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Doing God’s Will – Mark 3

At times, I think that we have possibly read the Bible too many times because we miss what it can say. It seems to me that we frequently will read quickly over a passage and will determine in our minds that it has a particular meaning that is different from what it is actually saying. Here is one like that for me today:

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:31-35

Jesus draws a line with regard to his family, saying that he is not necessarily tied to his family by blood and he will not be dissuaded from his work just because the rest of his natural family thinks that he should be doing something different.

No, instead, Jesus is going to be about the work that God has given him to do, and those that are his mother and his brothers and sisters will be determined by those that are doing God’s will.

The part that struck me today was Jesus saying, “Whoever does God’s will…” as he referred to his family members. I think that, for me, I had it in my mind that Jesus was talking about those who weren’t sinning. I suppose if I were to rewrite what Jesus said with what I had in my mind, it would be something like: My mother, brothers, and sisters are those that are here with me, not sinning.

But of course, that is not at all what Jesus said. He said that his family are those that are doing God’s will. But do we know God’s will? Do we understand what God’s goal and mission is, what he has been doing and is still working toward to bring to completion?

If we do know what God is doing, and we want to be considered part of Jesus’s family, shouldn’t we also be doing these things? It seems that it is only in this way that we can be considered part of Jesus’s family. Otherwise, we can be left outside calling to Jesus, but he won’t respond.

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We have written a course on how we can know God’s will and how we can find the purpose for our life within God’s purpose and plan. You can see that here:

Finding Your Purpose in God’s Plan

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Get the Doctor – Mark 2

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:17

Jesus has no problem in entering Levi’s house, sitting with his friends, the tax collectors and the sinners, staying with them, eating and drinking together with them. But the Pharisees see what Jesus is doing and criticizes Jesus for being with those who need him even more. They are spiritually sick and need the doctor. And the doctor, Jesus, has come to make them well.

If only we, as the church, would take the same view as Jesus. We routinely say that we want to see the lost saved, but we take little to no action to do what Jesus did. We have not gone to share the Gospel, we have not made many, if any, disciples of Jesus, and we have not taught many, if any, people to make disciples of others. And what is worse, we instead stand in the way, creating special classes of Christians that can do religious works like baptisms or lead the Lord’s Supper.

And all that we have to do is to learn to go where the sick people are instead of keeping them collected in our hospitals.

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The Revolution Has Begun – Mark 1

OK, today is the day that we transition back into the Gospels, today into the book of Mark.

It isn’t abnormal for me because I am frequently thinking about the Kingdom of God and its level of relevance in my life, but as I read Mark 1 today, I’m noticing again that Jesus begins his public preaching with these words:

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Mark 1:14-15

This chapter seems to show Jesus bursting onto the scene. There are dramatic things happening everywhere he goes:

Jesus is baptized and the heavens open and God speaks audibly.

Jesus goes into the wilderness and does spiritual battle with Satan.

Jesus begins to put his team together by calling the first disciples.

Jesus starts driving out demons and healing people, creating huge crowds wherever he goes.

But in the middle of all of this, he also announces a revolution. The Romans control the Israeli land, and speaking against the Romans would result in death, but Jesus bursts onto the scene and announces a new Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is announcing a new Kingdom, but it is not a political kingdom. It is not a kingdom of this earth. It is one Kingdom to rule all other kingdoms and there is one way into it: To repent and believe. We call out to God asking for forgiveness for how we have lived without him and we move forward in belief and reliance upon the King.

In the Kingdom of God, Jesus is the King. Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. We, therefore, live under a new authority, that is the Kingdom of God and the kingship of Jesus Christ.

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Strive for Restoration – 2 Corinthians 13

Paul has been writing to the church in Corinth, speaking to them about how they have had those that have been in sin but that he has been rebuking them, calling them to repentance, to unity, and to a demonstration of love for one another and toward Paul. Then, at the end of the letter, in verse 11, he says:

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11

Paul had just told the Corinthians that they should examine themselves to see if they are in the faith, and that they should realize that, if they pass the test of their examination, they have Christ living within them! So now, he says that they should rejoice! They are rejoicing that, even though they have all of these problems that Paul has been addressing, they have Christ within them and God is moving mightily amongst them.

But the reason that I wanted to highlight this particular passage is what he says next. He say that they should strive for full restoration. Based on the context in that he says that they should encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in peace, I believe that means that he is speaking of restoration between the believers within the church. He says that they must strive to achieve this restoration. So often, we deal with discord through distance or anger, but the truth is that striving is required. To restore relationships, whether as a husband and wife, as friends, or even as brothers and sisters in Christ, it requires effort. It requires work. Blood, sweat, and tears. Probably a lot of each! Paul calls the Corinthians to strive to reach the point of restoration…something that I believe that he calls each of us to do within our relationships today.

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Super-Christians – 2 Corinthians 12

Verses 11-13 say this:

I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles. How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

2 Corinthians 12:11-3

Paul talks about the “super-apostles”, seemingly defending himself against accusations leveled at some point by the Corinthian church that Paul is a lesser apostle than those who were disciples of Jesus.

Today, we seem to do similar things in the church. Previously, as people wrote books in an effort to highlight specific areas of the faith, some lifted up those people as heroes in their faith. Now in these days, we have YouTube, Facebook, and many other platforms that drive audiences toward a new type of spiritual hero, leading us back to the same type of scenario that we see with the Corinthian church, lifting up the hero preacher or hero author in the faith, often instead of focusing on lifting up Christ himself.

We must, as a continual point of focus, continue to focus on Christ. We must leave behind the super-heroes, and instead always look forward to the cross of Christ as the only hero of our faith. He who has saved us and he who continues to lead and guide us as our King is the only one to receive the glory and honor from his people.

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Making Disciples

The Baptism Discussion

Over the last few years, I have found that one of the most spirited discussions that I could have with other Christians is that of baptism. To give you an example, here are some of the questions that we have discussed:

Who can baptize another person?

At what point should a person be baptized? How do you know that it is the right time for the person to be baptized?

How should they be baptized?

There are several more questions that we have discussed along the way, but some of these have illicited some of the longest and most challenging discussions.

Usually, the length and emotional nature of the discussion has to do with what one person in the discussion believes based on their traditions that they grew up with in their church, or what they had been taught, versus the teachings and experience of another. But for the purposes of this post, instead of looking to ourselves and our background and experience as the arbiter of the answer to these questions, let’s put the questions to the test based on what we see in the scripture.

Specifically, let’s look at what the disciples of Jesus who became the Apostles and Apostle Paul did in the book of Acts when they baptized other people. Presumably, we should be able to learn well from them as we can imagine that they would be doing baptism in the way that Jesus taught them to do it.

The Questions

Here are the questions that we want to try to answer:

  • Why was this person / these people baptized?
  • When were they baptized?
  • Where were they baptized?
  • Who baptized them?

The Scriptures

OK, so let’s go through each of scriptures. Hang in there while we take these one at a time:

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Acts 2:36-41
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? They accepted the message of repentance and belief for the forgiveness of their sins.
When were these people baptized?The same day that they heard the message from Peter.
Where were they baptized?It isn’t specified in the text, but we can assume that they were still in Jerusalem where they heard Peter’s preaching.
Who baptized them?Again, it isn’t specified, but we can assume that the disciples baptized these new believers.

When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

Acts 8:6-13
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? They believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God.
When were these people baptized?When they believed what Philip preached to them.
Where were they baptized?Not specified except that they were in Samaria.
Who baptized them?Presumably Philip, although it doesn’t specifically say this in the text.

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Acts 8:34-38
QuestionAnswer
Why was this person baptized? He believed the good news about Jesus.
When was this person baptized?Immediately after believing, he asked to be baptized.
Where was he baptized?In water along the side of the road.
Who baptized him?Philip

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Acts 9:17-19
QuestionAnswer
Why was this person baptized? Jesus had appeared to him and he was blind. As Ananias placed his hands on him, he received the Holy Spirit and was able to see again.
When was this person baptized?Immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit and being able to see.
Where was he baptized?Not specified, although he had been in a house on Straight Street.
Who baptized him?It is not specified, but presumably Ananias baptized Paul.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Acts 10:44-48
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? The Holy Spirit came upon them as they believed what Peter was telling them about Jesus.
When were these people baptized?Immediately
Where were they baptized?Not specified except that they were all in Cornelius’s house.
Who baptized them?The people that traveled with Peter.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Acts 16:13-15
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to believe the message that Paul gave. It is interesting to note that it says Lydia believed, but all of her household was baptized.
When were these people baptized?Immediately
Where were they baptized?It doesn’t say precisely, but they are already sitting near a river, so it may be in that location.
Who baptized them?Paul, or possibly his traveling companions, which were Timothy, Silas, and Luke at that time.

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.

Acts 16:29-33
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? They did as Paul and Silas told them, which was to believe in the Lord Jesus.
When were these people baptized?Immediately
Where were they baptized?Not specified – somewhere in Philippi
Who baptized them?Paul, or possibly his traveling companions, which were Timothy, Silas, and Luke at that time.

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

Acts 18:7-8
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? They believed in the Lord Jesus.
When were these people baptized?Upon believing.
Where were they baptized?Not specified – somewhere in Corinth
Who baptized them?Paul, or possibly his traveling companions, which were Timothy, Silas, and Luke at that time.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 19:1-5
QuestionAnswer
Why were these people baptized? They believed in Jesus.
When were these people baptized?Upon believing.
Where were they baptized?Not specified – somewhere in Ephesus
Who baptized them?Paul

What can we conclude?

Now let’s look back over each of these and think about how we can summarize what we have read and learned based on each of these passages. Here goes:

Why were the people baptized?

Each of the baptisms were based upon their believing the message about Jesus. In addition, a couple of the situations included a message about, or having received, the Holy Spirit.

When were these people baptized?

Again, there is consistent response to this question. Each of the baptisms took place immediately upon having believed in the message of Jesus. There was no additional waiting or learning that took place in these cases. Repentance and belief are the only things that we can see was required for the people within these stories.

Where were they baptized?

I think we can essentially say that they were baptized where there was water. At times, we can see a body of water such as a pond or a lake. Other times, we can see a river within the story. Most of these stories took place prior to a church being developed, so it would be unlikely that these baptisms would have taken place within any type of church building.

Who baptized these people?

The apostles, or those that they appointed, baptized these new believers.

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Mission of God

Immigrants, Refugees, and the Gospel

In this moment, according to the UN, there are more than 20 million refugees who have been displaced from their home and who find themselves in another country looking for refuge. Beyond this, there are another 48 million people that have been displaced from their homes, but are still living inside of their own home country.

That is a lot of people traversing into other countries around the world! Through terrible circumstances including war and religious or ethnic persecution, not to mention significant poverty, the people of the earth are on the move.

God’s Heart

God has a heart for the immigrant and the refugee. The displaced people of the earth have a special place in God’s heart and God routinely commanded his people, the Jews, to welcome the foreigner, showing love to the foreigner, even if they weren’t of Jewish background and religion. Here is an example of God’s command to his people:

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:17-19

We also have the story of Ruth, who was herself an immigrant as a Moabite woman returning back to the homeland of her husband’s family. She was welcomed, along with her mother-in-law Naomi, and protected by Boaz, ultimately becoming part of the Jewish community, even though she herself was from another nation.

And we can see that Jesus himself was a refugee. Joseph, his human father, at the direction of the angel who told Joseph to flee from Bethlehem when Herod gave the order to kill all of the baby boys two years and younger, took Jesus and Mary to Egypt where they remained until after Herod died and the danger to Jesus’s life had ended, they returned back to Israel where Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

The Boundary Lines are Moving

As the Apostle Paul was preaching in Athens, he said something very interesting to those in attendance at the Areopagus that day, something that I believe we can connect to this discussion about reaching immigrants and refugees. Here is what he said:

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Acts 17:24-27

I want to focus on the second half of what Paul says here. He explains that God marked out the appointed times in history for each of the nations and that he also marked out the boundaries of their lands. And there was a specific reason for this: Through these times in history and through these boundaries, the people would seek God and find him.

But what does this mean? How is it possible that appointed times and boundary lines could be a means through which the people of the nations could find God?

God has always worked through his people on the earth. The scriptures talk about the fact that the people of Israel were God’s chosen people. They also had boundary lines to their land, the land of Canaan that God promised to Abraham and was finally fulfilled when Joshua took the people of Israel into the land. The boundary lines that were set up for God’s people to be connected to those around them, and ultimately to the rest of the world, allowing the people access to know God through his people.

So what about the immigrants and refugees? How does what Paul says connect to the situation that we find ourselves in today? Paul explained that there are appointed times and boundary lines for the nations. Is it possible that this is an “appointed time” for the nations? Or that God is using newly drawn boundary lines for the people to reach out to God and perhaps find him?

I believe that the answer to that question is Yes. Why? Because today, as noted above, there are millions and millions of people leaving their home countries to find refuge and a better life in other places. They believe that these are places that they can go to find safety or to create a better financial situation for themselves, but I believe that God has something else in mind. Paul says that these appointed times and boundary lines are intended for a purpose: That the people would reach out to him, and perhaps find him.

Now, I cannot say that God is causing the wars, nor the persecution, famine, or poverty. I don’t believe that. But I do believe that God is using these terrible circumstances such that, as people move, their “boundary lines” are moving as well. Because of the difficult situations that they find themselves in, the “appointed time” for these people is now. Many of these people are moving from places in the world where the Gospel has not been allowed to be spoken into other parts of the world where there is freedom of speech, and where there is religious freedom to choose to follow Jesus – a choice that many of these people have never had before.

A Kingdom Perspective

I understand that this isn’t always an easy conversation, especially from a political perspective. In Italy, Greece, and Spain, there are boats that are routinely arriving from north Africa bringing people from across Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. In America, people coming from Mexico and all across Latin America. In Turkey, people from Syria and other parts of the world. And we could go on and on, so I understand that the politics of immigration are difficult with people angry on many sides of the argument that the governments allow the immigration to even take place. There are financial issues, cultural issues, religious issues, and much more…

However, I want to suggest that we consider a different perspective. For those that call themselves Christians and follow Jesus, I believe that we must take a perspective from God. From the perspective of the Kingdom of God, how should we approach the people that are entering into these countries that are receiving the immigrants and refugees?

To answer this question, let’s imagine that Paul is right. Let’s immagine the possibility that God has decided that this is the appointed time for the Syrians to hear the Gospel and come to faith in Christ. Or that this is the time for the people from Afghanistan who have moved into other parts of the world. This is the time when God wants to change the course of history for these people, so as thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of these people move into other locations, into countries where they have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and become a disciple of Jesus Christ, even repeating it to their friends in family members around them, or possibly to people even back in their home countries through telephone or internet networks… Could we imagine that, for those of us who are living in these receiving countries, that God wants to use us to expand his Kingdom amongst the people that haven’t heard the Good News before?

I believe that this is precisely what is happening, that this is an historic time where God intends to bless those who are hurting. It may be that they will be blessed with a new country, a new home, and a new place to live, but most of all, I believe that God intends to bless these people with his presence, bless them with the knowledge of his love for them, a love that he has already demonstrated through Jesus Christ. This is the time that God wants to use this movement of peoples to bless them. As God’s people, those that have been adopted into his family through the grace and mercy that has already been extended to us, let’s not miss this important time in history when God is working and is calling all of us to work alongside of him!

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Stories from the Field

It Was Her Chance

Last week, we met to read and discuss the scriptures with a group of friends made of multiple countries including Africans, Americans, and South Asians, all of whom are seeking to follow Jesus, although each in different stages. Some were believers, others coming from Muslim backgrounds who have not yet fully decided to follow Christ.

In this particular meeting, we were reading about the sinful woman who entered into Simon the Pharisee’s house. She had been crying, wetting Jesus’s feet with her tears, wiping them clean with her hair, and pouring alabaster perfume upon him. It is clear from the story that this woman felt the weight of what she had done, the sins that she had committed, and needed forgiveness. She came to Jesus because she knew that he could give that forgiveness to her. If you want to read the story, you can find it in Luke 7:36-50 or watch it in this video:

In the course of these groups, we ask simple questions to start conversation amongst the people in the group. Questions such as…

What do we learn about God?

What do we learn about people?

How can we put what we have learned here into practice in our own lives?

As we got to these last couple of questions, there was a lot of conversation around the room, bouncing from one person to the next, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, and having said almost nothing in the conversation previously, one of my Muslim friends says…

It was her chance…

I turned to him quickly and asked him to repeat what he said, and he said it again. It was clear that he wasn’t sure what to say next so I didn’t press him further at that point, but he clearly understood. He knew that this woman knew how sinful she was and that now was her time to come to Jesus, bowing at his feet in repentance, yet also in a worshipful way. He recognized that this was her time, and we are praying that he also recognizes this same time has come for him.

All of us have points in our lives where we need to make decisions. This woman was making decisions based on the holiness of God and the holiness of the life that Jesus was calling her to live. Do we also understand the holiness of God and consider our lives in that light?

This woman came before Jesus in repentance and worship. Do we also bow our knees and come before him in tears asking for forgiveness for what we have done?

We are praying that our Muslim friend will find Jesus in this same way. We pray that he will come to him in recognition of Jesus as both his lord, whom our friend must follow and do as Jesus says, as well as savior, who offers complete forgiveness for his sins, making him clean.

Thank you God for this amazing gift! We pray that many will follow the example of this woman, bowing their knees in repentance and worship of Jesus.

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Making Disciples

A Strange Type of Evangelism

In Luke 10, we see Jesus send out his disciples. Very often, we find that Jesus does his ministry work in a way that is different from how we might think to do it, but this story is a strange one indeed.

Reading through the story initially, it appears that Jesus is sending his disciples out to evangelize within the towns where he is about to go, putting into practice many of the things that he has been teaching and showing his disciples as they have been following him. But is that truly what is going on? Let’s take a look at the story and see if we can determine what Jesus is doing here.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’

Luke 10:1-11

If you would like, you can also see the story (although all of the way to verse 24, not just verse 11) in this video:

OK, so let’s take a look at what is happening in this story and see if we can ask a few questions that will help us to understand what is happening.

What is the first commandment?

Jesus is sending the disciples out to all of the places where is about to go. But after they get into groups of 2, what is the first thing that he tells them to do? He tells them to pray. They are supposed to pray for workers to go into the harvest field.

But wait a minute… Where are these workers supposed to come from? Remember, there are no other workers at this time. There are no pastors. There are no evangelists. There are no missionaries. And yet Jesus tells them that they are supposed to ask the Lord of the harvest for workers.

Obviously, Jesus isn’t speaking of a harvest of plants or grains. He is talking about a harvest of souls, of people who will believe in him. But workers are needed to collect and bring in the harvest, so this is the first thing that Jesus wants them to do – pray and ask for workers!

What should they take with them?

At this point, the disciples are completely dependent upon the words of Jesus, and for their physical needs, the provision that they may receive from the people that they will stay with when they arrive. They don’t have a specific place that they are expecting to go yet. Instead, they are supposed to take nothing – no purse, no bag, and no sandals. They will just go and everything that they need will be provided for them.

Who should they speak to?

OK, here is where I think that the story takes a turn and becomes a little difficult to understand, especially if we aren’t sure what Jesus is doing. Who should they speak to on the way? No one. Jesus tells them that they shouldn’t even greet anyone on the road.

When they arrive in the town where they are going, how many houses should they go into? One! Jesus says that they shouldn’t move around from house to house.

So we at least have to ask the question… What kind of evangelism is this? If you are evangelizing and telling people about the kingdom of God, aren’t you supposed to tell everyone? Shouldn’t they be stopping everyone on the road? Shouldn’t they be going from one house to the next, telling every house the message?

Jesus decides to have his disciples do evangelism differently. He says that they should offer peace to the owner of the house and then stay there, if the owner will accept them. But why? Why just stay there?

Return to the beginning of the story

Let’s not forget what Jesus told his disciples to do in the beginning. The first commandment is that they are to ask the Lord of the harvest – God – for workers for his harvest field. We also said that there are no other workers at this time, so if there are going to be new workers, the workers must come from the harvest field.

In this situation, the harvest fields are the towns where Jesus is sending his disciples. And the workers that Jesus tells his disciples to ask for are those with whom the disciples will be staying.

Our lesson

So often, as we think about evangelism, we might get a picture in our minds of famous evangelists such as Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, or Jonathan Edwards. In these scenarios, though, we see one person preaching the Gospel to hundreds or thousands of people at one time. We see people repenting and coming to Christ to be saved. And this is good!

But we can also lose sight of one of the most important parts of evangelism. We aren’t just supposed to be looking for new believers. We are supposed to be praying and looking for new workers. The work of the ministry isn’t supposed to just be formed around us. It is supposed continue to spread as one disciple makes a disciple of another.

Let’s think again about the situation with the disciples that Jesus sends out. If they were to go from one house to the next, how easy would it be for them to talk to all of the people in that town? It wouldn’t be easy! Why? Because they don’t know all of those people.

But what if the disciples stay there in the one house and speak about the Kingdom of God, healing the sick as they do to help the people and confirm the message of the Kingdom? If they do this and the people in that house then tell others what they had heard while the disciples were there, how much greater would the effect of their work be? There will be a multiplying effect. Now, the workers are not only the disciples that Jesus sent out, but also the people that are telling their neighbors in each of the towns.

I believe, therefore, that the lesson for us is that we must also pray for workers to be sent out into the harvest fields. As we look around us for new disciples, sharing the Gospel with others, we must remember that Jesus is calling us to not only find new believers, but to find new workers.

Categories
General

What is My Role in the End Times?

Over the last several months, especially during the time of the pandemic starting in early 2020, and even more as governments around the world have issued “Green Passes” for vaccinations, a common topic of conversation amongst Christians that we have met has been the End Times, the time of the end of the world as we know it and when Jesus will return to fully establish his Kingdom.

This conversation comes up on a weekly basis, if not even daily. Typically, my goal in these conversations, as well as in this post, is not to try to determine whether or not these are specifically the end times. It may be, and it may not be. Honestly, I don’t know. But either way, whether Jesus is returning very soon or it will still be yet some time, I think that there is a question that is more important for us to consider:

What is my role? What should I be doing?

Why should I consider my role?

There are many people who seem to believe that their role is to point out all of the ways that the Bible aligns with various “signs” that they see around them. Facebook posts are frequent in these days:

Another earthquake today… Jesus is returning!

A tsunami… The end is near!

There is evil in the world today… The people’s love is growing cold – just as predicted!

The UN placed a statue in front of their building… Have you seen a picture of this statue? It’s from Daniel 7!

And beyond this, some of the first questions that I hear from Christians to others is whether they are vaccinated, some even going as far as to proclaim that they won’t be vaccinated because it is most certainly… the mark of the beast!

But are these really the things that we should be spending our time talking about? Is this what Jesus told us to do?

I would like to suggest that, if we are spending our time sounding the alarm as I have given in the examples above, we have probably lost our focus on the things that Jesus has told us to do.

What did Jesus say?

Jesus’s disciples asked him about the signs of the end times, and you can find Jesus’s response, which includes his thoughts on what the disciples should do, throughout Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. But if we focus on the first few verses of chapter 24, I think that we can get an accurate summary of what Jesus expects his people to do:

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:3-14

So based on this passage, what do we see Jesus saying that he expects his disciples to do?

First, let’s look in verse 4. Jesus says, “Watch out that no one deceives you…” In this particular place, he speaks of false messiahs, although later he also speaks of false prophets. In any case, it seems that the first thing that Jesus wants his disciples to do is to not be deceived. They should know their messiah’s voice, that of their King, and know the difference between it and someone else’s false promises.

Next, let’s look in verses 9 through 13. Jesus says that his disciples will be hated, betrayed, persecuted, and even put to death, but he says that despite the wickedness around us, we must stand firm, and if we do this, we will be saved. Jesus is saying that we must remain firm in our faith, grounded in what he has said, remaining faithful to who he is, continuing to glorify him even in the face of evil.

And finally, in verse 14, Jesus says that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to all nations, and then the end will come. At this point, Jesus doesn’t directly say that the disciples must go and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, but who is he speaking of when he says that it will happen? He is speaking of us, his disciples! So, since that is the case, Jesus is telling his disciples that we should be preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all nations. Do we know what that is, and how to preach that Gospel? Are we crossing national, racial, linguistic, and cultural boundaries and sharing it people from other places as well?

My Role

So if we believe that these are the end times, then more than anything else, and certainly more than propagating alarmism to those around us, we must:

  1. Stay vigilant and ready for the times that are coming.
  2. Remain connected to Jesus – our one and true Messiah – in prayer and reading God’s Word.
  3. Remain firm in our faith.
  4. Have a new urgency in telling others from all nations the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.