The Wandering Shepherd

Knowing Jesus: "Father Loves Most" - John 3:22-36

The radio show begun in 1949 with Robert Young as Father was called “Father Knows Best”. The TV show that followed in the 1950’s mirrored a rosy picture of American society in the 1950’s suburbs, and ran until Young left in 1960. The show highlighted a father’s wisdom, wit and loving nature.

Tucked into the Gospel of John is another story of a loving father. This picture is found in an obscure, tiny sermon of John the Baptizer, the cousin of Jesus, given to his followers before Jesus really got His popular ministry in "high gear". In the sermon, John shared a pattern of godliness that sustained him through the end of his ministry. In addition, he shared a startling truth that made it possible for John to submit his life's work to Jesus!

Key Principle: Because of the Father's love for His Son, He offered authority and supreme trust. A real follower of Jesus can offer no less!

To understand the content of the message of John's mini-sermon, the writer includes three important details about the setting:

 1. Jesus and His Disciples were baptizing at another location at the same time as John, His cousin, continued the baptism work at Aenon near Salim. The crowds to Jesus’ ministry appeared to be increasing, while John’s work was shrinking and giving way to the new work (3:22-24).

 2. John’s disciples were feeling on the defensive because they were being questioned by an unidentified man in the crowd about their practices (3:25).

 3. John’s disciples apparently felt a disappointment over the shrinking crowds. Remember, they lost some of their own fellow disciples to Jesus (see John 1:37ff).

The mini-sermon is recorded in John 3:27-36. The sermon revealed seven critical character traits that John wanted his disciples to understand about a man and his relationship with God.

Seven Character Traits of a Godly Man

 1. CONFIDENCE (3:27): John soothed the envious hearts of his disciples with these words – “You get what God gives you!” Out of context these words could be used for one who was simply hiding laziness, but that isn’t what was going on here! John was acknowledging the reality of a Sovereign God, and the need to be content in His hands. Godly men and women lose their self confidence and gain a God confidence!

 2. POSITION (3:28): John knew the purpose and place of his life was not to be the center of anyone’s universe. Only a mature godly man understands this. We all have a deep longing to be the center of someone’s universe – but our place as believers is help others put their relationship with the Lord at the center – not the relationship with US. John knew he was a POINTER not a CENTER. Godly men and women answer the question, “Father, what have you made me to be?”

 3. JOY (3:29): John wasn’t simply sure that he wasn’t the center of the world – he learned the secret of taking JOY in being what God created him to be. He didn’t “settle” for his lot in life, he REVELED in the joy that came with an understanding that his very value in life came from his joyful dwelling in his identity as the close friend of the groom. Godly men and women seek to take the joy of the journey on each step with them – the resolute assurance that God has not lost interest in them, nor lost the ability to care for them.

 4. CLARITY (3:30): One cannot read the words: “He must increase and I must decrease!” and not recognize the crystal clear sound of a voice that has embraced TRUTH. John knew he wasn’t the main character in the drama being played out. Godly men and women always know this. If the story is about US, then it is not about God’s Son!

 5. SUBMISSION (3:31): John answered his disciples’ complaints with a straightforward claim that Jesus is Lord from Heaven, and worthy of all submission. No man or woman can ever truly be considered Godly that does not understand full and complete submission. It doesn’t mean we will live every moment with our spiritual knees bowed, but it means that is the GOAL.

 6. DISCERNMENT (3:32-34): John claimed that Jesus spoke that which He knew first hand, that is was the very truth of the Words of God and that it was infused with the limitless power of the Spirit of God. He trusted what Jesus taught, and he had the discernment to see it as truth and label it as such. Godliness presupposes the ability to discern truth from nonsense. No godly man or woman will truly walk as they ought without discernment that acts as a screen to filter out the false and allow the truth to permeate.

 7. UNDERSTANDING (3:35-36): John shared the DEPTH of understanding of the larger picture of the world. He was not so ego bound that all he could perceive was how everything affected him – he was a man with a bigger picture in front of him. It is within this larger frame that everything God was calling him to do made real sense. John understood that God was from the beginning a God of relationship. He loved, and because of that, it was easy for God the Father to offer authority to the Son. If the Father could do that, so could John! He loved Jesus, so surrendering crowds and accolades to Him was not a sacrifice he couldn’t accept!

That understanding is where the great truth was revealed from John's lips. Because John saw that the Father in Heaven loved the Son, and trusted the Son completely - John could follow suit and give up any position, title, fame or importance to Jesus. God - out of love - gave the Son authority, how could John give less than his passing fame?

In the end, every believer must surrender his life's fortune, fame, power and pleasure to the One he serves. John saw the pattern from the Father and responded in love. Shouldn't we surrender in love as well?

Missed Opportunity- "Leftovers from Dad!" - 2 Kings 15:32-38; 2 Chronicles 27:1-9

One of the words that used to bring groans to my friends was the word, “leftovers”. Coming from a large family, it was half way through my life before a friend explained to me what they were – since we never had any at my house! Men seem to be able to accomplish great feats and accumulate accolades, but many offer only leftover time and effort to shaping their children.
 
Jotham was an example of such a man. He had a pattern of accomplishment that any man would envy. He came from a good home, and accomplished good things. Yet sadly, he left behind a son that burned down what he built. Like many older Americans, had Jotham lived to watch, he would likely have been horrified to see what he DIDN’T do.
 
Key Principle: Great men both build a model of a man, and help their children take joy in the daily work of the model.
 
Real men want to engage their world. They are marked by the things that happen in their times, and they leave a mark on the world around them. Jotham was a great example of this. The Bible records seven great life marks of Jotham:
 
Seven Great “Life Marks”:
 
 1. He had the heritage of godly parents (27:1): We know his father Uzziah was a good man, though as flawed as anyone who gets caught believing their own press. His mother was a Zadokite, likely from the priestly family by that name – a woman deeply influenced by Godly family. Because Jotham entered the world with godly parents, he was provided one of the essential lessons in his early life - an example of how to pick a good life partner, and godliness in the home.
 
 2. He learned how to follow good patterns without imitating all the bad ones (27:2). Jotham’s father Uzziah was not always “on his game” walking with God. He clearly had some glaring ego issues that gave rise to his leprosy and thrust Jotham into the throne room as a regent before his time. At the same time, Jotham did follow the right part of what his father showed him. A man of god must be able to gain from another, without adopting the false beliefs and bad attitudes that are prevalent in most every mentor.
 
 3. He learned how to discern the evil in the world around him without either slipping into the pattern or becoming soured and cynical (27:2b). The writer inserted the truth that “the people continued to act corruptly.” That helpful little comment showed that Jotham didn’t live in some idyllic world, but in the real one. Not everyone was doing right just because he chose to do right. Godly men must be able to rightly discern their times, without becoming like the people around them.
 
 4. He learned to both value and protect sacred things (27:3a). The upper gate to the Temple was an important and costly project, but Jotham knew that the protection to the Temple in the north part of the city, where Jerusalem was always most vulnerable, was important. It is incumbent on godly men to identify things that are sacred – important to God and important to His message – and learn to cherish and protect those things. These things were called “holy” or distinct before the Lord, and there was a special offering “the Awshawm” to mark repentance when these were not taken seriously enough (Lev. 5).
 
 5. He built effective channels to stay connected to God personally (27:3b). The “wall of Ophel” was likely the wall that connected the city of David in the south to the Temple Mount in the north. The connection neck (where Ha-Ophel Road is today in Jerusalem) housed the storage buildings of the kings, as well as the connecting porticoes from the palace of the Judean kings to the Temple access. Jotham wanted to fortify his connection to safely accessing the Temple, particularly in light of the number of assassinations in the northern kingdom during his lifetime! He knew his ability to reach the Temple and stay connected the Lord was an important element of his life’s success. Godly men realize they can only accomplish something eternal when fastened steadfastly to the Eternal One.
 
 6. He built defenses from the world (27:4). Jotham built cities, towers and fortresses in the immediate area of the hill country of Judah. The world around Judah was ever creeping into the small kingdom and pulling at the its sensitivity to follow the Lord and trust Him completely. Jotham knew that in order to commit to follow the Lord, some thing would need to be kept out of his life, and the lives of those who followed after him. Godly men know that they cannot and should not handle all the world has to dish out. Some things shouldn’t be viewed, heard, or let in!
 
 7. He learned to provide for his own and used wealth without becoming a slave to its acquisition (27:5). Jotham subjected the eastern enemies that consistently cut off the flow of food and other vital goods to and from the east of Judah. Ammon was once under Judah, but an unanswered rebellion left the children of Judah vulnerable. Without trying to enslave or destroy, Jotham subjected the people and re-established the flow of goods to his kingdom. The use of wealth was vital to feed and supply his kingdom. Godly men don’t wish to harm others, but they learn to use the things of this world to care for the needs of those put in their charge. Jesus taught that as a principle in a cryptic Luke 16 parable.
 
The seven marks look good, and clearly Jotham accomplished some great things. He is recalled as a mighty and godly man (24:6-9). Yet, sadly, the next chapter of Judah’s history reveals the cracks in his life. They are seen where they most often are seen – in the life of his child.
 
Take a moment and read these words, the tragic summary of Ahaz’s reign, the son of Jotham:
 
2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do right in the sight of the LORD as David his father had done. 2 But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made molten images for the Baals. 3 Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel. 4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree.
 
In all that he succeeded to accomplish he failed in one critical way. He failed to communicate how important his son was to him. He didn’t model the relationship in the home that would convince his son that children are a heritage of the Lord, and a great and precious treasure. Great men both build a model of a man, and help their children take joy in the daily work of the model. Failure to do so produces a vile and angry generation. They feel left out of their parent’s life – and struggle to find their own way. Children were not designed to find their own way. They have few instincts that are sound, and need guidance in every stage of life!
 
It could be that some fathers are interacting with this Bible story and feeling left in guilt. The Word was not meant to leave a man or woman with guilt, but rather with GOD. How can a man or woman make up for the time they have wasted? Frankly, they can’t! The good news is that our God is able to do what we cannot. When ancient Israel sinned and received the judgment they were due, God came to them with a message of comfort: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - My great army that I sent among you. (Joel 2:25). Many a believing parent, broken from repentance, clings to God’s ability to do what we cannot, and do not deserve. Yet, to be honest, is there any place more secure than trusting in God’s abilities and His care?

"The Salt Covenant" Video Clip shot in Israel

For those interested in information about the Dead Sea area and the "Salt Covenant" this is a neat little video clip from our new release this month!

Want to know about Camels?

The following clip is part of a new video we will be releasing this month from the Holy Land tour of last year...

The Camel from Kerugma Productions on Vimeo.