A Three-Legged Race

Introduction

            With the Winter Olympics right around the corner, more and more stories are being published about Olympic athletes and their respective athletic events. I read an article a few days ago about the US Women’s Olympic bobsled team and specifically about the controversy surrounding the selection of Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones to the team. Although her teammates have defended the decision, critics of the selection say that she is the weak link on the team and that the team may stumble in its pursuit of the Gold Medal. I don’t know why it made me think of this but do you remember Field Day when you where in elementary school? For those of us who were more athletic than we were smart, it was a day when we had a chance to be winners after so often being losers in the classroom. Field Day was much different when my daughters went through elementary school. We didn’t do egg races or water balloon races like they did. We also didn’t have an “athletic” event that was comprised of how many ears of corn could be stuffed into a potato sack in a given amount of time. Instead, we had potato sack races! Remember those? Each person would climb into a potato sack and race by hopping the length of twenty -five yards or so across an open field to the finish line. The crashes were nothing short of spectacular—they were Nascar-esque crashes! We also had sprint races and distances races. We did high jumps and long jumps. And at each finish line, first place received a blue ribbon, second place received a red ribbon, and third place received a white ribbon. Everyone else got nothing (Try that today and you might be facing charges of cruelty or running for your life from a crowd of angry parents wielding lanterns and pitchforks!). Field Day was generally focused on individual achievement. However, there was one particular event that required a partner. The event could be quite graceful or an absolute human catastrophe. That’s right it’s A Three-Legged Race!

It’s hilarious to watch but back when I was in elementary school, it was stressful. Why? Because everyone scrambled to pick the right partner in order to give themselves the best chance to win. This wasn’t for fun mind you; this was for perhaps someone’s first blue ribbon or another blue ribbon to add to someone’s already accumulated stack of blue ribbons; it was serious business! For a few minutes, universal playground rules were suspended so that it didn’t matter if your partner was a boy or a girl; the only thing that matter was winning that blue ribbon even if it meant being temporarily lashed to a “yucky” boy or girl. We pretty much knew each others’ athletic abilities so most kids paired up accordingly. Athletes paired up with athletes and non-athletes paired up with non-athletes. The athletes usually won but it was usually much closer than one might think. However, there would inevitably be some athletes who would get paired with non-athletes and frankly, that often turned into an unmitigated disaster. Very rarely were these odd pairings successful. Nevertheless, they made for great entertainment. Not that elementary school kids can be mean or anything {read: sarcasm}.

            What doesn’t make for great entertainment is when our significant relationships feel like we’re in A Three-Legged Race with a poorly matched race partner. Many Christians enter into relationships of various kinds quite innocently only to find that often those relationships reach a crossroads where Christian values and beliefs intersect with the world’s values and beliefs. Inevitably, the result is compromise. However, it is rare indeed when the world is willing to compromise its values to accommodate a Christian’s values. It is more likely the case that Christians compromise their values to accommodate the more worldly values in their relationships. If you don’t believe me then you haven’t been paying attention to what is going on in the world around you. There is a way to avoid this compromise and accommodation for Christians and this week’s lessons will address this very difficult principle.

Subject Text

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

            ¹⁴Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ¹⁷“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” ¹⁸“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Context

            At first glance, this instruction appears definitive and absolute but anytime that occurs, we had better pay special attention to the context in order to see how it applies to us or even if it applies to us specifically. As with all biblical instruction, we must decide if the instruction is descriptive or prescriptive. In other words, does the instruction describe the life of faith at the time of the instruction or does it prescribe a life of faith for all time? The text immediately preceding and immediately following our Subject Text seems completely unrelated as they speak of Paul’s hardships and Paul’s joy respectively. And a broader view of the surrounding texts doesn’t add much specifically to help us understand why Paul is giving this instruction either. As a result, we need to take a big step back and look at the context of the Corinthian culture and see if that will give us the necessary insight into why Paul is giving this particular instruction.

            Corinth is located about 50 miles from Athens and around two miles from the narrow isthmus that forms a land bridge between Greece and the Peloponnesus. Because of its geographical location, Corinth controlled two major harbors and ruled the trade routes between Asia and Rome. Corinth catered to the gods of Egypt, Rome and Greece. The Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was in Corinth. Even though the actual temple was not active during Paul’s time, prostitution flourished in the city below where the temple once served as the center for prostitution. As you might imagine, Corinth catered to sailors and merchants from around the world. Even before Paul’s time, Corinth had an awful reputation. Aphrodite’s temple gave Corinth its reputation of overt immorality referenced by Paul (1 Cor 6:9-20; 2 Cor 12:20-21). “She [Corinth] had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai [Gk], to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery…Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, ‘It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth.’ In addition to these cruder sins, there flourished far more recondite vices, which had come in with the traders and sailors from the ends of the earth, until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, drunkenness and debauchery, but also for filth.”[1] With that image of Corinth in mind, the purpose of our Subject Text becomes clearer. Furthermore, because we can make a correlation between the Corinthian culture and our own, it seems Paul’s teaching is far more prescriptive than it is simply descriptive. As such, let’s dive into our Subject Text and try to understand exactly what Paul is trying to teach us.

Subject Text

            The NIV translation of v. 14a is good but it doesn’t quite capture the far-reaching intent of the text. There are various translations of this text that try to capture the true spirit of the text and although they are all good translations, I think seeing them together will give you a better idea of just how far this instruction reaches into our relationships. Here are some other translations of the same text:

Don't team up with those who are unbelievers.—New Living Translation

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.—English Standard Version

Do not be bound together with unbelievers.—New American Standard Bible

Do not be mismatched with unbelievers.—Holman Christian Standard Bible

Do not become partners with those who do not believe.—NET Bible

Do not be associates with those who are unbelievers.—Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers.—GOD’S WORD Translation

Be not be diversely yoked with unbelievers.—Darby Bible Translation

Do not come into close association with unbelievers.—Weymouth New Testament

            These translations demonstrate the extent to which Paul’s instruction applies to our relationships. However, the one constant in all of them is that Paul is specifically talking about our relationship with unbelievers. The translation of the Greek word heterozugountes is literally “different-yoking.” Paul’s use of the word “yoke” is somewhat lost on many of us because it is an agricultural term. But the illustration was quite familiar in the largely agrarian culture of Paul’s day. Furthermore, Paul’s use of the word was easily understood by his audience in its relation to all aspects of their lives. “The concept of the yoke was used in relation to marriage and in relation to teachers who agree in their doctrine. A mixed marriage or cooperation [with] one who had a different doctrine was considered to be ‘unequally yoked.’”[2] Paul’s agrarian

culture understood that an ox and a mule could not be yoked together because a team of oxen and a team of mules utilized different types of yokes. The same yoke could not harness different species of animals. Paul wants the Corinthian believers to recognize that they are different than unbelievers and as such must not be harnessed together. Paul creates a narrow focus in v. 14b-c for his instruction when he illustrates just how divergent believers and unbelievers are. Paul’s point is that believers have (or should have) about as much in common as does righteousness and wickedness or light and dark. We can look long and hard for an exception to Paul’s instruction but we won’t find any. Paul makes it clear that believers cannot dabble in a bit of darkness and a bit of light at the same time. “A decision has to be made for one or the other, for God or against him who is light in whom there is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5), or to be more precise, for or against Jesus Christ who described himself as the light (Jn 12:46; cf. 8:12). It is his person that provides the yardstick. He who rejects him condemns himself by the same act (Jn 3:18f). On the other hand, he who believes him (Jn 12:46) and follows him (Jn 8:12) no longer walks in darkness.”[3]

            Paul continues to illustrate the incompatibility between believers and unbelievers in v. 15 with two questions; both of which appear to be rhetorical in intent. To begin with, in order to understand the distinction between Christ and Belial in v. 15a, we need to understand who Belial [Gk. Beliar] is. In the context of our lesson we can assume that Belial is the opposite of Christ but the lesson is hard enough to accept for some people that we shouldn’t make any assumptions in case we miss something when Paul uses the term Belial (or Beliar), since its use is only found here in all the New Testament. “It is a Heb. word meaning ‘worthless’ used in Jewish writings and the DSS [Dead Sea Scrolls] to describe Satan, the prince of lawlessness, and darkness.”[4] It seems clear that this is intended to be a rhetorical question as it is obvious that there is no “harmony” between Christ and Satan. However, whether or not v. 15b is intended to be rhetorical is not so clear. What do believers and unbelievers have in common? Well, we work together, we go to school together, we share meals, and generally we live within God’s created world together. It certainly seems that believers and unbelievers have quite a bit in common so what is Paul trying to say? “The absence of meris [Gk “part; shared commonality”] between believer and unbeliever refers to characteristics and interests peculiar to believers, such as concern for the will and glory of God, not necessities of life shared by all humans, such as food, clothing, and shelter…Paul was not a rigorous separatist, calling for believers’ total separation from unbelievers. Correspondingly, he is not here denying the common humanity of believers as citizens of the present cosmos, saying that the Christian and non-Christian have nothing in common. But there are radical differences in behavior and motivation between these two classes of people.”[5]

            Paul continues with his rhetorical questioning in v. 16 in a context that is quite familiar for his audience. Remember the overall context I provided above for the Greek culture in which the Corinthians lived their lives. They were surrounded by shrines and idols to the Greek gods. In contrast, the bodies of believers are, individually and corporately, temples of the living God. As such, the temple of God and that of idols are incompatible. To emphasize his point, Paul paraphrase the Old Testament covenant promise to the Israelite community that God will walk among those who believe in Him and that He will be their God and they will be His people (Lev 26:12; Jer 32:38; Ezek 37:27). That Old Testament covenant promise now extends to all of those who have accepted and put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. This sets us apart from those who have rejected Christ. “Paul interprets the church as ‘the temple of the living God in terms of her being ‘adopted’ as God sons and daughters…His call for separation and purity makes sense only if the church understands herself not to be just one more institution playing and essential role within the fabric of society. Nor is the church a social service meeting the felt needs of her neighbors. Such a domestication of the church could not be more foreign to Paul’s view of God’s people or to her status as a disenfranchised minority in the Roman world in which Paul lived. Instead, as the new covenant people of God, the church is the ‘family of God’ united by a common identity in Christ and gathered around her common worship and fear of ‘the Lord Almighty.’”[6]

            Paul continues to identify the Church with Israel’s Old Testament promises in vv. 17-18. Specifically, the Israelites were called to separate themselves from the surrounding ungodly cultures for fear they would become contaminated by other ungodly values, practices, and belief systems (Isa 52:11). Too many people see God as only an authoritarian judge. But Paul makes clear that God is instructing us to steer clear of the trappings of the world like a father instructs his children. As a Father who is a perfectly holy judge? Yes; As a Father who knows the dangers of evil in advance? Yes; As Father who demands a life or holiness from those who say they love Him? Yes; As a Father who is jealous and wants you all to himself? Yes; As a Father who would stop and nothing to be in relationship with you? Yes. But most of all as a Father who loves you more than you can ever imagine. Too often we see God the Father as either a harsh task-master who sets the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable and rules His people and His creation with an iron fist or we see God the Father as a Disneyland-dad whose primary objective is to insure we are always happy, healthy, and have everything we ask for. But God is neither of these things as we conceive them to be. These are understandings based on our limited perspective and experiences of flawed, earthly fatherhood. God the Father is particularly special and one-of-a-kind. “God exercises control over all aspects of the lives of believers, which arises from his special concern as Father for his children…The contemporary pagan world held its gods in fear, the Christian view of God’s fatherhood brings an unparalleled element of intimacy into man’s relation with God…It is important to note that the father-child relationship in reference to God is almost wholly reserved for those who are believers. The relationship is the result of the redemptive activity of God…Care must be taken not to reduce the NT [New Testament] view of the fatherhood of God to the level of human experience. No father-son relationship among men is ever perfect, because no human father is perfect. But in God the perfect pattern of true fatherhood is always seen…We need to enquire what ‘fatherhood’ means when applied to God. As far as believers are concerned it means that God is the source of their spiritual life and pours out his love upon them. He is concerned with their welfare and also with their discipline.”[7] In the context or our Subject Text, God’s concern with whom we associate should be understood within the sphere of a Father’s concern with his child’s spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being.

Application

            Honestly, this is a difficult lesson on so many levels; particularly because it can be difficult to know where God intends for us to draw healthy boundaries between us and an unbelieving world. We’re not called to be separatists in a strict sense or else we wouldn’t be able to fulfill Jesus commission to reach out to an unbelieving world with the message of the gospel. Instead, we are called to be in the world not of the world (Jn 17:14-19). However, we are clearly instructed to set ourselves apart from those things of the world that could serve to compromise the commitment we have made to be followers of Christ (1 Jn 2:15-17); the commitment to be holy (1 Pet 1:15); the commitment to live as a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). While that all seems very clear, what is less clear is what that looks like in real life. Let’s look at a few everyday relationships and how this teaching might inform our view of those relationships. Specifically, I want to pick up on some significant relationships after childhood because so much of our childhood faith mirrors that of our parents. Therefore, I want to address relationships at a point when individuals typically begin to take personal responsibility for the direction of their own faith.

Everyday Friendships

           During our early teenage years, friendships are usually closely tied to our identity or at least the identity we would like to have. We want to be liked and popular so we tend to hang around people who we see are liked and popular. In our later teenage years and early adulthood, our attention is often focused on having fun, so we tend to associate with other fun-loving people. Eventually, as we become mature adults with established personalities and tendencies, we are generally more comfortable associating with like-minded people. In each case along our path of maturity, our personality, values and behavior are influenced by the people we associate with. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the stages of development as I have just described them. However, what if the young teenagers who are liked and popular are not believers? What if the fun-loving people we associate with in our early adulthood are unbelievers? What if the like-minded people we feel most comfortable with as an adult are unbelievers? What do you suppose your life would look like as a believer? Would it look like the life of a believer as described by the Bible or would it look more like the life of an unbeliever in the image of all the unbelievers you have aligned yourself with throughout your life?

Business Relationships

           This can be a very difficult area because it involves the ethic of work which itself is divinely appointed for each of us. What I want to focus on instead is how we can compromise our faith commitment by who we work with and for. In some cases, it’s easy to determine what we should and shouldn’t do. For example, is there anything wrong with being a hard-working photographer? Not really. I have a niece who is an amateur photographer and she has taken some amazing pictures of nature. Nothing wrong with that right? Now what would you think about a hard-working pornography photographer? We suddenly go from something that can be a Godly endeavor by my niece to something we should have absolutely nothing to do with at any level. Sometimes these things are not so simple. Sometimes we don’t know the specific world view of the people we work for. Nevertheless, that does not absolve us from the obligation to do what we can to determine whether or not the actions and attitudes of the organization we work for are consistent with our Biblical values. It is not always cut and dry and I recognize that. However, don’t hide behind the idea that the person or organization you work for is neutral on the matter of Biblical values. In this same regard, the same principle holds true in business partnerships. In such cases, our perspective partner(s) should share similar Biblical values for life and business as our own.

Romantic Relationships

            This might be the hardest area of all in our lesson. Specifically because our perspective and decision making skills in the midst of a passionate relationship have a tendency to become grossly distorted. There is often no more influential relationship in our lives than a romantic relationship; for some, more influential than their professed relationship with Christ. I have yet to meet young lovers with the ability to always think clearly beyond their love for one another. The desire to be in a romantic relationship is not exclusive to unbelievers. Both of my daughters attend a Christian university and sometimes I think Christians are more obsessed with entering into romantic relationships than are non-Christians. However, that’s a topic for another time. Currently, the point I want to emphasize is not the romantic relationship between unbelievers or the romantic relationship between believers but the romantic relationship between an unbeliever and a believer. There is no better example of being unequally yoked then a believer entering into a romantic relationship with an unbeliever. Don’t believe me? Let me try and give you a couple of examples:

1. Believers are opposed to sexual relations prior to marriage on a biblical basis. Unbelievers have no such basis for opposition.
2. Believers are called to use their resources, financial and otherwise, for the good of others. Unbelievers have no such calling.
3. Believers are instructed to raise their children according to biblical values. Unbelievers have no basis for absolute values to instill in their children.
4. Believers are compelled to obey God’s calling for their lives. Unbelievers are compelled by their own desires.
5. Believers worship the Lord of the universe in this life with an eye toward eternity. Unbelievers worship the things that bring them satisfaction and happiness in this life only—money, sex, and power.

There are no doubt many other examples but you probably get my point. For all of you who are not yet married and are in this type of relationship, don’t hide behind the excuse that your love is strong enough to overcome any obstacle. The instruction in our Subject Text is not conditioned on the depth of your love for one another—it is an absolute prohibition. Furthermore, don’t make the excuse that you, as a believer, will be able to win over your unbelieving partner. You have removed the primary motivation for your partner to become a believer—the condition of being in a relationship with you. Once that condition is removed, all motivation for the unbeliever to become a believer is removed. And to make matters worse, you have now compromised your own ability to think clearly about whether or not you should be in a relationship with this person because you have allowed yourself to become romantic involved. If you are a believer and this describes your relationship, I’m begging you to consider carefully what you are doing and whether your relationship with your unbelieving partner is more important than being faithful to God’s very clear instruction on this matter.

Marriage Relationships

           Regardless of what the world would like us to believe, marriage is a sacred bond between one man and one woman whether God is officially recognized in that union or not. In the course of a marriage, if either the man or the woman becomes a believer, the Bible is clear that they are to remain together if the unbelieving spouse is willing to remain married (1 Cor 7:12-16). Why wouldn’t the unbeliever be willing to remain married? What’s the difference? The implication is that the believer must now live according to biblical principles at which point an unbeliever may not be willing to remain married to the believing spouse. So what’s the difference between being in an unequally yoked relationship prior to marriage and an unequally yoked relationship after marriage? The sacred union of marriage and its metaphorical illustration of the relationship of Christ (the Bridegroom) and his Church (the Bride) is the difference. Remember, marriage is a sacred bond whether or not the participants recognize God in that bond or not. It is one thing to deal with the struggle of becoming unequally yoked after marriage. It is quite another to disobey God by entering into a marriage already unequally yoked. As with any marriage, the danger is always the dissolution of the marriage bond in divorce which is never God’s will for marriage relationships even as they are a reality of our fallen world. And entering a marriage unequally yoked from the start adds an element of difficulty to a relationship that is hard enough even when a husband and wife are both believers.

            Please listen to what I’m not saying and what I am saying. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t engage with the unbelieving world around us. We can’t be salt and light if we spend all our time among salt and light. Salt is needed to bring out the full flavor of life that is missing in the lives of unbelievers. And the guiding light of believers is need in a dark unbelieving world. These things are only possible when we engage an unbelieving world. I am saying that we must guard our hearts and minds in the midst all our relationships recognizing that many of those relationships are quite powerful and have the strength to divert our hearts and minds away from our commitment to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ. These are the relationships we must temper or avoid altogether. These relationships can make us stumble and fall in our walk of faith. Paul calls our journey of faith a race and we should run that race so as to win (1 Cor 9:24-27). However, being involved in influential relationships with unbelievers is like being unequally yoked in A Three-Legged Race.

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[1] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, (Lexington, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), pp. 2-3.

[2] Fritz Rienecker, A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980), p. 474.

[3] Colin Brown, gen. ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), p. 424.

[4] Cleon L. Rogers Jr. & Cleon L. Rogers III, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), p. 405.

[5] Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians—The New International Greek Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), p. 503.

[6] Scott J. Hafemann, 2 Corinthians—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), p. 292.

[7] Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), p. 80-83.

Chasing After The Wind

Introduction

            People ask me from time to time how I pick my lessons. Well first and foremost I listen long and hard in prayer to what God is saying. Sometimes I try to argue with Him about what He wants me to teach on because I don’t like it. Ultimately, my lessons are just as much for me as they are for you. And I like hearing them even less than maybe you do. But I always teach based on where God is leading—even if it’s not what I want to hear. The last few weeks of work have been more physically taxing than usual and as I get older my body reminds me each morning of the work I did the day before. I’m thankful for the work and I’m thankful there’s enough money to pay the bills each week but there’s usually very little if any left over. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I’d stayed working in corporate America more than 20 years ago instead of starting my own business so I could be around my kids as much as I wanted. Back then, I had a posh corner office; nice suits; golf outings; expense accounts; secretaries that would bring me coffee, and lots of employees for me to tell what to do. I wonder if maybe we might have a nest-egg built up or if I’d have to work so many hours to make ends meet like I do now. And then right when I’m really feeling pathetically sorry for myself, I run into someone that reminds about how awesome my life has been since I made that choice more than two decades ago. They reorient my perspective to be more eternal and less temporal. I have a great customer that I’ve done work for over the last six or seven years who has two children—a boy and a girl. When I first met him they were very young but now his daughter is 13 and his son is 11. My friend is a baseball fanatic. Unfortunately, his favorite team is the San Francisco Giants who happen to be in the same division as the Colorado Rockies and in case you don’t know, the Rockies are perennial cellar-dwellers while the Giants are always in the hunt to win a World Series. Suffice it to say, it’s painful to talk baseball with him. But I digress—this past week, he told me that his daughter has started competitive softball and he is one of her coaches. He went on and on about the practices, the equipment costs, the games, the tournaments, and the enormous time commitment it took on his part to be engaged with her in her new-found sporting interest. However, he also told me that it has been the greatest time of his life. As I drove home that day, the memories of my own experiences with both of my daughters who played competitive soccer flooded my mind; the practices, the games; the tears; the joy; the plane rides to out-of-state tournaments; the long talks about soccer, dreams, and life in general. And I especially remembered our long talks about God and faith. I got to thinking about the family vacations we took on a tight budget that have left a permanent mark of joy in my memory. I got to thinking about all the people I have had the opportunity to minister to and alongside of over the last 20 years—hospital visits; sharing in the tears of loss at funerals; sharing the in tears of joy at weddings; baptizing a customer’s mother on her death-bed; sharing Christ with anyone willing to listen; back-breaking mission trips, and having the opportunity to be part of this ministry and in some small way part of your life of faith. Looking back over the last 20 years, I remember most of those things even down to the smallest detail because I know, intuitively, that they have eternal value. But I can’t remember how much or how little money we had. Too often, I get caught up in the idea of “having enough” and maybe a little more to pass on to my kids but I realize that I would never, ever trade the last 20 years for any amount of money or sacrifice the opportunities I have had to minister in the name of Christ in exchange for money. One of the benefits of getting older is the wisdom to know that the goal of making more money and having more things means that other things have to be sacrificed. I also know that there is no such thing as “having enough.” Do you know what a person who has everything wants? More! I recognize that the constant drive to make more and have more is a poor investment of time and energy. It’s like trying to grasp something that is always out of reach. It’s like Chasing After The Wind in the hopes of someday catching it. I know, I know, it’s easy for me to disparage the pursuit of wealth and possessions because I don’t have much of either but what if the richest person in all of history came to the same conclusion? Would it matter to you then? Would you listen to his advice? Follow along in this week’s lesson and let’s find out together what one of the wisest, richest, and most powerful men had to say on the matter.

Subject Text

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

            ¹⁷So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²²What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. ²⁴A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Context

            In case you were unaware, Ecclesiastes is actually a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew, Qoheleth (also Koheleth), meaning “teacher” or “preacher.” And that teacher or preacher, in this case, is Solomon. You know, if we’re to learn from someone, we should know a little about that person to see if they’re actually qualified to teach on a given topic. Let me try and reconstruct an image of Solomon to reassure you that he is quite qualified to teach us this valuable lesson. Solomon was the third king of Israel and the son of David. Solomon built the original Temple in Jerusalem. Biblically and historically, Solomon was considered the wisest man to have ever lived. But Solomon was not only endowed with wisdom, he also accumulated great wealth among other assets. Consider this:

1. It is estimated that Solomon accumulated over $300 billion in gold during his reign.
2. There was so much silver and bronze in the treasury that they stopped keeping track.
3. Solomon received $25 billion in inheritance from David to use toward building the Temple.
4. Solomon received gold and silver annually from the kings of Arabia, governors and merchants.
5. Israelites paid significant taxes to the kingdom.
6. The kingdom received tribute money from allies and other countries and kingdoms seeking to ally themselves with Israel.
7. The king of Tyre sent gold, silver, ivory, apes, monkeys, Ethiopians (slaves and servants), and peacocks every three years as part of a business arrangement.
8. Solomon received gifts of gold, silver, spices, precious stones, garments, armor, horses, mules and virtually anything else you can imagine. Often the gifts would arrive piled high on the decks of shipping barges
9. It was said that gold and silver was as common as stones in Jerusalem. In fact, all of Solomon’s cups were made of gold. Silver was so plentiful in the kingdom that it was considered essentially worthless.
10. In case you think that Solomon only accumulated wealth, he also had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines (a live-in sex partner that is not a wife) which perhaps explains why he needed so much money!

You could say that Solomon had it all—well all the things that many today consider to be the most important—money, sex, and power. In fact, he had more of these things than anyone so we should probably listen to what he has to say about them; especially when he is critical of them.

Text Analysis

            We mistakenly think that wealthy people always love their work or whatever they do to earn money. We think their lives consist of sleeping late, parties, vacations and easy living. However, the only people who work harder than people who have no money and are trying to make ends meet are people who have lots of money and don’t have to worry about making ends meet. Their lives are not without stress or struggle. They simple have different issues to deal with. People lose sleep trying to figure out how they will earn enough money to survive and people lose sleep trying to figure out how they will keep from losing what they have worked so hard to earn. People who are not wealthy wish they didn’t have the problems that come with not having money while people who have money wish they didn’t have the problems that come with having money. This appears to be what Solomon was talking about in v. 17 of our Subject Text. Solomon isn’t saying that work has no value. What Solomon is saying is that if our identity and personal value are too closely intertwined with what we do, we will ultimately find that we have been wasting our time. What happens when you work your whole life to accomplish something only to find out that it wasn’t what you expected? You too might confess that you “hate life” like Solomon. So where does that leave us—should we work or shouldn’t we? “Though greatly hindered by sin’s curse, all are to engage in some form of work six days a week...as they are able. Idleness (sloth) is condemned by its very consequences. Work is the ordained means of the production of wealth and material culture, yet God’s people were repeatedly warned never to trust or boast in either; one is not to find any final integration point in either work or its produce, for all these things will pass away.”[1]

            We intuitively recognize the truth of Solomon’s words in vv. 18-21 but none of us have actually experienced its reality for our own lives if you think about it. However, I have had the chance to look behind the curtain to get a glimpse of what Solomon is talking about. My wife’s grandmother was fairly wealthy in large part because of the wise investments made by her husband while he was alive. She was not wealthy in comparison to Solomon but pretty wealthy in comparison to the average American. She lived for a number of years after her husband passed away and was obsessed with her wealth. She kept a ridiculously large sum of money in her checking account because it made her feel safe. She was not particularly generous with her money or her possessions even with her two children. During the final few years of her life she began to suffer from age-related dementia. Ultimately she failed to recognize even her own children. In her final days, my wife would sit with her even though her grandmother had no idea who she was. And when the end got close, all she wanted was for someone to hold her. So my wife would lay down in bed next to her and just put her arms around her. After she passed away and after the funeral, I remember the entire family and extended family gathering at a family member’s house where names were drawn out of a hat to determine how grandmother’s remaining possessions would be distributed. I’m not kidding! Her possessions were distributed as a game! Of course her significant monetary wealth was left to her two children who promptly lost virtually all of it to an unscrupulous investment scheme organized by another family member (think about that the next time you think your family is the most dysfunctional family). In the end, a lifetime of possessions were divided like they were party favors and the money served to line the pockets of crooks. And just like that a lifetime of striving was gone! I can only surmise that if grandmother had known about that before she passed away, it probably would have killed her. “Death introduces an element of futility into human life, even making work seem useless. What can be gained from work if death erases one’s accomplishments? In spite of all our work, there is nothing we can take with us. We labor trying to take the wind, and what do we get? Grief [Ecc 5:13-17].”[2] Ultimately, no matter how proficient and successful we are in this life, we will leave everything behind to those who come after us and they may perpetuate that success or they may squander every last penny. Either way, your past efforts will be meaningless in determining how your wealth will be managed in perpetuity.

            Ask any successful person and they will be quick to tell you that sleep can be an elusive luxury. Fitful sleep is often one of the costs of success when mental machinations are constantly at work to build and/or protect wealth. In vv. 22-23, Solomon’s describes that a person can toil and strive anxiously at their daily task and be rewarded not just with pain and grief but after a day of exhaustive effort they can expect a fit-filled night of sleep. Think about this and see if it hasn’t been true for your life. You work diligently on an important project at work and you’re exhausted at the end of a very long day but your reward is a night filled with tossing and turning because your mind cannot stop thinking about the important project. You study for days and days for an important examination and then exhausted, can’t sleep the night before the test as you review all the materials in your head over and over. You wear yourself out caring for your family and your home and then find yourself exhausted at the end of the day lying in bed unable to sleep as you think about all the things you didn’t accomplish and the things you have to do tomorrow. It seems backwards doesn’t it? You would think that after expending ourselves by toiling all day at our given task, we would be reward by a night of peaceful rest but too often the exact opposite is true. “Solomon’s life is the life of many men [and women] in our culture: the carrying through of great projects, the building of personal monuments, the exertion of power over many other human beings, [and] the amassing of wealth…What does it add up to? ‘A chasing after wind,’ with accompanying stress and anxiety (particularly about how to ensure that one’s legacy is passed on) and sleepless nights, and at the end death—the ultimate auditor’s report.”[3]

            It seems that in every group of texts, there’s at least one verse that is taken out of context in order to justify a certain lifestyle and vv.24-25 are no exception. Solomon exclaims that nothing is better than for a person to eat and drink and enjoy their work. You might recognize the text as it is alternatively recited as “The purpose of life is to eat, drink, and be merry.” But is this what Solomon is saying? Think about it in the overall context of the Bible—does Scripture ever teach that life’s primary purpose is self-satisfaction and personal happiness? I believe that part of the answer is found in v. 25. Solomon concedes that nothing is possible without it first being ordained by God—food, drink, or the joys of life. In our modern vernacular, Solomon is saying that it is good for us to live each day in the present; thankful for what we have right now. Focusing on the blessings of the here and now regardless of how few or plentiful they may be frees us from the tyranny and anxiety of striving and toiling to reach an unknown and unknowable tomorrow. What Solomon is trying to say is Carpe Diem which in Latin means “seize the day.” “Evangelical Reformers with their robust doctrine of creation were right in their approach to the carpe diem passages. The carpe diem passages celebrate creaturely human life as God has made it. The attitude recommended will certainly include eating and drinking and working, those fundamental, embodied human activities, but these activities are also metaphors for an approach to life…It has been rightly stressed that this exhortation to be aware of happiness and of anything that enhances life is not to be confused with that zest for life which so often settles in the shadow of despair. Here for the first time, Koheleth is aware that his is in accord with a divine purpose; here he sees himself face to face with a beneficent God…eating and drinking and enjoying one’s work are an expression of the shalom [Heb. “peace”] that God intended for his creation and humankind in particular.”[4] The principle expressed in v. 25 is clarified by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians when he writes, “Whether eating or drinking or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Specifically because of the blessings God brings to our lives on a daily basis.

            Some verses can create considerable consternation and v. 26 has done that for some people. Our final verse seems pretty cut and dry—those who please God can expect a life of wisdom, knowledge and happiness. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that these people are blessed. Conversely, sinners (those who do no please God) can expect a life of hardship and toil while the fruits of their hard labor will go to those who please God. Maybe cursed isn’t entirely accurate to describe these people but the idea is that this person is the antithesis of the one who pleases God. Now think of this in the overall context of the Bible. Doesn’t the Bible teach that we are all sinners (Rom 3:23)? If that’s the case then how do we reconcile this verse with the reality of our world because it seems pretty clear that there are plenty of sinners who enjoy wisdom, knowledge, and happiness and many are abundantly wealthy? Here is where we need to be very careful to read this verse within the context of Solomon’s theological construct. The Jews believed in a quid-pro-quo relationship with God. If they were faithful and observed all the laws, rules and regulations then they would enjoy God’s blessings of health, wealth and peaceful existence in the Land. This theological construct is not without justification considering all the Old Testament affirmations of blessings promised by God provided the Israelites proved to be obedient to His instructions and consequent curses if their obedience failed. The important principle Solomon is trying to convey is that even striving to attain God’s blessing or avoid his curses is misguided because it focuses on the future which is unknown instead of our immediate existence within the sphere of God’s daily blessings. There is an irony in Solomon’s teaching that we must recognize as well when he ends the verse. Solomon recognizes that based on his personal experience, even if the one who pleases God is the beneficiary of the efforts of the sinner, death will always be the great equalizer. Therefore, the incessant quest to achieve more, accomplish more, and acquire more, if there is no eternal value, is like Chasing After The Wind. To add to the complexity of this final verse is trying to gain a clear understanding of what pleases God and what doesn’t. Ultimately, we are each blessed according to God’s will and should enjoy those blessings as we receive them daily. “These passages constitute the true message, a message of solid joy in God’s creation…but it is difficult to find more than a mood of resigned conclusion in such passages. There are no recommendations that Qoheleth truly finds joy in. He can only offer them in a mysterious and incalculable world: What else can one do? So take whatever joy on can find. But even here, there is a wild card. One never knows the way things will turn out with this God, who disposes of things according to an inscrutable divine will.”[5]

Application

            Unfortunately, our Subject Text can leave us with the impression that life is pointless, meaningless, and hopeless. But rest assured that this isn’t Solomon’s final word on life’s ultimate purpose. By the time you get to the end of the Book of Ecclesiastes Solomon concludes that our whole purpose is to fear God and keep his commandments and in the end all our deeds, whether good or evil, will be judged by God. Now all that is certainly true but Solomon is unable to see the full course of history from his vantage point in time. What Solomon is left with is uncertainty; Uncertainty because his theological perspective did not include the revelation of God in Jesus Christ; Uncertainty because his perspective on daily activities lacked the eternal and personal relationship aspect with God through Jesus Christ. This is why the Gospel message begins in Genesis and ends with Revelation because the entire Gospel message offers a clearer picture of God’s involvement with his creation that is less clear along any given point of the message. Here let me demonstrate—Solomon says that our toil and work are meaningless because we can’t take it with us. Jesus says, what good does matter if a man gains the whole world yet loses his soul (Mt 16:26)? Solomon had a limited perspective on life while Jesus always had an eternal perspective. Solomon taught that we should eat and drink and enjoy our work as much as possible because it was something that would pass away. Paul taught that whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we should do it to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). This again puts our lives in an eternal perspective. Jesus introduced a new perspective on God. Solomon saw God only as someone to be feared and obeyed. Jesus introduced us to a God who was not only perfectly holy but a God who desperately wants to be in relationship with us. Jesus has given eternal purpose to our earthly efforts if for no other reason than they bring glory to God and serve to build our relationship with Him. The only way for our efforts to have meaning is if they have eternal value. So the question is, is there eternal value in what we do? The short answer is yes, what we do matters because what we do adds to God creation as co-creators. And if we have been created in the image of God then we need to change our perspective on what we do as co-creators made in the image of God. As such, our work, what we do, adds to God’s creative order. Although it may be flawed as a result of sin, it is not worthless or meaningless. “The ‘image of God’ verses in Genesis 1 show us that our ordinary human work is an essential aspect of deepening our relationship with God—what today we might call being transformed into his image. Our relationship with God, our imaging him, is our essence as humans—while the working activity is the expression and realization of that essence…God makes our creative working possible in the first place. He uses whatever we do to direct us toward his purposes, which always means toward our flourishing as created beings…It may surprise some to find that what Jesus, the Lord of the universe, desires of us is friendship rather than servitude.”[6] So does that mean that Solomon was wrong? Not technically, but what is missing in Solomon’s assessment of toil and work is the eternal and relational element. It is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ that puts eternal meaning in everything we do because we do everything to bring Him glory and to fulfill the purpose He has set for us. Think about it—without a relationship with Christ, nothing we do has lasting meaning to us personally. It may provide meaning for a while but without the eternal perspective that is only possible through Christ, what we do will eventually become meaningless. We will be left wondering why we work so hard. What’s the point since we can’t take anything with us to the grave? Without Christ, meaning will always be just beyond our grasp and no matter how hard we work or how much money we earn or how many “things” we own, the meaning we chase will always elude us just like Chasing After The Wind.

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[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, gen. ed. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), p. 944.

[2] Walter A. Elwell, ed., Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), p. 833.

[3] Iain Provan, Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), p. 84.

[4] Craig G. Bartholomew, Ecclesiastes—Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), p. 152.

[5] Roland Murphy, Ecclesiastes—Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992), p.27.

[6] Darrell Cosden, The Heavenly God of Earthly Work, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006), pp. 89; 91; 121.

A Crisis Of Faith

Introduction

            One of the benefits of being a pastor is the opportunity to sit and talk to people about the condition of their faith. If you’re a pastor for long enough, you eventually have the opportunity to see the same people go through many cycles of their faith—from strong to weak and back to strong again. I used to think that faith traveled along a linear trajectory—from weak and immature to strong and mature. However, after a lifetime as a Christian and countless conversations with Christians who have traveled through the peaks and valleys of faith, I realize that faith ebbs and flows as God works to reveal more and more of Himself to us and continually shatters any illusions we have about Him. I’ve watched my daughters go through the process of having to shed some of the things they learned in their youth group, not because what they learned was wrong, but because what they learned was a truncated version of who God really is and how He operates in and through our lives. Unfortunately, too many youth programs and many church programs in general emphasize one particular aspect of God and how he operates in and through His creation generally and in our lives more specifically. As a result, many young adults, and churchgoers in general for that matter, think they have God all figured and have Him all boxed up in a neat little package. However, when God operates outside the box and allows something unexpectedly painful in our lives, our world is rocked and we begin to question what we were so certain we believed. We believe God is the great provider and then we lose our job. We believe God is the great sustainer and then we’re diagnosed with cancer. We believe that God is the great healer and then the person we love so deeply dies. We believe God has blessed our marriage and then our spouse is unfaithful or leaves us. We believe we have followed God’s direction in raising our children and then they rebel against all the values we’ve instilled in them. We believe God is always with us to comfort us and then we experience a painful dark night of the soul where God seems completely absent. We’re certain that we know how God will behave in a given circumstance in our lives and then He behaves contrary to what we were so certain about. It can be very frightening when God turns out not to be the person we thought or wanted Him to be. It can leave us searching and wondering who God is. Is God real? Is God good? Is God loving? Is God actually in control? Some people simply brush these issues aside but for those who have placed their full hope and faith in God, it can be a very difficult time; it is a very real and often frightening place to be; it is A Crisis Of Faith. And it is in exactly this place that God does His greatest work in our hearts by transforming who we think God is or wish God to be into who He really is. God is interested in an intimate relationship with you but He wants you to be in a relationship with who He really is not some imitation god who is nicely wrapped up in a box with a bow tied on top. In this week’s Subject Text we will meet a man who experienced just such A Crisis Of Faith when he met Jesus.

Subject Text

Mark 9:14-29

            ¹⁴When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. ¹⁶“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. ¹⁷A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” ¹⁹“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” ²⁰So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. ²²“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” ²⁴Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief !” ²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” ²⁶The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. ²⁸After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁹He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Context

            At the beginning of chapter 9 we find Jesus high up on a mountain alone with Peter, James, and John. While they were there, the three disciples were witnesses to something magnificent. In a moment, Jesus was transfigured! Jesus’ clothes became perfectly white and both Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. Suddenly a cloud appeared the enveloped all of them and in the cloud they heard a voice (it is inferred to be God’s voice) affirming that Jesus is the beloved Son of God whom they should listen to. Don’t go so fast as to miss this important image. If you’re like me, you’ve read this text countless times and tried to visualize the events. However, for just a moment, listen to the story in your mind with the ears of a Jew. Think about it—what is the first thing that would have come to your mind as a Jew when you heard those words? That’s right Exodus!

            By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. (Ex 13:21)

And

            As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. (Ex 33:9)

            Then, just as quickly as everything appeared, everything returned to the way it was; the cloud was gone, Elijah and Moses were gone; and Jesus was no longer glowing in perfect white garments. The disciples’ minds had to be swimming when Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they saw until after Jesus had risen from the dead. In fact, it seems they were having their own not-so-minor crisis of faith as they discussed what rising from the dead really meant. If Jesus was the Messiah then how could it be that the religious leaders taught that Elijah would have to appear first in order to herald the coming of the Messiah? Where was Elijah? They must have made the connection in their minds that if Elijah didn’t herald the coming of the Messiah then was Jesus really the Messiah? But, as is always the case with God, Jesus reassures them by transforming what they believed was true in their limited understanding to what was really true. And the truth was that one like Elijah did come first and he did herald the immediate coming of the Messiah—it was John the Baptist (cf. Mk 1:1-11; Mal 3:1; Isa 40:3; Isa 44:3; Isa 11:2). They still associated the coming of the Messiah with Israel being re-established to its national prominence. They still did not fully grasp that Jesus’ primary mission was to provide the means for humanity to re-establish its relationship with God; a relationship severed by sin. There would be more crises of faith in the disciples’ future as Jesus continued his march to the cross.

Text Analysis

            Jesus, Peter, James, and John reunite with the other disciples in v. 14 where they find the disciples among a crowd of people and the religious leaders. Not surprising whenever the religious leaders are involved, an argument ensues. It is difficult to determine from the text if the argument is between the disciples and the religious leaders of between the religious leaders and the crowd. It is probable that there was some of both. However what is important to note is that wherever we find the religious leaders, confusion, conflict, disharmony, and division are close by. Also not surprising, Jesus’ presence in v. 15 introduces a stark contrast to the presence of the religious leaders; confusion gives way to clarity; conflict gives way to resolution; disharmony gives way to harmony; and division gives way to unity. As we will soon learn, something has occurred that no one seems to have a good answer for. The text reads that the crowd is “overwhelmed with wonder.” As usual, Jesus shows up at just the right time and the people, who are clearly distressed, run to greet him. “When Jesus unexpectedly arrived on the scene, the people ran to greet him. Usually the people were in awe of his teaching and miracles; here they are in awe at his very presence with them.”[1]

            When Jesus asks in v. 16 what they were all arguing about, a man from the crowd steps forward and explains in vv. 17-18 that his son is possessed by a demon and that he brought the boy to the disciples for healing. The father explains to Jesus that the demonic activity in his son has robbed him of his speech and regularly tries to kill the boy by throwing him into the fire or into the water. The father goes on to explain that the boy experiences seizures that cause his body to become rigid while foaming at the mouth and gnashing his teeth. Wait…that seems like a perfect description of an epileptic episode yet it is described in the text as a demon possession. That makes me wonder—was this psychotic episode described as demon possession because the ancient world lacked the expertise to diagnose the boy in modern psycho-analytic terms or do our modern psycho-analytic terms seek to explain a condition that is rooted in the spiritual realm? This is another one of those biblical examples of both/and not either/or.

“King Saul was controlled by an evil spirit toward the close of his reign. The record speaks of ‘an evil spirit from the Lord’ that came upon him. [Author] Ellen White says that Saul ‘gave himself up to the control of the wicked spirit that ruled over him,’ and she speaks of him plunging ‘into a fury of passion’ and then passing ‘into a state of despondency and self-contempt,’ when ‘remorse would take possession of his soul.’ If he were alive today he would likely be labeled a manic-depressive personality. Manic-depressives display impatience and intolerance when their wishes are not immediately gratified, and they indulge in impulsive and ill-considered actions. A patient can be ‘transformed instantly to the most vicious anger if he is crossed or ignored.’ But the fact that symptoms can be given a name does not mean that demons were not involved in causing them…The most fully recorded example of demon possession in the New Testament is the story of the boy from whom the disciples were unable to drive out a demon…Dr. John Wilkinson goes so far as to make a diagnosis: ‘The boy suffered from the major form of epilepsy. This, however, is not the final diagnosis, for epilepsy is a symptom, not a disease. It is due to a sudden disturbance of the nerve cells in the brain and may have many causes.’ Dr. Frank Ervin describes epilepsy as ‘that state of impaired brain function characterized by a recurrent, periodic, paroxysmal disturbance in mental function with concomitant alterations in behavior or thought processes’… Was the boy suffering from epilepsy as the NIV suggests, or was he possessed by a demon? If one accepts the New Testament evidence there can be no question that the boy suffered from demon possession, but it is also clear that the demon had worked upon the nervous system to produce what could be clinically diagnosed as epilepsy…‘the various manifestations of physical and mental disorder that marked the demon possessed, were, in and of themselves, no different from similar manifestations attributable to natural causes. Apparently the difference lay, not in the nervous and physical symptoms displayed, but in the agency that caused them.’”[2]

            Jesus seems to have an odd reaction to the circumstances when he opens v. 19 with what seems like a rebuke. He calls those present an “unbelieving generation” and seems genuinely agitated and impatient with their persistent unbelief. It is true that Jesus was often exasperated by those who demanded miracles to prove his divine authority but this doesn’t appear to be the case here. In this particular case, it appears that Jesus’ reaction is a direct result of the peoples’ inability, not necessarily unwillingness, to recognize that God’s kingdom was in their midst. “The implication is that this generation is not simply a generation of skeptics but a generation that has failed to respond to the good news of the presence of the kingdom, a presence attested by Jesus’ power over Satan and his unholy allies. Because of a lack of faith in Jesus’ proclamation, gaining freedom from Satan’s oppression is hindered.”[3]

            When the boy is brought to Jesus in v. 20, the demon that possessed him reacted in generally the same way all the other demons reacted when they were confronted by Jesus—it freaked out. The minute the demon sees Jesus, the boy goes into another epileptic episode. You can look long and hard but you will not find any time when Satan or any of his demons encountered Jesus and didn’t know exactly who He was. And in the case of the demons specifically, they knew exactly who was in charge—Jesus! “The knowledge the demons have of Jesus may be supernatural or it may indicate—as the names used for Jesus suggest—he was recognized to be an exorcist in the Jewish tradition where healers such as Jesus often relied on God as a source of power-authority…One of the questions addressed in Mark’s Gospel is the identity of Jesus. Mark asserts from the beginning, and has God confirm, that Jesus is the Son of God…Mark shows the human characters ignorant of Jesus’ true identity. Yet through the cries of demons, Mark is able to remind his readers of who Jesus is…In confronting the demons Jesus is empowered by the Spirit and is doing battle against Satan. Through the exorcisms and confrontations with the demons and the demonic the Jesus of Mark is shown to be the Son of God.”[4]

            When Jesus asks in v. 21 how long the boy has suffered from his condition, the father explains in v. 22a that his son has endured the malady since he was a child. Then, in v. 22b, comes the plea; the plea of desperation; the plea that says I’ve tried everything else; The plea that says you’re my last hope; the plea that cries—I need a miracle! When you’re at the bottom with no other options, it can be hard to be courageous or confident in your faith so I can completely understand why the father seeks Jesus’ help with some trepidation. I mean the disciples probably invoked Jesus’ name in an attempt to heal his son and that didn’t work so can you really blame the father for having some doubts? “The Master forced the father to acknowledge that Jesus was his only hope. While the man knew this, he did not know whether this hope was enough. After all, the disciples had been unable to do anything for the son. Perhaps this had shaken his faith somewhat.”[5]

            The father’s apprehension is not lost on Jesus in v. 23 when Jesus notes the uncertainty in the father’s plea that begins with the word “if.” To which Jesus responds with a statement that has been used out of context so many times that its real truth is hardly recognizable. Jesus tells the father that everything is possible for someone who believes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that God did not intervene miraculously in some particular catastrophic illness or injury because the people involved, the miracle workers and those seeking a miracle, did not possess the requisite faith. Ugh! May God spare us all from such biblical ignorance! Jesus didn’t say that as long as you believe, you’re guaranteed to get whatever you ask for. Jesus said that all things are possible for anyone who puts their trust in God. However, nothing, regardless of the level of faith exhibited by those involved, is possible unless it is first God’s will. Let me illustrate: I believe that it is possible that God will always grant me good health. However, God does not guarantee my good health if that is not his will. Nevertheless, perpetual good health is a very real possibility. “Faith in God means for Jesus being open to the possibilities that God presents. It also involves a reckoning with God which is not simply content with the thing given and the events that have come about…[Jesus’] teaching was quite distinct from wild enthusiasm, because it was not divorced from the constant wrestling with God and speaking with him.”[6] The implication being that as imperfect humans we often find ourselves living on the razor’s edge between belief and unbelief as we constantly seek to understand God’s ways as well as His will for our lives and the lives of those we love.

            The father finds himself on that razor’s edge in v. 24 as he confesses that he believes Jesus yet pleads with Jesus to help that part of him that doubts. This man is experiencing A Crisis Of Faith right before our eyes—he believes yet he also doubts. Let me just say that if Jesus expected perfect faith from us before he engaged with us positively, he’d have to wait a long time. Jesus is not looking for perfect faith in imperfect humanity. Jesus is looking for daily surrender to the will of God in spite of our doubt. “The father belongs to the unbelieving generation, but we see him straining to have this faith. Unlike the people at Nazareth, who refuse to believe, the father’s belief is repentant. He is unable to believe but is desperate enough to ask for a miracle and for a faith that expects the impossible. He has not been privy to any vision on the mountain, and his poignant cry, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief,’ has resonated with those fighting the same battle across the centuries. He pleads for help just as he is, a doubter.”[7] Jesus understands that with each episode of surrender to God’s will our faith grows stronger and stronger. However, that surrender is often not without sorrow, pain and suffering as prayers for God’s miraculous intervention in our lives or the lives of those we love appear to go unanswered.

            Although perfect faith on the part of humanity is the ultimate objective of Jesus, He recognizes the limitations of imperfect humanity as we see Him heal the boy in vv. 25-27 in the presence of the growing crowd which no doubt includes a cross-section of people like the religious leaders who refused to believe the Truth, people who were only interested in being entertained by Jesus’ divine power, and certainly some who were desperately trying to believe even as they were burdened by doubt much like the distraught father. Jesus expels the demon from the boy and commands it to never re-enter him. At this command, the demon violently attacks the boy one last time before it leaves him apparently so exhausted that he appeared to be dead. Yet Jesus took the healed boy by the hand and helped him to his feet; free of the evil spirit. “The spirit went out at the end of each attack, but returned again. [V. 26] describes a final fit, apparently worse than the preceding. It was evidently an aggravated type of epilepsy, fit following on fit and producing utter exhaustion.”[8] In the rest of Mark’s gospel we learn that the religious leaders refused to believe to the end and the spectacle-seekers were forever only interested in a good show. However, there were certainly some whose faith was strengthened whenever their doubt collided with Jesus during his earthly ministry. The primary purpose behind Jesus’ miracles wasn’t for the purpose of satisfying the immediate needs of those seeking his help even though that was certainly a by-product of his miracles. Remember that there were many who were not beneficiaries of Jesus’ healing miracles. Furthermore, those he raised from the dead, nevertheless died eventually; those he healed also died at some point; and those he fed would become hungry again. Therefore, there must have been a primary motive behind Jesus’ miracles beyond the miracles themselves. Jesus’ primary purpose behind his miracles was to authenticate his divinity. The miracles were only important insofar as they pointed people to Jesus not as a miracle-worker per se but as the divine Son of God. “The focus on the power of God to fix problems or provide material assistance is presented as off-focus from the true significance of the miracle as a sign of who Jesus was.”[9]

            Let’s not forget how this all started. A desperate father brought his son to the disciples to be healed and they were unable to do so. There hasn’t been any mention of the disciples since this all began but can you imagine what they were feeling? I’m sure they did the same thing that worked in the past so they had to be wondering what they did wrong. They had to be going through their mental checklist to see what they had missed. Remember, all the disciples were Jews and if Jews were anything, they were meticulous about following rules and lists so I can imagine they were making sure they did everything by the book. What went wrong? Why didn’t what worked before work on this demon? They had if figured out, or so they thought. Jesus had given them the power to drive out demons in his name (Mt 10:1) so how could they fail? So in v. 28 when Jesus and the disciples went inside and were alone, they asked Jesus why they failed. Jesus explains to them in v. 29 that the evil spirit they encountered can only be overcome by prayer. Simple enough right? Let’s not make another mistake and think that prayer is just another box added to long list of boxes to be checked off. Prayer is many things but primarily it is the act of being in communion with God. It is a form of surrender; a way of saying to God ‘I want to be in relationship with you because you are the way to life—without you I can do nothing.’ Prayer is not a formula. Prayer is a form of humble submission to God’s authority and an admission that any spiritual power we may have comes directly from God. Prayer is our way of saying we believe that all things are possible with God. Prayer is the language of our relationship with the creator of the universe and demonstration of our faith in Him. The disciples failed because they forgot that their source of power originated from God and not by their own strength. “Jesus, however, spoke only of prayer as the source of faith’s power and the means of its strength. The disciples had been tempted to believe that the gift they had received from Jesus was in their control and could be exercised at their disposal. This was a subtle form of unbelief, for it encouraged them to trust in themselves rather than in God. They had to learn that their previous success in expelling demons provided no guarantee of continued power. Rather the power of God must be asked for on each occasion in radical reliance upon his ability alone. When faith confronts the demonic, God’s omnipotence is its sole assurance, and God’s sovereignty is its only restriction. This is the faith which experiences the miracle of deliverance.”[10]

Application

            What do we do when what we once believed about God and the way He operates changes? Some don’t really care because they’re not that invested in their relationship with God anyway. If God fits in their life the way they’ve constructed it then fine but if not they’re not going to lose any sleep over it. However, others are left wondering what to do; where to turn. They’re left wondering if everything they believed about God is wrong. Some people think that God creates these events at rare times in our lives in order to aid in the maturity or our faith. But I don’t find this to be the case as is evidenced by my own life. Maybe it’s just me but I find myself having to examine daily what I believe about God and how he operates. For me, every day is A Crisis Of Faith. Over the last ten to fifteen years, God has used what seems like daily events in my life to destroy all my illusions about who I thought God was or more accurately wished God to be. In place of those illusions, God has been building, brick by brick, a new house of faith that will be able to stand the test of time; A house not built on illusions, fantasy or wishful thinking but a house built on the Truth that was revealed in Jesus Christ. It is hard to accept that anything associated with “crisis” can be good but I submit that unless we examine our faith daily, unless we submit to the lordship of Christ daily; unless we relinquish control of our lives to Christ daily; unless we seek a growing relationship with Christ daily through prayer, then God will be left with no choice but to introduce an event (or daily events in my case) that will force us to cry out to Him either in confusion, sorrow, pain, suffering, or whatever will force us to abandon our own way of doing things in our own strength based on our own understanding and seek Him for all things; for all strength and for all understanding. Jesus described the life of faith as a narrow path that not everyone will be willing to travel. If we are committed to traveling that path then we will inevitably be faced with painful and frightening struggles along the way as a result of our imperfect nature and God’s desire for us to mature in our faith and grow closer in our relationship with Him. Often the process will be difficult and painful; confusing and hard to understand. Often it will require A Crisis Of Faith.

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[1] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 186.

[2] Lyndon K. McDowell, “Demons and Deliverance,” Ministry: International Journal For Pastors, April 1987.

[3] Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27-16:20—Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), p. 51.

[4] Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall, eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), pp. 166; 169-170.

[5] Rodney L. Cooper, Mark—Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2000), p. 149.

[6] Colin Brown, gen. ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), p. 600.

[7] David E. Garland, Mark—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), p. 356.

[8] W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983), p. 403.

[9] David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 414.

[10] William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark—The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), pp. 335-336.