Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

March 31, 2021

3/31/2021

Too Many "Water" Christians

        Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:3-6

    Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus' heart. And He knew what the rich, pharisaic ruler needed.

    Nicodemus needed to be born again or born from above. It wasn't enough merely to be born as a child of Abraham into the covenant people of Israel. He somehow needed something more.

    Here the fourth Gospel picks up on the theme it first introduced in John 1:12, 13. There we read that "to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (RSV).

    Many in our day seem to believe that all humans are automatically children of God--that God is the Father of all people. Not so. He may be their Creator, but that does not mean that He is their Father.

    The Bible is clear on this point. It is only those born of the Spirit and who have responded in faith who belong to the family of God. They may have been born Jews, Catholics, Adventists, or Baptists, but that doesn't make them a part of God's family.

    That is what Jesus is telling Nicodemus. He needs a double baptism--both of water and of Spirit so that he might be born from above as a part of God's kingdom.

    In our day it is at the point of the double baptism that the problem enters the church. All church members have by definition been baptized with water. But that is only half of what they need. And it is by far the lesser half. More important, they must have a new heart and empowerment for Christlike living through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

    The problem is that there are too many "water" church members. They belong to the church but not to God's family in heaven. It is from the "water" group that comes dissension, backbiting, and trouble of every kind within the visible church.

    Lord, help me today to desire to move beyond the water and into the Spirit. I need Your help right now.

March 30, 2021

3/30/2021

Coming at Night Is Better Than Not Coming at All

        Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." John 3:1, 2, RSV.

    Here is another person impressed by the "signs" and miracles that Jesus had been performing. Jesus could have cautiously viewed Nicodemus as one more of that crowd fascinated with the possibilities they glimpsed in His wonder-working power and authority.

    But Jesus, who "knew what was in man" (John 2:25), recognized that in Nicodemus He had found one who was a true seeker after God, not one merely attracted by the "bright lights" of His ministry.

    But Jesus had to look below the surface to perceive that. After all, here was a person of a different class from the masses of those who generally followed Him. On the surface we know several things about Nicodemus. First, He was a Pharisee, one of that elite group of some 6,000 individuals who had dedicated their lives to being right with God through keeping the law in all of its thousands of details. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were a "religious aristocracy." They were people with pedigree.

    Not only was that pedigree religious; it also was political and social. John describes Nicodemus as a "ruler of the Jews," meaning that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, that select group of 71 men that functioned as the highest governing power of the nation under Roman rule. Beyond that, he was rich, as demonstrated by the gift he later provided for Jesus' burial.

    It was that prestigious individual who sought Jesus at night. Too often we fault the man for sneaking about in the dark, as if he were ashamed to be seen with Jesus. But the wonder is that, with his background, he came at all. Only a miracle of grace enabled Nicodemus to overcome his prejudices and his upbringing and the views of his class even to approach Jesus. Never forget, it is better to come to Jesus at night than not at all.

    Here we have an individual of conviction and courage. And that Jesus who reads human hearts honored those characteristics.

    Father in heaven, help me this day to break out of the mold of the world around me. Help me to have the courage of Nicodemus that I might receive the blessing of Nicodemus.

March 29, 2021

3/29/2021

Jesus: The Reader of Human Hearts

        Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. John 2:23-25, NKJV.

    The big problem with performing miracles and other "signs" is that people tend to follow for the wrong reason. Jesus realized that. Our Savior understood the human heart and that most people could not be trusted no matter what their outward profession of belief or allegiance. "He knew what was in man."

    The scene in today's passage finds Jesus on His first visit to Jerusalem at the time of Passover. He had made a great impression on all of Palestinian Judaism during His early ministry in Galilee. But now He had arrived in the capital of His people and "many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did."

    And it was Passover, the very time of year when Jesus later would give up His life for the sins of the world as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), or, more specifically, as our "Passover," who "was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).

    Seemingly everything was in place for Jesus to step forward and openly declare Himself to be the Messiah. Why didn't He? The answer is that He knew the human heart too well. He understood that many of those who believed were only attracted by the outward show of the things that they had seen and would abandon Him because of the fickleness of the human heart. "He knew what was in man." As a result, Jesus did not "commit Himself to them."

    But because He knew the hearts of those He dealt with, there were some whom He was willing to open up to. It is not an accident that the next two major stories in John's Gospel feature Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus could not only identify the hearts of would-be followers who were shallow and fickle, but He could see below the surface and appreciate people who were receptive to His message. And He was willing to commit Himself to such. In the stories of the Samaritan woman and the Jewish ruler we find unlikely candidates for Jesus' kingdom. But He saw below the surface and revealed Himself to them in a way that He could not with most people. And out of that opening up flow some of the most precious truths of His ministry.

    This Jesus who knows us so well still wants to lead us today. He wants us to open up to Him so that He can more fully reveal Himself to us.

March 28, 2021

3/28/2021

Who Is This Jesus

        The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. John 1:9, RSV.

    Jesus has demonstrated that He speaks with authority and that He possesses it over disease, distance, nature, the supernatural, sin, and even death.

    But who is this Jesus? And what does He mean to me? His own answer was that He is one who "will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32, RSV). Another answer, supplied by the apostle John, pictures Jesus as "the true light that enlightens every man" (John 1:9, RSV).   The "all" and "every" are important in those verses. Jesus never impacted only those who met Him face-to-face during His earthly sojourn. He never blessed only those who heard Him preach or experienced His healing power. No. He "draws" and enlightens "all" down through the corridors of history. And that means "every" one who has ever been born, whether they have ever heard the name of Jesus or not. Through the Holy Spirit He still enlightens the minds of individuals around the world, even though they have never listened to the gospel message from the lips of a human preacher.

    "Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever the heart reaches out to bless and uplift others, there is revealed the working of God's Holy Spirit. In the depths of heathenism, men who have had no knowledge of the written law of God, who have never even heard the name of Christ, have been kind to His servants, protected them at the risk of their own lives. Their acts show the working of a divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the grace of Christ in the heart of the savage, quickening his sympathies contrary to his nature, contrary to his education. The 'Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world' (John 1:9), is shining in his soul; and this light, if heeded, will guide his feet to the kingdom of God" (Christ Object Lessons, p. 38).

    "Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them....Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish....The Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God" (The Desire of Ages, 638).

    Who is Jesus? The light of the world, who has authority to enlighten and draw every human being who has ever lived.

March 27, 2021

3/27/2021

Authority Over Death

        Behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."...And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district. Matt. 9:18-26, RSV.

    People will do strange things when they are desperate. And Jairus, a synagogue ruler (Luke 8:41), was exactly that.

    Normally he would have kept his dignity, walked with a measured tread, and spoken calmly with those he met. He had a social status to preserve.

    But with the death of his daughter all that had changed. He has heard about a prophet in town healing people. Maybe, just maybe, He can do something about death. Throwing caution and dignity to the wind, he prostrates himself before Jesus on a dusty road with his neighbors looking on. As N. T. Wright observes, "Who cares about dignity when your daughter's life is at stake."

    Recognizing his budding but trembling faith, Jesus tells him "Do not fear, only believe" (Mark 5:36, RSV). The present tense of the Greek imperative means to keep on believing, to hold on to faith rather than to give up in despair.

    "Only believe." And Jairus did, following Jesus to his own home. There they came face-to-face with the "experts on death," hired professional mourners, who laughed with derision at Jesus' statement that "the girl is not dead but sleeping." The mourners recognized death when they saw it. And they knew that dead people don't come back to life.

    But Jesus, practicing "the art of ignoring," does the impossible. Taking her hand and telling her to arise, He demonstrates that He has authority over death itself.

    That teaching is one of the most important in the New Testament. It climaxes the gospel story when Jesus Himself gains victory over death and rises from the grave. And it becomes the centerpiece of world history when Jesus comes a second time to resurrect the death (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15: 51-54).

    The raising of the synagogue ruler's daughter is Jesus' first demonstration that Christians have nothing to fear, even in death, but have every reason to believe in Him. Why? Because what He did for Jairus' daughter He will eventually do for each and every one of His followers.

March 26, 2021

3/26/2021

Authority Over Sin

        And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." Matt. 9:1, 2, RSV.

    Here we find not merely another healing. To the contrary, the Technicolor aspect of this event is that Jesus had linked the healing with the forgiveness of the man's sins.

    That connection would not escape some of the "visitors" in the crowd. Matthew 9:3 tells us that the scribes soon began muttering about Jesus' blaspheming. They, we should remember, belonged to the learned class. Experts in the study of the law of Moses, Scripture often refers to them as "teachers of the law," and they will later play a leading role in the arrest and trial of Jesus. But for the present they are merely accusing Him of blasphemy. Luke helps us get at their meaning when he adds their explanation: "Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" (Luke 5:21). In short, they had caught Jesus in the act of claiming a divine prerogative.

    One of the unfortunate facts of church life is that every congregation seems to have its contingent of "scribes." These scowling brothers and sisters are always looking for what is wrong. And like the scribes of old, their attitude itself blinds them to the positive. Jesus' inquisitors appear to have missed altogether the significance of the amazing miracle. Obsessed with orthodoxy, they had no heart for a human being in need. Their focus on their traditions prevents them from seeing the spiritual realities being enacted before their eyes. All they saw and heard was that Jesus forgave the paralytic. That was enough for them. They now had a charge against Him that would eventually lead to His cross.

    Jesus understood their theology. He was aware that they believed that no sick person could be healed until their sins were forgiven, and that they held that only God could do so.

    He could have avoided the problem by being discreet. Instead Jesus offered them both a claim and a challenge, asking, "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?" (Matt. 9:5, RSV).

    That question put the scribes on the spot. After all, any trickster can claim to forgive sins. No one could ever confirm it, however. But a healed paralytic was both veritable and an assertion of divinity.

    Jesus had made His point. But He had also signed His own death warrant.

March 25, 2021

3/25/2021

Authority Over the Supernatural

        When they arrived on the other side of the lake...two men with demons in them met him. They lived in a cemetery and were so dangerous that no one could go through that area. They began screaming at him....[They] begged, "If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs." "All right," Jesus told them. "Begone." Matt. 8:28-32, TLB.

    Jesus has power not only over distance and the natural world, but also over the realm of the demonic, the supernatural. That is the next link in the chain of understanding that Matthew is unfolding regarding His identity.

    With this miracle story we find Jesus' outreach ministry continuing to broaden. He is now in the Gentile territory of the Decapolis (a word meaning "ten cities") on the southeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. Two uncontrollable naked (Matt. 8:28) madmen rush at the startled disciples and Himself. Here we find Jesus face-to-face with the demonic for the first time since His confrontation with Satan in the Wilderness of Temptation. There He had established His supremacy, and these possessed men acknowledged that fact, addressing Him as the "Son of God" and asking why He has come to torment them (Matt. 8:29). Recognizing the helplessness of their situation in the face of Jesus' authority and the fact that they are on the losing side of the battle, the demons entreat Him to cast them into a herd of swine feeding nearby. Upon receiving their request, they stampede the herd into the sea, where it perishes (verse 32).

    At that point, the pigs' herders head for the city to testify about what they had seen. Soon the whole population is on the scene, where they find the healed men sitting on the ground, clothed, and in their right mind (Mark 5:15).

    That change is a remarkable part of the story but not its most surprising aspect. One would have expected the thronging crowd to be filled with joy that the naked madmen had become sane and sensible. We might even assume that they would have Jesus exercise additional power in healing their sick. But all they wanted Him to do was to get out of their territory as soon as possible (Matt. 8:34).

    And why? Because even though an undeniable miracle had taken place, it had led to the destruction of their pigs. They had been hit in the most tender part of their anatomy--their pocketbook.

    Here we have a real situation as we come to Jesus. How will we relate to His authority if He threatens our wallet or other idols of our life?

March 24, 2021

3/24/2021

Authority Over Nature

        Suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" Matt. 8:24-27, NKJV.

    "Who can this be?" "Who is this man?" That is the question that the disciples were struggling with as they began their walk with Jesus. It is still one that challenges us today.

    Today's verses find Jesus and His followers caught in the midst of a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee. Lying nearly 700 feet below sea level, it is surrounded by hills and mountains that are especially steep on the east side. And just 30 miles to the northeast is the 9,200-foot Mount Hermon. The interchange of the cold air from Mount Hermon and the warm air of the lowlands could produce unexpected fierce storms on even what appeared to be a clear day. Such is the situation in which the disciples find themselves.

    And there is Jesus, sleeping. Like us, He did not come as a "superman" but one who became exhausted with the pressing of the crowds and the business of life. He was truly one of us and is therefore able to sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15; 2:17).

    But, while He was sleeping His disciples had whipped themselves up into a frenzy of fear and self-pity. Don't You even "care if we perish?" they shouted as they woke Him from a sound sleep (Mark 4:38, RSV).

    He did care, rebuking the winds and the storm, and also the disciples for their lack of faith. The result: calmness in both the sea and their hearts.

    But to these men the calming of the sea was astounding. Who can this be, who has power over nature? they were forced to ask. The experience was crucial to their developing understanding of who they were following, since in the Old Testament it is Yahweh (God ) alone who has power to quell natural storms (Ps. 6:7; 89:9; 104:6, 7; Isa. 51:9, 10). Jesus' authority over nature helped the disciples begin to realize more fully that He was indeed "God with us," the Yahweh of the Old Testament.

    The good news is that the Jesus who saved His disciples from the storm is still mighty. As His followers, we have nothing to fear in the long run, because we serve a Lord who has authority. We never face the trials of life alone. Even though He appears to be sleeping in some of the dangers that we face. He is still mighty to save.

March 23, 2021

3/23/2021

Authority Over Distance

        When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly." Jesus said to him, "Shall I come and heal him?" The centurion replied, "Lord...just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me....I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Matt. 8:5-9. NIV.

    The second miracle is the healing of the servant of a Gentile (Matt. 8:5-13). To the Jewish way of thinking, only a leper was more unclean than a Gentile. While lepers couldn’t enter Jerusalem at all, Gentiles could not worship in the Jewish Temple, since they could go no farther into the Temple complex than the outermost court, fittingly called the "court of the Gentiles."

    The centurion, recognizing his unworthiness in the eyes of a Jew, exemplifies remarkable faith. Comparing Jesus to himself as a military commander, he says that Jesus does not need to go to his house to perform the miracle. All He needs to do is issue a command, and the healing will take place.

    The centurion is the first person in Matthew's Gospel to understand the scope of Jesus' authority--that He doesn't even need to be present for His word to be carried out. Thus He had authority, not only over disease, but also over distance.

    Jesus not only commends the centurion for his faith, but He also utilizes the occasion to present a picture close to the Jewish heart. The Jews expected that at the coming of the Messiah a great banquet would take place, in which all Jews would sit down to a feast. Gentiles would not be present.

    But Jesus puts a new twist on the story. According to Him, many Gentiles (those "from the east and west", verse 11) will be at the feast, but many of the Jews ("the children of the kingdom") shall be cast out into outer darkness" (verses 11, 12).

    Thus with one stroke Jesus put forth two themes that will run throughout His ministry: the salvation of the Gentiles and the precarious situation of the Jews if they reject the Messiah.

    This second miracle is pregnant with meaning for us today. Nowhere do we find a better description of the authority of Jesus in relation to the angels whom He sends to care for the needs of those who have faith in Him. He still reaches across the distance of time and space to be with and bless His people. For that we can praise God daily.

March 22, 2021

3/22/2021

Authority Beyond Words

        When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matt. 8:1-3, NASB.

    Words are cheap. Anyone can make great statements or preach a powerful and insightful sermon. Some years ago a minister came through town proclaiming that if people had the right kind of faith they could leave his meetings and "never sin again." I had heard that one before. At one time I myself used to teach it. I would have been more impressed if the man had said that he had faith enough to leave the auditorium, go down to Lake Chapin, and walk on water. Real authority has demonstrable action, not mere verbiage.

    Jesus had genuine authority not only in His words but also in what He was able to do. That is what Matthew 8 and 9 are all about. Chapters 5-7 set forth Jesus as an authoritative teacher (see Matt. 7:29), then immediately follow two chapters demonstrating that He has authority in deeds as well as words. And once again His authority would astonish the crowds (Matt. 7:28, 29; Matt. 9:33).

    There is a plan to Jesus' life just as there is a plan to Matthew's Gospel. Between Matthew 8:1 and 9:33 the first Gospel has Jesus performing nine miracles that demonstrate His authority in a way that leaves no doubt about who He is. The first miracle finds Jesus healing a leper. Leprosy was the most dreaded disease in the ancient world. Beyond the physical deterioration of the victim was the social ostracism. Lepers were banished from human society immediately upon diagnosis. They had to leave family and friends, cover their faces, and cry "Unclean" wherever they went.

    Yet Jesus could heal even a leper. He has authority even over such a dreaded disease. The eight subsequent miracles demonstrate that He has power not only over disease but also over the forces of nature and the demonic world. In the end of the demonstration of authority, Matthew writes that "the crowds marveled, saying, 'Never was anything like this seen in Israel' " (Matt. 9:33, RSV).

    Jesus not only speaks as God, He acts as God. He has authority. And that authority is meant for our own cleansing just as much as it was for the unclean 2,000 years ago.