by Dutch Sheets
C H A P T E R F I V E
CHEEK TO CHEEK
Lean on Me
Charlie Brown was pitching and doing a lousy job. Lucy was giving him grief, as usual. Finally, he could bear the misery and humiliation no longer. In an expression of exasperation that only Charlie Brown could think of, he stood on his head right there on the pitcher's mound.
As Lucy's degrading mockery continued, the ever-loyal Snoopy did the unexpected. He walked onto the pitcher's mound and stood on his head beside Charlie Brown, sharing his humiliation.
Sound biblical? The Bible says, "Weep with those who weep" (Rom. 12:15) and "Bear one another's burdens" (Gal. 6:2). Although this involves "standing on our heads" togethersharing each other's pain, it does NOT convey the full scope of these verses. We're not merely to carry burdens for our brothers and sisters in Christ; we're to carry them away ... Big difference! One involves sharing a load; the other involves removing a load.
Actually, two words are used for "bearing" in the New Testament. One word could be construed to mean standing beside a brother or sister in times of need to strengthen and comfort. The other, however, means something entirely different.
The first one, anechomai, means "to sustain, bear or hold up against a thing,"' much as a person would tie a stake to a tomato plant to sustain it from the weight it carries. The strength of the stake is transferred to the plant and thus "bears it up." When the Lord commands us to bear with one another in Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:2, He isn't simply saying, "Put up with one another."
Although He is telling us to do that, He is also saying, "Stake yourselves to one another." In other words, we're to come alongside a weak brother or sister who is "weighted down" and say, "You're not going to fall and be broken or destroyed, because I'm staking myself to you. My strength is now yours. Go ahead, lean on me. As long as I can stand, you will."
What a wonderful picture for the Body of Christ. Fruit will result.
Jackie Robinson was the first black to play major league baseball. While breaking baseball's color barrier, he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. His own fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then shortstop "Pee Wee" Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career.2
Sometimes the world is more biblical than we are!
Carry the Burden Away
The second word is bastazo, meaning "to bear, lift or carry" something, with the idea being to carry it away or remove it 3 It is used in Romans 15:1-3 and Galatians 6:2, which we will look at shortly.
An amazing and little-understood aspect of intercession is exemplified by Christ in which He performed both of these bearing concepts. We have already established that His intercession for us was not a prayer He prayed, but a work He did. It was a work of "going between" to reconcile us to the Father and break Satan's dominion. And, of course, understanding His work in this area paves the way for an understanding of ours.
The intercessory work of Christ reached its fullest and most profound expression when our sins were "laid on" Him and He "bore" them away:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LoRD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all ... he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isa. 53:6,12, KJV, emphasis added).
The Hebrew word paga is used twice in these two verses. Isaiah 53 is one of the most graphic Old Testament prophecies of Christ's cross. Paga is translated "laid on" once and "intercession" once. Both instances refer to when our sins, iniquities, diseases, etc., were placed upon Him. The New Testament describes this identification accordingly: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
Christ then "bore" our sins and weaknesses away, "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps. 103:12). He is not still carrying them-somewhere, somehow, He disposed of them. The Hebrew word for "bore" or "bare" in this chapter is nasa, meaning "to bear away"4 or "remove to a distance."5 (We would spell the KJV"bare" today "bear.")
As already mentioned, the Greek counterpart, bastazo, means essentially the same. This connotation of bearing something to get rid of it becomes increasingly significant as we discuss our role in this facet of Christ's ministry of intercession. It is imperative to know that we don't simply carry someone's burden. We stake (anechomai) ourselves to the person and carry the burden away (bastazo), helping them get rid of it!
The Scapegoat
The concept of a scapegoat comes from this redemptive intercessional work of Christ and illustrates well our concept of carrying something away.
A scapegoat takes someone else's blame and resulting consequences. My older brother, Tim, who is now a pastor in Ohio, was an expert at diverting blame to me when we were kids. I was always perfectly innocent as a child, never doing anything wrong. He was always the troublemaker.
Mom and Dad were forever taking his side-they could never see through his falsities and manipulation nor believe that I was so perfect. My entire childhood was one of enduring false accusation-being Tim's scapegoat! I've spent the last 20 years as an adult seeking inner healing for this injustice.
Of course you know that none of that is true-I was only almost perfect. But at least it allows me to get even with Tim for the few times he did successfully divert blame my way and it also illustrates my point. (By the way, I never did this to him.)
In the Old Testament, two animals were used on the Day of Atonement. One was sacrificed; the other was used for the scapegoat. After the high priest placed his hands on the scapegoat's head, confessing the sins of the nation, it was released into the wilderness never to be seen again. It symbolized Christ the scapegoat crucified outside the city bearing away our curse.
Christ the scapegoat bearing our curse is well illustrated by a story I read in the book What It Will Take to Change the World by S. D. Gordon. The following is my paraphrase of this story about a couple who discovered that their 14-year-old son had lied to them. The young boy, whom we'll refer to as Steven, had skipped school three consecutive days. He was found out when his teacher called his parents to inquire about his well-being.
The parents were more upset by Steven's lies than his missing school. After praying with him about what he had done, they decided on a very unusual and severe form of punishment. Their conversation with him went something like this:
"Steven, do you know how important it is that we be able to trust one another?"
"Yes."
"How can we ever trust each other if we don't always tell the truth? That's why lying is such a terrible thing. Not only is it sin, but it also destroys our ability to trust one another. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, sir."
"Your mother and I must make you understand the seriousness, not so much of skipping school, but of the lies you told. Your discipline will be that for the next three days, one for each day of your sin, you must go to the attic and stay there by yourself. You will even eat and sleep there."
So young Steven headed off to the attic and the bed prepared for him there. It was a long evening for Steven and perhaps longer for Mom and Dad. Neither could eat, and for some reason when Dad tried to read the paper the words seemed foggy. Mom tried to sew but couldn't see to thread the needle. Finally it was bedtime. About midnight as the father lay in bed thinking about how lonely and afraid Steven must be, he finally spoke to his wife, "Are you awake?"
"Yes. I can't sleep for thinking about Steven."
"Neither can I," answered Dad.
An hour later he queried again, "Are you asleep yet?"
"No," answered Mom, "I just can't sleep for thinking about Steven all alone up in the attic."
"M
e neither."
Another hour passed. It was now 2:00 A.M. "I can't stand this any longer!" murmured Dad as he climbed out of bed grabbing his pillow and a blanket. "I'm going to the attic."
He found Steven much as he expected: wide awake with tears in his eyes.
"Steven," said his father, "I can't take away the punishment for your lies because you must know the seriousness of what you have done. You must realize that sin, especially lying, has severe consequences. But your mother and I can't bear the thought of you being all alone here in the attic, so I'm going to share your punishment with you."
Father lay down next to his son and the two put their arms around each other's necks. The tears on their cheeks mingled as they shared the same pillow and the same punishment . . . for three nights.'
What a picture! Two thousand years ago God crawled "out of bed" with His blanket and pillow-actually three spikes and a cross of crucifixion-"staked" His tear-stained cheek next to ours and "bore" our punishment for sin. His attic was a tomb, His bed a slab of rock and the cheek next to His was yoursyours and mine.
That's right. Christ was not alone on the cross. We were with Him. He was actually there to join us in our sentence of death. No, we may not have been there physically, but we were there spiritually (see Rom. 6:4,6). And of course, as He hung there He was "bearing" some things. Our sins were being "laid on" Him and He was carrying them away.
Christ didn't quite finish the job, however.
Wait! Before you "stone" me with letters and phone calls, please look at Colossians 1:24: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His Body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions."
Our Part
What could possibly be lacking in Christ's afflictions? Our part. In fact, the Amplified Bible actually adds those words: "And in my own person I am making up whatever is still lacking and remains to be completed [on our part] of Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church." Ours isn't exactly the same as His was, of course: carrying another's sin, curse or blame. "But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time" (Heb. 10:12) took the sins of the world upon Himself. Nonetheless, there is a "sharing" and "a filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions."
That which is lacking is really the point of this entire book, not just this chapter. It's the "re-presenting" of which we have spoken. It's the mediating, the going between, the distributing, the enforcing. It's our part.
Let's look, then, at our part in this bearing aspect of Christ's work of intercession. We have already mentioned the "staking" facet in Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:2. Let's examine the other aspect in Romans 15:1-3 and Galatians 6:2, then we will see how the two work together in our intercession:
Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me" (Rom. 15:1-3, emphasis added).
Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2, emphasis added).
As mentioned earlier, the Greek word for "bear" in both verses is bastazo, which, synonymous with the Hebrew nasa, means "to lift or carry," conveying the idea of removing or carrying away. In implementing Christ's priestly ministry of intercession, we're not simply to carry burdens for others; we're to carry them away from others-just as Jesus did.
Please remember, however, we're not literally re-doing what Christ did; we're re-presenting what He did. There's a big difference between the two. We're representing Him, extending His work-He who bore our infirmities, diseases, sins, reproaches and rejection when they were "laid on" (paga) Him.
He is the balm of Gilead (see Jer. 8:22), but we apply this healing salve.
He is the fountain of life (see Jer. 2:13; 17:13), but we are dispensers of His living water.
His is the comforting shepherd's staff (see Ps. 23:4), but He allows us the privilege of extending it.
Yes, not only did He bear our weaknesses, but He's also still "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Heb. 4:15, KJV). And He wants to touch us with the same compassion that we, too, might be bearers.
Think about it: the great Healer "healing" through us; the great High Priest "priesting" through us; the great Lover "loving" through us.
He inaugurated the new covenant with His blood (see Heb. 12:24), but in reference to our part, He has "made us able ministers of the new testament" (2 Cor. 3:6, KJV-"testament" is just a KJV word for "covenant").
Yes, Christ has made us "able ministers." And if I understand the word correctly, ministers administer something. What do we administer? The blessings and provisions of the new covenant.
And who secured and guarantees those benefits? Jesus, of course. Then this verse is just another way of saying that we have been made able distributors of what Christ already accomplished.
Released Through Others Coming to Your Aid
This verse came alive for me when my friend Mike Anderson made the following statement: "Sometimes the covenant of the Lord is released to you through others coming to your aid." At the time, Mike and his wife were missionaries in Jamaica. The statement was made on the heels of a life and death struggle they had just experienced with their son who had contracted a critical illness. The young child, two or three years old, had regressed for several days to a point of near death. That's when Mike called me and a few other individuals in the United States.
I knew something fairly serious had to be occurring when the prayer meeting I was leading was interrupted to inform me about an emergency phone call from Jamaica.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting, Dutch," my friend Mike began, "but I desperately need your help."
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's my son, Toby," Mike replied. ,He is deathly ill with a raging fever. The doctors haven't been able to find the cause. They've done all they know to do, but nothing seems to help. It is questionable whether or not he can survive another night in his condition. I have been praying and praying for him but can't seem to break this attack. The Lord has now revealed to me that his condition is being caused by a strong spirit of infirmity, which He actually allowed me to see as I was praying. I have not been able to break its power over my son, however, even though I've warred against it for hours. But I feel the Lord has shown me that if some strong intercessors join me, we can break this attack."
Mike and his wife, Pam, are strong in the Lord. They pray. They have faith. They understand authority. They were not in sin. Why then, you might ask, could they not get the breakthrough they needed on their own?
I don't know. But I suspect the Lord wanted to teach them (and those of us praying with them) the principle I'm now sharing with you.
The people I was meeting with and a few others Mike had called went into prayer. We asked God to meet (paga) with this child. We said essentially, "Father, allow us to move into our priestly role as intercessors (paga), enforcing the victory ofJesus in this situation, re-presenting or administering the blessings of the new covenant. Stake us to Toby and allow us, along with Christ, to be touched with the feeling of this infirmity. Lay on (gaga) us this burden that we might bear (nasa, bastazo) it away. We ask this in Jesus' name-based on who He is and what He has done, Father."
We then bound the power of Satan over this child's life-in Christ's name, of course, because it was His victory we were "administering." Then we growled with "the bear anointing" (see chapter 4). No, we didn't really, but lighten up and enjoy the symbolism. Besides, I think maybe there was a growl in the Spirit! Perhaps a roar would be more accurate because the Lion of the tribe of Judah roared through us. He does "roar out of Zion," you know (see Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2). And we are certain He did because Mike called back a few hours later and said, "Almost immediately after I contacted several of you to pray with me, the f
ever broke and my son began to improve. Within a few hours he was well and released from the hospital."
Praise God! The Body of Christ had functioned as the Lord intended, and Jesus was glorified.
Mike continued, "I asked the Lord why I needed others to help me break this attack against my son. He reminded me of the story of Joshua and the army of Israel coming to the aid of the Gibeonites, who were helplessly outnumbered by five armies." Mike then recounted the story from Joshua 9 and 10 for me, which I'll briefly summarize for you.
The Gibeonites were one of the Canaanite tribes that Joshua and Israel were supposed to destroy. They had deceived the Israelites, however, into believing they had come from a far country in order to enter a covenant with them. Joshua and the Israelites neglected to pray about this and were therefore deceived into a binding, covenantal agreement. (Have you ever "forgotten" to pray about something and gotten into trouble?)
Even though it was born of deceit, the covenant was still valid and made Israel an ally of Gibeon. Therefore, a few days later when five armies marched against Gibeon, they called upon Joshua for help-based on the strength of covenant. Even though the agreement was conceived in deception, Joshua and his army traveled all night to arrive in time and rescue the Gibeonites. The entire story is an incredible demonstration of the power of covenant.
After calling my attention to this story, Mike then spoke these words to me: "Dutch, after reminding me of this story, the Lord planted the following thought in my heart as to why I needed help overcoming this spirit: `Sometimes the covenant of the Lord is released to you through others coming to your aid!"'
Isn't that profound? The Almighty administering the blessings of the covenant through us. That's what intercession is all about. Paga: He "lays on" us someone else's need. Anechomai: We "stake" ourselves to that person. Bastazo: We "carry away" the weakness or burden.
Enforcing and Treading upon the Enemy
A further profound picture of this partnership between Christ and the Church is exemplified in this same story of Israel and the Gibeonites. It's found in Joshua 10:22-27. Joshua is an Old Testament picture or type of Christ, and Israel pictures the Church. Joshua's name, which is actually the Hebrew equivalent to the name Jesus, had been changed earlier in his life to paint this picture. It had formerly been Hoshea.
