Because of Jesus’ teaching on prayer, the believer does not come to Father as a beggar hoping to convince him to do what is right or good. Rather, the believer comes as a beloved child whom God the Father loves and delights in providing for. Jesus is not in any way describing a formal relationship, but one that is familial and close. When we understand that Jesus gave his followers the command and authority to make disciples, then we also understand that his followers have the right to direct Father to provide for their needs in order to fulfill his commission and proclaim the gospel to all nations (Matthew 24:14; 28:18-20).
Not only do we pray because Jesus commanded and taught us to pray—but through prayer, we can be a blessing to others. Through our prayers, we assist others in their tasks. Paul requested that the Thessalonians pray with him for the purpose of spreading the gospel through Silas, Timothy, and himself. Paul also had them pray so that Silas, Timothy, and he would be rescued from evil people—specifically those who did not have faith (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). The Thessalonians were in only one location, but their influence through prayer extended through the actions of Paul and his co-laborers.
I was reflecting on Jesus’ identity. Even when he was a boy of 12, he understood who he was. Mary and Joseph had taken him to the temple (Luke 2) for the festival. When they left they didn’t realize that Jesus wasn’t with them so they began a frantic several day search for him. When he was found later in the temple, Mary confronted him and rebuked him telling him that she and his father had been searching for him. Mary revealed her perspective of Jesus, that he was hers and Joseph’s son. Jesus’ response was different. He reminded Mary that she should have known that he would be in his father’s house. Jesus wasn’t referring to Joseph as his father as Mary had; he referred to the temple, God’s house. Even at the young age of 12, Jesus knew who he was. He wasn’t Joseph’s son, he was God’s son. Throughout his life Jesus identified with heaven primarily while living his life on earth. He is the opposite of how we tend to live. We tend to identify primarily with our earthly families, our national identity and the places where we live and work. That means we are quite often troubled by our circumstances and what we see taking place around us. While Jesus engaged with and had compassion for the people around him, he was not troubled by those things, because he was anchored in heaven not on earth. When Jesus calls us to him, he also changes our identity to be like his, rooted in heaven, where Paul said we are seated with him. Later Paul wrote the Philippians that our citizenship is in heaven from which we await our Savior. The more we identify with heaven, the less we will be troubled by what we see taking place around us, but can address those situations in a similar way to how Jesus addressed his situation. Jesus’ life is instructive to us on how we are fulfill his instruction to be in the world, but not of the world.
Over my years as a pastor, it was not uncommon to hear people asking how to pray. Their question resembled the command/request that one of the twelve disciples posed to Jesus in Luke 11:1. “Teach us to pray like John taught his disciples.” Jesus responded with what we now call the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is curiously simple compared with the disciples’ longing for knowledge. Frankly, for many years, I considered Jesus’ response a bit disappointing. If I were one of the disciples listening to Jesus, I would desire a “deeper” lesson on prayer. Shouldn’t Jesus’ response to such a deep question have been more profound? Yet, what made the Lord’s Prayer so special in the disciples’ eyes? Perhaps I’ve taken this simple prayer for granted and missed something important. When I began to study further the Lord’s Prayer, I discovered that it is quite outrageous. In a sense, Jesus’ teaching on prayer exploded my “black box” of traditional prayer. Upon examination of the Lord’s Prayer in both Matthew 6 and Luke 11, a question arises. Why did Jesus teach his disciples to pray by primarily using commands rather than requests? Since the New Testament was originally written in Greek, what might be learned from the Greek use of commands? For example, how do we account for the Greek imperative (command) being used? Greek scholars have noted the unusual usage of the imperative in the New Testament. The ancient Greeks regarded the imperative form as inappropriate to use with superiors. However, modern grammars of New Testament Greek interpret imperatives used in prayer as a form of request or asking permission, but this explanation does not address the reluctance in ancient Greek to use the imperative in addressing a superior. The question arises: if the imperative merely reflected asking permission and not necessarily giving a command, then why was it not used in communication with a superior in Greek culture? Furthermore, on what basis do we interpret a command as asking permission, and when is it truly a command? For example, if it is possible to interpret imperatives as asking permission, then how do we know Jesus is not merely requesting us to love one another as he has loved us (John 13:34), rather than issuing us a command to do so? To a Greek-speaking first century reader of the New Testament, the abundant use of the imperative in Jesus’ teaching on prayer to God must have been shocking. At the very least, the New Testament writers were pushing boundaries by using Greek imperatives to describe their relationship with Jesus and with God our Father. The implications of their writings require us to reflect further on what type of relationship our heavenly Father desires to have with us.
When Jesus lived he consistently created controversy, not because he intended to, but because what he said challenged the mainstream beliefs of the day. He was the Jewish Messiah, whom Christians call Christ, but he didn’t fit the Messiah theology of that day. While he did the works of God, like in John 9 when he opened the eyes of a man born blind, his words and claims offended his listeners. In fact, Jesus accomplished something 2000 years ago that even today modern medicine cannot duplicate. Today many call Jesus’ miracles myths, because they cannot understand how he could do what he did. Jesus’ contemporaries couldn’t do that because the man born blind was standing in front of them. In this case, Jesus healing the man did not offend them so much as what Jesus said about himself. He claimed to be one with God. In John 10 they picked up stones to kill him; so Jesus asked them for what good work were they trying to kill him. Their response is illustrative. They said not for his works, but because he was a man and claimed to be God. At this point their theology of God brought them to a place of missing who Jesus was; they believed that God could not become a man. Rather than considering the fact that they may have an incomplete or inadequate view of who God was and what God could do, they rejected Jesus because he didn’t fit their theological paradigm. Their conclusion about Jesus is instructive to us. Our devotion to theology and doctrine can blind us from what God is doing today. Jesus revealed something new that God was doing, but his contemporaries missed it. God can always do something new and unexpected, we need to make sure that our theology doesn’t prevent us from accepting what God is currently doing because it doesn’t fit with our theology.
Jesus’ conversation with the religious leaders in John 8 gives insight into the power of our beliefs. The Jews affirmed that their father was Abraham. However, Jesus pointed out a contradiction. While they claimed to be Abraham’s children, they also plotted to kill Jesus. Jesus explained to them that if they were truly Abraham’s children they would behave as he did and not plot against someone who had come from God. Their cold-hearted behavior leads us to consider why they plotted to kill Jesus in the first place. Previously John had revealed that they plotted to kill Jesus because they believed he violated the Sabbath by healing a man on the Sabbath. Additionally when Jesus referred to God as his father, they condemned him of blasphemy. Jesus spoke truth to the Jews, but they couldn’t accept it, because their interpretation of truth was different from what Jesus said. Ironically, their commitment to their interpretation actually blinded them from truth. At first they criticized Jesus, then they began to hate him and eventually plotted to kill him. The religious leaders decision to kill Jesus reveals the danger we may run when we allow our interpretation of truth to take such control of our lives that we fail to see how we might be wrong and miss an opportunity for growth. Such dogmatism can then slip into hatred of those with whom we disagree and then desire or seek their downfall.
In John 13 Jesus gave a “new command’ to his disciples. He told them that they were to love one another as he had loved them. Jesus’ statement indicated that this new command was different from all the other commands and instructions that they had received before including those they had received from him. That means, Jesus’ new command was different than the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. It was different than love your enemies and pray and bless those who persecute you.
But how was it different? If we go back and consider the Old Testament command to love your neighbor as yourself, we realize that anyone could fulfill this command. If individuals have the capacity to love themselves, and they do, then they also have the capacity to love their neighbor in that same manner, which according to Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan includes their enemy. However, in his new command, Jesus didn’t say to love one another as they love themselves, nor did he say to love their enemies, but they were to love one another as he loves them. That is a whole different type of love! Jesus being divine indicates that his’ followers are to love as Jesus loves, which means as God loves. This type of love is not possible without God’s help. Jesus’ new command may shed further light on what Jesus meant a little while later where in John 15, he told his disciples that he was the vine and they were the branches. Without remaining connected to Jesus, they could not produce fruit, that is they could not love others as Jesus loved them. Without remaining connected to Jesus, and I believe Jesus means connected relationally, we will be unable to love others as God loves them. How might the world look different if all those who follow Jesus sought to fulfill this command consistently? What would that look life in my life and your life?
How important is it for us to search out truth? Appearances can be deceiving. As important as it is to listen to teachers, this does not mean that we should abdicate our responsibility to seek out truth for ourselves. In John 7, the people came to some false conclusions based on circumstances, appearances and prior teaching. First Jesus was teaching openly and the authorities did nothing to oppose him (verse 25-26). The people concluded that the authorities had concluded that Jesus was the Messiah. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The leaders were most definitely opposed to Jesus. Depending on appearances and circumstances to determine the truth can lead us to error and mistakes. While we can make observations from circumstances and appearances, we should stop short of drawing conclusions from them alone. The people also resorted to teaching that they had received that again led them to a false belief. They had been taught no one would know from where the Messiah would come, even though the prophets had declared that he would come from the city of David, Bethlehem, where in fact Jesus had been born and then raised in Nazareth of Galilee. Consequently the people doubted whether Jesus could be the Messiah because they knew where he was from. That conclusion was based on the errant teaching they had received which led them to a false conclusion. That example of well intentioned teachers convinced of what they believe could still lead us astray. Therefore how often do we depend upon what we’ve been taught without checking the sources for ourselves?
One of the great joys of life is learning to see how God watches over us on a daily basis. A couple of weeks ago I went outside to move my car so that Donelle could pull her car in ahead of mine, because I would be leaving early the next morning. Strangely I had difficulty starting the car. Eventually I got it started and we got our cars situated. The next morning I left for work quite early, before it was light. I was concerned about it starting; I prayed that it would start, because I was opening our department that morning. It started without a problem and drove to work and actually forgot that I had a problem with it the night before. However, when I was driving home all kinds of things started going wrong; nevertheless I made it home but again had trouble starting it to take it to our mechanic. Of course it operated perfectly for the mechanic, but he thought he knew what the problem might be. I gave him the go ahead to fix it. Since I was off the next day, I didn’t need my car. About noon the following day, the mechanic called and told me it was a good thing I had left it, because the car completely broke down while he was testing it. Fortunately, they made it back and it died again as they were pulling in and had to coast the car into the garage. He repaired the problem and I picked up the car that afternoon. The car could have failed and caused me to miss work, but it didn’t. It could have died on the freeway, but it didn’t. It could have died on the way to the mechanic’s shop, but it didn’t. I choose to conclude that my heavenly Father was watching over me. Yes, I had a car problem, but it was a minor inconvenience, rather than a major problem.
A few days after that, I walked out to my car again to go to work and immediately saw that the right rear tire was completely flat. I thought that odd, because I had driven home the night before and the tire pressure sensor on the car had not indicated that it was low. I needed to leave for work and didn’t have time to fix it. However our daughter was home that day and I asked her if I could borrow her car. She said that was fine. I made it to work and wasn’t even late. The following day, I was off of work, so I had time to take a look at the tire. It had a nail stuck right in the middle of the tread. I was able to pump the tire up and drive to the tire store and got the tire fixed. Again, a minor inconvenience, not a major problem. The tire didn’t go flat when I was at work, but parked in our driveway; it didn’t even inconvenience Donelle who had to leave earlier that morning and so was parked in back of my car. Sara didn’t need her car that day, so I could borrow it. It all worked out alright. Again, I choose to believe my heavenly Father is watching out for me. That is one thing I’ve had to learn over the years. That most problems are a temporary inconvenience, but eventually get worked out alright, so I should not let them provoke me to anger, frustration or anxiety. These situations also cause me to wonder how many situations I’m completely protected by my Heavenly Father without even being aware?
In John 6:52-71, Jesus taught some concepts that were and are hard to comprehend. However, Jesus always declares the truth even when it offends those who have chosen to associate with him. Therefore it is important for us to examine what or whom we follow. The disciples of Jesus (a group broader than the twelve) mentioned in John chapter 6 thought that they followed Jesus, but Jesus’ teaching about eating his flesh and drinking his blood offended their theology. Their reaction revealed that they didn’t follow Jesus, rather they followed the doctrines they had been taught about the Messiah. As soon as Jesus didn’t fit their understanding they left him. Jesus always spoke and speaks the truth, but we don’t always have a complete or even accurate view of the truth. Our doctrines and theology should always be considered theories more than dogma. We may believe that we follow what Scripture teaches, but in fact we may be following what we have been taught and interpreted Scripture to say. Jesus confronted Peter in Acts 10 about what he thought Scripture taught, but in fact Peter was mistaken. Jesus revealed to Peter that he was to eat that which he previously considered unclean. Peter was to be open to associating with and declaring the message of Jesus to the Gentiles, who were previously considered unclean by Peter. The fact that Peter accepted Jesus’ teaching is to his credit. When the opportunity arose, he went and declared God’s forgiveness through Jesus to the Gentile Cornelius, even though later he was criticized for it by other Christians.
Jesus’ words and warning in John 6 along with Peter’s example in Acts 10 teaches us that we should not consider our current understanding of Jesus to be complete or even completely accurate. We must always be open to correction and further growth. Our study of Scripture is not for the purpose of proving what we currently believe is right, but rather to understand what God wants and to evaluate where we still need better understanding and growth.
What did Jesus mean when he referred to those who had eyes to see and ears to hear? When Jesus was about to feed the 5000 in John 6, Andrew brought a child with a lunch of five barley loaves and two fish. Then he commented that this would be little among so many. Jesus was not dismayed; he didn’t have the same perspective. He simply took what he had, thanked God for it and fed the crowd. Andrew had made a logical conclusion. Experience told him that five loaves and two fish would feed very few people. It doesn’t take many years of life to understand that concept. However, Jesus says that we must be like children. Children have not yet learned how many could be fed from five loaves and two fish. From a child’s perspective, why couldn’t five loaves and two fish feed 5000? Andrew looked at the situation through the world’s lens, but Jesus looked at it through heaven’s lens. Jesus had heaven’s eyes and ears and saw that five loaves and two fish would be enough to feed the crowd. Jesus urges us to see every situation through the lens of what we see in heaven and what we hear from heaven and apply it to our situation on earth. Having this perspective does not seem to be something that can normally be done overnight. The disciples lived with Jesus and saw him work for three years, yet still had trouble grasping the ways of heaven. For us their example implies that we must practice learning to view life from heaven’s perspective and training ourselves to hear what heaven is saying so that first we recognize and then understand. Like children learning to understand language, first they hear sounds, but it is not until later that they understand that those sounds have meaning that they can understand. In other words, so that we learn to have eyes to see and ears to hear.
David Freitag 