What's Love Got To Do With It?

Luke 19:37-38; 23:1,23: "When he (Jesus) came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest . . . . [Several days later] the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, 'We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.' . . . . With loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed."


It is rather fascinating to see the change in disposition of the crowds toward Jesus in Jerusalem just before His crucifixion. As he entered the Holy City riding on a colt, the people spread their cloaks on the ground before Him, waved palm branches, and cried out "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest" (Matthew 21:9). All of the city was stirred with the arrival of the Nazarene prophet. But within a few days, the people's enthusiasm would change dramatically. No longer were they praising Jesus, but they were accusing him of treason and demanding that He be executed.


This transformation can be explained through the reasons why the people celebrated Jesus' arrival in the first place, namely for "all the miracles they had seen." When Jesus was fulfilling the needs of the people, they were praising Him as the Son of David; but, when Jesus began to teach the people about the cost of discipleship (i.e. that surrender to God would cost them everything [John 12:25-26]), the people began to turn on the Savior. Scripture records that "even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they (the people) would not believe in him (as Lord)" [John 12:37].



To be sure, the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, looked for an opportunity to turn the hearts of the people away from Him. They despised the thought of losing their social influence to the Nazarene who had just arrived in the city (Matthew 21:15). But the foundational problem leading to such a shift in the disposition of the crowd toward Jesus was their lack of surrender. These people were engrossed in their own lordship; thus, they loved Jesus when He was offering them something of personal benefit. His miracles and His potential of being a political insurrectionist against the Romans was quite appealing to the crowds. Yet, when Jesus entered the city, driving out those who were using the temple as a place of financial profit, the people lost confidence in Jesus as an asset for their selfish causes. To be sure, many still believed Jesus to be a prophet (Matthew 22:46), but the leaders and chief priests began to plot his execution (Matthew 26:3-4). Their envy of Jesus' influence with the people stirred within their hearts the desire to destroy the Savior (Mark 15:10). Quickly, they were able to sway the crowds to cry for the death of the Messiah (Matthew 27:20). Three times the Roman Procurator, Pilate, petitioned the crowds for the reasoning why they wanted the death of the innocent man, but the crowds "with loud shouts insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed" (Luke 23:23).


As I have reiterated ad nauseam in my previous blogs, the systemic problem with humanity is one of surrender and lordship. The prevailing problem in our culture, just like in the day of Christ, is people seeking their own lordship over the One True God. People are willing to acknowledge Jesus only if they are able to manipulate His identity for their own selfish causes. We see this made manifest through people's labeling themselves "Christian," yet see their religious association as something to meet their personal needs (religious/familial identity; eternal protection; financial opportunity; psychological comfort, ethic manipulation, etc.). These people would not be unlike the Jewish and Roman attendees at the prosecution of Jesus in Jerusalem; once surrender to the Savior was introduced into one's life equation, the tables would turn against Jesus as Lord. We see this today in the abject defiance of self-proclaimed "Christians" who egregiously choose to disobey the commands of the Lord as prescribed in the Scriptures. The lack of the evidential fruit of a truly transformed life is the telling sign of a lack of relationship with Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.


Love for and submission to Jesus as Lord are noticeably absent in the reprobate; in its place is found the never-ending love of "self." For these people, the "end" of personal fulfillment justifies all behavior, including the renouncing of God as the Lord of one's life, evidenced through disobedience to His commands.

Not Recognizing

John 14:8-10; 17 "Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.' Jesus answered: 'Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work . . . . the Spirit of truth-the world can not accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.'"



After three years of association with Jesus, the disciples were still not 100% certain of Jesus' relationship with God the Father. Before, they had proclaimed Jesus as the "Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16); but the John 14 dialogue between Philip and Jesus tells us that the disciples wanted to see God in His glory and were thus oblivious to the fact that they were seeing God incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. It was not enough to see God in His humble state as a man, serving the purpose of being the eventual atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world; it's as if the disciples would be convinced of the claims of Jesus as Messiah only if they could experience God in His magnificent splendor. The disciple's doubt was evidenced in Philip's skeptical response to Jesus, "show us the Father and that will be enough for us."



Jesus reproves the disciples for their lack of faith. He in effect tells the disciples that they were seeing God in Him; then, Jesus tells the disciples to believe His words as the illuminating Words of God, proclaiming the evidential truth that God was working through Jesus as Savior and Lord. Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that the world would not believe in God as Spirit for they could not experience Him through sight nor intimate association. But to the disciples Jesus proclaimed that they knew and would better know the Holy Spirit, for He was with them and would indwell them in the future.



We see this skeptical disposition paralleled in our culture today. People are unwilling to believe in the Triune God, for they are not able to experience Him through their senses. Many assert that they will only believe if they are able to see God; they in effect are saying "God show yourself to us and that will be enough." The Words that Jesus shared to His disciples are the Words that we all have available to us today through the Holy Scriptures. These Scriptures are "living and active . . . judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12); they are a gift from the Lord to increase our faith in Him, though we cannot physically see His glory in our temporal state.

God has also gifted us with the presence of the Holy Spirit that lives within the believer, giving to him the assurance that God exists as Sovereign Lord and is working all things according to His eternal purposes . . . . namely the redemption of the redeemed as eternal, evidential proof and testament to His glorious grace (see Ephesians 1).



Failing to see God in His Glory is not an excuse that can be used to deny the reality of God. God already has given to us the above mentioned gifts of the Word and the Spirit. The question that we should be asking is, "Are we tapping into the blessedness of an intimate relationship with God through the Word and the Holy Spirit?"

No Marriage in Heaven?

Luke 20:33-34: "(The Sadducees who say there is no resurrection asked) 'At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?' (To this question) Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.'"



This passage above has been quite disturbing for many married adults who dread the thought of entering eternity without being married to the love of their earthly life; this passage has been equally disturbing to many single adults who are anxious that they may never have the blessing of being married at all. Some would conclude that heaven will not be as glorious as it's marketed to be, for we'll be denied the opportunity of experiencing heaven as "married." They see heaven as an eternal stag party where everyone wants to be paired up with that special person, but are denied such a privilege. As the heavenly dance music is being played, everyone is standing around without a partner, wondering when the fun will begin.



It must be remembered that the institution of earthly marriage was designed primarily to encourage us and teach us of God's eternal marital relationship with all believers. What an ingenious Lord that we have . . . He knew that we would better understand His unfailing love for us by experiencing a parallel (albeit inferior) covenant relationship with a spouse. Because we are not physically present with our True Husband (the Lord) in heaven, God determined that we would better appreciate what is to come by experiencing earthly marriage. Thus, our experience of marriage here should be quickening our hearts in anticipation of the glorious wedding banquet, when we are finally joined with the Ultimate Spouse . . . Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this analogy between earthly marriage and THE heavenly marriage in Ephesians 5, where husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves the Church and the Church is to submit to Christ as a wife "submits to her husband in everything" (Eph. 5:24). What is especially beautiful in the Ephesians 5 passage is the proclamation that Christ has offered His very life for us (His bride), thus giving us the opportunity to be purified of our sin and granting us the ability to shine as a radiant bride before Him (our bridegroom). Now that is true love!



All of our needs for intimacy and love that exist in this life will be completely fulfilled in the blessedness of heaven as we experience the ultimate love relationship with our Lord. No longer will we long for unconditional love, for God will satisfy that foundational longing in our hearts.

And for those of us who have had the earthly blessing of a spouse surrendered to the Lord, we will share with them the blessedness of God's eternal, unfathomable, radiant love. And in our perfected condition, we will be able to love our former spouses MORE than we ever were able to express in this earthly experience. Yes, let me re-emphasize this truth. One will never be able to experience the depths of heavenly love in this life, no matter what one's relational status is here. Although we will not be formally married to another person in heaven, we will love and be loved at levels we could never fathom nor experience here. Our love experience will be heightened exponentially, and we will not be standing around wondering why things can not be like they were on earth relationally.


I think that we must also remember that we WILL in fact be married. God is drawing us as His bride into His glorious abode; and He will transform us as we cross the Heavenly threshhold, so that we are perfected in "holiness . . . without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:26-27).

How Can People Know You Are a Follower of Christ?

John 13:34-35: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."


The story of John 13 is not far removed from the events that would demonstrate the ultimate reason why Jesus Christ came into the world. Jesus' death and resurrection proclaimed to the world that He loved His creation so much that He would offer His very life as the only sufficient ransom for its sins. Jesus' advent was to show humanity "the full extent of his love" through His death and His resurrection (see John 12:27; 13:1); and truly, this was the greatest love ever given (John 15:13).


As Jesus and the disciples celebrated the Passover meal and the Lord's Supper, the disciples were bickering amongst themselves as to whom was the greatest (Luke 22:24). Jesus knew that the time had come to teach His disciples a most important truth of faith: the importance of loving others even before one's self. While the disciples were arguing, Jesus took off His outer garment and knelt down to wash His disciples' feet. Think about it . . . the Sovereign Lord and King of all eternity took a humble position before His disciples to minister to them and to teach them that they should do likewise to others (John 13:15).


Jesus then interjected a new command to His disciples . . . that they should love one another as He had loved them. I'm sure that these power hungry disciples knew that this type of love would necessitate sacrifice on their part to minister to the needs of others. Jesus was sharing with them by his demonstrative act that their purpose in life was not centered on self-actualization and fulfillment but on loving others and being a blessing to them.


Jesus then said to His disciples that the way in which ALL men would know that they were true disciples was by their love for one another. Notice that Jesus said "all" men, not just believers. Thus, unbelievers and believers alike would see the evidential fruit of a transformed life by the manifestation of love that true disciples have for others. Notice too that Jesus did not say that mankind would be able to tell a true disciple by his great oratory skills or mastery of the Scriptures or participation in church activities; rather, it would be by his love for others that all men would know that he was in fact a true disciple.

Whereas we are called to be purveyors of God's truth to a world in need of God's grace, we must examine ourselves to see if we have hearts of love and compassion for others. Are we more consumed with our own needs and desires that we are indifferent to those around us? We must remember that our Lord commands us to love others with a selfless, self-sacrificing love. This love will proclaim to believers and unbelievers alike that we are true followers of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Everyone is Important

I Corinthians 12:18,22-23, 25: "God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be . . . . those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor . . . . There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other."

From chapters 1-4, 9, 14 of I Corinthians, it seems that the Church at Corinth had become enamored with what one might call the "divine sophia" (wisdom). Certain members had become influenced by the secular philosophies of that day which emphasized that one could attain higher levels of wisdom through spiritual gift manifestation. These believers felt that they had reached a “spiritualized eschatology.” That is, they believed they had already experienced the fullness of the divine sophia from the Spirit and were speaking with tongues similar to the angels. They were now experiencing a kind of ultimate spirituality by which they lived above the merely material existence of the present age, and this superior wisdom made them of higher importance in the church and the kingdom of God.

Of course, those in the church that believed that they had mastered the mysteries of spirituality believed that others had not attained such levels of enlightenment and were thus inferior. This arrogant disposition led to numerous quarrels within the church (see I Corinthians 3:3).

Paul instructed the Corinthian church that each member of the body of Christ is gifted and called to specific responsibilities by the Lord, "just as He wants them to be." Therefore, no person within the church has less value than anyone else . . . all are equally important for the purposes of God. Paul commands that the church recognize the "less honorable" in the congregation with special honor . . . as ones indispensible to the kingdom of God. Paul uses the analogy of the physical body to illustrate that each part, no matter its function, is of utmost importance to the optimal functioning of the body as a whole. And he reiterates that God Himself will esteem the parts of the body that may lack respect due to their position and function within the church.

This is a good word for us in the Church of Jesus Christ. We must remember that all members are invaluable for the purposes of the kingdom, and we should never assume ourselves more important due to our positions of perceived prominence within the church. None of us deserve to even be in the family of God, for we have all sinned against the Lord; thus, the grafting in of ourselves into the tree of life is solely accomplished by the grace and mercy of God. No one has the right to boast in his spirituality, as though he has mastered his redemption through his own efforts.

At the same time, each believer CAN boast in the goodness of the Lord to grant him such a privilege. Not only have we been made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), but we have been redeemed by the greatest price possible . . . the death of Christ on a cross (Romans 5:8). For those of us who have surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, we have received the blessedness of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21-22); and through this impartation, the Lord has set His seal of ownership upon us. Therefore, we ALL can say that God has adopted us into His royal family, and this adoption gives each of us immeasurable intrinsic value (see Ephesians 1:5; John 1:12).

Sickness for God's Glory?

John 11:4: "When He (Jesus) heard this, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death, No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."



Chapter 11 of the Book of John is the story of the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This was an incredible act of Jesus as Lord to demonstrate His Sovereign power to bring physical life again to a man who had been dead for four days. This specific miracle was a demonstrative act of power by Jesus to display that He is the Resurrection and the Life for all who would believe in Him as Lord (11:25).



With the magnificence of the miraculous act, one can miss a rather subtle truth that lay within the text, namely that sickness can be used by God to bring glory to Himself. Now, let me be quick to interject that God is not a misanthropic deity that enjoys the pain and misery of His creation. As one can even see from Jesus' weeping at the sight of Mary's grief over the loss of her brother (11:35), that God is genuinely concerned with our losses. Even so, God also knows that He can use the unfortunate experiences of our lives to bring about greater good for the furtherance of His glorious kingdom. Jesus' delay in responding to the news of Lazarus' illness and Lazarus' subsequent death from that illness, would be used by Jesus to demonstrate His power, thus drawing the crowds into a personal relationship with Him as Lord. As Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the people knew that Jesus was no ordinary prophet, for only God could bring life back to the dead. John 11:45 tells us that many people "put their faith in Jesus." The religious leaders were so alarmed at the popular response to Jesus that they believed that Jesus needed to be killed; otherwise, they felt that "everyone would (eventually) believe in Him (Jesus)" (11:48).


We find a similar response from Jesus in the story of the man born blind in John 9. When the disciples asked Jesus whose sin was the result of this man being born without sight, Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned . . . but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (9:3). Ultimately, the blindness was used by Jesus to demonstrate His power to heal this infirmity; and as with the raising of Lazarus, the healing of the blind man brought many to trust in Jesus as Lord. (See my June 25, 2008, blog "Causes of Pain and Tragedy" for more information on the topic).

As we read the story of Lazarus' victory over death, we celebrate the power of God over our most formidable foe; still, we better understand that God uses our misfortunes (e.g. sicknesses, tragedies, accidents, etc.) to bring glory to Himself and draw people into an intimate fellowship with Him. We are never promised immunity from life's painful experiences; what we are assured of is that God can use these tribulations to further His kingdom. Let us remember this truth as we traverse the painful paths that life often presents to us.

Repentance Involves Action!

Luke 19:8-9: Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.' Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house . . . '"

The story of Zacchaeus is noticeably distinct from the story of the rich young ruler in the previous chapter. Zacchaeus was one of the CHIEF tax collectors, which means that after he collected what the Romans expected in revenue, he was able to extort a lot more money from the people of Palestine for himself (with the backing of the Roman government). Scripture tells us that Zacchaeus was quite wealthy, but the people hated him for his abuses of power. In fact, the community was quite astonished that Jesus would choose to stay at the house of such a "sinner." No good Jew would think of associating with such a debased person as a tax collector, and Zacchaeus would have been seen as the chief of the reprobate for his position and abuses. Of course, many of us know the story of the short-statured Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree to get a glimpse of the Savior. What is fascinating with his encounter with Jesus was in the way that Jesus responded to him. When Jesus looked at Zacchaeus in the tree, he said that he MUST say at his house. The Greek word for "must" is a strongly emphatic word, suggesting utter necessity. Thus, Jesus was quite intentional at communicating that his staying with Zacchaeus was of utmost importance, and I believe that Jesus knew that salvation was soon to come to this man of such poor reputation.

Zacchaeus was so overwhelmed at this initiatory prompting by the Lord, that he immediately recognized his sins of abuse toward the people and responded to his guilt with corrective action. The chief tax collector gave half of his possessions to the poor and indemnified those whom he had extorted money four times over. Even the law of Moses only required that a person who had stolen money from another give the amount back plus 20% (Numbers 5:7). Zacchaeus was willing to give the stolen money plus 300% extra!

Jesus' reply was declarative . . . He exclaimed that Zacchaeus had received salvation from his sin. Now, this passage does not suggest that Zacchaeus' deeds of restitution saved him, for we know that salvation is solely the work of Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9); still, we see from this passage that a truly transformed person cannot help but produce the fruit of repentance through his deeds/works. In other words, though works are not necessary for one's salvation, they are the necessary product of salvation (see Matthew 7:18-20 for further support of this truth).

If one contrasts the response of Zacchaeus with the rich young ruler of Luke 18, one will see a telling difference. The rich young ruler refused the invitation of the Lord for eternal life, for he craved the benefits and privileges of his wealth; in effect, the rich young ruler worshipped his earthly treasures above the Lord. As he turned away from the Savior (most likely for the last time before his judgment), Jesus said that it is quite difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus was keenly aware that people of wealth can fall prey to the personal adulation that affluence affords to the rich, and are therefore unwilling to surrender that "god" to the One True God. Zacchaeus however was different. He knew that wealth had a stranglehold on him, and thus he renounced his allegiance to it by giving much of it away. Zacchaeus was saying to the Lord, "nothing I am or have shall take priority over you as my Lord . . . I surrender it all to you."

May we all reflect upon our lives, and like Zacchaeus rid ourselves of anything that we are apt to worship as our god over Jesus Christ. He alone is to be worshipped. When we renounce our allegiance to the feigned substitutes that have taken priority over God in our lives, we demonstrate by our actions that we have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, bringing salvation to our souls.