We rejoin our traveler as he walks the darkened cobbled path that he had been directed to by a merchant in the market. The groans of the ill and the smell of the street makes his stomach turn.
“I believe He can do it again!” Says a man laying on the stones, his legs bandaged.
“It was a fluke. Some strange medicine from another land.” Replies another.
“Medicine that could make a man you and I have seen to be crippled for all the years we have been here, get up and walk?”
“You think too much.”
“I have hope. If He healed one He may return to heal more.”
Our traveler walks over to the two men who are speaking and asks them of what they speak?
“None of your business.” The one replies, but the other, smiles.
John 5:2-3, 5-9 ESV
[2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. [3] In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
[5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” [8] Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” [9] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
“Can you believe it?” The man asks excitedly.
Our traveler nods his head, “Yes. I certainly can.”
Our traveler goes back to the market and buys bread and fruit and returns to the alley where he dispenses the food between the people there.
I have always had trouble with the pool of Bethesda. Not the mystery of it, there could have been something God was doing there, or ot could have been a mineral pool. We do know there were stories of people who went in and came out healed. What bothers me is the healed man. There were most likely many people there. Near that exact spot. All of them. Every. Single. One. Needed healing. Yet, Jesus chose to heal only one. I don’t understand that. I never will. Sometimes we see someone receive something that we deserved. We were just as good, we worked just as hard. Yet we walk away with nothing. Why? We cannot always understand God’s will. There are times when it confounds us to the place of doubt. Yet He is still good. Remember what the three Hebrew boys said in Daniel? “And if not He is still good.” To have that faith. To watch the Messiah heal one man and walk away when there were many others there who needed Him just confuses me to no end. But He had a reason. We still don’t know what that reason was. Was it the man’s faith? Jeuss does not say so. Was it because he was Jewish? There were probably other Jewish people there. Was it simply because he had been there the longest? Perhaps he had prayed and Jesus had come in answer to that prayer? We won’t know the answer until we see Jesus ourselves and ask Him. Even if you are the man in the alley, still crippled; or the woman on the stairs, still blind. Jesus has not overlooked you. He sees you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life just as you are now. Would a miracle be great? Of course. But sometimes He only heals one, yet He still has a path for the others. Don’t lose hope because you are still sitting by the well. He sees you, He knows you, He understands you, and He has not forgotten you.
Category: free
Following the fourth Wiseman- Even from a distance He is close to us
A young child bumps into our traveler on the street. He looks up, his eyes all lit with the joy of play and apologizes before running off. Our traveler smiles and begins to carry on his way when he hears two women speaking.
“It’s so wonderful to see him running like that again.” Says one woman.
“Yes. He’s such a nice boy. Polite and thoughtful. If he had not made it it would have crushed his family.” Replies the other.
“But how he lived is the amazing part. I heard that he was blessed by that man who is traveling and healing people.”
“Yes. And He did not even come to the house.”
Our traveler walks over to the two women and asks them if they would be willing to tell him what they had heard?
John 4:46-53 ESV
[46] So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. [47] When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. [48] So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” [49] The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” [50] Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. [51] As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. [52] So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” [53] The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.
Our traveler smiles, thanks the women and walks away. He has healed someone. He was not even close by and He healed this child. Our traveler shakes his head, he is always so close and yet still he can’t seem to catch up to the Messiah.
We think that Jesus has to be physically present to preform miracles. We feel at times that if we do not feel Him close by He is not there to help us. But that is never true. Jesus is as close as the mention of His name. We do not have to lay hands on a person for our prayers to make a difference, because Jesus is with all of us, always. Jesus loves us. He can heal and save even if we are not near the person we are praying for, and even if we do not feel His presence, He is always right here! What a savior He is.
Following the fourth Wiseman- the well
Our traveler sits on the edge of a well, wiping cool water across his face. He drinks from the well and then gives water to his camel who drinks deeply from the water satchel that the man holds. Suddenly a woman comes up to him and shakes his arm. In horror he almost drops the satchel. People in these parts were dangerous to his people, even the women could be a threat.
“W-what is it you want?” Our traveler stutters.
The woman, her face filled with a glow states excitedly. “Have you yet heard of the man? He told me everything I ever did!”
Intrigued and with a suspicion of who the man might be, our traveler asks her to tell her story.
John 4:7, 9-10, 14, 32, 34-35 ESV
[7] A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
[9] The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) [10] Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
[14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
She shuddered with excitement and continued, saying, “so I ran to the village and told all the people.”
John 4:29 ESV
[29] “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
“Can you believe that!?!”
Our traveler smiles, “oh yes. I can believe it. Which way did He go?”
The woman points and our traveler takes his camel’s halter and leads him once again in the footsteps of the Messiah.
Can you imagine? It’s a typical day. You go to draw water like every day. There’s a man there, but that’s not strange. Suddenly He speaks to you. A person of low social standing and of a part of the country that is hostile with His part of the country. Not only does He speak, but He speaks in riddles. You’re confused, possibly irritable and then you look into His eyes as He says John 4:26 ESV
[26] Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
You can see from the light and kindness in His eyes that He is not crazy or cruel and teasing. He’s telling you the truth. He is the one you have waited for. More than that. He has come to speak to you. A lowly and sinful woman from a people who have been told they are less, unwanted, unloved even by the master. (Not completely Unjustly, the Samaritans had been known to attack Jews when they came to their cities.) Now you stand face to face with the God you had been told would not love you. What does He say? I will give you living water. I am the Messiah you have waited for. He tells you that you are welcome to come and be part of His Kingdom. There we see Jesus. Reaching out to those who hated Him and were hated by others. There we see the haters and the hated change and be renewed as people who seek and love God. Drink of the living water and never thirst again.
Following the fourth Wiseman-Nicodemus
As our traveler makes his way through the city he is stopped suddenly by one of the Pharisees. Our traveler is concerned, he knows his beloved Messiah is not someone the Pharisees approve of. Perhaps he is about to be accosted because he has been seen as one of His followers?
“I hear you have been wandering around and asking questions about the man from Nazareth?” The Pharisee inquires.
Our traveler nods his head.
“Why?” The Pharisee presses.
“Because I believe He is someone I… no…we, have searched for for a long time.”
“You must keep such thoughts to yourself. You would not be safe saying them to anyone else.” Our Pharisee smiles. “That being said. Would you like to hear of my own meeting with Him?”
Our traveler smiles back, “let’s go someplace quieter.”
The two strangers find a safe side road and begin their conversation.
John 3:1-5 ESV
[1] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2] This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” [3] Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [4] Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” [5] Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Our traveler is anxious little confused and very excited. “He said these things?”
“Yes, and more. I feel… like I am new after speaking with Him.”
“Which direction did He go when He left?”
“I’m not sure. I was in such awe I did not watch Him leave. If I learn more of Him I will seek for you and let you know.”
Our traveler thanks the Pharisee and leaves.
Jesus often spoke in riddles so that you could not understand without the teaching of the Holy Spirit. He did this as part of the narrow road. That may not make sense to all, but we must we recall the verse where He says this. It was also a custom of the time to speak in parables. The reason Nicodemus was confused was not because he was unskilled or uneducated, he was a priest and very knowledgeable. Yet Jesus’s words confounded him. Why? Because Jesus was speaking of a kingdom that the Pharisees and other leaders had not even thought of. A kingdom where all who come to the narrow gate may enter Heaven if they are washed by the blood of the Lamb. The gate is still open and still confounds some, but others find it and understand. Don’t ignore the open gate. There will come a time when it closes. Walk through it, and be with Jesus.
Fourth Sunday:
Following the fourth Wiseman- the abandoned, forgotten, broken and in need
Luke 8:1-3 ESV
[1] Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, [2] and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, [3] and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
We don’t really talk about the women who followed Jesus, and when we do people get hung up on what they had been before following Jesus more than who they were after they had met Him. There were actually several women who followed Jesus, but people like to focus on Mary. Why? Because they like to use Mary to make Jesus seem like He was less holy than the True God He is. Mary had been a woman of ill repute. She had been someone that one who was Holy should not have spent time with, but that’s not the person she remained. People act as if the Mary who followed Jesus was the same Mary who was known for her lifestyle. But this was a different Mary. Just like Joanna was a different Joanna, and Susanna was a different Susanna and the ladies whose names are not listed here but some who are listed elsewhere, are not the same women they had been before they met Jesus. The men who followed Jesus had changed after meeting Him and so had the women. Jesus cast the demons out of these women, He had not let them stay in and just let them follow Him the way they were. The gospels are books of transformation. Not books of stagnancy.
When exploring abandoned buildings, what is the most dangerous thing you will find? Standing water. Why? Because it has sat there, unmoving, rotting under the surface and breeding disease and parasites that become poison and toxins. People are like that. If they stay in their sin and brokenness long enough, separated from the stirring and renewing love of God, they become defiled, their souls rot and they become toxic. But Jesus is like a pound of pure chlorine to such souls. If these people let Him into their lives, He will cleanse them and save them until they are clean springs of fresh water again. That is what He did for the women who followed Him.
Jesus reached out the women who no one else would love. Not in some radical defiance of God’s law, but in fulfillment of God’s law. He loved the widow and the orphan and was the husband to the husbandless and He cast the demons out of those who were trapped by them. These women then changed and became followers of Jesus. They should not be remembered for what they were when they were lost in their sin, they should be remembered for how Jesus changed them.
This then ends our calling of the disciples. There were many who chose to follow Jesus, but here we cover those who were His first and most devoted followers.
As we close this section we see our Traveler again, walking along the shore, still searching for his Messiah. Only now he knows His name, and the names of some of His people. Now he is more excited than ever to walk in the footsteps that his King has left behind.
Following the fourth Wiseman- And all the rest
Our traveler left his new friends with a joy in his heart that replaced the sadness and disappointment of that morning with a burning fire. Our Traveler walked a ways until he found a small hillock and made camp for the night. As he lay on his back with his camel by his side, his eyes stared at the stars and he wondered how many more his Messiah would call and who they were?
Matthew 10:1-4 ESV
[1] And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. [2] The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
We hear specifically about the calling of eight of the twelve deciples, but we don’t really have a lot of information on the others. We know that Simon was a zealot and it is suggested that Judas too may have been. We know James number two was the son of someone named Alphaeus, where Thomas and Thaddaeus were just names in the list. Actually, though he comes later, Bartholomew can also be added to Jesus’s deciples. Who were these men? What had their lives been before Jesus called them? Were they married? Did they have girlfriends or children or pet fish that they left behind? Was it a great sacrifice to follow Jesus? Or did He lead them out of bad places and into the safety of His presence?
We really don’t know. There are side texts and historical records that point to some of them, but there is nothing Biblical record. I suppose that is sort of what it is like to follow Jesus. Once you choose to go with Him who you were before does not really matter. Who you are once you give your life to Him, the things you do after, these are what count. Simon did not stay a zealot. Peter did not remain a fisherman. Matthew gave up being a tax collector. These were what had previously defined them. Now the only thing that defines them is Jesus.
Who you were does not matter. What you did before you met Jesus no longer counts. He has washed it all away, now you are someone new. Loved and chosen.
Following the fourth Wiseman- the tax collector
Matthew 9:9-13 ESV
[9] As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. [10] And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
Our traveler was shocked and stood in sadness at what he had been told. The Messiah he was looking for, the one he had just considered following once he found Him, He was acting like one who was not pure. Our traveler was angry with himself for all the years he had spent. For the true Messiah was to be Holy, yet this man sat with the sinner.
The two men accounting what they had heard and seen of the calling of the deciples spoke calmy to our traveler.
“Just wait. We are not yet finished in our tellings. Sit, please.”
Though still upset, our traveler sat down again and listened as his companions began speaking again.
[11] And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [12] But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. [13] Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Our traveler’s eyes felt warm as he held back his tears. He realized in those simple words, that he too would be welcome at the table of Jesus. He was a righteous man, one who sacrificed to God and honored Him. Yet he knew that he was broken and full of sin. There were days when he felt no amount of sacrifice could pay for his guilt. Yet the King he sought after was seeking out the lost and those broken by sin and was offering them a chance to change, He was offering love and hope. He was not impure, He was not making Himself unclean and sinning with those who had chosen to not serve God. He was offering to those who were ready to let go and come to Him a way out from their pain.
“I too am a sinner. I have worried about when I meet Him because of this. Yet now I know that I be with Him and He will help me change.” Our Traveler stated through a mix of joy and tears.
The other two men smiled and nodded their heads, they had been where he was and had gone from anger to peace at the realization of what Jesus had meant.
There have been so many who want to claim the tax collector’s table. They say, “Jesus will welcome me there just as I am.” But then they go no further. They remain at the table of the sinners. Yes, Jesus is sitting there, but He will not remain there. Jesus is sitting at that table because it is the place the broken are willing to come, but He has planned a better table with a great banquet, yet to be seated at this table you must be willing to change.
Here Jesus calls Himself the physician there to heal the sick. You do not seek out a health care professional so they can say, “ya you’re fine, go on the way you are.” You seek them out so they can tell you your illness and help cure you from it. If I go to a doctor and he says, “I can’t see anything wrong with you.” I not only feel like I have wasted my time but I also question his qualifications.
Jesus was not saying, “I like sinners and their sinning and I want to sin with them.” He was not saying, “I see you and don’t judge you.” He was definitely not saying, “you be you bo.” He was saying, “yes these people are sinners, but I love them and have come to heal them.”
The calling of Matthew was a radical move. But look closely. Jesus calls Matthew and Matthew gives up his tax booth and leaves all of that behind and follows Jesus. Matthew is exactly who we are supposed to be. We are all sinners. All of us. The fact that Jesus will forgive us and let us come to Him, that’s what’s amazing.
Imagine being Matthew. Everyone hates you. Your people hate you because you cheat from them and work for the Roman’s. The Roman’s hate you because you’re not Roman. Then one day someone looks you in the eye and says. I love you. Follow me.
Amazing.
Guess what? He loves you. Follow Him.
Following the fourth Wiseman- the fig tree
Our traveler is anxious to hear more! His Messiah is calling people. When the two men with him had first began telling what they knew of Jesus’s calling of the first deciples our traveler had been confused by the “band of un-schooled ruffians and old fishermen,” but now as he listened a new thought came to him, and it filled him with such excitement and joy that he could hardly contain it. If Jesus was calling others, people of low standing and no formal training in the law, perhaps he could join and follow Jesus too?
The two men with our traveler continue speaking. They relate the way the next deciple came to follow Jesus.
John 1:45-51 ESV
[45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” [46] Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” [47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” [48] Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” [49] Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” [50] Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” [51] And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Here in this verse we can assume that Jesus said ‘I saw you while you were under the fig tree,’ because Nathaniel was sitting under a fig tree when Philip found him. However, I like the way The Chosen series portrays this scene, Nathaniel has just lost everything, he literally sets fire to his ambitions and dreams and then in tears gathers the ashes and pours them over his head, all while under a fig tree. Do you know why I like this? It’d because it gives so much more meaning to the moment when Jesus says, “I saw you under the fig tree.”
When we are in desperation, and our dreams have gone up in flame, and we sit alone and crying, we can feel no one in the world sees us, nor cares. Yet in the moments we are closer to Jesus than any other time. Why? Because we have nothing else, so we draw nearest to the only one who has stayed beside us, the only true thing that has not disappeared with all the rest. Jesus says He draws near to the brokenhearted because it’s in those moments that we feel no one sees us, yet the King of the world is saying, “I see you when you think you are all alone and no one cares, I care.”
I do not know the true path that lead to Nathaniel’s door, but I know that anytime I am having a fig tree moment, my Jesus is with me.
Following the fourth Wiseman- when Jesus says follow me, will you stop what you are doing and go?
John 1:43-44 ESV
[43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” [44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
It has been said that Philip was most likely a follower of John the Baptist. We could then produce the hypothesis that Philip might have previously met Jesus through John before, though there is no evidence to that thought. In my mind I see Jesus walking through Galilee and seeing Philip and going up to him and asking him to follow. Jesus was never demanding people to follow Him, they could have said ‘no,’ but each one of them knew in their hearts that this man was different, and each one of them followed Him willingly. We do not know much of Philip, all we know is that Jesus said ‘follow,’ and he did.
Following the fourth Wiseman- The calling of the first deciples
The calling of the deciples.
Our traveler walks in disappointed silence. He was sure that he would the Messiah in the nearest city to where the man in the camel skins had been proclaiming about him. Yet, when our Wiseman reached the city he found no one. He searched for days and was left with nothing to shore for his effort. He had then made his way to back to the oasis he had seen the man. From a fair distance he could make him out and someone was with him. A thrill went up the spine of our traveler as he felt in his spirit that this was the man, this was who had been searching for.
All weariness left our traveler as he pulled on his camel and began running toward the people in the distance. A clap of thunder sounded and in terror the camel turned and bolted. Our traveler’s hand was bound in the animal’s tethers and he was dragged behind him away from his Messiah. He screamed and cried in desperation, trying to peel the leather from his hand and return to his King, but it was no use. All he could do was try his best to calm the charging animal and pray that it would not harm him in its panic.
After several hours he returned to only find two men walking past the spot he had seen his Messiah. He asked them where they were going and if they had seen the man in camel hair and the other who was with him.
The two men laughed, “seen them? Of course we’ve seen them, did you not hear what happened?”
Our traveler shook his head and the men sat him down, offered him water and food, and began to tell their story.
They too had seen Jesus baptized.
John 1:35-39 ESV
[35] The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” [37] The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [38] Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” [39] He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
The men exchanged excited looks, “but that’s not all. We were curious and chose to follow behind a ways. You will not believe what happened next!”
Luke 5:3-11 ESV
[3] Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. [4] And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” [5] And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” [6] And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. [7] They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. [8] But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” [9] For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, [10] and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” [11] And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Our traveler sat in rapture at the tales the two men shared. So the man he was seeking was gathering an army? To overthrow Rome perhaps? But, why these men? Two followers of a man who liked to live in the wilderness and a set of common fishermen. These were not the men he thought a King would use to begin his army. He shook his head. Who was he to judge who would be a good soldier and who would not. What was important was that the Messiah was there. He was closer now than he had ever been to finally meeting him.
We can never tell why God will permit us to draw close to something we long for only to make us wait. How often have we been our traveler? Longing to reach out and touch our vision only to be pulled away by something else?
When our traveler sees Jesus from a distance and all his weariness fades away and he begins to run to Him, that is how I see heaven. We finally reach the finish line. We are weary from the fight to survive this world. Then we see Jesus. All the pain, sadness and fear leaves our bodies and we run, we run with everything we have in us and He lifts us up, spins us around and holds us tight as we laugh together. The road is simply what we walk until we reach Jesus face to face. It can be hard and it can hurt, but in the end, paradise.
Carried in the cross 