The Epistemology of Love

Epistemology is the study of how we know something. The apostle John understood the epistemology of love very well. So well, in fact, that he has sometimes been called “the apostle of love.” In his letter to the Church, he has a lot to say about love as a way of knowing.

• “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him” (1 John 2:5). This is God’s work of love being brought to maturity and completeness in us. We see it at work when we keep His word, His commandment, which is to love one another. And by this love, we know that we are in God (and that God is in us), because love is the work of God in us.
• “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14). Here again is the love of God being perfected in us and revealed through love for each other. And by this love we know that we have passed from death to life.
• “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). Here is how we know love itself — the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for us (even while we were yet in our sins and rebellion against God), and we manifest that love to each other in the same way, by laying down our lives for each other.
• “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Those who love are born of God, because it is God’s love that is being demonstrated through them. And by that love, they know God — for God is love.
• “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments” (1 John 5:1-2). All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are born of God, and we can know that He is in us because of love for all those who belong to God. And here is how we can know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandment. Love comes from God, and when we look to Him, He will work in us by that love. His commandment is that we love one another (1 John 3:21). Indeed, all His commandments are fulfilled through love. Paul said, “He who loves another has fulfilled the law … For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:8, 10).

Don’t Trust in Prosperity

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
    And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
    His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
    But joy comes in the morning.
Now in my prosperity I said,
    “I shall never be moved.”
LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
    You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

(Psalm 30:4-7)

Prosperity is wonderful. God wants us to prosper. In another psalm, David says this: “Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, ‘Let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant’” (Psalm 35:27). In 2 Corinthians 9:8, Paul gives us a good description of prosperity when he says, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” This is the abundance of grace He desires to extend to you and me. I’m all for it.

And yet, prosperity can quickly become a big problem for us. David recognizes it in Psalm 30. He experienced prosperity and felt very secure: “I shall never be moved,” he declared. He understood exactly where it came from and he praised God for it: “LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong.”

Everything was great. But then something happened and David looked for God — and could not find Him. He panicked. “You hid your face, and I was troubled,” he said. Somewhere along the way, David had begun looking to his prosperity, instead of to God, for his security.

It can be very easy for our focus to drift away from the Lord because of our circumstances. They often seem so tangible and immediate, when often God does not. And it does not matter whether circumstances are favorable or desperate, they can distract us either way. Remember how Peter walked on water with the Lord Jesus, until he looked around and realized how rough were the wind and the waves, and he began to sink. But then he cried out to the Lord — who had been there all along — and was rescued. Jesus lifted Peter out and returned him to the boat.

But in the scene David recalls for us in Psalm 30, it was not desperate circumstances but the false security of prosperity that shifted his trust away from the Lord. Then when something happened that caused that security, if not his prosperity, to vanish, David was troubled and wondered where God was. Like Peter, he had lost sight of Him. God was still there, even though His face was hidden. Then, realizing once again that it was God Himself, and not the prosperity he had received from God, that made him secure, David cried out to the Lord and was rescued. Reoriented now in his faith, he rejoiced in the Lord:

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
    O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

(Psalm 30:11-12)

God wants to bless and prosper every one of us, but He wants us to trust in Him and not in the blessing or the prosperity. The “good times” may come and go, but it is the Lord Himself who will keep us safe and make us whole. When our trust is in the Lord, though there may be weeping in the night, there will be joy in the morning, for He is always there for us — even in the dark — and His favor endures forever.

As We Have Forgiven Our Debtors?

Here are a few thoughts I had from a recent discussion I was in concerning the petition for forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthews 6:12).

Some have proposed that the Lord’s Prayer — the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray — is for those who are under the law and does not apply to those who are not. Some even suggest that is it not for Christians today but for some future tribulation period. However, that raises a few questions:

• First, where do we find anything in the Law to the effect of what Matthew 6:12 says? This petition does not seem to me to be specific to the Law, or even about the Law in a general way.
• Second, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also spoke about murder and adultery, and seems to “raise the bar” in regard to the way many thought about them in those days (and still often do today). Does that mean that what He said about those things are not pertinent for us today? Hardly.
• Third, as I consider the other petitions in that prayer, none of them appear to be about the Law. So why should we suppose that the petition about forgiveness should be understood as being about the Law, when the others are not?
• Fourth, where do we find any hint that this is only for saints enduring the tribulation period? I don’t see that anywhere in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, or even in the larger context.

One of the significant things I have found as I have searched the Law of Moses is that it does not appear to address the issue of us forgiving others for their sins against us, much less relating our forgiveness of others with God’s forgiveness of us. On the other hand, as I consider the Gospels, I find quite a bit of Jesus’ teaching is about forgiving others. And I think that tells us something important about the kingdom of God.

The Lord’s Prayer is a kingdom prayer: “Thy kingdom come ... Thine is the kingdom,” it says. It is not only about being forgiven ourselves, it is also about us forgiving each other. This forgiveness is about fellowship, not just our fellowship with God but also our fellowship with each other. This is about the kingdom of God, and that kingdom has already begun through Jesus, God's Messiah King.

The Lord’s Prayer does not allow us to think merely individualistically about our relationship with God and whatever He is doing. Rather, it teaches us how we are to live together as the community of God’s people. We do not address, “My Father,” but “Our Father.” It is not merely, “Give me this day my daily bread,” but “Give us this day our daily bread.” And the petition for forgiveness is not simply, “Forgive me my debts,” but “Forgive us our debts.” It is quite appropriate, then, that Jesus adds these words: “as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Thoughts on Justification and Sanctification

A few thoughts from a recent discussion about the theological/biblical concepts of justification and sanctification.

In the Bible, justification is law-court terminology and, therefore, judgment day terminology. When God justifies us, He judges us and declares that we are righteous — that is, in right relationship with Him. When we stand before God on that final day, that is what God’s judgment of us will be, because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in the Lord Jesus, we know ahead of time what that the judgment on that day will be.

Sanctification is God setting us apart as His own people, conforming us to the image of His Son and transforming us by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the work of God through and through. We do not conform ourselves, nor do we transform ourselves. Indeed, we cannot. It must be the work of God. By grace through faith.

In Ephesians, Paul says, “For we are His worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). This is sanctification. The workmanship is God’s, and therefore also the good works — they are His works. In Philippians, Paul tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). This, too, is sanctification, and again, the work is God’s.

We learn to live out the reality of that sanctification by daily choosing to allow the Spirit to control our attitudes and actions, conforming them to His. And by yielding our will to that of the Spirit, we are gaining a very practical salvation from the power of sin. This is sanctification in action.

Now, this yielding, choosing to allow the Spirit to control our attitudes and actions, is not a matter of human work or merit but is all about faith. It is trusting God to work in us by His Spirit. It is no more a work than receiving the gift of eternal life is. It is ceasing from our own works so that God may do His own work in us.

Through faith in Christ, we are already set apart as God’s people. That is a done deal. We are also saved from the power of sin. That is, its power has already been broken at the cross and it no longer has any authority over us. But there is also a sense in which we are presently being saved from the power of sin as we learn to yield to the work of God in us by the indwelling life of Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

A Discipleship of Gentleness and Humility

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

“Learn from me,” Jesus says. It is an invitation to be His disciple (the Greek word for “learn,” in this verse, and the word for “disciple” come from the same root). What Jesus calls us to learn from Him is gentleness and humility. These are traits that reveal the Lord Jesus Himself, in His incarnation, in the saving work of the cross, and in His exaltation. It is not surprise, then, that the New Testament writers also hold them in high regard:

• “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” (Romans 12:16 NIV)
• “By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you.” (2 Corinthians 10:1 NIV)
• “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
• “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.” (Galatians 6:1 NIV).
• “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:1-2 NIV).
• “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12 NIV).
• “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth.” (2 Timothy 2:23-25)
• “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” (Titus 3:1-2 NIV)
• “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13 NIV)
• “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:6-7)
• “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV).
• “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).
• “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (1 Peter 5:5)

Given that Jesus invites us to come and “learn” gentleness and humility from Him, what should Christian discipleship look like?

Today I Have Begotten You

I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”

(Psalm 2:7)

In this psalm of David, the Lord says to him, “You are My son, today I have begotten you.” Some have wondered what it means that God has “begotten” him. We usually find the Hebrew word in the “begats” section of Genesis and in other places throughout the Old Testament. So, how can God say to David, “Today I have begotten you”? And what does it mean?

To answer that, we need to look back to the history of David, particularly in 2 Samuel 7, where the Lord made a covenant with David, in which He promised David a throne that would endure forever. Here the Lord says of him, “I will be his father, and he will be my son” (v. 14).

We also find a similar reference to this covenant in Psalm 89, where the Lord says of David, “He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’ And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth” (vv. 26-27).

The author Hebrews quotes Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 together and applies them to the Lord Jesus, to demonstrate the superiority of Christ to the angels:

For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”?

And again: “I will be to Him a Father; and He shall be to Me a Son”? (Hebrews 1:5)

This Father-son relationship is about David’s kingship. In Psalm 2, the Lord says, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain” (v. 6). Then David recalls God’s promise, “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’” (v. 7). Or as the NIV puts it: “I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’”

So, the use of “begotten” in verse 7 refers to God’s promise that He would be David’s father, and David would be His son. The language is a bit different, but the meaning is exactly the same. God identifies the king as His son and His son as king. These are words of enthronement and indicate the special relationship He makes with David, and by extension, with those descendants who would reign on David’s throne.

The Hebrew readers in Old Testament times would have been reminded of the covenant God made with David. Of course, they realized very early that David was not the perfect king in whom all the promises and provisions would be fulfilled. However, because they took God as true to His word, they had an expectation that there would one day be a descendant of David who would sit on David’s throne, who would perfectly fulfill the role of king, and in whom all of God’s covenant promises would be made complete. They looked for this One who would be God’s anointed king. In other words, they looked for the Messiah.

This is why it is very significant that Jesus is the Christ. Christ means the same thing as Messiah. It refers to the Anointed. Jesus is the Christ, that is, the one God anointed to reign as king on David’s throne. It is also why it is very important that Jesus is the descendant of David, for only a descendent of David could qualify to sit on David’s throne forever.

This is not merely a matter of historical interest, however, but is also a very important part of Paul’s proclamation of the gospel. We see that in his letter to the believers at Rome, as well as in his final letter, which is to Timothy:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God — the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1-4 NIV)

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel (2 Timothy 2:8 NIV).

These two passages have three things in common in regard to the gospel:

• They both identify Jesus as Christ, that is, the Messiah.
• They both present Jesus as descended from David.
• They both declare the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The fact that Jesus is descended from David is important to His identity as Messiah. Indeed, if He were not descended from Messiah, He could not be the Messiah. The resurrection demonstrates that Jesus truly is the Messiah, Son of God, whom God has anointed as King to reign on David’s throne forever. The gospel is the announcement that this is now so.

Reigning King and Well Pleasing Servant

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

This scene is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). John’s account of the Gospel refers to it only indirectly, as John the Baptist simply gives this witness: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him” (John 1:31). But the thing I would like to focus on today are the words that were spoken from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

This is My Son

The first part, “This is My beloved Son,” identifies Jesus as the Son of God. Jewish expectation was that Messiah, God’s Anointed, whom God would establish as king over Israel and the nations, would be His Son. This comes from Psalm 2, which is a messianic psalm. In verse 2, kings and nations conspire together against God’s Anointed. God’s response to them in verse 6 is, “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” And He declares to this Messiah King, in verse 7, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” All the nations would be given to Him for an inheritance, and the raging kings would be brought into submission (vv. 8-12).

Israel, in the days of Jesus, was deep in exile and awaited a divine Son, the kingly Messiah. When the time had finally come for this King to arrive, John the Baptist began his ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven it as hand!” (Matthew 3:2). He preached a baptism of repentance and identified himself as the forerunner who was promised in Isaiah 40, the voice crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the LORD.”

And now came Jesus to be baptized of John. This would identify Him with all who were repentant and prepared for true righteousness to be fulfilled. So Jesus was baptized, and the voice from heaven said, “This is my Son.”

In Whom I Am Well Pleased

The second part of the saying, “In whom I am well pleased,” is also full of prophetic significance. It identifies Jesus as God’s “servant” in Isaiah 42: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!” (v. 1). This also is Messiah, and it becomes clear later on in Isaiah that this Servant would suffer for the sins of His people (see Isaiah 52:13-53:12). However, the Jews were not sure how these two seemingly opposite images of Messiah — as reigning King and as suffering servant — were to be reconciled. Some even thought that there might be two Messiahs. But what the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism shows is that Jesus is the anointed one who would be King over all as well as the one who would suffer for the iniquity of all.

The Servant Messiah

But let’s take a closer look, in Isaiah 42, at this Servant Messiah in whom God is well pleased:

Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles [the nations].
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.

Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

(Isaiah 42:1-7)

This is very much a description of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. He came to open blind eyes and set prisoners free from the darkness. He came to bring justice to the earth and a shining light to the nations. He came not only to establish a new covenant with God’s people but to be that new covenant. He is the divine Servant whom Isaiah foretold, and in whom God delights and is well pleased.

Now, notice particularly, in Isaiah 42:1, that God would put His Spirit upon this Servant. And that is indeed what happened at Jesus’ baptism. When Jesus came up out of the water and “the heavens were opened to Him” (which is a very significant thing in itself), the Spirit of God descended like a dove, came upon Him and settled there. This is the anointing by the Spirit of God that showed Jesus to be the Son and Messiah of Psalm 2 as well as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 42. And in this perfect Trinitarian moment, the voice of the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Gentle and Humble in Heart

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30 NIV)

Jesus calls us to come and “learn” from Him. The Greek word for “learn” in this passage is mathete, and from it comes the word for “disciple,” which is mathetes. To be a disciple is to be one who learns. But what is it Jesus calls us to learn from Him? Gentleness and humility.

Gentleness

The Greek word for “gentle” here is praos and is often translated as “meek.” But meekness is not milquetoast. Far from it. It is not weakness but strength. It is, however, a strength that is patient and calm, the kind of strength befitting a king. In the Bible, it takes on the added meaning of being yielded to God.

In the beatitudes, the opening of the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And when He made His final entry into Jerusalem (which we remember on Palm Sunday), Jesus applied the words of the prophet Zechariah to Himself: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey’” (Matthew 21:5 NIV).

Indeed, the promised Messiah would be characterized by this kind of gentleness towards those who were willing. Isaiah prophesied concerning Him, “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). Is this weakness? Perhaps in one sense it is. But it is this very weakness that would be Messiah’s strength, for look at what it would accomplish, as Isaiah continues his prophesy: “He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth” (Isaiah 42:3-4).

Humility

Jesus also calls us to learn humility, for He is “humble in heart.” Often, the burden we must set aside is our own vanity or pride or arrogance. But Jesus is neither vain nor proud nor arrogant. He came to us as a servant. On the night of the Last Supper, He washed the feet of the disciples, saying, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Jesus came to give Himself, even to the point of giving His life. In the book of Philippians, Paul exhorts bickering believers with this profound portrayal of Jesus in His servant humility:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

Humility is not something Jesus put on when He became a man and then took off again when He was exalted to the highest place and given the name that is above every name. No, being humble in heart is part of who He is. Being a servant did not camouflage His divinity — it revealed it. It showed that God is, by His very nature, a servant.

The author of Hebrews says that Jesus is the “express image” of God (Hebrews 1:3), and Jesus Himself said that those who have seen Him have seen the Father (John 14:9). So when Jesus says, “I am gentle and humble in heart,” we are seeing something that is not just true of Him in His humanity. It is true of Him in His divinity, and therefore true of the Father as well.

This gentleness, humility and servant heart are basic to the nature of God. For they manifest love, and John tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). It is this nature that caused the Lord Jesus to pour Himself out, to become a human being and submit to a terrible death on the cross for our sake.

It is these God-like qualities that we are invited to come and learn from the one who lives them most deeply. And it is in taking up this yoke of His that we will find rest and restoration in our lives. For the yoke of gentleness is kind and good to us, and the burden of humility is not heavy but light — and it is the Lord Jesus who bears them.

See also Divine Humility, Divine Greatness and The Humble God-Man Exalted with the Highest Glory.

Come, Take, Learn

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Mathew 11:28-30 NIV)

Jesus invites us to Himself, to come and take and learn.

Come. This invitation is for those who are “weary and burdened.” The One to whom we are invited to come is the One who bears our burdens. “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). “Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:18 NIV). Come, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Take. We very often think of “give” and “take” as belonging together. When someone gives us something, we receive it by taking it. Here, Jesus promises to give us rest, but then He calls us to take His yoke upon ourselves. This seems a paradox, for a yoke is made for bearing a burden, and we normally think of bearing a burden as the opposite of rest. But here, it is in taking Jesus’ yoke that we find the rest He offers.

Learn. What is the yoke Jesus invites us to take? Read the words again: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Notice that taking up Jesus’ yoke is not a separate thing but is paired with learning from Him. Back in those days, rabbis spoke of taking the “yoke of the Torah,” that is, of being devoted to learning the law God gave to Moses. However, Jesus’ call to take up His yoke is the invitation to come and learn from Him. The Greek word for “learn” in this passage is mathete (the word for “disciple” is mathetes).

For all who are weary and burdened — and who of us hasn’t been? — Jesus calls us to be His disciples, to come and take and learn Him. Learning Jesus is walking with Him, for a yoke is made for two. But Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light for us because He is the one who carries it. And it is in this way that we discover and experience what is truly rest for the soul.

A Message from God in My Heart

I have a message from God in my heart. (Psalm 36:1 NIV)

This morning during my devotional time, I lit my candle, took my guitar and sang a bit in worship and then settled down with my Bible to pray the psalms for the day. Opening to Psalm 36, I read the first line: “I have a message from God in my heart.”

I received such a blast from that, I let out a laugh and sat back with my hands crossed over my heart — because, indeed, I do have a message from God in my heart. So, I let that line percolate in me for a little bit because, regardless of whatever else may be going on in my world, God is always speaking to me, and I carry that message in my heart, the very center of my being.

Marinating in that, I looked back at the psalm to see what the writer had in mind, what the message he was bringing was about. I read the next line: “… concerning the sinfulness of the wicked.”

That did not have the same impact on me as the first line had. In fact, it was a bit of a buzz kill. But I went with it, to understand what message from God was ringing in his heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. Because I want that message ringing in my heart, too. Now, I’ve prayed through this psalm many times before. In fact, I’ve even written about it a number of times. But as often happens when I am praying the psalms, it came to me with fresh strength.

So, what about the wicked? The writer gives us a rundown in verses 2-4: They are arrogant, self-flattering and deceitful. They have no regard for anything that has to do with God, or for what is good, or for what expresses moral wisdom. Nothing new there. But I do not think that was what the writer came to say. The message in his heart is not about the badness of those who do evil (although they certainly are bad) but about something much greater — the pervasive goodness of God — and beginning in verse, he bursts forth with something very different. There is no segue, no transition — it is as if he were beginning, here in verse 5, a new and very different psalm:

Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
    your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.

(Psalm 36:5-6)

Notice that the love of God reaches to the heavens. We might have expected to read that the love of God reaches from the heavens. But the point is not about where it comes from but about what it inhabits. It fills the space between heaven and earth. It surrounds us. There are no boundaries to it and nothing it cannot touch. Likewise the faithfulness and righteousness and justice of God that sets things right.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
    you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light.
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
    and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

(Psalm 36:7-9)

Here is something incalculable and infinite, with feasting and abundance and delight. Here is endless source of life, and a light that overwhelms the darkness. And now a request for God to keep on loving with His strong, dependable love and take care of all those who are doing what is right. Oh, and what about the wicked?

May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
See how the evildoers lie fallen —
    thrown down, not able to rise!

(Psalm 36:11-12)

Yes, there are many in the world today who are doing what is evil; there is no need for me to expound on that. But let not your heart be overwhelmed by them, for there is something much greater going on all around you and it will eventually set everything right — the faithful love of God.

Epiphany: The Light Has Come

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. (Isaiah 60:1-6 NIV)

Today, January 6, begins the season of Epiphany, celebrated by the Church around the world. Epiphany means “appearance” or “manifestation,” and in this season we remember how Jesus was first revealed to the world. The story is told in Matthew 2.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)

These wise men were not Jews but men of other nations. They were pagans, which is to say, they had no covenant with the God of the Jews. Yet they came seeking the King of the Jews, for they had seen His star, and they greatly desired to honor Him.

Throughout the Bible, significant shifts among kings and kingdoms were often indicated by the symbolism of stars and other cosmological events. We see this, for example, in Genesis 37, where Joseph’s prophetic dream of the sun, moon and stars depicted his father, mother and brothers all bowing down to him. Or in Revelation 12:1, the great sign that appeared in heaven, of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars,” bearing the Child (Christ) who is caught up to the throne of God, and from there rules over all the nations of the earth. Likewise, Biblical language about sun, moon and stars being darkened signifies the fall of kings and nations. We can see this in prophecies concerning the fall of Babylon, Edom and Egypt (respectively, in Isaiah 13:10, Isaiah 34:4-5 and Ezekiel 32:7-8).

So, these wise men were watching the stars. But they may also have been aware of a prophecy about it in the Hebrew Scriptures: “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17). Now they had seen that Star and followed on to find the One it represented, who was born King of the Jews.

They went to Jerusalem not because the Star had led them there but more likely because Jerusalem was the capitol city of Judea — and where else would you expect to find the new King but in the capitol city? “Where is He?” they asked. After discovering another ancient prophecy that God’s great Shepherd King was to be born in Bethlehem (which was the “city of David”), the angry and deceitful King Herod (who was not of the line of David) sent them on their way.

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. (Matthew 2:9-10)

Earlier, they had lost sight of the Star when they headed into Jerusalem, but now as they reoriented themselves toward the little town of Bethlehem they saw it once again. They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. Or, to use the words of Isaiah, they looked and were radiant and their hearts throbbed and swelled with joy. And the Star led them all the way to the newborn King.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

In Epiphany, we remember that the promise of Isaiah 60 is being fulfilled. The Star has appeared, the glory of the Lord has arisen and the Light has been manifested in the world, not only to Israel but to the nations. The wise men who followed that Star brought their treasures of gold and incense to proclaim the praise of the Lord and honor the King of the Jews. This was but the beginning, for at the end of the book of Matthew, we find Jesus possessing all authority in heaven and on earth and sending out His disciples to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

Random Thoughts

Here are some thoughts to begin the new year, culled from my random file. Some have occurred to me in moments of quiet reflection, some in discussion with others. For your meditation, edification and motivation.

• Years ago, I got out of thinking about the Christian life as rules and regs and began thinking about it as relationship, because that seems to me to be what the Lord Jesus is about. So I've just been learning to love Him and walk in His love for me, and letting that love overflow in me to others. It is love that fulfills the law and produces in me what the rules and regs never could.
• A faith that does not change a person is not a faith worth having. It is not a real faith, only a head fake. And a gospel that does not change a person is not good news after all. Neither faith nor the gospel are all in your head, but they show up in your life.
• Grace is not just God’s favorable attitude toward us but also God’s favorable action on our behalf through Christ, and in us by the Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit is not “asleep at the wheel” in the life of any believer but is active to bring forth the fruit of love.
• The heart that is caught up with the love of God does not count out what it gives and carefully weigh it out against what it receives. It loves with abandon.
• The grace of God is greater than our ability to believe it — or to doubt it.
• When the heart breaks, there is nothing to do except give it to God.
• My past is redefined by Christ, my future is redefined by Christ, and so also my present.
• God is love. To whatever extent we have encountered love, we have encountered God. And to whatever extent we express love, we express God. Love is a revelation of God.
• God is love. Lord, let me be love, too. Amen.

The Paradox of God-Centeredness

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16 NIV 2011)

In the Bible, a mystery is not a secret but a revelation, something that God has made known in Jesus Christ. Godliness is holiness, or piety, or the “fear of the Lord.” Godliness is God-centeredness.

What Paul is about to tell us here is something he describes as “beyond all question,” or, as the NKJV has it, “without controversy.” The Greek word is homologoumenos, which has to do with confession. In other words, it is something about which the early Church was quite in agreement, a confession of faith, straight up and orthodox. Paul is likely quoting a creed or hymn that was already in circulation in the Church.

So, what is this mystery, the revelation about God-centeredness of which Paul speaks? It is a confession of the gospel. It is the proclamation of the good news, encapsulated in six short statements. But it is the first statement that I want to particular consider today. This is where the mystery begins: He appeared in the flesh.

The mystery of godliness is the mystery of the incarnation, that God appeared in the flesh. As John the Evangelist put it, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word with God, and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14). This is what we celebrate in the season of Christmas, and is why Jesus is called Immanuel, “God with us.” This is where the gospel begins, for it is as a human being that Jesus was vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world and was taken up in glory.

In his letter to the Jesus believers at Philippi, Paul speaks of the mystery of godliness this way:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So the great mystery is also a paradox, for it turns out that God-centeredness is gloriously centered on a man — Jesus the Messiah, God become flesh. He is the one we believe and confess, and in Him we learn true godliness.

(See also Divine Humility, Divine Greatness)

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Joseph Pondered

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. (Matthew 1:18-20)

In Luke’s telling of the Christmas story, when the shepherds came running and found the baby Jesus and revealed what the angels had announced to them in the field, Mary “pondered” all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19). In Matthew’s account, we learn that Joseph had some pondering of his own, a pondering of a different sort.

Joseph was “betrothed” to Mary. Legally, it was more binding than what we would today call an “engagement,” but they were not yet living together as husband and wife, as the marriage had not yet been consummated. But one day, while he was making his plans and preparations, Joseph suddenly learned some very disturbing news: Mary was pregnant — and Joseph was not the father.

Joseph was shattered. The life he was preparing would now not take place. His dream was irreparably broken. He turned the matter over and over in his thoughts, his head in hard tension with his heart. He was bewildered. Had Mary betrayed him? It certainly seemed that way to him — he had not yet realized that the child she carried inside her was of the Holy Spirit.

Now he considered what he must do. The choice before him was not whether to continue the marriage. It was a foregone conclusion that he would not. Could not. The only decision was whether he would allow Mary to be subjected to public disgrace. But he was a “just man,” a man who understood something about covenant love, and he was not willing for her to be openly shamed. So he would divorce her quietly. Just sign the papers and walk away. But while he was pondering these things, he had a dream. An angel of the Lord came to him and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:20-23)

Then Joseph woke up and did as the angel of the Lord told him — he took Mary as his wife, just as he had planned. But everything was different now, and that would be okay. Because now he realized that this was part of a much bigger plan. Not his own plan, but God’s. A plan that meant great healing and forgiveness for his people — and for the world. Mary gave birth to a son, and Joseph called his name Jesus. God with us in a new, and redemptive, way.

And that was something for Joseph to ponder the rest of his life.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Knowing My Brother Now in a Different Way

My sweet brother Gary, now with Jesus.

This past week, on Monday, December 2, my brother Gary went to be with Jesus. Though we grieve his absence here, we rejoice that he is now experiencing the pleasures of God in a much more profound way. Here are the remembrances I gave at his memorial service on Friday.

I want to share with you about how I know my brother Gary. I was born on his fourth birthday — he got no cake that year. We are exactly four years apart, and I have always felt a special connection with him from that. But I did not realize how strong that was for me until this last birthday, just a couple of weeks ago, when Gary was in that hospital bed, in a coma — and it was so very precious to me that we got to be together on that birthday.

How I know my brother Gary. Growing up, Gary and I shared a bedroom. He was my first roommate, and I was his. We got along together pretty well when we were little, and he was my first playmate. As we grew older, the four years between us began to show, as his interests became different from mine. I became the pesky little brother, and I remember Gary chasing me out of our room many times — especially when he had his friends over (he was a popular guy).

How I know my brother Gary. I know him in his music. I was there when it began, when he first learned to play and sing and write songs (he came a long way). I learned to sing and play, too, in large part because of him. We never really played together, though, our styles were so different, but I heard him and he heard me, and we sang on each other’s CDs.

How I know my brother Gary. In know him in his faith, with its many ups and downs, and the difficult years when he was trying to find his way, and my heart broke for him because he was so unhappy. And I know him in his faith when he began to find peace and healing. And then Gary found Jan. His years with her were the happiest, and his music — and his faith — blossomed in new directions. I know him in the happiness of his last years, which were the very best.

How I know my brother Gary. Now I will know him in a new way. Through his son, Emile. Through his wife, Jan. Through our father and mother. Through our brothers, Greg and Jon. Through all who know him and love him, and through all whom he knows and loves — for he knows and loves us still. And we will know him through each other.

But even more than that, I will know him when I worship and when I pray. For he is now with Jesus. I will know him in my baptism, and at the communion table, the Table of the Lord. For we both belong to the body of Christ. So I will know him in our faith, and I look forward to the resurrection, or when I go to God — whichever comes first — when I will know Gary once again face to face.

By a Way You Do Not Know

Moses and the children of Israel were hemmed in. Before them was the Red Sea. Behind them, Pharaoh’s army was closing in. They could see no way out. Only days earlier, they had been filled with hope and rejoicing, but now that had quickly vanished. In Psalm 77, in a direct praise to God, the psalm writer recounts what happened next:

The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

(Psalm 77:18-20)

God did something completely unexpected: He made a path through the great waters of the sea. It was not there before they needed it and it closed in after they passed through it. But just when they needed a way, God made a path for them where they did not even know to look. When they first beheld the sea, all they saw was an impossible situation. But as Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). And the children of Israel walked through the sea on dry land.

Think of Abram. He was the son of an idol maker — a trade completely antithetical to the God of the Bible — and he was getting on in years. But one day God came to him anyway and said, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Then God made wonderful promises to him: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

So Abram believed and did as the Lord directed, though he had no idea where all this would take place or even how it would take place. After all, he was already 75 years old, and so was his wife, Sarai, who was well past child-bearing years. So what God promised him was impossible, at least from Abram’s point of view. But it came to pass anyway, and from him came a great nation — and a Redeemer — through whom all the families of the earth can now be blessed.

Finally, in the book of Isaiah, God describes how He will bring His people through, by a way they do not know.

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.

(Isaiah 42:16)

Our human nature always wants to see the way before us, but God often leads us by ways we do not know, ways we would not recognize or understand even if we could see them. Our part, then, is not to see but to trust. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). God makes a way for us that we could never have imagined, and leads us through.

Learning Jesus, Finding Rest

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

The yoke Jesus is talking about here is not for plowing the fields or pulling the carts. It is about being with Jesus, side by side, and learning from Him. We can think about it in three ways, each one leading us to the next.

• Learning of Jesus. This is hearing about Jesus, learning about Jesus, and coming to Him. it begins with His invitation, “Come to Me.”
• Learning from Jesus. When we come to Jesus, He becomes our teacher and we become His disciple. We begin to learn from Him about many things.
• Learning Jesus. This goes beyond knowing about Jesus, and knowing the things He has taught us. It is about Jesus Himself, knowing Him more and more.

My wife and I have been married now for 35 years. We know each other. Not just about each other. She knows me and I know her. We have learned each other so that we can even anticipate one another (not that we cannot still surprise each other — the more I know her, the more each day becomes a revelation of her). It happened over time, day after day, year after year. Turning to each other, tuning to each other, deepening with each. There is now an ease that we have with each other. A confidence, a trust, a rest with each other.

That is what Jesus invites us to, to learn Him — and find rest.

Praying through my psalms for the day, Psalm 131 seems particularly appropriate to this:

My heart is not proud, LORD,
My eyes are not haughty,
I do not concern myself with great matters,
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
Like a weaned child I am content.

(Psalm 131:1-2 NIV2011)

Delivering Us to Love

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24 ESV)

In Galatians 3:24, Paul tells us that the Law of Moses was a paidagogos. The KJV translates this a “schoolmaster,” and the NKJV has it as “tutor,” but I think those give too big a role to the word. Young’s Literal Translation says, “child-conductor,” and the ESV and LEB say “guardian,” which I think gives us a more accurate idea. The Law, in Paul’s mind, was not so much about instruction as it was about keeping the people of Israel out of trouble until the Messiah. “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith,” Paul says.

The Law governed behavior, but God was always looking beyond behavior to the heart. The Law required circumcision of the flesh, but what God desired more than that was “circumcision of the heart.”

Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. (Deuteronomy 10:16)

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts. (Jeremiah 4:4)

However, the Law could never produce that in us. Yet, what the Law could not do, the Lord Jesus has done in us Himself:

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

So, what God has always been looking at is the heart. And what He has always been looking for is love — love for God and love for each other. That is what the Law and the Prophets were always pointing us to. Or as Jesus put it, loving God with everything in us and our neighbor as ourselves — all the Law and the Prophets hang on that (Matthew 22:35-40). So when we love, we fulfill what the Law and the Prophets were always calling us to.

In Ezekiel 36:26-27, God promised Israel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” I believe that is what God has now done for every believer in Jesus Christ. He has given us the Holy Spirit, who works in us and causes us to walk in His statutes, and to keep His judgments. How does the Spirit do this? By the fruit of the Spirit — love! And as Paul declares, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). So the case is not that the Law no longer has significance for us but rather that it is fulfilled in us by the Spirit of God, through the fruit of love.

By the way, I believe that every Gentile believer is “grafted into” the “olive tree” that is Israel (see Romans 11:13-24), so that we receive the Messiah that was promised to Israel, the Spirit that was promised to Israel (for example, in Ezekiel 36:26-27), and the salvation that was promised to Israel. But that is a post for another day.

Perfectly Joined Together

Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together. (Psalm 122:3)

Jerusalem is Zion, “the city of our God … the city of the Great King” (Psalm 48:1-2). It is where the “tribes of the Lord” go up to worship the Lord and give thanks (Psalm 122:4). It is the place of the “house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

The revelation of the New Testament is that there is a New Jerusalem, a heavenly city which will one day come down and join heaven and earth together as one — the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven. And all who believe on King Jesus the Messiah are now citizens of that city (see Praying With Zion).

The psalm writer says that “Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together.” One translation puts it this way: “Jerusalem is built as a city whose fellowship is complete” (this is Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint, which is an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament).

For the psalm writer, Jerusalem was more than a geographical location, it represented a relationship — the people of the Lord entering together into His presence. It is a fellowship that is complete, compacted together.

Paul writes about the Church in a similar way. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, he admonishes the Jesus believers at Corinth to be “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” He wanted their attitude and behavior to reflect what was actually already true about them. And in his Ephesians letter, he describes that truth about our relationship as the body of Christ, with Christ as the head,

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

Joined and knit together. A city that is compact together, whose fellowship is complete. That is the truth about the heavenly Jerusalem and the reality of our identity in Christ. Let us, then, be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. In this way we will manifest who we are in Christ, and the unity that we truly have in Him.

Many or Few? A Surprising Answer

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

This is part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” It is a popular text for many preachers, one they can use in any number of sermons to bring a strong sense of urgency to whatever their message happens to be. Just tag on a few words about the narrow and broad ways, about how few find the narrow way that leads to life but many continue on the broad road to destruction. It plays well, especially to those who have assured themselves that they are among the few who are on the narrow way to life. And these are, after all, the “red letter” words, the word of Jesus.

However, this is not the end of the story. For not many verses later — in the very next chapter, in fact — Jesus says this:

Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:10-11)

Jesus had just healed the servant of a Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-10). Being a centurion, this man understood very well the nature of authority but he also believed that Jesus had the authority to heal, and that made for a strong faith. The result is that his servant, though not even present, was healed at Jesus’ word.

Jesus commended the man’s faith. It was exactly the kind of faith He had been looking for in Israel, among the Jews, but had not found. And now here was an outsider who knew how to trust Him. But then Jesus talked about others just like this man, outsiders who would come from east and west and would be a part of the kingdom of God. Not just a few, but many would come. The Greek word for “many” here is the same one used earlier, about the “many” on the broad way to destruction. In the earlier passage, only a few would find the way to life. But here is this one, there are many who will enter it.

So which will it be, many or few? Will there be only a few who come into the kingdom of God and find life, or will there be many? We can find the answer to that by considering two things: Who is Jesus talking about, and when is Jesus talking about?

First, who was Jesus talking about? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was addressing the Jews, many of whom, whether they realized it or not, were on a path to destruction. But in Matthew 8:10-11, Jesus was talking about those who come from east and west — the outsiders, like the Roman centurion whose servant He had just healed. Not just a few, but many like him will come into the kingdom.

Second, when was Jesus talking about? Pay attention to the tenses that are used in each case. In Matthew 7:13-14, we find the present tense: “There are many” who go in by the broad gate, and “there are few” who find the narrow one. Jesus was not necessarily foretelling the way things would be in the future but He was talking about the way things presently stood. Many of the Jews were at that time on the wrong path, one that led to destruction. But surely one purpose of Jesus’ sermon was to show them the right path, the one leading to life. For He said that He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Now look at the tense used in Matthew 8:11: “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” This is future tense, not about the way things were at the time but about the way things will be in the future. Many will come, and many will sit down in the kingdom of heaven (the Greek text shows that both the coming and the sitting down are future tense).

There will be many, then, who enter into the kingdom of God and see life. Even among the Jews, we should not suppose that only a few will find it, for Jesus’ warning was not about what will be or must be, but only about what then was the case when Jesus began His ministry. Indeed, we can expect to see many Jews, as well, who will take their place in God’s eternal kingdom. For that appears to be Paul’s expectation as he concludes his long discussion about Israel in Romans 9-11, “And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).