This blog is a continuation of the story of Jonah. To fully understand what is happening go and read The Story of Jonah part 1 and 2. I will continue to tell the story in my own words.
Then Jonah walks into an open mike café where people take the stage and start tellin jokes and everything. One middle-aged guy walks up to the microphone and starts rattling off one-liners. The dude says, “Two guys are in a drug store looking at a display rack of condoms. They both see a box with twelve packs in it. The single guy thinks to himself ‘I hope it lasts the weekend, I got a party to go to.’ The married guy looks at the same pack and says ‘I hope I finish the box before it expires in three years.’ The married men in the crowd start laughin. The comic wanna be continues, “ There are two type of guys who never have sex, married men and monks and I’m not so sure about the monks.” Now the married men are really startin to get into it. The comic continues, “An eight year old walks up to his father and says, ‘Dad can you tell me about the birds and the bees?’ “His father says, ‘How would I know? your mother and I have been married for twelve years.’ ‘Ask your uncle he’s divorced.’ Now the men are howling.
He continues, “Years ago I wise man told me the truth about married people and sex he said to me ‘Frank, this is how things work in the real world. ‘If you put a gumball in a gumball machine every time you have sex after you are married and take a gumball out of the machine every time you have sex after your kids are born you will spend the rest of your life finishing up the gumballs.’ Then the comic says, “It’s a good thing I don’t like gumballs.” The married men are in stitches. One guy in the front has laughed so hard he begins having chest pains and paramedic start tending to him. The comic sees he has them and goes in for the kill, metaphorically speaking of course. “What do you call a married man who sends his wife flowers?” The crowd silences waiting for the punch line. “A poor investor.” More howls. In fact some married men in the crowd try to persuade the comic to run for office.
The comic says to the single guys, “Boys you better take my advice. “When you are on a date with a new girl you need to bring up the conversation of children at just the right time, after the main entrée and before desert. “Ask her how she feels about children. “If she says ‘I love kids’ then tell her you will call her a cab. “However, if she turns very angry and begins using expletives that you haven’t heard since you were in the navy then you have two choices; one, immediately fall on your knees and propose or two, get out of the way because if you don’t you will be trampled to death by every other man in the place who has more sense then you.” With that line one of the paramedics (the married one) now starts laughing so hard he begins experiencing chest pains and his partner starts tending to him.
Now they are done. The married men in the audience are on the floor with tears flowing out of their eyes. The single men have a forlorn look on their faces. One single guy says to his fiancé, “Maybe we need to talk.” Several women begin throwing things at the stage and a near riot begins to break out. One married woman looks at her hysterical husband and says, “I am never gonna speak to you again.” To which her husband says, “Can I get that in writing?”
The police are notified and several squad cars and a paddy wagon arrive. A number of married women are hitting their husbands over the head with whatever they could find. As the police enter the building some of the single cops try to separate the wives from their husbands in a vain attempt to save the husbands lives. The married cops don’t bother because they know from experience that the husbands will eventually go home and their wives will finish the job there.
There was near pandemonium in the place and Jonah, somewhat bemused by what he just witnessed, realized there was little difference between the married men of Nineveh and the married men of Hebrew land. Now he understood why the Ninevites were always going off to war. Jonah figured it was better for Ninevite men to fight in a far off land than in their own homes. But he had an idea, which he figured might actually work. Jonah figured since the Ninevites in this place were completely preoccupied with their own self destruction he may actually have an opportunity to tell them about God’s immediate plans for them.
So he goes up to the stage and grabs the microphone and calls for their attention. The crowd, somewhat startled by the guy with a foreign accent and fishy look, begin to calm down and listen to Jonah.
To be continued…
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Story of Jonah (part 2)
This blog is a continuation of the story of Jonah. To fully understand what is happening go back and read “The Story of Jonah (part 1). I will continue to tell the story in my own words.
So the sailors consider what Jonah told them to do and figure they wanted no part of that. These guys may not have been boy scouts, but they weren’t murders either. They were just tryin to make a livin and get on with their lives and they had no interest in throwing somebody overboard just because he told them they could.
So the sailors rowed for their lives, but it didn’t matter they weren’t goin anywhere. The waves continued to batter the ship and the men were getting more and more tired. So they started talking amongst themselves and one sailor said to another, “This Hebrew ain’t worth the trouble he is causin. “All we gotta do is toss him overboard and all our troubles are over. “Ain’t it better that one man die rather than the who ship perish?” But the other dude said, “You are talking out of your rectum. “Jonah already told us that the Hebrew God is after him for not following orders and everything. “If we throw him overboard then we are gonna have the Hebrew God coming after us. “By the looks of things that won’t be very good.”
So they started consorting over the matter and even figured on drawing lots again. One said one thing and another said another thing but in the end the sea was as bad as ever and they were no better off. Then they did what everybody eventually does when their lives are on the line; they prayed. Boy did they pray; they were telling God that they did not want to throw Jonah overboard and they actually liked the guy but Jonah said orders were orders and he had to be tossed so we are gonna toss him. They begged God not to harm them or their families and they even prayed for Jonah because they figured he was as good as dead.
So they tossed the rebellious prophet overboard and the sea stopped is raging. The men looked at each other and said, “How did the sea stop so quickly? Sailors knew that the sea continues to remain agitated for hours after a storm passes. So when they saw the sea get calm as quickly as it did they knew this was very unusual, even miraculous. So the men feared the Hebrew God and made vows and offered a sacrifice to the Lord God because they knew that He was the Lord God Almighty.
When you think about it you have to realize that the first Gentile converts from Jonah were not in Nineveh they were multi national sailors in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Funny how God works, because Jonah was in a state of rebellion when these men became converts and now they would take the news of God’s mercy back to their homes and tell everyone of the wonders of the Hebrew God. Turning gentiles into Hebrews was the very thing Jonah did not want to do and he did it without even going to Nineveh. You can’t keep a good man down.
So there is Jonah floatin around in the middle of the sea and the ship gets pushed along by a gentle wind and Jonah sees it goin away and figures he is gonna die, and that was just fine for him because things hadn’t been goin so well lately anyhow. Low and behold this huge fish comes by and opens its great big yap and swallows Jonah whole. So Jonah is sittin there in the dark figuring he was gonna be digested before long but he doesn’t get digested. The fish doesn’t even burp. It’s like the fish doesn’t even know Jonah is inside.
Three days go bye and Jonah is still sittin there and he suddenly realizes that he is not gonna die. He also realizes that he ain't getting out of that fish until he has a sit down with the Almighty. He starts telling God that he thought he was gonna die and God pulled him out of that jam and now it is time for him to pay back God.
Then the Lord God Almighty commands Jonah a second time telling him that he better hightail it to Nineveh and tell them what God is gonna tell Jonah to tell them. So Jonah takes the long walk to Nineveh and when he arrives he looks… well lets just say he looks like someone who had been in a great big fish for three days. Not exactly dating material. He goes to the city and starts telling everybody that in forty days they are gonna be toast, and ya know what they even start belivin him.
Once he even walks into a bar and stands up on the bar itself and looks everybody in the eye, one at a time of course. The bartender says, “Yo dude get off my bar.” Then Jonah looks at the bartender and it was one of those if looks could kill looks. And he says to the bartender, “What are you gonna do if I don’t?” The bartender says to Jonah, “Look punk if you don’t get off my bar I’m gonna call my friends over and we are gonna wail on you but good.” Jonah didn’t even flinch. He just looked at the bartender and said, “Go ahead, make my day.” The bartender was so shocked he just let Jonah stay there.
Then Jonah said to everybody in the bar, “Listen up pilgrims and listen good. “In forty days all of you are gonna be worm food because the Lord God Almighty has told me to tell you that you are a miserable lot, you don’t call on God, you don’t pray for anybody including yourselves, you don’t try to help people that you know, or even people you don’t know. “You take care of yourselves and no one else and God loves everybody including you and He wants each of us to love our neighbor even if you don’t like them..” The Lord expects you to love you neighbor and help them and He is tired of all the killin and evil that goes down when a people does not have a moral compass to guide them. “The Lord God has already told you what is good and what is required of you, to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”(Micah 6:8.) “You fellow man is your responsibility, not anyone else’s." The people in the bar looked at Jonah as if he had two heads. Then they started to talk amongst themselves and figured he was right they really were bad people.
To be continued.
So the sailors consider what Jonah told them to do and figure they wanted no part of that. These guys may not have been boy scouts, but they weren’t murders either. They were just tryin to make a livin and get on with their lives and they had no interest in throwing somebody overboard just because he told them they could.
So the sailors rowed for their lives, but it didn’t matter they weren’t goin anywhere. The waves continued to batter the ship and the men were getting more and more tired. So they started talking amongst themselves and one sailor said to another, “This Hebrew ain’t worth the trouble he is causin. “All we gotta do is toss him overboard and all our troubles are over. “Ain’t it better that one man die rather than the who ship perish?” But the other dude said, “You are talking out of your rectum. “Jonah already told us that the Hebrew God is after him for not following orders and everything. “If we throw him overboard then we are gonna have the Hebrew God coming after us. “By the looks of things that won’t be very good.”
So they started consorting over the matter and even figured on drawing lots again. One said one thing and another said another thing but in the end the sea was as bad as ever and they were no better off. Then they did what everybody eventually does when their lives are on the line; they prayed. Boy did they pray; they were telling God that they did not want to throw Jonah overboard and they actually liked the guy but Jonah said orders were orders and he had to be tossed so we are gonna toss him. They begged God not to harm them or their families and they even prayed for Jonah because they figured he was as good as dead.
So they tossed the rebellious prophet overboard and the sea stopped is raging. The men looked at each other and said, “How did the sea stop so quickly? Sailors knew that the sea continues to remain agitated for hours after a storm passes. So when they saw the sea get calm as quickly as it did they knew this was very unusual, even miraculous. So the men feared the Hebrew God and made vows and offered a sacrifice to the Lord God because they knew that He was the Lord God Almighty.
When you think about it you have to realize that the first Gentile converts from Jonah were not in Nineveh they were multi national sailors in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Funny how God works, because Jonah was in a state of rebellion when these men became converts and now they would take the news of God’s mercy back to their homes and tell everyone of the wonders of the Hebrew God. Turning gentiles into Hebrews was the very thing Jonah did not want to do and he did it without even going to Nineveh. You can’t keep a good man down.
So there is Jonah floatin around in the middle of the sea and the ship gets pushed along by a gentle wind and Jonah sees it goin away and figures he is gonna die, and that was just fine for him because things hadn’t been goin so well lately anyhow. Low and behold this huge fish comes by and opens its great big yap and swallows Jonah whole. So Jonah is sittin there in the dark figuring he was gonna be digested before long but he doesn’t get digested. The fish doesn’t even burp. It’s like the fish doesn’t even know Jonah is inside.
Three days go bye and Jonah is still sittin there and he suddenly realizes that he is not gonna die. He also realizes that he ain't getting out of that fish until he has a sit down with the Almighty. He starts telling God that he thought he was gonna die and God pulled him out of that jam and now it is time for him to pay back God.
Then the Lord God Almighty commands Jonah a second time telling him that he better hightail it to Nineveh and tell them what God is gonna tell Jonah to tell them. So Jonah takes the long walk to Nineveh and when he arrives he looks… well lets just say he looks like someone who had been in a great big fish for three days. Not exactly dating material. He goes to the city and starts telling everybody that in forty days they are gonna be toast, and ya know what they even start belivin him.
Once he even walks into a bar and stands up on the bar itself and looks everybody in the eye, one at a time of course. The bartender says, “Yo dude get off my bar.” Then Jonah looks at the bartender and it was one of those if looks could kill looks. And he says to the bartender, “What are you gonna do if I don’t?” The bartender says to Jonah, “Look punk if you don’t get off my bar I’m gonna call my friends over and we are gonna wail on you but good.” Jonah didn’t even flinch. He just looked at the bartender and said, “Go ahead, make my day.” The bartender was so shocked he just let Jonah stay there.
Then Jonah said to everybody in the bar, “Listen up pilgrims and listen good. “In forty days all of you are gonna be worm food because the Lord God Almighty has told me to tell you that you are a miserable lot, you don’t call on God, you don’t pray for anybody including yourselves, you don’t try to help people that you know, or even people you don’t know. “You take care of yourselves and no one else and God loves everybody including you and He wants each of us to love our neighbor even if you don’t like them..” The Lord expects you to love you neighbor and help them and He is tired of all the killin and evil that goes down when a people does not have a moral compass to guide them. “The Lord God has already told you what is good and what is required of you, to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”(Micah 6:8.) “You fellow man is your responsibility, not anyone else’s." The people in the bar looked at Jonah as if he had two heads. Then they started to talk amongst themselves and figured he was right they really were bad people.
To be continued.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Story of Jonah (part 1)
Many believe the story of Jonah is a tale of fiction designed to reveal God’s position on obedience. Yet they do not believe the story is historically accurate as no man could fit inside a whale because the throat is too small. The simple fact is at no time was the sea creature described as a whale. The Hebrew word merely means sea monster describing a very large creature. Because the story is miraculous in its content one can only see it the same way we see all the other stories in the bible. That is, from God’s perspective we have to see it as real even if difficult to imagine.
Lets face it when we look at the New Testament we see a redeemer born from a virgin teen who is then raised in poverty and eventually suffers a hideous punishment He neither deserved, nor desired. Who can reason with God when it comes to man? Still in all, I want to examine the story of Jonah in several parts. The story is real because Jesus made several references about himself to it in Matthew 12:39-41; 16; 4, and Luke 11:29,30,32. It would be incomprehensible that Jesus would compare himself to a fictitious person especially since He refers to the story of Jonah when He is comparing it to His resurrection. I will tell the story of Jonah in my own words.
Once upon a time there was this dude named Jonah who was a well-respected prophet and everybody thought he was cool and everything. His wife was a favorite at the local chamber of commerce meetings and PTA and so forth and was a pretty good Bridge player. Jonah had a couple of kids and one, the youngest, was very good at playing pin the tail on the donkey. Back then they used real donkeys so you had to know what you were doin.
Well anyway as the story goes Jonah gets a phone call from God which usually happens when you are a prophet and God tells him to go over the Nineveh and tell everybody there that they are ‘toast’ because God is really steamed and He ain’t gonna take it anymore. Now for those of you who don’t know the history of the region very well I will tell you the people of Nineveh and the people of Israel do not get along. Back then, Nineveh was a bed of wickedness and had a very powerful army and they would war against Israel and they used to take some Jews and make them slaves and such so there was no love loss between the two peoples.
Jonah is a genuine prophet and he knows that God is a compassionate God and if the Ninevites repent God will forgive them. If that happens then Jonah will have to explain to all his Jewish friends why he would tell Nineveh about their Hebrew God. Nineveh was headed for hell and every Jew wanted them to get there ASAP. The only way that was not gonna happen is if some yahoo begins telling them about God’s mercy and they repent. Obviously, no sane Jew was gonna do that so all the people of Nineveh were as good as gone. When you see things from that perspective you can see why Jonah had a real problem because he does not want to go over to Nineveh and cause them to repent and then have to go back to Hebrew land and tell all of his soon to be former friends what happened.
So what does Jonah do? Simple, first he decided to call on the local prophet and get some good council. Only problem is he happens to be that prophet and he doesn’t have the foggiest idea what to do. So he contemplates all his options and they don’t look good. No matter what Jonah does he is gonna get into trouble. There is no way he will ever get his passport stamped to go to Nineveh without everybody finding out what he is planning on doing and if he does go to Nineveh then he has to come back and that won’t be easy as everybody will hate him for what he just did. You see bein a prophet ain’t such an easy job after all.
So Jonah decides to bon voyage to a place called Tarshish, which happens to be in the opposite direction of Nineveh. In other words he was running away. Maybe not the most mature thing to do but desperate men make desperate decisions and he was desperate. He boards a ship and goes down into the hold of the ship because he knows God is gonna be steamed about what he is doin and Jonah doesn’t want to talk to anybody anyway. He figures he could hang out here until he reached Tarshish and then find some bed and breakfast place to get a little break until the Lord changes him mind or better yet appoints someone else to accomplish this task. Better them then Jonah he figures.
Jonah goes to the hold of the ship and falls asleep. But the Lord, who has contacts everywhere, finds out what Jonah is up to and hits the roof. He hurls a great storm with really powerful winds that were so strong the ship was even starting to break up. The captain of the ship orders everyone to pray to their god so that they don’t die. Funny how ‘religious’ people can get when they think they are gonna die. Anyway the captain goes below and sees Jonah sawin logs. The captain says, “Are you outta your tree? “How can you sleep at a time like this? “Get up and call on your god. “Who knows maybe your god will feel some pity on us since we all may be seein him real soon.” The other sailors want to know why this storm has occurred so fast and they figure someone on board knows something so they cast lots to see who it is. The lots fall on Jonah. Then one of the sailors, a pirate, looks at Jonah and says, “Busted.”
Then the others gather around and give Jonah the once over look. They ask him what is going on because this is the worst storm they have ever seen and Jonah comes clean about what the Lord told him and then they become even more afraid. So they say to Jonah, “What should we do to you that the sea will settle down because we are all gonna die and soon if this doesn’t stop. Then Jonah tells them to toss his keester overboard and the sea will get calm. But the sailors said, “No way dude you are not gonna have your blood on our hands after all we didn’t do anything to deserve this.” Then they all looked at the pirate and said, “Well maybe not all of us but most of us did not do anything to deserve this.
To be continued.
Lets face it when we look at the New Testament we see a redeemer born from a virgin teen who is then raised in poverty and eventually suffers a hideous punishment He neither deserved, nor desired. Who can reason with God when it comes to man? Still in all, I want to examine the story of Jonah in several parts. The story is real because Jesus made several references about himself to it in Matthew 12:39-41; 16; 4, and Luke 11:29,30,32. It would be incomprehensible that Jesus would compare himself to a fictitious person especially since He refers to the story of Jonah when He is comparing it to His resurrection. I will tell the story of Jonah in my own words.
Once upon a time there was this dude named Jonah who was a well-respected prophet and everybody thought he was cool and everything. His wife was a favorite at the local chamber of commerce meetings and PTA and so forth and was a pretty good Bridge player. Jonah had a couple of kids and one, the youngest, was very good at playing pin the tail on the donkey. Back then they used real donkeys so you had to know what you were doin.
Well anyway as the story goes Jonah gets a phone call from God which usually happens when you are a prophet and God tells him to go over the Nineveh and tell everybody there that they are ‘toast’ because God is really steamed and He ain’t gonna take it anymore. Now for those of you who don’t know the history of the region very well I will tell you the people of Nineveh and the people of Israel do not get along. Back then, Nineveh was a bed of wickedness and had a very powerful army and they would war against Israel and they used to take some Jews and make them slaves and such so there was no love loss between the two peoples.
Jonah is a genuine prophet and he knows that God is a compassionate God and if the Ninevites repent God will forgive them. If that happens then Jonah will have to explain to all his Jewish friends why he would tell Nineveh about their Hebrew God. Nineveh was headed for hell and every Jew wanted them to get there ASAP. The only way that was not gonna happen is if some yahoo begins telling them about God’s mercy and they repent. Obviously, no sane Jew was gonna do that so all the people of Nineveh were as good as gone. When you see things from that perspective you can see why Jonah had a real problem because he does not want to go over to Nineveh and cause them to repent and then have to go back to Hebrew land and tell all of his soon to be former friends what happened.
So what does Jonah do? Simple, first he decided to call on the local prophet and get some good council. Only problem is he happens to be that prophet and he doesn’t have the foggiest idea what to do. So he contemplates all his options and they don’t look good. No matter what Jonah does he is gonna get into trouble. There is no way he will ever get his passport stamped to go to Nineveh without everybody finding out what he is planning on doing and if he does go to Nineveh then he has to come back and that won’t be easy as everybody will hate him for what he just did. You see bein a prophet ain’t such an easy job after all.
So Jonah decides to bon voyage to a place called Tarshish, which happens to be in the opposite direction of Nineveh. In other words he was running away. Maybe not the most mature thing to do but desperate men make desperate decisions and he was desperate. He boards a ship and goes down into the hold of the ship because he knows God is gonna be steamed about what he is doin and Jonah doesn’t want to talk to anybody anyway. He figures he could hang out here until he reached Tarshish and then find some bed and breakfast place to get a little break until the Lord changes him mind or better yet appoints someone else to accomplish this task. Better them then Jonah he figures.
Jonah goes to the hold of the ship and falls asleep. But the Lord, who has contacts everywhere, finds out what Jonah is up to and hits the roof. He hurls a great storm with really powerful winds that were so strong the ship was even starting to break up. The captain of the ship orders everyone to pray to their god so that they don’t die. Funny how ‘religious’ people can get when they think they are gonna die. Anyway the captain goes below and sees Jonah sawin logs. The captain says, “Are you outta your tree? “How can you sleep at a time like this? “Get up and call on your god. “Who knows maybe your god will feel some pity on us since we all may be seein him real soon.” The other sailors want to know why this storm has occurred so fast and they figure someone on board knows something so they cast lots to see who it is. The lots fall on Jonah. Then one of the sailors, a pirate, looks at Jonah and says, “Busted.”
Then the others gather around and give Jonah the once over look. They ask him what is going on because this is the worst storm they have ever seen and Jonah comes clean about what the Lord told him and then they become even more afraid. So they say to Jonah, “What should we do to you that the sea will settle down because we are all gonna die and soon if this doesn’t stop. Then Jonah tells them to toss his keester overboard and the sea will get calm. But the sailors said, “No way dude you are not gonna have your blood on our hands after all we didn’t do anything to deserve this.” Then they all looked at the pirate and said, “Well maybe not all of us but most of us did not do anything to deserve this.
To be continued.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Jesus' Authority Questioned
Matthew 21:23-32 tells the story of the chief priests and scribes and elders confronting Jesus about His ministry. They are trying to get the everyday people (Joe six pack types) to see that Jesus is not from God because He is taking all the wind out of their sails. The people are now beginning to see Jesus as a man of authority and power and they are beginning to see through the shallowness of the religious leaders of the day. I will tell the story in my own words.
One day as Jesus was teaching in the temple some of the high falutin muckity mucks confronted Him and demanded to know where Jesus got the chutzpah to talk to everybody like this. They said, “Yo dude, where do you get off telling everybody what to do? “Who died and made you God?” Jesus said, “I will tell you the answer to that question if you would be so kind as to answer a question of mine.” They said, “Fire away.” Then Jesus said, “You remember John the Baptist right?” They all shake their heads yes. Jesus says, “Well tell me now was that ministry from God, or from man?” What Jesus meant was did God call John to baptize everybody, or did John decide to do that on his own without any call from heaven.
The religious leaders start to confer with one another and reason with the question. They said to each other, “If we say John’s ministry was from man then the people here will be really steamed because they all believed John was called of God to do what he did. “If we say that John’s ministry was from God the people will be happy we said that but, then Jesus will ask us why we didn’t get baptized and we won’t have an answer.” So they told Jesus that they didn’t know the answer. Now Jesus was no fool and He was well aware of why they wouldn’t answer the question, so He said to them that He wouldn’t answer their question either.
Then Jesus told them a parable. “A man had two sons and he came to the first and said, “I need you to work in the field today. The son answered, ‘I will sir’; but he did not go. “Then the man said to the second son the same thing. That son said, ‘I will not go’ but later regretted that he was disobedient and went out and worked in the field.” Which one did what the father had asked?” The leaders said, “The second one because he actually went and did the work.” Jesus said, “You are correct and that is why the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into heaven before you.”
“John’s ministry was honored by the people you look down upon, but you had no interest in that ministry.”Now I come telling everyone about God’s love and once again the tax collectors and prostitutes are willing to listen and repent, but you are not. “How is it that you see God working in their lives and yet do not understand His compassion toward them?”
Once again Jesus was trying to get the leaders of that day to understand that God loved everybody not just the ones with long robes. Yet, it was the ones in long robes who rejected that thinking and saw themselves as Godly and everybody else as unrighteous.
How many of us wear long robes?
One day as Jesus was teaching in the temple some of the high falutin muckity mucks confronted Him and demanded to know where Jesus got the chutzpah to talk to everybody like this. They said, “Yo dude, where do you get off telling everybody what to do? “Who died and made you God?” Jesus said, “I will tell you the answer to that question if you would be so kind as to answer a question of mine.” They said, “Fire away.” Then Jesus said, “You remember John the Baptist right?” They all shake their heads yes. Jesus says, “Well tell me now was that ministry from God, or from man?” What Jesus meant was did God call John to baptize everybody, or did John decide to do that on his own without any call from heaven.
The religious leaders start to confer with one another and reason with the question. They said to each other, “If we say John’s ministry was from man then the people here will be really steamed because they all believed John was called of God to do what he did. “If we say that John’s ministry was from God the people will be happy we said that but, then Jesus will ask us why we didn’t get baptized and we won’t have an answer.” So they told Jesus that they didn’t know the answer. Now Jesus was no fool and He was well aware of why they wouldn’t answer the question, so He said to them that He wouldn’t answer their question either.
Then Jesus told them a parable. “A man had two sons and he came to the first and said, “I need you to work in the field today. The son answered, ‘I will sir’; but he did not go. “Then the man said to the second son the same thing. That son said, ‘I will not go’ but later regretted that he was disobedient and went out and worked in the field.” Which one did what the father had asked?” The leaders said, “The second one because he actually went and did the work.” Jesus said, “You are correct and that is why the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into heaven before you.”
“John’s ministry was honored by the people you look down upon, but you had no interest in that ministry.”Now I come telling everyone about God’s love and once again the tax collectors and prostitutes are willing to listen and repent, but you are not. “How is it that you see God working in their lives and yet do not understand His compassion toward them?”
Once again Jesus was trying to get the leaders of that day to understand that God loved everybody not just the ones with long robes. Yet, it was the ones in long robes who rejected that thinking and saw themselves as Godly and everybody else as unrighteous.
How many of us wear long robes?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Jesus Heals Peter's Mother in Law
Mark 1:29-31 tells a short, but intriguing story of the healing of Peter’s mother in law. The story is only two verses long but tells a story that any married man can understand. In order to understand fully what was happening with Peter’s mother in law you have to read verse 16. Peter, along with all the other apostles left everything they had and followed Jesus (Matthew 19:27) so one had to wonder how the family was faring during Peter’s unemployment. Then, of course, one has to wonder how Peter’s mother in law commented on his absence when the subject came up with Peter’s wife. I will tell the story in my own words.
One day Jesus went over to Peter’s house to see how the other half lived. As soon as Jesus got into the house He was told of Peter’s mother in law’s sickness. She had a high fever and could not get out of bed. She was lying there on the bed frothing at the mouth. Peter had seen this before, but that was when they were arguing about something. Jesus walked over to the sick woman and told her to get up. She immediately felt better and began waiting on them.
She said, “Thank you so much Jesus for healing me. “I was so sick I thought I was going to die. “You are a wonderful man.” Then Peter’s wife said to her mother, “That’s not what you said yesterday. “Yesterday, you said you didn’t understand how Peter could leave his family and follow after this religious kook.” Then Peter’s mother in law said, “Oh that’s not what I meant dearie I was just wondering who the gentlemen was that peter was associating with.” “Gentlemen,” Peter’s wife blurts out, “You didn’t call Him a gentlemen you called Him a vagabond.”
“Now, Now dearie we don’t need to go into all that.” I think this Jesus fellow is just misunderstood.” Then Peter’s wife really let loose with all cannons. “Misunderstood. “Yesterday you said he was a low life who stole Peter’s mind. “The you said, “You were surprised that He would be interested in something that small.” With that Peter gave his mother in law a dirty look. Then Jesus began commenting on the stuffed flounder and successfully changed the subject.
It is interesting to consider the sacrifices made by the apostles in the early days of Jesus ministry. Before He became well known, Jesus ministry would have puzzled the relatives of the apostles. For anyone to leave their homes and loved ones merely to follow someone who told them they were going to be “fishers of men” seems crazy. The apostles must have seen something in Jesus to take the chance they were taking. Otherwise leaving their livelihood and their families only to follow a vagabond makes no sense at all.
Too bad many of us don’t see what they saw. What an impact we would have on those around us.
One day Jesus went over to Peter’s house to see how the other half lived. As soon as Jesus got into the house He was told of Peter’s mother in law’s sickness. She had a high fever and could not get out of bed. She was lying there on the bed frothing at the mouth. Peter had seen this before, but that was when they were arguing about something. Jesus walked over to the sick woman and told her to get up. She immediately felt better and began waiting on them.
She said, “Thank you so much Jesus for healing me. “I was so sick I thought I was going to die. “You are a wonderful man.” Then Peter’s wife said to her mother, “That’s not what you said yesterday. “Yesterday, you said you didn’t understand how Peter could leave his family and follow after this religious kook.” Then Peter’s mother in law said, “Oh that’s not what I meant dearie I was just wondering who the gentlemen was that peter was associating with.” “Gentlemen,” Peter’s wife blurts out, “You didn’t call Him a gentlemen you called Him a vagabond.”
“Now, Now dearie we don’t need to go into all that.” I think this Jesus fellow is just misunderstood.” Then Peter’s wife really let loose with all cannons. “Misunderstood. “Yesterday you said he was a low life who stole Peter’s mind. “The you said, “You were surprised that He would be interested in something that small.” With that Peter gave his mother in law a dirty look. Then Jesus began commenting on the stuffed flounder and successfully changed the subject.
It is interesting to consider the sacrifices made by the apostles in the early days of Jesus ministry. Before He became well known, Jesus ministry would have puzzled the relatives of the apostles. For anyone to leave their homes and loved ones merely to follow someone who told them they were going to be “fishers of men” seems crazy. The apostles must have seen something in Jesus to take the chance they were taking. Otherwise leaving their livelihood and their families only to follow a vagabond makes no sense at all.
Too bad many of us don’t see what they saw. What an impact we would have on those around us.
Friday, May 30, 2008
How often should we forgive others?
The ministry of Jesus could be summed up in one word, Forgiveness. Peter asks the Lord about the issue in Matthew 18:21-35. For those of us who like to hold grudges the answer is disappointing to say the least. I will tell the story in my own words.
One day Peter walks up to Jesus and asked Him a serious question. Peter said, “How many times should I let someone sin against me and still forgive him? “Up to seven times?” “I think seven is a nice round number.” “What do you say Jesus?” Jesus raised his eyebrows and said, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.” Then Peter raised his eyebrows. Peter said, “Seventy times seven, are you crazy?” “Everybody will be gettin away with murder.”
So Jesus called His disciple chums together and told them a story. The disciples knew the story was made up, but it was Jesus’ way of setting the record straight about how God sees things.
“Once upon a time there was this king and he had lots of servants and people who worked for him and he told them all to appear before him and come clean on their debts. The first servant owed hundreds of millions of dollars and had no way of repaying the debt. So the king said that he should be tossed into Debtors Prison and his wife and children were to be sold in order to pay back the debt. But the servant fell down on his knees and begged the king for mercy claiming he would pay it back to the last penny. The king felt compassion on the servant and dismissed the debt, allowing the man to go free.
“Lo and behold that servant found a fellow servant and grabbed him and said ‘Pay me the fifty dollars you owe me.’ Then that servant begged for mercy and said he would pay it all back when he could. But he would not hear of it and tossed the slave in prison until he paid the fifty dollars. Some of the king’s servants saw what had happened and went and reported it to the king, who immediately summoned the slave to his throne room.
“The king said to the slave ‘You low life, I forgave you all you owed me even though it was more than you could have made in many lifetimes and yet you would not forgive a fellow slave who only owed you fifty dollars.’ Then the king ordered the slave thrown into prison and tortured until he repaid everything.”
Then Jesus finished by saying, “This is what my heavenly father will do to all of you if you do not forgive each other.”
Then one of the apostles said to Jesus, “The other day Peter told everybody that I had bad breath. I was steamed, I’m still steamed about it.” Hey, you want to say something bad about my wife go right ahead, you can even say something bad about my dog but when you start talking about my breath now that’s where I draw the line. “Besides Peter’s feet sink.” Then Peter said, “What, why I aught to knock you block off.”
Then Jesus separated the two and told them and told them that if they couldn’t forgive each other over a small matter such as bad breath and stinky feet how could they expect the Lord God almighty to forgive them of their sins against Him.
The story dramatizes God’s perspective on the issue of human interaction. In God’s eyes forgiveness is the most important issue on the table. Period. Understand that is easy, the hard part is accomplishing it everyday.
One day Peter walks up to Jesus and asked Him a serious question. Peter said, “How many times should I let someone sin against me and still forgive him? “Up to seven times?” “I think seven is a nice round number.” “What do you say Jesus?” Jesus raised his eyebrows and said, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.” Then Peter raised his eyebrows. Peter said, “Seventy times seven, are you crazy?” “Everybody will be gettin away with murder.”
So Jesus called His disciple chums together and told them a story. The disciples knew the story was made up, but it was Jesus’ way of setting the record straight about how God sees things.
“Once upon a time there was this king and he had lots of servants and people who worked for him and he told them all to appear before him and come clean on their debts. The first servant owed hundreds of millions of dollars and had no way of repaying the debt. So the king said that he should be tossed into Debtors Prison and his wife and children were to be sold in order to pay back the debt. But the servant fell down on his knees and begged the king for mercy claiming he would pay it back to the last penny. The king felt compassion on the servant and dismissed the debt, allowing the man to go free.
“Lo and behold that servant found a fellow servant and grabbed him and said ‘Pay me the fifty dollars you owe me.’ Then that servant begged for mercy and said he would pay it all back when he could. But he would not hear of it and tossed the slave in prison until he paid the fifty dollars. Some of the king’s servants saw what had happened and went and reported it to the king, who immediately summoned the slave to his throne room.
“The king said to the slave ‘You low life, I forgave you all you owed me even though it was more than you could have made in many lifetimes and yet you would not forgive a fellow slave who only owed you fifty dollars.’ Then the king ordered the slave thrown into prison and tortured until he repaid everything.”
Then Jesus finished by saying, “This is what my heavenly father will do to all of you if you do not forgive each other.”
Then one of the apostles said to Jesus, “The other day Peter told everybody that I had bad breath. I was steamed, I’m still steamed about it.” Hey, you want to say something bad about my wife go right ahead, you can even say something bad about my dog but when you start talking about my breath now that’s where I draw the line. “Besides Peter’s feet sink.” Then Peter said, “What, why I aught to knock you block off.”
Then Jesus separated the two and told them and told them that if they couldn’t forgive each other over a small matter such as bad breath and stinky feet how could they expect the Lord God almighty to forgive them of their sins against Him.
The story dramatizes God’s perspective on the issue of human interaction. In God’s eyes forgiveness is the most important issue on the table. Period. Understand that is easy, the hard part is accomplishing it everyday.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Jesus' Family think He's Nuts.
Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:28-30, Luke 8:19-21 tells the story of Jesus’ difficulties with His family while He was trying to perform His ministry. Mark 3:21 reveals the true nature of those feelings. I will tell the troubling reaction of Jesus’ family to His ministry in my own words.
When Jesus and His disciple chums returned home the people of the village mobbed them. It was a madhouse, the dudes could hardly get to chow down on the Chinese take out they bought. The scribes who followed Jesus from Jerusalem were really jealous and started telling the crowd that Jesus was doin all these miracles by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. The crowd wasn’t very bright (they were democrats) so they started belivin the scribes.
Then Jesus had to call the crowd over to Him and straighten them out. Jesus said, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” Then Jesus looked at the scribes and said, “I am telling you the truth all sins are forgivable except one, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin.” Jesus meant that the scribes had equated Him with Satan and that was something that would not stand in the eyes of God.
But when Jesus made this statement he really steamed the scribes because he had placed Himself in a very distinct category (claiming He had the Holy Spirit). Even Jesus’ mother and his brothers were thinking He was coo coo. So they went over to see Jesus when He was speaking to a bunch of people in a house. They asked if someone could tell Jesus to come out because they wanted to speak with Him. So the crowd told Jesus that His family was outside wishing to speak with Him. But Jesus was no fool and knew what was happening. He knew the scribes had put pressure on His family to shut Him up and that’s why they wanted to speak with Him. They were gonna take Him home so He could rest and return to His senses.
Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Who are my mother and my brothers? “Whoever does the will of God is my mother and my brothers and my sisters.”
At face value the story ends there. However, the mere fact the his mother and brothers have come to take him away to the funny farm serves as a reminder as to how much resistance there was to Jesus’ ministry. More than likely the scribes put pressure on Jesus’ family to the point of threatening them with expulsion from the synagogue if they did not quiet Jesus down. Since His brothers did not believe He was the messiah (John 7:5) they would have had grave concerns over these threats by the religious leaders. Jesus’ brothers probably had families of their own and did not want their own children mocked by other children for being expelled from synagogue worship.
When Jesus and His disciple chums returned home the people of the village mobbed them. It was a madhouse, the dudes could hardly get to chow down on the Chinese take out they bought. The scribes who followed Jesus from Jerusalem were really jealous and started telling the crowd that Jesus was doin all these miracles by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. The crowd wasn’t very bright (they were democrats) so they started belivin the scribes.
Then Jesus had to call the crowd over to Him and straighten them out. Jesus said, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” Then Jesus looked at the scribes and said, “I am telling you the truth all sins are forgivable except one, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin.” Jesus meant that the scribes had equated Him with Satan and that was something that would not stand in the eyes of God.
But when Jesus made this statement he really steamed the scribes because he had placed Himself in a very distinct category (claiming He had the Holy Spirit). Even Jesus’ mother and his brothers were thinking He was coo coo. So they went over to see Jesus when He was speaking to a bunch of people in a house. They asked if someone could tell Jesus to come out because they wanted to speak with Him. So the crowd told Jesus that His family was outside wishing to speak with Him. But Jesus was no fool and knew what was happening. He knew the scribes had put pressure on His family to shut Him up and that’s why they wanted to speak with Him. They were gonna take Him home so He could rest and return to His senses.
Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Who are my mother and my brothers? “Whoever does the will of God is my mother and my brothers and my sisters.”
At face value the story ends there. However, the mere fact the his mother and brothers have come to take him away to the funny farm serves as a reminder as to how much resistance there was to Jesus’ ministry. More than likely the scribes put pressure on Jesus’ family to the point of threatening them with expulsion from the synagogue if they did not quiet Jesus down. Since His brothers did not believe He was the messiah (John 7:5) they would have had grave concerns over these threats by the religious leaders. Jesus’ brothers probably had families of their own and did not want their own children mocked by other children for being expelled from synagogue worship.
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