Tag: judgment

The Call

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name” (Acts 9:13-14).

If anyone had the right to do a double-take after hearing from the Lord Jesus, it was Ananias in this circumstance.

Saul of Tarsus had distinguished himself in his opposition to Christianity. He approved of Stephen’s stoning (Acts 7:58-8:1). Saul was “ravaging” the church, imprisoning many, and now headed to Damascus with authority to imprison Christians and bring them back down to Jerusalem (Acts 8:3, 9:1-2).

Ananias has heard about all of this. He has heard about what Saul has done in Jerusalem. He is quite aware of Saul’s journey and his intentions.

And now the Lord Jesus tells him to go to Straight Street and find Saul since the latter has been told that a man named Ananias will help him receive his sight again (Acts 9:10-12).

Can the Lord be serious? Here is the greatest enemy of Christianity! A Christian being sent right into the jaws of danger! Would not Ananias be crazy for going to visit Saul?

Yet Ananias trusts the Lord. Whatever his personal apprehensions, fears, and concerns, he does what the Lord commands him, speaks with Saul, baptizes him, and represents the first Christian to encourage Paul the Apostle in his life’s work (Acts 9:15-19, 22:12-16).

But what would have happened had Ananias said no to the Lord? What if Ananias refused to believe that a guy like Saul could change? What if Ananias did not take courage and expose himself to some risk for the cause of Christ by going to Straight Street? What if every Christian in Damascus and Jerusalem felt the same way?

It is true that Saul received a benefit that most people do not receive. It is also sadly true that many opponents of the faith do not change in their opposition. Nevertheless, God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). He expects believers to take His message out into the world, cast the seed of the Word of God on all soils, letting the Word work on the hearer rather than judging whether such a one will respond to the message (cf. Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23, 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 3:5-7).

There are times when the people whom we think will obey the Gospel will not; there are times when opponents of the faith repent and convert. No conversion can happen, however, if believers have already written people off because of their past antagonism toward the faith or because “those types of people” are perceived to “not be interested” in Christianity.

Just as it was not Ananias’ job to judge whether Saul ought to hear the message of Christ or not, and it was not Ananias’ job to judge whether the Lord should show him mercy or not, so it is with us and those with whom we come into contact. It is not for us to automatically judge anyone worthy or unworthy of the Gospel. It is for us to promote the message of Christ and let people decide for themselves. We might just find that we will be doing more double-takes as we see the types of people who prove willing to become obedient to the Lord’s message. Who knows whether we will be able to encourage the next great promoter of the Christian faith? We can only be sure that we will not if we never take the message out. Let us therefore promote the Gospel among everyone!

Ethan R. Longhenry

The Dragnet

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:47-50).

As Jesus is preaching and teaching in Galilee near the Sea of Galilee, it is all but expected that He would use some kind of image from the fishing industry in His parables. And as Matthew finishes the presentation of a good number of Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13, we have a fishing parable to show us the significant consequences that will come on the basis of what we will do or not do with Jesus and His Kingdom.

We find that parallelism among the parables is maintained in Matthew 13. The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) stands at the fore of the parables, perhaps understood as the parable of parables. We then find the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43), which is parallel to the Parable of the Dragnet we are considering (Matthew 13:47-50). The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32) and the Parable of the Leaven (Matthew 13:33) are paired together and are parallel, as are the Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:44-46).

The dragnet is a time-honored fishing technique, one that would be well known to Peter, Andrew, James, and John (cf. Luke 5:1-11). A large net is lowered into the water and pulled along, catching within it anything that gets in its way. When full– or whenever desired– the net is pulled back up into the boat and its contents emptied out. Ideally, one would have made a good catch of fish that could fetch a nice income from the marketplace. Regardless, many things will get caught in the net that are not desired– smaller fish, perhaps some other creatures, and the like, and those are best cast back into the water or as refuse.

So we have the Parable of the Dragnet: the fish are people, the net is the Kingdom and its upcoming day of Judgment, and the fishermen are the angels. Those who are worthy shall be kept; all others shall be reckoned as refuse, cast into the hell described as the “furnace of fire,” where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:47-50). As it was with wheat and weeds, so now it is with fish: some will be preserved, and others will be burned with fire.

Therefore, we see that the basic message of the Parable of the Dragnet is the same as the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. Yet there are some differences in detail and explanation, and then there is the question of placement.

There is a qualitative difference between wheat and weeds: they are different types of plants. Fish, however, are fish; we are not given the impression that the “good fish” are one species of fish, and the “bad fish” are another species, but that the fish might very well be of the same species but of different quality. In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the “tares” are to be harvested first; the Parable of the Dragnet vividly describes the separating of the good fish from the bad fish. The tares are to be burned; the bad fish are “cast away.”

We should not press these distinctions in detail too far; we must remember that these are images designed to help us understand the spiritual reality behind the image, and not to get too enamored with the images themselves. Nevertheless, Jesus is not simply repeating Himself with the Parable of the Dragnet.

The fact that the fish are not really described has significance. It is not as if people are inherently divided into different classes, with one group of people who begin well, remain well, and end well, and another group of people who begin as refuse, remain as refuse, and end as refuse. Just as the fish are fish, so people are people. There is no distinction made between people based upon their birth, class, ethnicity, gender, or any other similar measure (Galatians 3:28). Put another way, God does not show partiality toward some and not others (Romans 2:11). No one is irrevocably destined to be a “weed” or a “bad fish.” Instead, in this parable, the distinction is based on the value of each fish, which in the spiritual reality can be understood as the character of each person. Is our character bad, evil, and natural, or does our character have Jesus and His Kingdom impressed upon it (cf. Romans 8:1-11)? The Judgment is not based in who we are; it is based on what we have become and what we have done (Romans 2:5-11)!

The day of Judgment will come at once for everyone– it will not be that the wicked go before the righteous, or vice versa (Matthew 25:1-46). The sorting does not happen in this life; it will happen on the day of resurrection when Jesus is glorified in His Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15).

There is also some significance to the idea of the wicked as refuse– as something thrown away as no good. On the spiritual level, there is no distinction between the “tares” and the “bad fish”: Matthew 13:42 and 13:50 are precisely the same. Nevertheless, in the parables themselves, the tares were destined for fire (Matthew 13:30). The bad fish are to be thrown away (Matthew 13:48). This “casting away,” what is done to garbage, evokes the Valley of Hinnom as a place where garbage was collected and burnt, and the “inspiration” behind Gehenna as hell (Matthew 5:22, 29-30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33). Just as people would take garbage to the Valley of Hinnom to be burned, since it had no use, those who have not served God and who remained evil and in rebellion will be taken to hell– Gehenna– for burning, since they were no good and provided no profit.

In that “furnace of fire” there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, images of great suffering and torment otherwise associated with the “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30). Thus we see all kinds of images of hell brought together: the fiery furnace, the place for refuse, a place of suffering, separated far from God and the righteous with Him.

Yet one question remains: if the other parallel parables came right next to each other, why does the separation exist between the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares and the Parable of the Dragnet?

Perhaps this was just the order Jesus used, and there was not much thought put into it. Such, however, is highly unlikely; Jesus is very deliberate with His words and how He presents His message of the Kingdom.

Perhaps the Parable of the Dragnet is designed to be some sort of conclusion; its ultimate message, however, is quite consistent with the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, even ending on the same note (Matthew 13:42, 50).

Yet if we look in more detail at the presentation, we see a type of order. The Parable of the Wheat and Tares is presented (Matthew 13:24-30), but its explanation comes only after the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven (Matthew 13:31-43). We then see the Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:44-46), and then we have the Parable of the Dragnet (Matthew 13:47-50).

What could this mean? It seems as if there is a deliberate “sandwiching” of the parable sets, with the Parable of the Wheat and Tares and the Parable of the Dragnet providing the overall structure. Perhaps we are to understand these parables as representing some kind of structure within the Kingdom: the righteous and the wicked will remain together until the end of time. The Kingdom will start small and grow large; the Kingdom is worth more than anything else, and therefore costs more than anything else. Not everyone will appreciate the growth of the Kingdom. Not everyone will appreciate its value, and even more will not want to pay the cost. Yet, in the end, God is going to separate people based on whether they participated in Jesus’ Kingdom as His servants.

Let us not miss the force of this parable and the way that the parables are laid out in Matthew 13. The message of the Kingdom goes out to all sorts of people, many of whom hear, many of whom fall away. We must understand that the Kingdom starts with humble beginnings, and that just as the Kingdom is of supreme value, so there is great cost involved in obtaining the Kingdom. We must persevere and obey, for we know that the day is coming when God will judge everyone, and those who serve Christ in His Kingdom will be redeemed and honored, while those who did not serve Him will be bound up, cast off as refuse, and burned in eternal suffering. There can be no sitting on the fence; let us make our decision and follow after our Lord!

Ethan R. Longhenry

The Wheat and the Tares

Another parable set [Jesus] before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, “Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it tares?
And he said unto them, “An enemy hath done this.”
And the servants say unto him, “Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he saith, “Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:24-30).

Then [Jesus] left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, “Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field.”
And he answered and said, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:36-43).

One of the great questions regarding the faith is why it is that there are so many different groups claiming to represent Jesus and His truth, and so many others who have entirely different beliefs. At times we might direct this question toward God– why, if He is trying to reconcile the world to Him, does He allow so many different views about so many different subjects? If the Bible can be understood be people, why are there so many understandings of it allowed? Why doesn’t He just set everything straight?

Part of the answer– or at least part of a means by which we can try to understand it– involves free will. God does not compel or coerce; even if He does great things and makes powerful displays, people still must turn to Him and be willing to submit their wills to His (cf. Matthew 26:39, Acts 9:18, 1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, we should not expect God to force people to change their views, or compel them in any way.

The rest of the answer is addressed in the second parable presented in Matthew 13– the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, as it is often called. Matthew presents for us both the parable itself (Matthew 13:24-30) and Jesus’ later explanation of it to His disciples (Matthew 13:36-43).

The story is understandable enough. A man (the Son of Man, Jesus) has a field (the world) and plants good wheat seeds in it (the “sons of the Kingdom,” true believers). During the night, an enemy (Satan/the Devil) came and sowed tares, or weeds (the “sons of the evil one,” those who are not of the truth) in that same field. It was not clear until the plants grew that some were wheat and others were weeds. The man’s servants ask him whether they should go out and remove the weeds, but the man is concerned that wheat would be inadvertently taken up with the weeds. He thinks it better for them all to remain until the harvest (the end of time), and then the reapers (the angels) will separate out the weeds for burning (hell) and the wheat for bringing into the barn (the resurrection of life/shining in the Kingdom of the Father).

Jesus presents this parable to encourage the disciples. He does not want them to be deceived: there will be “weeds” out there, people “planted” by the Evil One to do his will and to resist God’s truth. They will be in the midst of Christians until the end of time. But the day of Judgment will come and the weeds will meet a terrible end then. The wheat will be vindicated and glorified.

Many arguments surround this passage, particularly regarding Jesus’ referent for the “Kingdom.” Does “Kingdom” refer only to the church, i.e. the people who at least nominally understand that Jesus is Lord, or does “Kingdom” refer to the entire world? According to Matthew 28:18, Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, and so the entire world is under His authority and could therefore be seen as His Kingdom. Nevertheless, most of the time Jesus speaks about the Kingdom, He is speaking about those who recognize His Lordship.

If we stop and think about it, however, the message is true for either referent. Within the world there are plenty of opponents of the truth planted there by the Evil One who seek to undermine the Gospel of Christ (cf. 1 Peter 2:12, 4:3-5). Unfortunately, there are also plenty of people who are part of churches who advance false teachings and promote a false gospel, leading people astray (Galatians 1:6-9, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 6:3-10, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, Jude 1:3-19). The dangers are present everywhere.

So why? Why does God allow the “weeds” to continue? Jesus gives the answer– lest the wheat get removed as well. Notice that it takes time to see whether what was planted would become a “wheat” or a “weed”. This message is the same as Peter’s in 2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Whereas plants themselves cannot change their nature, human beings can. The possibility exists for a “weed” to become “wheat”; in fact, every “wheat” must be renewed and reformed from its previous state as a “weed” (cf. Ephesians 2:1-18, Titus 3:3-8). Sadly, some “wheat” return to being “weeds” (2 Peter 2:20-22). Nevertheless, God is waiting and reserving judgment until the final day so that the righteous do not get pulled up with the wicked, and to give the wicked plenty of chances to repent and reform their ways.

We must remember that it is the work of Satan, not the work of God, that has caused confusion, divisions, conflict, and misunderstandings of the truth. The fragmentation among “Christian” groups is the work of the Devil; the Devil is also behind the reason for so many others rejecting the Gospel entirely. God made a good world (cf. Genesis 1:31), and the pure Gospel seed remains very good (Matthew 13:24, 38, Romans 1:16). When good and honest hearts hear the pure Gospel, they can be saved and live to glorify God. Sadly, far too many are not hearing the pure Gospel, but instead are settling for the various seeds and ideas of men.

We know that the day of Judgment is coming, and on that day every plant not planted by God will be uprooted and burned (Matthew 13:30, 40-42, 15:13). The plants whom God planted will bask in the Light of the Son in the resurrection of eternal light (cf. Matthew 13:43, Revelation 21:1-22:6). Let us not wait until the final day to see what kind of plant we will be. Let us make sure that we are planted by God and rooted in Christ so as to live eternally!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Felix

But after certain days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go thy way for this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me” (Acts 24:24-25).

His name, in Latin, meant “happy” or “fortunate.” Yet, as procurator of Judea, Marcus Antonius Felix did not have the luckiest or most fortunate job.

But he was a “fortunate” freedman, having been given a position of power thanks to his connections to the Emperor Claudius’ house. Historians attest to Felix’s cruel, licentious, and greedy behavior (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.7, Tacitus, Annals, 12.54). That he expected some money as a bribe to release Paul is not terribly surprising (Acts 24:26); he was known for taking bribes, leading to no little crime in Judea, and upon his dismissal, was accused of plundering the city of Caesarea.

He also apparently had a thing for women named Drusilla. His first wife was Drusilla of Mauretania, descended from Mauretanian royalty and a second cousin to Claudius himself. But then, in Judea, he saw the Drusilla mentioned in Acts 24:24, the daughter of Herod Agrippa I, former king of Judea (cf. Acts 12:20-23), and fell madly in love with her on account of her beauty (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20.7.2; Histories, 5.9). She was married to the King of Emesa, but Felix hired a man to persuade her to leave her husband and to marry Felix. Thus Felix divorced the first Drusilla for the second, and Drusilla the Jewess likewise divorced her husband.

This is the Felix to whom Paul is entrusted as a prisoner after his life was threatened in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 23). Felix, for his part, had a “more exact knowledge” concerning Christianity, and wanting neither to offend the Jews nor to act overly unjustly to Paul, chose rather to defer the case rather than to make a decision during the “trial” (Acts 24:1-22). Nevertheless, Felix treated Paul well, giving order to the centurion in charge of him to allow him some liberty and to allow his friends to come and minister to him (Acts 24:23).

Furthermore, despite his sinful ways, Felix is interested in learning more about Christianity– “the faith in Christ Jesus.” He and Drusilla listen to Paul. And then Paul starts talking about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (Acts 24:24-25). Felix is terrified by this, and rightly so. He is known as an extortioner, cruel, and adulterous in his behavior. His conduct in life does not conform to the standard of righteousness, he does not exhibit much self-control, and an impending day of judgment would not be pretty for him.

In reality, such is the terror that each and every person should feel when they first learn about the Gospel message. When people see that their conduct is not consistent with God’s holy standard, and that a day of judgment awaits, there is good reason to be afraid (Matthew 10:28, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, 1 Peter 1:17)! That fear should lead to repentance– to renounce the life that led to such a terrible condition, to humbly accept the great grace and mercy of God manifest through Christ, and to serve Him (cf. Ephesians 2:1-18, Titus 3:3-8).

Yet in Felix and Drusilla this terror did not lead to repentance. It was easier to push off the message and the messenger, and so they did, telling Paul that he would call upon him at a more convenient time (Acts 24:25).

As far as we can tell, that moment never really came. Yes, Felix often called for Paul and spoke with him, but more to find a way to get money out of the situation than to really learn of righteousness (Acts 24:26). Two years later, in 58, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus as procurator (Acts 24:27). Despite having an excellent opportunity to pardon Paul, he did not do so– as a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison, “passing the buck” to Festus (Acts 24:27).

Drusilla and her son with Felix are reported to have died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79; Felix is reported to have married his third wife afterward. We otherwise know nothing about them but have little confidence that they ever became obedient to the message they heard from Paul.

Felix’s example serves as a warning for people throughout time. If there were someone whom we would imagine as hard-hearted, it would likely be Felix, but such was not really so. Despite being covetous, licentious, and cruel, he listened to what Paul had to say. He knew, deep inside, that what he was doing was wrong, and the prospect of being called into account for it by God on the Judgment day was a strong enough possibility in his mind that it led to terror. But that feeling of terror was not sufficient to lead to repentance. Perhaps Felix was concerned about how conversion to Christianity would sit with either his fellow Romans or with the Jews or both. He likely did not want to imagine himself without Drusilla #2 or again with Drusilla #1, if that remained possible. Perhaps he just did not want to give up his lifestyle. Regardless, in that critical moment of decision, Felix did not repent; he ran. He sent Paul away, figuratively attempting to escape from the truth and power of the message. Maybe he imagined that there would be a “more convenient day” to hear Paul and to change his ways. Yet it is just as likely that he never imagined that there would be such a day coming– it was just a way of ending the conversation without having to change.

There are likely some people who have so blinded themselves to the truth and have been so hardened by their sins that they do not think that they are doing anything wrong and who truly repudiate everything about the message of Christ. Yet such people are in the minority. Most people who sin know, if nothing else deep down, that they are doing things they should not be doing. The message of righteousness and self-control inherent in the Gospel exposes this shame to the light, and the confirmation of the day of Judgment, made certain by the resurrection of Jesus (cf. Acts 17:30-31), guarantees that justice will be served. Internal terror, the correct and visceral response to these truths, manifests itself.

Our future destiny is entirely dependent on how we respond to that internal terror. If, on seeing our condition, we know that we must change our ways and serve the Risen Lord Jesus, we have the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-8). But if we make any other decision– to assault the integrity of the message or messenger in an attempt to rationalize our behavior, to excuse our behavior in some other way, or simply to find a way to physically and/or spiritually “get away” from the message and the messenger, and refuse to repent, then our condition will be very grave– separated eternally from the Creator in torment (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).

Felix chose the latter. The vainly imagined “more convenient day” never came, as it never comes for the majority of people who are so minded. We can push men off, but the standards of righteousness, self-control, and the imminence of the day of Judgment are fixed and certain. Let us resolve to serve God and not to run away!

Ethan R. Longhenry

The Firstfruits

But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming (1 Corinthians 15:23).

Despair turned to excitement on that first day of the week so long ago when Jesus arose from the dead (John 20:1-31, etc.). In the midst of all the excitement, however, there was one theological conundrum that needed to be addressed.

The idea of resurrection was not foreign to the Jews; the Pharisees believed in the resurrection (Acts 23:8), and no doubt many other Jews did also. But “the resurrection” in which they believed was the resurrection on the last day. That is what Daniel 12:2 seemed to indicate. It certainly was the expectation of Martha when Lazarus died (cf. John 11:24).

But someone rising from the dead in the resurrection before the end? This was not something you would automatically take away from a reading of the Old Testament, nor was it something immediately obvious to Pharisees and others. Perhaps this was part of the challenge the disciples faced in not understanding Jesus’ predictions of the event (Mark 9:30-32, etc.). How could it be that One could rise from the dead before everyone was raised from the dead?

The Holy Spirit, through Paul, would make this understandable. Jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection!

The idea of the firstfruits comes from passages like Deuteronomy 18:4:

The first-fruits of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

The firstfruits were the first part of a harvest– the first wheat or barley harvested, the first wine processed, the first of the fleece shorn, and so on and so forth. The Israelites were to devote the firstfruits to God (Exodus 23:19), and God gave them to the Levites for sustenance (Deuteronomy 18:4). After the firstfruits had been offered, the rest of the harvest belonged to the people for their own consumption and use.

The firstfruits image, therefore, helps us understand the relationship between Jesus’ resurrection and the resurrection on the final day. Jesus is the firstfruits– the first to rise from the dead, never to die again (1 Corinthians 15:20). He had been given as an offering to God to atone for the people (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:1-15). He paves the way for the resurrection to come, the resurrection of which we all take part (John 5:28-29, 1 Corinthians 15:12-57)!

There is something obvious about the firstfruits that is important for the resurrection. The firstfruits are not different in kind or type from the harvest that comes later. The firstfruits of wheat are wheat just as the “second fruits” or “third fruits” would be; the same goes for barley, wine, fleece, and the like. So it is with the resurrection: we should not believe that our resurrection will be something different from Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23). The difference involves time, not type or kind. As Jesus died in the flesh but remained alive in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18), and was then raised bodily from the dead, the tomb being empty, and His flesh being transformed for immortality (Luke 24:1-49), so it goes with those who serve Him. All who have died, and those who will be dead before His coming, remain alive in the spirit, but will then be raised bodily and transformed for immortality (1 Corinthians 15:35-57, Philippians 1:21-23, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)!

In reality, the resurrection is a challenging concept, for one of the few “guarantees” in the physical realm is that once one dies, one is always dead. We do not see people rising from the dead, never to die again.

Yet that is precisely the hope by which the Christian must live (cf. Romans 8:20-25). And we have confidence in that hope because of Jesus the firstfruits. We do not have to wonder whether God can or will raise the dead, for we know He raised Jesus from the dead. If He is able to raise Jesus from the dead, He is able to raise us from the dead also, and He has promised to do so (Romans 8:11)!

The last enemy, indeed, is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). Through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and lordship, believers now can have confidence in their spiritual regeneration in this life (Romans 6:1-23, 8:1-9). The believer is able to be a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), yet we are all still cursed with physical death.

But death will be abolished. The day will dawn when we all will have the victory over not just sin but also death through Jesus Christ our Lord, and on that day the rest of the harvest will be brought in to the praise and glory of God in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:53-57, 1 Peter 1:6-7). We can have complete confidence in this because Jesus gained the victory over sin on the cross and over death in the resurrection, and He is the firstfruits! Let us all serve God so that we may attain to the resurrection of life (cf. Philippians 3:11-13)!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Jephthah’s Vow

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, “If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering” (Judges 11:30-31).

The vow certainly seemed to be a good idea at the time.

The Israelites were suffering under the oppression of the Ammonites. Jephthah was certainly not the first choice– the son of a prostitute (Judges 11:1), and now a gang leader (Judges 11:3)– but he’s the one that the Gileadites beg to help them defeat Ammon. If he is victorious, he will rule over Gilead. If he is defeated, he will bear ignominy and shame if not death! Thus he makes his vow, in all seriousness, to God. If he is granted victory, whatever comes out to greet him will become a burnt offering to God– a princely sacrifice indeed!

Yet Jephthah’s vow is a tragic one. He was, no doubt, expecting an ox, a sheep, or a goat to meet him first. The LORD grants him a mighty victory (Judges 11:32-33). But, as Jephthah comes home, his daughter– his only child– comes out to meet him (Judges 11:34). The text then indicates that she mourns for her virginity for two months and that Jephthah then “did with her according to his vow which he had vowed” (Judges 11:35-39). He had paid his vow. He offered up his daughter as a burnt offering.

People today recoil at this story. How gruesome! How terrible! Many wish to soften the story by declaring that Jephthah really didn’t sacrifice her, pointing out that God condemned human sacrifice, and saying that she was just left a virgin. While it is true that God does not demand human sacrifice and would not have commanded Jephthah to offer such a sacrifice, the text is pretty clear. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for his daughter to mourn her virginity for two months if she will be mourning it the rest of her life beyond that. And the text does say that he did to her according to his vow– and his vow was to offer up whatever met him as a burnt offering. The Judges author is describing the events that took place in the days of the Judges– he’s not necessarily condoning them.

Nevertheless, we rightly recoil at the horror of this story. The tragedy is that it was all very avoidable. The problem was not with Jephthah making a vow, or the victory the LORD gave him, or with his daughter coming to meet him. The problem was with the specific vow that Jephthah made. He was operating under a certain set of assumptions and did not factor other circumstances into those assumptions. Had the thought crossed his mind that it would be his only child that would come to meet him first, he would never have made that vow the way that he did!

Jephthah’s vow should be a great reminder for us about the power of words. As it is written,

Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof (Proverbs 18:21).

And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matthew 12:36-37).

We have all, at some point or another, spoken casually, not really thinking about the whole range of consequences of what we have said. We may feel blindsided when the unintended consequences of our words come back to us and we realize that we have “put our foot in our mouths,” so to speak. Hopefully our words will not cause the same type of devastation as Jephthah’s did– but we will be called into account for everything we say.

Vows to God were serious business, serious enough that Jephthah considered it worse to break his vow than to offer his daughter as a burnt offering. Words, despite how easily they may flow off our tongue, are serious business, and life and death may even hang in the balance. Let us learn from the tragic story of Jephthah and his daughter, and be circumspect about how we speak!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Asaph and the Wicked

“For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee. But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all thy works” (Psalm 73:27-28).

Psalm 73 describes Asaph’s meditations on one of the more challenging realities of this world: the wicked oftentimes prosper while the righteous do not.

At first, Asaph is led to envy and distress. He sees the condition of the wicked: they are strong, without trouble or plague, proud, violent, fat, with abundance of possessions, scoffers, blasphemers, and at ease (Psalm 73:1-12). Asaph begins to envy them and wonders why he bothers living a righteous life, trying to do the right thing, while all these others who cut corners and do wickedness prosper (Psalm 73:13-14)!

Asaph understands that such thoughts are treachery against himself and against his descendants, and he recognizes that dwelling on the whole matter causes pain (Psalm 73:15-16). And then he enters the sanctuary of God and receives comfort (Psalm 73:17).

Yes, the wicked may prosper now, but the day is coming when they will get caught in their wickedness. It may be during this life, or it may be in the life to come, but desolation comes upon them all (Psalm 73:18-20, Romans 2:5-10).

Asaph then recognizes how brutish he was, and foolish in his thinking (Psalm 73:21-22). He recognizes that his trust is in the LORD, and that God will guide him with His counsel (Psalm 73:23-25). Even though the flesh fails, God will be strong (Psalm 73:26). And, in conclusion, Asaph sets forth the two paths: the one that is far from God, and those therein will perish, and the one drawing near to God, where there is true strength and value (Psalm 73:27-28).

Three thousand years later things have not changed significantly. There are still plenty of people who make a very good living through sinful behaviors. It seems that those people who are trying to be responsible and who do the right thing are the ones being punished, and many wonder if it is worth it to do what is right and to follow God.

We can learn much from Asaph and his meditations. Yes, the wicked prosper. But their prosperity will not last forever. Times of distress will come upon them and there will be no Refuge in which they can trust. They may mock and deride God in their words and deeds, but all of that will come upon them one day (cf. Romans 2:5-10, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)!

Those who attempt to serve God and do His will may look at the wicked and get envious at how “well” they are doing, but they must never forget what they have. As believers in God they are able to call upon God as their trust and refuge. Believers in God are guided by His counsel and enjoy the opportunity to be in the presence of God (cf. Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 4:16). And, ultimately, God will redeem those who are His and they will spend eternity with Him in glory (cf. Psalm 73:24, 2 Thessalonians 1:10-11, Revelation 21:1-22:6).

Why do the wicked prosper? We do not know, cannot know, and it would be too painful to really know. But let us not envy the temporal prosperity of the wicked when we have the opportunity to have the true riches indeed– to call upon the One True God, to be guided and sustained by Him, and, ultimately, to receive glory from Him. Let us draw near to God and make Him our refuge!

Ethan R. Longhenry

The Beam and the Mote

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how canst thou say to thy brother, ‘Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye,’ when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye” (Luke 6:41-42).

For those who do not think that Jesus has a sense of humor, we provide exhibit A: beams and motes, or, as in other versions, logs and specks. A man with a log/beam in his eye, trying to take a speck/mote out of the eye of his brother. That is a very funny picture indeed!

But why does Jesus present this image? It is not just to get a quick laugh– it is a very pointed example. We all can see how ridiculous it is for a man with a big stick of wood in his eye to try to take a small speck out of his brother’s eye– but are we willing to see how ridiculous we often look on the basis of the meaning of this picture?

The context is a guide to meaning. The declaration to “judge not” is made in Luke 6:37-38, and the image of the blind leading the blind and how they will fall into a pit follows (Luke 6:39). After the image, Jesus speaks of how trees are known for their fruit, the good and the bad, and how good people bring forth good and evil people bring forth evil (Luke 6:43-45).

Beams and motes, therefore, have to do with judgment and goodness or evil. We are all a lot better at discovering the sins and deficiencies of others than we are of our own. That does not mean that we do not have deficiencies– far from it (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8)! It is just a lot more difficult to come to grips with that uncomfortable truth. It is always easier to see ourselves as better than we really are– either by conveniently “forgetting” how they look, like the “natural man” of James 1:22-25, or focusing on their intentions and aspirations and not their actual conduct. That is why people walk around with beams in their eyes– and they are generally blissfully attempting to forget about it.

The mote in our brother’s eye represents his sin or deficiency in a given situation. There is a difficulty there– Jesus does not deny this. The mote needs to be removed (Galatians 6:1)!

This can be done in one of two ways. Most people keep the beam in their own eye and attempt to remove the mote in their brother’s eye. You can imagine how well that goes! The brother tends to be offended and the one with the beam does not understand why they are so unwilling to come to grips with their sin! The whole time the brother just sees the big old beam in the eye– the unrepentant hypocrisy– and they are easily turned off or turned away.

But Jesus intends for people to follow a different path. We all have those beams, and we all, when appropriate, need to help our brethren with their motes. But we need to first take the beam out of our own eye– recognize our deficiencies, prove our own work, remain humble servants of the Lord– and then we can look more carefully to help our brother with his difficulties. When he realizes that we do not feel that we are better than him, that we are fellow servants of God trying to obtain the Kingdom, and are willing to admit when we are wrong, our attempt to assist him will go much better.

The action itself– removing the mote– is not different. The difference is within us– we either are willing to recognize our failings or we are not. When we refuse to recognize our failures, we deceive ourselves, and it is easier for us to treat other people contemptuously. That is precisely why we must recognize our failures, even though it is very uncomfortable– it forces us into humility, perceiving that we are really no better than anyone else, and that will allow us to show compassion and mercy to others– which is exactly the point!

It is a silly picture– someone with a log in their eye trying to take the speck out of his brother’s eye. And yet how many of us try to do the same by pointing out the failures of others while attempting to cover up or hide our own? Let us not look foolish– instead, let us recognize our failings, maintain humility, and help others in love and with compassion– and show good fruit!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Presence vs. Participation

And one said unto him, “Lord, are they few that are saved?”
And he said unto them, “Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying,
‘Lord, open to us;’
and he shall answer and say to you, ‘I know you not whence ye are;’
then shall ye begin to say, ‘We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets;’
and he shall say, ‘I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity'” (Luke 13:23-27).

Every generation seems to have its great events and personalities, and people cling tightly to the memory of being present for them and with them. People today still talk about where they were and what they were doing when they heard that John F. Kennedy was shot, or the Challenger space shuttle went down, or when they heard about the 9/11 attacks. Many people remember fondly how they directly participated in great events of their day: a presidential inauguration, or a music celebration, or some other iconic event. Others remember fondly when they had the opportunity to hear a given speaker of some reputation.

Imagine, then, what it must have been like to live in first century Israel and to see and hear Jesus of Nazareth! Consider what it must have been like if Jesus came into your village. You saw the sick healed, demons cast out, and the blind given the ability to see (Matthew 9:35). You heard His wonderful teachings and felt a sense of pride and great expectation. You have been able to see the Son of God Himself!

Then, as with all men, your earthly life ends and you stand before the same Jesus on the day of judgment. You feel hopeful– after all, you were there! You saw Him work His power! Maybe He even recognizes you!

But then the message you hear is quite distressing– “Sorry. I never knew you, for you did that which was evil.” After it is too late, you have learned the lesson: it was not enough just to be present. In order to obtain the blessings of Jesus and His Kingdom, you had to be an active participant!

Granted, none of us have seen Jesus in the flesh or were present when He spoke as He did in Luke 13:23-27. Yet we can still hear about Jesus and the things which He accomplished. We can decide to spend our time with people who seek God and His righteousness first (cf. Matthew 6:33). We may also hear various messages about Jesus from various parts of our society and get the impression that as long as we mentally recognize that Jesus is Lord, everything will be just fine. We may feel that as Americans we are God’s new chosen people and that we will certainly enter Heaven– after all, we are Americans, there are a lot of great people in America, and surely God loves Americans enough to save them.

Holiness and righteousness are not like the cold or the flu– they cannot be “caught” by mere presence or exposure. One cannot become holy or righteous simply by being around holy and righteous people, or by just hearing the message of holiness and righteousness (cf. James 1:22-25). We cannot simply be present– we must decide to participate!

The Kingdom is not for “professors,” those who profess belief in Jesus and little more, but it is for those who do the will of the Father (cf. Matthew 7:21-23). We may feel a special attachment to Jesus or to Christianity because we have been present for its message or have experienced it in some way, but that, on its own, does not mean that we get closer to God. Instead, we must seek to enter by the narrow door– the path laid out by Jesus (cf. Matthew 7:13-14, 1 John 2:1-6). We must participate by becoming God’s humble obedient servants, seeking His will and not our own (Romans 6, Galatians 2:20). Let us strive to not just be present but also to participate in God’s Kingdom!

Ethan R. Longhenry

What Jesus Saw in Zacchaeus

And he entered and was passing through Jericho. And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature. And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said unto him, “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house.”
And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner.”
And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.”
And Jesus said unto him, “To-day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1-10).

Zacchaeus is famous for being a “wee little man,” a character that small children learn about in Bible classes. Yet there is much that grownups can learn from Zacchaeus and his interaction with Jesus.

When the Jews saw Zacchaeus, they saw a little weasel who sided with the oppressor against them. As a publican, or tax-collector, he was equivalent to a Gentile, and probably seen as much worse (cf. Matthew 18:17). If you were trying to find the ultimate example of a sinful person in first century Judea, you would speak about the publican (cf. Luke 18:9-14)!

The publicans were seen as evil because the job attracted some of the least reputable and most corrupt persons in society. They were told to go and collect a given amount from the people, and their salary was whatever they could obtain beyond that amount. Not a few tax collectors would extort double, triple, or even quadruple the necessary funds from the people in order to line their own pockets. You can certainly understand why they were universally disliked!

Therefore, we can understand that when the people of Jericho saw Zacchaeus, they saw one of the most insufferable sinners in their midst– he is not just a tax collector, but is the chief tax collector! The people of Jericho likely could barely stomach the idea that he was a child of Abraham like they were. They would, no doubt, be assured that he would suffer greatly in the pit of Sheol because of his profession and extortion. To them, he was a good-for-nothing tax collector!

But what did Jesus see in Zacchaeus?

Did He see a sinful man, one who was quite guilty of sin? Undoubtedly. Did Jesus understand how Zacchaeus would be perceived by his fellow man? Absolutely.

But Jesus saw a side of Zacchaeus that the rest of the people refused to see. He saw the possibility of repentance in such a man despite his great sin. He perceived how Zacchaeus was extremely interested in seeing Him. Jesus, therefore, did the most unbelievable and amazing thing, at least in the eyes of the inhabitants of Jericho: He decided to lodge with Zacchaeus, of all people!

Were there not many more righteous men in Jericho? In the eyes of the people, certainly. There were probably a few Pharisees in town, maybe a priest or Levite or two. But Jesus stays with the ultimate sinner! Tongues began to wag. People begin to question. If Jesus really was the Son of God, why would He stay with such a man?

Jesus is vindicated by Zacchaeus’ response. Since Jesus was willing to show Zacchaeus love, compassion, and mercy, and to give him a chance, even if entirely undeserved, Zacchaeus responded with repentance. Jesus gently rebukes the crowd by demonstrating how salvation has come and that Zacchaeus is a child of Abraham, even if the people saw him as “too sinful” to “deserve” that status. And we see how Jesus’ ultimate purpose was fulfilled: He came to seek and save the lost.

There is a lot that we can learn from this story. For those who are in sin and separated from their Creator (Isaiah 59:1-2), you can take courage by the example of Zacchaeus, and know that Jesus has provided you love, compassion, and mercy, even though you do not deserve it (Romans 5:5-11, Ephesians 2:1-10). You also can change your ways and begin serving the Lord and be saved, no matter what you have done (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

All of us, however, can learn from Jesus and what He saw in Zacchaeus. If we are honest with ourselves, we will recognize that we have played the part of the people of Jericho far too often. We have seen terribly sinful people and believe that there was almost no chance for them to be saved. We have despised such people in our heart, especially if those people have oppressed us or harmed us in some way. We certainly could not see how any truly righteous person would have anything to do with such people!

The witness of Scripture is clear: all have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory of the Father (Romans 3:9-23), and that means that none of us have the right to so judge and condemn anyone (Matthew 7:1-5, Romans 14:11-12, James 4:12). The only reason that any of us have a prayer is because God showed us love, compassion, and mercy, and that despite ourselves (Romans 5:5-11, Titus 3:3-8). Those “terrible sinners” have just as much right to obtain God’s grace, repent of their sins, and be obedient as any of the rest of us do. God shows no partiality (Romans 2:11)!

Therefore, when we encounter “terrible sinners,” let us remember that just as Jesus would show them love, mercy, and compassion, even though they do not deserve it, so we should also show them love, mercy, and compassion. It may very well be that we have little influence on their actions or their lives. But you never know when the person that you have written off as a “terrible sinner” may turn out to be a Zacchaeus, one who will hear and change his ways. Let us all strive to maintain humility and reflect the love of Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry