Move...Get Out The Way, Get Out The Way
On Richmond's Sports Radio 910, they always play a line from a song that says, "Move, get out the way, get out the way" during their traffic report. Something tells me the rest of that song isn't exactly family-friendly, but it's a catchy clip that tends to stay in my mind the rest of the day. It especially came to my mind recently when I was reading the gospel of Luke.
5:17-26
"One day as [Jesus] was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith He said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven.'
The Pharisees and teachers of the Law began thinking to themselves, 'Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?'
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, 'Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Take up your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...'
He said to the paralyzed man, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.'
Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, 'We have seen remarkable things today!'"
Normally when I hear this passage I picture in my mind a room packed full of eager listners and curious observers, wanting to hear more from this new "Teacher" who speaks with greater authority and wisdom than they've ever heard. I envision amazed men and mesmerized women watching as Jesus heals the paralytic. But, after a careful reading, I realized that this was not the scene at all. Look at the first verse again:
"One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from every village in Galilee and from Judea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there."
Apparently it was the Pharisees and teachers of the Law that were taking up most of the room. Luke is sure to emphasize exactly how many are there; they came from "EVERY VILLAGE in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem." The house wasn't full of eager listeners and curious observers, it was packed full of hypocrites and bitter men listening for one misspoken word or one slip of the tongue. They weren't there to hear a word from God, they were there to criticize, nit-pick, and gripe.
The saddest part is that when someone came actually wanting to see Jesus because of who they believed Him to be, they weren't able to get in because of the mob of haters. They had to take their friend to the roof of the house and DIG down to Jesus. And instead of sharing in a miraculous moment with Jesus and the paralyzed man, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law inwardly criticized what was going on.
How frustrating that must have been for Jesus.
After reading this several times I had to ask myself the logical hard question: am I in the way or am I allowing the lost, the hurt, and the hopeless see Jesus?
One of my college professors often reminded us who planned to go into the ministry that our primary responsibility is to reflect the Light of Christ to those we minister to. The problem is us "ministry types" are often a little more concerned with reflecting ourselves onto those to whom we minister. We want our church to be the biggest in town; we want our youth ministries to be the most creative and fun; we want our outreach programs to bring in more than any other outreach programs. While those things sound like positives, often the motive for arriving at those goals is to exalt ourselves and not our Savior.
It's taken a while, but I've finally arrived at a place where I'm not concerned with what other ministers are doing. I celebrate with my friends in ministry who experience success and I hurt with my friends in ministry who feel that things are not going well at all. And my primary focus is on keeping my walk with Jesus on the straight and narrow so that the teens to whom I minister have a clear reflection of the love of Christ. When ministry is really happening, the teens see Jesus Christ, and not Cory Jones.
Unfortunately that's a hard place for many of us in ministry to come to. I'm not patting myself on the back for having arrived there, but there are those who spend their lives trying to absorb the "glory" rather than reflect it, and they find themselves quickly burning out and ending up as far away from ministry as they can get.
When it comes to the lost, do you reflect yourself or your Savior? If it's yourself, maybe you should "move, get out the way, get out the way, get out the way."
5:17-26
"One day as [Jesus] was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith He said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven.'
The Pharisees and teachers of the Law began thinking to themselves, 'Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?'
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, 'Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Take up your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...'
He said to the paralyzed man, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.'
Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, 'We have seen remarkable things today!'"
Normally when I hear this passage I picture in my mind a room packed full of eager listners and curious observers, wanting to hear more from this new "Teacher" who speaks with greater authority and wisdom than they've ever heard. I envision amazed men and mesmerized women watching as Jesus heals the paralytic. But, after a careful reading, I realized that this was not the scene at all. Look at the first verse again:
"One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from every village in Galilee and from Judea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there."
Apparently it was the Pharisees and teachers of the Law that were taking up most of the room. Luke is sure to emphasize exactly how many are there; they came from "EVERY VILLAGE in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem." The house wasn't full of eager listeners and curious observers, it was packed full of hypocrites and bitter men listening for one misspoken word or one slip of the tongue. They weren't there to hear a word from God, they were there to criticize, nit-pick, and gripe.
The saddest part is that when someone came actually wanting to see Jesus because of who they believed Him to be, they weren't able to get in because of the mob of haters. They had to take their friend to the roof of the house and DIG down to Jesus. And instead of sharing in a miraculous moment with Jesus and the paralyzed man, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law inwardly criticized what was going on.
How frustrating that must have been for Jesus.
After reading this several times I had to ask myself the logical hard question: am I in the way or am I allowing the lost, the hurt, and the hopeless see Jesus?
One of my college professors often reminded us who planned to go into the ministry that our primary responsibility is to reflect the Light of Christ to those we minister to. The problem is us "ministry types" are often a little more concerned with reflecting ourselves onto those to whom we minister. We want our church to be the biggest in town; we want our youth ministries to be the most creative and fun; we want our outreach programs to bring in more than any other outreach programs. While those things sound like positives, often the motive for arriving at those goals is to exalt ourselves and not our Savior.
It's taken a while, but I've finally arrived at a place where I'm not concerned with what other ministers are doing. I celebrate with my friends in ministry who experience success and I hurt with my friends in ministry who feel that things are not going well at all. And my primary focus is on keeping my walk with Jesus on the straight and narrow so that the teens to whom I minister have a clear reflection of the love of Christ. When ministry is really happening, the teens see Jesus Christ, and not Cory Jones.
Unfortunately that's a hard place for many of us in ministry to come to. I'm not patting myself on the back for having arrived there, but there are those who spend their lives trying to absorb the "glory" rather than reflect it, and they find themselves quickly burning out and ending up as far away from ministry as they can get.
When it comes to the lost, do you reflect yourself or your Savior? If it's yourself, maybe you should "move, get out the way, get out the way, get out the way."
posted by CoryJones at 3:26 PM
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