Emails to get You Fired ...

Privacy is a myth.  Electronic privacy a long expired dinosaur.  What you put out there in “the ether” of the internet, whether via text, or email, or social media platform remains “out there” forever.  You can’t take it back.  You can’t really delete anything.  Best you can do is apologize for it.  But a meager apology is sometimes not enough to undo damage that can affect your career, or your livelihood.  Your words, your thoughts, and the motives they sometimes clearly reveal, remain unhidden from the entirety of mankind – and frankly this is rarely a good thing.  Now most folks understand this, at least where it comes to stuff you put on social media platforms, but they take exception where it comes to emails or direct messaging.  And if you can keep from accidentally including the entire company in your addressing of an email note, you can seem to keep it limited to just “someone” to read, not everybody.  While you talk about “business” topics you might remain safe.  But just ask any “former” executive whose emails have been subpoenaed what private truly means.  Or ask some poor jilted lover whose correspondence has now been made public by the other party, what private really means.

And lest you think Uncle Sam is not an avid reader of every note you ever send … think again.  Whether they keep it or not is a question on how big, big data really is.  But whether they read it, and potentially flag it, is just not in question.  If you do nothing but write love notes to your mom, you can bet those notes were read and discarded.  But if you read or write notes between suspect financial organizations, drug dealers, or folks on the watch lists for whatever reason – your notes become flagged, your accounts become flagged and you will also join the watch lists forever.  And this is where having the crazy uncle does not do you any favors either.  Because when crazy uncle Bud decides to make posts that would make a rational person cringe, your familial relationship with that uncle earns you the unwanted attention of the government as well, even though through no fault of your own.

And beyond criminal threats, or threats of violence, any kind of threat to the economy is treated just as seriously.  In our banking industry we are required to take continuing education certifications every single year on our responsibilities to prevent financial crimes of many kinds.  Education is the first step to prevention.  But if some other crazy uncle gets caught up in a scheme to rob banks, or print fake currency, everybody in the family will get flagged on watch lists that last forever.  The simple logic is that whatever a family member may do or say, may not truly be an independent action, but might be an action that is shared among other family members.  Not so with me, probably the fact the my dad was a policemen for 3 decades, my family knows I would turn them in 😊.  Does not stop the love from me, but I tend to have a zero tolerance for crime, or for that matter for crazy.  But that does not change how your family thinks, or speaks.  And unfortunately, I do have a few crazy uncles, that I wish posted differently, or had lived differently while they had the chance.

The breadcrumbs of what you say then, can follow you forever.  For us, imagining that every word we ever said, in addition to what we may have written down, is an ever more terrifying prospect.  But not so for Jesus.  In contrast to you or I, every word Jesus ever said was truth, and love.  Every word, intended to find a spot of redemption in your soul, to lure you back to the throne of God.  Not so you could kiss the feet of God, but so that He could stand you up and kiss your cheek and hold you close to Him.  God does not need our worship, He needs to be able to share His love with you, up close and personal.  It is for His love’s sake, that He wants to save you, even though that means having to forgive your choices, and bare the pain of your rejection so often repeated.  Still He comes for you.  And so Jesus even while being plotted against by the leadership of His own church, still uttered every word in an attempt to save the very men bent on killing Him.

But to kill Jesus, those men had to discredit Him first.  So they kept track of every word Jesus ever said, looking for the chance to trip Him up.  Kind of like a stalker in our world, looking for the chance to pounce on you when they catch you in a lie, or indecent remark, or sin they can publicly exploit.  Except that with men, this kind of stalking works, because we fall and embrace sin.  With Jesus, He never did.  Imagine how utterly frustrating that must have been for those bent on killing Him.  To find, that even after time, and watching Him everywhere, that He says nothing to condemn Him over.  Imagine looking for hate and finding only love.  It was killing them.  It was frustrating them.  It was turning the lot of them into a group of crazy uncles.  So they had to escalate the situation.  They had to start setting verbal traps that there was no good answer out of, so they could by intention trip Him up.

Luke records one of these incidents starting in chapter 20 of his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why.  It picks up in verse 19 saying … “And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. [verse 20] And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.”  These men were not only interested in discrediting Jesus in front of the people.  They were trying to find any reason at all to turn Him over to the governor of Roman authority.  It is irony that these same priests and leaders considered tax collectors to be the ultimate sinners because they took money from the Jewish people and turned it over to Rome.  Yet here they were ready to turn over innocent blood to Rome to have it murdered.  Beyond that, not only innocent blood, but the very blood of God.  How much worse than that is blood over money.  Yet they considered themselves pure, and the tax collector as untouchable.

Luke continues in verse 21 saying … “And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: [verse 22] Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?”  First the flattery to loosen Him up.  It works on other priests, why not on Him.  Then the question that will either kill Him in the hearts of the people, or kill Him on a cross of Rome.  Do we give money to Caesar or not.  They were just certain this question was so clever it could not be answered without killing Him some way or another.  Luke continues in verse 23 saying … “But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? [verse 24] Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. [verse 25] And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.”  Here is their irony on display.  They value money more than life.  They are trying to use the hatred of the people in paying taxes to kill Jesus if He stays true to the idea of obeying the government in charge.

But Jesus does more than that.  Jesus shows the true value of money, and of things that belong to God.  We are not to obey the government ahead of, or over God.  But it is God that should hold our hearts, our love, and our devotion.  And in so doing that, we still give the government what it asks for in taxes, even if that is all we have, or what we think is unfair.  And that answer beat them.  Luke picks up in verse 26 saying … “And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.”  They were beaten and could do nothing more than marvel at the beauty of His Truth.  But what is it that Luke wants His friend to know about this gospel passage?  Is it just that Jesus was more clever than the most clever conspiracy ever launched?  I doubt it.

I think the greater lesson was to teach us all, that our words should leave a bread crumb trail back to the throne of Grace.  If they do not, we speak in error, or our words require apology. Just like in social media platforms once you say something hateful it remains in the ether, and in the heart of one impacted by them.  You cannot pull those words back into your mouth and down your throat, having never uttered them.  You said them.  You may have even meant them.  And you caused pain by them.  But what you can do is to apologize for them.  Not just to say you are sorry, but to feel the pain you have caused and truly be sorry for them.  You can look to Jesus to learn how to keep from uttering more words just like them ever again.  To not only be sorry for what you might have done, but to avoid any kind of recurrence ever again.  To love differently, to love so much, than you could not even conceive of saying such things, because in truth you do not feel such horrible things again.  Temper is not an excuse.  And even when people are not looking to hold something against you, when you speak in anger and hate, you leave others hurt in the wake of those words.  And sometimes that wake cannot be undone.

Send a hasty email note to your boss, or perhaps his boss, and rant and rave about how stupid management is, and how doomed this program or project is, and see what happens next.  Your only “out” there is to claim you were off your meds.  But send that same note to a co-worker who you thought a friend, but in truth was always ever looking to get you in trouble, and they will forward your “private” sentiments on to management, and the off the meds excuse just does not work.  You get fired for what you said.  You get fired for what you shared.  The trick then is not to just say those things, the real trick is to find a way to think differently about those things.  To find peace, and solution ideas in Jesus.  So that when you speak, it is in kindness, patience, and love to make things better.  You can assume everything you say is public never private.  But don’t just be on guard against some enemy trying to use what you say, instead be inspirational in what you say as you ground even your sentiments in Jesus Christ.  After all only Jesus beats the impossible.  And there must certainly be a lot impossible in the situations you face.  Start by changing how you feel, how you think, and who you rely on for answers that might improve everything you encounter.  It is so much easier to live that way.

 

Author of Sabbath Rest ...

The letter of the Ten Commandment law tells us to “remember” and to keep the Sabbath Holy.  We are forbidden to work, or to have others work for us.  Over the years between the time of Moses and the time of Christ, much study and debate had gone in to the interpretation of those scriptures.  In the intervening period, Israel had suffered more than once for discarding God’s laws and pursuing the practices of their neighbors.  So the religious leadership in the day of Christ inheriting the wealth of study from prior generations and building upon it with their own collective wisdom, had developed a strict series of rules around Sabbath observance, that essentially turned the joy of spending time with God, into a drudgery that made life difficult during this day. 

Of course, the people of Israel had never been invaded because “how” they were keeping Sabbath was not up to the “high standards” God had set.  No, the people of Israel were invaded when they had so forsaken God because of indulging the free sexual expression of neighboring tribes that sex with temple prostitutes, and orgies in the woods, had led to the inevitable unwanted offspring with foreign women.  The female offspring were destined to become a new generation of idolatrous temple prostitutes themselves, while the male offspring became living sacrifices on the altars of Moloch and Baal.  When Israel had degenerated to the point of killing its own children without conscience, it was time to be invaded once again.  But rather than build strict guidelines to govern their sexuality and confine it to the intimacy of marriage between one man and one wife, the Pharisees spent their time crafting rules about Sabbath observance.  Divorce in fact was easy, Sabbath however was difficult.

It is in this time of tradition and rules regarding “how” Sabbath must be observed that the Messiah begins His ministry for our redemption.  Imagine how dismayed our God must have been, to see us systemically turn His day, which only He could have “made” Holy, into something that resembled more of a prison sentence, than a day of greatest intimacy with Himself.  Imagine how hard it must have been for Christ, who set aside His own work, in order to spend special time with us, to find that we had made the practice of spending time with Him so onerous, no one remained interested in doing it.  Sabbath observance then, like now, degenerated into two lines of thinking.  There were the ultra conservatives, who attempted to keep every tradition and rule set down by the church, in a doomed attempt at keeping something holy, which could never be defined by their miserable attempts at self-denial.  And there were those who simply threw in the towel, and decided no precautions were required, anything goes, because God made me who I am.  How the Author of Sabbath would restore the beauty of Sabbath was about to be revealed.

Peter recalls to John Mark in his gospel chapter one and verse 21 saying … “And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.”  To begin, the traditional thinking about traveling on the Sabbath was discarded.  The Pharisees had set a limit of 1000 steps for the entire day, lest walking further might be interpreted as work.  Here, Jesus and His disciples travel to Capernaum with no thought about getting around, or limiting how far they would go on the day of Sabbath Rest.  They were not walking idly.  They were on a mission of redemption.  They were not paid couriers, or paid evangelists.  They were volunteer missionaries.  Instead of the apprehension that comes from strict observance of the “rules”, there was a sense of joy that comes from the privilege of joining with others to worship God on His day.

When they arrive at Capernaum on Sabbath, their first thought is NOT to check into a hotel.  They do not look for a restaurant to feed themselves.  Instead they head directly to the synagogue in order to worship.  Christ does NOT discard the practice of Sabbath observance, instead He intends to restore it to what it was intended to be.  He does not advocate we ignore Sabbath, but instead that we learn how to enjoy it with Himself and with like believers.  Notice too, He was uninvited.  He did not wait for a written invitation to come and speak, or for pay for doing so.  He goes because He wants to go.  He brings His disciples so they too can enjoy what is about to happen.  And He is NOT interested in being a silent wall flower that is there “feed Himself” with spiritual blessings.  He immediately begins to teach.

Mark continues in verse 22 … “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.”  Christ did not discard the Laws He Himself had given to Moses, instead He honored them.  But this was not to be a debate about what it means to keep Sabbath Holy, this was a living example of what it means to truly worship God.  Through the lens of Jesus Christ, the scriptures came to life.  From the God who loves others above Himself, the written words on the page were interpreted for probably the first time, as they were intended to be understood.  His authority over the Word came from being present when it was written.  Jesus knew the stories first hand, because He was there when they occurred.  His mission of redemption became the central theme He reveals to the people present on this Sabbath day, and those listeners are blown away by His doctrines.  Christ taught with passion about the reconciliation of the people to their God.  This was not to be a simple history lesson, but a living, breathing, relationship that could impact the lives of those in attendance with the God of the Universe who loved them this much.

The people in attendance in church that day forgot all about lunch.  Ending the sermon right at 12 noon, so they could run home and fill their empty stomachs, had lost all traces of thought.  They wanted more of the word of God, they were living the admonition of Christ that men live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  They longed for more.  They were intent to hear anything He would say.  Mysteries regarding the infinite love of God were being revealed through scripture in a way like they had never heard.  It was impacting every listener.  The Holy Spirit was being poured out in Capernaum and believers were having their eyes and ears opened by the voice of God in a way they had never dreamed possible.  Oh to have been in that crowd on that day.  Oh to have heard Jesus Christ preaching on Sabbath, the only right interpretation of scriptures we would ever hear.  These people were learning from the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself, an honor we must wait for.

Mark continues in verse 23 … “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, [verse 24] Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”  First, it is important to note, that in that crowd on this Sabbath day, was a man with an unclean spirit.  A man possessed of demons.  So why was he at church?  The devil has no interest in helping men find God.  But perhaps before Jesus entered this synagogue the devil had no fear that what was being taught there had “anything” to do with Truth.  This man was not raving mad, adorned in chains, and frothing at the mouth.  He likely was dressed nicely and known to his neighbors.  But he was no less possessed.  He was in church when he was supposed to be in church, on the right day, at the right time.  But he was no less possessed.  He may have helped take up the offering, or say a prayer, or sing a song – but he was no less possessed.

How sad that in our fellowship can walk one who appears to be a like-minded believer, yet is possessed of demons who influence his life.  How sadder still, that this person could be us.  We have no idea it is the case, because we believe “we” are in charge of our lives.  Yet we are bound in sin, enslaved to loving and pleasing ourselves, with no hope of actually glimpsing self-control, let alone living in it.  It is so easy to look at others, ferret out their sins, point the accusing finger, and then believe ourselves to be holier by comparison.  But it is a false comparison, for in so doing, we reveal our lack of love, and motives of envy and pride.  We do not even realize we are consumed by those vices whose author was Lucifer of old.  We do not even realize it is we who may well be controlled by a darker spirit who keeps us from loving and focused only on judging and condemnation.  Until out of our own mouths, comes the voice of a demon we had no idea was in us in the first place.

The demon knows the end of the story.  The demon knows he has lost the war with God, and will one day face his destruction.  Notice too, the demon makes no reference to hell.  He is not existing in some other-dimensional place where fire torments him day and night.  His question is more accurate, and pointed, being … is it time for us to be destroyed?  The “hell” that exists for fallen angels and for mankind is the same.  It is living life apart from the source of ALL love.  It is knowing that the perfect bliss of loving others does exist, but that we have chosen not to be a part of it, and remain enslaved to loving only self.  That is hell.  That is real.  That exists right now, right here, and requires no flames to inflict a torture all of its own, a torture of our own making. 

The demon is moved to cry out, because he hears the words of Love coming from the mouth of Christ.  His first cry is … “Let us alone”.  The luring words of love and redemption Christ is offering fallen mankind are too much for the demon to withstand.  The torture of knowing God’s love but powerless to embrace it again brings the demon to the breaking point.  He cries out again … “what have we to do with thee thou Jesus of Nazareth”.  The demon did not go looking to confront Christ, he was happy just making the life of this man miserable.  The demon complains that since he was not looking for a confrontation he should just be left alone.  But his selfishness blinds him to the misery he causes his host, the poor blind man, who probably did not even know he was being possessed.  So the demon decides to do what he knows will be the most destructive thing he can do to stop the ministry of Christ … he decides to identify for all the listeners that “this man” is the literal Son of God.  To “out Christ” as divinity this early is sure to stir up controversy and cause those who might listen to shut Him off, due to preconceived ideas.

Mark continues in verse 25 saying … “And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. [verse 26] And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.”  Jesus forbids the demon to say anything more, whatever damage he has caused will not be tolerated to continue.  And the demon is compelled to obey.  If Christ had been a mere mortal, created a little lower than the angels, and having no divinity within Him, the demon could have easily resisted.  Angels do not take commands from men.  They are stronger than us, wiser, and have lived for eons past our few little years.  But the demon was not talking with just a “Rabbi”, or a “prophet”, he was conversing with the Son of God.  He tore his victim, and cried out with a loud voice, but he said nothing more, and he left his host.  In a twist of irony, on the Sabbath day, in the house of God, it is a demon who once again affirms the identity of Jesus Christ.

Peter recalls the response to John Mark as he writes in verse 27 saying … “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. [verse 28] And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.”  Those in that temple immediately assumed it was the doctrines of Christ that enabled Him to command demons to obey.  But then the realization it was also with authority that he commanded them and they did obey.  Notice too, the demon was more than one, the words “us” and “they” are used in conjunction with this event.  The fame of these events, the words of the demon, and the freedom from the bondage of possession would spread far and wide across all of Galilee.

The scene then transitions Mark writes in verse 29 … “And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.”  After this miracle, church service is over.  So Jesus goes to Peter’s house with His disciples, presumably for a lovely Sabbath afternoon lunch.  Mark continues in verse 30 … “But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. [verse 31] And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.”  Peter’s mother in law was sick that day, stricken by a severe fever that had left her bed ridden.  Jesus takes her by the hand, lifts her up, and the fever leaves her.  Jesus does not do this, because they are short help in the kitchen.  Instead He does this because He cannot pass by even one person in need.  Peter records it, because it is yet another healing performed by Christ on the Sabbath day.  Acts of love and redemption were the way the Sabbath was meant to be enjoyed, this is what the Author of the Sabbath had in mind.

Notice too, Jesus and his disciples do not go to a restaurant to find their food and sustenance.  They go instead where they are invited, and they receive the food that was offered to them.  The ministry of serving food to Jesus and his companions is accepted without a rebuke, or admonition to be careful “how” the meal is served and cleaned up.  We assume in the house of a fisherman, the diet would be a simple one of pita bread, fish, and perhaps some olive oil.  Peter was not a wealthy man, but he was honored to have His Lord in his home this fine Sabbath day.  Then he recalls that Christ spent the day in fellowship with Peter and his disciples and family.  Perhaps Jesus taught his mother in law, wife, and others in attendance what it means to love others like He loves them.  It is interesting though, the following texts would reveal that a great number of the people in the region still clung to the traditions of the Pharisees where it comes to Sabbath observance.  Note the following texts.

Mark continues in verse 32 saying … “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. [verse 33] And all the city was gathered together at the door. [verse 34] And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.”  The people of the region wait until sunset, when the Sabbath is officially over, before they bring Jesus Christ those who were sick and possessed with devils in order to be healed.  Perhaps the people were afraid to walk too far to find relief.  Perhaps they believed it a “sin” to seek relief on the Sabbath day itself.  But Peter dispels those ideas by citing his own mother in law’s experience with Jesus before lunch.  You will also note, Jesus does not condemn these people for waiting until after Sabbath to seek healing.  There is no lecture about how they are “doing it wrong”.  It is only His own heart, that so longed to give them relief earlier, yet none would ask.

Notice too, whether they were sick or not, the entire city gathered at the door of Peter.  Many just wanted to see what Christ could or would do, and they were not disappointed.  All those who later would demand “yet another miracle” and they would believe in Jesus, would have had to have forgotten the events at Capernaum on this day.  No matter what the disease Jesus healed them all.  Jesus forbid the devils to speak, so they could not injure His ministry further, but drive them out He did.  The Author of the Sabbath was not present to condemn the people for “how” they kept that day.  He was there to liberate them from their own chains and ideas.  He was there to free them from the possession of sin they had no idea they were enslaved by.  He was there to meet their every need with acts of love that defined His life of service to others.  Jesus did not use the Sabbath as an excuse to setup a health clinic, justifying performing health works on Sabbath.  But He did not delay meeting a need when it was presented just because it was Sabbath either.

To study the behavior of the Author of Sabbath is to change how we think about what it means to keep that time Holy.  It changes what we are intended to “remember”.  It changes the nature of joy we can experience when spending time with Dad.  It can even change what it means to truly worship our God.  And the lessons of Jesus Christ had only just begun …

 

To Know What Is Coming ...

Peter is concerned for the state of the early church.  He has opened his second letter and introduced the idea that following the path of Grace requires daily renewal, that to hold back any part of ourselves from God introduces the possibility of a fall from grace.  While our God longs to save us from ourselves, He cannot force Himself upon us and still call it love.  Peter is concerned, for he can see the early warning signs of those who would deny the power of the gospel.  Forgiveness being so easy, and reform looking so difficult, could the church decay into just another ideology with flowery words, and no real meaning to them?  Perhaps his concern is amplified, because while he is not thought of as a prophet, yet Peter reveals he knows what is to come.  And to make his point, and offer counsel to the church, he reveals to us what he already knows about the future in his own day.

Peter begins in chapter 1 of His second letter starting in verse 12 … “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.”  Peter is aware that he has shared the truth of the gospel before with those to whom he writes.  And he even realizes that what he says now could be seen as ‘nagging’ or repeating himself again and again.  But he is compelled to say it once more.  To have believers “established” in the “present” truth must supersede all other concerns about how he might be perceived by those he offers counsel to.  They must remember that the gospel is “present” truth.  The term present does not refer to immediacy of the Lord’s return, but to the immediacy of the Lord’s ability to save us from our slavery to self, and bid us entry into the Kingdom of God – which Christ had said was “already” come.  For truth to be “present” it must be here and now, in our reality, in our day-to-day.  The gospel is not some distant future message of hope, it is a present message meant for us now.  No matter how it looks, or how often he must repeat it, Peter will remind us and his readers of this fact.

He then continues in verse 13 … “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; [verse 14] Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.”  Peter is going to die.  He will be killed.  He will be crucified by the Romans for his passion to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  At his own request he will be hung upside down thinking it too great an honor to die exactly as his Lord did.  And ALL of this he has been shown AHEAD of it happening to him.  As long as Peter occupies his body in this world, that is to say his tabernacle, he will consider it his duty to remind us of the present truth of our gospel.  His concern and desire for us compounded by the imminent knowledge of his death, He must remind us once again.  Notice that knowledge of his death is not something he rebels against.  He does not ask for prayer to change the fate he will suffer.  He does not beg the Lord to extend his life in this world.  Instead Peter has reached such an absolute point of trust in Jesus, that if Jesus says it is time to die, Peter is OK with that.  The vision of Peter’s physical fate is not offered to him to scare him, but instead to remove all fear from him when it occurs.  Peter can meet his end boldly, and preach Jesus Christ boldly throughout his coming ordeal, for his death is known by himself and His Lord.

Peter then understands, SO much better than we do, our earthly existence, no matter how long or short it is, is nothing in comparison with our larger destiny.  Our lives, our existence, are meant to be eternal in a place where death, pain, and slavery to self, exist no more.  We all fear for our lives.  We do everything we can to extend them.  Peter did to.  But despite our reservation and reluctance to accept it, death comes to us all.  Peter could accept his own pending demise, not because he wanted to die, but because he wanted to live – like our God intended that he live.  He no longer wished to be bound to the shackles of this world, but instead be free to be wholly remade, including in the tabernacle of his body, the way the Lord always intended.  His only regret now, his only remaining concern, is that the church does NOT forget, the source of love and salvation they have been introduced to.  The foreknowledge of his death has helped Peter get his priorities in order, and laser focused.  Peter will soon sleep the sleep of death until his Lord returns, the centuries between himself and us are a blink of an eye to him.

Peter continues in verse 15 … “Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. [verse 16] For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  The foreknowledge of his demise, causes Peter to want to make sure the church will have certainty once he has gone and is deceased.  Peter does not intend to accomplish this reminder after he is gone, by returning as a ghost or spirit.  There is no opportunity for Peter to continue to testify to the church once he is dead and gone.  He knows this.  There is no consciousness after the grave, until the day of resurrection.  So whatever Peter is going to say, he must say now.  Peter is not looking for believers to repeat the mistakes of Saul and attempt to conjure what will only be a demon in human form after he is gone.  Peter instead will say what he has to say now, while he is alive and able to say it.  When he is dead, no more will follow from him.

He reminds the church that the gospel is NOT a set of wisely devised lies, and a set of tall-tales, or fairy tales, or a story of moral interpretation and not a real one.  Jesus Christ was a real man, of that not even Atheists question.  But for those who never met Him, for those who never looked into the eyes of God made man incarnate, there may be a lingering doubt if Jesus was truly more than a man.  Peter stands as a personal witness, one of many, who can personally attest to the “power” of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Peter can attest personally to the “majesty” of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The power of our Lord, was not in His armies, for He had none.  So Peter was not describing the greatest military leader of all time.  Military and political power belonged to others.  The Power of our Lord, was in his ability to love us.  Through that love He was able to heal what choice, sin, inheritance, and the malice of others had broken in us.  He cast out demons, whose power exceeded our own will and allowed them to inhabit their victims.  But their supernatural power was NO match for the power of Love.  He healed the lame and blind, not just straightening what was crooked, but recreating what was missing.  In the same way, He frees us from our brokenness in sin.

The Majesty of our Lord, was not defined in His earthy kingship, for He had no crown other than the one made of thorns thrust upon His head.  He had no robes of state other than the ones the Romans used to mock Him with.  He owned no gold.  He owned no lands, not even a single house.  He was homeless His entire adult life.  He accepted no earthy inheritance from his family.  Instead He gave everything He owned to the poor, the downtrodden, the less fortunate, and to anyone He saw in need.  He not only kept a bag (which Judas held) for the poor with means of coin in it, He gave them the physical, mental, and spiritual healing they needed so desperately more than that.  His majesty would not be defined in traditional terms, but to Peter and ALL those who met our Lord, His majesty exceeded any other king that had ever, or would ever rise to power.  The church needed to remember this.

Peter continues in verse 17 … “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. [verse 18] And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”  At the baptism of Jesus, the voice from God the Father was heard as the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove.  Andrew and John were there to see this, Peter was not.  But Peter was present at the end of the ministry of Christ where in the mount of Olives, Christ was transfigured as He communed with Moses and Elijah and received divine strength to uphold Him for the horror that was to come.  It was at this place, where Peter heard for himself, that affirmation that God the Father said of His only beloved Son.  Peter was an eye-witness to the voice of God the Father with respect to Jesus Christ, His only Son.

This was the ultimate witness to the divinity of Christ, that is an affirmation by His Father God.  God would not have done this, for just anybody.  Peter knew that.  He knew this could be done for only one, for only the Messiah.  And he Peter, had seen it, had heard it, had experienced it in the here and now as one who was there.  It was more than just a vision, more than just a dream, it was a real world experience in 3D and with every sense filled to capacity.  It does not get more real than that.  For Peter it does not get more certain than that.  This is the testimony he is trying to convey to the early church.  This gospel is real.  Jesus Christ is real.  And He is really the Son of God.  Jesus is not just a good man, a good Rabbi, a good teacher, or an accurate prophet.  Jesus Christ is not just a healer with power blessed by God.  He is the Son of God, as God Himself has testified to audibly, for the benefit of Peter, James, and John.  This is not even some delusion Peter might have concocted on his own, there were 2 other witnesses there for the same event.  This is the certainty Peter wants to convey before the foreknowledge of his own death catches up with him.

 Peter then moves father in verse 19 … “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:”  Peter now adds to the already heavy weight of his impassioned argument, to all that he has seen and bore witness to, he adds a “more sure word of prophecy”.  This is not only a reference to all the men of old who foretold the coming of the Messiah, since the first promise of Him that Moses recorded of the Genesis experience between Christ and Adam and Eve.  It is also a reference to the contemporary servants of Jesus Christ alive in the days of Peter and in the early church.  Jesus Christ had offered prophecy and foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple within it.  As such not a single Christian died in that horrific Roman siege.  Instead, when they saw the signs, they did not return to their homes to gather supplies, but left immediately and were gone with the Roman legions arrived.

John too, would now add his own Revelations of Jesus Christ, to the growing volumes of prophecy in guiding the early church.  Peter was confident that all prophecies inspired of God, would NOT lead away from Jesus Christ, but instead would lead to Jesus Christ.  Peter was absolutely certain of this.  The Truth of Jesus Christ would be a consistent truth, and would find no other interpretation, or alternative path to God.  The Father had given us His Son, it was everything He had to give, there would be no greater gift He could offer.  And it would be the only means by which we could be remade and come back into the presence of our God.  Peter knew he was worshipping the right God, and the only God.  Peter knew His Son was His only Son, and Peter would stipulate that all true prophecy could only have one author, therefore only have one outcome.  There would be no prophecies inspired by God that would point to Mohammed, or Buddha, or any other purported deity.  The only prophecies inspired by God would always and only point to Jesus Christ.

But Peter here too offers us a glimpse of what the goal of the gospel is to be in our lives … ‘until the day star arise in our hearts’.  The goal of prophecy and of accepting the gospel, is not to make us scholars in the Word.  We are not to be oracles of the future where men come to gain advice of how to obtain their next desire.  We are to allow prophecy and the acceptance of the gospel, to enable Jesus Christ the day star, to arise in our hearts.  We are to live the messages of prophecy.  We are to live the love of the gospel.  We are to reflect Jesus Christ as the source of light in our lives, not believe we have become the source of its origin.  To become like Jesus, because we allow Jesus to remake us to love others like God loves others is the entire point of both the gospel and the sure word of prophecy.  Any other use or goal is meaningless.

Peter does not attempt to use the knowledge of his own death to alter that outcome.  He does not beg God to change it.  Instead he uses his foreknowledge to remind and reinforce in the minds of his readers, the importance of living the salvation experience.  He reminds them at risk of looking like an old man who cannot stop repeating himself, that this gospel is the most important thing on planet earth.  It is more important than life and death, even when that life and death is your own.  Many of his readers will die in Roman stadiums to the blood thirsty cheers of the crowd and the roar of lions starved into a demonic rage.  They will face this fate singing hymns of praise to Jesus Christ.  They will die like sheep following their shepherd, not because they do not value life, but because they value the life their Lord intends for them far more.  Peter’s example will be remembered when they face their own horrific end.  Peter’s foreknowledge of what would happen to him, did not deter him from the gospel, instead it deepened him in the gospel.  His impassioned pleas to the Romans who would put him to death, carried even more weight because he knew the Truth of Jesus Christ, and because he trusted both his life and his death into the hands of Jesus Christ.

Peter knew he would die.  In your own heart, you know you will to.  Peter hoped for the Lord return before he died, as do you.  But Peter met his end, with the certainty of the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That Truth caused Peter to live every moment before his death with the priority of the gospel as front and center.  Will we do the same?  Can we learn to re-measure the quality of our lives not by how long they last, but by how much love we show to others before they end?  Can we allow Christ to so remake us, that every moment is a brand new opportunity to do something for someone else?  It is in showing love to others that we most resemble our Lord.  To live this way, is to truly live.  When once we embrace this path, our death will only be a brief interruption in a lifestyle we will carry into a perfect world, where all lingering chains and weakness will once and for all be removed.  In that world, what we started here by loving others, will be amplified by the perfection He will have completed in us.  In that world, our experience will be something we can hardly imagine in this one.  This was the goal of prophecy, and of the gospel, to see us live a life like this, that begins in the here and the now, and sees only a completion in the next one.

And Peter had more yet to say …

Peter's First Epilogue ...

The conclusion of Peter’s first letter to the church is marked by only 3 verses.  Generally after having made our in-depth study of the preceding 5 chapters and many verses, we would briefly read the last 3 and surmise this was an excellent overall volume of work Peter wrote for the church.  The last 3 verses are after all, merely an epilogue, a sort of administrative formality of who helped Peter write this work, and general set of announcements or news he wished to share.  It would appear at first, as though there is not too much “meat” written or intended in the last few verses.  But what if a second look, determined there was something more there than first meets the eye   What if, even in what seems fairly routine, are buried a few more nuggets of truth for us to discover?

Peter wraps up his first letter to the church in verse 12 saying … “By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.”  First, lest we think there was any tension between Peter and Paul over the spreading of the gospel outside of the predominantly Jewish community, it had ceased.  This letter was addressed to the church in Asia Minor, obviously composed of non-Jewish converts.  Second, consider that Peter references Silvanus otherwise called Silas as a faithful brother.  Paul, Silas, and Timothy were often working together to open new churches across southern Europe from Rome through Greece, Turkey, and the Northern areas of the Middle East.  Here Peter is recognizing the ministry of Paul, and of Silas as being faithful to the church.  He is endorsing what they say.  Peter states that this ministry is “the true grace of God wherein ye stand”. 

This endorsement is important in two contexts.  First, Peter equates his own ministry with that of Paul and Silas as being equal in truth and importance.  Peter is not asserting his right to authorize the work of another, only that he is stating his agreement with that ministry.  Some Christian’s assert that Peter was the leader of the disciples after Christ ascended back to heaven, and that somehow there was an immediate hierarchy within the church.  There was not.  Peter has just spent the last five chapters of this letter affirming how leadership responsibilities belong to “Elders” of which he counts himself.  Leadership was not supposed to be centered only in pastors, or bishops, or priests – of which, none of these terms are ever used by Peter in this text to discuss himself or other leaders of Christianity.  Peter in this final epilogue is stating his unity with the ministry of Silas, Paul, and Timothy.

Second, Peter is showing his close contact and coordination with the work of Paul and Silas as being in partnership for the cause of Christ.  There is a unity in the mission of the disciples and apostles of Christianity in spreading the gospel.  There is no competition between Peter and Paul, there is partnership.  Just because 2 great personalities, 2 great elders, have a different perspective on Christ, and different talents in the cause of God, does not mean there is no unity.  Rather, the work of Christ is enhanced by employing the varied skills of 2 servants, not attempting to make them both the same.  Some Christians assume, that to be effective in the cause of Christ, they must learn to become great speakers, or great writers, or great missionaries.  But this is not true.  It is not what you must become to be effective in His cause; it is to allow Him to use what you already are.  Your differences, your unique perspective, is what lends you to be effective in His cause.  There can be partnership and unity within the church without the use of cloning.  We need not be exactly alike, or equally skilled.  Instead we need to be fully willing to be used, and appreciative of the differences of others and what their value is to the church as well as our own.

The goal of the viral church is to appreciate the differences between us, while being united in the goal of spreading a living salvation experience.  This means however, that our own experience is not “THE” roadmap to God, it is merely “our” individual roadmap.  Each person surrenders to Christ, and each is saved by Christ.  But this is not a cookie cutter approach where one size fits all.  It is an individual approach where the grace of God reaches one soul at a time.  Just because Christ frees you from some particular sin first, does not mean he frees everyone of that sin first.  Where you may be unburdened by something, does not mean your brother is there yet.  Perhaps his journey will be longer.  It is not your job to rush a process in him that you see completed in yourself.  It is your job to love him through his own process, and be there for him, to encourage him on his journey of surrender.  YOU do not decide his timeline of surrender.  You can only work on your own.  Let Christ do the work of removing sin in others.  Let yourself become a vessel through which the love of Christ reaches others and motivates them to seek a change in the first place.

Our Godhead is united in purpose, but they are not a singular entity.  They are three entities, distinct in personality, attributes, and skills and abilities.  God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not the same person, but they are in perfect unity.  We too can be Christian brothers, and when our love for others replaces love for self, we can find ourselves in perfect unity for His cause and not our own.  This state of unity, like the work of Peter and Paul, allows us to leverage our talents for His cause.  Peter was not much of a writer in comparison with the works of Paul.  But this did not deter the cause of Christ from benefiting from what each did.  Paul was probably not as passionate a speaker as Peter was, but his logical style and lawyer like tendencies were also employed in the cause of Christ.  Both men were united in love for others.  This was the “true grace” that Peter refers to.

Peter continues his epilogue in verse 13 writing … “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”  First, Peter identifies a church that is at “Babylon”.  Peter is not speaking of the literal city of Babylon, long since destroyed in wars.  However this designation gives an immediate prophetic context to the writings of Peter’s other partner in the cause of Christ, namely those of John and his book of Revelations of Jesus Christ.  John writes of several prophecies where the usage of Babylon is cited.  In this context Peter implies that the church at Babylon is the singular light in the darkness of the capital of the world at that time … Rome.  This does not imply that Babylon would remain designated to Rome and never move again, it does however signify that Rome was the capital of power in his day, and that the church at Babylon would be the church at this capital.  Rome would remain Babylon in this context for quite a long time.  This designation however, would make even more sense, as we see the state of the decay of the church that moves from the symbolism of a white horse of purity, to a ghost horse of death.

Next you will note that the church was “elected together” with you.  This could have two meaning for us.  First, it could mean that the work of perfection or of being made elect, righteous, and upright is being accomplished in the church at Rome, the same way it is being accomplished everywhere else in the world at this time or any other; through the surrender of its members to the power of Jesus Christ.  In this sense, Peter is stating that the location of the church is not the determining factor in its success in the cause of Christ, it is the state of surrender that determines that.  Location does not deter the cause of God.  The church can thrive in “sin city” just as well as anywhere else, if its members are willing to surrender to Christ and lean on His strength instead of their own.  Second, the idea of “elected” could refer to a democratic ideology within the governing structure of the church.  That is to say, that the members elect or vote to determine the roles of elder, or care-giver, or teacher within the body based on a collective view or consensus on the skills of their various members.  In either context, the ideas of equality of the work of Christ are not made better or worse based on the location of where the church resides.  Nor does a church get to assert prominence based on location.

Lastly, in this passage, Peter refers to the great love he has for his co-worker Marcus, or Mark.  It will be Mark who writes a gospel of Jesus Christ from the experiences Peter will share with him.  It is this clue that sets our path to study the writings of Peter through the gospel of Mark in our studies.  But also important here is that Peter once again expresses a level of unity with yet another elder in the early church.  Peter goes so far as to call Mark “his son”.  Given his own education and writing skills, it may well have been Mark who actually wrote this letter on behalf of Peter.  Peter dictates what to say, Mark transcribes it in written form.  This may also have been the method used in writing the gospel book we will study later.  In any case, unity in the cause of Christ remains a paramount idea in the mind of Peter.  He continues to identify himself as partner with these other early church leaders, not as sole leader or head of the church to which all other authorities must submit.  The only “sole” authority we are to submit to within the church and our lives, remains Jesus Christ.

Peter concludes his first book, and this epilogue in verse 14 writing … “Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.”  To greet each other with a kiss of charity is to express for each other a level of intimacy within the cause of Christ.  Physical contact of any kind grows rarer in the age of the internet and trend to isolationism.  We spend more time in front of our screens, and less time in front of each other.  As such we become more reserved with each other.  Whether in fear of germs that now run rampant, or just in fear of over-asserting our affections, we abstain from intimate contact.  How many a young boy will have cited this text to a young girl in hopes of obtaining that first kiss?  But Peter was not offering advice for those attempting to date.  This was not a kiss of passion, or affection, it was of charity.  Charity is a gift we do not deserve, and implies more pity than passion.  Forgetting who we are attracted to, and offering a kiss to ANY in the membership of our Christian ranks, is to express a level of intimacy within the family of Christ.

Peter does not say we should kiss each other on the lips, nor does he preclude it.  But before we get all excited, remember you would be kissing your child, your mother, your father, and a stranger unknown to you in this same manner of charity.  I would guess the practice of kissing each other on the cheeks during a greeting may have been derived from this passage.  The message behind it however, has even more meaning in our day than it did in Peter’s.  Peter and his compatriots did not suffer from the burden of modern technology and the isolation which it tends to foster.  Peter and his viral church were out there “in real life”.  They did not spend hours in front of a screen whether behind the internet, or the TV, or the movie theatre.  They were far more physically engaged with each other than we have become.  But expressions of affection and intimacy among the members of our church are no less important today than they were back then, in fact now it is a higher importance.

If the viral church is to battle the social norms, perhaps we should begin with increasing our time “in real life” and with acts of affection for our fellow members of the body.  Perhaps those to whom this idea is foreign could begin with warm handshakes when they encounter others.  Or perhaps to those who are farther along in the journey, an unsolicited hug might be just the thing another needs.  Or perhaps to those who are yet farther on the journey to loving others, a kiss of charity.  But perhaps even more important for those yet farther down the road to perfection, is a sustained, prolonged, deep and caring interest in the life of another, that will NOT rest, until that life has every evidence of the love it needs to survive and thrive in this world, while we have means to achieve it, and even when we do not.  That was the passion of our Christ, and He longs to reflect through us to each other and to the world so in need of His love.

The final thought of Peter was to bless us and wish for us all, the Peace of Jesus Christ.  Peace brings a state of mind that is free from the concerns of war, or threats against our security, and worry over our survival.  To find His Peace, is to fully put our trust in Him, understanding He looks out for our higher priorities, and that the cares of this world are nothing in the context of His plans for eternity.  Life, death, health, safety … none of these things can be truly comprehended with a mortal view of them.  They can only be truly comprehended in the light of eternity He longs to bring us.  If we are to have His peace, we must learn to trust Him with ALL our cares.  In this way, we free ourselves from them.  In this way, we learn to trust Him even more.  In this way, we come to recognize, we were never in control, and that resting in Him is the only path to real and lasting Peace, no matter what our earthly situations attempt to dictate to us.  His peace cannot be taken away by this world.  For His peace is eternal, and the gift He longs to bring to us all.

Thus concludes Peter’s first letter to the church and this epilogue.  Perhaps the secret to uncovering even more truth is to not only have second look at passages like these, but a third, and fourth, and a never ending study …

 

Revelations Begin ...

Mary Magdalene had fulfilled her gospel commission to take the message of hope to the new Christian church (the eleven remaining disciples).  Her message given to her directly by the Savior “should” have engendered hope, given courage, and inspired faith.  This was the first revelation Christ made to us of the completion of His work to save us from ourselves and our sins.  The first revelation of His love to us after rising from His grave; was to pause His own work and take time to comfort the grieving Mary with His words of profound love.  We were to see His Father as our Father.  We were to see His God as our God.  Jesus was alive, not dead in a tomb.  His work to pay our penalty for the sins we embrace was completed and He was on His way to His Father to see our salvation confirmed.  Mary had done as Christ had asked.  But her message bore no fruit.  She had done what Jesus Himself had told her, her new life had begun, because of the gift of Christ, but even though she had done what she was commissioned to do, her words were not heeded.  Such is the arrogance of those who are determined to pre-judge the messenger as unworthy or unreliable, rather than to hear the word of God thru whom it was given.  Mary should not have been judged by her former life, for now through the light of Christ’s gifts, her former life was passed away, and her new life had begun.  The words Mary brought from the mouth of Christ Himself should have been judged on their own merit.  For His words were a fulfillment of the mission of the Messiah, and everything He had taught them could have been brought to mind, if they had simply been willing to hear it.  But they were not.

The closest men to Christ, His most ardent followers; were not immune to chauvinism, prejudice, and despair from what they saw with their eyes, and believed to be the only “facts” that could exist.  They had seen Christ crucified.  They had seen Christ, nailed and pierced.  They had seen Christ, laid dead in a tomb.  These things they had witnessed or been told, and these things they believed.  They knew them to be certain.  Their hopes in the rabbinical view of an anti-Roman kingdom had been shattered.  Their faith had been shaken.  Their despair in their own actions taken during the killing of the One they claimed to love more than life, were now only a source of tremendous guilt.  They had accepted the idea that His body was gone from the grave, for they had witnessed that themselves.  But they only believed this was simply yet another act of Roman or Priestly cruelty, not anything more.  Despite the personal testimony of Mary Magdalene, they remained unconvinced.  They had a scriptural understanding, and personal witness, that formed a set of “facts” that could not be undone by the faith that lay within them.  Like us, they needed, their preconceptions wiped away.   Like us, they needed a revelation of Christ, that would change “how” they think, and “how” they “see” the world and the reality of the Truth of Christ.  And Christ would offer them exactly that.

It was the same day as the report of Mary.  It was the evening.  They had gathered again on this Sunday night in the upper room, for fear of the Jewish leadership.  They believed the Jews would persecute and kill them for their former association with Jesus.  But in truth, the Priests who had already heard the testimony of the 100 Roman soldiers; were not looking to silence them for what they “used” to know, but for what they might now discover.  Now that the Sabbath had ended and soon the people who had gathered at Jerusalem would be returning home from the worship of atonement, the Priests would have more time to focus on these last remaining loose ends.  But the disciples feared from their entanglement with the past.  They assumed it was because of their association with the slain Lord that they would be sought out next.  They had no idea, it was because He was arisen, that they had now become even more dangerous to the legacy of control the priests wished to maintain over the people.  Had the priests known that His own disciples did not believe He was alive; they would not have killed them.  They would instead have put them all on public display and made them testify as to their certainty that He was dead and gone.  This would have boosted the credibility of the Priests, and destroyed any hope of an early Christian church.  Their certainty despite the word of Mary, and the witness of 100 other Roman soldiers, would have been welcomed by those who oppose the gospel.  The irony was thick.

But Christ had a revelation in mind, to wipe away the misplaced fears of His disciples.  He would change their thinking in an instant.  He would alter their future in a moment.  And He would restore in them the hope for an early Christian Church meant to shake the very foundations of power in the world around them.  John records in His gospel in chapter 20 beginning in verse 19 … “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”  Notice first, John specifically points out that the doors were shut, likely locked, possibly barricaded.  The idea there was to keep the angry folks out, and keep the folks inside safe.  They had gathered there for fear after all.  Jesus does not knock on the door from the outside of this situation.  Christ is no longer to be confined or limited by the structures of men.  Christ is now freely able to show to us His divinity.  As such He appears in the midst of the secured room.  And His first words are the same ones they know, and have heard Him say on similar occasions when miraculous events had occurred – “Peace be unto you”.  The very first personal revelation of Christ to those men there is to relieve their fears.  Once again Christ addresses our most pressing needs.  Once again Christ demonstrates what it means to love another and not Himself.

Christ does not enter this room with the righteous judgment He is equipped to condemn them with.  They have all failed miserably during His trial and murder.  None of them stood with Him.  None of them offered Him comfort.  All of them did nothing, though all of them had claimed devotion to the point of sacrificing their own lives for Him.  He does not begin His conversation with them, by demanding that they acknowledge their failures, and seek forgiveness before He “allows” them to join in His ministry of saving the lost.  As with Mary, He does not hold them accountable for their very acts of failure committed only a short while ago.  Instead He does not even address these failures.  For their sins, like Mary’s, and like ours, have ALREADY been forgiven.  He does not seek perfection in His servants before they are allowed to serve.  Instead He offers perfection as a gift that will come to them over time as they learn to submit their will to His own.  In this regard, John continues in verse 20 … “And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.”  He is the Life.  He changes fear into joy.  He reveals that death is no boundary with which He will be contained, and that instead He is master over the grave and beyond it.  He shows them Himself, His wounds that prove He is no ghost or aberration, but the physical Man they know and love.  He reveals again to men the Truth of Himself.  Truth is found in Christ alone, not in the failed interpretations of scriptures the disciples had clung to only moments before.  The Truth had made them free.  Scripture could now be interpreted in the Light and the Truth of Jesus Christ, never again outside of Him.

John continues in verse 21 … “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”  Jesus was calling them to be sent into the world.  Notice the goal of the follower of Christ is NOT to seek isolation from those in corruption who need to be saved.  Instead He sends His own into the world, like His Father had sent Him.  These men were not to be evangelists by profession, but by example.  They were to be living ambassadors of Love.  They were to demonstrate what it means to Love others to a world who was in such desperate need of Love.  Christ did the will of His Father, as we are to do His will.  These men were to heal the sick because it is the will of Christ, as Christ healed because it was the will of His Father.  Christ held back love from no man or woman or child or senior citizen.  He gave Love to all who He encountered.  He sought out those in the MOST need of Him, He did not make them come to Him first.  Christ took the initiative and went to them.  Christ was sent to the world.  He came to bring Life.  He did not sit still and make those who might have an interest in Life, come figure out where He was and find Him.  Instead He brought Life openly into the world and imparted it everywhere He went.  He did not allow prejudice to keep Him away from Samaritans, Romans, or the most grievous sinners.  Instead He welcomed them all like the precious children of His that they are.

Jesus does not ask them to become preachers and teachers by trade.  He does not tell them to collect money so that their ministries have the finances to be successful.  He does not tell them to worry about money at all.  For Christ did not rely on finances to do the will of His Father.  Money was not a concern at all where Christ was involved.  But people were, and people are.  To bring Love to those in need was the commission He was enrolling His erring disciples into.  It would be the sharing of love that would bring perfection into the world, and into His own followers.  It would be Love that alone which would offer the motivation to change, and the power of Christ to effect it.  John continues in verse 22 … “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: [verse 23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”  Notice that the power of Christ, in His Spirit, was not something they inherently had within them, but was instead a gift to them and to us, like everything else that has to do with our salvation.  It does not come from within us, but as a gift.  The receiving of the Holy Spirit was done here, not at Pentecost.  That later day was a manifestation of a gift that had ALREADY been given.  This is an important realization and revelation – salvation had already been accomplished – these gifts and revelations were a publication of an event that has ALREADY transpired.

Verse 23 is an echo of this sequence of events.  For those who accept the message and love of the good news of Christ; they have ALREADY been forgiven.  It is time to tell them this incredibly good news.  The disciples themselves had not asked for forgiveness for their own failures as yet, but Christ had already forgiven them, and was now inviting them to join Him in ministry to the world.  He was not giving them bags of gold to finance their ministry or end poverty, but instead was breathing into them His Spirit to perfect the Love of others within them.  Love would be enough to make their living examples a ministry that could not be contained.  Those who accepted what they said about salvation being the gift Christ had ALREADY given; their sins were ALREADY forgiven.  Those however, who like them, only moments before had rejected the good news of Christ, retained the lack of hope that comes with refusing the forgiveness Christ ALREADY offers, would retain that hopelessness.  We choose to retain our own sins, not because we are forced to by our own weakness, but because we choose to by pushing away the freedom He so longs for us to accept.  Those who will not hear, or accept the gift and revelation of the Truth of Christ, are dooming themselves to the slavery of their own beliefs.  Their sins are retained by their refusal to let go, and accept the gift of His salvation and freedom.  Christ had changed the minds and perceptions of His disciples in that room that evening because they did not continue to reject the idea of His divinity after they had seen His revelation to them.  They let go their fears of the past, and were made free from the Truth of His presence.

Only God could forgive sins.  Christ could forgive us, because He is God.  He was not telling His disciples they had the power of forgiveness, He was telling them they had the honor of revealing the forgiveness of Christ to the world.  Those who would hear the gospel would find forgiveness of Christ already active in their minds and hearts.  Those who would reject the gospel of Christ would leave themselves with no hope of forgiveness, for none was left who could grant it.  This was His most powerful revelation to those men in the upper room – that He was the sole source of our salvation – it would be His gift to us, and nothing we could do for ourselves.  For self is always the enemy of our own salvation.  For the ten men, and Mary, who were there, faith was once again renewed and affirmed and put into action.  Thomas however, was missing at this event.  Perhaps he had been out to find food.  Perhaps he had an errand to run.  But Thomas was not present to personally witness this revelation of Christ to the others.  And Thomas was not able to accept this testimony based on the word of others alone.  He needed a personal revelation as well.  John chronicles the response of Thomas beginning in verse 24 … “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. [verse 25] The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Thomas had heard the message of Jesus being alive now twice; first from Mary, now from the other ten.  But Thomas could not take the good news of the gospel just on the testimony of others, he needed more.  He too needed a personal revelation in order to be sure.  He wanted to believe.  He wanted like the others to be so sure.  But he was not.  So even though the ninety and nine had been assured, the needs of the one still searching sheep aroused the attention of the One who meets every need, and loves every soul.  John continues in verse 26 … “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”  Notice first, there was nothing significant about the day of the week in which Christ appeared.  The first time was on Sunday to affirm the testimony of Mary to his followers.  This time it was on Monday a little more than week later to meet the needs of Thomas.  This time, just like the first, the doors were secured again, and Christ enters the room anyway appearing the midst of them.  Once again, He offers His greeting of peace to them all.  This time Thomas was there to hear it for himself.

Now it was time to give Thomas the faith he would need, now it was time to give Thomas the revelation he had required.  John continues in verse 27 … “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”  Christ wanted to insure that Thomas too, would be certain.  Christ wanted to blow away every doubt, and every remaining shred about “how” Thomas thought.  Thomas needed to “know” and Christ was there to insure that he did.  Thomas responds in verse 28 … “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”  No more doubts lingered in Thomas.  He now addresses Christ not as his friend, but as his Lord, and his God.  The divinity of Christ is no longer even a question in the mind of Thomas.  He is convinced with a faith no one will ever be able to take from him in the future.  But there is a greater Truth that must be revealed to them all.  John continues in verse 29 … “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  The revelations of Christ are not all to be seen.  The most important revelations of Christ will be experienced in the lives of those who believe.  It will be the freedom from the slavery to self and sin, that is the experience of revelation we will still be able to witness for ourselves.  This gift of salvation is not theoretical, but experiential.  It is personal to each of us.  It does not come in a corporate block, but in a one-on-one method.

The men in that room all needed to hear from Christ that His revelations were not limited to those who could “see” Him, but to those who would choose to believe in Him.  That message was recorded not only for the Greeks of his day, but for us who would read these words, never having seen the person of Jesus Christ, but would be able to discern His revelation to us in the form of the salvation He brings us as His gift.  Now to see Christ, we need only look at the acts of love and benevolence offered unselfishly to those in need.  It is there that we see Christ reflected to the world.  It is in the Love we show to others that we find Him today.  When it is we who show this kind of unconditional love to others, it is we who reflect Him.  When we Love without judgment or condemnation, instead loving alone to the point of redemption, it is we who join with Him, we are sent, as He was sent. 

It is not our former lives that dictate our worthiness to share in His ministry.  It is not our financial acumen or wealth that enables us to minister for Christ.  It is our willingness to submit our own will to His, and our willingness to reflect His so great love to others through us.  John seems to recognize that there are too many miracles to contain in His gospel, or perhaps any gospel.  He pens this epilogue in verse 30 … “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: [verse 31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  John offers us His insights into the proof of the divinity of Christ.  But more, he offers us the revelations of God who walked our earth, and lived a life of perfect love.  God is love.  His kingdom is comprised of those who love.  It was for love that He saved us.  It was for love that He wishes to take us home with Him.  It was for love that He was given to the world.  It will be only love that sees the world redeemed, and us with it.  Love is the only answer that can finally and fully defeat evil.