Worthy Commitment

"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. ²⁴ But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, ²⁵ and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."

John 2:23-25

No one naturally resembles Jesus in character because He is God made flesh.  What strikes me about this passage is how Jesus did not commit Himself to men--even professing believers--because He knew what was in them, and in their flesh there was nothing good.  To "commit" in this sense is to "put faith in or entrust."  Jesus was able to love people completely without reservation, giving Himself for the good of others.  At the same time there was not a shred of self-interest in His motivation in loving people generously.  We often go wrong at this point because we often have motives and expectations which are hidden from our eyes.  We judge on appearances because we do not know the hearts of others or even our own.

The prophet Samuel was a faithful man of God, yet he too made this error.  Samuel had been directed by God to go to Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse's sons as the next king of Israel.  1 Samuel 16:6-7 says, "So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him." ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  Based upon looks alone Samuel was ready to anoint Eliab, but David was the man after God's own heart.  It was faith in God which led Samuel to anoint the youngest son of Jesse who wasn't even in the room at the time!  Many times I have made the mistake of putting hope or trust in people which should have been reserved for God alone.

Placing our faith in people is a snare Jesus was wise to avoid, and He was able to do this because all His confidence and guidance was in God the Father.  People talk about having "faith restored in humanity" because of a selfless or kind deed done, but it is better for us to trust and obey God rather than men.  I have a hunch our tendency is to trust God only after everything else has failed us, and if it takes disappointment and dashed expectations to learn only God is worthy of faith the upside is enormous.

Mercy and Forgiveness

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. ⁹ He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. ¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Psalm 103:8-12

How blessed we are God has not dealt with us according to our iniquities!  Some people have a mistaken concept when they are going through a trial or difficulty they are "paying for their sins," but then why did Jesus have to die to atone for the sins of the world?  The purging of sin requires the shedding of blood of a sacrifice without blemish or spot so our sin disqualifies us:  even if we were to physically die as a consequence for our sin our justice demands eternal satisfaction by the condemnation of our souls to hellfire.

Now it is true we reap what we sow, but by the grace of God we can reap where we have not sown.  God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.  He chastens and corrects us so we might repent, return to Him, and be restored.  Jesus Christ took the punishment we deserve for our sin and made a way for us to be forgiven and rendered righteous by faith in Him.  We were completely cut off from God without hope being born of Adam's fallen nature, yet God invites all sinners to repent.  Through what Jesus accomplished by His death and resurrection our sins have been removed from us along with guilt and condemnation.  The penalty and power of sin over those who trust in Jesus was slaughtered on Calvary through His shed blood.

Consider the longsuffering, patient, and gracious nature of God who gives us opportunities to turn from sin and choose to trust Him for forgiveness and salvation!  We are fed up with stubborn people in a conversation yet He waits for decades, even a century for a hard heart to soften.  He desires to redeem souls we consider complete write-offs, people who have spent their whole life in total opposition to Him.  He loves the self-righteous Pharisee as well as the prostitute and tax collector.  He is not racist, sexist, or an ageist; there is no hint of "ism" in Him because in every way God transcends this world entirely with His love, grace, goodness, and righteousness.  We who have tasted and seen His goodness (and only in part due to our limited perspective) ought to live in awe and wonder of Him every day, forgiving others as we have been freely forgiven.

We say the punishment should fit the crime, and under law this is a reasonable conclusion.  At the same time Jesus says we ought to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use us.  We forgive others not on the basis of their worthiness or their having earned our trust but according to how we have been forgiven by God.  He has been merciful to us, having removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west--a distance beyond measure.  Travel east on our globe as long as you want and you will never reach the west.  Should you travel north at some point you would reach the pole and head south.  May we according to Christ's example be so merciful, gracious, patient and abundant in mercy.  Repentance doesn't make us worthy:  Jesus is the One worthy of all honour, thanksgiving, and praise.

The LORD With Us

Joshua served as assistant to Moses for many years.  I wonder if Joshua felt an incredible weight of expectation from the nation, knowing he could never fill the sandals of Moses--yet at the same time knowing God was not asking him to.  We do not read of Joshua recoiling from the task as Moses did at the first when met by God in the burning bush, but God was gracious to speak to Joshua as well.

The book of Joshua begins with God speaking to Joshua shortly after the death of Moses.  This unsolicited revelation of God was filled with promises and encouraging words Joshua needed to hear.  Isn't it comforting at times God speaks to us even when we haven't asked Him a specific question?  The amazing thing about the words of God is the truth of them transcends people and time.  Because God does not change and His word will endure forever, we can take to heart the promises God has made in the past and rely on Him to fulfill them presently.  The statements of God specifically made (for instance the land God was giving Israel as an inheritance) may not directly apply to our personal situations, but the timeless reality of God's promise remains.

God addressed Joshua in Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."  God spoke to Joshua and He has spoken to us in these last days through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3) who will never leave or forsake us.  Using modern technology we can converse with people all over the planet without lifting our voice, but it is another thing to be with them in person.  God exhorted Joshua to be strong and of good courage because He was with him wherever he would go.  Knowing the presence of God was with him kept Joshua from being fearful, hopeless, or broken down under the difficulty of circumstances, the ferocity of their enemies, and unrealistic expectations of people.

Because God commanded Joshua he could rest in God's will.  He could be strong and bold knowing God was with Him.  In our weakness God's strength is made perfect.  A good example of this is seen during the interaction of the apostles with the chief priests when they were arrested for healing a lame man and teaching in the name of Jesus.  They marveled at the boldness of these uneducated men, realising they had been with Jesus.  What they did not understand was Jesus was still with them because they were in Christ by faith, filled with the Holy Spirit who regenerated and indwelt them.  God was with them so they spoke courageously whether to a wondering multitude or bloodthirsty religious rulers.  Knowing the LORD is with us wherever we go keeps us from fear and girds us with strength and courage for the glory of God.

Motive Matters

Our family was reading through 2 Kings 7 after dinner tonight and we found the conduct of the four lepers in the passage ironic and amusing.  Whilst the famine in Samaria had become severe due to a Syrian siege, these blokes were literally waiting around outside the gates to die from disease, starvation, or at the hands of cruel enemies.  They discussed their meagre options and decided to throw themselves on the mercy of the Syrians.  The worst thing that could happen was their demise, and given their hopelessness it had some appeal.

After making their way into the camp they were shocked to find it completely deserted.  Unbeknownst to them, God miraculously caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a great army and they fled for their lives.  2 Kings 7:8-9 says, "And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. ⁹ Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household."  While people in Samaria had literally resorted to cannibalism, these lepers ran from tent to tent like Templeton the rat in Charlotte's Web, feasting and hoarding loot for themselves.

Suddenly one of the lepers addressed his fellows:  "Hold on a second, boys.  Today is a day of good news, and if we remain silent we'll be in big trouble.  We need to tell the king!"  And they did.  Their motive in reporting their discovery to the king was not because they loved their friends and family within the city walls, because they had compassion on starving people, or because they had gathered enough for themselves:  they acted out of fear of punishment.  Truth be told, they reported it for their own sakes.  I wonder how many of our deeds which seem thoughtful, considerate, or generous are bourne out of our own self-interest.  When our flesh calls the shots with ourselves as prime benefactors, let us not be tricked to think we will be rewarded by God for it:  surely we have our reward.

Consider the motive for Jesus going to the cross to save sinners in obedience to the Father mentioned in Hebrews 12:1-2:  "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  Jesus always did the will of the Father and rejoiced to do it.  His humanity begged the cup pass from Him, but Jesus humbled Himself to the death of the cross.  He understood that when He submitted Himself to the will of God it would result in pain but joy would be the ultimate result.  Had the motives of Jesus been selfish, He never would have gone to Calvary.

Our motives matter, and the scripture applied by the Holy Spirit exposes the thoughts and intent of our hearts.  By God's grace He places within us power to both will and do His good pleasure.  We ultimately benefit from this arrangement as much as anyone, for we enter into the joy of the LORD.