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SIGHT-SEEING: THE TIME GOD SPOKE

Marked by Love small

In an excerpt from his new book, Marked by Love, US pastor and author TIM STEVENS looks at what God said, when, in the early pages of the Gospel of Matthew, He spoke for the first time in 400 years…

A fascinating thing happens in the early pages of Matthew, the first book in the Bible’s New Testament. Most people breeze right over it when they read the passage. But we must understand its implication.

Here  is  the  scene: As  far  as  we  know, God  hadn’t  spoken to any man or woman or pastor or priest for more than 400 years. Talk about deafening silence! You would probably have begun to think He never existed, that maybe the stories handed down from generation-to-generation about Moses, Abraham, Daniel, and the prophets were all fabricated. But then God began sending angels to deliver messages: first to Zechariah to tell him that his elderly wife was going to have a baby and that they were to name him John; then six months later to Mary, telling her she would give birth to Jesus; then right away another angel appeared to Joseph, telling him to believe Mary and support her in her pregnancy; and then an entire choir of angels performed in front of some shepherds, also announcing the birth of Jesus.

Marked by Love

 

“One sentence. It’s all we got from the God of the Universe – His first words in centuries, introducing His Son publicly for the first time. He told us the one thing we need to know: Jesus is ‘marked’ by the love of God.”

But still, it hadn’t been God Himself speaking. He’d been sending angels or communicating through dreams all about this baby named Jesus. Well, eventually the baby was born, grew up, became a man – and, as far as we know, no more angels appeared and no more messages came from God until Jesus was 30-years-old.

That’s when everything changed. And that’s when we find out how Jesus had been “marked”.

It happened on a day when John, the same guy the angel had announced would be born to Zechariah and Elizabeth, was out in the wilderness preaching. He’d been doing this for years and was attracting a lot of attention. He was telling the crowds that God’s kingdom was coming and then baptising them to symbolise a new life. Matthew tells us that people poured out of the surrounding cities and rural areas to hear and see John in action: “There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptised into a changed life” (Matthew 3:6 – The Message).

Many thought John could be the Messiah. But John knew that wasn’t the case. He knew his purpose was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was related to Jesus, and he probably had grown up hearing the story retold 100 times about the angel who came and foretold his own birth and the birth of Jesus. My guess is that Jesus and John played together when they were little. Maybe they hung out as teens and talked about the difference God made in their lives.

But on this particular day, far removed from those childhood memories, John was obedient to his call. He was preaching and baptising, and hundreds were gathering. When he saw some of the religious leaders joining in and getting baptised, just because it was popular, he exploded in anger: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference?” (Matthew 3:7 – The Message).

Strong words. You probably won’t find John as an example in How to Win Friends and Influence People. But he knew that being baptised wasn’t going to change anyone’s heart.

The people became confused. They thought baptism was part of the whole saving deal. They asked John, “What are we supposed to do?”

In Luke 3:11–14 (The Message), John answered by giving them examples of what a changed life looks like: If you have two coats, give one away”. He was describing love in action.

“Do the same with your food.” More about love.

To tax men: “No more extortion – collect only what is required by law.” Unexpected love.

To soldiers: “No shakedowns, no blackmail – and be content with your rations.” In other words, treat all people, all the time, with love.

There it is. Love is the deal. Love is the message. A changed life is a generous, fair, content, and loving life. That’s the difference.

And right at that moment, the person who represented and displayed love more than any other human had before or will after, waded into the river. It was Jesus Christ, second cousin to John, the One John knew was the Messiah.

After a short argument about who should baptise whom, John baptised Jesus.

And that was when God spoke for the first time in more than 400 years. This time He didn’t send an angel or speak through a dream or vision. It was public and undeniable, and hundreds were watching and listening. When God speaks for the first time in 400 years, we’d better pay attention: “The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit – it looked like a dove – descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life. – Matthew 3:16–17 (The Message).

One sentence. It’s all we got from the God of the Universe – His first words in centuries, introducing His Son publicly for the first time. He told us the one thing we need to know: Jesus is “marked” by the love of God.

Other theologians have translated it, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” I find beauty in both translations. There is a sense that God has stamped or branded Jesus with His own love.

Tim Stevens

Tim Stevens.

 

“Jesus isn’t marked by a tattoo, by a dot on His forehead, by a certain  type  of  clothing, or  by  a headwrap. We  won’t know Him because of a medical procedure or because He is unusually tall or good-looking. He looks like everybody else, maybe even a bit on the unattractive side. But He has been marked by the love of God.”

Jesus isn’t marked by a tattoo, by a dot on His forehead, by a certain  type of clothing, or by a headwrap. We won’t know Him because of a medical procedure or because He is unusually tall or good-looking. He looks like everybody else, maybe even a bit on the unattractive side. But He has been marked by the love of God.

And if that’s not enough to convince you, God said the same exact words again, three years later, in the only other instance. He spoke to humans during Jesus’ time on this earth. We know it as the “Transfiguration”, the time when Jesus appeared to humans in His heavenly form. Peter, James, and John were with Jesus on a mountain, and God said: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5, The Message).

Twice, God said that Jesus was “marked by My love”. Why not marked by God’s holiness? Why not marked by His transcendence or majesty or wisdom?

What could that mean? God could have said anything…or nothing. But He told us that His Son, Jesus, was marked by His love. It can’t be a coincidence that these were the only words God spoke during Jesus’ time on earth and that He said them twice. It must be significant.

No tattoo. No handshake. No team colours or logos or code words. Just the one thing that marked Jesus Christ and the only thing that would mark His followers – love.

Excerpt was taken from Marked by Love by Tim Stevens with permission from Barbour Publishing.

Tim Stevens is the vice president of Consulting at Vanderbloemen Search Group. His books on church vision and organisational culture include ‘Pop Goes the Church’, ‘Vision: Lost & Found’, and ‘Fairness Is Overrated’. Stevens joined Vanderbloemen from Granger Community Church, in Granger, Indiana, where he served as the executive pastor for 20 years and was instrumental in helping the congregation grow from a group meeting in a movie theatre to a world-impact ministry. He currently resides in Houston, Texas.

 

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