A Father and His Son

June 21, 2015-John 5:19-23

Today we are celebrating Father’s Day and so we are taking a break from the Gospel of Luke this week.  Much work goes into the raising of a child and much work goes into keeping them raised.  However, one thing is very clear.  A child will become an adult regardless of the intention of the parents (short of tragedy).  Many parents lack intentionality in the raising of their kids and coast on the sheer momentum of physical and intellectual growth.  Yet, God calls us to something much greater than creating a random, accidental generation.  Rather, we are to stamp an image upon the lives of our children that is good and points them to their heavenly Father.

Now my dad was a DIY kind of guy.  He was a musician, avid outdoorsman, and he loved family.  These things have definitely left their imprint upon me.  Of course, there are negative things that can leave imprints in the lives of kids as well.  It is important for young people to recognize that the imprint of bad qualities in our parents do not have to be bad in us.  A child who grows up in a home where love is never expressed can be imprinted passionately towards demonstrating love.  Thus kids make choices as they grow up and those choices are just as much a part of the imprint as the actions of the parents.

In today’s passage Jesus gives us insight into the interaction between him and God the Father.  The leaders of Israel were angry that Jesus kept comparing himself to God.  They called this blasphemy and sought to kill him.  Yet, Jesus responds with the truth that it is only natural for a son to be like his father.

A Son Cannot Help But Be Like His Father

The underlying message of these 5 verses is that instead of being blasphemy it is only natural for a son to be like his father.  In this context Jesus is talking about himself as being the Son of God.  Thus he will demonstrate the same qualities, nature, and activity as his heavenly Father.  Although the passage is only about Jesus and the Father, we also know from other passages that the Father is working to make the disciples of Jesus to be like Jesus.  In Ephesians 4 the apostle Paul describes why God has given leaders to the Church.  “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine…”   Notice that the work is “till” we come to the full measure of Christ.  He does not mean physical height here, but rather, character height.  We are being made over into the image of Jesus who was a perfect representation of the Father in heaven.  Thus we will use this passage to remind ourselves as earthly fathers how we ought to be.

In verse 19 Jesus points out the activity of God the Father.  Jesus has seen the activity of the Father and is now doing the same thing.  Notice how the activity of a Father imprints itself upon a child.  Now Jesus is a perfect Son and thus he perfectly acts like the Father.  But let’s focus on the father side.  If my activity is going to leave an imprint upon my child then I should take care what that activity is.  Even the lack of activity can leave an imprint in the same way that we recognize failing to plan is planning to fail.  Children of this world may intend to avoid becoming like their fathers for good or for bad and a father can’t control it.  Yet, a father can fill his life with activity that will impact the child for good regardless of what he chooses.  Jesus is the perfect son who only does what he sees his father do and only speaks what he hears his father say (John 12:49).  We wouldn’t expect kids to be a perfect copy of their earthly fathers.  But that is not where God intends it to go.  God intends for us to see this natural tendency and to use it to point our children to their heavenly father.  He is the one that we all need to see and become like.  Thus God has sent His perfect Son to help us imperfect prodigals and lead us back to right relationship.  So fathers, your activity will either point your kids to their heavenly father or it will point only to yourself.  When you fill your life with the activity of God, you will point them to something greater than yourself and imprint them for good rather than for bad.

In verse 20 Jesus points out the love that the Father has for him.  The Father has shown the Son things because He loves Him.  The intentionality of the father is important in a kid’s life and is best when it flows out of a heart of love.  If you love your kid then you will not just be active.  But that activity will be done in such a way as to intentionally involve them in our activities and point them to God.  This is not easy.  It always takes longer to do something if you involve someone you are trying to teach.  However, the child needs this from their parents.

Next Jesus points out in verse 21 that he has received power to do certain things from the father.  In this case it is the power to give life and raise up the dead.  No earthly parent can give such power to their children.  However, a father can empower his child.  You give a child the tools they need to accomplish to accomplish a particular purpose.  Thus if we are partnering with God to accomplish His purpose in their life- to make them like Jesus- then we will take time to give them the tools required to accomplish that.  How can a child become like Jesus?  What tools do they need?  First we can give our kids the information that they need to come to know God.  We can give them instruction and yet even something as simple as teaching them to read enables them to read and discover God’s Word for themselves.  Teaching them how to communicate rather than running away from difficulty is important.  Teaching them discipline and control of their emotions and decisions is also important.  Other tools that children need are the coping skills of perseverance and the ability to selflessly love another.  These kind of things will go a long way to empowering a young person to know God for themselves and to become like Jesus.  Too often young people go into life with only a few tools and many of them may be warped and twisted.  Praise God that Jesus will help even those who lack the tools to come to know him and be like him, if they are hungry for Truth.

In verse 22, we see that even though God is the righteous judge of all mankind by right of Creation, He has delegated this to the Son.  All judgment will be done through Jesus Christ.  This ability to delegate can be very challenging for a father.  Sometimes we refrain or take back such delegations because of fear of failure.  At age appropriate times, it is important to delegate household chores to kids.  It teaches them to find their place within the home and work with others.  It helps them to have some skin in the game.  Plus it teaches them how to accept the things that God has delegated to us through Jesus.  Now, not all kids are going to grow up and work alongside their father like Jesus did.  However, a father can teach a kid how to work with others.  Ultimately your child needs to grow up and become a fellow worker with you and coming alongside the heavenly father.  It is we who are helping Him in His business.  His work is to point people to Jesus as the answer for their sin and judgment.  Jesus delegated this task to his disciples when he ascended to heaven.  He said, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all the commands I gave you.”  Matthew 28:19-20.  This risk of putting the salvation of others in the hands of humans may seem unadvised to us.  Yet, God is not absent.  He works in us and through us by His Spirit to aid us in bringing others to relationship with Him.  Thus fathers should ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in accomplishing this task that has been delegated to them.

Lastly, it is the honor of the son to become like his father.  On this earth a child grows up and eventually takes the place of their parents on earth because of death.  Of course, our heavenly father never dies.  So this is not about replacement.  Yet, we see that God wants us to share in the honor that is already His.  He invites us to come work alongside Him, all the while, we are becoming like Him.  Ultimately we will share in His glory.  1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  All believers will stand side by side and experience the joy of recognizing that we are like our Father.  As good as this feeling can be with an earthly father, we must make the connection with God the Father.  He is sharing His glory with us by making us to look like Him.  Thus the apostle John reminds us that if we have this hope in us we will purify ourselves.  Fathers, take time to clean up your life.  Sometimes we even need to prune off good things so that we can be more fruitful in God’s work.  When you live for the honor of God, you will enable your child to understand what it means to live honorably.  So don’t give up hope and by all means don’t let failure cause you to quit.  It is God Himself who pledges to help you.  Blessings!

Father and son audio

Praying Without Losing Heart

June 14, 2015-Luke 18:1-8

After warning about the Kingdom of God and the judgment that will initiate it, Jesus then speaks to his disciples about prayer.  Perhaps the logical connection is the reality that living in a world that is coming under the judgment of God is not easy.  Even in “easy times” the disciples of Jesus should pray in asking for wisdom and care, and giving thanks to God for His blessings.  However, difficult times would lead to an even greater need for prayer.  We will see today that prayer is an expression of our faith in God.

We Ought To Pray

Jesus establishes our need to pray by using a parable of a woman in need.  Normally a parable is explained by Jesus after the fact.  However here, Luke precedes the parable with a clear statement of what it teaches.  The first aspect of this statement is that prayer is something we “ought” to do.  There is a part of any follower of Christ that knows they “ought” to pray.  In fact, for new believers, praying can feel strange and be something that they neglect to do.  Typically a feeling of guilt will accompany this as we know we should be doing it.  It is also possible for those who have been believers for a long time to let a habit of prayer slip into neglect.  We can let the busyness of life and distractions take the place of prayer.  Yet, the oughtness of prayer is more than a duty or command. 

The woman in the prayer has an adversary who has done an injustice towards her.  She is also without the power to rectify this situation herself.  She is a woman and widowed, and both things would make it difficult for her to confront her adversary.  Thus it is necessary for her to turn to the courts for justice.  It is in a similar vein that the disciples of Jesus ought to pray.  We too have an adversary that is far greater than us.  The devil is a real being who works night and day to destroy our faith in Christ.  Injustice is one of his main tool to turn our hearts away from Jesus.  We ought to pray because we can’t fix things on our own.  We need God’s help.  1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  We are in a darkened world that is under the sway of the devil.  We are also surrounded by temptations on every hand.  Lastly, we are filled with fleshly desires that make us an easy target.  We are not enough for every situation in and of ourselves.  We need the help of our Lord and should ask for it in prayer.

It is also important to see that the end we desire calls for prayer.  If we desire to participate in the Kingdom of God then it is necessary that we pray.  Prayer is the means by which we wrestle with God over our situation in life.  Without prayer our faith will quickly perish under the barrage of questions and doubts.

Lastly we ought to pray because it is only right and proper that we do so.  As children of God we should call upon our Heavenly Father for wisdom, aid, and benefit.  To not call upon Him and rely upon Him is not just independence.  It is a rejection.  Just picture a young toddler who will not allow a parent to help and stubbornly insists on doing everything themselves.  How about a young teenager?  Even as adults we need others to help us in life.  Thus it becomes a sin to have a loving Father and yet reject Him at every hand.  In the parable the woman approaches a judge who couldn’t care any less about her.  Yet, she still approaches him.  What a contrast to our Father in heaven.

We Ought To Pray Always

Luke adds the word “always” to this spiritual truth.  In the parable we are told that the woman troubles the judge.  He doesn’t want to help her, but she keeps bothering him, or dare we say nagging.  The word translated “always” could also be translated, “at all times.”  She has a particular problem that she wants fixed.  But because the judge isn’t doing anything about it, she continues to badger him for help.  Now the judge in the story is not helping because he doesn’t care about her.  But God does care about us.  We might think this means God will answer us immediately.  However, prayer is not about us telling God what we want and Him doing it in a knee-jerk reaction.  Prayer is not just a request.  It is a relationship.  Thus the believer will find themselves continually coming back to God for particular things and for the never ending parade of new things to pray for.  Prayer is not something we can “finish.”  It is a daily conversation with God regarding our life and His hand in it.  In life we will receive many injustices and situations that are worthy of much prayer.  Thus we should persist in our prayers instead of quickly giving up.  God loves us and cares for us.  Yet, He is wiser than we are.  Prayer helps us to understand God’s plan in our lives.

We see the phrase, “praying at all times” in Ephesians 6:18.  This is right at the end of the passage about putting on the armor of God.  It is then that we are told to pray.  “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.”  Thus prayer is part of the work of the soldier of God.  We are in a battle against spiritual forces.  We must be armored up and we must be praying at all times and in all ways.  At all times is not just about persistence in prayer, but it is also about the many different things we encounter in life.  Everything that we encounter in life will call for some kind of prayer.  Some things will call for praises and thanksgiving.  Others may call for confession and repentance.  We will often have need to petition God on our own behalf and on behalf of others.  Everything we encounter should be bathed in prayer and petition of some sort.  When our life falls short of this we begin to affect our discipleship in Christ.

Now the woman’s persistence and “always” bothering the judge gets her what she wants.  We cannot say that such persistence will always work with God.  However, such persistence will help us to grow and become more like Christ, as well as help us to receive things from God that we would not have received without asking.

We Ought To Pray Without Losing Heart

There were many things that could have made the widow lose heart.  Now the word “to lose heart” is defined as follows: to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted.  This woman is coming before a judge who does not fear God and thus is not concerned about justice.  Neither does he care about the woman to give her help.  These things alone could cause her to lose heart and give up.  Even if she had enough strength to ask several times, she could have wearied out too quickly.  It is important that we do not become exhausted in our prayers with God.  Too many people get offended or tell themselves that it doesn’t work and they quit praying.  Don’t do this.  Often God is simply testing our faith to see if we really do believe that He loves us and will help us in life.  There are also some things that He has purposed to only give in answer to persistent, faithful prayer.  So the next time you are tempted to give up on prayer, you might ask yourself just who has a vested interest in you ceasing your prayers.

Persistence in prayer is ultimately about faith in God, which is why Jesus ends with a question about whether or not he will find faith when he returns.  Jesus tells us that God has a speedy judgment planned to avenge the righteous of all the injustices they have experienced.  This speedy judgment is clearly linked to the coming of the son of man, aka Jesus.  Jesus is coming back to give a judgment on behalf of the saints.  However, how many believing people will he find when he returns?  I don’t think Jesus asks this to imply he won’t find any.  But, rather, it seems to function more as a personal challenge to those who hear it.  Will he find faith, in me?  This question has a tendency to give life to those who are weary and stir up the faith of those who are spiritually fainting.  Thus persistence in prayer not only comes from faith, but it also strengthens our faith as well.  The enemy is daily working to chip away at our ability to trust the way of the master, Jesus.  As we lose faith in Jesus, we will let down in prayer and that prayerlessness will precipitate defeat in our life.  Don’t let the enemy steal the victory that God has reserved for you.  Keep your eyes on Jesus and daily approach him in prayer for the needs and praises of that day.

Praying Without Losing Heart mp3

The Kingdom of God

June 7, 2015-Luke 17:20-37

Today we have a portion of Scripture that deals with the Kingdom of God.  In the book of Daniel it was prophesied that God would establish a kingdom that would smash all the empires of this world into bits and fill the whole earth.  This promise and many others like it seemed to be a pipe dream to many in the first century.  The big question would be, “When is it really going to come?”  Even today, we have that same sense with the second coming of Jesus.  It is easy to let the question of “when” turn into cynicism that it is never going to happen.  In this passage Jesus gives us a key understanding to aid the believer’s faith and hope.  In essence he reveals that we are already participating in the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is Already Here

Jesus is approached by the Pharisees regarding the question of when the Kingdom of God would come.  They knew that the prophets promised an anointed leader from God who would judge the nations of the world and lead Israel into a Kingdom of God.  This raising up of Israel under the banner of the Messiah was what a believer at that time was looking towards. Here is a man whom many are saying is the Messiah, and who has amazed them with his understanding of Scripture.  Thus they want to know what he thinks about the Kingdom.  The answer Jesus gives to the Pharisees is to basically tell them that the Kingdom of God is not a visible kingdom. 

They had defined God’s kingdom within a very narrow sense:  the messiah coming, judgment of the nations, and Israel raised to rule over the earth.  This had kept them from recognizing the very, real, but invisible, rule of God that existed already.  They were looking for signs that such things were about to happen.  The truth is, no matter how amazing Jesus was, there was no sign that he was going to judge the nations and rule over the world from Jerusalem.  Jesus tells them that the coming of the kingdom is not something that can be observed with the eyes.  Sure if you know what you are looking for you can recognize the Kingdom of God.  But this is precisely what their problem was.  The Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world.  It does not have a capital city with well defined borders, palaces and armies that can be seen in this world.  This is not the same as saying that God doesn’t have a real kingdom.  No, His kingdom is very real, but you won’t observe it with your eyes.

He then explains that the Kingdom of God is within the hearts of faithful believers.  The kingdom was already present in the lives of those who trusted God and followed Him.  Now it would be easy to see this as only referring to those who believed on Jesus.  However, I think his point is broader than that.  Even those prophets, who never saw Jesus, still believed on the promises of God and lived lives surrendered to the rule and authority of God.  They had experienced His kingdom within their hearts and had expressed it into the world they lived.  We see this same dynamic in the Lord’s Prayer.  Notice that it begins with recognition of God’s rule in heaven and praying for it to be the same on earth.  Such a prayer is surrendering one’s self to be a vehicle of it.  “Lord, rule in me first; so that your rule may be seen in this earth.”  The faithful have always prayed for and lived out the rule of God.  In that way they have always experienced the Kingdom of God.  Now this is not a denial that there will never be a day when there is an observable kingdom that rules over the nations of the earth.  Rather, it is the correcting of an error that sets us up for disappointment and unbelief.  If we always live as if God’s promised kingdom is way out there somewhere, we will grow weary.  But if we live every day knowing that God’s Kingdom is ruling within me and being expressed into my life, then I am only awaiting the next phase of that Kingdom.  If we see now as lacking, we will miss the experience of the very, real Kingdom of God in the now.  In fact we may miss out on the future Kingdom experience because our faith and hope gives out.  Recognizing God’s kingdom now readies us and strengthens us for his coming.  I am experiencing more than a down payment now.  I am experiencing the heart of what is to come, even though it isn’t obvious to the untrained eye.

Jesus Will Leave and then Come Back

In verse 22 Jesus turns towards his disciples and gives further understanding.  The Pharisees needed to quit looking ahead and enter into the Kingdom of God as it was then.  But the disciples were the ones who were entering into and experiencing the Kingdom of God through Jesus.  They could rightly look ahead, but needed understanding.  Part of that understanding was that Jesus was going to go away for a while and then later come back.  He says to them that the day will come when they will long for just one of the days of the son of man.  This future longing will not be satisfied, “you will not see it.”  This passage is an important balance to those who say that Jesus and his disciples expected him to come back in their lifetimes.  Here, Jesus points out a future longing that will not be satisfied.

He goes on to point out that in the midst of this longing for him to be physically with them, people would speculate about his coming.  “He is here, or He is there!”  In other passages this speculation is connected with false prophets, false teachers, and even false christs.  Matthew 24:23-24 says, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”  People are never more vulnerable to shams and cons than when they want something badly.  This longing that should be in the heart of true believers will be plied upon by deceivers.  Jesus warns us not to trust any who claims to be the Christ, know when he is coming, or where he is.  There are many such examples today.  Those who point to some Christ figure who is already here but hasn’t shown himself yet, are charlatans.  Jesus points this out by telling us that his coming will be as obvious as lightning in the sky.  The coming of Christ will be no secret or invisible coming.  There is no time where he is on earth waiting for mankind to be ready for his revelation.  No. He will be revealed at his coming in an obvious and glorious way.

Yet, before he leaves, he must suffer rejection.  This is a small line in the context of the future coming kingdom.  But he speaks of the work of salvation on the cross and his victory over death in the resurrection.  The messiah must be rejected by this world and leave.  Thus the believers hope is place in the return of the rejected King.

The World Will Not Be Ready For His Coming

Starting in verse 26, Jesus gives two examples from the Old Testament to inform us.  The first has to do with Noah and the global judgment that came at that time.  Noah lived in a society that had been warned of God’s coming judgment, but had rejected it.  They had plunged headlong into a path of rebellion against God and His Word.  By Noah’s day, most people scoffed at the idea of a judgment.  Yet, God had given Noah specific instructions on how to avoid the coming judgment.  This is a picture of how God is dealing with this generation.  He will give the world plenty of warning and He will faithfully give instruction on how to avoid the coming judgment.  But only a few will take advantage and be saved.  The world will not be ready as a whole for the coming of Christ.  Instead it will be focused on enjoying life rather than escaping judgment.  The things Jesus mentions are not necessarily wrong.  The emphasis is not on the moral nature of the actions.  The emphasis is on the lack of wisdom.  They continue on with life in the midst of judgment being poured out on the earth.  A wise man looks ahead and prepares for the future.  The ancient world perished, not for lack of knowledge, but for lack of faith in God’s warning.  The cares of this world had pulled their hearts away from Him and choked out any faith.  They lived for the kingdom of man rather than the kingdom of God.  The believed only in the kingdom of man and held out no hope for the kingdom of God.

Next we are reminded of Lot.  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had done the same thing.  Lot had continually warned them against the wicked things they were doing.  They pretty much had told him to shut his mouth.  Yet, on the day that Lot left Sodom, the judgment of God rained down upon them and they were caught off guard.  Again, this happens, not for lack of knowledge.  They just didn’t believe.

This is how it will be when Jesus returns.  God will pull out the righteous and rain down judgment upon a world that would rather serve its own kingdom rather than His.  Jesus refers to it as a day of the son of man being revealed.  His true glory and righteous judgment will be unveiled and made known to the world.  This is the same word that is the title of the book of Revelation.  A world that scoffs at a quaint idea of Jesus will get a rude awakening on that day, only too late. 

Starting in verse 31, Jesus gives several warnings to us as disciples, so that we will not experience the judgment of God.  He warns against attachment to the things of this world.  Our desire to save and hold on to the things of this world will jeopardize our salvation.  He then tells us to remember Lot’s wife.  She had done exactly this.  Even though she had the information on how to be saved, and even though she was in the middle of being physically saved from the judgment, her heart was still connected to Sodom.  Salvation is not about geography or biology, it is a matter of the heart.

Thus the day of Christ’s coming will be a day of separation.  It will separate the righteous from the wicked so that judgment will only fall upon the wicked.  Jesus gives several scenarios in which he reiterates that one person will be taken but another left.  Two people will be in bed, or two women grinding their grain, or two men in the field.  The point in these issues is not the ratio, but rather it is about the separation.  Many who are close in every respect will find that they are left while others are taken.

At this point the disciples as the question, “Where, Lord?”  In all likelihood they are wondering where the ones will be taken to.  However the answer of Jesus is clearly in reference to the judgment of the wicked.  So that poses the question to us, “Are the wicked those who are taken or are they the ones left?”  I believe that the two illustrations of Noah and Lot, which are the context of this statement, give us the answer.  In each case the righteous are taken out of the way so that the judgment coming will be upon the wicked.  It is also clear in Revelation that the judgments of God are poured out on the whole earth.  Thus the wicked would still be on the earth.  Jesus seems to disregard the concern for where the righteous are going to be taken and focuses upon where the judgment will fall.  Like a decaying body laying out in a field will be surrounded by the eagles that seek its flesh, so the wicked all across the world will find themselves unable to escape the circling judgment of God.

Friend, have you made sure that you will escape this judgment?  The only way of escape is to put your trust in Jesus and turn towards him as you leave your sins behind.  Make sure that your salvation is sure today.

Kingdom of God Audio

Gratitude

May 31, 2015- Luke 17:11-19

At this point Jesus turns south to head towards Jerusalem by going between Galilee and Samaria.  It is here that he enters an unnamed village and encounters 10 lepers.  Today’s passage gives us a lesson in gratitude or thankfulness.  Neglecting to give thanks where thanks is due is a poor habit that causes our character to deteriorate.  In fact, ingratitude tends to spoil the good things that we have.  It is very common for a person to care for a new vehicle with great detail.  However, as the car gets older our care for it can deteriorate.  It is easier to drive it around without washing it etc…  This ability to diminish in vigor towards the things we ought to do can affect even those who start out very thankful.  Now there are ten people in our story who receive an amazing gift of healing from a horrible disease, and yet only one of them glorifies God and gives thanks to Jesus.  Let’s look at that.

The Hopeless Condition

In verses 11-14 we see the encounter Jesus has with ten lepers.  To be a leper was to be in a very hopeless situation.  Though the Law of Moses has very clear instructions on how a leper could be declared clean by the priest, nothing is said on what to do to get clean.  The truth is that it was extremely rare for a person who had leprosy to get better.  It was practically a death sentence to see its beginning stages on one’s skin.  Nothing could be done medically for these people and their body would slowly deteriorate and waste away.

However, that is only the physical side.  There was also a social stigma.  It was required for lepers to be separated from the rest of the village or city.  Thus a leper is one who has had to break off close contact with family and friends and becomes an outcast.  This type of social quarantine is a very heavy burden for a person to carry because God has made us with an innate drive to socialize on some level.

Thus lepers would often end up in small groups far enough from cities to be separate, but close enough to be able to receive any gracious help from the righteous.  These small “outcast communities” were better than nothing.  Yet, the hopeless condition of each person and the approaching doom of death was a constant shadow over it.

In some ways leprosy is a picture of the sin nature that riddles our human nature.  In this sense we are all spiritually lepers.  It cannot be fixed or healed by anything this world holds.  Only God can help us.  Yet, it is also a picture of the Church of Christ in its sense of being an outcast society.  Yes, from God’s perspective we are the called out ones and that is special.  But from the world’s perspective we are the outcast ones to which it says, “Good riddance!”  We can look at leprosy as a metaphor for being ostracized for one reason or another and learn a lot here.  In Hebrews 13:12-13 it says, “Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.  Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”  Jesus presents himself as the rejected one and offers us a place within his community of outcast ones.

So we have a physical problem, a social problem and lastly we have a theological problem.  Notice that the lepers stand afar off and lift up their voices to Jesus.  That is because they were under requirement by the Law of Moses and the traditions to not come close to a clean person.  Now this pictures the condition of all mankind.  We are spiritual lepers who dare not come close to a pure God.  Legally we are doomed (“the soul who sins will die”).  Yet, in Jesus, God not only comes close to the lepers (see Luke 5 where Jesus touches one), but He actually makes himself worse than the lepers and requires them to join Him by faith in an even deeper level of being outcast.  Though the Law walls us off from God and we are relegated to crying for mercy from afar off, the grace of God has brought Jesus to our side of the Law as he joins us in our hopeless condition.  The marvelous truth is that Jesus is the Lord of life and no condition can remain hopeless when he is there.  Yet, the spiritual healing of a believer in Jesus is seen by the world as a social disease more and more in this world.  At its core, the gospel calls the world to embrace a difficult situation in order to be healed.

The Strange Command

Jesus gives the lepers a strange command and, before we get in to its specifics, I want to show how what he does is so much like how God operates.  In the desert there was a time where the children of Israel were harassed by snakes that were biting a lot of the people.  God told Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it up on a pole.  He was then to instruct those who were bitten to make their way to this thing and simply look upon it in order to be healed.  We are not told that anyone refused to do so.  However, we must admit it was a strange command.  Similarly the Bible tells of a Syrian general named Naaman who happened to be a leper.  His skill as a general had spared him a life of poverty, but it could not completely remove the stigma of the disease he had and its destruction on his flesh.  A young Israelite tells Naaman that there is a prophet in Israel who could heal him.  Thus Naaman travels to Israel and is told to dip 7 times in the Jordan River.  Naaman is offended at being told to dip in the muddy Jordan 7 times and heads home.  It is then that a servant challenges him to at least do it.  Though it didn’t make sense it was actually quite easy to do.  Why not?  God often gives strange commands to test whether or not we trust Him.  What is interesting is that they are often easy to do, but on the other hand they are intellectually and emotionally hard.  Now when I call these strange commands, I will point out that God does not give commands that are contrary to His nature.  Yet, they are often contrary to our logic and require us to trust Him, i.e. exercise faith.

So here, Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests even though they are still lepers.  Now the only reason for a leper to do this would be because they saw some signs that they were getting better.  Yet, these men are being told to do so without any signs they are better.  They simply must take the word of Jesus for it.  Now His word is pretty heavy because he has proven he can heal.  This call for faith or trust balances two outcomes.  If I trust Him and He fails then I will be humiliated and crushed.  But, if I trust Him and He heals me then I will be free of this cursed condition.  Even today the call of Christ is one that calls us to follow Him by faith, believing that he will do the spiritual work of cleansing us from our sins and healing our hearts (that he will make us to be like him).  You may feel that it isn’t working and are tempted to quit following him.  I would challenge you to listen to this story today and here what the Spirit is saying to you, “Trust me.”  If you will continue to walk in the path that Jesus is on and do the things that he has told you to do, you will find that he will give powerful healing to you in every way.

Thus all ten of the lepers decide to go and show themselves to the priest.  They have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  We are told that they are healed as they go.  Although we are not told how far they went, it was close enough for one to come back and still find Jesus at the village.  I like to think that it was close enough to return and far enough away to be an inconvenience.  Can you imagine their journey?  First is the question, “Are we going to be healed?”  Then the doubts would come, “What if we get there and are still lepers?  Why did he tell us to do this?”  However, when they realize they are healed, I bet it was a Hallelujah moment.   Suddenly they know they can go back to their families and perhaps embrace a child they haven’t been able to touch or see for years.  Every fiber of their being wants to get back to a normal life and yet, what about Jesus.  Can I put my anticipated joys on hold long enough to go back and thank the one who made this possible?  Ours is not a geographical journey.  However, we are on our way to the celestial city to present ourselves to God.  We do this because we have believed what Jesus has told us to do.  Along the road of this life the mysterious power of Christ is working to bring healing to us in every way.  In fact Christ promises to make us every bit whole and complete.  Yet, it doesn’t happen the second we believe.  It happens as we go in faith following the command of Christ.  The joyful truth is that when we stand before the Father in heaven we will be completely clean!  Praise God.

Only One Was Grateful

Gratitude, thankfulness, probably all were thankful at some level.  Yet, only one took the trouble to come to Jesus and show it.  It is not enough to say that we have gratitude in our hearts.  True gratitude seeks opportunity to show itself to the One to whom we are grateful.

Now there is a difference between being happy for grace and being thankful to Jesus for giving it.  The difference is where our primary focus is.  Sometimes we find ourselves being happier for what we have received than we are thankful to God for giving it.  In that way we can be guilty of taking God’s gifts without regard for Him as the giver.  Which is greater, the giver or the gift?  We know the answer, but our life often shows a different answer.

Only one leper took the extra time to glorify God.  Maybe some others thought about going back to give thanks, but this man was the only one who actually did it.  It is sad how despicable our lust for good things can become when we see just how much we can become like an animal feasting on the carcass of Gods gifts.  Instead of taking the time to restrain our flesh and give thanks to God and glorify him for his gifts and then cooking a meal to enjoy, we can leap upon those gifts and suck them dry of any life they have in them.  In the passage the man first glorifies God and then thanks Jesus.  These two things are coupled together.  Thankfulness is between me and God and should be expressed often.  But glorification is between me and you.  It is our testimony of what God has done for us and how great He is.  Take time to Glorify God by declaring what He has done in your life and take time to express thanks to those through whom God has done them.  Though it may seem like wasted time, it is not.  It is time spent keeping our eyes upon the higher and more important things (relationship with God and his people).  It is time delivering our soul from the tyranny of the lust of our flesh for the lower gifts that God can and does give.  In fact it is a means of delivering ourselves from the sin of idolatry.  The good thing that God gives today can become an idol in my life that comes between me and Him.  In the day that we let God’s gifts become idols to us, they also become worthless to us.

A side note to this story is that the thankful leper was a Samaritan, which implies most of the others, if not all, were Judeans.  This Samaritan was even further away from God than the Judeans.  Of all the lepers this Samaritan would deserve it least and yet he is the one who returns.  In Luke 7 Jesus explained this dynamic before Simon the Pharisee, when a woman who was a sinner washed and anointed his feet.  He told Simon a story to illustrate this principle: The one who is forgiven much loves much, but the one who is forgiven little loves little.  Perhaps the Judeans felt they deserved a healing.  Perhaps a part of them was saying, “It’s about time!”  Yet the truth is that all of us are equally undeserving of the grace of God.  If we truly understood our sin we would know that God has given us far more than we ever deserved and could have hoped for.  We would run to him, tossing aside the gifts, in order to wash his feet with our tears and wipe it dry with our head.  The things of this world like different races, stations in life, etc. that make us think we are more deserving are a lie.  We are all the least deserving.  Until we see that we will be ungrateful or at best give it sparingly.  It will ruin our gifts like a cancer that goes untreated if we do not turn around and give God the glory with all our heart.

Jesus then tells the thankful ex-leper this, “Your faith has made you well.”  Now in the context all of the lepers had faith enough to obey Jesus.  Now it is important to remember that the word that is often translated as “heal” can also mean “save,” depending on the context.  It literally means to be safe or saved, whether from injury, disease, or sin, character deficiency, and emotional sickness.  Clearly Jesus means more than that the man’s faith had physically healed him.  Something more would happen in this man’s life than those who were ungrateful.  He would find a spiritual healing as well.  It is a tragedy to be physically healed and yet not be spiritually healed.  Have you settled for lesser things?  Let us all be quick to be more thankful that Jesus is in our lives than all the gifts he could ever give.

Gratitude audio