Jwquaker's Blog
Sermon
You are Favored
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
February 2, 2020
Matthew 5:1–12 (ESV)
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus’s teachings are filled with some of the most encouraging and comforting words. The teaching is also filled with some of the most puzzling. Many people look at the teachings of Jesus and they fall in love with them. You can hear words spoken by Jesus uttered by people that would never call themselves followers of Christ, yet they love the teachings that he gave. Have you ever really thought about that? How can someone love Jesus’s teaching yet reject who he is?
In last week’s passage, we saw Jesus beginning his ministry. He did not fully engage in ministry until after John the Baptist was arrested. A great deal could be said about why he waited; I personally believe that John’s ministry needed to conclude before the people of the area were ready to hear the teachings of Jesus.
John was out crying in the wilderness, saying “Repent for the Kingdom is at hand!” Through his teachings he shed light that although the Temple is probably the greatest, most efficient, and most engaging that it had ever been in Israel’s history; things were not as they seemed. Remember that John was the child of a priest. His entire life was dedicated to serving Israel’s God from the moment he was born until the day that he died. John was not just a crazy man in terrible clothes in the wilderness, he made a conscience choice to leave the life and lifestyle that he had enjoyed for thirty years and he took on a lifestyle of poverty to prove a point. No one is worthy and every last one of us needs to turn back to God. For many this message drove them into the arms of God, but for others it caused great discomfort. Especially for those whose lifestyle was supported by the economy of the temple. And eventually that message prompted those who lived lifestyles opposed to John’s message to seek to silence the cries from the banks of the Jordan.
John had just been arrested and at that moment Jesus was ready to start. He began by teaching in a small town on the shores of the sea of Galilee. And as he taught, we walked along the beach and he called out to some of John’s disciples and he asked them to follow him, and he would make them fishers of men. Which means that what he will show them will take them out of the world they have always known and place them in a different perception of life, like fish out of water. Jesus called his first disciples, and then we hear him begin teaching.
He went out into the countryside and crowds were beginning to gather. He had already started little journeys into the surrounding villages, he had already began healing people with diseases, and giving liberty to those oppressed by evil spirits so people had begun to wonder who or what this Jesus guy was. They saw him go out to the countryside and they gathered in the area with him, so Jesus with his disciples climbed up the mountain side and as the crowds gathered below Jesus opened his mouth and began to teach.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I said that the words Jesus spoke were comforting as well as puzzling. And Jesus begins his most recognizable sermon not with a fancy introduction or clever story to attract the attention of the crowd. He begins with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
People labor their entire lives not to be poor, yet Jesus is saying blessed are the poor. Matthew and look both include this sermon in their witness of Jesus, but Luke stops with blessed are the poor, where Matthew adds in spirit. Yet they both are saying quite literally that this list of blessedness is privileged or favored, they have honor. Blessed are the poor.
I have been poor my entire life, in the standards of our culture. I have not been in poverty but if there really is a middle class, we just barely hit that rank. I have experienced lack of security. I know full well that if it were not for the generosity of others, I would not and could not continue in my present role. But this condition is not where I would like to be. When I drive Albert to school in the mornings, I drive by land that has had a for sale sign on it for probably ten years. I drive by that sign and every day I think, “If only I could get that land.” I have an entire plan for what I would do if I had that land. I know how much livestock I would obtain; I know where I would build green houses to start growing vegetables to sell, and what parts I would develop into potential plots to build houses. I know what I would like to do, but every day I drive by it knowing it is just a dream. Every day that dream hits me, I become very aware of where I am and how much I need. I realize very quickly that I am not able to survive on my own. And I recognize what Jesus is saying in this puzzling statement.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. It is not saying that its good to be poor. What Jesus is saying is it is good to know your need. Because when you know your need, you can become grateful for what you have, and thankful to those who have helped you. Everyone needs, and everyone has people in their lives that have helped them get to where they are. It does not matter if you happen to be homeless living under a bridge or the CEO of a major corporation, you have needs and you have people that have given something of themselves to help you. Blessed are the poor because they are aware of their need. And the opposite is also true, how sad it is for those people that think they have it all.
There is not one person on this earth that is a self-made man. That is a myth that our culture likes to throw around. Yes, there are people that have taken greater risks with what they have, but there are always people that have helped them along the way. Amazon is the greatest retailer in world. That company started with its entire inventory sitting in one room within the owner’s living space. We praise the genius of that man that so radically changed the way we do business in today’s world; I mean let’s be honest not many of us could have gotten our Christmas shopping done without Amazon. But was Amazon self-made? The answer is no. Computers were created by someone else, the internet was the product by others. The coding used within both were formulated by countless others. Each of those people were taught and inspired by yet more people. And those ideas and products were made to fill a need that others had, and they purchased those products so that they could use them to build on different ideas. Amazon needed the women and men of the previous generations to punch holes in cards so that they could eventually make our modern computers and tablets. And every retailer needs customers to buy their products. There is not one person in this world that is self-made, we are the product of others. But blessed are those that are aware of their need, because they will have the kingdom. They will recognize that those relationships with others are more important than anything else.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This one verse is often a piercing dagger in the heart of anyone that has experienced loss. The state of mourning is an emotional condition that is so dark we do not really know what to do or what to say. Yet Jesus says blessed are those who mourn. Some in this meeting know this state, some of us know it so deeply that we want to punch those that quote this verse in the mouth because they really do not know anything about what we experience. How can Jesus the creator of the universe say that mourning is a place of favor? As we move through this state of being, we begin to see that there is more. Life does not remain in the darkness. When my sister died around Halloween in 1997, I thought that I would never enjoy Halloween again, and I still struggle with the holiday. But when James was born things began to change. Joy eventually enlightened the day again. I still struggle but I know that light will overcome the darkness, and that the era of mourning will be comforted again. But there is more to this. We do not just get over a loss. This is why we observe memorial services, this is why we have days of remembrance, this is why we bring casseroles by the truckload to the houses of those that have experienced loss. We need the community to cry with us, we need others to walk with us through that dark valley. We need others.
Blessed are the meek. This is one of the beatitudes that most people struggle with, because we have such a poor understanding of the word meek. When we hear the word, we equate it with weakness, but that is not what it is. To be meek is the opposite of arrogance. The meek are those people that are honest with themselves and others. They are the people that build community because they recognize that they need others. This meekness, ties into those that hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those that desire justice. And those that hunger for righteousness, are like those that are merciful.
Mercy in this sense is speaking of those that actively pursue mercy. The people that get involved and act. They are the ones that give the poor jobs, they are the ones that sit with those that mourn, they are the ones that get outside themselves and look for the mutual profit of those around them.
Then we get to the pure of heart. This characteristic is single mindedness or undivided. It is that characteristic of those people that have a goal and the pursue it whole heartedly. Keeping the things that are most important in the rightful place. Often people say that the pure of heart are those without sin, or sinful desires. This is only partially true. If we look at sin as being those things that distract us from God, then yes, the un-diverted pursuit of God is without sin because they are actively seeking God. The pure of heart, those who pursue God whole heartedly will find what they seek, they will see God. They will see God’s hand working all around them, because they are looking and observing.
Which brings us to the most difficult of all the beatitudes, the privilege or favor of the peacemakers. What is peace? What does it mean to be people in pursuit of peace? We can get the idea that this is simply those that refuse to fight in war, but that does not make peace. Later Jesus will say if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. That concept is that we do not back away, but we do not strike back. Peace is not just the absence of war, but the removal of conflict. To be a peacemaker means that we must actively pursue reconciliation or the removal of those things that drives wedges between or builds walls around others. It is taking the time to find the underlying issues and working through those until there is a resolution, and as we do that, we honor that of God in those around us. Respecting them as individuals loved by their creator just as much as us. Peacemakers are those that will go into a city and combat crime not with the threat of violence, but with education and encouragement. Does this mean we should oppose the police or the military, no. It means we should encourage a higher standard than violence, asking what and why there is conflict and work to remove that.
Finally, Jesus says in a couple of ways, “Blessed are the persecuted.” This is one area we in America really do not understand. We go around thinking that people that say “Happy Holidays” are persecuting us because they are not saying Merry Christmas, but that is not persecution. Persecution is the willful and vengeful acts done to others because they are different in some way. The Jewish people were persecuted in Nazi Germany. They were set up as the scape goats for all the problems that the German people experienced and as a result, they suffered for that. The people of Hispanic decent are being persecuted in many ways in our nation because they have been set up as the reason for all our problems. Lumping entire communities of people together for the misdeeds or perceived misdeeds of some is persecution. Jesus is saying that you are favored when people persecute you because yours is the kingdom. How can that be? The truth will eventually be revealed. And when those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, and the meek and the peacemakers come together with those that are persecuted they will turn the community into something greater, and the pure of heart will encourage them all to stay focused on the truth, so that the mourning will be comforted and the poor will know their needs are covered.
We look at these blessings and we think of them as goals. But the reality is that this is what Jesus says when he said that the disciples will be fishers of men. These are opposed to the world’s standards. The world wants us to believe that we are self-made, the world wants us to believe that there is no hope, that justice is already here, that meekness is weakness, and peace comes through those that have the biggest bombs and fastest jets. The world wants us to believe that we are not the problem, but it is all those other people that are causing our problems and the world would be better off if we just got rid of them. The world says a great deal, and often we are distracted by what the world says. But we are blessed if we open our eyes and seek that we are not alone. We are blessed if we see that all that we have is not only a gift from God, but favor that we have received from those that have gone before us and will be given to those that come after us. We are blessed if we see that of God in those around us and work to ensure that each person is recognized for who they truly are, a person loved by God. They are so loved by God that he sends his son, that his son willingly came to live among us, to teach us, to walk with us, to eat with us and to live life in the fullest sense with us. They are loved that that same son was willing to take on the ultimate shame, to die on a cross not for his crimes but ours, to be mocked and tortured. And he died. And his mother mourned. And his friends hid in a room behind locked doors for three days as Jesus lay in a tomb, buried in the depths of the earth separated from life and from relationship. God so loved those in the world that he sent his son to endure life and death, to endure separation in a grave, but He does not leave us there. God so love us and those in the world that He rose from the grave to new life.
The poor know their need, the mourning will be comforted, the meek will see the kingdom, the pure will see God, those that seek justice will find it, those that pursue peace will have it, and those that are wrongfully accused will have the truth revealed. Because the kingdom is here now and is to come. As we enter this time of open worship and communion in the manner of Friends let us reflect of the favored life Christ is calling us to, and as we reflect on that life let us live it.
Pursuit of a New Life
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
January 26, 2020
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
The past few weeks we have really focused on the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. I do not really think I have focused on that relationship as in depth as I have in the past couple of months, but I do feel we do not give John the respect that he deserves. Jesus even tells us that John is the greatest man to ever be born, which is saying a great deal.
Jesus supports John’s ministry. While I was participating in Ignatian Spiritual Exercises a few years ago, my spiritual director told me that many in their tradition of faith believe that early in Jesus’s ministry he supported John. That idea is supported to some degree in today’s passage, but I do not necessarily believe that Jesus and John were partners. I personally believe that Jesus and John did not compete against each other and when people spoke about the two, they both stood aside for the other.
The other gospel accounts suggest that there was a time where both Jesus and John were actively ministering at the same time, but Matthew suggests that Jesus was not fully engaged in his ministry until after John was arrested. I find that interesting. It is almost as if Matthew wants to make a distinction between the two expressions of faith, even though both the ministry of John and that of Jesus take much of the same approach from different trajectories. They both preach the same gospel message, which is that the kingdom of God is at hand or near. That was the original gospel message, the message of the kingdom was the only gospel message until after the death and resurrection of Christ. And I think that that message is something that we often overlook because too often we have morphed the Gospel into something incomplete by focusing on the how kingdom is won, instead of the what that kingdom truly is. Both Jesus and John passionately proclaim the same Gospel, they both speak to those that will listen to repent, to turn or to return to the heart of the Law. And to live with God today.
Jesus heard that John had been arrested, and that report seemed to speak to Jesus, telling him that now is the time to move out of his obscure life as a local handy man and begin taking the journey of the lamb. Prior to this Jesus lived and worked in Nazareth, that land in the far north of Israel, the land that was somewhat set apart from the rest of Judea because of the province of Samaria that separated it from Jerusalem. The land of Nazareth did not have the greatest reputation. They were regarded as Jews but because of the distance from the cultural center and lower population, the people there were often seen as being a bit ignorant. But these people were proud of who they were, they were often the ones that lead the independence movements and it was from Nazareth that many of the nationalistic rebels emerged. This is not surprising because they lived in an area closer to the more Hellenistic cultural centers.
If we were to give an example of these geographical centers in relation to our own nation, Nazareth might be likened to Appalachia in the United States where Jerusalem is New England. In our nation when we speak of American History a great majority is found in New England because it was in that region where events like the Boston Tea Party occurred. But if you were to ask the people of those areas what their heritage was, you would hear more people speaking of their ancestry, saying things like, “I am English or Italian.” But if you were to speak to those in Appalachia, they would more likely say I am American. Our cultural identity came from New England, but the pride often comes from other areas, the areas many people might refer to as hillbillies or good ol’ boys.
Jesus came from Nazareth and he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea. Nazareth was divided from the rest of Judea not only by Samaria but also a region that was highly settled by Gentiles. When the Greek culture moved into Israel after the conquest of Alexander the Great, they settled around the sea of Galilee. In this region, though it was part of Israel, the Jewish population in the first century was a minority. Jesus moved from Nazareth, the area known for their ignorant pride, to Galilee the of the Gentiles. He basically moved to Las Vegas.
John withdrew to the wilderness; Jesus went to the valley of the shadows. John called Israel to repent, and Jesus seems to make no distinction between Jew or Gentile but calls all people to repentance.
Jesus moves into this new community, and he begins to speak. His first message echoes the message of John, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This statement attracts the attention of many, because the wilderness preacher had been saying those words as well. That man was betrayed and taken to jail, but the message remains. Jesus continues to walk, and he make his way to the sea, and he sees two brothers working there.
Last week we spoke about the time just after Jesus was baptized, and John saw him walking in the distance and said to his disciples, “Behold the lamb of God.” When his disciples heard him say this, they left John’s side and followed Jesus and spent the night talking with him. One of those men, was Andrew.
The timeline might seem odd. But Simon and Andrew already knew Jesus. They knew that John had great respect for him, they had even spent time with him, but at that time Jesus was a craftsman, not widely known as a teacher. At this point John was the teacher that people followed, and John had been taken to jail. These men were eager, they were filled with righteous desire, but they were common men. They were men that were far from the cultural center, they were overlooked by the pharisees, but they had passion.
These men existed in obscurity. This does not mean that they were unimportant. In many cultures there are certain values accredited to positions. Most of these accreditations revolve around some form of education. There is nothing wrong with an education. In fact, it is one of the most important things that we can give to those around us. But cultures run a risk when we regard degrees and diplomas as equivalent to wisdom. I say this as what many would call an educated individual. I worked hard for my degrees, but my degrees are worthless if I had not learned to translate the things, I have learned into language that those without that education can understand. If I am unable to communicate, encourage, and apply my knowledge it does not matter how many degrees I possess. These men did not have the degrees of their culture, and many might consider them to be ignorant because of that. That does not mean that they did not seek knowledge and wisdom.
The pursuit of knowledge is one of the amazing aspects of humanity. When we actively pursue knowledge our culture progresses. This occurs in different ways and in various stages. It also requires many people working in conjunction with one another. Each person adding a bit more to what others have provided. When humanity stops pursuing knowledge, we enter a cultural recession. These recessions tend to divide people. One group has knowledge and they seek to use that to control those without. The other group does not have the knowledge and they resist and resent those they perceive to be elite. These divisions tear a culture apart, and those cultures enter a stagnant period we can describe as a dark age.
Israel was on the brink of a dark age. Jerusalem was their cultural center; it was where the most important people gathered. Those within that center looked at the surrounding area with contempt because they were ignorant. John began to point this out when he went to the wilderness. John taught outside the temple industrial complex, he went to the wilderness and he taught the common, not the elite.
The idea is to bring the knowledge to the people. Encourage and inspire those that did not have the opportunity before. But it is not just to get a following, it is to ignite a revival, a renaissance. Jesus went out to the sea and he found two men fishing and he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He is telling them that he will teach them the wisdom of God, he will show them a different lifestyle that will change the world. He is telling them not to settle, but to passionately pursue something greater.
Many of us feel as if we are living on the brink of a dark age. Our culture seems to be divided in a way that we have not experienced before. Though life is better than many of us think, a large portion of our population finds itself in a place of stagnation. I recently read a report that said that most of the emerging generations will earn less than the pervious generation, which is something that has not occurred in the last hundred years. The generation today has more in common with those just prior to the great depression. This is a sobering perspective, because that type of hardship is distracting. It intensifies division, and cultural decline. How can we stop it?
Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I thought a great deal on this concept this week. And as I studied, I learned that the fishing metaphor was used in pagan and Jewish traditions. It is an idea of pulling people out of the current situation and setting them in a new life. Jesus is calling Peter and Andrew to participate with him, not only in a ministry, but initiating the kingdom that he was preaching about. A kingdom that is not based on the ideas and concepts of worldly kingdoms, but one that is based on restoration, community, and moving individuals together to a different perspective. Jesus is calling them to participate in a life and lifestyle that will promote mutual profit, based on how we can improve each other instead of the intense competition for selfish gain. He is calling them, and us with them, to a life where humanity is more important than anything else.
Jesus’s call to the disciples is a call to form a people of God once again like Israel’s ancestors as they left Egyptian slavery. When Israel left Egypt, they were not a nation. They wondered through the wilderness for forty years learning to live together with God as a guide. They had forgotten who they were, and God is calling them back. He is calling us too. He is calling us to be a people that sees the humanity of those around us, the humanity that was created to bear the image of God. He is calling us to a life and lifestyle that will immerse our communities with his spirit. Removing the distractions so that the light of God can shine through.
As we now enter this time of open worship. I encourage us all to consider the passion of those first disciples. The passion that drove them to drop what they were doing to follow Jesus. Consider the calling to become fishers of men, and how that means to lift humanity out of one situation and integrate them into a new life. And consider where you are in that call.
Know Through Experience
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
January 19, 2020
John 1:29–42 (ESV)
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Today we come together again during this period of the Church year where we basically say, “no what?” We know exactly what to do leading up to and during Christmas. We know what to focus on during the time leading up to Easter. Even during that time between Easter and Christmas we are okay with because it is the time, we celebrate the Spirit of God being with us. It is this period of time between Christmas and Easter that we struggle with. These winter weeks after the New Year, where we really just want the spring to come but that silly ground hog keeps seeing his shadow.
It is this time where we are left wondering. We know certain things in our mind, but are they a true reality. We recognize and profess that Jesus is with us, yet do we really live as if that is real?
Last week we met John and Jesus on the banks of the Jordan. I said that John was the one man in Israel that truly understood what was going on. But even John struggled with his faith. His life began in a miraculous manner similar to that of the patriarchs of old, and angel announced his birth to the father and the father was left almost laughing at the prospect. John knew that story of his origins, because I seriously doubt anyone involved in his life could refrain from talking about it. Imagine his dad enduring those nine months unable to speak. He was a priest of high regard; he was a leader in the Synagogue when he was not performing his duties at the temple. His wife, who in advanced years and never bore a child, was obviously pregnant and he could not say a single thing about it. And as John grew, he had this destiny presented to him that undergirded everything he was going to experience.
He was a child of privilege; whose life was to be dedicated to the service of God. Luke 1 tells us, “for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” John knew his life’s purpose before he was even born. Once his father could speak again, he would have directed his son into this life, giving him the necessary opportunities to make it happen.
Imagine what you would have done if you had been given this sort of direction in the rearing of your children. Imagine the decisions you would make to provide for the fulfillment of this prophecy spoken over your child. I have often wondered how John ended up on the banks of a river when the temple was such a central focus to the lives of the first century religious community. I have wondered how a religious community that was so efficient and organized could have a child with a destiny like that of John would not have offered space for him to within their colonnades? This gives us a glimpse into spiritual reality and institutional practice. John lived his faith with passion. His life and lifestyle fulfilled the very destiny that was proclaimed to his father, but I am certain that many within the organization suspected that John had turned from the truth path. We know this because when Jesus asked the teachers if John had come from God, they responded that they did not know. They responded in this way because they did not want to alienate themselves from those that had an opinion to either side.
John was the only person that knew Jesus in a way beyond the obscure builder. John knew that there was more to this cousin of his that met the eyes, but even John did not know exactly what to expect. I said last week that John knew Jesus, and in today’s passage John says that he did not know him. You might think that your pastor is off his rocker, and you might not be far from the truth, but we need to look deeper.
Words have power. When we group words together in certain ways they can inspire or condemn. They can empower or enslave. When we speak using words, we need to be careful. If a parent uses words with their children, they use can encourage them to become men and women of wisdom, honor, grace and faith. But we can also use words that belittle and discourage our children to the point they lose all desire to try to improve. This is one of the reasons being a parent is the hardest job in the world, because we really do not know until we enter eternity if we dealt faithfully with the precious lives we were entrusted with. People have made careers in teaching people and parents different methods of speaking to those they supervise, to promote greater response without causing harm. Words have power because words are often layered with meaning.
The word “know” is one such word. We can know in various ways. I know actors and actresses that star in my favorite shows. I know where they were born, and for some I even know if and where they went to college. And I am excited because the Ant-Man is going to be at the game today, because Paul used to live in this area, and he went to school at KU. I know these people, but I do not know them like I know my children.
I know my children in a much deeper sense of the word. With my children I can look at them and can basically predict exactly what they are about to do. I know by the tone of their voice if they are hungry. With the change of a single breath I know if something has changed in their current state of being. I know my children in a way that is deeper than any celebrity because I have spent a greater amount of time with them. Even this is different than how I know my spouse. There is a whole different aspect to knowing in this regard. Which includes everything we know about our children and more. Our spouses are those people that we have a special bond with one that we do not share with anyone else.
Knowing can be something attached to information and various relational aspects. When John says that he did not know Jesus, he is not saying that he had no knowledge of who he was. He knew his cousin, if not personally, he knew about him. I find it impossible to believe that John’s mom would be able to keep quiet about the reaction the fetus inside her responded during the visit of Mary. John knew Jesus, so what does John mean when he says he did not know him?
If we were to look up the word know in this case, it is references experience not facts. When John speaks about Jesus after he had baptized him, John is speaking of a different level of knowledge, he did not know him in the same way before. He knew him before in one way but the day after the baptism John knew Jesus in a much deeper way. Before he spoke in abstract, and today he speaks with experience.
John remained out in the wilderness preaching to those that came out to see him. He remained out there in the wilderness shouting out to those that came to repent for the kingdom of God is near. He remained out in the wilderness pushing people under the water to mark a moment where they had made a decision to turn from the life they once lived and embrace a new form of life. He was out in the wilderness, that next day and he sees Jesus walking by in the distance. He sees Jesus, and the message he was shouting changed from repent for the kingdom is near to, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
Do we see the change? John moves from Prophet to herald. “This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” John goes on to say that he witnessed the spirit of God descending on Jesus like a dove, and that he knew Jesus to be the son of God.
This is huge. John tells us that God called him to leave the richly decorated walls of the temple to embrace the ascetic life. He tells us that he was called by God to call people to repentance and he was even called to baptize them with water. If we were to look at the full report of John’s message, we would see that even John did not put any real power in his activity beyond encouraging a public declaration of repentance. He said that we cannot say that we have the right heritage because God could raise up children from Abraham from the very stones beneath our feet. His message states that it is not nationalism that save you because He was out in the wilderness baptizing gentiles along with those of Hebrew decent. John says that his baptism is in itself worthless because there is one that will come after who actually came before, that will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Maybe we do not understand what that means. What lead John out to the wilderness? What empowered John to proclaim the message that he proclaimed? The Spirit of God would be upon John even in the womb, meaning that John would experience God directing his life from the very beginning of his existence. John responded to that Spirit when he left the temple, and he began doing something different. Baptism has its roots in Jewish practice, but John expanded the meaning. The Jewish people would bath before they were to enter into worship in special pools. And as they entered these baths, they would fully immerse every part of their body into the water, every part of their body was clean. And the water would need to be living water, which basically means that the water needed to have a constant flow. The symbolism of the bath is that the things that might make us dirty are immersed and carried away from us. That which makes us unclean is removed and totally washed away. At that point they can enter the sacred place to worship. John is out in the wilderness; he is in the Jordan river. The symbolism here is even greater.
The Jordan is the often regarded as the border between Israel and the rest of the world. The fact that John was in the Jordan gives the impression that the holy place that people are to enter is not only a place of worship but the land itself. He is saying that no one is worthy of being called Israel, because all have sinned and need to repent. And when John baptizes Jesus it marks or reveals a new era of history. Jesus becomes Israel, he takes on himself all the future and history of Israel and redeems it in himself. Everything before, everything now, and everything in the future is now on him. John baptized with water; Jesus baptizes with God.
John did not know him in this way before, but now he knows. Now he knows that everything about his existence is made complete in Jesus. And later John will say, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” Meaning the initial act of turning is not as important than the life lived in relationship to God.
John is out there in the wilderness. He is out there like many of us. We do not fully know what to do or where to go from here. John baptized Jesus, and all at once his life comes into focus. Yet what about us? A day passes and John’s message turns from repent because the kingdom of God is near to Behold the Lamb. Now another day has passed and again John sees Jesus. John is a man that has a following. People have come from all over Judea to listen to him preach. We know that his message had even extended to places far beyond Israel because, Apollos of Alexandria is found in the Book of Acts proclaiming the message of John. Jesus is seen approaching again on the second day, and John is standing there in the water of the Jordan with two disciples. And he looks at Jesus and he says to those with him, “behold, the lamb of God!” On the second day, John sends his disciples away from him, he directs them no longer to this abstract concept of repentance and baptism. He directs them to experience God with us. He sends his disciples away, encouraging them to follow Jesus.
Consider this moment for a bit. John sent his disciples to Jesus. His entire life had been lived a certain way; he had responded to the call of God to leave the privileged life of the temple to live in the wilderness. He had disciples that had responded to his lifestyle and had joined him in it. And here he is sending them away. All that we have is God’s, and is given for His glory not our own. If we do not release what we have to God, we miss the very essence of our lives.
John’s disciples hear his voice saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” They hear his words, and they know that what John is saying is the life you seek is not in the water but with Jesus. They walk to the shore, they climb out of the water, and they follow. I wonder how long they followed Jesus, before Jesus turned and spoke to them. I wonder if Jesus took a particularly strenuous path just for the fun of it that particular day, before he turned to them and spoke. He leads them for a while, an unspecified distance but enough to know that they were indeed following him. Which seems to mean that they were now away from the crowds of people and in a place of some privacy. And he asks them a very important question. “What are you seeking?”
Think about that question, because it is not only a question for them two thousand years ago. It is a question for each of us. A few weeks ago, I asked a question, “Why are you here?” that question stems from this question Jesus asked these two disciples of John. Jesus at this point had no real interaction with those that followed John. There is no indication that Jesus had spent any time engaged in John’s ministry up to this point. As far as we know, this is only the third time they had seen Jesus in any aspect outside the obscure builder he had been for the previous thirty years. Yet, they trusted John. When they heard his words, their desires turned from following the baptizer and rested on this unknown figure. And He asks them, “What are you seeking?”
The question is profound, because the term to seek is abstract enough to basically cover any answer. What is your greatest desire? What is truth? What is the purpose of my life? All of these and more are found in that simple question, “What are you seeking?” And their answer is simple at first, yet equally profound, “Teacher, where are you staying?”
Their greatest desire is to spend the day with Jesus. Their greatest desire is to have a conversation with a man their teacher finds so interesting. Their greatest desire is to know the person their teacher, upon sight, instantly changes from passionate proclaimer of repentance, to reverence and awe.
They followed Jesus because there was something more behind what they saw. It is one thing to enter the water and to re-emerge, the change that they saw in John when Jesus approached was something that affected the very essence of his being, it was the substance of life itself. They left the river and they wanted to spend the rest of the day with this man. “Where are you staying?” And Jesus says, “Come and you will see.”
They continued down the path, and the tenth hour approached, meaning that there was only about two hours of daylight left. They finished their day talking with Jesus. They experienced life with Jesus. They felt a different call, because the call of Jesus is not just adjusting your life to live better. It is to walk with him, stay where he stays, and to share life in a community.
The next day those two went out and they found others and asked them to come see as well. John called Israel to leave the comfort of their organization, and in the face of Christ he says behold the Lamb. Jesus looks at John who said I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me. And Jesus tells John let’s do this, and John takes the back seat and redirects people to Jesus. I ask you because you are here listening, “What do you seek?” And as we enter this time of open worship, I encourage you to approach the silence as George Fox did, because like John he knew Jesus by experience. And experience occurs when we “Come and see.” So let us see what God with us has to show us, and experience His life with us.