David Bahn – Reflections

I’ve heard Jesus’ teaching about being reconciled before giving your gift as reason also to abstain from Holy Communion until you’ve reconciled with your brother or sister in Christ. That may be an appropriate application. But I recall a conversation with a woman years ago. She was a faithful member of the first church I served and was really struggling with forgiving her sister for some grave sin against her. As we spoke it was clear to me that the issue was forgiveness and not reconciliation. And although I’m not sure I made that important distinction for her, I do remember what I said.

”It sounds to me like you need to get gas for your car. And the gas is at the station on top of the hill. You need to get up the hill. But you have no gas to get there.” Believe me, the analogy made sense to me at the time. And it seemed to make sense to her. Bottom line, in the Lord’s supper is strength to do the good thing we desire to do. We need not deprive ourselves of the strength we receive in the Lord’s Supper by excluding ourselves from its blessings of strength and our own forgiveness. She appreciated the pastoral care I offered and came to the Lord’s Table the next Sunday. She also forgave her sister. I’m not sure they were ever reconciled; that’s another matter, for another time.

Jesus speaks of offering a gift, not going to the Lord to receive his gifts. And he says we should leave our gifts and go be reconciled before we give our gifts. He desires that we live in love with one another in his reign and rule. Offerings are good. But first go and be reconciled.

Another facet of going from the altar is important as well. One Christian leader speaks of doing your good works away from the cross, not toward it. The idea is that we don’t do good works to get to God. We do good works because God has come to us, inspired us with his gospel, and empowered us with the Holy Spirit.

I think of that as I reflect on David’s men coming to tell him of the death of Saul’s sons (cf. 2 Samuel 4). They thought that would ingratiate themselves to David. It did the exact opposite, however. David put them to death for the slaughter of innocent men. David had his flaws, to be sure. And his cruel and violent punishment of these men is not his best moment. But I’m ready to draw a parallel. Let’s not go to God with some supposed good work and expect a commendation from him.

We are the salt of the earth, and as such, we are to glorify God by our works, not lift ourselves up before God as though our gifts to him earn us some special favor or status. Humility and kindness toward others is the best offering we can make. It flows from the altar of God through those who recognize that they have been redeemed.

The opinion of Jesus’ family notwithstanding (cf. Mark 3:20-21), Jesus lived a balanced life. His love for God was perfect and sincere. His love for his followers was clear and pure. His love for the lost was boundless and sacrificial. That is a balance for which Jesus’ followers should strive. It is the kind of life that can bring eternal blessings to others. It is the kind of life that honors God.

Jesus’ balanced life shows up here in Luke’s Gospel. You can see it in how Jesus spent time in prayer, deeply and purposefully connecting with the Father. This wasn’t a formalistic prayer. It was far more than ritual. That is true even as Jesus very likely used ritual in his personal prayer life. He likely prayed the Psalms. He may well have used the language of the Synagogue and the temple liturgies in his prayer life. But it was not mere pro forma. Bottom line: the balance of Jesus’ life was anchored in a life of prayerful dependence on God the Father.

Jesus also cared for his followers. He calls the disciples together after spending time in prayer, and chooses 12 Apostles. He will lean in to these 12 more than all the rest. He loves them all, and will teach, guide, and equip them for a balanced life of faithfulness and love. They will be entrusted with shaping and norming the nascent church after his ascension.

Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to seek and save the lost (cf. Luke 19:10). After Jesus prays and calls his disciples and names 12 of them Apostles (“sent ones”), he engages with the lost, the hurting, the sick and demon-possessed. Luke records how power went out from him and he healed them all. Jesus gives himself to lost people and ultimately not only power will go out from him. But his very life blood will go out for them.

Jesus was singularly tasked with saving the world. Our vocations are not quite as earth shattering as Jesus’ calling. But we can seek to balance our lives in the same manner as he did: love for God, love for neighbor, and love for the lost. I have been blessed by people who have had that balance. I hope you have too. And I hope we all can touch others’ lives in that same way.

Many Christians are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, and the promise of God for hope and a future. But look at the larger context is insightful here.

Jeremiah 29:10-13

“For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

The 70 years of v. 10 is best understood as 70 years from the time of the destruction of the temple, (re)recorded in Jeremiah 52, to the time of its rebuilding, chronicled in the book of Ezra. All this it to say that God’s good plans, determined will and purposes will come to fruition. But they take time.

And in the mean time – as God’s purposes are being worked out – there will also inevitably be challenges, difficulties, and opposition to his plans.

Even Jesus had his detractors and doubters. The Pharisees were constantly at odds with Jesus and his teachings. Even Jesus’ family didn’t always get it. They had at one time thought that Jesus had lost his mind during the busiest times of his ministry. “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:20-21).

Some people say that if you’re doing God’s work all will go well for you. The one who perfectly followed God’s will experienced anything but “all going well.” Pharisees and family opposed him. Pilate agreed to having him put to death.

The people of Israel in Jeremiah’s day would have to wait 70 years before they would see their destroyed temple rebuilt. But it was rebuilt. Jesus didn’t have to wait 70 years for his vindication. But even after 3 days his vindication isn’t fully revealed. We have yet to see it. But the day will come when Jesus returns and he will receive all the honor and glory – visible to us all.

I don’t want to be too glib about this – especially when we are struggling to see God’s hand of favor in our lives. But think of those who waited 70 years. Think of those who have been faithful through times of severe persecution. Think of those who have waited for God’s answer to prayer for a loved one. Think better yet, of God’s faithfulness through the millenia, and at a great cost – the death of his Son.

Seventy years is a long time. But as my friend used to say, “Eternity is a long, long time.” Far longer than 70 years. God is faithful to his promises. He has promised an eternity of joyful celebration for those who wait, hope, and trust in him.

Sometimes we lose sight of how radical Jesus’ ministry, teaching, and practices were. We’re so used to seeing the Pharisees as unreasonable and overly legalistic. They were always criticizing Jesus and pointing out how he was dishonoring the traditions and teachings of Moses.

Reading today from Jeremiah I’m reminded of how true this is. Jesus was teaching a radical departure from what many Jewish people had learned. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about keeping the sabbath in no uncertain terms. God was clear, “do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work.” 

So questioning the man who was healed and upbraiding him for carrying his bed (cf. John 5:9-11) after he was healed is not as unreasonable as we might think. No burden-carrying allowed. This wasn’t just the Oral Law (later written down and called the Mishnah). This was the word of the LORD through the prophet Jeremiah.

And now Jesus is directly commanding a man to carry a burden. I guess literally he is not carrying it “out of his house.” But that is a pharisaical spin which would be totally abhorrent to Jesus.  But there is something far more important and earth-shattering at work here. The account in John 5 is not just about a man being healed by Jesus. That would be enough. Or even Jesus doing it on the sabbath; though that is the issue that will define the moment for all. This is an account where Jesus is showing himself to be God in the flesh.

“The Word became flesh,” John records (John 1:14). And the Word is asserting himself as lord of the sabbath. Jesus has made himself equal to God by his action, his command, and his speech. This will never do according to the Jewish leaders. But this is the case. Jesus has spoken. It shall be so.

One more thing interests me in today’s readings. I’m struck by Jesus’ warning to the healed paralytic. “Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” (John 5:14). I wonder what is behind that comment. I wonder about this man’s history and the circumstances of his paralysis. In any case, I sure hope the man paid careful attention to Jesus’ warning.

Each day of the 49 week Bible Challenge we are asked: In today’s readings, do you notice a promise to trust, a command to obey, a truth to embrace, a warning to heed, or an encouragement to rest in? What do you learn about God, about yourself, or about the world? Is there one verse or thought that stands out to you today? Talk to God about it.

It’s clear to me that for Jesus, some of the Sabbath restrictions were not just superfluous, but even obstructive to the Commandments of God. Sabbath restrictions came to bare when Jesus healed the paralytic. He did it on a Sabbath and the Jewish leaders were offended by that. Now Jesus’ disciples were plucking grain as they walked through the fields, rubbing away the chaff and eating the grain. The Pharisees took note and called them out. “Look,” they said, “why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus will explain that they are doing something much less offensive than David had done 1000 years ago

The account of this is found in 1 Samuel 21-22, and the full story records the brutality of an envious and insecure Saul. When he discovers Ahimelech had given the sacred bread to David and his men, he orders the death of all the priests. When his own guards refuse to kill the priests, Doeg kills all the priests except for Abiathar. Insecure people resort to brutal tactics. I wonder whether Jesus had that in mind as he recognized how insecure the Pharisees and Jewish leaders were in regard to his mission and ministry. He is, afterall, bringing new teachings which will require new attitudes (new wine in new wineskins). 

Jesus has already set them straight about fasting, telling the people that the disciples were not fasting because the bridegroom was present. He is the bridegroom. His presence was not cause for fasting. It was cause for faith. But the Sabbath rules seem to get Jesus’ greatest attention and the greatest reaction of the Pharisees.

This is what I am reminded about God: He is lord of the Sabbath, and as such will point people away from a ritualistic view of faith, toward a true love for God and sincere love for neighbor. For that I am deeply thankful.

Each day of the 49 week Bible Challenge we are asked: In today’s readings, do you notice a promise to trust, a command to obey, a truth to embrace, a warning to heed, or an encouragement to rest in? What do you learn about God, about yourself, or about the world? Is there one verse or thought that stands out to you today? Talk to God about it.

There is a promise to trust, a command to obey, a truth to embrace, an implied warning to heed, and a delightful encouragement to rest in.

The Promise

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:13-14

To drink the living water of Jesus is to believe his word and promise. It is to recognize that he is greater than Jacob, Paul, Luther, Einstein, or any other human being. It is to trust his promise, and to find refreshment in the spiritual overflow of his grace into our lives.

To drink the living water is also to allow that water to well up from within our souls, overflowing into the lives of others. Grace upon grace. Mercy and kindness. Love and favor. This water isn’t just for our refreshment, it is meant to overflow from us to others. John also records, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”’” – John 7:37-38

The Encouragement & Command

This promise of Jesus is also encouragement to rest in: we are not simply to be refreshed. We are to refresh others. This is also the implied command to obey. The command is more fully expressed in Isaiah 12:4: “make known his deeds among the peoples.” The Samaritan woman does this enthusiastically. She will tell people all about the one who told her everything about herself. She would also convey – just by the telling – that Jesus did not condemn her, shame or embarass her. He loved her. He saw her. He called her to a better way of life.

Truth & Warning

Jesus is greater than Jacob who give these people this well. His fame echoed through the centuries since he lived. But Jesus’ fame is from eternity to eternity. From the very beginning to the end of time and on into eternity, Jesus has been, is, and will be praised. The warning: don’t try to fill yourself with fleeting waters that never quench our deepest thirst. We do need to drink and eat. But even more we need the water of life that comes from Jesus. It satisfies for all eternity.

I am ever more aware of my own faults, flaws, and failures. I would be lost in a vortex of despair were it not for Jesus’ water of life. Refreshing. Reviving. Sustaining. For all eternity. So I will, “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously. I will let this be made known in all the earth.

A seminary classmate many years ago made this point regarding infant baptism. He said, “If a baby was bitten by a fiery serpent (referring to Numbers 21), and took the child and held him up to look at the bronze serpent the child would surely be spared!” His point was that we don’t have to understand God’s promises, or how they work, we simply need to believe, and even then we don’t always comprehend what we believe. God’s promises, afterall, are incomprehensibly amazing!

To put an exclamation point on that reality we have the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. It’s one of those “Yes, but…” conversations. Jesus says something. Nicodemus says, “Yes, but…” Jesus answers that concern. Nicodemus says, “Yes, but…” finally Jesus makes it clear. This is not something you can do. You can’t be born again spiritually by your own effort any more than you can be physically reborn period.

This is all God’s doing. God sent fiery serpents as a punishment to the children of Israel for their grumbling. He sent a remedy to their pain in response to Moses’ intercession. And those who looked to the bronze serpent were spared – even, surely, little babies.

The point in all this isn’t so much about baptism – although it touches on baptism. The point is that God’s word is absolutely reliable. God can be trusted. “Every word of God proves true,” says Agur (Proverbs 30:5). And so it does. The most precious word is so beautifully given to us – two-fold. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus was exalted upon a cross for all the world to see and through faith in him we will be saved.

I love the story of Jesus turning water into wine. It says so much about how Jesus knows how to celebrate. It speaks of how Jesus would be a welcome guest at any Christian wedding. It reminds us that wine is a gift of God that, as the psalm says, gladdens the heart (Psalm 104:15). It is testimony of Jesus’ excellence in provision and grace. Not only changing water into wine, but changing it into the best wine. How I would love to have been there and tasted that wine!

The story of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams is a keeper too. Forgotten Joseph languishing in prison is suddenly un-forgotten. Remembering his ability to interpret dreams the baker informs Pharaoh of Joseph. Joseph is brought before Pharaoh, gives the honor to God and correctly interprets the dreams. He then becomes second only to Pharaoh in all the land of Egypt. What a story of prison rags to royal panoply!

And look how God regards the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. They get to eat the tithe with the Levites. At least every three years they would feast with the best. 

How seriously, however, do we take the other side of the provision of God? Do we see him also in the realm of scarcity? Do we see God at work only when times are good, things are running well, and we are happy and well-fed. Or do we recognize God’s activity in all realms and seasons of life?

To some degree seedtime and harvest, day and night, times of famine and times of plenty are the simple arc of life in this fallen world. There are bound to be days of want as well as days of delight. God is behind it all.

It’s not that God wishes to starve people when he sends hard times upon us. But sometimes he has to get our attention. We can easily grow complacent. We can easily forget how God provides for us each day.

In the days of difficulty, his love for us is no less. He wishes for us to come to him. He desires that we find comfort in his goodness, grace, and mercy. It might be that he is teaching us a lesson about being prepared for hard times by laying up reasonable reserves to tide us over (think of Dave Ramsey’s Rainy Day Fund). It may also be a reminder that man does not live by bread alone (cf. Deuteronomy 8:3).

But it could also be God wishes to remind us of his abundant provision, and wants to teach us to look to him not only because we have to, but because he is rich in mercy and abundant in grace. God loves us and greatly desires good for his people. God has shown us his glory in Jesus’ miracles and ministry. When we see his goodness before our eyes, let us put our faith in him.