This evening, it struck me like sunshine on the water. It was Christopher Cross’s “Sailing.” It would not be hyperbolic to write that I have listened to the song and the album on which it is found thousands of times. Both remain among my favorites. The industry of “Yacht Rock” has since sprung up around this ilk. I am okay with that. It is beneficial for the writers, the musicians, the ones with skin in the game. So, sail on.

But here is what put so much wind in my spiritual sails. At once, as if by a zephyr, I was back in Florida, on the boat, sailing–truly–off the coast of Bradenton and Sarasota–watching my dad and stepmom sip drinks from wide-rimmed glasses (my dad had his shirt opened, a white collar and his tanned neck, the beard of a man who had driven from Atlanta to Tampa in a black Buick on I-75, with an aim of impressing–as the other boys and I dived into white-capping waters and sized each other up, boys of adolescence, swimming among dolphins, paddling among ancient creatures, finding our ways, longing for girls whom we could not understand but only pine for, their limbs tanned and alluringly long and brown in Florida’s bay sun, the briny taste upon our red boy lips, swollen with longing for mysteries we had yet to discover and uncover). It was all there–the sun-dappled bay, the longing to matter, the discovering of the beauty and utter mystery of girls who swam nearby, the taste of brine upon one’s tongue, the white vessel as she rocked across from the city and the dolphins sliced like dim sea friends and we boys did our best Christopher Cross tenor voices and sang “Sailing” and “Ride Like the Wind” and thought we had it all figured out.

Cross’ album (this was in the day of LPs) blared. As we resurfaced, I looked to the one I longed to acknowledge me (“See how deep I went, Dad?”) and the silence spoke stronger than the seas, and the taste of brine on my sun-blistered lower lip, and my buddies swimming beside me. The waters lashed, as did my learning.

This evening after PT I returned to my place for a light meal and more time in grading papers and studying. After a sandwich and chips, and after grading the last essay on Faulkner and Joyce, I opened one of my Bibles to complete another read-through of the book of Acts. I was in the last three chapters this evening–twenty-six through twenty-eight.

These are action-packed chapters: Paul witnesses to Agrippa, journeys to Rome, but only after hellish tests on the voyage. He is accused of all manner of things; he offers a magisterial apologetic of the Christian faith; he recounts his own conversion from legalism and unbelief; he endures shipwreck; and he finally arrives in Rome where he again bears witness to the truth of Christianity.

Paul’s last words in Acts are words that Isaiah penned in the 700s B.C. They are the exact same words Jesus quoted in the gospels.

In other words, Scripture is one coherent story; it’s all connected.

Here are verses 25-31 of Acts 28, the last chapter:

²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”^[f]

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[g] and welcomed all who came to him, ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:25-31, ESV)

Reflection: The more I read Scripture, the more I come away convinced of its origin being God. It truly is God-breathed. No sinner would have revealed us men to be as flawed as we are; we would have glossed over our sins or rationalized them. We would have made ourselves the heroes rather than the foolish rebels against the holy we are unless regenerated by God.

But God revealed these 66 books to us to teach us who we are, but more importantly, who God is. As Schaeffer wrote decades ago now, God is there and is not silent. He has spoken. God the Son has come. He has been crucified, buried, and resurrected. And his church continues to endure, just as promised.

Bottom line up front: In a world of lies, wisdom is to trust the character of holy God.

Context: Psalm 56 is one of those poetic psalms in Scripture that pierces the heart due to its brutal honesty. In it, David cries out to God from a posture of lamentation over the wickedness surrounding him, but he does so with an even greater trust in the God who rules even the storms and demons:

Text:

1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
² my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
³ When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

⁵ All day long they injure my cause;^[b]
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶ They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.
⁷ For their crime will they escape?
    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;^[c]
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that^[d] God is for me.
¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹ in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

¹² I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
¹³ For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Encouragement/takeaway: All of Scripture is to be read and studied Christologically. That is, how is Psalm 56 to be understood in the light of Jesus Christ and his work of redeeming particular sinners? In short, David was a type and shadow of the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. David was persecuted, but Christ was murdered. David was maligned, but Christ was crucified. David was lied about, but Christ was betrayed for a few pieces of silver and kissed on the cheek by a false brother. David was a fallen and sinful man; Christ was and is the only truly holy man who died for his people. It is wise to trust in the character of the holy Christ, who is truth incarnate, and is the savior of all who come to him in repentance and faith.

Introduction: Whose church?

Context: They are among the most well-known words of Christ. Which words? Well, the ones about the true church being Christ’s. It belongs to him. Why? Because all members of the true church are born into it via God alone. No one appoints himself or herself into Christ’s church. Will we listen to what the text of Scripture actually says? Here’s what I mean …

Text:

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20, ESV)

Teaching: It is so interesting how Jesus taught here. He poses questions to people who purport to be genuine followers, genuine Christians. In common parlance, we might say that Jesus asked his guys, “What’s the word on the street about me?” And the guys told him. “Well, some say you’re Elijah, Jeremiah, or another of the Old Testament prophets.” But then Jesus got eyeball to eyeball with his lead apostle, Peter. “But you, Peter; what about you? What do you say? I’m talking to you now.” And Peter had one of his greatest moments of theological education: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16, ESV). And will you notice what Jesus pronounced upon Peter’s accurate confession? Blessing. Divine favor. Why? Because Peter’s accurate theology about Jesus being the Christ of God was not a Petrine accomplishment; it was 100% from God. Jesus told him such: “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17, ESV). God brought Peter into salvation, not Peter. 100% God alone.

Encouragement: Very often when you step back and look at the macro church on the universal level, and when we look at our local congregations to which many of us belong and serve, it can be disheartening at times. We see staggeringly shallow teachings; we see juvenile leaders who purport to lead but who themselves are depthless and out only for their own name and fame; we see a church that apes the world rather than confronts the world with truth and grace.

We could go on and on. But will we listen to what Jesus told Peter? It’s Jesus’ church; it’s not ours. All of us who are true believers are in the true and invisible God-purchased, blood-bought church because of God’s work alone. It’s not something we accomplished via some silly decision where we purport to steer God’s sovereignty. That would mean God is dependent and his creatures are sovereign, which is utter nonsense.

God told Peter here that flesh and blood (i.e., human effort/will/decision) had absolutely zero to do with it. Peter was saved because God saved him, not because Peter somehow granted God permission; that is hubristic thinking of the worst sort. Peter was born from above, and the church Peter would serve was and is Christ’s church, not Peter’s. Peter, like the rest of us blood-bought sinners, was just a worker for the glory of the gospel.

Introduction: I remember a vivid conversation I had with one of my philosophy professors years ago. He had been lecturing us philosophy students for weeks from his dissertation on Kant. We listened dutifully. Increasing, however, we sensed that the lectures were becoming less and less rooted to anything relatable and practical. I could sense the frustration growing amidst us. I had a friendship with the professor, and so the other students suggested that I ask him some questions for clarification. And so, I did. “Dr. _______, for the sake of everyone’s understanding, would you write on the board the definitions of two terms—truth and duty—and then explain their relationship? I think that would go a long way towards helping us all be clear on what’s at stake here.”

What happened next is a moment in my education I’ll never forget. Our professor (a man I genuinely liked on a personal level; he was a great professor, a true intellectual, a kind person, etc.) unraveled. You would have thought I had asked him to compete in math drills alongside Elon Musk. He stammered; he turned red; he sought for words but could not find them. And it was an utter embarrassment for him and an education for us. How so? Well, here was this freshly minted Emory Ph.D. in philosophy who could not answer a couple of simple, direct questions. I had only asked what we students longed for—clear definitions and clear explanations. Again, I truly liked Dr. _______. He was and is a stand-up guy, but he was completely undone, and we all saw it, and he saw it, too.

Connection to Scripture: Matthew 16 records one of the most famous conversations in history. It’s between Jesus and Peter, the lead apostle. Here’s the conversation:

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Teaching: Did you see who Jesus says is solely responsible for revealing Jesus’ identity to Peter? Was it Peter? No. Was it Peter’s education? No. Was it Peter’s culture and background? No. Was it Peter’s religiosity? No. It was God (v. 17). Flesh and blood were of no help in the matter. When Peter was born from above, it was just that—from above, from without, from God. It was not something Peter earned or worked up to.

Folks who know even a scant amount of Scripture probably know that Peter was often gifted at digesting his own shoes. He tended to speak first and think later—often to his great shame. But he was nonetheless a mighty and faithful Christian in the long run. He penned two letters of the New Testament and died a martyr for the Christian worldview. And one of the lessons that Peter was learning was that he had to get the fundamentals right first. Have the main things nailed down. Be clear on definitions and identity.

Encouragement/takeaway: My old philosophy professor left academia and went into the world of cycling. True story. He had a love of cycling, and his Ph.D. diploma from Emory was in a frame above his couch in his apartment. What I learned, what my fellow philosophy buds learned, what Peter was learning at the feet of Christ, was that we must get the fundamentals right first. Be clear on definitions and identity. And recognize that spiritual regeneration comes from God, not from ourselves.

Bottom line up front: Discern the difference between an empty suit and a man of God.

Text: Matthew 16:1-12 (ESV) reads:

16 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. ⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Reflections: There are several things going on here. First, notice the motivation of those who hated Christ and what he stands for. Both the Pharisees and Sadducees came “to test” Christ. They didn’t want the truth; they wanted to embarrass him and to make themselves appear the bigger people. The truth, of course, was that they were morally reprehensible and had no interest in following the truth but only in safeguarding their power.

Second, Christ warns us again and again that false teachers will always have a following because there’s no bottom to fallen man’s desire for lies that comfort and protect his sin. That is what Jesus meant when he referenced Jonah in v. 4. That sign of Jonah was that judgment was imminent, but God sent Jonah, the truth-telling prophet, to call out against Nineveh to repent and believe God. The people did, and God relented. But it was not some sentimental thing; on the contrary, it was one of the greatest revivals in the history of redemption.

Encouragement: A non-negotiable for the Christian is discernment. It is taught on nearly every page of Scripture. Jesus tells us again and again that there are “blind guides,” leading the undiscerning into a pit. We are to discern the difference between an empty suit and a man of God. Why? Because souls are at stake. So much glitters that is not in fact gold. Discern.

Bottom line up front: Leftovers should point us to the Provider.

Text: Matthew 15:32-39, ESV: Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Imagery Matters: Rooted in my nature is the power of imagery. Jesus directed the crowd to sit on the ground. Why? I think it was because that puts folks in a posture of dependence; they are not in charge. They are looking up. They are not full of themselves. They are in fact knowingly dependent. Only after they were seated on the ground, Christ took the few loaves of bread and fish, and multiplied them. Why? To feed the people, obviously. But also to emphasize that there were “broken pieces left over” (v. 37). Christ, the bread of life, was and is more than enough.

I cannot speak for others, but that is so easy for me to forget or minimize in my daily thinking and living–that God is more than enough. It is so easy to fall into a default factory setting of, “Well, I will look to man to provide” thinking. But that is not the gospel.

Why? Well, we sinners are–more often than not–the problem. Our pride is a wrecking ball. We fancy ourselves irreplaceable, but if we would spend mere moments in studying history, we would see that life goes on quite steadily, and we are quickly forgotten by nearly all. If we think we are important, just read a history book.

Those folks fancied themselves noteworthy, too, but alas. Most of us will never be remembered except perhaps by a few loved ones. Maybe. But in Christianity, we are of value; God knows us, and sees all. That should simultaneously humble us and encourage us.

Encouragement: In the passage above, Christ took seven loaves and some fish, and with gratitude, he multiplied the bread and fish. Why? To show us that we sinners are dependent creatures; to show us the propriety of gratitude; to teach us that God is sufficient, more than sufficient; to show us that the doctrine of providence is not just a theological construct but that it is food for our souls (and bellies); and to teach us humble dependence upon the God who is.

Bottom line up front: Interiority before exteriority.

David’s words in Psalm 36 wash over one’s soul. For me, at least, that’s my experience. Verses 7-9 of Psalm 36 follow:

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.

Teaching: When you read this psalm repeatedly, you discover that a binary undergirds the poem. The binary is two types of people. The first type of person “has no fear of God before his eyes” (Psalm 36:1b, ESV).

The second type of person is described as “those who know [God]” (Psalm 36:10a, ESV). That doesn’t mean mere head knowledge or mental assent; it means, rather, to trust the Lord, to lean in to God, to live in obedience to his revealed will.

That’s the thing with David. He was a great sinner at times, no doubt about that. But he always repented and turned and sought the Lord’s face, often in tears. But he was the real deal. When he blew it, he owned it. He didn’t sugarcoat things with God because he knew that God knows all.

Encouragement/takeaway: David understood that his standing before God came before his standing before other sinners. He feared God rather than men. He trusted the Lord. And when David sinned, he owned it; he sought the Lord in repentance and faith. David understood that his soul, just like everything else—was known to the Lord. Therefore, he aimed to get things right inside before he stepped foot to the outside. Interiority before exteriority.

Bottom line up front: The Complete Context Is Crucial 

Intro: In preparing to teach upon Matthew 15:21-28, one discovers that premature assessments can and do lead to horrendous theology and belief; but when one understands the complete picture, the truth is embraced. 

Context: It’s 1st century Israel. The nation is occupied by the Roman Empire. There is great diversity among distinct cultural groups within the nation proper. Amidst that diversity, there is bias, both cultural and personal. And yet God the Son has stepped into history as the logos incarnate. People from every tribe, language, ethnos, and nation are being reached by the truth. 

Text: And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly (Mt 15:21-28, ESV). 

Don’t Miss This: A superficial familiarity with this passage could be misinterpreted as fideism, a false teaching that says “Just believe,” but does not anchor that belief in truth. Another superficial familiarity with this passage could be used to claim that Christ discriminated unfairly against the Canaanite woman, implying she was less than others. But those misinterpretations would lead you into error. Why? Because the complete picture is necessary. There’s more going on here of which many are unaware. 

Encouragement/takeaway: Christ’s ministry to her was part of his use of distinguishing genuine truth-seekers from false pretenders. This woman begged Christ to heal her daughter of demon oppression. Jesus was not being harsh when he said that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (v. 24). His point was for sinners to recognize their state of lostness and utter dependence upon God; it was not on ethnicity or cultural identity. If anything, it demonstrated that God was grafting in all sorts of sinners–from every tribe, language, people, and nation. 

Christ ultimately commended the faith of the Canaanite woman because she recognized her utter dependence upon Christ as God incarnate to heal her daughter, to redeem, to put her in her right mind, and to thwart the powers of hell. 

The complete picture is called for, in other words. If we don’t have that, we can prematurely come away with half-baked ideas and theology. And as a man thinks, so is he. May we labor to have the full picture. 

I woke up at 0300, showered, dressed, and drove to the airport for a connecting flight to ATL. I was so hungry I could hear my stomach grumbling. I was eager to get to ATL so I could grab a meal before flying on to Indianapolis.

The flight to ATL was uneventful save for the heavy man who sat on my right side on the flight. He twitched about every seventeen seconds and sniffed incessantly, as if he were afraid his nasal hairs were escaping downward through his nostrils. Sniff, sniff, he continued. Sniff, sniff.

Finally the plane landed in ATL and I deplaned, took the Plane Train to Councourse A, and went to Low Country, a country place in the airport that serves fare other than fast food.

The two women behind the counter were less than friendly. They came across as only interested in one another’s importance rather than in serving customers.

But a man caught my eye. He was out by the tables, serving customers. His name was Sunday. He had on a nametag and a blue lanyard. He would go to the dispensers containing the plasticware, and he’d methodically dispense a fork, knife, and spoon. Then he’d carefully roll them into two napkins, and come to us customers in line, and say, “Excuse me, sir/ma’am, your plasticware.” And we’d take it. We’d be almost caught off guard because of the contrast between Sunday’s courtesy and the behavior of the two women behind the counter who took our money.

When I got my food, the woman at the register said at me, “Cash or card?”

“Card,” I replied.

“There’s a question for tip amount on the screen, sir,” she said.

I hit 0% and paid.

As soon as I turned around to scout out a table at which to sit down and eat, Sunday was beside me, “Here’s a table, sir.”

I ate and enjoyed my breakfast. I watched Sunday. Incessantly, he provided each customer napkins and plasticware for their meals. He cleaned all the tables. He threw away empty water bottles as soon as patrons finished drinking. He aligned chairs under the tables. His area was spotless.

He saw me watching him, and came over to my table. “All okay, sir?”

“Yes,” I replied, and handed him some cash. “Thank you,” I said.

“Thank you, sir,” he said.

I finished my meal. When I stood up and put on my rucksack, Sunday reappeared. He took my now-empty plate and discarded it for me. And he carried on with his mission.

I don’t know who raised you, Sunday; I know almost nothing of you, really, except that you restored my hope. And I’m grateful you’re around. May your tribe increase.