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!
Acts 5-6 January 21, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Acts, NT - Other.Tags: Acts, disciples, doing God's will, Gamaliel, Jesus, Jews, prayer
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Scripture:
Acts 5:38-39 – “In the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
Observation:
Praise God for the wisdom of Gamaliel. The verses above are from a speech that this member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, gave in response to the crisis brewing because of the apostles’ actions in Jerusalem. He compared their movement to two others that had failed due to leaders being killed and then the followers dispersing after a while. Hoping that the same would happen with Jesus’ disciples, he encourages the Sanhedrin members to leave them largely alone, and see what happens. Maybe this was short-sighted (but hey, we can praise God for that!), but the last line of the speech is so perceptive. If God is determined to do something, no human can even hope to stop it.
Application:
How can this be applied? I think it’s in the area of prayer that we can use this lesson – if we’re seeking God’s will in our lives and the lives of those around us, and our prayers line up with his will, then they are very worthwhile indeed. As a Christian of many years, I have gone through times when I thought prayer was a total waste of time, just a boring activity that I had to go through. I’ve also had times when I’ve really seen its power – those times get forgotten so easily! When we join our prayers to God’s determination to get certain things done, then we will see those prayers answered.
Prayer:
Lord, may my prayers match up with your will for my life and the people I pray for. Help me to remember the times when I’ve really seen prayer work, and believe that you listen and act, no matter what I see around me or what I hear from others. Help me to increase my faith in You.
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.
Deuteronomy 20-22 November 10, 2008
Posted by Sparky in Deuteronomy, Law.Tags: adversity, cross, curse, Deuteronomy, God's promise, Jesus, Law
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Scripture:
Dt 20:10-13
When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
Dt 21:22-23
If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.
Observation
It is interesting to note in the first passage the use of the word ‘when’. There was an expectation that the Lord would be with the Israelites in battle and that he would deliver cities that stood against them into their hands. It does not say ‘if’ – God was promising to be with them.
The second passage links in such a vital way with the New Testament and Jesus’ death on the cross – by being hung on a tree, Jesus suffered the curse of God for us. It is therefore not surprising that Saul and the other Jewish church-persecutors had some difficulty accepting the claims that Jesus WAS in fact the Son of God, and went through the horror of the crucifixion IN ORDER to experience God’s curse for the rest of humanity.
Application
Can we trust God to be with us when we come up against people who would stand against us? Yes, if we’re sure that the position we’re taking is the one that God would have us take. Can we trust Him to keep us safe through adversity? Yes, because He loves His children.
And the second passage just reveals to us exactly what Jesus went through, in more depth – he knew his scriptures, so he knew what this death meant full well. He knew the separation from God that he would have to endure, and he did it for you and for me anyway. That’s something to praise him for!
Prayer
Thank you God that we can totally trust you through times of trouble, when we need to take a stand in your name about something which pits us against other people. Thank you that we can rely on your promise in those times. And praise you Jesus for undergoing the suffering of the cross on our behalf – thank you that you took that step even though you knew exactly what would happen to you.
