More than a prophet

Matthew 11:9-10   Then what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  This is the one about whom it is written: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you” (NIV).

   God chose John the Baptist to be the prophet who would prepare people for the ministry of the Messiah.  God had the plan for him even before he was born, as was stated by Gabriel the angel, recorded in Luke 1:17.

   Yet why did God choose a man who would become an eccentric Levite to be the one to prepare people for the ministry of Jesus?  John the Baptist was in the lineage of Aaron, yet at age 30, plus or minus a few months, he was not serving in the temple like an Israelite priest should.

   God’s plan for the Messiah was a plan which few, if anyone, expected.  The plan had been foretold by the prophets Isaiah and Zechariah.  God’s plan was for Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for sins on a cross.  For such an unexpected ministry, God needed a unique and faithful servant.

   John was definitely unique.  Ministering out in the wilderness was totally unique, yet appropriate since the atoning sacrifice the Messiah was going to make would not be in the temple, rather it would be made outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

   And John was faithful to his calling.  Having the courage to tell people to repent was definitely rare, though fitting for a prophet.  John did.  And though John the Baptist had some doubts in prison, he remained faithful to God.  John had spoken against the sexual sin of Herod, who was committing adultery with his brother’s wife, along with other sins as Luke records in Luke 3:19-20.  John apparently stuck with his conviction, since the woman, Herodias, ended up getting Herod to murder John.

   John the Baptist’s unique ministry is a reminder to me of how each individual should approach ministry: Be yourself!  What matters is that you are showing and telling people the Gospel!  We all have different personalities.  We all have different gifts.  Mode does not matter, though it is wise to always have nice manners.  Sincerity is what matters.  In being a witness for Jesus, be yourself, and speak from your heart.

Hunter Irvine

Jesus is for real

Matthew 11: 2-6

   As a person who has recently struggled with much discouragement as a result of past hurts in churches, and unemployment, I am thankful Scripture records the discouragement of John the Baptist.  This was a lesson I needed to hear this week.

   We learn the Jesus freak hero who was the one who proclaimed Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (see John 1:29), started having doubts that Jesus is the Messiah.  His faith struggle seems natural to me considering John the Baptist went from the freedom of being in the great outdoors to being confined in a hot, dark, dingy, and stinky prison.  And he was probably hungry.  Even though Jesus was physically in the world, John’s circumstances were awful.  Experiencing despair, John questioned whether Jesus is the Messiah.

   I admire John the Baptist’s willingness to admit he may have made a mistake.  John had stated: “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34).  But then at a tragic time, in his heart he was unsure.  Yet he was smart to deal with his despair by following-up with Jesus to confirm the truth.

   And Jesus answered.

   My own personal story here in the period of over one and a half years of this worldwide pandemic: I have been unemployed and church homeless.  The synopsis: Worshiping God on many Sunday mornings in such an intimate One on one manner in my room has been awesome.  And after 30 years of “going to church,” such a long period of rest has been a blessing.  On the flip side, I have missed carrying out my ministry call on Sundays.  There have been times of terrible discouragement for me, including when visiting some churches.

   Yet God continues to heal me from past church hurts, and God keeps preparing me for my next ministry adventure!

   I offer two practical practices which are keys to anyone persevering in walking by faith in Christ:

   First, read Scripture daily.  Even if it is only one sentence.

   Our lives in this world are full of challenging and hurtful experiences.  Yet in Scripture, we learn the truth that Jesus was in the flesh here in the world, fully God and fully human.  We can listen to His teachings.  We can see His actions.  We can be encouraged by the truth that Jesus is for real, and that He loves us.

   For example, Jesus carried out miraculous healings for people who had diseases, as stated in Matthew 9:35, and as is shown by the witnesses of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  But with so many people sick with COVID for over one year and a half, Jesus has not been here physically to heal.  Yet I know in my heart that Jesus cares, and that He is offering spiritual healing to anyone right now at this time of worldwide trouble.

   And first and foremost, we learn that Jesus’ ministry in Israel for about three years was leading to His ultimate sacrifice on a cross to make salvation and eternal life available to all people.  Jesus died as the substitute for the consequence of sins, which is physical and spiritual death.  Because of the love of Jesus, physical death in this world is not the end for anyone who gives her or his heart to Him.

   Also, we need to stay rooted in Scripture to keep gaining guidance and encouragement from God to live the life Jesus is calling us to live.  Loving God and loving people is what we were meant to do.  For example, since Jesus cared when people were sick, we should also!  Years before the pandemic, it was my conviction some church leaders did a poor job of promoting good health in churches.  I have known ministers who served on a Sunday, including serving Communion, when sick.  Often this was due to a failure to recognize church work as team work.  We should repent of our past mistakes.  We Christians should lead the way when it comes to repentance.

   Relying on Scripture for an entire lifetime in this world, we can continue to read with our own eyes or hear with our own ears, the teachings and the actions of Jesus our Savior and Lord.

   Second, pray daily.  Again, being physically separated from Jesus who has ascended to heaven, we can still talk with Him in spirit through the Spirit of Christ.  You can talk to God anytime you want.  How incredible!

   May we be encouraged by this Scripture which reveals even the great John the Baptist doubted the identity of Jesus when suffering in a prison cell.  Yet Jesus gave him reason to persevere in faith!

Hunter Irvine

Locusts and wild honey

   Embedded in a passage I examined last January, there is the well-known statement about John the Baptist: “…His food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4).  This has negatively impacted his reputation for many years.  Yet this man, who was in the lineage of Aaron, the first Levite priest and the brother of Moses, is a neglected biblical hero.  His asceticism, which means making extreme sacrifices in day to day living to be closer with God, has long seemed to make some people uncomfortable.  I have been a Christian for over 31 years, and in all of the church services I have ever attended, John the Baptist has rarely even been mentioned.  The greatest attention focused on John the Baptist during my Christian journey came from one of the most popular rock songs of my generation, “Jesus Freak,” by the music trio dcTalk back in the mid-1990’s.  Spotlighting this biblical martyr added to the radical attraction to the long neglected messages which were offered on that pioneer album.

   Talking with a friend last Sunday evening, he started talking about eating bugs.  My friend has a Ph.D. from Cornell University, he is a computer expert, and he has an interest in the sciences.  Recently he was watching a science program which was discussing the advantages of people eating bugs for a more sustainable planet and for better health.  Following up with some research of my own, I learned much.  First, insects add nutrition to the diet for many people on our planet in certain regions of the world.  Second, I learned locusts are basically grasshoppers who swarm.  Locusts eat leaves and certain vegetation, thus a swarm of them can destroy certain crops.  I add that cicadas are not from the same insect “order,” and they eat tree sap and do not swarm.  For John the Baptist’s diet, the more appropriate translation may be “grasshoppers” if he was eating them year after year.  The bottom line is John the Baptist may have been ahead of his time.  You may be interested in reading this short article from 2013 in the Smithsonian Magazine: “People in Israel Really Are Eating Swarming Locusts.”

   Once I briefly considered eating a grasshopper, saturated in honey, in front of a youth group, thinking my feat might help attract some newcomers to youth group.  But that moment is gone.  Yet what we are going to find out early on in Matthew 11 is the fact that John the Baptist, Jesus freak hero, was also human.

Hunter Irvine

The mission of Jesus

Matthew 11:1 states: “After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee” (NIV).

   Matthew states the early aspect of the mission of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4:23: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”

   Matthew repeated this mission, as recorded in Matthew 9:35: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”

   Then as recorded in Matthew 10:7-8, Matthew tells how Jesus sent His twelve apostles to carry out the same mission.  They were called and enabled to do what Jesus had been doing, which was teaching, preaching, and healing.

   Now the instructions Jesus gave the apostles made it clear they were embarking on an adventure which would be filled with trouble.  Jesus even said they would be hated (Matthew 10:22).  Jesus even states their lives would be in danger!  Yet He still encouraged them to carry out the mission: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in h-ll” (Matthew 10:27-28).

   Then after Jesus sends them on an epic adventure, what does He do?  Jesus continues on with His mission, as is stated in Matthew 11:1.  Jesus led by example.

   Teaching and preaching about Jesus may not seem the wisest priority in this world, yet it is, being the most loving priority in this world, because people without Jesus are headed for the destruction which is the result of sin.  Sin always has bad consequences, and the ultimate bad consequence is spiritual death.  Yet Jesus, who is good, offers eternal life.  The ultimate mission of Jesus: Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the atoning sacrifice for the consequence of sins.  Then He was resurrected.

   Jesus said: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).  For those who receive Jesus, and thus are transformed, we gain the desire to acknowledge Jesus before people.

   I am grateful I have been forgiven of my sins and united with our loving God.  I want other people to receive the gift Jesus is offering to them so they will be saved and be headed to heaven.  Heaven is offered by Jesus, the One who made the sacrifice on the cross.  If you are not a follower of Jesus, you can be today.  You can receive His gift today.  All you need to do is believe in Jesus.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

The Unseen Revealed

2 Corinthians 4:18     So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (NIV).

   This statement seems illogical.  If you cannot see something, how can you trust whether it even exists, let alone whether it is good or whether it will last forever?  And even if you can create a dim vision of something you have not seen or experienced, it could be merely a fantasy.

   Now what we people see is under what many would call “natural law.”  The Bible reveals God is superior to “natural law,” rather than being confined by it.  God can overcome “natural law.”  When this is done, we often term it “supernatural” or “miracles.”  And miracles bring our focus on the unseen.

   God, who is unseen to us, has revealed Himself to people ever since the separation between God and people.  Before the time of Christ, God interacted with humanity, including doing miracles.  For example, the Hebrew people were miraculously given bread by God for forty years in a desert region!  This bread from God was unique, which is why the Israelites named it manna, which means, “What is it?”  The description: “It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31).  This was only one of many miracles God did for the Israelites!

   Yet miracles seen and experienced by the Hebrew people were exceptional.  And all of us humans are physical beings in this world of matter, and focusing our minds on the “unseen” can seem ridiculous.

   Yet then the Messiah came!  “Immanuel,” which means God with us, entered the world on our level.  Jesus, being fully God and fully human, could be seen, heard, and touched.  And when Jesus started His ministry, He did miracles which were seen, heard, and felt.  For those who experienced the miracles, they were known!  John 1:18 states: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”  And revealing Himself with miracles was simply a part of His ultimate mission to become the sacrificial atonement on the cross.

   A revelation from Jesus: “God is spirit…” (John 4:24), thus He is of a different substance than what the human eye can detect.  Yet since we people were made in the image of God, as is revealed in Genesis, we can realize we have a core of ourselves which is unseen.  Thanks to the reconciliation which God made possible since Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins, we can now know the love of God in our “hearts.”  We can know in our minds and “hearts” the reality of the invisible God, because Jesus has revealed God to us!

   Suffering so much unemployment during this pandemic, I wondered if God was going to call me to something other than my passion of vocational ministry.  Since ministry work, title or no title, has been a way of life for me for so long, it seemed odd when I considered it would be easier to do a job where you could frequently see the results of your work.  It would be easier to deal with what is under “natural law.”  But easier does not mean better.  When I do ministry work, I know in my heart I am doing work which is making an eternal difference.  And if you are a follower of Jesus, as you witness Jesus by your life and in your life, you are making an eternal difference.

Hunter Irvine

I love Jesus

   Regarding being all out romantically in love, I was in love once.  She married someone else.  It still hurts.  Yet I pray for her sometimes, since to truly love people is to want the best for her or him.  Now if I am ever blessed to romantically fall in love again and get married, I know I will tell everyone I know: “I am in love!”  I will probably tell some people I do not know.  And I am quite certain she will dominate my screen saver.

   Regarding my true love which I have had for over 31 years, I now consider the fact that in my heart this entire time I have wanted to tell the world I am in love with Jesus.  Usually there has been a purpose in telling others about Jesus: I want others to likewise receive the true love of Jesus, which is offered to everyone, and gain the eternal life and goodness which results from receiving His love.  Yet even in addition to wanting others to be in a true loving relationship with the Lord God Almighty, sometimes I express to someone that I love Jesus simply because I am in love.  I think expressing your heart is a natural need.

   Here in 2021, I have engaged in an unusual expression of my heart.  Though I had a mask in 2020 which really fit and which was very protective, I remained on a long search for a mask which genuinely expressed me, and which I thought was classy.  To me, covering up my face is personal, since your face is what first identifies you to most people.  After a long search, last winter I bought a mask online which states: Jesus loves you, with “love” expressed by the symbol of a heart.  It became my go-to mask.

   Now I was not expecting mask compliments, yet I have had many.  Students at school sporting events, two cashiers, a security guard, a fellow customer in a store, and two stocking clerks.  Comprising of a variety of ethnic groups, the one cashier was a woman from India.  I was encouraged by each and every compliment!  But even if weird looks is all I ever got, I would wear the mask because being in love with Jesus is my life.  We human beings, who are made in the image of God, need true love for life.  And I live by the love of Jesus!

   Being in love with Jesus, there are still numerous hardships.  In this world where there was a separation between God and people, there are countless wrongdoings and hurts.  Even we Christians still sin.  We need to be grateful that we have the forgiveness of our sins, which would have otherwise resulted in spiritual death.  And we can be thankful God keeps improving us.  Yet the journey is still full of many hardships.  In following Jesus for over 31 years, I have had consistent rough times.  Yet what has remained has been His true love.

   If you love Jesus you do not need to go out and get a mask like mine, or a t-shirt, or a bumper sticker.  Rather express your love for Jesus in a manner fitting for you, which includes actions.  Yet saying “I love You” is always a good thing.  May I encourage you this very day, when you have a moment of time all alone, to tell Jesus, “I love You.”

   And know that Jesus loves you.

Hunter Irvine

Preach Heaven

Matthew 10:7-10 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep” (NIV).

   Jesus made it totally clear the apostles were to be completely dependent on God as they embarked on their ministry mission to the Israelites.  They were to do what Jesus had been doing, thus they needed to completely rely on Him.

   Jesus said, “…Freely you have received, freely give” (10:8).  They themselves had received the message of Jesus.  They themselves had received His love.  They were sent out to do for others what He had done for them.  In fact, the word apostle means “sent out.”

   Verses 9 and 10 sure do show their need to be completely dependent on Him.  This was not a permanent standard for disciples of Christ for all ages.  This was a unique apostolic “short term” mission adventure, which truly required the apostles to trust Him.

   I think this order applied for the Twelve only for this one occasion.  I do not know for sure.  I have studied the ministry of the apostles extensively, and I think they had provisions years later as they embarked on ministry work to people of the world, a number of whom were not even anticipating the Messiah.

   All Twelve, counting the replacement for Judas, did ministry work until physical death.  Most traveled into foreign countries and territories.  For many, they went to multiple countries at first, and then settled into a foreign country for the long haul.  Some of the apostles had families.  For example, Eusebius quotes Clement of Alexandria regarding Philip being married and having daughters.  Eusebius goes on to quote Polycrates: “Philip, one of the twelve apostles who sleeps in Hierapolis, and his two aged virgin daughters.  Another of his daughters, who lived in the Holy Spirit, rests at Ephesus.” [1]  (Note that Polycrates contradicts Clement of Alexandria, since Clement said all of Philip’s daughters were married.  Yet the agreement is on the fact Philip was married with daughters.)

   However, considering the phenomenal accomplishments by the apostles, there is no question they traveled light!  We are not talking large camel caravans here.  And there is still a lesson in this unique command to the apostles for us today.  The lesson: the less stuff the better.

   One of many blessings of a job I had years ago as a student assistant at the Colorado Christian University Library was I got to talk a bit with the great students of CCU.  Once when checking out books for a student, we started talking about dorm living, and in the midst of the conversation she said, “We all have stuff.”  The manner in which she stated the obvious was a fresh reminder that “stuff” needs to be accepted.  Yet “stuff” also needs to be controlled.

   One of my three favorite quotes from Chuck Swindoll when listening to him on the radio years ago: “There is nothing wrong with owning possessions, so long as they are not possessing you.”  How true.

   I conclude by giving the illustration of what has happened to me ever since I entered my vocational ministry calling.  Since packing up my possessions into a moving truck in the spring of 1997 to drive over two thousand miles to begin a position as a youth pastor, I have given away, recycled, or thrown away much stuff of which I personally had no previous intention of parting with.  I have had to move many times in my ministry calling, and each move created a need to give away more stuff.  My last ministry move involved fitting everything I own, literally, into one car.  I now have a fraction of the stuff I had twenty-four years ago.

   Often, I did not want to part with certain possessions.  However, after doing so I was often glad, and even grateful, I no longer had a number of those possessions I gave away.  Regarding some of the other possessions, it was painful to give them away!  However, it was a life-long lesson to me of the fact that possessions in this world are temporary.

   Preparation is key to succeeding at anything, and preparation to do ministry work requires having certain physical provisions.  However, preparation for ministry work usually also involves being more mobile, thus getting rid of more stuff than you originally considered.  When a Scout, the Friday before a backpacking trip, we would have what we Scouts called a “shake down.”  If you follow Jesus, get prepared for a “shake down,” even if your mission involves staying right where you are.

   The lesson I think Jesus was teaching His apostles, and a lesson He wants us to get from their incredible mission adventure: Be dependent on Him, not your temporary possessions.

   Remain focused on Jesus in heaven.  Always remember what Jesus had His apostles preach during His three years of ministry work here on earth: “The kingdom of heaven is near” (7).

Hunter Irvine

[1] Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, 

trans. C.F. Cruse 

(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 95-96.