Gospel Words

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Pete

Not sure, exactly, what the kid was thinking . . . or exactly what he meant by his words . . . but he was getting closer.

The younger man had heard enough. Don’t know just how long he had been listening to the verbal tennis match between Job and his “friends,” but when it seemed that both sides were done, Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite, could contain himself no longer. And the divine record says that he burned with anger. “He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Jobs three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong” (Job 32:2-3 ESV).

And so Elihu, the kid, respectfully, yet passionately, wades into the debate. And he says something, recorded in Job 33, that sounds like gospel words.

He speaks of a man whose “soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death” but is spared because of mercy and is delivered because a ransom is found (33:22-24). And the man’s response to such mercy?

He sings before men and says: “I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.”   (Job 33:27-28 ESV)

Again, I don’t know exactly what Elihu was thinking of when he conceived of a ransom being paid. Some would say that Elihu viewed Job’s calamity — his lose of material possessions, his loss of children, the loss of his physical health — as being the ransom that needed to paid for his unrighteousness. And that by such a payment for his sin, God could restore “to man his righteousness.”

Regardless of what he had in mind, the God-breathed record of his argument contain words which foreshadowed something Elihu could not even have imagined. And, though he may have been “striking out” theologically with what he was thinking, he was in the ballpark with what he was saying. A ransom needed for redemption . . . mercy shown and sin not repaid . . . deliverance from the pit and entrance into the light. Them’s gospel words!

Scattered through such ancient records, are such hints of God’s redemptive plan. A plan that, on “this side” of history, we can understand, to a degree, because of the Spirit’s illuminating work of revelation. The ransom being nothing that a man could ever pay for his sin. Instead, God gave His everything, His beloved Son, to pay the wages of sin. Man’s redemption made possible by Immanuel, God come in flesh. The Savior born that the Lamb of God might die to take away the sins of the world.

Thus, with payment made in full, God is just in His mercy as he need not require payment for my sin from me — though, sorry Elihu, nothing that I could give or suffer would be sufficient ransom for my transgression — because Jesus paid the price in full. That’s grace! And it’s not so that He could restore my righteousness to me (that account is empty), but that He would impute Christ’s righteousness to my account. That’s amazing grace!

And “my life shall look upon the light.” The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2Cor. 4:4) . . . Jesus, the Light of the world (John 8:12) . . .

Again, not sure exactly what the kid was thinkin’ . . . but he was getting closer . . . with his gospel words.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.   (2Corinthians 4:5-6 ESV)

 

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Given

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Pete

There’s a whole lot of givin’ going on in John 17. I should never cease to be amazed, as I read this chapter, that I get to eavesdrop on the Son as He communes with the Father. I should consider it great privilege to have revealed to me the heart of the Shepherd for His sheep. And, in the midst of Christ’s great intercessory prayer, I notice He talks a lot about giving.

The Father is a giver. He has given the Son authority over all flesh. And, He has given His Beloved a work to do. The Son, in turn, has given His followers the word, which, by the way, was also given to the Him by the Father. But what’s hit the “wonder button” for me this morning is a reminder of the unfathomable grace that declares me “Given,” as well.

I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. . . . I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  (John 17:6, 9 ESV)

If I’ve counted right, seven times in Jesus’ prayer, He refers to those who would receive the word, know the truth, and believe in the Son (v.8), as those who the Father has given to Him. And thus, by extension, I am given, as well.

What does that even mean? That the Father has given me to the Son? How deep is the mystery of God’s grace that He would determine to gift to His Son those who were once dead in trespass and sin? What wonder that the Son would consider it such joy to receive those who were once enemies so that He might, in turn, give them eternal life? How much would the Son desire such “gifts,” that He would, for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2), gladly submit to the Father’s will and become the atoning sacrifice that would make possible their redemption, their regeneration, and their eternal reconciliation?

We’re entering the season of gift giving. And many of us in the Kingdom are on high alert, doing our best to ensure that the joy we have in giving — and, let’s be honest, in getting — doesn’t obscure our focus on God’s gift to us in His Son. But what will it do to our season joy if we also add the dimension of remembering that we also have been gifted to Another?

Given, that we might have eternal life, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent (v.2-3). Given, that the Son might manifest the Name of the Father (v. 6) to those who now have ears to hear and eyes to see. Given, that we might be one even as Father and Son are one (v. 11). Given, that we might partake in the glory bestowed upon the Son (v. 22). Given, that one day we might be with the ascended Son of God beholding His glory, face to face, the glory given Him because of God’s love for Him before the foundation of the world (v. 24).

O’, what is it to be given? Not because of who I am, but because of who You are . . . not because of what I’ve done, but because of all You have accomplished through the cross.

Given . . . what jaw-dropping grace!

To Him be all glory . . .

 

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Tasting Heaven’s Living Water

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Pete

John, in the Spirit, taken up into heaven, must be in overload mode. He has seen the throne and the radiance of God emanating from it. He has heard the thunderous rhythm of heaven pound out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.” He has beheld the Lamb in the midst of the throne, as though He had been slain, and yet revealed in power as the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . the one worthy to take the scroll from the Father’s hand and open it’s seals. And then he is shown a great multitude (7:9-17). A great multitude who are about to taste living water in heaven.

The Spirit fills John’s mind with some stats on this multitude. More than can be numbered . . . from every nation . . . from all tribes and peoples and languages. And John sees them all standing before the throne . . . all clothed in white robes . . . all with palm branches in their hands (note to self, there are palms in heaven). And they are crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

These are those who have come out of the great tribulation . . . some martyred for their faith . . . some passing through death’s dark vale as the seals of judgment are opened upon the earth. But all having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” . . . all are before the throne of God . . . all are experiencing the dynamics of heaven.

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
 (Revelation 7:15-17 ESV).

Ok . . . try processing that. They serve God, day and night, in His temple. Is that “just” serving with worship or is there other “work” to be done in the temple of heaven?

And, though they are a great multitude stretched before the throne, yet God’s presence shelters them. They are before Him and at that same time He envelopes them. And in that sheltering, hunger and thirst are forever satisfied and the sun has been replaced with a light absent of scorching heart. Kind of amazing.

But then, get this, in heaven they are led by a shepherd to springs of living water . . . by the Lamb Himself. That which they knew by faith on earth will be their reality in heaven . . . being led, face to face, by the Good Shepherd. The same Good Shepherd they knew on earth through the presence of His Blessed Spirit, will stand before them as they gather around the throne and He will say, Follow Me . . . let Me show you something . . . let Me give you something to taste.

And He takes them to springs of living water. The living water which He offered to all who would receive Him on earth (John 4:10-14). The living water which had flowed out of the hearts of those who had, by grace, determined to walk by faith. The living water identified by Jesus as the Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Trinity (John 7:38-39). The Lamb shepherds His people to taste this living water . . . to encounter, it seems, the Spirit who had indwelt them and sealed them. And now, in heaven, they would know Him in a way that they could never have known Him on earth.

And I so often think of what it will be like to stand before the throne and the emanating majesty of the Father. And of what it will be like to behold the face of Jesus, the Lamb in the midst. But if I am going to be with God in heaven, won’t that mean I will be with the Triune God? I’m thinkin’. And it looks like my encounter with the Spirit will be to drink of Him as heaven’s living water.

What will He feel like as He touches my lips? What will He taste like as enters me as a fount?

O’ what will it be like to encounter the Spirit in heaven? I can only imagine.

 

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My Mouth Has Kissed My Hand

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Pete

A little surprised that Job 31 has so captured my thoughts this morning. In my reading plan, it’s “competing” with Revelation 5 . . . the great “reveal” of the One worthy to take the scroll from Him who is seated on the throne. The One described as both the Lion who has conquered that He might rule (Rev. 5:5), and the Lamb that was slain (5:6) that He might ransom a people for God (5:9). And maybe part of the reason why I have been so captivated by Job 31 this morning is because it details a list of the iniquities for which the the Mighty Lion Lamb was slain. And of one, in particular, that sometimes hits pretty close to home.

Job 31 is the conclusion of Job’s defense before his comforters / accusers . . . and, with a bit of an edge, before His God. While he and his “friends” have been engaged in strong debate, they have agreed on one premise:

Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?   (Job 31:3 ESV)

Short answer: Not necessarily. But that’s a thought for a different entry.

For these men, the answer is “Yes,” and therefore the debate centers upon Job’s righteousness . . . or lack thereof. And so, in his last gasp at making his defense, Job details a number of actions that, if he were guilty of them, would certainly be iniquities for which he would deserve judgment.

Job declares his list of things worthy of his calamitous circumstance. “If I have walked with falsehood” . . . “if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes” . . . “if my heart has been enticed toward a woman” (other than his wife) . . . “if I have rejected my manservant or my maidservant” . . . “if I have withheld anything that the poor desired” . . . “if I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence.” These things, as well as others he lists, Job says would be deserving of calamity and disaster.

And in this list is one that caught my attention in particular . . .

. . . if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand, this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have been false to God above.  (Job 31:26-28 ESV)

Apparently, reverence was shown to idols by kissing them. Job’s saying, I think, if I were to behold the wonder of creation and were to somehow think that it was there all for me . . . that it was about me . . . that I was the center of the universe . . . if I kissed my hand because I am the one I idolize, then I would have been false to the God of creation . . . to God above.

And it hit me how easy it is for me to look at everything around me, and think it’s about me. How easy it is for my heart to be enticed such that I think the spotlight is on me. How prone I am to be tripped up by spending time looking up and still somehow kissing my own hand. Not that I idolize myself, but that I’m overly preoccupied with self.

God forgive such times of self-centeredness. Instead, direct my eyes to the Lion Lamb . . . the focus of all of heaven . . . the One who paid the price for those times when I end up “kissing my hand.” Thank God that the blood of Jesus is sufficient not only to ransom once-for-all, but to cleanse continually from acts of the flesh which seek to soil white garments of imputed righteousness.

To Him be the focus alone . . . to Him be the glory alone.

 

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Another Door to Be Opened

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Pete

Give me “Behold,” “Jesus,” and “Door,” as part of a Book of Revelation bible quiz, and I’m gonna respond, Revelation 3:20. I’m going to think immediately of the door Jesus stands at and knocks upon. The door which, if anyone hears and opens, Jesus promises to enter . . . “to come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” But this morning I’m reminded of another answer to “Behold,” “Jesus,” and “Door.” Another door to be opened.

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne. And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. (Revelation 4:1-3 ESV)

John, being in the Spirit, has just received by divine revelation the letters to the seven churches (ch. 2 and 3). The revelation was delivered by a “loud voice like a trumpet” (1:10) . . . the voice belonging to “one like a Son of Man” (1:13) . . . He who is “the First and the Last, and the Living One” (1:17) . . . He who died and behold is alive and holds the “keys of Death and Hades” (1:18). That “loud voice” John heard was the voice of the risen, glorified, Jesus . . . the Christ who stands in the midst of the churches.

And now, in chapter four, John hears that voice again.

There is a door standing open in heaven. A door which captures John’s gaze. And then he hears that trumpet-like loud voice as he did at first. This time inviting him to “Come up here.”

He who invites men and women to open the doors of their hearts so that He might come in, is the One who will call them to enter through the door He has opened into heaven so that they might come up. A door entered in through the active agency of the Spirit. A door opened to the glory of a throne and of Him who sits upon it.

The loud voice that John heard reminds me that there is another door to be opened.

It has already been unlocked through the blood shed by the Lamb of God, come to take away the sin of the world. It has already been accessed by those who have gone on before, those already promoted into glory, those who have heard again the Voice that once invited them to believe, now ushering them in to receive.

And I can’t help but sit back in wonder and praise God for another door to be opened. For faith to give way to sight. For the foretaste of glory to give way to the “full meal deal” of eternity.

And I can’t help but thank Him for the Voice. Once a whisper wooing me to Himself. Now an abiding resonance within me through the Spirit. But one day, a loud, trumpet-like voice saying, “Come up here!” . . . . and enter into another door to be opened.

All because of grace . . . all for His glory.

 

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Turned Back

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Pete

As I read in the morning, part of my intent is to “listen” for something that will grab my attention, something that I will then spend a few minutes writing about. Often I will begin my morning reading with the psalmist’s prayer, “Open my eyes that I might see wondrous things in Your word” (Ps. 119:18). Sometimes those wondrous things gently rise to the surface as I work my way through my morning reading plan. Other times, they hit me like a ton of bricks. Sirens go off . . . trumpets blare . . . big arrows start flashing as they point to a verse or passage. Ok, not really. But, sometimes a verse just stands out in a way that I didn’t expect. Brings to remembrance a thought that surprisingly overwhelms me. Such was the case this morning.

I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for My anger has turned from them. (Hosea 14:4 ESV)

Through Hosea’s oracle, Israel has been judged. Those who have “plowed iniquity . . . reaped injustice . . . eaten the fruit of lies” (10:13) where to be cut off. Those who had “grazed” in the land promised them by God had become full and in their fullness “their heart was lifted up” and they forgot the God who had given them the land (13:4-6). And so God would “fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs” (13:8) through a ruthless nation that would savage them.

But accompanying the just wrath of God, His great compassion promises a restoration for those who return to Him. For those who seek God’s cleansing . . . for those who desire to walk their talk . . . for those who look no longer to the world for their deliverance . . . for those who say no more, “Our God,” to the work of their hands . . . God says that He will heal their apostasy . . . and love them freely . . . “for My anger has turned from them” (14:1-4).

And that’s the phrase that hit me like a two-by-four on the side of the head . . . “for My anger has turned from them.”

And it occurred to me that the “effect” of anger turned, is not by the “cause” of repentance. Repentance does not pay the price for iniquity. Asking for forgiveness does not settle the accounts for the wages of sin. Returning is possible only because God has satisfied His just and holy wrath through another means.

I’m not studied in the original languages, but my handy-dandy computer lexicon indicates that the word “turned” is literally “to return” or to “to turn back.” Other bible translations render it “turned away” . . . almost like the anger is deflected. But what if the anger really was “returned” or “turned back?” What if the wrath was redirected back to God Himself? What if God has provided the way back through repentance by turning back the penalty of sin on Himself?

And it hits me afresh.  That’s exactly what He did in sending His Son to bear the penalty for my sin. Within the mystery of our Triune God, God the Father poured out the wages of sin for all men upon God the Son. Thus, having turned back on Himself the wrath for all who, by faith, return and repent.

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show Gods righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.
(Romans 3:23-25 ESV)

God’s promise of healing from apostasy would not be dependent on the depths of Israel’s repentance. His covenant to love freely would not flow based on how flawlessly they returned. He would heal, and He would love, because His anger had been turned back. The blood of Christ being the means of appeasing the wrath of holy God. Redemption’s way made possible by the death of Immanuel, God in flesh.

Wow! What a Savior!

How much fuel is that for the thanksgiving fire? A lot!

To Him be all glory!

 

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Less About When and All About Who

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Pete

The letters given to John to write to the angels of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, all end with a promise. They are promises for those who conquer, or, as I prefer, those who overcome. And so, when I’m reading this portion of Scripture, I’m highlighting the promises. While these were seven churches in existence during John’s day, and while they may refer to seven church ages throughout history, these things were written for my instruction today . . . promises included. And one of those promises has stood out this morning. And, while I may not be quite sure of it’s exact interpretation, I’m thinking that it’s less about when and all about Who.

At the end of chapter two, John is writing to the church at Thyatira. He who has eyes like a flame of fire (2:18) knows all about the dynamics that prevail in their gathering. They are characterized by ever increasing fruitfulness in their works, love, faith, service, and patient endurance. But He also, who has feet like burnished bronze and is prepared to judge sin, warns these believers of the leaven of tolerance of doctrine within their midst that promotes idolatry and overlooks sexual immorality.

And so the call is for those who tolerate “Jezebel” to repent knowing that He who “searches mind and heart” will give to each according to their works (2:23).

But to the rest, . . . to those who do not hold to such idolatrous, immoral teaching, Jesus says, “Only hold fast what you have until I come” (2:25).

And then a two-fold promise. First, for those who overcome, when the King returns to rule the nations, He will give authority for His own to rule with Him. Amazing! But it’s the second part of the promise that has me thinking . . .

And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.    (Revelation 2:28-29 ESV)

Jesus will give those who hold fast until He comes the morning star.

I did just enough commentary work this morning to know that the meaning of this promise is open to a wide range of interpretation. So, while I have a lot more study to do before being in anyway authoritative, I do know what I fell’t by what was tell’t.

I know that Jesus concludes His revelation to John by declaring, “I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star” (22:16). So, at it’s simplest, this is a promise that for those who overcome, Jesus will give them Himself. Whether that’s referring to His Second Coming . . . or, as some speculate, His coming to take up His church in advance of the tribulation . . . or, some other interpretation, as I hover over this verse, it’s less about when and all about Who.

For those who hold fast . . . for those who conquer . . . for those who overcome, the Morning Star will give them Himself. And I can’t help but think that, while it might a be a promise for the future, it reflects a current truth. That the Savior gives Himself to His people as His people give themselves to their Savior. That the Light of the world manifests Himself to those who have been translated from darkness into light, as He shines in the hearts of believers to “give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Cor. 4:6).

Everyday I keep on keepin’ on . . . every day I seek to, by His grace and through His power, hold fast, is a day of communion with the Morning Star. As I abide in Christ, He abides in Me. As I seek Jesus, He reveals Himself to me. So that it is “no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

O’ blessed Morning Star! O’ wondrous promise of the abiding presence of the LORD of heaven and earth! What privilege! What grace!

To Him be all glory . . .

 

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On the Outskirts

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Pete

How much I need to battle to maintain perspective. How great is the temptation to make me the center of my universe. Even when I acknowledge God’s place in my life, how often do I make Him a “small enough god” so that I have enough room to find a place beside Him on the throne of my life. I wiggle my way to being at the center with Him. I become familiar enough with “unapproachable light” (1Tim. 6:16) that taking a “selfie” with the Almighty doesn’t seem all that out of order. But Job speaks to my center and reminds me that I am but on the outskirts.

Behold, these are but the outskirts of His ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?  (Job 26:14 ESV)

Job, moved by the Spirit of God, recounts but an iota of the amazing dynamics of creation (vv. 7 – 13). That, if you go to the top of the earth, there’s nothing there holding it up — the earth hangs on nothing. That tons of water can be stored in clouds without them splitting under its weight. That, where light and darkness meet on the face of the waters, there is a circle testifying to a round planet that somehow holds all things to itself. These all testify to the power of the God who created them. And yet, says Job, they are just the outskirts of His ways . . . the mere edges of all He is able to do.

Though, as the psalmist writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1), they are but a “small whisper” of His grandeur . . . a faint utterance of His majesty and might. We can’t even comprehend, says Job, the thunder of His power. It’s only because we are on the outskirts that we are able to hear, perceive, and continue to function, and are not so overwhelmed by the might of His power that we are forced to the ground in unending facedown awe and trembling.

O’ the power of our God! The magnificence of His glory! The wonder of His being! We get just a glimpse on the outskirts. What will it be like when we are before the throne?

And before the throne we will be. No longer at the edges. No longer at the fringes. But before the throne. And that, because of grace.

And I wonder at how much I really and fully comprehend the power of the gospel for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). The power that invites those on the outskirts to boldly enter the Holy of Holies and approach His throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). The power that opens the way for Messiah, the Son of God, to call to lost sheep, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). The power that removes the wrath of God from those once in rebellion to God.  The power that makes those who once were makes enemies of God, children of God. The power that invites those on the edges into His very presence.

Do I comprehend but the edges of that power, as well? The power of re-creation through regeneration? The power that’s whispered through the still small voice of the eternal Spirit of God who resides in me? “The thunder of His power,” declares Job, “who can understand?”

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.  (1Corinthians 11:12 ESV)

Praise God for the outskirts . . . for the access given to sinners saved by grace. But may I never lose perspective of that which the whispers speak of.

To Him be the center of the picture alone . . . to Him be the throne alone . . . to Him be glory alone.

Amen?

 

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When We See Jesus

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Pete

Two of John’s writings have me imagining a day which is sure to come . . . though I don’t know when or exactly how. But a day, to be sure, that will come. John’s gospel speaks of its certainty. The revelation given to John gives insight as to its wonder. It’s the day when we see Jesus.

In My Fathers house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.    (John 14:2-3 ESV)

Jesus says, Count on it! I have gone to make ready a place for you . . . a place in My Father’s house . . . a place where you will be with Me. And if I go, I will come again.

Kind of puts the here-and-now into perspective . . . an eternal, not of this place, holy, holy, holy, awe-filled perspective. It’s the goal . . . it’s the prize . . . it’s the “gonna be worth it all” culmination of this life. Being with Jesus.

And what will that be like? John, the beloved disciple of Jesus . . . the one who reclined at Jesus side with Him . . . the one who knew Him intimately in His humanity . . . this John, receives a revelation of the risen, glorified, Son of Man in all His majesty.

. . . One like a Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. The hairs of His head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength.
(Revelation 1:12-16 ESV)

What will it be to see the exalted Christ? What kind of sensory overload will our minds try to process as we take in His presence, His countenance, and His radiance? How will our hearts not swell to near bursting as eyes of faith give way to face-to-face recognition of Him who bears the markings of the wounds taken for our transgressions . . . of Him who will show the nail prints and the scars for the chastisement that brought us peace and the stripes by which we were healed (Isa. 53:5). What will it be like when we see Jesus? I can only imagine.

But I’m pretty sure what we’ll do . . .

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.   (Revelation 1:17a ESV)

Facedown. Utterly still in His presence. Trying to catch our breath even though all we want to do is shout at the top of our lungs His praise.

We will worship when . . . not if . . . but when we see Jesus.

Won’t that redefine what we think to be glory? I’m thinkin’ . . .

 

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One Leaned In, One Walked Out

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Pete

I don’t know for sure if they were already feeling a bit of electricity in the air as they gathered for supper, but I’m guessing they might have. Ever since Jesus had called Lazarus out of the tomb, the religious leaders had set their sites on putting to death the Raiser-of-the-Dead (still think that’s weird). Nevertheless, as Passover approached, Jesus determined to walk into their backyard, and enter Jerusalem He did — in a big way. The week had begun with Jesus’ Messianic looking entry into the city. And, during that week, He continued to teach His disciples and confound His detractors. And so, as they gathered for the Passover, I’m thinking there was a bit of energy in the room.

The night starts off kind of weird. Jesus “having loved His own” and “knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands,” gets up from supper . . . lays aside His outer garment . . . pulls out a towel and ties it to His waist . . . and then begins to wash the disciples feet (John 13:1-17). Ok, if there wasn’t an edge to the night before that, you gotta think that after reclining back at the table, everyone around that table is on high alert. I imagine that they were all ears concerning everything Jesus taught about His foot washing “object lesson” and about everything else He would say afterward.

Then Jesus drops a bombshell, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (13:21). Jesus, having loved His own, knew who wasn’t His own.

John, the disciple “whom Jesus loved” was reclining at the side (literally “in the bosom”) of Jesus. Peter must have been near as well, as he motions to John and says, Pssst! . . . Ask Jesus who He’s talking about . . .

So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to Him,”Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. . . . So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
(John 13:25-26, 30 ESV)

And with all the dynamics swirling around the room that night, here’s what struck me this morning. John leaned in, but Judas walked out.

Both had been called by Jesus. Both had followed. Both had seen the signs and heard the teaching. Both had been given access to the Son of Man’s inner circle. Yet John abided, but Judas betrayed. John set His face towards the Lord, Judas gave Jesus his back. John leaned into the bosom of his Savior, but Judas walked out overtaken by the Serpent.

Equal access . . . equal opportunity . . . equal knowledge . . . very different responses. How come?

While I could spend time figuring trying to come up with the different dynamics of John and Judas in processing the revelation they received concerning the Son of God, and though I believe both had full freedom to respond as they chose, this morning I just sit in wonder as I’m reminded that “only sovereign grace can explain the difference” (note from my Gospel Transformation Bible).

The awe focused as much on John leaning in as it is on Judas walking out.

John, like Judas, was a sinner. John, like Judas, had been dead spiritually. John, like Judas, had been a rebel and an enemy of God. And this John, unlike Judas, now leans into the bosom of Jesus. Called of the Father . . . wooed by the Spirit . . . given as an eternal trophy of grace to the Son.

Amazing grace! That one leaned in . . .

 

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