Today, we looked at a story about the warfare among the tribes, but it was so much more than that. We see the concept of a “Shibboleth.” This is a word that certain tribes could not pronounce correctly, thus revealing their true identity. The concept of Shibboleth is a way to know if something is “true” or not. What is your Shibboleth of who is a Christian? We’ll talk today about some historic markers that make one a Christian, and we’ll talk today about some words that Jesus had to say.

Shameless plug: here’s a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he’ll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God’s Word.

Click here if you’d like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST.

Click on the image above or this link to watch today’s video.

You can read today’s passage here.

You can podcast this reflection here. You can subscribe through Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well.

Or, if you’d like to read the transcript of the video, keep reading!

Good morning. It’s great to be back after the conference. As you can see, we are in full Vacation Bible School (VBS) mode here at St. Matthews with both night and day sessions, and I’m excited. It’s the week the preacher gets to wear shorts to work, which is always a perk, and we’ll be a little more relaxed. I’m looking forward to seeing what God will do among us this year.

We’ll read Judges 12:1-7, a historical passage about inner-tribal conflict with a verse that has become a definitive one for Christianity. The men of Ephraim confronted Jephthah, asking why he didn’t call them to fight the Ammonites, threatening to burn his house. Jephthah explained he did call but received no help. This led to a battle where Gilead defeated Ephraim. The Gileadites used a linguistic test at the Jordan fords: Ephraimites couldn’t pronounce “Shibboleth,” saying “Sibboleth” instead, resulting in 42,000 Ephraimite deaths.

This story highlights how allies can turn on each other due to hurt feelings and differing visions. In this case, Gilead and Ephraim, who should have been united against the Ammonites, ended up fighting each other. To identify refugees or spies, the Gileadites had them say “Shibboleth.”

Spiritually, this raises the question: What is the Christian “Shibboleth”? What is the defining characteristic of a true Christian? It’s amazing how easily harm is done over hurt feelings, rather than working things out. The question becomes, what is the mark, the “Shibboleth,” that determines a Christian?

Yesterday was Pentecost, and I spoke of how the church is birthed from the Spirit, who convicts us of sin, calls us to repentance, and enables us to proclaim Christ as Lord. We pray for all churches proclaiming Christ as Lord, regardless of denomination. My “Shibboleth” for a Christian is broad: Do you profess Christ as Lord and seek to follow Him? Do you confess the tenets of the creeds, like the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds? Do you hold an Orthodox view of the Trinity and the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ?

Christianity, to me, has little to do with worship styles or denominational separations. The “Shibboleth” is not about predestination or once-saved-always-saved. Those are internal family conversations. My primary issues are: Who is Jesus? What is the Trinity? Do you confess the creeds? If so, you are my brother or sister in Christ.

For Jesus, the highest “Shibboleth” is love. He said people would know we are His disciples by our love for one another. His great commandment was to love God and love neighbor. So, we have our doctrinal “Shibboleth,” the key things all Christians must hold, but the greatest “Shibboleth” is love.

What, then, is your “Shibboleth”? What must someone do or say to be a Christian in your view? It’s an interesting concept to consider. Tomorrow we’ll continue with Judges 4:8. Have a great day.