Foolish and slow of heart

Posted on March 22, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Two guys were walking along a road, talking about the events leading up to the crucifixion of the one they thought would restore the nation of Israel. The theme of their discussion is that things did not work out the way they expected them to. Along comes a stranger that they later figure out was Jesus himself. Luke 24:18 records the question they asked Jesus before they knew who he was:

“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

How ironic is this question! They are questioning the knowledge of the one person who most completely knew what had happened and how the events fit exactly into God’s plan. Jesus also knew the impact that those events would have on world history moving forward.

We should not be too hard on the two men on the road. In our ignorance of what God is trying to accomplish, we often try to limit God by our own preconceived ideas and misunderstandings.

They should not have been surprised by the crucifixion. Jesus told his disciples that they were to daily embrace their own cross. Jesus predicted and then showed us that the path to glory requires a cross.

Yet, I find that though I am aware of the command in Luke 9:23, I seek to avoid my own crucifixion. And, when events force me to die to myself, I bitterly complain (sometimes out loud) about the unfairness of it all.

I am not alone in this. The beam in my own eye does not prevent me from seeing the specks in the eyes of those around me. I have observed in others who claim spiritual maturity but struggle, and often fail, to get their flesh on that cross. I see others around me allow their fears to get the better of them just as I often do.

In our ignorance we get angry or disappointed with God when he fails to arrange things according to our wisdom. The disciples on the road, had they really understood their situation, should have been elated at the events of the previous days, but instead were feeling abandoned and defeated. We have ample evidence to point us toward faith in a faithful God yet we get unraveled when events are contrary to our plans.

To increase our struggle, we have preachers that tell us that if we are living right, if we have enough faith, if we are spiritually mature and have the inside knowledge, then God will make us prosperous and relieve us from all suffering and pain. Like Job’s friends, these preachers tell us that any discomfort in our lives is our own fault and that God would bless is if we only had the right understanding (which, of course, they will provide if you buy the latest book with the smiling face on the cover).

Look, however, at Jesus’ response:

“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25–26, ESV)

Then Jesus took them through the Old Testament and showed them that it was God’s plan from the beginning to send Jesus to die as a means of recovering what was lost in the Garden of Eden. Rather than thwarting God’s plan, the crucifixion was the culmination of it. Our difficulties are not thwarting God’s plan, they are a part of it.

Perhaps my reader cannot relate to this, but I often feel that I am foolish and slow of heart to believe. In fact, I know that I am. Like those travelers to Emmaus, I sometimes feel that God’s plan has been derailed and I sometimes think that I am the villain that derailed it. It is difficult to look past my failures to see God.

Yet, God remains in control and as long as I am not actively resisting God, I know that I will not walk outside of his providential control and protection. Paul assures me that God remains in control and is working out a plan that is far better than anything I can imagine (Romans 8:28).

I need to remind myself and others that those foolish ones with the slow hearts were used by God to turn the world upside down. The Ceasars could not defeat those first believers. No emperor, despot or dictator has yet managed to defeat the church. God will work out his plan and use us, foolish and slow as we are, to accomplish it.

WWJD?

Posted on January 17, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

I haven’t seen one in a while, but bracelets with the letters WWJD had some popularity at one time. The acronym stands for “what would Jesus do?” and was a reminder to follow Jesus in responding to a particular situation or question. I think that this is a worthy question to ask in any situation.

My problem is not with the theory behind the question, it is with the implementation. The problem lies in really understanding what Jesus would do.

In the Gospels, we have many episodes recorded where Jesus did exactly what he was not expected to do. A lame man was brought to Jesus so that he could walk again and Jesus forgave his sins (Mark 2:1-12). The woman caught in adultery was defended in front of the angry crowd (John 8:1-11). A rich man was told by Jesus that he needed to give away all his wealth (Matthew 19:16-22). A man from whom a legion of demons was expelled was told that he could not follow Jesus but should go home (Mark 5:18-19). These are just a few examples that come immediately to mind.

Yes, we can learn from these and begin to understand how Jesus responded to situations and people. But, as I see it, there are two problems in implementing the WWJD framework.

Love like Jesus loved

First, we cannot love the way that Jesus loved. I have observed in myself and in others that it is hard to see past my own needs, wants and shortcomings. I put everything through the grid of “what is good for Mark?” Yet Jesus put everything through the grid of what was good for the other person. Paul tells us in Philippians:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3–8, ESV)

I see plenty of selfish ambition in myself, and I have observed it in others in the church. As a result of the fall of man, this is our default position. To implement the WWJD framework, we must understand and seek to counteract the selfish impulse.

See as Jesus sees

The second struggle in implementing WWJD is that we have a limited understanding. Jesus not only loved more deeply than we are capable of loving, he has a better understanding of the heart of the people. In John 2:24-25, the evangelist tells us:

“But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” (ESV)

To respond as Jesus would respond in every situation requires a wisdom and understanding that is supernatural. Jesus had the ability to see beyond all the pretense and delusion and respond in grace and truth (John 1:14). To really do what Jesus would do requires a thoughtful examination of my own motivations and the motivations of the person or persons I am dealing with at the time.

Get out of the way

Trying to respond to every situation as Jesus would do is a worthy goal. To do it, however, requires thoughtful examination of the situation, keeping in mind my own proclivity toward selfishness. I need to love as Jesus loved while remaining conscious of the effect of man’s defective sense of morality.

The good news is that I do not have to pursue this goal in my own strength and wisdom. In a similar struggle to learn contentment, Paul tells us “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV) Jesus tells us that he is with us until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). He also confirms that we will struggle but that he wins in the end (John 16:33).

I am not alone in the battle. I just need to stop getting in the way of the one who can win it.

Leon Morris on the Triumph of Christ

Posted on December 25, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 3 Comments

“Jesus knew that He would die. But He was in perfect command of the situation. He knew that the death He was dying was the worst that the forces of evil could do to Him, and He knew that He would rise triumphant. He said that He would rise, and He made His words good. The last picture that the Gospels give us of Jesus is that of the Mighty Conqueror. Matthew tells us that He commissioned His followers to preach the gospel and to make disciples, adding, ‘lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’ (Matthew 28:20). His triumph does not cease. It continues in the mission of His followers. The eschatological discourse in Mark 13 envisages struggle and difficulty for Christian men until the end of time. But the dominant thought is not difficulty. It is the final triumph of Christ.”

-Leon Morris in The Cross in the New Testament

The radical call of Jesus

Posted on May 24, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

While growing up in the church, I did not grasp the radical nature of Jesus as he encountered the world in which he lived.

We think that things are so much different today as compared to Jesus’ world. But are they? If the people of the Jesus’ world were alive today what would it look like?

Jesus would have gone to Wall Street or perhaps Washington, D. C. to recruit Matthew. James, John and Peter would have been found at the Union Hall, standing around the bed of a pickup truck with a cooler full of cold drinks. Jesus would have pulled Judas from an Ivy League business school.

Pharisees would be using conservative talk radio to get out their message of pulling yourself up by your theological and economic bootstraps. The Sadducees would be on NPR preaching their message of universal tolerance. The Zealots would be buying land in Idaho and arming themselves to prepare to overthrow the oppressive government. Name any other broad category of people in Jesus’ day and you can find a modern parallel.

The point is that Jesus called men from various backgrounds and pointed them all in a new and completely different direction.

In 21st Century America, we too often come to Jesus and add him to our current lifestyle rather than allow him to redirect our lives. Conservatives seek support for their economic policies in the Old Testament. Liberals seek support for their agenda from some of Jesus’ statements.

The Son of God is not a liberal or a conservative, he is not pro democracy nor is he a socialist. Jesus did not fit into any of the popular categories of his day, nor does he fit into the categories in ours. He defies the world’s categories and sets up one new one. We are either completely his or we are not.

Too often we Christians group ourselves into bodies based on our preferences that have nothing to do with the Gospel. We associate with people who look and act just like us. But look at the diversity in the first disciples of Jesus. For example, Matthew was a tax collector and a de facto supporter of Rome. Simon was a zealot who wanted to break the grip of Rome. Apart from Jesus, these two would be mortal enemies. But as a result of the call of Jesus, they lived and worked together.

Jesus was a radical. He did not fit into any of the categories of the world around him. If we are comfortable in any of the categories in our world then perhaps we’ve missed something in our understanding of Jesus’ call.