Not Worthy - The Most Important Lesson
Our world is fixated on status. Whether that be a positional authority in a job, being the man of the house, having the most money, the most possessions, or being the smartest. We are constantly taught we must provide worth. As Messianic believers, we often differentiate ourselves from other denominations of either Christianity or Judaism. We often count ourselves worthier of God’s favor than our traditional Christians by our obedience to the commandments, or when it comes to Judaism, the fact we have professed Jesus is the Messiah. What does the Bible actually say about who is worthy and who is not? Are the ones we call holy actually worthier than the ones that we believe are the scums of this life?
Old Testament Examples-
- Genesis 1-3. Well, that didn’t take long. The perfectly created male and female almost immediately enter into lust, greed, and deception. Then when caught they instantly blame another. They didn’t confess their sins as John later tells us. They turned on one another.
- Genesis 4 shows us Cain murders Able.
- Genesis 6 tells us Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord
- Yet Genesis 9 tells us Noah became blackout drunk and that one of His sons saw his nakedness or shame.
- Genesis 12 tells us that God chose Abraham. He was going to bless him. So that automatically implies God favored Abraham. There was something about him that pleased God.
- Genesis 12 and 13 also show us that Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife. Could it be that he lacked faith? That the potential fear of his immediate circumstances weighed higher than his faith in the Lord’s promises?
- Yet in Genesis 17 and 18 both Abraham and his wife laughed at God’s promise. This could have been a normal instinctive laugh but we simply can’t imply their intent. Could it be that their response was a lack of faith?
- Exodus 2 tells the story of Moses and his murdering of an Egyptian
- Number 20 shows us in anger Moses strikes a rock in defiance of the Lord’s instruction to speak to the rock for water.
TO THIS POINT WE HAVE HAD:
Murder
Lust
Drunkenness
Lying
Greed
Lack of Faith
Fear
Anger leading to defiance
Then enter David….. the most highly regarded King of Israel even to this day. The one who wrote 73 of the Psalms that we like to reference back for music. David is considered a stud of all studs. He would be a four-year Heisman Trophy winner. He was the original OG.
- 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Kings paint David’s life. The Bible clearly shows David as a foreshadow of Messiah. He had found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Yet in all of David’s wonderful accolades, David’s shortcomings are seldom talked about the same way his triumphs are.
David committed adultery and fathered a child with a married woman. David then instructed Joab to make sure her husband was killed in battle. (Murder). David then married her after her husband was killed even though David was already married. He used his position of power to influence a woman to sin, he himself entered into sin, then killed her husband, murder, then lied to try to play it all off. David’s lust for power, sex, and evil overtook the standing he had with the Lord. If David was alive today he would be canceled quicker than Uncle Ben’s rice…….
But wait here comes Jesus…..
The Disciples During Jesus’ Ministry-
- We see in Luke Chapter 22 that during the Last supper they begin to argue over who is greater among them. (pride) (ego)
- At the same time we know that Judas had already plotted to betray Jesus (greed) (betrayal) (murder)
- The books of Matthew and Luke document Peter’s denial of Jesus even to a child. (betrayal, lying, fear)
- Acts 22 Paul tells us he murdered believers. He actively worked to imprison them (murder, deception)
- John 20 tells us Thomas doubted the reports of the others that Jesus had resurrected. He chose to believe his own eyes over the testimony of his friends.
- The closest people, the students of the Teacher still found themselves wrestling the flesh verses the calling of the Lord.
Who is worthier? Who are smarter? Who holds the knowledge we should all attempt to attain? Is it the Evangelicals? The Catholics? The Pentecostals? What about any of the Denominations in Judaism? Could it be the Temple Scholar? Or the New Testament Professor? It certainly couldn’t be Joel Osteen. But what about Messianic believers? Did you know? We are the remnant?
The worth we assign to ourselves to elevate our status over another is only self-worth. The Bible is full of men who at one time found favor in the eyes of the Lord, and yet acted in the same ways as those who didn’t find favor in the eyes of the Lord. While it is true that some of the men we have already talked about acted in ways that weren’t becoming.
The Bible also tells us of many examples of those who walked in humility. Ones who humbled up and made corrections. Paul is the perfect example. A man who killed believers and yet had a transformation. David, yes in the later years of his life he became far from the example of Godly living. In the early years of his life, he was rich with following the heart of God. Joseph, Esther, and many more all show us examples of walking in the humility we should all see.
Your worth to the Lord is the same as those who haven’t called him Master yet because God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. If we truly want to find worth we must lift high Jesus the only one who is worthy.
The resurrection of Jesus led the disciples towards a new path. On that was leading them towards the events that took place on Pentecost 50 days later. One that allowed them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. One that led them to adjust their walk and walk in the boldness of Jesus. It is that transformation that ultimately got them killed. Their shortcomings, their lack of worthiness in their flesh was replaced by the Holy Spirit manifesting itself inside of them.
As we continue to count towards Pentecost let us be like the disciples and look for that transformation in each and every one of our lives. One that will minimize our flesh and replace our own shortcomings with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit living in and through us. Then and only then will we see the real mission of Jesus and our calling in that mission.