“Gallant
Friend”
Have we lost the Gallant Friend to priests and torture tree?O yes, he loved us brawny men and ships and open sea.When came a host to take Our Man, his smile was grand to see,"First let these go and I’ll stay – or I'll see ya damned," says he.
Dedicated to Pete Benning (b. 1980), USMC
He came from across the
world to fulfill a dangerous and gallant mission.
Dedicated to Robert V.
Hickey (1926 - May 26, 2005)
He won a heart for his service in
the South Pacific; thereafter, he won hearts.
Jackson Snyder Bible Search and Study All Sermons A poem, Gallant Friend
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Isaiah
40:1-6. “Console my people, console them,” says your god. “Speak to
the heart of
PSALM 89 UMH 809, Resp. 1
Here
is the NEW, literal Sneads Version of
Sequence 1 of John’s Gospel. See footnotes
for translation notes.
John 1:19 And this is the witness of
John when the Jews[1]
from
23 He said, I – the voice of crying in the desert, Straighten Yahweh’s[4]
road! just as Isaiah[5]
the Prophet said.
24 Those having been sent were from the Pharisees[6]. 25 And they asked him and said to him, Why
then do you dunk if you are not the Anointed nor Elijah nor The Prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I dunk in
water; one stands among you 27 who
you all know not, coming after me, of whom I am not worthy that I should loose
from him the sandal strap. 28 These things happened in Bethany Beyond the
29 On the morrow, he sees Yahshua coming toward him, and says, Look!
Yahweh’s lamb[8],
the one taking away the sin[9]
of the world! 30 This is he about whom I
said, After me comes a man who has become before me, because he was my
first. 31 And I knew him not, but that
he might become visible to
32 And John witnessed, saying that: I have observed the spirit coming
down as a dove, and it stayed upon him.
33 And I knew him not, but the one
having sent me to dunk in water, that one
said to me, On whomever you see the spirit coming down and staying on him, this
is the one dunking in a holy
spirit. 34 And I have seen and have
witnessed that this is Yahweh’s son[11].
35 On the morrow, again stood John and, out of his students, two; 36 and
looking at Yahshua walking, he says, Look! Yahweh’s Lamb! 37 And the two students of his heard him
speaking and they followed Yahshua. 38
And turning, Yahshua observing them following, says to them, What do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi (which, being
translated, is called Teacher), Where do
you stay? 39 He says to them, Come and
you will see. Then they went and saw
where he stays and they stayed with him the day, the hour was about the
tenth.
40 Andrew[12],
the brother of Simon Kefa [13],
was one of the two hearing from John and following him. 41 This one first finds his own brother Simon and tells him, we have found the Messiah[14]
(which, being translated, is Anointed[15]). 42 He led him toward Yahshua. Looking at him, Yahshua said, You are Simon,
John’s son[16];
you will be called Kefa (which is translated, a stone).
43 On the morrow, he wanted to go
out into the
47 The Yahshua saw Nathanael
coming toward him and says about him,
Look! Truly an Israelite, in whom is no
deception[20]. 48 Nathanael says to him, From where do you
know me? Yahshua answered and said to
him, Before Philip began to call you, I saw you resting[21]
under the fig. 49 Nathanael answered
him, Rabbi, you are Yahweh’s son; you are king of the
51 And he says to him, Amen, Amen.
I tell you, you will see the heavens having been opened and the
messengers of the elohim[22]
going up and coming down upon the son of the man.
We’re
Sunk!
I came across the mention of a magazine article
about a lady and a man who attempted to cross the
Now this lady had a strong sense of doom
when the storm blew up. She even seemed
to be given a supernatural plan of escape.
She warned her partner over and over again of the danger, and how it
might be avoided. But he wasn’t a bold
man: he was stubborn; and he wouldn’t listen to women’s intuition, even as the
deluge destroyed him.
After her rescue, she felt an overcoming
sense of guilt. Why? Because she hadn’t stepped out to do what she
knew to do – she hadn’t acted boldly upon her revelation – she
hadn’t been gallant in her action, but kept to her place as first mate
of a crew of two. She said, “My life was
at stake too. But because he was the
captain [and I was only the mate], I felt it wasn’t my place to argue too
much. I should’ve been more
adamant. I should’ve been more
bold. Perhaps if I had been, the boat
wouldn’t have sunk, and there would be two of us alive today.”[23]
Gallant
Men
We’ve experienced times when, had we only
been bold enough to go with our gut, we’d have avoided trouble. Most of the time, we can pretty safely yield
our feelings to the “captain” without serious consequences. But we’ve learned to yield to the point in
which, if there be lives at stake, they’d be lost because we hadn’t acted or
spoken boldly.
As I was considering the gospel text, the
book Wild At Heart came my way.
The author, John Eldredge, has the idea that family, school, job and
church have strangled the boldness out of us.
He says these institutions teach that it’s wrong to be bold, assertive
and gallant. Institutional religion
cautions us that individuality – especially the individuality of uniqueness –
is a kind of sin; we would be better off to conform and become well-behaved
boys and girls.
Boy, did that make me think! Most churches teach that our sanctification
is far more dependant upon what we don’t
do than what we do. Are sanctified people holy because they’re
submissive? Are we judged on the basis
of whether we’re well behaved? whether
we haven’t upset apple carts? whether
we’ve been in compliance to captains and captors? Is there any room in the quiet heaven
for Rambo or G. I. Jane? Where are our
young and fearless prophets today?
Wild
and Bold
Our passage – the latter half of John 1 –
features characters who’re extremely bold, even wild – yet they’re some of the
highest-placed saints in our Christian hagiographies. John, for one, has to leave the country to dunk his disciples. Many followed him boldly, risking their lives
to be sloshed in the river.
When the corrupt cops of ancient Judaism,
the Pharisees, cross the eastern border to interrogate John, he rails at them
fearlessly, calling them extortionists and poisonous vipers, threatening
Yahweh’s awesome wrath upon them.[24]
John’s wild and bold; he doesn’t seem to know his place in civil religion; he’s not
a well-behaved parishioner. How does
such a man fit our sensibilities of sanctity?
What kind of “Christian” would such a man as John be in our
congregation? How could the Almighty use
such a crude, insulting, disrespectful, disheveled maniac as John the Dunker?
Gallant!
How? You
shall know the truth and the truth will hopefully free you. Here’s the truth:
John knew who he was and where he’d
come from. John doubted not that he was a heavenly man. If you’re a heavenly man or woman, you should
also know it and celebrate it. John had
a mission, not to prepare the way of Yahweh, but to preach
preparation. “You!
You prepare Yahweh’s road!” he came crying to the ewes of all
future generations. If you’re a child of
the Father, you have exactly the same
mission as he as we stand this day at the
very event horizon of Yahweh’s wrath and Yahshua’s redemption. He
cries out, and we also cry, “Repent for the reign of Yahweh is at hand!”
John’s mission was life or death – the whole
world was at stake. Had he not completed
it, every solitary soul would die in their
sins, for he was calling attention to the only entity who could take away the
sin of the whole world. You have exactly
the same mission – to point out the Anointed to whoever ventures into your
desert, your watering hole, your intersection, your haven of rest.
Do you know what they call someone who makes
a grand attempt at accomplishing good?
They call that man, woman or cohort gallant. If John the Dunker’s any example, one’s
gallant not because one acquiesces, not because one’s a
well-behaved little punk, but because one is wildly pressing forth upon Yah’s
Way until he or she feels ownership in John’s mission and Yah’s Kingdom.
By recognizing your true origin and your
right to speak out in holy boldness, you may quickly grow into the Bible
kind of “sanctified,” the wild kind of “sanctified,” and gain gallant
friends on the roadway. Yes, your
Father will secure for you a bold cohort
for companionship.
If He Can’t Do It,
Nobody Can
After identifying himself to all others as
the personification of well-known prophecy, John introduces Yahshua to his
gallant friends as The Anointed ONE of
Yahweh – the son of G-d – who not only had authority to assume then destroy sins, but power to transform timid tots into bold
adventurers and advocates for the Savior of the world. Why was John’s mission
so critical? Because sin threatened to
destroy all good on earth and the Anointed One is able to consume every
sin.
Do you remember the definition of sin? The New Testament tells us plainly, “sin is breaking the
Torah” (1 John 3:4). The Torah, sometimes translated “Law,”
includes the Ten Commandments. Do you
believe in the validity of the Ten Commandments? I dare say most Christians give lip service
to them, but have in fact no real intention of obeying them, including
commandment advocates like Judge Moore and James Dobson. Let me offer you a toe-trouncing example:
¿What did you do yesterday, on the seventh
day? Think. Why do I ask?
Because of what Yahweh says in the
Ten Commandments about yesterday: You shall keep
the Sabbath, because it is set-apart for you; every one who profanes it shall be put to death (Exodus 31:14). “TO DEATH,”
your g-d commands.
Hear me out now! It makes little difference what you think
about it – or what The Right Rev. Dr. Silly-Sandwich tells you – or what’s
convenient – or what’s tradition. What
matters is the decree of the
Judge. He GAVE US the Ten
Commandments is deserved for impinging upon His rights or the rights of others. And, in every single case, that sentence is
death.
Therefore, I can say with authority that the
Anointed One – Yahshua – came on a life-saving mission – to transform
from the Son of Man to the Paschal Lamb – that final, all consuming holocaust
that consumed sin in the fires of his
burning and destroyed its penalty for the whole world. That’s a great salvation you have, brother;
that’s a powerful gift you have, sister.
That’s a priceless inheritance you have, young person. I hope
you value it enough to start keeping his commandments because you love Him and
your fellows. The Commandments were
created to protect you, friend; not to put you to death!
Second, the Anointed One will dunk folks in
holy spirit. Earlier on, the writer
said this spirit-dunking was essential in order to live as heirs of a Heavenly
Father. Once spirit-dunked, super powers
burst forth, like that lady on the boat’s sixth sense, who sadly lacked
the gallantry to use her supernatural wisdom. We, who claim to be the spirit dunked,
are supposed to recognize our wonderful privileges and awesome
responsibilities. Realizing that we
can’t die, no matter what torture stake awaits us, we’re to go forth, spending
our inheritance in advance, boldly, generously, prodigally, on preparing
Yahweh’s road, for what is expected of us goes far, far beyond this
churchianity we’ve been playing at.
Good
Little Boys and Girls?
Consider the boldness of Andrew – he was
only a country schoolboy, but he swallowed his fear to approach the Anointed
One. Andrew gallantly introduced his new
teacher to family and friends. Only his brother would believe him,
maybe just because he loved him or wanted to calm him down.
Consider the boldness and gallantry of
Nathanael. He proclaimed his wild
vision no matter what anyone thought, and he was therefore promised even
greater insights. Also the boldness
of Simon, who was assigned a heritage by the Anointed One – “you are the ‘son’
of the Dunker,” said Jesus. Simon was
even christened with a new name – Kefa or Peter, which means “stone.” Wow!
That’s manly! “Look out! Ol’ Stony’s a comin’ down the way!”
Everyone responds to flattery. But in Simon’s case, he gallantly became
what was only a flattering nickname.
For later, after breaking the ninth
commandment against his Master – you will not bear a false witness – a crime
that carried the death sentence – he managed to pick himself back up and
“retake the cross.” To recover from mortal
sin – that is, betrayal and renunciation – is an astounding achievement of
courage – and shows us a vivid picture of the means by which the Anointed One
saves the world.
A
Braveheart
Now these disciples we’ve met are loud but
relatively harmless – they’re simply young men seeking an educator. But consider the lot that later hooked
up. Some “disciples” were zealots and
terrorists; some Essenes, trained to kill; some were extremely outspoken women,
to whom the Egyptian gospels attest; and one was a professional murderer (iscariot is Latin for assassin[25]). Yet, through the visionary direction of bold
and gallant leaders, this extremely diverse group of a hundred or more baddies
was transformed into a formidable fighting unit – aggressors against evil; zealots for good; gallant
friends.
Although Yahshua was like Mother Teresa at
times, this species of men and women aren’t the sort to follow “Mother” into
the Lion’s teeth. He had to be a G.
I. Jane Braveheart Rambo Riddick. He
had to be assertive, authoritative, terse and sometimes violently wild. “Jesus” wasn’t always a well-behaved tiny
babe gurgling happily in a manger, you know!
He’ll smash nations as though they were clay pots, says the Psalmist.
Another singer wrote a song about him after
his passion – certainly worth repeating here is for no other reason than to get
to his secret at the end.
O, have we lost our Gallant Friend to priests and torture tree?O yes, he loved us brawny men and ships and open sea.When came a host to take Our Man, his smile was grand to see,"First let these go and I’ll stay – or I'll see ye damned," says he. He sent us out through high crossed spears his scornful laugh rang free."Why seized you not as I walked all alone in town?" says he.We drank his health with good red wine in our last company,No feeble, clutching priest, our Friend, but man of men was he. I’ve seen him drive a hundred men with bundled ropes swung free,And crash the temple courtyard for its bloodstained treasury.They'll not get him to read a scroll, though written cunningly;No bookworm was our Gallant Friend; he loved the open sea. They think they’ve snared our Gallant Friend; they’re fools to great degree."I'll eat the feast," quoth Gallant Friend, "and see the gallows tree.""You’ve seen me heal the lame and halt, wake dead men, open eyes –You’ll see one thing to master all: that’s how a brave man dies." The Son of Man, our Gallant Friend, he asked us brothers be.I’ve seen him win a thousand men. I’ve seen him whip that tree.He cried no cry when nails pierced flesh, when blood gushed hot and free,The hounds of fiery hell gave wail, but ne’er a cry cried he. I’ve seen him thwart a thousand men on hills in Galilee ,They winced as he walked calm between; His eyes - gray like the sea:A sea that stands no voyaging, with winds unleashed and free.That sea he quenched, that Kinneret, with two words, suddenly. A chief o’er men was Gallant Friend, a mate of wind and sea,If they think now they’ve slain our Friend, they’re fools, and so are ye.Our Gallant Friend, he’ll ne’er be gone: hear now: believe you me!I watched him eat the honeycomb since nailed upon that tree.[26]
Here’s
Your Assignment
Gallant Friend, you too watch him eat the
honeycomb, too – you’ve witnessed that no tree could keep him nailed down and
no grave could contain him. Now, off
your torture stake! Come alive in his witness and
boldness. Repent and believe the good
news! Yahshua has set you free so you
may enter into a new phase of your shared mission and ministry.
Make the newness of our friendship an
opportunity. Make the opportunity
into an advantage. Tell everyone you
know – we’re doing a new thing here – be completely
positive and unusually bold about
it. If you don’t like one of your mates,
find something redeeming about him or her.
You don’t have to like anyone, only love everyone. Put aside all bitterness, then, and like
little Philip, boldly convict all ‘out there’ to ‘come and look’ for themselves. Change always means risk, but also
opportunity. Don’t let this opportunity
pass by – for it’s passing even now.
Keep in mind the verse, “The sea was quenched, that Kinneret, with two
words, suddenly!” Those two words were,
of course, “Be still!”
“Loose lips sink ships.” Say nothing negative about your fellowship. Rather, if you can’t trumpet the New Thing,
“Be still.” For when Yahweh’s at work
through you, a few strong, positive words, can start a chain reaction. Prepare ye the way! Straighten ye the path! Do the work of an evangelist; make full proof
of your ministry![27]
We’ve learned from our elders in the
denomination that witnessing is a process: Tell the Tale, Do the Deed,
Name the Name, Invite the Inquisitive.
But John demonstrates a more radical style: Realize your Roots, Shout
your Slogan, Prepare your Path – then Dunk, Dunk, Dunk.
John also pointed out the Anointed One to
his truest disciples so that they might be reborn from above and dunked
again in holy spirit.
Let me point him out to you! Just
open your heart-box and let Braveheart in; and he’ll anoint your scalp
with oil and your face with peace-paint!
As you set course on the restless, gray seas
of your future – especially your future in relationship to our shared ministry
and mission – keep in mind the answers to three very personal questions. Let me play the Pharisee; first
– Who are you? Answer me! Second - From whence have you come? If you can answer those two, the third ought
to be a simple matter – What great lands
will you set out to conquer now,
Gallant Friends?