It was an amazing scene. The banks of the Jordan River across from Jericho will remind you of a jungle. It’s lush and green and thick with growth. Here the river spreads out into a slow-moving stream, and pilgrims cross from the land of the Gentiles into Judea on their way to Jerusalem.
This is probably where John and his disciples were baptizing, and on this day, Jesus of Nazareth came to be immersed. We read in Matthew’s Gospel:
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Focus on those words, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” So what had Jesus done to please God? At this moment, Jesus hadn’t performed a single miracle. He hadn’t healed anyone or given a single sermon that we know of. Jesus hadn’t gone to the cross or been resurrected. As far as anyone could tell, Jesus was just the son of Joseph and a carpenter from an obscure village called Nazareth.
God’s love isn’t dependent upon our great accomplishments. We don’t need to earn it or prove our love. His love isn’t conditional. “For God so loved the world” – that includes all of us, great and small. What matters then is our response. God loves you! What will you do now?
This is the week I dread most each year. I set it aside for my yearly “tune-up.” Monday are labs and a visit to the ophthalmologist. Tuesday is a root canal. Wednesday is my annual top to bottom physical. (No pun intended) Thursday is the hearing doctor. Growing older isn’t for wimps! (Did I mention the root canal and upcoming eye surgery?)
On the other hand, this body isn’t designed to last forever. The Apostle Paul promised:
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:50 – 52).
But this will be the second time we’ve been changed. Paul also told the Romans:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1 – 2; See also 2 Corinthians 3:18).
The word Paul used that is translated “transformed” in English is metamorphoo (μεταμορφόω). Our word “metamorphosis” comes from it. It describes a change that comes from the inside out. Just like you don’t make butterflies by pinning paper wings on worms, we must be “transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Our word is used to describe the change that came over Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration:
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2).
Interestingly, this verb is always in the passive tense in the New Testament. It cannot be something we do for ourselves. It is a blessing God bestows on us. Now think of the humble caterpillar. I wonder when the caterpillar spins his cocoon, does he believe it is the end? Does he feel he spinning himself a silken coffin?
If you’re about to lose heart – if you look in the mirror and see only wrinkles – look for a butterfly “for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Jesus, Mark 7:21 – 23).
Jesus says, the things that defile us come from within (Mark 7:21). Then he gives an extensive list of these evil things. “Envy” is included in verse 22, but literally, Jesus is warning us of the “evil eye.” (See KJV, ASV, D-R, ERV, and the Geneva Bible.) Most of the modern English Bibles simply say “envy,” but the “evil eye” is more than that.
The Greek Jesus uses for “evil eye” is ophthalmos poneros (ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός – our words “ophthalmology” and “porn” come directly from them.) Jesus warned, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29)! An eye that causes you to sin is certainly an “evil eye,” but to understand this phrase, we need to study poneros.
There are many different Greek words translated “evil” in English. Kakos and poneros describe just two varieties of evil. A kakos person is the opposite of a “good” or “beautiful” person. On the other hand, a poneros person delights in causing evil, perverseness, and making trouble for his neighbor. Proverbs 4:16 says,
“For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.”
The old bishop, R.C. Trench writes:
The [kakos person] may be content to perish in his own corruption, but the [poneros person] is not content unless he is corrupting others as well.[1]
Watch out! A person with an “evil eye” is looking for trouble – not just for himself, but especially for others. Evil!
[1] Trench, R. C. (1880). In Synonyms of the New Testament (9th ed., improved., p. 316). Macmillan and Co.
Over the holidays, I’ve been transferring our old family photos, slides, and movies to digital so they can be preserved and shared. The fifty-year-old slides slowly change color, the pictures fade, and the movies become brittle. It’s a lot of work to copy each one (there are thousands) and lovingly restore them.
Why bother? Because memories are powerful! Jesus told the Ephesian Christians, “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:3 – 4). So what did the Lord advise them to do? “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first” (v. 5).
I’ve noticed two dangers in relationships. First, we grow tired of one another. The “same ol’ same ol’” gets old. There is a real need to “spice things up.” Second, sometimes we take each other for granted, which leads us to take liberties. Do we leave our clothes on the floor or our dishes on the TV tray, knowing someone else will pick up after us? It’s time to remember.
When couples come to me for counseling, I will often ask them to bring their wedding album with them. We stop and look at the pictures and remember how things used to be. Remembering is powerful!
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it!” (George Santayana-1905). In a 1948 speech to the House of Commons, Winston Churchill changed the quote slightly when he said (paraphrased), “those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
Growing up listening to old-school preachers, I thought “sin” was a two-syllable word. I saw these larger-than-life figures with swept-back hair, fire in their eyes, pointing their fingers, and with bits of spittle in the corners of their mouths, shouting with their southern accents: “Si-in!”
Calvin Coolidge was a man of few words. One Sunday, his sick wife had to stay home while Calvin went to church. So she asked him, “Calvin, what did the preacher talk about?”
He answered, “Sin.”
Not satisfied with his abbreviated answer, she asked again, “What did he say about it?”
Calvin merely replied, “He was against it.”
I haven’t heard many sermons about sin lately, but perhaps that is because I have to listen to myself preach. It’s January, and I am planning my sermon series for the coming year. I want to emphasize the Gospel: Jesus saves! But I’m afraid most people would wonder: “Saves from what?” Sin and death, of course, but sin isn’t a topic you hear discussed in daily life. You might hear someone talk about the “sin tax” (taxes on tobacco and alcohol) or “sinfully rich desserts,” but, sadly, people don’t discuss the moral concept of sin.
Sin is all around us – in public and in private – but the discussion has been reframed as “character flaws,” “failures,” and “peccadillos.” It’s no wonder concepts such as “honor,” “character,” and “respect” have also fallen on hard times.
I believe it is time to start talking about sin – however, you pronounce it – again.
Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed over the interpretation of the Law of Moses. The Pharisees attempted to protect the Law by surrounding it with their traditions. It was like Grandma telling me, “Don’t go near the water till you learn to swim.” In other words, Grandma’s law is “Don’t drown.” The tradition protecting her law is “Don’t go near the water!”
Now let’s look at an example from the Law of Moses. The Fourth Commandment reads, “Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” The Pharisees protected the Sabbath with a plethora of traditions. (Many of them seem silly to us, but I respect their devotion to holiness.)
If we were good Pharisees, we would stroke our long beards and ask, “What does it mean to keep the Sabbath Day holy?”
“That means ‘Do no work’ (Exodus 20:10).”
Our Pharisee – and the Pharisees were very good at asking questions – would respond, “Yes, but what is ‘work’?”
Here is an example of their reasoning: “Tying knots is work, so you cannot tie a knot on the Sabbath.” That answer didn’t settle it, of course. After dutifully stroking their beards once more, they would ask: “Yes, but what is a ‘knot’?” Finally, they concluded if you could tie it with one hand, it’s not a knot. Their arguments went on and on. You are allowed to eat an egg laid on the Sabbath (the chicken violated the Sabbath), but only if you killed the chicken first! You can draw water from a well on the Sabbath, but only if the bucket is already attached to the rope. (Remember, you can’t tie a knot on the Sabbath.) However, modesty demands women to wear undergarments, which require tying knots. Thus it is permissible to tie a knot in women’s underwear. And so, in a pinch, you may tie a girdle to the bucket and then tie the girdle to the rope, and draw your water without violating the Sabbath commandment!
Did Jesus agree with them? After all, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Likewise, the most troubling passage is Matthew 23:1 – 3.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
At first glance, it appears Jesus is telling his disciples to observe the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. It seems like his criticism is pointed at the difference between what they say and what they do. They’re not practicing what they preach. But if that’s the case, how can we reconcile Jesus’ condemnations of their teachings and traditions elsewhere? For example, listen to what Jesus says about the Pharisees’ ritualistic tradition of handwashing:
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God (Matthew 15:1 – 6. See 12:1 – 14; 15:3 – 9; and 19:3 – 9 for more examples).
How do we reconcile Jesus telling his disciples to listen to the Pharisees while sitting in Moses’ Seat and the Lord’s teaching against the Pharisees’ traditions? The Pharisees sitting in Moses’ Seat is not the same as the pope speaking ex cathedra! In the days before the printing press, Bibles were scarce. I believe Jesus is talking about listening to the scribes and Pharisees who had access to the rare copies of the Scriptures. In effect, Jesus is saying, “Listen to the Pharisees as they read the Scriptures, but don’t follow their hypocritical interpretations.”
While Satan tempted Jesus (Luke 4; Matthew 4), the devil quoted Scripture after Scripture. Jesus didn’t disagree with the quotations. He disagreed with the interpretations. Likewise, I may not agree with a teacher or a preacher. He may be a scoundrel, but I will honor the Word of God no matter who is reading it – or where they are sitting.
When Judas came to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, leading the mob to arrest Jesus, the Lord says, “Friend, do what you came to do” (Matthew 26:50). That’s the English translation, but it’s not quite right. “Friend” has always struck me as an odd choice of address for the man who was betraying Jesus, although I’m sure Jesus never stopped loving Judas.
The usual Greek word translated “friend” in English is philos like Philadelphia, the “city of friends.” Instead, Jesus calls Judas etairos (ἑταῖρος), “comrade.” This is a polite word. According to the lexicon, it is used “As a general form of address to someone whose name one does not know.” Matthew often uses it; for example, the expression is used by the master as he addresses the workers in the field:
But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ (Matthew 20:13 – 15)
And again, it is used by the king to the man who dared attend his son’s wedding improperly dressed:
But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:11 – 12).
Jesus didn’t call Judas his “friend,” “brother,” or even a “disciple.” He didn’t even call Judas by name. But, on the other hand, Jesus didn’t call him a “traitor” or curse Judas either.
Let’s pause for a moment and ask, “Why did Judas betray Jesus?” Was Judas simply an evil man, or did he do it for money? Some say Judas was trying to help Jesus begin the revolution. Surely Judas, who had seen Jesus raise the dead and walk on water, didn’t believe the mob would be able to arrest the Lord!
The answer may be found in a textual variant of an ancient papyrus copy of Luke 23:32. The usual reading is, “Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.” However, P75, one of the Bodmer Papyri, substitutes our word hetairoi (ἑταῖροι) “comrade” for heteros (ἕτερος) “others.” According to this ancient variant, we might translate verse 32, “Two political partisans, who were terrorists, were led away to be put to death with him.”
William Barclay suggested that the last four apostles, who included “Simon the Zealot” and Judas Iscariot, were revolutionaries before they became apostles. Zealots were revolutionaries, and Barclay believes “Iscariot” is derived from “Sicarii,” a group of Zealot assassins.
With this understanding, is it possible Jesus looked into the eyes of Judas, shook his head, and called him “comrade,” implying Judas had returned to his revolutionary ways? [1]
Christians are empowered to change the world, but not as revolutionaries. We are salt, light, and leaven. Our light drives out darkness. Our salt flavors the world, and our leaven brings about fundamental changes in the stuff of life. Will Jesus call us “brothers and sisters” or just “comrade”?
Mornings are hard enough without stepping on the bathroom scales. Bleary-eyed and buck naked, I dutifully weigh myself before stepping into the shower. The digital verdict is either a cause for rejoicing or re-doubling my efforts to eat healthily. Either way, it becomes the basis for my breakfast choices – steel-cut oats or a nice seafood omelet.
Later, while sipping my coffee, I read an article about “Le Grand K” – the former international standard of weight for the kilogram.
For more than a century, the kilogram (kg) — the fundamental unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) — was defined as exactly equal to the mass of a small polished cylinder, cast in 1879 of platinum and iridium.
Kept in a triple-locked vault on the outskirts of Paris, the platinum-iridium cylinder was officially called the International Prototype of the Kilogram (IPK). It even had a nickname: Le Grand K (The Big K). The accuracy of every measurement of mass or weight worldwide, whether in pounds and ounces or milligrams and metric tons, depended on how closely the reference masses used in those measurements could be linked to the mass of the IPK.[1]
Imagine, even the dreaded scale in my bathroom was calibrated through a chain of comparisons to The Big K in France, but scientists discovered a problem. Over the years, the standard has lost weight! No one was sure how it happened.
Over the past century, the trend for most sister copies [of Le Grand K] has been to gain mass relative to the original by varying amounts, although these amounts are unimaginably tiny. On average, the gain is around 50 micrograms (millionths of a gram) over 100 years. It’s possible, of course, that the original was losing mass relative to its copies or that it’s a combination of both. Either way, it’s no great cause for concern for most of us, as the change in mass is roughly the weight of a fly’s wing. [2]
But think what that means! “I can’t trust those scales!” I cried. Jan, who always seems to be one step ahead of me, replied. “John, Le Grand K, no longer defines the kilogram.” So she turned her laptop around and continued reading:
Rather than rely on a platinum cylinder in a bell jar in Paris, eggheads in the world of measurements decided to anchor the future kilogram to Planck’s constant. This is a fixed quantity tied in with E=MC2 and quantum theory, specifying the amount of energy carried by a single particle of light, or photon. And that’s just the most extremely simplified version.
Then I guess I’ll have to trust my scales and learn to enjoy oatmeal for breakfast, but it does point out how important standards are. Jim L. Wilson writes:
Even the best human measurements fall short, but it is not so with God’s Word. It is an unchanging standard. [3]
Amen! Now pass the jelly for my toast. I’m in the mood to celebrate.
A few years ago, my little granddaughter came up to me and asked, “Papa, can you teach me to pray?” You better believe she got something extra in her stocking that year!
The “conversational” style of prayer has characterized my generation. “Just talk to the Lord as you would talk to a beloved and respected friend.” I like that, but I wonder if we’re going deep enough in our prayer life.
I teach new Christians to follow the ACTS model of prayer. Begin with Adoration. Think about who the Lord is and address him accordingly. This is followed by Confession. When we think about who God is, it is only natural to think about ourselves. That’s why confession is so important. The third step is as essential as it is neglected. Before we begin asking for things, we should take a moment and thank the Lord for what he has already given us. Finally (although we often put this first), our heavenly Father invites us to Ask him for blessings and to fulfill our needs, calm our worries, and come to our aid (Supplication).
Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden, was driven out of Abraham’s house because of her arrogant behavior. “When she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. … But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.’ Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her” (Genesis 16:4 – 6).
It’s not a pretty scene and Hagar fell down by a spring in the wilderness and wept. An angel appeared telling Hagar to go back to Abraham and Sarah and change her attitude. Then the angel announced that her future son would be a mighty man. I find what happened next illuminating:
So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;” (Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me) (Genesis 16:13 – 14).
The Lord has many names that reflect his many qualities. Some of them are literal: God fights for us and is called “Warrior” (Zephaniah3:17). He is also the Judge, and the King and so those are some of his names. There are metaphorical names for the Lord as well: Shepherd, Rock, Potter, and Vine. John MacArthur makes this helpful observation:
“Each of the many Old Testament names and titles of God shows a different facet of His character and its expression in His will. He is called, for example, Elohim, “the Creator God”; El Elyon, “possessor of heaven and earth”; Jehovah-Jireh, “the Lord will provide”; Jehovah-Nissi, “the Lord our banner”; Jehovah-Rapha, “the Lord that healeth”; Jehovah-Shalom, “the Lord our peace”; Jehovah-Raah, “the Lord our Shepherd”; Jehovah-Tsidkenu, “the Lord our righteousness”; Jehovah-Sabaoth, “the Lord of hosts”; Jehovah-Shama, “the Lord is present and near”; and Jehovah-Maqodeshkim, which means “the Lord sanctifieth thee.” All those names speak of God’s attributes. Thus they tell us not only who He is, but also what He is like.”[1]
Hagar needed someone to look after her and discovered God “the Living One who looks after me.” As you call on the Lord in prayer today, what name will you give Him?
When I was a teenager, I loved reading stories about the “Trail of ’98.” These were the Gold Rush days, and men did amazing things in their quest for wealth. Alaska Public Radio reported:
In February 1898 Mike Mahoney aka “Klondike Mike” made a deal with Hal Henry. He would escort the Sunny Samson Sister Sextette and their luggage over the Chilkoot Pass and down to Dawson city for $3000 plus a share of the musical group’s proceeds once they started performing in the Dawson Saloons.
There was only one problem. The six sisters refused to perform without their piano to accompany them.
Klondike Mike, a strapping Quebec farm boy, and champion boxer turned stampeder, duly hoisted the entire piano onto his back and went step-by-step up the Golden Stairs and into Klondike fame. [1]
The Golden Stairs was a path cut in the ice that climbed the pass. Unfortunately, there was a custom’s station at the top. The Mounties were not only responsible for collecting tolls, but they also insured the safety of the people crossing the pass into the gold rush country. That meant each person was required to bring a year’s worth of food and supplies as well as prove they were fit enough to face the hardships ahead of them in the territory.
As fortune would have it, Mike met a Mountie who was only on his second day at the job. The Mountie didn’t believe the dainty sisters had what it took to survive in the Yukon and refused to allow them to cross even if they were accompanied by a piano-toting Quebec farm boy. Frustrated, Mike left the piano at the top of the pass and stormed back to Skagway. Eventually, someone hauled the piano back down from the pass, sold it, and made a tidy profit.
These prospectors were called “sourdoughs” because of their bread. Mother Earth News[2] has a great article about collecting your own wild yeast from plants like Oregon Grape, juniper berries, and even the bark of Aspen trees. The miners harvested the yeast and went to great lengths to protect their “sponge” – their starter. They even carried it in little containers on a string hung around their necks to keep it warm.
The yeast is amazing. “Given ideal conditions, yeast can increase its own volume by more than ten times, overnight!” With that in mind, Jesus warned his disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). The Lord wasn’t talking about bread, he was warning us. “Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (v. 12).
Some false doctrines are so appealing, they can explosively spread like yeast leavening bread. Paul said, “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom … but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:10 – 23).
False teaching, like leavened bread, is full of gas.
