Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Why Jesus Was Effective - Doug Rehberg


Back in the late 1970s, between college and seminary, I was working in Washington, and earning a Master’s in Public Administration at George Washington University. Of the many courses I took, the one that’s been the most helpful over the past 40 years was a course in macro-economics entitled, “Efficiency and Effectiveness”. The thesis of the course was that the principles of macro-economics apply, as Henry often says, “Across the Board,” in both government and business. But the truth is, they apply everywhere—including in the life and ministry of Jesus.

So what’s the difference between effectiveness and efficiency? Both words are popular today. The problem is they’re commonly misused and misinterpreted. Effectiveness is best defined as an action or series of actions that are adequate to accomplish a goal. Efficiency is best defined as functioning in a way that most reduces or eliminates waste of time or effort.

The difference between effectiveness and efficiency can best be summed up this way: Being effective is about doing the right things, while being efficient is about doing things right. In every human endeavor the synergy of effectiveness and efficiency is critical but elusive, as you can see in this chart:


It's obvious that there’s only one quadrant in which effectiveness and efficiency come together and that’s the one in the upper right. This is the quadrant to which everyone aspires, regardless of the work they do
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In John 7, John is the only gospel writer to show us the personification of effectiveness and efficiency in Jesus of Nazareth. Here Jesus is interacting with His biological brothers, His half-brothers, who are suggesting that He leave Galilee and head south to Judea so that His popularity might explode. After all, they reason, it’s the Feast of Tabernacles. Millions of Jews will be in Jerusalem. What better place to strut His stuff. It seems like a reasonable suggestion, but Jesus rejects it out of hand. And it’s in this interaction that we find four keys to Jesus’ incomparable effectiveness. It’s easy to pass over what John is showing us in John 7:1-13; but we dare not, for in these verses we find much food for our soul.

In preparation for Sunday’s message, “Why Jesus Was Effective”, you may wish to consider the following:

1. What does John 4:31-36 tell us about the goal of Jesus’ life and ministry?
2. How is this goal upheld by Jesus in John 4?
3. How does John 6:25-29 speak to the goal of Jesus?
4. What correlation do you see between John 6:66 and our passage this Sunday?
5. What motivates Jesus’ brothers in John 7:3-4?
6. What characteristic of Jesus is John describing in verse 1?
7. What is Jesus describing about Himself in verse 6?
8. What does He mean in verse 8?
9. What is the typical interpretation of verse 7? How does it differ from what Jesus is saying?
10. How successfully effective and efficient is Jesus in this story? See verses 10-13?

See you Sunday!