The Parting of the Ways: Yahshua and John
Jackson Snyder,
January 22, 2004
Once I was poor, but now I am rich. Once I was jailed, but now I am free.
Once I was low but now I am high. Once I was blind but now I can see.
Though things are scanty, yet I am rich. Though I am jailed, my spirit is free.
Though still oppressed, my Savior is near. Blind as I am, yet more I can see.
Snyder
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John
3:22. After this Yahshua and his
disciples went into the land
of Judea; there he
remained with them and baptized.
23. John also was baptizing at
Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were
baptized. 24. For John had not yet been put in prison. 25.
Now a discussion arose between John’s disciples and a Jew over purifying. 26.
And they came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you
beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are
going to him.” 27. John answered, “No one can receive anything
except what is given him from heaven.
28. You yourselves bear me
witness that I said, I am not the Anointed One, but I have been sent before
him. 29. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the
friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the
bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. 30.
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Also
Luke 4:18,19; Psalm 113
PRAYER:
Stir up your power, O Father Yahweh Sabaoth, and with great might come among us
because we are sorely hindered by our sins.
Let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us through
Your Son. Amen.
NEW
WINE: Mother Superior calls all the nuns together and says to them, “I must
tell you something. We have a case of gonorrhea in the convent.” “Thank goodness,” says an elderly nun at the
back. “I am so tired of Chardonnay.”
Wedding
Wrap-up (John 2:1-12)
Yahshua and his five
disciples attended the wedding of his brother, Simon, in Cana. The wedding party required a vast amount of
wine to satisfy the many guests of the bridegroom. The custom was to bring out the most
palatable wine in the first two days.
After that, the inferior was brought out to save money. There was nothing wrong with the cheaper
wine; wedding guests didn’t expect to be drinking Moet and Chandon all week –
only at first. After that, it was OK to
bring out the Thunderbird.
When the best wine that the bar Joseph
family could afford was gone the third day of the wedding. The cheaper reserve disappeared. When Mary realized the wine was gone, she
appealed to Yahshua to do something so that her other son, the groom,
wouldn’t lose face.
To save the wedding party and show the first
miraculous sign of his identity, Yahshua commanded that stone baptismal water
jars be filled with 180 gallons of well water then he changed the water to wine
(though with great hesitation). The partygoers were
expecting cheap, sour wine; however, the host delighted them with new wine
mysteriously dipped from a baptism tank, and the groom was greatly glorified!
Wine and
Prophecy
Old wine represents the traditions of men
observed in the name of true religion.
The people had grown up with dead old shadows of worship and were
comfortable in them. The new wine
represents Yahshua’s presence among humanity, and his supernatural ministry:
Luke
4:18. “The Spirit of Yahweh is upon me,
because he’s anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He’s sent me to release
captives and give sight to the blind, to set at liberty the oppressed, 19. to
preach Yahweh’s acceptable year.”
In this prophecy
we see that the Anointed One is to be a spiritual man represented by the new
wine. The dove that remained on him represents
the Spirit of Yahweh, which is described as
Isaiah
11:2b The spirit of wisdom and insight,
of counsel and power, of knowledge and fear of Yahweh.
This Holy Spirit empowers the anointed to proclaim, permit
and protect liberty.
{To the tune of Ebenezer
or any 6/8 hymn tune.}
Once
I was poor, but now I am rich. Once I
was jailed, but now I am free.
Once
I was low but now I am high. Once I was
blind but now I can see.
These
testimonial songs are the result of imbibing new wine. Supernatural miracles can’t be understood
unless one has had her fill. When
greater grace abounds, the songs of the afflicted are full of hope:
Though
things are scanty, yet I am rich. Though
I am jailed, my spirit is free.
Though
still oppressed, my Savior is near.
Blind as I am, yet more I can see.
Who wouldn’t want to be rich or free? But where grace abounds and faith is
exercised, there is a great hope. To be
able to say, “I am blind, yet I see” requires supernatural faith. And to say, “Though oppressed, he is near,”
is just plain realistic. Whether we see
because we’re made whole or see while yet blind are both supernatural
matters. The old wine of comfortable
forms is OK, but the new hope in Messiah is better. Yahshua compared new and old in:
Luke
5:37. “No one puts new wine into old
wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be
spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
38. But new wine must be put into
fresh wineskins.”
In another
place, the quote is a little different:
Matthew
9: 17. “New wine is put into fresh
wineskins, and so both [new and old] are preserved.”
Skins
To be fair, Yahshua isn’t just talking about
wine, but skins. Old wine belongs
in an old skin. It’s already fully
expanded and the skin has hardened around the wine after years of aging. New skins will expand with the fermentation
of the new wine while old skins, stiff with age, will burst. Yahshua says that if new wine is put
into new skins, both old and new are retained.
Old wine is not always so good, but new wine
is always good. Some religious forms
simply are no longer pliable. Many
religious folks aren’t teachable.
They’re old skins – supernaturalism or innovation will burst them. Some are infected with bacteria and have turned
sour – like the old spoilt vinegar Yahshua was offered on the stake. He wouldn’t touch the old even then
because it was impure - polluted. But we
gladly lap it up.
Some folks and their assemblies are like new
skins. They desire be filled with the
revelation of Yahshua and all that his coming means, including all the gifts
and fruits and baptisms and infillings.
They want to expand in the Spirit as new wine expands – increasing in
knowledge as Scripture is taught – enhancing their wisdom by applying their
newfound knowledge to life situations.
They want to be truly Spirit-filled so that others may see their good
works and glorify their heavenly Father.
These aren’t drunk as you suppose, but filled with the new wine of the
Spirit.
New
and Old are Treasured
Yahshua says something else on the subject
of new and old concerning knowledge, learning and the future of ministry in the
mission fields of the Millennium.
Yahshua says:
Matthew
13:52. “Every scribe who has been
trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out
of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
We scribes
respect the old but expect the new, and we acquire
both old and new in our quest for treasure. We were raised on the old, and
that’s why we think it’s so good; that is, we’re good Methodists, good
Baptists, good Mennonites, good Catholics, but when the new wine comes
out of the baptismal water pot, we get a taste and want to gulp it down. We may remain a good this or that, but
now we’re something more, something NEW.
With new wine there’s new creation.
The old remains, but the new is joy.
Up
in Aenon
After the wedding at Cana, Yahshua’s bunch
all go up to Jerusalem
for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5ff).
During this eight-day Feast, Yahshua and his crew make many new friends
through his introduction of authoritative teaching and supernatural signs. Now Yahshua and his disciples lead a
multitude out of the city and over to the Jordan to baptize.
On the other hand, John the Baptist becomes
a wanted man. He moves his camp from
Bethany Beyond Jordan to Aenon, fifty miles north, in Samaria.
Not many will find him here – not even those who would be baptized. But a certain devious Jewish leader and his
party find him and argue with John’s disciples about baptism. Sprinkling, pouring, dipping, immersing,
rebaptism, how old, how young, how many times, font, tank, swimming pool or
creek – the same kinds of wasteful arguments we like to mull over.
You see, the Jews baptize over and over
again; but John baptizes once and for all after heartfelt repentance. The baptized receive cleansing from sin (see
Acts 19:3). But then the Jew reports to John’s
bunch news they all find troubling. They
take the news to John: that Yahshua is making scads of new disciples near Jerusalem, not way
out in the country like them. The spirit
of competition sets in.
The Jews and John’s disciples are concerned
because Yahshua is taking lots of good people from their influence:
from both the moneymaking sacrificial system and the offering plates at camp
John. There could be serious financial
repercussions if Yahshua’s popularity increases. The Jews came up to John for help in putting
Yahshua on a stake or chopping block.
John is honest to the core. He won’t exploit his own anointing for money,
fame or comfort. If telling the truth
loses him everything, so be it. “I’m the
best man at a wedding. I made everything
ready for the bridegroom. Now I step
back and allow honor to be given where it’s due. As Yahshua’s glory increases, mine decreases,
for what he’s sharing is from heaven.”
John’s the old wine and he admits it.
They’ve been drinking him, but now it’s time for the wedding banquet and
the new wine. John’s sent from Yahweh
with a mission, but he’s not about to bust his skin. He knows better. New skins for new wine!
At
Yahshua’s Camp in Judea
Fifty miles south, in Judea,
John’s other disciples are very concerned.
John’s in prison now, trapped by Herod.
The Jews who tried to enlist John to bring Yahshua down turn John in
instead. Now John’s disciples,
knowing their leader may never get free, must make sure. “Are you really the Anointed or shall we look
elsewhere?” Yahshua says, “Friends, see
for yourselves.” There are thousands
milling around, and John’s disciples have plenty of folks to interview.
Nathanael directs John’s disciple Banias to
Zacchaeus, the future bishop of Caesarea. Banias asks Zacchaeus, “What’s your story,
little man?” Zacchaeus sings, “Once I
was poor, but now I am rich!” Nearby,
Banias finds Judas Sicarius, “How about you, Judean brother?” Judas sings, “Once I was jailed, but now I am
free.” Banias, sings, “Good for thee;
good for thee.”
John Zavdi, Yahshua’s first disciple, who’ll
write Yahshua’s biography, is escorting another of the Baptist’s disciples
around the camp, Hiram the Egyptian.
There’s a woman ahead entranced in praise. There are lots of women around. Hiram the Egyptian says to John, “Certainly
your master doesn’t baptize women?” John
replies, “Yahshua doesn’t baptize, we do.
I baptized this woman myself.
She’s Miriam.”
Hiram storms, “You can’t baptize women. It’s not done.” John replies, “Why, that’s a strange
prejudice for you, an Egyptian, to make.” John gets Miriam’s attention, “Lady, this man
wants your story.” The lady Miriam, a
librarian in Kafernaum, tells Hiram the Egyptian, “Once I was low, really low,
but now I am high, really high” as she floats off in the Spirit. “She’s drunk!” howls Hiram. John replies, “Well, in a manner of speaking
only.”
She passes a man with a hideously deformed
face. He’s closely inspecting a piece of
rock. Hiram tells John, “Certainly, this
man has complaints. He’s grotesque. Obviously, your master hasn’t gotten to him
yet.” John says, “Let’s find out. Sir, what’s your name?” The man replies, “Friends here call me
Yahooo.” Hiram says to Yahooo, “I see
you are quite deformed and need healing.”
Yahooo answers, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been healed. I was blind but now I see.” Hiram presses on, “Then why do you stare at
that rock?” Yahooo replies, “Rock? Oh, so that’s what it is. I’ve never seen one before. Beautiful, isn’t it? I just regained my sight, along with all
those others.” Yahooo points to a
crowd of men and women ahead. They’re
all examining rocks.
Faith
and Hope
Nathanael and Banias meet up with John and
Hiram the Egyptian, and have overheard the last conversation. Yahooo looks up from his rock and says to
Banias (who he thinks is Hiram), “There’s a guy you’ll want to see there
sitting on the ground. That’s
Yabbadabba. He didn’t get healed like
the rest.”
The disciples leave Yahooo for
Yabbadabba. John touches the blind man,
who peers up through sightless sockets.
But they notice a very sweet smile on his face. Hiram shouts, “Why smile so when you no get
healed? Are you simple?” Yabbadabba twists the wax in his ear after
Hiram’s blast. “My sins are forgiven,
sir, and I’ve been born from above. All
the burdens of my heart rolled away.”
Hiram continues, “Yes, yes, that’s wonderful, but you’re still
blind.” Yabbadabba replies, “Am I so
blind? Why, it was there by faith
I received my sight -- and now I am happy all the day.”
Yahshua
on John
About this time the crowd gets silent and
many sit on the ground. Yahshua climbs a
rock to speak:
“Friends,
about John the Baptist. What did you
expect to see, a weed shivering in a windstorm, a playboy in pajamas - or a
prophet of Yahweh? Yes, John’s more than
a prophet, he’s a prophetic fulfillment, ‘Behold, I send my angel to prepare
the way.’ John is the greatest to spring
from a womb, yet the least in the Kingdom is greater” (Matthew 11:7ff).
John’s disciples
complain bitterly about what Yahshua just said about their imprisoned Master. The argument escalates, and Yahshua is
suddenly in their midst, like a thief in the night. Yahshua says, “Banias, you know me well. You’ve known me since I was a fourteen.” Banias replies, “That is true, Master.” Yahshua says,
Matthew
11:4 “Then go and tell John what you hear and see: 5. the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are
healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have hope. 6. And blessed is he who takes no offense at
me.”
The next morning, Banias, Hiram, and John’s disciples
hit the trail to John’s prison. They’ve
seen enough for a good report: Yahshua is the Anointed who will set
the captives free. But they’re still
puzzled. If John is great, why is he not
in the Kingdom
of Heaven? Does this mean that Yahshua won’t set their
Master free from Herod’s dungeon?
We wonder today what this means as
well. If John isn’t in, how can we hope
to be? That’s a question worth answering
before I close.
The
Parting of the Ways
John and Yahshua had the same method and message. The difference between what is Kingdom and
what is not is the supernatural realm.
There were signs of Yahshua’s supernatural Anointing and origin. People received from him not only
forgiveness, but something greater – the gifts that Yahweh had always
desired to pour out upon humankind, the greatest being the assurance of
Yahshua’s omnipresence; next – expectation for the present security; next –
bright hope for tomorrow. Yet Yahshua
and his ilk also heal afflictions and set free captives, and even when it
doesn’t happen in the physical realm, he can, insofar as he’s allowed, bring
glorious liberty in the spiritual and emotional man. Unlike John, Yahshua is a supernatural
Master, a Master who can neither lie nor die.
To assure our place in his Kingdom, we must
do as he did, and drink – then make – new wine ourselves. We try to emulate his walk, we learn to
recognize his voice, we’re obedient to his commands from the start, we detach
ourselves from that devilish selfish streak and we effervesce in the
presence of his Spirit and his children.
Then we spend our time healing, helping, teaching or encouraging others,
as he did.
John was a good man, a great prophet. But John is in a tomb somewhere awaiting the
resurrection call. You, on the other
hand, may be greater than he. If you’re
a new creation, love Yahshua and keep his commandments, you’re a Kingdom man,
you’re a Kingdom woman, greater in the Kingdom than the greatest Hebrew prophet
that ever lived.
Dead religious forms and denominational
affiliations may offer the comfort of the familiar, but they can’t save. A hundred trips to the altar rail can’t save
anyone. These things aren’t necessarily
bad, they’re good -- but there’s no hope in them at all by themselves. To get into the Kingdom to come requires
active participation now. Though
the old’s been good, maybe it’s time now to part from the old unto the new
thing that Yahweh wants to do right where you are. You may be an animal lover, but maybe your
sacred cows must be sacrificed, bridges burned, corpses buried. We take with us from the old what is real and
worthwhile and pliable and even treasured, but we leave behind the dead, the
stinking, the rotting, the lifeless, the still, the fetid corpse of ritual for
ritual’s sake, even if your ritual includes chorus singing, a rock band and
praise dancers. “He must increase, while
I must decrease,” John admits. Shouldn’t
we admit the same? Amen.