The Biggest Question

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. -- Matthew 16:13-17

What if I told you that I am one with God and said, "If you've seen me, you've seen God". By the way, what if I also claimed that I can raise the dead and I will judge all mankind, both the living and the dead, at the end of the age. Furthermore, what if I claimed to forgive sins?

Now keep in mind, forgiveness is a really tricky business. Strangely enough, it can rub people the wrong way. Imagine if someone has hurt you in some way, and I forgive THEM for hurting YOU. What kind of person goes around doing that? Well, that is exactly what Jesus did. As C.S. Lewis observed:

One part of the claim tends to slip past us unnoticed because we have heard it so often that we no longer see what it amounts to. I mean the claim to forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the speaker is God, this is really so preposterous as to be comic. We can all understand how a man forgives offences against himself. You tread on my toe and I forgive you, you steal my money and I forgive you. But what should we make of a man, himself unrobbed and untrodden on, who announced that he forgave you for treading on other men's toes and stealing other men's money? Asinine fatuity is the kindest description we should give of his conduct. Yet this is what Jesus did.

He told people that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all the other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured. He unhesitatingly behaved as if He was the party chiefly concerned, the person chiefly offended in all offences. This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. In the mouth of any speaker who is not God, these words would imply what I can only regard as a silliness and conceit unrivalled by any other character in history.*

So one thing should be clear; if I said those things about myself, I would be claiming to be God. Those who assert that Jesus never claimed to be God couldn't be more wrong. In John 5, Jesus is clearly asserting His deity, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. We will see much more in the weeks to come. It is also clear that the religious leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be God (John 5:18, John 10:33). The Bible testifies through and through to the divinity of Christ. Both with explicit statements, as well as implicit (and beautifully pictured) allusions to the deity of Christ. Once again, Lewis is helpful in delineating our options when facing the claims of Christ:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.*

Now think about what that means for just a moment. If God really did come to us wrapped in human flesh, that should startle and shake us to our core. But does that knowledge truly arrest our attention? Do we really feel the weight of it? Once again, I fear that because we have heard it so often, we no longer really hear it, we no longer really see it, and we've long stopped considering what it means.

For thousands of years, God sent His prophets to speak to man on His behalf, but they were rejected and persecuted. So finally, God Himself came in human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Our God and Creator came to us, not to condemn us, but to seek and to save the lost -- and we crucified Him. We crucified the Lord of Glory because we did not want our rightful King to reign over us.

Although it was God's sovereign plan from eternity past for Christ to die, man is still responsible and guilty for the murder of Jesus (Acts 2:23-24). At the cross we see man's hatred of God and love of sin on full display. But thankfully, at the cross, we also see God's love for man and His hatred of sin on full display as well. It all intersects and collides at the cross of Christ. What man meant for evil, God used for good.

Which brings us back to the question asked by Jesus Himself: Who do you say that I am? Is He Lord, lunatic or liar? That is the biggest question and it demands an answer -- it is impossible to sit on the fence. If Jesus was and is Who He claimed to be, then it really does change everything. And if we really believe it, if we really feel the weight of it, then it will change us as well.

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* Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Considering Culture: Jesus is My Homeboy?

One thing I hope to do on a recurring basis is step outside of our cultural context to consider how culture might incorrectly shape our understanding of Scripture. That old question, "Does a fish know it's wet?" is an apt illustration. In the same way that a fish doesn't realize it is wet, we often don't realize how much we are influenced by our culture because we are swimming in it.

For example, we live in America which is a representative republic. Because of this, we understand that we have some say in who governs our country. We can elect our leaders and remove them from office. Even our president, who is considered the world's most powerful man, is elected every four years, and he is limited to eight years in office. In other words, despite the tremendous power of the U.S. presidency, it still comes with great limitations placed on him by the people and our constitution.

In fact, in a republic such as ours, the voter is referred to as the sovereign or absolute ruler. Benjamin Franklin said, "In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns."

sov•er•eign [sov-rin, sov-er-in, suhv-] noun
1. a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.
2. a person who has supreme power or authority.
3. a group or body of persons or a state having sovereign authority.

Because I have lived in America my entire life, I have no concept of what it means to live under an absolute monarchy in which the king has the final word as well as absolute power over life and death. In the ancient world, the word of the king was law, and this was the most common form of government. That being the case, we need to remember that our modern form of government was a foreign concept in the ancient world.

Why is this important for us to understand? Because the claim that Christ makes on us is that of a Sovereign King, not that of a president hoping to be reelected. We didn't elect Jesus, He will never be termed out of office, and His word is law. There will come a day when every knee bows to His authority and confesses that He is Lord.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -- Philippians 2:9-11

Because of these same cultural influences, we have a stubborn habit of giving Jesus a makeover to better suit our time and sensibilities. In the 70's we made Jesus a hippy in movies like Jesus Christ Superstar. In the 80s we made him a conservative Republican, in the 90s we made Him a New Age guru, and today we're trying to make Him into a green social justice warrior. We are forever trying to mold Jesus into our own image to enlist Him to our pet cause. Even worse, we have lost all sense of fear and reverence for Christ in the process.

The phrase Jesus is Lord is so ubiquitous, we no longer stop to think about what it means. Instead of Lord and Savior, we think of Him as Life coach and Savior. We live any way we choose and think of Jesus as a personal assistant, consultant, or therapist who gives advice on how to fulfill our worldly ambitions. But once again, that is not the Christ of Scripture. If we don't learn about Jesus from Scripture, without realizing it, we will simply believe whatever the culture is selling about Jesus at any given moment.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. -- Galatians 1:8

It is vital that we understand who Jesus is on His terms, and according to Scripture, not according to the shifting sands of culture. Jesus is the Sovereign Lord, He is high and lifted up, and He is due proper honor, respect, and reverence to the glory of God.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. -- Colossians 1:16-18

To further illustrate, let's consider an Old Testament appearance of Christ (known as a Christophany) from the book of Joshua. Jesus appeared to Joshua as the Commander of the Lord's Army on the eve of battle with Jericho.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.  -- Joshua 5:13-15

Here was the pre-incarnate Christ with sword in hand, and Joshua, a seasoned warrior, fell on his face in worship. After an encounter like that, can you imagine Joshua saying anything like, "Jesus is my homeboy"? Jesus refused to be usurped into any man's cause, and that is the pattern throughout Scripture. Christ is Sovereign. When Christ is seen in His glory, men are overwhelmed and fall at His feet as if dead.

We must never forget that Jesus is King of kings, and Lord of lords. And yet, this King is like no other. He is perfect in humility (Phil 2:5-8), He came as a servant to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28), He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5), and He even calls us friend.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. -- John 15:13-15

This is the same Jesus who wrapped Himself in the towel of a servant to wash the feet of His proud disciples; and this same Jesus will serve a meal to His own in the kingdom to come. What kind of king does that?

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. -- Luke 12:37

So yes, while we can bask in the wondrous glow of Christ's love and enjoy His friendship, we must never forget Who He is. We are not His equal. Nevertheless, because of His great love and compassion toward us, He condescends to take our hand. 

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. -- Revelation 19:11-16

Jesus is not a lump of clay that we can mold into any image. He is the Almighty God and King who wore a crown of thorns and vouchsafed for us the privilege of friendship. The only proper response to such a King is love, joy, reverence, wonder, awe, and worship. Once again, I will close with the words to another wonderful hymn that says it all so well:

Amazing love, how can it be?
That You, my King would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, I honor You

The Lion and the Lamb

 

Martin Luther once said, "Music is the handmaiden of theology." So just take a little time to enjoy this wonderful, Christ exalting song, and contemplate the person and work of Christ, the Lion of Judah, and the Lamb of God.

Who is He...Who's the mightiest of all

Who is He...Creation trembles at His call

Who is He...The lowly sacrifice, who paid a victims price

His name is Jesus

(chorus)

Jesus...From the Father's own right hand

Jesus...Son of God and son of man

Jesus...Who died and rose again

Jesus...He's the Lion and the Lamb

Who is He...With the power none can tame

Who is He...That every foe would fear His name

Who is He...Who was humbly led away, to suffer that dark day

His name is Jesus

(chorus)

He's the Lion and the Lamb

(Hook)

He's the Lamb that was slain

He's the Lion that reigns

My Savior and King both the same

Who is He...With the eyes that burn like fire

Who is He...Oh the wonder He inspires

Who is He...Who bore the guilt and shame

For those who've gone astray

His name is Jesus

(chorus)

He's the Lion and He is... healer from the Father's own right hand

Jesus...Son of God and son of man

Jesus...Who died and rose again

Jesus...He's the Lion and the Lamb

He's the Lion and the Lamb (repeat 2x)

Considering Culture: Idol Worship - Then and Now

*****

Broken Cisterns

Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns* for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. -- Jeremiah 2:12-13

As we make our way through Scripture, we will continue to meet various people. Last week we met Nicodemus, and this week we meet a Samaritan woman at Jacobs Well. She is never named, we only know her as the Woman at the Well, but we learn a lot about her back story.  She had been married and (presumably) divorced five times, and now she was living with a man that she was not married to.

As we meet people in Scripture, one thing should become abundantly clear, they suffer from common human maladies. In other words, they are very much like us. In Nicodemus, we saw the best of the best, a  highly respected religious leader with great influence. And in the Woman at the Well, we see what society counted as the lowest of the low, a social outcast with a checkered past. Nicodemus was a somebody, and the Woman at the Well was a nobody. This is a study in contrasts and it tells us something; whether we are counted as the best of the best, the worst of the worst, or somewhere in between, we are all laid bare before Christ. When Jesus confronts Nicodemus or the woman at the well, He is confronting the full spectrum of humanity, and that includes you and me.

It is fitting that Jesus first encountered this woman at Jacob's Well while she was working to quench her physical thirst. Because for many years, she had been working hard trying to quench her spiritual thirst with men. She had gone to the well of relationships, time and time again, only to pull up empty buckets. She was trying to find in men that which can only be found in God. Her meeting with Jesus was not just a chance encounter, she had an appointment with Divine Providence.

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." -- John 4:13-14

Biblically speaking, this woman was guilty of adultery and fornication, but there was yet another sin underneath her sexual sin -- the sin of idolatry. What is Idolatry you might ask? To put it simply, idolatry is anything we put in God's rightful place; and we humans have a long history of committing the sin of idolatry.

As modern people, we tend to ridicule our ancient counterparts for their primitive forms of idolatry. How could they fashion idols from things like gold, wood, and stone then bow down to them as gods? Not only did they have personal idols for their households, they also built elaborate temples for their idols. So we look around our land today and think, no temples, no household idols, we're better than our ancestors. Well, not so fast, we are no less guilty of idolatry. The only difference is that our modern temples come in different forms and unseen idols of the heart are alive and well.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. -- 1 John 5:21 

In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller has done a yeoman's work in examining modern idolatry. What follows is my summary of Keller's observations:

An idol will hold a supreme place in our affections, passions, and thoughts. At base, we believe that our idols will save us. We believe that they will save us from meaninglessness, hopelessness, a lack of respect, and so forth. The list is endless. An idol is also our attempt at self-salvation and self-justification. We tend to believe that our goals and accomplishments are the ultimate sources of our identity and meaning. Your place in this world is justified because of what you have achieved. Consequently, if you fail to capture that golden ring, your life will be rendered meaningless. To one person their idol might be a successful career, to another it might be the pursuit of a dream, to another it might be sex and romance, or even marriage and family. These things are not inherently bad in themselves, but even a good thing can become an idol if we make it our god and our ultimate reason for living. And know this, idols are harsh taskmasters that will ultimately fail us.

For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? 

-- Mark 8:36

Additionally, an idol will shrivel the soul, because we will ultimately become what we worship:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. -- Psalms 115:4-8

In short, idols will leave us spiritually deaf, dumb, and blind. Ancient Israel abandoned God, the fountain of living waters, and replaced Him with idols that were merely broken cisterns. When we commit idolatry, we do the same. Essentially, we fail to give God His rightful place in the heart.

To use another analogy, idolatry is like drinking salt water to quench your thirst. In the end, it creates a vicious cycle of thirst and dehydration that will ultimately end in death. It is like a cycle of addiction, in that you crave more and more of the very thing that is killing you. To paraphrase Pascal, only an infinite God can fill the human soul.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" -- John 7:37-38

We foolishly believe that our idols will give us life, meaning, and joy. But in reality, our idols are heavy burdens and harsh taskmasters that will destroy us in the end. In stark contrast, Christ offers us a light burden and rest for our souls:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." -- Matthew 11:28-30 

Jesus confronts our idols. He said that you cannot serve two masters, you will hate one and love the other (Luke 16:13). A Christian is someone who, by God's grace, has turned away from his sin and idolatry and has come to treasure Christ above all other pursuits, pleasures, and ambitions. In short, we renounce all other masters, including self, to follow Christ.

"Having made Jesus his all, he shall 

find all in Jesus." - Charles Spurgeon 

As God takes His rightful place on the throne of the heart, something wonderful begins to happen. We begin to be transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Although we will never be perfect on this side of heaven, the Christian is already being transformed into the image of Christ as we gaze upon his face in the written Word. (Remember, we become what we worship.)

The grace of Christ frees us. We no longer need to be slaves to our idols, and we will no longer try to get from others that which only comes from God. We begin to understand that not even the best of circumstances, the best spouse, the best children, the best career, none of these things can carry the burden of being our God and ultimate reason for living. Consequently, that frees us to love people and live with joy and contentment because we have already found our greatest treasure in Christ. Christ not only anchors our soul in times of plenty, we find that He is also our rock in seasons of trial and tribulation. 

By God's grace, the Christian grows to understand that, in light of all that Christ has done, we no longer need our idols because He is our salvation, our justification, our joy, and our reason for living. We increasingly learn to rest in Him. God is the fount of living water that quenches our dry and thirsty souls. For the Christian, God is the fountainhead of all true and lasting joy. He is not a means to an end, He is the end.

In closing, I leave you with the words of this wonderful old hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus:

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

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* Cisterns: ...Jerusalem depends mainly for water upon its cisterns, of which almost every private house possesses one or more, excavated in the rock on which the city is built. The cisterns have usually a round opening at the top, sometimes built up with stonework above and furnished with a curb and a wheel for a bucket. ( Ecclesiastes 12:6 ) Empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons and places of confinement. Joseph was cast into a "pit," ( Genesis 37:22 ) as was Jeremiah. ( Jeremiah 38:6 ) - Smith's Bible Dictionary

Setting Your Affections Above

The true cure for a dull memory in religion, is to get deeper love toward Christ, and affections more thoroughly set on things above. We do not readily forget the things we love, and the objects which we keep continually under our eyes. The names of our parents and children are always remembered. The face of the husband or wife we love is engraved on the tablets of our hearts. The more our affections are engaged in Christ’s service, the more easy shall we find it to remember Christ’s words. The words of the apostle ought to be carefully pondered: “We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (Heb. 2:1)

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 494.

Soul to Seoul

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

-- Revelation 7:9-10

It is amazing how the Gospel of Christ transcends ethnicity, culture, and national borders. No really, don't just take that for granted, ponder it for a moment, because it really is an amazing thing. How did the Bible know that this would happen? There have been times when I've met people, and we couldn't be more different, but when we find out that we have Christ in common, there is an instant bond of joyful fellowship. And it's a fellowship that runs far deeper than just a shared interest. Why is that?

That brings me to this video, you will not believe your ears when you hear it. These ladies are from South Korea, English is not their national language, but listen to their rendition of His Eye is on the Sparrow and marvel at the transcendent beauty of the Gospel.