The Madness Of His Glory

A Pastor in Florida has recently caused quite a stir by his claim to have met the risen Jesus over the past Easter weekend.  Over the last few years, I have also heard claims that Muslims in the Middle East are having dreams and visions of Jesus that are leading them to faith in Christ.  Are these claims valid?  Can Jesus appear to us in person, and does He?  I can only tell you what I know.

Scripture records many appearances of Christ after His resurrection.  He appeared to Mary Magdalene and other women (John 20:16,17; Matt 28:8-10); to two men on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-43); to Peter and six other disciples (John 21); twice to His disciples in the upper room (John 20:19-29); to more than five hundred believers at the same time (1 Cor 15:6); to James, the brother of Jesus, and many other Apostles (1 Cor 15:7); to Paul four times, first on the road to Damascus, where Paul never actually saw Christ, but only heard His voice (Acts 9),  and three times in visions (Acts 18:9,10; 22:17-21; 23:11); to Ananias in a vision (Acts 9:10-16); and to the aged Apostle John an unknown number of times while he was writing the Book of Revelation.

We know that Jesus' appearances to Paul, Ananias, and the aged Apostle John were after His ascension, so it is interesting to note that those appearances were quite different than His pre-ascension appearances.  Post-ascension appearances are always in some form of vision or dream, and several descriptions we are given of Christ in these visions are quite mind-numbing.  After Paul's first encounter with the ascended Christ, he spent three days afterward blind and did not eat or drink the entire three days.  The Apostle John gives us the most riveting description of our ascended Lord, and tells us that his own reaction to the presence of Christ was that he "fell at His feet as though dead" (Rev 1:17).

I think the most important thing we are to understand about these post-ascension encounters with Christ is that their purpose was always and solely for the furtherance of the Gospel and, for the most part, were always to someone who endured extreme circumstances for the furtherance of the Gospel-- people who were imprisoned, under great duress, or eventually to be martyred.  According to Scripture, Jesus never appeared to anyone to hang out with them or give them comfort.  Even when Jesus appeared to Paul to encourage him at Acts 18:9,10 and 23:11, both times Jesus' purpose was less for comfort and more for telling Paul to keep going forward in obedience and spreading the Gospel:  "keep speaking, do not be silent" and "you must also testify in Rome."  In all of Jesus' post-ascension appearances, He is all-business, direct-and-to-the-point, there are no comforting conversations about His love, and there is always a sense of erect and immediate obedience from those to whom He appears.

No encounter with the post-ascension Christ was ever warm and fuzzy, buddy-buddy, or for the purpose of ministering to a personal, emotional need.  None.  In every encounter, specific instructions were given that related to the furtherance of the Gospel and that would ultimately minister to the Church as a whole, not individually.  Nowhere in Scripture are we given a portrait of a smooth talking, back patting, emotionally endearing Christ-- whether during His earthly ministry, after His resurrection, or after His ascension-- never.  Scripture says our comfort and help come from the Holy Spirit, not visions of the post-ascension Christ (John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7; Rom 8:26,27).  And no encounter with the post-ascension Christ was on a regular basis, it was always and only on rare occasions of extreme necessity, all of which....you guessed it....were directly related to the furtherance of the Gospel.

Jesus warned us that many would come in His Name and deceive many (Matt 24:5).  Luke 21:8 adds Jesus' instructions: "Do not follow them."  Jesus actually prefaces His warning by saying "Watch out that no one deceives you..." (Matt 24:4) and "See to it that you are not deceived..." (Luke 21:8).  Growing up, I always assumed that Jesus was talking about other human beings who would claim to be Christ.  But I think a more accurate understanding would be any being other than Christ-- human, spirit, or otherwise-- who claims to be Christ.  The Apostle John also warns us not to believe every spirit, but to test them to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1).  I can attest that this is necessary because I have had an encounter with a spirit that presented itself as a benevolent entity, but when I said, "Jesus is Lord" and it did not reply in agreement, I knew immediately that it was a deceiving spirit that I had initially trusted simply because of its appearance (1 Cor 12:3).

I have never had a vision of the risen Christ.  And although technically we are in a "type" of God's comforting presence through the Holy Spirit during prayer, we are not in His literal, actual presence.  It is more of a "filtered" presence, with the person of the Holy Spirit acting as a protective shield from God's actual presence.  I know this because a scant few times during intense prayer in the Spirit, I have merely approached that presence and all but one time I asked God to save me from it because I couldn't bear it.  There was no warm and fuzzy feeling, there was only the crushing weight of His holiness and the abject horror over my own unworthiness in light of it.  Any feeling of His love was vaporized by the magnitude of it and muted by the feeling that surely if I got any closer I would be utterly undone.  Like what a planet must feel when approaching the event horizon of a black hole and the sheer force of incalculable gravity begins to take over and disassemble matter on a molecular level.  Nothing is left, even the memory of it having been erased as if it never existed. 

In the scant few times I have sensed any approach to the actual presence of Christ in prayer, I felt a humility that words simply cannot express.  They don't exist in the human language.  Even to try to express it in human terms seems ridiculous and absurd.  That is part of what Paul is talking about when he tells us that the Spirit intercedes for us "with groans too deep for words" (Rom 8:26).  The scant few times I have approached His presence in prayer, I fully understood why human beings cannot look upon God and live.  The human heart cannot withstand it-- whether in the body or out-- and all those whom Scripture records as being in that presence were only sustained from their own utter obliteration by His saving grace.  I forget who said it, but I once heard someone say that God wasn't necessarily saving us from hell through our faith in Christ, He was saving us from Himself.  This I understand, and to this I can attest.

When I look over the scriptural accounts of those exceptional few who experienced a vision of the post-ascension Christ I see a common thread-- a common thread that I can attest to, despite my ridiculously infinitesimal experience of Christ's presence.  In Scripture, we see that for those who had a genuine encounter with Christ, nothing else mattered after-the-fact.  In every scriptural account of the post-ascension Christ appearing to someone visually or audibly, we see a person in whom every atom of their being was standing in rapt attention for their orders from their Creator.  Nothing else in their life ever mattered again, other than Christ and His Gospel, because they had encountered the very purpose for their being.  For those who behold their Creator, a madness begins to seep in, an obsession to glorify Him and to serve Him takes over all that they are.   You will know them by their fruit.

"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?" (Matt 7:16)

"Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor 12:3)

"Jesus answered, 'See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My Name, claiming, "I am He," and, "The time is near." Do not follow them.'" (Luke 21:8)

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is already in the world at this time." (1 John 4:1-3)

"The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead..." (Rev 1:14-17)

"...I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphim, each with six wings...and they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined!' For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'" (Isaiah 6:1-5)

"And He said, 'I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.' But He said, 'You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!'" (Ex 33:19,20)

Drinking From The Cup Of Stillness

I'm a fighter.  I'm a doer.  I'm a problem-solver and a victim-saver.  I'm a protector and a defender.  Fight or flight, you ask?  I'll answer with a sword slicing off your ear.  We give Peter a lot of grief for abandoning Jesus on the night of His trial, but we too soon forget that it was only Peter who defended Jesus when the mob came to the Garden of Gethsamane.  A mob of men had come to harm Peter's best friend, teacher, and Savior, and Peter's natural, initial response was to pull out a sword and start swinging.  We should remember that Peter's initial reaction was to defend Jesus, not to abandon Him.

But Jesus didn't ask Peter to defend Him, He asked Peter to be still.  Peter's focus was supposed to be on Christ, not on the danger.  When we focus on the danger, our vision and purpose become blurred and we come out swinging when Christ would prefer us to be still and drink the cup.  This is because God saves us whether we are fighting or standing still.  And sometimes He waits until we are still.  There is a time to swing a sword and there is a time to keep it in the sheath, and we can only discern the difference if we have first sat in stillness with our eyes on Christ. 

Sitting and drinking the cup of stillness requires faith.  The more Christ wants to instill faith in you, the longer He will allow you to remain in situations in which the answers to what you seek require stillness.  Sitting in stillness is agonizing to a fighter.  It is agonizing to a worrier.  It is agonizing to those with a busy mind and even busier hands.  It is contrary to every inclination of our flesh.  Which is exactly the point.  To grow in the Spirit, the flesh must die.  They are contrary to one another, therefore growth in one means the demise of the other. 

There is an old Native American folktale about two wolves that reside in each person-- one good and one bad.  One day a child who discerns this struggle within himself asks an elder, "Which one will win?"  And the elder replies, "Whichever one you feed."  We either grow in the flesh by feeding fleshly desires, or we grow in the Spirit by submitting to it in obedience and faith.  But we cannot have both.

"...Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him. At this, one of Jesus' companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear..... 'Put your sword back in its sheath!' Jesus said to Peter. 'Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?'" (Matt 26:50,51; John 18:11)

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation-- but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." (Rom 8:12-14)

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal 2:20)

"You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is indeed dead on account of sin, yet the Spirit gives you life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, Who dwells in you." (Rom 8:9-11)

The Properties Of Prophecy

I often get asked to teach on eschatology.  Eschatology is just a fancy theological word to say, "The study of all the stuff that happens at the end of the age or the end of humankind."  It comes from the Greek words ESKHATOS, meaning "last", and LOGY, meaning "the study of."  Therefore, eschatology involves the study of end times, which would include topics such as Christ's second coming, His millennial reign, the Great Tribulation, the rapture of the Church, the fulfillment of the Time of the Gentiles, the Time of Jacob's Trouble, the Day of the Lord, the resurrection of the dead, judgment, heaven and hell.  

Although I am interested in end-times study and have dabbled in it for over ten years, I am not all that interested in teaching on it.  I have only taught one thing about it on this blog that I posted in a seven-part series, and even when I posted it I made it clear that I had prayed to God to grant me understanding of a particular matter and what I wrote was what I felt to be an answer to that prayer.  What I wrote was still "my" understanding of how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

And that is the reality of eschatology.  Anyone who teaches on it is teaching their personal understanding of it, which is why there are so many variant takes on what the end times will look like and how it exactly plays out.  No matter what is taught, it's still speculation on how prophetic Scripture should be interpreted.  I received a message the other day from a friend lamenting over Christians arguing over a pre-, mid-, or post-tribulation rapture.  That is another reality of eschatology-- people arguing over speculation.  

Here is the thing that people need to come to grips with:  the Pharisees of Jesus' time were experts in Scripture and in interpreting it, it was their job, their lives revolved around it, and they had done it for hundreds of years, they had a rock-solid interpretation of what the arrival of their Messiah was going to look like and what He was going to do, so that is what they were all looking for and teaching others to look for......but they were wrong.  Every Jew during the time of Christ was looking for a Messiah who would be a great warrior that would overcome their oppressors.  They were looking for Messiah Ben David (the conquering King) so they missed Messiah Ben Joseph (the Suffering Servant).  And it never occurred to them or even entered their minds that Moshiach Ben David and Moshiach Ben Joseph would be the same person.  Something that is clear to us now, after-the-fact, was unfathomable then.

This is what I think about when I see people teaching their interpretations of eschatological Scriptures as fact.  Or writing books that lay out a scenario based on their interpretation of Scripture.  Or arguing over their particular interpretation with others who have a different interpretation.  Could any of these interpretations be possible?  Sure.  Are these interpretations certain?  No.  

The prophetic genre is both forthtelling and foretelling.  Forthtelling prophecies were messages for a prophet's own audience about their own day or the near future (1).  Foretelling prophecies are messages for a future audience about their own day and time.  In both instances, the prophecy is meant to be understood by the people it was written for in the time for which it was written.  Meaning, foretelling prophetic Scripture will only be properly understood at the specific time with which the prophecy is dealing with and afterwards.  For example, the prophecy at Isaiah 17 about the destruction of Damascus will only be properly understood and interpreted around the time that it actually happens, and not before.  And there will certainly be a clear understanding after-the-fact, which is one of the functions of prophecy.  The fullness of understanding is more-so meant to be after-the-fact, as a sort of "let the record show" that God was in control the entire time.

Prophecy glorifies God and His sovereignty.  It shows that He always has a plan in place, no matter what choices we make.  It confirms that He is the Alpha and the Omega, knowing the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).  It doesn't negate human will or human decision, it merely shows that there is nothing we can do to take us outside of God's sovereignty or omniscience.  No matter what choices we make, He will always be there working around them in such a way that leads us to an outcome of ultimate good.  Prophecy has been given to us as a gift-- a gift of warning, a gift of knowledge, and a gift of hope.

"Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all My good pleasure;'" (Isaiah 46:9,10)

"I declared the former things long ago and they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass." (Isaiah 48:3)

"This is what the Lord says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:  I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God. Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before Me what has happened since I established My ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let them foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (Isaiah 44:6-8)

(1)  Klein, William W., et al. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1993.

Twilight's Pearl

On the dusky evenings I walk along the dirt path to my chicken yard, I feel the uneven dirt beneath my flip-flops.  As I walk along the pitted and clodded path, I look at the deep, uneven footprints made by my rubber boots the last time it rained and I had to walk out there in the ankle-deep mud.  When it's wet, the thick mud pulls against my boot with each step, as if pleading with me not to take another step forward.  But most nights, the mud has quieted down into dry, uneven terrain that leads to my chicken yard.

As I walk, I look down at the uneven dirt

As I walk, I look up at the twilight sky

Not quite day, not quite night

In this twilight limbo, time seems to stand still

In this twilight limbo, everything is in-between

In-between light and dark

In-between seen and unseen

In-between wake and sleep

In-between the uneven dirt and the twilight sky

In this twilight limbo, I look down and think about the coarse, earthen dirt God used to make us

In this twilight limbo, I look up and think about His heavenly abode, way up high beyond the stars

The first stars of the night are usually out and they twinkle from where God has them positioned, unfathomable light years away.  So far away, that they cannot be touched, or experienced, or felt, other than their twinkling.  I think to myself, "Sometimes God feels like that."  The stars are so far away, but here on earth, in my chicken yard, I am so very close to the smell of grass and chickens and approaching night.  Here on earth, in my chicken yard, I am so very close to the cool, evening breeze that tousles my hair.  God, stars, earth.  All are equally real, but so differently experienced.

I breathe in deeply.  I cannot breathe-in the stars, but I can breathe-in the earth.  So I breathe in deeply and think about God breathing deeply into the earthen dirt He used to make us, like the uneven dirt beneath my flip-flops, breathing His Spirit into the dirt to give it life and consciousness. 

I look down at the dirt.

I look up at the sky.

And I breathe in deeply as I walk to my chicken yard.

I stand at the rusty, crooked gate, and I look around at this little spot tucked away like a shiny pearl in a pocket of God's robe.  The long, flowy robe of an unending universe.  Galaxies made out of heavenly buttons and solar systems made out of divine thread.  The flowy robe of a Master Tailor, spinning and sewing a magnificent wardrobe of exquisite creations.  A divine, unsearchable robe, with all sorts of pockets full of secret, simple treasures.  My chicken yard is one of those treasures.  It is a treasure of simplicity and complexity, of mundane and wonder.  Inert dirt and old wood and scattered rocks mixed with grass and chickens and trees, making a concoction full of life and potential and creation.  It is a place I treasure because it is a place where my life stands still, away from the electric, away from the frantic, away from the overwhelming pace of modern-day life.  A place where pause, ponder, marvel, and majesty embrace.  It is a place that makes me think of the moment that God stood on the earth and looked down at a clod of uneven dirt in His hand.  The moment just prior to making the creature that would tread upon such uneven clods in a pair of flip-flops and ponder their potential.  A moment that, perhaps, was not quite day and not quite night.  A moment that was in-between.

In-between light and dark

In-between seen and unseen

In-between wake and sleep

In-between the uneven dirt and the twilight sky

In this twilight limbo, perhaps God looked down at the coarse, earthen dirt He used to make us

In this twilight limbo, perhaps He looked up and thought about His heavenly abode, way up high beyond the stars

The twilight limbo where time stood still

In the moment before He shared His image

While the angels looked on

And all of creation held its breath

While He breathed His Spirit into the dirt

And pause, ponder, marvel, and majesty embraced

Creating a treasure of simplicity, complexity, mundane, and wonder

"Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness'....so God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." (Gen 1:26,27)

"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Gen 2:7)

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of Your hands; You put everything under their feet." (Psalm 8:3-6)

"Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent....How many are Your works, Lord! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures." (Psalm 104:1,2,24)

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are Your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:16,17)

Dirt Covered Treasure

I come to You, offering You my heart

I reach toward You, offering all I have to give

My heart, my dirt-covered treasure

I come to You like a child

Holding out a grubby handful of wildflowers with dirt clods at the ends

You can have it, my dirt-covered treasure

It's a little dirty, but it's Yours

It's a little dirty, but it's all I have to give

Maybe it can be Your treasure too

You stand there in perfection

Your garment gleams radiant

I stand here covered in smudges and stains

I reach for You with my dirty hands

And I marvel that You don't shrink away

As I come towards You, I falter and stumble

Wearing garments of sin and ignorance

Your garment gleams radiant

You stand there in perfection

I come to You, offering You my heart

I reach toward You, offering all I have to give

Like a woman who has known loss, and pain, and hurt, and rejection

My wounds, my scar-covered past

You can have it

It's a little dirty, but it's Yours

It's a little dirty, but it's all I have to give

You look down at me and say, "I have known loss, and pain, and hurt, and rejection too"

I look up at You and say, "Maybe we can be each other's treasure"

Love That Won't Let Go

During my prayer time this morning, I thought of Mary Magdalene.  I thought of this woman and the picture we are given of utter devotion and lavish adoration she had toward Jesus, despite the scant information we are given about her in the gospels.  I can't articulate how profound it is to me to read the gospel accounts and see that it was the women who never left Jesus.  Jesus poured His life into the Twelve, but He was abandoned by them all.  It was the women who followed Christ to the cross.  It was the women who stood at the foot of it and watched their Beloved suffer and die.  It was the women who looked on with pierced hearts and torn souls and watched their Lord bleed for them, watched their Lord gasp for each labored breath, and watched Him take His last-- breathing out His Holy Spirit.  It was the women who faithfully went to the tomb to anoint His broken and bloodied body that glorious Sunday morning.  

A man will love through barbed wire, but a woman will love through a razor-wired electric fence.  A man will cross seas and climb mountains for love, but a woman will drain the ocean and move the mountains, even raze them to the ground if she has to.  There is nothing in all of creation like the devoted love of a woman.  Hell hath no fury like a mother's protective love of her sons.  And Heaven only knows the sweetness of mother's tender love for her daughters.  How blessed is the husband who has known the depths of a wife's covenantal devotion, despite the struggles, despite the stress, despite the strain.  She is the rock beneath his feet and the crown upon his head.  A man's love is simple and pure.  A woman's love is complicated and deep.

Mary loved Christ with the fierce devotion of a woman who had been set free by Him.  Jesus delivered Mary from seven demons and from what we can glean from scripture, we see that she was part of Jesus' inner circle of companions.  She is first mentioned at Luke Chapter 8, where, although she is not named as an apostle, she was included among them and traveled with them (Luke 8:1,2).  Most of what we know about Mary Magdalene comes from the resurrection account in the Gospels.  We are told that she stood "near the cross of Jesus" along with His mother, watching Him die (John 19:25).  She watched as the Savior Who set her free suffered for hours in extreme in agony.  She watched as He took His last sigh, and slipped through her fingers into death's embrace.  She stood there with empty hands, wounded in her love for Him, and all of creation groaned.

One of the most poignant accounts in scripture is when Mary stood alone by the empty tomb of Christ, after Peter and John left (John 20:10,11).  She stood by His tomb with empty hands and a pierced heart and wept.  Jesus appeared to her and asked her why she was crying.  Not recognizing Him and thinking that He was the gardener, she begged Him to tell her where Jesus' body was, basically saying, "Just tell me where He is, I will go get Him myself." 

She couldn't bring herself to leave the empty tomb. 

She was willing to go get His body herself. 

She was willing to do whatever she had to do. 

Then, Jesus said her name.  She heard His voice speak her name and she cried out in recognition from the depths of her soul, "Rabboni!" which means teacher, or master (John 20:16).  We are not told how much time passed between verse 16 and 17.  It could have been a moment, just long enough for her to reach out and grasp Jesus.  It could have been an hour, or it could have been the rest of the afternoon, that she spent desperately clinging to Him in rapt embrace.  We don't know how long she clung to her Savior, all we know is that He finally had to tell her to let go.

She couldn't bring herself to let go of Him.

She was willing to follow Him anywhere.

She was willing to cling to Him for all eternity.

Because a woman's love is complicated and deep.

The profundity of Mary Magdalene being the first to see the resurrected Jesus cannot be lost upon us.  We are talking about women who lived in a culture in which the men spoke a daily prayer saying:  "Blessed are You, O God, King of the Universe, Who hast not made me a Gentile, a slave, or a woman."  Although, for the most part, women were treated with dignity in Jewish culture, they were not allowed to learn scripture, or speak out loud in the synagogue, or pray in public.  Their testimony was not allowed in a religious court because their witness was considered invalid.

The testimony of a woman was not considered valid by religious men, so it is a woman that Jesus first appeared to and sent to give testimony that He was alive.  This was a profound statement made by our Lord for those willing to see it.

When I think on these things, it seems that Mary Magdalene was the first person to preach the Gospel in its complete fullness.  Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God was near, or at hand (Mark 1:15).  But now that He was risen, the Kingdom of God was no longer near, it was here.  The veil was torn, Jesus had given up the Holy Ghost, He had triumphed over death and was raised unto eternal life as the first-fruits of His eternal kingdom, and a woman was the first person to see the victorious risen Christ and publicly proclaim, "He is risen! You have all been set free!"  Scripture tells us that she "came, announcing to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,'" and telling them all the things He said to her (John 20:18).  And that is the same gospel the Apostles eventually proclaimed:  "We have seen the Lord, and this is what He has spoken to us." 

Mary proclaimed, even though her testimony was not considered valid.  She spoke the truth about Christ, even though no one believed her and no one listened to her because she was a woman (Luke 24:11).  She testified to the truth because she had been set free by the Lord and she loved Him fiercely, tenaciously, and deeply.  May we look at Mary Magdalene and be reminded that we, too, are called to testify to the truth about Christ, even though no one may believe us or listen to us.  May we all look at her and be reminded that we, too, have been set free by the Lord.  And may we all look at her utter devotion and lavish adoration and be reminded that we, too, should love Christ fiercely, tenaciously, and deeply.

"Therefore I tell you, because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little, loves little." (Luke 7:47)

"But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, "He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him."'" (Matt 28:5-7)

"As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee:  The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.'" (Luke 24:5-7)

"He was handed over by God's set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches." (Acts 2:23,24)

If Not For A Changed Life

The greatest witness to the power of the Gospel is a changed life.

There are times when I reflect back on my life.  On the sin, the ignorance, the futility.  I reflect on my life and I look back at a sea of wretchedness.  A sea of self.  A sea full of waves tossing between heaven and earth, between spirit and flesh.  As I look back at that sea of sin, I see now that it was encompassed in an ocean of grace, moving me toward recognition of my own wretched condition and the only thing that could ever save me from it.  God looked upon me at my most hideous and said, "I can fix that.  And I will, because you are worth fixing." 

Every human soul is a treasure to God.  Every human soul needs to be fixed and is worth fixing to God.  We cannot fix ourselves, only Christ can.  Only Christ can deliver us from the sea of sin and self that every human is afloat.  We must come to the Cross carrying only our repentant heart in our hands.  We must recognize our wretched condition and cry out to the only One Who can save us.

I fear that if we come to the Cross in any condition other than brokenness, we are only inoculated with the idea of Jesus rather than liberated by the power of His Lordship over our lives.  There are so many inoculated Christians in America.  People who have come to the cross, but not in repentance seeking salvation from self and sin, and thus have been delivered from neither.  People who have been inoculated with the notion of Christianity, which has made them immune to the delivering power of it.  People who have repeated a prayer after someone and been assured that their repetition of that prayer saved them from eternal damnation, when the words they repeated were not said from their heart, and therefore, no transformation ever took place and they continue along with their life, still adrift the sea of sin and self in a sinking boat of false assurance.

Paul prophesied that this would happen.  He said in the last days, there would be people who would have a veneer, a facade, or a seeming appearance of godliness; that there would be people who would claim Christ by their mouth but deny Him by their lifestyle and by their lack of spiritual pursuit of a relationship with Him.  They would have a superficial devotion to the notion of Christianity, but they would deny the power of it, "...having a form of godliness, but denying its power" (2 Tim 3:5).  They would deny the power of the Holy Spirit to transform them from death into new life, and thus, would be devoid of eternal life.  They would deny the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the human soul into a new creature in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).  If there is no transformed life, then there is no salvation.  If there is no longing for Christ, then there has been no genuine faith placed in His saving power.  I say this because we can't afford to get this wrong.  Paul warned the Corinthians that because some of them lived lives that did not bear witness to the work of the Spirit within them, to "examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Cor 13:5).

The power of the Gospel is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).  It is the power of the Spirit of the living God, working within you to transform you from sinner into saint, from hideousness to holiness, from being spiritually dead in sin to being spiritually alive and dead to the power of sin.  A.W. Tozer said, "The Holy Spirit never enters a man and then lets him live like the world. You can be sure of that."  That is because the greatest witness to the authenticity of a person's faith is a changed life "by the power of God for salvation" (Rom 1:16).

"Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3)

"By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them." (Matt 7:16-20)

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matt 7:21)

"To the Jews who had believed in him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" (John 8:31,32)

"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Matt 13:24-30)

"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." (Rom 8:19)