Category: Matthew

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Luke Luke 6 Mark Mark 2 Matthew Matthew 12

Condemning the innocent

The gospels

We have already seen in John the problems the religious leaders had with Jesus for “breaking” the Sabbath. Actually, all he did was break the rules that they had added to God’s original commandment to keep the Sabbath.

Here again, we see another confrontation between Jesus and these leaders concerning the Sabbath.

This time, Jesus and his disciples were walking by a field, and because his disciples were hungry, they took some grain to eat of it.

By the way, it was perfectly acceptable to take grain from another person’s field back in those days, as long as you weren’t taking a sickle to it. (Deuteronomy 23:25)

The problem was not the picking of the grain, the problem was that the Pharisees considered this “work,” which was of course forbidden on the Sabbath.

But Jesus refutes this in two ways.

First, the priests always worked in the temple on the Sabbath, and were not considered guilty of sin.

Second, there are some laws that God considers higher than others. Namely, the preservation of life was considered more important than keeping the letter of the Sabbath law.

Even the Pharisees accepted this to some degree as I’ve mentioned before. (Doctors could save a person’s life on the Sabbath, but could only do enough to keep them alive until the next day, from where they could give full treatment to the patient).

And once again, Jesus quotes Hosea to them, saying,

If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. (Matthew 12:7)

One mistake that people make about God is that they think he’s most interested in rules. That rules are the most important thing to him, and that he’s just waiting to blast us for every mistake we make.

God is far more interested in people than he is in rules.

But because the Pharisees didn’t understand this, they set up multiple rules around the laws God had made, and they were quick to condemn anyone who didn’t meet the standards they had set up.

But Jesus told the Pharisees,

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

I think you could say the same for all the rules God has set up. They were made for us. We were not made for them. God didn’t make rules solely for the sake of making us dance to them. He made them for our benefit.

And if we understand that, we can better understand the purpose for each rule, and what it means for our lives.

But if we fail to understand that, we’ll end up like the Pharisees, misunderstanding and misinterpreting the law of God, and condemning people who are innocent in his sight.

How about you? How do you see God’s rules? Are you seeing them as something God has set up just for the sake of setting them up?

Or do you see them as something God has set up for your benefit? Do you understand the whys for each rule?

If you do, you’ll be far less likely to unjustly condemn others for “breaking the rules.”

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark 2 Matthew Matthew 9

For God to use you

The gospels

One thing that the religious leaders always seemed to be trying to do was to pit John the Baptist versus Jesus. And John’s disciples fell for it every time.

First, these leaders pointed out to John’s disciples that Jesus was baptizing more people than John. (John 3:25-26)

(I should say that it’s not certain whether it was a religious leader that did this, but I think it’s a good guess.)

Then here in this passage, they have John’s disciples questioning Jesus as to why he and his disciples didn’t fast as they did.

Why did the Pharisees and others do this? Probably to rob Jesus of his credibility. John the Baptist, after all, did point to Jesus as the Messiah.

I don’t think it’s coincidence that Jesus brought up the illustration of a wedding. John did the very same thing earlier when told about Jesus baptizing more than him.

John said he was like the best man in the wedding, while Jesus was the bridegroom. Perhaps in using this illustration, Jesus was trying to remind them of that.

John was gone. He was in prison. His work was done. Yet for some reason, his disciples maintained their loyalty to John, and apparently weren’t interested in going after Jesus as Andrew and one other disciple of John had done. (John 1:35-40).

Jesus told them, “John told you I am the bridegroom. Why should people fast and mourn while the bridegroom is there? When the bridegroom leaves, there will be plenty of time for that.

But now is not the time for fasting and praying because I am here. When I leave, that will be the time to be fasting and praying.”

Then he told them a parable, talking about patches and wineskins which the people then could understand easily, but are a little difficult to understand in our day.

But think about it this way, if you put a brand new piece of denim to patch up a pair of old jeans, what will happen if you wash it? The denim will shrink, and ruin the jeans.

Nowadays, people put wine in bottles, but in those days, they used goatskins to make bottles for wine.

As the wine fermented, the skin would expand, so if you ever put new wine into an old wineskin, the wineskin would burst because it had already expanded, and could expand no further.

What was Jesus telling John’s disciples (and for that matter, the Pharisees that were looking on)?

Basically, he was saying, “God is doing something new. I, the Son of God, am here, and I am reaching out to the lost and dying. I’m building a kingdom that will last forever.

But you are like the old wineskins. You are so in love with your old ways, that God can’t use you.”

For the Pharisees, they were in love with all the laws and regulations. To them, that was the most important thing, not people.

As a result, they were looking down on the very people God was trying to save. They were more interested in sacrifices and religious ritual than saving people.

For John’s disciples, perhaps they fell too much in love with their teacher. They forgot what John’s purpose was. It wasn’t merely to baptize people or to call people to repentance. It was to prepare the people for Jesus and get them following him.

But instead of going to Jesus, even after John was gone, they missed out on what God wanted of them.

God was pouring new wine, the work of the Spirit, through the ministry of Jesus. But John’s disciples were clinging to the teachings and practices of John, and saying, “The old is better.” (Luke 5:39)

How about you? Are you open to the Spirit’s work in your life? Or are you clinging to traditions? To legalistic righteousness? Or even to things that were important and effective in their time, but whose time has passed.

In order for God to use you, you need to constantly be watching for what he is doing now, and joining in with his work, even if it’s different from what you’ve done in the past.

Are you an old wineskin, or a new one?

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark 2 Matthew Matthew 9

Mercy-givers

The gospels

Here we see a big difference between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. A heart of mercy.

Matthew was so excited to be called by Jesus, that he immediately invited Jesus to a great banquet with him and all his friends.

Of course, being an outcast of society, all of Matthew’s friends were also outcasts; fellow tax collectors and other people looked down upon as “sinners.”

But Jesus didn’t hesitate. He gladly agreed, and soon he was dining with Matthew and all his disreputable friends.

How often do we do that? To reach out to those others, even those the “religious” among us have rejected?

One could make the case that Matthew had repented, but I doubt you could make that same case for all his friends. Yet Jesus reached out, and spent time with them. More than that, he enjoyed being with them.

How did the religious establishment respond? They were appalled.

If I were to translate it into modern society, imagine a famous pastor hanging out with gays and lesbians, eating and drinking with them. How would many “religious folk” respond?

Probably the same as these Pharisees. “How in the world can you hang out with those kinds of people? Those sinners?”

But Jesus replied,

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:17)

In other words, “It is just these kinds of people that I need to be hanging out with. These are the people that need me because they are spiritually sick, whether they know it or not. And if I isolate myself from them, they will die in their sin.”

Matthew then gives us one more thing Jesus told those Pharisees that Mark and Luke don’t, probably because he was there, and Jesus’ words so impressed themselves on him. Jesus told them,

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ (Matthew 9:13)

Jesus was telling them, “You guys are so wrapped up in your laws and traditions. You dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ when it comes to the law, offering every sacrifice that’s required, and acting so religious.

But that’s not the most important thing God desires.

He desires that you be a mercy-giver. A person that reaches out to those who are lost in their sin. Who spends time with them. Who shows love to them. A person who offers them life and a second chance.

Instead, you isolate yourselves from them, leaving them to die in their sin.

How about you? Do you isolate yourself from sinners, looking down on them because of their sin? Or do you see them as Jesus does? As sick people who need a doctor. Who need a Savior.

Let us be mercy-givers today and every day. For that is what God desires.

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark 2 Matthew Matthew 9

Never beyond redemption

The gospels

I love these passages because it teaches us one thing. We’re never so far gone that God’s love can’t reach us.

One day, Jesus was walking past the tax collecting booth of a man named Matthew. I kind of wonder what was going through Matthew’s heart as he saw Jesus approaching.

I’m not sure, but at a guess, there was probably regret. Long ago, Matthew had “sold his soul.”

Tax collectors were among the most despised people in Israel. Not only were they considered collaborators for collecting taxes for the hated Roman government, they were also considered cheats for taking more money in “taxes” than they should have, and pocketing the excess.

Why Matthew took this path, we will never know. But perhaps as time went on, he discovered that the money he was making wasn’t worth the price. It wasn’t bringing him joy just having money and things. Instead, it was bringing only despair.

It’s possible that as he saw Jesus was approaching, Matthew felt a sting of jealousy for the throng that was following Jesus. Maybe a part of him wished that he too could follow after Jesus.

He had heard of all the things Jesus taught. He had heard of the miracles. And perhaps in Jesus, he thought there might be a way out from the hell he was in.

But he thought, “There’s no chance. There’s no way Jesus could accept me as a follower. I’m too far gone.”

Suddenly Jesus stopped at Matthew’s booth and looked at him. As he did, Matthew probably felt that everything in his heart was laid bare before that piercing gaze, and his head dropped in shame and guilt.

But then Jesus said, “Matthew.”

And when Matthew looked up, he didn’t see condemnation in Jesus’ eyes. He saw compassion. He saw forgiveness.

And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

Two simple words. “Follow me.”

But in those words were a wealth of meaning. “It’s not too late for you. There is forgiveness available to you. There is hope. There is redemption. Just follow me.”

And Matthew left all to follow Jesus. To be sure, there was a lot still that needed to be dealt with in Matthew’s life. But that day, he took a first step into a new life.

How about you? Do you feel that you are beyond redemption? That you’ve gone so far that God has given up on you.

He hasn’t. He still loves you. He looks upon you with compassion. And he offers you forgiveness and mercy. All you have to do is to take that first step and start following after him.

Change will take time. Like Matthew, you will not become perfect overnight. There will be struggles with sin. There will be times you will fall.

But when you take that first step and say, “Jesus I want to follow you. Please be my Lord,” Jesus will give you a new heart that can follow him, and he will change you from the inside out.

Will you take that first step today?

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark 2 Matthew Matthew 9

The power to forgive

The gospels

Who was this Jesus? Just a great religious teacher? A good, moral man? A miracle worker? Or something more?

From this passage, we can see that Jesus was something much more.

Jesus was back in Capernaum where he had made his home for the time being. I’m not sure if he was staying in his own house, or was at another’s, but the people so crammed the place he was at that they were literally bulging out the doors.

People were probably jammed around the windows peering in as well as Jesus taught.

And to this house came four men who brought a friend who was paralyzed, hoping that Jesus would heal him. But because of all the people there, they had no conventional way to get him to Jesus.

So they took an unconventional route. They made a hole in the roof, and lowered him down in front of Jesus.

Can you imagine the scene? Jesus is teaching in this crowded room, when suddenly the people notice a strange sound coming from the roof.

Then pieces of the roof start falling down into the room and people are trying to get out of the way, only it’s very difficult because there’s nowhere to move.

Eventually, people start pushing out and opening up a space under which the roof is falling to the ground.

By this time, of course, there’s no way Jesus is teaching anymore. Everyone is just waiting to see what will happen next.

Then the man is lowered in front of Jesus and everyone is waiting expectantly to see what Jesus will do.

Of course, everyone expects him to heal the man. But Jesus instead says something totally unexpected.

Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven. (Matthew 9:2)

Those words probably dropped with a greater thud than the chunks of roof that fell to the ground. Everyone is dead silent.

And the Pharisees and teachers of the law probably voiced what everyone was thinking.

Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone? (Luke 5:21)

In other words, “What right does Jesus have to forgive sins? Only God can do that.”

They were half right. Only God can forgive sins. Only the person wronged can absolve another of a wrongdoing.

But what the Pharisees and teachers of the law didn’t know was that God was standing among them. Jesus was himself God, and because of that, he had the right to forgive.

He then proved the man’s spiritual healing by healing him physically.

Jesus is much more than just a great religious leader. Much more than a good moral man. Much more than just a miracle worker. He is God come in human form.

He came and lived among us for a while, and then he died to take the punishment for our sin. And because he did so, our sins can be forgiven.

Just as he delivered this man from his sin, he can deliver you from yours. All you need to do is ask.

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 8

The One who cleanses

The gospels

I love the compassion of Jesus that we see in this passage. A man covered with leprosy came to Jesus, begging him,

Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. (Matthew 8:2)

Being leprous back in those days was a horrible thing because you were literally cut off from society. You had to leave your home, and basically go into exile. If someone came close to you, you had to shout “Unclean, unclean” to warn them away.

It was a lonely, miserable life. The only people you could hang out with were other lepers.

But this leper had heard about Jesus and suddenly he had hope again. He dared to draw near, asking for healing.

I think Jesus went well beyond what this man expected. Not only did Jesus say he was willing to heal him, he even touched the man.

To touch a leprous man in Jewish society was to make yourself ceremonially unclean, not to mention putting yourself in danger of becoming leprous yourself.

It may have been the first time that this man had been touched in years and Jesus’ touch may have jolted him.

I’ve been in Japan, a place not known for much human touch (such as hugs) among adults. I’ve been here so long, I get kind of jolted when people offer me a hug.

That’s how this man may have felt. For so long, people feared to touch him because they might become unclean.

But when Jesus touched this man, Jesus didn’t become unclean. Rather, he made the leprous man clean.

In the same way, Jesus sees us in an unclean sinful state. We’re trapped in the muck and mire of our sin, unable to save ourselves. All we can do is say, “Jesus, if you’re willing, you can make me clean. Help me. Save me.”

And if we will do that, as he did with the leprous man, Jesus will reach down, touch us, and make us whole.

If Jesus could make a person’s skin whole, how much more can he make our souls whole?

Are you trapped in your sin? Do you feel unclean because of it, unable to help yourself? Come to Jesus. Ask for his help and his forgiveness. And he will make you whole.

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Luke Luke 4 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 4

Recharging, refocusing

When Jesus started his ministry, he went all out, touching as many people as he could, spending the whole day doing his Father’s will.

But one thing that he never did was burn out. I’ve been through burnout in ministry before, and it wasn’t fun. Jesus never did.

Considering how much time he spent ministering not only to the crowds, but to his disciples, it would have been easy to do. Why didn’t he?

I think one of his secrets is found in these passages. Mark writes,

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

Jesus didn’t live life in his own strength and his own wisdom. Rather, he lived in total dependence on the Father.

And during those times away from the crowds, he was able to recharge and refocus.

He was able to remember the love the Father had for him. And just as importantly, he was able to remember exactly what the Father wanted him to be doing.

People were always trying to press on Jesus’ time. Luke tells us,

The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. (Luke 4:42)

But Jesus didn’t simply give in to everyone’s demands. Rather, he listened to what his Father wanted him to do and he did it. He told the people,

I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent. (Luke 4:43)

There are two reasons people often burn out from ministry.

One is that they’re always giving and never receiving. Most importantly, they’re not receiving from the Father.

They are not receiving love from him, not because he doesn’t want to give it, but because they fail to seek it, and spend time with Him.

Because of that, they start running on fumes, instead of the love that God wants to pour into their lives.

That’s why when things start to go rough in ministry (as they inevitably do), people start to wear down and get discouraged. They’re trying to get their energy from the ministry itself rather than from God.

And when the ministry fails to provide that, they burn out.

The other reason people burn out is that they start doing more than God is telling them to do. They’re trying to please everyone and can’t say no.

Or they put burdens on themselves that God is not putting there. And eventually, they fall beneath the overload.

That’s why it’s so important to spend time with God every day. To recharge and refocus. To plug yourself into God, and the love and energy he wants to pour into you.

And to refocus on exactly what he wants you to do so that you filter out all the other demands people try to put on your time.

Failing to do this will lead to burnout.

How about you? Are you recharging and refocusing every day?

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Luke Luke 4 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 8

The One who heals

The gospels

Here we catch a glimpse of the healing ministry of Jesus as it kicks into full gear.

It starts with Jesus visiting Peter’s home, and healing Peter’s mother-in-law. It strikes me here that this was the first time Jesus healed on the Sabbath, although it was in a private setting, so he caught no flack for it.

Looking back, I kind of wonder about the casting out of the demon back in the synagogue. Would the Pharisees and teachers of the law considered that “work” and criticized Jesus for that too had they been there?

I can just imagine them saying, “Hey, what are you doing? Cast out demons some other day. It’s the Sabbath!”

Jesus would soon get into trouble for healing on the Sabbath, but not on this day. After the Sabbath was over, people flocked to Peter’s house to ask Jesus for healing, and Jesus healed each one.

Matthew says of this,

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17)

It should be pointed out that Matthew clearly states that this prophesy was fulfilled in the healing ministry of Christ while he was on earth. There is no guarantee of healing now.

Jesus, of course, can and does still heal. But unlike what some preachers teach, it is not guaranteed.

Anyway, what can we take from this passage? First, the compassion of Jesus. He not only cares about the crowds, he cares about the individual.

Here was a woman in Peter’s mother-in-law, who is otherwise nameless. And yet Jesus took her by the hand and healed her.

You may be nameless in this world. People may not know who you are. But Jesus knows. And when you’re hurting physically or emotionally, he sees and he cares.

Like I said, there is no guarantee for physical healing. Sometimes God has plans that we can’t see that don’t involve the physical healing of our bodies, but Jesus does tell us to ask, and we should.

But where there are emotional hurts or scars, Jesus will definitely bring healing to those if we will just come to him.

While I’ve seen Jesus use physical ailments for his glory, I don’t believe there would be any reason that Jesus would desire you to carry those emotional hurts throughout your life. So bring them to him. And he will heal you.

The other thing that strikes me from this passage is Peter’s mother-in-law’s response to her healing. She immediately started serving Jesus.

We should do the same. When Jesus heals us, whether from physical ailments or from emotional ones, or from the scars that come from sin, our response should be to serve him out of our gratitude and love for him.

Not because we have to, but because we want to.

And in many cases, he asks us to help others who are in the very same kind of trouble we were in.

Jesus doesn’t just heal us so that we will be healed, but so that we can bring his healing to others as well.

Are you bringing the healing of Jesus to those around you?

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Luke Luke 4 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 4

A light in the darkness

The gospels

I mentioned yesterday the question of why God allowed John the Baptist to go to prison. We don’t know for sure, but perhaps one reason was to get people’s eyes off of John and solely on to Jesus.

For right after John went into prison, it says that Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his formal ministry. In doing so, Matthew tells us he fulfilled the words of Isaiah who wrote,

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles– the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Matthew 4:15-16)

It’s amazing that the Pharisees totally missed this passage as they disparaged Jesus’ background. (John 7:52)

But here we see one of the reasons Jesus came. We were living in darkness, separated from God by our sin, condemned to death. But in Jesus, a light dawned.

Hope sprang anew as he showed the way to the Father. He declared to the people,

“The time has come…The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

That is our message to this day. The King has come. His kingdom is near. Both in the fact that it is working in the hearts of all who believe in him, and in the fact that Jesus will come again to establish his kingdom here on earth forever.

And so we are called to repent. To repent is to turn around. To change our way of thinking. To stop living for ourselves and start living for God. To put aside our distrust of God and to follow him wholeheartedly.

A big part of that, of course, is to believe in the good news of Jesus Christ.

That God became man, becoming one of us. That he died on a cross to take the punishment for our sins, and that he rose again. And that if we will only put our faith in him, trusting in him as our Lord and Savior, we will be saved from eternal hell.

That’s the message Jesus came to bring.

Now there are two questions we all must ask.

First, have you put your faith in Christ? And if you have, are you continuing to pass on the message Jesus came to give?

How about you? Can you say yes to both questions?

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Following the Father

The gospels

Happy New Year all!

I suppose there’s no better way to start the year then remembering who we are to follow heading into the New Year. It’s the person whom Jesus followed while he walked this earth, and you see it clearly in these passages.

This is one of the most famous passages in scripture in which Jesus gets tempted in the desert.

But as I read it this time, and looked at the scripture that Jesus quoted in fighting the temptations thrown at him by Satan, one thing struck me: Just how much trust he put in his Father.

Filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus went out into the desert after his baptism, and stayed out there for 40 days.

It seems only fitting, then, that the scriptures he quoted came from Deuteronomy after the Israelites had been wandering around in the desert for 40 years. Because what Moses told the Israelites right after that, Jesus lived out in his life.

What did Moses say?

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)

Just as the Father led the Israelites through the desert to test them, so he led Jesus out into the desert to be tested. Like the Israelites, Jesus was humbled, being caused to become hungry.

But unlike the Israelites, he refused to complain against his Father during that time. Rather, he trusted that his Father would provide what he needed, when he needed it.

Satan tried to get Jesus to rely on himself and his own powers to meet his needs by turning stones into bread. But Jesus refused, and relied solely on his Father in heaven to provide what he needed.

When Satan tempted Jesus to throw himself down from the temple and let the angels catch him, even quoting scripture to do so (which shows how important it is to understand context when we’re reading scripture), Jesus pointed to Deuteronomy 6, where Moses told the people,

Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. (Deuteronomy 6:16)

What happened at Massah? The Israelites again showed a lack of trust in God, this time because they had no water, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

Sometimes, we question God in the same way. We go through struggles, and say, “Is God really with me or not?”

Satan was basically tempting Jesus to question God in that way too. He was saying, “Is your Father really with you? If you’re going to serve him, you’d better find out by jumping off the temple. If he’s really with you, he’ll catch you.”

But Jesus refused to do so, fully believing that his Father was with him, though he couldn’t see him.

Finally, Satan tempted Jesus to worship him in order to gain the kingdoms of the world. But again Jesus refused. He would not let anything or anyone deter him from following his Father saying,

Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ (Matthew 4:10)

How about you? Who are you following as you head into this new year? Are you following the Father?

Are you trusting that he is with you and will meet your needs? Are you making following him your first priority, above your job, your family, your friends, and everything else?

Who are you following?

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Loved by the Father, Filled with the Spirit

Jesus baptized by John the Baptist
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During the time that John was baptizing multitudes of people, Jesus also came up to him to be baptized.

I wonder just how well John knew Jesus and exactly who he was when he did. How much did his parents tell him about his cousin? How much did God tell him?

John had been living in the desert probably from the time he was old enough to survive on his own. Did he even recognize Jesus?

He must have, at least to some degree, for when Jesus came to be baptized, John saw in his eyes someone unlike any other he had ever met. Someone who had no need of repentance. And so he told Jesus,

I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? (Matthew 3:14)

But Jesus told him,

Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15)

Why did Jesus get baptized? For two reasons. One was to make clear to John with no room for doubt just who he was preparing the people for. Later, when John saw Jesus, he gave this testimony:

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel…

I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. (John 1:29-34)

From his words, it seems clear that up until that point, that though he recognized something different in Jesus, nevertheless, he didn’t know he was the One God had promised, the one that he was preparing Israel for.

The second reason Jesus got baptized was to identify himself with us as fallen people in need of repentance.

Although Jesus himself never sinned, he would take our sins upon himself at the cross, and die for us. By his birth, he identified with us as being human. By his baptism, he identified with our sinfulness.

But the thing that strikes me is what happened when he got baptized, something that John the Baptist alludes to.

Namely, that when he got baptized, the Spirit came upon Jesus in power. Not only that, the Father affirmed his love for him.

If we are to be effective Christians, we need these things in our lives. If Jesus, the only unique Son of God, needed these things, how much more do we?

To know that the Father loves us. If we do not know this, we will always fear to draw near to Him. We will always be afraid of his words of rebuke, and so we’ll hesitate to draw into a close relationship with him.

But also, if we are not secure in the love of the Father, it makes all our other relationships much more difficult.

It becomes difficult to love others when they don’t return that love, or at least as much as we would expect or hope.

It becomes difficult to forgive when people hurt us.

The reason so many people find it hard to love as God does is simply because they don’t know God’s love for them.

But because Jesus was so completely filled with his Father’s love, he could love others despite their failings.

At the same time the Father affirmed his love for Jesus, however, the Spirit empowered him. Jesus didn’t start his ministry until that happened.

In the same way, if we want to be effective servants for God, we need to be filled with his Spirit. According to John, that was what Jesus also came to do. To baptize us with his Spirit.

How about you? Do you know God’s love in your life? Are you filled with his Spirit?

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Telling it like it is

The gospels

We leap approximately 18 years in time from when Jesus was 12 years old to when he turned 30. And just before he began his ministry, his cousin John started his own.

The apostle John makes very clear who John the Baptist was and was not, saying,

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light (i.e. Jesus), so that through him all men might believe.

He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. (John 1:6-8)

Or as John the Baptist himself put it when questioned by the priests, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees,

I am not the Christ…I am the voice of one calling in the desert, “Make straight the way for the Lord.” (John 1:20, 23)

His whole purpose in life was to pave the way for Jesus. To prepare people’s hearts to receive him.

It strikes me that as followers of Jesus, God has passed on that mission to us. To prepare people’s hearts for Jesus. We cannot make them follow him. All we can do is plant the seed.

Our message, really, isn’t much different from John’s. The main difference, of course, was that he was preaching that they needed to prepare their hearts because God’s salvation was coming. (Luke 3:6)

We preach that God’s salvation has already come in Jesus Christ.

But the other thing that strikes me is that John really didn’t mince words. When he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming down towards him, he said,

You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.”

I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:7-12)

Why did John come down so hard on these people? Because for the most part, they were hypocrites that looked good on the outside, keeping the letter of the law, while on the inside, they were utterly corrupt.

They thought they were in with God because they were Jews. Not only that, unlike the “ignorant,” they knew God’s law.

But on the inside, they were filled with pride and were utterly devoid of the mercy of God in their lives.

And though he was less harsh with the rest of the people, even the most hated of people in Israel, the tax collectors and astonishingly enough the Roman soldiers (although some would argue that the soldiers were Jewish soldiers), nevertheless, he called them to repentance as well.

He warned them that they could not just keep living the way that they were. Because as he told all of them, a day of judgment is coming.

We need to do the same. We need to tell people like it is.

The King is coming back to this earth someday, and when he does, he will judge all evil and make all things right.

That’s good news, but most people don’t recognize the evil in their own lives. And because of their sin, they too will be judged unless they repent, welcoming their King from their hearts and accepting his reign in their lives.

If we don’t warn people about that, God will hold us accountable. (Ezekiel 3:16-21; Acts 20:26-27)

How about you? Are you telling it like it is?

Categories
Matthew Matthew 2

Troubled by the coming of a King

Matthew

I think at Christmas time, the one image that people have of Jesus is of the baby in the manger.

Perhaps one reason why people like that scene is because Jesus is so non-threatening. He makes no demands on you. He’s just lying there sleeping.

But Jesus is no longer that baby in the manger. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And sooner or later, people will have to acknowledge him as such whether they want to or not.

As I look at this passage, one thing jumps out to me. The reaction by King Herod and the Jews to the coming of Jesus as King.

Some Magi had come from the East. Who were these Magi? There is much speculation about them, but it’s very possible that they came from a priestly tribe of people called the Medes who lived in modern-day Iran.

They were people that studied astronomy and astrology, and were prominent in Babylon and Persia as advisors. In fact, in Persia, no one could become king without their approval.

In the book of Daniel, you see that Daniel himself was made to be the chief of the Magi because of his great wisdom.

Some people believe that it is because of his influence that these Magi knew of the Biblical prophesies of a King that would come. In fact, Daniel had actually narrowed down the dates as to when the Messiah would appear in Daniel 9.

And so these Magi were waiting for a sign of this new King’s appearing and found it in a star that appeared in the sky.

What this star was is not clear. There’s as much speculation about it as there is about the Magi. But when they saw it, they came sweeping into Jerusalem asking about who this new King was and where they could find him.

To their surprise, no one knew. Perhaps to their greater surprise was everyone’s reaction. It says in verse 3,

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:3)

Why was King Herod troubled? For one thing, he wasn’t a true Jewish king. He didn’t come from the royal line of David. In fact, he came from the line of Esau, not Jacob. So to the Jews, he was not a legitimate king.

For another thing, he was insanely jealous of his position, and had even killed members of his own family because of it.

Why were the Jews troubled? Probably because they knew what Herod’s reaction would be when he heard about a new king.

You probably know the rest of the story. Herod asked the Magi to find this king for him so that he could worship him.

But after the Magi found Jesus, God warned them about Herod’s intention to kill Jesus, so they went back another way.

When Herod found out the Magi had betrayed him, he had all the boys in Bethlehem two years old and younger killed. Why? Because according to the Magi, the king was born during that time frame.

(Contrary to popular belief, the Magi probably came about two years after Jesus’ birth).

But God warned Joseph to take his family to Egypt and so they escaped Herod’s wrath.

But getting back to the point of Herod’s reaction and the reaction of the people. They were troubled by the coming of this King.

And to this day, Jesus troubles people whenever they confront the fact that he’s no longer a baby, but that he is a King and that they owe him their allegiance.

For some, they, like Herod, react violently because they don’t want to give up the throne of their lives. They want to be in control.

For others, like the Jews, they’re more worried about how others will react if they start following Jesus 100%. They’re worried about persecution. They’re worried about being rejected.

But one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

Some will do so in joy and adoration. Others will do so with grinding teeth. Others will do so in shame. But all will acknowledge him as King.

Don’t you think it’s better to acknowledge him as your king now?

Who is king in your life?

Categories
Matthew Matthew 1

A selfless life

Matthew

“It’s my life.”

“My rights.”

“My happiness.”

How often do we hear those words from those around us. How often do they come out of our mouths?

But as one author put it, “It’s not about you.”

Rather, this life is about God, and the story he is weaving in us and around us.

When I think about Joseph, I see someone who understood this.

Think about his initial reaction to Mary. They were engaged, and in their culture, it was far more binding than in ours.

Though they were still not living with each other or sleeping with each other, by Jewish law it still required a divorce to dissolve the engagement.

But during that time, Mary is found to be pregnant.

How does Joseph feel? Probably hurt. Betrayed. Angry. And as I’ve mentioned before, by law, he had the right to have Mary stoned for her unfaithfulness.

But it says in verse 19,

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:19)

Obviously, he didn’t want to marry her anymore. What man would? But hurt as he was, he didn’t seek revenge. He didn’t seek “justice.” He didn’t insist on his “rights” as the injured party.

Rather, he planned to show mercy to her. He wasn’t even going to make a big show of the divorce proceedings. He was just going to have it quietly done to spare as much pain as possible to Mary.

I wonder if Mary even tried to explain. How in the world do you say, “Don’t worry Joseph. I wasn’t unfaithful to you. God did this.”

Would you believe that? No reasonable person would. And because God knew that, he intervened, sending an angel to tell Joseph,

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21)

Now on one level, I’m sure that it did bring some comfort to Joseph to hear this. But on another level, it would have been really easy to wipe his hands clean of the whole situation.

If he took Mary as his wife, there was a good chance that the people around would start to suspect that he was guilty of sleeping with Mary before they got married, and to stain his reputation.

What’s more, he could’ve easily said, “That may be true, God, but it’s not my baby. I didn’t ask for this. And you certainly didn’t ask me about it. Why should I take responsibility for Mary and the baby?”

But difficult as it was, Joseph took Mary as his wife. Despite the rumors. Despite all the difficulties.

Why? Because he knew this life wasn’t about him. That God had a bigger plan in which he wanted to save Israel, and the world.

So Joseph put aside his rights, his plans, and his life to serve God and Mary. But in doing so, I have to believe that he also found joy and fulfillment.

How about you? Are you living for yourself? If you do, ultimately, it leaves you empty. But by living for God and his purposes, you find life. As Jesus himself put it,

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

Who are you living for?

Categories
Luke Luke 3 Matthew Matthew 1

Identifying with a fallen people

The gospels

As we look at the genealogies of Jesus, there are a couple of things that should be noted.

First, the genealogy in Matthew is clearly incomplete as several kings are skipped over (e.g. Joash, Amaziah, and Jehoiakim). So when you read “father of,” in Matthew, it would be better to read it as the “ancestor of.”

Second, most scholars agree that these genealogies are not both from Joseph’s line. It is assumed that the account of Matthew is giving us Joseph’s actual genealogy, while Luke’s gives us Mary’s.

The main reason is that in Luke, it says that Jesus was the son, “so it was thought,” of Joseph.

So as we read Luke’s account, it should probably be read, “[Jesus] was the son, so it was thought of Joseph, but really the descendant of Heli…” and so on. (The word “son” in the book of Luke can be translated descendant).

This is the first time I’m taking such a close look at the genealogies, and I’m realizing just how complex the issues with the genealogies can be, but I don’t want to get into them here except to say that the explanations are certainly very interesting.

At any rate, before I get lost in the explanation of the genealogies, let’s get to the fiercely practical.

As I look at these genealogies, one thing strikes me. When Jesus came, he didn’t just appear out of nowhere. He didn’t just drop out of the sky and say, “Here I am!”

Rather, fallen people though we are, he chose to identify with us. He chose to become one of us.

Just look at his ancestors.

  • Adam, who was created in a perfect world, but still managed to bring sin into it.
  • Terah, an idol worshipper, as were probably many of his ancestors.
  • Jacob, who had been a conman for much of his life.
  • Judah, who because of his ill-treatment of his daughter-in-law after his son’s death, was deceived by her and slept with her thinking she was a prostitute. The result? Two sons, one of whom just happened to be Jesus’ ancestor. (A complex story: See Genesis 38).
  • Rahab, who was not only an outsider to the Jewish people, but a prostitute.
  • Ruth, a woman from an outcast group of people, the Moabites. (See Deuteronomy 23:3-4)
  • David, who committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband. Yet Solomon (Matthew 1:6) and Nathan (not the prophet — Luke 3:31) were both sons of this union.
  • Numerous kings who had turned their backs on God (Ahaz and Manasseh among others).

Jesus could have skipped out on all this if he had wanted to. He could have held himself out as completely separate from us. But he didn’t. Instead, he identified himself with us, saying, “I am one of you.”

He identified with us in other ways as well. He wasn’t particularly handsome. (Isaiah 53:2)

He didn’t come from a rich family. He grew up working hard, supporting his family once his father Joseph died.

He got tired. He got hungry and thirsty. He went through temptation and trials. He suffered rejection. He was misunderstood. He was abused. He was betrayed. He suffered pain.

Why?

The book of Hebrews tells us, saying,

[Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. (Hebrews 2:17)

In short, he did it to understand us. And because he understands us, he has become more merciful towards us as our high priest before God.

Because of this, it says in Hebrews 4:16,

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may find mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

How are you feeling today? Depressed because of your struggles with sin? Struggling just to support your family? Tired? Troubled? Rejected? Hurt? Betrayed?

Bring it all before Jesus. Because he understands. And he will help.