____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ May 18, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Rejoicing Over Things Found -- Why? (Tom Edwards) 2) They Should Not Make Him Known (Clarence Johnson) 3) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- Rejoicing Over Things Found -- Why? by Tom Edwards Have you ever lost anything, but it really didn't matter to you if you never found it again? In trying to think of such, I remember one item that I had picked up somewhere, but haven't seen for years (which I might have even given away). But if it be that it is lost, that small, t-shaped drum wrench wouldn't mean much to me -- even if it were found -- for it never really did have any importance or value in my life. I didn't own a set of drums then -- nor now. Last night, however, after leaving a gas station on Range Avenue and Rushing Road, I was all the way down Interstate 12 and taking the exit on O'Neal when it occurred to me that my prescription glasses -- which I had left on the hood of my car, while filling my right front tire -- I had forgotten to pick up. It had slipped my mind probably while putting my air pump back into the trunk. Now had it been one of my $5 pair of readers, it wouldn't have been as bad; but the pair I lost were prescription glasses that were my first upgrade, only several months old, and the most comfortable and lightest (titanium) I have ever had. And since they cost me more than $300, the thought that they had now been crushed under the tire of someone exiting that gas station was far from a pleasant one. For if the glasses were simply lost at home somewhere, I would feel pretty confident that they would eventually show up again; but now I was facing more of a strong possibility that even if I found them they would still be irreparably damaged with a flattened frame and crushed lenses. So needless to say, when I pulled into that same gas station and saw my pair of glasses on the pavement, picked them up and found them unharmed, there was rejoicing in my heart and thankfulness unto God (even for these small blessings of life). In Luke 15, Jesus sets forth three parables, which all emphasize the joy in finding that which was lost. In the first, it is the parable of a man who owned one hundred sheep, but one had gone astray. He, however, was concerned for even this "one" -- and the concern for just "one" is another emphasis in all three parables. The Lord says (in vv. 5, 6), "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'" In February of 1998, I was moving around the corner (in Ashland, Kentucky) to rent a house that was still being restored. My previous landlord was allowing me a couple months of free rent, since his property and virtually all on that block had been bought and would be torn down to build a drug store. So this allowed me to start moving things over, around the corner; but still keep some of my office, Internet hookup, and 3 cats over in the old place. For about a month, I'd go over almost every day to check on my cats. I didn't want them to be in the other place while men were working on it -- due to the worry of them accidentally letting my strictly "indoor cats" slip out. Then on the very day that I was to bring the cats over, two of them could not be found. Someone had opened the attic door in my second floor apartment, so I went up to check. Through the dark, I heard a little whimpering. It was Mickey. He had climbed out the back window of that third-floor attic, walked around a narrow ledge to the front of the building, but could not enter the attic through the window on that side. So there he remained, seemingly stuck. He was distressed, frightened, and trembling in front of the closed dormer windows. And all the while, three-lane traffic had been passing him, just 30 feet away, near the busiest intersection in town. I imagine he felt bewildered and helpless -- not realizing, apparently, that he could have retraced his steps to return to the open window in the back. Instead he just peered into the attic through the dusty window panes, hoping for help. In seeing him in his pathetic state, and realizing that he could have been there for about 24 hours, I was glad to bring him into safety. But my other lost cat, little Blackie, I still could not find. My first thought was that she had followed her "brother" out on the ledge, fell, and would be lying on the ground, dead. After checking and not finding her, I then thought maybe someone had picked up her lifeless body to put into the large dumpster nearby. But that proved false. So my next suspicion was that she had somehow survived the fall, but had now run away; and I would never be seeing her again. With sadness and realizing now how much my cats had meant to me, I thought I'd check one more time up in the attic. In one corner, void of light, I looked as carefully as I could -- for, unfortunately, I didn't have a flashlight. And then in that darkness, I noticed some kind of form moving, a shadowy figure that sparked some hope. Drawing nearer to it, my hope was soon realized: I had found my little pet, safe and sound. It was a glad moment. I was relieved. But why did I rejoice and find such comfort in finding this small, furry creature? Simply because she meant something to me. Jesus goes on in Luke 15:8-10 to speak of a woman who had lost one of her ten coins. She searches her house diligently for it. And when she finds it, "...she calls her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!"' Years ago I heard a denominational preacher say that the ten coins had been the woman's dowry. How he came up with that, I have no idea. But if it be true, it would certainly make finding that missing coin even more important for this woman. But whatever, it was something she was glad to find because it did, apparently, have some kind of value in her life -- even if just monetary. The final parable is that of the prodigal son. To be "prodigal" is to be "wastefully or recklessly extravagant"; to be a "wastrel." This son had requested "the portion of goods" that was to be his from the father (v. 12). On receiving it, he then went away to a "far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living" (v. 13). He spent it all. And now, with a famine in the land (v. 14), receiving aid was even more bleak: "...no one gave him anything" (v. 16). He was so destitute that he had longed to eat even "the pods that the swine ate," for he was perishing with hunger (vv. 16,17). In coming to his senses, he realized how much better even his father's servants had it and was, therefore, willing to return to him -- not to be his son; but, rather, to be as one of his father's hired servants (v. 19). For this prodigal felt so unworthy for having "sinned against heaven" and before his father. The father, however, in seeing him from a distance, "...had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him" (v. 20). The son then acknowledged his sin and his unworthiness. "But the father said to his servants, `Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry" (vv. 22-24). It is obvious that the father in this parable represents our merciful, loving, and gracious Father in heaven. And the prodigal son represents the person who goes astray into sin; but then later, comes to his senses, repents, and returns to God. As we learn from the parable, God is truly willing to save the lost; and there is great rejoicing when one is "found." As the two previous parables had also expressed: "...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (v. 7). And, "...there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (v. 10). Why is this rejoicing so? As we have considered in this article, there is joy because that which was found truly meant something to the one who had lost it. We belong to God when we are born into this world in a "safe" state. Sin, however, had separated us from God and put us in a "lost" state (Isa. 59:1,2). So it is not that the Lord had lost us; rather, we had put ourselves into that condition by our iniquities. But by the death of Christ and our obedience to the gospel plan of salvation, we can be redeemed (bought back); and, as we have seen, all the angels in heaven rejoice when that happens. This rejoicing is because we mean something to God and to His heavenly beings. As the Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (Jn. 3:16). And that it's "...not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 Jn. 4:10). That's how much we mean to God! Though in this article, we have considered the joy in finding a lost pair of glasses, a lost sheep, a lost cat, and a lost coin and realize that there is joy in finding these things because they had meant something to the ones who lost them, then how much more should we realize that we mean something to God when we think about what He was willing to do (in the giving of His only begotten Son) in order that we, who were lost, could be "found" (saved from our sins) and enjoy an eternity with the Lord in heaven? It is God's love for us that has prompted Him to make such a plan available -- and at such a high cost on His part. Think about that. We were "bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20). What was that price? Was it merely thirty pieces of silver? Or was it $1,000, $100,000, $1 million, or even $10 billion? As Peter writes, "knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18,19). How many millions of animal sacrifices were offered during the OT period? Could you imagine the cost if you had to buy all of those animals?! But not even all of those put together could atone for even one sin (Heb. 10:4). Transgression can be blotted out only through the death of Christ. So there is much rejoicing in heaven when a lost soul is found because that soul (that has been created in God's image, Gen. 1:26) is loved by God and very special to Him. How sad it is, therefore, when a lost soul forfeits such love and goodness by being unwilling to return to his Maker. Won't you, therefore, return to God today -- if you need to -- so that your soul will be well secure in the Lord's keeping? For then, there will be great rejoicing in heaven -- because God, along with all His heavenly host, cares for you! ____________________________________________________ -2- They Should Not Make Him Known by Clarence Johnson After healing the man with the withered hand in the synagogue in Capernaum, "Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. And He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, `You are the Son of God.' But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known" (Mark 3:6-12). These events took place about a year and a half to two years before the crucifixion. Jesus' popularity with the common people was growing rapidly -- and the animosity of His enemies was growing just as rapidly. Normally, the Pharisees and Herodians would scarcely have anything to do with each other, but Mark shows they were now willing to work together against Jesus to destroy Him. As we have read before and will read again as we continue through our study of the book of Mark, Jesus frequently told those He healed in Jewish cities not to make Him known. It is noteworthy to remember that, in casting out demons, the demons always recognized Jesus' identity as the Son of God -- and again, Jesus forbade them to publicize that fact. The time would come when Jesus would send His disciples out to tell the whole world that He was the Son of God, but the time was not yet right for that truth to be publicly proclaimed. One reason Jesus did not openly proclaim His Deity immediately was to delay the opposition until He had accomplished His purpose in teaching and training His apostles to carry on His work after He was gone. See such passages as Matthew 16:20-21; 17:9; John 7:6. A second important reason Jesus withheld His identity from the multitudes for a time is stated by Matthew in his parallel account to our text. Matthew tells us that Jesus thusly fulfilled the prophecy found in Isaiah 42:1-4, "Behold My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law." See Matthew 12:16-21. How marvelous that God's prophet was divinely directed to foresee those facts more than seven centuries before Jesus the Christ was ever born. -- Via Susquehanna Sentinel, March 23, 2003 ____________________________________________________ -3- News & Notes Joshua Watts will be having a bone graft for his leg May 22. Let us pray that all will go well. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________