Hearts to Perceive

Hebrews 2:8-9                   Isaiah 26:17-20                  Romans 8:24-28             John 16:16-24

Hearts to Perceive

Very few people seem able to face the various hurdles of life with an anticipation of a good conclusion. They cannot imagine anything good beyond their current struggle, suffering, or sorrow. 

The Israelites are a good example of this. Even though they had experienced the miraculous and supernatural liberating power of God – the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the annihilation of their enemies, the repeated miraculous interventions – and despite God’s obvious presence and provision – the pillar of cloud and fire, the manna, the supply of water, the theophanic manifestations at Mount Sinai – despite all this their faith and trust in God still broke down with each new challenge in the wilderness…a failure that eventually led to their fear-filled revolt following the negative report of ten of the twelve spies at the border of the Promised Land…and the divine judgment that consigned that generation to 40 years wandering in the wilderness.

In Deuteronomy 29:2-4, Moses provided the reason for this habitual breakdown as he addressed the people of Israel: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” According to Moses, despite all they had witnessed firsthand, the people did not respond appropriately because of their inability to make the connection between the events and the sovereignty of their God. This and other similar stories in the Scriptures expose the major flaw in the signs and wonders movement. Miracles do not necessarily produce faith and trust.  

God performed one miracle after the other throughout their journey from slavery in Egypt to liberty in the Promised Land, and yet their response to every challenge remained anxiety ridden and fear driven. Similarly, even though Jesus did so many signs during his lifetime, most of the people still did not believe in him. (John 12:37) You see, people don’t believe even when the humanly inexplicable stares them right in the face, because spiritual sight is only possible once the heart is changed. 

In our Gospel passage for today, we see a very similar situation unfolding as Jesus continued to teach his uncomprehending disciples. Like all those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ authority over both the natural as well as the supernatural and all those who had heard his teaching, they too struggled to understand because of their preconceived ideas. Their entrenched false presuppositions hindered their ability to perceive the truth.

In verse 16, Jesus once again attempted to show them the glorious victory that lay beyond the event of the cross. His ‘leaving’ and his ‘returning’ involved a multi-step process. The crucifixion was the first step in his divine design to nullify sin and death, and thereby defeat the devil…but beyond the crucifixion lay the resurrection and the enthronement of Jesus and his eternal reign over a renewed and renewing creation. 

But between the crucifixion and the resurrection lay a short yet soul-shattering period in which the disciples would no longer “see” Jesus as the one they had assumed him to be. Instead of a conquering king, they would see an apparent convicted criminal…instead of a liberating messiah, they would see yet another casualty of oppression…instead of a source of eternal life, they would see a dead body wrapped in a shroud and entombed in a borrowed grave. 

But then there was the promise. After the statement, “A little while, and you will see me no longer;” Jesus added: “and again a little while, and you will see me.” They would see him die…they would see him buried…but then they would see him resurrected! They would see him ascend to heaven to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. And they would see him fulfil his promise to send them his life-giving Holy Spirit. 

So, what Jesus was trying to explain in this verse was that the cross…his ‘leaving’… was the necessary means to the throne. The cross was the zenith of his ministry on earth and the focal point of his incarnation. But beyond the cross, all authority in both heaven and earth would be given to him…all things would be placed in subjection under his feet. The cross was inextricably linked to the crown. The cross was the glory of the throne.

The author of Hebrews linked the two as one in chapter 2:8-9. “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, (God) left nothing outside his control. (Of course,) at present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him….but we (do) see him [who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus,] we do see him crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” 

You see, there is no crown without the cross. Of course, the disciples only understood this after the fact as at this point in the Gospel story, all they saw was their messianic hopes and dreams and aspirations slowly crumbling away. 

And like a group of seminary students, all wanting to know more, but afraid to be the first to ask the question for fear of appearing to be senseless or stupid, they turned to each other and vainly pooled their ignorance. “What is he talking about?” “What does he mean?” Or if these were some of the students I have studied with, they would more than likely have said something like: “Could you, perchance, elucidate or extrapolate the metaphysical implications of his utterance as it pertains to the grand tapestry of existential inquiry.”

But God knows our inward thoughts even before we think them…even before there is a word on our tongues, he already knows it completely. (Psalm 139:1-6)…so Jesus knew they were extremely eager to enquire. Their reluctance to question him did not fool him…nor does ours, for that matter, and so, in the verses that follow, Jesus explained something we all struggle with from time to time. The mysterious connection between suffering and true everlasting joy.

Jesus told the disciples that initially, during the first while when they would see him no longer, they would experience real sorrow which would, no doubt, include the full range of emotions associated with grief. Shock, disbelief, profound sadness, numbness, a sense of unreality, anger, guilt, fear, insecurity, and blame. To them it would seem as if their whole world had been turned upside down. The wicked would appear to have won a great victory and the disciples would be plunged into a nightmarish existence as all their dreams were sealed up in a rock-hewn tomb with the dead body of their one-time Rabbi. With their cause apparently lost with no foreseeable future in view…with all their hopes and desires dashed on the rocks of a cruel reality…with no obvious way of picking up the pieces of their shattered lives, what else could they do but weep and lament?

What could be more final that death? While he was alive, there was hope…but once he breathed out his last there was nothing more to hold onto. Its over…pack up the fragments of what’s left of you and move on to somewhere else. That is what the devil would have wanted them to believe…that’s what the world would have wanted them to believe…but Jesus promised them that their sorrow would soon be overtaken by something far beyond their wildest imaginations.

To illustrate his point, Jesus used the analogy of a woman in childbirth. He likened their momentary sorrow with that of a mother in the throes of labour. Once her labour was completed, the trial or her “sorrow” of her previous hours faded as she embraced her bundle of joy.

Now the analogy is complete in and of itself, but Jesus used this particular picture for a specific reason. In Isaiah 26:17-18 we read: “Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O Lord; we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.” 

Can you see the connection here? Can you hear hope being dashed to pieces by despair? In both accounts, there was an anticipation of new life. There were definite symptoms pointing in that direction. But when push came to shove, pun intended, it all appeared to be hopeless…everything seemed to have been in vain…the pregnancy failed to deliver…instead of life it was flatulence. 

The disciples had been anticipating the kingdom…they had laboured for it and were willing to give their lives for it…but instead…they were defeated and deflated with nothing to show for their hope-filled three years with Jesus.

But Isaiah’s words did not end there. In verses 19 and following he continued with a great promise: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. (So) you who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.”

By using the analogy of a mother in childbirth, Jesus was purposefully redirecting his disciples’ muddled minds to this messianic promise. Scripture must always interpret Scripture. There is a reason why we have all the books in the Bible. There is a reason why Paul said, “ALL Scripture is profitable…” And remember that he was referring to what we now call the Old Testament as the New Testament was still being compiled at the time he was writing. 

If we believe that the New Testament is dissing or dismissing the Old Testament, then we have bought into a heresy. I cringe when I hear people say, “Oh, but that’s Old Testament”. What on earth is that supposed to mean? That it has ceased to be the very Word of God? That God got it wrong the first time and now he needs to correct himself? 

And no doubt someone will throw in a dietary law or a law relating to the rituals and sacrifices…as if that is supposed to be an intelligent argument. But it only proves a superficiality at best and an ignorance at worst. We would do well to understand that there is a difference between the word “fulfilment” and the word “abrogation” or “abolishment” (Matthew 5:17). We must assume a basic continuity between the Testaments unless there is a clear indication of discontinuity. So, we must ensure that we know all of Scripture so that we can rightly discern and interpret Scripture.

End of rant…

So, by using the analogy of a mother in childbirth, Jesus was purposefully redirecting his disciples’ muddled minds to this messianic promise in Isaiah. What seemed to them to be no more than wind, was, in fact, the very breath of God giving birth to the Church through the resurrection of the first born. Together with the body of Jesus, those in him would be raised up by the Holy Spirit in a way reminiscent of the creation of the first human. As God breathed life into Adam’s lifeless form, so too the Spirit breathed life into, not only Jesus’s lifeless form, but ours too. 

As Paul said in Romans 8:11, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies” and again in Ephesians 2:6-9, “he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”…and if we endure, he said to Timothy, we will reign with him. (2 Timothy 2:12)

Because of what Jesus did…because he “left” and then “returned”…because he died and was resurrected…because we are resurrected with him through the power of the same Spirit that breathed life into the first Adam…because of who we are in him and where we are in him, we can, as Paul says, “rejoice in our sufferings” because we know that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  (Romans 5:3-5) 

Nothing, dearest beloved brethren, nothing in all of creation can ever rob us of the joy Jesus gives to us because the cross was not some isolated or concluding event…the cross impacts all of existence as it was the beginning of the new creation, an age in which we who are in Jesus can know that constant presence of God which had previously only been possible in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. Life for those who are filled with God’s Spirit is a life shared with the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Once again, in an attempt to get the disciples to see the glory behind the sorrowful event about to overwhelm them, Jesus revealed to them the kind of joy they were to expect. First, there would be a joy of understanding. There would no longer be the need for these sorts of difficult explanations for those who walk in the Spirit because the indwelling Spirit would lead them in truth. The cross would rend open the heavens and grant us direct access to the very throne room of the Monarch of the universe. So, our joy, even in the midst of suffering and sorrow, is founded upon the knowledge that in God everything has a glorious goal and purpose.

Second, there would be a joy of efficacious prayer. Because of his victory on the cross, we can boldly approach the source and sustainer of all life through Jesus because he is the one and only true mediator between God and humanity. (2 Timothy 2:5) Jesus is the fulfilment of all the Old Testament laws pertaining to mediation…because he is both our sacrifice as well as our great High Priest, we no longer need doves, lambs, oxen, or other human mediators, regardless of how righteous they may be or may have been. 

As Hebrews 9:23 and following states: “(Jesus) has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” And so, our prayers are directly directed to the Father through the Son with the ever-present aid of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-28).

Beyond the sorrow lay a permanent joy. But looking at their crucified friend, the disciples would have seen nothing of the glory nor of the victory Jesus had told them about. Like their ancestors in the wilderness, their hearts could not perceive, neither could their eyes see, or ears hear. 

Can you identify with the disciples? How often haven’t we looked at something in life and seen nothing but darkness and despair? At that moment, it feels like life has taken us down a dark alley filled with all manner of terrors and joy is the furthest thing from our minds.

I think Jesus understands that. Notice that he never chastised the disciples throughout these dark predictions. He simply warned them that they would experience intense sorrow, but then added that their sorrow would turn into joy. (See Jeremiah 31) To them, that first night and that long seemingly endless Sabbath must have felt like years. Looking back, of course, they only saw three anxiety ridden days, but at the time, seconds must have dragged on like a lifetime. 

The worst struggle of all at times like these is that we search for answers…for reasons…for any kind of explanation that would help us comprehend why we have been overtaken by such unbearable grief. Very often, such an exercise is most unhelpful, as even if there was a reason, we would fail to fully understand it. Trauma is not usually alleviated by reason or logic or, cruellest of all, pep-talks. 

So, what do we do at a time like this? Jesus’ advice is that we firstly embrace our sorrow…truthfully and honestly and fully acknowledge it. In other words, do not deny the presence of the elephant in the room. We will experience sorrow – we will weep and lament – we will mourn and grieve. All too often we are told to ‘buck up’ or to ‘pull ourselves together’ or to ‘get a grip’ or to ‘fake it till we make it’. That’s appalling advice and the exact opposite of what Jesus says here. 

There will be sorrow, but as we grieve or struggle with whatever difficulty or insurmountable circumstance we have collided with, Jesus here encourages us to walk through the dark valley holding on to his promise of purpose. I truly believe that this is one of the reasons why God revealed himself to us through the stories of men and women just like us. There isn’t a human difficulty that we cannot find in the Bible, at least in principle. And that great cloud of witnesses help us to limp through our own personal tragedies because we know that if God never deserted them, so he will never desert us. 

The Lord who loves us promises us that every event in life, good or bad, is like a tool in his hand that he uses for our benefit. He can promise that because he has done so himself…he endured the cross because of the joy that he kept in focus throughout the ordeal. He pressed on through the pain because he knew the cross would give way to the crown. Yes, it is true that not all suffering or sorrow or strife may be removed in this life…not all will be healed, not all will be relieved…but we have a sure hope that will not fail and an eternity that nothing and no one can ever take away from us. 

God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19).  Whatever he has promised he will do. Whatever he has spoken, he will fulfil. Every word of God has proved true through the witness of those who have found refuge in him. But for us to be able to experience this truth, we need hearts to perceive. 

So, as you partake of the elements that remind us of the event that guarantees our eternal joy, pray to your Father, who gives generously to all who ask him, to grant you hearts to perceive his promises that triumph over suffering and sorrow.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024

Why Do We Exist?

Judges 2:1-3                          1 Corinthians 15:20-26                        John 16:5-15

Why Do We Exist?

A philosopher was once approached by one of his students. “Teacher,” the student said, “I’m no longer sure that I exist. Please, tell me, do I exist?” Without so much as an upward glance, the philosopher replied, “Who wants to know?”

Asking the right questions is part of growing up to maturity. As Proverbs 18:15 says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” God created us to be inquisitive, to seek knowledge, to pursue the truth. But, all too often, rather than discovering and creating a biblically inspired masterpiece ourselves through careful studious dialogue with the Word and the Holy Spirit, we opt for blindly following a paint-by-numbers lifestyle that is handed out to us by others that ultimately makes us forget why we exist as the Church.

Last week we spoke about the blindness of the world, but today I’d like us to think about the blindness of way too many believers. 

Prominent 20th-century Jewish theologian and philosopher, Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote in the introduction of his book, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism: “It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendour of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion--its message becomes meaningless.”

In this work, Heschel discusses the nature of religious experience and criticizes the ways in which organized religion can sometimes become stagnant and disconnected from its spiritual roots. He argues that religion loses its relevance and vitality when it becomes overly focused on ritual, authority, and tradition at the expense of genuine spiritual experience and moral engagement. 

While this may certainly be true of Judaism, is it not, at least in part, equally true of the modern Church? Have we perhaps forgotten that it is not about what we believe as much it is about whom we believe? To understand life, it is necessary to understand certain things about our Creator…and the best way to get to know our Creator is by getting to know Jesus because he is the clearest portrait we have of God…he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3) 

Recent research from the Cultural Research Centre at Arizona Christian University, specifically the American Worldview Inventory 2024, revealed that only 4% of American adults and 6% of self-identified Christians hold a fully consistent biblical worldview…with most Americans embracing a syncretistic approach, blending elements from various worldviews to form a personalized belief system.  

To bring this closer to home, according to Joep de Hart and Pepijn van Houwelingen’s study on Christians in the Netherlands: “Where certain tenets of faith are still endorsed, they are endorsed selectively, with little willingness to embrace Christian doctrines in their entirety.” 

The Scriptures reveal a God who is near…a God who is intimately involved in every aspect of his creation, ever moving towards restoring what had largely been lost in the Garden of Eden. But like the believer who limits God to the realm of ritual and rules the disciples seemed to have had an inadequate view of what Jesus was doing and what he would be doing in and through his followers, post-ascension. For the most part, 1st Century Judaism had retreated into the synagogues, the Temple, their oral laws, and their ethnocentric nationalism, and so one is not surprised when the Jewish followers of Jesus asked if he had come to restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). 

When Jesus first started to speak about leaving them, they peppered him with questions, but when his answers did not follow the paint-by-numbers system, they stopped. Which explains why he said in verse 5, “None of you ask me, ‘Where are you going?’” They had asked. He had explained. But because his explanations did not fit within the confines of their inadequate theology, they had not understood and consequently they shut down. 

I am sure you know the adage: “When at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.” Well, the same is true about the Christian life. When we stop asking questions, we stop learning, and when we stop learning, we stop growing, and when we stop growing, we stagnate, and when we stagnate that’s when we start to embrace a shallow one-dimensional faith…and it often shows in our willingness to conform to a non-biblical culture.

Jesus appears to indicate that the reason why they stopped asking questions was due to their sorrowful response to his earlier statements. What were they sorry about? More than likely they were sorrowful because he did not fit into the box they had assembled for the Messiah. He was leaving…which meant he was not about to overthrow the Roman oppressors and reestablish Israel to its former glory under David and Solomon. According to them, their Rabbi had missed his socio-religious cues and rather than exchanging their truncated nationalistic vision for his global vision, they stopped learning. It is hard to think outside the box when the box is of your own making.

In an attempt to help them step out from their trenches, Jesus then explained that what he had just told them about his leaving was actually to their advantage because his ascension would indicate the beginning of his universal reign. It would declare that, as the obedient second Adam, he had overturned what the disobedient first Adam had done. You see, by believing Satan rather than God, our collective ancestors had lost their right to exercise dominion over creation, but because of his humble and submissive life and death, Jesus, the God/Man, won back all authority in both heaven and earth and reissued the original creation mandate to bring the whole earth back into subjection to him (Matthew 28:18-20). And by pouring out the breath of God on his followers, Jesus would essentially create a renewed and renewing humanity with him being the new head and chief cornerstone of the new creation. 

 You see, like Adam, the followers of Jesus were meant to conquer and rule…not by the sword, but by the Spirit. Sadly, a failure to obey would result in a similar fate as that of Israel of old…compromise would lead to assimilation, to syncretism, and eventually to capitulation. Of course, the question had always been how such a tiny group of people could do what God required…the Israelites asked that question…the judges asked that question…but what Jesus was trying to get his disciples to understand here was that God’s people are never alone in their assignment. 

Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the world is confronted with an absolute authority given to Jesus by virtue of his victory on the cross. And this confrontation comes in the form of a conviction…a conviction focussing on three main areas. Sin, righteousness, and judgement.

The world may think that they sit in judgement of God and his people, but in reality, the truth is quite the reverse. The work of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church is in many ways the trial of the world. The call to the dock is a summons to repentance. 

As the Church proclaims by word and deed the truth of the Gospel, so the world hears the evidence against them. In the light of the truth as opposed to the lie they have embraced; their sin is exposed for what it is. The victory of the second Adam clearly points to the failure of the first. Only a fool would claim that there is not something wrong with the world. The brokenness of humanity is clearly evident in every one of us. We all malfunction at some or other point. 

But the proclamation of the Gospel exposes this glitch in the matrix, so to speak…it exposes sin for what it is…a rejection of the truth, not the ignorance of it. As Augustine apparently once said: “He who denies the existence of God, has some reason for wishing that God did not exist.”  The world rejects truth because truth demands change, and the world is not willing to change. When the Gospel is proclaimed, their blatant rejection is exposed, and the world is convicted of its sin.

Through the living testimony of the Church, the world’s inadequacy and insufficiency is revealed. The great cry of the Enlightenment was the seemingly infinite potential of humanity. As man had come of age, they thought, nothing could stop him now. But one global calamity after another dispelled that myth. We have been forced to look deep into the abyss of human depravity as we continue to butcher each other with a cruelty that reeks of sulphur. 

The so-called “innocence” or “rightness” of humanity is revealed as nothing but an empty lie. Righteousness is something that can only come through the cross of Jesus. Because his sinless sacrifice cancelled the penalty for sin, his righteousness is gifted to all who believe in him. The preaching of the Church declares a righteousness that can only be received, never attained.

The final area of conviction lies in the realm of judgement itself. The Gospel claims an exclusivity as far as salvation is concerned. No one can come to the Father except through the Son. By rejecting the free offer of salvation through Jesus alone, the world resigns itself to judgement. 

I think it really is a no-brainer to say that to resist God is futile. The ruler of this world was conquered at the cross…the principalities and powers of darkness were defeated and publicly humiliated. No matter what the devil may do today, his cause is lost. So, by rejecting Jesus the world willingly submits to following an impotent fool for a god. What’s more, this submissive affiliation implicates the world in the judgement that took place at the cross. By siding with Satan, the world becomes equally guilty of the murder of Jesus (see Acts 5:30). 

Now, the world might well ask, What authority do we have to say such things? In an age when tolerance means an inability to say anything of consequence, what gives the Church the right to confront the world with absolute truth? 

Well, basically, we have the authority to preach the Gospel because what we proclaim is the word of the Creator and Owner of all that exists. If the Church faithfully declares the word of God as revealed in the Scriptures, then we are his messengers and ambassadors. But we enter into perilous waters when we begin to proclaim our own word. Then we strip ourselves of his authority and open ourselves, not only to ridicule and mockery, but also prosecution and condemnation. 

As Paul said in Galatians 1:8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” In other words, let him be lumped together with the devil and his followers. A false representation of the Gospel, even if it has the best of intentions as its motive, carries the highest penalty of all as it is akin to murder of the soul. We do not have the liberty to change the Gospel in our attempt to make it more palatable to the world.

Not even the Holy Spirit speaks on his own authority! He only speaks what he hears! The Holy Spirit does not suffer from celebrity status syndrome! His role, as ours, is to point the world to Jesus whether they accept him or not.  As he is the Spirit of truth, he only reveals what is true, and, according to John 14:6, Jesus is the truth…but, according to Jesus in his high priestly prayer in John 17:17-19, it is God’s Word that is truth. While I do not wish to deify the Bible, I do think that it is impossible to separate what has been spoken from the speaker himself. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why John started his Gospel with the Word…in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Nevertheless, my point it that a Gospel that deviates from that Word is no Gospel at all. A denial of what is revealed in Scripture and in Jesus robs the message of its efficacy. There are many warnings in Scripture that tell us not to remove or add to God’s Word. Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.” Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Matthew 5:19, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” 

The Holy Spirit is not free to lead the Church in a new direction to suit the whims and fancies of the world. His task is to glorify Jesus and to take what is his and the Father’s and declare it to us. And as he guides us in the truth, we would do well to do the same. Also, as the truth will offend because it convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, so we should be prepared for a scornful or even a hostile response, but fear of such a response should not temper our proclamation of the truth. We must proclaim what we have received…no more and certainly no less.

However, it is important to note also that it is not our task to convict the world…that is the task of the Holy Spirit. It is our task to proclaim what he reveals to us in and through the Word. For this reason, the study and proclamation of God’s Word must always be directed by the same Holy Spirit who inspired it in the first place. 

Like our philosophy student whose faulty reasoning led him to ask a self-answering and self-evident question, it may be that our misdirected foci and our selective and syncretistic approach to a faith devoid of a genuine spiritual experience with a living God, has rendered us impotent and therefore incapable of fulfilling our Lord’s Commission despite having the most powerful force in all the universe living within us. Sadly, like the Israelites of old, the Church has largely failed to make disciples of the nations because it has forgotten the God who is with us…the God who has supplied us with all we need to complete the task… the God who leads us in all truth and who speaks to and through us, convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. 

We have forgotten that our God has chosen to bring about change through us, his Body, the Church as we have embraced a defeatist theology by retreating from the frontlines, begging God to remove us from the very place in which we are meant to shine as his light bearers. 

So much of what we say and do as the Church speaks of a decisive victory…but we live as if we are still in slavery. Every time we participate in the Eucharistic meal of Jesus, we are proclaiming his death…we are proclaiming his triumph over sin, death, and the devil…we are proclaiming his current universal reign until he comes again after he has placed all his enemies under his feet through the work of his heirs and co-regents.

What questions are we asking, dearest beloved brethren? Are we asking why we exist? Why we are here on planet earth? Why we are here in North-Holland? Or are we as resigned as the disciples and have stopped asking? 

If you are still astute enough to pursue the truth, I would like you to ponder a very simple question: Do you exist? If you are asking for guidance in truth, who is it that wants to know? Who are you in Jesus? Once you can answer those questions you will know why we are here in planet earth…why we are here in North Holland…why we, as the Church, exist.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024

Blind Hate

Psalm 69:1-15                       Romans 1:18-25                      John 15:18-16:4

Blind Hate

In his bestselling book, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, Tom Holland  explores the profound impact of Christianity on Western civilization and the modern world. Holland argues that many values and beliefs considered secular and universal today are deeply rooted in Christian theology and history. The book traces the influence of Christianity from antiquity through the medieval period to the modern era, emphasizing its enduring legacy, suggesting that even those who consider themselves secular have been and still are influenced by the moral and ethical foundations laid by the Christian tradition. 

But I would think it safe to say that Christianity has not only had a profoundly positive impact on the Western World…it has also influenced countless cultures in Africa, the Near East, the Far East, the Middle East, as well as central Asia in that scientific research, hospitals, universities, orphanages, hospice care, and many mercy ministries were all initially Christian applications of biblical teaching.

And yet, Christianity is possibly the most despised and hated religion in the world. According to Gordon-Conwell Resources and the World Christian Database, more than 70 million Christians have been martyred in the course of history, more than half having been killed in the 20th Century alone. In the 21st Century approximately 100,000 to 160,000 believers were killed each year. Roughly 1,093,000 Christians were killed worldwide between 2000 and 2010 alone. Open Doors reports that about 300 Christians are killed for their faith every month. An average of 214 church buildings and properties are destroyed every month. Over 700 cases of violence (beatings, kidnapping, rape, unwarranted arrests and imprisonments, forced conversion, etc) against believers are reported every month.  I could go on, but I think you get the point. True, there are other faiths that suffer persecution from time to time, but studies have shown that when  compared with other belief systems, Christianity is by far the most hated religion in the world.

However, it is interesting to note that at the time when John was writing his Gospel, the Roman Empire was largely religiously tolerant. For the most part, multiple faiths were not suppressed. People were fairly free to worship as they pleased as long as they did not display any form of rebellion or disloyalty. Jews especially were granted special dispensation, and, at first, Christians were considered a sect of Judaism. In other words, the persecution of the Early Church as recorded in Acts and some of the Epistles, prior to Nero’s decision to blame them for the disastrous fires in Rome in AD 64, was predominantly caused by zealous religious Jews. Non-Jewish persecution came much later than when this was originally recorded.

Jesus’ language in our Gospel passage is quite specific. The “world” here is defined as those who persecuted Jesus before persecuting his followers, those to whom he came and spoke to, those among whom he did miracles, those who had the Law, those who would cast believers out of their synagogues, and so on. Luke, Paul, and others wrote mostly about persecutions of Jewish origin. So, these persecutors were the disciples' fellow countrymen - their colleagues - their family members - their friends...

The fervour and forcefulness of this initial persecution is legendary. In a fierceness that makes your head spin, the opponents of Jesus and his early followers would stop at nothing to stamp out a faith that preached good news of freedom from sin and peace with God…a faith that manifested itself in caring, healing, helping, and liberating. They would often align themselves with unlikely allies, lie and coerce thugs to offer false evidence…they would violate their own law even while claiming to uphold it. Their hatred was a blind hate in that there was no reason or logic to it. 

Then again, other than a hatred of all that is wrong and destructive, hate usually is blind. 

Now, I am sure you all have noticed the abrupt switch from love to hate in this passage. In verse 17 Jesus gave them a command to love one another but then in the very next verse he warned them that those who loved him and each other would be recipients of an inevitable and unavoidable hatred. Perhaps the abrupt change indicates that hate, like love, is never more intense than when it is focused on a specific person or a specific people. 

Now, I just said that the hatred described here is inevitable and unavoidable. Indeed, that is the first thing Jesus said. This is because opponents of the Church will hate us because they first hated him. In this sense, hatred is inescapable. If we truly follow Jesus, we will provoke hatred from those who do not follow him. For this reason, rather than promise us a care-free life on this planet, Jesus gives us tools to help us maintain our equilibrium even amidst rejection and malice and violence. According to him, it is all a matter of focus and perspective. 

The first thing to note is that it is in the nature of our opponents to hate because they follow one whose entire mission has always been to overthrow the kingdom of the one who describes himself as love. If the one true God is love, as we believe, then it follows that those who are devoid of any knowledge of him will live in hatred. Consequently, we who follow this God of love will quite naturally attract malevolence because our mere existence exposes their vitriolic nature. 

True, I do believe that many times the Church has said and done things that deserve censure…indeed, the modern Church often seems to delight in doing things that range from mildly embarrassing to downright dumb, stupid, and offensive…but for the most part, as Tom Holland discovered, the Church has been and still is a force for good. Besides, our Lord himself…faultless, holy, good, righteous, compassionate, generous, and kind…one who taught that we ought not to hate our enemies, but rather to love them…even he was not exempt from their animosity. And so if we follow him we ought not to presume to have it any other way.

However, there is great consolation in this negative reaction of the world…their unfounded and illogical hatred shows our true association with the one they hate without a cause. “If you were of the world,” Jesus said, “the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” 

This is a mind-blowing statement as it reminds us that many of us were once part of those who hate Jesus …we were once enemies of Jesus…and yet, because of his underserving love and his amazing grace, he chose us while we were still slaves to sin and brought us to himself and made us his own. Always remember then, especially in times of trouble or struggle, from where he took you and to where he has brought you and is bringing you. That thought alone ought to be sufficient to produce in you a grateful joy as well as a godly pity for those who hate us. 

Of course, Jesus knew that unrelenting hatred, especially unfounded hatred, has the ability to grind us down, and so he reminds us that the hatred we experience is chiefly directed against him and not us. It is our association with Jesus that makes us abominable in the sight of his opponents. And so, as we saw with those who ganged up against Jesus, those who are of the world stand united in their hatred for God and all those connected to him even though they are so divided among themselves.

This should serve as a sobering reminder that it is impossible to associate with the world and to please the world if you wish to associate with God and please him. The two are mutually incompatible.  Too many believers have sought the approval of the world through compromise only to find that compromise is not enough…the world demands total renouncement and abandonment of the biblical Jesus. A so-called sinner-friendly Gospel pleases no-one.

But herein lies the guilt of the world. Although they identify in us the God of all Creation, they persist in suppressing the truth that is painfully obvious in Creation itself.  And because God is revealed through what theologians call “general revelation”, those who refuse to see are without excuse as Paul tells us in Romans chapter one. If God had not declared himself in and through what he has made, then they could claim ignorance, but a designer is evident in what has been designed. However, he has made himself known mainly through what we call “special revelation”…through his Word as well as through his Son…and yet…despite all this, they still persist in their blind hatred against him and those who follow him.

Jesus said that hatred against him is hatred against God and that a rejection of his message means a rejection of both him and the Father. This teaches us that no matter how ‘good’ non-believers appear to be, a rejection of Jesus is ultimately a rejection of truth. There is no such thing as a half-Gospel. It is either everything or nothing. Either the Gospel is the truth, or it is false, and if it is the truth, then a positive acceptance of it is crucial. 

Now, as I have mentioned before, the people Jesus was referring to here specifically were those who witnessed firsthand all he said and did. The words Jesus spoke and the signs he did clearly indicated that he and the Father (the God they professed to believe in) were one, and so their dismissal of Jesus’ words and works exposed and confirmed their dismissal of God himself. But this only goes to prove that the best teaching – both verbal as well as practical – does not necessarily result in belief. This rejection of God is totally illogical. There is nothing more contrary to reason than a hatred of God. Why would you hate what is good? 

But what made the Jew’s rejection of Jesus even more pitiful is that he was the embodiment and the fulfilment of their own Scriptures. Of all people, they should have loved him and claimed him as their own, but to love him and to embrace him would be to deny their all too human craving for self-governance – a desire upheld by a largely self-made religion where their oral law with its myriad requirements sustained their thinly disguised worldliness…which sounds uncannily like some modern evangelical churches.

Moving away from himself for the moment, Jesus focussed on his followers and the consequence of their witness concerning him. As the haters turned their attention away from Jesus to focus on his disciples after his ascension, believers would find the Scriptures and the indwelling Holy Spirit to be a major source of comfort. Both the indwelling Spirit and the Word would serve to strengthen believers and prevent them from stumbling even when all hell seemed to break loose. 

At this point, it is important to note that, while the Holy Spirit and the Word bear witness to us, so we too, in return, ought to bear witness to the world. This, dearest beloved brethren, is the best way to confront hatred. In the face of illogical, irrational, unwarranted, and unjustifiable rejection, whether that rejection take on the form of mild verbal mockery or of severe physical violence, we must boldly continue to unflinchingly declare the truth despite the anger it may unleash upon us.

We must never forget that somewhere in that sea of humanity are people just like you and I once were, waiting to be liberated by the living Word if we would but speak it to them. Also, remember that their negative response to or rejection of our words only reveals what is already going on in their hearts. While faith does come by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17), it is made manifest by the seal and deposit of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). Our witness is received by those whose hearts have been prepared beforehand by God, so instead of being disheartened by rejection, we should be encouraged by the fact that God knows all those who are his and because we know that God’s Word never returns to him empty, but it always accomplishes that which he purposes (Isaiah 55:11). And so our witness is never in vain. In the end, those who reject what they have heard will serve as witnesses against themselves. 

But Jesus also warned his disciples that there would be times when some who reject their message would be so hardened and calloused that they would believe that their rejection was actually pleasing to God. Saul of Tarsus is the most obvious example of such a person, but there have been many throughout history who have been so misguided…some even in high positions of authority in the church. Personally, I think it is more painful to endure arrogant attacks from those who claim to be followers of Jesus than from those who make no such claim. The sense of betrayal can be so demoralising that it strips you of all confidence in yourself and of trust in other brethren. 

Yet, this passage helps us to regain perspective. As they drive us out of their presence, an enormous sense of relief should flood over us as we realise that we have only been banished from an assembly from which Jesus himself has been banished before. They do what they do because they do not know or acknowledge God and as a result, they do not know or acknowledge his ambassadors. As Jesus said earlier to the unbelieving Jews, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.” (John 8:44)

But Jesus did not teach these things to make us afraid or make us feel insecure. To the contrary. He told us these things so that when we are faced with unwarranted anger, we are able to bring to mind all that he taught us…we are able to bring to mind that which provides guidance, strength, and comfort. It is as we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest God’s Word…it is when we hide his Word in our hearts that we are able to stand during times when others would buckle and break under the sheer weight of blind hate. 

Note that Jesus said that he did not tell them this earlier in his ministry. As young, eager, yet fragile followers of Jesus, the disciples were initially spared the talk of trial and trouble until the time when they were able to bear it…and that time had now come. They had been taught well and, after our Lord ascended into heaven to take up his universal reign, he equipped them even further as he poured out upon them the promised Holy Spirit who would live within every believer assisting them in the application of what they had been taught.

This is all part of our development as fruit bearing vines…indeed, growth demands maturity and responsibility. The more we grow in our faith the more resistance we are able to offer as wheat growing in a field alongside the weeds. The ultimate goal of God for his children is that he would fashion in us a joy that no distress or difficulty would ever be able to extinguish. A joy that is solidly founded on a vibrant and growing relationship with the one who faced a blind hatred we will never have to face ourselves. 

In fact, it was at that point of vulnerability…when the world had unleashed all its malice against him…it was at the cross that God’s glory shone the brightest. Likewise, it is when we are the recipients of that same illogical rage and resentment, that the reality of our faith shines most clearly. It is at that point that the world is confronted with the sheer brilliance of his majesty and his splendour that shines through the cracks of our human fragility. Blind hatred is never more baffled than when confronted with an unshakeable and unbreakable joy…when fury is met with a profound peace.

Dearest beloved brethren, very few of us in the Western Church truly know what persecution looks like. We may experience some mild opposition or even some surprising anger from time to time, but very few of us will ever have to fear for our lives. Nevertheless, a cold shoulder or a snide remark is a painful thing to deal with especially if it is unprovoked. So, when that does happen and you are left licking your wounds, hopefully proverbially speaking, then bring these three things to mind.

First, remember that Jesus told us the world would hate us because we are his and therefore it should not take us by surprise. In fact, we should anticipate it and be ready for it. 

Second, remember that we have the eternal Word of God that speaks of promise and fulfilment and that reminds us that we are not meant to be the same as those of the world. We are meant to be different, and difference invariably causes friction. The world seeks after the things of the world. We seek after the things that are not of the world – we seek the things that are spiritual and therefore, we ought to find our joy and maintain our joy in that which is not of the world.

And finally, we must remember that the Spirit of the one who spoke these words lives in every one of us. And he is there to comfort us, strengthen us, guide us, and lead us on to maturity.

If you keep these three truths in mind at all times, you should be able to maintain your equilibrium when you bear the brunt of the world’s blind hatred of the one you love. 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024

The Measure of Love

Psalm 51:10-12                    Philippians 2:5-11                                        John 15:9-17

The Measure of Love

A man who had been the superintendent of a city rescue mission for forty years was once asked why he had spent his life caring for dirty, unkempt, profane, ungrateful, drunken derelicts for a salary slightly above minimum wage. “All I’m doing,” he replied, “is giving back to others a little of the love God has shown to me.”

This man had learned to follow the example set for us by both the Father and the Son. The love experienced within the Godhead overflows into various expressions of love toward his creation. The best-known verse in the Bible speaks of a love which no man has ever been able to fully comprehend: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  

John expanded on this in his first Epistle, chapter 4:9-11: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  And then he applied this exemplary love to us: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

God’s love is a love that is based on a sovereign decision to love…it is not a love based on the object of that love. As we saw last week, God loves because he loves…he loves because he is the essence of love. In this sense, God’s love is unconditional. He loves simply because he loves. But the most marvellous aspect of this love is that it never gives up on us despite our faults and failures. God loved us before we loved him.

Jesus’ love for his Body, the Church, was demonstrated in his willing sacrifice of himself for us. Paul links this kind of love with the love of a husband for his wife in Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she should be holy and without blemish.” 

According to this verse, the aim of the love of Jesus is to bring us from imperfection to perfection, but the important thing to remember here is that he loved us before this process began as well as throughout the process until he brings it to completion (See Philippians 1:6). 

But herein lies our biggest challenge. We are to love as Jesus loves. In the Gospels, Jesus is presented as someone who humbly submitted himself to the will of the Father. Jesus took on the form of a human being to reveal to us how we were intended to live as creatures created by the Creator. As Paul said in Philippians 2:8, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” So then, it should not come as a surprise to us when Jesus links abiding in him with keeping his commandments…Jesus remained in his Father’s love by keeping or by fulfilling the law. 

So, even though God’s love is unconditional in the sense that his love for us is not merited, once we are his people our love for him demands obedience. Like with the suzerainty treaties of the Ancient Near East that we looked at last week, the benevolence and the blessing of the superior power is contingent upon the fulfilment of the covenant stipulations. Our response to the unmerited, and therefore unconditional, love of God is a response that is defined by the will of God as revealed in his Word. As such, our love for God will always be based on a deliberate choice on our part to do what he commands. If we are to be honest when we call him Lord, we must do what he tells us to do. “If you keep my commandments,” Jesus said, “you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

Interestingly, the result of obedience to the Word is joy…a joy which is both permanent and complete. However, as David’s plea in Psalm 51:12 reminds us, this joy can only be experienced by those who are obedient to the will of God. This joy cannot be gained or maintained by favourable circumstances or by the multiplication of material possessions because these things are temporary and liable to unpredictable change. No, our joy must be founded on firmer stuff if it is to endure whatever comes our way.

Have you ever noticed how many times the word “joy” is used in passages related to persecution and trials? You see, true joy is not to be confused with a fleeting superficial happiness…happiness fades when we lose our job or when our holiday ends or when our health deteriorates. True joy is a deep knowledge of being at peace with God’s original intention for creation. Our joy is the product of our love…a love defined by the character of the God we love and by the choice we make to love him more than the things nonbelievers claim to be essential. For this reason, our joy and our love ought to find expression in giving not taking…in humility not pride…in bearing all things, believing all things, hoping in all things, and enduring all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). This kind of love will never fail because it mirrors the love of Jesus.

But perhaps the most remarkable thing in this passage is that, unlike the superior secular powers of the Ancient Near East, Jesus elevates the relationship he enjoys with his followers to that of a friendship. This remarkable statement of Jesus is couched in the language of common brotherhood rather than in the language of servitude. Sadly, I think that in some cases the word “friend” has been diminished and diluted in its value and reduced to something more akin to an acquaintance. In the biblical sense, the word “friend” is based on an intimate commitment one to another that is based on an inviolable trust. 

As used here by Jesus, the word “friend” signifies a relationship of privilege enjoyed between the Creator and his created beings that transcends what is considered normal or general. In the Old Testament, men like Abraham, Moses, and David were considered friends of God because he spoke to them face to face, as it were, sharing with them his will and plans directly rather than by means of mediation. In this sense, we too are considered “friends” in that God speaks to us directly through his Word by the illuminating work of his Holy Spirit who resides within us as believers. God has revealed to us everything necessary for a deep and meaningful relationship with himself because he regards us as friends.

This revelation of himself in and through his Word is based on his choice and his choice alone. We must not forget that without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, unregenerate human beings are not able to comprehend the thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). It is God who seeks us out and it is God who chooses us, not we who seek him or choose him. As Paul quoted from Psalm 14 in Romans 3:10-12: “"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 

As such, the initial choice as well as the appointment comes by divine decree. However, this does not mean that we have no will of our own…rather it means that our response is based on his decision. If Jesus had not chosen us, we would not have chosen him. This is where so-called “decision theology”, so prevalent in the evangelical church, falls apart. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We decided because he decided. The covenant and the signs of the covenant are based on his decision, not ours. 

But notice what we have been chosen for and appointed to…to go and bear abundant fruit…fruit that should have an eternal impact in that its aim is to glorify the Father. As Jesus came to glorify the Father with every breath and every step both in life and in death, so we too must live to reveal the one we claim to serve. The fruit produced by the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23 is a result of a process of individual sanctification, but the display of this fruit is not for our benefit, but rather for the benefit of all who encounter us. 

As others observe a lifestyle that reflects the character of our Creator, they witness the living testimony of what only God can do in a person submitted to his will as expressed in his Word. Whether they are repelled or attracted is not the point…rather the point is that the character of God has been displayed through the lives of his children ultimately bringing him glory.

Obviously, because the fruit is produced by the vines abiding in the vineyard, it too abides. Faith, hope, and love, Paul tells us, remain…the greatest of which is love. The vines that abide in the vineyard are known by the fruit the gardener cultivates. As those who are in Jesus, we are defined by one word that embraces all that God is…and that word is love. God is love, and consequently those who love as he loves, demonstrate that they have been born of God and that they know God (1 John 4:7-12). 

Love defines us as believers. The superintendent of the city rescue mission understood this. His whole life was focused on giving back to others a little of the love God had shown him. The love of God is sacrificial, and its goal is the benefit of the recipient. If we claim to love God, our love ought to be the same as his. If we say we love God and yet hate our brethren, we are pretenders…we are liars…because the love of God is based on keeping his commandments…and his commandment is that we love one another in the same way that he loves us.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024

The Purpose of Life

Psalm 80:8-19                        Isaiah 5:1-7                        John 15:1-8

The Purpose of Life

I don’t think I need to tell you that Covenants are extremely important in the Bible. In the Old Testament we have several covenants, starting with God and Adam and Eve, God and Noah, God and Abraham, God and David, and finally, God and Israel. The Hebrew word often used is “berît”, a legal term that can be compared to what we would call a treaty or a contract. 

Now, many Ancient Near Eastern nations used various contracts in various ways, but the one I would like us to focus on today is the so-called suzerainty contract or treaty, which is an agreement between a superior power and a lesser power. These treaties followed a basic pattern that usually included, the identity of the superior power, the nature of the relationship between the active participants, and the requirements to be heeded for this relationship to continue. Copies of the treaty were most often placed in a holy place like a temple. There were witnesses to the treaty and all agreed to a series of blessings if the requirements were met and a withdrawal of blessings if they were not.

Now, all these points are included in the biblical covenants. Basically, in the biblical covenants God said, this is who I am, this is who you are, this is what I did for you to bring you into a relationship with myself, and therefore this is how you will live as my people. If you obey me, I will bless you, but if you disobey me, I will withdraw my blessing. 

Of course, as you all know, a copy of one such biblical treaty, inscribed on stone, was placed in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies and the people served as witnesses to the agreement. Later, when the Ark of the Covenant was lost, Scripture itself, especially the Torah, served as the covenant document as well as a witness for God. This is more than likely why much of what Jesus and later New Testament authors said was prefaced with words like “it is written” or “according to the Scriptures” pr “this was to fulfil what was written”. They were appealing to the covenant. 

Now, I’m telling you all this because I believe that John 15 ought to be interpreted in terms of this kind of covenant treaty. In this passage, Jesus says this is who I am, this is who you are, I have made you clean, and I have chosen you to be my own and appointed you to bear abundant fruit, therefore this is how you will live as my people. If you obey me, I will bless you, but if you disobey me, I will withdraw my blessing. 

Why do I think this passage ought to be interpreted in terms of the covenant treaty? Well, mainly because the imagery of a vine or a vineyard is not new as we saw in our two Old Testament readings. (By the way, you can also find references to this imagery in Jeremiah 2:21 and Ezekiel 15:1-8 and Ezekiel 17:1-10. Paul used a different image in Romans 11, describing Israel as an Olive tree with branches being grafted in or cut off. John would later use the image of the Tree of Life in the Revelation. But these are talks for another time.)

In Psalm 80, after Asaph rehearsed the identity of both the superior power and the lesser power – describing God as not just a Shepherd, but the Shepherd of a specific people…he is the Shepherd of Israel…but he is not a mere local or tribal deity…he is the almighty Lord God of hosts – after Asaph reviewed this, he then addressed the nature of the relationship between the two active participants, in this case a broken relationship. 

He then outlined the history of this relationship as a basis for an appeal for clemency. He said, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land.” 

But then, he described the withdrawal of blessing. “…you (have) broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit…the boar from the forest ravages it, and all that moves in the field feed on it…they have burned it with fire; they have cut it down…”

Likewise in Isaiah 5, the vineyard was planted and nurtured by God, but did not yield appropriate fruit…instead it yielded wild grapes, indicating an improper response to the requirements of the treaty. As a result of this breach of contract, as it were, God said that he will “…remove its (protective) hedge, and it shall be devoured; (he) will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. (He) will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; (He) will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.”

Now, at this point, it is important to note that in both Psalm 80 and Isaiah 5, the vine is identified as Israel…God’s own chosen people. So, when Jesus said to his first century Jewish disciples, “I AM the true vine (or “choice vine” as in Jeremiah 2), and my Father is the vinedresser” what would they have understood? When he spoke to them as those appointed to bear abundant fruit, do you think they would have remembered these two passages, as well as the others from Jeremiah and Ezekiel? And the language of prolific blessing as well as of overwhelming cursing…removal, casting out, and being burned with fire…all of this would surely have been interpreted by them in terms of the covenant. 

Interestingly, Greek scholars have recently discovered that the words usually translated as “vine” and “branches” here had shifted in meaning a long time before John wrote his Gospel. The word “ampelos” or “vine” came to mean a “vineyard” and the word “klema” or “branch” came to mean the “vines” planted in that vineyard. If John used these words according to the meaning current in his day, we could translate our Lord’s words as, “I AM the true vineyard and my Father is the vine grower”; “I AM the vineyard, you are the vines”; “he removes every vine in me that bears no fruit”; “every vine that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit”; “the vine cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vineyard”; and “whoever does not abide in me is cast out like a vine and withers; such vines are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” 

Interestingly, something like this actually happened in the great French wine blight of the mid19th Century. Vines were ripped up and burned to stop the spread of the problem…but I digress…

Either way, vine or vineyard, I believe this parabolic teaching of Jesus can be favourably paralleled with another agrarian parable found in Matthew 13 of which I’m sure you are all familiar. Remember the parable of the wheat and the weeds? “The kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said, “may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field (a field we are later told represents the world), but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So, when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So, the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather (or uproot) them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest (later explained as the “end of the age’), and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned but gather the wheat into my barn.””

Now, if we read these two parables, together with the other passages, in the light of what we understand about the covenant, I believe we can better interpret and apply what we read in John 15. 

Remember, as Paul would write later in the New Testament era, Jesus is more than just the New Israel. Jesus is the New Adam…he is the new head of humanity. All are subject to him, including the so-called “ruler of this world” who has no claim on him. All things have been placed in subjection to him (1 Corinthians 15:27). All authority in BOTH Heaven AND Earth has been given to him (Matthew 28:18). And while we might not yet see all things in subjection to him, but we do see him crowned with glory and honour (Hebrews 2:9). Every knee will bow before him. Every tongue will confess him as Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). 

Jesus, dearest beloved brethren, is the current sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords, presently reigning at the right hand of the Father until all his enemies are placed under his feet (Psalm, 110:1; Acts 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:24-25; Hebrews 1:13, 10:12-13) and all the fruitless vines (or the weeds) are uprooted and cast into the fire. 

In the one parable, Jesus’ kingdom is the field, and that field is the world, where wheat and weeds grow alongside each other. In the other parable, Jesus is the vineyard. Fruitful vines and barren vines apparently grow together. In this sense, both are ‘in him’ in that neither can escape his present reign. Both are subject to his sovereignty. But a time will come when the weeds and the barren vines will be removed, cast out, and burned in the fire. 

To apply this imagery of the vineyard and the vines just to the Church is to misunderstand the total victory of Christ on the cross. Jesus isn’t just lord over us…he is lord over all. When he defeated sin, death, and the devil on the cross, he disarmed the principalities and powers, making a spectacle of them and publicly humiliating them (Colossians 2:14-15). His victory is universal. The field (in this case, the world) is his kingdom where both wheat and weeds grow. He is the vineyard where both fruitful and barren vines spread. The difference is not locality but productivity. 

Personally, I think we are barking up the wrong tree when we reduce the meaning of ‘in me’ to the Church. That only leads to wild speculation such as who can lose their salvation or the possibility of losing your salvation, not to mention harsh unfounded judgement, on who is ‘saved’ and who is ‘not saved’. 

If Jesus is seated at the right hand of God right now, well then all who live post crucifixion, post resurrection, and post ascension are ‘in’ the field… or ‘in’ the vineyard…because all are under the reign of the second Adam.

If we read John 15 together with Isaiah 5, Matthew 13, and the other passages, then we see that the wheat and the good vines produce not just abundant fruit, but the right kind of fruit. This echoes the teaching of John the Baptist in Matthew 3: “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 

However, according to Jesus, the vines cannot bear good fruit by themselves.  Apart from him, he said, we can do nothing. The only way the vines can bear good fruit is if they have been cleansed by Jesus and if they remain in Jesus. So, if I understand these passages correctly, then it seems to me that the main purpose of life in the Kingdom of God is not to produce fruit but rather the main purpose of life in the Kingdom of God is to abide. If we abide, abundant fruit will follow.

This is where Israel got it wrong…this is where the Galatians got it wrong…this is where the Corinthians got it wrong…this is where so many of us get it wrong. It is not for us to produce the fruit. It is for us to abide in the vineyard. It is not our fruit to produce…it is the fruit of the Spirit. Again, if we abide, abundant fruit will follow.

Just as in the case of the Ancient Near Eastern Covenants or Treaties where the blessings were not obtained by self-creation or self-cultivation but rather by remaining obedient to the requirements of the treaty, so too the fruit Jesus spoke of here is obtained by abiding in Jesus and Jesus abiding in us. The blessings and the fruit come as a result of abiding by the rules governing the relationship. 

Abiding in him…living according to the rules of the relationship…being governed by the word abiding in us…this leads to correct thinking and asking and receiving. That is why the bearing of much fruit glorifies the Father and not the fruit bearer. That is why the bearing of much fruit proves that we are Jesus’s disciples. The fruit points directly to God not to us.

According to Deuteronomy 7, the covenant of God with Israel was based on his love for them…nothing more and certainly nothing less. It was not anything done by Israel that made God love them. He loved them because he loved them and therefore, he delivered them and he made them his own precious people. But for this special relationship to continue, Israel had to stay true to their new benevolent superior power. He did not set them free from slavery only for them to continue to live like slaves. He set them free to be free…and that freedom is demonstrated through and maintained by obediently abiding. Staying true to our new identity. 

Abiding is so much more than simply staying…so much more than remaining. It is living as we were designed to live…living according to the life-giving principles of the one who is the source and sustenance of all life. That is why abiding produces fruit…it proves that we are alive in him. 

Now as with Israel of old, God demonstrated his love for us by delivering us while we still slaves to sin or while we were still sinners. As John will go on to say in this same passage, abiding is living and thriving in that love. 

For this reason, I believe, Jesus chose the imagery of his death…his body broken, his blood shed…he chose the imagery of his sacrifice for us (using the fruit of the vine as an element) to be the memorial by which we remember him. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood takes the image of abiding in him to another much higher level. It is something internalized…it is something absorbed and made part of who we are as individuals united with him and each other…it is a rooting and a grounding in him…it is a union with him.

So, as you take the bread and the wine today…before you eat…before you drink…before you swallow, think of how this simple yet profound action validates your abiding in Jesus. And then in gratitude, rest in the assurance that as you abide in him and he in you, he is pruning and cultivating you to bear his abundant fruit for the glory of the Father.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024