Growing Christians

Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. Acts 15.32.

Apart from what is said in this verse, all we know about Judas Barsabbas and Silas is that they were two of the “leaders” in the Jerusalem church who were chosen by the apostles there to accompany Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch and to deliver the apostles’ letter to the gentile Christians there (Acts 15.22-23). (The letter contained the apostles’ decision that gentiles did not — as some had been saying — need to become Jews in order to be saved.)

The claim to fame of these two men is, however, that they “said much to encourage and strengthen” the Christians in Antioch. To encourage is parakaleo — from which comes the noun parakletos that Jesus uses as a name for the Holy Spirit … the Comforter, the Counsellor, the Helper, the Advocate (John 14.16). He is one called (kaleo) alongside (para) to help, support, defend and sustain, which is the work Judas and Silas undertook for some time in the Antioch church.

To strengthen is episterizo which literally means to stand (sterizo) someone or something firmly upon (epi) something else. It means to confirm or establish, and this also was what Judas and Silas were doing in Antioch.

The words taken together paint a lovely picture of these two men getting alongside these gentile Christians and building them up in the faith, applauding their progress, grounding them in the solid truths of the gospel, showing them how to use their God-given gifts in the service of the kingdom, and gently correcting them where they were in error. It was, in fact, the very work that the Lord Jesus commissioned me to do two decades ago when he called me into the church in which I have stayed to this day. These are the words he gave me — words which I wrote down and then framed so as to be constantly reminded of them —

Fan the ember wherever you see it glowing.
Water the shoot wherever you see it growing.
Clear the stream wherever you see it flowing.
Nurture, cherish, prize …
But never neglect the sowing.

It is a ministry I constantly try to carry out in God’s strength among his people here at St James Church in Bradford, and count it a joy and privilege to do so. As a young Christian, I used to dream of being a great evangelist, addressing huge crowds of people and seeing thousands turning to Christ; but now I am very content to do the work of Judas and Silas — a work of encouragement and strengthening.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the work to which you have called me. Keep me true and faithful in carrying it out, and let it bear fruit for the kingdom. Amen.

Ready and Waiting

Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed. Revelation 16.15.

This cry from heaven is both a warning and a beatitude, and it is breaks out through a description of the terrible events that will take place on “the great day of God Almighty” mentioned in the previous verse. It is, of course, an echo of a warning that Jesus often sounded in his parables when he walked the earth.

In Matthew’s gospel, we hear Jesus saying: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into” (Matthew 24.42-43); and Paul takes up that theme in his letter to the Thessalonians: “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1Thessalonians 5.1-2).

The use of the “thief” simile in all three places carries one thought and one thought only and is the thought of the unexpectedness and speed with which that Day of the Lord will arrive and with which its events will unfold. There will be no time then to do what should be being done now.

When we move from the warning to the beatitude, the promise is that God will especially favour those who, on that Day, are not “caught napping” and “asleep on the job” but, on the contrary, are awake, dressed and watching.

But there may be another thought here too. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells the story of a king’s wedding but “when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.”Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ (Matthew 22.11-12). The man is speechless and is thrown out. The king’s wedding of Matthew becomes “the wedding supper of the Lamb” in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 19.19) and perhaps the thought of Christians making sure they “keep their clothes with them” in readiness for that marriage feast, is an echo of that parable too. If so, what does it mean?

Jesus was particularly fond of Isaiah 61 and quotes from it many times in the gospels; and there seems little doubt that when he told the story of the man without a wedding garment, he had in mind Isaiah 61.10: “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” It is the “robe” I talked about on Friday morning — see “The Dreamcoat”. It is the “white garment” that is spoken of again and again through the Book of Revelation. And the thought must be that Christians must be careful never to take off that robe of righteousness, those garments of salvation, which God has supplied. (In the middle east in those days, the groom provided his wedding guests with their wedding garments — they did not buy their own — which does, of course, make perfect sense of the parable.)

Lord Jesus, if you come today I pray that you will find me awake and watchful, and wearing the white robe of salvation you have given me. Amen.

The Dreamcoat

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. Genesis 37.3.

Israel is, of course, Jacob — who was given his new name, Israel, after his struggle with God at Peniel (Genesis 32.28) — and Joseph is his eldest son by his beloved wife Rachel who had long been infertile. Jacob had eleven other sons by his other wives, but he loved Joseph more than any of them and showed his great love for Joseph in making a special robe for him … now known across the world (thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber) as “Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”!

But was that what made it special? Was it indeed of “many colours” (KJV) … or did it merely “reach the soles of Joseph’s feet” (MKJV)? Or was it “elaborately embroidered” (The Message), or did it simply have “full sleeves” (GNB)? No one can be certain because the Hebrew word is simply the plural of pas which means the palm of the hand or the soul of the foot. But what we do know is that the same term is used to describe the royal robe that Tamar wore as a king’s daughter (2 Samuel 13.18) — which is probably why the NIV opts for “richly ornamented”.

At the end of the day, the features of the robe don’t matter at all, of course; because what really made the robe special was that it was a token of Jacob’s great love. And that leads me to think of another robe that was a token of a father’s love — the one put on the stooped, emaciated shoulders of the son who has come back from a far country in that unforgettable parable of Jesus that we call “the Prodigal Son”. “Father,” says the son, “I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the Father says “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him” (Luke 15.21-22).

This is the robe the Father puts on every returning son and daughter. It is a royal robe. It is the robe of righteousness (Philippians 3.9). And it is none other than Jesus himself, for when I put it on I clothe myself in Christ (Galatians 3.27).

King of kings, Majesty.
God of heaven living in me.
Gentle Saviour,
Closest Friend
Strong Deliverer,
Beginning and End.
All within me falls at your throne.

Your Majesty, I can but bow,
I lay my all before you now.
In royal robes I don’t deserve
I live to serve your Majesty.