tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24786960265248964302024-03-12T17:33:14.017-07:00Matthew to RevelationFirst read the Bible passage by clicking on the green link at the beginning of the blog post. It will take you to Bible Gateway. Then read the reflection. Past posts are organized according to book and chapter. We'll try to make it through the entire New Testament.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-5494539815791077672020-11-28T14:21:00.000-08:002020-11-28T14:21:27.804-08:00Matthew 17:24-27 - "And when they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+17%3A24-27&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 17:24-27</p></a>
I honestly forgot this story was even in the Gospels, it's talked about so little. Maybe the weird way Jesus obtained money to pay the temple tax makes modern day people feel uncomfortable. Asking Peter to fetch a coin from a fish's mouth is a bit too hocus pocus for us. We're fine if Jesus has his disciples get their breakfast in miraculous ways--dropping their net to one side of the boat and pulling up a haul of 153 fish (John 21:5-14). But when it comes to obtaining cold hard cash we're uncomfortable unless it's being earned by a day's work.
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I'll come back to why I think Jesus chose to pay the tax in this unusual way. As for the rest of the passage, you might have noticed the footnotes in Bible Gateway tell us that the two-drachma tax is the temple tax. That's pretty important. Because from the exchange Jesus had with Peter, it's clear that he regarded himself and his disciples as sons--not strangers--who should have been exempt from this tax, but he consented to pay it anyhow so as not to give offense. The reason Jesus said they were sons was that the temple was his Father's house and the disciples were also a part of God's household. So actually Jesus, as the Son of God, should have been the one <i>receiving</i> the tax money, not paying it out.<br>
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Jesus' sufferings on earth were both great and small. One of his lesser sufferings was knowing he was a son but being treated like a stranger. The little indignities that he absorbed every day largely go unmentioned in the Gospel accounts, but you can imagine it was probably a daily occurrence. Even as a boy his parents scolded him for simply doing what a son ought to: hanging around his Father's house. I imagine twelve-year-old Jesus was mystified at Joseph's and Mary's distress. He probably thought, "Isn't that the whole reason you brought me to Jerusalem? Why else am I here?"<br>
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Humility is bending to these indignities and aiming instead not to give offense. "Give [the tax money] to them for you and for <i>Me</i>." Jesus paid taxes to his own Father's house. And perhaps the reason the stater was provided through the fish's mouth was to show that the Father was the one providing it for Jesus. Do you invite guests into your home then pay <i>them</i> rent to allow you to sleep in your own bedroom? Well, God the Father chose to pay taxes to his own house. <br>
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This shouldn't be a surprise. The humility of God is such that he also paid a ransom to buy back the very people he created. He had to purchase back what belonged to him from the start. And the price he paid for them was prohibitively high, even though the debt they incurred was owed to him. The one who should have been paid was the one who paid out the price.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-40144490210726489812020-11-24T11:36:00.009-08:002020-11-24T11:41:06.143-08:00Matthew 17:14-23 - "When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+17%3A14-23&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 17:14-23</p></a>
Jesus' rebuke to this man with the demon-possessed son, and to the townspeople in general, sounds harsh until you consider that there were some unbelieving towns where Jesus refused to do any miracles at all. At least this crowd got off with a scolding, and the father received the cure he wanted for his son. For further insight into why Jesus had such a prickly attitude toward them, check the parallel passage in Mark 9:14-29 where it says Jesus reprimanded this father for saying "<i>if</i> you can do anything." The father was treating Jesus like a shot in the dark, a crapshoot, instead of the Son of God sent from heaven. Then after Jesus healed the boy and he lay still, the townspeople immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was dead. It was like they were waiting for Jesus to fail.<br>
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What distressed Jesus most about people's unbelief was that he was right there, in the flesh, doing miracle after miracle in the sight of all. If they didn't believe now, when would they? What would it take? So he says,"How long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?"<br>
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The disciples came to Jesus privately, recognizing their own part in the failed exorcism, but notice how Jesus was more gentle and fatherly with them. He told them the problem was the littleness of their faith, but he didn't treat them as if they lacked faith altogether. Now why did Jesus say the littleness of their faith was the problem, then go on to exhort them to have mustard-seed-sized faith? A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds around. Was Jesus saying small faith was the problem, or was it the solution? <br>
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I'm not sure what the answer is. To me it sounds as if he's saying not only did they have little faith, but they lacked faith <i>in</i> their little faith. They failed to see that even small faith can do the impossible if you understood that it was not the quantity but quality of your faith that mattered. As the saying goes, it's not about the greatness of your faith, but the greatness of the God in whom you put your faith that counts. <br>
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But you don't want to make the mistake of thinking faith is all about sending concentrated brain waves toward getting what you want, like the power of positive thinking, or Luke Skywalker dislodging his lightsaber from the snow. Jesus could heal sickness and exorcise demons because the sin that brought those conditions upon people would be paid for in his blood. He asked people to believe in him because his power to do miracles was rooted in his curse-reversing death. So this story concludes with Jesus telling his disciples that he must be handed over, killed, and raised on the third day. They grieved. They didn't understand that these miracles they rejoiced in were inseparable from the cup Jesus had to drink.
Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-89976968124058708852020-10-04T16:27:00.002-07:002020-11-25T19:39:10.479-08:00Matthew 17:9-13 - "As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+17%3A9-13&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 17:9-13</p></a>
Many times we have seen Jesus swear people to secrecy, whether it's about his various healing miracles or Peter's confession that he was the Christ. Matthew has already explained in 12:15-21 that Jesus' ministry was not an advertising campaign. While it's true he didn't take every measure to hide his miracles, nevertheless the theme of his ministry was to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 42:2: "He will not quarrel, nor cry out; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets." The Suffering Servant would not try to control the airwaves. He let others draw their own conclusions, whether they thought he should be worshipped or murdered.<br>
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I do wonder though if Jesus' command to "tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead" was more than just about being low key. Peter, James and John didn't seem to have a clue what the vision was all about, and perhaps Jesus knew they wouldn't until he rose from the dead. What could they possibly say about it in the meantime? "Hey everybody! You'll never guess what <i>we</i> just saw!" It would be all about them and how special they were to witness something spectacular, making the other disciples jealous. The apostle Paul was famously humbled by a thorn in the flesh to keep him from boasting of visions he saw (2 Cor. 12:1-10). Jesus may have imposed silence on his disciples to restrain their pride as well as their ignorance. <br>
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The disciples responded to Jesus' command by asking him about Elijah. At first that seems pretty strange. You have to consult Mark 9:10 to see that they got there because Jesus' admonishment led them to debate about the resurrection. I imagine it went something like this: "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." "Did he just say 'rise from the dead'?" "I think so. What does that mean?" "I think it means this, I think it means that, blah blah." "Hey, wasn't Elijah supposed to rise from the dead?" "That's what the scribes say. He was supposed to come before the Christ." "So where is he?" "He never came! Maybe the scribes are wrong." "Say, Rabbi, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" <br>
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Jesus answered by first affirming that the scribes were correct. "Elijah is coming and will restore all things." He spoke of Elijah in the present and future tense as a way of confirming the truth of this statement. But then he immediately switched to the past tense to reveal that the prophecy about Elijah already happened. "But I say to you that Elijah <i>already came</i>, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Jesus used their inquiry as an opportunity to reiterate what he knew was so hard for the disciples to swallow: that he also would suffer and die. John the Baptist was the great, much-anticipated Elijah--look at how they treated him. Was it so hard now to imagine the same happening to the Christ? <br>
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John was truly Jesus' forerunner in every way, even in suffering a cruel fate. Every other disciple of Jesus followed him in losing their life. Only John the Baptist had the unique honor of preceding him. No wonder Jesus praised John as the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (11:11).Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-79607493708618494832020-09-22T20:46:00.004-07:002020-09-23T17:14:36.521-07:00Matthew 17:1-8 - "And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+17%3A1-8&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 17:1-8</p></a>
The two other times this story of Jesus' transfiguration is told in the Gospels (Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36), it always follows right after Jesus said something to the effect of "some of those standing here will not taste death until they see the coming kingdom of God." That's important to note because otherwise you're thinking, "Well, <i>that</i> never happened. Here we are two thousand years later, the disciples are dead, and Jesus <i>still</i> hasn't returned in glory."<br>
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The transfiguration that Peter, James, and John got to witness apparently <i>was</i> the revelation of the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Normally we think of Jesus' second coming as a time and space event. It will happen in the future. He will come with the angelic host. The final judgment on mankind will take place. But evidently all that is just so much window dressing because the essence of the coming kingdom is centered on Jesus himself and the revelation of his glory. <br>
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Jesus pulled back the veil of his humble fleshly garb, and his entire body from his face to his clothes poured forth blazing light. This is what is means for the kingdom of God to come. The king is revealed in his true glory. Apparently what also got torn back was the veil that separated this world from the world to come, because suddenly Moses and Elijah were hanging out with him chatting, a preview of post-resurrection life. <br>
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A lot of people think that life in heaven will just be a return to the Garden of Eden, with a lot of trees and eating fruit and petting animals. But this vision tells us that Jesus' glorified existence, and the existence of everyone who shares in it, will not be about continuing to live in a regular fleshly body that doesn't die. It's about receiving a resurrected body that is full of light, power, and immortality (1 Corinthians 15:42-45, 52-54). Your glorified body is suited for a higher existence in the heavenly kingdom, right alongside the angels. When Jesus preaches the promise of eternal life, this is a picture of what it is.<br>
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Remember when the apostle Paul had a similar encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6)? It changed his life. In a flash he understood that all his law-keeping was a massive dung heap because he saw Jesus in resurrection glory. Immediately he comprehended that Jesus, not the law, was the way to eternal life.<br>
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That's probably what should have happened to Peter, James, and John, but these three were a bit slower than Paul. Instead it ended up being an awkward moment of Peter blathering on about making three tabernacles, because, well, we've all been there. That moment when you feel like you're supposed to say something even though you don't know what, and you end up blurting out something stupid. To make things worse, God the Father rebuked Peter's three tabernacles idea, sending them all diving to the ground in fear. It's another instance of the raw honesty of the Gospel writers. I mean, what a disappointment that the moment of The Big Reveal ended up crumbling into a scene of awkwardness and embarrassment. When it was all over, I could just picture the three of them frazzled, bewildered, and probably wishing they had made a better showing in front of Bible celebrities like Moses and Elijah. <br>
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But in the end they did get it. John would later say, "We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Peter would say, "But to the degree you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation" (1 Peter 4:13). They saw Jesus' glory and wanted to pass it along to the rest of the saints. If only you had been there, you would have seen Hope itself. If you had seen what we saw, you would find courage in your sufferings. And yet you <i>can</i> see him. With eyes of faith you can see what we saw. "And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible, and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8).
Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-62562847064764366982020-09-17T13:05:00.020-07:002020-09-20T16:04:12.363-07:00Matthew 16:21-28 - "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+16%3A21-28&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 16:21-28</p></a>
The usual commentary on this passage is, "Look how fast Peter went from confessing Jesus as the Christ to becoming a mouthpiece of Satan! It just goes to show that one moment you could be doing great things for the Lord, and the next thing you know you are siding with the enemy. See how pride goes before a fall?" And so it does. I don't think Peter did a 180 within, say, five minutes of the magnificent confession we saw in the previous passage. It's possible several days or even weeks passed between these events. But it was no accident that the gospel writer placed this story of Jesus rebuking Peter immediately after the story of his giving Peter high praise. Certainly the contrast was meant to be both jarring and instructive.<br/>
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But what interests me is the instruction that follows. There seems to be a loosely connected train of thought in Jesus' discourse. He goes from rebuking Peter for failing to understand the necessity of his death and resurrection to telling the disciples that they must not save their lives otherwise they will lose their souls. Then he says the Son of Man will return in glory to recompense mankind for their deeds, adding that some of the disciples will have a chance to catch a preview of said Second Coming very soon. I know it seems like Jesus often makes trapeze-artist-type leaps in thought. But instead of going along with it in lazy indifference, how about we try to unpack it a bit?<br/>
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After Peter protested Jesus' disclosure that he must be killed and then rise again from the dead, I expected Jesus to turn to his disciples and instruct them on the doctrine of the atonement. "Guys, don't you see why I need to die? The sins of the world need to be paid for, man! I'm the Lamb! You'll die in your sins if I don't do this. You may not like it, but it is what it is." But instead Jesus instructs them on why <i>they</i> need to be willing to die. Now this is a familiar passage where we know he's talking about the cost of discipleship, but I think we assume that he isn't addressing Peter's protest directly. We think maybe he's just leaping to this topic because "while we're on the subject of dying, let me give you some more bad news, which is that you're also gonna have to die if you follow me." <br/>
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But what if this instruction about costly discipleship <i>was</i> a direct response to Peter's protest? That is, Jesus was confronting Peter's reaction against a deeper principle: he only wanted to be a part of this program for the triumph, not for the suffering. Peter's concern was not just for Jesus but, more viscerally, for himself and what he's signing up for. This was not about Peter's failure to understand the doctrine of atonement, but his aversion to the principle upon which the entire kingdom of God operated. Salvation emerges out of damnation. Life is born out of death. Suffering must precede glory. When Peter exclaimed, "Lord, this shall never happen to you!" he was also saying at a deeper level, "May this never happen to <i>me</i>!" As human beings our problem with the gospel isn't necessarily solved by getting educated about doctrine. Quite often it's about challenging our heart to relinquish it's death-grip on this life, this world, the flesh and its idols. <br/>
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Which makes it more incredible when Jesus follows up with "the Son of Man...will then recompense every man according his deeds." At first this seems like a slight disconnect with the costly discipleship discourse. That's because we normally think of evil deeds in terms of lying and stealing and sexual immorality and the like. But not taking up our cross? Not despising our own life? Not dying to this world? That's how Jesus describes the deeds that will be judged. He is saying evil is bigger than cheating on your taxes or even committing adultery. This is about cosmic principles at war with each other, where we must choose sides. Jesus has come to call us out of this world, out of enemy territory. Coming to him means nothing less than putting to death everything you hold dear. To reject this calling is not a neutral position, it is siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. That choice, and all the evil deeds that come out of it, is why the Son of Man will return to judge the world.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-55704311169188060642020-09-11T12:08:00.005-07:002020-09-18T22:42:55.177-07:00Matthew 16:13-20 - "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+16%3A13-20&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 16:13-20</p></a>
Jesus waited until we were sixteen chapters deep into Matthew's Gospel to ask his disciples this critical, fundamental question: "Who do you say that I am?"<br />
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This strikes me as odd. You mean, all the way up to this point he wasn't indoctrinating them with the correct answer? He wasn't catechizing them daily? "Question: Who is Jesus of Nazareth?" "Answer: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" He actually waited until the disciples spent quite a bit of time observing him, seeing his works, witnessing his interactions, doing ministry for themselves, having him save their bacon a few times, and then he came to them with the question: "Who do you say that I am?"<br />
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This is not someone who's interested in hearing only what he wants to hear. This is someone who's interested in what you really think after you've had plenty of time to process. After you've had a chance to develop enough trust in the relationship to be totally honest with him. Jesus actually wants you to weigh the evidence and come to your own conclusion about him.<br />
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He didn't even land the question on his disciples right away, but first asked them what other people were saying about him. Was Jesus just warming up to the subject? Getting the ol' icebreaker going before closing in on what he really wanted to know? Probably not. By asking them to list the theories being generated by the rumor mill, he was allowing the disciples to sift through their own hearts. "Well, some say John the Baptist, but we know that's not true. Some say he's Elijah come back from the dead, but we know John had the spirit of Elijah, so it's not that. Jeremiah? But our Teacher is not claiming to be any old prophet. The way he talks about God being his Father and all the miracles we've seen? No, this is big. This is waaaay bigger than even Jeremiah."<br />
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Jesus' wise approach was rewarded when Simon Peter confessed, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Because then he could respond, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." You got that straight out of the mind of God himself, Simon. See how you have been chosen for this blessing? And if you think that's exciting, well it's only the beginning. You are the first among many who will make the same confession. In fact, from now on I will call you Peter, which means rock, because your confession will lay the rockbed foundation for my church that I am building. Many will come after you confessing me as the Christ, and the power of my name is so great not even Hades itself can prevail over it. It is so great you will wield it on earth with the authority of heaven itself."<br />
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And Peter did. In the name of Jesus Christ he healed a lame man (Acts 3:6-7) proclaimed salvation before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:12), and suffered a flogging (Acts 5:40-41). He judged Ananias and Sapphira for putting the Spirit of the Lord to the test (Acts 5:1-11). He raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-41). He preached to Cornelius and witnessed the Holy Spirit fall upon Gentile believers (Acts 10:9-48). All this began humbly and stumblingly in Peter's simple confession of Jesus as the Christ. Not out of indoctrination or outside pressure, but out of the depths of his own heart, his own personal conviction. It started small and grew up big. Just as Jesus told us in 13:31-32:<br />
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"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-25624872867025273022020-08-30T19:04:00.006-07:002020-09-18T22:43:54.133-07:00Matthew 16:1-12 - "And the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Him asked Him to show them a sign from heaven."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+16%3A1-12&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 16:1-12</p></a>
In this passage Jesus rebukes both the Pharisees and Sadducees, and later on his own disciples, for their unbelief. Jesus scolds both groups for not knowing better: the religious leaders for not knowing how to read the sign of the times, and the disciples for fretting about bread on the heels of his two feeding miracles. One group is openly hostile toward Jesus, and the other are his friends. So what is the difference between the unbelief of the two groups? The first group Jesus would later refer to as sons of hell (23:15). The second group Jesus ends up commissioning to preach the gospel to all the world, even as they stand there doubting his resurrection (28:16-20). So how do we know if we have an <i>unbelieving</i> unbelief or a <i>believing struggle</i> with unbelief? How can we know if Jesus is going to respond to us with scary condemnation or with a fatherly scolding?<br />
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When the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus for a sign, they did so because they were "testing him." It wasn't the first time either. The Pharisees along with the scribes had made it a practice to stalk and harass Jesus regularly. Back in 12:38-42 they demanded a sign from him and were denied. Jesus told them then that the only sign they would be getting was the sign of Jonah, and even gave a lengthy explanation of what that meant. So you can understand his curtness to them in this passage. He had been around this merry-go-round with them before. Not to mention the Pharisees were also going around publicly accusing him of casting out demons using satanic power (12:24) and were actively plotting his destruction (12:14).<br/>
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So there's that history. But even aside from all that, their entire attitude toward Jesus in this encounter reeks of arrogance. "You're guilty until proven innocent." "You need to convince us on our terms, not yours." All the while pretending to be seekers who wanted to know the truth, who needed only <i>one more sign</i> to convince them, as if Jesus' very public mass healings and feedings and exorcisms were a paltry show. They came to him with a dishonesty, insincerity, and deceitfulness that made Jesus turn around and walk away. There was an evil agenda hidden behind those smiling faces. The reason they didn't believe is quite simply because they didn't want to.<br/>
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The disciples by contrast did believe. Jesus called them "you men of little faith," not "you men of <i>no</i> faith." They did have a weak faith, but they did not come to him deceitfully. They were anxious to do things right, so much so that they got all tied up in knots over forgetting to bring bread for the trip. They thought Jesus would be disappointed because they were irresponsible. It never occurred to them that Jesus actually expected them to be irresponsible at times, and what really disappointed him was that they didn't console themselves with the realization that he could simply provide. Apparently they thought he provided bread for the multitudes because those people were pitiable. But to provide bread for themselves because they had been forgetful was, in their minds, not a good enough reason.<br/>
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This reasoning sounds familiar, doesn't it? I don't want to ask God to provide for me if I was irresponsible. I was late getting out of the house. Should I pray that the meeting would start late? But I deserve to face the consequences of my actions, not treat God as a genie to get me out of another scrape! How can this be a time for faith when it should be a time for guilt and self-flaggelation? It never occurs to me that Jesus is more disappointed in my unbelief, in my assumption that he can't (or won't) help me, than he is in my laziness or forgetfulness.<br/>
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So the unbelief of the disciples was of a completely different kind than that of the Pharisees and Sadducees. It had to do with the limits that they, in their little faith, put on Jesus' love for them. Jesus' rebuke to them was in the vein of what he said back in 6:30: "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?" The unbelief of the Pharisees and Sadducees, on the other hand, wasn't even close to being engaged in the struggle to believe in Jesus' love for them. As far as they were concerned, Jesus had nothing to offer them. It was their job to judge him. Their unbelief was all about looking for grounds to discredit him, to ultimately drag him before the authorities and have him killed.
Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-52166186106261319872020-08-22T19:42:00.004-07:002020-09-18T22:44:44.081-07:00Matthew 15:32-39 - "And Jesus called his disciples to him, and said, 'I feel compassion for the multitude...'"<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+15%3A32-39&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 15:32-39</p></a>
It wasn't too long ago that Jesus performed a very similar miracle with a multitude of five thousand, and now we find him at it again, this time feeding a multitude of four thousand. In the first feeding he multiplied five loaves and two fish resulting in twelve baskets of leftovers. Here he multiplies seven loaves and "a few small fish" resulting in seven baskets of leftovers. The details are meant to distinguish these two similar-sounding miracles. Jesus even discusses the two events and these very details with the disciples in 16:9-10 when he scolds them for their lack of faith.<br />
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Speaking of which, it's the disciples' display of unbelief that seems to be the point behind the telling of this second miracle. The circumstances are so similar to the first feeding. Jesus is mobbed by the crowds. He feels compassion for them. He spends all day--actually three straight days this time--healing their sick, and now he doesn't want to send them away hungry. He mentions this concern to the disciples and their response is, "Where would we get so many loaves in a desolate place to satisfy such a great multitude?"<br />
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You sort of expect Jesus to raise his eyes at them and wait, his mouth half open with a smile tugging at one corner, as if to say, "You're not serious, right? Tell me this is a joke. Punch line? Punch line please?" But no, the punch line never comes because the disciples are dead serious. Why Jesus! Where on earth would we <i>ever</i> get enough loaves to feed such a multitude, and in <i>such</i> a desolate place--because loaves and multitudes and feedings and desolate places just don't ring a bell with us at all?<br />
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The children of Israel saw the parting of the Red Sea, then the next thing you know they're worshipping a golden calf. It doesn't matter how great a miracle is displayed before human eyes, the human heart somehow finds a way to disbelieve. "Yes, but that was <i>then</i>. That was so last week. What have you done for me lately?"<br>
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Jesus doesn't betray any impatience, though he must have been exhausted after dealing with three days of non-stop demands. He goes through the exact same ritual. He has everyone sit down. He asks for the loaves. He takes them, blesses them, breaks them, and gives them out for distribution. They eat. They are satified. The disciples collect the leftovers and count the baskets. The repetitiveness is lesson-like. Let's review. Remember this? We've been here before. See how it's the same outcome?<br>
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Jesus is very patient, but he does want us to catch on eventually. He's provided for you before, and yet you doubt he will provide again? He's answered so many prayers in the past, and yet you struggle to pray now? Our excuse is that faith feels foolish and illogical. But when you see the disciples' behavior in this story, it becomes apparent that it's really unbelief that is foolish and illogical.
Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-58683635693784413862011-06-23T14:34:00.002-07:002020-09-18T22:45:40.720-07:00Matthew 15:29-31 - "And departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+15%3A29-31&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 15:29-31</p></a>
Jesus just got through saying, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" in the previous passage. But like the Canaanite woman who wouldn't be turned away, now the multitudes come running after him, and we know this crowd was largely Gentile because Matthew says they "glorified the God of Israel." Didn't they receive the memo that Jesus was only sent to the house of Israel? Haven't they heard that it's not right to feed the children's bread to dogs? Even if they have, do they care? <br />
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And Jesus obliges them. What might he be thinking at this point, seeing these desperate Gentile crowds? Well, fresh in his memory is that astounding answer given by the Canaanite woman, that even a dog like herself would happily feed on the crumbs that fall from the master's table. Her faith, humility and insight amazed Jesus, and he could not turn down her request for her daughter's healing. Prior to that encounter Jesus had had a run in with the Pharisees, who condemned the disciples for not following the tradition of washing their hands before they ate, who then became offended when Jesus pointed out how they transgress God's law to uphold the man-made tradition of corban. <br />
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So Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but the leaders of Israel are already hardening their hearts, violating God's commands in favor of the teachings of men. Meanwhile, the Gentile woman had more faith in her little pinkie than all those Pharisees put together . . . Jesus had to be thinking that the Canaanite woman is more of an Israelite than the ones who are born into the privilege. And surely these Gentile multitudes clamoring for his attention are also looking for some crumbs for themselves.<br />
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So he heals them, their lame and crippled and blind and mute. The Pharisees were too righteous and whole to have need for the Messiah. But the ones who feel so unworthy they ask only for crumbs will find themselves seated at the banqueting table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-40536160555842683092011-06-13T08:54:00.002-07:002020-09-18T22:46:34.435-07:00Matthew 15:21-28 - "And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+15%3A21-28&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 15:21-28</p></a>
The big question about this passage is why Jesus seems to give the cold shoulder to the Canaanite woman who requests his help. Her plea for her demon-possessed daughter is exactly like all the other needs that Jesus has attended to without protest. He has already cast out demons from the two men of the Gadarenes (8:28-34), raised a young girl from the dead (9:18-26), and even healed the servant of a Gentile centurion (8:5-13), so surely this woman's request isn't unreasonable.<br />
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The reason Jesus gives is that his primary mission is to the Jews, not Gentiles. He tells his disciples, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." And to the woman he is even more plain: "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs [a derogatory reference to Gentiles]." The question is whether Jesus is just being facetious in making this remark, or if he really is telling her to get lost. <br />
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Some people think that Jesus is merely engaging in verbal sparring with the woman, that while his words seem harsh he is actually encouraging her with a knowing look, and she in turn understands that she should persist in asking him to heal her daughter. In other words, Jesus gets her to play along in this conversation for the benefit of the disciples, who need to be instructed about the inclusion of Gentiles into the kingdom. The merit to this theory is that it explains Jesus' seemingly perverse behavior toward this clearly desperate woman. The one who famously offered living water to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 does not sound like someone who would reject an entreating Gentile woman so out of hand. And how else can you explain why Jesus would call her a dog? That sounds like something a Pharisee would say, not Jesus. <br />
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Yet on the other hand the text doesn't give any hint that Jesus is merely sparring with the woman, or that he is speaking "with a twinkle in his eye" as some commentators put it. Even the disciples read Jesus' body language as one of disinterest, which is why they are bold enough to ask him to send the woman away. The last time they asked Jesus to send people away, they got rebuked and ended up feeding a multitude of five thousand! So they must be reading Jesus as already annoyed by her, otherwise they wouldn't risk making this request. Furthermore, when Jesus tells them, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," he is echoing his commission to the disciples back in 10:5-6 when he said, "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."<br />
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I've landed somewhere in the middle. I don't think Jesus is giving any visible encouragement to the woman, but it does seem that he is testing her. For a Gentile the woman is surprisingly educated about the Jewish faith, addressing Jesus properly as "Son of David" and even coming up and worshiping him. Perhaps Jesus knows that she is not far from the kingdom, and yet her knowledge of these proprieties doesn't satisfy him. He wants to push her. She knows she is an outsider. She knows she doesn't "deserve" the blessings of the covenant. Why should he help her? What claim does she have on him?<br />
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The woman answers that she <i>doesn't</i> have a claim on him, that she knows she is merely a dog beneath her masters' table, yet she points out that even a dog can lick up the crumbs that fall to the floor. By saying this she reveals her insight into the Son of David, which is that he will not turn away even the unworthy, that he is merciful to the outsider, that his blessings are so rich an unclean dog needs only a crumb to find satisfaction. <br />
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Jesus is amazed. "O woman," he says, as if her answer has pierced him straight to the heart. This woman knows that he cannot deny her, because that is the essence of who he is. She knows it. And he knows that she knows it. And now she knows that he knows that she knows it. What can Jesus do in the presence of such faith except grant her her request? "O woman, your faith is great. Be it done for you as you wish."Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-61543406498184238182011-05-05T08:59:00.002-07:002020-09-18T22:47:20.409-07:00Matthew 15:12-14 - "Then the disciples came and said to him, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?'"<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+15%3A12-14&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 15:12-14</p></a>
This is one of those passages that reminds you what an Asian culture Jesus and his disciples lived in. Jesus had just accused the Pharisees of religious hypocrisy and vain worship, and the disciples are horrified. "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" Because you don't say such things against your elders, especially your spiritual leaders, and especially in public. The social norms are strict about showing respect and knowing when to bite your tongue. But Jesus seems unaware of these rules, so the disciples try to take him aside and instruct him. Jesus is like that opinionated uncle you worry about inviting over to your dinner party because he never seems to know when he's crossed a line. Even while you're glaring and gesturing and mouthing for him to be quiet, he keeps on going, offending people left and right until the whole table has fallen silent.<br />
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Jesus isn't concerned about offending the Pharisees because he's more concerned that the people listening in on this conversation not be led astray by their hypocrisy. That is why he immediately turns to multitudes and instructs them about what truly defiles a man (the passage we looked at last time). Quite often Jesus will tell people to listen to what the Pharisees teach but not imitate their behavior. This time he directly contradicts their teaching about hand washing, calls them hypocrites to their faces, and quotes a damning passage from Isaiah to underscore the accusation. He completely trashes their credibility in front of the watching crowds. It was even worse than watching Seth Meyers roast Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents dinner last weekend. <br />
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But shouldn't Jesus care about the Pharisees too? What about evangelizing to them? What about loving your enemies? By offending them he seems to be burning bridges with them instead of trying to reach them with the truth. Interestingly enough Jesus doesn't share our concern about these things when it comes to dealing with false teachers who wield the authority of God over the masses. "Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. Let them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Yeah, he's pretty much writing them off. Don't even try to convince them, he says. They don't belong to my Father and they are blind. They might even try to lead you astray, and in your blindness you'll follow right after them into a pit.<br />
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When it comes to humanity in general, you'll hear Jesus and the apostles will say, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." But when it comes to false teachers and false prophets and tone shifts radically. All you hear throughout the New Testament regarding false teachers is, "Woe, woe, woe to them! Those sons of hell, shameless dogs, unreasoning animals, waterless clouds, stains and blemishes, hypocrites, whitewashed tombs . . . flee from them!" That's because false teachers are people who speak in the name of God but use their authority deceptively to lead the faithful astray. They are an extremely dangerous breed, which is why Jesus never tells his disciples to stick around and try to "work with them" or "come alongside them." Chances are they will lead you to believe you are making progress with them, meanwhile they are sucking you into their deception and pretty soon you end up just as blind as they. So when you recognize one of them in your midst, it is better to drop your heroic fantasies about how you are going to be the instrument of their enlightenment, and back--slowly--away.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-7966325057204918832011-04-28T06:51:00.002-07:002020-09-18T22:47:57.433-07:00Matthew 15:10-20 - "And after he called the multitude to him, he said to them..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+15%3A10-20&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 15:10-20</p></a>
This passage contains teaching in verses 12-14 about the Pharisees as "blind guides of the blind," but let's save our discussion of that section for next time. Right now we'll look at the discussion between Jesus and Peter on what truly defiles a man.<br />
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The tradition of hand-washing before eating isn't written in Old Testament law. Most likely the Pharisees took the commandment for priests to wash before ministering at the altar of the temple (Exodus 30:17-21) and applied it universally to all Jews coming before the table to eat a meal. It's a way of ramping up the holiness of the nation, and maybe then God will be pleased to restore Israel to her former glory. Of course, not only were the Pharisees teaching a man-made tradition as if it were the commandment of God, but they were violating a true commandment of God, the fifth commandment, in the process.<br />
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But Jesus' criticism of the hand-washing tradition reaches far beyond the fact that it is a mere tradition. He attacks the entire rationale upon which it is based. He says it's not what you put in your mouth that defiles you, it's what comes out of your mouth straight from your corrupt heart that defiles you. What is shocking about this pronouncement is that Jesus is challenging the entire idea of clean and unclean distinctions as taught by the Mosaic Law. The parallel passage in Mark 7:1-23 even adds as an aside, "Thus [Jesus] declared all foods clean," though Matthew seems to be content with just planting that idea in our heads and letting us draw our own conclusions. The law delineated categories of clean and unclean to train the Israelites to think in these stark, black-and-white terms, but the law was only a tutor, an intensive training exercise to help God's people see that the true clean and unclean distinction is between a holy God and sinful men.<br />
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Jesus rebukes the disciples for their lack of understanding, because anyone with spiritual insight would realize that the real uncleanness the law is referring to lies within our hearts. Food has nothing to do with it. Our words betray how much evil is hidden inside each one of us, an unending stream of lust, deceit and murder. Jesus had to come to us as the clean one and take our uncleanness upon himself. He became unclean to God, rejected upon the cross, so that we could be declared clean in the Father's sight.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-41214545883294071992011-04-07T08:40:00.002-07:002020-09-18T22:48:27.132-07:00Matthew 15:1-9 - "Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+15%3A1-9&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 15:1-9</p></a>
Some Pharisees and scribes make the long trip all the way up from Jerusalem to Galilee just to accuse Jesus. News of Jesus' activities has apparently reached the top brass in the capital city, and they have sent representatives to get this loose-cannon rabbi in line. Their question, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" shows that their main concern is about authority. "All religious practice done within these boundaries fall within <i>our</i> jurisdiction, you see. Why have you not asked our permission? By what authority do you do these things? Already we see how you teach your disciples to violate our traditions, which proves that you are a fraud."<br />
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Jesus comes right back and points out that the Pharisees commit the real offense by breaking God's commandment in order to keep their tradition. While it's unclear whether Jesus is condemning the practice of all man-made traditions, he is certainly aware of how traditions can end up usurping the place of God's commandments. They may start out in a subordinate place to God's law, then they move up to become equal to it, and soon they are taking priority over it. The tradition of Corban that the Pharisees practiced allowed them to take a vow dedicating their material wealth as a gift to the temple, which then made it unavailable for supporting their parents. Sorry, Mom and Dad, the money's been given to God. Conveniently, the sacredness of the vow took precedence over the fifth commandment. <br />
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Jesus summarizes God's view of such hypocrisy in this way: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." It's unsettling to think how many unspoken traditions we have layered on top of our Christian practice that may be taking us further and further away from God's actual commands. We have such definite ideas about how a godly Christian should dress, behave, talk, serve in church, evangelize his neighbors, prioritize his time, and vote. If any of these practices take priority over God's command to "love your neighbor," I think we'd hardly notice. Part of the reason for our blindness is that we can all think of ways that liberal Christians have abused and overused the term "love" to justify unbiblical practices. And yet that doesn't change the fact that God has still commanded that we love others, and has made that command supreme. Someone else's abuse of God's command doesn't give us reason to despise the command, nor does it justify finding man-made practices to put in its place.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-22931420073777367552011-04-04T06:12:00.002-07:002020-09-19T06:47:34.704-07:00Matthew 14:34-36 - "And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A34-36&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:34-36</p></a>
More people, more healings, more clamoring after Jesus. This short passage appears to be a bridge that leads into Jesus' next confrontation with the Pharisees in chapter 15. But before we move quickly on, let's take note of a couple of things. The disciples have only been able to get so far from the madding crowd, and their precious break has already come to an end. The only rest they have gotten was when they were in the middle of the sea, and even then with Jesus pulling stunts like walking on water, they were never able to be fully at ease. <br />
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But Jesus himself has gotten even less of a break. He had already spent most of the night praying on the mountain, then he hiked all the way down to the seashore and walked two additional miles on the water to reach the disciples' boat. By the time he reached them it was close to sunrise ("the fourth watch," 14:25), meaning he might have gotten a couple hours' sleep on the boat before he had to rise again to start his day with the multitudes of Gennesaret clamoring for him when they docked. Surely, we can add <i>sleeplessness</i> to the list of Jesus' sufferings during his life on earth. If you've ever taken care of an infant around the clock, feeding and changing and rocking him all day long and throughout the night, running on only a few hours' sleep at a time, take comfort that Jesus knows all about your suffering. He keeps watch with you during those long and lonely nights.<br />
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The people of Gennesaret are begging to touch even the fringe of Jesus' cloak. News must have reached them about the hemorrhaging woman who had received healing simply by touching the hem of his garment (9:20-22). You feel tempted to despise these people who treat Jesus so superstitiously, but apparently Jesus does not despise them. Somehow there is enough faith mixed in with their superstition for him to honor with genuine healing. "As many as touched [his cloak] were cured" (v. 36). Jesus had told the hemorrhaging woman "your faith has made you well" and no doubt the same applies to these Gennesarites. It is always faith that Jesus honors--and perhaps because it is the desperate faith of the sick and needy, such desperation has made their faith true enough to overcome even the superstition that would otherwise taint it.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-5722565348858488902011-03-25T08:17:00.003-07:002020-09-19T06:48:47.718-07:00Matthew 14:27-33 - "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid.'"<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A27-33&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:27-33</p></a>
I've noticed that people like to rag on Peter. He's such an easy target. He's bold and enthusiastic. He puts his foot in his mouth and falls on his face. This is another one of those passages in which Peter becomes an object of disdain to every preacher who preaches on it. "Once more we see Peter eating humble pie." "Peter's pride gets him in trouble again." "What a dumb, impulsive thing Peter did." Etc. Peter tries to walk on water and seems to be doing well, but when his faith totters and he starts to sink, Jesus grabs hold of him and rebukes him with "Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?"<br />
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But before you use this passage as an excuse to jump all over Peter for his folly, you have to also acknowledge what a remarkable person he is, how dogged and loyal and eager and naive he is in his love for Jesus. He's like a puppy dog that comes barking and rolling and tumbling at you, then in his eagerness he overshoots his mark so that he has to turn around, scramble and come right back at you again. There's something lovable about that clumsiness, that haplessness. I can't imagine that Jesus despised Peter as much as some of us do. Maybe the reason we enjoy seeing Peter's boldness get him in trouble is that we are hoping that lends some merit to our own cowardice and cold love. <br />
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Peter hops out of the boat because he wants to go to Jesus. The disciples are just recovering from the shock of thinking they are seeing a ghost, and when Peter hears Jesus' reassuring voice, "Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid," his impulse is to run to him. "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." I used to think Peter just wanted a chance to take part in the cute little magic trick he saw Jesus performing, but looking at this passage again I don't think it was such a trivial request. Peter says, "<i>if</i> it is you," which means he is still uncertain about whether this is Jesus. Yet if the Lord commanded him to come, Peter knows Jesus would surely give him the ability to meet him safely on the water, then Peter would know that this really was his teacher and friend. Peter is simply hungering for that assurance. He's the "jump out and run to Jesus with open arms" type, not the "wait around for Jesus to make it all the way into the boat before seeing if it's really him" type. <br />
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When Peter is focused on Jesus and on his eagerness to be with him, he walks miraculously on the water. But as soon as he takes his eyes off Jesus, noticing the wind, growing anxious about his surroundings, his faith leaks out and he begins to sink. The moment he stops trusting and starts calculating, he's done for. But not quite. Even when his faith fails, Jesus reaches out with his hand and saves him. There are a lot of Christians today who think their faith is what saves them, and when things go wrong they blame weak faith as the cause. But faith is always weak; it totters and shakes the moment we take our eyes off Jesus. It is Jesus who saves you, not the degree of your faith. He saves you in spite of your little faith; he saves you <i>from</i> your little faith. If you feel yourself losing a grip on him, you can cry to him to save you from yourself, from all your doubts and folly, and he will reach out a hand to prevent you from sinking.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-70981174244112592862011-03-20T04:00:00.002-07:002020-09-19T06:49:55.697-07:00Matthew 14:24-27 - "But the boat was already many stadia away from the land..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A24-27&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:24-27</p></a>
After an emotionally and physically exhausting day, the disciples finally escape on a boat away from the crowds, even away from Jesus who has decided to spend the night praying up in a mountain. At last they have their rest. But some hours later the wind picks up and waves begin to batter the boat. Then in the dead of night they see someone walking toward them over the surface of the water. They are terrified. They think it is a ghost.<br />
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Skeptics have tried to explain away the miracle of Jesus walking on water. I heard one explanation that Jesus was actually walking along a sand bar that extended out to sea, and the disciples were fooled into thinking Jesus was doing something miraculous. But the disciples' boat would have had to be relatively close to the shoreline for that to be possible, and the text says that they were already "many stadia away from the land" and had been sailing for half the night. This suggests they were probably about a mile or two from shore. As far as I know, no sandbar stretches out that far.<br />
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What's more the fact that the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost adds a note of credibility to this account, it seems to me. If this story were made up, you would write it so that the disciples gaze out into the sea and immediately recognize that Jesus is walking on water. "Wow, look, it's a miracle! Jesus, you truly are the Son of God!" Worship, worship, worship. Right? But instead the disciples behave much more realistically than that. In order to understand this, imagine for a moment how it would be if you were to see someone walking on the sea with only the faint light of the moon and stars to help you discern what you were looking at. Seriously, put your imagination to work and try to be there with the disciples. You know that water cannot hold the weight of a flesh and blood human body, so when you see that thing coming toward you your mind would leap to the immediate assumption that this being must not be flesh and blood, but a weightless spirit. That's why the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost. It wasn't because he looked particularly white or transparent or made spooky noises; it was a primal reaction to the freakiness of the whole scene, because the human mind is programmed to interpret everything it perceives through the natural laws of physics. If you see someone walking on water in very dim light, of course you're going to react with "ghost!" and not "hmm, maybe someone is miraculously walking on water." But this is not the sort of detail you would know to put in a story that is fabricated. Because the only way you could know that you'd react this way is if it actually happened.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-14926861453464995042011-03-15T08:41:00.002-07:002020-09-19T06:50:33.830-07:00Matthew 14:22-23 - "And immediately he made the disciples get into the boat..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A22-23&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:22-23</p></a>
Just a brief comment about this very brief passage before we move on to the story of Jesus walking on water. Back in verse 13 Jesus seeks to have some alone time because he hears the news of John the Baptist's gruesome execution. Yet he can't catch a break because the multitudes come clamoring after him, so he gets to work healing them and tending to their needs. It is the disciples' complaints that draw attention to how weary they all are. "Send the multitudes away," they plead. They're tired too, not just physically but emotionally they are reeling from John's death. Yet instead of turning the crowds away, Jesus pushes his already exhausted disciples to dig deep and find the faith to do the impossible: feed these five thousand men, plus the women and children.<br />
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After the multitudes are fed, all the leftovers are picked up, and the multitudes are finally sent home, Jesus puts his disciples in a boat and sends them off to the solitude they so desperately desire. Then he himself withdraws to a mountain top to pray by himself. Jesus and the disciples have long craved this down time, but it came to them only after they had reached the end of their strength. They were called upon to muster still more, so they mustered, running on fumes, and at last they are rewarded with rest. <br />
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I've had many days similar to this. The day was a rough one and I thought I was done. I'm ready to turn in but then in the eleventh hour I'm called upon to tend to some need, some emergency. One of the kids just shattered a glass full of milk on the floor. My daughter suddenly remembers a homework assignment she hasn't finished, and of course she needs my help on it. I understand that I have to be a servant, but aren't there limits to one's strength and sanity? Why is God dumping this stuff on me? He knows how tired I am, and now I'm off to serve him all cranky and resentful and irritable. Interestingly, I usually discover that I do have a second wind hidden somewhere in my reserves that comes mysteriously out of nowhere. <br />
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Why does God call you to serve him right when you feel the last of your strength ebbing away at the close of the day? I don't know, really, but I know he does that sort of thing. And I find it comforting to see that he also called upon Jesus and his disciples to serve when they were spent. Maybe it is because too often we serve him in our own strength and secretly give ourselves the credit for it. Calling upon us when we feel we have nothing to give is the only way to show us that the strength flowing through us isn't our own, and never was.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-88528593568196794132011-03-08T16:29:00.002-08:002020-09-19T06:52:01.018-07:00Matthew 14:17-21 - "And they said to him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.'" <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A17-21&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:17-21</p></a>
Continuing the story from last time, the disciples tell Jesus to send the multitudes away so they could buy food for themselves. Their request may not have been entirely selfish. They may have seen how tired Jesus was, especially after hearing the troubling news of John the Baptist's execution. But Jesus would not hear of it and instead orders the disciples to feed them. <br />
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The disciples protest with, "But we only have five loaves and two fish." Yet because they bother to scrounge around, come up with a small amount of food, and bring it to Jesus, they display enough faith for Jesus to work his miracle. It is a faltering faith mixed with a great deal of doubt, and it's hard to tell whether the disciples present the five loaves and two fish to Jesus in anticipation of what miracle he might do, or to show him that his request is ridiculous. Probably it is a little bit of both. Yet Jesus knows how to take the slightest flicker of faith, even a smoldering wick of it, and fan it into an opportunity to perform wonders. <br />
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Jesus' miracle of multiplying the food for the crowd echoes a little-known miracle performed by the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 4:42-44. The passage is short enough to quote in full:<br />
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<blockquote>Now a man came from Baal-shalishah and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And [Elisha] said, "Give them to the people that they may eat." And his attendant said, "What, shall I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left over.'" So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over according to the word of the LORD.</blockquote><br />
Isn't it interesting that even the remark about having "some left over" parallels the way Jesus' miracle is told? Jesus is being presented as a greater Elijah/Elisha-like prophet, multiplying food for five thousand instead of one hundred. There are parallels between Jesus' situation and that of these prophets. Remember that Israel was becoming apostate during the time of Elijah and Elisha. In Elijah's time God cursed the land with a drought and in Elisha's day he brought famine upon the land, as if to symbolize the spiritual drought and famine that plagued Israel. Jesus ministered in a similar time of Israel's faithlessness. But just as Elisha was able to provide food for the one hundred who followed him during a time of mass starvation, Jesus provides both physical food and spiritual food for those who believe in him in spite of the waywardness of the Jewish nation. Even during times of spiritual leanness, Jesus is able to call forth a remnant and multiply out of their faith an abundance of spiritual blessing.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-80903934841620889642011-02-28T15:38:00.003-08:002020-09-19T06:52:53.263-07:00Matthew 14:13-16 - "Now when Jesus heard it, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by himself..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A13-16&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:13-16</p></a>
I believe there are some portions of Scripture that you have to read with an Asian sensibility to pick up on the subtext of what is going on. By "Asian sensibility" I mean that instead of describing someone's feelings in graphic detail, like clashing bold colors splashed onto a canvas, there is a spareness of description that speaks more eloquently than a thousand words. Saying less is saying more, especially when the feeling runs so deep you don't wish to cheapen it with empty talk. <br />
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In the previous passage we learn of the horrifying circumstances of John the Baptist's death. John was Jesus' cousin, his own blood and the forerunner of the Messiah. He was a holy man, the last in a line of great Old Testament prophets, a bold preacher and a humble servant of the gospel. He fell into the hands of Herod and was slaughtered like an animal, his head paraded around on a platter at a drunken dinner party. <br />
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When the news reaches Jesus, he gets in a boat and withdraws to a lonely place. Nothing more is said about his response to John's death, yet you can imagine what he must be feeling. It is one of those classic Eastern moments when words are considered abhorrent, because there are no words to say when someone receives news like this. Jesus' silence proclaims his grief, and his desire to be alone tells how overwhelming the pain in his heart must have been.<br />
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And yet the multitudes follow him, robbing him of the luxury of momentary solitude. He does not rebuke them or lash out, instead he humbly tends to their needs. Matthew notes that Jesus "felt compassion for them and healed their sick," apparently feeling the need to explain what motivated Jesus to go out there and minister to them. Jesus wanted space, but his compassion for the people is what strengthened him for the task. <br />
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The disciples aren't delicate in expressing how they feel. "It's late and we're in the middle of nowhere. Get rid of these people and let them find their own dinner." They're depressed about the news of John too, and now they're exhausted and frustrated from having to deal with a horde of needy people. But Jesus responds with, "These people aren't going anywhere. You give them something to eat." <br />
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We'll talk about what happened next in another post, but for now it's apparent that Jesus is asking his disciples to follow in his example. This goes against the grain of what we're often told, namely, that you should give out of a full reservoir, not an empty one, otherwise you will suffer spiritual burnout. I still think that's true, but this story presents a different angle, which is that quite often you <i>think</i> you have nothing to give, but in fact you do. The disciples had been serving all day; they think they cannot do it for another minute. But Jesus pushes them further, and when they step out in faith they find God's miraculous provision waiting for them. <br />
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I'm sure you can relate to the disciples, feeling like you're done for the day but then God lands a brand new overwhelming task on your plate. You feel you cannot give another ounce of strength in service, but somehow either faith or compassion helps to move your sluggish heart forward, and in the end it is really God's miraculous provision that bears your weary body through to the end of the task.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-23495920028165447142011-02-23T09:00:00.002-08:002020-09-19T06:53:41.684-07:00Matthew 14:1-12 - "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+14%3A1-12&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 14:1-12</p></a>
This passage is about the death of John the Baptist, but it is worked into the narrative as back-story to explain why Herod is freaked out when he hears about Jesus' miracles. Herod harbors a guilty conscience for murdering John, and now he thinks God is judging him by bringing John back from the dead in the person of Jesus. We learn from this back-story that Herod feels guilty and paranoid because he executed John against his own conscience, and we also find out how he got cornered into doing it.<br />
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Herod had John arrested because John was saying that Herod's marriage to Herodias, the wife of his brother, was unlawful. Herod comes off as a spineless man, hesitant to do this, afraid to do that, wondering what people would think if he went ahead with this. He didn't put John to death because he feared the opinion of the people who regarded John as a prophet. It's a wonder he had the guts to arrest John in the first place, which makes you wonder if Herodias was really the one behind it. She knew that her husband was a weak man, and probably it was she who insisted upon John's arrest. Then when Herod hesitated to execute John, she looked for an opportunity to force his hand. <br />
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It was Herod's birthday. The wine was flowing, the dinner guests were laughing, the entertainment abounded. Herodias's daughter came and danced before the guests, probably not very modestly dressed, and Herod, feeling drunk and lustful and big-hearted, promised upon oath to give her whatever she wanted. He could afford to be generous; the girl would probably ask for some pretty or extravagant thing. But she asked for the head of John the Baptist and he was taken off guard. This was Herodias's demand, the girl herself would never think to make such a request. Yet he had promised his step-daughter before all these guests; he was caught. So he gave the order, impulsively, to maintain the good cheer of the dinner party, but inside he was grieved, knowing he would regret this once he was fully sober in the morning.<br />
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In the movies heroes die heroic deaths. They die in furious battles. They are assassinated by dangerous foes. They stay behind in collapsing buildings or exploding spaceships while the people they saved escape. But John the Baptist died a degrading, humiliating death. Sure, he was arrested for taking a stand of righteousness against Herod's unlawful marriage, but in the end he was done in by Herod's cowardice and the treachery of a teenage girl and her mother. Herod killed John almost on a whim: he made a rash oath, then he gave John's order of execution to save face. Doesn't a holy man, a prophet of God, deserve a better fate than that? At least have him die at the edge of a sword, at the hand of a formidable enemy in the midst of some valiant struggle. How could John die because a half-drunk king was tricked by his wife and enticed by his own step-daughter, so that John's head would end up being paraded around on a platter at a birthday party before laughing guests?<br />
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Welcome to the kingdom of God. Glory is for heaven, but on earth nothing is guaranteed. You might imagine that at the end of your life you will meet death in a dignified manner, lying in your bed at home surrounded by family and friends; but then again you might not. You might die alone and forgotten in a nursing home. You might die in the mud underneath an overturned car. I once read of a Christian missionary who not only met his death in prison, but it was from accidental electrocution while he was seated on a metal toilet seat. How would you like that story included in your missionary biography? Jesus himself died a humiliating death, stripped naked and pinned to a cross on public display, like some insect in a lepidopterist's collection. All of us who follow Jesus follow in that path. There is no guarantee that our ideas about dignity or pleasant storybook endings for ourselves will come to fruition, as the story of John the Baptist well illustrates.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-38786815206784797102011-02-14T09:17:00.002-08:002020-09-19T06:54:37.248-07:00Matthew 13:53-58 - "And it came about that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+13%3A53-58&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 13:53-58</p></a>
In the previous chapter (12:46-50) we saw how Jesus' family stood outside the house where he was teaching and asked to have a word with him, presumably to get him to stop this Messiah nonsense and come home. So we knew that Jesus must have been teaching within the vicinity of his home town, and now see him arriving at Nazareth and teaching at the synagogue he probably grew up in as a boy. <br />
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There is a saying that "familiarity breeds contempt." Well, that is exactly what's happening here. The people of Nazareth are astonished at Jesus' teaching, but not in a good way. They are not "astonished/awed" but rather are "astonished/indignant." Who on earth does this guy think he is? Sure, he might be able to "ooh!" and "aah!" everyone else, but we knew him when he was just a snot-nosed kid in diapers. The carpenter's son, right? Wife's name is Mary and their other sons are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. Why, my next-door neighbor is married to one of his sisters! So hometown boy leaves to go out into the world, and all of a sudden he just shows up with his entourage and starts teaching in our synagogue as if he's better than us? The nerve!<br />
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There is nothing that blinds you from the truth more quickly than thinking you already know the truth. The Nazarenes assume they already know who Jesus is, which is why they completely miss the boat. The irony is that they are going to miss the boat even further because Jesus won't perform any miracles in the face of such unbelief. I can just hear them saying, "So where's all this hocus-pocus we've heard so much about? He hasn't done a thing since he's been with us. Just goes to show they were all tall tales to begin with." It becomes a downward spiral: Unbelief ---> God withholds his miracles ---> more unbelief ---> God continues to withhold his miracles ---> further unbelief, etc.<br />
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Conversely, having faith is what opens your eyes to see who Jesus is, which gives you further reason to continue believing, which then enables you to see him even more clearly. Faith and spiritual sight together form an upward spiral. We know that later on Jesus' mother and at least some of his brothers would get turned around and finally grasp Jesus' true identity. James and Judas would become leaders in the church, and both would write epistles (James and Jude) in which they refer to themselves as "bond-servants of Jesus Christ." Not blood brothers who grew up with Jesus, who try to position themselves for a book deal where they reveal the inside scoop on who the Messiah <i>really</i> is. James and Jude would eschew special treatment and instead take their place in the church as merely disciples of their Savior. It is really a remarkable transformation when you consider how far they came from the cynicism and unbelief of the Nazarenes in this passage. It gives you hope that with God anything is possible.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-14629266045951316772011-02-07T08:10:00.003-08:002020-09-19T06:58:23.420-07:00Matthew 13:51-52 - "'Have you understood all these things?' They said to him, 'Yes.'"<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+13%3A51-52&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 13:51-52</p></a>
Jesus has just finished telling the disciples seven parables about the nature of the kingdom of heaven and asks if they understood them. I have no reason to be skeptical of the disciples' answer, "Yes." Some commentators think this was arrogance and presumption talking, but it seems to me that the disciples have been honest with Jesus about their ignorance (see verse 36 of this chapter), and after Jesus gives them further explanation he accepts their claim that they have finally understood him. Sure, maybe they haven't yet grasped the full implications of this kingdom and how much they will have to suffer for it, but they certainly have understood more than the multitudes. <br />
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Compare your own understanding of these parables to that of a non-believer. Does a non-believer seek to understand these parables? Does he view them as profound? Does he meditate on their meaning? Does he surf onto a blog to read someone else's explanation of them? See, that's the difference. And while you might not claim to understand the full implications of these kingdom parables, you do see how these stories of seeds and harvests and treasures and trees and dough and fish relate to the spiritual realties Jesus is talking about, right? If you see the connection then it's safe to say that you, too, have understood. You are a disciple.<br />
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When Jesus says, "Every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom," he is talking about someone who has made the transition from the old covenant to the new. A scribe is not merely a clerk but a teacher of the old covenant law. And so a scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom is someone who possesses true insight into the law, who understands that these things are mere shadows pointing to the substance of Christ. This scribe becomes a disciple of the kingdom because he sees that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the old covenant promises, and the answer to every longing and lament that accompanied Israel's failures. <br />
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I haven't figured out why a head of a household would be someone who brings out of his treasure the old and the new. Is he a patriarch whose life spans several generations, which is why he finds himself in possession of both old and new things? No one has bothered to explain this to me, so that is my best guess. Both old and new treasure have their special value, just like the old and new covenants. The one who treasures both can use his old-covenant-scribe knowledge to shed light on his new-covenant-disciple understanding. He can show how promise led to fulfillment, how type pointed to reality, how hope sprung from failure and grace was born out of betrayal.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-777001648398804042011-02-03T13:52:00.002-08:002020-09-19T06:59:21.757-07:00Matthew 13:47-50 - "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+13%3A47-50&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 13:47-50</p></a>
The dragnet that is cast into the sea was probably similar to this seine net these fishermen are using in the photo. It has floaters on the top and weights at the bottom so that it spreads itself from the surface to the bottom of the sea and is dragged between two boats to capture a school of fish. Once filled, the fishermen draw it up on the beach and sit down to separate the desirable fish from the undesirable.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_RB-0ANN2NJEDPMSKOha6r5rNIjmeo5hBAKSwZwrrsTuhQcN08PkABldVwEQI42VaiudyadL8neuKUUKLFZ6BidZLH_aosPODg5oxkjc0dUgeLGCwl4uPcKnU4yTlaBnrDxp6wcR1wUs/s1600/38M0320-02-fisherman-haul-in-seine-net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_RB-0ANN2NJEDPMSKOha6r5rNIjmeo5hBAKSwZwrrsTuhQcN08PkABldVwEQI42VaiudyadL8neuKUUKLFZ6BidZLH_aosPODg5oxkjc0dUgeLGCwl4uPcKnU4yTlaBnrDxp6wcR1wUs/s320/38M0320-02-fisherman-haul-in-seine-net.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Naturally, the net is indiscriminate in the kinds of fish it captures, just as the gospel goes out freely into the world and invites into the kingdom all who would come. So the kingdom is a mixture of the righteous and the unrighteous, and according to this parable there is something inevitable about that. This illustration parallels a previous parable Jesus told in this chapter about the wheat and the tares, except on this point. With the wheat and the tares, it was an enemy who planted the tares among the wheat, and the harvesters waited until both plants grew to maturity before they could gather up the invading tares and burn them. Here, the good fish and bad fish are naturally mixed together, and the net sweeps them up as it finds them. There is no sinister plot to plant unwanted fish into the net. The implication is that the gospel is designed to gather a mixed catch; it is to be expected. <br />
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So from one perspective the devil is infiltrating the kingdom with his own false sons (wheat and tares), but from another perspective God knowingly casts his nets wide enough to receive, temporarily, both true and false sons into the church community (good and bad fish). Whatever Satan's plans may be, he cannot escape God's sovereign control of the situation and its outcome. God is not surprised to find the devil's children in his nets and in many ways he expects it. He has offered the gospel freely and generously. What matters is that at the end of the age the angels will be sent out to separate the righteous and destroy the wicked in the furnace of fire. <br />
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Who are the good fish that are gathered up? Looking back at the parables in this chapter, they are the good soil upon which seed was thrown, which sprouted up and yielded fruit up to a hundredfold. They are the wheat that grew to maturity in the field, distinguishing themselves from the false tares. They are the ones who gave up all their worldly goods to possess an infinitely more precious heavenly treasure. By their lives they have shown themselves worthy of the kingdom. This is not about works salvation, but about having true sight to see what really matters, and possessing true faith which produces a life reflecting the values of the heavenly place that you seek.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-73463408189312542792011-01-31T13:23:00.003-08:002020-09-19T07:00:04.118-07:00Matthew 13:44-46 - "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field..."<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+13%3A44-46&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 13:44-46</p></a>
These two parables belong together as twin messages of the same truth. In the first parable a man finds treasure hidden in a field and sells all he has to buy that field. In the second a merchant comes across the finest pearl he has ever seen and does not hesitate to sell all he has to buy that pearl. Both men come across something of such great worth they are willing to exchange every worldly possession they own in order to have it. What may look like lunacy to an outsider makes perfect economical sense in their minds. The value of this discovered treasure makes everything else they own seem like rubbish. And at least in the case of the merchant, finding the pearl of great price was the culmination of a lifelong search. He would be a fool <i>not</i> to sell all he had in order to buy it.<br />
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To me there is no better summation of the Christian life than what is contained in these two brief parables. All that we call suffering and sacrifice is really, from the clear perspective of eternity, a smart economic exchange where you give up your copper coins for priceless jewels. Faith is what gives you the eyes to see the worth of this unseen treasure. Joy comes from recognizing the great bargain you are getting. Giving up worldly rags for heavenly robes? Forsaking passing pleasures for lasting joys? Leaving behind slavery to embrace sonship? Are you kidding? It's a deal.<br />
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But is this works salvation? Is Jesus saying that having the great treasure is conditioned upon whether you have paid the full price for it? That's reading too much into it. Jesus' narrow purpose in telling this parable is to show that the cost of discipleship is really a light and joyful burden when your eyes are fixed upon the prize that awaits you. The point is not that you literally pay for the prize, but to show through what you are willing to sacrifice how much faith you have in the tremendous value of the treasure.<br />
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But how does God's grace fit in to the teaching of this parable? It may help to understand that even before we have gone and sold everything to possess this treasure, the treasure is already freely given to us. God has already placed it in our possession. So why go and sell everything to gain what we already have? Because we seek to possess what we already possess. I'll say it again: we seek to possess what we already possess. We have it, therefore we are zealous to possess it daily, laboring to rid ourselves of the world so that we may be found to be worthy possessors. This paradox is really the secret of the Christian life, and it provides a window into the mystery of how God's grace meshes perfectly with our good works so that the former receives all the glory.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2478696026524896430.post-47973376009941539212011-01-25T16:58:00.002-08:002020-09-19T07:00:41.380-07:00Matthew 13:33-35 - "He spoke another parable to them, 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven...'"<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+13%3A33-35&version=NASB" target="_blank"><p style="color:green">Matthew 13:33-35</p></a>
The parable of the leaven is similar to the parable of the mustard seed in that both speak of the kingdom of heaven as something that starts out with small, seemingly insignificant beginnings and slowly develops into something enormous. Much of what I said in the previous post about the nature of God's kingdom would apply here also. <br />
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My initial thought with this parable was to compare yeast granules to the mustard seed and talk about how potent they both are. But now it occurs to me that the woman in the parable probably did not view yeast as something you buy from a grocery store in those little Fleischmann's paper packets that come in sets of three. When I cut those packets open with a scissors and sprinkle out the yeast, I see tiny brown granules, separate, dry, and inactive until I add warm liquid. Unfortunately, an Israelite woman in the first century did not have the luxury of shopping at her local Ralph's for such a convenience. <br />
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To be clear, here is a picture of what <i>not </i>to think of when reading this parable:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8DlR1c5gxB2pN4VuwtejAVXFOmIUNTPp8OkCrWvYDCYE3Q47CIRnTpasD69kO-jh25zUTAmN1BT6R7vLbqnMCTiy7ex3BQl0A4gCaZ8w3v1wTXtY0ydLf1vXryb61YG-AxkjYTOmYphe/s1600/fleischmanns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="202" width="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8DlR1c5gxB2pN4VuwtejAVXFOmIUNTPp8OkCrWvYDCYE3Q47CIRnTpasD69kO-jh25zUTAmN1BT6R7vLbqnMCTiy7ex3BQl0A4gCaZ8w3v1wTXtY0ydLf1vXryb61YG-AxkjYTOmYphe/s320/fleischmanns.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Yeast is actually a gas-producing microorganism that we have, with our advanced technology, somehow extracted from nature and neatly packaged in this way for the convenience of the professional baker or modern housewife, so that it could be stored on the shelf or in the refrigerator for immediate use. But all this is recent stuff. It wasn't until Louis Pasteur's findings in the mid-19th century that we even learned what caused fermentation in the first place. Certainly a first-century Israelite woman would not have viewed leaven as little brown granules that came in packets. For her fermentation was something that existed in nature, in the bubbling foam of beer for instance, or when wheat bran was steeped in wine. A messy, smelly and (in my opinion) semi-disgusting phenomenon that looked like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZKdIcarvNn_Kk3xaTR845R-ubT_XBzTJkc1s1qFv3NGg2lSUk0A6WWrFdsEb9FEQJaqSYanxzLxkmoV3hZV9AWjX4iUXPlBn9nIts65Gdh5JzW_8T1ewr0RUSHTm7tzWanc6iAAkoFMc/s1600/champagne_fermentation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZKdIcarvNn_Kk3xaTR845R-ubT_XBzTJkc1s1qFv3NGg2lSUk0A6WWrFdsEb9FEQJaqSYanxzLxkmoV3hZV9AWjX4iUXPlBn9nIts65Gdh5JzW_8T1ewr0RUSHTm7tzWanc6iAAkoFMc/s320/champagne_fermentation.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The ancients saw the work of leaven as a spontaneous and mysterious thing, perhaps even magical. Quite often yeast spores would simply be floating in the air and land on bread dough that happened to be lying out in the open, naturally causing it to rise. And once you find a source of leaven that you can utilize for your bread making, you save a small lump of the dough as a starter for the next batch. This starter dough may be what the woman in the parable hid in her three pecks of meal.<br />
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If you picture the woman hiding her lump of starter dough into a batch that produces two neat little loaves of bread, that doesn't seem like a very impressive example of the "small beginnings, great results" aspect of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus is trying to illustrate. However, once you realize that three pecks of meal equals about 40 liters, which makes enough bread to serve well over one hundred people, the parable makes sense. A small lump of dough hidden in that huge quantity of meal works slowly and steadily to leaven the entire batch, much like the word of the gospel spreads from mouth to mouth and heart to heart until the kingdom of God has increased over the entire world.<br />
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Matthew once again reminds us, in dead-horse-beating fashion, that Jesus speaks these parables to confound the multitudes, not necessarily to enlighten them. Psalm 78, from which Matthew quotes, recounts the history of God's faithfulness to Israel despite being continually provoked to anger by their rebellion. It is only fitting that Jesus speaks these parables to the unbelieving multitudes which talk about how God's kingdom will continue to increase like a great tree, or like an enormous quantity of leavening dough, regardless of whether they choose to believe.Misty Ironshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03375350124307819943noreply@blogger.com0