Step-by-Step with Jesus:

A Holy Week Timeline

Ask each day: What did Jesus DO?

What does that teach you about Jesus? 

[or Why is it important, especially to you right now?]

Thursday/Friday(?) before Palm Sunday [This probably happened on Thursday/Friday, because there was no travelling on the Sabbath.]

·         Jesus tells disciples what will be happening.  He KNEW.

o   Mark 10:32 (TLB) ³² Now they were on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking along ahead; and as the disciples were following they were filled with terror and dread. Taking them aside, Jesus once more began describing all that was going to happen to him when they arrived at Jerusalem.

·         Coming to Jericho (about 12-15 miles from Jerusalem), Jesus heals 2 blind men (Bartamaus & another?)

o   Luke 18:35 (NIV) ³⁵ As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.

o   Matthew 20:29-30 (TLB) ²⁹ As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a vast crowd surged along behind. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, "Sir, King David’s Son, have mercy on us!"

·         In Jericho, goes to eat with Zacchaeus

o   Luke 19:1-2 (NIV) ¹ Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.

·         After Jericho

o   They went to Bethany and (primarily) Bethphage – ON the Mt of Olives, at the limit of the Sabbatical distance for traveling to Jerusalem (about 2 miles)

o   The disciples borrowed a donkey and its colt – so Jesus could ride the colt the following Sunday (Mt 21:1-6, Mk 11:1-6, Lk 19:29-34)

§  Luke 19:28-30 (NIV)  ²⁸ After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ³⁰ “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”

o   Arrives in Bethany, stays in the home of Mary, Martha, & Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, during the Sabbath (Saturday).

§  John 12:1-2 (NIV) ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

§  John 12:9-10 (NIV) ⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well…

Palm Sunday

·         Descending Mt. of Olives/ Triumphal Entry on the colt (Mt 21:7-11, Mk 11:6-10, Lk 19:35-44, Jn 12:12-19)

o   A king, coming in peace, rode a donkey foal. [A king coming for war would ride a horse.]

§  Matthew 21:4-5 (TLB) ⁴ This was done to fulfill the ancient prophecy, ⁵ "Tell Jerusalem her King is coming to her, riding humbly on a donkey’s colt!"

§  Zechariah 9:9 (NIV) ⁹ Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

o   It was approximately a two-mile journey from Bethany to Jerusalem

§  Luke 19:36-37 (TLB) ³⁶ Then the crowds spread out their robes along the road ahead of him, ³⁷ and as they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, the whole procession began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles Jesus had done.

o   The Pharisees didn’t accept him

§  Luke 19:39 (NIV) ³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

·         Close to Jerusalem – within sight

o   Luke 19:41-44 (NIV) ⁴¹ As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it ⁴² and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

·         Entered into Jerusalem

o   Cleansed the Temple – knowing it would soon be destroyed

§  Luke 19:45 (TLB) ⁴⁵ Then he entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants from their stalls,

o   Healed people at the Temple

§  Matthew 21:14 (NIV) The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

o   And allowed his Messiah-ship to be proclaimed

§  Matthew 21:15 (NIV) But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

·         Went back to Bethany (where Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived)

o   Mark 11:11 (TLB) ¹¹ And so he entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked around carefully at everything and then left—for now it was late in the afternoon—and went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

Monday

·         Wakes up in Bethany with 12 Disciples (and almost certainly again with Mary, Martha, & Lazarus)

o   Mark 11:11 (NIV) ¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

·         Heads to Jerusalem

o   Curses fig tree

§  Matthew 21:18-19 (NIV) ¹⁸ Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

o   At Temple –

§  drives out buyers and sellers

·         Mark 11:15-18 (NIV) ¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" ¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

·         Leaves the city with Disciples (Mt. 21:17)

o   Mark 11:19 (NIV) ¹⁹ When evening came, they went out of the city.

Tuesday

·         Disciples see the withered fig tree on the return to Jerusalem

o   Mark 11:20-26 (NIV) ²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" ²² "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. ²³ "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him."

·         Temple debates in Jerusalem (Mt. 21:23-23:39, Mk 11:27-12:44, Lk 20:1-21:4)

·         Leaves Temple for Mt of Olives

o   Matthew 24:1 (NIV) ¹ Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.

·         On Mt of Olives

o   Olivet Discourses (Mt 24-25, Mk 13, Lk 21:5-36)

§  Matthew 24:3 (NIV) ³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

§  Jesus answers in Parables

·         Ten Virgins – Mt 25:1-13

·         Talents – Mt 25:14-30

·         Sheep & Goats – Mt 25:31-46

o   Matthew 26:1-5 (NIV) ¹ When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ² "As you know, the Passover is two days away--and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." ³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. ⁵ "But not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

·         Back in Bethany

o   Dinner at Simon the Leper’s house, where a woman anoints him with expensive perfume

§  Matthew 26:6-13 (NIV) ⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. ⁸ When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. ⁹ "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." ¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

o   Judas agrees to Betray Jesus

§  Matthew 26:14-16 (NIV) ¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Wednesday

·         Continues Daily Teaching, while spending his nights on Mt of Olives (at Bethany)

o   Luke 21:37-38 (NIV) ³⁷ Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, ³⁸ and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

·         Sanhedrin plots to kill Jesus

o   Matthew 26:3-5 (NIV) ³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. ⁵ "But not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

Thursday (Maundy Thursday)

(Mt 26:20-35, Mk 14:17-31, Lk 22:14-38, Jn 13-17, 1 Cor 11:23-25)

·         Preparations for Passover

o   Matthew 26:17-19 (NIV) ¹⁷ On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" ¹⁸ He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'" ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

o   In the morning Jesus sent Peter and John to oversee the necessary preparations for the room where the sacred meal of the Passover victim would take place

·         Matthew 26:17-19 (NLT) ¹⁷  On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” ¹⁸  “As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹  So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.

o   At noon all religious Jews gathered at the Temple for the sacrifice of the second Tamid lamb

·         There were 2 daily sacrifice of a perfect lamb for the atonement for the sins of the community and for restoration of fellowship with God

·         Known as the Perpetual sacrifice or Standing sacrifice

·         (like a ‘standing order’)

·         Tamid may be derived from the word to stand

·         it happened every day, twice a day

·         according to ancient Jewish sources outside the Bible, the morning offering of the Tamid took place at 9 a.m., while the evening offering took place at 3 p.m.

·         The offering of the Tamid sacrifice was the most important of all the blood sacrifices of the Sinai Covenant

·         so important that the entire day of the covenant people was structured around the sacrifices

·         The Jewish priest/historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD), recorded that the day the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Temple on the 9^th of Ab, 587/6 BC, the offering of the Tamid was so crucial to the covenant obligations that the priests continued to prepare the Tamid sacrifice as brother priests were being slaughtered and the Temple was burning down around them

·         3PM - the sacrifice of the Passover lambs began, lasting until about 5PM

·         Attending the Passover sacrifice wasn’t mandatory

·         But partaking in the feast that evening was

·         The Passover lamb was to be roasted and eaten in the evening, and before midnight

·         Passover was yearly

·         Focused on deliverance from slavery to the Egyptians

·         Tamid was daily

·         Focused on atoning for sins and restoration of relationship with God

o   At Sundown, the 15^th of Nissan began: the Festival of Unleavened Bread

·         7 days of celebration to remember that they left Egypt so quickly that they didn’t have time for their bread to rise

·         So all day yesterday the final yeast was found in homes and shops and was thrown out

·         Because anyone who still had yeast in their home come sundown (the start of the new day) was supposed to be cast out of the community

·         It was a big Deal!!!

·        In the evening/night

o   Jesus gathered with his disciples

·         Matthew 26:20 (NLT) ²⁰  When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples.

o   Washed their feet

·         John 13:2-5 (NIV) ²  The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

o   Ate the Passover meal

·         Luke 22:14-15 (NIV) ¹⁴  When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵  And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

o   Judas left to find the guards who would arrest Jesus

·         John 13:27-30 (NIV) ²⁷  As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, ²⁸  but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹  Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰  As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

o   Everyone else went to a garden called Gethsemane on the hill across from the city called the Mt. of Olives

·         Matthew 26:36 (NIV) ³⁶  Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

o   Jesus was arrested by the Temple Guard (under the control of the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, and different from the Roman soldiers), the disciples all fled

·         Matthew 26:50-56 (NIV) ⁵⁰  Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.  ⁵⁶  …Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

o   First Jesus was taken to the former High Priest, Annas  

·         John 18:12-13 (NIV) ¹²  Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³  and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

o   From Annas' house Jesus was taken to Caiaphas' palace where He was tried on the testimony of false witnesses. 

·         John 18:24 (NIV) ²⁴  Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

·         Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 and from Daniel's messianic vision of the divine Messiah (Daniel 7:13).   

·         In quoting from these passages Jesus announced to the Sanhedrin that He was indeed the promised Messiah (Mt 26:64-66; Mk 14:61-64; Lk 22:69-71). 

o   The High Priest Caiaphas immediately tore his robes and condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy. 

·         Mark 14:63-64 (NIV) ⁶³  The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. ⁶⁴  "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death.

·         When a man was condemned to death the judge tore his robes and never repaired them as a sign of the individual's break with the covenant and the finality of the sentence

Friday

·         At dawn on Friday in the Jerusalem Temple the first lamb of the morning Tamid sacrifice was led out to the altar

o   The High Priest made or approved the selection,

·          It was inspected for one last time to be certain that it was without fault or blemish. 

·         It had to be visible for three hours prior to the sacrifice for everyone to see its perfection. 

·         At dawn on Friday morning the Jewish authorities took Jesus to the residence of the Roman governor Pontus Pilate for the Roman governor. 

o   John 18:28 (NIV) ²⁸  Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

o   The Jewish Sanhedrin did not have the authority to carry out the death sentence they pronounced against Jesus.  Only their Roman rulers had the power over life and death

·         John 18:31 (NIV) ³¹  Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected.

·         When Jesus was sent to Pilate:

o   John 18:28 (NIV) ²⁸ … to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

·         the entire 8-day festival from the day of the Passover sacrifice to the last day of the week long Feast of Unleavened Bread was called "the Passover"

o   Jesus was selected by the High Priest Caiaphas for sacrifice.

·         Caiaphas pronounced three times that He must die (John 11:49-50, 51; 18:14)

·         and the Gentile Roman governor pronounced Him, three times, "without fault/blemish" (John 18:38; 19:4, 6).

·         Pilate bowed to the pressure to have Jesus crucified, and sent him to Golgatha

o   Mark 15:15 (NIV) ¹⁵  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

o   Jesus was tried, condemned and crucified on Friday, Nisan the 15^th 

·         During the daytime festivities of the Feast of Unleavened Bread

·         When all righteous Jews, and Jesus' many supporters, were at the Temple attending the liturgical services. 

·         The chief priests and Pharisees had planned Jesus' arrest, trial and execution so that the people would not discover what had happened to Jesus until it was too late to intervene and save him.

·         At 9AM (the 3^rd hour Jewish time), on Friday, Nisan the 15^th, Jesus was crucified on the altar of the cross. 

o   Mark 15:25 (NLT) ²⁵  It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

·         At the Temple at 9am, the first lamb of the daily Tamid was sacrificed, and focused on atoning for sins and restoration of relationship with God

o   Jesus was on the cross for 6 hours until his death at 3pm (or the 9^th hour to the Jews)

·         Luke 23:44-46 (NIV) ⁴⁴  It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵  for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶  Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

·         Meanwhile, back at the Temple…

·         The 2^nd Tamid sacrifice was being offered

·         A sacrifice for atonement for the sins of the community and for restoration of fellowship with God

·         So, Jesus is the true Tamid, the true ‘standing’ sacrifice

·         Before sundown (the start of the Sabbath), Jesus was removed from the Cross and buried in a borrowed tomb

o   Luke 23:50-54 (NIV) ⁵⁰  Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹  who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵²  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. ⁵³  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴  It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

Saturday (the Sabbath)

·         Probably on Friday evening, the beginning of the Sabbath “day”, the Chief Priests convinced Pilate to guard the tomb to keep the disciples from stealing Jesus’ body

o   Matthew 27:62-66 (NIV) ⁶²  The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³  "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' ⁶⁴  So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." ⁶⁵  "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." ⁶⁶  So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

o   Luke 23:55-56 (NIV) ⁵⁵  The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶  Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

HOW We Worship is What Counts

We are in a series called “Private Disciplines that God Rewards”

Today’s topic - Worship

In one sense, this one isn’t really a private discipline, 

Because we worship together – especially on Sundays

but In another sense, this is very much a private discipline 

In today’s Gospel reading, we have an account of a conversation Jesus had with a woman from Samaria

_ Samaria was the region between Galilee and Jerusalem

Definitely the “other side of the tracks” to the Jews

Worse than FL/Fla State, Ga/Fl, Aub/Ala

Jews would go a day or 2 out of their way to bypass

Samaritans were descended from Jews who intermarried with non-Jewish people after the Babylonian Exile

In 722 BC, Nebuchadnezzar – the King of Babylon – invaded Israel and took all the leaders that he didn’t kill back to Babylon as prisoners

The people were scattered to other regions

Some settled in Samaria

There was a mountain in Samaria – Mt. Gerizim – 

Samaritans believed it was a holy place because it was where Abraham received the blessing that he was going to have an enormously big family, and all the nations on earth would be blessed because of Abraham’s faithfulness

They had even built a temple there to rival the temple in Jerusalem

Though it had been destroyed about 150 years before this conversation

The Jews said No – that mountain is really Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.

You Samaritans don’t know what you’re talking about

You’re not really Jewish anyway because you intermarried with non-Jews

So it was a big surprise to everyone except Jesus that Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman – maybe within sight of the ruins of the Samaritan temple

John 4:20-23 (TLB) [The woman from Samaria said…] 20  But say, tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here [at Mount Gerizim], where our ancestors worshiped?" 

21  Jesus replied, "The time is coming, ma’am, when we will no longer be concerned about whether to worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. 22  For it’s not where we worship that counts, 

This was an extraordinary statement

It cut to the heart of the disagreement between the Samaritans and the Jews

Jesus says

Where isn’t the point

In fact, it’s not important

Doesn’t matter if you’re here, 

Jerusalem…

In an Anglican church, 

a Baptist church,

a Catholic church…

This was borderline blasphemy

Because Jewish worship was centered around the Temple

The prayers, the sacrifices

But not quite blasphemy, because even in Jewish thought that wasn’t the only way or place to worship

Hebrew word “avad”

To worship

To serve

Exodus 8:1 (NIV) 1  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Let my people (avadim) go, so that they may worship (avad) me. 

There’s an ironic twist in this verse

The Israelites were slaves (avadim) – ones who work/serve

Pharaoh was to release them from service/slavery so they could go serve the Lord instead!

But if avad means both work and worship, that means something that we Western Christians don’t often consider

Our work and our worship are equally important to God

They are the same thing!

That means that what you do here on Sunday mornings is as important – not more or less – as

Doing homework

Paying bills

Supervising employees

Taking inventory

Calling customers

Cutting your grass

Cooking dinner

We tend to think that what we do the other 6 days is “secular”

That making money and doing the daily chores is our business, not God’s

We just need to share a little of it with Him on Sunday and He’ll approve of the arrangement

We think that Sundays are more sacred, more holy because that is the day we “worship”

But to God, the other 6 days are equally important because we are also worshipping those days

In everything we do

….everything we give our time to

…we are worshipping.

Or not.

That’s why Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians that said:

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) 23  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Because understanding avad is understanding that our work is really worship, and that our worship is also our work

Our job, our task, our expectation

Exodus 34:21 (NIV) 21  Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest 

I used to think that meant that we’d work for ourselves for 6 days and worship on the 7th

but it’s closer to the heart of the matter to understand we’re to serve God 6 days, 

and rest on the 7th

even from the work God has given us to do

6 days you shall avad

On the 7th, you shall cease

Not the one day we quit working so we can worship!

That helps us understand what he meant when Jesus said worship is not a where

we will no longer be concerned about whether to worship the Father here or in Jerusalem.

Or as another translation (NIV) says

John 4:21 (NIV) 21  … you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

22  For it’s not where we worship that counts, but how we worship—is our worship spiritual and real? 

Since there is no difference between secular and sacred

Then what matters is NOT 

Do we go to church?  What denomination?

But… How do we go about life?

Do we worship God as we work?

Do we lean into Him as we

Study for a test

Vacuum the living room

Care for aging parents

Have lunch with friends

Do we try to make him smile as we…

Buy our groceries

Pay our bills

Exercise

Wash the dishes

Read bedtime stories

Do we see that All of life is spiritual? 

Do we recognize the reality that our work and our worship can be the same thing?

The Jews also have a word that describes the difference between just going through the motions of worship 

and choosing to be present in the moment of worship

Kavanah – (Lit. “intention”) – to focus one’s intention and concentration on recognizing and being in the presence of God. 

If you’ve read Practicing the Presence of God, this is what Brother Lawrence was talking about

For instance: The Lord’s Prayer

Most of you have it memorized

We pray it multiple times a week

Frankly – you could think about going golfing  while you mouth the words

 But praying with Kavanah means you focus on the prayer – that this is a living conversation with the living God

And not on the distractions around you

You may pray the same prayer a 1000 times

But praying with kavanah means you choose to be present in the prayer

We can experience new insights in that old prayer because we are immersed in the words and the present reality of God

In many Jewish synagogues, the cabinet that holds the Torah scrolls will have a plaque that reads, “Know Before Whom You Stand”

That is what it means to pray with kavanah

To have a sense of standing in the presence of God

To know you are addressing the sovereign lord of the universe

When we sing and pray and share communion on Sundays

It would be easy to do it half-heartedly and let our minds wander

But worshipping with kavanah means we choose to be present in the moment

…inclining our hearts toward the reality of God’s presence with us

When we work with kavanah

We incline our hearts towards Him just as we would in church

Because there is no difference between secular and sacred

This is how public corporate worship becomes a private discipline

Each of us must choose to actually worship instead of just going through the motions

23  Do we have the Holy Spirit’s help? For God is Spirit, and we must have his help to worship (avad?) as we should. The Father wants this kind of worship from us. 

God helps.  He meets us in the middle

That’s the reward. 

We find him when we seek him with all our heart

Because this is what He wants

He wants to be found by us

It’s not where we worship that counts, 

Because we can worship, we can work anywhere

but how we worship

with kavanah

with intention

knowing God meets us there no matter how we feel

Today, lean into your worship

Practice the presence of God in our prayer, our singing, Communion

Don’t use communion as a time to socialize

But to recognize that God is present

Commune with him! 

Lean into him

A Response to the Critics of "Son of God"

The Son of God movie came out over the weekend, and there is already a lot of discussion swirling in some church circles about how faithful/unfaithful the script is to the text of the Scripture in the 4 Gospels.  Some are already decrying the movie because it takes some license in the telling of the life and ministry of Jesus.  Therefore, some critics are saying, we should avoid it.  It’s too new age! Jesus went into Lazarus’ tomb instead of calling him out! Jesus tells Peter they will change the world!  When Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper, he doesn't say it’s for the forgiveness of sins!  And these only scratch the surface of the transgressions.  There’s also a lot of contempt because Jesus is too “hot” – and all good Bible scholars know ^“he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2 – ESV) 

I enjoyed the movie, but not because it was 100% accurate to the texts of the Gospels.  If that’s our standard for approval, it would be better to never see a movie, never participate in a Passion Play, never allow a children’s nativity.  After all, nothing but Scripture can be as accurate as Scripture.

Accuracy to the theology and texts of the Scriptures is to be desired, and it should be. We should want to be true to the Word of God, no doubt.  This movie changes the order of some events in the life of Jesus, and combines some others.  But that shouldn't be cause for keeping people away from the theater.  Yes, Jesus went into Lazarus' tomb in the movie, etc.  There were a number of areas that weren't accurate.  It was pointed out to me today that it's not even specifically stated that Jesus died on the cross because of the sins of the world!  I didn't notice that when I saw the movie.  Yes, the movie lacked some accuracy, to be sure.

But then again, so did the Children's Christmas Program we put on at my church this year.  Children were actually saying that if Jesus would live in your heart, it would make your heart sing, for cryin’ out loud! Where is that in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or the rest of the Bible?  And didn't they know that Jesus wasn't born on Christmas?  The nerve…  How closely did they portray what happened in Scripture?  They were off in some ways.  But we all applauded and welcomed their sharing of the Gospel story, you can be very sure of that.  We were proud of them, and took the opportunity to welcome others to receive the Gospel.  It was a good day.

Scripture is Scripture.  God's word written. And it becomes alive with the breath of its Author when the Holy Spirit speaks to us through it.  Nothing else is like it.  Let me repeat: Nothing. Else. Is like the Word of God written (meaning nothing else is totally accurate to the Scriptures because, well, they're not Scripture).  Not my preaching, not Billy Graham's, not the Children's pageant, not the millions of presentations of the Gospel by men, women, and children through the last 2000 (or so) years that have all lacked sometimes essential details or gotten other details mixed up.  Yet God redeems those presentations, and I and millions of others – maybe even you – have somehow entered into a saving knowledge of Jesus the Messiah - even with that lack.  

This movie is just a movie.  Don't judge it to the standard of evaluating Scripture.  Nothing but Scripture could stand up to that kind of evaluation. Its purpose was not to portray the scriptures 100% accurately, and how could it – even if the producers wanted to?  The standard is too high.

What it does, it does well.  It makes much of Jesus.  It is faithful to the Gospel relating to the teaching of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection.  It adds in some dramatic details, etc.  But I don't see that as any big deal.  

I was a counselor at a summer camp which - on the last night of camp each week - portrayed the Gospel from Jesus' birth to his resurrection in a live drama we called the Christ Walk.  We counselors acted out scenes around the lake at the camp in costume, and were fairly faithful to the Scriptures.  I say "fairly faithful" because we did have a slew of inaccuracies, I'm sure.  We didn't get anywhere as close to accuracy as even this Son of God movie did!  We had some of the girl counselors following Jesus as disciples because we didn't have enough guys in the cast. We improvised conversations at times because we'd get off-script because that stuff happens at camp and you make the best of it. We omitted powerful (some might argue "essential") words and scenes because we only had a couple of hours to do the best we could.

But each week, there were kids who made decisions to follow Jesus that probably changed the trajectory of their lives.  I believe we depopulated Hell a little bit with our wooden, amateurish, mostly accurate-but-boy-am-I-glad-today's-critics-and-Christian-police-didn't-see-it production.  I'm proud to have been part of it.

Really, our “Christ Walk” was a mess when viewed through the filter today's critics are viewing Son of God.  And they know what they are talking about.  But like I said - we made much of Jesus. And kids took a step over the starting line of faith.  Every week.  I think heaven rejoiced over the fruit that came out of it.

I say go see the Son of God.  Enjoy a movie worth your time.  And please, take a non-Christian with you and then share coffee, lunch, dinner, or some wine afterwards and talk about it. Maybe you'll even be able to look at the Scriptures together.  It's potentially a wonderful tool to reach outsiders, and I hope there will be a lot of fruit that comes from doing just that. 

Lighten up, Critics.  The folks who made this movie have not confounded God, nor are His purposes thwarted. You have in this film a great conversation starter with the unchurched, which I think was one of the motives for making the movie in the first place.  No matter if it wasn’t – I stand with the Apostle Paul: 

“But whatever their motive for doing it, the fact remains that the Good News about Christ is being preached, and I am glad.” – Philippians 1:18 (TLB)

Here's a link to the Son of God trailer...

Notes for Sermon at Jesus Our Shepherd

Big Picture of End Times

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule. Amen.

• 325 AD, Nicene Creed

o       [Jesus] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

o       And also:

o       We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

• teaching about these things is elementary!

o       Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of  (6 things, including) the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1-2 (NIV)

The Day of the Lord

• What is that day like?

o       A Day of Wrath

§         Joel 2:11b The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (NIV)

§         Zephaniah 1:14 ¹⁴ That day will be bitter, for even the bravest soldiers will cry out in despair! (TEV)

§         Zephaniah 1:15 ¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, ¹⁶ a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. (NIV)

o        A Day of Judgment

§         …when the nations will be judged. Ezekiel 30:3 (NCV)

o        A Day of Vengeance

§         Jeremiah 46:10 ¹⁰ But that day belongs to … the LORD Almighty-- a day of vengeance… on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. (NIV)

o       A Day of Restoration

§         Amos 9:11-15 ¹¹ "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be… New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. ¹⁴ I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. ¹⁵ I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God. (NIV)

o       It will come very suddenly and be very surprising to those that don’t know the Lord

§         1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. (NIV)

Signs of that day

·         Matthew 24:3 – As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen (the destruction of the temple), and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

o        See http://www.templeinstitute.org/ for more info.

• Revelation 6, the Seals and Trumpet judgments
• Jesus Returns. 

o        Revelation 11:15 ¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." (NIV)

• The last trumpet is the 7^th trumpet in the book of Revelation.

o        ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (NIV)

• Paul expanded on this in 1 Thessalonians 4

o        ¹⁴ We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 (NIV)

§         Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

Procession to the Middle East

• Then the Lord will descend to the earth and begin a land march procession towards Jerusalem, defeating His enemies on the way (Hab 3, Isa 63:1-6, Zec 14:3, Judges 5:4-5, Rev 19:11-16).

^{Question - 2} Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?

^{Answer - 6} I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground." Isaiah 63:2, 6 (NIV)

• The procession will end at the battle of Armageddon in and around the city of Jerusalem (Rev 16:16, 19:11-21, Joel 3, Eze 38-39).
• The Lord will destroy Antichrist and His armies and then march into the city of Jerusalem (Psa 68:24-27, 24:7)
• He will tear down the Abomination of Desolation in the Temple (Dan 8:14, 9:27, 12:11).
• The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 19:20).
• From Rev 19:11-21:

o        ¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.

o        ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

o        ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.

o        ¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." ¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf.

o        The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:11-21 (NIV)

• Shortly after the battle of Armageddon, Jesus will set up His earthly reign from Jerusalem and will rule for 1,000 years (Rev 20:4-6).

o        ⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6 (NIV)

o        Redeemed: Those that were believers in Jesus prior to the 2^nd coming.

o        Reprobate: Matt 25:31-34 (also see Rev 19:21).

o        Resistors: Those that were not born again prior to the 2^nd coming but at the same time did not take the mark of the beast. They resist Antichrist but not because they love Jesus. This will include many from the nation of Israel (Isa 4:3, Jer 33:13, Isa 66:18-21). Many of these will be converted subsequent to the 2^nd coming. They will be the initial group that makes partakes in the Millennial Reign in natural bodies on the earth (Zec 14:16, Eze 36:36, Isa 2:3, 56:7).

§         ¹⁶ Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah 14:16 (NIV)

• Resurrected Saints will rule and reign with the Lord on the Millennial Earth (Rev 5:10, 20:4).

o        Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom (another way of saying you’ve made them to rule and reign) and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (NIV)

• Many Saints that were faithful in life will be given places of governmental authority and may even rule over cities (Luke 19:11-27). The resistors will travel and hear the word of the Lord from Jesus in Jerusalem (Isa 2). In fact once a year, representatives from each family will be required to come to Jerusalem and keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zec 14:16-21).
• Jesus will reward the saints with positions of authority and levels of glory/authority (Rev 11:18, Rev 22:12, Isa 40:10, 62:11, 2 Tim 4:8, 1 Cor 15:41-42).

God will Renew Heaven and Earth

·         Revelation 21:1 ¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (NIV)

 

The Father will Descend and Dwell with Us on Earth

·         Revelation 21:2-4 ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (NIV)

• Isaiah 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. (NIV)

It is Presidential to Offer Public Prayers for the Nation

I received this in an email recently.  It made such a good point I thought I'd share it as I received it. - Brook

FDR's D-Day Prayer...

Roosevelt's address stands as a testament to how much our

nation has changed since that evening in the late spring of 1944.

 

 

 

     Franklin Roosevelt is not remembered for his religious dogma. Yet 68 years ago on the night of June 6, as tens of thousands of American and Allied forces were flung into a caldron of fire in Western Europe, the president and commander in chief sought to calm an anxious nation as he spoke to his people. It was a presidential address that stands out as a testament to how much our nation has changed since that evening in the late spring of 1944.

     Beginning around midnight the night before, elements of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions had landed behind enemy lines in France. They were followed seven hours later by massive landings on beaches in Normandy code-named Sword, Juneau, Gold, Omaha and Utah.

     Americans began hearing special reports in the middle of the night and they continued to follow events closely throughout the day. At lunch counters and in offices and factories, people clustered around their radios. So it was both natural and necessary that the president say something.

     Yet instead of giving a news account—something Americans had already heard from network radio news and read in their evening papers—Franklin Roosevelt chose a different course. He led the nation in prayer.

       "Almighty God," Roosevelt began, "Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity."Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith."

     There were mothers and fathers listening intently to that broadcast whose sons were already caught up in the middle of it all.  Some of those young men were already lost.  Roosevelt understood this, yet he never sugarcoated the realities.

     "They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest until victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and by flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war."     "Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, thy heroic servants, into thy kingdom."

     Somehow, Roosevelt understood what the nation needed to hear. This was an American president unafraid to embrace God and to define an enemy that clearly rejected the norms of humanity. And if the nature of the enemy was not clear to everyone that night, it would be made resoundingly clear as the armies advanced into Germany 10 months later. But Roosevelt also knew that the nation would have to stay true to its course, and for that he offered a moment as well.

     "Oh Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled.   With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.  Help us conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances."

     Americans hung on every word. They needed to rededicate and redouble their efforts, much as Lincoln had reminded them at Gettysburg in the middle of another dark period. Now, almost an equal time has passed since D-Day, and it seems strangely difficult for our leaders to clearly define our values, our way of life, our causes for going to war to defend our ideals. It is unfathomable today that a president would embrace God the way Roosevelt did on that night.

     Imagine a president, any president, sitting in the Oval Office ending an address to the nation, in a slow, deliberate cadence, like this:

     "Thy will be done, Almighty God.    Amen."

          Yet that is how Franklin Roosevelt signed off that D-Day night.

    Yes, it is presidential to offer public prayers for our nation and our people.  Certainly our nation’s founding fathers did it.   Why did we stop?  Although our government is intentionally secular, it was meant to be supportive of religious faith, especially the Christian faith.    And still today, more than three-quarters of our people say they believe in the God of the Bible.   This should be reflected in who we elect to public office.  Otherwise, when we leave God out of national concerns, we are asking for failure.  - bea

The 2nd Advent

I recently taught a class at our church called "The 2nd Advent."  It was a look at the hope we have that's expressed in the Nicene Creed when it says

   [Jesus] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
        and his kingdom will have no end.

I studied this topic during my sabbatical last summer, and was blown away at how ALL of Scripture tells the same story of what will happen when the Messiah returns.  Every book in the Bible, with the exception of Esther, has something to say about this event.  And getting a grid for understanding the picture that is being painted has unlocked SO MUCH scripture that I never understood before!

A couple of the reasons I gave my class for studying this:

The book of Hebrews says that the End Times is "elementary teaching!"

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ² instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 6:1-3 (NIV) (italics mine)

Second, Paul showed he believed this is elementary.  Though he only spent about 3 weeks planting the church in Thessalonica, the Apostle considered these things important enough to teach them about End Times.

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days [three weeks] he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said... ¹⁰ As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Acts 17:1-3, 10 (NIV)

While he was there, he covered teaching on End Times.  He said as much in a letter to them:

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (NIV)

If you're interested in the topic, comment here and I'll post a little about it.

Faith Like a Mustard Seed

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:19, 20 ESV)

This verse does not mean what I thought it meant. And most likely it doesn't mean what you've been taught, either.

I had always understood this verse to say that even the tiniest amount of faith would make miracles happen. If only we had a TEENY TINY BIT of faith, we could not only move a mountain (though where would we put it?), but we could lay hands on the sick and have them recover, or trust God when the stock market crashes, or love our spouses like we use to love them, or make it through that Comparative Religions class still loving Jesus, or... Well, you get the picture. God would answer our prayers if we only had a smidgen of faith. So when we pray, and he doesn't answer, it's not his fault. It must be ours. After all, we are the ones who don't have enough faith. ...Right?

And when I prayed for the sick and they DIDN'T recover, or when I prayed for relationships, or marriages, or other mountains in life to be moved, and they didn't move, I doubted that I had faith, or that at least I didn't have the RIGHT KIND of faith. Or, maybe that I really DID have faith, but God wasn't fulfilling his part of the bargain (and that's a scary thought). Or maybe I just misunderstand Jesus here. Maybe he is not talking about God moving in our lives in response to prayer at all. Maybe he means something in the order of "A teensy bit of faith (belief you can) will give you enough hope that you can move that mountain with a shovel. Over a lifetime. Because you just believe you can." Maybe Jesus was basically...not very inspiring here. It sounds like he's writing a self-help book, doesn't it? "If you can believe it, you can achieve it!" That's just not very inspiring when you're dealing with something out of your control. Like cancer. Or, in this case, a demon.

The disciples had come to Jesus wondering why they couldn't drive a demon out of a boy. There's something about exorcism that a self-help mantra doesn't fit. It seems, to my mind, that Jesus' reply that they had "so little faith" would have punched me in the gut as if he were saying to me, "you have no belief, no trust, no...FAITH. That's why you couldn't do this." Makes me feel small. And confused. Hadn't Jesus sent these guys out to do just this kind of thing a few chapters earlier (Chapter 10)? And while many good sermons have been preached on this verse, encouraging us to "take a step out on faith" or to "just believe", hadn't they done exactly that? "The seventy- two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (Luke 10:17). And now it seems Jesus is pointing his finger at them telling them they didn't have any faith, because if they had had faith as big as a mustard seed (a very tiny amount) they could have done it. Confusing isn't it? Seems like they USED to have faith, and they maybe LOST their faith, and now Jesus is giving them a pep-talk (kinda like a drill Sargent would), saying that if they had had any faith at all they could have helped that boy by casting out the demon. Buckle down, maggots! Start believing! You can achieve it!

Well, I thought wrong. And there's no other way around it. That's not what Jesus meant.

I know a man who is a Hebrew scholar. Not the bookish, geeky kind who talks about declensions and cognates until you're looking for any excuse to end the conversation. He has given years and years to study the scriptures in their original language so he can have a deeper understanding of God. He sees things I don't. And he can converse in Hebrew, though since I can't it doesn't make much sense to me. I gotta admit that it sounds cool, though.

Chad (I'll call him Chad) pointed out that "faith", to a Hebrew-thinking mind, doesn't mean what it means to most of us. Faith, in Hebrew/Aramaic, means something much more like "consistent", or "solid" or "persistent" or "unyielding". It could be used to describe the pavement in the parking lot. and here it describes a mustard seed. Though it starts out as a very tiny seed, it is persistent and consistent and unyielding enough that it grows, over time, into a tree. It turns out that Jesus wasn't lecturing the disciples on whether or not they even HAD any faith. Not at all. He was encouraging them to not give up so easily. Be persistent in prayer, keep at it, don't quit too soon! If you don't give up, you can cast out that demon. Keep practicing! Your faith will grow if  you persevere!

John Wimber was the leader of the Vineyard Churches and became known nationally and internationally for his healing ministry. It was not uncommon for John (or most of the Vineyard churches for that matter) to pray for folks with all kinds of injuries and ailments and they would be healed. Even instantly. But John's own testimony was that it didn't start out very well. He tells how he discovered that the Bible instructed believers to pray for the sick, so he started praying for people. They just didn't get well. But he kept trying. In "The Way It Was," the biography of John by his wife, Carol, John estimated that he prayed for maybe hundreds of people without having even one of them healed. It was making him angry with God, he confessed. Especially since he was also preaching regularly that the church should be praying for healing. (And his church wasn't seeing any fruit, either). He says in a paper called Miracles are Not Complicated

"At one point, I became completely discouraged. We had been praying for the sick for nine months and had yet to see anyone healed of anything, not even a headache! Some of our friends left the church out of frustration and irritation."

The point is, over nine months (get that? NINE MONTHS...) of praying, even with no results, for hundreds of people, John remained consistent in his faith. Faith = belief + action. Belief by itself is mere opinion. And John kept at it.

Then one day, though he was frustrated with God for not answering his prayers, and though he was used to counseling folks on "why we don't always see results", he prayed for a lady who was very sick. And, unexpectedly, gloriously, she was healed. Right then and there. She got up out of bed with a smile on her face, brushed her hair and then made coffee. John was stunned. Excited, too. After all those years, God had answered a prayer for healing! And then the tide turned.

From that point, more and more often, when John prayed for people they would be healed. Cancer. Broken bones. Headaches. Comas. Not everybody, but more and more bodies. I met the man. I believe it. I spent time with folks who spent time with him. It all happened. And it also began happening in his church, and in other Vineyards, and in other churches around the world. You see, John persisted in his faith (a belief put into action). He was consistent and unyielding. A mustard seed that doesn't give up will eventually becomes the largest tree in the garden. An oak tree is an acorn that held its ground. And faith, persistently put into action yields results, too.

In this verse, Jesus didn't berate the disciples for their lack of faith. He let them in on an encouraging little secret. Don't give up. Miracles do happen. God does answer prayer. Just keep on praying. Give that seed a chance to grow before you expect it to flower and bear fruit. Never give up. Keep praying for healing. Keep asking for a miracle in your marriage. Keep trying to cast out that demon. Be unyielding, persistent, steady. It's not "self-help talk". It's how faith grows. Persistently. Consistently. Steadily.

On October 29, 1941, U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Harrow School to to hear the traditional songs he had sung there as a youth, as well as to speak to the students. When he was invited to give a speech, Churchill stood before the students and said,

"Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up."

And he sat back down.

He must have understood.