In my morning Bible reading I read John 19 in which Jesus is being abused by Pilate: scourging, crown of thorns, beating, mocking. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:5) During the course of this mistreatment, Pilate hears from the Jews that, according to their law, Jesus ought to die because He made Himself the Son of God. Hearing this, Pilate gets scared and ask Jesus where He is from. Jesus doesn’t answer him.
Pilate, being a godless haughty man, said to Jesus, “Speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?”
Jesus’ response to Pilate is an amazing statement of godly confidence: “Thou couldest have no power at all over Me, except it were given thee from above.” These words cause me to pause and reflect whenever I read them.
Late in the day, I read J. C. Ryle’s “Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew.” I read the section on Matthew 10:24 – 33. The context of this chapter is that of Jesus sending forth His twelve apostles to preach, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. He sends them forth to do good things, but He warns them that they will be mistreated by the world – just as it mistreats and maligns Him. But He gives them much encouragement to trust their heavenly Father’s care through it all.
Matthew 10:28 – 31:
Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
On this, Ryle says:
Those who try to do good must keep before their minds the providential care of God over them. Nothing can happen in this world without His permission: there is no such thing in reality as chance, accident, or luck. “The very hairs of their heads are all numbered.” The path of duty may sometimes lead them into great danger; health and life may seem to be imperiled, if they go forward: let them take courage in the thought that all around them is in God’s hand. Their bodies, their souls, their characters are all in His safe keeping: no disease can seize them, no hand can hurt them, unless He allows. They may say boldly to every fearful thing they meet with, “Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above.”
The verse from John again impressed me in the context in which Ryle placed it: for “those who try to do good.” Was not Jesus set upon the course of doing the ultimate good thing as He stood before Pilate? He was not just “trying” to do good. He was actually doing THE GOOD THING that NOTHING in all creation could have prevented. He was drinking the cup which His Father gave Him to win our salvation. NOTHING could have prevented Him, not even the Roman ruler Pilate, who had all the authority of the Roman empire behind him. He indeed had the power to allow Jesus to go free or to crucify Him. But the Father held even that in His own hand. Pilate could do NOTHING against Christ without permission from above.
The same divine care surrounds all those who are Christ’s. Every hair on our heads is numbered by God. That’s how intimate His care of us is. The world has NO power over us except for that which our Father allows. And all that He allows is for our good and His glory.
More words from the Apostle John:
1 John 4:4b: “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
1 John 5:4, 5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
And that brings us back to Jesus standing before the frightened Pontius Pilate: the Son of God doing a good work, overcoming the world, receiving the world’s hatred, while at the same time having full confidence in His Father’s care.
One last Scripture passage that came to my mind:
Hebrews 12:1 – 3:
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
It’s just after midnight. The neighbors down the hill are lighting off fireworks. It’s 17 minutes into the new year. The successes and failures of 2022 are behind us. The potential humiliations and glories of 2023 are steadily approaching over the horizon.
My heart was lifted by something I read earlier, something regarding the ways in which both God the Father and God the Son were glorified in the crucifixion of Christ. It’s by one of my favorite writers, J. C. Ryle. It’s a passage that has caused me to contemplate how the cross of Christ outshines all else in life. Which of my greatest achievements could I ever boast about as having any eternal value, any efficacious power in regard to real matters of the soul? I would be as an anemic weakling with plastic medallions and faded ribbons bragging in my pipsqueak voice before the all powerful champion with his trophies that will never tarnish and his crown which will never fade.
But enough of my embarrassing attempts at waxing eloquent. Let me share Ryle’s thoughts here. The passage is a good meditation to start a new year.
J. C. Ryle on John 13:31, 32
These verses show us what glory the crucifixion brought both to God the Father and to God the Son. It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that this was what our Lord had in His mind when He said, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” It is as though He said, “The time of My crucifixion is at hand. My work on earth is finished. An event is about to take place tomorrow, which, however painful to you who love Me, is in reality most glorifying both to Me and My Father.
This was a dark and mysterious saying, and we may well believe that the eleven did not understand it. And no wonder! In all the agony of death on the cross, in all the ignominy and humiliation which they saw afar off, or heard of the next day, in hanging naked for six hours between two thieves, – in all this there was no appearance of glory! On the contrary, it was an event calculated to fill the minds of the apostles with shame, disappointment, and dismay. And yet our Lord’s saying was true.
The crucifixion brought glory to the Father. It glorified His wisdom, faithfulness, holiness, and love. It showed Him wise, in providing a plan whereby He could be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly. It showed Him faithful in keeping His promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. It showed Him holy, in requiring His law’s demand to be satisfied by our great Substitute. It showed Him loving, in providing such a Mediator, such a Redeemer, and such a Friend for sinful man as his co-eternal Son.
The crucifixion brought glory to the Son. It glorified His compassion, His patience, and His power. It showed Him most compassionate, in dying for us, suffering in our stead, allowing Himself to be counted sin and a curse for us, and buying our redemption with the price of His own blood. It showed Him most patient, in not dying the common death of most men, but in willingly submitting to such pains and unknown agonies as no mind can conceive, when with a word He could have summoned His Father’s angels and been set free. It showed Him most powerful, in bearing the weight of all the transgressions of the world, and vanquishing Satan, and despoiling him of his prey.
For ever let us cling to these thoughts about the crucifixion. Let us remember that painting and sculpture can never tell a tenth part of what took place on the cross. Crucifixes and pictures at best can only show us a human being agonizing in a painful death. But of the length, breadth, and depth, and height of the work transacted on the cross, – of God’s law honored, man’s sin borne, sin punished in a Substitute, free salvation bought for man, – of all this they can tell nothing. Yet all this lies hid under the crucifixion. No wonder St. Paul cries, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:14)
(from Expository Thoughts on John, Vol. 3)
Happy New Year
May the Father bless us with an ever increasing knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ, in this new year. May we glory in the cross of Christ above all else and boast of His achievements. May we know Him intimately, be transformed into His image day by day, and trust Him with all our cares because He cares for us.
Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost? (Luke 14:28)
[The following is an excerpt from the book Holiness by J. C. Ryle, one of my favorite writers. This is from chapter 5, The Cost. Primarily I wanted to share this with members of a discipleship group to which I belong. But it’s so good that I thought I would post it hear for anyone to read.]
Count the Cost
[The] last thing which I propose to do, is to give some hints which may help men to count the cost rightly.
Sorry indeed should I be if I did not say something on this branch of my subject. I have no wish to discourage anyone, or to keep anyone back from Christ’s service. It is my heart’s desire to encourage everyone to go forward and take up the cross. Let us count the cost by all means, and count it carefully. But let us remember, that if we count rightly, and look on all sides, there is nothing that need make us afraid.
Let me mention some things which should always enter into our calculations in counting the cost of true Christianity. Set down honestly and fairly what you will have to give up and go through, if you become Christ’s disciple. Leave nothing out. Put it all down. But then set down side by side the following sums which I am going to give you. Do this fairly and correctly, and I am not afraid for the result.
1. The Profit vs The Loss
Count up and compare, for one thing, the profit and the loss, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. You many possibly lose something in this world, but you will gain the salvation of your immortal soul. It is written: “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
2. The Praise vs The Blame
Count up and compare for another thing, the praise and the blame, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. You may possibly be blamed by man, but you will have the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Your blame will come from the lips of a few erring, blind, fallible men and women. Your praise will come from the King of kings and Judge of all the earth. It is only those whom He blesses who are really blessed. It is written: “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11, 12)
3. The Friends vs The Enemies
Count up and compare, for another thing, the friends and the enemies, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. On the one side of you is the enmity of the devil and the wicked. On the other, you have the favor and friendship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your enemies, at most, can only bruise your heel. They may rage loudly, ad compass sea and land to work your ruin; but they cannot destroy you. Your Friend is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by Him. None shall ever pluck His sheep out of His hand. It is written: “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear Him.” (Luke 12:5)
4. The Life That Now Is vs The Life to Come
Count up and compare, for another thing, the life that now is and the life to come, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. The time present, no doubt, is not a time of ease. It is a time of watching and praying, fighting and struggling, believing and working. But it is only for a few years. The time future is the season of rest and refreshing. Sin shall be cast out. Satan shall be bound. And, best of all, it shall be a rest for ever. It is written: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18)
5. The Pleasures of Sin vs The Happiness of God’s Service
Count up and compare, for another thing, the pleasures of sin and the happiness of God’s service, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. The pleasures that the worldly man gets by his ways are hollow, unreal, and unsatisfying. They are like the fire of thorns, flashing and crackling for a few minutes, and then quenched fore ever. The happiness that Christ gives to His people is something solid, lasting, and substantial. It is not dependent on health or circumstances. It never leaves a man, even in death. It ends in a crown of glory that fadeth not away. It is written: “The joy of the hypocrite [is] but for a moment.” “As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool.” (Job 20:5; Ecclesiastes 7:6)
6. The Trouble That True Christianity Entails vs The Troubles That Are in Store for the Wicked Beyond the Grave
Count up and compare, for another thing, the trouble that true Christianity entails, and the troubles that are in store for the wicked beyond the grave. Grant for a moment that Bible reading and praying and repenting and believing and holy living require pains and self-denial. It is all nothing compared to that wrath to come which is stored up for the impenitent and unbelieving. A single day in hell will be worse than a whole life spent in carrying the cross. The “worm that never dies, and the fire that is not quenched” are things which it passes man’s power to conceive fully or describe. It is written: “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented.” (Luke 16:25)
7. The Number of Those Who Turn from Sin and the World and Serve Christ vs The Number of Those Who Forsake Christ and Return to the World
Count up and compare, in the last place, the number of those who turn from sin and the world and serve Christ, and the number of those who forsake Christ and return to the world. On the one side you will find thousand; on the other you will find none. Multitudes are every year turning out of the broad way and entering the narrow. None who really enter the narrow way grow tired of it and return to the broad. The footsteps in the downward road are often to be seen turning out of it. The footsteps in the road to heaven are all one way. It is written: “The way of he wicked is… darkness.” “The way of transgressors is hard.” (Proverbs 4:19; 13:15) But it is also written: “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
Such sums as these, no doubt, are often not done correctly. Not a few, I am well aware, are ever “halting between two opinions.” They cannot make up their minds that it is worthwhile to serve Christ. The losses and gains, the advantages and disadvantages, the sorrows and the joys, the helps and the hinderances appear to them so nearly balanced that they cannot decide for God. They cannot do this great sum correctly. They cannot make the result so clear as it ought to be. They do not count right.
Faith
But what is the secret of their mistakes? It is want of faith. To come to a right conclusion about our souls, we must have some of that mighty principle which St. Paul describes in the eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews. Let me try to show how that principle operates in the great business of counting the cost.
Noah
How was it that Noah persevered in building the ark? He stood alone amidst a world of sinners and unbelievers. He had to endure scorn, ridicule, and mockery. What was it that nerved his arm, and made him patiently work on and face it all? It was faith. He believed in a wrath to come. He believed that there was no safety, excepting in the ark that he was preparing. Believing, he held the world’s opinion very cheap. He counted the cost by faith, and had no doubt that to build the ark was gain.
Moses
How was it that Moses forsook the pleasures of Pharoah’s house, and refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter? How was it that he cast in his lot with a despised people like the Hebrews, and risked everything in this world in carrying out the great work of their deliverance from bondage? To the eye of sense he was losing everything and gaining nothing. What was it that moved him? It was faith. He believed that the “recompense of reward” was far better than all the honors of Egypt. He counted the cost by faith, as “seeing Him that is invisible,” and was persuaded that to forsake Egypt and go forth into the wilderness was gain.
Saul (Paul)
How was it that Saul the Pharisee could ever make up his mind to become a Christian? The cost and sacrifices of the change were fearfully great. He gave up all his brilliant prospects among his own people. He brought on himself, instead of man’s favor, man’s hatred, man’s enmity, and man’s persecution, even unto death. What was it that enabled him to face it all? It was faith. He believed that Jesus, who met him on the way to Damascus, could give him a hundredfold more than he gave up, and in the world to come everlasting life. By faith he counted the cost, and saw clearly on which side the balance lay. He believed firmly that to carry the cross of Christ was gain.
Let us mark well these things. That faith which made Noah, Moses, and St. Paul do what they did, that faith is the great secret of coming to a right conclusion about our souls. That same faith must be our helper and ready-reckoner, when we sit down to count the cost of being a true Christian. That same faith is to be had for the asking. “He giveth more grace.” (James 4:6) Armed with that faith we shall set things down at their true value. Filled with that faith we shall neither add to the cross nor subtract from the crown. Our conclusions will be all correct. Our sum total will be without error.
Conclusion
Think – Whether Your Religion Costs You Anything at Present
In conclusion, let every reader of this paper think seriously, whether his religion costs him anything at present. Very likely it costs you nothing. Very probably it neither costs you trouble, nor time, nor thought, nor care, nor pains, nor reading, nor praying, nor self-denial, nor conflict, nor working, nor labor of any kind. Now mark what I say. Such a religion as this will never save your soul. It will never give you peace while you live, nor hope while you die. It will not support you in the day of affliction, nor cheer you in the hour of death. A religion which costs nothing is worth nothing. Awake before it is too late. Awake and repent. Awake and be converted. Awake and believe. Awake and pray. Rest not till you can give a satisfactory answer to my question: “What does it cost?”
Think – What it Cost the Son of God to Provide Salvation for Your Soul
Think, if you want stirring motives for serving God, what it cost to provide a salvation for your soul. Think how the Son of God left heaven and became Man, suffered on the cross and lay in the grave, to pay your debt to God, and work out for you a complete redemption. Think of all this and learn that it is no light matter to possess an immortal soul. It is worthwhile to take some trouble about one’s soul.
Ah, lazy man or woman, is it really come to this, that you will miss heaven for lack of trouble? Are you really determined to make shipwreck for ever, from mere dislike to exertion? Away with the cowardly, unworthy thought. Arise and play the man. Say to yourself, “Whatever it may cost, I will, at any rate, strive to enter in at the strait gate.” Look at the cross of Christ, and take fresh courage. Look forward to death, judgement, and eternity, and be in earnest. It may cost much to be a Christian, but you may be sure it pays.
Persevere and Press On
If any reader of this paper really feels that he has counted the cost, and taken up the cross, I bid him persevere and press on. I dare say you often feel your heart faint, and are sorely tempted to give up in despair. Your enemies seem so many, your besetting sins so strong, your friends so few, the way so steep and narrow, you hardly know what to do. But still I say, persevere and press on.
The time is very short. A few more years of watching and praying, a few more tossings on the sea of this world, a few more deaths and changes, a few more winters and summers, and all will be over. We shall have fought our last battle, and shall need to fight no more.
The presence and company of Christ will make amends for all we suffer her below. When we see as we have been seen, and look back on the journey of life, we shall wonder at our own faintness of heart. We shall marvel that we made so much of our cross, and thought so little of our crown. We shall marvel that in “counting the cost” we could ever doubt on which side the balance of profit lay. Let us take courage. We are not far from home. IT may cost much to be a true Christian and a consistent holy man; but it pays.
The utter absence of real charity and love among men in the days when our Lord was upon earth ought not to be overlooked. Well would it be if men had never quarreled about religion after He left the world! Quarrels among the crew of a sinking ship are not more hideous, unseemly, and irrational than the majority of quarrels among professors of religion. A historian might truly apply St. John’s words [“For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” – John 4:9] to many a period in church history, and say, “The Romanists [Catholics] have no dealings with the Protestants,” or “the Lutherans have no dealings with the Calvinists,” or “the Calvinists have no dealings with the Arminians,” or “the Episcopalians have no dealings with the Presbyterians,” or “the Baptists have no dealings with those who baptize infants,” or “the Plymouth Brethren have no dealings with anybody who does not join their company.” These things ought not so to be. They are the scandal of Christianity, the joy of the devil, and the greatest stumbling-block to the spread of the Gospel.
So wrote J. C. Ryle, an Anglican bishop, in 1869. Things are still the same today.
I’ve been guilty of this attitude. There have been many times in my past as a Christian where I was content to stay within the bubble of those who believed exactly what I believed. Everyone outside the bubble was wrong, or less serious about their faith, or maybe just evil. And by “everyone” I mean others who professed to be Christians.
I’m embarrassed by my past attitude. It’s not like I had always and consistently been that way. I had been quite charitable mostly. But I got sucked up into the club of exclusivity. It was cold, stark, unlike Jesus Christ. Ultimately, I got away from it, but fell extremely far away from Jesus too.
There are former associates of mine who, if they knew where I worship now and the respect I have for the community of Christians to which God has brought me, would see my current involvement with these folks as proof that I never had true faith and it was fitting that I was excommunicated from a church in 1999.
Did I just say that out loud? Yes, excommunicated. Not for matters of faith, but for conduct. Maybe someday I’ll write about that. But I’ll have to charge for that blog post. Save up your money to pay for a Substack subscription.
Truly, I am grateful that Jesus has led my family and me to a community of sincere believers. I pray that He will help me to serve my brothers and sisters, to love and honor them, to learn from them. And I pray that He will prevent me from forming any bubble here in order that I could love and fellowship with all I may encounter who have the Spirit of Christ living in them.
I’m posting this here as a reminder to myself. The following words from J. C. Ryle on Luke 4:33 – 44 grabbed me this morning.
First, the section of Luke about which Ryle writes:
Luke 4:33 – 44
33. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
34. Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee; thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.
35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
36. And they were all amazed, and spake among theselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
37. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
38. And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
39. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her; and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
40. Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
41. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.
42. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.
43. And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
44. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
Ryle’s remarks:
We should notice, in this passage, the clear religious knowledge possessed by the devil and his agents. Twice in these verses we have proof of this. “I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God,” was the language of an unclean devil in one case – “Thou art Christ the son of God,” was the language of many devils in another. Yet this knowledge was a knowledge unaccompanied by faith, or hope, or charity. Those who possessed it were miserable fallen beings, full of bitter hatred both against God and man.
Let us beware of an unsanctified knowledge of Christianity. It is a dangerous possession, but a fearfully common one in these latter days. We may know the Bible intellectually, and have no doubt about the truth of its contents. We may have our memories well stored with its leading texts, and be able to talk glibly about its leading doctrines. And all this time the Bible may have no influence over our hearts, and wills, and consciences. We may, in reality, be nothing better than the devils.
Let it never content us to know religion with our heads only. We may go on all our lives saying, “I know that, and I know that,” and sink at last into hell, with the words upon our lips. Let us see that our knowledge bears fruit in our lives. Does our knowledge of sin make us hate it? Does our knowledge of Christ make us trust and love Him? Does our knowledge of God’s will make us strive to do it? Does our knowledge of the fruits of the Spirit make us labor to show them in our daily behavior? Knowledge of this kind is really profitable. Any other religious knowledge will only add to our condemnation at the last day.
– Expository Thoughts on Luke, Vol. 1
– J. C. Ryle, 1858
