I’ve always got a book about Jesus in my reading stack. Here are three I’ve read recently:

Jesus: A Theography
Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

Unlike biographies of Jesus that begin in Bethlehem, this book starts with the Trinity and explores the person and work of Christ through the Old Testament. Tracing the presence and power of the Son of God throughout the entire Bible, Sweet and Viola demonstrate the internal unity of the Bible and its focus on Christ as the cornerstone.

The Christ-exalting nature of the narrative gives this book the feel of a modern-day Patristic account of Christ’s life and significance. Imagine Chrysostom or Augustine writing a biography of Jesus. The appendix is a lengthy collection of quotes from post-apostolic witnesses to Christ as the center of the Scriptures. (I have a few Southern Baptist gems I wish had made the quote collection!)

I like how this book is relentlessly focused on the written Word’s testimony to the Living Word.

The Incomparable Christ 
John Stott

I love John Stott. He’s always clear, simple, winsome, and profound. A pastor friend recommended The Incomparable Christ, and I’m glad he did. This book didn’t disappoint.

• Stott begins with an overview of the Bible’s witness to Christ. He shows the portrait of Christ we find in every book of the New Testament.
• Then, he moves throughout church history, looking at the way different aspects of Christ’s life and work have inspired Christians through the years.
• Next, he traces the influence of Jesus on the world (including unbelievers).
• The book ends with a study of Revelation and how Christ is unveiled in John’s visions.

This is a book that will give you an overview of biblical theology and church history all at once. Brilliant!

Who Is This Man?
The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus 
John Ortberg

Who is This Man? is a book of “subtle apologetics.” By that I mean it is unassuming and winsome in how it makes one central point: Jesus has undeniably changed the world for the better. In contrast to those who see Christianity as regressive and backwards, Ortberg shows just how much better off we are because of Jesus’ life and teaching.

Reading the book reminded me just how “upside-down” so much of Jesus’ ministry was. Here are a few quotes:

Jesus said it wasn’t the child’s job to become like Herod. It was Herod’s job to become like the child. Greatness comes to people who die to appearing great. No one else in the ancient world—not even the rabbis—used children as an example of conversion.

A saint doesn’t try to grab worth through an endless race of achievement, but receives worth by grace.

For Jesus, the categories break down like this: It’s not us and them. It’s perfect and not perfect. It’s holy and sinful. Which puts all of humanity on the same side: the wrong side. But Jesus was determined to make that his side.

The influence of Jesus helped create a state where people could choose not to follow Jesus. In this way, and not only in this way, Jesus is present even in his absence.

The book’s ending was a bit of a letdown. Ortberg invites the reader to experiment with following Jesus to see how it works out. (I thought his call to repentance could have been much stronger.) But don’t let that keep you from the book. There is a wealth of great material here, and Ortberg is a terrific communicator.

Behold!

1. Take Time to Stop

Behold! That’s an old biblical word that says, “Stop and look.” So take time this week to stop and gaze at the crucified One.

2. Behold the Man!

On a Friday morning, two thousand years ago, Jesus stood before the people, and Pilate declared, “Behold the man!” It was the sixth day of the week, the day God created man. And now the second Adam was undoing the first Adam’s sin.

3. Behold Your King!

In this moment, Caesar looks strong and Jesus looks weak. But through this weakness, Jesus will conquer the world.

4. Behold the Son!

This is the One who turns water into wine, who offers water that quenches thirst forever, water that never runs dry. Yet now, He thirsts. His lips are parched. His throat is raw. He is thirsty, so you don’t have to be.

~~~~~

The Beauty of the Cross

1. The Beauty of a Blood-stained Cross

There is one death so beautiful, so glorious, that despite its horror and brutality, we are transfixed by its splendor.

2. God with Us

As we witness the evil and pain in this world, we too cry out Abba! Abba! God does not give us an explanation. He gives us himself. Jesus is God’s answer to our cry.

3. God instead of Us (1)

We will never grasp the heights of God’s forgiveness until we comprehend the depths of our own sinfulness. We not only need someone to suffer with us. We need one who will suffer for us – in our place.

4. God instead of Us (2)

The essence of Adam’s sin was that he put himself in God’s place. The essence of Christ’s righteousness is that he put himself in our place.

5. God for Us

We need more than a shoulder to cry on. We need more than hands and feet that will take the nails that we deserve. We need the strong arms of a Savior who comes back from the dead.

~~~~~

The Resurrection

1. Let My People Go!

As Jesus was dying upon the cross two thousand years ago, the voice of God the Father resounded throughout the universe, sending the clear and unstoppable message to Satan and all the forces of hell – LET MY PEOPLE GO!

2. Easter Means Our Coffins Will Not Stay Closed

What was true of our Messiah in the dim light of Resurrection morning will be true of us in the noonday sunshine of the Last Day.

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,  “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:23-30)

At the foot of the cross where the sins of the world are being condemned and judged and the Savior is down to His last breaths, the soldiers are casting lots for His clothing. They divide and rip up His clothes, but they take care not to sever the tunic. Why tear such a good piece of fabric? Meanwhile, the body of Christ hovers over them, torn and bloodied.

What love! Christ was stripped naked on the cross, so that you and I might be wrapped in His robe of righteousness. Our sin for His righteousness. His death for our life.

~~~~~

In His death Jesus forms a new family. He looks down at His precious mother. The frightened teenager who told the angel, “May it be as you have said” is now the widow watching the life of her beloved Son slowly slip away.

But Jesus does not leave Mary without a family. He says, “Behold your son!”

And for a moment, I suppose Mary must have thought, I am beholding my son. I’m watching You now, my Son, wishing I could hold You in my arms the way I used to, wishing I could sing to you the songs of our people’s hope the way I once did, wishing we could go back to Nazareth and pretend none of this ever happened, wishing the prophecy of old Simeon in the temple that a sword would pierce my heart too was never spoken.

But Jesus wasn’t talking about Himself. He was talking about one of His disciples. “Behold your son.” And then to the disciple He loved, “Behold your mother!” A new family was born.

As Jesus died upon the cross, all those who trust in Him become part of His family. He is our older Brother. We are one with Him, united to Him in His death and resurrection, ushered into the family of God.

Jesus didn’t die merely to save you as an individual, but also to bring you into the fellowship of His family. United to the Son of God, we too can have a relationship with our Father. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have fathers and mothers in the faith. We are not alone.

~~~~~

Behold the Son of God, thirsty and dying. At the beginning of John’s Gospel, we saw Jesus turn water into wine. The wine was so good everyone commented on it.

“Woman, my time has not yet come,” He told His mother. Now, the time is here, and the wine has gone bad.

Jesus is offered sour wine that fails to soothe the pain or delight the tastebuds. He gave us His best and then took our worst.

~~~~~

Later in John’s Gospel, we see Him meet the woman at the well, a Samaritan who offered Him a drink. Jesus turned the tables and said, “Drink from Me and you’ll never thirst again.” Little did she know that the only way for her to never thirst would be for Him to experience her thirst by dying in her place.

~~~~~

Then in the middle of John’s Gospel, Jesus stands up at a celebratory feast and says: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink! Streams of living water will flow from the one who drinks from Jesus’ well.

This is the One who turns water into wine, who offers water that quenches thirst forever, water that never runs dry. Yet now, He thirsts. His lips are parched. His throat is raw. He is thirsty, so you don’t have to be.

The blood and water will flow from His side, so that you can eat His body and drink His blood and live forever.

~~~~~

Behold the Son of God who completes the work of new creation. “Finished,” He says. The price of humanity’s sin had been paid.

Piercing through the dark storm clouds and echoing through the valleys surrounding the hill of Golgotha, Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” announcing that His work was complete.

On the sixth day, God had completed his work of creation. Now Jesus finished His work, as the spotless Lamb who died as our sacrifice. “It is finished” – the victory cry from the cross. The sacrifice had been accomplished. And God saw that it was good.

~~~~~

Calvin Miller:

There is no way to God that does not depend upon nails, thorns, ropes, and wood. The blood of Christ is the witness of God to the triumph of love. The blood of Christ is God’s signature on His new agreement with us. The blood means that God means business and the agreement is valid.

“Don’t you know I have the power?” Pilate asks Jesus. How silly to see the bluster of a dithering man who stands before the true King of the world!

Pilate thought he could set Jesus free, but Jesus was the One with the power to set Pilate free – from sin and death and hell. But in that moment, who would have expected the reversal?

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down onthe judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it wasthe day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilatealso wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written. (John 19:12-22)

The history of the world is told in the tales of kings and kingdoms, people grappling for or holding onto power. The authority God invested in Adam is twisted into abuse and domination, with everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. Even the best of Israel’s kings were a far cry from the perfect ruler we long for.

We need a king. Someone to put things right. Someone to lead us.

“Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!” cried the crowd. What they failed to realize was that everyone has a king. We all live according to the dictates of someone or some thing. It may be money. It may be pleasure. It may be reputation. It may be power. It may be yourself.

But make no mistake. We have a king. The only question is – who is the rightful king? Who should be king?

~~~~~

The Jews didn’t see in Jesus the kind of king they wanted. So they decided He should be put aside.

If they couldn’t get Pilate to crucify Jesus by claiming He made Himself God, perhaps they will convince Pilate by claiming Jesus made Himself a King. A king who is rival to Caesar.

But Jesus did not make Himself a king. He was a king before He came, He was a king as He stood before Pilate, and He is the King of Kings today. That’s why it’s no surprise that Pilate again says more than he realizes: “Behold your king!”

Usually, a king in a palace would say “Away with them!” when he wanted the hall cleared of his subjects. But this time, it’s the king whom the people want to put away.

Crucify Him! Enthrone Him on the cross! Show the world we have no king but Caesar, and this is what happens to all who challlenge His throne.

So Jesus the King is judged, condemned by His people. He is enthroned on the cross, with revolutionaries on His right and on His left.

A sign is placed over him that says “King of the Jews” in three languages – Aramaic, Greek, Latin. Greek was the language of the world. Latin was the language of the empire. Aramaic was the language of God’s people. The statement hanging over Jesus’ head is true. He is the King of the Jews, and He is being presented for the whole world to see.

~~~~~

John wants us to remember that this was the Day of the Passover. This was the time of day when the lambs were being slaughtered.

In the book of Revelation, we are introduced the striking image of a lamb on a throne. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is the King who deserves to sit on the throne as judge of all people.

He is the Lion and the Lamb. That image of a lion’s authority and a lamb’s meekness, the weakness of a bleeding lamb upon the strength of a powerful throne – that image is what we see at the cross. This is where Jesus redefines power and authority.

~~~~~

The night before He died, Jesus called His disciples “His friends.” Now, the Jewish leaders tell Pilate to condemn Jesus in order to be Caesar’s friend.

Who appears to be the stronger friend? Jesus or Caesar? Who would you follow? Who would you bet on?

In this moment, Caesar looks strong and Jesus looks weak. But through this weakness, Jesus will conquer the world.

No one is worshiping Caesar today. But billions bow the knee to Jesus.

~~~~~

What does this tell us about power and weakness? Do you remember when Governor Jesse Ventura said, “Organized religion is a sham and crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers”? And then Ted Turner piped in, saying “Christianity is a religion for losers.”

That kind of vitriolic speech rubs you the wrong way, doesn’t it? Makes you want to stand up for Jesus, to proclaim the truth, to shame the mockers! But perhaps in our rush to defend ourselves, we are missing the larger truth that Turner and Ventura have unconsciously stumbled upon. Like Pilate, maybe they are saying more than they know.

It is true. Jesus is for the weak. Jesus is for the poor. Jesus is for “losers.” Jesus is for those who come to the end of themselves and look to God for deliverance.

“Weak” is a four-letter-word for self-sufficient, boastful entrepreneurs. But we see that the world’s understanding of strength is backwards – that true strength is made most visible in intentional weakness.

~~~~~

“Behold your King!” Pilate says. Look at King Jesus long enough and you’ll come to terms with a radically different conception of power.

Caesar ruled by conquering lands and subjugating people. Jesus ruled by conquering sin, death, and the grave and freeing people.

This King bore the full weight of God’s anger and judgment towards the evil of the world. Then He rose again to new life.

Behold your King! The Lamb slain for your redemption.

“Behold the man!” That’s what Pilate says in John 19. And strangely enough, we ought to obey Pilate this week. We ought to stop and stare at the Man he is pointing to.

It’s funny to think that Pilate has no authority over you or me today. Truth be told, he didn’t have ultimate authority over Jesus either. But he somehow thought he did.

The only reason we would obey the words of Pilate this week is because John took these words and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit placed them in His Gospel. Why? So that we would not only hear Pilate’s words in their original context, but also look through these words to their meaning for all people at all times.

Behold the Man!

Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, forI find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:1-11)

Put yourself in the sandals of a first-century Jew. There you are in the throng of people outside the palace. It’s Passover. You’re celebrating the deliverance of your forefathers from Egyptian oppression. You’ve been hearing about this Jesus, the One everyone says is the Messiah.

But it appears to you that He’s just a man. You’re disappointed. He’s a man of skin and blood. (And you see a lot more blood than you do skin now that He’s been flogged!)

The soldiers have whipped Him and lacerated His skin. They’ve mocked Him by placing on his head a crown of thorns. They’ve put him in a purple robe. And now He stands before you, before Pilate, before the crowd, and Pilate says those three words: “Behold the man!” Look at Him. Here’s the guy!

~~~~~

Hold that picture in your mind for a moment, and then go back to the beginning of the Bible. It’s where John wanted us to start.

After all, John began his Gospel with the opening words of the Old Testament. “In the beginning.” Only this time, the story that John is telling us is the story of new creation. It begins with “The Word” who was with God and was God. The light and life of men. We know from the beginning of John’s Gospel that he wants us to go all the way back to the beginning, right? So that’s where we head.

God is the Creator who makes the sun, moon and stars, the birds and fish, the plants and land animals. On the sixth day of creation, God made man in His image. He created Adam, named him, and commanded him to rule wisely over the rest of creation. He breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living being. Here he was! The glorious fulfillment of all God’s creative plans and activities. A real, live human being!

You can imagine God stepping back on that Friday, admiring His handiwork. This was the first day He saw that it was not just good, but very good. Something about the creation of humanity changes the description from a good world to a great world. “Behold the man!” The masterpiece of God’s creative work.

~~~~~

Not long after, God speaks again. “Adam, where are you?”

God’s question in the Garden of Eden resounds throughout the pages of Scripture.

The Father looking for His most precious creation.

The God of the universe seeking to be present with His people again.

The God who pursues men and women while we were still sinners.

God found Adam, and Adam found God – as Judge. He was hiding because he was naked. “Who told you you were naked?” God asks. “What have you done?”

Adam was ashamed of himself. And the result of his sin and guilt and shame would be the thorn-infested ground that would make his work toilsome. He was created the crown of all life – the pinnacle of God’s creation, the only creature to bear God’s image. But as a result of sin, he would be cursed to till the ground and endure the weather and fight the thorns.

The good news is the story of God’s redemption doesn’t end there! It is only beginning. Because even there in the Garden, God promised to Eve a son – a man, a true human being, who would come to crush the head of that crafty serpent. A second Adam would come to put right what went wrong.

The Word would take on human flesh and dwell among us. Live like us. Live with us. All His life would be preparation for His death. He entered this world with the express purpose of one day leaving it, so that in leaving this world, we could enter His.

~~~~~

On a Friday morning, two thousand years ago, Jesus stood before the people, and Pilate declared, “Behold the man!” It was the sixth day of the week, the day God created man. And now the second Adam was undoing the first Adam’s sin.

Adam was always meant to wear a crown. Now Jesus would wear one.

Adam had been sentenced to toil among the thorns. Now Jesus would have those thorns twisted into His brow.

Adam was ashamed of his failure and sought to hide behind fig leaves. Now Jesus would wear the purple robe and hear the taunts of the mockers.

The hands of humanity that reached out for the forbidden fruit were the fists that beat the face of the precious Savior.

“Behold the man!” Pilate didn’t know what he was saying, but John the apostle did. Jesus is the perfect man. The image of the invisible God, the beginning and the end, the One in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. The one who shows us what God always intended humanity to be like. He is the One who takes the shame of our sin and bears the mockery of evil.

~~~~~

As the second Adam, Jesus fulfills our purpose. Just look at how the Jewish leaders seek to crucify Him according to their law. God sentenced to death the sons of Adam for believing the lie of the serpent. But here the sons of Adam sentence to death the Son of God who tells the truth. They had it backwards. This is not just a man who has made Himself to be the Son of God. This is the Son of God who has made Himself man.

Behold the Man!

Our lives are filled with frenetic activity. We race from home to work, to school, to appointments, practices, restaurants, and sporting events. Even the church adds to our calendar, as we shuffle back and forth from group meetings, Sunday School, Bible studies, and mission trips.

But there are a couple of times a year when the body of Christ comes together to sit. To stare. To stop and gaze. Christmas and Easter are those quiet, holy, time-stilling moments of the church.

Have you ever been in a moment where it seemed like time stood still? Maybe it was your wedding day as you made your vows before God and others. Maybe it was a crisis – a car accident that seemed to happen in slow motion. Maybe it was the day your baby was born. Or the day your loved one died. Whatever the event, time stopped. And you sat, stared, and pondered.

Holy Week is a time for stopping. When you read the Gospel of John, you find Jesus talking a lot about “his hour” and the “time that is coming.” John tells us over and over again, “his hour had not yet come.”

But beginning in chapter 12, the narrative slows down and crawls through the next thirty-six hours. Jesus talks to His disciples in the upper room. He comforts them. Challenges them. Provokes them. And then the hours pass by as Jesus goes from the Garden to the palace and then to the hill where His heart will stop beating.

The best way to celebrate this week is to sense the stopping of time, and to remember the moments at the heart of our faith. To simply marvel at the Word of God and what these precious events mean. To listen for the Old Testament echoes, to catch the Old Testament overtones and familiar melodies that resound through the Gospel writers’ symphony of the cross. To look at Jesus – the One crucified in our place, who loved us and died for us.

Behold! That’s an old biblical word that says, “Stop and look.” So take time this week to stop and gaze at the crucified One.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side…
The boat was…battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. (Matthew 14:22, 24)

Following Jesus doesn’t mean the wind will always be at your back. On the contrary, the wind is often against you.

Put yourself in the scene. A miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish. Thousands of people satisfied. The power of Jesus on full display.

Now Jesus says, “Take the boat to the other side while I go pray.” In other words, As you obey Me, I’m going to be absent. The disciples might have seen the first clue that this little task wasn’t going to be easy.

I imagine the disciples battling the waves and steering against the wind, wondering why it’s so difficult to do the simple thing Jesus requested. Can you hear their thoughts?

- Why in the world is this so hard?

- He can feed thousands, but we can barely steer a boat.

- Why does He insist on disappearing at the worst possible times?

The Wind is Against You

You ever been there? You’re listening to Jesus and seeking to follow His instructions, and it seems like the wind is against you.

Sometimes people talk as if following Jesus makes life better and easier. You’re right that Jesus makes life better, but don’t think following Jesus makes your life easier. Coming to Christ will complicate your life. You must now take into consideration whatever He teaches on a given subject. You make decisions with King Jesus on the throne instead of King You.

Still, we are surprised when it seems like everything is against us. The wind you thought you’d have at your back is actually against you.

The Gusts of Doubt

That’s when the doubts creep in. What am I doing wrong? I’m trying to obey Jesus here and He’s not making it easy!

You look at your kids and wonder if you’re parenting the way you should be. But there’s this wall of wind against you as you try to reach your kid’s heart.

You’re trying to be a witness at work, but you are ostracized because word’s gotten out that you believe some pretty backwards things about morality and sex and religion, and stuff like that.

You’re a pastor trying to stir up passion in the hearts of your people, only to find your efforts fail to break through the winter chill.

You’re trying to stay pure as a young adult, but temptations are tough. Your parents and friends aren’t making it any easier because they keep convincing you to delay marriage.

Feeling battered by the waves? Feeling like the wind is against you? Take heart. The storm isn’t the sign you’re doing something wrong. It may be the sign you’re doing something right. 

Are You a Salmon or a Lemming?

Brian Dodd, in Empowered Church Leadership, uses the example of lemmings and salmon to talk about taking the hard road.

Every four years, the Norwegian lemming population migrates in search of food, through lakes, rivers, mountain passes. Many of these gerbils reach the sea and then drown. It’s cult-like in the way they plunge to their death. It’s a sad ending to an adventure.

Salmon, on the other hand, swim out of the ocean upstream for hundreds of miles. They batter their bodies against the current to the place they can lay their eggs and then die. They go in the direction they were designed to go, regardless of personal cost.

The Christian is like a salmon, not a lemming. As Chesterton said, “Any old dead thing can float downstream.”

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

We swim upstream, batter our bodies for the sake of the kingdom, and plant the Word as seed before giving our last breath.

The good news is, even when the wind is against us, the One who has power over the wind and waves is never far away.

I confess. I’m a control freak.

To give my attitude the best spin, I could say it’s because I’m “disciplined” and like to map out my time. But that’s not the reality. Truth is, I like to be in control because it makes me feel powerful and secure. The heart issue is that I’m looking for security in something other than God. So, it’s idolatry, not discipline.

If you like to be in control of your circumstances, then you know what interruptions are like. They’re frustrating. They get in the way of your plan. They need to be avoided or discarded or dealt with as soon as possible so you can get back to being in control, right?

Wrong.

Those of us who follow Jesus shouldn’t act this way when interrupted. We shouldn’t see interruptions as obstacles to our plan but opportunities to embrace God’s plan.

Jesus Interrupted

I can’t help but marvel at how Jesus handled interruptions. Take the story told in Matthew 14, when Jesus finds out about John the Baptist’s beheading. Jesus is saddened by the news. He wants to be alone. So what does He do? He gets in the boat and starts on a journey to get some solace and relief.

But Jesus’ solace is soon interrupted. A large crowd gets word of His plan, and the people make it to the other side in order to wait for Him.

Imagine Jesus as He nears the shore and catches a glimpse of thousands of people waiting to meet Him. Most of us would be frustrated at the sight. We’d probably decide it best to send away the crowds. Or maybe we’d stay in the boat and go somewhere else.

But that’s not Jesus’ response. He’s not frustrated. Matthew says he felt compassion for the people.

Compassion?

Yep. While I’m busy figuring out a way I can keep control, Jesus is thinking of how He can show compassion. He doesn’t throw a pity party for Himself. Instead, He puts others first. What would stir up frustration in us stirs up compassion in Him!

Interruptions and the Stuff of “Real Life”

Many of us think interruptions get in the way of “real life.” That’s why we don’t like them. They remind us we’re not in control.

• Traffic is heavier than usual, and you miss an appointment.
• Unforeseen circumstances cause you to miss a deadline.
• Your kid comes down with the flu at the very time you’re supposed to be going on vacation.

C.S. Lewis recommended that Christians stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s “own,” or “real” life. He wrote:

“The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending one day by day: what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination!”

Interruptions are not obstacles to our plan; they are opportunities for us to embrace God’s plan.

So, the next time real life comes crashing into your idea that you are “in control,” look for the opportunity to show Christ’s compassion. Instead of being frustrated at the presence of other people, look for the opportunity to reflect the compassion of the Savior.

Last month, Corina and I had the opportunity to see Andrew Peterson in concert at the Ryman during his annual Christmas tour – Behold the Lamb. The event took place just three days after the horror of Sandy Hook, and the freshness of that event made the hope-filled lyrics of Peterson and his friends even more meaningful.

I especially enjoyed the song, “Rise Up,” performed by Ben Shive. It reminded me of the good news of God’s justice, and how in the gospel, we see the Judge as the Justifier. I’ve included a video of the song, and the lyrics below.

But first, here’s an excerpt from the Christmas lesson I contributed to The Gospel Project, where we wonder out loud how the coming judgment of God can be both good and frightening.

He Will Strike the Land

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes,
He will not execute justice by what He hears with His ears,
but He will judge the poor righteously
and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.
He will strike the land with discipline from His mouth,
and He will kill the wicked with a command from His lips.
Righteousness will be a belt around His loins;
faithfulness will be a belt around His waist. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Wired for Justice

Take a look at the passage above and see what actions this Spirit-filled King will take. Jesus is the King who will flood the world with God’s justice.

Human beings long for justice. It’s wired into us as people made in the image of a just God. I remember hearing about a friend of mine who debated back and forth with his five-year-old daughter about life being fair or unfair. He told his little girl, “Life isn’t fair,” to which she replied, “Yes, it is! Says so in the Bible.” (He was happy to see her going to the Bible for her answer!) Truth be told, both my friend and his daughter were right. Life isn’t fair right now, but the Bible points forward to the day when injustice will be done away with.

My wife grew up in Romania during the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, whose choices left the economy in a shambles. Evangelical church leaders were persecuted. Freedom of speech was nonexistent. I’ve sat in the homes of Romanians and listened to their tales of living during those times. The common thread that runs through them all is the tragedy of being forced to accept injustice as a common way of life.

This world, affected by our sin and subjected to futility, is an unjust place. But when the Messiah-King foretold by Isaiah comes again, He will flood this world with justice. Things will be made right.

The Frightening Beauty of God’s Justice

Yet there’s a scary side to this justice: “He will judge the poor righteously” (great news) and “execute justice for the oppressed of the land” (wonderful; a just, fair society). But Isaiah goes on: “He will strike the land with discipline from His mouth” (sounds ominous), and “He will kill the wicked with a command from His lips” (yikes). Factor in what Isaiah says right before, about this King seeing and hearing everything, and you start to realize that in longing for God to execute justice, you’re longing for God to judge you too. You long for the solution, but you’re part of the problem.

The Judge is the Justifier

You see, the only way this gospel of God’s justice is good news for us personally is if we, through repentance and faith, make sure we are on the right side of His justice. Christ brings the justice we desire but also takes upon Himself the judgment we deserve. He provides the perfection we need to be part of God’s just world while paying the price for our sinful choices.

God is just. So stand in awe. He is also the Justifier. So savor His grace.

Rise Up (words and music by Ben Shive)

Every stone that makes you stumble
and cuts you when you fall
Every serpent here that strikes your heel
to curse you when you crawl
The king of love one day will crush them all

And every sad seduction and every clever lie
Every word that woos and wounds the pilgrim children of the sky
The king of love will break them by and by

And you will rise up in the end
You will rise up in the end
I know the night is cruel
but the day is coming soon
And you will rise up in the end

If the thief had to come to plunder when the children were alone
If he ravaged every daughter and murdered every son
Would not their father see this? Would not his anger burn?
And would he not repay the tyrant in the day of his return?
Oh, wait. Oh, wait the day of his return

Cause he will rise up in the end
He will rise up in the end
I know you need a Savior
He is patient in his anger
And he will rise up in the end

And when the stars come crashing to the sea
and the high and mighty fall down on their knees
When you see the Son descending in the sky
the chains of death will fall around your feet

You will rise up in the end
you will rise up in the end
You will rise up in the end

_______________________________

Click to purchase the song Rise Up.

“Follow Me.”

He could have been talking to the brightest, most well-educated man He found. He could’ve been speaking with a businessman who had seen enormous success, so much so that the money from a potential partnership would more than pay for His expenses. He could’ve been talking to those who would’ve led a militia and fought for Him as king.

Once may be a surprise. Twice is a strange coincidence. Three times is definitely a pattern. Whom is He calling now? The fishermen who left their nets and their families behind – they were strange enough. The tax collector who left behind his life of bribery and extortion – that was daring enough. But perhaps this next summons is most shocking of all.

Two thousand years later. In a different time, in a different place. But it’s the same Galilean voice.

You have people to see, meetings to attend, children to tend to, parents to mind, activities you are trying to press into an already squeezed schedule. And yet quietly walking past you in the midst of your struggle, in spite of your sin, He issues His royal summons.

That’s the difference between Christianity as it should be and Christianity as it has become. We live in a world where many Christians still live for themselves. When “Follow Me” means “Let Me make you happy.” When “I have come to give life” means “I’ll give you money.” When “I have called you My friends” means “We can steer this life together.” When the royal summons to follow the King turns into a private devotion to buddy Jesus.

And in this crumbling world around us, beautiful even now despite the horrors that take place within it, Jesus is still calling. He invites us to take the journey behind Him, to allow His cloak of righteousness to cover our sin as we walk closely behind. Step by step.

Jesus invites us to the religious experience of a lifetime, precisely because this journey is not about having a religious experience. Adventure is promised, but not just the thrill-seeking adventure we desire, a way of satisfying our innate need for something bigger than ourselves. Adventure comes because that innate need is only met when we realize that Christianity is not about us; it’s not about my personal religious faith that I practice in the prayer closet;  and it’s not about my secure, prepared heavenly afterlife. Granted, all those get thrown into the mix. But the center of Christianity is the Christ  the “ianity” follows.

The summons is a royal one. The Messiah has beckoned. The King has spoken.

Each morning, as we wake up and our feet hit the floor, we ought to remember – “I’ve been summoned. Today belongs to my King.”