Monthly Archives: May 2016

Rethinking the House Top Experiences

Teaching

The Way Through the House Top?

Luke 5:19: “And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the house top, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.”

Does it always bother you a little bit when we hear the story of the men who let their friend down through the roof of the house so he could be healed by Jesus? Well, it does bother me a little bit. Just seems to be rather unfair or dangerous, or expensive, but, of course, worth it.

However, it has set me to thinking: the house-tops seems to have been used quite a lot. For example even in the Proverbs 21:9:

“It is better to dwell in the corner of the house top than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” And just in case anyone missed this wise counsel, it is repeated in Proverbs 25:24. Was this poor hen-pecked husband actually considering living on the housetop? He would surely have been desperate!

New Testament House Tops

Then there are the passages in the New Testament when Jesus was warning His followers to be ready to leave Jerusalem in order to escape the siege that was to come upon it:

Matthew 24:17: “Let him which is on the house top not come down to take any thing out of his house.” This is also recorded by Mark, 13:15 and Luke 17:31.

Then we have the account of Peter on the house top, Luke 10:9: “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the house top to pray about the sixth hour.”

Then, in verses 20 and 21, we see that Peter “went down” to greet his guests. It says nothing about him breaking through the ceiling.

From these passages and from the pictures representing the houses of that era in Palestine, it appears that the house tops were commonly flat and used as we now use a patio. There would, no doubt, have been a passageway, stairs or at least some kind of steps or a ladder from inside the house up to the roof, where there would have been a covered opening and a doorway to the outside of the rooftop. In Luke 5:19 it must have been large enough for the invalid man and his couch to move through.

It would have been a pleasant, private place, away from the daily chores and family activities. It would have been cooler and quieter in the evenings and at night. And, in the case of the man with the brawling wife, it wouldn’t really have been all that bad!

Holiness Is Wholeness

Teaching, , ,

The United States: A Divided House

Matthew 12:25: “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, ‘Every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

The United States of America is no longer “United”; it is fractured in many different ways. In spite of our perceived strengths, we are weak and as a nation are falling into the hands of our enemies. It is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God that our nation can stand.

Matthew 12:25 was spoken in the context of Jesus’ answer to the scribes and Pharisees who had accused Him of casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub, Satan. He clearly declares that His power to cast out Satan is the power of the Holy Spirit of God. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you,” verse 28. He did cast out devils by the Spirit of God, so, therefore, the Kingdom of God has come unto us.

Question: What will it take to unite us? Answer: Jesus.

Colossians 1:16-17: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

In Jesus and only in Him does everything “consist,” cohere, or hold together. It is impossible that our nation can hold together without Jesus.

For us, just as for Jesus, It is the Holy Spirit of God that binds the strong man, the devil, Satan. It is only by the wooing of the Holy Spirit that men can be drawn to salvation. It is only by the Holy Spirit of God that men’s hearts can be alive to bring forth the good fruit of the Spirit: love, joy peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

It is the Holy Spirit of God that makes us holy and binds us together.

How do we obtain this Holy Spirit? It is not by rituals, nor ceremonies, nor man-made laws, but by our repentance and whole-hearted searching for it. Jeremiah 29:13: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” “All your heart” means total surrender.

You cannot create your own holiness; it only comes from the Lord. Yet, you can seek it, you can discover it, you can research, excavate as an archaeologist in the Word and in humility and prayer. You can experience it. It is the “good treasure,” Matthew 12:35.

It is this “good treasure,” as found in Jesus, that binds people together in unity of Spirit. This is the ingredient of any social group that makes it cohere, hold together, in wholeness. Without it, the unity is broken, and the group becomes dysfunctional, weak and dying.