The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few… Jesus said it, I know. Yet, I do not believe it and neither should you. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This verse of Scripture is like so many others; it has been preached so much, and repeated so often that its truth becomes distorted through overuse. The Harvest IS NOT plentiful and there is now an abundance of workers to finish the job. Therein lies the problem.
Over the years, Luke 10:2 has been inappropriately used as motivation to get the church busy winning souls. I believe that the idea has been that if there was an overwhelming need, and few to accomplish it, then people would be motivated to get involved. The problem with this is two-fold. First, it simply is an incorrect application of this verse, which I will get to in a moment. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it puts the emphasis on the wrong thing.
In order to properly understand “the harvest in plentiful”, we must look first to Romans 11:25. This verse changes everything. … Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. Full number… Read it again… the full number... has come in. There is a finite number of non-Jewish people that are going to be saved. That number, which is known only to God, is a fixed number. I don’t know what it is, and neither does anyone else. From the moment that those first believers were saved in Acts chapter two, the Lord has been adding (2:47) to the number being saved… or in another way of understanding this process, the Lord has been subtracting from the “full number” of Roman 11:25.
Logic demands that as we approach the Day when the harvest is completed, the amount remaining to yet be brought in will get smaller and smaller. Imagine with me for just a moment that today was the last day for the harvest. I’m not suggesting that it is, but pretend with me for a moment that it is. Now, let’s pick a number… any number will do… How many do you think will be saved on that Last Day? 10,000? 5,000? 500? I don’t care what number you pick. All I care about is that this number will, throughout that Last Day, get smaller and smaller as the day continues. Let’s pretend that there was only one hour remaining. How many will be saved in the final hour? Again, we don’t know. But, what we do know in that it is a finite number. How many in the last minute? Where do they live? Who will be the final person saved? What is their name?
The first person to be saved in all of Asia was a man named Epenetus - Romans 16:5. We know the name of the first, but not the last. Just think of it: What is the name of the last person to be saved? George? Caresse? Hamal? Waseme? Phuong? Amanda? The Lord knew better than to tell us the name of the last person to be saved. If He had done so, we would have avoided all the rest. What if the Bible said that the last person to be saved would be named Fred… think about the results. All effort would be put into finding Fred and everyone else would be ignored.
When Jesus spoke the words recorded in Luke 10:2, he was obviously speaking the truth. However, Jesus NEVER said the harvest would remain plentiful continually. That’s absurd and illogical. The harvest is being diminished dramatically even as you read this sentence. And that brings me to the second problem associated with the historic incorrect application of this verse: the emphasis is misplaced.
If we treat this verse in the historical fashion, believing that the harvest is huge, then the emphasis is upon how a few Christians are reaching such a large contingent of unsaved persons. Whereas the emphasis should be placed directly upon the fact that the number is getting smaller and smaller and we need EVERYONE to be looking for the “needle in the haystack”, for it is going to get harder and harder to find that last person to be saved. Instead of a few reaching a multitude, it should be a multitude reaching a few.
Years ago, my niece, Teresa, went on a “missions” trip to one of the Caribbean islands. She returned very disappointed. She went believing she would find the huge harvest field of which she had heard so much about. What she found was an island filled with people “who were either already saved, or could give you a dozen reasons why they didn’t want to be” - those were her words, not mine.
I believe that as we get closer and closer to the Last day, the circumstance faced by my niece will be the normal situation for us all. That is why we need each and every Christian involved in the hunt; not just a few special missionaries sent to far off lands. Finding that last person will not be easy. Actually, the Lord’s plan was brilliant. In the beginning the Harvest was indeed plentiful and the need for more workers / believers to be increased was critical. However, today, with the full number being closer and closer to being reached, we need each of every one of the multitude of Christians sitting comfortably in churches around the globe to be searching, digging, looking, for that last soul that will say, “Yes!” Think of how quickly we could bring this dispensation of Grace to a conclusion if everyone was busy looking for the last person to saved.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
CLEANING OFF GRAVE SPIT: Was Jonah dead or alive in the belly of the whale?
Contrary to popular opinion: Jonah was dead… that’s right… Jonah was dead in the belly of that huge fish. Jonah was fish food… plain and simple. There is absolutely not one verse of scripture to indicate otherwise. Oh, I know that Jonah 2:1 says that Jonah prayed from inside the fish. I have no doubt that this is true. The last verse of chapter two provides for us the end of that ugly, nasty, repulsive chapter of Jo
nah’s experience. That fish puked Jonah out of his gullet onto the waiting sands of a nearby beach.
However, there is not one word between the conclusion of Jonah’s prayer and the gastric convulsions that conclude chapter two to suggest that Jonah remained alive. As a matter of fact there are three and only three possible truths related to this matter, and none of them are that Jonah remained alive while in the stomach of that fish. Either Jonah was dead, or Jesus was a liar, or Jesus was alive for three days and nights in the grave. Since we know that the last two options are unacceptable, only the first option remains. Jesus himself tells us that Jonah was dead. So why are we so willing to believe he was alive?
I know what you’re thinking: Here I go again, the Unrepentant Antagonist is at it again… picking an unnecessary fight. But you’re wrong. I’m not picking a fight. And my concern is not driven by some carnal joy in antagonizing the innocent. This truth, that Jonah was dead, is absolutely essential.
Several years ago I was doing a study on the death of Jesus. I would spend over two years reading, researching, talking with Physicians and conferring with Professors. Hours and hours were spent following every path of inquiry that presented itself. My initial goal was to try to understand the sequence and timing of the events surrounding the crucifixion. Many tangential truths would come to light during this research. The fact that Jonah died and was resurrected is one of those truths.
The most convincing pieces of evidence in the matter are the very words of Jesus. While speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” As Jonah was… so the Son of Man will be. Now, I can obviously see that Jesus was emphasizing the issue of “three days and night”; however, we should not conclude that the comparison is limited only to that. Logic would demand that if “For as Jonah was… so the Son of Man will be” is true, then “As the Son of Man was… so was Jonah”. If A=B, then B=A. Jesus was dead for three days and three nights. Jonah likewise was dead for three days and three nights.
Why is this important? Please let me continue.
During my research, I one day happened to be at my Physician, Dr. Myron’s office for a routine medical matter. Before Dr. Myron left the room, I asked if he had an extra moment for a question. He gladly obliged me. “Consider a dead body, embalmed by the normal procedures utilized by Middle Eastern cultures 2000 years ago. What would that body look like 72 hours after internment in an above ground tomb?” He gave me an odd look, and asked if he could have time to think about it. Of course, I agreed.
Several months later, very late one evening, my phone at home rang. It was the switchboard of the Jay County Memorial Hospital. The operator asked if I could hold for Dr. Myron. My first thoughts were that someone from our Church had some urgent need. However, I thought it odd that Dr. Myron would contact me by phone, if that was the case. When he came on the line, he asked, “You probably thought that I forgot your question, didn’t you? But, I didn’t. You were referring to Jesus, weren’t you?” He was right. I had concluded that he was probably too busy to mess with my question about the medical details of ancient burials. He then went on to tell me in graphic detail what the body of Jesus should have looked like after three days and three nights in a dark, dank above ground tomb. It would not have been a pretty sight. Bloated beyond recognition… the stench of rotting flesh… it would have been very nasty indeed.
Immediately upon death, the body begins to release chemicals throughout the flesh and tissues that are intended to do one thing: digest that body. In order that we can avoid watching the repulsive ugliness associated with a decaying human body, we put it someplace secluded. Sometimes we bury it below ground, sometimes behind granite walls. Sometimes we hasten the process by fire. Other times with the body weighted and shrouded we send it to the ocean depths. No matter what process we use to put that dead body out of sight… it shall decay.
Immediately upon food entering the mouth, a complex chemical process begins which is intended to do one thing: digest that food. Just the mere mention of food causes our saliva glands to get excited. My guess is that just reading the last two sentences about food has caused your very own saliva glands to begin to secrete those digestive juices.
What happens to food that your body refuses to digest? Why do you think that we feed the sick food that is easy to digest? What happens if we give a sick person a big steak dinner with all the trimmings? We finish it off with a generous helping of a rich dessert. What’s going to happen? What the stomach can’t digest, it regurgitates. Yes?
That poor fish had no idea what a terrible case of indigestion Jonah was going to cause. For three days and three nights the gastric juices and muscular machinations of that great fish tried its best to digest the body of Jonah. Yet, the forces of biology worked their chemical magic in vain. The body of that dead would be preacher just wouldn’t submit. After the worst 72 hour belly ache that fish had ever known, enough was enough; a dead body, undamaged and unaffected by the powers and the laws of death, was expelled from its gastric tomb.
The Bible doesn’t tell us when Jonah was imbued with resurrection power, but I kind of like to imagine that it was sometime just after all of those nasty acids and fish spit were being washed off. Just as Lazarus was covered with grave clothes so too was Jonah covered with grave spit. A clean but still drenched Jonah breaths again for the first time in 72 hours, sets up on the beach and looks around wondering, “How did I get here?!”
For three days and three nights the grave tried to digest the body of Jesus… but it could not. This is a fact that was prophesied by David in Psalm 16 - Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. Likewise it was an important part of the preaching of the Apostles - Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay; Acts 2:24-31. Also: For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay; Acts 13:36
Just as the grave vomited a once dead but now living Jesus out through its solid stone mouth, so too did that providential fish rid itself of a meal that it could not digest, and a once dead but now living Jonah was awakened to life on the shores of the sea. God is in the resurrection business. Why do we find it necessary to diminish the miracle of a resurrected Jonah by suggesting that through some odd fluke of nature Jonah was able to survive alive inside of the digestive tract of a fish? To do so would be the same as to suggest that Jesus never died but was rather trapped alive inside a cavern tomb.
Jonah was dead….
nah’s experience. That fish puked Jonah out of his gullet onto the waiting sands of a nearby beach.However, there is not one word between the conclusion of Jonah’s prayer and the gastric convulsions that conclude chapter two to suggest that Jonah remained alive. As a matter of fact there are three and only three possible truths related to this matter, and none of them are that Jonah remained alive while in the stomach of that fish. Either Jonah was dead, or Jesus was a liar, or Jesus was alive for three days and nights in the grave. Since we know that the last two options are unacceptable, only the first option remains. Jesus himself tells us that Jonah was dead. So why are we so willing to believe he was alive?
I know what you’re thinking: Here I go again, the Unrepentant Antagonist is at it again… picking an unnecessary fight. But you’re wrong. I’m not picking a fight. And my concern is not driven by some carnal joy in antagonizing the innocent. This truth, that Jonah was dead, is absolutely essential.
Several years ago I was doing a study on the death of Jesus. I would spend over two years reading, researching, talking with Physicians and conferring with Professors. Hours and hours were spent following every path of inquiry that presented itself. My initial goal was to try to understand the sequence and timing of the events surrounding the crucifixion. Many tangential truths would come to light during this research. The fact that Jonah died and was resurrected is one of those truths.
The most convincing pieces of evidence in the matter are the very words of Jesus. While speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” As Jonah was… so the Son of Man will be. Now, I can obviously see that Jesus was emphasizing the issue of “three days and night”; however, we should not conclude that the comparison is limited only to that. Logic would demand that if “For as Jonah was… so the Son of Man will be” is true, then “As the Son of Man was… so was Jonah”. If A=B, then B=A. Jesus was dead for three days and three nights. Jonah likewise was dead for three days and three nights.
Why is this important? Please let me continue.
During my research, I one day happened to be at my Physician, Dr. Myron’s office for a routine medical matter. Before Dr. Myron left the room, I asked if he had an extra moment for a question. He gladly obliged me. “Consider a dead body, embalmed by the normal procedures utilized by Middle Eastern cultures 2000 years ago. What would that body look like 72 hours after internment in an above ground tomb?” He gave me an odd look, and asked if he could have time to think about it. Of course, I agreed.
Several months later, very late one evening, my phone at home rang. It was the switchboard of the Jay County Memorial Hospital. The operator asked if I could hold for Dr. Myron. My first thoughts were that someone from our Church had some urgent need. However, I thought it odd that Dr. Myron would contact me by phone, if that was the case. When he came on the line, he asked, “You probably thought that I forgot your question, didn’t you? But, I didn’t. You were referring to Jesus, weren’t you?” He was right. I had concluded that he was probably too busy to mess with my question about the medical details of ancient burials. He then went on to tell me in graphic detail what the body of Jesus should have looked like after three days and three nights in a dark, dank above ground tomb. It would not have been a pretty sight. Bloated beyond recognition… the stench of rotting flesh… it would have been very nasty indeed.
Immediately upon death, the body begins to release chemicals throughout the flesh and tissues that are intended to do one thing: digest that body. In order that we can avoid watching the repulsive ugliness associated with a decaying human body, we put it someplace secluded. Sometimes we bury it below ground, sometimes behind granite walls. Sometimes we hasten the process by fire. Other times with the body weighted and shrouded we send it to the ocean depths. No matter what process we use to put that dead body out of sight… it shall decay.
Immediately upon food entering the mouth, a complex chemical process begins which is intended to do one thing: digest that food. Just the mere mention of food causes our saliva glands to get excited. My guess is that just reading the last two sentences about food has caused your very own saliva glands to begin to secrete those digestive juices.
What happens to food that your body refuses to digest? Why do you think that we feed the sick food that is easy to digest? What happens if we give a sick person a big steak dinner with all the trimmings? We finish it off with a generous helping of a rich dessert. What’s going to happen? What the stomach can’t digest, it regurgitates. Yes?
That poor fish had no idea what a terrible case of indigestion Jonah was going to cause. For three days and three nights the gastric juices and muscular machinations of that great fish tried its best to digest the body of Jonah. Yet, the forces of biology worked their chemical magic in vain. The body of that dead would be preacher just wouldn’t submit. After the worst 72 hour belly ache that fish had ever known, enough was enough; a dead body, undamaged and unaffected by the powers and the laws of death, was expelled from its gastric tomb.
The Bible doesn’t tell us when Jonah was imbued with resurrection power, but I kind of like to imagine that it was sometime just after all of those nasty acids and fish spit were being washed off. Just as Lazarus was covered with grave clothes so too was Jonah covered with grave spit. A clean but still drenched Jonah breaths again for the first time in 72 hours, sets up on the beach and looks around wondering, “How did I get here?!”
For three days and three nights the grave tried to digest the body of Jesus… but it could not. This is a fact that was prophesied by David in Psalm 16 - Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. Likewise it was an important part of the preaching of the Apostles - Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay; Acts 2:24-31. Also: For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay; Acts 13:36
Just as the grave vomited a once dead but now living Jesus out through its solid stone mouth, so too did that providential fish rid itself of a meal that it could not digest, and a once dead but now living Jonah was awakened to life on the shores of the sea. God is in the resurrection business. Why do we find it necessary to diminish the miracle of a resurrected Jonah by suggesting that through some odd fluke of nature Jonah was able to survive alive inside of the digestive tract of a fish? To do so would be the same as to suggest that Jesus never died but was rather trapped alive inside a cavern tomb.
Jonah was dead….
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