Jewish “legal” system of regulations. In fact, as we see, Jesus deliberately violates the Sabbath “traditions” on several occasions…here, Luke 4, Luke 13, John 5 and John 9.  From the time that Jesus spent with the people teaching them from “the Sermon on the Mount” up to now, He was teaching them that mere external laws could never save them or make them holy. True righteousness has to come from the heart!

The Hebrew word – sabat means, “repose” or “rest.”  This explains why Matthew introduces these Sabbath conflicts at this point. (12:1-8) To satisfy your hunger from your neighbor’s field was lawful (Deuteronomy 23:24-25), but to do it on the Sabbath was a breach of the Law…according to the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees.  This would mean having to do work.  Jesus’ response is poignant and powerful.  The consecrated bread was to be eaten only by the priests, yet David and his soldiers at it. If David “broke the law” and was not condemned, the Lord would be guiltless for breaking man’s traditions.  Surely the Son of David has the right to eat His Father’s grain from the field!  The Old Testament priests had to offer a given number of sacrifices on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9-10), and yet were not condemned.  Their service was in obedience to the Law given by God, which suggests that man’s traditions about the Sabbath ran in contradiction even to God’s own law. Finally, the great quote from Hosea 6:6, “I desire compassion and not sacrifice,” reveals Jesus’ heart on this matter. (He also quotes this in Matthew 9:13).  Once again, it is all a matter of the heart. Sabbath law was given to Israel as a mark of her relationship to God (Exodus 20, also 31:13-17, Nehemiah 9:12-15).  But, it was also an act of mercy for both man and beast, to give them needed rest each week.  Any religious law that would be contrary to mercy should be considered with concern and even skepticism – God desires mercy, not sacrifice…love, not strife over traditions and words. We will come back to this later.

Diane Eaton shares this -- As a piano teacher, my job involves training students to work less.  It sounds like a contradiction, but it's not. For example, overworking arm muscles interferes with finger development. The student must "make every effort" to train the arms to relax so that the fingers can work freely and expressively. Unchecked tension causes the music to sound forced, weak, and unsteady. It can eventually cause pain, injury, and even the end of a musical career.  I see a spiritual parallel. Christians are cautioned to "make every effort to enter [Christ's] rest". This is not a passive affair. It takes "every effort" to cease from fruitless striving and enter into Christ's rest. As we come to rest in Him, then He can make beautiful "music" through us.  Concerning the beginning piano student: At his first lesson, he discovers that his fingers are so weak that they may make no sound at all — especially the pinky finger. His reaction is predictable. Instinctively, his arm pushes down on the hand in an attempt to compensate. With such force bearing down on it, it merely collapses on the keys. A little finger cannot develop its potential until the bigger muscles learn to rest. This really does take "every effort" — involving intentional and careful practice.  Do you see yourself as an over-functioning muscle? Are you habitually overworking? I'm not referring to physical work. Perhaps you strain your mind with anxiety and doubt. Perhaps you work too hard trying to prove your love-worthiness, or you are habitually working to absolve your sense of guilt. All these besetting habits deplete your energy and squelch God's Spirit.  Perhaps you have a habit of overcompensating for weaker "muscles": You do what others should learn to do. Perhaps you do the thinking for them, or the worrying. Such efforts merely hinder them from growing into maturity. In the long run, the entire Body of Christ suffers.  Just as for piano students, it takes "every effort" to surrender fruitless habits and to adopt new, effective life habits. Really, it's a joint effort involving support, encouragement, mentoring, faith, prayer, and so forth. This is how we come to function harmoniously — and make beautiful "music" together — displaying God's glory to a fallen humanity.

This is the challenge for each of us…finding ways to rest in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.  Finding ways to work hard at working less from the correct perspective is a challenge, but also a blessing.  So, while we may not keep a “literal” Sabbath rest in the religious sense, we can and should do so from a practical and spiritual perspective, because the original principle is still important as it relates to how we live, move and breathe.

Blessings, Don

Men of Vision -- How This Looks at Church

Friends,

Philosopher Immanuel Kant had a saying, “Always treat a human being as a person, that is, as an end in himself, and not merely as a means to your end. The personality of ourselves we feel very intensely, and we are outraged when others seem to ignore that personality in us, but the personality of others we do not sense so keenly.” This thought, in a nutshell, really describes what is taking place in the passage that we are going to consider today.  Perhaps we can relate? I hope not…but, probably so.  If there is one thing that we humans are aware of, it is our own wants and desires.  And when we juxtapose this against the way of the cross, there is always going to be conflict – do I do what I want, or what Jesus wants. Well, it is interesting to see how Jesus’ disciples respond to Him (Matthew 20:21-28) after His third announcement concerning His death, burial and resurrection. (20:17)  They did not have the advantage of the New Testament, history and hindsight that we do. Jesus’ message does not penetrate their hearts at this time.  The big problem is that the disciples are focused on themselves, their desires, and it hinders their spiritual sight. They need to be refocused on what really matters, and Jesus helps their understanding in this way.

In contrast to Jesus’ announcement of suffering and death, we have the request of James and John…and their mother. Jesus has been speaking of the cross, but they, on the other hand, are more interested in a crown.  What is interesting is that this follows up a similar conversation that has already taken place over in Matthew 18. So, we can see the intensity of this thought on the part of the disciples. This, not so ironically, follows after Jesus twice displaying that the disciples need to be “as little children” in their innocence (Matthew 18, 19).  We do get the impression that the mother of James and John is the real inspiration behind this request, and that it is she who is interested in promoting her sons…she simply wants to be certain that her boys get the best reserved seats in heaven. So, every football dad and soccer mom can take a deep breath…they are not the only ones who do this. :-)

First, let’s notice some commendable features in this event. They do believe in prayer and they dare to believe the promise that Jesus has given them about “sitting on the throne.” (19:28)  But, several things are wrong with their request. First, it is born out of ignorance -- “You do not know what you ask,” is Jesus’ reply. They do not understand that “the path to the throne” is very difficult.  It is important to note that James would be the first of the apostles to be martyred, and John would endure some exceedingly hard days on the Isle of Patmos.  A second problem with their request is their lack of heavenly direction.  They are thinking like the world, just as Peter does in chapter 16.  It seems that James and John, perhaps unwittingly, want to “lord it over” the other disciples, the way that the pagan rulers lorded over their subjects.  I mean, after all…they have been “two of the three chosen to be in the inner circle.” And John understands that he is “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” No doubt, they feel relief that they approach Jesus with this request before Peter is able to do so. In reality, they are selfishly seeking glory for themselves, and not for the Lord. Jesus warns the mother and her sons that “thrones are available to those who are worthy of them.”  What He means is that humility must be the focus of the lives of those who follow Him, and not pride.

And what is the result of this request?  Indignation on the part of the other disciples. Surprise! Not really. Some of them may think – “How could you be so worldly?”…perhaps for others, “Why didn’t I think of it first!” Selfishness only results in dissension and division.  All of this presents Jesus the opportunity to teach a practical lesson in leadership. In His kingdom, we must not follow the example of the world, (in most cases) be like the corporate president or wealthy celebrity…our example is Jesus.  And what did Jesus reveal and display? “It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (vv. 26-28) This is as clear as anything Jesus ever shares.  Jesus came to give His life, therefore we should give our lives in service to Him and to others. In our churches today, there are a lot of people who “want attention”…but, not so many who want to serve.  If there is one thing we can take away from this message it is that the key to greatness is not found in position or power, but in character. We will “sit beside Jesus” by living lives worthy of such a placing.

“I believe it is beneficial to consider what “servant” really means.  "Servant" in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); this is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms. Both words indicate a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master's purchased property. Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told. Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a slave relationship to one's Savior.” (1 Corinthians. 6:19-20)  Paul certainly recognized this, as most of his letters begin with him calling himself “the bondservant…or slave…of the Lord.  “What work does Christ set his servants to do? The way that they serve him, he tells them, is by becoming the slaves of their fellow-servants and being willing to do literally anything, however costly, irksome, or undignified, in order to help them. This is what love means, as he himself showed at the Last Supper when he played the slave's part and washed the disciples' feet. When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, trouble, and substance to giving them all the practical help possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the king expressing itself in care for his servants (Matthew 25: 31-46). Only the Holy Spirit can create in us the kind of love toward our Savior that will overflow in imaginative sympathy and practical helpfulness towards his people.” From James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers,

I have to say I have seen a lot of good things done for the cause of Christ in His churches, especially when The Golden Rule is at work.  Or, as I like to put it – a lot of good can be accomplished for the Lord in the church as long as nobody cares who gets the credit.  Problems only arise when selfishness, power-mongering take place, or in other words, “when someone needs the credit.”  When I hear other preachers and elders say, 80% of the people do 20% of the work (and I have been in such places), it is a truism that plays out in many churches and organizations.  This should not be the case with churches where people are taking the lead in being the servants that the Lord has called them to be.  We are all busy.  But, most of us have the opportunity to prioritize our lives and schedules in such a way that we can serve the Lord and the community. Considering how to be a man (or woman) of vision at church means closing my eyes to myself, submitting myself first to Christ, and then to others.  Let’s consider this principle and make the necessary preparations and arrangements to do just this.  True leadership (servant-hood) does not seek its own, but what is best for the other person…what is best for the body of Christ. This is Jesus’ style.

I want to close with one final story that captures what it is I am trying to share – that famous writer “anonymous” shares this:  Driving down a country road, I came to a very narrow bridge.  In front of the bridge, a sign was posted – “Yield.” Seeing no oncoming cars, I continued across the bridge and on to my destination.  On my way back, I came to the same one-lane bridge, now from the other direction.  To my surprise, I saw another “Yield” sign posted.  Curious, I thought, “I’m sure there was one posted on the other side.”  When I reached the other side of the bridge, I looked back.  Sure enough, yield signs had been placed at both ends of the bridge.  Drivers from both directions were requested to give the right of way.  It is a reasonable and gracious way of preventing a head-on collision.  The same applies in life and relationships…when the Bible commands us to “be in subjection” this is what it means – whether to the Lord, or to one another.

Blessings, Don