We'll do greater works than Jesus?

Today is the Thursday before Easter, also known as Maundy Thursday.  “Maundy” is a shortened form of the Latin word “mandatum” which means “command”.  This Thursday remembers the day when Jesus held His Last Supper with His disciples and gave them their marching orders for when He would be gone.  In John’s record of Jesus’ teaching, three times Jesus commands them to love one another (John 13:34, 15:12, 15:17) and two more times He urges them to follow this command (John 14:15, 15:14).

There is a part of Jesus’ Last Supper teaching that has always sat a little odd with me.  Philip has just asked Jesus to show them God the Father, and this was Jesus’ reply:

John 14:9-12
Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know Me, Philip?  The one who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?  The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own.  The Father who lives in Me does His works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.  Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.

Truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do.  And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Greater works than Jesus???

That’s a hard concept to wrap my mind around, let alone accept.

Many commentaries and preachers will say that Jesus’ “greater” comment was more about scope rather than size.  They’ll argue that we’re not running around performing even bigger miracles than Jesus did, but that because He went to be with the Father, the Holy Spirit indwells all believers – the result being that the good news of Jesus is spread to the entire world, instead of the small section of Israel that Jesus ministered in. 

While that answer makes sense, I’ve never been fully convinced it fits what Jesus was talking about here.  However, I came across an explanation from Donald Barnhouse that both helps me understand…and blows my mind.  He takes an analogy from a real-life hero, Wheeler Lipes, who was an officer in the Navy.  In 1942, Wheeler was a Pharmacist’s Mate aboard a submarine and had to perform an emergency appendectomy.  He did not have the proper medical equipment, nor any formal surgical training…but the procedure had to be done, as a fellow sailor’s life was at stake.

Here is Barnhouse’s retelling of Wheeler’s story and his analogy back to Jesus’ Maundy Thursday statement:

Aboard a United States submarine in the enemy waters of the Pacific, a sailor was stricken with acute appendicitis.  The nearest surgeon was thousands of miles away.  Pharmacist Mate Wheeler Lipes watched the seaman’s temperature rise to 106 degrees.  His only hope was an operation.  Said Lipes: “I have watched doctors do it.  I think I could.  What do you say?”  The sailor consented.  In the wardroom, about the size of a Pullman drawing room, the patient was stretched out on a table beneath a floodlight.  The mate and assisting officers, dressed in reversed pajama tops, masked their faces with gauze.  The crew stood by the diving planes to keep the ship steady: the cook boiled water for sterilizing.  A tea strainer served as an antiseptic cone.  A broken-handled scalpel was the operating instrument.  Alcohol drained from the torpedoes was the antiseptic.  Bent tablespoons served to keep the muscles open.  After cutting through the layers of muscle, the mate took twenty minutes to find the appendix.  Two hours and a half later, the last catgut stitch was sewed, just as the last drop of ether gave out.  Thirteen days later the patient was back at work.

Admittedly this was a much more magnificent feat than if it had been performed by trained surgeons in a fully equipped operating room of a modern hospital.  Study this analogy and you will know the real meaning of Christ’s words.  “Greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”  For Christ, perfect God, to work directly on a lost soul to quicken and bring out of death and into life is great, but for Him to do the same thing through us is a greater work.

Jesus can represent the Father perfectly.  He said, “the Father who lives in Me does His works.”  As such, Jesus can flawlessly show who God is to everyone He interacts with.  We are as far from perfect as Wheeler Lipes was trained to perform emergency surgery.  We are rudimentary and broken and unrefined, having no merit to partner with the Creator of the Universe in anything…let alone to be the ones to share the Father with other broken humans.  And yet…we who believe in Jesus as the Messiah are the ones whom God partners with.  That is the greater work.  This partnership is far better and more eternally impactful than performing physical miracles of restoring sight and healing broken bodies.  To use lesser instruments and still achieve the results that would come from perfection…that is a magnificent feat indeed!

So, on this Maundy Thursday, remember Jesus’ command – love one another.  But do not forget that we will participate in greater works as we partner with Jesus and show others who the Father truly is.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The yokes on you (part 2)

As the Jewish people were drowning under the rules enforced by the religious leaders of the day, Jesus made this offer:

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take up my yoke and learn from Me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Jesus uses an analogy here that would have made total sense to his audience, but could easily be lost on us modern readers.  As we saw last time, a Rabbi’s teaching was referred to as his “yoke” that was passed down to his disciples.  It consisted of his interpretation and application of the Jewish law, which was also combined with the traditions and teachings of previous rabbis.  However, there was another common use of the term “yoke”, and it’s one that has lasted much longer through the centuries.

From the Tony Evans Bible Commentary:
A yoke is a wooden bar harnessed to the necks of a pair of oxen to bring them under submission and enable them to do the work that the farmer has for them.  To train younger oxen, farmers would yoke them to older, experienced oxen.  It provided maturation and development.

Hooking to Jesus’ “yoke” enables you to learn how to live.  Therein you will find rest.  When you come to Jesus, he gives you rest in terms of your salvation.  When you accept the yoke of discipleship you find rest and experience it in your daily life.

Rest for your souls…that sounds really nice.  Physical rest is helpful.  Mental rest often escapes us.  But rest for our soul?  To be finally at that place where our deepest weariness is satisfied, that sounds almost too good to be true!

To find that soul-deep level of rest, Jesus says we need to take up His yoke and learn from Him.  This passage is often taught where Jesus is the strong, veteran ox and we are to assume the position of the younger ox.  In this example, we learn the rhythms of life and grace from Jesus by letting Him do the heavy lifting – and as we mature, develop, and grow stronger, we are able to take on a heavier load.  In this, we are told, we find the rest for our souls because we’ve grown into the person God designed us to be. 

But recently I’ve been wondering if the typical oxen-training example takes the analogy a bit too far.  Jesus doesn’t call Himself the strong ox, instead He simply claims that it is “His yoke”.  The oxen do not own the yoke…but the farmer does.  The farmer is the one whom the oxen have submitted to.  The farmer is the one who plots the course of work.  The farmer is the one steering and guiding the oxen.

So, if Jesus is the yoke-owner, who then is the stronger ox?  This is where mentorship within the church family comes in.  When we first come to Jesus, when we believe in Him for eternal life, we’re adopted into His forever family.  When we submit to His yoke, to learn from Him, we could read our Bibles and pray all by ourselves.  But how much better would it be if we submitted to being yoked together with a veteran Christian?  How much easier would it be to understand God’s guidance and training if a more mature believer was walking beside us?

In my mid-20s, Joe was willing to yoke up with me.  He lent his strength as God plowed the ground of my life and my character.  Joe helped me understand the guidance and direction God was giving me.  Joe walked with me and worked with me through muddy patches, hard ground, and growth-ready pastures.

In today’s church we desperately need veteran believers to be willing to yoke up with new believers.  You don’t have to be perfect to do this.  If you’ve had a spiritual mentor – imitate them.  If you never had a spiritual mentor – just be the mentor you wish you had.

If you are a new believer, have the humility to ask for help.  Seek guidance from someone who has lived for Christ and knows how to listen to Him better than you do.

Take up [Jesus’] yoke and learn from Him.  The rest you will find is the confidence in His guidance and that He knows the direction you need to go.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light – especially when we plow together.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Like a well-fed tree

So far, we’ve looked at the first two verses of Psalm 1:

Psalm 1:1-2
How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked or
stand in the pathway with sinners or
sit in the company of mockers!

Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.

Happiness isn’t the only benefit of making wise choices when it comes to who has influence in our lives.  The next verse tells us the continued benefits of having the Lord’s instruction determining how we live our life:

Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

As the wise person substitutes the Lord’s instruction in place of the advice/direction of godless others, this leads him to become like an abundantly prosperous tree.  Given the number of lines used to describe this tree, our psalmist must see this is an important comparison.  So, let’s stop and think about it: How is this prosperous tree “healthy”?  How does the psalmist describe it?

First thing we notice about tree are usually the leaves.  Effort and energy-wise, leaves are cheap for the tree to produce; however, they are often the first thing to change if a tree is unhealthy.  Leaves that have discoloration or fall off too early in the year, especially due to the summer’s heat, indicate that the tree is struggling in some manner.  The opposite, of course, is also true: if a tree has full, green leaves and stays vibrant even after difficult weather, then we know the tree is strong and in good health.

The psalmist also states that the tree produces fruit; but specifically that it bears its fruit in its season.  Fruit in-season is useful, beautiful, and delicious…whereas fruit out-of-season doesn’t fully reach maturity and tastes bland or sometimes even bad.  One of my favorite songs refers to many of us as “misguided roses” who bloom in October, just in time for the season’s first snowstorm.  No matter how lovely the flower could have been, it can’t reach maturity because it arrived so late out-of-season.

Lastly, think about what size the trees are when they are planted next to flowing streams.  They are not tiny sprigs…they are HUGE, strong, and healthy because they are constantly fed by the river directly and by the ground, which is kept fertile by the river deposits

I really like the descriptor of the Lord’s instruction being like flowing streams – because most people assume that reading the Bible and living God’s way are boring and rigid, both in this life (we can’t have fun) and the next life (Heaven is just sitting on clouds, strumming harps).  However, the psalmist compares the Lord’s instruction to flowing streams.  This vibrant imagery communicates that the water is not stagnant, it’s not dead.  The constant input from these live waters bring various nutrients and growth factors to the one who wisely chooses to listen to the Lord.

This isn’t the only time a follower of the Lord was described this way.  Here’s what the prophet Jeremiah recorded of the Lord’s words to Israel:

Jeremiah 17:7-8
The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.
He will be like a tree planted by water:
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn’t fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.

One last piece of information to share about these flowing streams.  In the New Manners and Customs of the Bible, we find this interesting cultural insight:

Several commentators call attention to the fact that the Hebrew words palge-mayim, here rendered streams of water by the NIV and rivers of water by the KJV, literally means divisions of waters, and most likely refers to the favorite mode of irrigation in some ancient Middle-East countries. Canals were dug in every direction, and through these the water was carried to all the vegetation. Egypt was once covered with these canals, and in this way the waters of the Nile were carried to every part of the valley through which the river ran. Some gardens were so arranged that water was conveyed around every plot and even to every tree.

The streams of Palestine regularly dried up, but the irrigation canals that came off the great rivers never did.  When we intentionally irrigate our lives with God’s word, we don’t go dry.  We are successful in all areas that we should be.  Successfully trees produce good fruit…they don’t fly, or swim, or anything else, they successfully do what they were created to do.

This is the psalmist’s analogy:
Flowing streams feed the tree, which leads to the tree bearing fruit in season, with leaves do not wither
IS PARALLEL TO
meditating on the Lord’s instruction day and night, which leads to a successful, wise life that thrives even when hard circumstances come.

This is our challenge to face, based on Psalm 1:3 – Be intentional about spending purposeful, active, and regular time in God’s Word.  Think about God’s word and apply it to your life.  Then, you will be successful in what God has created you to do.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Seeking and expressing

I’ve always liked stories and analogies.  You can speak a sentence of truth to me, and I’ll hear you.  Relate that same truth in a word picture or in a story, and I will understand you.

I think that characteristic is what draws me to the psalms, especially ones that David wrote.  While he wasn’t afraid to express his raw emotions, he was also rather creative in communicating how his circumstances were affecting him.

Read the psalm carefully, looking for David’s word pictures:

Psalm 61:1-4

God, hear my cry; pay attention to my prayer.
I call to You from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength. 

Lead me to a rock that is high above me,
for You have been a refuge for me,
a strong tower in the face of the enemy.

I will live in Your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.

Since his heart is without strength, David is figuratively looking for a refuge, a safe place for shelter.  In just a few lines, David describes his heart’s refuge in three distinct images.

Lead me to a rock that is high above me.  In any military campaign, the high ground has strategic advantage over any enemy.  The attacker has to contend with lousy sight-lines and little cover; whereas the one who controls the high ground is safe from many attacks and can readily defend against most others.

A strong tower in the face of the enemy.  A tower was the best defended position in the city.  Not only was it elevated, but it would also house supplies and weapons to keep it defended.  The most important people took shelter in the tower when an enemy launched a full-frontal attack.

I will…take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.  Clearly, this is a metaphor – David isn’t advocating that God has feathers.  However, the image that comes to mind here is quite powerful.  Under the protection of a parent’s wings, the young birds are protected from all sorts of outside influences.  They are kept safe and have a special nearness with the one who is providing the protection.

David uses all three descriptions to explain the kind of refuge for his weary heart to find in God.  Each of these images can grab our attention in ways that a normal, straight-forward statement cannot.  By using these very descriptive words, David is able to express exactly what he needs and clearly relay that to us. 

What metaphor would you use to describe your relationship with God when your heart is without strength?  How could you communicate your desire to know Him when times are difficult? 

Evaluating our relationship with God in these picture-driven words can help us express our feelings to God, and potentially draw in others.  I encourage you to give it a try.

Keep Pressing,
Ken