Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from “The Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide” is titled “Signs of Divinity”. In this lesson, we look “at three of the greatest signs of Jesus’ divinity” (Quarterly for Sabbath). In Sunday’s lesson, a parallel is made between the feeding of the five thousand and Moses ministry to the Children of Israel in the wilderness. A parallel “between Jesus and Moses. That is, what did Jesus do here that should have reminded the people of the deliverance that their ancestors had received through the ministry of Moses?” (Quarterly for Sunday). The quarterly goes on to site various examples of the parallels. The point is made at the bottom of the page that these signs and wonders “should have had special meaning for the Jewish people”. Alas, the connection between “the things of God” and what is seen in front of our eyes, is still not easily construed by us today, either. God works every day in front of our eyes, but we usually do not see it… except in retrospect.
In Monday’s lesson, the people again seem to miss the connection between the “I am” statements of Christ and the “great I AM” statement of God to Moses in Exodus 3. However, the leaders surely see it as recorded in John 8: 58-59. When Christ utters that moniker, the leaders want to kill Him. A clear indication that they truly understood what Christ meant.
In the bottom half of Monday’s lesson, there is a statement that the people misinterpreted Christ’s refusal “to be Israel’s king”. In that whole paragraph the case is made that the people “opened their hearts to unbelief, and the seed which Satan has sown bore fruit of its kind in misunderstanding and defection” (Quoting “The Desire of Ages” pg. 385). EGW is not saying we need to accept all things from all people who claim to be sent from God. After all, we truly need to be cautious skeptics, especially today. Today we see “the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders… “(2 Thessalonians 2: 9). God would not have us just accept anyone’s claims. He would have us know Him. Because by this “knowing”, the truth becomes evident. Being skeptical is part of our God-inspired spiritual “sight”. “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5: 20).
This for me is the overarching lesson to be gained this week. Not to know about God. Not to know how He will work or how He will come. But, to know Him. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). It is the undergirding of everything. If we know God, then the evidences reviewed in this week’s lessons would lead to believing on Jesus Christ His Son. However, if we do not know God then any evidences will be cause for disbelief.
So much of our misunderstanding about God is because of misinterpretation of Scripture… even from the pulpit. As sinners, pastors and people alike have viewed God through a faulty set of lenses. We have interpreted Him with pagan eyes, pagan minds and pagan hearts. Read in a certain light, Scripture seems to support those pagan ideas. Ideas like “retribution” or “payment of penalty”. These are pagan concepts carried into our understanding (rather misunderstanding) about God. Even in this week’s lesson, the quarterly maintains that, “on the cross, the punishment that we deserved because of our sins fell on Jesus instead” (Sunday’s lesson). When proclaimed from the pulpit, this statement gets a hearty “AMEN” from the “faithful”. But Christ’s death was not to pay a penalty. Christ’s death was to demonstrate that “Sin pays its servants: the wage is death” (Romans 6:23 Phillips). God dies with us, not instead of us. Christ assures us that “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). This is not Christ dying instead of me, instead of you. But with me, with you. We are to die, too.
I know you all have heard me repeat this over and over. I repeat this because the church’s problem is lukewarm-ness. God’s remedy for this lukewarm-ness is given in Revelation 3: 20; “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”. The word “dine” means to “consume” (God is not talking about food here or some cordial interaction over a meal). He is talking about consuming all that keeps us apart from Him. All “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Assuredly He won’t do this without us like some legal agreement. It can only be accomplished… me with Him and Him with me. I need to be willing to open the door to my sinful heart and mind and let “me” die with “Him”. This is the remedy for all the misunderstanding.
May we come to know Him as is our privilege… and die with Him as is our privilege. We cannot die to sin alone, else we would be dead. We die with Him so that we will have His life as our own instead of our polluted selves. Die every day, just as Jesus said.
With brotherly love,
Jim