Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....March 22, 2021
Jesus loved to ask questions (the Gospels list at least 135 of his questions). The most powerful question Jesus asked in this text was "Who are you looking for?" Who they were looking for tells us a lot about the people in this story.
Many years ago, there was a sight-seeing tour in Iceland that lost one of its sightseers. She was no where to be found. Panicked, they called in the police and the search began. Hours later (about 3 in the morning) they discovered that the woman they were searching for had been there all the time. Apparently, the woman had left the tourist group to change clothes and when she returned in a different outfit the rest of her tour group did not recognize her.
On top of that, when the description of the “missing person” described her as – “An Asian woman, in dark clothing and speaks English well” – the woman seemingly didn’t realize they were describing HER. So she began to assist the others in searching… for herself.
She didn’t know who she was looking for!
In our text today we’re told that: “Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went (to the Garden) with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’” John 18:3-4
WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Jesus asked.
You know, Jesus loved to ask questions. According to one of my sources, Jesus asked at least 135 questions during His ministry: Do you believe that I am able to do this? (Matthew 9:28); Who do you say I am? (Matthew 16:15); What do you want me to do for you? (Mark 10:51); Why are you so afraid? (Mark 4:40); Do you love me? (John 21:17); and perhaps the most important: What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
Jesus always seemed to ask the right question at the right time to challenge people to think about what they were doing. And so, when this band of armed men come to arrest Him, Jesus asked the right question/ at the right time/ to challenge them to think: “Who are you looking for?”
Well WHO were they looking for?
Let’s look at first guy out of the box … Judas. WHO was he looking for? We’re told “JUDAS, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went (to the Garden) with lanterns and torches and weapons.” Judas is leading an armed band to go and arrest Jesus. Judas was LOOKING for Jesus to betray him with a kiss.
At the Last Supper Jesus said “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me”… Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.” Matthew 26:21 & 25
Judas wasn’t a very nice guy and he’s gone down in history as one of the most despised men of all time. He’s become the symbol of betrayal. But why? Why did Judas betray Jesus? Well, he was a man driven by greed. John described him a thief --- he stole money from the money bag that the disciples used to buy stuff. (Jn 12:6)
Judas’ reputation was so blackened by this treachery that in every one of the Gospels, whenever there’s a list of the disciples…he’s always LAST. In fact, one of the other disciples (named Thaddeus) was also called Judas, and in John 14:22 John refers to him as “Judas (not Judas Iscariot)” just make sure no one confused the good Judas with the bad one.
Now, all that said, what’s interesting to me is HOW the Bible talks about Judas beyond that. Did you realize that Jesus never mistreated Judas? In fact, Judas was at the Last Supper… and Jesus even washed Judas’ feet. In addition, aside from the Gospels, Judas is only mentioned ONE MORE TIME (in Acts 1:13-25) and he’s NEVER mentioned ever again in rest of the New Testament. You’d think that one of the most notorious traitors in Scripture would have gotten more press than that. I mean, Benedict Arnold gets worse treatment than that in American History! Why does Judas get this “kid-glove” treatment in the Bible?
Well here’s the deal… the message of Scripture is that ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - every one of us!! In I Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul writes: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” THEY’RE ALL GONNA GO TO HELL!!!!!
But, we’ve all sinned too, and that means we all DESERVE go to hell. But then Paul writes: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” I Corinthians 6:11
The main theme of Scripture is that Jesus came to save the lost. In fact, Paul wrote: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) Paul was essentially Ldeclaring: whatever you think of Judas… I was worse!
So, I believe Judas (who was someone I would have seen as the worst of sinners) got the “kid glove” treatment because God didn’t want to give us the impression that SOME folks weren’t worth saving. Jesus will save anyone who believes, repents and is baptized. Jesus came to save the worst of sinners, whether Judas, Paul… or me.
So Judas came looking for Jesus that night - and he was leading a band of armed soldiers. Who were these soldiers looking for? Well, they SAID they were looking for “Jesus of Nazareth” but they didn’t recognize Him. They didn’t really KNOW who He was, so they had no idea WHO they were looking for.
You see, this mob knew very little about Jesus except that others hated Him. And because others hated Him they didn’t like Him much either.
There’s a lot of folks out there like that. They don’t know much about Jesus, but the people they hang around don’t like Him, and that tends to make them a little hostile toward Christ. They’ve listened to the wrong people and come to the wrong conclusions. And all they need is someone like Peter, swinging a sword and cutting off people’s ears, to confirm their doubts about our faith.
So how do you deal with folks like this? Well, you definitely don’t swing any swords at them. You don’t get angry, and you don’t attack. You don’t push… because they’ll tend to push back and things can get ugly.
Instead, the best thing to do, is what Jesus did. He wasn’t offended. He walked right up them and He told them what they needed to hear.
And what do people need to hear? It all depends. A couple years ago I was in a residential part of town when a couple girls across the street shouted to me. They’d been part of our youth group in the past and they began to engage in a discussion: “Do you believe homosexuals are going to hell?” Now, if I'd been smart I'd have followed Jesus example and asked them a question in return. Something like "Do you want to go to heaven?" But I wasn't that smart (atheists and skeptics try to dominate a conversation by keeping us on the defensive - Jesus defused that approach by putting his adversaries on the defensive with His quesitons).
However, I wasn't quite that smart. I just pointed out that all sinful people who refused to turn their lives over to Jesus and change their behavior would go to hell… not just homosexuals. “Well we’re lesbians. Do you mean that we’re going to hell?” I responded “God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell, no matter what they’ve done. But if people insist on doing things their own way… they’ve already decided they don’t want to go to be with Him.” I don’t know if they were lesbians or not. They could have just been trying to get me angry and say harsh things – but I wasn’t going to go there. I simply told them what they needed to hear without being harsh or self-righteous (which is what I think they were hoping to get from me).
But here’s the deal - Jesus wasn’t afraid to tell people what they needed to hear, and we shouldn’t be either.
One problem too many people have is that they are afraid that they don’t know enough to witness to others. Do you realize how Jesus witnessed to that crowd? He asked who they were looking for, and He simply said “I am he” and THAT WAS IT! He didn’t get into a deep theological discussion with them.
Sometimes that’s all you have to do… point to Jesus. Don’t point to the church, don’t point to the preacher. Just point to Jesus. You don’t have to get theological, just tell people what Jesus means to you.
Someone once said: A good witness is like a signpost. Nobody cares if a signpost is ugly or pretty - or if its old or new. All that matters is that the signpost points in the right direction. All that matters is that it easily understood. If we are witnesses for Christ, our job is simply to point to Him.” (my version of something written by a man named John White).
WE ARE SIGNPOSTS! We point to Jesus and say “This is who I believe in and He’s changed my life”
Now, lastly, there’s one more person I want to focus on this morning, a man named Malchus. Just as a reminder, let’s look again at what John tells us about him: “Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’ Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus…” John 18:10-12
Malchus was the servant of the High Priest and Peter cut off his ear. That’s all we know about him from Scripture. And yet, we’re told his name: Malchus. Why are we told this man’s name? If you go through the Gospels most of the people mentioned don’t have names. (the Wisemen, Centurions, and all those sick and lame and leprous that Jesus healed). These were all people that Jesus encountered throughout His ministry, but they’re all unknown! We don’t know their names.
So, why are we told Malchus’ name? It only shows up this once in all of Scripture. Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and speculate. I’m giving you my OPINION here. I could be wrong (probably not, but there’s a chance).
There’s a common agreement amongst a lot of scholars that when you read a person’s name in the Gospels it’s probably because he/she had become a Christian and they are well known in the early church! For example, the man who carried Jesus’ cross to Calvary was “A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mark 15:21). Alexander and Rufus seem to have been referenced in Acts and Romans.
Then there’s Zacchaeus, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. There are some scholars who believe all these people became Christians and were well known to the early Christians. I mean, why give a person’s name, if nobody knew them?
So, here we have Malchus. If he DID become a Christian… why would he do that? Why become a Christian?
Well, Luke 22:50-51 tells us that: “one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
Jesus HEALED the guy who came to arrest Him? And He Was The Servant Of One Of Jesus’ Arch-Enemies!!! He worked for the High Priest. And yet, Jesus touched him – and healed him. I suspect Jesus did more for this man than heal his severed ear. I suspect Jesus’ kindness touched a part of the man’s soul and laid the groundwork for conversion.
ILLUS: There is a story about a little girl who proudly wore a shiny cross on a chain around her neck. One day she was approached by a man who said to her, “Little girl, don’t you know that the cross Jesus died on wasn’t beautiful like the one you’re wearing? It was an ugly, wooden thing.” To which the girl replied, “Yes, I know. But they told me in Sunday school that whatever Jesus touches, He changes.”
The way for us to touch people for Jesus is to share how Jesus touched us. There’s an old Gospel song that goes this way:
“Shackled by a heavy burden, 'Neath a load of guilt and shame. Then the hand of Jesus touched me, and now I am no longer the same. He touched me, oh, He touched me. And oh, the joy that floods my soul. Something happened and now I know – He touched me and made me whole.”
So how did Jesus “touch” you? What did He do to change YOUR life? Once you focus on that – that is your key way to witness to others.
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
“My friend just died. I don’t know what to do.”
Alright, here goes. I’m old. What that means is that I’ve survived (so far) and a lot of people I’ve known and loved did not. I’ve lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can’t imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here’s my two cents.
I wish I could say you get used to people dying. I never did. I don’t want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don’t want it to “not matter”. I don’t want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love. So be it.
Scars are a testament to life. Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love. And the scar tissue is stronger than the original flesh ever was. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to people who can’t see.
As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph.
Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.
In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out.
But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything…and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.
Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself.
And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.
Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you’ll survive them. And other waves will come. And you’ll survive them too. If you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This is the last in our series on the Religions of the World...We finish with...Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation, popularly known as TM, typically would be considered a New Age religion.
The movement and related organizations were founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He was born in northern India in 1917 (some sources say 1911, others 1918) and earned a university degree in physics before renouncing worldly pursuits to become a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, better known as Guru Dev. Following Guru Dev’s death in 1953, Maharishi (a Hindi title meaning “great seer”) continued to meditate and reflect, including two years spent in a Himalayan cave. These meditations on Guru Dev’s teachings became the basis for TM.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi moved to the U.S. in 1958 and founded the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in Los Angeles. Although the initial response was small, the antiestablishment mood of American youth in the later 1960s produced an interested audience for his message of peace and tranquility. The Beatles began to follow him, even spending time at his ashram (meditation and training center) in India, and this publicity brought rapid growth. After a few years, there was a falling-out with the Beatles, especially John Lennon, who called Maharishi “a lecherous womanizer.” (George Harrison continued to practice Hinduism; his former estate outside London is now a Hindu temple and retreat center.) The adverse publicity brought a decline in numbers, and in the early 1970s Maharishi returned to India.
But before long he was back in the U.S. He rebranded TM as the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI), replacing all religious vocabulary with terms from psychology; the movement began to grow again. So great was the popularity of TM seminars (people paid $2,500 or more to attend) that in the 1970s, SCI was making up to $20 billion annually. In 1974, Maharishi bought the former Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, and founded the Maharishi International University. Through the university’s research, TM sought to demonstrate the scientific basis of Transcendental Meditation, further distancing itself from allegations of religious teaching. For a time TM found its way into public schools, but in 1977, a federal court ruled that SCI/TM was indeed religion-based and banned it from being taught in New Jersey public schools. Some other states quickly adopted similar provisions, despite TM’s loud and frequent protests.
This by no means brought an end to TM, which continues to advertise widely and grow through seminars offered all over the country. “I lowered my blood pressure naturally through TM,” proclaims one advertisement, quoting the American Journal of Cardiology. It goes on, “Learn how Transcendental Meditation® can unfold perfect health and improve your quality of life.” In a tacit admission of TM’s religious basis, the fine print attributes the ad to the Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation.
The death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in 2008, also did little to slow the growth of TM and its expanding number of related organizations. Currently, plans are in place to build Peace Palaces in three thousand major world cities. According to the website, “Each Peace Palace will offer to everyone the knowledge and practical programs for peace and enlightenment, for a healthy, happy, more creative, more fulfilling and successful life through the Transcendental Meditation program. Its benefits in the fields of education, health, social behavior, and world peace have been amply documented during the past half-century all over the world” (maharishipeacepalace.org [04/18/12]). Another organization, The Global Country of World Peace, aspires to assist current governments “by unifying all nations in happiness prosperity, invincibility, and perfect health” (www.globalcountry.org/wp/the-global-mother-divine-organization/ [04/18/12]). The administrators of various countries within the GCWP are called rajas. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the cost of training to become a raja is $1 million. Rajas may have “vedic authority” over physically disparate political entities—Graham de Freitas, PhD, is raja of Minnesota, Norway, Grenada, Trinidad, and Tobago, and half a dozen African countries.
Transcendental Meditation itself is a procedure for reaching a state of “higher consciousness,” releasing the practitioner’s innermost potential. Unlike other forms of meditation, TM is supposed to transcend thinking. The basic techniques are taught in a seven-step course, currently costing $1,500. The Maharishi Foundation claims to have trained more than six million people worldwide over the past fifty years. Training includes giving the initiate a mantra, a word repeated while meditating. The primary requirement is relaxing while repeating the mantra for twenty minutes, twice daily. Advanced courses promise to move a person beyond transcendental consciousness to cosmic consciousness, God consciousness, and eventually unity consciousness, where one achieves complete unity with God and freedom from karma. These deeper levels show TM’s connection to Hindu philosophy and worldview.
In July 2006, Professor John Hagelin, a theoretical physicist at the Maharishi University, began a yearlong experiment in bringing worldwide peace and prosperity through group meditation. The goal was to gather more than two thousand TMers to meditation twice a day for three hours each session. Expectations included an end to the war in Iraq and a rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The DJIA was just over 11,000 in July 2006. By July 2007, it was almost 14,000. One year later it was back at 11,000 again.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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