Cross 101

The disciples did not understand Jesus’ way or his purposes.  They were committed to him, but they didn’t really know who they were following.  Jesus tried to build their faith, again and again, but they just didn’t understand.  Sometimes they understood a bit, and then they would show that they didn’t understand at all.  Finally, Jesus told him the most important message of all—and they showed that they understood that least of all.

Another day, another crowd.  This day it was four thousand men, not counting the women and children.  They had followed Jesus far away from any community, and they were hungry.  Jesus said to his disciples, “This crowd is hungry and I feel sorry for them.  If I sent them home, they would collapse before they ever got there.  What do you think we should do?”  

Jesus was saying this to test the disciples.  Unfortunately, they didn’t even know there was a pop quiz. “Who could possibly get enough bread for this huge crowd,” they responded.  

Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”  

They replied, “Seven.”  

Again, Jesus told the disciples to sit the crowd down.  Again, Jesus gave thanks for and divided the bread.  Again, there was enough for everyone to eat, and seven baskets of bread leftover—one basket for each loaf there was to begin with.

            Immediately after this, some of the Pharisees came up to Jesus and demanded, “Give us a sign in the heavens to let us know you really have authority.”  Jesus looked straight at them and said, “This rebellious generation doesn’t deserve a sign.  You don’t believe even with what you have—you will get nothing more.”

            A little later that day, Jesus was in the boat with his disciples, and they were going across the lake.  Jesus told his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees.”  The disciples, though, weren’t really listening—they were concerned with how much bread they had.  “We’ve only got one loaf,” they said, “That won’t be enough for all of us.  Perhaps Jesus is mad because we don’t have enough bread.”

            Jesus heard this and was extremely frustrated with them—“Why are you always concerned that we don’t have enough bread?  Are you pursuing stupidity?  How is it that you don’t understand?  Look, remember the first time I fed the five thousand—how many loaves were there?”  

      They shyly said, “Five.”  

      “And how many baskets did you pick up?”  

      “Twelve.”  

     “And when I fed the four thousand, how many loaves were there then?”  

     They sheepishly replied, “Seven.”  

     “And how many baskets were left over?”  

     “Seven.”  

     “Why don’t you get it?  Haven’t you learned the lesson yet?”

            A couple days later, Jesus and his disciples were in the villages surrounding Ceseria-Phillipi.  As they were going along the way, Jesus asked the disciples, “So, you’ve been listening to the crowds.  Who do they think I am?”  One replied, “Some think you are John the Baptist risen from the dead.  They think that’s why you can do the miracles you do.”  Another disciple said, “Some think you are Elijah, just as Malachi promised that he would return before the day of the Lord.”  Another disciple said, “Most people think you are just another of the prophets.” 

Jesus said, “That’s interesting.  What about you?  What do you think about me?”  All of the disciples were silent.  They didn’t know what to say—and they were afraid to say the wrong thing.  Simon, however, opened his mouth and said, “You are the Messiah—the King of Jerusalem and the Son of God.”  Jesus smiled and said, “You are blessed by God, Simon.  For you didn’t figure that out in your thick skull—you learned that from God himself!”

Then Jesus got serious.  “Look, starting the kingdom of God is more difficult than anyone thought.  Some thought it would start if the Messiah gets the agreement of all the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.  Some thought that if they got an army blessed by God that the Messiah would conquer Jerusalem.  Let me tell you the biggest secret— the Son of Man is the Messiah, and he will go to Jerusalem.  The Son of Man will be rejected by the chief priests and Sanhedrin, and they will condemn him to death.  Then they will hand him over to the Romans and he will be killed.  And on the third day, he will be risen from the dead. This is how we will win Jerusalem.”

Simon took Jesus aside, where the rest of the disciples couldn’t hear him and said, “Look Jesus, this simply can’t be true.  A dead man can’t rule Jerusalem.  We won’t let such a thing happen to you.  All you have to do is to convince the Sanhedrin that you are on their side, then we can gather up an army…”  “Shut up!”  Jesus yelled.  “Get away from me, Satan!  You are tempting me with pleasing words—but you do not know God’s will, only what man desires!”  Jesus stomped away, over to where a crowd was gathering to listen to him.

“Listen to me, all of you,” Jesus announced.  “If you want to follow me, recognize that I am leading a revolution.  If you want what I have—my healing, my salvation—then set aside your dreams and ideals and get ready to be executed! 

“If you want to save the life you have—get ready to lose it.  But if you are willing to lose everything you have and everything you are for my sake and for the teaching of God’s coming kingdom—that’s the only way you will gain any life!  What good is it for anyone if they have their present life, but throw away any future they have!  What will you trade for an eternal future?  A few dollars, a house, some land?  What about your whole life—that’s what I’m offering.  Trade in the life you now live for an eternal future.  If anyone is ashamed of me or of my words before men, then I will be ashamed of them before the Father on the final day.  

"Make your choice—choose me and lose your life, or choose your present life and lose your future!”

Live a Miracle

Jesus did an amazing number of miracles.  Feeding 5000 people with fives loaves and two fish, that was pretty good.  Walking on water is classic.  Water into wine is famous.  Calming a storm is excellent.  Healing people born blind, healing lepers, raising the dead... all of them amazing works.

Most people see the miracles of Jesus as something that he did to prove his divinity.  He is the Son of God, so he could do all of these amazing works that no one else could do.  This is indicated by the popular bumper sticker, "Next time you think you're perfect, try walking on water!"  Jesus was perfect, Jesus could walk on water, you can't therefore you aren't.

But Jesus would weep at how we see his miracles.  He didn't see them as signs of divinity at all.  He fully expected his disciples to do miracles as well.  When the 5000 were hungry he said, "YOU feed them!"  When he calmed the storm, he yelled at the disciples for their lack of faith, as if they should have been able to do it themselves.  He sent his apostles out to heal and even to raise the dead.

The deciding factor is this:  Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father." (John 14:12)

Jesus didn't do miracles to show he was divine.  He did miracles to teach others how to do them.  Heck, even imperfect Peter walked on water.

So how do we do miracles?

1. We need the right situation.  God doesn't do miracles for everyone or for every situation.  But he will do a miracle when the poor are in need or when a person who was far from God begins seeking Him.  God will also do a miracle when His name is on the line. The miracle is not for ourselves, but it is an extension of us loving others or loving God.

2. We need faith.  Or the balls to ask (or demand) a miracle.  We need to stand up and declare that the miracle will occur.  And we need to have faith in Jesus.  It is Jesus' power that does the miracle, not our own, and so declaring one in Jesus' name works wonders (literally).

3. We need prayer.  We need to declare a miracle and ask for it.  This is so we remember that it is not our power that does a miracle but God's.  Any miracle that is done is God's grace alone, like a present.  He doesn't have to give it, but He will, if we are gracious and give thanks.

Finally, some of the greatest works that are done are not technically "miracles" at all, but are works of community.  We can feed 5000 people and more.  Every day.  We can heal the sick, and make the blind see and help people weather out storms and do greater works than Jesus was ever able to do, on a broader scale.  All because we have Jesus' love in our hearts.

Let us never think that we cannot do Jesus' work.  We must, and we will.

A Really Busy Day

In everything he did, Jesus was showing his authority—his ability to command the spirit world.  He commanded demons to leave his presence, he commanded fevers to disappear.  He pulled a little girl out of the power of Death, an evil spirit.  This authority was given to him by the Father, and the disciples were constantly amazed at his abilities.  He also showed that he could pass this authority on to his disciples, for they also were able to heal and cast out demons by using Jesus’ authority.  But they were still to be amazed by him.

After the disciples had returned to Capernum from one of their missions Jesus sent them out on, he looked at them and said, “You look worn out.  Let’s get away from the crowds and get some rest.”  That sounded good to the disciples, so they all piled into a boat and traveled to another part of the sea. 

            As they were leaving, there were many crowds watching them go, all of them hoping that they would be able to be helped by Jesus—some wanted healing, some wanted to hear his teaching.  They were all disappointed to see that they were going away, and they watched them drift to the middle of the lake.  One of the crowd said, “Hey, I see where they are going—come on, let’s follow them!”

            The disciples and Jesus arrived at a secluded place and was prepared for some well-deserved rest.  But no sooner had they arrived than the crowd they had left behind them in Capernum arrived, waiting for assistance.  The disciples groaned, but Jesus saw how desperate these people were.  They were without anyone to help them, without anyone to lead them to God.  Because Jesus had compassion on them, he began to teach them.

            After a few hours of teaching, the disciples went to Jesus and said, “Well, these people must be hungry.  They’ve walked all this way, without food, so please send them home.”  Jesus just looked at the disciples and said, “You feed them.”  The disciples were stunned and replied, “Even if we worked for six months, it wouldn’t be enough to feed this huge crowd,” for there were more than five thousand people.  So Jesus said, “Well, how much food do we have?”  A disciple found a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish, “But that’s all we have,” the disciple whined.  Jesus said, “That will have to do.”

            Jesus took the food they had, and blessed it by offering thanks to God for it.  Then he told the disciples to organize the crowd into groups of 50.  Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to distribute to all the people.  He gave it to the disciples, more and more—and the five loaves of bread and two fish didn’t  stop coming.  Jesus kept giving and giving, until all of the five thousand had enough to eat, and more.  After everyone had eaten, Jesus sent the crowds away, and the disciples picked up the leftovers—and there were twelve baskets of bread left over.

            Jesus was exhausted by then, and felt that he needed to pray.  So he told the disciples to get into the boat and to go back to Capernum, and he would catch up with them later.  They left, and Jesus went up a hill to pray.  In the midst of the sea, however, a great wind came up and the waves were strong against them.  The disciples recognized that a spirit of the waters came against them, to attack them.  They didn’t know what to do, and they were afraid they were lost.  The strained against the oars, trying to get to shore, but nothing could be done.

            Jesus saw them struggling, and he determined to help them.  Using his authority over the spirits of the sea, Jesus walked on the water, to the middle of the sea where the disciples were.  The disciples weren’t expecting anyone, of course, so they thought that Jesus was a spirit coming to attack them, and they yelled out in horror.  Jesus yelled back, over the wind, “Don’t be afraid.  It’s me.”

            Peter yelled back, “Is it really you, Lord?  If it is, tell me to come out to the water with you.”  Jesus smiled at his brashness and said, “Come on out.”  So Peter climbed over the side of the boat and was walking on the water to Jesus.  Suddenly, Peter noticed the waves again, and he became afraid and began to sink.  Peter immediately called out, “Lord, help me!”  Jesus grabbed Peter and they both climbed into the boat. 

            Immediately, the wind died down and the sea was calm.  The disciples all stared at Jesus and said to each other, “What kind of man could he be, to have authority over the winds and sea?”  Suddenly, they were at Capernum.  Later, the crowds that had followed them also came to Capernum.  They saw Jesus and the disciples there and asked, “How did you get here ahead of us?  We left first.” 

            Jesus said to the crowds, “Why are you seeking me?  For me, or for some more food?  Work for the food of heaven, not of earth.”  They replied, “What shall we do to work for God?”  Jesus replied, “This is the work of God: to have faith in the one whom God has sent.”

Living the Future

In the teaching of Jesus, the secret to living a right life here is to constantly be considering the future, especially one's future with God.  Jesus' ethical teaching is constantly referring to the future state-- not necessarily "heaven", but the final judgment of God and one's eternal state.  There are three basic principles he refers to:

    a. How we treat others is how God will treat us
    "Judge not lest you be judged" "Forgive and you will be forgiven" "By whatever measure you measure, by that measure you will be measured."  "Enter into the kingdom prepared for you... for when I was a stranger you invited me in."

    b. Whatever we take for ourselves, we will be given the opposite
    "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, those who humble themselves will be exalted."

    c.  Whatever kind of suffering/comfort we find ourselves in now, we will be living the opposite
     "In your life you received good things and Lazarus evil; even so, now he is comforted and you are in agony."  "Blessed are you who mourn, for you shall be comforted." "Woe to you who are rich for you have already received your comfort; woe to you who laugh now for you shall mourn and weep."

In the end, Jesus' recommendation for us to live beyond the present is to remember the future.  He told us clearly what the future holds (in general terms), if we can remember the future, it will actively change the present.  And this is the most important thing: the point of looking beyond the here and now is to change the here and now.  Because if we do not change the here and now, then our "beyond" will always look the same.

Jesus Not Making Sense

Jesus had been harshly judged by the officials from Jerusalem.  Until this point, there might have been a possibility that the politicians in Jerusalem might have accepted him as King.  But not now.  Jesus recognized this, and was prepared for this—saying ahead of time that God’s people would be rejected and persecuted.  Because of their rejection of his clear message, the Father determined that they must be judged. 

However, the judgment was not one of destruction—rather, it was one of ignorance.  Now they would not be allowed to understand the message Jesus came to teach.  It is at this point that Jesus began to teach everything in parables—to keep people ignorant of God’s truth.  Those who truly desired to understand Jesus would come and ask him, or be his disciple, to whom Jesus explained all things.  But to everyone else, these would just be stories and the truth would be hidden.

Jesus told this parable: “A farmer took his seed and scattered it everywhere.  Some of the seed landed on the hard road, beside the field that never planted properly and birds came and ate it all up.  Some of the seed grew up among thorns, and as they grew the thorns sucked all of the seeds’ water, and they died.  Some of the seed grew up among the rocks, and the plants had shallow roots, and so when the days grew hot, the plants withered.  But some seed was planted in good soil and it grew up and produced abundant fruit.”

            Jesus told another parable: “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.  It is only a tiny seed, but after it is grown, it becomes huge and all the birds will rest under its branches.  The kingdom of God is also like a man who plants a field and waters it.  He waits, and the plants grow up—but he does not know how.”

            The crowds were completely confused now, so Jesus told one more: “A man planted a vast field.  In the middle of the night, his enemy planted weeds that look just like the grain in the midst of the field.  As the plants grew, the man’s slaves came to the man and said, ‘There are weeds among the grain! Should we pull them up?’  The man replied, ‘My enemy has done this.  Let the plants grow up, because if you pull the weeds up now, you will also pull up some of the grain.  When they are all grown, then I will have you pull them all up and we will separate them.  The weeds we will burn, but the wheat we will bring into the barn.’”

            Jesus’ disciples were also confused, so when they were alone with Jesus they asked, “Could you please explain these parables?”  Jesus replied, “The crowds aren’t supposed to understand them, but you are given the meaning of the parables. 

            “This is the meaning of the parable of the soils:  The seed is the word of God about the kingdom, and the farmer is the evangelist.  Some people hear the word and reject it immediately—these are like the seed on the road.  Satan comes and steals the word out of their hearts.  The seed in thorny ground are those who hear the word and receive it, but they are too concerned with the things of this world—possessions and concerns and money—and so they do not abide in the word.  The seed among the rocky soil are those who accept the word, but then they are rejected and persecuted and so do not continue in it.  The seed in good soil are those who abide through all the difficulties and worries to remain in the word to bear abundant fruit.

            “This is the meaning of the mustard seed: The kingdom of God begins very small, but in the end, it will be the ruler of all the nations of the world.  Also, the kingdom of God is going to grow huge—but it will do so by the power of God.  Although I send you out to spread the word, you will not cause the kingdom to grow, only God will.

            “This is the meaning of the parable of the weeds: The field is God’s people, and the owner is the Father.  Satan has placed false worshippers of God in the midst of God’s people.  But the Father is not judging them all now.  Rather, he will wait until the end of the age, and then he will send out his angels to separate the good from the evil.  The evil will be punished in eternal fire, but the righteous will come into the kingdom of God and live in blessing forever.”

            Jesus also placed a riddle around himself.  He called himself “Son of Man” which no one knew what it meant.  Most thought he was just calling himself a prophet, like Ezekiel did.  One day, Jesus told the crowds, “Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they all died.  But I am the bread of life that comes from heaven.  Whoever eats my flesh will never die.”  The crowd wondered, “How can he give us his flesh to eat?”  Then Jesus said aloud, “Truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life.” 

Many of his disciples heard this and said, “Who can abide this kind of teaching?”  Some of his disciples ceased following Jesus at this point.  Jesus then looked at the twelve and said, “Are you going to leave too?”  Peter answered, “Who else can we go to?”  And they remained.

Paul the Apostle on Religion and Jesus

You used to be dead to God due to your non-religious lifestyle and because you didn’t belong to the right church.  Jesus made you alive, putting you in His resurrection, forgiven us of all our religious inadequacies.  Religion has a list of our inadequacies before God, and they said that we owed God because of these inadequacies and they fought against us due to them.  But Jesus took that list and nailed it to the cross to show that it was their list that was inadequate.  Jesus’ death ridicules the religious authorities and laws and policies and his resurrection shows them all to be a mockery.

So don’t let anyone judge you by their standards: by the church you go to, the holidays you celebrate, the day you worship God, what you eat or drink—all of those things are insubstantial compared to the Reality of the King.   Don’t let anyone convince you that you are spiritually inadequate because you haven’t had the “right” spiritual experience, or  you haven’t sat under the “right” teacher, the importance of which they inflate in their own human mind.  Instead, cling to the true Lord, the Head which supplies and provides all the other parts of the body,  which grows by God’s power.  If you have died in Christ, don’t submit to any other spiritual “law”, which are of the world, as if you were still living apart from God.   The religious laws of “do not drink” “stay away from the opposite sex” “don’t partake in pleasure” “don’t eat this kind of food” are all rules that show their inadequacy as we use them.  Don’t live according to these human commandments.  Yes, they seem wise and powerful, but they are religious inventions for the sake of self-abasement and harsh treatment of our bodies, but they have no real value fighting real sin.

So if you have been resurrected in Jesus, seek true heavenly authority, in our King, seated at the right hand of God.  Focus on Jesus, not on earthly authorities. 

A paraphrase of Colossians 2:13-3:1

What Do I Do If I Sin?

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.  Mark 1:15

Do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

 Luke 13:4-5

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

 Matthew 18:6-9

A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Luke 18:18-22

That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.

Mark 7:20-23

I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Matthew 12:31-37

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 18:10-14

Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

Matthew 23:13-14

If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

John 9:41

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Matthew 7:21

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:34-36