Like all preachers, the writer of Hebrews is willing to tell us what he has already told us. The “once-for-all-ness” of the sacrifice of Jesus sets us free from sin guilt and initiates the process of making us holy. As forgiven people being sanctified, we enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. Having received the blessings of heaven, we are called to hold on to our faith and encourage one another in active, godly living. With the end of all things in view, we encourage one another to keep one another from falling back into willful sin. The writer knows that Christians who rebel against God by trampling the Son of God underfoot, treating the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, and insulting the Spirit of grace will fall into the hands of the living God for judgment. Our salvation is not fragile, but we can rebel against God and lose our salvation if we want. Remember, this possibility and the need to warn against it is the reason Hebrews is written. We must choose to be among those who believe and are saved.
With this warning firmly in mind, the writer transitions to the practical applications with a wonderful discourse on the mighty, faithful ones. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We decide to be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In so doing we take our place beside the great heroes of faith—the world was not worthy of them.
These faithful ones from the old covenant form the great cloud of witnesses who are the witnesses of our faith journeys. Since we have such a distinguished audience, we should lay aside everything that keeps us from running our faith race well. Two realities mark our running: we run with our eyes on Jesus and we run among those who oppose our faith. We should not complain about those who oppose us. Instead we consider the opposition to be resistance training that disciplines our faith and makes it stronger. Such discipline is a sign that we are in God’s family. So we should strengthen our arms and knees to be able to run the race well.
There are specific behavioral admonitions. Live in peace. Be holy. Avoid sexual immorality. Do not be godless. These behaviors grow out of our faith and our respect for God who has called us through Jesus. We are members of the church of the firstborn ones. We are the ones whose names are written in heaven.
After the visit to God’s holy mountain, the writer returns to his practical teaching. The social implications of the Christian faith are powerful. We share love, open our homes, remember those imprisoned for their faith, care for the mistreated, respect our marriages, know the proper place of money, and respect our leaders in the Lord. We live this way because of Jesus, who is the same yesterday and today and forever.
We ignore false teachers and focus on true worship — a sacrifice of praise from our lips, the sacrifice of doing good, and the sacrifice of sharing with others. Our leaders help us grow in these virtues.
The benediction in Hebrews is majestic. Read 13:20, 21 again aloud. You might want to memorize it. God bless the reading of his word.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
UA-NT-10 Essay on Hebrews 5-9
The writer of Hebrews takes a moment to remind the readers about the nature of priests. They are ministers to the people, helping them with their praise and their guilt. The Aaronic priests were able to deal gently with the people because they shared in their weakness and sin.
Jesus is superior to the priests in Aaron’s tradition. He does not sin, but he suffers in his life to the point of death and through it: “…he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him….” The call to obedient, reverent submission to God is clear. But the writer is concerned that the readers are not able to understand his teaching because they are immature in the faith so at 5:11 the writer reflects on the problem and urges faithfulness.
The writer tells the immature to grow up and move beyond the elementary teaching. Some love the first principles. They are good, but if all we have is first principles and if they are the source of our spiritual pride, then we are proud of our immaturity. In the middle of this exhortation to maturity is a stunning warning about the possibility of losing one’s salvation. Someone who has experienced the richness of the faith can fall away.
Still the writer believes his readers are better than fields that drink rain and produce weeds. We are warned against laziness and pointed toward lives of faith and perseverance.
At 6:13 the writer rejoins his basic argument. Jesus is the great priest who gives us hope and an anchor for our souls. This anchor is lodged firmly in the bedrock of heaven where Jesus ministers as our Priest “in the order of Melchizedek—whatever that means.
Chapter 7 plays out this wonderful argument that a Jewish rabbi would have loved. Jesus is like Melchizedek in that he does not come from a priestly lineage and leaves no successors. Both Melchizedek and Jesus are unique as priests. And since Abraham offered tribute to Melchizedek symbolically all of Abraham’s descendants, including Levi and his line of priests, acknowledged the superiority of Melchizedek. Now Jesus comes into the world because of the inherent inferiority of the Aaronic priesthood. We needed a new and better Priest. Jesus is that Priest—“holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
The thirteen verses in chapter 8 conclude the discussion of the priesthood of Jesus. The perfect sanctuary is in heaven. The perfect Priest serves there. The better Priest serving in the better temple establishes a better covenant that is based on better promises. The new covenant has made the old covenant obsolete. In Christ, we live in this better world.
Now in chapter 9 we have the most amazing truth—the Priest is the Sacrifice. All the readers with a Jewish background know how the Temple is laid out for sacrifice. Jesus does not take an animal sacrifice into the perfect tabernacle. He entered the Most Holy Place by his own blood. That blood, offered through the eternal Spirit, cleans our consciences and enables us to serve God.
As the Priest and the Sacrifice, Jesus serves those ransomed ones under this new covenant as its Mediator. And the salvation work of Jesus is perfect and complete. Jesus doesn’t have to do any of it again. His once and for all blessing is exactly what each one of us need for our once and for all life.
Jesus is superior to the priests in Aaron’s tradition. He does not sin, but he suffers in his life to the point of death and through it: “…he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him….” The call to obedient, reverent submission to God is clear. But the writer is concerned that the readers are not able to understand his teaching because they are immature in the faith so at 5:11 the writer reflects on the problem and urges faithfulness.
The writer tells the immature to grow up and move beyond the elementary teaching. Some love the first principles. They are good, but if all we have is first principles and if they are the source of our spiritual pride, then we are proud of our immaturity. In the middle of this exhortation to maturity is a stunning warning about the possibility of losing one’s salvation. Someone who has experienced the richness of the faith can fall away.
Still the writer believes his readers are better than fields that drink rain and produce weeds. We are warned against laziness and pointed toward lives of faith and perseverance.
At 6:13 the writer rejoins his basic argument. Jesus is the great priest who gives us hope and an anchor for our souls. This anchor is lodged firmly in the bedrock of heaven where Jesus ministers as our Priest “in the order of Melchizedek—whatever that means.
Chapter 7 plays out this wonderful argument that a Jewish rabbi would have loved. Jesus is like Melchizedek in that he does not come from a priestly lineage and leaves no successors. Both Melchizedek and Jesus are unique as priests. And since Abraham offered tribute to Melchizedek symbolically all of Abraham’s descendants, including Levi and his line of priests, acknowledged the superiority of Melchizedek. Now Jesus comes into the world because of the inherent inferiority of the Aaronic priesthood. We needed a new and better Priest. Jesus is that Priest—“holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
The thirteen verses in chapter 8 conclude the discussion of the priesthood of Jesus. The perfect sanctuary is in heaven. The perfect Priest serves there. The better Priest serving in the better temple establishes a better covenant that is based on better promises. The new covenant has made the old covenant obsolete. In Christ, we live in this better world.
Now in chapter 9 we have the most amazing truth—the Priest is the Sacrifice. All the readers with a Jewish background know how the Temple is laid out for sacrifice. Jesus does not take an animal sacrifice into the perfect tabernacle. He entered the Most Holy Place by his own blood. That blood, offered through the eternal Spirit, cleans our consciences and enables us to serve God.
As the Priest and the Sacrifice, Jesus serves those ransomed ones under this new covenant as its Mediator. And the salvation work of Jesus is perfect and complete. Jesus doesn’t have to do any of it again. His once and for all blessing is exactly what each one of us need for our once and for all life.
Monday, February 15, 2010
UA-NT-10 Essay on Hebrews 1-4
We have just finished reading Matthew, a gospel written especially for people with a Jewish heritage. Now we read the letter to the Hebrews. The author is unknown, but has a remarkable understanding of how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament scriptures. The author knows the superiority of Christ, the dangers of unbelief and the sweetness of salvation in Christ.
Christ is the last, clearest word from God. In Christ, we are able to see God’s glory most clearly. The first argument in Hebrews is that Jesus is greater than angels. As One active in the creation of all things and as the One whose sacrifice is the purification price for the salvation of the world, Jesus is certainly greater than angels. The testimony of the Old Testament contrasts the place of angels with the place of the Lord’s anointed one. Jesus is the one who brings salvation; angels are servants of those receiving that salvation.
The warnings for the faithful begin in chapter 2 with a call to pay attention and not drift away from faithful life. The writer, without an apology, puts disobedience and ignoring the significance of salvation on the readers’ radar. If the readers can ignore the testimony of God expressed through signs, wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, then what hope can there be for them?
The grace and mercy of God blesses us with a Savior who comes to live as one of us. He suffers death to taste death for all, take away the fear of death and defeat the devil. This is the priestly service of Christ for us. Jesus is both sacrifice and priest. He makes atonement for our sins and continues to help us with our temptations.
Chapter 3 begins with a call for us to fix our minds, our thoughts, on Jesus. This call comes because we are tempted by many distractions that direct our thoughts away from Jesus, our apostle and high priest. We should focus our minds on Jesus because he is even greater than Moses. Moses was a faithful servant; Jesus is the faithful Son. One works in the house; the other owns the house.
If earlier the writer worried about the Christians drifting away, now the writer is concerned about active disobedience. The example of the Israelites indicates that people can be chosen by God and still decide to be disobedient. The idea that the truly chosen cannot help but be obedient, God-pleasing people is an alien idea in Hebrews. In Hebrews the Christians are in danger of falling away: “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold firmly till the end our original conviction” (3:12, 13).
Chapter 4 follows the warnings about drifting away, losing our Christ focus and becoming disobedient, with an encouragement to sustain our Christian commitment to the very end and not to fall short of the goal. Because the people of God in earlier days did not have strong faith, they fell short of the prize and did not enter God’s rest. So many Israelites died in the wilderness. They had faith enough to leave Egypt and journey across the wilderness with God’s help, but at the bank of the Jordan, their faith failed and they spent 38 years dying off in the desert with the Promised Land in sight. Sad.
Two realities should help us sustain our faith through all trials until we reach God’s rest: the alive and active word of God and the alive and active High Priest of heaven. The word reveals our innermost thoughts and attitudes and tells us the truth; Jesus, the Great High Priest, empathizes with our weaknesses and offers us grace and mercy. We need the truth the word gives us, but we would only stand condemned before its razor sharp judgment. We need the sweet Priest of heaven for the mercy and grace that allows us to go on. Listening to the word and leaning on the Priest give us the support we need to finish the journey.
Christ is the last, clearest word from God. In Christ, we are able to see God’s glory most clearly. The first argument in Hebrews is that Jesus is greater than angels. As One active in the creation of all things and as the One whose sacrifice is the purification price for the salvation of the world, Jesus is certainly greater than angels. The testimony of the Old Testament contrasts the place of angels with the place of the Lord’s anointed one. Jesus is the one who brings salvation; angels are servants of those receiving that salvation.
The warnings for the faithful begin in chapter 2 with a call to pay attention and not drift away from faithful life. The writer, without an apology, puts disobedience and ignoring the significance of salvation on the readers’ radar. If the readers can ignore the testimony of God expressed through signs, wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, then what hope can there be for them?
The grace and mercy of God blesses us with a Savior who comes to live as one of us. He suffers death to taste death for all, take away the fear of death and defeat the devil. This is the priestly service of Christ for us. Jesus is both sacrifice and priest. He makes atonement for our sins and continues to help us with our temptations.
Chapter 3 begins with a call for us to fix our minds, our thoughts, on Jesus. This call comes because we are tempted by many distractions that direct our thoughts away from Jesus, our apostle and high priest. We should focus our minds on Jesus because he is even greater than Moses. Moses was a faithful servant; Jesus is the faithful Son. One works in the house; the other owns the house.
If earlier the writer worried about the Christians drifting away, now the writer is concerned about active disobedience. The example of the Israelites indicates that people can be chosen by God and still decide to be disobedient. The idea that the truly chosen cannot help but be obedient, God-pleasing people is an alien idea in Hebrews. In Hebrews the Christians are in danger of falling away: “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold firmly till the end our original conviction” (3:12, 13).
Chapter 4 follows the warnings about drifting away, losing our Christ focus and becoming disobedient, with an encouragement to sustain our Christian commitment to the very end and not to fall short of the goal. Because the people of God in earlier days did not have strong faith, they fell short of the prize and did not enter God’s rest. So many Israelites died in the wilderness. They had faith enough to leave Egypt and journey across the wilderness with God’s help, but at the bank of the Jordan, their faith failed and they spent 38 years dying off in the desert with the Promised Land in sight. Sad.
Two realities should help us sustain our faith through all trials until we reach God’s rest: the alive and active word of God and the alive and active High Priest of heaven. The word reveals our innermost thoughts and attitudes and tells us the truth; Jesus, the Great High Priest, empathizes with our weaknesses and offers us grace and mercy. We need the truth the word gives us, but we would only stand condemned before its razor sharp judgment. We need the sweet Priest of heaven for the mercy and grace that allows us to go on. Listening to the word and leaning on the Priest give us the support we need to finish the journey.
UA-NT-10 Essay on Matthew 26-28
The last chapters begin with plotting. Jesus is plotting salvation. The leaders of the Jews plot murder. A woman plots honor. Judas plots betrayal.
Jesus sees the cross so clearly and will not turn away. The religious ones are sure that the death of an innocent teacher will consolidate their power. The woman decides that an extravagant outpouring of perfume over Jesus is more important than turning that money into soup for the pour. Sometimes adoration, foolish adoration, is exactly the thing to do. Judas had walked with Jesus, preached and healed in his name, gathered bread leftover from the thousands. Now he will kiss that life goodbye.
Jesus moves toward his sacrifice by gathering his disciples for a Passover meal. This meal, its prayers, and movements are embedded in the hearts of every Jewish man and woman. In every minute they remember and celebrate the mighty, saving acts of God that brought freedom from Egypt. Here, as they remember the death of the firstborn of Egypt that was the price of their freedom, the Firstborn of heaven sits with them on the eve of his saving sacrifice. They could taste the bread and the wine and hear the mysterious promises of a new covenant.
It is a hard night. Judas leaves the Passover meal labeled clearly. As they walk into Jerusalem night, Jesus tells them that they are all going to fall away from him. He is not whining; he just tells the truth he knows. Even Peter is assured that his denials will come threefold.
“The garden of Gethsemane” It is really all one has to say. We know the prayer of the Son asking the Father to check the possibilities known to the infinite mind and heart just to see if some other, less cross-centric, way might be found to offer salvation to the people. The apostles sleep. The Father who cannot sleep says, “No.” So the cowards come under cover of night. Judas plays his part. A sword flashes briefly. The disciples scatter. Jesus is led away to a sham trial.
The trial flounders for lack of condemning testimony until Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Now considered worthy of death the physical mistreatment and humiliation begin in earnest. They slap him, strike him, spit on him and ridicule him. Outside Peter can’t seem to remember Jesus at all – and Peter is the pick of the litter. When the rooster crows, it dawns on him and he weeps.
Matthew gives the most complete account of what happens to Judas. He has second thoughts. He doesn’t want the money. He comes to the end of his rope.
The trial before Pilate is sad. Pilate’s wife tells him not to have anything to do with Jesus. Pilate washes his hands as the Jews say they are willing for the blood of Jesus to be on them and their children. Despite his wife’s dreams and a thin case against Jesus, Pilate turns Jesus over to his executioners. The crucifixion of Jesus is not normal. The sign over him says, King of the Jews. Darkness moves into Jerusalem at noon. When Jesus dies, the curtain in the temple rips, the earth quakes, and tombs give up their dead. The centurion and his men said, “Surely he was the Son of God.”
When Jesus dies, Joseph asks Pilate for permission to bury Jesus. The Marys are there at the tomb when Jesus is laid in it. They were soon to have company because the Jewish leaders were aware that Jesus had said something about rising from the dead in three days. They request and receive guards to watch the tomb. The tomb is secure and sealed. Jesus is dead.
On Sunday morning, the Marys go to the tomb at dawn. Jesus is alive. They run into Jesus and worship him. What a moment for his mother and his friend to be with him!
The Jews start a rumor that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus. But the disciples did not steal the dead body of Jesus; the very alive Jesus called them to join him in Galilee. In Galilee Jesus tells them that they are to go into all the world, teaching, baptizing and teaching.
In a powerful way, Jesus tells them that the cross was not the end of anything. The tomb was not the end of anything. The kingdom of heaven is breaking into this world. God With Us is still with us “ to the end of the age.”
Jesus sees the cross so clearly and will not turn away. The religious ones are sure that the death of an innocent teacher will consolidate their power. The woman decides that an extravagant outpouring of perfume over Jesus is more important than turning that money into soup for the pour. Sometimes adoration, foolish adoration, is exactly the thing to do. Judas had walked with Jesus, preached and healed in his name, gathered bread leftover from the thousands. Now he will kiss that life goodbye.
Jesus moves toward his sacrifice by gathering his disciples for a Passover meal. This meal, its prayers, and movements are embedded in the hearts of every Jewish man and woman. In every minute they remember and celebrate the mighty, saving acts of God that brought freedom from Egypt. Here, as they remember the death of the firstborn of Egypt that was the price of their freedom, the Firstborn of heaven sits with them on the eve of his saving sacrifice. They could taste the bread and the wine and hear the mysterious promises of a new covenant.
It is a hard night. Judas leaves the Passover meal labeled clearly. As they walk into Jerusalem night, Jesus tells them that they are all going to fall away from him. He is not whining; he just tells the truth he knows. Even Peter is assured that his denials will come threefold.
“The garden of Gethsemane” It is really all one has to say. We know the prayer of the Son asking the Father to check the possibilities known to the infinite mind and heart just to see if some other, less cross-centric, way might be found to offer salvation to the people. The apostles sleep. The Father who cannot sleep says, “No.” So the cowards come under cover of night. Judas plays his part. A sword flashes briefly. The disciples scatter. Jesus is led away to a sham trial.
The trial flounders for lack of condemning testimony until Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Now considered worthy of death the physical mistreatment and humiliation begin in earnest. They slap him, strike him, spit on him and ridicule him. Outside Peter can’t seem to remember Jesus at all – and Peter is the pick of the litter. When the rooster crows, it dawns on him and he weeps.
Matthew gives the most complete account of what happens to Judas. He has second thoughts. He doesn’t want the money. He comes to the end of his rope.
The trial before Pilate is sad. Pilate’s wife tells him not to have anything to do with Jesus. Pilate washes his hands as the Jews say they are willing for the blood of Jesus to be on them and their children. Despite his wife’s dreams and a thin case against Jesus, Pilate turns Jesus over to his executioners. The crucifixion of Jesus is not normal. The sign over him says, King of the Jews. Darkness moves into Jerusalem at noon. When Jesus dies, the curtain in the temple rips, the earth quakes, and tombs give up their dead. The centurion and his men said, “Surely he was the Son of God.”
When Jesus dies, Joseph asks Pilate for permission to bury Jesus. The Marys are there at the tomb when Jesus is laid in it. They were soon to have company because the Jewish leaders were aware that Jesus had said something about rising from the dead in three days. They request and receive guards to watch the tomb. The tomb is secure and sealed. Jesus is dead.
On Sunday morning, the Marys go to the tomb at dawn. Jesus is alive. They run into Jesus and worship him. What a moment for his mother and his friend to be with him!
The Jews start a rumor that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus. But the disciples did not steal the dead body of Jesus; the very alive Jesus called them to join him in Galilee. In Galilee Jesus tells them that they are to go into all the world, teaching, baptizing and teaching.
In a powerful way, Jesus tells them that the cross was not the end of anything. The tomb was not the end of anything. The kingdom of heaven is breaking into this world. God With Us is still with us “ to the end of the age.”
Thursday, February 11, 2010
UA-NT-10 Essay on Matthew 24 and 25
This reading section contains a stunning prophecy and four end-time parables. As Jesus teaches during this last week, he concludes with words that ought to make all sit up and take notice.
With the words, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” just out of his mouth, Jesus tells the disciples that the time is coming when the temple will be destroyed. In the highly symbolic apocalyptic language, Jesus tells of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. The Romans fulfilled this prophecy in 70 A.D. under the leadership of Titus. The Romans laid siege to Jerusalem. Josephus writes that 1,100,000 people died in Jerusalem because Jews from all over Palestine flocked into the city for safety. Many starved in the siege. The Christians heeding the prophecy of Jesus left the city for the mountains at Pella and survived.
This prophetic section alludes to a more comprehensive day of the Lord—the great and final judgment. That day will come suddenly and unexpectedly. That will be a day when the prepared and watchful will find great blessing. The two strands of prophecy of the end of Jerusalem and the end of all things are woven together in places.
Hacks and charlatans have used their creative interpretations of these prophecies to draw crowds and line their pockets. It should be enough for us to know one prophecy has been fulfilled in our past; one prophecy awaits fulfillment in our future. Instead of getting caught up in idle speculations about the end-time, we should heed the teaching of the next four parables and live today ready to meet the Lord.
“Who is the wise and faithful servant…?” The wise and faithful servant is the one who knows that the master will return at any time. The wise and faithful servants want the master to find them doing their jobs when he comes. We are encouraged to keep our focus on serving our Lord even if he has not come after 2000 years. He is coming.
The virgins in the second parable know that the coming of the bridegroom could be at any time. Five of them are prepared. Five of them are not ready when the bridegroom comes at midnight. After the bridegroom comes, it is too late to prepare for the wedding banquet. We are encouraged to work in our tuxedos and formals at the ready for the party to begin. He is coming.
The parable of the investing master calls our attention to another aspect of awaiting the end of all things. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like the master who gives one servant five bags of gold, gives another two bags of gold, and to yet another one bag of gold. The master leaves expecting his servants will add value to his estate by the effective use of his wealth. The gold never belongs to the servants. It is theirs to manage and grow. When the master returns, the servants who faithfully managed the treasure and added to it were blessed. The conservative servant who took no risk and got no gain loses the gold and his place in master’s house. In this end-time, we are stewards charged with growing the treasures of the kingdom. We are not bank guards protecting the treasure. Being too careful may not be faithful service. He is coming.
The great parable of the sheep and the goats reminds us to see Christ in the faces of the hungry, thirsty, displaced, ragged, sick or imprisoned. The voice of Jesus saying, “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” never leaves the ears of Christ’s faithful ones. Mother Teresa said that we serve Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor. No doubt the followers of Christ are meant to serve him in such disguises until the day they see him face to face in glory. He is coming.
The country song invites all to “live like they are dying.” The Lord Christ invites his beloved ones to live like he is coming. He is coming.
With the words, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” just out of his mouth, Jesus tells the disciples that the time is coming when the temple will be destroyed. In the highly symbolic apocalyptic language, Jesus tells of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. The Romans fulfilled this prophecy in 70 A.D. under the leadership of Titus. The Romans laid siege to Jerusalem. Josephus writes that 1,100,000 people died in Jerusalem because Jews from all over Palestine flocked into the city for safety. Many starved in the siege. The Christians heeding the prophecy of Jesus left the city for the mountains at Pella and survived.
This prophetic section alludes to a more comprehensive day of the Lord—the great and final judgment. That day will come suddenly and unexpectedly. That will be a day when the prepared and watchful will find great blessing. The two strands of prophecy of the end of Jerusalem and the end of all things are woven together in places.
Hacks and charlatans have used their creative interpretations of these prophecies to draw crowds and line their pockets. It should be enough for us to know one prophecy has been fulfilled in our past; one prophecy awaits fulfillment in our future. Instead of getting caught up in idle speculations about the end-time, we should heed the teaching of the next four parables and live today ready to meet the Lord.
“Who is the wise and faithful servant…?” The wise and faithful servant is the one who knows that the master will return at any time. The wise and faithful servants want the master to find them doing their jobs when he comes. We are encouraged to keep our focus on serving our Lord even if he has not come after 2000 years. He is coming.
The virgins in the second parable know that the coming of the bridegroom could be at any time. Five of them are prepared. Five of them are not ready when the bridegroom comes at midnight. After the bridegroom comes, it is too late to prepare for the wedding banquet. We are encouraged to work in our tuxedos and formals at the ready for the party to begin. He is coming.
The parable of the investing master calls our attention to another aspect of awaiting the end of all things. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like the master who gives one servant five bags of gold, gives another two bags of gold, and to yet another one bag of gold. The master leaves expecting his servants will add value to his estate by the effective use of his wealth. The gold never belongs to the servants. It is theirs to manage and grow. When the master returns, the servants who faithfully managed the treasure and added to it were blessed. The conservative servant who took no risk and got no gain loses the gold and his place in master’s house. In this end-time, we are stewards charged with growing the treasures of the kingdom. We are not bank guards protecting the treasure. Being too careful may not be faithful service. He is coming.
The great parable of the sheep and the goats reminds us to see Christ in the faces of the hungry, thirsty, displaced, ragged, sick or imprisoned. The voice of Jesus saying, “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” never leaves the ears of Christ’s faithful ones. Mother Teresa said that we serve Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor. No doubt the followers of Christ are meant to serve him in such disguises until the day they see him face to face in glory. He is coming.
The country song invites all to “live like they are dying.” The Lord Christ invites his beloved ones to live like he is coming. He is coming.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
UA-NT-10 Essay on Matthew 21-23
The story of the King of Israel, the Child from Bethlehem, the Son of David, comes to his entry into Jerusalem in the style of an entering king. Jesus begins this time in Jerusalem in a crowd. In a week he will walk out of a Jerusalem tomb alone. He will conquer death and sin to establish the Kingdom of heaven.
Chapters 21-24 contain the teaching of Jesus during the few days before his death. We are stunned that he is so vulnerable and open. In these teaching, we get to see the spectrum of the opposition to him. He also are reminded of the sweet, powerful wisdom embedded in his teaching.
To begin his temple teaching, Jesus drives out those who are selling and changing money in the temple. The special mention of those selling doves indicates that some were taking advantage of the poor. The hope of God is that the temple will be a house of prayer. That is probably what the Father wants of us now.
Jesus attracts those who need him and those who think they don’t need him. He heals the blind and the lame, welcomes the praise of children, and deals with the indignant spiritual leaders. The fig tree becomes the metaphor for spiritual leaders. Their time to bear fruit for God is about over.
Don’t miss the call of Jesus for his people to pray in faith, “…believing you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
When Jesus enters the temple courts, the priests and elders confront him about his authority. Since they are unwilling to say what they believed about the ministry of John, the Baptist, Jesus knows it is pointless to discuss his authority with them.
Jesus does follow their question with three parables that point to the tragic misunderstanding of the spiritual leaders. They say they will obey God, but they don’t. They claim to be workers in the vineyard of God, but they live every day challenging God’s authority and ownership. They reject and kill his servants. The leaders are like those invited to the wedding banquet of the king’s son. They refuse to come. They despise the generous invitation.
In each of the stories, those thought to be on the margins of righteousness are invited to blessing. Those who decide to work for the master are blessed. The vineyard is opened to those willing to respect the owner. The wedding banquet guest list contains the names of the riff-raff. Things are upside down. The religious leaders are rejecting the Stone who will be the foundation for all things.
The Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with the taxes question. Jesus says, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God’s.”
The Sadducees don’t fare any better with their marriage question. Jesus says there is no marriage in heaven. Then Jesus tags them for their unbelief regarding the resurrection. If God speaks of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the present tense, there is no past tense in the lives of the faithful.
The Pharisees make another run at Jesus with their greatest commandment question. Jesus knows what they know. There are only the two matters of loving God and loving people.
Psalms 110 is one of the favorite texts of the early church. Jesus refers to it here as he asks the Pharisees to unravel the riddle in the text. The Son of David is David’s Lord. How can that be?
The many teachings in Matthew 21 and 22 lead to a focused teaching in Matthew 23 about the nature of the religious leaders and the woes that come to them because of their legalism. They don’t practice what they preach. They made loads for others without offering to help them in any way. The leaders like honor, ceremony and titles. They are so unlike Jesus, the Servant, who calls others to service.
The number of seven woes indicates that the religious leaders are perfectly woeful. They block the entrance to the kingdom. They make converts that are as perverse as they are. They have rules for swearing that make lying possible. They are serious about the trivial and thoughtless about the important — they measure out a tithe of mint and ignore the cries for justice. They clean the outside of their dishes and leave their hearts filthy. They are like pretty tombs filled with rottenness. They are proud of the tombs they build to honor God’s servants while holding the very attitudes that called for the deaths of those servants. These woeful ones will be the ones who persecute Jesus and his followers in the days to come. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…”
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
UA-NT-10 Essay on Matthew 18-20
In Matthew 18, Jesus takes his disciples to the school of patience and forgiveness. Disciples are to love children and have a childlike heart of love and faith. They are to care for the wandering ones. They are to protect the children from sin in their lives and from the influence of sin in the church. All of this requires a heart continually filled with forgiveness. This will be the text for the sermon on Sunday, February 14. Valentine’s Day is a good day to talk about forgiveness.
In Matthew 19 the relationship[ theme continues with questions about marriage. This space cannot contain an exhaustive discussion, but let it suffice to say that one school of interpretation made divorce very easy; another makes divorce difficult and, hopefully, rare. Jesus comes down on the side of a great respect for the covenant promise of marriage. He also teaches that singleness is a fact of life for some and a blessed choice for others. In that world in which only the married with children are considered truly blessed, Jesus expands the circle of blessing to include the single.
After the discussion of marriage, Matthew lets us ask the question: “Who is closer to the heart of God, the child or the rich man?” The disciples do not value children. They think Jesus is too busy or too important to be bothered by children. Not so!
The rich man is just the kind of man most people would want to have as a follower, a backer, an investor. He would be a man with connections. Money is power. To the Jews, wealth indicates blessing. But…given the choice between keeping the law and his money or giving up his money to follow Jesus, the man decides to remain rich in this world and let the Treasure of heaven walk away. Sad, really. Jesus assures his disciples that those who give up everything to follow him will be blessed beyond measure in the sharing fellowship of the kingdom
Not only is there a promise of blessing inherent in following Jesus, but in Matthew 20 Jesus promises that the promise of blessing doesn’t depend on years of service. Jesus will be generous and gracious to those who come to him first and those who come last.
For the third time in Matthew, Jesus predicts his death. This sweet, good, strong man does only good and yet predicts that the holy men of the day will put him to death. However, the good One killed by the holy ones will live again!
James and John and their mother aspire to greatness in this new order of things that Jesus is bringing into the world. Mom wants cabinet level appointments for her boys. She cannot be blamed for having hardly a clue about what she is asking. In a world in which power gives privilege, it makes sense to ask for position. In a kingdom in which sacrifice and service are honored, one must carefully consider the cost of leadership: “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Perhaps mom’s request was granted: James is the first apostle to die for his faith; John is the one who serves and suffers in this world longest.
At the end of Matthew 20, two blind men at Jericho seek a mercy blessing from the Lord, the Son of David. Jesus loves them, has compassion and heals them. The blind men follow Jesus up the road to Jerusalem. Horror and glory are waiting there.
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