Suffering with Jesus

You are not like Jesus. You will continue to sin. But you will say about every sin of yours, "It is not mine; it belongs to Jesus..."

But will not the remembrance of past sins continue to trouble you? I once told a mass-murderer the story of the two brothers... in which the older [demanded to put on the bloody clothes of the younger who had just murdered someone and was executed in his place], asking from him only one thing: to live henceforth, in the white garment which he had left him, an unspotted life. The murderer became a Christian. I asked him sometime later if he was joyous at having been freed of his past through the sacrifice of Christ, our older Brother. His answer was, "I will be joyous only when an occasion arises in which I am able to play to another sinner the role of the older brother and suffer for him." The occasion presented itself, and he became a happy man.

You can be happy even without such special occasions. Every man who becomes a Christian becomes an innocent sufferer because he bears punishment he no longer deserves. Immanuel Kant wrote, "The criminal has a right to punishment." A former murderer, liar, adulterer, drunkard, or sinner of whatever kind will continue to suffer the results of his past life even after his conversion. Through repentance he has become an entirely new creature who normally would not have to suffer. The sorrows and pains which the new man suffers for the old man are a continuation of the sufferings of Christ. Do not worry: you will have your part of suffering and also the joy of being able to suffer.

[And] you will have been saved from all your sins.

[RW, LNWLEO, (c)1974]

Irrational Obedience

"When all our enemies heard about this [the rebuilt wall], all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." (Nehemiah 6:16)

The reason for this fear and trembling, this loss of self-confidence on the part of the surrounding nations was this: these weak Israelites were commanded something they were unable to do. When they obeyed anyway, the wall was completed and others around them knew that the only plausible explanation was Him. And we know that many did not obey, but gave up their wall building and returned to exile. This was quite rational from a human perspective; obedience usually involves some irrationality.

If this is not happening in our lives and mission, it is surely because we are only doing the things that are possible for us. And we often call them God's work even when their accomplishment doesn't require His work. These works are really not even about Him at all -- they are, if we are honest, about us and what we can accomplish.

This is extremely hard to accept and to live. Because it's not just that we are unable to complete the work without His help; without a miracle, we can't even begin it! How shall we make plans for and set ourselves to do the impossible?

We know that true obedience to any commandment or calling is humanly impossible. We read that the people "worked with all their heart" (4:6); the Hungarian Bible renders this as, "worked in a good mood"! Unless God works the impossible, obedience with our whole heart, joyful obedience, cannot happen. And those around us will not see God and lose confidence in themselves.

[AV, 2009]

Not safe at all

"Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, 'What did Moses command you?' ...In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again." (Mark 10:1-3, 10)

Crowds "gathered around Him again;" "according to His custom" He began to teach them "once more." The disciples, later, "began questioning Him again." In my relationship with Jesus, He loves to teach me, again and again. It is His custom, His habit, His delight. I, like the crowd and the disciples, should be in the position of always wanting to learn from Him, always asking Him, always willing to recognize that even after He has explained, I often still don't understand, (as the disciples so often still didn't understand) and to say to Him, "Please, teach me." Is this how I come to Him? Or do I think I understand things pretty well?

Jesus asks the Pharisees, "What did Moses command you?" Why? Was it some kind of teaching technique? Did He not know what Moses commanded? Was He trying to catch them out?

Maybe He simply cared about them. They ask a question; He responds with, "What do you know/think about the issue? Let's talk. Tell me your opinion. Let me stand where you are standing." He enters into their space, their world. The believer should never talk to the non-believer from a distance. We are not to stand and say, "I am over here with God -- come over and join us." Rather, we are to go to the side of our unbelieving friend and say to God, "We are here together -- please come to us both." We can't expect the non-believer to easily enter into our world -- from where would they have the power to do that? But we are to go to them, just as Jesus came to us. We are to go to them, even when they are being a bit tricky, even when they are maybe "testing" us.

The goal for Jesus was not to communicate with the people around Him but to invite them to be in communion with Him. To share His body with them as He did on the cross. ...For Jesus, to live in communion with those around Him, it was not safe at all. This is the story of the Gospels. It was not safe at all for Him to share everything in His life.

[GEN, 2004]