The Invitation - Part 1

 

The invitation

 

September 21, 2001 Manuscript (Berkshire Revival, Dalton, MA) Bob Withers

 

            Where are you going this evening?  Why are you here?  When you leave here what road on the

 path of life will you be taking?  Where are you going this evening?

            Jesus and His disciples are in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi…He has been teaching them for over 3 years…walking with them, talking with them, eating with them, sleeping with them.  They have known the hostility of the religious leaders, the fickleness of the crowds.  There have been weeks of such long hours that one day has run into another day.  “Was that Tuesday we did that or Wednesday?”  There have been weeks of crowds pressing upon them so that they had no rest.

            Three years of walking with the Master.  Three years of watching Him, listening to Him and telling others about Him.

            And now in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and his disciples…walking along the road together, as one foot goes down before the other on their way to a particular mountain that will hold an unique experience, as one foot goes down before the other…perhaps they were talking about fishing, or about their families, maybe about the recent healing of the blind man who at first saw men looking like trees walking, or as the Middle Eastern sun beat down on them could it be they were reminiscing about the water turned to wine years ago at Cana?

            As they are walking…walking to a mountain…and beyond the mountain to the city of Jerusalem…to that city where Jesus has an appointment to keep…an appointment with a crowd in a garden, an appointment with the religious leaders and a kangaroo court, an appointment with the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, an appointment with hammer and nails, an appointment with darkness…

            As they are walking Jesus speaks… “Who do men say that I am?”  An easy enough question…an easy enough question.  “Oh, some think you’re John the Baptist back from the dead, they’re really freaked out about You.  Others think you’re Elijah come back to earth.  And still others think you’ve just got to be one of the prophets, though they’re not sure which one.  Oh yes, Master, there is a lot of speculation about you, a lot of discussion about You.”

            And as the disciples were displaying their knowledge of contemporary thought as proud as a courting peacock or tom turkey, as they were trying to outdo each other in their display of knowledge in the presence of their Teacher, as their chests were getting puffier and puffier as they vied for pre-eminence before the One whom they had lived with for the past three years…as they jostled to be in the front of the class…to be the top honor student…Jesus asks,

            “But…who do you say that I am?”

            And the clucking of hens stop, the peacock’s fan folds, and the eyes of the students avoid the Teacher’s gaze…because now it’s not enough to talk about what others think…it’s not enough to talk about what others believe…it’s not enough to make others the target of the conversation…the question has come home to each of the disciples individually.

            Why were they there?  Where had they come from?  Where were they going?  What were they doing there?

            And then a bolt of unseen lightening strikes one of their number…and Peter speaks those words that have echoed down the centuries, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

            All is well it seems, all is well, He is the Christ and they are with Him, walking down the road in Galilee in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi…all is well…the Teacher’s question is answered…one foot in front of the other…step by step they walk…the tension is relived…on they walk…but do they know where they are going?

            Do they know of the appointment in Jerusalem?  Do they know of the crowd…the mob…with torches in the garden of agony?  Can they see the kangaroo court in the official residence of the high priest?  Do they recoil at the flesh being torn from the back of Jesus by a Roman flogging?  Can they hear hammer striking nails through flesh into wood?  Do they know where they are going?

            And Jesus begins teaching as they walk…putting one foot in front of the other…

            “The Son of Man must suffer many things…and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes.”

            Suffering and rejection?  Rejection by the elders, chief priests and scribes?  Rejection by the religious leaders, by the leaders with the fancy titles before their names and the alphabet soup which follows their names?  Can this be true?  Well, if it is true no doubt they’ll come to acknowledge their mistakes as the Christ demonstrates Who He really is…they’ll come to their senses.

            And as one foot is placed in front of the other Jesus continues, “The Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected and must be killed and after three days rise again.”

            “Now we don’t know about this rising again thing, but we do know about the idea of being killed.  Jesus must not know the plan, being killed is not part of the plan.”

            So Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Him.  “Yes Peter, do it, straighten Him out about this business of being killed.  We haven’t invested three years of our life so that He can be killed.  Bring Him to His senses.”

            Jesus turns about…looks at His disciples…His eyes fasten of Peter…and His heart connects with this most impetuous of His followers…and Jesus rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not setting your mind on the things of God but the things of men.”

            The disciples reel backwards as a boxer who has suffered a severe blow falls into the ropes.  The unexpected punch has knocked the wind out of them. 

“Suffering, rejection, being killed…these are the things of God?  These are the things of God?”

to be continued...

The Invitation - Introduction

 

The invitation – introduction

 

Yesterday, September 11, 2026, I awoke about 4:00 A.M. thinking of 25 years ago. While I am always aware of a 9/11 anniversary, this year it was especially poignant, perhaps because it has been 25 years, perhaps because the chaos continues; domestically, internationally and within the professing church. Indeed, the chaos appears exponential, faster than a human can process, faster than humanity can process.

 

As a rule Vickie and I cannot handle watching retrospectives on 9/11, they are too sorrowful, too tragic…how many times have we all relived them? How many times can we watch the videos and hear the voices?

 

The one retrospective that we did watch was the story of Steve Scheibner, the American Airlines pilot who was scheduled to fly the first hijacked plane, but who was bumped from the flight by another pilot who had seniority. You can find his story on YouTube, “In my Seat.”  His wife also wrote a book with that title.

 

The evening of 9/11 our church hosted a community time of prayer and reflection, and since we were the only church in our Massachusetts township, the sanctuary was filled. I knew, as pastor, that I needed to provide comfort in Christ, hope in Christ, and to keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ. As many of you who are reading this know, if you didn’t live through that day you can no more adequately describe it, capture it, for others, than our parents (of my generation) could describe their experience of December 7.

 

A few days after 9/11 what was known as The Berkshire Revival occurred. This was an annual multi-day meeting of churches from various traditions in the Berkshires, to worship Jesus, encourage one another, and witness to our regional community. Each evening a different pastor would preach, and a different church would provide music and lead singing. In 2001 the Dalton United Methodist Church, with is large sanctuary, hosted the event.

 

There was absolute unanimity among the pastors that we were going to focus on Jesus Christ, and worship Him and Him alone. For sure there was pressure by some in the community to focus on issues and movements other than Jesus, but we affirmed one another in our calling to serve Jesus and only Jesus; we would lead our collective flocks to the Christ of the Cross. I still recall witnessing an attendee verbally attacking a pastor after his evening message because the pastor spoke of overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:21; Matthew 5:43 – 48), and saying, “I’m glad you’re not my pastor!”

 

Well, it was a challenging time and today is no less challenging. If Jesus isn’t our focus, our heart’s desire, our One True Love, our Compass; then we are like weathervanes at the mercy of the winds. You can’t navigate using a weathervane, or at least you shouldn’t.

 

Yesterday I was wondering what I preached in the aftermath of 9/11, 25 years ago. What follows in the next post is my message during the Berkshire Revival, on September 21, 2001.

 

Much love,

 

Bob

Two Healings, Two Responses (5)

 

 

In our previous reflection I asked how Chapter 10 might relate to chapters 9 and 11. Let’s ponder a couple of intersections; perhaps you will see more for there are many facets in this diamond.

 

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life,  and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:9 – 11).

 

When we read Jesus’ words, are we reminded of Psalm 23? “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures”? Perhaps we also recall Psalm 100, “It is He who made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

 

Then there is, “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20 – 21).

 

To “see” Psalm 23 is to “see” John 10, and to see John 10 is to see Psalm 23. The Shepherd of Psalm 23 loves and cares for His own by laying His life down for them, we may not see this in Psalm 23 until we arrive at John 10, but it is there. The Shepherd of Psalm 23 can prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies because He has conquered death, defeated our enemies, and in Him we have nothing to fear (see Hebrews Chapter 2).

 

One of the points – counterpoints of John’s Gospel is the Good Shepherd caring for His sheep with love and care, drawing them into relationship with Himself; and then the Good Shepherd among wolves, protecting His sheep, eventually being torn and devoured by the wolves for the sake of His sheep. The wolves mock Him, the soldiers take His clothes, His body is entombed – the wolves think they have won. The wolves are fools, the enemy has been broken and doesn’t know it…yet.

 

In other words, Jesus cares for people and is then attacked, He cares for people and is attacked, He cares for more people and is attacked – we see this in all four Gospels. The Good Shepherd fends off wolves throughout the Gospel. The wolves eventually bring Him into their den (John 18:12 – 13), from their den they bring Him to Pilate, and from Pilate He goes to Golgotha.

 

The resurrected Shepherd then leads His flock to victory, as we see in Revelation, by teaching them to also lay down their lives for others, by being…as is the Shepherd…both shepherd and sacrifice. The Good Shepherd teaches His sheep to overcome evil with good, to overcome violence with peace, to love in the face of hate, to embrace poverty so that others may have wealth, to die so that others may live.

 

Can we see that it is the Good Shepherd who anoints the eyes of the blind man in John 9, and who calls Lazarus from the dead in John 11? Jesus calls Lazarus’s name and Lazarus comes forth, for He calls His sheep by name and they know His voice (John 10:3 - 4).

 

Can we see Jesus shepherding Andrew and Peter, and Philip and Nathaniel in John 1? Can we see Him caring for the people at the wedding in Chapter 2? Can we see Him protecting His sheep from money-hungry wolves in the Temple (cp. 2)?

 

Do we see Jesus shepherding Nicodemus along in Chapter 3? The woman in Chapter 4? Do we see Jesus attempting to shepherd the sick man by the pool in Chapter 5? Do we see the kindly Good Shepherd feeding the thousands, and bidding them to partake of Him in 6? Jesus is saying, “I have given you loaves and fishes, but I want to give you Myself. You have eaten perishable food, I bid you to eat the food and drink that will abide in you forever.”

 

But not only does the Good Shepherd walk with the blind man and Lazarus, not only does He care for the sheep of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; but He lives and walks among us! He is ever with us, always guiding us, comforting us, listening to us, watching us; and desiring that we would love Him even as He so deeply loves us.

 

“A am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14 – 15).

 

Jesus, the Door, is open; we are to know Him “even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father”! O dear, dear friends, can we not leave behind the elementary things of this pilgrimage and press on to know Jesus intimately, and in knowing Him make Him known to those around us? Why, O why, do we lay foundations again and again, week after week, sermon after sermon, lesson after lesson (Hebrews 5:11 – 6:3).

 

Why do we insist on living in such woeful insecurity, seldom accepting His incredible love and His work of reconciliation and maturity within us? (Hebrews 10:10 – 14).

 

For the Good Shepherd says to us all, “Even as the Father sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21; 17:13 – 19).

 

Well, my friends, as Jesus is the Good Shepherd to the blind man and to Lazarus, He calls us to be good and faithful shepherds to those around us, ever and always living in and out from our Great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Who are we caring for today?

For whom are we laying down our lives?"