A Solitary Voice

We Jews have long worshiped our YHWH God as the One God, the “God of the Universe.” You surely know that in our century, what you call the first century, other religions worship many gods. In fact, there is a whole panoply of gods, worshiped by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and more. We Jews are alone in our insistence that there is only one God.

Our God doesn’t seem to mind being alone. In fact, YHWH has told us that worshiping any god but Him amounts to idolatry. We are expected to worship only YHWH and Him alone.

The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. (Deuteronomy 13)

If you look back at our history as a people, you can’t help noticing how individuals were singled out by our God for important service. For example, Noah:

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7)

Moses was also alone, the only one to converse with our God:

“Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” (Exodus 24)

As was Elijah:

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” (I Kings 19)

Which brings us to the present time, the time of Jesus. God’s seeming preference for acting through solitary people continues into our day. First, He called John the Baptizer, a man who went alone into the wilderness to proclaim the coming of our Lord:

This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ” (Matthew 3)

Though John did have some followers, his message was his and his alone. He was “the one crying out.” His was the voice that was appointed to announce the arrival of the Son of God. It wasn’t a team effort, and there was no organization to his witness. He simply camped out by the Jordan River and preached to whomever felt called to come and listen. John clearly was a solitary voice, just like Elijah and the others who went before him.

And what about Jesus? Yes, Jesus. I am a follower of Jesus and have been for some time.

And the more I know about Him, the more convinced I am that he is the Messiah, the Son of God. And, though Jesus is no longer with us, I believe He is sitting at the right hand of our Father God, just as He said He would.

But do you have any idea how unlikely Jesus was? I mean, Jesus confounds so many of our expectations of a Messiah. I won’t go into all of the examples but I will just say that we expected a man who would raise an army. Yes, an army, not of the poor, afflicted, sinful people like me, but of our best and brightest. An army that would take on and defeat the hated Roman occupiers.

Instead, we got Jesus. I’m sure that you know that Jesus was not a general, much less, a soldier. In fact, Jesus told us to not resist our evil enemies, but instead, to turn the other cheek, and to walk the second mile.

And even though Jesus did have some followers, not many, I might add, they looked nothing like the army that we hoped would take on Imperial Rome. You may know them by name: Peter, John, Andrew, James, and the rest. It’s a pretty ragtag group, more experienced in fishing than fighting.

Does our YHWH God really believe this one man, along with His followers, can change the world? If so, God is going against the weight of many generations of human wisdom. Virtually no one in our Jewish leadership would do it this way. And the other surrounding countries? They laughed at our “King of the Jews,” a solitary man who was crucified as a criminal.

Yet, I have come to believe that this is exactly how our God works. The examples I have already cited, from Noah to Moses to Elijah attest to that.

Here’s another: Do you remember Jonah? Yes, the Jonah whom God sent to preach to Nineveh? In his day, Nineveh was a huge city, and a heathen one as well. It’s no wonder that Jonah resisted God’s command.

Jonah and the sea monster, from Christian artwork in Roman catacombs at the end of 2nd century CE. From right to left: Johah jumps off the ship, where a sea monster waits; he is eaten (or spit out) by that sea monster; Johah rests on the beach after release from the monster's belly.

Yet, God had his way with Jonah, didn’t he? And after his experience in the belly of a large fish, Jonah did finally obey, and he went to Nineveh, alone. He preached, and the citizens of Nineveh repented.

And that brings us to me. Why? Because like the others, I, too, am a solitary figure in my faith in Christ. Let me explain.

When Jesus left us, and was raised up into heaven, the number of His followers was quite small. It surely wasn’t an impressive group, made up mostly by people our leaders demeaned as “sinners” and heathen Gentiles. I was one of that group.

In my tiny village, I am the only Jesus-follower. Even my own family has not joined me. As a result, I am viewed as odd and different. Our local rabbi sees me on the street and shakes his head.

None of this rejection weakens my faith. In fact, in a strange sort of way, my faith is made stronger. I can’t explain why. The truth is, though, I don’t know what to do with my faith. No, I don’t.

Jesus was clear to tell His followers to be witnesses to His life, His teachings, and the power of our YHWH God, who made it all happen. But in my corner of the world, how do the words of Jesus translate into any kind of action on my part?

I mean, am I to go to synagogue and preach? If I did, I’d be preaching to my own family and friends. They already know how committed I am to following Jesus. Am I to go to the surrounding villages and towns and witness to them? Have I been given the power to heal others? I don’t think so.

So, I guess what I need to tell you in your time is to wait. Yes, wait. That’s what I am doing, waiting. Waiting on what? On whom? I’m waiting on our YHWH God to direct me. And I must admit that waiting isn’t easy.

But when I consider the solitary figures I have already mentioned, that’s the one thing that is common to all of them. They waited. When Noah heard God’s command, he was already an old man. So was Moses, and so were Elijah and Jonah. John the Baptizer and even Jesus were fully grown, beyond their thirties, when they began their ministries. They had to wait on God.

And so, my message to you today is to grow your faith, waiting in great confidence that God will use you, will call you and will commission you to His service. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but I am certain that His call will come.

Just don’t expect Him to call a crowd of others to help you!

And remember Jesus and what He said just before He was arrested:

The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. (John 16)

So maybe, after all, when we think we are most alone, and facing great odds against us, we might find out that our YHWH God is keeping us company! What do you think?