We Must Needs Cross the Tracks (John 4)

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I presume that the childhood game of the passing of cooties from one person to another was not a phenomenon known only in New Jersey where I grew up. Beyond the simple presumption between boys and girls that the opposite gender embodied cootiedom, a more perverse version went something like this: There were always a few kids who for whatever reason were deemed social outcasts and therefore infected with the ultimate disgrace of possessing “cooties” – a sort of mythical disease of dreadful humiliation that could not only be easily caught, but just as easily transmitted by touching someone else and saying, “Now you have Gertrude’s cooties!”

We have all encountered people who possess some social stigma that makes them outcasts. And in today’s passage about the Samaritan woman at the well, we meet the ultimate case of a person with multiple layers of first century Palestinian “cooties.”

Around these parts of Maryland, it is sometimes true that we pick on the state of West Virginia and its inhabitants. Most of this is in the category of good-natured humor. But imagine if it were so nasty that some people from Hagerstown and Maryland despised West Virginians so much that they would not ever talk with them nor even go through the eastern panhandle. Imagine someone like this who needed to drive home to Hagerstown from Winchester, Virginia. Of course, that is a simple straight shot north on 81 through Martinsburg. But imagine the hatred being such that they went east from Winchester to Leesburg, then north on Route 15 across the Potomac to Frederick, and finally west on 70 to get home – all to avoid even touching the soil of West Virginia!

Wow, that’s strong feeling – and that is exactly how it was for many Jews. The three regions (south to north) of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee were comparatively like the areas of Winchester, Martinsburg, and Hagerstown. Jews travelling between Jerusalem and Galilee would often take a circuitous travel route around the east of the Jordan River to be sure to completely avoid Samaria and its dirty inhabitants.

Though Samaritans and Jews had a common ancestry from the time of Solomon and before, Samaritans were a mixed breed descended from interbreeding with Gentile peoples who had taken the ten northern tribes into captivity in the 700 BC era. The Jews retained the pure blood from those who had returned from Babylonian captivity under Ezra and Nehemiah. This is a macro version of the ultimate family feud! And then add to this a theological dissonance, as the Samaritans had an unusual mix of beliefs.

As we turn to John 4, we see that the early ministry of Jesus was occasioned with much success. People were identifying with it to the extent that even more were being baptized by the disciples than by John the Baptist. This came to the hearing of the Pharisees in Jerusalem, and not wanting the ministry to heat up to a confrontation at this early stage, Jesus decides to withdraw north to Galilee.

John 4:1 – Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria.  (The King James Version said He “must needs” pass through Samaria.)

It says there in verse 4 that he had to go through Samaria. One might read this as saying he was taking the Palestinian version of the quick Interstate 81 route north to Galilee. Rather, it is more appropriate to see this necessity as a lesson in reaching out beyond the immediate ethnic/religious context to demonstrate that he was indeed to be the savior of the world. In the verbiage of our current series, I might call this a demonstration of “Looking Across the Tracks!”

John 4:5 – So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

As the disciples at midday go into the town of Sychar to buy food, Jesus sits by the famous well of Jacob where he encounters a Samaritan woman of whom he requests a drink. The very asking of a question breaks several cultural barriers – the issue of the Jewish/Samaritan divide, her gender as a woman, and her sketchy character as a woman of ill repute.

John 4:9 – The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Her conversation acknowledges the reality of these divisions. Jesus draws her mind away from the chore of drawing and drinking physical water to that of the spiritual water that quenches the thirst of the soul unto eternal life…

John 4:10 – Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Though both traditions anticipated a messianic figure to come, there were differing ideas about where worship was to be located. Jesus says that though the Jews were correct in possessing the line through which salvation would come, the issue of place would be rendered inconsequential – that true worship would be in the Spirit. And Jesus plainly identifies himself to this woman as the Christ.

27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

The disciples are surprised by the whole scene upon their return from the town, while the woman (with incredible excitement that she has apparently spoken to the Messiah) forgets her water jar and rushes into town.

You can almost hear the disciples clear their throat as they start talking about food as if nothing had happened. “We picked up some Chik-Fil-A … some Arby’s two-for-one deals … and some classic big macs…”

Nobody wants to broach the awkward subject of who-was-that-chick-you-were-just-talking-to?

With the woman, Jesus spoke of water. With the disciples, Jesus spoke of food. Both were symbols of something greater, and in both cases the audience didn’t get Jesus’ deeper meaning without further explanation.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

So as the crowds are coming out from Sychar to see what the woman has excitedly been talking about, the disciples are merely concerned with Jesus’ physical well-being. He is clearly refreshed; though they are quite sure he has had nothing to eat from any other source. Jesus tells them that he has “food” about which they do not understand – the nourishment and joy of accomplishing the Father’s will and being about his mission on earth.

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Jesus recites for them what were likely some proverbial agricultural sayings at the time – sort of like how we might say of the weather, “Red at night, sailors’ delight; red in the morning, sailors’ warning” – ‘It’s still four months until harvest’.   Jesus tells them to look up and see the significant harvest now available – possibly even gesturing and drawing their attention to the crowds of people moving toward them from the town. (He’s telling them to look beyond themselves – to look “across the tracks.”)

Planting a garden is great; growing seeds and seeing them emerge is fun; but the best part of it all is actually getting to the harvest and picking those red-ripe tomatoes or large green peppers!  I’d like gardening a whole lot more if I didn’t have to do any of the planting, weeding, or watering. And the disciples were in that category – the prophets and Christ himself had done the hard work. The season of the great harvest had now come with the advent and work of Jesus, the Christ.

And that harvest was even at that moment going to be witnessed by the disciples, as …

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

For two days, Jesus and the disciples stay with these outcast people, and the harvest is great among them as many believe – both based upon the testimony of the woman AND the teaching of the one whom they termed the Savior of the world.

Let’s summarize this …

  1. There is a natural way of seeing people who are different than ourselves – by race, culture, lifestyle, socio-economics – and that leads to us staring across the tracks at them if we even notice them at all.
  2. The view of those across the tracks through the eyes of Jesus will cause you to “must needs” go across the tracks and “go through Samaria.”
  3. The message of the gospel is a winning message – the ultimate common denominator – that can break down the divides and make the tracks irrelevant … because …

The fact of the matter is that we all possess the same “sin cooties” as born sinners with a single human family inheritance of separation from God. But a greater truth is that Jesus was not put off by this … that he reached out to people like the woman at the well and to all others, right on down to each of us today – taking all our sin upon himself and paying the price of redemption through his blood.

Unhelpful Categories

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For most of this week’s writings and readings, we are going to talk about seeing the world and the people of the world through the eyes of Jesus.

On most occasions, most of us don’t like to be pegged in a category with all the attendant stereotypes that come with most any association, even good things. For example, if you had the academic credentials to go to and graduate from an Ivy League school like, say, Princeton, that would be a nice resume enhancement; but along with it might come some negative expectation that you were therefore a preppie, snooty and elitist personality. When I lived in New Jersey and followed the local professional baseball team on local TV (before the days when you could stream anything), I didn’t like the association of being a Philadelphia sports fan – you know, the crazies who booed Santa Claus off the field!

When we look at other people groups, we need to be careful to not assume that some negative characteristics of a number of folks within that category necessarily define even a small majority of the rest of the folks. The bad apples of any group are those who make the news and cast a cloud over all the rest. You can imagine what I think about prosperity gospel TV preachers and the bad reputation some people ascribe to all pastors because of them! When I start selling miracle prayer cloths for a large price and profit, you can throw me in with those guys. Otherwise, I don’t think I have a great deal in common with them other than being a “preacher” (which is honestly a term I don’t like very much).

If we are going to look across the tracks and beyond ourselves and our own majority people group, we need to leave stereotypical assumptions and presumptions behind. The vast majority of Hispanic people are not connected to gangs and illegal immigration. Neither are the majority of African-Americans involved in crime, drug dealing and street violence. Most of both groups desire to have self-supporting careers and happy families, as do most Caucasian people.

And it can go the other way. At a recent pastors gathering on the topic of race relations and working toward growing multi-cultural church communities, an African-American pastor very vehemently asserted that we white evangelicals wouldn’t give Obama a break, simply because he was black. I really chaffed at that, because I could care less what color a president is; it was the man’s policies that most often put me on the other side of the fence from his views. I did not like getting pegged as from a group where I had no connection whatsoever.

Years ago when a college student in Philadelphia, a friend and I were taking a public transit bus out to the edge of the city near where he lived. The bus went through a wide variety of neighborhoods. At one point a group of young, black men got on, and my friend and I were the only whites on the bus. These guys began to grab us and push us around rather violently, along with all sorts of names and threats. The driver and the rest of the people on the bus were as scared of the gang as we were. We did not retaliate, for that would have been futile, and after a while they got off the bus. It would be wrong of me to impute the wrong-doing of that group onto all African-Americans I have met over the past 40+ years since that incident.

If anyone ever had a justifiable reason to impute anger toward a group of people, it would be Jesus Christ. After all, the sins of every other human were the reason he would go to the cross and suffer and die! Yet Jesus is the one person with the most gracious attitude that we have ever seen toward others. Instead of imputing anger toward mankind, he instead offers the imputation of his righteousness that we may be saved. We then become agents of reconciliation of this truth to those who have yet to receive it (2 Corinthians 5).

So we need to see the world and others through the eyes of Jesus. There are really two groups of people in the world, and it has NOTHING to do with the things that we categorize people by race or socio-economics, culture or whatever. The groups are:

  1. Sinners unredeemed and under the death curse of sin.
  2. Sinners redeemed by Christ from the death curse of sin.

There is the common denominator of sin. Yet there is also another common denominator available – redemption by the work of Christ, the result being that we are one new family in him, regardless of our human designations and categorizations.

So this week we want to talk about the view through the eyes of Jesus … like this account …

Luke 9:35 – Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Follow God; Don’t Be Whale Puke!

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How would you feel today if God called you to go to Pyongyang, North Korea and preach the gospel there? That would be pretty radical, wouldn’t it? It might have you taking the next eastward boat to Spain rather than flying west across the Pacific. And you might even end up being whale vomit like someone else long ago!

It is interesting to compare the heart of Jonah versus the heart of God – the God of the Old Testament with the oft reputation for hating and judging all the nations of the world.

Jonah was a prophet of the Lord who was called to go to the Assyrian city of Nineveh and preach truth and a warning of pending judgment. And you know the story as to how he went the opposite direction entirely, only to end up as whale barf on the shoreline headed toward Nineveh.

Jonah did not run out of fear, but rather out of a distaste for the enemies of the nation. He feared rather that God would show mercy on them!

Jonah 3:10 – When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah 4:1-2 – But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Relative to our comparison here between Jonah and God, it is seen graphically at the end of the story as to who has the true heart for the world. Jonah went to a hill overlooking the city in hopes of seeing its destruction. Instead, a plant that gave him shade and comfort dies from infestation.

Jonah 4:9-11 – But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

God had more mercy for the animals than Jonah had for the people.

Though there was revival in Nineveh and Assyria under Jonah, it must have lasted only for some period of time. They would take captive the northern portion of Israel, leaving only Judah and Benjamin to be later taken captive by the Babylonians. Out of this mix of Assyrians and the unfaithful, captive northern portion of Israel came a group of mixed lineage known as Samaritans – who were prominent especially in the northern, Galilean region of the Promised Land where Jesus began his ministry, as prophesied …

Isaiah 9:1-2 – Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

The Old Testament is filled with frequent references to a coming Messiah who would be a blessing to the Gentiles and all nations …

Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Look at that last line; this is why it happens … not because of anything other than God’s zeal to see it accomplished!

Isaiah 51:4-5 – “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.”

The “islands” – used 14 times (of 15 in the Bible) in the book of Isaiah as the prophet speaks of the most remote places where people lived. That is how far the expansive heart of God will reach.

So it is rather clear from the biblical record that God has a heart for all peoples and all nations. And it is not as if God developed a last-minute interest in the nations after the death of Christ. God loved the world beyond any measure that was seen in his chosen people, or anyone else. The God of the Old Testament is a God of grace and love, not merely a god of judgment and fury.

And thus it should be our desire to be like God, to desire to see all peoples come to Christ – and desiring beyond that to be worshippers together with all peoples as one new family.

–           It has always been the heart of God to love people “on the other side of the tracks.”

–           It is the way Christ modeled his life and for whom he died.

–           It is the way the New Testament church was established across all tracks and boundaries.

–           And it is our eternal future in heaven forever.

This is the common denominator that the world wishes to have but cannot find in any other way. While the world struggles to find something that can bridge the boundaries that the “tracks” of all sorts have divided, the church can be a model of this in a way that is far beyond and far better than anything mere man can come up with.

We are seeking more and more as a church to do this in this community. Last Sunday night’s combined worship event with many other churches is one such effort. The #ForOurCity partnership campaign is upcoming. And there is a pretty good chance I’m going to challenge some of you to walk across some tracks with me as an application of our passage this Sunday. You might want to make sure you don’t miss that!

Leaving Stuff Behind to Cross to a New Place (Genesis 12, Exodus 19)

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It can be difficult to leave things behind and start out on a new venture of faith. We all like comfort. We appreciate security. I recall the difficulty of leaving the beautiful house we built literally with our own hands in New Jersey in order to answer a call to move to Maryland in 1994. I could look out the window and see the school I went to as a child. Our four little kids had never known any other place. My elderly parents were less than a mile away. Lots of security! But I could still call them on the phone at any time, and it was only a three-hour journey to visit them. I could build another house, and there were lots of new people to meet.

A fellow named Abram was called by God about 4,000 years ago to leave everything and go to some unknown place that God said He would eventually show him. Just pack up Abram and do it! He was to leave his country and all the material successes he had accumulated. The command also was to leave his father’s house – surely meaning to disconnect from some security there. Yet that also meant to put behind idols and man-made deities, as Joshua much later spoke …

And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods”’ (Joshua 24:2)

Abraham responded in faith (though not initially, as the original call came when in Ur, not when in Haran – see Acts 7:2). But Abraham is ultimately commended for the faith he exhibited to get up at age 75 and follow God’s directive …

Hebrews 11:8-9 – By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

But our point today and in this portion of our study is to look at what God was doing. There is nothing apparently special about Abram that commended him uniquely to God to be selected for this task. Perhaps there were some personality traits that would enhance his obedience, but even those abilities we would have to also see as the gift of God. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, it was the initiation of God that is the foundation of all the blessing to follow.

Here again we see the grace of God in the Old Testament and His heart to reach out to all of the world.

God chose to work specifically through one man and his family to bring about God’s great plan of redemption of mankind. And at the time of Abram’s calling, God made a covenant with him that involved promises that were personal, national, and universal…

Genesis 12:1-3 – The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

This is what we call The Abrahamic Covenant. And it was more than just a blessing on one man and his family, and more than the choosing of one nation. The biggest component was the final, universal promise for all the peoples on the earth. Of course this blessing would be the coming of Christ as the redeemer, and it is worked out over time through the selection of the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David.

God kept a focus on this throughout the Old Testament scriptures. If it was up to the Jewish nation to recall or consider how they were a blessing in any way to the rest of the world, it would have been forgotten. And this leads to a next point that demonstrates the forever heart of God for the world.

The nation of Israel was to live essentially as a missionary nation of priests (intermediaries) between God and the rest of the world. God had chosen Israel as His special people through whom to work, but they were to be His instruments of blessing to the rest of the world … not to just hold onto their faith for merely themselves …

Exodus 19:1-8 – On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

Israel was to be a missionary nation. As they trusted in the Lord, and as other nations saw that there was no God like Jehovah, other peoples might desire to come and to know and follow the one true God. But Israel never really did much of anything of this sort. They clung to their God without testifying, and actually they were more likely to adopt heathen practices of idols and high places than they were to be missionary peoples.

So we don’t want to be like that. We want to be like Abraham and step out in faith. We should want to be willing to cross tracks and divides of all sorts – to be united with other diverse people who share our common faith, and to reach out near and far to the varied peoples of this world that they might come to know the one true God. This is God’s heart and passion, and we should adopt it as well.

Here is a picture Amy Hunt drew in church on Sunday. She takes notes weekly by listening and sketching the big idea in an artistic way – showing here the heart of God for the world.

In another note, this today is the 1,000th devotional post since we began doing these writings in 2013. You’ve read all of them, right? Remember that you can always search this page by Scripture reference or title and see what Chris and/or I wrote about it. We’ve commented on about one-half of all Bible passages in these posts.

God Could Have Just Walked Away (Genesis 3, Genesis 11)

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Critics and folks who are simply hostile toward God or toward the notion of the real existence of a God of love often make much of the Old Testament historical record that relates stories of wrath and vengeance. It seems to give them some profane sense of well-being to render a judgment upon this God that He is like a cranky old man who wantonly zaps people who step out of line. A phrase often used is to speak of “the God of the Old Testament” as if there is first a nasty old God, but then a nice, newer one who took over around the time of Christ.

Let us submit today that it is an appropriate view of God’s disposition in the Old Testament era to view Him rather as a God of grace, and yes … of justice. Our first big idea as to why we should raise our eyes to care about people who are very different than ourselves is that God has always had a forever heart for all peoples.

You might say, “REALLY?  God has always had a heart for all people? Yes, I know he did for the nation of Israel, and then for the church and the gospel to be preached around the world, but what about so much of the Old Testament?”  And it is true that there are more than a few accounts of judgment, even commands to the Israelites to destroy completely some of the evil nations around them.

But what do you expect God to do? These were people groups who had completely turned against God and His revelation to them. They had also completely turned off even the general revelation residue of being created in the image of God – eliminating their consciences and any innate sense of right or wrong – some of them making Hitler look like a pansy by comparison. Infant sacrifice to man-made gods and idols was a rather regular practice among these groups. Annihilation was indeed true justice.

Looking honestly at the big picture we see God’s magnanimous grace on display at the very beginning of the story. It appears immediately after the fall of man through what is termed by theologians as the Protoevangelium. That is likely a new word for most of you. Break it down:  “proto” = first, as is the word “prototype” …. And you can hear the word “evangel” in there – which you likely know references the “gospel” – the “good news” … so this is talking about the first good news.

After Adam and Eve fell into sin and rebelled against God’s command by yielding to the temptation of the Serpent (Satan), God shows up on the scene. God first confronted Adam … who blamed the woman … who blamed the serpent … who looked around but nobody else was there! Actually, he was quite pleased with what he – Satan – had done.

And God addresses them in reverse order with words of judgment about their respective futures …

Genesis 3:14-15 – So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

“You” = Satan, “the woman” = Eve, but the “he” is odd here. Who is this referencing? It can’t be Adam. It is actually anticipating the ultimate offspring of Eve – prophetically looking toward Christ.  Jesus, though he would be stricken on the heel (anticipating the cross), through the resurrection would crush the head of the serpent/Satan.

(My favorite part of “The Passion of the Christ” film was when Jesus is depicted as stepping on the head of the slithering snake in the Garden scene. There is nothing worse than snakes!)

When man fell into sin, God could have let the death consequences fall upon mankind completely, and He would have been just in doing so and simply walking away and letting death take its toll. But in His grace, even there in the garden at the outset of sin in the human condition, He had a plan because of His great love for the peoples of the world. The Scriptures even say that Jesus is “the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.”  Never see God as merely reacting to situations; He is orchestrating.

As mankind increased, so did evil – to the extent that only Noah and his family found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And we know the story of the great flood, as God in grace will begin over with mankind through Noah’s family. God could have justly washed them all away, but He saved one family through the deluge …

Genesis 9:1 – Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”

At the beginning of the next chapter, it gives the details and names of Noah’s sons and families…

Genesis 10:1 – This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood…

And then chapter 10 ends by saying …

Genesis 10:32 – These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

And immediately the next chapter begins …

Genesis 11:1-4 – Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Rather than do what God said, they do just the opposite and make a centralized place toward which all people would gather. And again, God must intervene – this time with the confusion of languages.

Genesis 11:8-9 – So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Once more, God could have justly given up, yet again. But He chose to act in grace, reestablishing mankind on the earth with a view toward them walking in relationship with Him. Most will not do that however, neither then nor now. That’s already a lot of divine grace on display, and we’re only 20% of the way through the first book of the Bible!

Yes, God has always had a heart for the peoples and nations of the world. And there is instruction in that for us to consider … we who have had His grace lavished upon us. Let our hearts grow more to be like His.

Why Care about the Other Side of the Tracks?

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A corollary English language idiom to our series title phase “the other side of the tracks” is, I suppose, some version of being “on the wrong side of the tracks.”  The picture this evokes is of a person from the wealthy side finding oneself on the other side and thereby feeling in some measure of potential danger. Or conversely, it is the person from the poorer side raising some sort of suspicion by wandering around the richer neighborhood.

While recognizing these phrases are used as written above, my purpose for the chosen title is not so much to present a scenario of better or worse, richer or poorer … rather I’m speaking of it primarily as what is different – looking beyond ourselves in the largely white, conservative, evangelical church community. At times we will be talking about “across the tracks” differences due largely to racial backgrounds and cultural differences of fellow Christian people. However, at other times the conversation will be talking also about looking beyond ourselves to see people who are yet to trust in Christ and the message of the gospel – be they racially or culturally different than ourselves.

For this series to come home to our understanding and make sense logically, I think we need to lay out the component parts from beginning to end, recalling the map from time to time over the next four weeks (and five sermons). So today is a preview summary.

There really are four major ideas, as listed with the titles and descriptions below. The middle week is a sort of excursus into a supplemental idea …

  1. The Forever Heart of God for the World – God has always cared about all peoples.
  2. Seeing the World through the Eyes of Jesus – Jesus cared about all peoples, not just the Jewish nation.
  3. Centurions Then and Now – Many people are interested in and drawn to the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done to make all peoples one.
  4. The Worldwide Vision and Expanse of the Church – This is the way the church grew – not just Jews, but Gentiles, with the call to take the gospel to the corners of the earth.
  5. On Earth as it is in Heaven – Our final destiny is one where all the nations are represented, so why can’t we live with a taste of that now?

Summarizing that in a sentence as we did yesterday, we can begin to answer today’s question, “Why should we care about people on the other side of the tracks who are different than us?”  The answer is because: This is the forever heart of God, it was the pattern of the life of Jesus, it was the spirit of the spread of the gospel in the early church, and it is our destiny for eternity to be with every tribe of people.

Tracks that Divide

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Though I grew up in the countryside of northwestern New Jersey (yes, there is such a place of mostly farmlands in that state!), it was only a couple of miles from another “hub city.”  Hagerstown has often been called “The Hub City” due to all the railroads that come into and through the town. And just as we in this Washington County area live near state borders, I also had the same experience. One could look in several directions and see hills and buildings in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania.

The two closest cities were Phillipsburg in New Jersey and Easton in Pennsylvania – immediately across the river from one another. Actually, there were two rivers (Delaware and Lehigh) that met in this location, along with the Morris Canal terminating across the stream from the Lehigh Canal. In every direction were train tracks and bridges. It really was a hub of commerce, transportation and industry.

These train lines often divided neighborhoods both ethnically and socially. Phillipsburg had predominantly Italian neighborhoods living along the flatland tracks next to the river, along with pockets of other European immigrant populations. When some of these folks would find greater economic success in their lives, it was common for them to “move up on the hill.”  This neighborhood of larger and newer homes was only about a half-mile away, but “moving on up” often meant more separation than merely 150 feet in elevation.

On the Easton, PA side was a neighborhood where my father’s place of employment was located. Working as a bookkeeper for Swift and Company’s meat packing and distribution business, they were located along the train tracks paralleling the Lehigh River. Hanging sides of beef could be rolled straight from a refrigerated train car parked on their rail siding and into the freezers before being butchered further for local distribution. The immediate, surrounding neighborhood consisted of very old homes and was 100% African-American.

Just across the tracks and canal was another neighborhood, not as old though far from new. It was fully populated by Syrian and Lebanese immigrant populations. Varied neighborhoods of German, Polish and Italian peoples dotted the city.

My father had a Sunday afternoon routine of driving into Easton and going to the post office. He would get the company mail from over the weekend and take it to his office to sort out and get a head start on the work week. I would often go with him on this jaunt because I was fascinated by all the trains and his business location. And I remember sitting there and looking out the side office window and across the siding tracks at the black children playing in the yards of the homes immediately next door. Though obviously very poor, they looked to be having a very good time with homemade play objects and games. I would have liked to join them, but, well, you just didn’t do something like that 55 years ago.

So here I am five-plus decades later basically asking the same question as the pastor of a local church. I look out from this place of life and “across the tracks” at African-American and Hispanic churches and see them worshipping God, and it looks like a lot of fun. And I wonder why I can’t go play with them! Or why they don’t come play with me! Why don’t we do church and worship together? The divides are not as profound as 55 years ago, but they are sadly there … at least more than they should be, in my estimation. After all, we have the same Savior – born to a single mom as a Jewish fellow, two millennia ago. That ought to unite us, right?

“Tracks” should not divide genuine people of the evangelical Christian faith from one another. Those tracks are often racial or socio-economic, but it can be other factors as well. Somewhere, someone needs to not only look across the tracks, but walk across them as well. This is the forever heart of God, it was the pattern of the life of Jesus, it was the spirit of the spread of the gospel in the early church, and it is our destiny for eternity to be with every tribe of people. So why it is so hard for us in Hagerstown (and most other places) in 2017?

Through this series I desire for us to get a vision of raising our eyes to see The Other Side of the Tracks – to look beyond ourselves. And along the way there just might be a challenge to actually go walk across the tracks. You might want to stay tuned for that!

The End of the Race, Just Do It

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So here we are at the end of the race – the end of talking about the Life Race and the Apostle Paul, and the end of you having to hear stories from me about running and about coaching runners. I’m sorry to always subject you folks to this (well, maybe only a little bit sorry), but it has been such a big part of my life both as a runner and as a coach of runners. Oh what I would give to be able to just run again for even five minutes!!

But even having apologized for the extended metaphor, as was said at the beginning of this journey three months ago, I am bolstered by the fact that Paul used the metaphor five times in his writings – under the inspiration of Scripture. So, if you love another sport, see if you can count five occasions where your sport is mentioned in the Bible by direction of the Spirit of God through the human author! Soccer? Sorry.  Football? Nope.  Boxing? You get a couple references.  Baseball? After the first words in Genesis 1:1, “In the big inning …” it never appears again.

Often the most difficult portion of a race is the final stretch. Success is best accomplished with a specific, advanced plan to finish well. About 8-10 years ago when coaching HS runners, I had a highly-gifted young man who was among the best in the state of Maryland. However, several times he had been outkicked at the end of races by another of the top runners in the state, including in the state championships. So for his senior year, we began in August with a specific plan to address this issue.

At the state finals, he was leading his opponent by a decent margin and our plan seemed to be working. But once again this particular fellow came roaring from behind; and I’m yelling, “He’s coming, he’s coming!”  That runner managed to pass my guy in the last 50 feet of the race. I was so upset about it that I took the clipboard in my hands and whacked the ground with it, and it shattered into several pieces. I really shouldn’t have done that, especially since there was a camera at the finish line that was pointed in my direction and caught the whole thing on video; and then it went viral on the internet for a time!  Ugh.

But, the truth was that he finished his race well; he ran a great time. He was all-state three times. The other guy was just a very good all-around runner. My boy got his college paid for, competed well, and has been a college coach himself in recent years.

Again, to finish well – in a running race, or the Life Race – it takes a plan set out in advance and adhered to over the long-haul of time.

Multiple times in Paul’s writings we see him speak with some anticipation of his possible earthly demise. This is evidence that he thought much about it and that he anticipated it warmly. He thought of it as gain, not loss. His only concern was that he finish his race well.

We don’t know how Paul specifically had his earthly life end. Tradition says that it was by being beheaded; and all the evidence would point to that as probable. As a Roman citizen he would be exempt from death by the horrible tortures that befell many of his Christian brethren. Citizenship would also save him from the disgrace of crucifixion, which would appear to have been the means of Peter’s execution (John 21:18, coupled with tradition).

So, is this what happens to the best of people who follow Jesus? They lose their head (literally) or get crucified upside-down? By God’s grace we have largely been spared from that ignominy in our time and culture. Even so, such horrific deaths of Christian brethren are met daily in our era in various corners of the earth. This century is one of great martyrdom. It is a dirty, little secret that we don’t think or talk about that very much. It is awful, but even at its worst it is temporary compared to the gain and the rewards that follow for eternity. And God has that big picture in mind, whereas we tend to only have our earthly picture in the frontal lobes of our brains.

I can tell you from running marathons that the very best part of the race (but also the very worst part of it in terms of pain) is the final mile. The cumulative wear and tear of 25 miles has settled in deeply, but the prospect of finishing and gaining the award for having competed well makes the suffering almost sweet.

The idea – in running or in the Life Race – is to keep one’s fixation on the prize at the end. Paul did it; those who have gone before us have done it; and you can do it. So … just do it!  “Just Do It!”  That would be a great slogan for a running gear company, wouldn’t it? Wow, here I am at the final sentence of the final devotional, and I realize I should have named this series “Just Do It” instead of “Life Race!”

<< So this is the end of the Life Race and the end of our “race” of 60 devotionals. We’ll be back again in two weeks on September 18th at the beginning of the next series called “The Other Side of the Tracks: Looking Beyond Ourselves.”  >>

Summary of 2 Timothy (2 Timothy 4:1-8)

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A recent speaker at my Rotary Club was the local registrar of wills. He spoke of the importance of a final will, talking about how not only does such direct the distribution of material assets, but how it also represents a final statement of what you want to say to those remaining. Such documents have value to the extent that they are fully legal directives, and locally we may choose to have them secured in the vault at the office of the registrar for a very small fee.

People are interested in hearing the final words of an individual before they pass on into eternity. Surely for a person who realizes that time has come, they are going to say what holds the greatest of depth and meaning for them. And this is what we have in the final of Paul’s writings: the second letter of Paul to his dear disciple and son in the faith – Timothy.

These were hard times for Paul. He knew the end was very near, and he was writing essentially from a Roman dungeon. The theme is about faithful endurance through difficult days, and this is a rather timeless theme for Christians in a fallen world.

So how should the Christian endure in such a hostile culture and context and finish well in the Life Race?

  1. Be Scripture-oriented and truth-infused

2 Timothy 4:1 – I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

“Preach the Word” … no person with my school and seminary background can hear that phrase without thinking of the sculpture at the center of Dallas Theological Seminary. This biblical phrase is the motto of the school – the preaching of the Word of God so that it can be clearly presented and clearly understood.

This is ground zero for the successful Christian life … the Life Race. There is simply no connection to God, nor is there a successful way of living life in a manner that counts for eternity without a significant understanding of Scripture. And yet, it is oft resisted or set aside for another day by God’s people. Learning the Scriptures involves a large measure of “want to” and of work, diligence, discipline and thinking.

So Paul is telling Timothy that he has one charge or commission that is above all others in his service as a minister/pastor/elder/shepherd – to preach God’s Word. And receiving and applying God’s Word is therefore logically the most important commission for all of us as well.

As we would put together a sort of personality profile on Timothy, the picture is one of a more timid and gentle soul than the feisty Apostle Paul. He was a guy who seemed to sometimes need to be a bit “pumped up.”

So Paul is exhorting Timothy to be a two-season preacher, and of course this is not referring to winter and summer or anything of that sort. Rather, it is “in season” and “out of season” … essentially all the time. Clearly there were going to be times when the preaching ministry and church leadership work was going to go well, but others times when it was going to struggle. Through it all, Timothy was to be faithful and diligent in the teaching of the Scriptures – that would be his guide and measure of success, not the current seasonal response.

This teaching ministry would at times also feature varied tones. First there is a negative slant that involved reproof and rebuke – often not a natural proclivity for a typical pastor who is by personality frequently a lover of people with a soft heart. But secondly, there was a positive tone – to exhort with gentle patience and instruction.

Let me ask you:  As a general pattern of life, do you enjoy preaching and Bible teaching? Do you enjoy reading Scripture and expositional writings about the Word? Do you have a plan of life that you are executing with a goal to be known as a life-long learner of God’s truth? If not, you are being foolish and hurting yourself terribly. I know, I know; we’re a bit crazy about this around here … certainly the most academic of local churches, but there’s a strong reason for it!

  1. Be mindful of the big picture over the immediate passion

2 Timothy 4:3 – For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Our own Chris Wiles once wrote: Your average preacher is the spiritual equivalent of the TV weatherman.  He pays enormously for an academic education, then he gets put in front of an audience that expects him to be entertaining—and gets furious when he tells them something they don’t want to hear.

Paul understood this. This is why he tells the young pastor Timothy to press in, because times are tough and there will always be rivals. Paul knew that Timothy would face an era where people turned from God’s truth to instead embrace a seductive lie.

It has always been true that people, apart from a solid biblical understanding, will drift to places and teachers that will tell them what they want to hear more than what they need to hear. They will choose to be informed by preachers or other public voices who feed their immediate passions rather than majoring upon THE big picture of biblical truth and faithfulness.

The text says they will “accumulate” such teachers (literally means “to pile up”); and in our generation we can see this sort of thing with the plethora of the tele-evangelist types who sound good but say nothing. We see it in the way so many ministries have become a great show on a great stage (not that having a nice stage and lights is wrong … or a guy standing there who can communicate truth in creatively engaging and accurate ways). We see this by noting how rare it is to have a church anywhere that has faithfully preached an evangelical gospel message for, say, 150 years or more.

“Itching ears” – what does this mean?  It is when a person wants to hear what they want to rather than what is actually said. I’ll give a dangerous illustration that could make everyone mad … try to get the point of it, OK??  I’m going for a big idea, don’t have itching ears … Donald Trump! Those who hate him only hear what they want to hear about him – something negative, and they don’t hear balancing statements or give credit for accomplishments largely overlooked. BUT, those who love him at all costs because he represents a felt need for radical change, they overlook what is too many times a lack of dignity befitting the position he holds.

The point is that people gravitate to hear and most recall what they want to hear. Paul is saying that this is a pattern of a great many people – to only hear and support the teaching of Scripture that comforts them, rather than what might often need to discomfort.

When people do not hear what challenges them, they wander off the path, having discarded godly warnings and advice. They end up satisfying their natural passions and interests. And these are the things of this world, convincing themselves of the myth that they are in close relationship with God. In fact, they are substituting a temporary picture and vision of life in place of a vision that is better, TRUE, and eternal!

  1. Be consistent in godly duty and responsibility

2 Timothy 4:5 – As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul tells Timothy to be responsible with his duties, whether they come easily or if they involve hard work and even suffering.

Sober-minded = his internal disposition – to think clearly and deeply.

Endure suffering = his disposition toward hostility directed at the gospel; this is inevitable, and enduring shows genuine trust.

Work of an evangelist = this disposition toward those outside of the faith, recognizing that people are lost without Christ and in a doomed and hopeless condition.

Fulfill your ministry = his disposition toward those inside the faith … the word means to fill something up to the brim. Though directed toward a sort of “career minister” in Timothy, we all have gifts and abilities granted to us to be used throughout our lives to help others.

Paul faced his pending and inevitable demise with courage, with conviction, and with words of encouragement for the rough road ahead …

2 Timothy 4:6 – For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Drink offering – This is an inference to the OT sacrificial system. The drink offering was something poured on the lamb of sacrifice daily before the burnt offering. In Philippians 2:17 Paul said, “But even if I am poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice…”  Now it is happening.

The word for departure used here is one that in the Greek language speaks of loosing a boat from its moorings; or it could have been a description of soldiers breaking down a camp to move on.

Yes, moving on – to glory – this was to be Paul’s soon experience … the end of the race, and we’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Summary of Titus

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Even the most gifted of leaders cannot be every place at every time and in touch with every situation that develops. This was especially true in the early church era as church communities were being developed in disparate cities around the Roman world. An ongoing leadership presence needed to be in place at each church plant. Paul himself had spent some time teaching in most of these locations, but for ongoing leadership it was not as if he could put together a group email, Facetime his buddies or use a resource like WhatsApp to keep in touch with his younger apprentices.

There was therefore a need for Paul to reproduce other leaders who could be discipled to carry on the work in his absence. We regularly come across various of these individuals listed in Paul’s writings. And foremost among them was his special son in the faith: Timothy – speaking of him in 1 Timothy 1:2, “To Timothy my true son in the faith.”  The letters Paul writes to him and to Titus are – as we named the prior series of the Pastoral Epistles – the nuts and bolts as to how to make local church ministry work, even with all its complexities.

If a church is to thrive over a long period of time, rising generations of leaders need to be taught, developed and unleashed to do the same with others as years go by. The same is true of our families. We need to know the Scriptures and teach and live them in front of our children and grandchildren if we want to see generations of followers of Christ. None of this happens without intentionality.

So Paul told Timothy to be intentional with an active discipleship process…

2 Timothy 2:2 – And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

And to Titus, whom Paul had assigned leadership in a difficult environment on the island of Crete, he wrote about church leadership development …

Titus 1:5-9 – The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Paul further wrote to Titus about older generations influencing the younger …

Titus 2:2-5 – Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Everyone fits into this process somewhere. Most folks are, at the same time, both in a process of personal growth and enrichment while also actively taking a part in passing truth and wisdom along to others down the line. There is a “hand up” and a “hand down.”  Taking / Giving.

Is that you? Do you have both going on? You’re not one of those people who only go through life with a hand up, are you? Only ever taking in what others minister to you, while never actively passing it on to someone else? Man, don’t be that person! We ain’t got time for that!