with devotion

I will make you become fishers of men.

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Multiplication, not addition, has been a consistent axiom of the Kingdom ever since Jesus first called these men to a new style of fishing. It reminds me of that old adage:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Do you think it odd that the Lord did not call men familiar with theological matters to be by his side? I wonder what it was in these men that attracted the Lord to them? Possibly the Lord wanted capable men that came to him with a blank theological slate?

What strikes me is how eager these men were to leave all to follow Jesus. One has to wonder if they really understood the cost involved. I guess that is what I love the most about this story. Relatively young and passionate men who were not satisfied with the status quo. Men who in just a few years would turn the world upside down as they fished for men.

Lord, I am not comfortable with the status quo. Help me to hear your call.

The kingdom of God is at hand ...

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

This is the first thing that Mark writes in his gospel after sharing a paragraph of text on John the Baptist. Jesus certainly knew John and possibly grew up regularly seeing his cousin. These two were very close in age. John had certainly heard the stories of Jesus' miraculous birth from his parents. Even so, I wonder what it was like for him to see that Dove land on his cousin and hear the Father speak from heaven calling Jesus his very own son?

Jesus' reaction to this revelation from heaven is telling as he removes himself from the crowds and the noise to seek the Lord alone in prayer and fasting. During this time alone with his Father the Lord is not only tested by Satan but empowered and called by the Holy Spirit to a new chapter in his earthly life. The heavenly revelation is refined and, from this point forward, he has a clear message concerning the kingdom of God.

Help me Lord. I need the power and leading of your Spirit.

My kingdom is not of this world.

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him.

The courage of Christ and the cowardice of man is on full display in this gospel passage. The religious cowards will not execute religious justice because they are afraid of the Romans and Pilate will not release Jesus for fear of the Jews. It is a sad commentary on humanity. Yet in the midst of this craziness stands a sane and courageous one who will not capitulate to the demands of unscrupulous men. Jesus refuses to bow to them.

The dialog between Pilate and Jesus is so telling. Pilate is confused yet Jesus speaks with such clarity. Pilate speaks of earthly authority while Christ proclaims a greater kingdom and a heavenly authority. Pilate loudly challenges the kingship of Christ but the Lord seems to whisper when he says that he was born to bear witness to truth. Sadly, as many have done since that time, Pilate rejects Truth Incarnate - the divine one who stands before him.

I bow before you O Son of God. You are worthy. I am in awe of you!

I have spoken openly to the world.

The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?"

God is on trial and the religious poobahs do not have a clue about what is really going on. Like many religious folks their whole life is focused on the externals and they are totally unaware of the spiritual aspects of their actions. I read this passage and I have a difficult time imagining spiritual leaders acting in such a violent way towards anyone much less a prophet of peace. Yet violence is the end result of a man made and man focused religion.

Do you hear the accusation in the Lord's words as he indicts them of acting cowardly. Spiritual people are marked by courage and always have been. Martin Luther would not kowtow to fleshly authority and centuries later Martin Luther King, Jr also would not. In contrast religious folks are often most comfortable acting in secret under the cover of closed doors. Jesus lays out for us an example of transparency and openness not only in the way that he taught but in how he lived. How can we live differently. It is time to open our doors.

Lord, help me live a courageous life of transparency and openness.

Shall I not drink the cup ...

So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he."

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one."

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

The last prayer is finished and the last supper is digesting in the stomachs of the disciples. Judas has returned with armed soldiers and tension is in the air. Soldiers are falling down at the mere mention of the words "I Am". Swords are striking yet Jesus is healing. A storm is brewing and the glory of the Son of God is radiant in the midst of darkness. Thus begins the journey of Christ to the cross and the return of the Son of God to the glory of heaven.

The heart of Jesus is so evident in the way that he reacts to the assault of the soldiers. It is obvious that he could have eluded their grasp as he did many times before. Or he could have joined Peter and picked up a weapon. Yet Jesus knew that his time had come. This encounter did not surprise him. His whole life had prepared him for this moment. He was ready to drink the cup of death and would not fight it. His glory was blazing!

Help me Lord to know that you have prepared me for the time that I am living in.

You loved me before the foundation of the world ...

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

With these words the Lord Jesus finishes his last prayer before he walks the path to the cross. As he ends his prayer he asks the Father the reveal the glory of the Son for all to see. It reminds me of how John begins his gospel by saying:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The hallmarks of the glory of the Son of God are love, grace and truth. Knowing God has always been about these things. When Jesus makes himself known to us he reveals a greater measure of love, grace and truth. Love to impel us, grace to empower us and truth to guide us. It is how He is glorified in our lives and in all the earth.

Lord Jesus, glorify your name in me and in all the earth.

Who will believe in me through their word ...

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

The rise of Christianity is nothing short of amazing. From small and humble beginnings the faith has been transferred from generation to generation to generation so that now Christians number in the billions. Much (maybe all) of that growth has come because of this simple seed of prayer that Jesus prayed so very long ago. It has always been the will of God that the faith be transmitted one heart at a time in a loving and relational context.

I believe that this is why love is the banner that flies high over the Body of Christ. When Jesus prays "that they may become perfectly one" he speaks not of a fleshly perfection but a spiritual bond of love that transcends physical imperfections. Since Jesus prayed this prayer the predominance of love and the message of compassion has changed countless lives. When we sacrificially love hurting people they then understand that God loves them.

Lord, help me to love so much that people will believe and know that you love them.

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