SHIFTING CONTAINERS – Mental Capacity
“We need to align our theologies not by what man says about God but by what God says about man.“
The challenge in life is not only to value what we BELIEVE but also to value what we FEED our belief-system. Once we have started the process of expanding our INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY (see previous week), we need to expand our MENTAL CAPACITY – the ability to form our convictions on our own discovered truths, not just the truths of others.
The ‘easy’ option when we first meet faith is to settle for quick and simple theologies instead of exploring the depth of God’s character and digging deep into scriptures ourselves. Sadly, Christians often leave their “religious seeking” to pastors, philosophers and prophets. The person that introduces us to Christ is often the person whose convictions we embrace. Our understanding then becomes moulded and modelled by the convictions of people’s interpretation of God, and not by God Himself.
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN JOURNALIST
We build and develop our mental capacity by learning how to ‘feed‘ our thoughts. We need to approach ‘what we hear’ with the heart of a journalist that seeks to research information before re-sharing information.
One of the first Christian “investigative journalists” that we read of in Scripture was Mary Magdalene (John 20:18). She went to INVESTIGATE the tomb of Jesus and when she found it empty she went to the disciples WITH THE NEWS: “I have seen the Lord! ”
Can you imagine modern technology being available in those days? Facebook posts, YouTube videos, selfies, WhatsApp messages, Tweets, mobile phone pictures, short-term outreaches and different Christian groups arriving to “catch the fire”. But the beauty of Mary is that she didn’t hear it from someone else, she discovered it herself.
And maybe taking this Scripture as an example of expanding our mental capacity is a little far-fetched, but it does provide a wonderful setting of observing news, putting it into context and then creating a perspective; three elements of expanding our capacity in thinking new.
I love looking beyond the obvious when I read Scripture and look for the specifics in the Bible; verses that could have been omitted that would not have changed the story but were added for a specific reason.
In John 20: 1-12 there are three specifics that teach us the principles in expanding our mental capacity:
The OBSERVATION – The CONTEXT – The PERSPECTIVE
OBSERVATION
THE FIRST SPECIFIC IS FOUND IN VERSE 1: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
If the Scripture simply read: “On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance…” we would still have had the essence of the story. But the author added, “Early, when it was still dark.” “Early” refers to an urgency and “while it was still dark” refers to intent. If we seek to expand our mental capacity we need to continually observe with urgency and intent, not curiosity and content. Mary would not be satisfied to hear the news from someone else. She wanted to see for herself.
It is significant to note the different attitudes as Mary and the disciples approached and observed the same scene set before them. Mary came with a sense of urgency, a heart of worship, seeking Christ in the tomb. Peter and John probably came out of curiosity, also with a real sense of urgency (they ran) but, sadly, they looked and went back to where they were staying. Their mental capacity could look at the empty grave and yet not comprehend the significance of what they saw.
It is true that you cannot see what you are not looking for and if you don’t get it, you simply don’t get it. Those who experience resurrection are those who seek resurrection. What we don’t pay attention to, we won’t see. Truth does not come cheaply. If we truly seek to expand our mental capacity, we should have a clear objective of seeking God in every situation. It’s the sacrifice of having a miner mentality and delving deep into what is happening, looking through the redemptive lenses of Christ.
CONTEXT
THE SECOND SPECIFIC IS FOUND IN VERSE 7: The cloth was still lying in its place (wrapped, rolled up, folded), separate from the linen.
Once again, we find Mary’s approach is completely different from that of the disciples. Mary observes the empty grave and understands that there is something more to discover than just the emptiness. The emptiness excites her and she does not want to miss a thing, even in the unseen. She understands that something significant has taken place and responds by staying behind. Peter and John lack the understanding and fail to interpret the empty cave from a prophetic and Scriptural context. (John 20:9 They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) The emptiness of the cave disappoints them, and they react by going back home to business as usual.
But the context of Mary’s fascination with the empty grave probably lies in the cloth, still in its place, separate from the linen (verse 7).
There is a very “romantic” context often used by Western pastors when explaining why Jesus “folded” (not used in all translations) the napkin? But sadly, this theory could be as misleading as it is misinterpreted.
This theory is based on the Hebrew tradition of that day and is as follows:
The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and would not dare touch that table, until then. Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, “I’m done”. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because…. the folded napkin meant, “I’m coming back!”
For some Western preachers the napkin, or headcloth, being folded separate from the linen is contextually interpreted that Jesus sent this message to His disciples: I am coming back!
But, as nice as this sounds, it remains a nice, romantic, western, misinterpretation of the events. Here is why.
The word “napkin”, used in the King James Bible, certainly gives some readers a wrong picture of what was put around the head of Jesus Christ. The Greek word is “soudarion”, from a Latin word “sudarium”. The cloth is akin to our modern-day bandana or a “mitpachat” (headscarves) worn by Jewish women. The word “folded” found in John 20:7 in many Bible translations also gives readers the impression that the “soudarion” was folded like one would fold his handkerchief or a towel.
But the context of the wrapped clothes stretches far deeper than just a sign of Christ’s return. The evidence of the intact and not unwrapped grave clothes, both the shroud and the “sudarium” proves that Jesus Christ rose up, from His sleeping position, right through the wrappings, and then passed through the wall of the sepulcher in His resurrected glorified body! This was unlike Lazarus who needed to be loosed from his wrappings after He raised him from the dead (John 11:44).
Here is why the context is important and why this helps us to expand our mental capacity. If we interpret the empty grave and wrapped headscarf as the Lord conveying a message of “I am coming back”, then our interpretation will be PROPHETIC and focus only on His return. But, if we interpret the empty grave and wrapped headscarf as the Lord conveying a message of “I am resurrected”, then our interpretation will be REDEMPTIVE and our focus will be on His salvation.
This might seem insignificant at first but will eventually determine how we watch the news, how we interpret disasters, how we view tragedies, how we observe wars and how we contextualize global events. It will prevent us from always seeking the fatalistic PROPHETIC approach, and prompt us instead to seek active REDEMPTIVE purposes.
PERSPECTIVE
THE THIRD SPECIFIC IS FOUND IN VERSE 10: Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
The Bible gives a very honest and detailed account of how the various followers of Christ responded to the news of the empty grave. Not all were excited and not all believed. This rings true today when Christians respond to global events. Some have the mental ability to OBSERVE Christ in the CONTEXT of His sovereignty and therefore have the PERSPECTIVE that He is building His Kingdom in a glorious way. Others fail to see Christ but ascribe news to the anti-Christ, the devil, or simply to the evil plans of man. The old saying is true: Some people want things to happen. Some people make things happen. And some people wonder what in the world is happening.
In Mark 16:9-11 we read how the apostles reacted in disbelief to the news of the empty grave: “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” How painfully sad – but it doesn’t stop there. Even more witnesses appeared later (Mark 16:12-13) but could still not persuade the followers of Christ that He was who He said He was. The unbelief of His followers eventually evoked an uncharacteristic rebuke from the Lord, disappointed at their disbelief and stubborn refusal to listen to the words of those who saw Him.
Luke confirms the stories in Mark and in John but with a more telling referral. Luke mentions that the disciples did not believe the report of the women because they thought it sounded foolish. Peter, however, sprinted over to the grave to see for himself, seeing the linens set aside, he went off in a quandary, pondering what had happened. Others beside the apostles had different reactions to the empty graves. Luke also states that Jesus rebuked their foolish and slow hearts for not believing (Luke 24:25-26).
Mary’s perspectives however were formed by what she knew, not by what she saw. For her, it was a matter of “Know Christ, know resurrection.” Peter and John’s perspectives were formed by what they didn’t see. For them, it was a matter of: “No Christ, no resurrection.” They still did not have the ability to build their mental capacity. After three years of following the Master they still did not understand the Biblical interpretation from a redemptive perspective. It once again confirms that we can only see what we are giving attention to.
Expanding our mental capacity will therefore be determined by the glasses we have on. Only by looking through God’s lenses will we be able to get the CHRIST perspective and not the WORLD perspective. Only by Expanding our mental capacity will we be able to seek the REDEMPTIVE and not get side-tracked by the PROPHETIC, as important as that might be.
Once you see it, you cannot not see it.
Amazingly, once we start building our mental capacity and look through lenses of redemption, we will soon discover the need to build our emotional capacity.
You are most welcome to order the book CAPACITY from Mike at thirdwayinfo@gmail.com