In A Word: Come!
In A Word: Come!
CAUTION. In this era of amazing advances in technology, there are sometimes unexpected consequences that turn out to be harmful to our Christian faith. One of these harmful improvements is the flood of believers who read scripture online, on the smart phone, on the computer screen. I’m convinced there should be a warning label on every one of the online Bibles… CAUTION: SKIM AT YOUR OWN RISK. So many of us now read the Word like we would read our emails or social media or the daily news. We skim the material hurriedly, superficially, carelessly. We skim the Scripture. Skim-reading the Bible doesn’t really bury the seed very deeply, of course. And in our skimming, we would be more likely to just skip over an important word or phrase without thinking, a word that could be vital to the whole passage. The fact is, the Bible is full of single words or short phrases that are too important to simply gloss over as if it wasn’t there. There are times in the Word when single words are intended to feed us, nourish our faith, stimulate us to think at a deeper level about the biblical text.
There are single words in Scripture that are like stop signs asking us to stop and consider carefully, to pause before moving forward in the reading. This series on my blog will try to unpack some of these power-packed words or phrases in Scripture… Words like: Behold; Rejoice; Truly; Woe; Blessed; Beware; Come; If. And I will attempt to also explore the meanings of some short phrases that are single words in the original biblical language, such as “Himeni” (Here I am); “Shema” (Listen and Do’); “Splagchnizonai” (deeply moved with compassion); “pistence” (believe), and “kal-v’chomer” (How much more). If it is poetically possible to “see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower, and hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour,” as William Blake once imagined, then certainly we readers of Scripture can find a world of meaning in a single word, we can grasp something profound in a simple phrase.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8).
Come, Let Us Go Back To God – YouTube
Human history began with divine fellowship in the Garden of Eden. But Adam and Eve broke that intimate fellowship with God, and ever since, God has yearned to return to that vital relationship with us. The Lord will do whatever it takes, even to die, to restore that personal union and companionship with His people. The Bible begins with the preincarnate Christ walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in Paradise. Unfortunately, that divine friendship was fractured, and throughout the rest of Scripture God is pleading with people to return, to come back to Him. Come, says the Father. Come, says the Son. Come, says the Holy Spirit. I so desire for you to move from there to here, He says. I initiated the communion between us, says the Lord, and now I want you to return to Me. A common thread through Scripture is God issuing invitations to come to Him. And our response? “Lo, here I am, I come… I delight to do your will, O my God.” (Ps. 40:7-8). Consider the following to be God’s divine invitations to us to come to come to Him.
The Father says, “Come”:
#1 – “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction. Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. and he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (Exodus 24:12-18).
God in His glory wanted Moses to spend time with Him, significant and meaningful time. So God said, Come. And Moses had the courage to walk up the mountain, more than once, as Sinai quaked, as it was covered by a thick cloud, was surrounded by lightning and thunder, accompanied by loud trumpet blasts. And the Lord descended on the mountain in fire and smoke. (Ex. 19). God said Come to Moses, and Moses went. Come to Me, says the Father, I have much to tell you. Let’s talk. And Moses accepted the invitation, and they talked.
#2 – “My lover spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit, the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.” (Song of Songs 2:10-13).
In His divine love song, the Husband woos His bride to come to Him and have the deepest of fellowship. God says to believers, Come away with me and we can once again experience the union we once had in Paradise. I am your eternal Husband, your spiritual Spouse, says the Lord. Come away with me, and we will have sweet communion in eternity, starting now.
#3 – “Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Come, let us reason together. Let’s settle this! says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” (Isaiah 1:16-18).
The Father tells His people, you need to be forgiven for your evil ways. You need to be washed clean, and I can do it! So come to me, let’s sit down together, and let me convince you that though you seem to be permanently stained red in sin, I can clean you pure white. Come to me, and we can reason together about this. Let’s settle this together once and for all. “Come. Sit down with me. Let’s argue this out.” (MSG). Let me convince you of my mercy and my power to forgive. Do you want a personal cleansing? Then come to me. This is a word to the wise, people. Come.
#4 – “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink – even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk – it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. Come to me with ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.” (Isaiah 55:1-3).
Father God says, Come to Me if you are spiritually thirsty, if you long for the fullness of divine waters and rich spiritual food. Your soul will delight in what I can offer you if you come to me to slake your thirst. And it’s free! Come to me and I will refresh you, renew you, and strengthen you, says the Lord. This messianic word was following up on the promise of Isaiah 44:3, that the Lord will send Someone to provide water for the thirsty, that this Person will pour God’s Spirit upon all who come to Him. Come to me, says the Lord, and you will never be thirsty again.”
#5 – “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:6-8).
Back in the time before Christ, a believer could be excused for any confusion as to how to respond to God’s invitation to come to Him. There certainly was a focus on the sacrificial system. So is that how they were to respond to His invitation? Did He limit His access to our coming to Him with rams and calves and oil and burnt offering? Or is there something even more central to the heart of God, more important than the Mosiac Law. Micah tells us that our approach to God involves the way we live our lives, our attitudes, our actions, our faith. When we come to God, He wants to see how we make personal sacrifices, like doing justice, and loving mercy, and walking humbly with Him. That is how we restore fellowship with God, He says. Come to me every day, He says. Become a living sacrifice.
#6 – “Come, let us go up to the Mount of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob; that He may instruct us in His ways, and that we may walk in His paths. For instruction shall come forth from Zion, the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3, TANAKH). Come Let Us Go Up!
MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD (Joshua Aaron & Aaron Shust) LIVE at the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem (youtube.com)
The Son says, “Come”:
#1 – “Watching as they were casting their nets into the water, Jesus called out to them and said, ‘Come after me, follow me, and I will transform you into men who catch people for God.’ Immediately they dropped their nets and left everything behind to follow Jesus.” (Matthew 4:18-20).
Here we have the ultimate divine invitation, the defining moment of every disciple of God. In those days, when a well-established rabbi chose someone to be a student of his, he would approach the man and simply say, “Come after me.” And this has become the universal call to all people. In this scene, Jesus is on the shore of Lake Galilee, watching two fishermen in particular as they cast their fishing nets into the water. These two brothers, Simon and Andrew, were called by Jesus to come after Him, to follow Him, and they didn’t think twice. Their response was immediate, and their answer was yes. Because Jesus had earlier been preaching all around that area, it was likely that they both were well aware of who Jesus was and what He taught. Jesus’ call to them was two-fold: First, follow after Jesus; second, learn how to catch people for God just like they were catching fish for people. His call to these two brothers is echoed to each and every person on earth… Come after Me, Jesus says. Follow me. And I will make you fishers of men.
#2 – “Jesus turned around and saw two of John’s disciples following Him from a short distance, and He asked them, ‘What do you want?’ They responded, ‘Rabbi, where are you staying?’ Jesus answered, ‘Come and see.’” (John 1:38-39).
Those two new disciples asked Jesus a simple and logical question, and He, as He often did, replied with an answer that had many layers of meaning. He could have responded simply with where He was going. But he chose not to answer that way. He seemed to want to playfully give them a glimpse of the future if they wanted to stay with Him. He wanted them to get used to the idea of trusting Him. He wanted to inspire even a small measure of faith right at the start. Do you really want to follow me, He asks. Then you should learn to be more concerned with Who you’re with than where you’re going. Jesus offered to those two disciples a call to adventure, a life where they may not know where they are going from one moment to the next. Following Jesus is a life of discovery, of exploring new ground, literally and spiritually. Jesus said Come and see. If you want to learn to follow Me and trust Me, this is a good time to start. Where are we going? I guess we’ll know when we get there. The Greek word here is “Deute,” which means “Come hither! Come now! And don’t forget to follow me once you come to me! Stay with me! Remain.”
#3 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Come and Rest | Mission House (Official Music Video) (youtube.com)
Jesus stands there in a crowd and opens His arms wide. “Come to Me,” He says. Come to Me if you are finding life burdensome. Maybe your heavy burdens are all these extra regulations from the Pharisees that are laying heavy on you, and all their laws that seem meaningless and too demanding. Maybe your heavy burdens are due to all the responsibilities you carry that are difficult to manage. Maybe the heavy burdens you carry are simply the guilt you have from your sinfulness. Maybe you feel heavy burdened because life just isn’t turning out be the way you wanted and you don’t know what to do about that. Whatever your burdens, come to Me for a real rest and refreshment. If you share My yoke with Me, you can watch Me work, watch how I do things. You can learn My way while at My side. And we can be partners in carrying your load of burdens. Share your burdens with Me, and they will seem lighter to bear. For I am not a hard-driving taskmaster full of pride and ambition. I am easy to please. for I am meek, with My strength under God’s control. I am lowly and have learned to depend on God. With Me, your burdens will be more meaningful, satisfying and lighter on your spirit. Come to Me, and you will learn “the unforced rhythms of grace.” (Peterson). To help ease your burdens with the Temple leaders, I will soon be very clear in My complaints against them: “Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in a bundle of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help.” (Matt. 23:4, MSG). You know that the other meaning of yoke is a rabbi’s teaching, submitting to a teacher’s instruction of Torah. Well, My yoke, my teaching, will not give you more burdens to bear. My instruction will be delightful, wholesome, comfortable to wear. If you come to me and submit to my Torah teaching, it will not be burdensome or heavy on your spirit, for I will help you live in the way I’m speaking about. It will be light and easier to bear. Speaking of Torah, you realize, don’t you, that I referred to two wonderful quotes from Torah in my words here… First, when Yahweh said to Moses, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.‘ (Ex. 33:14); and I love this Scripture from Jeremiah: ‘And thus says the Lord, ‘Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.” (6:16). Come to me, and I will fulfill those Scriptures before your very eyes.
#4 – “There was such a swirl of activities around Jesus, with so many people coming and going, that they were unable to even eat a meal. So Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Come, let’s take a break and find a secluded place where you can rest a while.’ ” (Mark 6:30-31).
Jesus had sent out the Twelve into the Galilean villages to cast out demons, preach, and heal the sick. They are now returning to Jesus and excitedly reporting what they experienced. Jesus noticed that the Disciples were exhausted and hungry, and yet they couldn’t even eat because of all the people, all the clamor. Being the Good Shepherd, Jesus said to them, Come, let’s take a break and find a place to rest. Jesus offers rest to His laborers, not just spiritual rest, but also mental and physical rest. Give yourselves permission, Jesus is saying, to take some time to yourself in a quiet place, to recuperate. One doesn’t have to burn out when doing good work. Don’t treat Me like I am some hard taskmaster, because I’m not. You won’t do anyone any good if you are depleted, exhausted, and ineffective. And when you take a break, follow Jesus into your rest. Let Him guide you to a place of refreshment. Come away with Me, He says. And I will help you get the rest you need.
#5 – “Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood forth and He cried in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out from his innermost being springs of living water shall flow.” (John 7:37-38).
The three most important religious festivals of the ancient Jews were Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. During the eighth day in the Feast of Tabernacles, water is a major theme. There were many celebrations during this Feast, culminating in the Water Purification Ceremony, when the High Priest would lead a parade of people to the pool of Siloam in order to draw water into a golden pitcher. They would then all return to the Temple to pour the water onto the altar. This ceremony was to commemorate the water flowing from the rock in the wilderness with Moses (Ex. 17). Right in the middle of this energized crowd, while everyone is gathered in the Temple courtyards, a young man from Galilee stands up boldly in their midst and shouts for all to hear, “Come to me and drink, all you who are thirsty! If you believe in Me, rivers of living water will flow out of your hearts!’ The people were dumfounded, for Jesus here claimed to be the fulfillment of two messianic prophecies, Isaiah 44:3 and Isaiah 55:1. Here is Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, able to pour God’s Spirit on all who came to Him. Many who heard this claim believed it and called Jesus the Christ. Others wondered how the long-awaited Messiah could come from Galilee and not Bethlehem. Most people had not yet heard the story of Jesus’ birth. Temple officers were dispatched by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus after His claim, but the officers were as captivated by Jesus’ words as almost everyone else. Jesus was not arrested after all.
#6 – “Come, for all things are now ready.” (Luke 14:17).
Jesus was a born storyteller. One of His parables was told by Him when at a supper hosted by a Pharisee. One of the diners, well aware of the Messianic Banquet prophesied in Isaiah 25, was inspired to say, “Blessed is the one who eats a meal in the kingdom of God!” In response to this wonderful comment, Jesus tells a parable about the Great Feast. This is a story about a man who wanted to host a big banquet. He sent out the invitations through his servants, and all were expected to attend. The man then summoned everyone to come, for all things are now ready. But all those invited started sending in their regrets, one lame excuse after another. The angry host then made a second guest list and invited everyone who were never invited to anything as grand as this banquet. The poor were invited, the crippled, the alien, the traveler, the complete stranger. Finally, the house was full and the party could begin. Jesus said His kingdom looks like that. All are invited, and only a few accept the invitation. As it turns out, Jesus is the life the party, His heart is as big as the world, and His banquet hall always has room for more.
#7 – “Come to the Wedding Feast!” (Matthew 22:4).
Another parable from Jesus is the one about the king who wanted to host a huge joyful wedding banquet for his son, the bridegroom. The king sent out the invitations, and surprisingly, all the invitations were rejected. Some of those invited even went so far as to kill the king’s servants who brought the invitations. So the furious king punished those evil-doers and gave new instructions to his servants… Invite anyone you can find, it doesn’t even matter if they are worthy or not. So the invitations were extended far and wide to people known and unknown, and before long, the wedding hall was filled with these unexpected guests. The king was determined to have the wedding for his son, and he desired a joyful celebration with whomever accepted his invitation. And the king got his wish. In this story, Jesus the Bridegroom provided yet another picture of the kingdom of God. “Blessed are those who are invited to feast at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9).
#8 – “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34).
Is this, Christ’s last parable before His Passion, a parable or a prophecy? How about both? We see here Jesus as He sits on His throne at the final judgment, the universal judge. The sheep are the accepted ones who followed the Good Shepherd and served Him by caring for the least in works of mercy. The goats are the rejected ones who did not live a life of merciful works toward the poor and the needy. Neither the sheep nor the goats were even aware of how they served or rejected Jesus in their lives. God’s criteria for the final judgment was a complete mystery to them both, since they responded with, “Lord, when did we see you hungry…?” The sheep were welcomed into the kingdom of heaven with these words that amount to an engraved invitation, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Only sons and daughters can inherit, so it’s clear that God has adopted the sheep into His family and they have become His children for eternity.
“Come to the Waters” by Matthew Zigenis (youtube.com)
The Holy Spirit says, “Come”:
“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride. Whoever hears, echo, “Come!” Is anyone thirsty? Come! All who will, come and drink, drink freely of the Water of Life! (Revelation 22:17, MSG).
The Greek word here is “erchou,” which means to “continue coming to have a personal spiritual experience, to attend to spiritual matters!”
“The Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,” proclaims the Nicene Creed, and all God’s people say Amen! Throughout Scripture, the Spirit is symbolized by fresh water, by the waters of life. Living water from running streams is a picture of the life-saving, soul-satisfying refreshment that can only be given by God through His Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew Bible, the connection between water and the Spirit is in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and my blessings on your offspring.” And In Isaiah 32:15, 20, “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field… How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters.” When Jesus had that momentous discussion with the woman at the well, He promised her the water that will become in her “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14). Lest anyone be confused about that water of life, John clarified the matter once and for all after Jesus shouted out His messianic invitation, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water!” (John 7:37-38). After which John added, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.” (John 7:39). So when the Holy Spirit said ‘Come’ in Revelation 22:17, He is inviting those who are thirsty to come to Him and drink freely from His fountain of life. Only those who are thirsty, those who are “painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened” (AMP), can receive the Spirit’s water of life. Only the thirsty can have their thirst quenched by the Spirit. The Bride of Christ, the Church, joins in the invitation, appealing to all who are spiritually thirsty to come and drink of the Spirit. Whoever drinks of the Spirit will have an ongoing stream of life flowing out of his heart. And this water is free of charge. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts come to the waters; you who have no money, come!” (Isaiah 55:1). John’s final appeal in Scripture is the divine invitation of the Holy Spirit to come to Him for life-giving water. As the Father made clear in Isaiah 41:17, “The afflicted and needy shall rejoice exceedingly, for when they shall seek water, but there is none, and their tongues are parched with thirst, I the Lord God, will hear them; As the God of Israel, I will not forsake them.” The Spirit’s invitation to come and drink is simply a profound gesture of God’s mercy.
Spirit and the Bride (Official Music Video) Sea of Galilee, Israel ~ Joshua Aaron (youtube.com)
What will be our eventual response to God’s invitation? We will encourage each other to come to the New Jerusalem together, to the Messianic banquet. We are beckoned to Zion, and our response is to gather up the other believers as we go to heaven to experience God’s renewed fellowship with Him and each other. God says Come, everything is prepared, and our response is to say to each other, Come, let’s go together to be with the Savior. “Come before His presence with singing.” (Ps. 100:2). “Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Come let us worship and bow down.” (Ps. 90:1, 2, 6).