Keller was in his forties before he showed up on the public’s radar. Oddly enough, he went to Manhattan after pastoring a small-town Virginia church for nine years. Success in the Big Apple was by no means a sure thing. A theologically conservative pastor setting up shop in the “Babylon” of downtown New York City had all the makings of a fish-out-of-water story where the well-meaning parson was doomed to failure even before he set out. – Breakpoint, May 25, 2023
What got my attention was “small-town…doomed to failure…” Who else went to New York City from a small-town church, whose mission was doomed to failure? Ever hear of David Wilkerson of Cross and the Switchblade fame? In 1958, David Wilkerson was a small-town Pentecostal pastor in Pennsylvania when he read a story in Time Magazine about New York City gangs. He felt called to reach them. One of his converts was Puerto Rican gang member Nicky Cruz, about whom I’ve written before.
But compare and contrast these two men: both Tim Keller and David Wilkerson felt called to go to New York City from small-town pastorates. Tim targeted the elite. David targeted gang members. Their missions were both doomed from the start yet they both succeeded. They couldn’t have been more different theologically, preaching style, and probably personality. What did they have in common? They loved the people they were trying to reach.
Nicky Cruz: I could kill you, preach!
David Wilkerson: Yes, you could, Nicky. You could cut me up in a thousand pieces! And every piece will say ‘I love you!
The common people felt loved by Jesus, and the quote I posted from Tim Keller’s Prodigal God speaks of that. Here’s part of it:
Jesus’s teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day…If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. – Tim Keller, The Prodigal God
God uses all kinds of people.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13.1 – 2, NIV)
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. (1 Corinthians 12.4, NIV)
I just noticed recently, from the beginning of the story, Jesus was trying to reach the leaders. In the story of the man let down through the roof, we have this exchange:
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” (Mark 2.5 – 11, ESV)
By the way, I’ll never forget one pastor’s observation on “…when Jesus saw their faith.” What did Jesus see? Their tearing up the roof and lowering the man? Of course. But this pastor suggested one more thing: “I think they dropped the ropes!”
Back to the exchange with the scribes (religious leaders): “But that you may know…” Jesus hardly ever does things the same way twice. In this story, “Son, your sins are forgiven,” was designed to get the attention of the religious leaders. And then he closes with “But that you may know…”
I’m trying to tell you something here. You believe that the man was paralyzed because of some sin. Therefore, for him to walk, that sin must be forgiven. Right? Watch this!
Don’t give up! You’re trying to help someone understand the truth? Don’t give up. Try different approaches. Jesus used miracles, stories, direct confrontation, and even quiet conversations (See John 3) to reach the leaders.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9.20 – 22, ESV)
It’s more than the unofficial start to summer…it’s a day to remember those who gave their lives in wartime. My friend John Ed Mathison wrote:
Remembering is something many of us are not very good at doing. It takes no effort to forget–it takes a lot of energy to remember.John Ed, May 24, 2023
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11.23 – 25, NIV)
So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live…And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1.12 – 15, NIV
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15.13, NIV)
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2.1 – 4, NIV, emphasis mine)
We were in Montgomery, Alabama, in the late 1970s when a tornado went right over our house. We were in the basement because of a tornado warning, but we weren’t expecting anything when WHOMP – we heard this awful noise and a brief shake of the whole house. It skipped over us and took down a large tree at the back of our lot. I don’t know why I’ve never associated Luke’s description of Pentecost with a tornado, but his language is clear:
When Luke is describing what happened on that first Pentecost Day in Acts 2, he chooses “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind” as his metaphor. The disciples heard a roar, probably like the sonic tumult made by a tornado, and the choice of the word “violent” or “strong” reveals the feeling he is seeking to convey—this is no light breeze we’re dealing with here! – Receive the Holy Spirit: A 70-Day Journey through the Scriptures by Dan Wilt
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. ― Annie Dillard, “An Expedition to the Pole” from Teaching a Stone to Talk (1982)
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4.31, NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)
In the previous two blogs, I’ve listed five reasons to continue reading the Old Testament:
“All scripture” is inspired and profitable
Paul preached “the whole counsel of God”
Some of the New Testament doesn’t make sense without it
There are principles there you won’t discover anywhere else
There are examples to follow or avoid
Here’s the last one that I’ll write about. You want to read the Old Testament because…
Jesus is there!
He may not be in every chapter, but he is there, as far back as Genesis 3.15. (And that’s not counting Genesis 1: “Let us make man in our image…”).
Here’s a sermon I would like to have heard:
And [Jesus] said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24.25 – 27, ESV)
Beginning with Moses (Genesis – Deuteronomy) and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. For example:
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen… (Deuteronomy 18.15, ESV)
1 My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”(Psalm 22.1, 6 – 8, ESV)
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor… (Isaiah 61.1, 2, ESV – compare Luke 4.18 – 21)
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53.5, 6, NKJV)
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12.10, ESV)
So let’s keep reading, even the Old Testament! (And don’t forget to supplement when necessary with Mark’s Gospel or the Psalms.)
Paul told the Corinthians (I mentioned them yesterday – Paul had apparently taught the Corinthians A LOT about the Old Testament):
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us,
that we might not desire evil as they did.
Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10.1 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine, bulleted for clarity – and all those events are in our Exodus – Numbers readings for this year!)
Enough for today. I have one more, very important, reason coming tomorrow – see you then!
Two years ago, when we were reading the New Testament at the leisurely pace of five chapters/week, June suggested we develop similar reading plans for the rest of the Bible. This year, we’re going through the Pentateuch, Genesis – Deuteronomy, with room for three of the gospels. We opened with the foundational section of Genesis 1 – Exodus 20 before taking a break to read Matthew. Now we’re back into Exodus, and as I wrote Sunday, it was an abrupt transition!
When June started reading Exodus 21, she asked me, “Why should we read this?” It’s an honest question, that may take a few days to answer. But first, a reminder. There’s no question that some parts of the Bible appear more exciting and relevant than others. If you’re reading devotionally, you can read as little as a sentence or two of one of the epistles and find something applicable. In the Gospels, we can hear Jesus’ teaching or watch what he’s doing and, again, find something inspiring or applicable. But the Old Testament is different. We might have to read an entire chapter that tells a story before we can draw out some principles. In parts of Exodus and Leviticus there are laws that just aren’t applicable today. On those days, I’ve suggested reading a story in the Gospel of Mark (they’re short) or a Psalm.
But why try to read it at all? Here are a few reasons:
“All scripture” is inspired and profitable according to 2 Timothy 3.16. And when Paul wrote that to Timothy, the Old Testament was all they had.
Paul told the Ephesian elders that he had taught them “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20.27).
Some of the New Testament doesn’t make sense without it. Try this one:
The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1.29, ESV)
If you hadn’t read, or been taught, the sacrificial system we’re getting ready to read about in Exodus and Leviticus, this verse would make no sense, nor would Jesus’ death on the cross:
For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5.7, ESV)
And Paul wrote that to the church in Corinth, to people who had come from a pagan background. Apparently, Paul had included the Old Testament in his teaching – not just the resurrection, even though that’s certainly where he started.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15.3 – 4, ESV)
Note that even when he reminded them that he started by telling them about the death and resurrection of Jesus, it was “according to the Scriptures” – the Old Testament!
I would be remiss not to mention the passing of Tim Keller, Friday, May 19. A pastor and author, I especially liked his book Prodigal God about the two sons of Luke 15. Tim’s emphasis was rightly on the problems of the older brother and the Father’s reaching out to both of them. (“Prodigal” actually means “wasteful or extravagant,” and Tim points out that God is extravagant with his grace.) If you haven’t read that book, I highly recommend.
There are many tributes to Tim online from a variety of places. Here’s how an article from The Atlantic starts:
Tim became one of the 21st century’s most influential and revered church leaders—a pastor and theologian; an author who sold an estimated 25 million copies of his books; the co-founder and driving force behind Redeemer City to City, a nonprofit that promotes church planting and gospel movements in the great cities of the world; a mentor to many and a counselor and friend to many more. It has been a gift to count myself among them…
One of the things that made Tim distinct was his ability to bring an ancient faith into the modern city, into the lives of busy young professionals who might otherwise have dismissed it, and to do so with quiet confidence and not hostile defensiveness. He made the discussion of faith seem relevant, and exciting. – Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, May 20, 2023
By “modern city,” Peter meant New York City where Redeemer Church was located.
My friend Rowland Smith posted this Tim Keller quote on FaceBook:
Jesus’s teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. – Tim Keller, The Prodigal God
No further comment is necessary. Thanks for your work, Tim, and for your life. Enter into the joy of your Lord.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4.7, 8, ESV)
Remember the story of the golden calf in Exodus 32?
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32.1 – 4, ESV)
I saw something shocking this week from Exodus 24. What is the last thing Aaron did before he made the golden calf? Note how the story starts in Exodus 32: “Moses delayed to come down from the mountain…” What mountain? Who else had been on the mountain with Moses?
Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar…Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24.1, 9 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine)
The last thing that Aaron did before making the golden calf as recorded in Exodus 32 was have dinner with God, recorded in Exodus 24! Chapters 25 – 31 of Exodus record instructions that Moses was receiving from God on the mountain. The last thing Moses did before going up to receive those instructions was to leave Aaron in charge:
So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” (Exodus 24.13 – 14, ESV)
Just let that sink in…
What are the ramifications? Two things come to mind:
Aaron let himself be dominated by fear of men rather than fear of God (whom he had seen!). Moses diagnosed it:
And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” (Exodus 32.21 – 24, ESV, emphasis mine)
Finally, mountaintop experiences just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be! This had to be one of the best, literal, mountaintop experiences ever. Dinner with God! And the first crisis Aaron faces, he caves. If you’re a church leader, you would do well to have less emphasis on big events and more on teaching people to walk with God by faith on a daily basis.
And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19.11, 12, ESV) By the way, this conversation happened just after Elijah experienced profound discouragement after…a big event!
Out of the clear blue the other day I heard from my friend and former Air Force colleague Tom Newman. Recognize anyone in this picture?
Bob Ewell (left) and Tom Newman at an International Officer School party, Maxwell Air Force Base, circa 1983. We were singing They’re Rioting in Africa, popularized by The Kingston Trio. When I saw the picture, I wrote back and said, “We were soldiers once…and young.”
Tom and I are about the same age, we both retired from the Air Force, and we’re both strong believers. But that’s where the similarity ends. Tom is a war hero, enlisting in the Air Force at age 18 and becoming a pararescue specialist (guys who jump out of airplanes or helicopters to rescue downed pilots in wartime).
Tom received the extraordinarily high honor, the Air Force Cross, for a daring rescue during the Vietnam war. The citation reads:
…for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an HH-3E Helicopter Pararescue Specialist in Southeast Asia, on 30 May 1968. On that date, Sergeant Newman voluntarily descended into a hostile jungle environment to rescue a downed Air Force pilot. With complete disregard for his own life, and hampered by darkness and concentrated automatic weapons fire, he requested the rescue helicopter above him to enter a nearby orbit, both for the safety of the crewmembers, and to prevent the hovering aircraft from establishing the survivor’s location for the unfriendly ground forces. When the rescue helicopter returned, he secured the injured airman to the forest penetrator and protected him with his own body as they ascended to the helicopter. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness, Sergeant Newman reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
He later earned a college degree and re-entered the Air Force. I’m proud to have served with him on his first assignment as an officer. Even though we had a teaching job that required minimal physical activity, Tom kept up his fitness. His idea of a daily workout was to go out at noon and run 6 miles, the first at 8 minutes with each subsequent mile 30 seconds faster. Makes me tired to think about it!
Tom retired from the Air Force in 1994 and served in a variety of positions until 2006 when he found himself at Lackland Air Force Base serving as a pararescue and combat recovery officer indoctrination instructor. Here are some excerpts from a news article written in 2009. Tom was 62 years old in this picture!
A fit and trim man who looks ready for a return to active duty, Mr. Newman came back to Lackland three and a half years ago to instruct Airmen after serving in the private sector following his retirement from the Air Force.
“It’s where my heart is,” he said about returning to pararescue, albeit as a government employee. “I say I’ve come full circle, my wife says I’m regressing.”
About his Air Force Cross award, Tom said:
When you’re there every day, you show up for work and you’re ready to do whatever is necessary when called upon because you don’t know what you’re going to get called into…When you’re going after someone else whose life is in danger, whose life is at stake of possibly being captured and made a prisoner, the effort is worth it…You’re willing to take your chances to accomplish that…I was doing what I was trained to do, what I was supposed to do. It’s an honor, of course, and I feel honored.
About how he saw his job in 2009:
I’m a line instructor just like everyone else; I’m not in some little alcove…As long as I feel … I’m not slowing things down, that I still have something to bring to the table that’s valuable, I’ll still do it.
The article concludes:
That means future students can continue to draw knowledge from a man who, by his actions, has indeed exemplified the pararescue motto, “That others may live.” – Mike Joseph, May 29, 2009 (Mike’s article is worth the read in its entirety. You may have to go to Print Preview mode to read it.)
In 2016, Tom had a stroke. I was shocked, especially since he was the second of my friends to experience a stroke in 2016 and both were among the fittest people I know. When I asked Tom what caused it he replied:
And to what do I attribute it? Life. 🙂 The reasoning I hear from many who know me runs pretty much along the same lines as your note. There seems to be a presumption that because I do all those “right things”, this shouldn’t happen (to me). But that isn’t how it works. No one’s bulletproof, and no one gets out of the world alive. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
I don’t compete anymore, but Heb 12.1 – 2 jumps to mind when I look for related Scriptures.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
I don’t think I’ll read that text again without thinking about my friend, former colleague, and war hero Tom Newman: a man of faith and discipline.
