A Chronological Harmony of the Gospels 2/25/2013
Today’s
headlines can be troubling. In years passed, there were problems in the world
that we hoped one day we would be able to come out of them. A world war (or two)? It will soon be over. A Great Depression? We’ll
work it out. Nuclear annihilation?
Duck and cover. The social change of the
60s? All you need is love. Inflation
and malaise of the 70s? Ronald Reagan is coming.
Maybe those issues were just as troubling
at the time as ours are today and maybe even more so. The threat of nuclear war
in the atomic age had everyone nervous. But today’s troubles don’t seem to have
a solution on the horizon. Does anyone think that the radical terrorists are
going to someday grow up and go back to their lives? Do you think that our government
is going to wake up soon and say, “Gee, I think it’s high time to pay off our
debts.” Are you nervous about sequestration, cutbacks, climate change,
deficits, immorality, hatred of Christianity, media bias?
Or maybe you are going through a personal
crisis. Do you feel your life is so out of control that no solution, no
miracle, no victory is in your future? Has your sin finally caught up with you
and found you out? Does the word “terminal” permeate your doctor visit?
Matthew 6:24-34 has a solution for all those
things: do not worry.
“Do
not worry? Jesus are you serious?”
You better believe He is serious. You see,
the command of “Do not worry” is predicated on prayer (Matt. 6:9ff), a heavenly
perspective (6:19ff), and an unswerving focus on God (6:24), followed by
a sober reminder that our concentration should be on the things we can change
within a foot perimeter of our body (Matthew 7:1ff)
When a leper came to Jesus (Mark 1:40ff),
he said “if you are willing, you can cleanse me.” I give you full permission to turn to page 330 in your copy of The Story (TNIV) and mark through where it says, “Jesus was indignant.” If that
jars you as it did me when I read it, you might want to do what I did and look
it up in the Greek. Go to blueletter.org
and type in Mark 1:41 and you won’t find another translation anywhere which
says Jesus was indignant to the leper. My NKJV says “Jesus was moved with
compassion.” Those infamous “bowels of compassion” was the first century’s equivalency
of what we call “the heart” today.
My point is not Bible translation, but
rather “When you cannot see God’s hand, trust His heart.” I have friends who
get rather lathered up about politics, but seriously, if we cannot change that
one foot perimeter, what can we do about our nation and world?
So what do we do? Give up? Resign
ourselves to the inevitable? Hunker down for the storm and enjoy the ride? Not
at all. We do what Peter did in Luke 5:5. We let down our nets at the Master’s
bidding. We do what the friends of the man stricken with palsy did in Capernaum
in Mark 2:4. We tear off a roof.
What does that mean? It means we pray the
Serenity Prayer.
