From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Proper Time

There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
(John 7:12-13)

Activities in Jerusalem confirmed the wisdom of Jesus’ caution in going there. There was much discussion among the people, revolving around 2 views of the Lord: some were saying, “He is a good man,” whereas others claimed, “He leads the people astray .” But both perceptions were incorrect. A mere good man would not claim to be God (John 8:24, 28, 58), and a deceiver would not perform the genuine miracles that Jesus did (John 10:25, 37-38; 14:10-11).

Tragically, the view that Christ led the people astray was the one most Jews eventually accepted. Although the leaders plainly rejected Him, the Sanhedrin had not officially passed judgment regarding Him. Therefore, the masses guarded their words, speaking neither for nor against Him, until an official response came forth.

This passage shows us that Jesus always followed God’s timetable perfectly. And He always did the Father’s will precisely in line with God’s infallible wishes. If we are genuine followers of Christ, we will be able to do the same — because we possess both His Word and His Spirit. The Word informs us (Psalm 40:8), and the Holy Spirit enables us to obey with gladness (Psalm 143:10; 119:111). Unbelievers don’t have these capabilities, but nonetheless, any day is right for them to turn to the Lord for salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Ask Yourself:
Failing to act wisely in certain situations may have caused you a world of trouble in the past. Perhaps, in fact, you’ve lost confidence in your ability to make smart choices. Always remember that the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord. What might this lead you to do?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
Jesus Answers The Challenge

Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.                                (John 7:6-9)

Our Lord never unveiled Himself before the appropriate time, the precise moment the Father chose (John 2:4). So Jesus would not publicly enter Jerusalem and proclaim Himself to be the Messiah until Passover (Luke 19:37-40), at which time that manifestation would lead to His death.

By contrast, Christ’s unbelieving brothers knew nothing of God’s plans and purposes, and were indifferent to His providence. They could go to the feast at any time because they would face no fatal hostility from the Jewish leaders. However, Jesus reminded His brothers that the world hated Him because of His testimony against it. The devil controls the world (1 John 5:19), hence it is intrinsically evil and sinful.

Besides reasons of divine timing, Jesus chose not to go to Jerusalem for other reasons as well. The probable large, public caravan of people (Luke 2:44) might have invited another forcible attempt to make Him king, or it could have triggered a premature triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Either way, events could have caused His death before the proper time.

When our Lord did lay down His life 6 months later, it would be exactly when God predetermined it (John 7:30; 8:20). Jesus would in no way allow His brothers’ skepticism to dictate His actions. His sovereign Father orchestrated everything in His time and determined all the Son did.

Ask Yourself:
Have you ever had to go against others’ expectations in order to remain obedient to God’s direction for your life? Or do you generally let these kinds of pressures do the dictating, even when it causes you to be less than faithful to God’s calling?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
Earthly Relatives Challenge Jesus

“For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the World.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him.         (John 7:4-5)

Because the Feast of Booths was nearing, and was a mandatory one for Jewish men to attend, Jesus’ half brothers (sons of both Mary and Joseph; see Matthew 13:55) assumed He would be going to Judea to celebrate it. They challenged Him to perform public miracles before the people who would be in Jerusalem for the feast. They likely thought that Christ’s followers from Galilee and Judea would see works showing that He was indeed the Messiah. And maybe some who had recently abandoned Him would return. The brothers, however, were not eager for Him to show His glory, for they did not even yet believe in Him (vs. 5).

Actually, these family detractors may have wanted to see more signs so they could decide for themselves if the works were authentic and credible. Like the crowd (6:14-15), they expected a political Messiah — a messiah-ship that would center in Jerusalem. If the Jewish leaders approved of Jesus’ miracles and identity as Messiah, so would the half brothers.

The brothers’ words about private versus public ministry, implying Jesus shouldn’t remain secluded in Galilee, show they didn’t fully understand His mission. Further, their challenge for Him to reveal Himself to the world simply manifests more skepticism. And the apostle John’s footnote, “For not even His brothers were believing,” confirms their faithless words. Earlier, they had thought Jesus had lost His mind (Mark 3:21, 31-34). Up to this point, nothing had changed their minds — only the Lord’s resurrection would draw them to faith in Him (Acts 1:14).

Ask Yourself:
Have you ever felt that some large gathering would be the best way for a friend or family member to be changed by a spiritual experience? While this certainly can occur, be praying for something more permanent — a deep-down, very personal encounter with the living God.

From the desk of Pastor Ben
Jesus Discipling In Galilee

“After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.”     (John 7:1)

The apostle John recorded nothing specific about Jesus’ activities during the interval denoted by “after these things” (6 months from Passover in April, to the Feast of Tabernacles in October) other than He “was walking in Galilee”  — no doubt traveling and ministering (see Mark 8:22-26; Matthew 15:32-38; 17:14-18).

Jesus spent most of that interval, however, extensively discipling the apostles. That He spent only two days with the large crowd of John 6 but six months with His men demonstrates that our Lord’s main ministry focus was not on mass meetings, but discipleship. He poured His time and energy into the 11 servants (minus Judas Iscariot; Matthias and Paul were chosen later) who would pick up His ministry when He ascended back to heaven. The true church today is the result of those men who faithfully disciples others, who continued the process down to our day.

Discipleship must be our top priority as well. Jesus didn’t commission the church to merely draw in large crowds, but to make disciples as it progressed (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul underscored this in his injunction to pastor Timothy: “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). God wants us to judge the success of our churches by the depth of their discipleship, not the numerical size of their congregations.

Ask Yourself:
What have been some of the benefits you’ve derived from up-close, one-on-one learning that would never have been yours any other way? What is it that is cluttering your life too full to offer discipleship to another person, including your children? How could you change that?

From the desk of Pastor Ben

Forgiveness of One Another – Part 2

“. . . If each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
(Matthew 18:35b)

True heart forgiveness is a trusting forgiveness, one that views the offending brother exactly as if he hadn’t sinned. Even though sin against God, the church, and individual brethren can produce long-lasting hurt, the restoration process can be characterized by generosity and trust. If the sin was theft, we can again entrust the offender with something precious. If the sin was shirked responsibility, we can give him or her other important tasks to do. If slander was involved, we can again entrust them with our reputation — we will again fully love and trust one another.

The genuinely forgiving person will not dwell on an offense, but there can be reminders beyond his control that he can’t forget. And real forgiveness will not merely excuse an offense — sin is always sin and we should never seek to dismiss it. However, true forgiveness will terminate bitterness, anger, and resentment that only exacerbate the sin rather than remove it.

Again, the sort of forgiveness we have discussed is impossible in our own strength. It is a supernatural trait and is possible only through the power of the in dwelling Holy Spirit. Only as a believer walks by the Spirit is he able to “not carry out the desire of the flesh,” which can include holding a grudge rather than forgiving (see Galatians 5:16-21). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (vs. 22-23). If we have such spiritual fruit, we will also have a constant attitude of mutual forgiveness (vs. 24-26).

Ask Yourself:
Should we treat continual sins any differently from one-time sins of the past? What kind of character is called on when forgiveness is not a single occurrence based on a former act but rather a heart attitude that must be repeatedly employed to deal with ongoing offenses?

From the desk of Pastor Ben

Forgiveness of One Another – Part 1

“ . . . If each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
(Matthew 18:35b)

Christians’ forgiveness of each other is not as powerful as God’s, which absolves believers from sin and continually cleanses their hearts from daily iniquity. However, their forgiveness of each other must reflect these two kinds of forgiveness. They must possess an internal, all-encompassing attitude that is ready to forgive in advance, before the sin is known or the other person requests forgiveness. That spirit is in-changing and reflects love from God that “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). If the offending believer repents, the other believer then offers relational forgiveness and God restores the broken relationship.

Disciples of Christ should be identified as forgiving people, because they’ve been forgiven as no other group. If they refuse to forgive other believers, they deny their redeemed nature and sever themselves from God’s relational forgiveness that cleanses them from ongoing sins. They thereby forfeit inner peace, power, and sanctification that only a strong relationship with Jesus Christ can produce.

Billy Graham wrote many years ago, “Forgiveness is the image of God, the forgiving Father, and an advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the world.” The Beatitudes tell us, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). If we desire mercy and blessing fro Christ for our repeated sins against Him, we must have a heartfelt willingness to forgive fellow believers even for repeated sins against us. Then we can genuinely and confidently ask God to “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

Ask Yourself:
What does forgiveness “from your heart” entail? Can genuine forgiveness ever occur in any other way? What is set in motion (or allowed to continue) when a form of forgiveness is given that is less than authentic, less than wholehearted, less than the measure of God’s grace?

From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Example of Forgiveness – Part 6

“His lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My Heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:34-35)

The Lord does not discipline His children out of hatred but out of love: “For those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6). God ones this only to bring them back to Himself and his righteousness — “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness” (vs. 10). So, every believer experiences God’s chastening occasionally because every one deserves it from time to time. And it’s only natural that His “discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (vs. 11).

When we forget God’s rich forgiveness to us and refuse to forgive fellow believers, Christ places us under such “torturers” (the word referred to inquisitors) — stress, hardship, pressure, or other tribulations — until we confess our sin and receive forgiveness. James warns us, “Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy” (James 2:13).

Christ is not teaching here of our receiving a forgiveness that brings salvation, as if God saves only those who are forgiving. That would be a form of righteousness by works. But He is referring to believers forgiving one another after experiencing God’s free grace. Believers will — and surely ought to — display the redeemed and transformed life by having a forgiving attitude toward others (see Matthew 6:14-15). However, there will always be times when Christians will fall into the sin of un-forgiveness, and this entire teaching is for those times.

Ask Yourself:
What are some of the “torturers” that can show up in the life of an un-forgiving person, causing him loss and unnecessary pain? How have you experienced some of these unpleasantries in your own life? How did God use them to draw you back into conformity with His Word?

From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Example of Forgiveness – Part 5

When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, “You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?”     (Matthew 18:31-33)

Believers should be “deeply grieved” when another Christian is unforgiving. That hardening of the heart not only tends to drive the sinning believer deeper into sin, but it can also create dissension and division within the church, taint its testimony, and deeply grieve our Lord Himself.

The other slaves’ going to the king with the dreadful account of an unforgiving attitude gives us interesting insight into what the parable says about the Christian’s duty to carry out discipline against a sinning brother or sister, and the need, as necessary, to ask God to punish and remove the ungracious fellow believer.

The king is rightly incensed when hearing the news of the first slave’s attitude, and properly calls him “wicked” because the slave allowed remaining sin to control his thoughts and deeds. Un-forgiveness is much more sinful in a believer because that brother or sister is infinitely more capable of forgiving than is the person who has never experienced divine grace. How can someone receive God’s mercy for the un-payable debt of sin and then not forgive another’s small offense against him?

The king here does not expect the first slave to give his fellow slave an opportunity to repay the debt, but he did expect him to extend mercy and graciously forgive the man’s entire debt — even as the king had done with the first slave’s massive debt. The principle of Ephesians 4:32 applies: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Ask Yourself:
Perhaps with some holy imagination, you could think of an opportunity to extend lavish mercy and blessing on another person who deserves none of it. How might such an encounter take place?

From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Example of Forgiveness – Part 4

That slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, “Pay back what you owe.” So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, “Have patience with me and I will repay you.” But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.” (Matthew 18:28-30)

Sins against others are not insignificant but they are small compared to the offenses against God for which He has freely forgiven us. That sinful flesh still influences saints is seen in the first slave’s hard-hearted ness against his fellow slave. The first man was much closer to his fellow slave than to the king, and the amount the king forgave him was hugely greater than the small amount he refused to forgive. Those realities should have made the first slave not only especially grateful but especially merciful. Obviously, he is not merciful, but instead presumptuous and callous toward his fellow servant.

This unforgiving behavior is morally unthinkable, bizarre, and irrational. For believers to refuse to forgive one another is completely unacceptable. Yet Scripture, history, and personal experience show us this is the way believers sometimes treat each other. This parable is an un-flattering illustration of the sin that still resides in every Christian disciple and causes much damage and conflict within the church. Although they have been completely and eternally forgiven, based on God’s grace and trust in Christ’s atoning work, believers often behave as if they have been forgiven because of their own merit. They might even look down on brothers and sisters with contempt and a sense of superiority, which does not in any way exemplify forgiveness.

Ask Yourself:
Have you in any way accepted God’s forgiveness as being even partially earned by your own good behavior? Turn your heart to the truth of the matter, that all you have been given is all of grace.

From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Example of Forgiveness – Part 3

“The lord of that slave felt compassion and released him
and forgave him the debt.”     (Matthew 18:27)

Jesus here presents an extraordinary portrait of the Father’s compassionate love for the genuinely repentant sinner. The slave asks only for patience so he can repay his debt, but instead, the king lets him go and forgives him the entire amount. That’s what God does with the sin debt of those who confess their need, repent, and receive redemption. (The parable does not depict every aspect of salvation. Since Jesus wanted to illustrate forgiveness between believers, the story simply depicts a man with an unplayable debt who seeks and receives abundant mercy.

Not until the prodigal son reached the bottom of his wretched lifestyle did he face up to his wicked foolishness (Luke 15:11-24). He had forsaken his family and lived a sinful life in a pagan land. When his money ran out, the only work the young man could find was slopping hogs, the most demeaning work for a Jew. The son then came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!” (vs. 17). He then promised to confess his sin to his father and return home. But even before the son reached home his father embraced him with forgiveness, had a celebration for him, and declared, “This son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found” (vs. 24). In a far greater way, Christ was humiliated in His incarnation and lovingly “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2) to redeem us.

Ask Yourself:
Is there someone in your life who has come to you seeking forgiveness, but instead of lavishing it on them as your Father has done, you either gave it grudgingly or perhaps inwardly refused to do so? What is keeping you from granting forgiveness to this person — and why?