TOMS: Matthew 9

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 13, 2006

The story of the man lowered through the roof to be healed by Jesus is one of my favorites in the Bible. Although actually, now that I read it, Matthew does not mention the fact that the man was lowered through the roof. Very interesting. 

Of all the statements of Jesus that we have recorded in the Scriptures, this story has one of my favorites: 
"Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...Rise, pick up your bed and go home." (9:4-6)

Jesus silenced the scribes who were accusing Jesus of blasphemy. You can spout religious platitudes all day long, but only a person with a special power from God can cause a lame man to walk. If you've never heard "What will it take to keep you from Jesus?" by Michael Card, you need to hear it. He sings about the rich young ruler and about this crippled man. It's got a weird 80s beat to it, but it has a very powerful message. The point of the song is that the rich young ruler had a perfect path to Jesus, but he refused to do what Jesus required. The lame man refused to take no for an answer, even when all common sense said he couldn't get to Jesus that day.

Next we have the call of Matthew. Matthew was a despised tax collector. These were people who sold their own people out and were cooperating with the Romans. We don't know whether they had any contact before or not. I assume they did, but we are not told. Jesus just comes up to him and says, "Follow me," and that's exactly what Matthew did. Matthew later invited his publican friends to eat with Jesus. The Pharisees criticized him for eating with sinners, but Jesus replied that He came to help those who knew they had a problem, not to those who didn't think they needed any help.

Wow there's a lot here. The disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus about fasting, and Jesus says they don't need to fast while they are with the bridegroom, and then gives the illustration of putting new wine into old wineskins. Hopefully I'll be able to cover this in Mark.

Next we have the story of the resurrected girl and the lady with the issue of blood. This is a very familiar story, and Matthew doesn't mention a lot of details, such as Jairus' name and the fact that the servant came out to tell Jairus that his daughter was dead. Mark and Luke provide a lot more detail, so we will discuss those when we get there.

Following that we have a story found only in Matthew. Two blind men followed Jesus into a house, and asked Jesus to heal them. Jesus asked them a question: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They answered, "Yes, Lord." Jesus touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith be it unto you," and they were healed. Jesus then commanded them not to tell anyone about it. I have often wondered about this. Certainly Jesus did not want to become a traveling circus, attracting people only interested in seeing miracles. That is why He preached some of the hard sermons He preached to discourage people who didn't truly believe from following Him. But I sometimes wonder if Jesus wasn't practicing reverse psychology, and that He wanted them to tell. In every case when Jesus told someone not to tell, they went out and told everyone they could. I don't know, just a passing thought.

Jesus also heals a mute man and He gives His famous statement, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest, to send out laborers into his harvest." (9:37-38, ESV) In the next chapter, Jesus calls and sends out the disciples. We must always remember that it is God who gives the increase, as Paul says in I Corinthians. Too many people and churches think it is our job as Christians to fast-talk people into becoming Christians, and that is not the way we are to do it. Our job is to go out and find the harvest; Jesus said it is out there waiting to be harvested. Shame on us if we don't do our part to harvest it, but going to the opposite extreme and using aggressive sales techniques to rack up conversions is just as wrong. Any time we try to serve God in our own strength, we will end up doing more harm than good.

TOMS: Matthew 8

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 12, 2006

This chapter contains a number of episodes from the life of Jesus. It is possible these events all took place over the course of a week or so, or they could have taken place several months apart. When they happened is not really so important. The fact that they did happen and that they have something to teach us is the important thing.

The chapter begins with a straightforward story about a leper. He told Jesus, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." Jesus answered, "I will; be clean." Jesus always responded positively to someone who had faith.

The next story is one of great faith. A centurion, apparently a Gentile, although his servant may have been a Jew, came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant. Jesus began to go to his house when the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another 'Come' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." (8:8-9)

This man recognized Jesus' power was not from some sort of magical ritual He did. He knew that Jesus' power came from God, who ruled over everything and was not limited by space and time. Jesus said, "With no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness." (8:10-12, ESV)

Jesus ministered primarily to Jews, but He was telling them not to be proud of their Jewish heritage. It takes more than being born in the right family to be a true child of God. No doubt this centurion is with the Lord Jesus in heaven right now.

In the next episode, two people come to Jesus asking to follow Him. Jesus tells them to count the cost. He told one that He did not have a place to lay His head, and another one that he should let the dead bury their dead. We do not know if they turned away or followed Him. I would hope that they did, but the fact that the text does not mention their response is not a positive sign.

Next we have the miracle of calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. When they land on the shore, they encounter two demon-possessed men. This story is so similar to the story in Mark and Luke that they are often considered different accounts of the same event. I don't know why Matthew says there were two men and Mark and Luke only mention one. Perhaps one did most of the talking, and maybe only one asked to follow Jesus, since Matthew does not mention that part of the story. He only mentions that the people in the area made Jesus leave. Of the three writers, Matthew was presumably the only one who was there.

TOMS: Matthew 7

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 11, 2006

This chapter completes the Sermon on the Mount. Remember that the theme of this entire sermon is the fact that outward righteousness is not good enough to obtain favor with God. This chapter jumps from topic to topic, more so than the first two chapters. Of course the chapter divisions are not part of the original text, but they are there for our convenience.

The chapter opens with Jesus talking about comparisons. We humans tend to overlook our own faults, but we are quick to point them out in others. This is the passage where Jesus says, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (7:3)

Next Jesus talks about how God the Father gives us good things. Then we get into the longest section, about true and false conversion. Jesus begins by talking about the narrow and the broad gates: "For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (7:13-14) Next Jesus tells us that the way to tell if someone is converted is by their fruit. Every person who is truly born again will live a changed life. Yes we still sin, yes some will seem to turn away, but God will not allow one of His children to stray forever.

At the end, Jesus combines the theme of true and false religion with the overall theme of man's inability to earn salvation. There are some who seem outwardly to be followers of Jesus, but they really are not. Jesus says there will be many who will tell Him at the judgment that they did all kinds of wonderful things for God, but these "good" things are not what is required. Faith is required. Then Jesus tells the story of the houses built on the rock and on the sand. True religion and true faith will act upon what we read from Scripture and hear taught.

Ironically, the crowd's reaction indicates they they were like the foolish man: only interested in hearing the Word, not actually obeying it. Notice how Matthew describes their reaction: 
"And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes." (7:28-29, ESV) 

No repentance. No great move of people to believe in Christ. These people just heard the best sermon ever delivered, and their reaction was, "Well, that was interesting. He certainly has a unique style." They were blind to their need. They were so full of their self-righteousness that they didn't really consider the message Jesus was teaching them. All they were interested in was comparing Jesus' teaching to others they liked.

(This last paragraph is my addition today. I had another paragraph here, but in the eight years between then and now I have modified my view.)

There is a lot of conjecture about to what extent the Sermon on the Mount, the gospel of Matthew and all of Jesus' recorded teaching apply to Christians in the post-Apostolic age. My opinion is this: unless it is obvious that Jesus was speaking to Jews under the Law, whether the disciples or to a large crowd, we should assume Jesus is speaking to us today. I know people who try to relegate everything Jesus said to another era. I have every confidence that they are true brethren in the Lord, but in my opinion they are mistaken. There are some of Jesus' difficult sayings that Christians down through the ages have struggled to understand and live out. It is awfully presumptuous on our part to read through the struggles of some of those great people of faith and assume that they were foolish and we have it figured out because we can just assign what Jesus said to a different era. Our modern Western mindset likes to have a logical explanation for everything, but God can shatter those explanations. He certainly has in my life. He is still teaching me to embrace the mysteries I find rather than try to fit them into a theological grid. It's just my experience, your mileage may vary.

TOMS: Matthew 6

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 10, 2006

Once again we continue with the Sermon on the Mount, the centerpiece of Matthew's gospel. As we stated yesterday, the theme of this great sermon is that our weak attempts at righteousness cannot please God. He demands perfection, and the only way to attain perfection is to put your faith in God. Jesus is demonstrating what Paul meant in Galatians when he said that Moses' law is our schoolmaster (I like the King James translation at 3:23 better than the ESV, which renders it guardian). No one can keep the law, and therefore we would be doomed without the work of Christ to save us.

Chapter 6 begins with Jesus telling us that good works done to impress others are wasted, as far as God is concerned. Jesus' statement that the hypocrites sound a trumpet when they give alms is probably an example of overstatement, but it could be the origin of our phrase "tooting your own horn."

Jesus then talks about prayer. He says not to be like the hypocrites, who make long public prayers. Then He gives what is commonly called the Lord's Prayer. The point of this prayer is not that we should memorize it and say it every day. The point is that our prayers should be simple and should just be a reflection of our needs that day. Next Jesus mentions fasting and says that this also should be done in secret, and not for a show. The whole point of this section is that we should do our good works in private, and not to make a show for people.

Jesus says a lot about rewards in this chapter. This chapter includes the famous passage about laying up treasures in heaven where they cannot be lost. Never once does Jesus say not to seek rewards in heaven. On the contrary, He often encourages us to seek rewards, in this passage and elsewhere. Sometimes we think that if we do good with a selfish motive of any kind, that's sinful. But that's not what Jesus says. If we do things with a motive of temporal reward, that's sinful. But if we do things with a motive of heavenly reward, that is an honorable motive.

The last section of the chapter tells us not to be anxious. This is a very common sin, more common than any of us will realize, yet as far as I can remember, I have only heard two sermons on the subject. Worry is a sure sign of a lack of faith. God has promised to take care of us. When we worry about things, it tells God that we don't expect Him to work things out for our good. I know this is a major problem in my life, and I would suspect that it is for you as well. We all need help in this area.

TOMS: Matthew 5

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 9, 2006

It's hard to do an amazing passage like this justice in what little space I have here, but here goes.

Many volumes of books have been written on the Beatitudes alone. In case you don't know, a beatitude is a pronouncement of a blessing, whether it comes from God, or a religious leader. The lesson of the Beatitudes is that God's values are different from man's. Man values proud, confident and assertive people. God values people who come to Him broken and completely reliant on Him.

The main point of the entire Sermon on the Mount is found in 5:20: "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus then goes into some examples of how true righteousness goes deeper than just external obedience. He speaks of murder vs. anger, adultery vs. lust and divorce, swearing falsely vs. taking oaths, resistance to evil done to us, and loving your enemies.

Don't miss the significance of this. The Pharisees were seen as the most holy people in Israel at that time. But it wasn't just the Pharisees. Many people in Jesus' audience were no doubt like the rich young ruler, who said that he had kept the whole law his whole life. Jesus is saying sin is more than failure to follow a group of rules. Sin is a matter of the heart. I've never murdered anyone, but I have been angry with people. Sin is a very serious matter. Immediately after Jesus says that lust is the same as adultery, Jesus says that it would be better to pluck an eye out or cut a hand off than to die in sin.

The end of this chapter sums it up: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (5:48, ESV) We cannot achieve perfection on our own - we have to look to God for help, and that is the entire point of Jesus' sermon.