They Said The Darnedest Things

One of my coworkers recently told me a cute story about her 3-year-old grandson. He was trying to explain to her how to operate his portable DVD player. I know, he's only 3 and some of you are wondering what he's doing with a DVD player at that age. Anyway, he points to the play button and tells his grandma that this is the one to push to make it go. He then points to another button, the pause button, and tells her that this is the one to push if you have to go pee. Kids indeed say the darnedest things.

On a more serious note, I have noticed that some of the most profound things said in the New Testament were said by the likes of temple guards, a Roman centurion, a Pharisee and a Roman governor. I think we can be encouraged in our faith by the things that these men said and would like to look at four specific instances where I believe this can be seen.

In John Chapter 7, we find that in response to His powerful teaching, the Pharisees and chief priests had sent temple guards to arrest Jesus. When these Jewish officers find Jesus, they also have the opportunity to hear him speak and fail to arrest Him. When they return to the chief priests and Pharisees, they are asked why they have not brought Him to them. Their reply is worth some thought. They answer, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks". They had no idea of the depth of what they were saying. Never had they heard the man speak who was the radiance of the glory of God, the exact representation of His nature. Never had they heard the One speak who was both meekness and Majesty, manhood and Deity. They were hearing the One who had stepped out of heaven and partook of flesh and blood. Never had they heard the One who had not spoken on His own initiative but had spoken the words of His Father. There was no sin in His life to effect the things that He said. It was actually true of everyone who had ever heard Him speak; they had never heard a man speak the way this man spoke.

The next statement I want to consider was made on Calvary, very near the cross where Jesus was being crucified. In fact, the Roman centurion who was overseeing His crucifixion is the one we find making it. In Mark 15:39 we read that "When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" Indeed, He was the Son of God but in this case I want to look at the profound reason given for why the centurion said what he did. It was the way Jesus breathed His last breath that caught his attention. The centurion had undoubtedly officiated over other crucifixions. It is apparent from the context, that from prior experience, he was familiar with how men breathed their last breath. So what had he seen here? What was the difference as he watched Jesus take His last breath? I would suggest the following explanations. He had never seen a man voluntarily breath his last breath as Jesus had. He had never seen a man give or yield up His spirit; someone who had authority to lay down His life and take it up again. And certainly, he had never seen a man die who had never committed an act of sin; One who had instead, bore the sins of the world upon Himself. The observation made by the centurion represents one of the greatest truths of our faith; never had a man and never again would there be a man who breathed his last like Jesus did.

In Acts Chapter 5, we find that the apostles had been arrested and brought before the Jewish Council for preaching Jesus. Some of the Council wished to kill them as they had already, on a previous occasion, given them strict orders to stop teaching in the name of Jesus. But we find God intervening through a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man who was also described as a teacher of the Law and one who was respected by all the people. Gamaliel provides this profound advise to the Council. "So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God." Wow! Shouldn't our confidence in this great truth about our God be the same or greater than this wise Pharisee? Here we are 2000 years later and "this plan or action" has not been overthrown. Praise the Lord! The Way, Christianity is not of men but of God. All who fight against His Church and the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ fight against Him. Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans; "If God is for us, who is against us?"

The last statement I would like to consider is one that we find in the 25th Chapter of the the Book of Acts. Although it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite of these four examples, I especially appreciate this one. The Apostle Paul has been held in custody for over two years by Governors Felix and Festus, as both had done so, in part, as a favor to the Jews. While appearing before Festus, Paul had appealed his case to Caesar, but before sending him on, Festus presents the case to King Agrippa. He explains to Agrippa that he found Paul guilty of nothing, but that the Jews "simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive." The truth in this statement made by Festus is tremendous. Consider for a moment the countless number of men who have returned to the dust of the earth following their death. From Adam on, the earth has received back to itself the mortal remains of millions upon millions of men, women and children who have died. But our hope is found in a "certain dead man", one particular dead man who is no longer dead but alive! He is the One who has ascended to the Father and is seated at His right hand. Our High Priest who lives forever to make intercession for us. The One who conquered death. The One who's resurrection allows us to shout out, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" And yes, this "certain dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive" is coming again. Praise the Lord!

Yes, we serve an awesome God who accomplishes His perfect will in ways that should cause us to marvel. From beginning to end, the Bible is full of examples of the unique ways that God has chosen to work in and through the lives of men. We will need to spend the rest of our lifetimes reading His word and seeing Him work in our lives and the lives of others in order for us to gain a greater awareness of the unfathomable riches of His person. The beloved Apostle John closed his Gospel with words that describe this thought when he wrote; "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written." I suppose not.

Father, truly no one has ever spoken as Jesus spoke. No one has ever breathed his last, as Jesus did when giving His life. Our faith is not of men but of You and all who stand against Your Church and the Gospel of Your Son stand against You. Father, thank you that Paul's assertion was true. Thank you for raising a "certain dead man, Jesus" to life, and thank you for His promised return!