Some Lesson’s are Harder to Learn

Sometimes, for whatever reason, some lessons in our life are harder to learn that others are. Whether it is because of our personality or the fact that it gets harder to change as one gets older, sometimes we need to take unusual means to be trained in the way we should go. In Scripture, there are some people where the Lord took unusual measures to make sure they never forgot the lesson.

Ya’acov (Jacob): He spent a long time manipulating and being manipulated. The list is much too large: his father and mother, his brother Esau, his wives and his father-in-law. His life to that point was one of constant struggle to get the best of others. Yet Jacob must have realized that he was not doing something right because he decided to set things right with his brother Esau. The internal struggle in him was graphically dramatized by having an all-night wrestling match with the Angel of the Lord, which is the Lord Himself, Yeshua. When the Lord pronounced the statement that Ya’acov had struggled with God and Man and had overcome, He was saying that Jacob was learning the lesson. To make sure that the message would never be forgotten, the Lord wrenched the socket of one of Ya’acovs hip. Now his pain and limping would be a constant reminder of the lesson and a guarantee that Jacob would never return to the way he used to be.

Kefa (Peter): Loyal and headstrong, Kefa was zealous for the Lord. Willing to take some risks and make mistakes, he sometimes leapt before he looked. When Yeshua (Jesus) prophesied that Kefa would betray the Lord, Peter was certain that it would never happen. Later, after Yeshua was arrested, Peter did in fact betray the Lord. When the rooster crowed and Peter remembered the prophecy, he must have gone into shock when he realized that he had indeed turned his back on Yeshua. Coming to the end of himself and because of his shame, Kefa wept uncontrollably. After the resurrection, Yeshua restored Peter. Now wherever Peter went the crowing of the rooster would be a reminder of the grace of God and a guarantee that Peter would never return to the way he used to be.

Paul’s (Shaul) thorn in the flesh: No one knows exactly what the thorn was, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the purpose of the thorn in the flesh: to keep Paul humble and dependant on the Lord. The thorn in the flesh was a constant reminder to Paul of his weakness and of the grace of God. It would serve as a guarantee that he would not return to the world of pride in himself and his accomplishments.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Messiah can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Messiah. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2Corinthians 12: 8-10 (New Living Translation – NLT – Messianic terms added.

How Blunt Were James and John?

I was recently reading the books of James (Ya’acov) and 1 John (1 Yohanan) and I couldn’t help but notice the type of wording and phrasing they were using. They were loving but frank and blunt. When it came to living the life that Yeshua (Jesus) expected people to live, they were upfront about their beliefs. Either you lived it or you didn’t. They weren’t asking for perfection, they just wanted you to live your life completely for Yeshua.

How blunt were James and John? Look at these verses (bold type added):
“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless.” James 1:26 (New Living Translation – NLT)

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? James 2:14 NLT

“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?” James 4:4 NLT

“Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged, for look-the Judge is standing at the door.” James 5:9 NLT

“If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.” 1John 2:4 NLT

“If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a brother, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.” 1John 2:9-11 NLT

Their attitude is similar to Yeshua’s statement in the book of Revelation. In that letter, Yeshua told the congregation in Laodicea to make a choice, be white hot or completely cold. By the way, while we are on the subject, Yeshua and His disciples expect you to be honest about where you stand – no pretending please. The very concept of calling yourself a disciple of Yeshua and not living completely for Yeshua was ridiculous to James and John, an oxymoron. The emissaries (apostles) of Yeshua considered the outcome of repentance and salvation to be a life lived radically and totally for Yeshua.

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24: 14-15 (NKJV)

Grow Up!

“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Messiah. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, ‘I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 (New Living Translation – NLT) adapted

Saul (Paul) first visited Corinth during his second journey when he was setting-up and building congregations in the Roman Empire. When Saul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he was at the end of his third journey. Therefore, when the Corinthian congregation received this letter, most likely several years had passed from his first visit. By this time, the Corinthian congregational community had deteriorated significantly.

Some of the issues Saul was dealing with in the letter include:

• People were bragging about following the teachings of specific people instead of following Messiah. They became proud of certain leaders at the expense of others without realizing that we are all part of the body of Messiah.
• They tolerated gross immorality. It was so bad that they were allowing things that even pagans wouldn’t tolerate. Making matters worse, they were proud of themselves instead of hanging their heads in shame.
• Members of the congregation were suing one another in civil court. Saul stated that when followers of Yeshua do this they are already defeated.
• They seemed to be inconsiderate, insensitive and thoughtless of other believers. It may have been so bad that they seemed oblivious to the fact they were destroying the faith of others.
• Their congregational worship was chaotic at best and so was their taking of the Lord’s Supper (Seder).

Simply put, they were not walking in love (1Corinthians 13) and they were not following scripture. In short, they were ignoring God.

In the midst of all this daily chaos comes a lengthy letter from Saul. It had been several years since they had seen him. They must have gathered as a group to hear what Saul had to say in his letter. Among many other things, they also heard something along these lines:

When I visited you for the first time you were new believers in Messiah. I couldn’t tell you about the deep things of the Lord. You were not ready for that. However, it has been several years and you should be acting like grown up people, mature followers of Yeshua. Instead, you are divided and fighting amongst yourselves, full of sin, pride and arrogance, inconsiderate and thoughtless to others. All I can say to you is: YOU’RE ALL STILL BEHAVING LIKE A BUNCH OF BABIES! SO GROW UP!”

The thing that keeps me sober when I read about the Corinthian congregation is how they so thoroughly slid into gross sin and didn’t even realize it or give it a second thought. They most likely started out making small compromises in their walk with the Lord. One compromise here, another one there. Each one may have seemed innocuous at the time, but a bunch of small compromises adds up to one giant compromise. Like the analogy of the boiling frog, they were killing themselves slowly but surely. Then one day the Lord Yeshua walks into the “room” and yells out: BY NOW YOU SHOULD BE MATURE DISCIPLES BUT YOU’RE ALL STILL BEHAVING LIKE A BUNCH OF BABIES!

Ouch! That hurts! It should.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Read Luke 10:30-37

When Yeshua (Jesus) told this parable to people, it must have been a considerable shock. The Samaritans and Jewish people were old and longstanding enemies. The very idea of either side helping the other would have been almost unthinkable to many.

We are so far removed from the events that we hardly ever think about how one side felt about the other. All we have to do is look at the current news to get an idea of how the Samaritans and the Jewish people felt about each other. At the moment, we can see numerous examples all over the world of ethnic and religious hatreds: Iraq, Ireland, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United States. Unfortunately, the list is endless. I am sure there are many people within each of these groups that are reaching out to the other side, there are also many who won’t.

Yeshua knew about the ancient hatreds. He could have easily made his point about being neighborly and hospitable with less extreme terms, yet He deliberately chose to shock the listeners. Scripture many times shows Yeshua deliberately using extreme examples to illustrate how serious He was. Examples include cutting off a body part rather than going to Hell or forgiving someone 490 times. He wanted people to be absolutely clear about what He meant in the particular situation.

When Yeshua was asked “…who is my neighbor?” The intent of his response could have easily been stated as: “Show mercy to people. Show it not just to your friends but to your enemies as well. I especially expect you to show it to your enemies. Be hospitable to them. Go the extra mile. Don’t just say ‘be warm and well fed’ but if they are hurt, pick them up off the ground and nurse them back to health. I expect you to go beyond your hatreds and show love and respect. Reconciliation and healing has to start with someone and I (Yeshua) expect it to start with YOU, my disciples.”

Frankly, Yeshua didn’t just say it to the people around Him at the time but to us as well. When we try to justify ourselves by rationalizing our anger and hatreds, He is saying the same thing: “Show mercy and hospitality not only to those you like but to those you don’t like. I expect it to start with YOU.”