Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  John 8:35,36

Last time we were talking about the mysterious lack of interest on the part of the disciples to see the risen Jesus. What could account for it?

I bet Jesus wasn’t surprised. You see, He had seen all this before. Take, for example, the history of the Israelites’ rescue from Egypt. They’d seen the Egyptian nation go through 10 horrible plagues. They saw the mighty Egyptian army destroyed at the Red Sea. Even manna from heaven.

They were delivered from slavery and saw God’s pillar of fire by night and pillar of clouds by day leading them. But when the time came to see God reveal Himself on the mountain, they weren’t interested. Well, to be more accurate, they were interested, but not in God.

One of the keys to understanding the Israelite’s problems in the wilderness despite mighty acts of God on their behalf, is the golden calf incident. While God was revealing Himself their attention was fixed on making a fake god of their own. Whenever we try to put people and institutions between ourselves and God, there’s a golden calf in our future… a fake God. And so it goes for the disciples who sat when Jesus called them to come. The presence of Jesus had been eclipsed in their lives by something fake… a fake God.

And what of those who believe today? Jesus declared that we are sons and daughters and that we are free. We’ve passed from slavery to freedom. But how often do we sell ourselves into slavery again to fake gods?… some substitute for experiencing the real presence of Jesus?

The similarity between the Israelites in Exodus, the disciples in Jerusalem and many Christians today is remarkable. Preferring a predictable, stable religion to the reality of a vibrant and not-so-predictable God… Preferring rules and disciplines to a relationship with Jesus Who is too glorious to be contained by even the most sincere ‘traditions of men’…

God sent Moses to confront Aaron and the people. Aaron’s excuse: The people made me do it. He was a leader who would settle for less than the full glory of God’s presence because that’s what the people wanted. Have you ever met leaders like that? I have. I’ve also met congregants (even in this series) who say the reverse: I’d love to pursue the Glory of God but my church isn’t ready to go there. So they settle for less.

In the end God withdrew a distance because they would not come near (Ex 33:2,3). We have no idea what the Israelite’s entry into the Promised Land would have been like if they’d embraced God Almighty. But it’s safe to say that they missed a huge blessing.

Just like we have no idea what the disciple’s reunion with Jesus would have been like if they’d run off to meet Him in Galilee like He’d told them to. But it’s safe to say that they missed a huge blessing.

What about you and me, today? What keeps us settling for less? Or are we full-throttle pursuing Jesus? Not church, not rules, but pursuing Jesus? That’s what makes Magdalene stand out every time she’s mentioned in the New Testament.

Are we more like Magdalene or more like the disciples? Are we more like Magdalene or more like the Israelites of the Exodus? Are we zealous to see His face, or are we stalled somewhere else? Waiting… waiting for someone else to lead the way… waiting for our lives to get settled… waiting for a revival to come. What is standing between us and intimacy with God?