"Now, therefore, you are....fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22
Let us make no mistake about it, the world and the Kingdom of God are at war with each other, and it is a war to the death. No quarter can be given for eternity hangs in the balance. Such a struggle is inevitable, for the world holds a philosophy which is anathema to the Kingdom, and it moves with means and methods that are not worthy of the high calling of the gospel. It's easy to spot worldliness, but the opposite, that it should also be easy to spot kingdom-ness, is not always true. We would expect the kingdom to stand out with a luster and shine that would draw all men to its revelation. But consider what Paul states simply in II Corinthians 4:7 that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." We know what men of power and ambition look like, our entire society is filled with such movers and shakers. But we have so very poor an understanding of what spiritual men of power are, most would not even attract a second glance from us. Paul describes the apostles in I Corinthians 4:9-13, and it is upon this "offscouring of all things" that Christ chose to found His Kingdom. The world would see no sense in such an action, but Paul explains in I Corinthians 1:27-31 that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things of the mighty....and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are..." I'm afraid that in our world today, if Jesus Christ advertised in the classifieds for apostles using Paul's job description, very few would vie for the position. Let us be thankful, however, that in an age when apostate religion and military might held tenuous sway over the empire, and when spiritual darkness bound men's hearts in chains that none could break, that twelve men came forward to answer that call. Two such men were Simon the zealot, and Jude, the brother of James.
The scriptural and historical records of the Church are sketchy at best concerning these two men, but let's piece together what is available so that we can at least become acquainted with these foundation stones of the Church. Simon is referred to as the Cananites in Matthew 10:4 and Mark 3:18, and as Zealotes in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13 to distinguish him from Simon Peter, and from St. Symeon, the brother of James, the Lesser. These surnames are both translations of a Hebrew word which means "the zealous" and refers to the attitude of his heart before the Lord and His law. It does not indicate the place of his residence or his political affiliation as some early interpreters were quick to conclude. Beyond this little else is known. Traditions claim that he preached in Egypt and was later joined by St. Jude who was preaching in the Mesopotamian area. Together they traveled to Persia where they were martyred for their faithful witness of Jesus Christ. The symbol of St. Simon is the saw, for tradition ascribes his martyrdom to being sawn apart.
We know that St. Jude was also called Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddeus (from Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18) and that he was also called Judas, identified as the brother of James (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13). From these scriptures we can draw some other conclusions. The first is that this is the same Jude who wrote the short epistle and who identifies himself in Jude 1 simply as "as servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." The second is that the brother James whom he refers to is none other than James, the bishop of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13) whom Paul refers to as "the Lord's brother" in Galatians 1:19. This would lead us to conclude that James and Jude are mentioned in Matthew 13:55 when the crowd wonders aloud of Jesus "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" The whole question of exactly how he was related to the Lord is difficult to sort out and not without complications. Eusebius, in his History of the Church, Book III, Sections 19, 20 and 22 quotes Hegessipus as declaring that Jude "was said to have been the brother of the Lord according to the flesh." We will take his statement at its face value and not try to interpret it any further. Jude's name is associated with preaching in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria and Mesopotamia. According to Eusebius' record, he returned to Jerusalem in 62 A.D. after the martyrdom of James (his brother) at the hand of the Jewish party, and helped to elect another brother, Symeon, as the second bishop of the Church at Jerusalem. The internal evidence of the epistle of Jude suggests that it was written around this time, probably from Jerusalem, and was addressed primarily to Hebrew converts in the Palestine region. Tradition then tells us that Jude joined St. Simon in a mission to Persia and there suffered martyrdom in Armenia.
By the world's standard, these two men were hardly worth any attention. They are only indirectly mentioned in the writings of antiquity, and even in the scriptures of the Church of which they were apostles very little is recorded of them. The world would classify them as foolish, weak, of no repute. And yet it is precisely upon men such as these that Christ placed the entire weight of His Church, the very visible manifestation of the Kingdom upon earth. And because of their persevering spirit to "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them....teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..." (Matthew 28:18-20), we who read this brief account of their lives have been born again by faith in the same Lord of which they were servants and apostles. Bernard of Chartres writing in the 12th century said "We are like dwarfs seated on the shoulders of giants; we see more things than the ancients and things more distance, but this is due neither to the sharpness of our own sight, nor to the greatness of our own stature, but because we are raised and borne aloft on that giant mass." The Church is that giant, and such men as Simon and Jude are Christ's chosen foundation upon which that giant stands. We may know very little of them this side of the Jordan, but may we ever be thankful to the God whom we together serve that they took seriously their apostolic charge when the whole world was arrayed against them and have made the way of salvation evident even to us today.
Monday, November 8, 2010
St. Luke, Evangelist (Remembrance Day Ocober 18)
"Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which are most surely believed among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." Luke 4:1-4
It used to matter very much what a man did with his life. This was reflected in the word that was used to describe a life's profession; it was a vocation, from the Latin word meaning "to call". This calling was none other than the divinely ordered purpose that God had for the life with which He was entrusting them. But as life became less sacred and more secular, men replaced a vocation, with an occupation. The divinely ordained purpose of life became only a means of making a living. Quite a difference in perspective! But there have always been men whose souls were sensitive to the voice of the Lord, and who were willing to leave every part of their life behind in order to embrace God's choices for their life when these became evident. Such a man was Luke, by occupation a physician, by vocation an Evangelist.
From Eusebius' History of the Church (Book III, Section 4) we learn that Luke was "by birth an Antiochene and by profession a physician"; that he "was for long periods a companion of Paul and was closely associated with the other apostles as well. So he has left us examples of the art of healing souls which he learnt from them in the two divinely inspirited books, the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles." Some of this we can also glean from the Scriptures. In Colossians 4:14 Paul calls him "Luke, the beloved physician." We learn from Colossians 4:10-15 that he was a Gentile, for he is not named by Paul as a fellow worker for the kingdom of God who were of the circumcision. Some say that his name Luke, was a shortened version of the Romanized name Lucanus. That he was familiar with Antioch in a way that could indicate it as a hometown is implied from his frequent and detailed references to the city and the Church within it (see Acts 11:19-30, Acts 13:1, Acts 14:19-28; Acts 15:22-35; Acts 18:22-23). Also, when he listed the seven deacons chosen in Acts 6:5, only one, Nicolas from Antioch, had his hometown mentioned.
He was well educated as is evidenced by the two books which he wrote, in which he demonstrates his knowledge of the Septuagint, and his proficiency in both Greek and Aramaic. His calling as an evangelist is clearly put forth in the introduction to His gospel. In any but a true servant of the Lord the words we read here might seem prideful, but for Luke they were nothing more than the setting forth of his calling. His purpose was never more than that his audience might know the certainty of those things which were contained within his books. He addresses both the Gospel and the Acts to Theophilus, which in the Greek translates as "the friend of God". Whether this was a specific person or not is unimportant for now. What is important is that it clearly establishes that the message of the gospel is given freely to those who are lovers of God. To these alone is it the good news of salvation. Eusebius further indicates that Luke and Paul were closely knit in the spreading of this good news. He claims that when Paul refers to "my gospel" (such as in Romans 2:16, 16:25 or II Timothy 2:8), he is referring to the gospel as recorded by Luke. This could be entirely possible, for Luke credits his source as the ministers of the word to whom it was first entrusted as eyewitnesses, and he spent most of his evangelism with Paul. Although he is only mentioned by name four times in the New Testament (Colossians 4:14, II Timothy 4:11, the subscript to II Corinthians, and Philemon 24), his life and calling is interwoven in the Acts of the Apostles beginning in Acts 16:9-10 when he writes that "the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” With Paul it was said also of him in Acts 16:17 that "these men are the servants of the Most High God who proclaim to us the way of salvation." It is evident that he went with Paul to Rome in Acts 27 (since he is mentioned in the books of Colossians and Philemon, which were written by Paul during imprisonment in Rome), and by Paul's testimony that Luke had remained faithfully with him to the very end (II Timothy 4:11). So close was this relationship that Paul refers to Luke as the beloved physician, and Jerome (writing about A.D. 400) maintains that Paul speaks of Luke in II Corinthians 8:18 when he refers to "the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches."
Julius Africanus, writing in A.D. 165 records that Luke wrote his gospel in Achaia. Perhaps this occurred during the two years that Paul ministered at Ephesus (Acts 19:10), before Luke was reunited with him in Macedonia as recorded in Acts 20:1-6. According to Africanus, Luke died at age 74 in Boeotia, a city in Central Greece. He was not held to have been a martyr, although he was certainly acquainted with the suffering that comes at the preaching of the gospel. His name has been tied to preaching in Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, Asia Minor, and all of these are certainly possible if we trace the missionary and Roman travels of Paul, his companion. The Church represents him by the symbol of the calf, the sacrificial animal, for his gospel account begins with Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, performing his priestly duties in the temple. Little more do we know with certainty.
When we look around us, we see people struggling for identity, seeking to carve out their niche in the world, but all of it is in vain if it is apart from God. And yet in Luke we see none of this striving after wind, although he could have sought fame as a physician, a historian, a chronicler of the Mediterranean, a writer trained in the classical tradition. What we rather see in him is the fulfillment of Paul's words recorded in II Timothy 2:5 "But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." Those words must have cut him to his heart, for his identify was found in his vocation, and his vocation was not found in the world, but received from God's hand....Evangelist. Because of his openness to the calling of God the world may have lost a first-rate physician, but we are the richer for having that remarkable record of "all that Jesus began both to do and to teach." The Gospel of Luke moves us inexorably from a manger in Bethlehem to a cross in Jerusalem, the Acts of the Apostles from the Mount of Ascension into "Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." May the ministry of Luke always remind us of our own callings as evangelists, those whose lives are imprinted by the good news. Wherever our feet trod then becomes a mission field, each day is another opportunity to bear witness to Jesus Christ. Lord, grant to us to fulfill our true vocations in Your will. We must, after all, be about our Father's business, not our own.
It used to matter very much what a man did with his life. This was reflected in the word that was used to describe a life's profession; it was a vocation, from the Latin word meaning "to call". This calling was none other than the divinely ordered purpose that God had for the life with which He was entrusting them. But as life became less sacred and more secular, men replaced a vocation, with an occupation. The divinely ordained purpose of life became only a means of making a living. Quite a difference in perspective! But there have always been men whose souls were sensitive to the voice of the Lord, and who were willing to leave every part of their life behind in order to embrace God's choices for their life when these became evident. Such a man was Luke, by occupation a physician, by vocation an Evangelist.
From Eusebius' History of the Church (Book III, Section 4) we learn that Luke was "by birth an Antiochene and by profession a physician"; that he "was for long periods a companion of Paul and was closely associated with the other apostles as well. So he has left us examples of the art of healing souls which he learnt from them in the two divinely inspirited books, the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles." Some of this we can also glean from the Scriptures. In Colossians 4:14 Paul calls him "Luke, the beloved physician." We learn from Colossians 4:10-15 that he was a Gentile, for he is not named by Paul as a fellow worker for the kingdom of God who were of the circumcision. Some say that his name Luke, was a shortened version of the Romanized name Lucanus. That he was familiar with Antioch in a way that could indicate it as a hometown is implied from his frequent and detailed references to the city and the Church within it (see Acts 11:19-30, Acts 13:1, Acts 14:19-28; Acts 15:22-35; Acts 18:22-23). Also, when he listed the seven deacons chosen in Acts 6:5, only one, Nicolas from Antioch, had his hometown mentioned.
He was well educated as is evidenced by the two books which he wrote, in which he demonstrates his knowledge of the Septuagint, and his proficiency in both Greek and Aramaic. His calling as an evangelist is clearly put forth in the introduction to His gospel. In any but a true servant of the Lord the words we read here might seem prideful, but for Luke they were nothing more than the setting forth of his calling. His purpose was never more than that his audience might know the certainty of those things which were contained within his books. He addresses both the Gospel and the Acts to Theophilus, which in the Greek translates as "the friend of God". Whether this was a specific person or not is unimportant for now. What is important is that it clearly establishes that the message of the gospel is given freely to those who are lovers of God. To these alone is it the good news of salvation. Eusebius further indicates that Luke and Paul were closely knit in the spreading of this good news. He claims that when Paul refers to "my gospel" (such as in Romans 2:16, 16:25 or II Timothy 2:8), he is referring to the gospel as recorded by Luke. This could be entirely possible, for Luke credits his source as the ministers of the word to whom it was first entrusted as eyewitnesses, and he spent most of his evangelism with Paul. Although he is only mentioned by name four times in the New Testament (Colossians 4:14, II Timothy 4:11, the subscript to II Corinthians, and Philemon 24), his life and calling is interwoven in the Acts of the Apostles beginning in Acts 16:9-10 when he writes that "the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” With Paul it was said also of him in Acts 16:17 that "these men are the servants of the Most High God who proclaim to us the way of salvation." It is evident that he went with Paul to Rome in Acts 27 (since he is mentioned in the books of Colossians and Philemon, which were written by Paul during imprisonment in Rome), and by Paul's testimony that Luke had remained faithfully with him to the very end (II Timothy 4:11). So close was this relationship that Paul refers to Luke as the beloved physician, and Jerome (writing about A.D. 400) maintains that Paul speaks of Luke in II Corinthians 8:18 when he refers to "the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches."
Julius Africanus, writing in A.D. 165 records that Luke wrote his gospel in Achaia. Perhaps this occurred during the two years that Paul ministered at Ephesus (Acts 19:10), before Luke was reunited with him in Macedonia as recorded in Acts 20:1-6. According to Africanus, Luke died at age 74 in Boeotia, a city in Central Greece. He was not held to have been a martyr, although he was certainly acquainted with the suffering that comes at the preaching of the gospel. His name has been tied to preaching in Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, Asia Minor, and all of these are certainly possible if we trace the missionary and Roman travels of Paul, his companion. The Church represents him by the symbol of the calf, the sacrificial animal, for his gospel account begins with Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, performing his priestly duties in the temple. Little more do we know with certainty.
When we look around us, we see people struggling for identity, seeking to carve out their niche in the world, but all of it is in vain if it is apart from God. And yet in Luke we see none of this striving after wind, although he could have sought fame as a physician, a historian, a chronicler of the Mediterranean, a writer trained in the classical tradition. What we rather see in him is the fulfillment of Paul's words recorded in II Timothy 2:5 "But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." Those words must have cut him to his heart, for his identify was found in his vocation, and his vocation was not found in the world, but received from God's hand....Evangelist. Because of his openness to the calling of God the world may have lost a first-rate physician, but we are the richer for having that remarkable record of "all that Jesus began both to do and to teach." The Gospel of Luke moves us inexorably from a manger in Bethlehem to a cross in Jerusalem, the Acts of the Apostles from the Mount of Ascension into "Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." May the ministry of Luke always remind us of our own callings as evangelists, those whose lives are imprinted by the good news. Wherever our feet trod then becomes a mission field, each day is another opportunity to bear witness to Jesus Christ. Lord, grant to us to fulfill our true vocations in Your will. We must, after all, be about our Father's business, not our own.
Michael and the Holy Angels (Remembrance Day September 29)
"Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you ministers of His who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!" Psalm 103:20-22
The angelic realm is poorly understood because, for the most part, it is hidden from our direct gaze and we can only catch glimpses of it when God allows. Because of this our imaginations are free to work on very limited information and we are content to conjure up all sorts of pictures of these spiritual beings that are not in keeping with the revelation of scripture. One only needs to look at what the new age society has turned angels into to recognize where this practice leads. Our short excerpt from Psalm 103 actually provides us a summary of all that we need to know. There are six things. First, angels were created by God to give him pure worship. The Seraphim seen by Isaiah around the throne of the Lord in Isaiah 6:1-3 exist only to pronounce His holiness and glory. We see that same image described by John in Revelation 4:6-11 in which he describes these creatures as giving glory, honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne. Second, the angels belong to God, they are His creation and although they are powerful beings in their own right, they do not exist apart from God and His purposes. That is why their appearance in the Old Testament is often called the coming of "the Angel of the Lord." Because they belong totally to God and His work, they are often referred to as "the holy angels" (Matthew 25:31), they have a share in His holiness and reflect His glory. Third, they are powerful. Paul describes them in II Thessalonians 1:7 as "mighty angels" and Peter refers to them in II Peter 2:11 as being "greater in power and might" as compared to the men of the earth. They are pure spirit, not confined to the material realm as we are, but able to travel the length and breadth of God's universe. Fourth, they do His word, heeding all that properly belongs to it. That is precisely what separates the holy angels from the fallen angels, obedience to the word of God. Some commentators believe that after God created the angels, they assisted Him in the rest of creation and were assigned oversight over portions of His creation. That is why when Job describes the creation of the world by the hand of God in Job 38 he says that the "morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy (see also Job 1:6). Fifth, they are His ministers, bringing to pass His pleasure, His will and counsel. We know that in addition to overseeing the creation of God, the holy angels have been assigned a special place as ministers to the heirs of salvation, God's elect people. Hebrews 1:14 calls them "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation." and Psalm 104:4 refers to them as "spirits, His ministers a flame of fire." We know that they take a particular delight in seeing the grace of God work in the human soul for salvation, for we read of their rejoicing over such a soul in the parable of Jesus in Luke 15:10. Lastly, they extend the dominion of the Lord, the very real presence of His power and majesty, throughout the universe. It is from this last task that many have said that God rules over creation through His angels. They are called His angels (messengers), His hosts (army), His works (the stewards of His dominion). His glory is their joy, to accomplish His will is their delight.
On this day the Church remembers all of the holy angels who minister to the heirs of salvation, and in particular Michael the archangel who is the patron and protector of the people of God. His name means "who is like God" and from this we can draw the conclusion of how accurately and clearly this servant of God must mirror the glory and majesty of His Lord. He is mentioned by name only four times in scripture. In Daniel 10:13 he is referred to as one of the chief princes and in verse 21 as the upholder or support of the other angels in their work upon earth. In Daniel 12:1-3 he is said to be the "great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people." In Jude 9-10 he is said to have contended over the body of Moses with Satan (apocryphal writings declared this was necessary since Satan intended to make the remains of Moses an object of reverence to the people of God thereby distracting them from the true service of God). Finally, he is portrayed in Revelation 12:7-12 as being the champion of God, leading the holy angels in open warfare against Satan and his host of rebellious angels to cast them down from heaven. From these scriptures and others, the Church has ascribed four offices to Michael the archangel and those angels who serve under his command. First, they are the host of God which fight against Satan. They cast Satan down from the presence of God at the first struggle, and they continue to stand against his evil upon the earth until the triumph on the final day of judgement (Revelation 20:7-10). Second, they rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the evil ones. The Church has believed from the earliest times that God appoints these angels as guardians over his elect. The teaching of Jesus in Matthew 18:10-11 seems to hint at this. Thirdly, Michael is the champion of God's people. As he was the protector of Israel as described in Daniel, so now Michael and his angels are the champions (they actively take up the cause) of His elect wherever they may be upon the earth. Psalm 34:7 declares that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear the name of the Lord, and we can see this more vividly portrayed in the account found in II Kings 6:15-17. Finally, they are the instrument which God has chosen to bring the souls of men to judgement. They gather the elect of God (Mark 13:26-27) so that not one soul is lost (see the promise in Matthew 3:12) and they gather up those things which are offensive to God unto judgement (Matthew 13:37-43).
There are many, many more things written in both the Old and New Testament about angels, the messengers and ministers of God. But let us close with only this one last thing. For all that they are in the sight of God, glorious in His power and holiness, they are a part of the communion of saints which will some day share eternity with us in the presence of God. They are, therefore, not to be reverenced beyond what their official capacity in God's service requires. Paul describes the worship of angels as an entanglement which can defraud us of our true reward in God's kingdom (Colossians 2:18) and the angel who spoke to John at the giving of the book of Revelation was clear to state (as John fell at his feet to worship him) "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!" Fellow servants who have the testimony of Jesus, a fitting description for the God-ordained relationship between angels and the Church of God. They should ever give us example of what that means. To return to our opening psalm excerpt, we find in the example of the holy angels an exhortation to truly worship God proclaiming his glory, honor and worthiness; to do His word, giving it careful heed and striving to understand it and bring it to pass in all its fullness; to ever be His ministers of salvation, delighting to do His will in every part of our own life; and to walk in faithfulness extending His dominion to the ends of our earth and to the depths of the hearts of men. Such is the true testimony of Jesus Christ in the hearts and lives of His servants.
The angelic realm is poorly understood because, for the most part, it is hidden from our direct gaze and we can only catch glimpses of it when God allows. Because of this our imaginations are free to work on very limited information and we are content to conjure up all sorts of pictures of these spiritual beings that are not in keeping with the revelation of scripture. One only needs to look at what the new age society has turned angels into to recognize where this practice leads. Our short excerpt from Psalm 103 actually provides us a summary of all that we need to know. There are six things. First, angels were created by God to give him pure worship. The Seraphim seen by Isaiah around the throne of the Lord in Isaiah 6:1-3 exist only to pronounce His holiness and glory. We see that same image described by John in Revelation 4:6-11 in which he describes these creatures as giving glory, honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne. Second, the angels belong to God, they are His creation and although they are powerful beings in their own right, they do not exist apart from God and His purposes. That is why their appearance in the Old Testament is often called the coming of "the Angel of the Lord." Because they belong totally to God and His work, they are often referred to as "the holy angels" (Matthew 25:31), they have a share in His holiness and reflect His glory. Third, they are powerful. Paul describes them in II Thessalonians 1:7 as "mighty angels" and Peter refers to them in II Peter 2:11 as being "greater in power and might" as compared to the men of the earth. They are pure spirit, not confined to the material realm as we are, but able to travel the length and breadth of God's universe. Fourth, they do His word, heeding all that properly belongs to it. That is precisely what separates the holy angels from the fallen angels, obedience to the word of God. Some commentators believe that after God created the angels, they assisted Him in the rest of creation and were assigned oversight over portions of His creation. That is why when Job describes the creation of the world by the hand of God in Job 38 he says that the "morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy (see also Job 1:6). Fifth, they are His ministers, bringing to pass His pleasure, His will and counsel. We know that in addition to overseeing the creation of God, the holy angels have been assigned a special place as ministers to the heirs of salvation, God's elect people. Hebrews 1:14 calls them "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation." and Psalm 104:4 refers to them as "spirits, His ministers a flame of fire." We know that they take a particular delight in seeing the grace of God work in the human soul for salvation, for we read of their rejoicing over such a soul in the parable of Jesus in Luke 15:10. Lastly, they extend the dominion of the Lord, the very real presence of His power and majesty, throughout the universe. It is from this last task that many have said that God rules over creation through His angels. They are called His angels (messengers), His hosts (army), His works (the stewards of His dominion). His glory is their joy, to accomplish His will is their delight.
On this day the Church remembers all of the holy angels who minister to the heirs of salvation, and in particular Michael the archangel who is the patron and protector of the people of God. His name means "who is like God" and from this we can draw the conclusion of how accurately and clearly this servant of God must mirror the glory and majesty of His Lord. He is mentioned by name only four times in scripture. In Daniel 10:13 he is referred to as one of the chief princes and in verse 21 as the upholder or support of the other angels in their work upon earth. In Daniel 12:1-3 he is said to be the "great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people." In Jude 9-10 he is said to have contended over the body of Moses with Satan (apocryphal writings declared this was necessary since Satan intended to make the remains of Moses an object of reverence to the people of God thereby distracting them from the true service of God). Finally, he is portrayed in Revelation 12:7-12 as being the champion of God, leading the holy angels in open warfare against Satan and his host of rebellious angels to cast them down from heaven. From these scriptures and others, the Church has ascribed four offices to Michael the archangel and those angels who serve under his command. First, they are the host of God which fight against Satan. They cast Satan down from the presence of God at the first struggle, and they continue to stand against his evil upon the earth until the triumph on the final day of judgement (Revelation 20:7-10). Second, they rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the evil ones. The Church has believed from the earliest times that God appoints these angels as guardians over his elect. The teaching of Jesus in Matthew 18:10-11 seems to hint at this. Thirdly, Michael is the champion of God's people. As he was the protector of Israel as described in Daniel, so now Michael and his angels are the champions (they actively take up the cause) of His elect wherever they may be upon the earth. Psalm 34:7 declares that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear the name of the Lord, and we can see this more vividly portrayed in the account found in II Kings 6:15-17. Finally, they are the instrument which God has chosen to bring the souls of men to judgement. They gather the elect of God (Mark 13:26-27) so that not one soul is lost (see the promise in Matthew 3:12) and they gather up those things which are offensive to God unto judgement (Matthew 13:37-43).
There are many, many more things written in both the Old and New Testament about angels, the messengers and ministers of God. But let us close with only this one last thing. For all that they are in the sight of God, glorious in His power and holiness, they are a part of the communion of saints which will some day share eternity with us in the presence of God. They are, therefore, not to be reverenced beyond what their official capacity in God's service requires. Paul describes the worship of angels as an entanglement which can defraud us of our true reward in God's kingdom (Colossians 2:18) and the angel who spoke to John at the giving of the book of Revelation was clear to state (as John fell at his feet to worship him) "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!" Fellow servants who have the testimony of Jesus, a fitting description for the God-ordained relationship between angels and the Church of God. They should ever give us example of what that means. To return to our opening psalm excerpt, we find in the example of the holy angels an exhortation to truly worship God proclaiming his glory, honor and worthiness; to do His word, giving it careful heed and striving to understand it and bring it to pass in all its fullness; to ever be His ministers of salvation, delighting to do His will in every part of our own life; and to walk in faithfulness extending His dominion to the ends of our earth and to the depths of the hearts of men. Such is the true testimony of Jesus Christ in the hearts and lives of His servants.
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Remembrance Day September 21)
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means `I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Matthew 9:12-13
We often upbraid the world for neglecting the gracious gift of God's Son. The world's systems are devoid of real life, morally bankrupt, and yet the charade of life goes on as if everything were under control. James puts it rather succinctly in James 4:2 "You do not have because you do not ask." When we do detect any turning of those in the world to Jesus Christ, we are quick to applaud it. Yet James cautions us further in verse 3. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." There are times when it suits the unregenerate of the world to court the favor of Jesus Christ, to quote from the Word of God, to put on the outer trappings of acceptable religion. It may be political expediency, it may be inner turmoil, it may be acute practical need that forces them to do so. In such cases we must not be too quick to declare a conversion, because the coming to Jesus Christ must, at first, be for one purpose only, to have one's sins forgiven. As the Apostle John declared at the manifestation of Jesus Christ, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ (John 1:29). Or as Paul wrote concerning the gospel in I Corinthians 15:3 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures..." Jesus Christ can be many things - healer, friend, comforter, confidant - but first He must be Savior. And it is the man who is willing to bow his head and mourn for his own sinfulness, whose only prayer is "God be merciful to me a sinner" who will possess the kingdom of God. Such a man was Matthew, the tax collector.
The New Testament only mentions Matthew seven times with four of the references being to list him with the chosen apostles. This much we can glean. He names himself Matthew, the "gift of Yahweh" in the gospel which bears his name. The gospels of Mark and Luke refer to him as Levi, the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Mark identifies him as the son of Alphaeus. His calling is recorded for us in Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27. Matthew records that Jesus crossed over [the lake] and came to His own city (Matthew 9:1) which Mark identifies as Capernaum (Mark 2:1). It was in Capernaum of Galilee that Matthew collected taxes for the Romans under Herod Antipas' rule. He was therefore by residence a Galilean, although the historian Eusebius, declares that he was Syrian by birth. And it is here in Capernaum that the gospels record that Jesus went out, took notice of one sitting at the receipt of custom, and said "Follow Me." The record is consistent. Matthew stood and followed at the Lord's command, Luke adding that he left everything behind. The gospel accounts then state that Matthew gave a great feast (Luke calling it a reception) at which Jesus and His disciples were honored guests. Matthew is honest in his account, recording that the feast was filled with other tax-gatherers and sinners. He does not exempt himself from these categories. It is an honest evaluation from an open heart.
And at this feast, the Lord is first challenged by the Pharisees for eating with sinners, to which He replies that it is the sick, not the righteous who need healing. He is then challenged by the disciples of John who ask why both they and the Pharisees fast while the Lord's disciples do not. To this He answered that the marriage attendants cannot mourn and fast while the bridegroom is among them. How much in conflict was the message of Jesus Christ to the status quo of religion and self discipline. Their conceptions of the Messiah-Savior were so shallow that Jesus likened it to trying to put new wine into old wine skins. The old wine skins of Phariseeism could not contain the fullness of the Kingdom which He was proclaiming. He stood ready to give not only the new wine of the kingdom, but also a new vessel to contain it. All this Matthew took in and by the end of the feast we must judge that his heart was that new vessel.
Matthew has been called the evangelist to the Hebrews. When he looked upon Jesus Christ he saw the true Messiah, the one in Whom all the promises of God were both revealed and fulfilled. For him the question asked later by John the Baptist "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" was never an issue. His entire gospel reflects his conviction from its first sentence which proclaims it as the "book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matthew exalted Jesus Christ from the very beginning as the holy seed promised to Abraham in which all the nations of the earth would be blessed, and also as the one who would sit upon the throne of his father David, whose kingdom would have no end. This was the Lord who made covenant. Matthew undergirded this theme by making generous use of the Old Testament, and he was especially fond of quoting the prophets making it clear that what was spoken by them was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His gospel was the first written, probably about 40 to 50 A.D. The Church Fathers of the first three centuries claim that the gospel was written in Hebrew specifically for the Jewish nation, and Pantaneus in 180 AD claims to have seen a copy of this Hebrew gospel in southern Arabia, borne there by Bartholomew in his missionary journeys. Regardless of which language it was first written in, Matthew's only purpose was to "preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children..." (Acts 13:32).
Why does the good news not grab at the hearts of our generation? Perhaps it is because this generation has lost the dread of sin and its effects. Perhaps we are so sin-deadened that we have grown somewhat tolerant of our condition. How can there be any good news after all, if there is not first a recognition of bad news? I think it is interesting that in all of the lists of the apostles (there are four, Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13), Matthew alone chooses to list himself as "Matthew, the tax-gatherer". This was not a title to be proud of. Matthew recorded the Lord's rebuke for the unrepentant brother in Matthew 18:17 "Let him be to you as a heathen and a tax-gatherer." He understood the title to be a curse upon his soul. But to Matthew this was only one more testimony of how mighty the grace of God was, in that it could restore even such a one as he to righteousness. Perhaps it is Matthew's life we find mirrored for us in a story, more than a parable, which the Lord told and which is recorded in Luke 18:10. We are left to ask how powerful is the grace of God in cleansing sin? How far down is it able to reach to restore a human soul? Consider the transformation. "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." In that moment a publican and notorious sinner was made an apostle and evangelist. May Matthew's life be ever an example for us that it is only the sinner, not the self righteous which can be healed, and it is to such that the promise of the Kingdom is ever given.
We often upbraid the world for neglecting the gracious gift of God's Son. The world's systems are devoid of real life, morally bankrupt, and yet the charade of life goes on as if everything were under control. James puts it rather succinctly in James 4:2 "You do not have because you do not ask." When we do detect any turning of those in the world to Jesus Christ, we are quick to applaud it. Yet James cautions us further in verse 3. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." There are times when it suits the unregenerate of the world to court the favor of Jesus Christ, to quote from the Word of God, to put on the outer trappings of acceptable religion. It may be political expediency, it may be inner turmoil, it may be acute practical need that forces them to do so. In such cases we must not be too quick to declare a conversion, because the coming to Jesus Christ must, at first, be for one purpose only, to have one's sins forgiven. As the Apostle John declared at the manifestation of Jesus Christ, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ (John 1:29). Or as Paul wrote concerning the gospel in I Corinthians 15:3 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures..." Jesus Christ can be many things - healer, friend, comforter, confidant - but first He must be Savior. And it is the man who is willing to bow his head and mourn for his own sinfulness, whose only prayer is "God be merciful to me a sinner" who will possess the kingdom of God. Such a man was Matthew, the tax collector.
The New Testament only mentions Matthew seven times with four of the references being to list him with the chosen apostles. This much we can glean. He names himself Matthew, the "gift of Yahweh" in the gospel which bears his name. The gospels of Mark and Luke refer to him as Levi, the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Mark identifies him as the son of Alphaeus. His calling is recorded for us in Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27. Matthew records that Jesus crossed over [the lake] and came to His own city (Matthew 9:1) which Mark identifies as Capernaum (Mark 2:1). It was in Capernaum of Galilee that Matthew collected taxes for the Romans under Herod Antipas' rule. He was therefore by residence a Galilean, although the historian Eusebius, declares that he was Syrian by birth. And it is here in Capernaum that the gospels record that Jesus went out, took notice of one sitting at the receipt of custom, and said "Follow Me." The record is consistent. Matthew stood and followed at the Lord's command, Luke adding that he left everything behind. The gospel accounts then state that Matthew gave a great feast (Luke calling it a reception) at which Jesus and His disciples were honored guests. Matthew is honest in his account, recording that the feast was filled with other tax-gatherers and sinners. He does not exempt himself from these categories. It is an honest evaluation from an open heart.
And at this feast, the Lord is first challenged by the Pharisees for eating with sinners, to which He replies that it is the sick, not the righteous who need healing. He is then challenged by the disciples of John who ask why both they and the Pharisees fast while the Lord's disciples do not. To this He answered that the marriage attendants cannot mourn and fast while the bridegroom is among them. How much in conflict was the message of Jesus Christ to the status quo of religion and self discipline. Their conceptions of the Messiah-Savior were so shallow that Jesus likened it to trying to put new wine into old wine skins. The old wine skins of Phariseeism could not contain the fullness of the Kingdom which He was proclaiming. He stood ready to give not only the new wine of the kingdom, but also a new vessel to contain it. All this Matthew took in and by the end of the feast we must judge that his heart was that new vessel.
Matthew has been called the evangelist to the Hebrews. When he looked upon Jesus Christ he saw the true Messiah, the one in Whom all the promises of God were both revealed and fulfilled. For him the question asked later by John the Baptist "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" was never an issue. His entire gospel reflects his conviction from its first sentence which proclaims it as the "book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matthew exalted Jesus Christ from the very beginning as the holy seed promised to Abraham in which all the nations of the earth would be blessed, and also as the one who would sit upon the throne of his father David, whose kingdom would have no end. This was the Lord who made covenant. Matthew undergirded this theme by making generous use of the Old Testament, and he was especially fond of quoting the prophets making it clear that what was spoken by them was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His gospel was the first written, probably about 40 to 50 A.D. The Church Fathers of the first three centuries claim that the gospel was written in Hebrew specifically for the Jewish nation, and Pantaneus in 180 AD claims to have seen a copy of this Hebrew gospel in southern Arabia, borne there by Bartholomew in his missionary journeys. Regardless of which language it was first written in, Matthew's only purpose was to "preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children..." (Acts 13:32).
Why does the good news not grab at the hearts of our generation? Perhaps it is because this generation has lost the dread of sin and its effects. Perhaps we are so sin-deadened that we have grown somewhat tolerant of our condition. How can there be any good news after all, if there is not first a recognition of bad news? I think it is interesting that in all of the lists of the apostles (there are four, Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13), Matthew alone chooses to list himself as "Matthew, the tax-gatherer". This was not a title to be proud of. Matthew recorded the Lord's rebuke for the unrepentant brother in Matthew 18:17 "Let him be to you as a heathen and a tax-gatherer." He understood the title to be a curse upon his soul. But to Matthew this was only one more testimony of how mighty the grace of God was, in that it could restore even such a one as he to righteousness. Perhaps it is Matthew's life we find mirrored for us in a story, more than a parable, which the Lord told and which is recorded in Luke 18:10. We are left to ask how powerful is the grace of God in cleansing sin? How far down is it able to reach to restore a human soul? Consider the transformation. "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." In that moment a publican and notorious sinner was made an apostle and evangelist. May Matthew's life be ever an example for us that it is only the sinner, not the self righteous which can be healed, and it is to such that the promise of the Kingdom is ever given.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Willingness of Jesus
Kathy and I are in transition regarding our participation in an established Christian fellowship and so, as is our current custom, we seek out churches to visit and worship with on occassion. This past Sunday we attended the First Baptist Church of Lebanon, NH where the pastor chose to speak on Jesus' encounter with a leper in Mark 1:40-45. I found one verse transition especially vivid, moving from verse 40 to 41. The leper falls on his knees before Jesus and says"If you are willing, you can make me clean." The next verse is instructive, most bibles translate it as "moved with compassion", Jesus reached out, touched him, and said "I am willing, be cleansed." The pew bible was Today's New International Version which interestly enough chose a variant translation used in only a few translations. It basically said that Jesus was indignant, which to me implies miffed, mildly angry, upset, irritated. Now this is not intended to be a bible exegesis post, it is simply to point out how nuances of meaning can be aduced from variant readings. The leper says, "If you are willing....", and the fact that Jesus may have been upset by this statement that implies that maybe Jesus would rather have the leper remain blemished and diseased, speaks to me that willingness is one of his prevalent attiributes, with availability being closely aligned. Perhaps the combination of those two attributes forms a working definition for true compassion, the preferred translation.
One more point. Let's not confuse will with willingness. While we might pray "if it be Your will" where we are uncertain of the outcome or direction, let us never doubt that Jesus is willing to make us clean whenever we seek him out and ask. His answer is to the point, "I am willing, be cleansed."
One more point. Let's not confuse will with willingness. While we might pray "if it be Your will" where we are uncertain of the outcome or direction, let us never doubt that Jesus is willing to make us clean whenever we seek him out and ask. His answer is to the point, "I am willing, be cleansed."
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Celebration Day August 6)
"...He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
Often times our Christianity becomes so familiar to us that we begin to sin presumptuously in the sight of God. We presume, for instance, to proclaim what His will is without seeking it fervently with prayer and fasting. We presume upon His grace to forgive our sins even as we have allowed ourselves to grow feeble or apathetic in our struggle against unrighteousness. We presume to constrain Him to bless or to heal us by quoting the word of God to the One Who was God the Word incarnate. In countless ways we have become all too familiar with the God that we serve and it is then that the prophet fittingly rebukes us and reminds us of our place. "With whom did He take counsel and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the balance.....Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers....." Isaiah 40:12-24. Or in the words of Solomon which begin our meditation, God restores His people by putting again a measure of eternity in our hearts. For just such a reason was the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured before His closest disciples.
Consider the setting for this miraculous event. It records in Matthew 17:1 "Now after six days...." and we must ask ourselves, six days after what? There are many candidates in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew for the starting point that we seek, but one which stands out is Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ. It was undoubtedly the high point of the disciples' growth in faith, but the scripture well exhorts us "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." ( I Corinthians 10:12) For shortly after this mighty confession, the Lord rebukes Peter for taking a heavenly vision and turning it so easily into an earthly viewpoint. "You are an offense to Me for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23) And it is just here that He once more sets eternity in their hearts as He proclaims "Assuredly I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Now this prophetic word has been applied to many events, but certainly there is no conflict in ascribing it in the most present sense to the Transfiguration which took place almost immediately afterwards.
The actual events of the Transfiguration are recorded for us in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 17:1-8a, Mark 9:2-10 and Luke 9:28-36). It would do us good to read all three accounts to get a fuller picture of what occurred that day. Matthew tells us that Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a high mountain by themselves. The early Church Fathers believed that this was Mount Tabor, other commentators have identified it as Mount Hermon. Regardless of the location, Luke adds the note that Jesus chose this location in order to pray. To pray about what? Certainly about the future, for only a week before this Jesus "began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer...and be killed and be raised again the third day." And as He prayed He was transfigured before them, His clothes becoming white as light, His countenance changing with glory shining out as the sun. This word transfigure is the Greek word "metamorphuo" from which we easily recognize our English word metamorphosis. It was a change not just in appearance, but in type and substance. One moment the Son of Man stood before them praying, the next the Son of God was clearly revealed. And as He stood there resplendent in glory, Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, or to use Jesus' words the truth and the spirit, conversed with Him. Luke tells us that they spoke of His "decease", His death, resurrection and ascension which was to take place in Jerusalem. The Apostle Peter responded to the vision before Him, and each of the three gospel writers records a different title which formed upon his lips as he beheld His glory...."Lord....Rabbi....Master...it is good for us to be here". Jesus was all those titles in that moment and more beside. Peter's is a classic understatement, perhaps because, as Mark records, they were greatly afraid; or as Luke concludes simply, because he did not know (to which we add, could not know) what he was saying. Upon them, then, came the cloud of Yahweh's presence, even as it had descended upon Sinai at the giving of the law. And as Moses and Elijah parted from Jesus Christ, from that cloud came the declaration of eternity that pierced their hearts, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him." We can gain an appreciation for the significance of this proclamation in light of what we read in Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past ....by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son."
And as suddenly as it began, so it ended, and they were alone with Jesus and He was speaking words of comfort to their fearful hearts. As they came down from the mountain, the Lord commanded them to tell the vision to no man until He had risen from the dead, thus securing the work of salvation for all time. And when they finally had leave to speak, what was it that they said? In John 1:14, John declares "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Or in I John 1:2 "...the life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us...." Peter is even more straightforward in II Peter 1:16-19 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [in the glory of His kingdom], but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain..."
God puts eternity in the hearts of His people that they might have, as Peter says, the prophetic word made more sure. It is a light that truly shines in a dark place until, as Paul says, "the veil is taken away...[and] we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [transfigured] into the same image from glory to glory..." (II Corinthians 3:17-18). Such a dramatic change in our character comes to pass as "the day dawns and the morning star [Jesus Christ] rises in our hearts.”
Often times our Christianity becomes so familiar to us that we begin to sin presumptuously in the sight of God. We presume, for instance, to proclaim what His will is without seeking it fervently with prayer and fasting. We presume upon His grace to forgive our sins even as we have allowed ourselves to grow feeble or apathetic in our struggle against unrighteousness. We presume to constrain Him to bless or to heal us by quoting the word of God to the One Who was God the Word incarnate. In countless ways we have become all too familiar with the God that we serve and it is then that the prophet fittingly rebukes us and reminds us of our place. "With whom did He take counsel and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the balance.....Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers....." Isaiah 40:12-24. Or in the words of Solomon which begin our meditation, God restores His people by putting again a measure of eternity in our hearts. For just such a reason was the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured before His closest disciples.
Consider the setting for this miraculous event. It records in Matthew 17:1 "Now after six days...." and we must ask ourselves, six days after what? There are many candidates in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew for the starting point that we seek, but one which stands out is Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ. It was undoubtedly the high point of the disciples' growth in faith, but the scripture well exhorts us "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." ( I Corinthians 10:12) For shortly after this mighty confession, the Lord rebukes Peter for taking a heavenly vision and turning it so easily into an earthly viewpoint. "You are an offense to Me for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23) And it is just here that He once more sets eternity in their hearts as He proclaims "Assuredly I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Now this prophetic word has been applied to many events, but certainly there is no conflict in ascribing it in the most present sense to the Transfiguration which took place almost immediately afterwards.
The actual events of the Transfiguration are recorded for us in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 17:1-8a, Mark 9:2-10 and Luke 9:28-36). It would do us good to read all three accounts to get a fuller picture of what occurred that day. Matthew tells us that Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a high mountain by themselves. The early Church Fathers believed that this was Mount Tabor, other commentators have identified it as Mount Hermon. Regardless of the location, Luke adds the note that Jesus chose this location in order to pray. To pray about what? Certainly about the future, for only a week before this Jesus "began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer...and be killed and be raised again the third day." And as He prayed He was transfigured before them, His clothes becoming white as light, His countenance changing with glory shining out as the sun. This word transfigure is the Greek word "metamorphuo" from which we easily recognize our English word metamorphosis. It was a change not just in appearance, but in type and substance. One moment the Son of Man stood before them praying, the next the Son of God was clearly revealed. And as He stood there resplendent in glory, Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, or to use Jesus' words the truth and the spirit, conversed with Him. Luke tells us that they spoke of His "decease", His death, resurrection and ascension which was to take place in Jerusalem. The Apostle Peter responded to the vision before Him, and each of the three gospel writers records a different title which formed upon his lips as he beheld His glory...."Lord....Rabbi....Master...it is good for us to be here". Jesus was all those titles in that moment and more beside. Peter's is a classic understatement, perhaps because, as Mark records, they were greatly afraid; or as Luke concludes simply, because he did not know (to which we add, could not know) what he was saying. Upon them, then, came the cloud of Yahweh's presence, even as it had descended upon Sinai at the giving of the law. And as Moses and Elijah parted from Jesus Christ, from that cloud came the declaration of eternity that pierced their hearts, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him." We can gain an appreciation for the significance of this proclamation in light of what we read in Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past ....by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son."
And as suddenly as it began, so it ended, and they were alone with Jesus and He was speaking words of comfort to their fearful hearts. As they came down from the mountain, the Lord commanded them to tell the vision to no man until He had risen from the dead, thus securing the work of salvation for all time. And when they finally had leave to speak, what was it that they said? In John 1:14, John declares "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Or in I John 1:2 "...the life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us...." Peter is even more straightforward in II Peter 1:16-19 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [in the glory of His kingdom], but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain..."
God puts eternity in the hearts of His people that they might have, as Peter says, the prophetic word made more sure. It is a light that truly shines in a dark place until, as Paul says, "the veil is taken away...[and] we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [transfigured] into the same image from glory to glory..." (II Corinthians 3:17-18). Such a dramatic change in our character comes to pass as "the day dawns and the morning star [Jesus Christ] rises in our hearts.”
St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Remembrance Day August 24)
"And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico...and all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number....." Acts 5:12-14
Christianity is a religion of power. If it were not so, then it could in no way contend with sin, Satan and death for dominion over the human soul. Truly the weapons of Christ's warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, as Paul says in II Corinthians 10:3-5. So true is this that Jesus proclaimed that the Church had been founded upon the rock, and the gates of hell would not prevail against her. But power of this sort can deceive the unregenerate heart. Thus we read of Simon Magus (known to the common people as the Great Power of God) , a practitioner of earth magic, who, when confronted with the true power of God the Holy Spirit, thought that such power was available for purchase and was pronounced by Peter to be "in the bondage of iniquity." (Acts 8:9-24) Even to the regenerate heart, such power is a temptation. For power focuses attention, and attention sows the seed of pride, and pride brings forth ambition, and ambition seeks to turn the things of God into that which can be bartered (we get the word "simony", the buying or selling of sacred things from Simon Magus). We can see such abuses in the circus atmosphere which sometimes surrounds charismatic-type gatherings. You almost feel as if you were watching a performer rather than a minister of Jesus Christ. And the popularity of so many television ministers that seem more intent on building up an earthly empire rather than the kingdom of God seems a perversion of the gospel. But the ministry of divine power does not always have to focus upon the one presuming to hold it. If a soul is transparent enough it is incapable of taking to itself any honor or benefit, and the divine power associated with the preaching of the gospel becomes only the glory of God shining forth unto salvation. We see that trait of transparency recorded of the apostles in our opening scripture. And in that circle of apostles was one man surnamed Bartholomew.
So transparent was this apostle that we can scarcely find anything recorded of his life in either the New Testament or Church tradition. We know simply that he is named in the lists of those called apostles by Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:12-16 as Bartholomew, a surname which is literally Bar Tolmai, or son of Tolmai. His proper name is never clearly given, but many biblical commentators feel that he is one and the same with Nathanael whom we read about only in the gospel of John (John 1:43-51). The evidence for this is compelling, but not conclusive. Three main points can be made for this identification. First, the calling of Nathanael as recorded in John 1:43-51 is certainly of the type which is recorded of other of the apostles. Second, it was the apostle Philip who sought out Nathanael to bring him to Jesus, and in each of the three apostolic lists mentioned above, Philip and Bartholomew are always paired together. Finally, the second mention of Nathanael is at the end of the gospel of John (John 21:2) where he is present with other of the named apostles on the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the account of John 1 noted above, we get the impression of a man who studied the scriptures and earnestly sought for the manifestation of the Kingdom of God as promised within its pages. He was of the same genre as Simeon in the account of Luke 2:25, a man who was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. To such a one came Philip with a startling declaration "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth...." It was not unbelief which tempered his response, but a knowledge of God's word. Could the Messiah come forth from Nazareth? The invitation of Philip laid aside any speculation at that point, "Come and see." And it is at this point that we hear the Lord's assessment of this man's heart. "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." Here was a Jew indeed circumcised in the heart, as Paul teaches in Romans 2:28-29, whose praise is not from men, but from God. And hear what praise comes from the Son of God! Here is one in whom there is no guile, no hidden traps, no deception, no subtlety. In a word, here was one who was transparent. Nathanael Bar Tolmai's response is forthright "You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel." Jesus acknowledges his response of faith and notes that it was based on the smallest of signs. Then He promises that he would see even greater signs than those, and He implies in such a promise that Bartholomew's faith will also thus be increased to the glory of the Son of Man.
Here the scriptural record stops, and we must turn to what little Church tradition we can gain from the historian Eusebius. In his History of the Church (Book 5, Chapter 10) it is recorded that Bartholomew preached in the barbarian east, traveling as far as India in his preaching (for in the third century another missionary traveled to India and found a copy of the gospel of Matthew in use in that region, supposedly having been carried there by Bartholomew in his evangelistic travels). He is credited with spreading the gospel in Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Armenia, Lyaconia, Phrygia, and along the shores of the Black Sea. Tradition tells us that he died at Albanopolis in Armenia being flayed alive and crucified by a nobleman related to the king. His crime worthy of death?.... being persuasive enough in his witness for the Lord to bring the king of Armenia into the fold of Christ.
The gospel reading for St. Bartholomew's day in Luke 22:24-30 reminds us that even the apostles of the Lord were subject to wrongly place ambitions. They argued amongst themselves as to who was to be accounted the greatest. I believe it was one argument in which Bartholomew took no part, for his heart could hide no such inclinations in the presence of His Lord. He coveted no honor, he desired no titles save one, apostle, one sent out at the hand of and to the work of a greater Lord. He will always be to us an example of that man of God who has no veil over his heart, but beholds, as Paul says in II Corinthians 3:18 the glory of the Lord, and is thus transformed into the same image from glory to glory....in a word, he becomes transparent. May we also resolve to leave behind any false ambitions which we may have picked up concerning our own spiritual worth to the kingdom of God and pray only as the psalmist does in Psalm 51 "Create in me a clean heart, O God...", that is, a heart which can hold no guile. Once that is true of our life, then we, with Bartholomew can continue on in the declaration of that Psalm "then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You." (Psalm 51:10-13)
Christianity is a religion of power. If it were not so, then it could in no way contend with sin, Satan and death for dominion over the human soul. Truly the weapons of Christ's warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, as Paul says in II Corinthians 10:3-5. So true is this that Jesus proclaimed that the Church had been founded upon the rock, and the gates of hell would not prevail against her. But power of this sort can deceive the unregenerate heart. Thus we read of Simon Magus (known to the common people as the Great Power of God) , a practitioner of earth magic, who, when confronted with the true power of God the Holy Spirit, thought that such power was available for purchase and was pronounced by Peter to be "in the bondage of iniquity." (Acts 8:9-24) Even to the regenerate heart, such power is a temptation. For power focuses attention, and attention sows the seed of pride, and pride brings forth ambition, and ambition seeks to turn the things of God into that which can be bartered (we get the word "simony", the buying or selling of sacred things from Simon Magus). We can see such abuses in the circus atmosphere which sometimes surrounds charismatic-type gatherings. You almost feel as if you were watching a performer rather than a minister of Jesus Christ. And the popularity of so many television ministers that seem more intent on building up an earthly empire rather than the kingdom of God seems a perversion of the gospel. But the ministry of divine power does not always have to focus upon the one presuming to hold it. If a soul is transparent enough it is incapable of taking to itself any honor or benefit, and the divine power associated with the preaching of the gospel becomes only the glory of God shining forth unto salvation. We see that trait of transparency recorded of the apostles in our opening scripture. And in that circle of apostles was one man surnamed Bartholomew.
So transparent was this apostle that we can scarcely find anything recorded of his life in either the New Testament or Church tradition. We know simply that he is named in the lists of those called apostles by Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:12-16 as Bartholomew, a surname which is literally Bar Tolmai, or son of Tolmai. His proper name is never clearly given, but many biblical commentators feel that he is one and the same with Nathanael whom we read about only in the gospel of John (John 1:43-51). The evidence for this is compelling, but not conclusive. Three main points can be made for this identification. First, the calling of Nathanael as recorded in John 1:43-51 is certainly of the type which is recorded of other of the apostles. Second, it was the apostle Philip who sought out Nathanael to bring him to Jesus, and in each of the three apostolic lists mentioned above, Philip and Bartholomew are always paired together. Finally, the second mention of Nathanael is at the end of the gospel of John (John 21:2) where he is present with other of the named apostles on the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the account of John 1 noted above, we get the impression of a man who studied the scriptures and earnestly sought for the manifestation of the Kingdom of God as promised within its pages. He was of the same genre as Simeon in the account of Luke 2:25, a man who was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. To such a one came Philip with a startling declaration "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth...." It was not unbelief which tempered his response, but a knowledge of God's word. Could the Messiah come forth from Nazareth? The invitation of Philip laid aside any speculation at that point, "Come and see." And it is at this point that we hear the Lord's assessment of this man's heart. "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." Here was a Jew indeed circumcised in the heart, as Paul teaches in Romans 2:28-29, whose praise is not from men, but from God. And hear what praise comes from the Son of God! Here is one in whom there is no guile, no hidden traps, no deception, no subtlety. In a word, here was one who was transparent. Nathanael Bar Tolmai's response is forthright "You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel." Jesus acknowledges his response of faith and notes that it was based on the smallest of signs. Then He promises that he would see even greater signs than those, and He implies in such a promise that Bartholomew's faith will also thus be increased to the glory of the Son of Man.
Here the scriptural record stops, and we must turn to what little Church tradition we can gain from the historian Eusebius. In his History of the Church (Book 5, Chapter 10) it is recorded that Bartholomew preached in the barbarian east, traveling as far as India in his preaching (for in the third century another missionary traveled to India and found a copy of the gospel of Matthew in use in that region, supposedly having been carried there by Bartholomew in his evangelistic travels). He is credited with spreading the gospel in Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Armenia, Lyaconia, Phrygia, and along the shores of the Black Sea. Tradition tells us that he died at Albanopolis in Armenia being flayed alive and crucified by a nobleman related to the king. His crime worthy of death?.... being persuasive enough in his witness for the Lord to bring the king of Armenia into the fold of Christ.
The gospel reading for St. Bartholomew's day in Luke 22:24-30 reminds us that even the apostles of the Lord were subject to wrongly place ambitions. They argued amongst themselves as to who was to be accounted the greatest. I believe it was one argument in which Bartholomew took no part, for his heart could hide no such inclinations in the presence of His Lord. He coveted no honor, he desired no titles save one, apostle, one sent out at the hand of and to the work of a greater Lord. He will always be to us an example of that man of God who has no veil over his heart, but beholds, as Paul says in II Corinthians 3:18 the glory of the Lord, and is thus transformed into the same image from glory to glory....in a word, he becomes transparent. May we also resolve to leave behind any false ambitions which we may have picked up concerning our own spiritual worth to the kingdom of God and pray only as the psalmist does in Psalm 51 "Create in me a clean heart, O God...", that is, a heart which can hold no guile. Once that is true of our life, then we, with Bartholomew can continue on in the declaration of that Psalm "then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You." (Psalm 51:10-13)
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