Directions to Christ

John 14:4 "And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Maps have become sort of obsolete in these days of on-line address locators, direction-finders, and GPS systems. These days all you need to know is an address, and you can instantly get exact driving directions including mileage and time of travel and stops along the way.

How fortunate we are to be living in these days. I can remember when maps were a big deal, especially as you needed to travel across the country. A whole business was built on providing travelers the maps they needed, (that being AAA.)

In terms of eternity, the Bible we hold in our lap is just like that. A map, that is.

This is why Jesus could properly proclaim to His disciples that not only was He going away - but they already knew where He was going, and they already knew how to get there.

Thomas, however, (in all probability along with the other disciples,) failed to comprehend all that Jesus was alluding to in this case.

It seems no matter how many times Jesus had told them He was going up to Jerusalem to be crucified, they failed to grasp all He was saying – as if the news was so bad they didn’t want to think about it. As if they refused to think about it.

So Thomas, on behalf of the remaining 11 disciples risked being perceived as impertinent and uninformed – and he asked the question they all needed an answer to. (I’m glad he did.)

John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"

When Moses encountered God in the burning bush in Exodus 3, he asked God to tell him Who it was that was sending Him to be the leader of the Israelite people? God’s reply: “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM’ has sent me to you.”

To Thomas, Jesus responded in a very similar way: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Just as Moses had led God’s people to the Promised Land, and no one else could claim that right of leadership but Moses alone - Jesus Christ is leading God’s people into the Kingdom of Heaven, and NO ONE else can claim that right of leadership. There is indeed only one way to be where Jesus Christ is. Follow Him there.

- Pastor Bill

Dressed for Success

John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"

There are all kinds of television shows and magazines and websites which will teach you how to ‘dress for success.’ The idea, of course, is to be perceived as a successful person simply by the clothes you wear.

Jesus had this in mind when he arose from the dinner table and stripped off His outer garments, girded Himself with a towel, and began to approach each of His disciples. He had in mind to wash each of their feet.

For the King of Kings and Lord of Lords this was quite an example. Jesus had been teaching His disciples humility, and even exemplifying it on several occasions. But they weren’t getting the message. (Any more than we seem to.)

In a very real way, (in a way that we may relate,) the Lord of All Creation was putting on the uniform of a janitor, with ‘Jesus’ embroidered in red thread in a white oval on His chest, and He was bending down to scrub the nasty bathroom floor of an inner city gas station that has not been cleaned in weeks. (Or whatever task you may regard as completely disgusting and beneath your dignity or His.)

This is shocking in more ways than we may count. For those who have been following Jesus with a very real expectation of RAISING their station in life – after all they were about to be princes in a new kingdom – this had to have been one of the greatest disappointments of all time. Was this really happening? The offense of having your leader stoop to this indignity is palpable and disturbing. Especially so since His indignity is practiced on you.

And there you sit gazing down on the top of the head which will bear the crown of thorns, and seeing the flesh of the back which will be ripped to shreds, and feeling the touch of the hands which will be pierced and bloodied – as He gently washes your nasty, dirty feet. I think I know exactly how Peter felt as his mind worked out the equation of what was happening. “Is this the way a king would behave? What have I done? Who have I given my life to?” All without the slightest thought of the indignity of human sin that has led to this.
- Pastor Bill

Countdown

John 12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.

Mary, who loved Jesus very much, seemed to know something about Jesus which no one else knew. Did she alone have a special foresight not possible for anyone else to have? Did she alone view Jesus with the eyes of love, which took her perfume ‘outside the box’?

Maybe. But maybe she was just paying attention. Of all those present in the room with Jesus, Mary alone knew He was about to die. Which is why they were all (see Matt 26:8) indignant about the extravagant “misuse” of the perfume Mary was pouring out on Jesus’ feet. (“That money could have been better spent!”)

How could Mary have known what was unknown to all the others present? Perhaps she alone was counting down the days.

On May 14, 445 B.C., a countdown had begun. A time fixed - which was certain. God’s clock. God’s countdown of days – to the very day “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.” 173,880 days, to be exact.

That’s a lot of days. 483 years. Expressed as 69 “weeks” or “heptads” or “sevens” of years. The angel Gabriel had declared all of this to the prophet Daniel in Dan 9: 25-26. 483 years X 360 days (a 360 day year according to the Jewish calendar,) = 173,880 days, to be counted down beginning with the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem and its wall. Said decree was proclaimed March 14, 445 B.C. March 14, 445 B.C. + 173,880 days = April 6, 32 A.D.

On Palm Sunday, April 6, 32 A.D., Jesus dropped by Martha and Mary and Lazarus’ house for a farewell visit. It seems Mary alone had done the math. The Lamb of God had come to take away the sins of the world, and the hour was at hand for this to be accomplished.

When Jesus came the first time so few recognized Him for Who He really was based on Biblical accounts. When He was raised and went to be with His Father, a new countdown was begun for His return to rapture his church. But who’s counting?

- Pastor Bill

Campaigning

There is no doubt our country is in the worst shape it has EVER been. At least if you listen to one political party – that is. One political party’s job is to convince us the country is in terrible shape – the worst shape ever – simply because they want you to vote for them. It’s understandable. That’s how it works.

The concept is simple. Motivate the people to vote for you. Change the system because the system is THE WORST IT HAS EVER BEEN! Get the picture?

If we’re not careful, we can buy into this sort of negative mindset. All of the sudden, even as Christians with a full understanding of how the Lord is working in this world, we find ourselves skulking around and worrying ourselves to death over things like the ‘state of the economy.’ “Oh no…Just look how bad it is!!!”

Really? Is God still in control? Do you believe this?

Martha and Mary faced a similar ‘political’ enemy. An enemy whose sole intent was to distract them and rob them of their joy in this life, and to disconnect them with Jesus in the next. An enemy with the power to shake men’s hearts and bind their souls. An enemy who makes it impossible to focus on the true meaning of life, because all meaning has changed.

That enemy is death.

The enemy of all enemies. The last enemy. The enemy over which men have no power.

Jesus, being informed of His friend Lazarus’ sickness, tarried in a remote location until Lazarus was dead. Good and dead. 4 days dead. Decomposition dead. Mournfully dead. Martha and Mary totally disconsolate dead. Inconsolably dead.

Never mind. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Wait a minute! What is Jesus saying here? What has Jesus declared? The world is on a highway to hell, and destruction lurks all around, death rules, and Jesus says, “Never mind?” Who is this Jesus? Who is this Jesus?

Jesus was and is campaigning for the hearts of men. Are you listening? Do you believe this? (BTW – You must vote.)

- Pastor Bill