Archive of articles by Kent Heaton 2010. These articles are free to be reprinted with acknowledgment of authorship.
The Last Deception Will Be Worse Than The First
The chief priests and Pharisees succeeded in quieting the voice of Jesus when they had him killed on the cross. His influence was larger than life while he lived and because of envy they delivered Jesus to the Romans to be executed (Matthew 27:18). Immediately following his death, the enemies of Jesus felt the pangs of guilt and fear when they came to Pilate and asked a guard be placed at the tomb of Jesus. “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, ‘Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard” (Matthew 27:62-66).
They viewed Jesus of Nazareth as a “deceiver”, “liar” or “imposter.” The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah and sought to kill him when he claimed “that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Some people believed Jesus to be a good man but others believed him to be a deceiver (John 7:12). Now at his death, the chief priests and Pharisees had a greater problem. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, he taught his disciples that he would rise from the dead. “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Matthew 16:21; see also Matthew 17:22-23; 20:17-19).
Part of the charge brought up to convict Jesus was how he would destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days (Matthew 26:59-61). Jesus was speaking of his body (John 2:19-22) and the fear the Jews had about Jesus raising from the dead was what drove them to ask Pilate for a guard at the tomb. Their request only solidified the undeniable proof that Jesus would be raised the third day (Acts 26:22-23). The last deception they feared became the truth of the gospel of salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1-28). The motivation of the early disciples was based upon the knowledge that Jesus was alive and exalted to the right hand of God. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
Jesus declared boldly that salvation could only come through him. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Many today still believe this to be a lie and deny Jesus as being the Son of God. His life was neither a deception nor was he an imposter. The only hope – the only hope that man can have is in Jesus Christ. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Unless you believe the life of Jesus with all his miracles, teachings and testimonies; unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; there is no hope of eternal life. The deception you believe now will be truth on the day when God will judge all men by “the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:30-31). No guard could contain the Son of God. He arose. He lives. He reigns. He is coming back!
The greatest blessing of being a child of God is the knowledge that we serve only one Lord. So many of man’s attempt to worship is rooted in a multiplicity of gods to worship. He is not satisfied to worship only one Lord. Temples fill the earth with various representations of gods where men bow and give homage. Within the religion of Christianity many give honor to images, idols and relics. The true nature of Jesus Christ is found in His answer to Satan in Luke 4:8 – “It is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.’” There is no other being to worship; no man to worship; no deities to bow down to. As people of God we serve only Jehovah and Him alone.
From the paradise of the Garden of Eden we see how man and God walked together in the cool of the day. All that the Lord desired for man is that he serve one Lord. Satan changed that when he said to Eve, “Has God indeed said” (Genesis 3:1). Satan seeks to tempt man to serve himself, to serve his own needs, to serve his own desires and pleasures. When men turn away from God they seek to serve their own lusts. People of God are happy to serve only one Lord.
Serving God alone is to serve someone who does not lie. Paul writes of our “hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal” (Titus 1:2). Who can we serve that is greater than that? The Lord is the only one to serve because He has given us promises that were made before He created man and remain until man is no more. “To whom then will ye liken God or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” (Isaiah 40:18). What in this world can you serve that is greater than that? Men will fail you, riches will fade away and pleasures of this world will be found empty. “Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
David wrote one of the most powerful testimonies to his trust in Jehovah God. “Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalms 23:1). The twenty-third psalm is a tribute to David’s love for serving only one God. He recognized the blessing of being a child of God in trusting God with caring for him in every part of his life. He had no lack of blessings material or spiritual. He could stand before his enemies and not be afraid. Jesus would later say of His own Father, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:29-30). David served only one Lord.
The challenge for all disciples of Christ is to remove the hindrances to servitude to God. “Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). We cannot serve our wealth, our pleasures, our desires or our own lives. Worship to God is recognizing Him and Him alone as our guide, our truth, our answer and our Lord. The blessings are immeasurable. All spiritual blessings are found in His Son (Ephesians 1:1-7). Death does not have power over those who serve God alone (1 Corinthians 15:53-57). Serving the Lord finds blessings in this life and in the life to come (1 Timothy 4:8).
During the temptation, Satan promised Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. The Son of God laid the foundation of our love for God in declaring that there is only one to worship and only one to serve. Worship is servitude and servitude is worship. The blessing of serving God alone is the promises that He alone can give. “Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be to you a Father, and ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).
The first bicycle brand-new-out-of-the-box is a special moment. It stands gleaming with bright colors, clean crisp wheels, painted without a flaw and the chain is oiled just right for smooth control. Riding the first time is like flying with the wind. If the bicycle is lucky it will be washed a few times the first week. The second week is when the change takes place and after the first month a remarkable change happens. What once was carefully nurtured to retain the sparkling look of a new bike gives way to being left in the rain, paint scarred from spills and potholes and tubes needing replacement. The new wears off and time brings on rust and decay.
Everything seems to be like that. A new car smell becomes the spilled coffee, stained seats from children playing hard, paint scrapped from bumps and dings and time wears the new car down to a used car; if lucky an antique. On the other hand every antique was new once – a long time ago. We become antiques. We wear down, wear out and lose that new youthful look we had a long time ago.
The wise man said, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": while the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain; In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim; When the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well” (Ecclesiastes 12:1-6). Life changes is what the wise man is saying. Youth is replaced with growing older.
Earlier the wise man declared “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2). The nature of life is temporary, transitory and perishable. Paul wrote, “The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). The most important lesson we must learn is that life is only a brief whisper in the eternal ages to come (James 4:14). We must heed the prayer of Moses to “number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalms 90:12). When we understand the nature of transitory life we can see more clearly the reality of our eternal existence.
Everything is temporary except the promises of God (Titus 1:1-2). What belongs to God will never end. What belongs to man will change and end. The word “caducity” is being removed from modern dictionaries. It is one of many words that have lost their use in the English language. The temporal nature of our language proves the temporal nature of life. Ironically, the meaning of caducity spelled its own doom. Caducity is the “quality of being transitory or perishable” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1986 edition). Such is life – transitory and perishable. Eternal life is without end (1 John 2:17).
The New Testament Pattern Of Leadership
The apostle Peter reminds us that everything we need to understand the will of God has been revealed in scripture (2 Peter 1:3). This suggests that to understand the pattern of the New Testament church we only need to see what is revealed in scripture. The pattern of leadership is an important template that establishes the authority of how we model leadership today. In many churches leadership is seen in the pastoral system of one man management or rule. What does the Holy Spirit reveal about the New Testament pattern of leadership?
Paul writes, “And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). The purpose of this organization is explained in verses 12-14 for the perfecting, working and building up of the body of Christ. We can see the different roles of leadership within the early church. Apostles were ordained of Christ and served a unique role in the infancy of the church. Prophets proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ as did evangelists like Philip (Acts 21:8). Included in the work of the church are those men called pastors.
The term “pastor” is from the Greek use of “shepherd” (poimen). It suggests the agricultural aspect of the work of tending sheep and caring for their needs (John 10). Never is it used for what we find so prevalent in the religious organizations today. The term pastor has come to refer to a minister or preacher who oversees a church in a position of oversight. The scriptures never suggest this use and the New Testament pattern of oversight is clearly defined under a different heading.
Peter exhorted his “fellow elders” in 1 Peter 5:1-4 and reminded them “when the chief shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4). The word for “chief shepherd” is not two words but one and shows the relationship Jesus has with those men called “elders” (1 Peter 5:1). Peter explains the work of elders or shepherds (pastors) as tending the flock and exercising the oversight. A pastor is a shepherd that is also referred to as an elder.
The historian Luke writes of Paul’s meeting with the “elders of the church” from Ephesus in Acts 20:17-35. Again Paul uses language describing the work of elders as that of taking heed to “ yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The pastor is the same as the shepherd, the elder and the bishop. Each term defines the work of the man who has been entrusted with the leadership of the local congregation. This can be likened to a man who is a son, a husband, a father and a grandfather; the same man yet different terms.
The New Testament pattern of leadership never suggested a “one man rule.” Throughout scripture the term elder is used more often. Call for them when sick (James 5:14); Paul left Titus in Crete to “appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5); let elders rule well (1 Timothy 5:17); be careful about bring accusations against an elder (1 Timothy 5:19); all of the “elders were present” (Acts 21:18); Paul “appointed elders in every city” (Acts 14:23); the question of circumcision was discussed with the “apostles and elders” in Acts 15.
It is important to see that God established certain qualities for men who would lead His people and these are given in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. These are not suggestions but requirements! No man can be a pastor, bishop, overseer, shepherd or elder who does not meet these commands. Paul reinforced this directive to Titus when he said that he should “set in order the things that were
wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge” (Titus 1:5) and gives the qualities of the man who would be an elder or bishop.
Every church that has one man (or women) as an overseer or “pastor” is not following the New Testament pattern of leadership. With all that is said about elders in the New Testament, where do you find elders in your church?
Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, was recently featured in an ad with the image of “NO H8” on her face with tape covering her mouth. The photo is a project by the “No H8 Campaign” protesting the passage of Proposition 8 which took away the “rights” of gay couples in California last year. The photo caused a great stir in the political world as Senator McCain ran on a platform in 2008 that was opposed to gay marriage. However, the true impact of the campaign is the effort to teach that opposition to homosexuality is a hate crime. The tactics of the so called “gay-rights” movement is imposing their fear campaign against any who would condemn their lifestyle.
Hatred is a strong weapon to use against an enemy. It has been used since time began when man “changed the truth of God into a lie, and they worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25). Hatred is the cause of many kinds of evil including murder, rape, envy, strife, deceit, covetousness, disobedient to parents and haters of God (Romans 1:28-32). However, hatred is not the reason that homosexuality is immoral. What the homosexual campaign amounts to is to convince the world that objection to homosexuality is hatred. Not so. Never has been nor should it be.
John reminds us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son” (John 3:16) and this love is based upon the desire by God “who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). The “knowledge of truth” is that homosexuality, adultery, fornication and sexuality outside the bonds of marriage is immoral because God determines what truth is. When the Lord condemns murder does he do so because of hate (1 John 4:8)? The Bible does not teach that we are to hate homosexuals because God does not (2 Peter 3:9). Suggesting that opposition to homosexuality is hatred is only creating an atmosphere of fear that suggests allowance of what has been condemned since man was formed in the Garden of Eden.
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men … shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Does this suggest that God hates these people? Absolutely not! However the sin is what condemns the person and the unrepentant will not inherit eternal life. Suggesting that opposition to homosexual is hatred makes as much sense as suggesting that opposition to a pedophile or a murderer is hatred. Homosexuality is a perversion of what the Creator has established from the beginning of time.
The nature of homosexuality is the unrighteous act in rebellion to the love of God. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Refusing to recognize homosexuality as immoral is hatred toward God. The laws of man may change to accept any perversion of the moral nature of God’s law but the law of God will never change. The nature of man will satisfy his needs as long as he lives; but when death brings that one before a loving and righteous judge – the needs of the Creator will be met. Jesus Christ loved the world to die for it because of his love. Eternal life can only be found in obedience to the Son of God.
Life Can Be A Ride In A Basket
He could not imagine how different his life would be. Growing up as a Jew in Tarsus in Cilicia, and in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the exactness of the Law of the fathers (Acts 22:3), Paul was as zealous for God as anyone could be. He was “circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. As regards the Law, I was a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness in the Law, blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6). Yet now he found himself in the dark of night being let down through a window in a basket. A warrant for his arrest had been issued by Aretas the king (2 Corinthians 11:32). The order had a death warrant attached as the Jews of Damascus intended to kill Paul (Acts 9:23-24).
As Paul bumped along the wall enclosed in the basket, his mind turned to where he had been not many days before. He was a man of position and power with letters from the high priest to take bound any who followed Jesus of Nazareth. He had become a lightning rod for threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1). Now he was leaving the city in a basket. His life was in the hands of those he had sought to destroy. As he came to rest on the ground, friends quickly helped him up and they hurriedly ran away.
His escape from the Damascus would become a prelude to the sufferings he would endure for the cause of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:22-33). His life turned out so different than what he thought it would be. The only constant in his life was the devotion to Jehovah God and that devotion would lead him to die for Jesus Christ.
Often we find ourselves in a basket in the middle of the night being let down over a wall. Life takes many different turns. We have dreams and aspirations that are overshadowed by events beyond our control. Plans are disrupted, hope dashed, joys lost and in a moment of time life is never the same. Adam and Eve had a life in paradise that turned tragic in the blink of the eye (Genesis 3). Abraham was 75 years old when he found himself in a “basket” (Genesis 12). At the age of 17 the life of Joseph would never be the same (Genesis 37). David, because of sin, would see his world fall apart (2 Samuel 11-12).
Paul did not let the events of Damascus stop him nor deter his course. He went on to become one of the greatest examples of faith and courage in the Bible. His ride in a basket was not a defeat but a opportunity to learn how to serve the Lord more fully. Peter wrote, “So that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than that of gold that perishes, but being proven through fire) might be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). Baskets can be used to carry bread for life (Mark 8:19-20) and sometimes they carry men who learn humility, dependence and devotion to the cause of Christ.
Some baskets are larger than others. At times the baskets are let down over walls of great height. We have to trust those who hold our lives in their hands like Paul did. But in the dark of the night as he felt the wall press against him, Paul knew his life was in the hands of God. “For this cause I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard My deposit unto that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:23-27). The great struggle in life is found on the battlefield of the heart. The law of God is in conflict with the law of sin (Romans 7:13-25) and while the “spirit is willing, the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The wise man exhorted in Proverbs 4:23-27 to keep the heart with all diligence and be careful how one speaks. As with the human body, the eyes are given to give direction. When the eyes cannot see properly everything suffers.
While there are many tools the devil uses in hindering our path, the eyes are a prime target. If he is able to change our focus or cause us to lose our focus, he will have a greater power and influence over us. Those with diminished eyesight need assistance. Spiritually when our heart loses the focus of serving God; either we will trust God to lead us or we will allow Satan to direct our steps. Rich Atchley wrote in his book, ‘Sinai Summit’: “Too often we make the mistake of thinking that Satan is antireligion. He’s not. He doesn’t even mind our worshiping Jehovah, as long as we mix in a few other gods for good measure. In fact, Satan doesn’t mind our choosing good or even doing good sometimes – as long as we’re doing it because we think it’s a good idea. What Satan objects to is our doing good because we have put God first.”
When we lose focus on righteousness we turn toward unrighteousness. This does not have to be “blatant” sin but rather a dulling of the eyes toward those things holy. Our efforts are no longer concentrated on serving God. The areas of concern in life dim from view as we fill ourselves with “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches” and the word is choked and we become unfruitful (Matthew 13:22). Apathy sets in and the spirit is weakened from neglect. As the spiritual immunities begin to weaken we become more susceptible to the larger influence of sin. After time spiritual sickness takes our eyesight completely and we are blind with hearts that are hardened (John 12:40).
Losing focus is a malady that hinders our growth. It leads us to be dull of mind and ineffective in fighting courageously the fight of faith. Losing focus will lead to taking our eyes off of Jesus. We stumble more; we have fear for not being able to see clearly; we are easily led in the wrong path; we find no happiness. What is the answer to our calamity? Jesus described the church at Laodicea as “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” His advice was “to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (Revelation 3:17-18).
The cataracts of sin must be removed to restore our focus. This can only be done by returning our focus upon the word of God and its author. “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You” (Psalms 119:37-38). Examine your eyes and see where your focus is. What is the focus of your life? “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you” (Proverbs 4:25).
Seventy years had passed and the city lay in ruins. Its walls were broken down and the gates burned with fire. Nehemiah would refer to the once majestic Jerusalem as a city lying in “waste” (Nehemiah 2:17). Cyrus king of Persia, stirred up in spirit by the Lord, decreed that the people could return from the land of captivity to their home in Judah (Ezra 1). Along with 5,400 articles of gold and silver taken from the temple seven decades earlier, the captives made the long journey to Zion. The year was 536 B. C. Worship was restored at Jerusalem and the restoration of the Temple began (Ezra 3). The foundation was laid with great ceremony and old men weeping for the glory of the first Temple. Resistance to the building arose and work stopped nearly sixteen years. Finally in 520 B. C. the rebuilding of the Temple began in earnest and completed in 516 B. C. (Ezra 5). Nehemiah would come later and the walls of Jerusalem would be rebuilt in fifty-two days (Nehemiah 6:15).
It should not be lost on the student of scripture that unlike the wisdom of men, the walls of the city were not first built but rather the Temple. The walls of the city were built ninety-two years after the first group of captives returned. What we find in the wisdom of God is that strength and power comes first from the Lord. The Temple represented the protection of Jehovah upon the people; the walls represented the protection of the people by the people and for the people. First they needed to restore the worship to God before seeking to build walls of stone. Restoration begins first in building the Temple, then the walls.
In our life, restoration begins in building the temple of the heart before the work of building the walls of our lives. Often we seek to build walls of protection without the help of God and we struggle and fail. We have missed the point of Haggai 1:4 - "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" We cannot long serve God without establishing on our heart the temple of God. The walls of our life offer no protection. What gave the city of Jerusalem security were not the walls of stone but the stone of Zion. “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;’ whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isaiah 28:16).
The heart must first be restored to proper worship and the temple of God’s grace must be established upon the foundation of our lives. Wisdom begins with the heart being established with trust in God and not trust in men. Building the temple is affirming the presence of the Lord. The temple is a place of holiness and purity. It is a place of security and safety. The captives first put their trust in the Lord. Their faith and courage in the face of discouragement led them to build the Temple of God. Our faith and courage will lead us in the challenges of life to build the temple of God upon our hearts.
There will be opposition to the building the temple of God upon our hearts as there was in the captive’s days. With the power of God we can overcome and succeed in setting up our own “Ebenezer” (1 Samuel 7:12) as the stone of help. Building the Temple first sought the help of God first. Let us build our temple of faith to the Lord. The walls will come later. First, build the temple.
The life of Jesus is contained in four books of the New Testament. As authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John offer different glimpses of the short life of God in the flesh (John 1:14). Matthew and Luke begin with his birth showing Jesus to be a Jew (Matthew 1:1-17) and a son of Adam (Luke 3:23-38). Mark declares the Christ as a man for all men (Mark 16:15) and John unveils the character of God embodied in the human form (John 20:30-31). All of the gospels put together only make up one hundred pages of typed manuscript; yet no words have changed the world as those few pages of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
How well do we know Jesus the man, Jesus the Son of God, Jesus the son of Abraham and Jesus the one who came for all men? The whole of scripture from Genesis to the Revelation declares the mystery of Christ and the revealing of God’s plan to save man. We see glimpses of the nature of God’s Son throughout the writings of Moses, the prophets and the psalmist (Luke 24:27,44). The epistles of the early church declare the risen savior as Lord and King. Yet contained within a fraction of the immense portrait of redemption is the earthly life of the crucified Christ.
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us [and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father], full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John was privileged to see and behold the Son of God. He walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, shared moments of joy and moments of grief in the presence of the Christ. What John found in the man from Nazareth was grace and truth. John lived with Jesus and devoted his life to him. For those of us removed in time from walking with Jesus in the flesh is given the call to walk with Jesus in the spirit. Like John we need to see Jesus for who He is and who He came to be for all men. The Son of God who, “existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).
One hundred pages tell us everything about His teaching of grace and mercy. Upon those blood stained leaves contain the promise of redemption. Vibrant echoes of judgment pour forth as Jesus Christ the Lord sounds the message of His father to a lost world. Four men pen the immortal words of salvation in one single message of hope. Untold thousands have given their lives for those one hundred pages.
Four books; 89 chapters; 3,778 verses; 82,825 words; one hundred pages; the story of Jesus Christ – priceless. The written story of Christ could easily be read in a day but takes a lifetime to know, and even then the story has not fully been told. Yearn to know these 100 hundred pages for on these leaves lay the eternal blessing of God’s love. His story is to permeate every fiber of our lives. His life is to mark the path for our journey. His promise will uphold our hope in the security of His words that promise eternal life. His death will signal victory over that which we fear. His resurrection has declared the true story of why God’s Son became flesh and dwelt among us. He died that we might live and He arose that we would share in the final resurrection. One hundred pages – one single life. Thank God for Jesus Christ.
In the United States, the standard railroad gauge, or distance between the rails, is four feet-eight and one half inches. American track builders used that odd measurement because that is the way railroads are built in England. The English engineers used that measure because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways. Trams used that gauge because they were built on the same construction jigs and tooling used for building wagons. This odd wheel spacing of wagons was designed to fit the ruts of old English roads, which were carved out by Roman war chariots and transport wagons. The Romans derived their chariot designs from the Hittites who developed the use of the chariot in war. The Hittites found that four feet-eight and one half inches was the ideal width for chariot wheels to provide a stable platform for the three men who would occupy the chariot: the charioteer, the warrior, and the arms bearer. Modern railroad gauge today is based on the amount of space needed in a chariot by three soldiers fighting for a nation that fell over three thousand years ago.
So often in life the pattern of what we do or why we do what we do is not based upon an original idea but one that has been held for generations. Mom cut the end of the ham off because that is what she was taught growing up; not realizing that great-grandmother started cutting the ham off because she did not have a pot big enough to cook a whole ham. Traditions are good things we pass from generation to generation. Many of these are harmless until they begin to be a pattern of our worship to God.
“Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches” (Mark 7:4). Cleanliness is a very important part of hygiene. However, the Pharisees and scribes were following after a tradition that was handed down from their fathers and not from God. Jesus would rebuke them saying, “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8).
The lesson we must learn here is that whatever we do in our service to God must be based upon what God says and not what has been the tradition of the past 500 years. Peter writes, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). It matters not what the church has practiced in the last one hundred years but it does matter what the church practiced in the New Testament. Our authority must come from the Bible; not traditions of men. So much of what we find in religion today cannot be found in the Bible but the pages of man’s tradition.
The faith of many is running on tracks invented by man centuries old. In order to be found faithful to God we must return to the Book and to establish every word upon the precepts of the original pattern. Holding to the religious traditions of men will make void the word of God. The word of God alone is truth (John 17:17) and the traditions of men will fail (Matthew 15:13-14).