Bible Studies

JESUS WAS AN OUTDOORS MAN

by GLENN PEASE
12/05/21
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Jesus was a man of the outdoors from the beginning to the end. He spent most of his ministry in the outdoors where he met with the people in teaching and healing. He was truly an outdoorsman. Bishop Quayle wrote, "If we should desire to company with Jesus as we live our life, we should find ourselves continuously out of doors. His shadow is cast as on a sundial out in the open sky. He frequented the fields. He seemed to pant for the open. Indoors was stifling to his breathing. He was the most out-of-doors man that ever lived. Things in the open beckoned to him; and his body and spirit said, "Coming!" His parables lived out of doors and his healings. It seems unthinkable how much of what he said and did was out-of-doors talk and out-of-doors doing and how much of where he lived was out of doors. The star shine and the day spring seemed always on his face, and the wind was always running its fingers through his beard and hair.

"It makes sense that Jesus would love the outdoors, for he created it all. He loved all of nature for it was his wisdom that designed it and brought it into being. He loved to point to the natural elements all about him as he taught saying, ""Consider the lilies how they grow " — " Behold the fowls how they are fed," He loved the animal and plant kingdom, and they played a major role in his teaching. Likewise, he made all of the minerals, metals and precious stones that play a role in the Bible's revelation concerning earth and heaven. The point is, he made all of the beauty of the world of nature, and when he came to earth as a man he spent most of his time out in the midst of it all, for the beauty of nature was the closest thing to his home in heaven. Out of doors he could gaze most often at the glory of the heavens that proclaims the glory of his heavenly Father.

Hugh Macmillan wrote, "Every object in nature speaks of Him. The mineral kingdom reveals His stability, for " He is the Rock of our salvation" — the Foundation of our hope; the vegetable kingdom exhibits His beauty, for " He is the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valley;" the animal kingdom shadows forth His strength and self-sacrificing innocence, for " He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah,and the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." The sun declares His glory, for "He is the Sun of righteousness ;" the stars proclaim His effulgence, for*' He is the bright and the morning Star." All the objects of nature have but a sym-bolical or concealed meaning ; they are, in the words of St. Paul, a shadow of good things to come." All of the beauty and wonders of nature are designed to lead us to glorify their Creator. Every time we see something that strikes us as beautiful or awesome we should praise the Lord Jesus for giving us this great outdoors to enjoy.He enjoyed making it and living in it, and so should we.

Macmillian wrote"In the parables of the lily and the fowls, the seed and the tree, the vine and the fishes, He disclosed to us the great fact which we are constantly forgetting — that Nature has a spiritual as well as a material side — that she exists not only for the natural uses of the body,but also for the sustenance of the life of the soul. This higher ministry explains all the beauty and wonder of the world, which would otherwise be superfluous and extravagant. As the servant of common household wants, giving us bread to eat and water to drink, and raiment to put on, and air to breatne, and soil to stand and build upon, nature might have been clothed with homely russet garments girded fortoil; but as the priestess of heaven, ministering in the holy place, appealing to the higher faculties of man, she is clothed like Aaron with temple vestments ; and Solomon in all his glory is not arrayed like her. Her ultimate purposes are granderthan her ordinary uses. Her forms are evanescent, but her ministry is everlasting.Her grass withereth and her flower fadeth, but the word of the Lord that speaketh through her endureth for ever. The truth which she teaches, and the beauty which she forms, are a part of the everlasting inheritance of the soul, and become incorporated with its life for evermore.

"Jesus was there when the Father said, "Let there be light," and the sun was created,which was the power to give life to all living things on this earth. He then came into the world as the light of the world to do a parallel thing by also saying "Let there be light," that would give the essential power for producing all spiritual life on this planet. Light is the greatest power in all of nature. It is the source of life,beauty, and productivity. Take the sun away and soon all will be dead and lifeless. Jesus is that same source of power for the life, beauty and productivity in the human body, mind and spirit to live a life pleasing to God. As the light of the world who lights everyman coming into the world, as John tells us, he loved to be out in the light himself where he could behold the beauty of its power in nature. Jesus could see and feel the power of nature more than most men because he was more conscious of it, and the role it played in the life of all things and beings.

foundations are sand. "On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."Jesus was a carpenter, but there is no record that he ever built his own house. In fact he declared in Matt. 8:20 that he had no house of his own. He said, "Foxes haveholes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He was referring to the fact that he slept outside, and did not have a house he could go home to and lay down on a soft bed. He slept on the ground, and he said this to those eager to follow him lest they think it was a soft job to follow him. It was going to call for leaving their soft bed and roof to sleep outside in all kinds of weather. Jesus never made it easy to follow him, for it demanded sacrifice, and if one was not willing to give up some of life's luxuries they would not remain faithful anyway. Jesus was saying, if you want to follow me, you will have to become an outdoors man.In Matt. 8:23-7 we read, "Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying,"Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this?Even the winds and the waves obey him!" Jesus used this occassion to demonstratethat even though nature can be a dangerous threat, he was the Lord of nature, and they could be assured that with him they never had to fear any power of nature. He not only lived outdoors, he was Lord of outdoors.

In Matt. 8:29-34, we read, "When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They wereso violent that no one could pass that way. 29"What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointedtime?"30Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." 32He said to them,"Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down thesteep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33Those tending the pigs ran off,went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And whenthey saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region." In this text we havehumans, animals,demons, and Jesus. There is mystery here as to why Jesus would answer the prayer of demons, and why he would destroy the herd of pigs thatbelonged to others. Our only concern for now is that it was a great outdoors scene with Jesus again demonstrating his Lordship over the world of nature, and over the world of the supernature, but casting these demons into the pigs.In Matt. 9:17 Jesus said, "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No,they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." He used this illustration of what wine growers did to illustrate that his disciples did not try to keep the law and pour their new wine from Jesus into the old ways of Judaism. The old will just not be able to handle the potentency of the new wine Christ was bringing to the table, and so there had to be new wineskins, meaning new practices more fitting to the new truth.

As an outdoors man Jesus had seen many a winegrower demonstrate his wisdom in handling the new crop, and he used his knowledge of this nature event to illustrate why his followers were different than the followers of the Pharisees. Nature teaches the need for new containers for new truth.In Matt. 9:26, Jesus said, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Jesus saw the masses with an eye conditioned by nature. They were just like sheep wanderingabout with no shepherd to guide them. There was a need for such guides, and he wants his disciples to fill this gap. He saw the masses like a crop ready to harvest,and he wanted his men to be harvesters, and to seek for others to help bring in the harvest. Jesus saw the whole plan of salvation from the view of an outdoors man and a farmer.

People were sheep and wheat, and they needed help to get into the barn and corral of God's protection. It was his task to train shepherds and farmers to get this job done.In Matt. 10:16, Jesus said, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." It was risky work to be cowboys for Jesus, or should we say sheepboys? Any way you look at it they had togo round up the herd and bring them to safety, and it was dangerous because, justlike in any western, there were bad guys out to steel the herd and kill the cowboys.So Jesus advises them to be just like the good guys in the movies whose herd the bad guys are after. Be more clever than the bad guys. Outwit them by learning from nature. Don't do anything stupid, but be shrewd like the snake. Dont't fall into their evil ways and be just like them in disregarding the property and lives of others, but be as innocent as the doves. Here is Jesus's advice for every kind of roundup. Stay away from evil, and be more clever than the evil one. Follow the good examples that you see in the world of nature, and you will outwit the forces of evil.

Jesus looks to the animal kingdom for man's guidance, for this is what you would expect from an outdoors man.In Matt. 10:28-31 Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Jesus knows that some of his men will die in this roundup of the flock.The enemy will succeed in killing some of them, but he assures them that the God who loves nature so much that he know of every sparrow that falls, knows of their fall for sure, and they will be preserved from being forgotten, but will be a part of God's eternal family. Sparrows are almost worthless compared to the worth of aman, but God cares about them. The song says, "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he cares for me."

In Matt. 11:28-30 Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, andI will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jesus in his travels saw many an ox yoked up to plow the field, and he uses this outdoors experince to illustrate the relationship he has with his people. He urges them to come to him, for he will not be a king who is a tyrant that heaps burdens upon his people as so many do. He is kind to them like the farmer who is gentle with his animals. He does not abuse them and drive them to exhaustion with a load too heavy. He offers rest like the wise farmer who takes abreak and gives his ox a time to drink and relax. He has seen those who are cruel to their animals, and he knows they are fools, for they are injuring their own future.He will not be such to his followers. Join up with him and you will have assurance of being treated just like the wise farmer treats his oxen. There will be gentleness all around, and no abuse.In Matt. 12:1-8 we have another outdoor nature event. "At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,"Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." 3He answered,"Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one[a] greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'[b] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."Basically, Jesus said he was the Lord of the Sabbath and of nature,and he had the authority, like David did in the Old Testament, and like the priests did in the temple, to go beyond legalism and have their needs met with freedom from condemnation. Nature was there with provision to meet the need of hunger, but the legalist said it was not right to meet that need on the Sabbath. Jesus said it is up to the Lord of the Sabbath to determine what is right or wrong on this day, and he said it was right, and so case over.

It was over as far as Jesus and his men were concerned, but the enemies of Jesus would not forget his breaking of their legalistic rules. He and his men being outdoors men needed to get food when they were far from any town, and so there was a need to reap from the areas that farmers were suppossed to set aside for the poor. They are on the run. Seldom did they have the chance to sit down for a meal. They lives off the fruit of the land as they traveled in the great outdoors.In Matt. 12:9-14 we read, "Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" 11He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."13Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14Butthe Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus." Again, Jesus looks to the farmer and shepherd for his illustration. Naturally you rescue your sheep who had fallen into a pit regardless of the Sabbath, for it is a serious matter of compassion and preservation of value. How can you dream of doing less for a human being who is suffering? It is never wrong to do good to an animal, and so it is with any man who is far more valuable. They hated Jesus for his obvious illustration from nature, for they could not refute what all men accept.

In Matt. 12:23-4, Jesus said, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make atree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Jesus as an outdoors man had tasted the fruit of many atree in his travels, and he knew that fruit that tasted bad was because the tree was bad. This same thing in nature applied to people, for if bad things were coming outof the mouth of a person, you can assume that the heart is bad. Trees and man have this in common that the inside determines what comes out in the fruit. Evil hearts will produce bad taste in their fruits,and this was the case with the Pharisees. Jesus uses nature to show the obvious in human nature.

The entire chapter of Matt. 13 is parables of Jesus that are drawn from nature. Itwould take a large volume just to deal with these parables, and there are many volumes written about them. I will just point out that they reveal that nature was the key resource Jesus used to teach spiritual lessons. He did not expound on the prophets, or the Psalms, or any other portion of the Old Testament like he did on the nature events that they all witnessed every day of their lives. They were more in touch with God's creation than with God's Word, and so that is what Jesus used to teach his truth. The Scribes and Pharisees were boring with their legalistic preaching and teaching of the law. Do this; don't do that. It was old hat, and the people were indifferent to their dry as dust lectures. Jesus knew how to reach people where they were, and communicate in a way that would get attention. His parables were not always easy to grasp, but they got attention because they dealt with real life that people could see. Jesus drew verbal pictures that would put images in the minds of people where they could meditate on the meaning. Everyone in his audiance would be people who dealt with sowing and wedding, and these duties they had in dealing with nature were the themes of his most prominent parables. What else would we expect from an outdoors man?In chapter 14 of Matthew we see Jesus feeding the 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.That was the greatest use of nature to meet a vast hunder in a brief time that has ever happended on this planet. Jesus skipped the slow process of nature, and multiplied that little lunch to feed the masses in a short time. He revealed his compassion,and his Lordship over nature. He made the laws of nature, but he can break them and go beyond them as the Lord of nature. He made the laws of the OldTestament as well, but as Lord of them he can go beyond them for his purpose.

Jesus is not bound by his own laws, but is free as the creator of those laws to bend or mend them to his purpose. The laws of nature do not control him, but he controls the laws of nature.In this same chapter Jesus walks on the water to his disciples out in the lake. He demonstrates again that he is not subject to nature, but is Lord of nature. He also quieted down a strong wind and imprssed his disciples with his control over nature.Jesus loved nature, but he did not bow to it, but used it as a tool to achieve his goals.

In Matt. 15:13-14, Jesus said, "He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Fatherhas not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides.If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Jesus is using a nature analogy again by saying that the Pharisees are not plants that God has put in his garden. They are weeds that are put there by the evil one, and they will be pulled out by the roots so they will not become perrenials. They are just annuals, and they will be uprooted never to take root again.

In Matt. 15:21-28 we have one of the most delightful stories in the life of Jesus."Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22ACanaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David,have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Sendher away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!"she said. 26He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 27"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."

We have no record that Jesus ever had a dog, but it is clear that he knew the nature of dogs, and he had seen what this woman pointed out. He knew that dogs are always whining at or under the table to get a taste of what the people are eating. It is the way of dogs, and when the woman, who was a Gentile dog, pointed this out it struck Jesus as one of the most clever responses he had ever heard. His heart was melted, for he would not dream of treating this woman on a level lesser than one would treat a dog. Jesus had not doubt thrown scraps to a dog at some point in his life. For all we know, in the providence of God he may have done it that very day, or been aware that he scraped the crumbs of bread off his lap to fall to the ground for the dogs to eat. All she asked for was a crumb from his lap, and Jesus could not refuse to this woman what he was willing to give to dogs. A crumb from him was all it took to heal her daughter. He was Lord of nature, but this time the ways of nature won him over.In this same chapter Jesus feeds the 4000 with a small amount of food. He had compassion on them for their hunger and lack of opportunity to get food, and so he demonstrated again his power over nature to accomplish his goal of meeting a vast need.