Today, we commemorate the landing of man, via Apollo 11, on the surface of the moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong said what is perhaps one of the most memorable quotes of all time: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
But as mankind moves forward through scientific endeavors and technological progress, we still ask the question, Has mankind really improved? Today the rampage in Aurora, Colorado seems to tell us, NOT REALLY.
Let me share the desperation I expressed elsewhere:
In The American Dream Lost, Tom Chatham, a combat veteran and small business owner who grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, has put it this way: “A gun ban will not work because I own a gun and will use it to enforce my right to keep it.” Other proponents of gun ownership may not defend “their right” that forcibly, nevertheless they, too, probably believe that owning a gun (or guns) is part of being American.
Regardless of how one uses the statistics (either for or against gun control), there is obviously something wrong with how some people use this lethal weapon. We may think that education helps, but the Dark Knight shooting suspect was a PhD student. Those of us who are religious might say faith in God is the answer, but some of the most vicious crimes were committed in the name of religion.
Man, Oh man (and woman, too)! What’s wrong with you?
“Oh, no, you think to yourself, I just broke the third Commandment and used the Lord’s name in vain!” -Amanda, in Winds_of_Change
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” -Exodus 20:7 KJV
This message was aired in Taglish (Tagalog/Engish) over…
For some time now I’ve been wondering about whether or not the popular interpretation of the third commandment is accurate. The reason why I doubt the accuracy of the common interpretation is because of the way the commandment is being applied: shallowly.
How often have we heard people say to not curse or swear because it violates the third commandment? But is that all to it?
I am not saying that it’s OK to use profanity. Far from it! In fact, I feel embarrass if someone would, in his or her unguarded moment would utter expletives. This is especially so when that person is someone I know personally.
Perhaps people have been focusing on cursing or swearing as the violation of “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain…” not only because it is obviously bad or disgusting, but also because it is often committed.
There may be other acts that are also violations of the third commandment but they may have been ignored perhaps because they appear to be OK. This is especially so when such violation is camouflaged in the practice of piety.
I think the way some people are using the name of God in prayer is also a violation of the commandment. I’ve heard people, including pastors, pray in a way that the Lord’s name is misused. The pray may go like this:
Father God, Jesus, we bless your name…Father God. We praise you, Lord… Father God. We adore you… Father God. We come to you in the name of Jesus… Father God. We pray, Lord, for our ministry, Father Gdo. Bring more souls to your kingdom, Lord…Father God. Yes, Lord… Father God… in Jesus name, amen and amen!
This kind of praying just drives me nuts! We don’t use each other’s names as many times when we’re talking to each other, so why use the Lord’s name as filler when talking to him? (And two “amens”? Why? One is not enough?)
The reason why I am pointing these things out is to show that there may be other and perhaps less obvious ways that people use the name of the Lord in vain. But I must also confess that I have an ulterior motive for doing so, and that is to make us think that perhaps the reason why we have not really truly grasped the meaning of the third commandment is because we quickly jump into the application of the commandment when we need to understand what it is really all about in the first place.
To do that, it is necessary that we need to look at the third commandment within the context of Israel’s Exodus experience, as well as in view of what the New Testament and our Lord Jesus have to say about the commandments, including the third commandment, of course.
The Context of the Exodus
We have to bear in mind that the giving of the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, does not begin immediately with dos and don’ts. Rather, it begins with a reminder that the Lord that issues these commands is the one that “have brought (Israel) out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
It is, therefore, important that we look at the Ten Commandments as proceeding from the gracious act of God and, as a result of it, the freedom of Israel.
In other words, because of what God has done, Israel is now free to worship the Lord their God, a God that has given them a new identity: as a people belonging to the Lord and each other. It is, therefore, not surprising that the first four of the Ten Commandments have to do with Israel’s relationship with God and the rest have to do with their relationship with one another!
It seems obvious then that the Commandments are given to nourish these relationships. And as far as the third commandment is concerned, it is given so that the “saved” people of Israel might respond to the great “I am,” the LORD their God, who saved them from slavery in the land of Egypt. How? Among other things, by not using God’s name in vain.
The name of the Lord is too holy to utter that even today some Jews avoid speaking it. Obviously, to utter God’s name in vain is even a worse thing to do. But a name in the ancient world functions more than it does today—it tells more about the one that bears the name.
In the context of the Exodus, the Lord was clearly shown as a God who was superior to all the gods of Egypt. The Lord was the almighty God that saved Israel. Thus the Lord deserves worship and honor from those who have been saved. Vain use of the Lord’s name is therefore absolutely inappropriate.
The Lenses of New Testament and the Words of Jesus
That obeying the commandments, or whatever it is that believers need to do, should be done in response to the saving act of a gracious God is made even clearer in the New Testament. In Ephesians 2, after declaring, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Apostle Paul goes on to say, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (v.10).
The saved ones take on a new identity and, as a people “created in Christ Jesus,” they are expected to behave in a way that expresses that identity. If one identifies himself or herself as a believer in Jesus, then that person should live in a way that expresses such faith or relationship with Jesus, or that he or she is truly “in Jesus” (which, by the way, what we should have in mind when we end our prayer with “in Jesus’ name,” and not just think of it as some magical formula).
So rather than just a commandment that is there to discourage people from cursing or swearing or other ways of literally using the Lord’s name in vain, the third commandment behooves us to take a deeper look at our relationship with the Lord—to ask the question whether we have truly experienced the saving act of our gracious Lord who died on the cross for our sake… whether or not we are truly in Jesus, a name which means, “the Lord is salvation.”
Jesus himself warns against faking it:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’will enter thekingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV).
On the other hand, those that have been truly saved have their identity planted securely in Christ. In an authentic way, they respond to his grace as they live out the life of a people who have been saved and set free from the bondage of sin and, by doing so, honor the Lord’s name.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
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We usually talk about Jesus touching us, but this Sunday’s Gospel text talks about a woman touching Jesus.
Whatever it is that you and I are suffering from, the story of this unnamed woman appears to be a source of hope. She touches Jesus. And she gets well. The question we may ask is, Are we going to have the same positive result if we come to Jesus and, in our own way, touch him? That, I think, is a good thing to find out.
Let’s begin by taking a closer look at the physical condition of this woman. According to the narrative, she “had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.” Whatever the true nature of her illness was, the doctors did not help. In fact, they made her condition worse. In other words, they caused her condition to be untreatable, a hopeless case.
What would you do if you are suffering greatly and you’ve been in pain for a long time? Some think it doesn’t make sense to prolong the suffering, and so the best alternative is to end it. But how? End life. I think it isn’t improbable to imagine that this woman thought of that solution as well.
But today is not the day for that. Today is her lucky day! She encounters Jesus!
But perhaps we think of her encounter with Jesus as divinely arranged. But even if we do, I don’t think we should discount the part she plays in her healing. So, OK, if it would make us feel better, let’s say it’s a “blessed” day for her.
She heard about Jesus
It’s a blessed day for this woman because today Jesus is in the area, and she hears about him.
However, it may be too late for her. Jesus is going somewhere to help someone else, the daughter of Jairus, a leader in the synagogue and, apparently, a respectable man.
Does Jairus’ girl deserve it more than her? Perhaps that’s how she feels because with the blood gushing out of her body, she is unclean and, according to the “purity code,” anybody who simply brushes against her is rendered unclean as well.
So it looks like she has no chance at all. But just as many of us would probably give up, she does the unthinkable! She touches Jesus’ cloak!
“Who touched me?”
Why does she do that forbidden thing and, maybe, lose her chance of getting a proper appointment with Jesus? I think that, for her, it was now or never! Either she does it now or she just suffers forever, if not, and perhaps better, just end it all. Besides, I think that she thinks she has already lost everything, and now she really has nothing more to lose!
At the very core, however, her reason for doing what she does is neither desperation nor that she has nothing to lose, but because she thinks, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” She believes touching Jesus could heal her.
So she touches Jesus!
Immediately her bleeding stops and she feels in her body that she is freed from her suffering.
Wow!
But then the dreaded question comes like a deadly arrow: “Who touched me?”
The woman becomes apprehensive.
It probably helps that she is given the chance to think about what to say as the disciples try to brush away Jesus’ seemingly unreasonable question. And it may be that the little window that gives her the opportunity to think properly has shed ample light on her thoughts so that she’s able to say the right thing. She falls at Jesus’ feet and, “trembling with fear,” tells him the whole truth.
Perhaps part of her thought process is this: Since I’m healed then perhaps Jesus doesn’t really mind that I touched him. And perhaps I wouldn’t be charged for contaminating others because now I am clean.Even if so, that is just her thoughts. Still, she and the people need to hear Jesus’ judgment.
I could imagine everybody standing motionless and quiet as they wait for what Jesus would say. The moment of truth has come. Jesus speaks the word.
“Your faith has healed you”
The woman is right! The words that came out of the mouth of Jesus are not words of condemnation but commendation. Jesus praises her for her faith and in the midst of an astounded crowd declares, “Be freed from your suffering”!
Obviously, faith is an important ingredient in our healing, whatever it is that we suffer from. But is it merely a formula that goes: have Jesus in your life and have faith in him, and then you will be healed? It appears to be that way if we base it solely on the story of this unnamed woman. But the thing is, not all stories in the Bible end like that, not all stories end like a fairy tale.
The Apostle Paul, for example, had faith in the Lord and he prayed that the “thorn in his flesh,” whatever it was, might be taken away from him. But the Lord did not grant his request because, according to the Lord, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
The Lord Jesus, too, did not get what he desired. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that he might not go through suffering and death:“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me…” (Mark 14:36). But we know that Jesus was not spared—he did suffer and die.
So is this story of the unnamed woman really a source of hope for us, especially those of us who are suffering greatly?
It appears that, ultimately and despite our faith, it is all up to the Lord. But that should not get us discouraged. Why? Because if we look at the number of people in the Bible the Lord heals because of their faith, that number is much greater than those whose requests were denied! In fact, the number of “unanswered” (or “waitlisted,” if there is such a thing) prayers is negligible! And that should encourage us.
How do we know if the Lord will grant our request? Really, we don’t. But unless we, through faith, touch him, how would we know if he will?
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So…
35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
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I’m going to tell you a secret about Ruth, my wife. Don’t worry, I have her permission and she doesn’t mind me telling it. Besides, she’s not really embarrassed by it. Just a bit!
Whenever we go out shopping, Ruth has the tendency to go ahead, as if she always knows where she is going. This is particularly true when she’s done shopping and we’d head for the car. She would go ahead, but toward the wrong direction! Then I’d throw the question, “Where are you going?” She would then laugh at herself and let me go ahead!
Isn’t that like all of us? Don’t we all think we know where we are going, or know what to do and that’s why we like to take charge? Uh-huh? Don’t you worry, you’re not alone. In fact, the disciples who literally walked with Jesus were no better!
“Let us go across to the other side”
One day Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” That sounds like just a nice boat ride until we read not just what actually happens next or realize the worrisome prospects on the other side of the sea, which is really a lake. Let’s take the second one first.
The prospects on “the other side”
The thought of going “across to the other side” must have sent a chilling message to the disciples. For these “all-Jew boys” (as in all-American boys) to leave their crowd—fellow Jews—and go to the territory of the other crowd, namely, the “pork-eating pigs” or Gentiles, was a troublesome prospect!
With the advantage of hindsight, we can fast-forward and jump to chapter 5 and there find out what actually happened on the other side of the lake. Jesus and his disciples came to “the country of the Gerasenes.” That Jesus simply “stepped out of the boat” appears as if coming to this foreign territory was no sweat. In reality, however, the shore on which they landed was no vacation beach! They faced a steep slope that descended swiftly almost into the water and which they had to negotiate before they can get to the top of this country on a plateau! And, as if that was not enough, the city was surrounded entirely by towering walls and they’d be lucky if they could get their passports stamped with visa at the gate! But we’re really going ahead of, indeed way beyond, the story. Let’s see what happened as Jesus, and his disciples, stepped out of the boat.
Before they could even shake the sticking sand off their wet feet, “immediately” a demon-possessed man came out of the tombs and met Jesus. This man who lived in the tombs was possessed by some nasty demon that made him howl like a werewolf and injure himself with stones. When Jesus asked for his name, he said “Legion” because, according to him, they were many. If one demon was already too much to deal with, how much more if there was 3,000 to 6,000 of them?
A very interesting thing happened in this encounter with the demon-possessed man. The demon in the man recognized Jesus in a way that the disciples at first did not: “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him” (v. 6) and acknowledged Jesus as “Son of the Most High God” (v. 7). Legion and his army of demons acknowledged Jesus as, in contrast to the disciples, the one in charge!
Legion begged Jesus not to send them out of the country but instead to send them to the herd of swine. For some reason, that I don’t understand, Jesus “gave them permission” (v. 13). There must have been a weird rushing of the wind as the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the oinks and squeals of the herd of about two thousand pigs that rushed down the steep bank into the sea must have been deafening before they finally went down and drowned!
With this scary experience that made every hair of the disciples stand on end, can they now say they’re in charge? I’m not surprised that we do not hear any word from them again! Who fulfilled this mission? Not one of them did anything. In fact they were not able to enter the town because the townsfolk who heard about what Jesus had done were so afraid that they begged him to leave their neighborhood, and he granted their request. So who evangelized the country? Well, Jesus did. But who helped Jesus execute the mission in Gerasenes?
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed (vs. 18-20).
This gentile and ex-demoniac who was born-again in a very dramatic and powerful way, preached Jesus in the 10 cities of the region! So it’s quite obvious that Jesus is in charge. As far as the Gospel of Mark is concerned, apart from Jesus, this gentile, not Jew, became the first evangelist! But, as in a movie, let’s go back to the scene we left off earlier.
The disciples: the experts at sea
Let’s pick up where we started: As I said, the thought of going “across to the other side” must have sent a chilling message to the disciples. But these men, who perhaps were no different from those foul-talking macho men in the reality TV show, “Deadliest Catch,” seemed to have overcome their fear because the mode of transportation happened to be a boat, and the toughest guys among them were fishermen!
So although it was Jesus who was taking them along to his mission, ““Let us go across to the other side,” his lake-rated followers appear to want to take charge, execute, the plan and, perhaps, take this Carpenter’s son for the ride of his life!
That’s why, I think, they actually took charge by takingJesus, “just as he was” (a mere man? a rabbi?) in theirboat, instead of letting Jesus take them. And that’s why, I think, to some extent, they felt they owned Jesus because he was in their boat, while those losers in otherboats did not, although their boats were also with Jesus! Aren’t the disciples like some Christian groups today?
How did Jesus respond to the attitude of these presumptuous men? Well, he let them take charge and went to sleep! I could almost hear him say, OK guys, you think you can take charge? Go ahead, make my day—I’m going to sleep!So sleep Jesus did. But Jesus’ sleep was suddenly interrupted. He was awakened by these supposed-to-be macho men, yelling like terrified girl scouts and waking him up!
Why wake Jesus up? Weren’t they in charge? But they yelled, Rabbi, get up! Don’t you care that our boat is being swamped by this son-of-a-storm? Don’t you care that we’re drowning? They did not say those exact words, of course, but what they said was probably close to that. So Jesus woke up and calmly but authoritatively rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The “wind ceased, and there was a dead calm” (v. 38).
Then Jesus said something revealing: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” What were they afraid of? The storm? Perhaps some of them were. Maybe the ex-white collar guys among them were scared of the storm. But some of them were tough fishermen who probably experienced a wicked storm like that one, perhaps many times. So what were these tough guys really afraid of? Guys who want to look tough may deny they’re afraid of anything but they, too, get afraid! But more than the storm, I believe these “tough” guys were afraid of this man who slept in their boat. Why? Because by now they realized that he was not just an ordinary man. Thus, we read that “they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”
Indeed, who is Jesus? Well, if they opened their ears wider earlier, they could haveheard, in a deeper sense of the word, that the Prof was not just an ordinary teacher. He was, and is the Lord of all, including of nature, and he’s the one in charge. Obviously, they needed the raging sea to rock their boat and let them see Jesus as the Lord of the storm! And they also needed the scare of their lives when they got across the lake and met Legion, the lord of demons, to make them see Jesus as Lord of lords! Jesus was definitely in charge!
Who’s in charge now?
In applying this passage, the boat has been used as an image of the Church, and I think that’s a good way to do that. The Church, too, has been called to go “across to the other side.” And for us to effectively participate in the work of Jesus, we need to remind ourselves that we’re not the ones in charge. Jesus is!
So whenever we’re tempted to think that we’re in charge of the boat or a church or in accomplishing the mission of Jesus, well, think again! Whenever we’re tempted to think that we should be in charge because we are the experts, that we have lots of experience or that we’ve “been there, done that,” think again. If we’re tempted to think that we can be in charge because we have the faith to believe that we can do the impossible, think again. The disciple’s faith, or lack of it, had nothing to do with the calming of storm. Jesus, the gracious Lord, did it alone.
We may be tough enough to face a storm, but can we survive it without Jesus? We may be tough enough to face our own demons, but if Jesus is not in charge, do we have the power beat demons or their manifestations go away? Without Jesus, can we set people free? Obviously the answer is no!
So, again, if we’re tempted to think that any of us is in charge of the Church or its mission, well, think again. Even better, don’t even think about it! Yes, we may be called to lead but let’s not forget that ultimately Jesus is the Leader. Jesus is the one in charge and he’s is the one taking us in “his boat” and to the other side, wherever and whatever that might be.
And with Jesus in charge, he’ll gladly let us participate; perhaps as leaders or perhaps, sometimes, as mere spectators, but nevertheless we’ll be with Jesus, the one in charge. The experience may be a roller-coaster, but with Jesus in charge, we’ll be on top of everything and, like the demon-possessed man in Gerasenes, Jesus we’ll change us and use us to effectively proclaim the Good News and help fulfill Jesus’, and the Church’s, mission in the world!
Just as it was by his grace that the Lord saved the disciples from the storm and took them safely across the lake and back, so it is by the amazing grace of God that we’ve been saved; it is also by the same grace that the Lord continues to save us from our troubles as we participate in his mission; and it is by the same grace that the Lord will lead us to our eternal home. Therefore, it just makes a lot of sense if we let the Lord be in charge!
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family[a]heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
It’s summer break! For a lot of folks, it’s time for a nice vacation.
Suppose you are going on a road trip and you come to a fork and have to decide whether to go on a nice and safe asphalted road, or a treacherous and dangerous dirt road along a deep canyon. Which road would you take?
If you drive a 4×4 and you love the thrill of going off the beaten path, you’d probably take the road least travelled. But for most people, nice and safe is the choice. Why? Because it’s nice and safe!
How about the Christian journey? Is it nice and safe? Well, just based on a cursory reading of our Scripture text we can already say, not always. Walking with Jesus is beautiful and wonderful, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t mean the road is always nice and safe. Truth must be told about what else is out there as far as following Jesus, the way, is concerned.
So, indeed, following Jesus is a risky business. But I wonder if such thought crosses the average believer’s mind. What do people really think about following Jesus, and why do they follow him? Well, I’d be surprised if someone would say I follow Jesus because I love the risk involved in it. More likely, one who feels grateful to Jesus because I’mgoing to heaven when I die might say, I follow the Lord because he saved me. Or, if a person’s obsession revolves around living Your Best Life Now, that individual might say, I follow the Lord because he blesses me and helps me become successful.
Those may be innocent answers, but don’t they reveal the human tendency to welcome only what is pleasant? I think so.
If we say we follow Jesus who suffered and died for all, isn’t it reasonable to assume then that the path of suffering and death is, at least, a part of the journey we take? But it seems to me that many believers don’t want even a tiny bit of that bad stuff. Some may even regard it as from the devil because if you suffer, something must be wrong with you, or you must have done something bad.
Can we put the blame on believers for such flawed thoughts? Not entirely. I think that churches in general may have to take the bulk of the blame. Why? Because they appear to be giving people the impression that following Jesus is a 100% safe and nice experience. How? In the way they entice people with all kinds of benefits—or “comps” as we call them in Vegas—to get them to become members.
Who can resist a church that provides babysitting, summer programs for the youth, and an endless list of activities for people of all ages? Who can ignore a church that has a “praise and worship” band that can put some professional rock bands to shame? Who would not join a church that has a celebrity preacher who can make you laugh, or cry, as well as lift your spirit and make you feel better after another boring or stressful week at your workplace?
But what’s wrong with those? People work hard to earn a living and they give, some very generously, to the church. Don’t these people deserve to be pampered? Well, some churches think they deserve pampering, and more. I guess that’s why some churches have brought in Starbucks and it’s right in the lobby of the church building! And here’s what’s really cool: they may offer free coffee to help you get your “unsaved” friends to church, too! Isn’t that nice? Indeed, very nice.
So what’s wrong with that? There appears to be nothing wrong with that until we see that churches today are becoming more like secular companies in that the so-called bottom line (=$$$) has become the main concern. And is there a better way to secure cash flow than to plan a strategy that includes making church people very happy and highly satisfied, so that they’d continue coming to and giving toward the support of the church?
So although some big-budget churches may have “the lost” or evangelism in mind, yet at the forefront it is likely that getting people, especially a lot of people, to become members that occupies the mind because these can greatly help in meeting the ever-increasing budget. And being aware that there are other big churches with mega-million budgets, they fiercely compete and do everything to keep people satisfied to make them stay in their fold. So the name of the game becomes What you can do I can do better!
How would you feel if you are a small church caught between these Goliath churches competing with each other? You’d probably feel like a sari-sari store (a small neighborhood store) amongst supermarkets and megamalls; and you feel very bad because these superstores don’t really care about what happens to you!
The trendiest and most effective ways of doing church today do not appear dangerous until we realize that these fashionable ways of doing church have actually made churches like business establishments. Like their secular counterparts, some churches thrive by catering to the needs—sometimes, the whims—of satisfied customers!
Aren’t churches then over-spoiling people? And don’t this pampering lead to an outcome which is really not good for their spiritual health? Is this the Church that Jesus, who sacrificed his life, envisioned? Is the pampered believer the picture Jesus had of his follower? Clearly no!
Jesus did not call people to become customers or consumers;2 rather he called them to become his followers! And, again, following Jesus is a risky business. It may surprise some, especially those that may be there just for the joy ride, to find that although the journey with Jesus can make one happy, the way can actually be bumpy. How bumpy? Uncomfortably bumpy! And the Jesus we say we follow could, at closer look, be seen as a dangerous man with dangerous ideas!
Who in his right mind would follow someone whose own family thinks he’s “out of his mind”? Isn’t it crazy for someone to follow someone crazy? Yet we are called to follow this “crazy” man! And who would follow a man “Bible experts” said was possessed, not just by an ordinary evil spirit, but by Beelzebul, the prince of demons himself! Now that’s pretty scary!
So why should we follow this Jesus? To answer that question, I think it would help if we first understand why Jesus’ accusers lodged such serious accusations against him.
“He is out of his mind.”
The narrative in the Gospel of Mark doesn’t say why Jesus’ family was upset with him. But a little research on the social structure in Palestine at the time of Jesus1 would yield some important information that would help us understand.
In Jesus’ time, and under the Roman rule, the Jewish people had a very tough time. For many, the way to survive was to stick with one’s family, especially if it had connections. If, for example, a family had a rich patron or it is friends with another family that had access to some businesses, like fishing, then that family had a very good chance of surviving. It may even thrive.
Evidently, a crazy thing that one could do was to get out of the security of that family. It was not only suicidal but also shameful in a society that operated on the foundational honor/shame value. So because Jesus did something that went against the norm, he put himself and his family to shame.
This is something we, Filipinos, understand very well because our culture puts a similar, if not the same, value on dangal and hiya (honor and shame). When a child is an honor student, for example, the accomplishment gives honor to the whole family. Thus the bumper sticker on the family car: “My child is an honor student.” And we don’t seem mind (we laugh) if somebody’s car has got a sticker that reads, “My Labrador is smarter than your honor student child.”
On the other hand, if a member of the family does something shameful we say, Nakakahiya! (“It’s embarrassing!”). And we say it in a way that only we truly understand the whole import of the word. In our culture, one would rather be slapped than put to shame: “Sampalin mo na lang ako… huwag mo lang akong ipahiya” (I’d rather that you slap me than put me to shame!).
So now we understand why Jesus’ family thought he was crazy. And now we know that the reason why they tried to control him (“take charge of him”) was to prevent further embarrassment.
But Jesus wouldn’t stop! Jesus called people to follow him! And what do you think people would think of those who follow someone crazy? They, too, must be crazy! Like leader, like follower.
Why did Jesus do such a thing? Why embarrass himself and his family and risk his and the reputation of those that followed him? Why was he willing to suffer hardship? And why involve others by asking them to follow him?
Aside from the quick and easy answer that Christians often give—It is God’s will—the reason is because to stick with one’s family was to maintain the status quo, which was not good. Why? Because although the existing condition may have enabled people to survive, but to merely survive was, and is, not good enough.
The state of affairs may have been good for the ruling elite, including the Pharisees and teachers of the law—because they reaped the benefits of an oppressive system—but it was definitely not good for the majority of people. These people were supposed to be living in a “land flowing with milk and honey” and yet were dirt poor!
That’s why Jesus left his family. And that’s why the disciples followed suit. The idea was subversive—so much so that it put the life of anyone who subscribed to it at risk. But this dangerous idea was irresistibly attractive. Despite the risk, the disciples decided to follow Jesus!
Today, we, too, follow Jesus because this crazy man was not crazy after all! He was “God with us” who was willing to give up everything to do God’s will, which is not just some abstract idea that we don’t have to understand and, therefore, have an excuse not to do. God’s will springs from the very heart of God whose love has been shown in a very down-to-earth way. How? By giving God’s only begotten Son, Jesus, who became human and who suffered and died on the cross to save humankind.
“He is possessed by Beelzebul!”
If Jesus’ family thought Jesus was “out of his mind,” the teachers of the law thought he was worse than that. Not content with just putting himself and his family to shame but also his disciples and their families, perhaps they thought that Jesus deserved to be called worse than insane. So they cast a more dangerous and scary picture of him: “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
Obviously they saw him or heard about him exorcising folks that had some malignant spirits. Did he do it on a Sabbath? Most likely! At the beginning of Mark 3 the opponents of Jesus saw him as a law-breaker. He “violated” the Sabbath, the day of rest, by “working.” How? He healed a man! The Pharisees and the Herodians thought it was a crime that deserved death. So they sought to kill Jesus!
The teachers of the law worked for the most powerful people in the society, perhaps indirectly. So I guess the teachers of the law had a good-paying job that enabled them to live a comfortable lifestyle. The ruling elite in Jerusalem must have seen Jesus as a threat to them and their politics. So perhaps the teachers of the law “who came down from Jerusalem” felt pressured to come up with, at least, an assessment of Jesus that would put him out of business.
So the teachers of the law announced that Jesus was “possessed by Beelzebul!” If they could not eliminate or kill Jesus, at least they could try to make him look scary so people don’t listen to him or, worse, follow him!
But could the accusation the teachers of the law put out there in the court of public opinion stand? Maybe it could—that is, if Jesus would remain silent. But like a good defense lawyer, Jesus puts his accusers to shame by showing how ridiculously fallacious and malicious their statement against him was. His parabolic defense (vs. 23-29) is so good that I have to quote the whole thing here:
How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.
To say that Jesus drove out demons by the power of Beelzebul does not make sense. Satan is clearly not the type that would put Satan out of business. He may be the devil, but he’s no fool! He’s probably the worst “tenant” one can ever have because he fiercely resists eviction. And to to say that Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul was to say that the Spirit of the living God that was in him was a demon. Now that’s tantamount to blasphemy, a grievous sin that, according to Jesus, “will never be forgiven”!
To sum up this theological, spiritual and, yes, political battle between Jesus and the teachers of the law, let’s imagine these heated arguments happening in a court of law:
The prosecution severely persecutes Jesus in a way that he looks not just as an insane person (which is already bad; although today insanity can be a good defense), but as an evil person who is a danger to the society and, therefore, needs to be put away, for good. It may appear that Jesus is damned. But Jesus immediately rises from his seat and eloquently and intelligently defends himself. And when he’s done talking, there is a great hush as the teachers of the law’s faces blush. Soon after Jesus debunks the argument of the dull, the judge pronounces a mistrial!
The trial is over. Or is it? As the teachers of the law put Jesus on trial, it’s now the teachers of the law’s turn to be put on trial.
The teachers of the law: narrow and shallow
The teachers of the law were narrow and shallow. The teachers of the law appear to be consistent in their mindless ramblings that some people seemed to no longer pay attention to them. That’s why when Jesus appeared and began to teach, the people noticed the stark difference. According to the Gospel of Mark, the people “were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law” (2:22).
The teachings of the teachers of the law had no weight—they had no grip on people. Why? Because they did not make sense! An area in which the teachers of the law are shown to lack common sense is in their interpretation and application of the law, specifically the Sabbath law:
One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in the synagogue where a man with shriveled hand was in attendance. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees “were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath” (see Luke 6:1-11). But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, said to the man, “’Get up and stand in front of everyone.’ So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?’” (vs. 8b-9).
Nobody, including the teachers of the law and the Pharisees said anything. Why. They were trapped: if they answered, either way, they’d lose! So the best thing they could do at that point was to remain silent. So far, that was their only smart move.
But when Jesus healed the man, their being irrational got the better of them! They “were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus” (v. 11). So what’s new? Today there are still some religious people who think and act like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. If they cannot win an argument, they resort to malicious tactics, even violence, to try to destroy their opponent. Here’s what some pea-brained and hothead people might say when they are at their wit’s end: Idaan na lang natin ‘to sa suntukan! (Let’s just settle this through a fist fight!).
Why were the teachers of the law so slow? One possible reason is because they were more concerned about how they looked than how they talked. How did we come up with that idea? Well, according to Jesus, “They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets” (12:38-39). So, perhaps to look really good, they spent more time choosing wardrobes than choosing words.
We may despise them but they’re really not different from us—preachers—today. It might be embarrassing but we, too, can spend more time than necessary trying to look cool. How? Perhaps by spending too much time shopping for that perfect sits-below-the-waist pair of blue jeans and printed shirt, or the high and mighty looking robe and fancy stole. Some of us could actually spend more time trying to look good than studying the Word.
Ever wondered why some people would wear a sweater on a hellish day in summer, or a scanty pair of shorts and sleeveless shirt in the dead of winter? You got it! The trouble is not with the skin; the trouble is with the brain!
The teachers of the law had the same trouble. But their brains were not that useless. They used them well to exploit and fool, especially the weak, with their show of religiosity. This is what Jesus said about them: “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely” (Mark 12:40).
Do you think there are still teachers like the teachers of the law today? You bet! Are there teachings today about the Bible that don’t make sense? Oh, yes! The problem with many believers today is that if the teacher sounds good, they think it’s good! What they don’t realize is that what sounds good might really be “bizarre food,” that is, unsound teaching!
Listening well and examining Scriptures is not as simple as it may sound. People need to have the basic skills in Bible interpretation. But there are at least a couple of problems. One, people have been too dependent on Bible teachers and preachers that whatever these “authorities” would say, they would just nod their heads or say their loud amen, especially so if the preacher is loud and dramatic and knows that making people laugh or cry can do the trick!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really against loud and emotional preaching. Sometimes, I get loud and emotional, too! What I can’t stand is brainless teaching! But the problem is how do we know if the teaching does not make sense? Simple! Let’s not let only the heart to rule, but also our mind along with the Bible!
Two, the churches’ educational program appears to be in need of repair. The problem does not only lie in the way people listen to teachings, but also in the materials available to them, especially Sunday school materials. I wonder how these so-called “Christian materials” became also “born again”!
I was new in Las Vegas when an established church that shared their facility with our small congregation, asked me to teach Sunday school for their young couples. I gladly said yes. I was handed a Sunday school material to use. I used it, but only as a guide. My class grew, really big, and I was ecstatic!
After a few Sundays, the pastor again came to me. But it was not to congratulate me or my growing class. He came to tell me that I was not going to teach Sunday school anymore. He did not say why, but I think I knew why—I did not really teach all the contents of that Sunday school material. But why didn’t I?
My answer to that question is a question: Suppose Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was to teach swimming lessons, would he use a swimming manual written by someone else? He might look at some manual but I doubt if he’d use it to give them a lecture when they’re in the pool! Why not? Because he’s the expert!
That may sound arrogant but my intention is not to boast. I was actually teaching young couples how to interpret the Bible, especially because there were verses that were used incorrectly (really, abused). What I did, to use a saying that is trite but true, was not just giving them fish, but teaching them how to fish! And I guess they appreciated it, and that’s why, I assume, the news spread and our class grew!
So, what now?
In light of Jesus’ struggle with his own family and the teachers of the law, what do we learn and what must we do?
Jesus did not set out just by himself. He called his disciples to follow him. The reason was because leaving one’s family was the first step to forming a new family, the family of God. Those that left their families declared their independence from an oppressive system and placed their trust in Jesus who formed them into a caring and sharing community. In this new community, they’d work together to help meet everybody’s needs and this community will serve a as the model in their attempt to change the world for the better.
Jesus and his disciples broke away from a system that favored only the elite and some well-connected families. In place, Jesus formed the family of God made up of the people who would do God’s will and whom he considers his new brothers, sisters and mothers! The new family, which we now call the Church, would include and benefit everybody, especially the poor and less privileged.
Was the vision of Jesus realized? To some extent, it was! In Acts 2 we read, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (vs. 44-45).
But that was then, we might say. The world has changed and we now live in a different world. True. But do you really think that Jesus has changed his vision of the Church—that since we now live in a different world the Church does not have to have the same characteristics and values?
I, too, believe that as the world changes so must the Church, if it has to function effectively in the world. However, a church must have the same core values that it had in the beginning, or else it can no longer be called church. Just as you cannot call an object that looks like a car a car if it doesn’t have the basic components of a car—like the engine that makes it run—so, I think, you cannot call an organization a church if it does not have the basic properties that makes it a church!
In a make-believe car, kids may play in it and may use their voices to creatively produce a car engine’s sound but it still is not the real thing! So, if a church has all the conveniences it can offer to its members, but it does not really seek the welfare of the people, especially the poor, and does not do anything to fight evil in all its forms, including structural evil, can we really call it a church?
Since the Church is composed of people who follow Jesus, those that follow him must follow him in a way that the core values of the community Jesus envisioned continue to serve as the guiding principles for how it operates in the world. And one of these principles is love.
Jesus left his family not because he loved them less. He left his family because he loved not just them but the whole world! In seeking the greater good, Jesus was willing to suffer shame and lose whatever he had. So if we call ourselves followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we then assume that you and I must be like him or, at least, somehow resemble him in his selflessness? I think so!
To change the world the Church, the agent of change, needs to be transformed first. And transformation of the Church to one that approximates the biblical model can only take place through a proper understanding and appropriation of God’s Word. Wrong theology leads to wrong ways of doing things.
So is the Church properly taught? Do believers today know their Bibles? These questions bring to mind a group of believers in the Book of Acts: the Bereans. The Bereans knew their Bible and they were smart. Here’s why. Although the Bereans “received the message with great eagerness” they still “examined the Scriptures every day” to find out for themselves if what the preacher said was true. Yes, they examined the preacher’s words against Scriptures even if that preacher was the Apostle Paul (Acts 17:11)!
Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the U.S. side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, June 15, 2012. Mark Blinch / Reuters
Be Like a Daredevil
I know that this can be extremely overwhelming. But for the Church of Jesus Christ to be the agent of change, we’ve got to do something different and right. We should not be content with just business as usual. Jesus changed the world because, despite what people might do to him, he was willing to make it happen. The disciples put their lives at risk as well when they began to follow Jesus and committed themselves to him and his vision.
To follow Jesus is to live dangerously because it involves loving people, including those that are not like us. If we truly care, we must be willing to take the risk of loving others despite the possibility that the same people we care about might, for example, criticize us for our theology, ostracize us for our methodology, label us liberals for our “heresies,” or, for our “dangerous” ideas, call us crazies!
The world may crucify us for following Jesus. But even if it does, that won’t be the end of us. For as Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19b). Perhaps we should take those words of Jesus not just literally. The reason is because the sweetness of such life that has been promised to us for the future can, in the here and now, let us already enjoy life despite the fact that the path we tread may be lined with peril and strife.
But we couldn’t be too pessimistic about the world. Very recently, daredevil Nik Wallenda walked the high-wire walk above the thundering waters of the Niagara Falls and across the U.S. and Canadian border. When a Canadian customs agent asked about what his purpose was for his “trip,” he said, “To inspire people all over the world.” And inspire them he did!
There might have been some jealous guys that wanted Wallenda to fall and fail, but as expressed through their cheers, spectators really wished him well. And because he was determined to walk across, he disciplined and trained himself to get focused. As a result, he gave the world a spectacle that made us all feel wonderful!
As Wallenda inspired the world, I believe we, too, can. Therefore, with the power of God in Christ given to us through the Holy Spirit, let us follow Jesus and walk the dangerous walk. And as we do, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV 1984).
Once again, let us walk the dangerous walk and let us fix your eyes on Jesus for, who knows, the world might just be moved!
2“Spiritual consumerism is clearly one reason the megachurch attracts so many—and one reason many wonder what type of faith people are being discipled into.” Mega-mirror: Megachurches are not the answer or the problem. A Christianity Today editorial [ posted 8/6/2009 8:41AM ]
Despite the wear and tear that come as a result of use (or overuse?) of the expression “born again,” I doubt if this biblical concept is well understood.
I recently preached from John 3:1-21, the Scripture narrative in which “born again” is originally introduced by Jesus to a Pharisee named Nicodemus. I asked the people in the congregation what the expression meant to them. One said it’s about salvation. Another said it has to do with eternal life or “living without end.” Then another said that “some say” it has something do with religion. All of these answers were said in a tone that, to me, betrayed uncertainty.
If believers themselves are unsure about what “born again” means, can we really blame the secular world if the expression is badly misunderstood, or if it conjures weird pictures of the so-called “born-again Christians”? I wouldn’t be surprised if such negative snapshots of believers can cause “allergic” reactions on people. Perhaps that is why some try to avoid those who are labeled (or label themselves) “born again.”
So even though the Scripture text is a very familiar one—so familiar that in the past I tended to avoid it as a sermon text—I feel that there is still a need for me to revisit it. And I’d like to invite you to join me and together let’s take a very good look at the passage again. Hopefully, we can nail the meaning of the expression this time.
To do that, we’re going to use what I’d call a “reverse approach,” that is, instead of immediately looking at what it is, we’ll begin with what it is not and in contrast to its real meaning as expressed in the words of Jesus.
It is not about getting religion or more religion or better religion
Jesus’ night time guest, Nicodemus, is a connoisseur of religion, if there is such a thing. He’s got religion and religion’s got him. Religion is his career. It is his life. It is everything to him. And since it’s always good to be ahead of the competition, Nicodemus may have been worried–perhaps even jealous–when Jesus appears on the scene.
From the looks of it, if Nicodemus has 1,000 Facebook likes, Jesus has 100,000! And the latter’s increasing popularity seems unstoppable! Jesus may be a competition in the Who’s Who of religion, but because Nicodemus desperately wants to learn the secret of this rising preaching star. He’s got to see him… no matter what! Smart as he is, he comes to Jesus at night, apparently to avoid being seen and “unliked” by his “friends.”
From what Nicodemus says to Jesus we can deduce that to him good religion is about getting God on your side. It’s about becoming God’s fave. Such divine favoritism is evidenced by one’s ability to perform “signs”—stuff that only God’s favorites are able to do.
Some say that Nicodemus is nervous and doesn’t really know what to say to a celeb Rabbi whose name is Jesus. Maybe so but I tend to believe that thinking men think about what they’d say first before they’d say it. As a member of the Sanhedrin, “the Jewish ruling council,” as well as “Israel’s teacher” (vs. 1, 10), babbling in front of Jesus is out of the question—it’s just not good for his reputation!
Immediately after Nicodemus uttered the last word of his introductory statement, Jesus points out the defect in his way of thinking: that what really matters as far as life in relationship with God is concerned is not religion, or getting more of it, or a better one.
It is not about knowing some religious secrets or a key to gaining God’s favor so that one can do stuff that only God’s favorites can do.
It is not about re-inventing yourself like a successful and very rich athlete who perhaps thinks that if he can be the champion in his kind of sport, what could possibly stop him from conquering not only the world of politics but also religion? As a popular “born-again Christian,” he can become the face and mouthpiece of the “born-again” religious movement. And despite his limited understanding of the Bible or the Christian faith, perhaps he now has the authority from God and considers it his duty to reprimand people, regardless of their rank or position, if they do not subscribe to a literal reading of the Bible!
I hope I am wrong about the aforementioned person but from the way it looks, I may be right. And the sad thing is that religious leaders who are fans of his (or there to exploit him?) are not really helping. They seem to feed him the wrong thing and, for some reason, they appear to be in a hurry to lift him up to stardom in the arena of religion. But is that what he really needs?
According to Jesus, no! What this champion athlete needs is not that kind of “born again” which is merely a religious label or as a way to get God on one’s side to do more religious stuff. Like Nicodemus what he really needs is to be born again in the real sense of the expression. But what is it really?
“Born again” can also be rendered as “born from above” which I assume is in contrast to being “born from below,” which is earthly or man-made. To be born from above is absolutely wrought by the grace of God and takes place way before we recognize that the new life shaped by the Spirit of God is there.
Like physical birth, the one who is born from above just realizes that he’s been born. And like a new-born baby that instinctively reaches for his mother’s breast, the one who has been born again takes spiritual nourishment from God and God’s word. As he opens his eyes he sees the kingdom of God, the spiritual realm where he’s been born and meant to live as a child of God.
The one who has been born from above has been transformed by the Spirit of God and designed to live wholly and fully in an environment where the presence of the living and loving God is the very source of life—a spiritually abundant and wonderful life that only those who have been truly born again have experienced and know about!
The title of this message seems appropriate in this place where alcohol is freely flowing—Vegas baby! Please don’t get me wrong: my purpose is not to take the message of Pentecost lightly. On other hand, if you feel that the title makes you thirst for something you have already given up, or thought you have already given up, read my lips: that is not my intention! But if you see that the title tends to radicalize the message of Pentecost, then, hey, let’s drink to it!
In some churches today, Pentecost Sunday is a great opportunity for “P-type believers” (Pentecostals) to go dancing and praising God, perhaps more than they usually do on a regular Sunday. If your church service is ritualistic, bland, and boring, please don’t invite these P-type believers—they’d rather be in the Dancing with the Stars show than in your church! (Just kidding and I do not intended to offend my Pentecostal sisters and brothers in the Lord.)
I wonder how many of you who, because of your boring church, have considered giving a try the “full of Spirit,” jolly and fast-growing church down the road. Yeah, why not? Over there, the “anointed preaching” of the tongue-speaking preacher could make his people literally shake, rattle and roll… perhaps in a way that would make Elvis Presley look like an amateur!
But before you say goodbye to your boring church, please understand what it really means to be Pentecostal in the biblical sense. The way to do that is to read the Scripture, Acts 2:1-21, which may be the favorite passage of our Pentecostal sisters and brothers, and to really understand it.
Believers agree that we all need the same filling-with-the-Holy-Spirit experience. It is in how they know that they actually have such an experience that they differ. Most, if not all, Pentecostals say that the only way to know that is if you speak in tongues, and so making the tongue the evidence for being filled with the Holy Spirit.
But I think that misses the point. Why did the Holy Spirit enable the disciples to speak in tongues? The answer is to enable them to proclaim the good news of salvation in Christ clearly and effectively!
The tongue was not the end; rather, it was a means to an end. The reason for speaking in tongues was not just so that the disciples might have wonderful ecstatic experience as a result of the Spirit of God coming to them; the goal was so that people understood the good news of salvation. Indeed as they spoke in other tongues “each one heard their own language being spoken.” In other words, the goal was more for the sake of the hearers rather than the speakers.
I’m sure it was a great and wonderful experience to be filled with the Holy Spirit as it is still today, but let’s not forget that speaking in tongues was not the end but a means to an end. So if today the same end can be had without speaking in tongues or unknown languages why then should one insist that you and I have to speak in tongues?
If we should be looking for evidence for being filled with the Holy Spirit, then I would say that the evidence is found not necessarily in speaking in tongues but in a powerful and effective way of communicating the good news of salvation: so that those that need to hear it, hear it in a clear and understandable way!
They had too much wine
Having said that, let me say loud and clear that while we do not make speaking in tongues a requirement, being filled with the Spirit of God is. We should not undermine the power of making a scene in a world whose attention is hard to get. And how can we do that without being filled with the Spirit of God?
If today God would enable us to speak foreign languages to the millions that visit Las Vegas each month, then we should not resist it. I’d be glad to speak in tongues if that is what God wants. But is that the only way how God works? Of course not!
Perhaps the reason why God may not enable us to speak in tongues today is because the people who come to Las Vegas already understand English! However, it seems to me that the key is not just the language but the manifestation of the Spirit of God as we prophesy which, in the context of our Scripture passage, does not mean to foretell or predict the future but to forth-tell or to simply proclaim the good news!
How will the Spirit of God manifest his presence as we proclaim? I don’t know. God may just surprise as one who is always doing a new thing.
How about the wonders and signs? Well, God said, “I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below” (v. 19) So don’t worry about wonders and signs because they are God’s works, not ours! All we need to do is to pray that God would help us do our part, and that is to proclaim the good news so that those that hear may call on the name of the Lord and be saved (v. 21).
But here’s what I believe: if we are filled with the Spirit of God, then God will manifest his presence in a way that those that witness our proclamation of good news will notice something different…something out of ordinary…something divine.
But if there are still those whose eyes do not see the presence of God despite the Spirit’s manifestation through us and make fun of us saying we are crazy, or weird, or, yes, even drunk, then we should give thanks! Why? Because such comment may be an indication that indeed we are drunk… but not with wine but with the Holy Spirit!
Imagine what a single word can do to a young man who’s been courting a girl for years and about to give up when all of a sudden she responds to his seemingly useless wooing with a ‘yes.’
Sadly, however, if words can make one ecstatic, they can also make one’s life a tragic.
Can words kill? No, not directly that is. But CBS News reports that “more than 150 children have taken their own lives in recent years because they were victims of harassment in school and online.” *
We cannot undermine the power of speech because, indeed, words can either build or destroy!
When it comes to the words of Jesus, his words have direct power. He simply speaks and the man possessed by an evil spirit is delivered. It is because of the power of the words of Jesus that, as a teacher, he was perceived as “one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”
I don’t think that the teachers of the law were bad teachers, or that they did not teach the truth. Speaking the truth, however, does not make one a person of authority. If it does, then the man possessed by an evil spirit was a person who had authority because he truthfully declared Jesus: “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (v. 24b).
What makes Jesus different is that his words are the very words of the Word. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John the evangelist declares: “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
In the creation story in Genesis 1 the phrase “And God said” jumps out of the text as it is repeatedly used to show how God created. In the Gospel of John, “the Word of God” is not just some verbal utterance but a person, namely, Jesus.
Jesus speaks with authority because he is a person of authority. He is the Lord and, therefore, every word he utters is the very word of God.
God’s word is not just meant to declare truth, however important that maybe. In the first place, we notice that the Word of God acted in creation. Then, in this Gospel narrative, we see the Word being active in redemption because, although everything God created “was very good” (Gen. 1:31), at some point evil entered the world and tried, and still do, to “possess” God’s creation, especially the human race.
The deliverance of the demon possessed man in the synagogue illustrates the insidious influence of evil. But, more importantly, it shows the power of the Word to deliver and redeem and restore.
And, I believe, that the Word will do the final act of re-creation in the making of “a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13).
On a personal level, our relationship with the Word can change our lives in a very powerful way. We may not like comparing ourselves to the demon-possessed man in this Gospel story but the truth is, evil has also gotten hold of us. The good news, Jesus, the Word, can redeem and restore us if we put our faith in him. If we do, then we can also look forward to our eternal home—not heaven, which is a temporary “residence” of the faithful who die, but the “new heaven and new earth”!
(Thank you for reading. Please make your thoughts known and write your comment. And if this is worth reading, please share it with your friends. -Ed)
A Discover Magazine article has a list of “20 Ways the World Could End.”The Bible has only one. And it declares it in a matter-of-fact way: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” (v. 10).
Now that’s pretty scary. Is it going to happen in 2012? Despite NASA’s assurance that “Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012,” a vast number of people are getting ready for doomsday.
“Worried Americans are rushing to buy everything from £17 survival guides to £32,000-per-person places in bunkers that are marketed as being both nuclear bomb and asteroid-proof,” Tom Leonard (www.dailymail.co.uk) reports.
“But it’s not just America. Mayan apocalypse converts have started flocking to Bugarach, a tiny hilltop town in the foothills of the Pyrenees.” And Leonard adds, “The 200-strong local community has had to contend with 20,000 visitors since the start of last year, and the French government is worried about the threat of mass suicides.”
Since the end is associated with “the day of the Lord” which “will come like a thief,” who knows when the world will end? And because the Bible declares a total devastation by fire (“everything will be destroyed”), who will be spared?
“But”–here’s good news–“in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (v. 13). Those who believe and made righteous through faith in Christ (Romans 5:19), will find their resurrected selves in “a new heaven and a new earth.”
For those who believe in Christ the end will be a new beginning.
On some hot and humid day, the best thing to do is do nothing. A good place to do just that: under the shade of broad-leafed fig tree. And if it’s too hot to go elsewhere for some snacks, the tree might offer some sweet refreshment as well!
But perhaps Nathanael was just killing time under the tree. Or, maybe, he got tired walking around with Philip and needed some rest.
We can make all kinds of conjectures about what’s up with Nathanael but, in reading the story, you get the feeling that his day was like most days… uneventful… ordinary… boring.
Before the day was over, however, his friend, Philip, found him. And before he could say anything, Philip breathlessly blurted what seemed to be the most important thing ever: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
But skeptic Nate was quick with his wit: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
How can you convince a guy who seemed to have made up his mind about something? Well, try Philip’s trick because it worked!
“Come and see,” that’s all that he said… and Nate came and saw!
And look what he saw! He saw Him that knew him before they saw each other and who said to him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
Surprised that Jesus knew him a lot better than some people that knew him did, he asked, “How do you know me?”“I
“I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
What a strange thing to hear from someone you’ve just met! And if you were Nate, you’d probably wonder, Who is this guy?
But the moment he heard those words, Nate remembered what his friend Philip said about him. And immediately he believed that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, was indeed the Messiah!
But that was just the beginning of this strange but wonderful experience with Jesus. Jesus said, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.”
True to his promise, Jesus performed many miraculous signs, the first of which was at the wedding in Nate’s hometown. There, in Cana, Jesus turned water into wine!
“You will see greater things…”
As we ponder upon these words of Jesus, we may ask the question, Is this promise also for the rest of us who have followed Jesus?
Yes!
How do we know that?
Well, the pronoun “you” is plural, which implies that the promise is not just for Nate but to all that read this story and respond to the call and follow Jesus.
And, indeed, the Lord appears to be in the habit of showing great things to people, especially to those that call upon him.
Jeremiah 33:3, a verse a lot of us know, has this wonderful promise: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV).
But why is it that our experience is often devoid of these “great and mighty things”?
I can only speak for myself, really. But if you are like me, then your walk with Jesus is perhaps more cerebral than spiritual… more talk than walk.
People that make good use of their brain, which is often a good thing, have the tendency to be more intellectual than spiritual and experiential and practical in their walk with the Lord. The thing is, we are to love the Lord, not only with all our mind but also with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).
The other day Averell, a theologian friend, posted on Facebook the following quote from Danish philosopher, theologian and religious author Søren Kierkegaard which a Bible scholar friend and I liked:
It is only all too easy to understand the requirements contained in God’s Word (“Give all your goods to the poor.” “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left.” “If anyone takes your coat, let him have your cloak also.” “Rejoice always.” “Count it sheer joy when you meet various temptations” etc.). The most ignorant, poor creature cannot honestly deny being able to understand God’s requirements. But it is tough on the flesh to will to understand it and to then act accordingly. Herein lies the problem. It is not a question of interpretation, but action. (“Provocations”)
When Nathanael believed, Jesus did not say to him, “Good, Nate. Your answer is correct. I am the Messiah.”
Instead, he said to him, “You will see greater things…”
Perhaps the reason why ‘greater things’ is not a regular part of our experience is because we are more interested in knowing what ‘greater things’ mean rather than seeing and experiencing them!
The other week I told an “advanced” Bible study group that, since they had “graduated” from “basic stuff” of the Christian faith, rather than me deciding the topic, they decide what they want us to tackle.
The first thing topic they chose was a controversial one: “Slain in the Holy Spirit.”
I was apprehensive because the group is a mixture of believers whose church backgrounds include Fundamental, Evangelical, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist or another mainline denomination.
Some of those that were from a non-Pentecostal background were strongly opposed to the idea because the Holy Spirit, rather than “slay,” gives life to those that believe in Jesus.
After looking at the Scripture texts that proponents use to defend the experience of being “slain in the Spirit,” we all agreed that “slain in the Spirit” was not well supported and the concept was problematic. In all those Scripture texts, however, we noticed a common denominator: people’s special encounter with the Lord that affected or changed their lives.
One such good example is Saul’s encounter with Lord on the way to Damascus. It turned his life around—he stopped persecuting believers and became a believer himself and an apostle of Jesus! (Acts 9:1-19).
Saul’s dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was his first great experience. And it was followed by the many other great experiences as a follower of Jesus and as an Apostle known by the name of Paul. God performed many “signs and wonders” not only for but also through him (see e.g., Acts 14:3; Acts 15:12).
Is it because Paul was special that he, and those like him, alone could see and experience great and mighty things?
I don’t think so?
So what’s the secret?
There is really no secret because to everyone that Jesus says “Come and follow me” he also gives the promise, ““You will see greater things…”
So why is it that we don’t often see those great and mighty things? Perhaps the reason is because we do not always follow the Lord the way we should—wholeheartedly.
But we can do something about that.
If we want our Christian life to be exciting rather than boring, we should love the Lord not only with all our mind but also with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength. And we should stick with Jesus, for it is only by being present that we can witness the Lord’s mighty hand doing wondrous things! Amen.
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
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Facebook has changed our lives forever. Thanks–but no thanks?–to Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Time Magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year.
People have things to say about Facebook. Here’s one from Facebook user Marketta Phillips: “I love and hate facebook because it has reconnected me with people, connected me to people I would probably not have met as easily and has kept me connected to people (even after you have blocked them) that I have tried to get rid of.”
Whatever our feelings are toward Facebook, life is no longer the same for those of us who use it. We voluntarily give up our privacy when we willingly share some intimate things with Facebook friends whose friends, who can be total strangers, may be able to see them, too! But despite the risks of using Facebook, over 800 million active users have returned to the site in the last 30 days!*
Personally, I like using Facebook. Of course there are times when I wish some girl friends wouldn’t always post pictures of them that make them look like they are candidating to become models for a magazine for men, or flaunt to the world what they’ve bought during their last shopping spree. But overall, I like Facebook and Facebooking.
Through Facebook I’ve made some good friends with whom I can share stuff: fun, prayer concerns, ideas, etc. Some of these friends I’ve never met before, nevertheless, to me, they are good friends. The other day I made this comment on the status of one such friend who was celebrating his birthday: “Strange it may be but some of my good friends I haven’t met in person yet I know them better than some of my neighbors!”
I think it’s a wonderful thing that a friendship can grow even between people who have not seen each other face to face. And the good news is that, in our relationship with God, the same thing can happen. We haven’t really seen God or Jesus, that is, literally or face to face. But thanks be to a ‘Facebooking’ God!–we can know some of the intimate things about our heavenly Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Here’s what we find on God’s “Facebook status” today: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” God the Father willingly shares with us and to all the world his intimate relationship with the Son. God introduces his Son to us and and invites us to partake in the divine love by “adding” Jesus as friend so that we may know more about him, and by knowing him we’ll know more about our loving God! And when we who are friends of Jesus become friends as well, then that divine love that takes place in the Godhead can become part of our experience if we let the love of God be the venue and occasion for our relationship.
Yes, a heavenly experience of a loving relationship with God and with with one another can be had even while we live in this fallen world! But first, we have to add Jesus as friend.
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The world around has been telling us that if we do the “right” steps–and they usually exclude knowing the will of God–then we can do whatever we want and we can be whatever we choose to become. But in our Scripture text today, there is a reminder to remember, an advice to prize, and a warning that can sting if we don’t heed it.
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The reminder:
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
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The advice:
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
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And the warning:
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
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Remember the reminder, prize the advice, and heed the warning to avoid its sting.
The teachers of the law: narrow and shallow
PENnED 