Category Archives: Jesus

Undercover Lord

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There’s a new show called Undercover Boss. The CEO of some big corporation disguises himself and tries his hand at some entry level positions in his own company. It’s really interesting to see what these executives come to find out about their own companies.

Scott McCown drew an analogy between this show and the incarnation of Jesus. That, in turn, made me think of Matthew 25, how our treatment of “the least of these” is the treatment we give Jesus. Thinking of that passage reminded me of a poem I heard in high school. So from Undercover Boss to Matthew 25, here’s a poem that fits the occasion:

The Story of the Christmas Guest
by Helen Steiner Rice

It happened one day at December’s end
Some neighbors called on an old-time friend.

And they found his shop so meager and mean,
Made gay with a thousand boughs of green.

And old Conrad was sitting with face ashine.
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched the twine.

And he said “My friends at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away,

The Lord appeared in a dream to me.
And He said, ‘I’m coming your guest to be”

So I’ve been busy with feet astir,
Strewing my shop with branches of fir.

The table is spread and the kettle is shined,
And over the rafters the holly is twined.

And now I’ll wait for my Lord to appear;
And listen closely so I will hear,

His steps as he nears my humble place.
And I’ll open the door and I’ll look on his face.”

Then his friends went home and left Conrad alone,
For this was the happiest day he had known.

For long since his family had passed away.
And Conrad had spent many a sad Christmas Day.

But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas guest,
This Christmas would be the dearest and best.

So he listened with only joy in his heart,
And with every sound he would rise with a start,

And looked for the Lord to be at his door.
Like the vision that he had had a few hours before.

So he ran to the window after hearing a sound,
But all he could see on the snow covered ground

Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn.
And all his clothes were ragged and worn.

But old Conrad was touched and he went to the door
And he said, “Your feet must be cold and sore.

I have some shoes in my shop for you.
And I have a coat to keep you warmer, too.”

So with grateful heart the man went away.
But Conrad notice the time of day

And he wondered what made the dear Lord so late,
And how much longer he’d have to wait.

Then he heard another knock, and he ran to the door,
But it was only a stranger once more.

A bent old lady with a shawl of black,
And a bundle of kindling piled on her back.

But she asked only for a place to rest,
a place that was reserved, for Conrad’s great guest.

But her voice seemed to plead, “Don’t send me away,
Let me rest for awhile this Christmas Day.”

So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup
And told her to sit at the table and sup.

After she had left, he was filled with dismay
For he saw that the hours were slipping away

The Lord had not come as He said He would
And Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood.

When out of the stillness he heard a cry.
“Please help, me and tell me – Where am I?”

So again he opened his friendly door.
And stood disappointed as twice before.

It was a child who had wandered away,
And was lost from her family on Christmas Day.

Again Conrad’s heart was heavy and sad,
But he knew he could make this little girl glad.

So he called her in and he wiped her tears,
And he quieted all her childish fears.

Then he led her back to her home once more.
Then as he entered his own darkened door,

He knew that the Lord was not coming today,
For the hours of Christmas, had all passed away.

So he went to his room, and he knelt down to pray.
He said, “Lord, why did you delay?

What kept You from coming to call on me?
I wanted so much Your face to see.”

Then softly, in the silence, a voice he heard.
“Lift up your head – I have kept My word.

Three times my shadow crossed your floor.
Three times I came to your lowly door.

I was the beggar with bruised cold feet;
I was the woman you gave something to eat;
I was the child on the homeless street.

Three times I knocked, three times I came in,
And each time I found the warmth of a friend.

Of all the gifts, love is the best.
I was honored to be your Christmas guest.

Thief in the night

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kierkegaardYears ago, Dr. Arlie Hoover spoke at the chapel at the Missions Seminar at ACU. He used an illustration from Søren Kierkegaard that really stayed with me. I’ve tried for years to find the original citation, but have not been able to find it.

Anyway, the illustration goes something like this: A thief broke into a store at night. Instead of stealing anything, however, he merely changed the prices. What was expensive became cheap; what was inexpensive became costly.

That, Kierkegaard said, is exactly what Jesus did. He came and changed all the world’s priorities. First shall be last. Blessed are the poor, woe are the rich. Give up your life to gain it. Suffer to be glorified. The lion is a lamb. The victory is won through death.

I guess you can see why that illustration has stayed with me.

Oh, To Be Like Thee: The Pattern

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15790_adam-and-godYesterday I wrote about following the example of Jesus. I mentioned that the Old Covenant, that which was established on Mount Sinai, included a detailed set of laws and regulations which the Israelites had to obey. When we read through the over 600 laws which are contained in the first five books of the Old Testament we can get a feel for the burden it was to try and keep that law.

The Book of Hebrews focuses on the differences between that covenant and the one we live under. It contrasts the two, showing the superiority of the covenant which Jesus established through His death and resurrection versus that given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Where Moses was but a servant in the house of God, Jesus is the Son. Where the Old Covenant established a priesthood of mortal men, the New Covenant has an eternal high priest, Jesus Christ. Where the Old Covenant was based around a sanctuary that was merely a copy of the real one, the New Covenant is based on a ministry that is carried out in God’s true sanctuary, the heavenly one.

It is in this context that the writer of Hebrews wrote the following: “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:5) This passage shows that Moses’ ministry was inferior to that of Jesus because it was merely based on a sanctuary that is a copy, built according to a pattern that Moses was shown. To get a feel for that pattern, you can read chapters 25 to 40 of Exodus. It is a detailed description of exactly how God wanted the tabernacle to be built. Surely the builders in our congregation can appreciate the instructions given in these chapters; it would not be all that hard for us to follow them and build a replica of the tabernacle which the Israelites built (although obtaining the materials might be difficult).

Hebrews 8 is showing that the earthly tabernacle is merely a copy of the heavenly one. You can go out today and buy copies of paintings by Da Vinci and Michelangelo, and you won’t have to spend a lot of money. But I doubt that any of us has enough money to buy an original painting by one of those artists. The original is always of more value than the copy. That’s what Hebrews 8 is talking about.

I have heard brothers read verse 5 and say: “Moses did everything according to the pattern and so should we.” The biggest and most obvious problem with that saying is that it has nothing to do with what the Hebrew writer is saying. He is not arguing that we should follow a pattern just as Moses did. He is showing the superiority of Jesus to the priests under the Mosaic system. To make this passage a call for us to follow a pattern is to ignore what the Bible is teaching.

Secondly, where in the New Testament do we find anything that remotely resembles Exodus chapters 25 to 40? Do we have any description of the physical arrangements of the Jerusalem church? Do we know if they used one cup or two for the Lord’s Supper, if they sat on chairs, or if they had any of their songs written down? We cannot compare the New Testament to the pattern that Moses followed.

How many divisions have been caused by brothers trying to take a system of grace and turn it into a system of law? Again, I have to ask: is there anything in the New Testament that remotely resembles the body of laws that we find in Exodus through Deuteronomy? When we start trying to “fill in the gaps” in God’s revelation, we get into trouble. There is but one lawgiver (James 4:12); He himself has given us the laws that we need. Woe to the man that takes it upon himself to create new ones.

The Greek word for pattern is tupos. It is most often used in the New Testament in the sense of an example, as in these passages: 1 Corinthians 10:6,11; 2 Peter 2:6; Philippians 3:17; Romans 6:17 1 Thessalonians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 3:9; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7. We are called to follow the “pattern” that was laid out, that is, the example of godly living that Jesus and His apostles left for us. We are to follow the pattern of love and zealous worship which the New Testament church left for us. We are to avoid the patterns of error that we find in the New Testament. We are to follow the perfect pattern: Jesus.

Pure was the mind of Christ, sinless I see.
He the great example is, and pattern for me.

Where He leads I’ll follow. May Jesus himself be the pattern for our lives and for our church.

Oh, To Be Like Thee

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15790_adam-and-god 

Oh, to Be Like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer
Pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness,
Come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image
Deep on my heart. 

The beautiful words of this beloved hymn remind us of the Christian’s goal: to be like Christ. Jesus taught his disciples that the well-trained disciple would be like his teacher (Luke 6:40). Paul encouraged the Corinthians to imitate him as he tried to imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

The old covenant, the one that God established with His people on Mount Sinai, the old covenant was based on a strict set of laws. “Do this and you will live” was the idea that was set forth. When God established His new covenant with His people, we might have expected a whole new set of laws. Instead, we received God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He came and showed us how to live life the way God wants us to.

(I should comment, of course, that Jesus was much more than an example. He came and gave His life to earn our salvation. We are saved because of what He has done, not because of what we do. He was the atonement for our sin.)

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about how they should live, he frequently pointed to himself. When he taught them about service and humility, he gave himself as an example (Mark 10:43-45; John 13:13-15). He told them that His love was the new standard for how they should love (John 13:34). He did not just bring God’s message; He lived it.

Paul considered that the Christian life was about becoming like Christ. He spoke of the body growing up into the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15) and taught that God’s Holy Spirit is continually molding us into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). He wrote that we were predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29), speaking of our having a new self that was meant to be like God (Ephesians 4:24), meant to be shaped in the image of its Creator (Colossians 3:10). When he wrote to the Thessalonians, he said that he knew that their conversion was real because they had become imitators of him and of Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

Because of this, Paul could appeal to Jesus as the standard for how to bear with one another (Romans 15:3-7). We give not because of law but because of the example of Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9); those who want to be like Christ will do what Christ did. Paul says that we should live a life of love because of the sacrificial love of Christ (Ephesians 5:2). He tells masters to treat their slaves fairly because of the way our Lord treats us (Ephesians 6:9). Basically, what Paul tells us to do is live out Jesus’ life (2 Corinthians 4:10).

The other New Testament writers did the same, calling us to be like the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2-4), to follow His example of suffering (1 Peter 2:21-24) and to follow His example of love (1 John 3:16). We are consistently called to look to Christ as the perfect example for our lives.

There is a famous story about the artist Michelangelo. One version goes like this:  When Michelangelo sculpted the great statue of David in Florence and brought it into the square, people were just awed. It is one of the most marvelous pieces of sculpture in the world’s history — fourteen feet of white marble. Someone walked up to Michelangelo and said, “How in the world did you do it?” He said, “Oh, it really wasn’t that much. I was in the quarry and I saw David in this marble block. I took it home and I very carefully chipped away everything that wasn’t David.” That’s a good description for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. His goal is to make us like Jesus.

Let me use the words of another great hymn to close these thoughts:

Sweet is the tender love Jesus hath shown,
Sweeter far than any love that mortals have known;
Kind to the erring one, Faithful is He;
He the great example is, and pattern for me.

Where He leads I’ll follow. May Jesus himself be the pattern for our lives and for our church.

They Call Me Trinity

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Discussions about the divine, as we’ve seen can be problematic. To be honest, I’m not fond of non-biblical terms like “trinity” nor am I fully up to date about all the different opinions out there. I’ve already shown that I believe Jesus to be God, but I don’t believe Jesus to be the Father. Passages like Romans 8:9-11 help me see this:

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Romans 8:9-11)

Who lives in us? Is it the Spirit? Christ? The Spirit of Christ? The Spirit of God? The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead? The answer, of course, is YES. Jesus is God and lives in us. He’s not the Father; Paul seems to avoid such language. Yet, they are both God.

Romans 8 shows us that the Spirit is also in the equation. We also see that in other passages, like the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation. The letters are clearly from Jesus, yet each letter ends with an urge for the readers to hear what the Spirit had to say to the churches. Again, no New Testament writer would say that the Spirit had been crucified nor that the Spirit was the Father. Yet the Spirit is shown to be divine.

No, I can’t explain it. Not fully. I can’t explain God’s eternal nature either. I can’t explain how He can hear thousands of people praying to Him in dozens of different languages. I can’t explain lots of things about God. As I’ve said before, I like it that way. I want a God who is bigger than I. One I can’t completely wrap my thoughts around. That’s my God.