Misunderstandings

 

Did you hear about the homeless man who was looking for food? He went into a nice neighborhood on the good side of town and approached the first house he saw. He rang the doorbell, and in a few minutes the owner of the house opened the door. 

 

The poor man introduced himself and explained that he had fallen on hard times. He asked the affluent man if there was any way he could spare a few dollars, or maybe a bite to eat. The homeowner said that he is a believer in honest work, and told the man that he had been meaning to paint his porch for quite a while. “If you paint my porch, you can come inside and I’ll serve you a hot meal.” 

 

Not half an hour later the beggar walked right in through the front door and announced he was finished and ready to eat. Surprised that he was finished so quickly, the rich man told him to have a seat at the table while he finished preparing lunch. It was then that the homeless man dropped this bombshell: “By the way mister, you really need to learn your cars. You don’t drive a Porsche, but I painted your BMW.” 

 

We can get in real trouble if we do not understand something. In Scripture we see far too many people who misunderstood Jesus and His mission. For some, they had expectations that when the Messiah came, He would come as a conquering general or a ruling king. When Jesus did not launch an assault against the Roman government, people decided Jesus must not be the Messiah after all. For others, they wrongly viewed Jesus as someone who minimized their laws and traditions, even though Jesus said He came to fulfill the law, not destroy it. 

 

Today we can make a similar mistake if we misunderstand Jesus. Part of the problem is due to our misunderstanding of the Bible. We may develop the wrong idea that nothing bad is ever supposed to happen to a believer, or even go so far as to expect nothing but material and physical blessings from God if we truly believe.

 

Jesus said “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” Many misunderstand this verse (and others) to say that only good things are in store for us in this life, but they overlook the clear part that promises tribulations as long as we live in this world. People walk away from the church the second something bad happens, deciding that Christianity must not be real. Don’t let this, and similar misunderstandings, keep you from God. That would be as foolish as painting a car instead of a porch. We need to study the Word so that we do not fall victim to these misunderstandings. 

 

God’s House

 

I don’t know what kind of house you live in, but I would guess there may be some things you would like changed or updated. You may watch renovation or house hunting shows on TV and find yourself wishing you had a bigger house, a newer house, or a nicer house. Maybe you see other people’s houses and envy what they have. 

 

Retired NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is selling his house in Orlando for a reduced price of “just” 19.5 million dollars. The house has twelve bedrooms, a regulation indoor basketball court, a movie theater, and a showroom style garage with room for “17+” cars. It isn’t that it is too much house for the seven-footer, it is just that he has too many other houses. 

 

Some may criticize O’Neal and others like him for having a house like that. What he does with his money is his business. When this becomes a problem is when Christians ignore the needs of others while they live in mansions. Imagine the audacity of building yourself a house fit for Shaq, while knowing that your local church did not have the funds to repair a leaky roof. That is exactly what God’s people were doing in the book of Haggai. 

 

Israel had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion, and the temple laid in ruins for seventy years. When the Israelites began returning home, their first order of business was to rebuild God’s house. Ezra tells us the people acquired the timber they needed for the project, but fifteen years later the temple construction and stopped, but the Israelites were living in luxury. Haggai asked, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins (1:4)?”

 

What happened to all that timber? And why were the people living in paneled houses? Hmm…

 

It becomes clear that the Jews were stealing the timber meant for God’s house and incorporating it into their own. There was still no place to go worship, but at least they had luxurious homes. Paneled houses were reserved for royalty (I Kings 7), but thanks to the five-finger discount, now anyone can have the finer things! 

 

They let themselves off the hook by coining a new proverb: “This people says, ‘The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built (1:2).’” They basically said, “We can do it later. We have plenty of time to build the temple.” God had to send a prophet to scold the people and get them back to work. Besides the fact that stealing is wrong (and stealing from God seems even worse), the people were out of line because they made excuses for themselves and kicked the can down the road. It is always easier to let someone else handle a problem, but when we are the ones who are supposed to be doing the work, we need to do it. Whatever God may be calling you to do, do it. Don’t live in a paneled house while the temple lies in ruins. No delays; no excuses. Just get it done.

Lion of Judah

 

Our family recently took a trip to the Greenville zoo. That is a trip that is fun for the kids, but in truth, I always enjoy seeing the animals and reading the facts posted about them. My favorite part is the African area, where giraffes tower over the buildings and lions walk harmlessly just feet away. This was the closest I have ever been to a lion. There was only about an inch between us and his powerful jaws (that inch was glass in the viewing area). 

 

The lion is an intimidating animal. I could not help but think about the biblical references to the lion; for example, Isaiah 31 compares God to a roaring lion, and at the zoo I read that a lion’s roar can be heard from an astounding five miles away. The most prominent lion passages, however, are the ones that bookend the Bible. 

 

In Genesis 49 the dying Jacob is blessing his children, and when he gets to his son Judah, he said, “Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him (v.9)?” This was part of a messianic prophecy that looked forward to the day when Jesus would return to earth to judge the nations. 

 

In Revelation 5:5 we see the prophecy come full circle: “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’” The genealogies of Jesus provided by both Matthew and Luke show that Jesus was a descendant of Judah (from the line of Judah) as well as David (the root of David).

 

The lion is called the king of the jungle, and for good reason. It is a fierce yet majestic creature. This is a fitting picture of Jesus, the King of Kings. He is fierce, yet majestic. His roar is terrifying, but only to His prey. Romans 11:22 contrasts “the goodness and severity of God.” He is severe to the wicked, yet good to His children. To the unbeliever God is that severe lion—fierce, terrifying, and dangerous. But to those of us who have trusted in Him, to those of us who have been saved, we can be an inch away and have no reason to fear.  

 

Dirty Dishes

 

Does anyone like to eat on dirty dishes? We go to great lengths to make sure our dishes are clean before we eat from them. Sometimes, even after washing them, they still do not pass our standards, so we wash them again. Dirty dishes are a quick way for a restaurant to get a bad review. 

 

It isn’t the bottom of the plate I am concerned with. Frankly, the underside of the plate does not even concern me; it is the part that touches the food that I want to be spotless. The same is true of a cup. Some people have fancy china that is reserved for those most special occasions, and when they take out the expensive dishes, they make sure they look pristine. 

 

Jesus once told the Pharisees that they were like dishes—dirty dishes. The outside of the cup was clean, but the inside looked as if it hadn’t been washed. It matters not how pristine or polished the outside of a glass is, if the inside is dirty, no one wants to use it. I don’t care if you spend an hour cleaning the bottom of the plate if you don’t clean the part that holds my food. 

 

Jesus said it like this: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean (Matthew 23:25-26).”

But He wasn’t finished. He also said they were like whitewashed tombs. A fresh coat of paint on the outside does not change what is stored on the inside. In Israel many people buried their loved ones by putting them in tombs, which were basically caves. At Passover people would come from around the world to celebrate, and if they accidentally entered a tomb, they would be defiled and unable to celebrate. To help prevent this, people gave their tombs an annual whitewashing.   

 

No matter how much you try to dress it up, when the cups are filled with dirt and the tombs are filled with decay, the whole things becomes uninviting. A lot of people think that as long as the outside looks right then they are ok. They put on their Sunday best, they carry their Bible, they raise their hands, and even shout an occasional Amen, but their hearts are far from God. 

 

Jesus saw right through their disguise. They may have cleaned the outside of the cup and painted the tomb, but Jesus could see their heart. He sees yours too. Are you trying to trick people into thinking you are right with God? Is it all an act, or have you given God your heart?