Desperate for Jesus

^{NIV.Luke.8.42b} As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

* see also parallel account in Mark 5 25-34

The popular modern worship song “Breathe” ends with these words,

And I I’m desperate for you
And I I’m lost without you.

But how many times do we acknowledge our desperate need for God?

This is the fifth occasion we’ve shared the writing of Matt Tullos. Clicking the link which follows will connect you to his site where this first appeared.

Call Me Desperate

As I read the Gospel, there’s something that stands out in so many narratives and backstories. Jesus loves desperate people. Whether it’s the pleading father, the paralyzed man whose friends tore the roof off a house, or the sufferings of the entire nation of Israel, desperate people always get His attention.

I can remember times when I was so preoccupied with my work, the game, or a task, that my five-year-old son would grab my face with both his hands to assure I was listening. That’s just how absurdly one-track minded I can get. But that was never the case with Jesus. Nobody had to grab Him by the face. The moment the tassels of his prayer garment were touched, He felt her faith connect with His sufficiency. There is absolute power in the faith of a desperate person.

I’ve spent lots of time trying not to appear desperate, while knowing the deep chasm of my own insufficiency. And there is power in desperation. It’s clumsy at times. When I’m desperate, there’s no telling what might come out of my mouth. My prayers are fragmented. Sometimes all I can pray is the oldest one: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me.” In fact, that’s how I start every morning. It centers me on the truth that I have to cry out for mercy. Every morning. Every evening. And a baker’s dozen times a day. “Lord Jesus, Son of God have mercy.” I’m sure there are those who don’t need his mercy as much as I do, but it’s my broken bread and butter.

It brings me back to the woman reaching for the tassels of Jesus. (Luke 8, Mark 5)

A desperate, sick, bankrupt woman fights her way through the crowd to touch Jesus’ cloak. In Mark, we read that she spent everything she had on doctors but things only got worse. I have been there. It’s when you throw money at a problem and the problem’s appetite for money only grows. No one wants “money pit” problems. They’ll bring you to the end of yourself. Who wants that? There comes a time when you aren’t worried about how humiliating you look. You just lay yourself out there in front of God and everybody because you don’t care what anybody thinks. “In front of” is none of your concern.

As soon as she made contact with Him, He knew it and focused all his attention on her. In one moment, we can agree on a number of things about Jesus. He’s never too late, He’s never too busy, and He’s never too burdened to step into the pain of our desperation. Sometimes, He has to bring us into desperation in order for us to diligently seek Him. That’s the whole point of this life and yet we are often too consumed with the crowd to really stop and focus on our ultimate and preeminent King. That’s too bad, because when it comes down to it, every solution for brokenness, our pain and neediness is no more than a touch away.

Lord Jesus, Son of God have mercy. I have so often wanted a self-instigated salvation without the mess and grit of desperation. There is only one hero in my story. Have mercy in my desperation, so that I can more fully revel in your rescue.

The Life and Ministry of Jesus: A Live Transcript

Ten years ago here, we celebrated that BibleGateway.com has added The Voice to its list of available translations. This was a truly different approach to Bible translation. Some immediately resonated with what the translators had in mind and gravitated toward its fresh approach. For others who preferred the traditional approach to scripture, this version took things too far to be considered seriously.

Today, you can still purchase The Voice in hardcover and paperback, but at the time there were various imitation leather editions.

The main distinctive features were:

• The Voice used a screenplay (dramatic) format for dialogue and conversations. One advantage to this style is that it removes the need for lots of repetitive conjunctions and verbs (“he said,” “she replied,” etc.) that slow down reading. It also let the translators use some clever and useful ways to convey key details: for example, in Matthew 8, note the use of stage directions to add detail and clearly identify the audience.
• Words and phrases in italics represented words that aren’t found in the original text, but which are important for bringing out the original intended meaning of the passage. In the words of The Voice translators, this brings out “the nuance of the original, assist[s] in completing ideas, and often provide[s] readers with information that would have been obvious to the original audience. These additions are meant to help the modern reader better understand the text without having to stop and read footnotes or a study guide.” Here’s an example from Romans 6. (For the record, the KJV used this exact technique.)
• Another feature encountered upon reading The Voice is its collection of explanatory material embedded in with the Bible text. These short paragraphs contained devotional material, study notes, background information, and other clarifying detail of the sort that you might typically find in a study Bible or commentary. These notes were placed near the passages they’re expounding on, and are clearly delineated from the text of Scripture as seen in Romans 7.

Note: When The Voice first appeared we ran an excerpt from Romans 5 which you can find here. While The Voice uses boxed and indented sections, that was not possible here. Scripture text in green is a convention we use here at C201, and we tried to use blue for the added sections, but the green and blue is not part of the original formatting of this Bible edition. The passage today really brings out the dramatic reading format.

John 9 – The Voice

John and many people in his community are Jews. As a son of Abraham, his criticism of certain Jewish leaders is not a criticism of a whole people. He’s not stereotyping or making generalizations. “The Jews” he remembers in this passage are a corrupt group of power brokers who conspire against Jesus with the Romans to have Him crucified and who later have John’s own followers expelled from the synagogue. Their behavior may be compared to the behavior of those Israelites condemned by Old Testament prophets. Prophets have the duty—Jeremiah said he had “a fire in his bones” (20:9)—to speak for God and condemn hypocrisy and unbelief wherever it is found, especially when it’s found close to home. That’s what John’s doing when recalling this event.

^{The Voice.Jn.9.1} While walking along the road, Jesus saw a man who was blind since his birth.

Disciples: ² Teacher, who sinned? Who is responsible for this man’s blindness? Did he commit sins that merited this punishment? If not his sins, is it the sins of his parents?

Jesus: ³ Neither. His blindness cannot be explained or traced to any particular person’s sins. He is blind so the deeds of God may be put on display. ⁴ While it is daytime, we must do the works of the One who sent Me. But when the sun sets and night falls, this work is impossible. ⁵ Whenever I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.

⁶ After He said these things, He spat on the ground and mixed saliva and dirt to form mud, which He smeared across the blind man’s eyes.

Jesus (to the blind man): ⁷ Go, wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.

Siloam means “sent,” and its name reminded us that his healing was sent by God. The man went, washed, and returned to Jesus, his eyes now alive with sight. ⁸ Then neighbors and others who knew him were confused to see a man so closely resembling the blind beggar running about.

Townspeople: Isn’t this the man we see every day sitting and begging in the streets?

Others: ⁹ This is the same man.

Still Others: This cannot be him. But this fellow bears an uncanny resemblance to the blind man.

Formerly Blind Man: I am the same man. It’s me!

Townspeople: ¹⁰ How have your lifeless eyes been opened?

Formerly Blind Man: ¹¹ A man named Jesus approached me and made mud from the ground and applied it to my eyes. He then said to me, “Go, wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.” I went and washed, and suddenly I could see.

Townspeople: ¹² Where is this man who healed you?

Formerly Blind Man: I don’t know.

^13-14 The townspeople brought the formerly blind beggar to appear before the Pharisees the same day Jesus healed him, which happened to be on the Sabbath Day. ¹⁵ The Pharisees began questioning him, looking for some explanation for how he could now see.

Formerly Blind Man: He smeared mud on my eyes, and I washed; now I see.

Some Pharisees: ¹⁶ God can’t possibly be behind this man because He is breaking the rules of the Sabbath.

Other Pharisees: How can such a lawbreaking scoundrel do something like this?

The Pharisees were at odds with one another about Jesus and could not agree whether His power came from God or the devil.

Pharisees (to the formerly blind man): ¹⁷ What do you say about this man, about the fact He opened your eyes so you could see?

Formerly Blind Man: I have no doubt—this man is a prophet.

¹⁸ Some of the Jews suspected the whole situation was a charade, that this man was never blind. So they summoned the man’s parents to testify about his condition.

Pharisees: ¹⁹ Is this man your son? Do you testify that he has been blind from birth? How therefore does he now see?

Parents: ²⁰ We can tell you this much: he is our son, and he was born blind. ²¹ But his new sight is a complete mystery to us! We do not know the man who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask our son? He is old enough to speak for himself.

²² The man’s parents were a bit evasive because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. It had been rumored that anyone who spoke of Jesus as the Anointed One would be expelled from the synagogue. ²³ So they deferred the thorny question to their son, ²⁴ and the Pharisees called on him a second time.

Pharisees: Give God the credit. He’s the One who healed you. All glory belongs to God. We are persuaded this man you speak of is a sinner who defies God.

Formerly Blind Man: ²⁵ If this man is a sinner, I don’t know. I am not qualified to say. I only know one thing: I was blind, and now I see.

Pharisees: ²⁶ What did He do to you? How did He give you sight?

Formerly Blind Man: ²⁷ Listen, I’ve already answered all these questions, and you don’t like my answers. Do you really need me to say it all over again? Are you thinking about joining up with Him and becoming His followers?

Pharisees (berating him): ²⁸ You’re one of His followers, but we follow Moses. ²⁹ We have confidence that God spoke to Moses, but this man you speak of is a mystery; we don’t even know where He comes from.

Formerly Blind Man: ³⁰ Isn’t it ironic that you, our religious leaders, don’t even know where He comes from; yet He gave me sight! ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does respond and work through those who worship Him and do His will. ³² No one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of any person blind from birth. ³³ This man must come from God; otherwise, this miracle would not be possible. Only God can do such things.

Pharisees: ³⁴ You were born under a cloud of sin. How can you, of all people, lecture us?

The religious leaders banished him from their presence. ³⁵ Jesus heard what had happened and sought out the man.

Jesus: Do you believe in the Son of Man?

Formerly Blind Man: ³⁶ I want to believe, Lord. Who is He?

Jesus: ³⁷ You have seen His face with your new eyes, and you are talking to Him now.

Formerly Blind Man: ³⁸ Lord, I do believe.

The man bowed low to worship Jesus.

Jesus: ³⁹ I have entered this world to announce a verdict that changes everything. Now those without sight may begin to see, and those who see may become blind.

Some Pharisees (who overheard Jesus): ⁴⁰ Surely we are not blind, are we?

Jesus: ⁴¹ If you were blind, you would be without sin. But because you claim you can see, your sin is ever present.

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The Voice Bible is Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society. Thanks to HarperCollins Christian Products for permission to occasionally run excerpts of their products. Normally, these excerpts focus on new releases and are normally limited to 600 words, so if we’re asked to scale this one back we will. Enjoy it while it’s here.

Jesus and Social Responsibility

We’re back for a second time with Ben Foley who is the International President of Serve Now. (Motto, “Serve Now, Procrastinate Later.”) He is the author of several editions of their “The Basics” series (discipleship guides), and has been posting at Ben Foley: Whispers of God, Echoes of Eternity (aka BenFoley.com) since 2012. Click the header below to read this where it first appeared.

Responsibility

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. -John 6:5-6

Lately, I have been reflecting on the responsibility we have as humans to one another. But mainly, I have been thinking about the responsibility followers of Jesus have in serving those in need and being a people of generosity.

Throughout the Bible, we find clear calls, commands, and reminders to serve and be open-handed in our relationships with others, especially towards the most vulnerable among us. For example, a few of my favorites are:

• Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. -Deuteronomy 15:9-12
• “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” -Isaiah 58:6-7
• Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ -Matthew 25:34-39
• Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27
• What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. -James 2:14-17
• All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. -Galatians 2:10
• For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:8-10

Serving sacrificially and giving generously are not only commands given to God’s people and the decent human thing to do towards others created in God’s image, but also critical ways we demonstrate God’s very nature and character. John 3:16, perhaps the most well-known verse in Scripture, reminds us, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

While we rightly focus on eternal life being a gift to receive by God’s grace through faith alone, we sometimes miss what this tells us about God and how we are to become like him. God doesn’t just say he loves us. He showed us he loves us by giving generously, sacrificially, and unconditionally. He gave his all, his only, and his best. Therefore, when we give wholeheartedly, we are reflecting his character and representing his love to others.

Serving sacrificially and giving generously, therefore, are sacred responsibilities to take seriously. Jesus takes personally the way we do or do not treat others, especially those in need. It is an act of love and service to those in need and Jesus himself when we serve sacrificially and give generously. And when we fail to serve others, we fail to serve Jesus.

If this sounds overwhelming, take heart. I started this blog quoting from the story of when Jesus fed the 5,000 with just a few loaves of bread and fish. The needs of the world can feel overwhelming. This year alone, I traveled to many countries with overwhelming needs, such as Ethiopia amid conflict and famine, Ukraine amid a war, Sri Lanka facing an economic and political collapse, and Iraq, where Yazidi people terrorized by ISIS feel forgotten and abandoned by the world and their government. I am heading next to the US/Mexico border, where thousands come on harrowing journeys fleeing violence, crime, poverty, and corruption.

Sometimes instead of wanting to look up and see all the overwhelming needs of the world, we focus just on what feels more manageable to us. After all, don’t we have our own needs? Don’t our families have needs? Don’t our communities or own country have needs? Who has the time or resources to deal with the world’s needs?

But notice, Jesus turned to Philip when he saw the crowds coming and asked him what he would do about it. Jesus made it personal to Philip and his disciples and, by extension us. However, we know something Philip didn’t have the luxury of knowing at the moment. We are told Jesus asked this only to test Philip. Jesus already knew what he was going to do. He just wanted to stretch Philip’s faith and involve him in a miracle about to unfold.

The same is true today. Jesus wants to involve you and me in the responsibility and privilege of serving others in need. And as Jesus’ disciples found out that day, it isn’t about how little we might have compared to the overwhelming need in the world. Instead, it is about whether we are willing to give all we have and do what Jesus instructs us to do in participating in his plans to reveal himself to a world in need. Give him all you have by serving others sacrificially and generously, and watch what he will do with it in ways you cannot fathom.

In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” -John 5:17

Can We Do “Greater Things” Than Jesus?

Today we’re back again at Good Question, the website of Biblical scholar Christopher Smith who is a former pastor, former staff worker with InterVarsity, and the author of several excellent Bible study and reference books. This is our fifth time (I think) directly sharing one of his Q&A articles, but we’ve also quoted him an equal number of times.

Besides acknowledging the source of today’s material, you might also want to bookmark the site as it gets into a number of “201-level” topics you might find useful. Click the title which follows to read this where it first appeared.

How can believers in Jesus do even greater things than he did?

Q. If Jesus is God and is so powerful that he can even raise people from the dead, what does it mean when he says that people who believe in him will do “even greater” things than he does? (John 14:12, “Whoever believes in me will do … even greater things than these.”)

The works that believers in Jesus do are not greater in power than the works that Jesus did on earth, they are greater in glory. See the fuller context of the statement that Jesus made about this: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

While Jesus was on earth, his glory was veiled. It was possible to witness his miracles and claim, as some of the Pharisees did (absurdly, as Jesus pointed out), that he was doing them by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. And even those who recognized correctly that Jesus did his miracles by the power of God did not always understand who he was. Matthew tells us in his gospel, for example, that when Jesus healed a paralytic, “When the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.” They thought that Jesus was only a human being. (And it is true that Jesus did his miracles not as God omnipotent, but as someone who had emptied himself of such divine attributes when he became a human being. As such, he was completely dependent on God and yielded to God, and so a perfect channel for the Holy Spirit’s power.)

Nicodemus said to Jesus, “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God was with him.” So Jesus’ miracles attested that God had sent him and was empowering him. But these miracles did not necessarily disclose that Jesus was the Son of God, come to earth as the Savior.

However, when Jesus’ followers starting doing works in his name after his resurrection, people were amazed that someone whom they knew had died was nevertheless still doing miracles when people called upon him. The apostle Peter, for example, said to a paralyzed man named Aeneas in the city of Lydda, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you,” and Aeneas got right up! So the miracles that Jesus’ followers did were greater in glory than the miracles Jesus did on earth because those later miracles attested to the fact that God had raised Jesus from the dead, beginning a new age in redemptive history, and that the resurrected Jesus was doing great works to confirm the message that his followers were proclaiming about him. So the miracles of Jesus’ followers glorified him in a way that Jesus’ own miracles on earth did not, and in that sense they were greater.

This is a challenge and an opportunity for all believers in Jesus to call upon him to do things in our lives today that will glorify him as the resurrected and exalted Son of God.

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Acts 4:4 NLT But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

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Read more from this author: What about the verses which talk about a woman being saved [from reproach, disgrace] through childbirth? Paul’s epistle to Timothy says women are saved through childbirth, but in his first letter to the Corinthians his advice is to stay single. How does that work?

Is Jesus a Product of Organized Religion?

Thinking Through The Question with Mark’s Gospel

by Clarke Dixon

Today’s scriptures are all linked outside the main article.

Reading through Mark’s account of Jesus there were two key responses to Jesus:

• Just who is this Jesus? A response of amazement.
• Just who does this Jesus think he is? A response of disbelief.

Which one of these represents best the response to Jesus today? Given the passage of time there is a new response to Jesus:

• Just how do Christians expect us to take Jesus seriously when he is a product of organized religion, indeed one we don’t really care for?

Given the bias against organized religion today, it would be interesting if Canadians could read the account of Jesus written by Mark and think of it not as being part of the Christian Bible, a product of Christianity, but as a historical document, something written at a particular time and place in history. Now, why was it written?

Did Mark and the other Gospel writers write what they did in an attempt to start a new religion? Or was Mark simply capturing what he had learned from Peter and others about their experience of Jesus? Why did Mark write what he did, and why was there a community of people willing to live and die for what was captured in writing by Mark about this Jesus? Why were people rethinking everything?

Mark gives us some clues, so let’s dig into a section of Mark paying attention to what he really wants us to know about the identity of Jesus:

• In Mark 4:35-41 we read about Jesus calming the storm. Just who is this guy, that the winds and the sea obey him? “The Messiah” does not come immediately to mind as the answer to anyone, nor would it.
• In Mark 5:1-20 we read about Jesus healing a man possessed by many demons. No one was able to chain this man down. Jesus did something better, he set him free. On people’s minds would have been “who is this that spirits obey him”? We can note that in verse 19 and 20 “go and tell your family what the Lord has done for you” becomes “he went and told everyone what Jesus did for him.” There is a hint there about what Mark, at least, is thinking about the identity of Jesus.
• In Mark 5:21-43 we read about Jesus raising a girl from the dead. Just who is this, that can raise the dead? Again, “the Messiah” would not come to mind.
• In Mark 6:14-29 we read about the death of John the Baptist beginning with a discussion of who Jesus might be. We can note that “the Messiah” does not make the list. Also not making the list was “Jesus is God incarnate” or “Jesus is the Word made flesh and dwelling among us.” No one was expecting that to happen. Indeed the idea was ludicrous.
• In Mark 6:30-44 we read about Jesus feeding thousands from very little. Who can do that? Mark gives a hint with the sheep without a shepherd reference plus the fact that Jesus made them lie down in green pastures, reminiscent of Psalm 23 which refers to God.
• In Mark 6:45-52 we read about Jesus walking on water. Who can do that?
• In Mark 6:53-56 we read about people being healed simply by touching the clothes of Jesus. Just who is this?
• In Mark 7:19 Mark throws in a comment that Jesus had declared all foods clean. With long established religious rules about clean and unclean foods, set, according to the Book of Leviticus by God, who can do that?
• In Mark 7:31-37 we read about the healing of a deaf man including a bit of a summary; “he does all things well.”

Just who is this Jesus? Jesus was a person in history because of whom people had to rethink everything. Mark records for us the reason why Peter, James, and so many others, went way beyond thinking “this Jesus might be the Messiah,” to “this is God with us – and this is good news.”

Because of their experience of Jesus, people, regular people, normal people, were willing to rethink everything they thought they knew about God, about God’s people, and about themselves. The people who were invested in organized religion had trouble rethinking. They, the scribes, Pharisees, and other religious leaders, were thrown off by Jesus not meeting their expectations of a holy man, a man from God. This can’t be the Messiah for he is not doing what we expect the Messiah to do according to our religion, and besides, he does not seem to be very religious.

What do people think about the identity of Jesus today?

People are quick to give opinions about Christianity, sometimes based on what is seen on TV or in politics, but sometimes based on the experience of hypocrisy. “You talk a lot about love, but…” Opinions about Christianity often determine people’s opinions about Jesus.

What if people could start from a blank slate? Where did the belief that Jesus is actually God come from? From Mark we learn that this belief came not from the organized religion types, but from the experience real people had of Jesus. The religious types had no interest in starting a new religion, they were all about protecting the one they had, while the non-religious types, like Peter and the disciples, had no interest in starting a religion because, well they were not that into religion. Christianity did not create Jesus, it sprang up because of the experience of Jesus.

The people who were there, like Peter, the disciples, and so many others, were sharing their experience of Jesus before Mark, and others, wrote it down for future reference. They were willing to rethink everything, and to live and die for what they came to believe about Jesus. We have Mark and the other Gospel accounts, not because organized religion types made Jesus up, but because normal people experienced Jesus. We still do.

The Surprise, the Scandal, of Jesus

That Time Jesus Gave a Woman the Cold Shoulder

by Clarke Dixon

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile [Greek: Canaanite] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

Matthew 15:21-26 (NLT)

We might be surprised to find that Jesus gave this woman the silent treatment. Then to make matters worse he denied her request with a put-down! As surprising as this might be, this incident had a much greater surprise for the earliest readers of Matthew’s account of Jesus.

What shocked people then was not what shocks us now. In fact when Jesus gave this woman the silent treatment, he did what anyone in that time and place would have expected Jesus to do. There was a common belief that God had given the land to the descendants of Israel. Here, however, was a descendant of Canaan. Beliefs lead to attitudes, and while there was an attitude of disgust toward foreigners generally there was an even worse attitude toward the indigenous peoples. This Canaanite was a reminder of the failure of the descendants of Israel to completely take the promised land.

That Jesus gave this women the silent treatment was not a surprise. Indeed the disciples thought she should be driven away, betraying the belief that her people should have been driven out hundreds of years earlier. What was shocking here is that Jesus engaged in conversation. What was even more shocking is that Jesus commended her faith and granted the miracle.

She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Matthew 15:27-28 (NLT)

Let us take note that this descendant from Canaan gave no hint that she wanted to break with her people and identify with the descendants of Israel instead. The faith that Jesus commended was not faith in the Jewish religion, but in Jesus himself. That was truly shocking!

Let us take note also, that Jesus did not instruct the Canaanite woman to become Jewish, to identify with the descendants of Israel, to make their, and his, religion hers. Rather he does a good deed, an act of love; he healed her daughter. As shocking as Jesus’ cold shoulder might be to us today, the positive engagement with Jesus, and the affirmation of a Canaanite woman’s faith in himself is what was truly shocking at the time of the incident.

Some of our church members are following along with me in reading through the New Testament using the One Year Bible. In our readings this past week there have been a lot of surprises on top of this incident with the Canaanite woman. Jesus walked on water leading the disciples to connect Jesus with the divine: “You really are the Son of God!” (Matthew 14:2 NLT). Jesus taught that character was more important than ritual purity leading the Pharisees to be offended (Matthew 15:1-20).

The word for offence in the Greek is a word that has come into our English language; scandal. Jesus was not just full of surprises, he was full of scandal too. In a further surprise for the earliest readers, Jesus brought clarity about his identity with Peter’s confession that he is the Christ, the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-19). So surprising, so scandalous, and so dangerous, was this idea, that Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone (Matthew 16:20).

Then there was that weird incident we call the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9) where it was made evident that Jesus is greater than the law, represented by Moses, and the prophets, represented by Elijah. What, or who, can be greater than the law and prophets other than God? Again another surprise, another scandalous thought, another dangerous idea.

Matthew will go on to tell us more shocking things than these, such as Jesus being killed, usually a sign that one is not the Messiah, and that Jesus rose from the dead, a sign that Jesus is not your usual idea of a Messiah. And never mind healing a Canaanite women, the Book of Matthew ends with a huge surprise:

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

Everyone is invited to this party, including Canaanite women!

So what does this have to do with us today?

First, do we feel the shock, the scandal of Jesus? Or have we become rather blasé about it all?

Have we become so accustomed to the stories of Jesus that they have lost their shock value? Have we become so accustomed to the teaching of Jesus that nothing surprises us? Perhaps we need to put ourselves back into the shoes of the first readers of Matthew’s Gospel, or the people actually there with Jesus at that time, and be shocked.

Or are we not shocked by Jesus because he is not at the centre of our faith? Perhaps some of us need to pay less attention to Paul, or Calvin, or (insert your favourite Christian teacher here), and pay more attention to Jesus?

Or is it possible that we have just fallen into Christianity because we are Canadian and there happens to be a lot of Christianity in Canada? Or our parents and grandparents just happen to be Christians so we just happen to be Christians too? Is Christianity a religion we subscribe to, a box we tick off in a census, or is God the God who has shocked us and rocked our world in Jesus? If Jesus has truly shocked us we will not want to hold onto Christianity as a religion we practice, but to Jesus as the anchor for our souls, the wisdom for our lives, and the hope for our future.

Have we experienced the scandal of divine love?

Some think the idea of divine love is crazy and scandalous because of suffering. With all the troubles of this world and this life, how could anyone believe there is a God who is for us and not against us? Yet beauty has a habit of breaking through. There was great ugliness when hateful people strung Jesus up on a cross. Yet beauty broke through. That was a surprise.

Some think the idea of divine love us crazy and scandalous because divine judgement might seem to be more important and makes more sense. But in Jesus “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” becomes “’this is my body broken for you,’ and I’m not going to break your body. ‘This is my blood shed for the forgiveness of your sins’ and I’m not going to shed your blood.” That was a surprise.

Do we have the audacity to believe in divine love, that God is, and that God is for us and not against us?

Second, do we continue the shock, the scandal of it all?

Does it ever surprise people that we are for them and not against them?

In Conclusion

It is possible that we have made Jesus, and Christianity, boring. What has been shocking in our society is not Jesus and the idea of divine love, but unmarked graves in religious residential schools and pastors whose sins have found them out.

Let us get back to the most surprising, the most shocking, the most scandal ridden person in all of human history – Jesus. Let us follow in his footsteps with some surprises of our own.

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Before they appear here, Ontario, Canada pastor Clarke Dixon’s condensed sermons appear at his blog, Thinking Through Scripture.

The Gadarene Missionary

Because of the graciousness of the writers whose content appears here, we give our articles a different post title than the original, so as to differentiate if someone is using a search engine to find the original. The first thing you’ll notice when you read the title which follows, is how it’s different — if not completely opposite — to the title we’ve given it. However (spoiler alert!) both descriptions are true. This man has a before-and-after story. Isn’t that the essential element of salvation? ‘I once was ________, but now I’m ________.’

Today’s devotional uses the King James Version of the Bible. If you’re a fairly new Christian, a person for whom English is a second language, or you just struggle with KJV texts, read the story first at this link.

Randy Livingston is a police chaplain in Florida who writes at From the Chaplain. You’re encouraged to click his title, to read this where it first appeared. This is his second time appearing at C201.

The Gadarene Demoniac

In Mark 5:1-20, the gospel writer records for us Christ’s encounter with “a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5:2-5). The magnitude of this man’s evil predicament is that a multitude of demonic spirits had taken residence in him. We know this because when Christ had commanded the evil spirit to come out, he answered “My name is Legion: for we are many” (Mark 5:9).

The fact that a multitude of demons possessed this poor man was inconsequential to the Lord. They knew who Christ was and submitted immediately to his authority. “And all the devils besought him [Christ], saying, send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea…and were choked in the sea” (Mark 5:12-13).

Those in the region having heard the news of the swine came out to see what had become of the man. They found “him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15). After his great deliverance, the man sought to go with Christ back across the sea to Galilee. But the Lord gave him this command. “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (Mark 5:19).

There are two important points for believers to take away from this record when it comes to our witness for Christ. The first is the sphere of our witness. We are to “go home to thy friends.” Our primary sphere of intended witness is right where we live day to day and among those whom we know and see most frequently. Each one of us has a unique sphere of encounter and influence. God intends for us to “bloom” where he has planted us and “brighten the corner where we are.”

The second point is the content of our witness. We are not required to give some deep theological testimony of Christ’s great salvation. Rather, we are to “tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” Note the words “for thee” and “on thee.” We are to tell what Christ has done for us! Yes, we declare that he can save. But, more importantly, he saved me. He died for me. He forgave my sins. Consequently, he can do the same for those to whom we testify.

Do you struggle with telling others about Christ? Begin by telling them what he has done for you. God will use every earnest testimony from a grateful child for his glory.

First Century Cancel Culture

A couple of times in our earlier years we featured the writing of Claire in New Zealand at the blog One Passion, One Devotion. I’m not sure how we broke that continuity, but today, after a long break we’re catching up. Click the title which follows to link to this article at its source, and then click that blog’s header for some really excellent articles.

Influenced – Blind Bartimaeus

You don’t have to be on the internet for more than 2 minutes to know about cancel culture. Some of its valid – they should cancel certain people for certain things – but others you’re like,  ‘Come on!’ …

Let’s jump into the bible and see where the crowd tried to cancel someone and how they didn’t let that crowd influence them and stop them from encountering Jesus.

Mark 10

Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” ⁴⁸ Many people told the man to stop, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over!”

They called out to the blind man and said, “Don’t be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man answered, “Master, I want to see!”

⁵² Jesus told him, “You may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.”

At once the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus.

I love it when we read the bible – it’s not just a story locked into the pages – it’s God showing us what He is like and what He can do and we can ask Him to speak and show us what He wants to say today about our lives and what He wants to do to and through us.

So Jesus has been in Jericho – doing miracles, healing people, teaching.  Because of this a large crowd had started following Him.  He’s the man, He’s amazing.

But there is a difference between following Jesus in the crowd and being a follower of Jesus.

The crowd were buzzed about all the cool stuff Jesus was doing.  But followers declared Jesus was Master, Lord, Saviour and their lives completely changed because of His influence.

So Jesus is leaving Jericho and the crowd is following.  Crowds are noisy right – unless you’re in one doing a minute’s silence – there is always some level of noise.  People talking. People yelling. People moving.  In this case there were probably people bustling to get closer to Jesus, to hear what He was saying or to get Him to touch them and heal them.

There is a blind man sitting by the road – this was his spot where he would have been dropped off every day, or maybe he slept here, and it was where he would beg for money and food.   They didn’t have health insurance or disability allowances back in those days.  Bartimaeus heard all the noise and the buzz of the crowd and asked someone what is going on? What’s happening?

When he was told Jesus was walking past he called out loudly JESUS SON OF DAVID, HAVE PITY ON ME!

What he is saying here is important.  Son of David is one of those spiritual titles for who Jesus is – that he is the son of God, the messiah.  So Bartimaeus KNOWS who Jesus is, he knows his true identity.    He has heard of his great fame, he has heard of the great things that Jesus has done and he has made up his mind that this is the one who has the power to change his life and heal him.  He has made up his mind that this is God Almighty.

And the crowd tried to cancel him. They told him to sit down and shut up.  They tried to block him from meeting Jesus.

Sometimes when we’re Christians people will tell us to sit down and shut up.  The world have tried to cancel Christians and call us intolerant and narrow minded.

They’ll try to cancel us because sometimes what we believe is counter cultural.  It’s upside down to the world.

It’s bless your enemies instead of get vengeance.

It’s serve not be served.

It’s deny yourself instead of follow your heart.

It’s righteousness and holiness instead of whatever feels good.

It’s purity instead of player.

It’s self control instead of whatever I want I want it now.

It’s seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness instead of building my own kingdom.

It’s grace instead of guilt, hope instead of hopelessness.

Disclaimer here:  Being a Christian isn’t about rules and to do and to do don’t lists.  It’s about a relationship with God, its about peace with God, and when its like that we make God our greatest influencer because we see He’s worth it and His way of living, while hard and upside down sometimes, we do it in response of how good and loving God is.  Knowing Him is worth everything.

Bartimaeus didn’t let the crowd cancel him. In fact, he got louder. He called out even louder.

The cool thing is that over all the noise of the crowd Jesus heard Bartimaeous.  There would have been hundreds of people potentially calling out His name, but there was something about this man calling that grabbed His attention.

Have you ever thought about how God hears us when we pray even if the 8 billion people on the planet all prayed at the same time? He cares about you and what you have to pray.  Prayer doesn’t have to be special words at special times, it is us talking to God, listening to God and about us connecting heart to heart.  We can be honest about how we’re feeling.  If you read Psalms you’ll see often that David, author of probably over half of them, talks about how life sucks, how he feels like he’s drowning, that everyone is against him, that he’s alone, scared, frustrated, angry.  They’re emotional!  They’re raw!  But he always ends it by realizing that in it all, despite how he feels, in the middle of the mess, God is right there, God rescues Him, we can call out to Him and He will hear and respond.  God hears you when you pray.  If we could see what happens when we prayed, how God turns His attention to us we would want to pray more.  If we could see angels move in response to our prayers, we would want to pray more more more.

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over!”

They called out to the blind man and said, “Don’t be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus.

Now I want to pause here and point something out.  Minor details in the bible can have major meaning.

Bartimaeus threw off his cloak and jumped up and ran to Jesus.

That cloak wasn’t just a jacket, wasn’t just a jumper, wasn’t just a hoodie or an item of clothes.  It was an item of clothing, a cloak that defined that he was a beggar.  It was like his permission slip to be sitting there asking for money.  If you were wearing a cloak like that it showed the people around you that you were a beggar.  It was his identity.  In biblical days, being blind was often seen as a curse. There was really no way to support yourself financially, so beggars were given cloaks, which gave them permission to beg. Beggars were defined as such by the cloak they wore. Usually, the cloak was the beggar’s one and only possession and their only source of income.

Bartimaeus threw off his cloak. He threw off his old way of life. He threw off his comfort zone. He was done being defined as a beggar. He didn’t just toss aside a jacket or sweater, this was life or death. It was sink or swim time; either he was going to be healed or he would have nothing. His faith was remarkable; he was so desperate for change he went to Jesus expecting a miracle.

When he encountered Jesus he threw it off and left it behind.  Jesus changes us – he gives us a brand new start.  He takes off our old life and gives us a new one.

It’s like how we talked about last week with our panel – God gets to define our life.  He gets to say how we do it.  He gets to say leave this behind and live differently because He is good, wise, great and most importantly because He loves us.

So Bartimaeus meets Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man answered, “Master, I want to see!”
⁵² Jesus told him, “You may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.”
At once the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus.

What do you want me to do for you?  Surely Jesus could tell this man was blind?

But He asked.

Loaded question potentially.

He’s asking the blind man what do you expect me to do?  What do you believe I can do?   What do you have faith in?

Jesus asks us the same question.

What do you believe I can do?  What do you want me to do for you?

Now we don’t turn this into a Christmas list for Santa situation where we reply with our wish list, a Lamborghini, to be 5 foot 5, doc martin boots, a swimming pool….

Psalm 37:4 says Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Philippians 2:13 says: for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

It’s like God places His dreams in our heart and the Holy Spirit transforms us that our desires become His desires and His desires become our desires.  It is God at work in us to make us willing to do His will.

But its also an invitation.

What do you want me to do for you?

How big can you believe God for?   How big can you dream?  How big can your vision be?

God wants to do amazing things to and through our lives.  We are not made for normal.  We are not made to blend in.   We follow an amazing God who is the creator of the universe, who loves us so much that He gave His son Jesus to make the way for us to have peace with God.   Nothing is impossible for God.

So how do we make this real in our lives?
1.  Position yourself where Jesus is – Bartimaeus was on the main road where everyone has to pass through.  In the same way, get yourself where God is.  River Youth.  Camp.  The Guys Group, Glow  Church.  We don’t put these on just because we like to have fun together, but because we believe that when you position yourself where God is you meet Him and He changes your life.

2.  Call out to God.  The bible says that everyone who calls out to God will be saved. Calling out to God can look like prayer, can look like worship, can look like getting prayed for, can look like fasting.

3.  Leave the old behind and follow Him.  Bartimaeus threw off his cloak and left that identity behind and left everything that was familiar to follow Jesus.  He became a disciple.

God is inviting each one of us into that adventure.

The challenge is the same.

Will we see Jesus for who He really is?

Will we fight the cancel of the crowd telling us that this is crazy?

Will we hear Jesus calling us to come closer?

Will we believe He can do what He can do?

Will we throw off our old life and follow Him?

Water Into Wine: A Closer Look at the Miracle

^NLT.John.2.1 The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. ³ The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

⁵ But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, ⁸ he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

⁹ When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. ¹⁰ “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

¹¹ This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Today we have a special treat for those of you who go beyond what we borrow here, and click through to read the posts where they originally appeared. Joel Kime is a new writer to us. He has served Faith Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania since 2002; as pastor since 2008. His blog is titled Let’s Talk About Sunday.

All this week he has been doing a deep dive into the story of Jesus performing his first miracle at the Cana wedding. After reading all five posts available — and here I paused for 5 minutes to read them all again — I settled on this preview article, because if you click through to read the rest (linked below), it makes sense to start at the beginning.

That said, if you don’t see yourself doing that, I still don’t want you to miss a six-minute video clip from The Chosen television series that Joel embedded in the second post. For that one click here.

Who is Jesus, really? – John 2:1-11

This past week I put the following message on our church’s outdoor sign: “Who is Jesus really?  Join us Sundays 9am to find out.”  I placed that message hoping to spark interest in the community about our sermon series through the Gospel of John.

Likewise, I hung a banner and sign in our lobby.  It is a word cloud listing the name of Jesus in numerous languages.  I thought it would be a helpful visual for a sermon series studying Jesus, and so I titled the series, “Who Is Jesus?”

We Christians know who Jesus is, right?  After all, we are Christians, which means we are “people who are followers of Christ Jesus,” so of course we know about him.  Or do we?

Remember the parable Jesus told in Matthew 7:21-23?  I encourage you to read it before continuing with this article.  In the parable Jesus envisions people who seem to have 100% confidence they are going to enter heaven.  They call Jesus “Lord, Lord” as if they are in close relationship with him.  They even do religious activities.  Jesus looks at them, however, and says, “Depart from me; I never knew you.”  Can you imagine how shocking it would be to assume that you know who Jesus is, only to hear him say, “You don’t know me.”  Well, then, who is Jesus?

What is scary is that this might be more than the plot of an ancient parable.  Let’s do a little True/False quiz to illustrate what I mean.

1. True or False: Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.
2. True or False: Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.

Let’s check your answers.  Both questions are false.  Jesus was not created by God. Jesus was not just a great teacher.  Jesus is God.  If you’ve been following the blog for the last few months, you might remember how we studied this in the week on John 1:1-18.  In that wee, the first and most important thing we learned about Jesus is that Jesus is God.

Here’s where it gets scary.  In recent weeks, Christianity Today reported on a theological survey stating that 73% of evangelicals agree with the statement “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” (71% in 2016; 78% in 2018; 66% in 2020…seems that belief has been high for many years.)  The same survey reports that 43% of evangelicals agree “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.”  (30% in both 2018 and 2020.)

These heretical views are both variations of Arianism, one of, if not the, most divisive and dangerous heresies in the ancient church.  Arianism, in its most basic form, teaches that God created Jesus, thus Jesus is not divine.  If you want to learn more, the Britannica article on Arianism is quite good.  But Arianism is not some ancient false teaching that is long gone. Even though the ancient church declared Arian belief to be a heresy, the 2022 survey I mentioned above shows us that Arianism is alive and well…in the church!  I find it somewhat mind-boggling to consider that 73 of 100 evangelicals believe in the heretical idea that God created Jesus.  Or that 43 of 100 believe Jesus was not God.

What about you, your family and friends?  Is it possible that a person could affirm Arianism and still be a Christian?  Or does belief in that heresy void true faith?  So who is Jesus?  This coming week on the blog, just like the church sign says, we’ll find out, because Jesus does something that blows people’s minds, and it reveals who he is.

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The other parts to this (the above was a preview):

• What Jesus (and his followers) might look like in our day and age: Part One
• The relationship Jesus had with his mother: Part Two
• The moment the miracle happened: Part Three
• Three things observed by the disciples: Part Four
• Seeing the glory of God: Part Five

Losing Discretion to Short-Sightedness

^{NIV.Mark.5.21} When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. ²² Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³ He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ^24a So Jesus went with him.

^24b A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ²⁵ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

[continue reading here]

This is our third time with Lily Pierce and her blog Retrospective Lily and although the blog has been inactive for many months, this is a good article which we hadn’t shared the last time. Click the header which follows to read it on her page.

Embrace Holy Interruptions & Be Gracious

This past Sunday, I had been asked to preach at a local Methodist church (due to my Lay Servant School training) while they transition to a new pastor. Fortunately, my own church meets early, and since the churches are in the same small town, I got to attend my church before giving the sermon at the other one.

The lectionary this past week featured Mark 5:21-43, which tells of Jesus’s encounters with Jairus and an unnamed woman as He and the disciples travel through a village. Jairus’s daughter is sick, so beckons Jesus for help. The unnamed woman also seeks healing, but rather than throwing herself at Jesus’s mercy, she simply finds Him in the crowd and touches His garment.

My pastor spoke about “holy interruptions,” which I thought was an intriguing takeaway. These stories are technically interruptions to whatever Jesus and His disciples had been on the way to do. If we look outside of ourselves and take the time to really see people and situations around us, and if we actively try to follow the Spirit, we might find that God constantly throws “holy interruptions” in our path–conversations and actions we didn’t intend/expect to have/take…but they were meant to be. Another word that’s often used for these instances is “divine intervention/interaction.”

I think of the good samaritan story here. The priest and the Levite missed the holy interruption God put before them because they were in a hurry…because they were putting their convenience before others’ suffering…because they were too stringent about the rules/laws.

It’s perfectly possible to justify their actions by pointing to said laws. Yes, it’s true that one would be ceremonially unclean for several days if they touched a dead or dying person, which would be especially inconvenient for a priest or Levite. But there are also laws about caring for your neighbor. God had already modeled unconditional love to them. So, to me, it’s a matter of discretion. They should’ve known helping a neighbor in dire need would be worth not being allowed to enter the place of worship temporarily.

We, too, often lack discretion…mostly out of selfishness or short-sightedness. The combination of those qualities causes us to lack generosity with time, money, grace, love, patience, peacemaking, forgiveness, etc.

I’m not going to call my grandma back because she’ll keep me on the phone an hour (But once she’s gone, will I lament how I clung so hard to my time instead of sharing it with her?) That friend hasn’t apologized, so why should I be the one to initiate reconciliation? (But once they’re gone, will I regret holding that grudge?) My fiance always leaves the coffee table a wreck, and the fact that I have to straighten it up makes me naggy and resentful. (But in the grand scheme of things, is it reallyyy THAT big of a deal? If he got in an accident tomorrow, would that matter to me anymore?)

Remembering that we all die and life is short, fragile, and unpredictable grounds me. Be joyful, be generous, love hard, forgive swiftly, all that jazz. Easier said than done, but yeah, worthy goals.

Anyway, my pastor also talked about peace. When Jesus tells the woman to go in peace, He doesn’t just mean to be well and be blessed. He means, “go in salvation.” Jesus offers peace that passes understanding. In my message, I discussed how Jesus offers HOPE to hopeless and desperate people.

It was an emotional morning. I got teary-eyed several times during my home church service and rode on the verge of choking up through my sermon. To me, this is one of the most stirring stories in the Gospels, period. And it’s ripe with important lessons on peace, hope, faith, mercy, healing, compassion, and more.

I’m thankful for that beautiful story and thankful I can write out my thoughts on it. Writing is a therapeutic exercise in reflection. I needed a little break, to remind myself that this is a hobby instead of a job–I’m not obligated to post week unless I want to–but I’m happy to be back.

In honor of today’s topic, shalom!

Much of the Teaching of Jesus Happens In the Moment

Earlier today I was reading a commentary on The Lord’s Prayer which noted that in Luke, the text is offered in answer to a direct question.

^{NIV.Luke.11.1} One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

^2a He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“‘Father,
hallowed be your name…

However, in Matthew’s version there is no prompt from the audience is mentioned for us. It occurs in the context of earlier remarks, which are part of a larger discourse.

^{NIV. Matthew.6.5} “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name…

Given that this is in the middle chapter of a 3-chapter passage we call “The Sermon on the Mount,” it should not surprise us that Matthew doesn’t indicate that any interaction with the crowd was taking place. It appears continuous until the final close-quotation-mark when Matthew states,

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

For the most part however, Jesus seems to do what he does “in the moment;” with a measure of spontaneity that suggests “coincidence” which most of us would say is not coincidental at all, but rather divinely appointed circumstances.

In Luke 5:12, as Phillips translates it,

“Jesus came upon a man who was a mass of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he prostrated himself before him and begged, “If you want to, Lord, you can make me clean.”

The phrase “Jesus came upon” is interesting here, because it suggests that regardless of who is traveling in which direction, a meeting takes place, and an act of healing follows.

You could equally say that in Mark 11, “Jesus came upon” a fig tree. There’s no miracle here in the standard sense — he curses the tree — but there is a teaching which takes place later in the day.

^{NIV.Mark11.22} “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

The whole scene appears prompted by the somewhat random encounter with the tree.

Again, in John 9, although we don’t have the phrase “Jesus came upon” used in any of our English translations, Jesus does encounter a man blind from birth. (Remember that Jesus and the disciples are constantly on the move; the itinerant or peripatetic nature of his ministry is such that they aren’t usually in a fixed place. Follow other rabbis if you will, but if you want to get your daily steps in, Jesus is the least sedentary.) The most significant point of the narrative is the healing, but the lesson in the words of Jesus which follow are a very close second in importance.

^NIV.John.9.3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

So we’ve seen that divine circumstances precipitate actions and lessons from Jesus, but if we go back to where we began (“Lord teach us to pray”) we also see that many of his teachings are responses to direct questions. And there are many of them.

His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” (Matthew 13:10 NLT)

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3 ESV)

There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”  (Matthew 12:10)

To be fair, Jesus often asked questions of those around him as well. (Several books have been written summarizing the things he asked.) But he also received questions from the crowd, the Pharisees, his disciples, and others. Part of this was the simply the basic method of learning in Jewish culture. (And often the response itself would be another question.)

But the thing that struck the writer I was reading earlier today was that the teaching on prayer occurring as it it did in the context of a sermon, was a bit of a rarity. Perhaps that’s why preachers — people paid to prepare sermons — hold Matthew 5, 6 and 7 in such high regard.

And that’s what got me thinking.

Should more of our modern churches provide sermon content which is in direct response to questions the congregation wants answered?

I know this flies in the face of (traditional church) Lectionary preaching, or (modern church) your teaching pastor’s penchant for series preaching — “today we’re starting a new series” — but I also know of churches that reserve Q&A Sunday (or Q&R Sunday) for the very purpose of addressing the subjects parishioners want to hear, and sometimes, the Sunday (or weekend) service is the only place where that can be done with the greatest number of people in attendance.

If you’re in church leadership, give that some thought.

If you’re not, either forward today’s devotional to them for consideration, or simply, with pen and paper or with email, ask the question you think is on the lips of people in your church, but heretofore unspoken.

Jesus crafted both direct teaching and parables “in the moment” to help us better understand the unfolding Kingdom of God.

 

Do We Really Want to Change?

^{NLT.John.5.1.} Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. ² Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. ³ Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. ⁵ One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”   [click here to read the full account]

Today’s featured writer was recommended to us by a writer who has already appeared here a few times. The blog is called It’s a God Thing. Clicking the header below will take you to where we sourced it. There are also a number of other recent articles you might want to explore.

Will you take up your mat and walk?

I love this re-telling of Jesus healing the paralytic in John 5. It is by author John Eldredge, and appears in his book Desire:

“The shriveled figure lay in the sun like a pile of rags dumped there by accident. It hardly appeared to be human. But those who used the gate to go in and out of Jerusalem recognized him. He was disabled, dropped off there every morning by someone in his family, and picked up again at the end of the day.

A rumor was going around that sometimes (no one really knew when) an angel would stir the waters, and the first one in would be healed. Sort of a lottery, if you will. And as with every lottery, the desperate gathered round, hoping for a miracle. It had been so long since anyone had actually spoken to him, he thought the question was meant for someone else.

Squinting upward into the sun, he didn’t recognize the figure standing above him. The misshapen man asked the fellow to repeat himself; perhaps he had misheard. Although the voice was kind, the question felt harsh, even cruel. “Do you want to get well?”

He sat speechless, blinking into the sun. Slowly, the words seeped into his consciousness, like a voice calling him out of a dream. Do I want to get well? Slowly, like a wheel long rusted, his mind began to turn over. What kind of question is that? Why else would I be lying here? Why else would I have spent every day for the past thirty-eight seasons lying here? He is mocking me.

But now that his vision had adjusted to the glare, he could see the inquisitor’s face, his eyes. The face was as kind as the voice he heard. Apparently, the man meant what he said, and he was waiting for an answer. “Do you want to get well? What is it that you want?”

It was Jesus who posed the question, so there must be something we’re missing here. He is love incarnate. Why did he ask the paraplegic such an embarrassing question?”

And it does seem an obvious, strange question. But I think what Jesus is doing here, as John Eldredge draws out in the book – is asking the man to take ownership. Does he want to get well… or does he want to stay as he is?

You might say, ‘Of course he wants to get well!’ But sometimes we are so accustomed to living a certain way that we become set in our ways. We take on the identity of a self-sacrificial mum or a wounded soldier or a perpetual procrastinator… We become comfortable in our jail cell, so to speak. We talk so much about our struggles that they almost become who we are. Instead of seeking change or growth, or following our dreams… we maintain the status quo.

Do I want to get ‘well’? What areas in my life do I really want Jesus to help me with? May I never stop asking him for his leading in my life, his shaping of my plans. He is more than able to heal (while he may not choose to in the way we might think). He is also able to change, to guide, and transform, no matter how old or whatever life situation we are in… We are always part of his plan. But he does want us to ask. To be participators in the process.

After Jesus asks the paralyzed man if he wants to get well, he offers excuses and complaints about his life. But Jesus simply says to him: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” He was cured straight away, and he did – he picked up his mat and walked. And later, he told other people about what Jesus had done.

Perhaps all God asks of me right now is willingness. Willingness to trust him with what I have, and follow. To be open to his calling, even if it’s different to what I had in mind. His plans. His promises. His joy and peace! To simply pick up my mat and walk.

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There’s another article by the same writer that I think some of you might appreciate. It’s not a Bible study per se, but if the title intrigues you, check out The Morning I Became a World Changer, an essay on human trafficking.

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Here at Christianity 201, Friday marks our 12th Birthday! That’s 12 years of providing a daily devotional, 7 days a week, 12 months of the year. I don’t get a lot of feedback, and can only trust that these are beneficial for those of you who continue to subscribe and those who drop by periodically to see what we’ve been up to!

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If you need some lighter reading, feel free to check out page one of Ruth’s advanced essay in theological graduate studies, Cats in the Bible.

A Life of Calm

^{NIV.Matt.8.23} Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ^24a Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat…

So many times here we begin with, “Today we have a new writer to introduce;” and this is no exception. But before we start, I want to really highlight something brilliant I’d never considered before. The title the author gave her post — see below — is borrowed from a familiar Christmas carol.

Speaking concerning the birth narrative of Jesus, some preachers will describe a chaotic barn with animal noises and the baby — Jesus — crying. Did Jesus cry? I think we can get lost in questions like that which don’t really advance the major highlights of the story, but if you look at the larger story arc of the Bible, such as the passage she considers below, you could make a point that perhaps he did not.

Also, often a writer includes scripture references at the end of a devotional which aren’t directly quoted, but here again there is that element of a larger story. In Matthew 7 we read

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The house built on a solid foundation stands strong in the storm.

But let’s get back to that Christmas lyric and its connection to the actual text in today’s devotional. The writer we’re featuring is Wynter Kettlewell who blogs at Faith Inspired Tenacity. Click the header below to read this there.

Sleep In Heavenly Peace

But Jesus Himself was asleep.  Matthew 8:24

During the storm, Jesus was sleeping.  His rest was not disturbed by the rising winds and waves.  However, His disciple friends were not nearly as relaxed.  Unlike Jesus, they panicked and believed they were going to die.  They were afraid that this storm was going to be the end of them.  They were so distressed and afraid that they woke Jesus up to help!

What a drastic difference between Jesus and His disciples.  Jesus, unlike His disciples, was able to sleep and rest during the storm because Jesus was the Word, the Word that became flesh.  His life was built on the Word.  A storm is unable to destroy or disrupt the rest of a person whose life is built on the Word because they know the truth that God is over all things.  He could sleep in peace because He knew God was in control.  So in life, when the storms come and the pressure begins to increase and you see the waves rising and you think you are going to die, think of Jesus sleeping in the boat.  Be still and know that God is in control of it all.  And if you have to, do what the disciples did and turn to the Word for help.

Bottomline: A life built on the Word can sleep in peace during even the fiercest storms.

Matthew 7:24-27, John 1:14, Psalm 46:10

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Bonus link:

So what happened next in the story? Wynter continues the Matthew 8 story in this devotional, titled How to Save a Life.

Responding To, or Reacting Against, the Authority of Jesus?

Thinking Through Luke 4:31-44

by Clarke Dixon

Does the idea of someone having authority over you bring out a positive response from you, or a negative reaction?

There is a kind of authority that we might dread, because after all, authorities can be dreadful. Some have had experiences with authorities that leave them scarred and scared. We can think of those who grow up under evil regimes or in abusive homes. We may distrust authority or feel compelled to protect others from it.

But there is another kind of authority, one which compels us to draw closer. I can think back to my favourite professor from seminary. He had authority based on his depth of knowledge on the Bible and history, plus the depth of his experience of life, plus the depth of his relationships with the students. His authority was not just by virtue of his appointment and title, but an authority based on who he was. Maybe you can think of an authority figure in your life, a person whose authority is a matter of celebration and not alarm.

There are authorities we want to run from and condemn. There are authorities we want to draw closer to and follow. Now which is Jesus in your life?

Looking around our society, there are many who celebrate the authority of Jesus in their lives. But then there are also many who would say “no way!” It was the same in Jesus day.

The Authority of Jesus

The authority of Jesus comes up a lot in our Scripture Focus for today. There was something compelling about the authority of Jesus with regard to his teaching:

Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

Luke 4:31-32 (NLT)

There was something compelling about the authority of Jesus over the spiritual realm:

…Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

Luke 4:35-36 (NLT)

There was something compelling about the authority of Jesus over illness and disease:

After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.

Luke 4:38-40 (NLT)

The authority of Jesus pointed to the Kingdom of God:

Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

Luke 4:42-43 (NLT)

By virtue of his position and title, of course Jesus has authority; He is the King of that Good News Kingdom! However, the authority of Jesus was perceived and well received by those who did not know his true identity. How Jesus was experienced by people was enough for them to find his authority remarkable and desirable.

But not everyone found the authority of Jesus to be compelling.  For certain people, Jesus was one to run from, and protect people from. They leveled criticism at him at every turn. They eventually had him executed.

What made the difference?

Why did some feel compelled to follow and celebrate Jesus while others felt compelled to condemn him?

Those who found the authority of Jesus compelling, who were they? They were those being healed, those willing to go deeper into his teaching, those willing to listen, learn, and change.

Those who found the authority of Jesus to be distasteful, who were they? They were those who thought they had everything to teach and nothing to learn. They were those who made claim to having authority themselves. Those who had a negative reaction to the authority of Jesus were those who had an inflated sense of their own authority. Reading more broadly in the Gospels, they also had an inflated sense of the authority of their own traditions.

What about today?

There are those who have met Jesus, who have experienced healing and change in their lives, who have gone deep into the teaching of Jesus. They have experienced the authority of Jesus and found it compelling.

There are those who refuse to meet Jesus, perhaps from inflated views of their own authority, or traditions they subscribe to. They do not find the authority of Jesus compelling because they refuse to experience it. They already think they know what they need to know.

But there are many who think they have met Jesus and have not found his authority compelling, but maybe they have not met him. It may be that some say “no thanks” to Christianity, and “don’t force your religion down my throat”, but if they were there with Jesus, to experience his teaching, his presence, and his works, would find his authority compelling and would willingly follow. They have not met Jesus but they have met Christians, and maybe our authority as Christians has not been as compelling.

Perhaps this should make us wonder if we are representing Jesus well in our day, if Jesus is so compelling, yet we Christians are not.

There are lessons here for those of us in authority, whether parents, teachers, coaches, or leaders of any sort. Never mind our positions and titles, how do people experience us?

How do people experience Christians who represent Jesus? Does it compare to how people experienced Jesus? Do people experience depth when we speak? Do people experience healing through our presence? There is a long line-up of people willing to express how their experience of Christianity has been one of harm and not healing. The Internet has given such folk an unprecedented opportunity to tell the world about that.

As Christians we claim a sort of authority with regard to truth and spirituality. We know Jesus is alive, we know about God’s love and grace, we know we meet God in the pages of the Scriptures. We are eager to share the good news! But if our authority does not come across as compelling, perhaps we have some soul searching to do. Are we submitting to the authority of Jesus? Like the Pharisees perhaps we have an inflated sense of our own authority, or an inflated sense of the authority of a specific tradition over and against our Lord.

Let us draw closer to Jesus, and experience the change, the joy, and the excitement, his authority brings.

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Clarke Dixon is a pastor in Ontario, Canada. He appears here most Thursdays, or you can find past “shrunk sermons” at his blog which links through the title above his name at the top of this article. You may watch the 22-minute sermon on which this devotional is based at this link.

Water Into Wine?

Thinking Through John 2:1-11 (and also thinking about “Conversion Therapy”)

by Clarke Dixon

• The sermon on which this is based can be seen here

If you were allowed just one of Jesus’ miracles today, would you ask for water to be turned into wine?

You have likely heard of WWJD, meaning “what would Jesus do?” As we read through the Scripture Focus for today let us ask WWBD, “what would Baptists Do?” (You can substitute your expression of Christianity if you are not a Baptist.)

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it.

9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

John 2:1-11 (NRSV)

Had we been there when Jesus turned water into wine, we might have questioned what Jesus did. We may have asked:

1. Why encourage the drinking of alcohol? It seems irresponsible.
2. Why waste a miracle on a party? It seems inefficient. Wouldn’t healing someone from a terrible disease be more productive than providing wine for partygoers?
3. Why use stone jars that were set aside for religious purposes? It seems sacrilegious. It would be like using a baptistry as a hot tub in our day.

Let us consider each of these questions.

Why encourage the drinking of alcohol?

Some Bible scholars point to the place of wine in the future Kingdom of God such as in this prophecy:

The time is surely coming, says the LORD,
when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps,
and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

Amos 9:13-14 (NRSV)

Amos prophesied that God’s people would experience judgement, primarily through an invasion of enemy forces. Though such an invasion would lead to the devastation of the land and therefore the ability to produce wine, the prophecy also looks beyond that devastation to a time of plenty, a time of blessing. When Jesus turned water into wine he gave a sign that such a future time of great blessing was near, and was coming through him.

Further, on the the day before his crucifixion, Jesus did this:

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Mark 14:23-25 (NRSV)

Again wine is linked with future blessing in God’s Kingdom. It is also linked here with the shedding of Jesus’ blood, through which that blessing would be made available.

According to John, the turning of water into wine was not just the first miracle of Jesus, but more importantly, the first sign. It was a sign of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. It was a sign that the Kingdom of God would come through Jesus.

Why waste a miracle on a party?

Our scripture focus begins with, “On the third day.” Perhaps John is hinting at something else that happened “on the third day.“ The resurrection of Jesus is worthy of joy and celebration! The “third day” was a great day for a party. This brings us to the next point, namely that Jesus did not waste a miracle at a party, but again, gave a sign that God’s presence, specifically God’s presence in and through Jesus, should be joyfully celebrated:

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they?

Matthew 9:14-15 (NRSV)

There is much to celebrate with Jesus and the coming Kingdom of God including resurrection, re-creation, and renewal. This first sign of turning water into wine, pointed to a greater sign, the resurrection of Jesus.

Why use jars specifically set apart for religious purposes?

That Jesus would use jars set aside for religious purposes suggests that the religious life of the people had become rather staid and stuck in formal ritual. The worship of the Giver of life, had become lifeless. People were trying to do the right things, but often failed to do the right thing.

We see this, for example, in the parable about the Good Samaritan. The priests and the Levites were known for doing all the right things, keeping all the rules about ritual purity. Yet in the parable of the Good Samaritan they didn’t do the right thing. In fact some Bible scholars point out that it was their attempt to do the right thing in keeping ceremonially clean, that caused them to fail to do the right thing, which would have been to help the man left for dead. It was the Good Samaritan, and Samaritans were known for believing and doing the wrong things, who did the right thing. Likewise, while the religious leaders often condemned Jesus for not doing the right thing when he broke Sabbath laws, Jesus pointed out how he was doing the right thing in healing people.

Jesus came to bring something that lifeless religion could not, namely life. So here he is at a party, doing something unexpected, something unpredictable, something life-giving, something that inspired faith in the disciples. Using stone jars set apart for religious purposes was not sacrilegious. Empty formal religion is sacrilegious.

So what would we Baptists have done had we been in Jesus position?

I’m guessing that at least some of us, instead of turning water into wine, would have gathered up all the wine at the party and turned it into water. We would have missed out on the sign, the signpost to the Kingdom of God, of the life-giving, lively, exciting, joyful nature of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus knew what he was doing. Perhaps we might have done something different, thinking we knew better, but not really knowing what we were doing. Perhaps we still do this. Perhaps there are some things we do as Christians, as Baptists, where we turn wine into water so to speak, where we could instead provide signs of God’s Kingdom.

One example where I think we have been turning wine into water.

During this past week, it became law that conversion therapy is now illegal here in Canada. That is, to put it as simply as possible, it is now illegal to try and help a gay person become straight. Therefore there has been a call for pastors across Canada, and the United States, to preach on sexual morality today.

What I find strange is this: a conversation about sexual morality, that is, how one honors God, others, and one’s self with one’s body, is a completely separate and different conversation than one about so-called “conversion therapy.” Since the law is about “conversion therapy” I’d rather focus on that today.

Perhaps an illustration might help us start this conversation.

I have been described as being excruciating shy as a boy. Report card after report card said “Clarke is too quiet.” In Grade 6 the teacher called me out to the hallway for a private chat. “What do you want to do for a living?” he asked. I told him I wanted to be an airline pilot to which he responded; “Airline pilot? How are you going to be able to do that, for airline pilots have to pick up the microphone and speak to people on the plane.” Thankfully, I didn’t become an airline pilot, so I didn’t have to worry about that. God obviously has a sense of humor. My quietness continued on into adulthood and on a personality test I scored 9 out 10 for introversion vs extroversion.

So, what would happen if we created a world where there is no room for introverts, where one’s introversion is seen as something that needs fixed? Perhaps someone might come up with a therapy that promised to help introverts become extroverts. Those who score 6 of 10 on the introversion scale may find themselves seemingly more extroverted and the therapy may be hailed as a success. But people like me, scoring 8, 9, or 10 out of 10 wouldn’t experience change. Now not only is there something fundamentally wrong with us that needs fixed, but now there is something doubly wrong with us, for we are not fixable. We would become very frustrated in not experiencing change, frustrated to the point of despair. Some of us would take our own lives.

This kind of thing has been happening with “conversion therapy” for gay people all along. Actually it has been worse than my illustration of introversion, for not only have gay people had the label “broken,” but also “evil.” Making matters still worse, where we might have no difficulty having conversions about introversion, conversations about being gay can very quickly cease to be conversations. Bottom line: conversion therapy has caused more harm than good. People have been hurt, badly.

Back to the story of the Good Samaritan. What if, the beat up person left for dead in the ditch is the gay person who has been beat up by efforts to change him or her? What if we Baptists have been the priest and Levite passing on the other side, or worse, the perpetrator of the crime? What if the Canadian government is trying to be a Good Samaritan here?

There may well be nuances on the wording of the law that needs attention, but much of what I’ve seen in the call to preach on sexual morality in response to the new law has not been honest discussion on how awful conversion therapy is, but rhetoric about how awful the “gay agenda” is, and how persecuted we Christians are. We are not the ones left for dead in the ditch.

Perhaps we need to do some thinking about where we identify in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Perhaps it is time to think about what it looks like to turn water into wine, what it looks like for there to be signs of God’s Kingdom within the LGBTQ+ community.

As a ban on conversion therapy comes into effect, instead of rushing to pulpits to speak about sexual immorality, perhaps we should begin by walking with someone who is gay, taking time to listen. That means making time to listen. That also means making room in our minds and hearts to hear what is said. Maybe listening could be one sign of the Kingdom coming?

I will never tell my gay son that he should not identify as gay. He will never tell me that I should not identify as introverted. I have never stopped being an introvert, but I have learned, with stumbling steps sometimes, how to survive and thrive as a quiet person in a noisy world. Maybe that speaks to what should be our focus, not how we get gay people to become straight as conversion therapy aims to do, but how do we help all people, gay or straight, walk with Jesus in faith, hope, and love. What does water into wine look like in each person’s life?

Conclusion

Had we been at the wedding at Cana, we might have done things differently, but Jesus, being predictably unpredictable, did what he did, and and it stirred faith in the disciples.

We ask “what would Jesus do?” He just might do something surprising, something unpredictable, something life-giving, something that leads to joy and celebration, something that points to the beautiful Kingdom of God.

While we began with What would a Baptist do, the question here is, what will we do, to show signs of God’s Kingdom?