The Questions Jesus asked

Profit and loss

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and, yet forfeit his soul?"

Mark 8:36

One of the techniques that teacher’s often use to teach their students is asking questions. Teachers use questions in quizzes and exams but they also use them in their daily lectures, either as a way to review old material or to introduce new material. Well, as the Master Teacher, Jesus of course made good use of this particular method of instruction. In fact, the Gospels record the fact that our Lord used this technique over and over again as a way to help His disciples understand vitally important truth. In the weeks to follow we are going to look as some of the questions that Jesus raised as He taught His disciples.

One of the fascinating aspects about Jesus’ methodology of teaching was that He used stories and examples from everyday life. His parables or His sermons touched the nerve of the people because they could relate to it. Similarly the questions that He raised were also connected to a common man’s everyday life. Jesus drew His questions from the realm of nature [Matthew 6:27-28], He used humor to convey His point [Matthew 7: 3], He also used family relations as an example to teach [Matthew 7-9]. The other area that Jesus heavily drew from, was the area of commerce or business.

In our passage today Jesus asks a question where He use’s words such as profit/gain and forfeit. These are commercial terms, the disciples and the crowds would have immediately connected with these concepts. And so do we, even. All of us in our everyday affairs seek to get a good bargain. Whether it is haggling over price with the vegetable vendor or comparing prices from different shops. At the end of the day all of us want a good deal. Jesus in Mark 8:34-38, warns us that it is a bad bargain to gain the world and to lose our soul. Why did Jesus say that it was bad business sense to keep our eyes only on this world? I believe Jesus said this for two reasons.

1. First of all- Our world and the things of this world are temporary. It won’t last forever.

In I John 2:15-17, John draws a contrast between what the world has to offer, that which is temporary and will soon pass away with what God has to offer that which is eternal. Paul in the midst of his suffering and trails drew strength from the fact that what is seen is temporary [the world and its problems] but that which is unseen is eternal [Kingdom Of God]. [2 Corinthians 4:18]

Prior to Jesus’ resurrections, for the disciples, learning to live in this temporary world with their eyes on the eternal was one of the hardest lesson’s that they had to learn. Mark 8:31 is a pivotal point in the Gospel of Mark, because from this point on, Jesus began to speak plainly and directly to His disciples about his death and resurrection. He began to prepare them for what was going to happen to Him. He foretold of His journey to the cross. In Mark 8:32, Peter responded to this by taking Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. Peter did not want Jesus to go walk the road of suffering and death. Peter’s response needs to be understood in the context of what has happened before. Mark 8 begins with, Jesus’ miracle of feeding the four thousand, later in Mark 8 22-26; Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida. In the light of all these miracles, what Peter was saying to Jesus was “with all this power at your disposal you can rule the world, why talk about death and suffering?” Peter’s focus was on this world and on the gains of this world, where as Jesus’ focus was on His mission. That is-to give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus came as the king but not of this temporary earthly kingdom but of the eternal kingdom of God. In John 18:36 Jesus declared before Pilate “My kingdom is not of this world…my kingdom is from another place”.

The disciples understood this truth only after they experienced Jesus’ resurrection for the same Peter who at one point of time rebuked Jesus for talking about the cross and suffering, wrote in his letter In I Peter 4: 13 “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is reveled”. Christian living is a call to live with our eyes fixed on the eternal and not the temporal. Jesus in Matthew 6:19 said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What are we investing our lives in today? What is driving purpose of our lives? What have we set our hearts on? If it is the things of this world then we are in for a bad deal because this world and its desires will pass away but those who do the will of God live forever.

2. The second reason why it is bad business to invest in the things of this temporary world is the fact that you and I are not temporary.

King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastics 3:11 “…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” If there is anyone who knew how unsatisfying and frustrating it was in trying to fulfill our hearts desire by the things of this world, it was King Solomon. He had everything one would want. Knowledge, fame, wealth, sensual pleasure- you name it and he had it. Yet his journal as recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes is punctuated with this one remark “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless”

Human beings are created with an eternal bend of mind, and can never be satisfied only with the thing’s of this world. We are constantly looking for something bigger and higher than what the world has to offer. C.S Lewis once rightly said “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world” Things of this world may give us momentary pleasure, temporary excitement but ultimate satisfaction in life comes only by being connected with the author of life Himself. I John 5:11-12 says “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life”.

How does it affect our lives here on earth to know that the world we live in is a temporary –but we are not?

A) It alters our perspective on success.

It is said success is a moving target. Having achieved what we aimed for only leave us with a sense of wanting more. Those who live by the standards of this world measure success in terms of wealth, fame and prosperity, but those who live in the light of eternity measure success by a different standard altogether.

In Luke 10:17-18 we read about the seventy two disciples who were sent out to minister. They returned with joy having seen the tremendous results of their ministry, as they ministered in Jesus’ name and with his authority. They were elated by the victories they had witnessed, and Jesus shared their enthusiasm. He brought them to earth, however, by reminding them of their most important victory-that their names were registered in heaven. This honor was more important than any other accomplishment.

When we look at life from an eternal perspective, we learn to measure success not by our temporal earthly basis but based on God’s eternal standards.

B) It alters our perspective on suffering.

Peter who at one point of time discouraged Jesus from taking up the cross, now in his letter in I Peter 1:7 encourages his readers by saying that they must not just endure hardship but should actual rejoice in trails. Why this change of position? Having encountered the risen Lord, Peter has now seen the bigger picture. In comparison with eternity, all suffering would last only “a little while”.
Similarly Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17 say’s “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far out weights them all.” Paul was confident that one day his trails and suffering would be over and he would obtain God’s rest and reward.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ assures us that there is life beyond the grave. And it is this hope of sharing eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that keeps us going even through the most difficult times. The poem entitled ‘End of Journey’ captures the spirit in which a Christian is called to live in the midst of difficulties.

End of the Journey
Light after darkness, gain after loss;
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears;
Home after wandering, praise after tears;
Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain;
Sight after mystery, peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast;
Rest after weariness, sweet rest at last;
Near after distant, gleam after gloom;
Love after loneliness, life after tomb;
After long agony, rapture of bliss;
Right was the pathway, leading to this.

Keep what you can’t lose

It was Jim Elliot who once said “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” Jesus in His question “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?” Challenges us to consider what our priorities in life are? Are we running after the temporary or are we taking hold of that which is eternal?

Rev. Paras Tayade

Discerning God’s Voice

Discerning God's Voice

What does God’s voice sound like? As a young Christian, I have often pondered on this question, particularly when I hear people saying “God spoke to me” or “God told me”And when I have asked them, “How do you know He told you?” The answers have varied. Some people have given vague explanations while others have described specific signposts and feelings that identified God’s voice to them.
In the Bible itself, God’s voice travelled a range of volumes and intensities, depending on the situation. He thundered when defending His people (Ps.18:13). After a windstorm, earthquake, and fire, He whispered to Elijah at the mouth of the isolated cave(1 kings 19:11-13). But what would be the nature of His voice if He spoke to me personally, in the recess of my heart? I believe that our ability to discern and hear His voice depends on three fundamental issues about which we must be clear.

Why does God speak?

One of the distinctive truths about God of the biblical revelation is that He is a speaking God. Unlike idols which, being dead, are dumb, the living God has spoken and continues to speak. In Isa. 45:19 God says “I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”
Since God is the true and living God, He can speak to us, but the question we need to ask ourselves is why does God speak to us in the first place?
The answer is found in Deut 4:33-37, where God challenges the Israelites to consider all that He had done for them. He reminds them how He brought them out of Egypt into the Promised Land and because they where His chosen people, He also spoke to them out of fire (vs. 33). And then in vs. 35 God clarifies why He spoke to them. He says “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; beside him there is no other”. The primary reason why God spoke to the Israelites was to reveal Himself. God speaks to us to make Himself known. So often, we seek to hear God’s voice only while searching for a direction in a particular area of our life. The tragedy today is that Christians too often treat God as some heavenly consultant who is only interested in providing answers to our questions. In our quest to know God’s will we have somehow missed out the aspect of knowing God. The fact of the matter is, until and unless we know God we can never truly know or do His will.

Jesus in His high priestly prayer, in John 17:3 says “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” Jesus equates eternal life, not with doing something, but in knowing someone; that is God Himself. It is only in knowing God that we can know His will. God’s will is not a code that needs to be decoded or some puzzle that needs to be solved, rather knowing God’s will is the result of an intimate and close relationship with Him. The prerequisite for hearing God’s voice is to have a relationship with Him. If that is missing we can never be in tune with God. Jesus, in John 10, used the example of a shepherd and the sheep to demonstrate how important it is to have a relationship with Him before we can discern His voice. In John 10: 4-5 Jesus says “… his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Now, the sheep are not born with an innate ability to differentiate between the shepherd’s voice and a stranger’s voice. It is only as they grow in their relationship with the shepherd, and listen to his voice everyday, that they are able to make the distinction between the shepherd’s voice and the stranger’s voice. Similarly, our ability to listen to God’s voice is the result of a personal relationship with God. Without knowing who God is, we can never know what He is saying?

How does God Speak?

God speaks to make Himself known, but that raises a second question: how does God speak? All around us we hear people who claim that they have seen a vision or a dream, or have had some supernatural experience through which they have heard God speak to them. Does God use supernatural means to speak to us? I believe He does, but that is more of an exception rather than a rule of how He communicates with us. Experience is subjective; it is difficult to critically analyze one’s experience. Therefore experience alone cannot be the norm by which God communicates with us. He has given us something that is more sure and reliable. And that is His Word; the surest way in which God speaks to us is through His written Word.

In 2 Peter 1:16-18, Peter describes his mountain top experience when he witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration, an experience that any Jew would die to have - to see Moses, Elijah and Jesus in His heavenly glory. But then in verse 19 Peter goes on to say, “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain and you will do well to pay attention to it…” What Peter is saying here is that, as exhilarating as it was to be present at the transfiguration, that experience, must ultimately be seen as temporary. Only the Word of God exceeds the message of the moment and transcends all time. Human experience is subjective but the Word of God is certain and absolute. Christians live precariously when experience is the final authority. In Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:28, when the rich man after his death finds himself in hell, requests Abraham to send Lazarus, (who is also dead and has gone to heaven) back to his five brothers so that they can be warned about their life style, he is told that they have Moses and the prophets; meaning that they have the Word of God with them. But the rich man argues saying “…if someone from the dead goes to them they will repent.” To this he is told “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” The point that Jesus was making in this parable was that experience can be explained away, but the Word of God cannot be explained away.

When we’re seeking guidance or making a decision, nothing can supersede the authority of God’s Word. A simple principle that we need to follow is this: if a message runs contrary to the scriptures, it’s not God’s voice. The scriptures reveal God’s character, and God’s voice will always correspond to His character. This is the acid test to authenticate, whether what we perceive as God’s voice is really God’s voice or our imagination, or even the voice of the devil. For example, if I receive a phone call from my father asking me to rob a bank, I would immediately know that, that call is not from him, even if the voice on the other side sounds exactly like his. My first though would be that some one is imitating my father’s voice, for the message that I am now hearing simply does not match his character. Similarly, the more familiar we are with God’s character as revealed in the scriptures the more in tune we are with God’s voice.

When does God speak?

If the Bible is God’s surest way of communicating with His people, why is it then that some would read the Bible from cover to cover and yet walk away with an indifferent attitude? One of the major hindrances for not being able to listen to God’s voice is our approach. So often we try to justify our own ways rather than seek God’s way.

Charles L. Allen, the author of 'Prayer Changes Things' once said “How can I know the will of God for my life? Many will never know because God does not reveal Himself to triflers. No one can walk into His holy presence on hurrying feet. If you merely pray, “Lord, this is my will, I hope you will approve,” you are wasting your breath. Only those who sincerely want God’s will, and have faith enough in Him to dedicate themselves to His will, can ever know it. To pray, “Lord, show me thy will, and if I like it I will accept it,” is a futile prayer. You must accept it before you know it. Whether or not you can do that depends on what opinion you have of God.” This is in line with what Jesus taught in John 7:16 where he says “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” Follow the progression: first comes the choice to do God’s will, and the assurance follows later. Jesus presents the journey of faith as a personal pilgrimage, begun with the will to believe and to act on what we believe.

Thomas Merton in one of his books wrote “We receive enlightenment only in proportion as we give ourselves more and more completely to God by humble submission and love. We do not first see, then act; we act, then see…And that is why the man who waits to see clearly, before he will believe, never starts on the journey.”

The Bible is full of examples where people have often failed to listen to God’s voice, primarily because they did not intend to obey it. The story of the High priest Eli is one such example. In 1 Samuel 2: 17 we are told that Eli’s sons were wicked men, who had no regard for the Lord. They misused their authority in taking from the sacrifices, that which did not belong to them; they also abused the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. In Chapter 3 of 1 Samuel, we are told that Lord spoke to Samuel and told him that Eli’s house is going to be destroyed because of his children. Now why did God tell all this to Samuel who was Eli’s disciple and not to Eli? The reason is simple, Eli was aware of this evil, (1 Sam 2:22.), but he refused to take any action against it, he simply warned his sons but let them go their own way. Even when a man of God came to Eli and warned him of God’s anger against his family (1 Sam 2:27), Eli refused to do anything. The reason why Eli could not hear God’s voice was because of his own hard heartedness. When we have made up our mind not to submit to God then no matter how many time we read the Bible we will never hear His voice speak to us through His Word.

Keep a Tender Heart

To discern God voice in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, we need to hide away with Him periodically, filling up with His presence and emptying out our sin, stress and cluttered-up souls. The more time we spend in His presence, the more God softens our heart and makes it sensitive to His guidance. To keep a tender heart and open ears, we must learn to pray like the Methodist minister John Wesley prayed

Open, Lord, my inward ear;
And bid my heart rejoice!
Bid my quite spirit hear
Thy comfortable voice.
Never in the whirlwind found,
Or where the earthquakes rock the place;
Still and silent is the sound,
The whisper of thy grace.
From the world of sin, and noise,
And hurry, I withdraw;
For the small and inward voice
I wait with humble awe.

With this prayer in our hearts and on our lips, we ready ourselves to hear God’s voice.

Rev. Paras Tayade