Buoyant Faith

It was a long day. Crowds of people were following Jesus, and they were excited to learn what He would teach them! Jesus taught some great lessons, and pretty soon it was supper time. The people were getting hungry! They were pretty far out in the countryside, and the disciples suggested, “Hey Jesus, why don’t You dismiss everyone so they can go get something to eat?”

Jesus replied, “Nah, no need. You can feed them.”

“Um, Jesus?” they said, “Do you know how much that would cost?! There’s no way we could go get enough food to feed such a huge crowd!”

So Jesus answered, “What have you brought to eat?”

When they checked, they managed to get together five small loaves of bread and two fish. Hardly enough to feed a crowd that probably had more than 10,000 people in it! There were 5000 men in the crowd, but when you add in the women and children, that’s a lot of people! They had the people sit in groups on the grass.

Jesus took the measly supply of bread and fish and looked up to the sky. He thanked God for the food and broke the loaves of bread. Then He started breaking the bread. And breaking more. And more. He kept breaking bread and passing it around, and pretty soon the whole crowd had food! They ate enough that everyone was full! Not only that, but when everyone was done eating, the disciples picked up 12 basketfuls of leftover bread and fish!

When they were done gathering the leftovers, Jesus told the disciples to get in the boat and go to Bethsaida on the other side of the lake. After they left, Jesus told the crowds they could go home, and then He went to a hillside to pray. While He was praying, a storm started brewing. Later that night, Jesus looked out onto the lake, and He could see the boat, about in the middle. The waves were crazy wild, and Jesus could tell that the disciples were having a hard time with the oars, trying to stay on course and not be knocked upside-down by the wind and the water! So Jesus set out down the hill.

The disciples, meanwhile, were having a horrible time keeping the boat under control. It was almost dawn, and they still hadn’t heard from Jesus. It was all hands on deck as everyone was trying desperately to keep the boat afloat. Then they saw it. Someone was walking toward them…on the water! People don’t walk on water, so it couldn’t be a person. That left only one option. It must be a ghost! They were already terrified of the wind and the waves, and now here was a ghost coming toward them! What would it do when it got there? They panicked! Then they heard a familiar voice coming from the “ghost.” “WHOA, DUDES!” came the shout over the loud ruckus of the wind and waves. “IT’S JUST ME! DON’T FREAK OUT!” That was definitely Jesus’ voice, but how could He be walking on the water?

So Peter had an idea. “Lord, if it’s you,” he shouted, “tell me to come to You on the water!”

Jesus shouted, “Be my guest!”

So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water! He was staring at Jesus, but then he started to realize what was happening. The wind was making the water go everywhere, and people can’t walk on water! Peter looked down at the water…and started to sink. He cried out, “LORD, HELP!!”

Jesus reached out and took Peter’s hand, and he said, “Oh come on, Peter, where’s your faith? Why did you doubt?”

As soon as Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Just like that. The disciples couldn’t believe it!

The sun was coming up as they reached the other side of the lake and let down anchor at Gennesaret. People in that area recognized Jesus and quickly got a crowd of people together who were sick and hurt. Wherever they went in the nearby villages, anyone who touched Jesus’ robe was healed.

© Steven Sauke
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Net Weight

Adam and Eve had free reign of the garden. They just had one rule. Don’t touch that one tree. So that’s the fruit they ate. God punished them, but He also gave them a promise.

Out of all that horrible news God had for them, there was one good thing. Yes, from then on life would be really tough. Men would have to plow the ground and battle thorns and thistles. Yes, women would have unimaginable pain when giving birth. Yes, as a result of this first sin, people would continue to sin. But someday, a descendent of the woman would come and put an end to the tempter’s evil trickery. This descendent would crush the snake’s head, but the snake would bite.

Abram was getting old. He and Sarai were way too old for kids, and they were starting to get worried it wouldn’t happen. When God kept insisting they would have a child, they laughed! How many 100-year-old fathers of a newborn baby do you know? But God promised Abram that he would be the father of many nations. Abram would have so many descendants that counting them would be like trying to count grains of sand or stars in the sky. God even gave him a new name, Abraham, which meant “Father of Many.” God kept His promise to Abraham, and Isaac was born. Isaac had a son named Jacob. Jacob had a son named Judah. Judah had kids. A bunch of Judah’s descendants became kings of the nations of Israel and Judah, just as God had promised Abraham so many years earlier. Thousands of years later, the greatest King of all time was born in a small town during a Roman census. He was also a descendant of Judah, and He was the one God was referring to when He said that someone would come along and crush the snake’s head. He grew up as the son of a carpenter, and He learned to make things out of wood. As He got older, He started teaching others. His name was Jesus.

There were lots of jobs that people needed to do then, just as there are now. They needed carpenters to make things. They needed fishermen to catch fish for the people to eat. One time, four friends were out fishing, and they were having a horrible time of it. No fish seemed interested in finding out what might be in the nets that came over the sides of the boats. Simon and his brother Andrew were fishing in one boat, and John and his brother James were in the other boat. They had been fishing all night, and had no luck. It was getting really frustrating!

Morning finally came, and they gave up. They decided to start washing their nets to get ready to put them away. Maybe they would have better luck another day.

Jesus was standing by the lake, and there was a huge crowd gathered to hear what He had to say. There was hardly any room for Him to make Himself heard, so He looked out and saw the two fishing boats nearby. Jesus asked Simon if He could use his boat for a while. They pulled away a bit from the shore, and Jesus started teaching in a loud voice so everyone onshore could hear. When He was done with the lesson, He turned to Simon and said, “Hey, let’s go out a bit further to where the water is deep. Then let the nets down again and see what happens.”

“Um, Lord,” said Simon, “We’ve been doing that all night. No luck. But if you say so, we’ll try it.” So they pulled out farther. Simon and Andrew let down the nets, and they couldn’t believe it! Fish started jumping into the nets! They were getting so heavy that they had to call to James and John for backup! Pretty soon, there were so many fish in both boats that the boats started to sink!

They were so shocked that Simon said, “Get out of here, Lord! I’m not worthy! I’m a sinful man!”

Jesus replied, “Don’t worry. You’ve been catching fish all your life. Now you get to fish for people.”

Once they got their boats on shore, they left everything behind and followed Jesus. But He had some more people in mind to invite to join His little group of students.

The Jews hated tax collectors. They had a horrible reputation for taking more money than they were entitled to, and the citizens resented it. A guy named Levi was sitting at his tax booth, dealing with angry Jews day in and day out. They didn’t dare disobey him in case they might get in trouble, but they didn’t like him. At all. So it was probably a bit of a surprise when a Jewish rabbi with a small group of followers came along and said, “Hey Levi, come on!” Levi left everything and joined Jesus’ growing group.

But before leaving, Levi hosted a big party for Jesus at his house and invited a bunch of his tax collector friends. The Pharisees saw what was happening, and they were upset. They didn’t think Jesus should associate with such horrible thieves as tax collectors. But Jesus said, “Whoa, dudes! Chill! If you’re healthy, you don’t need a doctor! The good guys don’t need to turn their lives around, so I’m here to help the sinners to turn!”

Levi turned his life around. He followed Jesus, and he became known as Matthew. Simon became known as Peter. James, John and Andrew got to keep their names (although Jesus nicknamed James and John the Sons of Thunder). More followers joined their group, and Jesus taught them to follow God, to love others, and to spread the good news that people can be saved from their sin!

ΙΧΘΥΣ

The Greek word ichthys, or fish. It was used by early Christians as an acronym for the Greek words Ίησος Χριστός, Θεο Υός, Σωτήρ, or "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior."

© 2014 Steven Sauke

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The Fall and Rise of Jesus

Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a colt, and the people had welcomed Him with loud shouts of “Hosanna!” That was now four days ago. It was Thursday evening, and the Passover meal was all set out. Lamb, bitter herbs, vegetables, unleavened bread, wine, and more. When Jesus and His disciples were almost done eating, He broke the bread and passed it around. Then He passed the wine around. He told His disciples that the bread was like His body that was about to be broken, and the wine was like His blood. They were to remember Him as they ate the bread and drank the wine.

At this time, Jesus had some shocking news for His disciples. He said, “One of you is about to betray me!” They couldn’t believe it! Everyone wanted to know who. Jesus said to His friend Judas, “Go and do what you have to do.” Judas left, but the others thought he was just off on an errand.

As the evening went on, Jesus continued to teach His disciples. Peter promised that he would be willing to do anything for Jesus, even die. Jesus replied, “You sure about that? Before the rooster crows, you’re gonna tell people three times that you don’t even know me!” Peter was shocked. He didn’t think he would ever do that!

When they were done with their meal and their lesson, they left the house and went to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus took Peter, James and John and went to another part of the garden. He told them to watch and pray, while he went off to do some praying of His own. He prayed, “Papa, if it’s all the same to You, I’d really love it if You could change what is about to happen. I can’t bear to think about it! But I know that what You want is more important than what I want, so what You say goes.” Jesus prayed some more, and then He got up and went back to the disciples, who were asleep. “What are you doing?!” He asked them. “I told you to watch and pray! You need to pray that you won’t be tempted!”

While He was still talking to them, a crowd arrived with torches and soldiers, led by Judas! So he hadn’t been on an errand! Judas had arranged a signal with the priests and soldiers, and he walked right up to Jesus and gave Him a kiss on the cheek. That was a way friends greeted each other in that culture. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Judas,” Jesus said. “You’re betraying me with a kiss?”

So the crowd led Jesus away, and the rest of the disciples ran away. But Peter doubled back and kept his distance while he followed the crowd. He didn’t want to be caught, but he could tell Jesus was in trouble. So he tracked them to the chief priest’s house. In the chief priest’s courtyard, Peter found a bonfire and sat with the people who were sitting around it keeping warm. A servant girl saw him and said, “Hey, that guy was with Jesus!”

“Who?” Peter said. “Don’t know him.”

A few minutes later, someone else recognized Peter and said, “You’re one of Jesus’ disciples.”

“Nope!” Peter said.

Another hour went by. Someone else commented, “This guy has a Galilean accent. He must have been with Jesus!”

“What are you even talking about?” Peter replied. “That’s ridic—“ And he heard it.  Rr-r-r-r-rrr!!

Jesus looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you’re gonna tell people three times that you don’t even know me!” Peter ran outside and cried. He was so ashamed that he had lied!

By this time, it was Friday morning, and the trial began. After asking Jesus some questions, the priests dragged Him before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Pilate couldn’t find anything to charge Jesus with, but the people insisted He was a public nuisance and was making wild claims of being the Son of God. When he found out that Jesus was from Galilee, he said, “Well, that’s Herod’s territory! Take Him to Herod!” But when Herod asked Jesus questions, Jesus wouldn’t answer. The priests were accusing Jesus of claiming to be the King of the Jews, so Herod started making fun of Him. He put a robe on Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate. But Pilate didn’t want to punish someone who had done nothing wrong! But the crowd kept pressing him. He started to get worried that this would become a riot, and that could really get him in trouble with the Roman authorities. Pilate was really torn on what to do. Should he punish an innocent man to make a bunch of people happy, or should he let Him go, and maybe lose his job because he allowed a riot to happen? “What do you want me to do with him?” Pilate asked the crowd. They replied, “CRUCIFY HIM!” So finally, Pilate gave in and let them do it.

The soldiers forced a guy named Simon to carry Jesus’ cross up the hill. Along with two criminals carrying their own crosses, and a whole crowd following them, Jesus and Simon walked to the top of the hill. Jesus had been beaten pretty bad by this point, and the Romans had made a thorny crown for Him to wear. When they reached the top, the soldiers nailed Jesus and the two criminals to their crosses, and they and the priests said some horrible things to make fun of Him. It was the worst kind of bullying. But Jesus prayed. “Papa, forgive them! They have no idea what they’re doing!”

Now it was about noon on Friday, and it got really dark. As 3 PM came along, Jesus cried out, “It’s done!” Then He prayed, “Father, take my spirit.” And He died.

The centurion who was guarding Jesus’ cross commented, “Wow! This was a good man.”

Jesus’ friends and His mom were watching. While he was on the cross, he had told his disciple John to take care of Mary. Now, His friends took Him down from the cross, and a man named Joseph from the town of Arimathea offered to bury Him. By this time, it was light again, but the sunset was coming soon, and Saturday was the Sabbath. They weren’t allowed to work on Saturday, so they had to work quickly to get Jesus buried before sundown. Several women who were followers of Jesus followed Joseph to the tomb, and then they hurried home to prepare the spices to preserve Jesus’ body. But they had to stop work when the sun set because of the Sabbath.

Early Sunday morning, once the Sabbath was over, the women got up and took the spices they had prepared to the tomb. While they were on their way, they were discussing the biggest challenge to this trip. There was a big heavy stone in front of the tomb! How were they going to get it out of the way?

So they got to the tomb and discovered their first shock. Somebody had already rolled it away! They went into the cave and found their second shock. There were some empty grave clothes, but Jesus wasn’t there! Then suddenly, the cave filled with light, and there were two men wearing brilliant clothes standing with them! The women were so stunned and scared that they bowed down and looked at the ground. What happened next shocked them even more. The men said, “What are you doing looking for the living among the dead? Jesus isn’t here! He has risen!”

The women hurried back to the disciples and told them. This was a lot to take in, and neither the women nor the disciples knew what to think about it. Peter and John went back to the tomb with them. John saw the grave clothes and believed, but Peter left wondering what in the world had happened.

So Mary Magdalene was left standing outside the tomb crying. She had a feeling someone must have moved the body, and this must be some kind of cruel prank. She saw the angels again, and they asked her why she was crying. She replied, “They’ve taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they’ve put Him!” Then she turned around and saw another man. She didn’t recognize this guy and decided he must be the gardener. This new man asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She replied, “Sir, if you took him, can you tell me where you put him so I can go get him?”

Then he replied, “Mary.”

She had been crying so hard she couldn’t see straight through her tears. She looked at Him again and recognized Jesus! “Teacher!” she cried. She was so excited that she ran and told the disciples what she had seen with her own eyes!

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man and Jesus’ Message Starts to Go Viral

Jesus had taught His disciples for 3 years. They went through a lot together. They watched Jesus do miracles, tell stories called parables, and do all kinds of cool stuff that changed their lives. He taught them to live lives that pleased God. After three years, they were with Him as He was praying in the garden. They were shocked when Judas, one of their own, led the authorities to where He was and let them arrest Him. They ran away. Peter denied he even knew Jesus. Judas was so sad when he realized the terrible thing he had done that he killed himself. Some of Jesus’ disciples watched Jesus die in one of the worst, most painful ways possible. John took Jesus’ mom in and took care of her from then on. Imagine watching your best friend, or your son, die on a cross! Then three days later, Jesus’ disciples got the surprise of their lives when some women discovered that His tomb was empty, and Jesus showed up, alive! Most of the disciples didn’t believe the reports of Him being alive at first, but they believed when they saw Him. Jesus continued to teach and do miracles (including appearing out of thin air to prove to Thomas that He was alive) for 40 days. Then He had them gather on a hillside and told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” He also said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Then He began to rise into the sky. They watched in amazement as He went higher and higher and disappeared behind a cloud. As they were standing there gaping into the sky, two angels showed up and asked them, “What are you doing looking at the sky? Jesus will be coming back someday in the same way you saw Him go!”

After Jesus went into the sky, the disciples’ first order of business was to find a replacement for Judas. There were only eleven disciples left, and they needed twelve because of a prophecy that said one follower would leave and he would need to be replaced. They had some very specific requirements. They needed a man who had been with them the whole time, from John’s baptism to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. They came up with two men: Joseph (also called Barsabbas or Justus) and Matthias. After they prayed about it, Matthias joined their group.

Ten days later, the Jewish celebration of Pentecost arrived, which celebrated the time Moses gave the Law on Mt. Sinai. Just as Jesus had promised His disciples before He left, the Holy Spirit came on them in the form of tongues of fire. Pentecost was a big deal, and there were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem. They didn’t all speak Aramaic like the local Jews, so they were quite surprised to see Jesus’ disciples with flames over their heads and hear them speaking their own languages! God’s power helped them to speak in languages they didn’t even know! God gave Peter the words to speak, and many people listened to his witness of Jesus and believed that day. So the new Church was born. They loved each other and shared everything with each other. They lived in love and awe of God’s goodness, and with God’s help, the Church continued to grow, more every day.

One day, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. It was about 3 in the afternoon. As they got to the Beautiful Gate (that was its name), which led into the temple courts, a beggar sitting on the ground saw them and asked for money. He had been born unable to walk, and his friends had been carrying him there every day for many years so he could beg for money to stay alive. (Remember how they didn’t have wheelchairs at the time?) He was a pitiful sight, and he was most likely used to people ignoring his pleas for money. So it was a bit of a surprise to him when Peter and John stopped and looked straight at him, and Peter said to him, “Look at us!”

Ah, finally someone who will give me some money! Cool!

Then Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold to give you, but I’ve got something even better. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up! Walk!” Keep in mind this guy had never walked before. Ever.

He stood up!

Then he began to jump! He walked around. The people in the area recognized him as he walked and jumped around the temple courts, and they were shocked! Hadn’t they just seen him sitting there, as he had been for years? What in the world had happened?? He was praising God for healing him!

So Peter spoke up. He said, “Fellow Israelites, why are you so shocked? You look like you think we did this! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has raised Jesus up. You betrayed Him to Pilate, and you murdered Him on the cross. You killed the one who created life, but God raised Him from the dead! We saw that with our own eyes. It is faith in Him that has healed this man.

“Now I know that you and your leaders didn’t know what you were doing when you treated Jesus like a common criminal. The prophets told us ahead of time that Jesus would suffer and die. Great news! You can repent of your sins, and they will be wiped clean! God used Samuel and all the prophets to tell us about these days. He even promised Abraham that He would use his descendants to bless the world. You just need to turn away from your sinful ways and follow Christ!

Needless to say, the Pharisees weren’t too happy about this. They arrested Peter and John and threw them in jail overnight! But that didn’t stop Jesus’ message from continuing to go viral. More and more people were continuing to believe.

The next day, the same Pharisees who had so recently put Jesus to death dragged Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, their court, and asked them, “By what power or name did you do this?”

Just as Jesus had promised, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, “So let me get this straight. We’re in trouble for an act of kindness to a man in need. Right? OK, so here’s the rub. It was done in the name and power of Jesus. You executed Him, and God raised Him from the dead. You can see with your own eyes that Jesus’ power has healed this man! He’s standing! Jesus is the only one who can save us. God hasn’t given any other name in heaven or earth to save the world.”

The Pharisees were surprised that Peter and John talked that way when they hadn’t gone to school and learned public speaking, and they had clearly been with Jesus. They were upset, but they could see that the guy had been healed, and everyone was happy about it. It wouldn’t make them look very good if they punished the guys for an act of kindness! They were confused and weren’t quite sure what to do.

So after talking amongst themselves, they came up with a plan. They told Peter and John, “OK, we’ll let you go this time. But you better stop talking about Jesus.”

To which Peter said, “So what do you think? Should we listen to God or to you? You tell us. We’ve got to keep spreading what we’ve seen and heard. You want us to stop? Not gonna happen.”

The Sanhedrin threatened them some more, but they couldn’t punish them without looking bad, and the man had clearly been healed. People all over the place were praising God for what had happened! This man, who was over 40, had just started walking for the first time in his life!

So they let Peter and John go.

Unload

1 Peter 5:7 has always been one of my favorite verses. Peter challenges the churches he is writing to to "cast all your anxieties upon Him, for He cares for you." I especially like the Phillips translation: "You can throw the whole weight of your anxiety on Him, for you are His personal concern." It amazes me that the Almighty God cares for me individually and would bend to take care of everything that worries me.

More recently, I have gotten to know the Louis Segond version (in French), which says, "...et déchargez-vous sur lui de tous vos soucis, car lui-même prend soin de vous." (literally "...and unload yourselves on Him of all your worries, for He Himself takes care of you.") When I first saw that translation, I took note of it because it's one of my favorite verses, but didn't think much of the differences in meaning between French and English. Then a few years later, I realized that the French verb décharger means "to unload", rather than "to cast" or "to throw" (although unloading does often involve a throwing action). I thought that was interesting. Then, later, I pointed that out to my friend Jerri, who shed new light on it. She commented that, coming from a farming background, the idea of unloading brought to her mind an image of driving a pickup with heavy machinery, then unloading it and being able to sail. I love that image. Then a couple weeks ago, I thought further about it, and it occurred to me that the word "unload" carries more connotations than I had realized. At least in English (not sure if this applies to French or not), the word "unload", when referring to worries, can also mean pouring your heart out to someone, telling them everything that's worrying you. In the past, I always interpreted the verse to mean that I should just pray to God and ask Him to take away my worries. I realized that it can also mean to unload my worries on Him, to pour out my heart. I know from experience that doing that with anyone that I know I can trust is a powerful thing.

Just now, I decided to look into the Greek version:

πασαν την μεριμναν υμων επιρριψαντες επ αυτον οτι αυτω μελει περι υμων.

Apparently, the word ἐπιρίψαντες (epiripsantes) only appears twice in the New Testament. The other occurrence is in Luke 19:35, when Jesus’ disciples threw their clothes on the donkey’s back so He could sit on it in order to enter Jerusalem. The way it is conjugated, the word means “having thrown.” But in a way, even in the verse in Luke, they took their cloaks off of themselves to put them on the donkey for Jesus. That’s also, to an extent, unloading.

I’m not sure if Peter had the idea of unloading in his mind when he wrote it, but I love that image, and I think it is more powerful than just asking God to take away our worries. Don’t get me wrong, He is happy to do that if we ask Him, but unloading ourselves onto Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, can be a powerful tool. Even just talking out what we are worried about, and listening for His response, can go a long way to helping us through the pain of whatever we’re going through. Whether or not we have another human around to share with, God is always there, and He loves it when we share our worries and concerns with Him. He can help put things in perspective, help us to lean on Him, and take away a lot of the worry.

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

Today's Sunday school lesson...a paraphrase of John 13:

It was Passover time in Jerusalem, and the city was crowded. The Jews celebrated it every year to remember how God led the children of Israel out of slavery so many centuries earlier. Sunday was an exciting day. Riding on a donkey, Jesus led His twelve disciples into the city, and the crowd went wild! They were so excited to see the One who had been promised ever since the time of Adam and Eve. A lot had happened since then, and Israel had lived as a Kingdom for a while, but then the nation went back into slavery. The first time, they were slaves in Egypt to the southwest. The second time, they were slaves in Babylon and Assyria to the east. God delivered them from that slavery as well, but they were never the same. Before they knew it, a new kingdom called Rome took over, and their Emperor Caesar was not the nicest guy to be around. Herod, the governor he had appointed, was also pretty bad. (Herod’s dad had actually tried to have Jesus killed when Jesus was a baby!) Not only that, but the Jewish Priests and teachers had looked at the Law that God gave Moses, and they had added a bunch of extra laws, which got harder and harder to keep.

For centuries, the prophets had told Israel that a Messiah would come and deliver them from their bondage once and for all. So now, Sunday was the first day of the week of Passover. Just as the prophets had said, Jesus had finally come, and the people could hardly contain their joy! They laid down coats and palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna! Save us! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!”Some of these people had seen Jesus raise His friend Lazarus from the dead a few days earlier, and they were pumped!

The next few days, Jesus taught the crowds and His disciples a lot, and He even did a bunch of miracles for them. When Thursday rolled around, the time had come for the annual Passover Feast. This was to remember the last meal the Israelites ate before leaving Egypt long ago. Jesus sent Peter and John to a certain house in Jerusalem to set up the upstairs room and prepare the food for the feast. But there was something important they didn’t do. There was nobody to wash their feet.

Back in Bible times, they had no cars, no minivans, not even paved roads. People got around by walking on the dirty, dusty roads, wearing only sandals. Some people had horses, camels and other animals that they used to carry things and to ride on. If you’ve ever walked behind a horse, you know you have to watch your step. Not only that, but when it rained, the dirt on the roads turned to goopy mud. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t keep their feet clean.

Washing people’s feet was very important when they came into a building…but it was a really dirty job, and nobody wanted to do it! So, the servants would wash people’s feet.

When the feast was all ready, Jesus and the rest of His disciples arrived at the house and got ready to eat. But there was an important thing that needed to happen first. Where was the servant that was supposed to wash their feet? Oops! None of them wanted to do such an awful dirty job right before eating!

So the disciples were gathered around the table, and Jesus stood up. He took off His outer robe and wrapped a towel around His waist. Then He picked up a basin full of water and knelt down in front of one of the disciples, and He started to wash his feet! The promised Messiah, who they knew was God in human form, their leader, friend and teacher, was doing the icky, smelly job that only the lowest of the low were supposed to do! These hands had created their feet in the first place! Once the first disciple’s feet were clean, Jesus dried them with the towel and went on to the next disciple. Peter watched as Jesus made His way around the table, washing the gunk off the disciples’ feet, and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Finally, when Jesus got to Peter, he had had enough. He decided to put his foot down, and he blurted out, “Lord, are you really gonna wash my feet?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t understand what I’m doing yet, but you’ll understand it later.”

Peter said, “Are you kidding? You will never wash my feet!”

“If I don’t wash you,” Jesus said, “you have no part with me.”

“OK,” said Peter. “In that case, wash my hands and head too!”

Jesus then reminded Peter that he didn’t need a bath; he just needed his feet washed.

After Jesus finished washing 24 filthy feet, He sat back down and asked them if they had figured out why He did that. When nobody answered, He went on. “You say that I’m your teacher and your Master. You’re right. I’m your teacher and your Master, and I’ve just washed your feet. You need to do that for each other. I did it to set an example for what you need to do. The truth is that no servant is greater than his master, and the messenger isn’t greater than the person who sent him. Now you know. You will be blessed if you do it.”

Today, we don’t usually need to wash each other’s feet. But there are a bunch of other things we can do to serve others. Something that other people don’t want to do, but needs to be done. Can you think of anything?

The Road to Emmaus

I wrote this a couple years ago for a Sunday school lesson on Luke 24, and thought I would share it. I ran out of time to finish before teaching the class, so when I got to the end, I just told it to them without reading it. I just now finished it. The first paragraph is based on the beginning of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and the end is based on the final lines of his A Tale of Two Cities.

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Jesus was dead, to begin with - deader than a doornail. I don't know what's so dead about a doornail. I don't even know if they used nails in their doors in Jerusalem at that time. I do know that several of Jesus' friends watched Him die, and they saw Him buried. There was no question that He was dead.

Now it was the third day since He had been tortured and killed in a way that no human should have to suffer. Strange rumors were going around town. A few women were saying they had gone to Jesus' tomb, and that it was empty! Not only that, but they said angels had appeared to them and told them Jesus was alive! Of course, Cleopas knew better. People didn't come back to life after being dead. These women must have been out of their minds!

After a very sad and very strange day, Cleopas and his friend were walking home to the town of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked, they were talking about what had happened the past few days. They had been through a lot the past week, and now this new rumor was really confusing.

While they were walking, a stranger joined them and asked what they were talking about. Cleopas couldn't believe that someone didn't know what had happened. He asked the stranger, "Are you a visitor to the area? Do you really not know what's been going on lately?"

"What's been going on?" asked the stranger.

So Cleopas and his friend explained all about Jesus. They told the stranger how Jesus had come to town and done some amazing things, and that they had been sure this must be the promised Savior. But the priests had arrested Him, and the Romans and the priests had condemned Him to death on a cross. They explained how they had hoped He would save Israel, but instead, they had watched their beloved teacher die slowly on a cruel wooden cross.

Then they explained what the women had told them about the empty tomb and the angels. Then Peter and John had gone to look, and they found that the tomb was empty. This was all very strange, and they couldn't figure it out.

Then the stranger surprised Cleopas and his friend. He said, "You silly people! Why is it taking you so long to believe what the prophets said? Don't you know that the Savior had to suffer and die? Then He started in the book of Genesis and explained everything the prophets had said about Jesus.

Pretty soon, they reached Emmaus, and the stranger acted like he was going to go on his way. It was getting dark, so Cleopas and his friend invited the stranger to stay with them for the night.

So they sat down at the table to eat. The stranger thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to them. Maybe it was the way He gave thanks and broke the bread. Maybe they saw the holes in His wrists as He handed them the bread. Whatever it was, they suddenly realized: This was Jesus! And just like that, He disappeared.

Needless to say, they forgot their dinner. They jumped up and went right back to Jerusalem ... seven miles ... in the dark ... and they told Jesus' followers that Jesus was alive and they had seen Him with their own eyes! Then they found out that Peter had also seen Him alive. However, some people in the room still didn't believe them ... that is, until Jesus appeared in the middle of them. Even then, some people thought He was a ghost. So He showed them His hands and feet. He had them touch Him because ghosts don't have skin or bones. Then He asked for something to eat, so they gave Him some fish, and He ate it. Since ghosts don't eat fish, they knew He was alive! Jesus reminded them that this was what He had told them before. He explained that everything Moses, the Prophets and the psalms said had to come true. The Savior had to die a terribly painful death to save us from our sins, and He had to rise from the dead the third day. Starting in Jerusalem, His followers needed to proclaim the great news of His death and resurrection to everyone around the world. He reminded them that they had seen this with their own eyes, and promised that He would send them the power to preach, as God had promised. However, they needed to stay in Jerusalem until that happened.

And so they did. Jesus left them a few days later and returned to Heaven, but just as promised, He sent them the power of the Holy Spirit, and they preached boldly. Many of them gave their lives so that others would know that He came to save them from an eternity of torment. It was a far, far better thing they did than they had ever done, and when their time on earth was done, it was a far, far better rest they went to than they had ever known.