Peter Witkowski Discipleship

Don’t Speak; Listen: Instructions on How to Navigate Our Spiritual Highs

When the apostle Peter encounters the transfigured Christ whose “clothes became white as light,” the apostle (somewhat understandably) does the one thing he should not do…he speaks (Matt 17:4). Before he can fully explain why he wants to create three tent or hut like structures, the heavenly Father graciously interrupts the apostle’s meandering daydream. Matthew reports: “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matt 17:5).” In this brief rebuke, the Father reveals that the proper and best human response to divine glory consists not of human ingenuity but of human listening.  In other words, to make the most of our experiences of spiritual euphoria, we must not first speak but listen.

Does Jesus Still Speak?

Were it an option, I suspect all of us would happily purchase a ticket to the next transfiguration. But Jesus does not offer us or even the other disciples this opportunity. Jesus no longer invites us to climb mountains. Rather, Jesus instructs us to read the Scriptures. Speaking of his experience on the mountain and of the centrality of the Scriptures to all future Christian experience, Peter writes, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (1 Pt 1:19-20).” God’s glory does not abide permanently upon the mountain but in his revealed Word.

Least we think Peter has gone rogue and replaced the glorious revelations of Jesus with the boring binding of a book, we should recall Jesus’s words in John 14:26. The ideas found in 1 Peter have their genesis in Jesus who said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus always intended for his earthly ministry teaching ministry to give way to the completion of the Scriptures. Thus, as John Piper often says, if we want to hear the voice of God, we need to read the Scriptures out loud. To commune with Jesus, we must listen to his Word.  

Today’s Mountain Tops

As we submit our lives to the Scriptures, we should expect to experience moments of joy, euphoria, and inspiration. Just as Jesus led the disciples atop the mountain, Jesus through his spirit continues to expose his children to the glories of his presence. We can experience such moments on walks while reciting scripture, at church while the service weaves its way through prayers, songs, and sermons, and at home while reading the Bible in the quiet of the early morning.

 And when they do occur, we like Peter can be tempted to think that our next idea (especially if it has a religious bent to it such as going on the mission field) is of the Lord. Why yes, I should start an orphanage, travel to the South pacific, marry that girl, preach that sermon, or give that donation. While we should praise the Lord for such impulses, we still must stop and listen to Jesus before we act. We must ensure that our newly discovered desires line up with Scripture and our spiritual gifts and competency. Perhaps you should start an orphanage but maybe you should not because you lack organizational skills. Perhaps you should go to the mission field in time, but if you leave college now, you will break your promise to finish school that you made with your parents whom you are to honor (Eph 6:2; Ex 20:12). Perhaps you should be a preacher or a missionary, but you first need to stop sleeping with your girl-friend and earn the support of your local church (1 Tim 3:1; 1 Thess 4:2-8). Yes, the desire for marriage is a good desire, but that boy is an avowed atheist and not someone a faithful Christian should marry (2 Cor 6:14; 1 Cor 15:33). And yes, God does love a cheerful giver, but he also calls you to pay your bills and would not be glorified by you defaulting on your rent so that you can meet that need (2 Cor 9:6-7; Jas. 5:4,10).

Before we act, we must check our desires and motives against the Scriptures. A profound spiritual experience does not guarantee that all that comes out of our mind has been sanctified or redeemed. Though God’s Word is always true, our hearts are not. We must take time to listen to the Son, trusting that he will provide us with the skills, resources, and opportunities to fulfill all that algins with the Scriptures.

What if We Spoke?

Though the Father calls us to listen to his Son, all of us at some point or other have inserted our foot into our mouth along with the apostle Peter. We have made a commitment, headed off to seminary, started a job, begun an adoption, or even entered a marriage without considering God’s revealed word. We have awoken to the disaster of a stressed schedule, a unhealthy work environment, a low GPA, a dysfunctional family, and an unbelieving spouse.

But even if we have acted foolishly and endured great hardship because we spoke before we listened, we should not lose hope. God will not cut us off from his grace.  When Jesus speaks to Peter at the end of the Transfiguration narrative, our Lord offers his impetuous and foolish disciple mercy. Matthew writes, “But Jesus came and touched them, saying “Rise, and have no fear (Mt. 17:7).”  Those who have trusted in Christ do not have to fear that their foolishness will forever separate them from the goodness of God. Jesus died for our sins and stands ready to help us. He came precisely because he knew that we have far more in common with the apostle Peter than we wish to admit. And the Jesus who lifted Peter from the ground will enable us to be more than conquerors through his Spirit who sanctifies us through his Word. Jesus will forgive us and walk with us. Hear the words of Jesus: “Rise and have not fear!”

Peter Witkowski Discipleship

Jesus Didn’t Diss the Poor: Making Sense of Matthew 26:11

In perhaps one of the oddest moments of the passion narrative, Jesus seemingly sets himself at odds with his disciples’ concern for the poor. Breaking ranks with the twelve, Jesus did not think Mary should have “given to the poor” the money that she had used to purchase the oil needed to anoint Jesus’s feet. Rather, the Messiah praises Mary saying, “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me (Matt 26:11).” Some within the church have appealed to this passage to justify why they focus on everything and anything but caring for the poor. They assume that since Jesus said we will have the poor with us tomorrow, we can wait until tomorrow to care for them.

What’s Going On?

But when Jesus rebukes the disciples, he takes issue not with their ministry priorities (music team vs. clothing drive) but with the men’s lack of historical or temporal awareness. In other words, Jesus has not contrasted caring for the poor with preaching, singing, prayer, or any other faith driven ministry. Rather he contrasts the time needed to care for the poor against the time needed to commemorate his death and resurrection. In other words, Mary has grasped the temporal uniqueness of this historical moment and commemorated it in a right and meaningful way. There will be no second chances or opportunities for the next generation to prepare Jesus for his death. Had she done anything else at that moment including fasting, singing, or leading a Bible study, she would have chosen the lesser thing for Christ’s death alone saves!

Through the horrors of having nails driven into his hands and feet, Jesus would accomplish what the law could never do. Being fully man and fully God, he was the perfect sacrifice for us because he was us and yet was also God. He could satisfy the wrath of God with his blood and free us from our bondage to sin and death. To quote the apostle Paul, “By him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses (Act 13:39).” In that one act which also contained the hope of the resurrection as Jesus’s death implied his triumph over death, Jesus saved sinners. As John Stott noted, “The Christian faith is the faith of Christ Crucified.”

Finding herself on the approaching the crux of salvific history, Mary rightly spent a crazy amount of money (perhaps around 50K U.S. dollars) to prepare Jesus for death. Were there to be a Scriptural analogy to this evening, it would be the night of Jesus’s birth in which the angels told the shepherds to go and find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Had the shepherds spent the night feeding the poor, they would have chosen the lesser of things for Christ would not be born again.

Jesus, the Early Church and the Poor

Thus, this verse in no way absolves Christians from the general scriptural command to care for the poor. In Matthew 25:35-36, Jesus prizes caring for the “least of these” as one of the true marks of saving faith, explaining that he will invite his followers into heaven because, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” As we care for the least of the people of God, we care for Jesus.

Quite naturally, the early church shared Jesus’s concern for the poor. When the Jerusalem church came into being following Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, its members began to sell, “their possessions and belongings,” for the purpose of “distributing the proceeds to all as any had need (Acts 2:45).” And when Paul set out on his missionary journey, the other apostles asked only one thing of Paul and Barnabas, “to remember the poor (Gal 2:1).” Jesus and the early church knew nothing of a faith that was too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. As the apostle John concludes, “whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 Jn 4:21).”

How To Apply Matthew 26:11

Rather than excusing our neglect of the poor, this Matthew passage calls all Christians of all ages to base their actions upon Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. The believer never moves beyond the cross to greater things, but rather can do things such as making sandwiches for the poor, putting together sermon notes for Sunday, and deleting distracting social media apps off of his phone because of the crucifixion. It is faith in this event that guarantees our eternity with Christ and that unites our soul with Jesus so that today in conjunction with the Holy Spirit we can obey his commands and do things such as care for the poor. As the reformer Zwingli helpfully sums up, “Faith, then, is not acquired by deeds, but works by faith.” Without the cross and all that it means, we have nothing. But with it, we have everything. As the old hymn says, “Because he lives I can face tomorrow!”

In the end, Jesus never dissed the poor and nor should we.

Peter Witkowski Sermon on the Mount

Meekness & Mercy: God’s Design for Interpersonal Relationships

“Its not fair.” We have all heard the expression as our kids stomp off to bed, protesting the latest perceived parental injustice. They are not the only ones.

The adults in the room have also appealed to the phrase. When our boss asks us to stay an hour late, we talk about how unfair so and so is. When Bob takes our tool, we want it back. We don’t want his; just ours. We don’t expect Sally to come to both the wedding and the bridal shower. But since we went to her wedding, we expect her to attend at least one of our events. Nothing crazy; just what we are owed. We long for fairness.

A Slap for A Slap

The God of the Bible affirms that the idea of fairness and equity should govern human legal systems. The judicial system should handout punishment that is proportional to the crime the person has committed. The punishment should consider neither the criminal’s nor the victim’s social standing (Lev. 24:17-22). Moses instructs the first judges of the new Israelite nation to do the following: “then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Punishment was never to exceed the harm caused by the crime. The justice system should be just.

Because the idea of fairness works well when applied to the courts, the religious leaders of Jesus’s day believed fairness could serve as the perfect ethic for interpersonal relationships. If the guy sitting next to you in school posts an unflattering picture of you on Instagram, you could post a Tik Tok video mocking his outdated shoes. Two videos would be excessive, but one would be permitted. If your brother bit you, you could bite him back. And if your boss took credit for your new idea, you had the right to talk behind his back for a day. Slap for slap, insult for insult, and hurt for hurt.

The Better Way

Though this idea of an eye for an eye resonates with the human heart, it stands at odds with the ethic of the kingdom of God. Instead of telling his followers to fight insult with insult, Jesus commands Christians to fight the fires of Hell with the grace filled foam of meekness and generosity. Jesus says, “But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil (Matt 5:44).” 

Jesus shifts personal relationships from the ethic of fairness and equity to the ethic of meekness and generosity because this is the basis of his interactions with us. When Jesus saves, he saves through his merciful and generous love. Where he to give us what we deserved, he would dispense punishment and death. But he does not send bolts of lightening to usher us into the fires of hell the moment we think our first bad thought. He lives, dies, and rises again to pay the penalty for that evil thought and all our sins. The apostle Peter sums up the gospel writing, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (2 Pt 2:24).” Moreover, we were not actively seeking Jesus. We were lost sheep like those who walked under Jesus’s cross mocking our savior. Jesus patiently endures these insults and then brings us into the sheep fold. Jesus does not fight fire with fire. He does not treat us fairly. He does something far greater.  He triumphs over sin, enduring it and generously extending grace to overcome it.

Because of the cross, Christians should resist the urge to fight fire with fire (Matt 5:38-44).  When someone insults the believer with a slap across the cheek, Jesus tells his listeners to turn the other cheek. Instead of responding with their own pithy putdown, they quietly endure evil. If their business partner wrongfully sues to gain more shares of their company, Jesus tells the believer to quickly go to court and settle. When the government demands that you carry a soldier’s equipment for a mile or that you must give your land to the new freeway development, the Christian should go settle, going the extra mile to preserve peace. And if a friend or family members ask for $1000 because they recently lost their job, the believer writes the check without asking for repayment or giving the stink eye. The believer does not stand upon the principle of fairness, for he realizes that his salvation, his spouse, his reputation, and his stuff come from God’s mercy. Moreover, he knows that God will justly deal with all sin one day. Either the penalty for sins will be covered in the blood of the cross or it will be extracted from the wicked in Hell. God will also restore what the righteous have lost a million times over. The Christian does not have to fight fire with fire for she is a child of the king. He will prosecute vengeance and preserve our reward19

Is Government Bad?

Though the Christian should not respond to relational violence with his own aggression, he can still lay claim to government structures for protection in cases of extreme violence. Just as God instituted divorce as a merciful means of saving innocent spouses from being entrapped to an adulterer, God instituted governments to protect innocent people from vicious displays of violence. In other words, the reality that most people do not operate according to the ethic of Jesus necessitates the existence of the of government. When the ethic of non-violence fails to prevent a person from doing great harm, those in jeopardy should call the police and appeal to the justice system. Paul did as much when the Jews attempted to wrongfully condemn him to death.  The apostle Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 13:4, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” Women being terrorized by an abuser can seek a restraining order and police protection. Soldiers can defend their shores from invasion. A store owner being robbed can call the police. Christians can appeal to government for help as the Apostle Paul did repeatedly. God ordained human governments for the good of his people.

But even in this sphere, the believer should not seek vengeance. A police officer who comes to a shoplifting call and pays for the teenager’s $15 of stolen food to prevent him from spending months in juvenile detention has lived out the ethic of Jesus. Meekness and generosity belong in every sphere of life, including government.

May God help us all to generously extend mercy!