Matthew 25-26 March 30, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Gospels, Matthew.Tags: faith, Gospels, Jesus, Judas, losing faith, Matthew
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Scripture:
Matt 25:20-25
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
Observation
What was going through Judas’ mind in these days and hours? This is what I kept asking myself while reading this chapter, and this passage in particular. Before this, Judas had gone to the chief priests, just after the disciples get all angry over the waste of perfume that Jesus refers to as a beautiful thing. It’s interesting to see those two events side-by-side, as if the one had led to the other in some capacity. Was Judas becoming convinced that he had ended up following a madman? Secondly, it is interesting to note the change of language used by Judas in the passage quoted above. He refers to Jesus as ‘Rabbi’, whereas the others call him ‘Lord’. So can we derive from this that Judas respected Jesus as a teacher, but was no longer sure that he was the Messiah (if he ever had been sure of that), and so his claims of being God’s Son were blasphemous and he needed to be got rid of. It’s possible.
Application
So Judas lost faith in Jesus. Not an uncommon part of Christian life, whether we like it or not. And if our faith wanes, or we lose it completely, we have choices to make, just as Judas did. Do we carry on pretending to keep people happy, but feel an inauthentic fraud, as maybe Judas had done for some time? Do we just get out, probably hurting others along the way but not perpetuating a lie. Or do we hold on, trusting that God will reveal himself at some point in the future, and trusting that the experience of our past and the history of others is a true representation of God’s faithfulness. This, for me, is true faith – holding on and trusting when it seems like madness to do so, when all the evidence is against you, still believing that God is good and real and active and loving.
Prayer
God, you know how personal what’s in this post has become. Please do something. I love you and I trust you!
Matthew 11-12 February 9, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Gospels, Matthew.Tags: forceful men, Gospels, Kingdom of God, Matthew
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Scripture:
Matt 11:12 – From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
Observation:
The first thing that I thought when trying to pick a verse for this entry was, “Wow! The words of Jesus in these chapters are full of gold, and so powerful – what do I pick?” Anyway, this verse has lots of different interpretations when you look in different versions, some of which involve the Kingdom of God being attacked by the violent men. I have always taken the ‘forceful men’ to mean men of the kingdom, people who understand what the Kingdom is, going after what they can see because they want to see the Kingdom advance, or they want more of it on the earth. Maybe I shall have to do some more digging around to find out what the Greek might be getting at.
Application:
I’m not convinced there is much in the way of forcefulness in me, in the way that I think Jesus means it here. I can’t claim to be regularly thinking about how to advance the Kingdom of Heaven where I am, though I do want to see it take more ground, obviously, and am delighted when I hear about people becoming Christians or being healed or delivered. I think it’s probably a valid question to ask oneself every now and again, “Is what I’m doing for the Kingdom of God helping it to advance forcefully? Or am I just rolling long with it? Or, even worse, am I hindering its work?”
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, please show me where I can be more forceful / violent / daring / opportunistic in bringing the Kingdom of God to those around me. Never let me be someone who just goes along for the ride.
Matthew 3-4 January 12, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Gospels, Matthew.Tags: action, disciples, Gospels, Jesus, Matthew, sacrifice
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Scripture
Matthew 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ”Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Observation
This will not be a major revelation for anyone who has read these passages before, but this is what struck me tonight. Peter and Andrew left their livelihood and their trade behind, trusting their lives in an instant to this stranger. James and John did the same, and also left their family behind. What was it about Jesus that made these 4 men do this? Had they heard his preaching perhaps, and knew him to be powerful? Had they witnessed healings or exorcisms? Was it simply something he had, some kind of spiritual magnetism through the Holy Spirit that caused them to drop everything? We don’t know, but they did, and we can be grateful! We might not be here now, believing, had the right people throughout history not made the choice to follow Jesus.
Application
But actually, it wasn’t that stuff that I was thinking about when I read it – it was cost. These four men mentioned here by Matthew gave up a lot to go with Jesus and live with him for 3 years, trusting him and God for their next meal or place to stay. And they didn’t have a financial change to deal with, but an emotional one too – James and John left their father in the boat to go with Jesus. Being a disciple involves a lot more than responding to Jesus, saying yes to him. It also demands that we get up and go, do something, be active – and that we give stuff up for him. If Jesus has had this spiritual magnetism effect on us in the past, we need to not forget that, and keep giving up the things that are precious to us, because none of them compare with following him. These disciples understood this in an instant – can we?
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for calling me so many years ago, and thank you for allowing me to walk with you, and for walking with me. Please teach me to be a true disciple, to be willing to be active for you and to give up the things that are or become precious to me – I want to understand your true value, Lord.
Matthew 1-2 January 5, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Gospels, Matthew.Tags: Gospels, Jesus, Joseph, Matthew, nativity, real people
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Scripture
Matthew 1:24-25
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Observation
I think Joseph gets fairly short shrift in our thinking about the nativity story, and this is probably a historical legacy that has been passed down, but in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, he is the most prominent character. Somehow it seems to be forgotten that in the course of these two chapters, he gets four angelic visitations (in dreams), and is perceptive enough to realise that he shouldn’t pass this off as too much cheese before bed. And I just love this verse, for the revelation that it brings that Matthew ACTUALLY spoke to the real Joseph (or someone very close to him) while researching his version of the gospel. It’s obvious, really – how else would he know that Mary & Joseph didn’t have sex until after Jesus was born?
Application
I don’t know what to apply from this to my life today really – Joseph’s obedience to God? Perfectly good, but that’s not what struck me about the verse. It’s the fact that people in the Bible were real people, with lives and emotions not so different from mine. They lived through world-changing events sometimes, and were witnesses to dramatic moves of God, but they still had to eat, sleep, work, go to the loo and make decisions every day. God’s always had relationships with REAL people who make good choices, and who mess up, and that is still what he wants. Praise Him!
Prayer
Thank you Lord for giving us 66 books about you which also feature real humans, who do great things and who make stupid mistakes. I praise you because I don’t need to be ridiculously holy to be used by you – just able to respond when you want to use me, and willing to serve you. Amen.
Mark 7-8 March 22, 2008
Posted by Sparky in Gospels, Mark.Tags: disciples, Gospels, Mark
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Scripture:
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”
He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
” ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ “
After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)
He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ “
The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman
Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
The Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man
Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!” ). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Mark 8
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
The Healing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”
Peter’s Confession of Christ
Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Observation:
I love that this is the first passage on my new blog, because we’ve had some great teaching at Bible College about the construction of some of these passages, and why mark puts them together in this way. In chapter 8, we have the Syro-Phoenician woman commended for her faith, then the disciples rebuked for their spiritual dullness. Then the blind man who Jesus touches twice to heal him (when he could have done it first time), and straight after that, Peter confesses Christ. Suddenly that spiritual blindness has been replaced by sight. But then immediately afterwards, Peter rebukes Christ for saying he’s going to have to suffer and die (very much on my mind on Easter Saturday, having watched The Passion last night), and Christ calls him Satan! The people you would not expect to understand what Jesus is doing do, and the disciples don’t seem to get it.
Application:
The experience of the disciples was so up-and-down – easy for us to identify with them. I like that. It can be vfery easy for us to look at their story and go “Why were they so dumb?” But honestly, do we understand any more than they do of God’s purposes? Personally, I can’t claim to any great knowledge or understanding of God’s ways – but I am encouraged that for all the times that they failed and didn’t get it, the disciples were restored, and their relationship with Jesus wasn’t damaged by that spiritual dullness or even by deserting him when it came to the crunch. In fact, Jesus made them the instigators of the movement that has shaped history for the last 2,000 years. So when I screw up, or don’t get something of God, I can be encouraged to think that he might still use me.
Prayer:
God, help me to be as bold as the disciples eventually were, and not to stand in fear of being a screw-up or not having all the answers. In fact, help me to be humble in my ignorance of your ways. I love you, Lord.
