We’ve been considering why there were only 120 people in the Upper Room after the resurrection. What happened to all the others? What happened, for example, to the 5,000 “men” that Jesus fed as recorded in all four gospels.

But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14.16 – 21, ESV, emphasis mine)

5,000 – 15,000+ people! “They all ate and were satisfied.” BUT, they did not have a relationship with Jesus, as we wrote the past two days. In fact, when Jesus tried to do serious teaching after feeding them:

Many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (John 6.66, ESV)

I’m reminded of those who love to listen to great teaching. I remember from when I was on the staff of a large church seeing a fellow come out of a Wednesday night session in which one of our church’s leading lay teachers was holding forth. He was so excited: “That Andy. He sure can teach!” I should have said to him, “Yes, he can. What’s one thing you’re taking away from tonight’s teaching?” I didn’t ask him because I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to answer.

When it comes to relationship with Jesus, listening to great teaching and experiencing a miracle is not enough.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7.24 – 27, NIV, emphasis mine)

I want to continue our meditation on relationship. Several years ago, I was filling in for a pastor who wanted me to include five essential steps in the progression of following Jesus as seen on the left side of the chart below: belief, repentance, confession, baptism, and discipleship. As I was thinking about it, I realized those five steps are remarkably similar to the marriage relationship on the right side of the chart (not surprising since we are often referred to as “the bride of Christ”). 

Let’s look briefly at a few highlights:

• First, genuine relationship with Jesus is more like the relationship between Eddie and Barbie Broussard than it is like the thousands lined up to chant “Hosanna” on Palm Sunday.
• People’s views on baptism are all over the place on who, when, how, and how important. But no one would argue that baptism without the other four steps means anything. It would be like buying and wearing a wedding ring when you don’t have a spouse! 
• Too many churches stop at step 3 or 4. I heard a pastor say, “Get ’em saved and baptized! That’s what we’re about!” Making discipleship an optional add-on is as silly as the bride and groom going back to their separate homes after the wedding ceremony. 

Beginning tomorrow I want to contrast those who had a relationship with Jesus with those who were merely around him. Remember, thousands of people experienced various parts of Jesus’ ministry: healings, miraculous meals, people raised from the dead, grand parades, etc., and there were only 120 followers in the Upper Room after the resurrection.

Then you will say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will reply, “I don’t know you…” (Luke 13.26, 27, NIV)

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15.1, 2, ESV)

As we approach Passion Week, the Palm Sunday triumphal entry grabs my attention: all those crowds, saying all the right things:

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21.8, 9, NIV)

Yet within a week, many of these same people would have been in the crowd clamoring for his crucifixion. After the resurrection and ascension, there were only 120 people in the Upper Room.

Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying… In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)… (Acts 1.12 – 15, NIV)

Only 120! What happened to the rest? I’d like to explore that question over the next few days beginning with the simple observation that knowing about someone, even experiencing his charisma, is no substitute for relationship.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he answered, “Truly, I say to you,I do not know you.” (Matthew 25.11, 12, ESV, emphasis mine)

Eddie Broussard is a well-known Navigator. I’ve heard him preach many times. If we ran into each other at Navigator Headquarters, especially if I had a name tag on, he would greet me warmly. But I don’t have a relationship with Eddie Broussard. By contrast, I was watching Eddie and his wife, Barbie, in a small room with a number of people in it. They were both smiling and greeting everyone. Then she went to Eddie, lightly touched his arm, put on a serious face, and whispered maybe once sentence into his ear. He nodded and they both went back to working the room. That’s relationship! 

Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. (Revelation 3.20, MSG)

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: (John 1.11, 12, NKJV)

In contrast to one friend who wanted us to violate our governor’s request that we socially isolate, another friend wrote to say how his planned 70th birthday gathering had to be canceled. He accepted it with grace and added this quote from J.R.R. Toilken:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.  “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” –J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Amen.

From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do… (1 Chronicles 12.32, NIV)

Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place…Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1.8, 10, NIV)

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1.30, NKJV)

If you’re on NetFlix, I recommend The Crown, Season 3, Episode 7, “Moondust.” Even if you haven’t watched the series, this could be a stand-alone episode. It runs less than an hour and centers around a mid-life crisis of Prince Philip against the backdrop of Apollo 11, July 1969. There are no characters that you would have to know who they were in advance, except, perhaps, Philip and Queen Elizabeth, and they are obvious! (Please ignore the warnings when the episode begins–they don’t apply!)

Here’s the setup: Philip, a formal naval officer and a licensed pilot, is fascinated with the launch of Apollo 11 in which Americans will land on the moon. (You can see a series of five blogs I wrote for the 50th anniversary beginning July 18, 2019.) Philip is contrasting his (as he sees it) dull life filled with boring events (e.g., an award presentation at the British Concrete Society) with the courage and excitement of the moon landing. There is also a scene in which he’s bored to death in a church service.

Philip has a personal meeting with the astronauts and also is forced to get to know the new pastor the Queen has hired for their chapel. Here are my takeaways:

• Every job has its bedpans (as a friend of mine used to say). The astronauts were not caught up in the excitement of the moon landing, but rather in their duties, which consisted largely of following checklists. 
• Nearly every job has dignity and worth. The astronauts were just as fascinated by Philip’s life in the palace as he was in theirs. 
• Philip learns that one can’t feel worthwhile without faith, which he had lost. 
• A good pastor with drive and vision can make a difference.

It’s a powerful episode, but even if you don’t get to see it, my takeaways are worth thinking about!

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him…Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3.17, 23, 24, NIV)

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living… (Hebrews 11.1, MSG)

I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple. (2 Timothy 4.1, 2, MSG)

The other day I received a message from my bank announcing a six-cent interest payment to my account.

My usual reaction to those messages is that if the bank is that hard up for money, it should just keep it. But this time I reminded myself that I get a world of service from that bank.

• All my financial payments go there. Nobody has to cut a check and mail it to me. I don’t have to take the check somewhere, convert it to cash, etc. The number on my balance changes, and I can spend money! It’s seamless.
• All my payments come from there: I can schedule payments to businesses from my computer. Some payments are scheduled periodically in advance. Some payments are set up so that the business takes the money out. I hardly ever write a check, put it in an envelope and waste a stamp! I can transfer money easily, especially to another Wells Fargo account holder anywhere in the world. 
• If I do get a check from someone, I can deposit it with my computer. 
• The list goes on.

All of those services are absolutely free. And every now and then the bank actually adds a few pennies to my account rather than taking out $5 or $10 per month for all those services. There’s a lot to be thankful for.

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5.18, NKJV)

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him… (Romans 1.21, NIV)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1.17, NIV)

I use an iPad with an external keyboard A LOT for journaling and even writing the Ewellogy, so it’s been a ild irritant lately that the “m” key has become recalcitrant. I’m reinded of an iportant principle:

It akes a difference when soething doesn’t work!

It makes a difference when God’s people aren’t all on board, too.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2.4, ESV, emphasis mine)

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4.11 – 13, ESV, emphasis mine)

A friend of mine wrote recently:

I did the math. Based on cases and population, not even 0.009% of the country has the Corona Virus. Also, based on the numbers, you’re 120 times more likely to die in a car crash than from Corona using the current death total.

Really? That’s kind of like looking at the thermometer recently, when it was 55 degrees here in Monument, Colorado, and saying, “There can’t be a blizzard coming tomorrow. Look at the weather today!” (We got 8 inches of snow the next day, as predicted.)

I told him his math was flawed and asked him to read the articles cited in my March 15 blog. And, no, I’m not coming over for a visit!

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 16.25, NIV)

This is America. We all like to have our own ideas, and some people believe that their often uninformed ideas are as good as anyone else’s. Maybe it’s a good time to practice basic Biblical submission:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13.1, ESV)

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors… Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2.13 – 17, ESV)

The opening of Psalm 57 grabbed my attention recently in light of these uncertain times:

King David’s golden song of instruction composed when he hid from Saul in a cave. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Please, God, show me mercy! Open your grace-fountain for me, for you are my soul’s true shelter. I will hide beneath the shadow of your embrace, under the wings of your cherubim, until this terrible trouble is past. (Psalm 57, Introduction (verse 0) and verse 1, Passion Translation)

Do we feel like we’re hiding in a cave? Our cave is very nice, make no mistake, but we are hunkered down “until this terrible trouble is past.” In a more challenging environment for David, running for his life before he became king, he recognizes God as his “soul’s true shelter.”

May we do the same.

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. (Nahum 1.7, NIV)

1  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
²  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³  though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46.1 – 3, NIV)

I wrote yesterday that we should limit our exposure to news (should I say “self-isolate”?). It’s gratifying when people smarter than I are saying the same things I’m saying. Seth Godin wrote a lovely piece entitled Calm also has a coefficient. I recommend the entire article, but here are a few snippets:

• Panic loves company. And yet calm is our practical, efficient, rational alternative.
• Twitter has been engineered to maximize panic. Calm is penalized, panic is amplified.
• When cable “news” showed up, they discovered that panic was a great way to make a profit. Not to make things better, simply to spread anger and fear.
• Curate your incoming. Stay off Twitter.
• Being up-to-date on the news is a trap and a scam. Five minutes a day is all you need. (emphasis mine)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14.27, NIV)