What's in a Name?

 Read Ephesians 3

Paul is not illiterate.  He is skilled in the written word.  He uses literary tools.  He could write in a terse voice as he did to the Galatians or with pleasant, grateful prose as was the case in much of his letter to the church in Ephesus. 

He wraps up this section with something of a prayer, but it begins with some food for thought.

Every family in heaven and on earth derives its name from God.

It could just be that everything created came from God to include our names or we could consider our the nature of our names.  When someone asks, “What is your name,” or “How are you to be called,” we would answer, “I am and our name.”

I am is the name that God told Moses to tell his people when Moses asked what if they want to know who sent me. When we answer with our name, we precede it with the name of God.

Paul’s prayer petitions God and encourages the Ephesian believers.  How so?

That out of his glorious riches, God strengthens you with power through his Holy Spirit. Why? So that Christ may dwell in your hearts.

Do you remember I am crucified with Christ.  Christ lives in me.

What’s the preexisting condition?  Why, the glorious riches of God are that condition.  What’s the outflow? Strength and power and Christ living in us.

How about another preexisting condition, this time in the Ephesian believers?  Try this on for size:  Being rooted and established in love.

What’s that mean.  It means that love is the whole deal.  Your life is rooted in love.  Your lifestyle is established by love.  Your geography is love.  Your destination is love.  

What proceeds from this love is knowing how great God’s love for us is? How wide and long, high and deep God’s love for us is.

Paul says that this love surpasses knowledge.  It’s more than we can understand.  Yes, it’s like the peace that surpasses all understanding. It should be comforting to us to know that there are aspects of our God that we just can’t comprehend.

If we could fully comprehend God, we might try to make ourselves gods.  That dog don’t hunt.

Paul said that there was some mystery here and that mystery is revealed in Christ and his church. The church must be at work in the world today being God’s love.  The world is lost without God’s love.  The church seems to have a knack for condemnation, but if Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, then we should stick to our assigned mission:  Love and good news.

We can be spectators and armchair quarterbacks or we can be the church.  I coined the term Christian Tourist a few years ago.  It’s someone who checks out the sights of Christianity but decides that discipleship doesn’t fit into their comfort zone.

We can point fingers or we can reach out with our hands and arms.  We can’t do both and we are called to be the church and take God’s love to the world.

I will conclude this short message as Paul concluded the chapter.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Amen.

Matthew 14 - Part 3

 

Read Matthew 14

Do you ever think about the words not recorded in the Bible?  Jesus sent the disciples out on the boat headed to the other side of the lake without him.  He went up a mountain to be alone.  He sent the very recently fed crowd home.

What did he tell his disciples? 

I’ll catch the next boat.

I’ll go around.

Meet me on the other side.

Y’all come back and get me in the morning.

I will walk out to where you are later.

Good riddance.

Who knows?  He told them to get in the boat and head to the other side.  Who were the disciples to question the directions of their Master?

He had just told them to feed a crowd of more than 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish and they did, and they had leftovers.  So, if he told them to get in the boat and head to the other side, who would question him?

 We find the disciples in the boat in the middle of some rough wind and water not too long before dawn.  They say that it’s darkest just before the dawn.  I’m not sure who said that first, but it could have been one of these men on this boat.

The disciples are a good way from the shore they just left and a good way from where they are headed.  And they see someone walking towards them on top of the water.  They are having what we call cognitive dissonance.  What they are seeing and what they know of the world are not adding up. They are frightened.  They think a ghost is headed their way. 

They cried out in fear.  Jesus replied, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Don’t worry guys, it’s me.

What did Jesus say?  It is I.  I am.  In Greek he said egō eimi.  We have seen the power of these words before.

If the miracle of feeding the huge crowd was not enough, now Jesus walked on the water towards the boat.  One disciple—Peter—might have been paying attention as Jesus performed his miracle through the disciples as they fed the 5000.  Peter might have had some comprehension as to what it was to be a part of a miracle, and he asked Jesus to call him out of the boat onto the water so that he could walk to Jesus.

It would be Peter who would profess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God in chapter 16.  Peter stepped out of the boat and started walking towards his Master.  Peter was walking on the water.

Peter was walking on the water!

Peter had seen the miracles of Jesus.  He had been a part of the feeding of the 5000.  He had been a part of a miracle.  He had not been an observer or spectator.  He was a part of the miracle itself.

Now his Master had said come and Peter was walking on the water. He was walking on the water.  How cool is that?

Then Peter noticed the storm.  The storm had been there all along, but now it got his attention.  What had his attention before?  Jesus.

When Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, he walked on water. 

When he noticed the storm is when he began to sink.  Then Peter cried out to Jesus, Lord save me!

Jesus reached out and saved him immediately, but while he was pulling Peter out of the water, he spoke these words.

You of little faith.  Why did you doubt?

Here is Tom’s redux for the current century.  You had it!  You did it!  Why did you stop keeping your eyes on me and focus on the storm?

Jesus got Peter and himself into the boat and the storm calmed down.  What else could the disciples do but worship him?

All had seen two incredible sights.  Jesus walked on the water all the way from the shore and even Peter walked on top of the water for a little while.  What sights to behold!

I make note of a simple point here.  Eleven men watched everything from the boat.  Only Peter stepped out of the boat—not of his own initiative—but when his Master called.  Peter did ask his Master to call him, but we don’t see him stepping out of the boat until he did.

Eleven men watched from the boat.  Eleven watched from the boat.  We should see the power of faith at work in Peter and we should also see how doubt debilitates faith, but let us not second guess Peter.  He got out of the boat and was walking towards Jesus while the others watched.

When human nature took over and Peter began to sink, Jesus was right there to save him.

Yes, Jesus chastised him.  You of little faith.  Why did you doubt?  We don’t see him saying anything to the other disciples.

Have you ever seen a good coach chew out one of his players?  He doesn’t ridicule him as so many wannabe coaches do.  He challenges him to see his mistake and the correction needed.  The player has no doubt he is being chewed out, but he knows exactly what he was taught to do, what he did, and what was expected the next time.

You of little faith.  Why did you doubt?

You had it!  You were so close! 

Do you know who you never see the coach chewing out?  The guys standing on the sidelines, that’s who.  The guys who never tried out, that’s who. 

The coach coaches—sometimes very passionately—those who are playing the game.  The coach knows when a player has something more in him.

You of little faith.  Why did you doubt?

The players who never get out of the boat don’t get the same coaching.  Jesus was training disciples not spectators.  Jesus wants us to get out of the boat when he calls us.

Better to take a few steps and start to sink that just remain in the safety of the boat.  Jesus is with you and will save you.

Get out of the boat when he calls.

Amen.

 

 

7 I Am Metaphors in John

 

The words I am are powerful words.  They are how God’s people were to know that Moses was sent by God.  The words I am move boats across water or cause armed guards to fall backwards

They are words that use God’s name to precede ours.  Who are you?  I am Tom or I am Jane or I am whatever name your parents gave you.

These are words that identify God and help us to understand our identity and they are more than we can comprehend in a single serving.  Jesus gave us 7 I Am metaphors to help us understand him and his Father in heaven and what it is to have life in him.

Let’s briefly consider each of these I Am statements.

“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35-51)  Jesus used this one several times in a single pericope.  Bread sustains physical life. Christ offers and sustains spiritual life. Think to the fourth chapter of John’s gospel.  Jesus said he had food that his disciples didn’t know about.

His food was to do the will of his Father. His food was to finish the work he was sent to do.  Jesus still ate meals but his real sustenance was in doing his Father’s will.

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Jesus and his commands to us sustain us.  We are to receive him and his commands with the same enthusiasm we have for the fellowship meal.  Will we be nourished?

 “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as a guide. John has a recurring theme of light and darkness.  While Jesus was in the world, he was the light of the world.  We as his disciples are charged to be the light of the world.  You can be the salt of the earth while you are at it.

Will we walk in the light?

In chapter 11 of John’s gospel, when the disciples are concerned about going back to Judea and Jerusalem because the Jews there wanted to kill Jesus, he told them that if they walked in daylight they would not stumble.  If they walked in his light, they would be protected.

“I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7-9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.  If every sheep and shepherd go through the gate, everyone is protected.  Visualize a small or narrow gate that offers only one way in or out.  Only the thief would climb the fence to steal or kill or destroy.  Jesus is the gate and the gate is the way, which will come up in chapter 14.

Will we by receiving him also receive his protection?

“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11-14) Jesus loves and protects all who belong to him.  Everyone who had been entrusted with the shepherding of Israel before fell short.  Jesus is the model of shepherding.  His sheep know his voice.

Will we know his voice?

As we are talking shepherds, I’m going to make a little rant here.  I see a lot of scripture abused on the internet.  Scripture is twisted or rewritten to fit the desired narrative. That’s the age that we live in.  Sometimes, I am compelled to comment.  Here is one of those cases.  It’s from Luke 15.

Have you seen the one about how Jesus leaves the 99 to find the 1?  Did you have any problems with that?

Jesus tells the parable. He is not in the parable. What difference does it make?

Besides manipulating the scripture to fit the desired narrative of the one who posted it; it ignores the literary tool selected by Jesus. The parable helps us understand the things of God by setting it alongside the things people understood in the world.

The shepherd in the parable is your basic human shepherd. Even he would leave the 99 in the open country to search for the lost sheep. If the human shepherd would do this, how much more will your Heavenly Father search for those who are lost?

How great the celebration in heaven when the lost one is found and home again.

Trust that Jesus knew what he was doing when he told this parable.  He is the Good Shepherd after all.

“I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Martha thought that resurrection was a date on an eternal calendar.  She was probably right, but resurrection was standing in front of her.  Resurrection, life, and life eternal are in Christ. 

These bodies will wear out but we will live.  We will live.

Ask ourselves the same thing that Jesus inquired of Martha.  Do you believe this?

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) The disciples wanted to see the Father.  C’mon, they had followed Jesus for 3 years.  If anyone should be entitled to a glimpse of the Heavenly Father, it was them. 

Jesus explained that if they had seen him, they had seen the Father.  Jesus was in the Father and the Father in him.  You want to know the Father, then know me.  That’s the essence here.

Everything is through Jesus.  Everything that was made was made through him.  Everything that we need comes through him.  Everything that we hope for is in his name.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Will we trust in the Lord with all of our heart?

“I am the true vine.” (John 15:1-5) You know those disconnect notices that we gave out a few years ago and I still use about once a week.  They pose the question to their readers, “Are you connected to the body of Christ?”

Jesus asks us if we remain connected to him.  Are we a teachable spirit?  Have we taken his yoke and do we learn from him?

Do we really want to know the Father?  Then we must be prepared for him to do some pruning.  He will prune away everything that does not produce good fruit.

We have made it through John’s gospel.  If you check out my postings online, you got a high speed flyover of the entire gospel this week.  These 7 I Am metaphors are also a good way to retain much of what you have learned.

I am the bread of life.  Will we be nourished?

I am the light of the world. Will we walk in the light?

I am the door of the sheep. We will receive his protection?

I am the good shepherd.  Will we know his voice?

I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?

I am the way, the truth, and the life.  Will we trust in the Lord with all of our heart?

I am the true vine.  Will we stay connected and do we trust our Father to prune us so that we may produce good fruit?

Those are the 7 I Am metaphors. I find them a fitting way to conclude what has been a 5-month journey.

John told us that his gospel did not contain everything that Jesus did, that it was enough for us to believe and by believing have eternal life in Christ.

So let us believe and have life.

Let us live as his disciples and produce good fruit.

In a world of deception, let us know his voice.

Amen.

John 18 - Part 1

Read John 18

His hour had come.  His teaching was done.  Now it was time for the arrest. 

The disciples had followed Jesus across the Kidron Valley, which is something of a wadi, and stopped in a group of olive trees, presumably what elsewhere is called the Mount of Olives.

We don’t see the interaction between Jesus and his disciples here.  We don’t see him praying in sorrow and anguish and those closest to him falling asleep.  What we do see is Judas guiding some officials from the Chief Priest and Pharisees.  They brought some armed soldiers.

The disciples did have a couple of swords.  You have to look to Luke’s gospel to get this tidbit and they were not for defending Jesus on this night.  For inquiring minds who want to know, in this case know the logistics, the disciples had swords and later on Peter would use one.

Jesus knew what was about to happen and he did not prolong the encounter.  The armed group approached and Jesus asked: “Who is it that you want?”  In modern vernacular, he would have said, “Who you looking for?’ 

Jesus may have healed on the Sabbath but I just can’t see him ending a sentence with a preposition.  This is 2020, so I am required to announce, that the last statement was tongue-in-cheek.

The group noted they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus answered, “I am he.”

Jesus didn’t draw a sword.  He did not call upon 12  legions of angels.  He spoke the words I am.  We have experienced seven I am metaphors in John’s gospel, but this I am is the self-identifying voice of God.

I am

At the mention of these two simple words, the guards withdrew and fell backwards.  Two words conveyed more power and authority than this group brought with them. 

Did you ever see the video on Facebook or YouTube or whatever else exists out there of the road rage?  It’s a staged video and intentionally so, not like so many others purporting to be actual events.

In this video, the two vehicles have pulled over to the side of the road and the man in the trail vehicle gets out and grips a tire iron and starts walking toward the front vehicle with angry intent. The man in the first vehicle gets out with a .44 Magnum.

Immediately, the man with the tire iron starts doing the blind man act with this war stick.  They say don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.  Well, a tire iron doesn’t work much better.  It’s a funny video and makes a good comparison.

It didn’t matter how many soldiers or weapons the arresting party brought with them; they were no match for two words:  I am.

Jesus could have ended the whole affair in that moment, but he did not.  He asked them again who they wanted. Again, they said Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus said I am he.  It was as if to say, Here I am guys.  Let’s get this show on the road.

We need to understand that Jesus was not overcome by armed guards.  He surrendered fully to his Father’s will and the purpose for which he was sent.

Jesus said that they came for him so leave the others alone.  Do remember that Jesus just affirmed to his heavenly Father that he had lost none of those men given to him, except the one who had to betray him, and just happened to be the one who guided this armed party to him?

Jesus said take me and leave them alone.  None of them would be lost.  They were to be sent into the world.

Peter, who would very soon deny Jesus three times, took one of the swords and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant named Malchus.  Peter hacked of an ear from an unarmed man.  Peter was still governed by the flesh.

Jesus told him and us, that nothing would get in the way of his mission.  “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

As we wrap up this section, we find the servant missing his right ear, but in Luke’s gospel, Jesus heals the servant.  Luke’s gospel also does not name the disciple who cut off the servant’s ear.

These are some interesting tidbits for your continued study, but as we conclude this section, know this.

1.     Jesus would complete his mission.  In two words he could have dispatched anyone who would confront him, but he would do just what he was sent to do.  More on this when Jesus stands before Pilate.

2.    Peter was still wrestling with the flesh.  Peter and his sword would take on the world, a world that Jesus told him he had already overcome.  Do you ever wonder why Jesus picked Peter to follow him?  Perhaps, it is so we could see our humanity and wrestling matches with the flesh on full display in the gospels. 

We still wrestle with the flesh like Peter, but we must know and take heart that Jesus has already overcome everything that we wrestle with now.

Jesus knew what was ahead of him.  His hour had come and though he had the power to stop what was ahead of him, it was for this very purpose that he came.

Amen.

Before Abraham was, I Am

Read John 8

What do you do when Jesus tells you that your father is the Devil?

You fire back that he is a demon.  He is a Samaritan.  He’s a Longhorn.  He’s from California.  He does drink Dr. Pepper.

The problem was that Jesus spoke the truth and the Jews were grasping at straws.  The Jews wanted to claim God as their Father but Jesus had called them out.  He said that God sent him, he did the Father’s will, and you dishonored him.

I will give you the same theological term as before:  Ouch!

Jesus told them again that life—eternal life—was in him.  Believe and you will not die.  He did not come to condemn the world but to save it.

That set them off.  Everybody has died.  All the patriarchs died.  Are you greater than them?

Jesus told them that Abraham rejoiced at seeing his day.

That set the sparks a flyin’. Now we know that you are possessed by a demon.  You are not even 50 years old.  Abraham lived a long, long time ago.  You are saying things that you can’t possibly know. We gotcha now!

Jesus said:  Before Abraham was, I am.

There is no subtlety here.  This is not the non-confrontation approach we saw at the beginning of the chapter with the woman brought before Jesus.  This is in your face:  I Am!

Now they were ready to kill Jesus for sure.  He could not say this unless he was indeed the Son of God and they were not going to believe that.

Jesus slipped away before anyone could do anything.  We know from our other reading that his time had not yet come.

Think on these words:  Before Abraham was, I am.

We often think of the 7 I Am statements in John, but there are many more.  The 7 statements are metaphors that Jesus used, but he used the words egō eimi or I Am more than within those 7 statements.  Each time they speak the words that God spoke to Moses. 

Jesus is proclaiming his divinity.  He is affirming he is of the Father and sent by the Father.  The truth that could set these men free from sin stood before them as the promised Anointed One, but their hearts had already been hardened and all they wanted to do was kill him.

What should we receive from this pericope?  It should give us a great perspective on Philippians 2 for one thing.  Jesus has always been.  He stepped out of heaven to live as a man, even from birth, to fulfill the law and the prophets, and go to the cross as the unblemished Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.

Later in John’s gospel, Jesus confided in his disciples that he is in the Father and the Father in him.  If you know Jesus, then you know the Father.  They speak the same language:  I Am.  They go by the same name:  I Am.

The Jews were so wanting to claim God and Abraham as their Fathers.  They wanted to be counted righteous because of their efforts to follow the law that came through Moses, yet they were blind to the truth and he was standing right in front of them.

Jesus gave them the name that his Father sent with Moses to deliver the slaves from Egypt.  It did not resonate with the Jews because they were not seeking after God.

For some time, the Jews had been asking:  Just who is this man?

Is he prophet?  Is he demon?

Does he come in the name of God?  Does he come only on his own behalf?

Is he the Christ?  Is he an imposter?

How can one from Galilee be who he says 

he is?

He is the carpenter’s kid, right?

Why have we not been able to trap him with our questions?

Can he be from God and be at work on the Sabbath?

Just who is this man?

In two words, egō eimi, know that Jesus is exactly who he said he is.

In two words, I Am, know that he was, is, and forever will be God.  He is the God who made us.  He is the God who has and always will love us.  He is the God who has redeemed us from our sin and has made a place with him for ever and ever.

Amen.