Natural Evangelism

Posted on by korgrocker

“Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!””
John 12:17-19 NLT

For those people who believed that evangelism didn’t start until after the Day of Pentecost, referring to that tremendous sermon from Peter after which three thousand men were saved, and which we can read in Acts 2, then they have missed something. The news about the raising of Lazarus from the dead, a miracle initially observed by a “crowd” of people (perhaps thirty or forty?), spread quickly through Jerusalem and the surrounding areas and even to the Passover visitors. The people who observed Lazarus emerge from the grave still wrapped in his graveclothes would never forget what had happened before their eyes, and they couldn’t wait to go and tell someone. A natural response to something out of the ordinary. But isn’t that evangelism?

Another remarkable event took place on the Day of Pentecost, when the people in the upper room, who had just experienced the tongues of fire and the ruach of God rushing through the place, burst out onto the streets of Jerusalem, speaking in languages native to the many visitors who had come for the Feast. Isn’t that evangelism?

The Pharisees were at a loss to know what to do. The amazing miracle that Jesus had committed had become common knowledge in that area and the people flocked out to see Him as he rode the donkey up the road into Jerusalem. In despair, they realised that they had been deserted, and didn’t have the following amongst the people that they had previously enjoyed. Their teaching was heavy and boring. They were unable to demonstrate miracles. And no amount of threats could stop the people from following the Man who did such amazing things. Isn’t that the result of evangelism?

We pilgrims have experienced a remarkable miracle ourselves. That the Creator God of the Universe would love us so much that through His Son, Jesus, He has allowed us to enter His presence sinless and righteous, and has ensured that we will be with Him for all eternity. That’s a miracle, and one that we cannot but tell everyone we meet. It’s a message that will not often be welcomed. Faced with a choice, people will prefer the pleasures of sin over the assurance of an eternity spent with God. But we pilgrims pray every day and ask God to lead us to just the right person who will be receptive to hear our miraculous message. We are not all great evangelists preaching messages to thousands of people. We might be like the teenager who persuaded a friend to go to church with him, and the friend was saved. That friend was Billy Graham. We don’t know what happened to the teenager, but we do know that he was faithful in doing what God had asked him to do.

So who knows – the next time we share our messages of hope, there might be another Billy Graham waiting to hear what we have to say. Isn’t that evangelism?

Dear God. Your love has motivated us to the point that we cannot help but tell others about all that You have done for us. Please lead us to the right people. In Jesus name. Amen.

Prophetic Fulfilment

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfilment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realised that these things had been written about him.”
John 12:14-16 NLT

We pilgrims have the benefit of hindsight over events that took place two thousand years ago. Bible scholars in recent times have claimed that Jesus fulfilled over three hundred Old Testament prophecies when He came to this world as a Jewish baby boy, finally dying on a Roman cross thirty years or so later. And there are many more prophecies still waiting to be fulfilled, prophecies that refer to His second coming, at a time yet to be determined. As John recorded, the disciples didn’t know at the time that Jesus’ donkey ride into Jerusalem took place just as Zechariah prophesied six or seven hundred years before. There were too many details for that first Palm Sunday just to be a random event, driven by the need of transport for a supposedly tired Jesus.

People today generally seem to care little for prophecies. They might dabble a little in their horoscopes, invented as a form of entertainment in a newspaper or magazine. They might read about something that creates a bit of interest, something supposedly “prophetic”, like the sayings of the French philosopher Nostradamus. But in the main, 21st Century Western man cares little for a future that they think is probably out of reach and therefore lacks importance. 

So why does the Old Testament hold so many prophecies? To me, it exposes a loving and caring God who spoke through faithful men about events to come. Men who listened to what God was telling them and they faithfully wrote it down both to encourage and warn God’s people. All the prophecies also add weight to the authenticity of the Bible because, after all, it is God’s only written work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” The prophecies in the Bible have formed the Canon of Scripture and even today they are an important part of our pilgrimage, leading us and guiding us in God’s ways.

Prophecy in the church today consists of forth-telling and fore-telling, proclamation and prediction. In the Old Testament, there was much fore-telling, with the prophets of old bringing about amazing predictions about what was going to happen at some time in the future. But on 21st Century Planet Earth, we need to be careful with predictive prophecy. God’s Word, the Bible, is complete, and we are warned about adding anything to it – Revelation 22:18-19, “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book”.

Sadly, in recent years men and women have tried to predict such Biblical events such as Armageddon, with the Jehovah Witnesses “prophesying” that it would take place in 1974. Such was the weight given to this date that some members of the JW organisation even sold their houses in preparation. Of course, 1974 came and went with no change in the world. If Armageddon had come we wouldn’t be here now. There are many other occasions when predictive prophecies have come to be shown what they really were – human inventions. However, fore-telling can still be a valid prophetic influence in the church today and we should never say never. Instead, we should test the spirits, and never make life changing decisions based on a single prophecy. We must always look to God for confirmation. Our loving Heavenly Father won’t want us to be misled.

Regarding prophecy that is forth-telling, a “prophetic” message delivered from the pulpit can explain God’s Word in a way that is more easily understood and applied in our lives. 1 Corinthians 12:10 lists a number of spiritual gifts, including prophesy, “He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.” The gift of prophecy enables someone to “speak forth” or declare the divine will, to interpret the purposes of God, or to make known in any way the truth of God which is designed to influence people. Prophets are men and women who are speaking on behalf of God, and the Holy Spirit has equipped them to speak out what God wants them to.

But back to our verses of Scripture from John. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy written down many years before. That is the sign of a true prophecy and one that validates the prophet himself. And it also reveals that God Himself spoke to Zechariah, and others, as part of His salvation plan to rescue mankind. An amazing message but sadly the Jewish religious leaders failed to make the connection.

Dear Father God. You have given us many gifts and we thank You for the gift of prophecy. Please help us to recognise Your prophets and treat them well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus on a Donkey

Posted on by korgrocker

The people “took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.””
John 12:13-15 NLT

In Luke’s Gospel we find some details about the origin of the donkey. We read in Luke 19:29-31, “As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”” And John helpfully pointed out that this event was a fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.” 

We pilgrims know the story well, and may even have re-enacted it in our Sunday School days. Some rural churches today even manage to find a real donkey to add some reality to the tale. Yet in acting out the Palm Sunday story, three attributes of Jesus in the Zechariah prophecy are often overlooked.

Jesus was, and is, righteous. Although he came to this world as a human being, Jesus never committed a sin. Ever. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” And because he was sinless, He was righteous. 1 John 3:7, “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.” 

The Zechariah prophecy also proclaimed that the coming King was victorious. In the Jewish people’s minds, that would have meant their King was victorious in battle. This was of course correct, but not in the way the people wanted. Jesus came and defeated the devil through His victory on the cross. There, He satisfied the justice of God on our behalf and broke the power of sin, Satan, and death. Once and for all. The disciples on the Road to Emmaus expressed the disappointment present in the Jewish people, “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago” (Luke 24:21). For the people, the excitement of the first Palm Sunday evaporated in the event that took place on a hill called Calvary, an event that left a big hole in their hopes and dreams. 

The third quality of the coming King in the Zechariah prophecy was that He was humble. Paul wrote about Jesus’ humility in Philippians 2:5-8, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus ticked all the Zechariah boxes down to the last detail. And we read on in Philippians, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). That’s our Saviour. the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for humbly obeying Father God’s mission for You on Planet Earth. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Exterminate!

Posted on by korgrocker

“When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.”
John 12:9-11 NLT

Jesus and Lazarus had become famous in that part of the world and the Jerusalem grapevine was working overtime. There was no social media in those days but the news of Jesus’ arrival soon got around. And John recorded that the people flocked to see them. Other Bible versions talk about a “great many” of the Jews, or a “large crowd”, and the reason that they went to see Jesus was because they believed in Him. 

Sadly, the religious leaders were so riven with jealousy that they had decided to restore their standing in the community by eliminating who they perceived as being their opponents. Lazarus wouldn’t have been quietly getting on with his life – he would have been quite vociferous in proclaiming what Jesus had done for him. He was a living, breathing miracle and the Pharisees and their cohorts could find no way to refute what had happened. Their stance was no different to that of totalitarian regimes around the world today, where opponents of the leadership are eliminated, either clandestinely, or by conviction following trumped up and false charges. We see it happening in Russia, Iran, North Korea, China and other countries, countries that have become an axis of devil-inspired evil. The devil’s ploys are well known and have been around since the snake slithered around the Garden, deceiving Adam and Eve in the process. 

The Jewish leaders should have know better because they had access to the writings and laws of Moses and the other prophets, but their twisted logic and scriptural misinterpretation had convinced them that Jesus was not who He said He was, in spite of the amazing miracles that He had performed. How did they think that bringing a man back to life, a man who had been dead and buried for four days, would be possible without the power of God behind it. So they decided that the Source of their concerns must be exterminated, and, for good measure, they would attempt to kill Lazarus as well. 

John the Baptist appeared out of the desert dressed and behaving like an Old Testament prophet, and the people flocked to him, responding to his message of repentance. We read in Luke 3:3, “Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptised to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.” John widely trailed the coming of Jesus and the Pharisees had plenty of notice about Who was coming. “Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptise with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God”” (John 1:32-34). Initially, the people thought that John was the coming Messiah, but in John 3:27-28, 30, we read, “John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ … He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” 

But the religious leaders wanted to do away with Jesus because they refused to accept the evidence before them. There was John’s testimony about Jesus. There was the evidence of the miracles. But they rejected it all because to accept that Jesus was indeed the Son of God meant change, so perhaps they thought that if they killed Jesus and Lazarus then the threat against their cosy world would disappear. Little did they know that it was all part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.

Dear God. You had a master plan ready ever since the Fall in the Garden. And aren’t we pilgrims glad You did! We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Preparation for Burial

Posted on by korgrocker

“But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” … Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.””
John 12:4-5, 7-8 NLT

Mary caused quite a stir amongst the disciples. To recap, she poured a very expensive quantity of the perfume nard all over Jesus’ feet and then wiped it all with her hair. Judas was outraged and told everyone present that this was a missed opportunity and that Mary had wasted her resources on anointing Jesus’ feet. 

But as an aside, this probably brought into focus Judas’ relationship with Jesus. His opinion of the Master was lacking integrity and he had obviously failed to grasp who Jesus really was. But before we condemn him, think about this. Although we would all have liked to be present with the Son of God, the question of us all is this – would be willing to waste something worth a year’s wages on anointing Jesus’ feet? Hmmm…

Back to John’s account. Jesus came to Mary’s defence and He said something that must have appeared strange to the disciples – “She did this in preparation for my burial”. The disciples were probably having trouble keeping up with events, and what was going on before them was puzzling to them. Why was Jesus thinking about His own death and burial? After all, He was still a relatively young man, and anyway no-one knew when they would die. After death, a person in those days was buried wrapped in shrouds of cloth and heavily anointed with perfumes. But as we know, the smell of a perfume, even an expensive one, fades away over a few days, so, the disciples thought, was Jesus’ death and burial so close? With the benefit of hindsight, we know that it was but the disciples didn’t.

Jesus then said something that superficially seemed a bit callous, and dismissive of the problems of being poor. The rest of the disciples may have agreed with Judas, that surely benefiting poor people was more important than “wasting” all that perfume. But Jesus knew what was happening. The next few days would have been marked by one significant factor as the smell of the perfume followed Jesus everywhere He found Himself. In the Garden, before Pilate, abused by soldiers, and lastly on the Cross. And through it all was Mary, smelling of nard herself, reminding everyone of her act of worship at Jesus’ feet. Jesus was telling the disciples that poor people could have been helped at any time but  Mary’s act alone would not have made even a dent in the overall problem of poverty. Jesus wasn’t dismissive of the poor. He was focused on His mission “and that was not to feed the poor”to seek and save the lost“. 

By the way, we mustn’t take from today’s verses the thought that the poor don’t matter. Of course we must help those in need, in every aspect of their poverty, natural or spiritual. The Apostles James wrote, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27). And there are other impoverished groups in the world today who need our help. And we may even need that help ourselves. 

Perhaps one day we will meet Mary in Heaven and will still be able to smell the perfume. But on the other hand, we will be too busy worshipping Jesus, I’m sure. Mary knew who Jesus was and she was prepared to lay down her life and possessions for Him. Her example has travelled through the centuries ever since, as a reminder that we truly do worship at Jesus’ feet with all that we are.

Dear Lord Jesus, we worship You today with all our beings. You are our Lord and Master and before You today we bow down, unworthy even to be in Your presence. Amen.

Perfumed Feet

Posted on by korgrocker

“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”
John 12:1-3 NLT

Jesus was back in Bethany again, at the home of Lazarus, and his two sisters, Martha and Mary. And John recorded that there was a meal “prepared in Jesus’ honour”, served by Martha as usual. But after the meal, Mary did a strange thing. She took a jar of perfume, expensive perfume, and tipped it over Jesus’ feet. What followed was also strange – she wiped His feet with her hair. And as we might expect, it was impossible to go anywhere in the house without being able to smell the perfume. 

Why did Mary do something so extravagant? Again, John wrote the account of what happened in his usual dispassionate terms, but we can imagine the consternation on the faces of those present. Perhaps Martha and Lazarus were a bit embarrassed about their sister’s behaviour. The disciples and others who were present might have been distracted from their conversations as they looked on. Women in those days were supposed to stay in the background and not bother the men with anything. Perhaps Mary committed a social gaff but there was something far more important going on. Mary left us with a picture of an act of worship of Jesus with a gift that mattered. We don’t know what Mary was keeping this jar of perfume for, or where she had acquired it from, but it was obviously a very precious possession. It was important to her.

What do we pilgrims consider important and precious to us, and would be be prepared to lay it down at Jesus’ feet in an act of worship? The perfume would have run over Jesus’ feet and the floor, and Mary mopped up any stray liquid with her hair. It was then gone forever, never to be returned to the bottle. There were others gifts that Mary could have offered to Jesus. Perhaps a lamb that was important to her, or a sum of money, her life savings. But in every other possibility, the gift stayed intact. 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1). We pilgrims lay our lives down at the feet of Jesus, in an act of worship that ties us to Him for ever. The smell of Mary’s perfume would have stayed with Jesus all through the rest of His short life, and in our cases, our lives must stay with Jesus for the rest of our earthly days. According to Paul, by laying down our lives before Jesus, we too are a wonderful fragrance. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15a, “But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. …“. By the grace of God we will never change from a pleasant perfume in God’s nostrils, to becoming an unpleasant stench. Will we?

Dear God. In everything we do and say we want to be pleasing to You. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Looking for Jesus

Posted on by korgrocker

“It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.”
John 11:55-57 NLT

The Jewish Passover feast occurs in the Spring, but looking back over the previous months of Jesus’ ministry, we find that He was in Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles in the Autumn (Fall) (John 7) and there again for the Feast of Dedication (John 10). But a lot had happened in those six months or so. Jesus did amazing miracles to support His claim to be the Son of God and spoke often that the only way to receive eternal life was through Him. We remember the man healed of his blindness from birth. And the crescendo that resulted from the raising of Lazarus from the grave. Many people came to believe in Jesus and the Pharisees and other religious leaders were becoming alarmed, to say the least. So Jesus was a marked man and the Jewish equivalent of “wanted” posters were everywhere.

John recorded that “many people from all over the country“ were in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival and they were looking for Jesus. “They kept looking” but Jesus was not yet to be found. So the people’s anticipation was building but their expectations were dampened by the arrest warrant issued by the religious authorities. But a new act was about to open up on the stage of Jesus’ ministry, as we will find out when we turn the page to John 12.

In the meantime, do we share in the anticipation about Jesus? We know that He will be returning again one day, but that seems a long way off, although we don’t know when. But we mustn’t forget that Jesus is alive and well, and through the Holy Spirit He is with us today. We don’t have to stand around in the Temple, or in any other church building, looking for Him. Many people have in the past, and some even today, undertake a pilgrimage to a holy site somewhere. For example, the Pilgrim’s Way in England is a route followed by many people from Winchester Cathedral all the way to Canterbury Cathedral, where the martyred archbishop St Thomas Beckett was buried. We too are pilgrims but not on an earthly pilgrimage. We are on a journey through life, disciples of Jesus. And we will not end up in a cathedral somewhere viewing a tomb containing a human being’s bones, but instead we will find ourselves in Heaven enjoying eternal life with Jesus.

There are those around us who are searching for fulfilment. But in our secular world, they will fail to find it, although hedonistic methods are employed in the process. Earthly tools and processes come to nothing, and many a person goes to their grave feeling disappointed. But when we turn to Psalm 23, we find that there is only one place where God can be found. We read through the Psalm and find all the encouraging and supportive helps the we need in our journey, and then we finally arrive at the last verse, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). We pilgrims will one day truly find Jesus in the real “Temple”, in Heaven. 

Dear God. To know that Your love pursues me through every day of my life is truly amazing. I wonder how You could ever love imperfect beings like me, but I know that You did indeed, when You sent Jesus to die for me at Calvary. I am so grateful. Amen.

One Man Should Die

Posted on by korgrocker

“Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t realise that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.”
John 11:49-52 NLT

The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders in the Sanhedrin were severely rattled and gripped with fear. They genuinely, but mistakenly, believed that Jesus was a threat to the stability of the Jewish state of Israel. They knew that if a revolution or an uprising started and was unsuccessful, which recent ones had been, then the Romans would brutally suppress the people, with no respect for status, age or gender. The Israelite history was full of horror stories of atrocities by occupying forces, and exiling the Jews to a foreign land was not out of the question again. 

The High Priest, the senior man in the assembly, was called Caiaphas and he made what was to become a prophetic statement, though not for the reason he expected. His thinking was that if they arranged for the death of Jesus then the threat of rebellion and Roman reprisals would go away. But little did he know that his words would come true and would not only lead to the salvation of Israel and the Jews, but also to the whole world. As in all good political and religious assemblies, there was a cross section of opinion, and Caiaphas was a Sadducee, of the group that held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin. They went out of their way to appease the Roman occupiers, caring more for their business interests then they did for anything else. Jesus was constantly at loggerheads with them, because the Sadducees didn’t believe in Heaven and anything like life after death. How they explained away the miracles that Jesus performed in the name of His Father in Heaven would have been interesting to hear. But they really were sad people because they had no hope for the future after death.

John, the writer of the Gospel with his name, added a few words concluding that Jesus would indeed die for the nation of Israel, and consequently for people everywhere, bringing those who believed in Jesus together in unity of faith. He obviously had the benefit of hindsight. 

We pilgrims are indeed a part of a huge number of people scattered all over the world, and who share the common faith that Jesus was, and is, the Son of God, and that He came to this world to redeem mankind from their sins. Instead of leaving us to face the punishment one day for the consequences of our sins, Jesus Himself took them on, and in return He gave us His righteousness, so that we could stand before God, forgiven and accepted. Sadly, there are those in the world who claim to be Christians, as the Sadducees claimed to be Jews, but who reject the message of their faith. There are also those who claim to be “Post-Christians”, those who claim those parts of the principles of Christianity that they like, but who reject the Source of them. To those people we echo Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ”. 

With or without Caiaphas’ prophecy, Jesus died for our sins and for mankind in general, past, present and future. What an amazing Saviour!

Dear Father God. How can we express our gratitude? We worship You today. Amen.

“What Shall We Do?”

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.””
John 11:47-48 NKJV

Rightly or wrongly, the Pharisees brought stability to the Jewish nation of Israel and they were genuinely concerned that if they lost their authority to do that, then the Romans would once again come in to suppress what the occupying forces perceived as an uprising or rebellion. But there was also a personal fear amongst them if they lost their religious place in their society because they were a proud and arrogant bunch. What would happen to them if the people shifted their allegiance to Jesus way from them? Not all Pharisees were bad of course (remember Nicodemus?) but the majority seemed to be locked into rigid religious behaviour, riddled with pride and arrogance. Jesus had little good to say about the Pharisees. He said, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27-28). 

We worship a God who desires the best for His creation and for us human beings. He loves us all, regardless of how we see or relate to Him. A person who denies the existence of God is loved just as much as one who embraces Him wholeheartedly. In fact, “ … God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). But God also created mankind with free will, enabling people to make choices. So how people respond to God is up to them. Jesus demonstrated the love of God every moment that He was here on Planet Earth. He healed the sick and fed large numbers of people. As we have seen He even raised a dead man from the grave. But the main thrust of Jesus’ ministry was to bring joy and glory to God by granting eternal life to all those who chose to believe in Him.

But even today, God takes a personal interest in His children. The invitation to believe in Jesus is still there, waiting for people to respond. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were locked into a religious system based on their interpretation of the Law of Moses, a belief system that had no room for change. They thought that Jesus’ offer of eternal life was irrelevant for them because they were convinced that they would inherit eternal life anyway through their obedience to the Law. So they could not see any solution to their dilemma over Jesus. The Jewish people were abandoning them in droves and following Jesus, who they therefore considered to be in danger of being seen as a revolutionary by the Romans, particularly if that was how they presented Him, with devastating consequences. But they lacked understanding about Jesus’ mission because they refused to accept that He was the Son of God, their long-awaited Messiah. Jesus said, “ … for I have come to save the world and not to judge it” (John 12:47b). Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost”. Jesus was no revolutionary seeking to overthrow the Roman occupation. That was to come soon enough through a zealot-driven Jewish rebellion in AD70, just a few years later. 

What do we pilgrims do today, when God brings a revival, a new move of God, to our spiritual shores? I was fortunate enough to be in a church that experienced the move of the Holy Spirit that started in Toronto in the 1990’s. But it wasn’t welcomed by every church fellowship, and many looked on from the outside, despising the excesses and in the process missing out on a tremendous blessing of God. God is always willing to bless His people, as we can see from many revivals that have taken place over the years. We must always seek God for His will and purposes for us. We must always ask Him what He wants to do through us every day. He delights in answering that question. 

The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 85 said, “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6). We pilgrims have the opportunity of being revived every day, as we read in John 7:37b-38, “ … Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’”. 

The answer to the Pharisees’ dilemma was staring them right in their faces, but they chose to reject, rather than accept, Jesus. They could not accept a new move of God. But we must always be on the look out for what God is doing in our day, in case He is doing something new. God said to the Jewish people, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19). So we pilgrims must look up, always attentive to our Heavenly Father’s next move.

Dear Father God. We don’t want to miss what You are doing in our time here on Planet Earth. Please give us ears to hear and eyes to see Your wonderful ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Many Believed

Posted on by korgrocker

“Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs.”
John 11:45-47 NLT

Why did John record that many of the people who were with Mary came to believe in Jesus? Why not those with Martha? Perhaps Mary was the sister who was popular in the community, while Martha was the stay-at-home introvert who enjoyed nothing else than the house keeping. But regardless, both the sisters had faith in their friend Jesus, and enjoyed His presence in their home. However, the important message was that many “believed in Jesus” because of the miracle that had taken place. Jesus had restored to life a man who was graveyard dead, something unheard of in that age or any other, come to that.

John recorded that many believed, but obviously not all did. Faced with such a miraculous event, why did some people not believe in Jesus? What would it take for these people to believe? What was stopping them? Worse, when the religious leaders were told what had happened they didn’t believe in Jesus either. In fact, they were so disturbed by what had happened that they called a meeting of the High Council, the Sanhedrin. This was serious stuff, because this assembly of leaders was the ultimate Jewish court. To many of the people, and collectively by the leading priests and the Pharisees, to change their religious system to instead follow a Man who called Himself the Son of God and who even proved it by performing amazing miracles, was just not going to happen. 

So what was stopping a universal belief in Jesus? In Matthew 22:14 we read that Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen”. The sad thing is that in every age since Jesus died for our sins, the clarion call of salvation has rung out but only those with hearing ears have responded. In Jesus’ day, the devil had blinded the eyes and ears of those who stubbornly refused to accept the evidence before them, instead deciding to maintain the status quo. People were spiritually deaf and such deafness continues today. God said to Isaiah, “ ... Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing” (Isaiah 6:9-10). Hardened hearts are still the default state of mankind today. Hearts resistant to anything that will lead to spiritual understanding are all around us. But God will warm and soften those whom He has called.

Today, we pilgrims are believers in Jesus. We have heard the call and responded wholeheartedly to the One who has the words of eternal life. 

Dear Father God. There was a time when, like Wesley, our hearts were “strangely warmed”. Thank You for the call through Your Son Jesus. Amen.