Fear and Faith

This morning I read the story of Jesus calming a storm in Mark 4:35-41. It struck me that Jesus contrasts fear and faith very clearly. 

He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”  And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (v. 40-41)

It is worth noting that in the grip of the storm the disciples went to Jesus without faith. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” In their distress they wrongly concluded that they were all dying and Jesus was indifferent.  Based on the way they respond, I don’t think they were expecting a miracle.  It seems more likely they were upset that he wasn’t bailing water or rowing with them. The wind and spray had not only blinded their eyes, it had blinded their hearts. They didn’t understand Jesus’ true power.

They did the right thing (going to Jesus for help) in the wrong way (with an accusation instead of an appeal). Thankfully Jesus is always gracious. He responds by calming the storm and offering a gentle rebuke. He corrects their unbelief and fear. The implication is that if they really knew the power of Jesus, they wouldn’t be panicking. Yes, they would come to Jesus. But they would have come differently.  In this moment his words are gentle yet surreal.  It seems pretty obvious why they were afraid!  Yet his correction comes with the mercy of a miracle, a hand stretched out to save them. And that is almost always how he corrects his weak children. 

Finally, and perhaps this is the most wonderful thing about the story, Jesus reveals the great mystery of who he is. In calming the storm he breaks all their categories. When we are faced with something shocking, the words that we speak as a matter of impulse are revealing. We haven’t had time to soften or shape them to win respect. They are the response of pure instinct.  The disciples, safe and sound, yet still dripping from the waves say, “who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Jesus reveals two things. He not only has the power to calm storms, he has the compassionate heart to do it.  He is both able and willing. 

The response of the disciples is the common experience of people that have seen God’s powerful hand engaged by his gracious heart. “They were filled with great fear.” (V. 40) This is a different kind of fear than gripped them just moments ago when they were convinced that they were dying in the presence of an uncaring master. This is the fear that comes when you have been rescued from trouble by the omnipotence of an omnigracious savior. When you see his power is greater than anything you have ever experienced.  It is beyond comprehension. It is unsettling. This sweet fear is the response of the soul that understands why faith and carnal fear cannot be friends. This is the fear that has shifted its sense of awe from the power of unruly waves to the power of the one that rules heaven and earth.

Peace or No Peace? Which Is It?

At the end of Luke 12:51 Jesus makes a shocking statement, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

He didn’t come to bring peace? Huh? This is shocking to me because it seems to go against many of the things we believe about Jesus. It seems at odds with what he taught elsewhere. And it is nothing like the pop culture Jesus enlisted by talk show hosts and politicians.

Elsewhere Jesus is called the prince of peace (Isa 9:6). He gave a special blessing on the peacemakers, that they shall be called “sons of God” (Matt 5:9).  Further the apostles taught that peace is an essential part of the Christian life: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14).  Paul wrote, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18).  What does Jesus mean? Is this some kind of contradiction?

To make this problem worse, passages like this are sometimes used to justify the bad behavior of Christians.  They are an easy and deceptive refuge for behavior that is rude, unloving, or eager to fight.  

I think the answer to this dilemma is seen in the context. Jesus mentions that he came to divide even the closest of relationships. To divide families, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters (v. 52-53). In first century Palestine, as in many eastern cultures today, the family was everything. In collective cultures people find their value and identity in group conformity.  What is the ultimate taboo? Step out of line and dishonor the family in some way.

In almost every generation social pressure is used to force conformity via the carrot and the stick. If we conform to the values of the group we are rewarded. If we break rank we may be reprimanded, excommunicated, or executed.  For many of us, this level of family devotion seems extreme, rising to ridiculous.  It is definitely NOT scandalous for us as Americans to see a child marry someone without (or even against) the approval of their parents.   In some cases it is celebrated. Not so in Jesus’ day.  The good of the family came before your own comfort.

This kind of social pressure has been used to reinforce evil.  We have all heard of family members coerced into silence about the shameful and secret things that happen within the walls of the home.  The average person or family can become small time terrorists, holding others hostage with the threat of conflict in order to get their way. We are master manipulators.  This kind of pressure was used in Jesus day to protect the religious allegiances that had corrupted the culture. We read in John 12:42 “…many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.” There was a fear and loyalty that held the power to keep people from following Jesus.  In human history when evil and injustice get the upper hand it is always supported and protected by forces like this. Call it peer pressure, groupthink, mob mentality, or the world. It has many names, and its power is almost unrivaled.

Further we know that excommunication from the synagogue would only be the beginning for anyone that dared break ranks to follow Jesus. “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.” (Mark 13:9)

So in this context, Jesus’ statement makes sense. He didn’t come to negotiate with terrorists making their social demands. He didn’t come to bring peace at all costs. He came to free us from slavery to every other master or would be dictator.  In the first century most people needed to be rescued from the absolute loyalty to their family or group. But things are different in America. Our chief value is not conformity but freedom and individual rights.  And yet, this radical view of the self can be just as destructive as social pressure. It can lead us to abandon spouses and children, to destroy our careers, and to become enslaved to a dozen chemical masters.  There are many kinds of bondage. Slavery to self is one of the worst. 

Jesus came to remove the cancer of sin that is growing in our hearts.  Getting treatment from Jesus is less like a visit to the massage therapist and more like a root canal. There are parts of our lives and cultures that require radical treatment for our own good. I think this is what Jesus is talking about in Luke 12. He did not come to make his followers into a group of passive conformists. Neither does he shape us into war hawks. But Jesus always leads us to take a stand against the world. And the world doesn’t like that. They want you to snap your heels and salute. They demand you fall in line and worship their golden statues. And sadly if you refuse, even if you are very polite (like Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego) you may end up in the furnace (Daniel 3:1-23).  

Here is the good news. Every other group that demands your allegiance will take advantage of you. They will use you for their own ends. They will expect you to sacrifice yourself for the good of the group. But Jesus is different. Just before he says that he did not come to bring peace, he says this, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished?” (Luke 12:50). What is this baptism? It is referring to his death on the cross (Mark 10:38).  Every other group is a kind of vampire. They will use you for their own ends.  And if you fail them, they will disown you. But Jesus, the only one worthy of your complete devotion, laid down his life for yours.  And he had to do that because of your misplaced loyalties.   And it is this love and sacrifice that is the power that moves us. It allows us to suffer the loss of relationships, respect, and approval that comes from standing with Christ against the world.

Jesus, Friend of Sinners

I was recently invited to give a devotional at a pastor's meeting where we discussing outreach and the importance of loving our neighbors.  The general text of my talk is below:

Luke 5:27-32

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (ESV Bible Translation)

In this passage, we see that Jesus has rescued Levi… one of the worst kinds of men, he was a tax collector. He was most likely a Jewish man, probably from the tribe of the priests. He should have been receiving tithes to fund worship in the house of God, instead he is a traitor… taking taxes to give to the Romans.  And most tax collectors also committed extortion.

But Levi has come to follow Jesus.  And he will become one of the most of the most influential men in the history of the church. He is the apostle Matthew. We still read his gospel.  This is what Jesus Christ does, he takes the people that we look down on, people that are hopelessly corrupt and despised… and He saves them and gives them a great calling. He makes them sons and servants of God. This should give us hope. God might even use someone like you!

After Levi comes to follow Jesus, he is so overjoyed with his new relationship with Christ that he throws a party. He wants all of his friends to meet this Rabbi that is different than any other rabbi… Let me say this, the only way the people in our churches will ever do anything like this, is if they are so amazed and thrilled with Jesus Christ that he is their treasure.

So, Jesus is eating and drinking with tax collectors, and “Sinners." And the Pharisees protest, they ask the question in v. 30, “Why are you doing this?”  Jesus is so close, and so friendly, with these awful people, there can only be one reason.  He must be supporting them in their sin.

Jesus answers with his own mission statement in v. 32. He is like a doctor that came to help the sick. He didn’t come to help healthy people, but the lost and broken.

I would like to suggest that the Pharisees don’t really have a problem with WHAT Jesus is doing. The idea of telling these dirty sinners that they need to repent is probably OK with them. If he stood on the street and yelled at them, they would probably stand and cheer. No, Their problem is with HOW he is doing it.  How is Jesus calling them to repentance? By eating and drinking with them. He has become friends with them, and through friendship calling them back to fellowship with God. His actions are a living parable of the message of the gospel. God makes his enemies to become his friends.

This doesn’t fit very nicely into our box does it!  In many places in the church people live at the far ends of the spectrum.

Some embrace the lost and “sinners” by becoming friends with them. They want to love and support them, but they don’t offer them any medicine.  In fact, they think that if you suggest that people are spiritually “sick”, then you must be judgmental.

On the other end there are Christians that want to call people to repentance, but they do it from a safe distance. They want to do it the way we are fighting terrorists, with drones. They do it by tract bombing, or doing “outreach” twice a year. They want to do it from a place of moral superiority. They are concerned that getting too close to lost people might get them dirty or damage their reputation.  Though I have probably been guilty of both extremes, I think this second one is far more common among serious christians.

But Jesus does something different, he is able to receive and love people without endorsing or participating in their vices and sins. And he is able to call them to repentance, without alienating them or withdrawing from their company.

Brothers and sisters, this is our great salvation and our great example. And we will never be able to do this if we think we are the healthy and righteous ones. We will only be able to do this when we see that we are the sinners he came to call. When we see ourselves like Levi, completely beyond hope. But thrilled that we have a place at the table- that we have been loved and received by Grace.

I previously published this message at my blog at MattTroupe.net

Photo used courtesy of the University of Washington.