Getting the Band Back Together

Getting the Band Back Together

“Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me” (2Tim 4:11).

On a Mission from God

Joliet Jake has just gotten out of the joint. His brother Elwood picks meets him outside the state pen. Now the Blues Brothers are on a mission from God to save the orphanage where they grew up. There’s only one way to make that happen. Get the band back together.

Rewind to the First Century. The scene is another prison. The Apostle Paul is behind bars but he’s not getting out. As a matter of fact, he’s on Death Row. In one final letter to his buddy Timothy, he desperately wants to gather the old gang one more time. 

“Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me” (v11). There is no question Paul is on a mission from God. He’s going to do everything possible to keep it going after he’s gone. What’s the best way to make that happen. Get the band back together.

One Last Letter from Death Row

The apostle writes from inside a prison in the capital city of Rome (2Tim 1:16; 2:9). The time is sometime around 66-67 AD. He knows his time is running out (2Tim 4:6-7). Paul writes to the young pastor in Ephesus with a pair of purposes. One, to pass the leadership of ministry (2Tim 2:1-4:4). The message of Jesus must not stop with his death. Two, to see Tim one last time before it’s too late. (2Tim 4:9, 21). 

One guy in the old gang has already bailed on Paul. “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me an gone to Thessalonica” (2Tim 4:10). Other members of the crew can’t be there because they’re on assignment. “Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia…Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus” (2Tim 4:10, 12). 

Paul’s Traveling Partner

Paul tells Tim that “Luke alone is with me” (v11). He’s probably there for a couple of reasons. First of all, he’s a longtime traveling partner of the apostle. As the author of the book we call Acts, he was right there as God used the former Pharisee to take the message of Jesus roaring around the Mediterranean Rim like a tsunami of grace. 

While Luke never drops his own name, all the early church leaders gave him credit for writing both the biography of Jesus that bears his name and its sequel. Whoever the author of Acts is, he subtly tips us off that he had a front row seat for a lot of the action. In several big chunks of Acts, the pronouns change from “they/them/theirs” to “we/us/ours” (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16).

Researching the Story of Jesus

Luke writes both of these important documents as research into who Jesus is and the spread of the Good News. He clearly spent a ton of time not just traveling with Paul, but interviewing key players and eyewitnesses of the all that Jesus and His reps had done. The recipient of both Luke and Acts is a man named Theophilis (Lk 1:3; Acts 1:1). 

Here’s a little bit of Bible trivia you may not realize. Did you know that Luke actually wrote the largest portion of the New Testament? Yup, that’s right. The volume of Luke and Acts actually fills up slightly more of the NT than all twelve of Paul’s letters combined. Together these two close friends are responsible for almost 60% of our NT!

The Good Doctor

The other reason Luke may well be with Paul is that he’s the apostle’s primary care doctor. In a letter to the Colossian church, he refers to him as “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col 4:14). In doing so, he uses the Greek word ιατρος/iatros, which describes someone who heals or makes whole. 

Why would Paul need a doctor with him on the road all these years? Apparently all the travel took its toll on the apostle. He reminds the Galatians how he only stopped to share the message of Jesus with them because he got sick (Gal 4:13-14). There’s a LOT of speculation what he came down with. The truth is we don’t know. What we DO know is that the good doctor is by his side during a good bit of the NT.

A Health Care Professional

Just who is Dr. Luke? Early church leaders Eusebius and Jerome said he was probably a native of Antioch in Syria. John MacArthur points out that this probably explains why so much of Acts focuses on what God was doing in and through the church in that city (Acts 11:19-27; 13:1-3; 14:26; 15:22-35; 18:22-23).

As a health care professional, Luke offers specific medical observations when he writes about Jesus’ various miracles and ministry (Lk 4:38-40; 5:15-25; 6:17-19; 7:11-15; 8:43-56; 9:2-11; 13:11-13; 14:2-4; 17:12-14; 22:50-51). 

Some folks speculate that Luke was a slave. Slavery in the Roman Empire was very different from that in the American South. Apparently it was not unusual for people with what we would call white collar jobs to serve as slaves in order to work off a deep debt.

Luke the Gentile

Paul goes out of his way to point out that Luke is a Gentile (Col 4:11-14). That’s a big deal. I mean, a REALLY big deal. As a non-Jew, the good doctor is perfect example of how Jesus had thrown the doors of God’s Kingdom wide open to people everywhere. 

During the early days of the church, there was a huge controversy. Should Gentiles convert to Judaism in order to follow Jesus? On the surface, it seems to make some sense. Remember, Christ is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. 

A Meeting at the Home Office

But in a key meeting back at the home office in Jerusalem, early church leaders solved this problem once and for all. Luke writes in Acts 15 about the time key dudes like Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and Jesus’ little brother James put their heads together. The decision? If God is personally converting non-Jews, that’s good enough for us!

Gentiles for Jesus

Dr. Luke is a personification of Jesus’ mission to every people group on the planet. And hang onto your hat for this…that makes Luke the only non-Jew to write any book in the Bible! 

Why does this matter to you and me? Well, there’s a good chance you’re a Gentile like Luke and me. I don’t know about you, but I plan on personally thanking the Lord for sending Paul on several world tours to invite non-Jews to step into the deep end of grace. Now THAT’S what I call a mission from God!

Get Mark!

While Luke stands by Paul in prison, there’s still one member of their merry band that’s missing. The apostle tells Tim, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me” (v11). Does the name Mark ring a bell? It should. This is the same Mark who wrote the second biography of Jesus. Yes, the gospel in between Matthew and Luke. THAT Mark.

Now we don’t know where Mark was when the apostle writes to Timothy. We’re pretty sure Tim is still in Ephesus as the handpicked lead pastor of the church Paul planted there (1Tim 1:3). Where’s Mark? We really don’t know. Wherever he might be, it must be on somewhere between Ephesus and Rome.

We get that from the original language Paul uses when he says “Get Mark” (v11). We see the Greek verb αναλαμβανω/analambano, which literally means to pick up. It’s almost like the apostle tells Tim to swing by Mark’s place and give him a lift to Rome. Just pull up and honk. He’s expecting you.

It’s Complicated

How do we describe Paul and Mark’s relationship? Well, it’s kinda like what they say on Facebook. It’s complicated. But we’ll get to that in a minute. 

Let’s back up to a rather obscure (if not just a little embarrassing) verse in Mark’s bio of Jesus. The scene is Gethsemane. Judas Iscariot has just made the ultimate heel turn and leads a not-so-small army to arrest Jesus.

A Streaker in Gethsemane 

Mark then includes something you won’t find in any other gospel. “And a young man followed Him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked” (Mk 14:51). Maybe, just maybe this First Century streaker is Mark himself.

Barnabas’ Cousin

Coincidentally, the first time a biblical author mentions Mark by name is, you guessed it, his old buddy Luke. When an angel busts Peter out of a Jerusalem jail, he hightails it to the home where local believers gather. It just happens to belong to “the mother of John whose other name was Mark” (Acts 12:12).

Paul fills us in on a little more of Mark’s family tree in a letter to the Colossian church. Mark and Paul’s old buddy Barnabas are cousins (Col 4:10). So when the apostle formerly known as Saul and Barney hit the road for their very first Gospel tour, they brought “John, whose other name was Mark” (Acts 12:25).

Punking out on Paul 

But something went sour not long after they left Cyprus and landed in Pamphylia which is on the southern coast of what we know today as Turkey. That’s when John Mark bailed on Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:13). Why? Was he homesick? We’re not sure. Whatever the case, his departure didn’t sabotage the success of that original expedition.

A little while later, Barnabas wanted to get the band back together and hit the road one more time (Acts 15:37). But Paul wasn’t about to deal with John Mark again (Acts 15:38). 

It caused a rift in Paul and Barnabas’ relationship. “And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other” (Acts 15:39). So cousins Barney and Mark went one way and the apostle took Silas headed in the other direction (Acts 15:40-41).

Restoration Happens

Just when you think Mark’s name would disappear from the pages of Scripture, something funny happens. Restoration happens. It turns out that God actually uses the formerly naked fugitive teenager. He can do great things through the guy who went AWOL on the apostle.

Not buying it? Check out what Paul says about Mark. “He is very useful to me for ministry” (v11). In doing so, the apostle uses the Greek word ευχρηστος/euchristos, which describes something or someone that’s very profitable, beneficial, valuable, easy to use, or specifically positive.

From Useless to Useful

Earlier in this letter, Paul compares someone preparing themselves to be used by God with doing the dishes. When you do, you are “set apart as holy, useful (Gr. ευχρηστος/euchristos) to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2Tim 2:21).

The man from Tarsus writes to his buddy Philemon about how one of Phil’s former servants named Onesimus has run away and God has turned his life around. “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful (Gr. ευχρηστος/euchristos) to you and me” (Phm 11).

God loves taking the useless and making them useful. As a matter of fact, He loves choosing “what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” (1Cor 1:27). Onesimus. John Mark. You. Me. Who says Almighty God doesn’t have a sense of humor? 

Just how useful is Mark to Paul’s ministry? When the former Pharisee finds himself behind bars a few years back, he hints that his young friend could be headed to Colossae soon (Col 4:10). Who saw this coming?!?

Connecting the Dots

And that’s not all! Did you realize that John Mark is one of the key people connecting the dots between the great apostles Peter and Paul? The apostle Jesus calls Rocky refers to “my son Mark” (1Pet 5:13). I don’t have to remind you that Pete’s no stranger to failure, repentance, and reinstatement. John MacArthur wonders if God may have used Peter to play a key role in Mark’s restoration?

The Lord may well have used Peter and Mark’s relationship in another very cool way. Most early church leaders believe the Gospel of Mark is actually Peter’s eyewitness account of the life of Jesus. Less than 100 years after Mark wrote his bio, Justin Martyr gave it his stamp of approval and called it “the memoirs of Peter.”

Too Far Gone?

Maybe you think you’ve driven your life so far into the ditch that God could never drag you out, much less use you. Do you believe you’ve burned every relational bridge and there’s no going back? Let’s just say those are lies from the pit of Hell and John Mark is living proof of that. 

Now let’s turn that around. Has somebody bailed on you and led you to write them off? Has a trusted friend left you in the lurch at the worst possible time? Paul knows the feeling. But he’s also allowed the Lord to make he and Mark whole again. Reconciling relationships is kind of Jesus’ specialty. 

A Ragtag Team

Paul, Timothy, Luke, and Mark have been through a lot together. God has brought together a rather ragtag team to spread the grace of the Gospel. Paul, the former killer of Christ followers. Tim, the young preacher from Lystra. Luke, the Gentile doctor. Mark, the restored deserter. They’ve been on a mission from God.

Before it’s too late, Paul wants to get the band back together.

©2017 

Jay Jennings

Ditched by Demas

“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia” (2Tim 4:10).

“No mas!”

It was the long awaited rematch between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. Duran was the tough-as-nails welterweight champ with the infamous hands of stone. But that night in the Superdome, Sugar Ray took control of the fight and began to taunt Duran.

Then something happened that nobody saw coming. With just seconds to go in the eighth round, the champ turned his back on Leonard and waved his boxing glove at the referee. “No mas!” That’s Spanish for “no more.” Instead of punching back, Duran punked out.

When Your Buddy Bails

So what in the Wide World of Sports does a boxer bailing in a bout have to do with an apostle in prison? According to Paul, one of his closest friends threw in the towel in the final rounds.

“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia” (v10). Paul doesn’t go into specifics but his buddy has bailed. He’s been ditched by Demas.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

This is probably a good time to zoom out to see the context of what’s going here. It’s sometime around 66-67 AD. The place is Rome’s Mamertine Prison, Caesar’s SuperMax. The Apostle Paul is writing what will be the last letter of his life. He’s behind bars on Death Row (2Tim 1:6, 12, 1; 2:9; 4:6-7).

With his final hours ticking down like the clock on “24,” Paul fires off a frantic note to Timothy, his spiritual son and “my beloved child” (2Tim 1:2). He writes with a pair of purposes. First, he’s officially making the handoff of ministry to the young preacher (2Tim 2:1-4:4). Second, he begs his protege for one last visit (2Tim 4:9; 21).

Which brings us to Demas’ desertion. There’s a pretty good chance that Paul needs Tim because someone who’s name starts with “D” and ends with “emas” dropped out. Or as as they say in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” he’s done “r-u-n-n-o-f-t!”

Who Is Demas?

Just who is this guy and why did he abandon the apostle in his darkest hour? Looking back on his other mentions in the New Testament, Demas seems to be exactly the kind of guy who would stick by your side when the chips are down.

Just five years ago during a previous time in the big house, he was right there with Paul. In a letter to Colossian believers from prison, the apostle wants them to know, “Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas” (Col 4:14). During the same incarceration, he tells his friend Philemon that Ephaphras “sends his greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers” (Phm 23-24).

This Present World

So what changed? Why has one of the most dedicated members of Paul’s posse flown the coop? Why did Demas say “no mas”? (Okay, it probably wasn’t in Spanish but Greek.)

While the apostle doesn’t get into specifics of Demas going AWOL, he does say that he’s “in love with this present world” (v10). Paul’s buddy had a choice to make. Stay with Paul or hit the road. And it becomes crystal clear that whatever he means by the phrase “this present world,” it did not involve hanging out in a Roman dungeon.

In the prequel to this letter, Paul uses this very same phrase when writing to Timothy about the top one percent. “As for the rich in this present world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1Tim 6:17, emphasis added).

Chasing Fads

The ESV translates the Greek word αιων/aion as “world.” Just to be clear, Paul’s NOT talking about planet. This term describes an era, age or a specific time period. It can also mean the system of practices and standards associated with secular society apart from the requirements of God.

That being the case, you can literally translate that Demas “has loved the age that now is” (v10). The Message nails it by saying Paul’s partner is off “chasing fads” (v10 The Message). Instead of standing by the apostle’s side, he’s decided to chase what’s trendy, hip, and hot.

No, I’m not saying Demas dumped Paul to play Pokemon Go while putting his hair in a First Century man-bun. He simply got distracted by the current stuff of life. The right now  in Demas’ life totally overwhelmed the eternal.

Hmm, sound familiar? Plenty of folks think the Bible is a dusty, old collection of well-intended but horribly outdated fairy tales. Church might have been good for Memaw back in the day, but I need something more chic. Gimme something current. Gimme something hip. Gimme something hot.

The Urgent Versus the Important

Don’t pull a Demas and mistake what’s urgent for what’s important. The Gospel allows us to look at life through the wide angle lens of eternity. We see what has enduring value. Just a hint, that value isn’t found binging the latest hot show on Netflix.

If you’re scoring at home, we’re talking about relationships. A relationship with God. Relationships with people. Those are SO important that Jesus said they are the secret sauce of obedience to the entire entire Old Testament (Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:29-31). So, yeah, loving others is kind of a big deal. Like a big, hairy eternal deal.

Let’s put all our cards on the table. You and I are whole lot more like Demas than we are Paul. We’re probably the folks Jesus was talking about when He compared spreading the Gospel in various soil conditions. “The cares of the world (Gr. αιων/aion) and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word” and the Good News never thrives (Mk 4:19).

IN the World or OF the World?

So how do we live in “this present age” (v10) and not give in to it? How do we live IN the world and not be OF the world? Paul knew believers in Rome would face these very same challenges as we do. “Do not be conformed to this world (Gr. αιων/aion), but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

In other words, don’t let the culture shape you from the outside. Let God’s Word shape you from the inside. The only real hope of not falling for the latest fads is allowing the Lord give you a brand new mind. A mind just like His that thinks like He thinks. Or as Paul tells the folks in Corinth, “We have the mind of Christ” (1Cor 2:16).

Left in the Lurch

How deep was Demas’ fascination with “this present age” (v10). Well, the apostle says he “has deserted me” (v10). Paul uses a Greek verb (Gr. εγκαταλειπω/egkataleipo) which paints a picture of abandoning someone in a desperate situation or leaving them in the lurch. It’s from a root word which means to leave destitute or distraught.

It should come as no shock that this is EXACTLY the same word used to translate Jesus’ heartbreaking cry from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken (Gr. εγκαταλειπω/egkataleipo) Me” (Mt 27:46). Our Savior experienced the ultimate abandonment so that we never have to. You can bet the apostle counts on that as he writes Tim.

On the Road to Thessalonica

The apostle does tell us that Demas has hit the road “and gone to Thessalonica” (v10).  In the First Century, it was the capital of Macedonia. Thessalonica was a commercial hub sitting smack dab along a major Roman highway with direct access to shipping on the Aegean Sea. If this wasn’t Demas’ hometown, it certainly was a happening town.

If the name of the place rings a bell, it should. Luke records that Paul had a rather short but eventful stay in Thessalonica. Planted a church there (Acts 17:1-4). Stirred up a real hornets nest there (Acts 17:5-9). Got chased out of there (Acts 17:10). And later, wrote a couple of letters to believers there.

Crescens to Galatia

Paul tells Timothy how of a couple of other members of his team that have moved on. “Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia” (v10). Sure seems like the apostle sees their departures more like assignments than abandonment.

So who’s this dude Crescens? This is the first, last, and only mention of his name in the entire Bible. There’s some speculation outside the NT that he might given his life for the Gospel while on mission in Galatia.

One thing is for certain, he must have been one of Paul’s go-to guys to make such an important trip to help disciples at his very first multisite church plant in the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13:13-14:23).

While Crescens is a bit of mystery man, the third man Paul mentions is much more familiar. Titus was one of Paul’s closest friends next to Timothy and possibly Luke. He’s clearly well-known over in the Corinthian church as well (2Cor 2:13; 7:6, 13-14; 8:6, 16,23; 12:18; 13:14).

Titus to Dalmatia

Last time we checked in on Titus, he was on the island of Crete. Paul instructs him to wrap up the work already started in local churches which included finding spiritual leaders (Titus 1:5). At the end of his letter to Titus, Paul asked him to meet him in Nicopolis to spend the winter together (Titus 3:12). Did the apostle send him to Dalmatia from there?

No, Titus was NOT sharing the Gospel with spotted dogs riding on firetrucks. Dalmatia is in southern Europe just north of Greece. It’s in the modern day nation of Croatia in the Balkans. Paul’s life may be on the line but the message of Jesus is on the move.

Step into Demas’ Sandals
 
Which brings us back to Demas. It’s easy to see ourselves as the apostle in this story. How many times has someone we thought we could trust left us swinging in the breeze at exactly the wrong moment? If you’re like most of us, you’ve lost count. You think somebody’s got your back. But when you turn around at the moment of truth, all get are crickets.

Once again, things get kinda messy for you and me at this point. Let’s all take a moment to climb down off our high horse and step into Demas’ sandals. Yeah, you read that right. How many times have I turned tail and run when times got tough? How many times have YOU quietly exited stage left when someone thought you had their back? Gulp.

Trusting in the Trustworthy

There are a couple of important takeaways. First of all, Demas’ desertion certainly breaks Paul’s heart, but the man from Tarsus knows better than to place his hope in anyone but Jesus. As he told Tim a little earlier, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2Tim 2:13).

It’s no surprise that Christ’s faithfulness is a mega-theme throughout Scripture. Just before heading home to Heaven, the Lord promised us, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20).

The author of Hebrews repeats God’s pledge to Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake (Gr. εγκαταλειπω/egkataleipo) you” (Heb 13:5; Josh 1:5). Hey! Look! There’s that same word Paul used to describe Demas’ desertion…except this time it has a “NOT” with it!! Our Savior will never leave you hanging. Ever.

Restoring Runaways

The other big takeaway is not making the mistake of throwing Demas under the chariot. We don’t know what happened. Even if he did punk out on Paul, we don’t know if he repented and served his Savior faithfully in the future.

Think that’s not possible? In the very next verse the apostle tells Tim to bring Mark when he comes. You remember Mark. He’s the young buck who bailed on Paul and Barnabas on their first tour (Acts 13:13). Years later, Paul wants him by his side in his final days. God loves reconciling relationships and restoring runaways. It’s one of His specialties.

When Demas said, “No mas!”

Let’s not be so quick to trash Demas. First and foremost because we’ve all been a Demas to someone’s Paul. Repent and apologize to those we’ve abandoned.

At the same time, let’s do all we can to avoid Demas’ mistake. God apparently used the guy in a powerful way before this incident in Rome. Sadly that all gets overshadowed by the day he hit the road for Thessalonica. The dreadful day Demas pulled a Duran and said, “No mas!”

Exposing Blind Spots

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For it is shameful to even speak of the things that they do in secret.  But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible (Eph 5:11).

There’s stuff in my life that I can’t see.  You can.  I can’t.  That’s why we call them blind spots.  If you’ve ever taken a golf lesson, the pro can quickly spot some flaw in your swing that you don’t see.  It might take a bit of effort and practice to fix the problem, but once you’ve been told about it, you’re aware of it.  They’ve exposed your blind spot.  Here in his letter to his friends in Ephesus, Paul says that revealing hidden sins and blind spots is an important part of life in the local church.  “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For it is shameful to even speak of the things that they do in secret.  But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible” (v11).  Don’t join those who are living in darkness and destruction.  Bring it to light.  Bring it into God’s light.  They don’t call Jesus the “Light of the World” for nothing! 

Expose the blind spot.

This is all part of what Paul means to “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).  We bring the light of truth to every part of our lives.  It’s living with transparency.  That means not only a personal willingness to reveal our junk to others but the willingness to have it revealed by others.  Living in New Testament community means helping each other become aware of the areas of our lives that fall short of God’s standard.  Walking as a child of light is not just shining His light but having the humility to allow God’s light to shine in the dark places of my own life.  I need to see what I can’t see.  I need to see what I refuse to see.

Expose the blind spot.

Paul begins by telling us what NOT to do.  “Take no part in the unfruitful works of the darkness” (v11).  He uses the Greek verb sugkoinoneo, which means to partner with another, have fellowship through a particular situation or even help someone.  If you look just a little closer, you’ll see the nugget of the word koinonia.  That’s how the friendship and fellowship of the life in the church is described.  Think of being a teammate.  You win together and you lose together.  That’s sugkoinoneo.  The apostle was extremely grateful that the Philippians were so willing “to share (Gr. sugkoinoneo) my trouble” as an inmate in a Roman prison (Phil 4:14).  During John’s glimpse of the exciting conclusion in the end times, he heard God announce that folks should stay as far away from the sinful city of Babylon when she falls.  “Come out of her, My people, lest you take part (Gr. sugkoinoneo) in her sins” (Rev 18:4).  In giving us this warning here in Ephesians, the man from Tarsus is saying that we don’t do a couple of lines of cocaine with a friend in order to get them to stop their addiction.  Don’t join in.  Don’t be a teammate with sin.  Don’t be a teammate with darkness.  That’s NOT why we’re there.

The stuff done in the dark is actually “unfruitful” (v11).  Paul uses the word akarpos.  It means barren or useless.  Literally it describes a plant without fruit or seed that refruses to germinate.  Dark stuff lacks positive results.  Dark stuff is unprofitable.  Dark stuff is a waste of time.  Jesus used the term in His illustration about the spread of the Gospel comparing it to different kinds of seeds and soils.  He talked about how the “thorns” of the obsession with wealth choke the Good News and makes it “unfruitful” (Gr. akarpos) and lacking any positive result (Mt 13:22; Mk 4:19).  Jesus’ brother Jude said false teachers and religious hucksters are like barren fruit trees at harvest (Jude 12).  Sin in the dark is useless.  Fruitless.  Pointless.  It doesn’t do anything to help anyone.  It only hurts.  And it needs to be brought to light.

Expose the blind spot.

Paul tells us that instead of being a teammate of sin and darkness, we should “instead expose them” (v11).  Here we see the verb elegcho, meaning to show someone their error.  We’re to bring something to light for the result of exposing sin or fault.  It’s shining God’s light to expose something for what it really is.  The purpose is to call a fellow believer to account in order to lovingly correct them.  It’s show each other our blind spots.  In Jesus encounter with Nick at night, he told him, “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed (Gr. elegcho)” (Jn 3:20).  Paul told his buddy Tim that if leaders in the local church insist on sinning after being warned repeatedly, we’re “rebuke (Gr. elegcho) them in the presence of all” and expose their garbage (1Tim 5:20).   This expose’ becomes a powerful teaching lesson for everyone in the congregation.  The writer of Hebrews quotes Proverbs 3:11, encouraging us to hang in there when under God’s discipline.  He lovingly corrects us by showing us our blind spots and being “reproved (Gr. elegcho) by Him” (Heb 12:5).

Expose the blind spot.

The point of the disclosure is to ultimately help and restore someone.  It’s NOT to hurt them.  It’s NOT to shame them.  It’s to help them.  It’s to reveal their blind spot so they can turn from their sin and turn back to Jesus.  Think of an intervention.  That’s when friends and family confront a loved one trapped in an addictive lifestyle.  They are shining the light of truth on the darkness of their sin.  They are not just exposing the pain this addiction is causing but the great love they have for the addict.  They desperately want them to kick the habit and get clean.  

Here Paul is describing a spiritual intervention.  In his letter to the folks in Galatia, he makes the point that such a restoration has to be done “in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal 6:1).  When the apostle heard that there was a man in the Corinthian church sleeping with his mother-in-law, he demanded that these believers remove him with the ultimate goal being his restoration (1Cor 5:1-5).  Jesus taught that such interventions are a very important part of doing life with other believers (Mt 18:15-20).  The Lord makes the VERY important point that this expose’ starts behind closed doors long before it ever is brought in front of the entire church.

Expose the blind spot.

So, what do YOU think?  Do you agree or disagree?  Would love to hear your thoughts.  Just post a comment below.  Come on.  You know you want to.