Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake, for Theirs Is The Kingdom of Heaven

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There is a popular “church” teaching that when we become followers of Christ, we have a rosy path before us. That we can expect material goods and wealth because we are now “Christian”. But, do you know that Jesus says just the opposite to those who would follow Him? ¹⁸“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19) This hatred may look like name calling, denial of certain provisions or kindness, verbal assaults and threats, even physical assaults and attack on property. (I have personally experienced a number of these; on one occasion, when I and some high schoolers from church were sharing the Gospel on Good Friday, we came under verbal attack!) It may be direct persecution on our bodies by satan in an attempt to limit our ability to praise and worship God and to distract us from our mission. 

Do we withhold our identity as a follower of Christ because we are embarrassed, or think we will be called names? Look at what Jesus tells us in Mark 8:38: “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 

Zowie! God implores us to turn to Him in times of trouble – look at what the Bible says about praying to God when we are facing trials: Psalm 56:1-4, Psalm 57:1-3, Psalm119:84-87, Psalm 142:6, John 15:20; there are many more!  God has given us not just His Spirit, but also spiritual armor to protect our souls, because the devil and his agents are seeking to destroy our faith and relationship with Jesus. As a follower of Christ indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, we are already walking in eternity with God; we are already experiencing in a very tangible way, the kingdom of heaven because the Spirit of God, at work in us to build God’s kingdom, fills us, protects our souls, hearts and minds, we are sharing with Christ in our sufferings, and draws us closer to Jesus. Jesus, knowing in advance that we all face some version of suffering for His name, passionately prayed to His Father to protect us, most importantly to protect our faith and trust in Him, so that we may endure. As those who suffer for His namesake, we then fully identify with God’s kingdom, knowing we are secure in His grace and power. 

Therefore, though we will face difficulties because we follow Christ, we do not shrink back from being a Christ follower because we know we have already been saved for an inexplicable life beyond our humanity. No one can take that reality from us. The persecution can have the purpose of building our faith and trust in God, in rejoicing because we become enjoined in a remarkable and special way to Christ and His sufferings. We will find and know God in a unique way through suffering! And in the midst of our suffering, we can bow before God in grateful thanksgiving because we have the confirmation that we are Christ’s and in Christ.

 

Explore

This beatitude and the last one are tough to deal with because very few, if any, of us want to be taken out of our comfort zone. We want people to like us, and treat us fairly. We don’t want anything ‘negative’ to happen to us just because we are Christian. Consider these things:

·        For right now - and only God knows how long this will continue, the U.S. is one of few countries where you can live and not experience the kind of harsh persecution that our fellow brothers and sisters in over 85% of the countries of the world are experiencing because they name the name of Christ. Our trials are more subtle – just like they were for the Israelites when Balaam enticed them with sexual immorality and idolatry. Many who profess belief in Christ in the ‘western’ world are succumbing to the enticement; many Christians obey culture instead of God, breaking the first commandment. They call good what God has called sinful. Have you found that to be true; if so, in what ways? If you do not think that is true, why?

·        In this paper’s opening it says that “There is a popular “church” teaching that when we become followers of Christ, we have a rosy path before us. That we can expect material goods and wealth because we are now “Christian”. What do you think about that?

 

·        Have you been made aware of the harsh persecutions taking place around the world? How do you feel when you hear about, read, or see reports of such persecutions?  

·        What is it about God’s kingdom that would make you desire to endure pain and trials for Christ’s name? How easy would that be for you? (hint, re-read the Psalms above that David prayed to God)



Bonus: "Guilty"  -- Newsboys  (theme song from movie God's Not Dead 2); "Even If" - Mercy Me; "Don't Wait Til the Battle is Over - Shout Now!" - Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir

Trials - Our Proving Ground

Who hasn't heard from the pulpit that God allows us to go through difficulties to build our faith? (if you haven't perhaps you should ask your minister why hasn't that been preached) In fact, one of the less fully understood scriptures in the Bible, often quoted by churchgoers when difficulties occur: Romans 8:28, is God's oath to us - but do we truly understand its depth? 

The greatest teacher of all time, our Lord Jesus Christ, clearly taught His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, as recorded in John 15:18-16:4, 16:31-33 that because of His name that we bear, that we, too, will be treated as He was treated because the world, which is under the power of satan and his demons, hated Him and sought to kill Him on more than one occasion. He experienced the extreme trial. Thousands of true believers since that time have also experienced the extreme trial - torture and death for their faith in Christ.  

And then there is the subtle trial - finding ourself under the sway of false teaching. All of the lies and misinformation contained in so-called prosperity gospels - which promise a gilded life when becoming a follower of Christ - are a tool of satan to destroy our faith in the true God. When we hear that we should be having a grand and glorious life here on earth and that doesn't happen, we are told it is because of some kind of sin we have committed against God that has not been resolved, or the 'sin' of not releasing all your financials to the organization promoting such false gospel. Or, experiencing a terrible disaster, or that if a loved one or oneself suffers a crippling disease, or sickness leading to death, it is because we have not believed God hard enough. (compare John 9:1-3) The faith of that person and the opportunity to have a true relationship with Christ can become undermined by the lies, shattered in discouragement, defeatism, because of the false picture of God painted for them by false teachers. 

It is, therefore, extremely vital to know who God is, why we are here, and what truly says. All of this can be sought after through an understanding of Bible scripture using teachers gifted by God to earnestly teach the word of God's truth, through application of such, and prayer. (compare Romans 10:1-4, 9-17; 1 Corinthians 2:10-3:9) 

For those of us who are in Christ, then, this message is for us to consider as we endure the trials that have come, are here now, and those that will come on us, both individually and as a worship community. We are not immune to suffering and trials as indicated above, but how should we respond?

When we consider just what a trial is, using the legal sense of the word, we know it to be a time to prove something, to have evidence and testimony to prove that an unlawful action or wrong done against someone will be rightly judged and that the party who suffered receives justice. This endeavor is a process accomplished through a trial - a platform structured to bring such evidence and testimony before an impartial judge who is entrusted to rule in favor of what is right, what is just. My generation grew up watching Perry Mason on TV - a drama about an attorney who was skilled in counseling his clients and for using evidence and testimony to win their case; to keep the series interesting, every now and then the client was proved by Mr. Mason to be the guilty party. Today's generation watches TV programs such as Law and Order, where both prosecutors and criminal lawyers fight for a form of justice that provides for some satisfaction of the law and intent of the law.

A trial for a believer in Christ is also a process, a time to determine - in this case - our faith status, is it strong and stable, or waivering. In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul is led by the Holy Spirit to instruct many believers of his day who were of Jewish heritage, and those Gentiles who would also come to believe in the God of Moses and His Son Jesus Christ - the Greater Moses, using the evidence and testimony of those ancestors to illumine how our faith is tried. (the Hebrews "faith honor roll" offers examples of what kind and temperature of faith pleases God.) And there are Bible accounts of how faith sometimes fails the trial - take some time to search through your browser for such examples of failing faith. God makes provisions for all of us to grow our faith to become tensile in strength - a faith that endures the stretching and intensity of the test that it comes under. We may choose to absorb all of those provisions, or we may choose to utilize only some of what God provides. 

Comparing it to a diet: protein from different sources serves to build us up physically. If we choose a diet rich in carbohydrates, but lacking in protein, our stamina may have a bright spark for a minute but suffer or fail because we did not have a strong foundation that the protein provides. In the scripture passage in 1 Corinthians the people relished the blessings of God but did not fully internalize the power of God's Word and the obedience opportunities He provided to strengthen them. That choice led to a faith failure. They could not resist the popular heathen practices of the surrounding nations, their worship of Jehovah through the provisions He made for them to stay whole and blessed was set aside for tantalizing pleasures that eroded their moral cores. Or even attempting to test God - exacting from Him what they demanded He should do to make their lives more pleasant, saying that God would get a bad reputation if He didn't. 

Paul sums up these examples, saying, "So, if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall." Because the tests or trials will come, and if you are not prepared in mind and spirit to endure - if you have not taken on all of God's provision for faith victory, then you could fall. Verse 13 ends the passage: "No testing [trial] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." Faithful believers who have striven for obedience before God can hold onto that promise that God will not allow you to be in a situation that He will not be able to bring you through. Faith victory does not mean we will always "win" the situation or oppression by getting fully delivered out of it to keep our body or life, or even our reputation safe from the painful effects of difficult situations. Faith victory means that we will not lose our faith even when faced with harsh treatment or death. It is that persevering faith that keeps before us the open door to eternal life - God will not allow that to be taken away. (see also Romans 8:31-39)

Today as I write this blog article, there are scores of faithful people being persecuted because they have identified themselves with Christ; some of them will be tortured and abused, may even die. However, they are still victors as they refuse to renounce Jesus in the face of such brutality. Those abused and maltreated persons who survive may carry the scars in their bodies and or in their hearts straight through to glory, where we will be made whole. (Also see  Revelation 3:7-13; 7:9-17; John 10:1-30) A faith victory story from scripture revolves around the destruction of ancient Judah in the 6th century BC. The prophet Habakkuk was witness to the great disaster of Judah and Jerusalem - when the Babylonians (or Chaldeans as some Bible versions name them) came up against Habakkuk's land in 539 BC. The destruction was vicious and left little for the survivors. The actions by Babylon were a result of the nation of Judah's apostasy; God removed His protection from the majority of land and peoples. Although Habakkuk knew the reason and purpose, he still had a waiver of faith as he actually witnessed the destruction taking place and the accompanying trauma and danger. It shook him to the core of his being to the extent that he began to question God's mercy! Yet just as quickly as the urge to do so came, just as quickly it vanished. We see at the end of chapter 3 that Habakkuk fully accepted the sovereign right and will of Jehovah, praised Him and even rejoiced at what He was accomplishing through the removal of the apostate nation. He recommitted an even deeper faith; what initially looked like a failure became a determined faith victory!! 

In 1917, during what subsequently be named World War I, nation after nation was devastated by conquerors for nearly four years, who, using weapons of destruction never before experienced, sought to control the world. The U.S. had been very reluctant to enter the war during the years it raged for various reasons. After a German U-boat sunk the British cruise liner Lusitania in 1915 killing over 100 Americans, and then the ensuing attacks and sinking of American ships by the German war machine, the U.S. was forced to respond and entered the war in the spring of 1917. The then U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, in October 1917, by executive order, established the Aberdeen Proving Ground, which officially opened in December 1917. Through the order, the Army had taken over 69,000 acres of land and water in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay to provide an area for design and testing of ordnance. The order transitioned its operations and testing ground for proof and acceptance of ammunition and cannon from New Jersey to the Chesapeake Bay site. The site would expand to include testing of chemical weapons, research, development and general test facilities. Testing fields and operations by military are essential to determine if the weapons developed would hold up and be effective under war conditions and accomplish what they were designed to do. The testing is designed to eliminate any defective machinery or weaponry that would fail under extreme war, climate, utilization, and other situations. The Aberdeen Proving Ground continues to operate after over 100 years.

The world is a testing ground for our faith wherever the Church is found whether it be a dangerous country or a tolerant one. Jesus foretold that in the John 16 reference above - that in the world we would have persecution and suffering; this is the venue where our faith is tried.

On a personal note, over the course of a couple of years, I experienced trial after trial after trial - some very major and painful to the bone, and some not as major in comparison. I knew in my spirit that God was growing me because of something that was to occur at some point. He kept permitting tests to visit me and they had the best effect in bringing me to my knees to receive God's love and consolation, but especially His strength and direction. I had no clue what was coming, but felt in my spirit it was going to be something big - something with the capacity to rock my faith; by His gracious urgings I kept praising and praying, kept growing. Stayed in His Word, giving Him thanks for nurturing me and asking for His abundant strength and grace as I could sense the time getting closer. And when it hit, it knocked me down - it was so awful, forceful and overwhelming that I could not process it all at once; to say it was traumatic is barely scraping the surface. But for God's nurturing me and growing me through those many tests, I am not sure how I would have kept standing - even if I am soaked in tears while I stand. Pain - especially emotional pain - can be relentless and/or can arise out of no where and overwhelm you when you least expect it for a while. I cannot say - because I can barely see past a nano-second - that I will ever recover fully in this life time. It may continue to be a raw wound until heaven when I will be fully healed - Hallelujah. Trust me - I had no part in the strength and grace that is still bringing me through. Even my "yes, Lord" is authored by what He has done in my spirit. The valley is deep and dark, but God's light is on the edge and is leading me through like a beacon. By His love and mercy, by His unlimited grace, He is holding me in His victorious right hand and guiding me over the treacherous faith traps. He is teaching me things about His love, patience, lovingkindness I could never know if I had not experienced this trauma. To God be the glory in all things. Thank you, Father. 

Back to Romans 8:28 - this is a mini-Bible study all by itself. One of the first things that this scripture promises is that trials and sufferings will happen - it is not a matter of if, but when. Some of those trials will be heart-rendering. The second thing we are confronted with - even though it is not specifically stated but certainly implied, are more questions to be answered about God's character, His sovereignty, His being a Creator, His omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience. All of these factor into the statement, "called according to His purpose." What is God's purpose? Better asked, what is God's purpose for me and individuals? It may also be asked, what is God's purpose for humanity, for the earth, for all of creation? How does my life fold into God's greater purposes with creation? What does it mean to "love God"? What does God's love look like in return? How do "we know" these things? How does God turn these terrible events into good? What is "good"? I would encourage everyone to consider these questions as part of disciplining ourselves towards strengthened faith.

In Jesus' high priestly prayer on the night before His crucifixion as recorded in John 17, He prays for those apostles and all who would come to believe in Him through their teaching and witness, that God would protect them - not just physically according to His will, but primarily that they will remain faithful in the world. He prayed for God's love to be in all of them and that such love would be as strong a bond as that between the Father and Son. Jesus asks the Father not to take them out of the world, as it is to the world that they  have been sent to teach the Gospel of freedom and love, and where their enduring faith would serve as a testimony through the tests they would encounter. They would glorify God's name in obedience to His will. (see 2 Peter 3:8-18)

Later on in Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth, the Holy Spirit would instruct Paul to record at 2 Corinthians 13 that 'testing' is not just an external experience. Like at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the testing is done long before weaponry is commissioned for use by military personnel. The staff at the proving ground must test the materials and equipment ahead of its employment during a military conflict or war to see if indeed they can withstand the fierceness of battle. Verse 5 (using the Amplified Version Classic) tells us that we are to "Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?" In other words, don't wait until the fire is on you to know the strength of your faith - find out now if you are living in the will of God and growing your faith. Are we bearing fruit worthy of one who is committed to the work of the Lord in both our lives and in our ministries? (ALL Christians have a ministry, not just ordained people.)

We will suffer in trials brought on by the conniving evil one. That truth is inescapable as long as we live in this world. If we suffer because we are doing wrong things, disobeying Christ, then it is not the kind of Biblical suffering due to the Name we bear that Jesus was referring to in John 16 above. When we sin against God, sin will have its consequences - even if we are Christian. The apostle John's letters to the Ephesian Christians and to all who would come after them confirms this in 1 John 1, starting at verse 5 (AMP): "And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way]. [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents]. But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts]. If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. If we say (claim) we have not sinned, we contradict His Word and make Him out to be false and a liar, and His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts]." Are we confessing our sins or are we deceived into believing we do not sin, because friends, as long as we are in these imperfect bodies we will sin. But we have God's promise of forgiveness when we confess and repent.

So, how should we respond to trials and intensified attacks? Do we just say, "well it is God's will and He will remove the problem." Hmmm, that sounds good. Let's look at this: when Jesus was tempted face to face by the devil (Luke's Gospel at 4:1-13 details for us that Jesus was tested 40 days and nights - not just on three occasions). On those three occasions that the Holy Spirit had recorded in scripture, how did Jesus respond? Now, remember, even if in the flesh, Jesus was still God and could have ended the conflict with a word that would send the devil into oblivion, i.e., He could have retaliated in a death-dealing way, but that was not within the will or timing of the Father, nor would we have learned anything useful in such situations as we cannot fight the devil with physical weapons, nor can we call down hellfire on him successfully. Jesus tells us in John 10 that the devil attacks us to accomplish one or all three of these things: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. In all three of those instances it is not just the body he seeks to harm; he goes for the jugular - our faith. It is the faith of the believer that he wants to steal, that he wants to kill, that he wants to destroy. He has thousands of years of experience at the job - just check his resume in scripture and secular records. So when he in all arrogance approaches the Son of God in those three recorded instances in Matthew 4:1-11 and in the Luke Gospel cited above, he attempts to entice Jesus to worship and obey him by actually quoting scripture and appealing to what he surmised was 'weakenness' in Jesus now that Jesus was in the flesh. So what did Jesus say each time: "It is written." He recited the scriptures that addressed the ruse and temptation of the devil. Can we do that? Can we recognize the devil's tricks, what scripture is being violated or twisted to be used to deceive? Can we say and pray in the midst of suffering the scriptures that address the attack and can we do that in all trust and belief in what God's Word is saying? Or, is our first response that of complaining about our circumstance and perhaps correctly identifying the devil as the source of the matter, and asking God to tell us, to justify to us why He is letting this happen? 

Did you read that? Say it out loud - are we asking or even demanding God to tell us why, to justify for us why He is letting these things happen to us? Why me, Lord? Haven't I been good, haven't I obeyed you? Why are you punishing me? In all honesty, that is the usual human response and we all may have been prone to go that route. I confess that I have more than once. I thus refer us to James chapter 1. God is telling us through James to rejoice in the face of trials and suffering. Whaaaaaat????? Did you know that God may use pain and suffering as sacred instruments to help us strengthen our faith because if we know and love God, such trials lead us speedily and directly to Him to rely even more so on His love and peace. It reminds me of God's promise in Malachi 3:2-3, that God will purify us to become the full righteousness of God, and His methods of purification often come through trials! The sacred instruments are sacred in God's use of them, as He further deepens our relationship with Him. Pain and suffering also places us in partnership with Christ in a unique way as we saw in the passages above, so that we share in His sufferings in a way that does not lead to faith death, but instead to faith victory: a deeper faith and trust in the Only True God, the only Sustainer and Perfector of our faith. In our holding steadfast in faith during trials, we acquire through God's grace in a new intimacy with Him - one so close that He reserves special communion, a special treasure in such intimacy. (Isaiah 45:3; Psalm 23:4-5)  

Faith goes beyond the natural - it is a spiritual connection to God. And, also the fact that our endurance is not of ourselves - we cannot within our own power fight the forces of the devil (reference Ephesians 6:10-18 which is an incredible source of wisdom and strength on how to arm ourselves against the devil's schemes). Thus, in these battles, we have strong communion with Christ, we have the power of the heavenly hosts with us, we have the all-seeing God who knows the end from the beginning on our side. The God of all the universe fighting for us! This is why we rejoice. We rejoice also because our testimony goes ahead of us and speaks truth into others' hearts who are undergoing similar trials. 

God determines the battle to be fought; we may not fully understand just what that is, only that we are suffering by what is happening. Because God is over all things, is Almighty and Omnipotent, He can never lose a battle. We may think God has lost because we did not get the outcome we wanted, but God never loses. His thoughts and ways are beyond our comprehension; we cannot see His entire plan in any circumstance. We cannot understand how He will turn our seeming loss into a tangible winning outcome on a spiritual and natural level. But - we can trust the end of His plans to be victorious and righteous, and to glorify Himself. (see Deuteronomy 10:14-15; Psalm 89:11; Isaiah 55:6-11; 1 Samuel 2:2; 1 King 8:23; 

(I can use the example of the terrible pandemic that initially took the lives of thousands; when vaccines and other measures were made accessible to fight this microscopic virus, did this not bring us a kind of joy to know that we now had at our disposal a means to wage war. We also learned that behavior changes were required to fight this war successfully - changes that were not always received well. Sadly, those who refused the power outside of themselves to fight the virus succumbed to its terror.)

God promises to His faithful ones are contained throughout the Bible. When we are on the proving grounds of this world, may we endeavor to allow the provisions and tools God has created and gifted to us in order to establish a rock-solid faith that will withstand the test and make us more than conquerors by faith!

A prayer from St. Augustine (adapted):

Almighty God, you know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in asking: Set your servants free from all anxious thoughts about the future, give us contentment with your good gifts; and confirm our faith and charge our hearts and spirits to continue to grow deeper into you, so that as we seek your kingdom first, as you have promised, you will bless us in our need and not let us lack any good thing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Letting Go of What We Know to Step Into the Unknown By Faith - Part 1

Have you read Luke chapter 8 recently? What a record of Jesus' ministry! We begin with a reminder of those women who accepted and believed in Jesus, who had found in Him deliverance, healing, and a glimpse of God, followed Him, and provided resources to Him, supporting His ministry. (Because of the targeted mission Jesus was sent to earth to fulfill, his adulthood did not follow the regular path of Jewish males, even though he was the firstborn son. He did not even have his own dwelling - which by age 30 would have been the norm (unless family responsibility required otherwise, of course. see Matthew 8:20.) 

Then Luke's record tells us that Jesus taught the crowds in parables - the one instant being the parable of the sower. This would have been a story that the people of that time didn't have to look up or ask about what it means to sow seeds. Planting, gardening, farming were a common routine and in generations past had found its rhythm and architecture in the Mosaic Law. Luke's account records Jesus' story parable this way: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, he calls out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” This went a little deeper than the common planting experience; I can imagine that some of those hearing Jesus' words were wrinkling their brows, squinting, or whispering the first century expression of "what is he talking about?" So when they were all together the twelve disciples asked for an explanation and Jesus explains that the seed in the story represents the Word of God and how it is received or not received by those hearing it and the consequences of each. 

Jesus is next indicating that those things that are hidden will come to light - a universal law. He follows that by a statement of 'holy' economy: "Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away."

As we travel along with Jesus compliments of Luke, Jesus' biological family tries to get His attention and draw Him away from His mission. As noted above, the modern day reader will want to take into context the norms of that day so that you can properly understand this account: Jesus is the eldest son. Joseph, His earthly father, has died. As the eldest son in Jewish culture one is to take on the role of head of household. Therefore, His family is concerned because Jesus does not follow that 'norm' in the way they think He should. His perspective is priestly and divine, but His family does not grasp why Jesus is different - even after all these years. As faithful as Jesus was to the things of the law, Jesus has a higher calling; I can imagine the inner wrestlings of Mary's spirit about this God-man firstborn son. 

Her encounter with the angel Gabriel about 30 years prior rendered a response of joy and gratefulness (Luke 1:26-56). And, perhaps, like us, three decades later after birthing several children, and still feeling the sting of her beloved husband's death, and attempting to negotiate an uneasy and uncertain existence under a burdensome authority of both the religious leadership and Rome, her memory of that amazing day could have become dampened, and the prospect of what she thought her firstborn was and why has become dim. No doubt, like so many others, she was expecting her adult Jesus to rally an army of strong Jewish men and call down the heavenly hosts for the most amazing battle to secure the land from Rome and break their oppression. But look at the men Jesus was collecting around Himself - they did not look like warriors! Her Jesus led a band of fishermen, a tax collector and businessmen, hardly the stuff of soldiers! Her Jesus performed miracles like the prophets of old, yet did not call down fire on the enemies! Her Jesus, whose life was transferred to her womb those many years ago with the promise that He would save His people is going around from town to town bringing up things from the scrolls about the Messiah and His teachings were stirring up the religious authorities! I personally think, too, that the family was ashamed of their son and sibling, and very embarrassed out of ignorance. (Do we, too, lumber under our own vision of Jesus, seeing a Jesus whose role is to bring material blessings and make our lives better by taking away all our difficulties - to defeat our enemies as it were? To listen to His words for inspiration and to feel emotionally elated, to float us with a little sunshine in our miseries, and then go back to the same struggles, weighed down by our sins and cares of this world?) 

As He would often say, Jesus must do the salvific work that His Father has given Him to do, which will require Him to lay aside some of the expectations of His family. Could not the Son of God, creator and sustainer, have provided for his family's needs when it was necessary? He was indeed their Head, but they did not understand how just yet. 

So the family arrives at the place where He is teaching and healing and they summon Him to those earthly tasks of the eldest son: "He was told, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.' But He said to them, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.'” In my mind's eye I can see the mixture of emotions of Jesus' family members upon hearing his statement: the siblings would have been nonplussed by Jesus' answer, and perhaps angered, or just thrown up their hands over their brother's reply; Mary possibly dismayed by her son's reply. It is worth noting at this point that Luke's accounts are often punctuated by statements of Jesus, the context of which would have been contemporary for first century observers who witnessed them first hand, and perhaps a little differently contextualized by our western minds two thousand years later. Jesus, knowing His time was limited, was teaching about the kingdom of God in the words of the prophets and by the Spirit. He was implicating Himself as the Chosen, the Anointed One foretold by the prophets who would deliver people free from their sins and would usher in a restored kingdom over which He would be king. Jesus was not dismissing His family disrespectfully but rather was sharing the good promise that because of His kingdom work, His biological family and all who accepted Him would become a part of that restored eternal kingdom and experience the true fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Him. And, that they would come to realize with a different set of emotions that they had been dwelling with the Son of the Living God and did not even know it. They had not yet received the gift of faith to understand.

The next event is crossing the lake in a boat. The Sea of Galiliee and its lakes were known for sudden storms and rough waters. Such a 'sudden' storm occurs while they crossed to get to the other side of Lake Gennesaret in the mid-to-upper part of the Sea of Galilee. A tired Jesus is asleep while the disciples man the boat during the crossing; the winds are so strong that they are tossing the boat and causing water to enter into it. The disciples panic and try to wake up Jesus during this crisis, telling Him don't you see what is going on - we're about to lose our lives! Jesus roused from sleep simply commands the winds and the raging waters to stop. Just as suddenly as they came, they left at Jesus' words and all is calm. Then Jesus asks the apostles, "Where is your faith?" 

[Reader, if you have not already figured it out, this chapter in Luke is all about faith in Christ and being enabled by God to step in faith into the unknown. To continue, go to Part 2]   

Letting Go of What We Know to Step Into the Unknown By Faith - Part 2

We return to our journey with Luke and the disciples as they follow Jesus. Luke next records in chapter 8 other events that would, indeed, necessitate a faith from God to understand. 

After crossing the lake, Jesus and the disciples arrive at the country of Gadarenes in the south and southeast and, as they go on shore at the place Jesus tells them to dock, they are met by a dreadful sight - a naked man, crazed by demon possession, grimy, bruises over his body, face twisted, eyes that looked like they were being strained open and bulging, sweating, raging with ungodly sounds, feet blistered, ankles having the remnants of broken chains. Luke gives us a bit of background about this man - that for a goodly amount of time in this man's life he had been indwelt by demons, who took control over the man's life and being, breaking restraints that city officials had installed to keep him from doing harm to others. The demonic possession made it impossible for him to live in society - the demons drove him to despair and isolation, and to dwelling in the tombs near the sea waters of that area. The demons - alerted to the fact that the Son of God was in their midst - forced the man forward to where Jesus was; they were afraid of what Jesus would do to them because they knew who He truly was. (Can you imagine what the disciples were doing at this instant? Were they like the people of the city scared out their wits, and going to the safety of the boat, or finding this man's dilemma a source of crude entertainment? They had only hours before saw another dimension to this rabbi - that He had control over 'nature', but this situation - inflamed by demonic madness - could have left them doubting as what Jesus would do or could do.)  Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man and asks the demon his name. The demon says "Legion" because there are so many in and with him. The demons beg Jesus not to put them into the abyss (for they knew what their ultimate fate was to be); Jesus sends them into a herd of unclean animals and they drive the animals into the sea and drown them. Upon learning of what happened, the people of the city came out to where Jesus was to see with their own eyes the 'crazy demon man' no longer inhabited by the destructive demons, but dressed and calm. The people are seized with fear because of the power of Christ (flashback to when the Israelites were fearful of Moses after His encounter with God on the mountain), about what His presence could do to their way of life, and, therefore, strongly tell Jesus to leave! As Jesus and the disciples leave, the now delivered man asks to go with them, but Jesus tells him to stay and tell all the people what God has done for him. Then Luke says that the man went about telling everyone all Jesus had done for him. He had not only seen - he had experienced the faithfulness of God.

Upon their return to Galilee, a crowd welcomes Jesus and the disciples, and we reach a compelling pinnacle in Jesus' travels in this chapter of Luke. A man named Jairus who was a leader of the local synagogue reaches Jesus and falls at His feet, begging Him for the life of his daughter who was ill unto death. (picture the scene - a respected leader of the synagogue, in his fine robes, falls to the ground at Jesus feet; his actions illumine for any paying attention, that this Jesus was from God, a special prophet unlike any they would have known) Jesus accompanies the man as they make their way through the crowds, but the crowds are dense and Jesus and the man and the disciples are bumped about in a stop and slow-go motion as they determinedly make their way forward. And then it happens, right in the middle of Jesus' slowly moving through the crowd. "As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Strict observation of Jewish Law and interpretations by the Jewish priesthood would make them aware of the scriptural backdrop to this story. In the Law of Moses, a woman's menses were considered unclean because of the flow of blood. Leviticus 15, beginning at verse 19 presents the ritual she had to pursue: ritual washing of anything on which she sits and sleeps; those touching anything on which she sits or sleeps - even her clothes - would render them unclean as well. That she had this flow of blood beyond her menses for twelve years would have made her living in society impossible. Laundry day would be every single day. She would have been isolated to a great degree because she could not visit and sit on their divans, and there was always a possibility of blood leaking past her efforts to contain it. As one faithful to the law, she was both compliant and trapped by its regulations because of her unique situation, and yet she persevered to obey - keeping herself 'socially distant', which was not an easy task in a village or community. 

We are not told how much adherence to this law impacted her 'norm', e.g., how did she obtain items from market? How did she maintain her house? Did the physicians come her door and drop off some compounds or other remedies in front of it, being careful to be contactless? How did she or could she bring her sacrifices to the priest? Her condition would have kept suitors away - a husband and family was beyond her hopes now. Can you imagine living in a small town or village, being sick or potentially always on the verge of making others unclean before God, so that you are prevented from interacting with others in any meaningful way? (Of course you don't have to think hard about that: we've been through some highly difficult months of isolation and limited socializing. Multiply that by 12 years in the same place.) 

Her prayers for twelve years had been seeking God's healing and blessing, perhaps for God to send a special prophet as He had done through Elijah and Elisha to provide such healing. To remove this curse from her. Perhaps she had prayed Psalm 3:8, Psalm 4:6, especially Psalm 5:3. Maybe even Psalm 51. Perhaps all of the deliverance prayers she had learned of in holy scripture.  But her pleas were seemingly answered by silence. She sought out physicians who claimed to have a remedy, but all of them failed - so much so that she was financially spent seeking a cure. She could not puzzle out why her obedience to the law had not resulted in deliverance by now, or even an easing of her dilemma. Even the priests were not able to heal her, even though she may have been able to presented an offering to the priest for forgiveness of sins and God's favor. So this woman, for twelve years, having once long ago known the freedom of living under the law, now lived captive to the impact of Adam's sin in her body and restrained by that same law to living an imprisonment and captivity that no one could save her from. 

And then she heard about Jesus - the Great Prophet and Healer. Still, she was caught in a cycle of doing the 'right thing' and believing her righteousness would result in a deliverance. That God would be so pleased and moved by her faithful self-imprisonment, and gradual impoverishment as a result of legal obedience, that He would release her from her circumstance. Then she learned that Jesus had left Galilee. Had her hopes become so narrowed, her commitment to 'play by the rules' her focus, that she had missed what could have been God's answer to her years of difficulties and pain?

Did her prayers now change? Did she now pray, 'God - if you would have me step out of all I have known for these many years to risk it all, please give me a new kind of faith to do it. O God, please let me see Jesus!' 

Was God moving her in this new hope? Yes! She dared to believe that God would answer her twelve years of prayer, her twelve years of isolation and shame, her twelve years of being faithful, her twelve years of hoping against hope. That in this Great Prophet and Healer, in Jesus God would answer her. O God! She felt a new hope rising in her. But - and for her this was a big 'BUT' - in order to see her Deliverer, to receive His healing, she would need to step out in faith, literally - leaving her hiding place to stand in the brightness of the day. 

She had to seek and believe God's mercy. She had to leave the legalities of restraints in the law and of the priests, and step out in faith trusting in God's grace and mercy that were inherent in the law but not often taught (see Matthew 12:6-8). She had to let go of her rigidity of following the rules, of the fear and shame that narrowed her vision and thinking, and which kept her isolated and stuck on that expectation. She had to listen to what God was offering to her - something far beyond what she thought was the correct thing to do, and to actuate the faith God had sprouted in her. She had to seek Jesus at all risks to herself and her future in that place. So, determined, yet with fear and trembling, she clothes herself to obscure her identity (not realizing possibly until later that God's hand of protection clothed her) and skulks through the crowd - afraid that at any minute someone will recognize her and thus block her way to her Savior. And then she sees Him! She sees Him! She moves stealthily, and ever so carefully, but with an increasing urgency as she inches towards Him. She reaches out, straining to get near enough to the Great One and, finally, her hand touches His robe. And right there, right there in the middle of the noisy crowd a silent peace comes over her as she feels the healing taking place inside her body. A glorious warmth envelops her and she is filled to overflowing with gratefulness and joy as twelve years of strain leave her, replaced by a feeling of wholeness that she had not felt in so long, and of a Godly love that takes her by surprise. Then the silence is broken by His voice. "Who touched me?" The fear and trembling return - He knows what I have done! He knows that this unclean, unworthy woman has touched his garment and received His holy power in her inmost parts! It had been a glorious moment, one that would never leave her memory. Even if it was to be temporary, if He removes the miracle she just experienced, she will understand she tells herself. I haven't done anything for Him, so why should He allow me to keep this gift? Yet, He is now calling for her, He is now seeking her! He says, "someone has touched me because I felt my power leaving me." She did not know emotionally and spiritually until that moment that this Great Healer is the Anointed One. She would not know yet that her illness and suffering had been a gift, a sacred instrument, that had been planned for her from before time, that God's timing of her encounter with Jesus was intentional, and that her unique deliverance divine, and salvation came by God's grace. Jesus came back to Galilee for her and for those whom the Father had foreordained. That even while she suffered all of those years, God was moving heaven and earth to bring her to this point in time, to a point in her life that she would step into the unknown by the saving faith that God would give her. A faith she had received from God to risk what she thought had been the reasonable thing to do because she had done it for so long, that the possible reward of healing had become of more importance to her than the Healer, and to let that go so that she could, even with fear and trembling come to Jesus with a faith that saw who He was. 

Thus, feeling a courage that she didn't know could be in her, with all fear and trembling she comes up to the Master and falls at His feet, sobbing with a heart full of gratefulness and thanksgiving, in a flood of tears prostrate before Him in all humility, she publicly confesses her identity and what she had done to Jesus, at first expecting to be reprimanded, or even worse, for Him to take back His healing. But then, she heard Jesus' compassionate voice, His comforting words, wrapped in divine love that shattered the fear and dimmed the years of pain - calling her Daughter, and telling her that it is because of her faith she was healed. Jesus did not say that her gift of healing was due to her twelve years of prayer focused on the reward of following the law was what healed her, He tells her it is her faith, a trusting faith in God and not in rewards. That the God-Man Jesus, had not only healed her condition - He had changed her heart and the course of her life and blessed her with a faith that would be enduring and based on grace and not the false precepts that the religious establishment had tacked onto God's covenant law with Israel that eroded faith in God.

She acted on the gift of faith from God. It had been a long, debilitating twelve years, she had exhausted her finances and her spirit looking for the reward, yet somehow continued to wait on the Lord - even if from the wrong perspective. In His grace and in His timing He gifted her with the faith and confidence to trust and let go, and step out into the unknown in a new revitalized faith, based on belief and trust in God's Son Jesus, on His love, mercy and grace. She looked up at Jesus in deepest gratitude and awe, words hardly coming from her mouth. She looked into His eyes and saw the face of God.  

After blessing the woman, Jesus continues with Jairus despite their receiving the message that his daughter had died. Jairus, dejected by the news, hears Jesus tell him, “Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.” In his mind and heart no doubt Jairus was at a crossroads - how can she be saved? She is dead. Yet, I will believe. And Jairus takes Jesus home with him. The mourners were already gathered for the bereavement rituals. Jairus wife was probably inconsolable, and upon seeing Jairus may have said, why did you trouble the teacher, our daughter is dead. The community has begun gathering outside here. Jesus tells the parents in the hearing of those present at the house that the young girl is just 'sleeping', and the people who had seen the girl die, nervously laughed at such a supposition. The door of the house closes leaving the mourners outside, and Jesus takes into the house Peter, John, and James, and the father and mother. The parents look to this God-Man and Great Healer, in faith as He touches the dead child's hand and says "Child, get up!" (a touch that would have rendered Him unclean under the law). Jesus speaks life back into her body to the astoundment of all, the parents awestruck yet filled with thanksgiving and so lost in the moment of this miracle, Jesus needs to instruct them to give her something to eat, to rejoice because they did believe, and their faith by God's grace, changed the direction of their lives in those few moments.

It does take faith to step into the unknown. We sometimes stick with what seems the reasonable thing to do, looking at those material supports that a reasonable person would look at. Praying for miracles and stymied by human reason, we cannot see the miracle that is already there. We are sometimes called in difficult and trying circumstances to let go of what we know - of what our reason tells us is the right thing to do, and to trust God in a different way. That new faith and trust takes us into the unknown, into the unseen, where God is free to execute His plan for us. It is in that unseen and unknown place where the faith in God and from God brings true victory.

What He has planned for us is sometimes waylaid because we are confusing and fusing trust in God with our own human reasoning. Look at Abram and Sarai. God had promised them a son, an heir, through whom God would bless all peoples. Well, they waited, and they waited, and finally reasoned that such a thing would happen if we pay it forward and have a child through a young female slave so that God's blessings can come to fruition. Yet the stepping out in reason led to unforeseen difficulties, a disruption in the household, and bitterness - a rift between two peoples that continues even unto this day. Yet God, who does not promise and not fulfill, places a new covenant between Himself and Abraham, a new faith to believe that Abraham's wife Sarah would become pregnant and bear the true child of promise. That through that child a there would be one born who would have the power and authority to bless the world. That child would be the Author and Perfector of our faith who tells us to lay down all those self-imposed things and human reasoning as supports and lean on Him instead. Listen to Him for He alone can open doors that no one can shut.