The Messiah and Fasting (Matthew 9:14-17)

In our last study we looked at Jesus’ ability to forgive sin.  He demonstrated it by connecting it with healing a helpless paralyzed man and then calling Matthew, a notorious tax collector, to follow Him and then going to a huge dinner at his house with lots of Matthew’s tax collector and sinner friends.  He had come to call not the righteous, but sinners who understood their need for God’s mercy.

In this study we are going to examine one more pericope in Matthew 9:14-17.  The ESV entitles it: “A Question About Fasting.”  This question arises because, to the public eye, Jesus always seems to be eating and drinking and going to dinners.  And it isn’t the Pharisees who are asking about it.  It is the disciples of John the Baptist.  John has been in prison since chapter 4 but his followers have really taken his message of repentance to heart.  So they come to Jesus as friends.  They know John has baptized Jesus and identified Him as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  They remember that John has said that he must decrease and Jesus must increase (John 3:30) when some of his followers noticed that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing more people than John was.  They probably also remembered that John had said that he wasn’t worthy to even take Jesus’ sandal off (John 1:27) his foot—normally the job of a household servant.  And now in Matthew 9 they have a serious question.  They are not trying to trick him like the Pharisees and Sadducees always seemed to be doing.  They really want to know.

 ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast (some translations say, “fast often”), but your disciples don’t?’  By the way, we can always take honest questions to the Lord.  They wanted to understand and they trusted Him so they came and asked the question, ‘How come?’  We already had a small sidebar where we discussed fasting back in chapter 6 in the ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ There Jesus had talked about three external deeds of righteousness (giving, praying, and fasting) which He said were not to be done so as to cause others to praise you or to make you look good.  So, by all means, do them but remember God looks at the heart and sees in secret but He will reward you later openly.  And also recall that in chapter 4, when Jesus was tempted by the devil He first fasted for forty days and nights.  So, why aren’t Jesus disciples fasting?  Some might think that maybe they were doing it secretly like Jesus taught although notice that they aren’t accusing Jesus here!  But Jesus’ answer is very intriguing (vv. 15-17).

There are three figures or analogies that Jesus uses to explain: a wedding feast, repairing old clothes, and recycling wine skins.  A wedding was a time of joy—not a funeral—and totally incompatible with fasting.  You can’t fix old clothes with a piece of unshrunk (new) fabric.  You don’t put fresh wine in old stretched out wineskins.  So in each of these analogies, there is nothing wrong with the old but it is incompatible with the new in some way.  Joy and fasting are incompatible.  The old way must give way to the new way of joy.  The Messiah (the bridegroom) is here choosing His bride. What is this old way?  And the new way?

Now understand, the only record we have of God commanding Israel to “fast” (Leviticus 16:31) literally says to “afflict your soul.”  This is in connection with the celebration of Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement.  On that day, the Jews were to abstain from food and sexual relations and instead seek God’s face and pray.  Sometimes they would even tear their clothing or wear old clothes and put dust and ashes on their head as a way of demonstrating their humility and abasement before God.  This practice of self-abasement was also found among other peoples of the ancient world.  Thus the people of Nineveh did this when Jonah marched into town (finally) proclaiming their doom.  In the Psalms, we read about David doing this, etc.  But eventually, the practice became for many people a mere ritual—as if it were magic.  We fast and God takes pity on us.  So Isaiah 58—the entire chapter—deals with the right way to fast.  Cf. Isaiah 58:6-8.  If you are truly sorry you would change your ways!  Just going through a ritual without an inner reality is a mockery of the whole idea. 

I remember driving in Tokyo some years ago looking for a parking spot.  I found one and pulled just past it to parallel park like I learned in driver’s education.  But a nimble little Toyota just drove straight into the spot behind me and luckily I spotted it before I began backing as I turned my head to look.  I was shocked.  Then the driver got out, locked his door, put his hands together and gave me a humble bow!  It was a meaningless ritual.  Like fasting without any real change inside.

So fasting had become a meaningless cultural norm to most people.  And in the Roman world, it had no meaning whatsoever.  The time would come when the followers of Jesus would suffer for their faith but right now, they were to experience the joy of the Messiah—a little foretaste of the joyous fellowship in the kingdom of heaven.

One last sidelight.  In Colossians 2:16, Paul talks about how some followers of Christ would have different customs concerning what we can eat or drink and have different customs regarding festivals or what day to worship God.  He goes on to say that the Old Testament record of how they did these things are a “shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”  Fasting was one of those “shadows.”  The inner change that was supposed to accompany fasting is the “substance” – the reality – which belongs to those who follow Christ (vv. 18-23; 3:1-10). 

The old way of external rituals once had some value in helping people to visualize their sinful degradation but a far better way is now possible for those who are “in Christ.”  So, should Christians ever fast?  Note that it is never commanded in the New Testament although it is described in the Gospels and Acts always in connection with people from the Jewish culture.   If you do fast, remember that, even in the Old Testament, it is the inner change that affects the outward behavior towards others that God is actually looking for.

Some Christian groups down through the centuries have valued what is called “asceticism.”  Paul calls it “severity to the body” (Colossians 2:23).  The thought is that “the spirit is good and the flesh is evil.  We have to afflict the flesh.” But Paul goes on to say such practices “are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”  This is because the sin is in our heart and mind before our body ever acts.  This is why in Col. 3: 2 Paul tells us to set our minds on things above.  This is where the battle really is.

Finally, some might note that still, both Paul and Jesus practiced fasting.  But, also note that they did so in the context of ministry in the Jewish culture.  They did NOT do it to gain control of their body but to demonstrate that their body was in compliance with the commands of God.

In our last study, Jesus talked about God’s overriding concern with mercy instead of animal sacrifices and today with real behavioral change instead of with fasting.  Nobody wants to be a sad miserable wretch of a sinner—though that once may well have described us.  God, too, wants us to live in His new joy—joy like new wine—new wine that cannot be contained in the old ways.”

© 2018 Eric Thimell

The Messiah’s Spiritual Authority (Matthew 9:1-13)

Last time we saw in Matthew 8 that the Messiah wanted followers who made Him their first priority.  If a follower ever needs to choose one or the other, Jesus must win.  We also saw that the continuing question about Jesus’ authority is slowly being answered.  In Matthew 5-7 Jesus spoke with authority.  In Matthew 8 Jesus acted with authority.  He healed the most dramatic diseases and physical complaints.  The evil spirits fled at His command.  The disciples noticed that even the wind and the seas obey Him.  In chapter 9 Jesus shows us that His authority is also intensely spiritual and divine.  He can forgive sin.

Jesus Forgives Sin

In 9:1-8, Jesus returned home to Capernaum back across the lake from Gadara where He had healed the demonized men and where the villagers begged him to leave them alone.  They didn’t want what Jesus had to offer.  So, He returned to His home and the familiar pericope about the paralyzed man carried by his four faithful friends who had to drop him through the roof tiles to get their friend to Jesus to be healed.  Jesus (seeing their faith) said, “Take heart, My son.  Your sins are forgiven.”  But the reason these guys came was for healing and now this?  That’s the way it is with spiritual needs.  We more easily sense hunger, pain, and injustice but are oblivious to a far worse wound—a spiritual need that we all carry.  We all need forgiveness of sins.

What is forgiveness of sins?  Well, sin is a spiritual deficit (coming short of God’s glory – His character and nature – Romans 3:23).  Sin conveys a lack of righteousness that we need if we want to see God.  Forgiveness means that the deficit is remitted.  It is paid in full.  Someone will say, but that payment wasn’t made until Jesus died on the cross!  Right!  God is not bound by our concept of time.  He created time and space and matter.  All those sins that were committed before the cross (as well as after) were paid for by Jesus death on the cross (Romans 5:8) which would not happen for another 18 chapters of Matthew! That is the judicial basis for forgiveness. But forgiveness of sins comes by faith in Jesus whether we understand the theology behind it or not.

So, are we all free from the condemnation of sin? The “payment” was made on the cross answering to the “wages of sin” (Romans 6:23) but only those who choose to receive Jesus’ free gift of forgiveness by faith (trusting in His promise of eternal life) will ever have it (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Forgiveness is free but we must receive it by faith in Jesus.  Here the paralyzed man believes in Jesus’ to heal him and has his believing friends go to extreme lengths to get Him to Jesus.  And Jesus saw their faith (the belief of the man and his friends) and granted forgiveness.  He saw that they believed in Him.  (“Faith” is the noun form for the verb “believe” in Greek.)

But how do we know that Jesus has this authority to forgive our sins?  That’s exactly the question that came up next.  Some of the scribes (apparently not all of them) began to think Jesus was a blasphemer by claiming a prerogative that belonged to God alone.  And you know what?  This is the same conundrum we face.  Jesus is either a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord of the universe.  Which is it?  Jesus then said,” . . .that you may know that (I) have the power . . . to forgive sins . . .” and told the paralyzed man to “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”  And the man who until now could not move, received life in his body and jumped up and rolled up his bed and left the building, presumably with his four faithful friends. 

This caused the watching crowd to be afraid and they glorified God—because He had given such authority to men!  God was near!  Jesus' authority was now established as not just physical but spiritual.  They don’t yet know about the cross which would play a crucial role in all of this. (So, trust in God is even more basic than understanding the role of the cross.  This is why Paul later tells us that Abram believed God – before the cross – and it was counted to Him as righteousness!)  And for the crowds who watched and heard, it was patently obvious that Jesus was the One to watch! 

Jesus Grants Mercy

Now this next pericope in Matthew 9:9-13, builds on this same theme of Jesus authority to forgive sins.  This is Matthew’s account of his own calling to be a disciple of Jesus.  He had been a tax collector who probably had a booth right on the Roman road that led through Capernaum.  Over this highway, the bulk of the riches of the East were carried by caravan to Rome.  And Matthew (also known as Levi) had the job of assessing and collecting taxes on these cargoes.  As word of Jesus’ words and actions spread in that area, Matthew could not have been oblivious.  He would have seen the huge crowds that pounded the dusty roads just to get a glimpse of this Rabbi.  So when Jesus walked past one day, he willingly became a follower of Jesus and left his job and invited Jesus to a dinner party with all his tax collector friends.  He was not a Pharisee who imagined that they were righteous enough for God.  He had no disagreement whatever that he had a huge sin deficit and when he heard that Jesus could forgive sin, he was in. 

There were complaints from the Pharisees about Jesus keeping company with “tax collectors and sinners.”  And Jesus said, “I have come not to call the righteous but sinners.”  That was Jesus’ wry way of saying, “I have come to call those who admit that they are sinners.”  Those who disputed their need for forgiveness would never believe.  He also quoted Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  Mercy is not getting what you deserve and sacrifice was giving until it hurts.  The point Jesus was making was that God didn’t need anything, we were the ones that had a need.  We deserved condemnation but we needed mercy.  There is a place for sacrifice with regard to our God-given responsibilities toward each other but it can never buy forgiveness of sins.  We need mercy and it is the worst of sinners who are quick to realize this need often before the “nicer people” even get a clue.  Here Jesus grants mercy to Matthew—a big deal to the self-righteous Pharisees.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

Field Notes for Would-be Followers of Jesus (Matt. 8:18-34)

Last time we studied Matthew’s gospel together, we saw in the first half of Matthew 8 that Jesus is beginning to answer the questions surrounding His authority by demonstrating that He didn’t just talk like He had authority but he acted like One Who had authority.  There are still questions among the people concerning where this authority comes from and what it means but any reason for doubt that He has it is rapidly disappearing.

The Priority of Followership
Matthew 8:18-22 is another pericope that Matthew uses to explain Who Jesus is.  That is, an account of an actual event that is told with a view to teach us something and at the same time moves the greater narrative along.  So here the narrative places Jesus at the home of Peter in Capernaum where He has just healed Peter’s mother-in-law and crowds of people have brought loved ones to be cured both physically and spiritually.  Now in this pericope, Jesus decides to go somewhere else – across the lake—to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Notice that He sees the crowds in Capernaum yet the text points out that He still wants to go away.  So, Jesus is not motivated by crowds to perform!  He is NOT a narcissist.   But neither was He simply unmoved by their needs!  He has already spent the previous evening healing many!  Matthew wants us to know that Jesus notices the vast felt needs in Capernaum, but that is not His only purpose.

Now as He gives orders to his disciples to go across the lake, Matthew uses this pericope to teach us about what Jesus expects of those who want to follow Him.  Some scholars refer to this pericope as the “cost of discipleship.”  I would prefer to call it the “priority of followership.”  Jesus is not just looking for people with a great work ethic or who are doggedly obedient even though those qualities are highly prized.  He is looking for people who are going to replace their own plans with His—people who are willing to re-prioritize their life to follow Him.  He wants more than our behavior—he wants our heart.  On the day of reckoning, remember, He is not going to let us substitute our deeds for knowing Him.  And ultimately, our salvation cannot be purchased by our own efforts anyway. 

Matthew zeroes in on two people who have been His disciples up to this point. He records their responses to Jesus’ orders to leave Capernaum even though they have a huge following right there. 

The first response is by a scribe (some translations use the term lawyer).  This is a man who has dedicated his life to the study of Scripture.  He recognizes the authority of Jesus and doesn’t want to miss out on the Kingdom of God so He announces his desire to follow Jesus.  Well, he seems to.  He announces that he will follow Jesus “wherever you go!”  He will “pay the price” or so it seems until we learn that Jesus points out that He can’t guarantee a life of comfort as part of our due if we follow Him.  The text doesn’t tell us what the Scribe did in response but Scribes were usually quite wealthy and honored members of society and so we understand that Jesus is pointing out that following Jesus means being ready to forsake our former comforts in this world for temporary hardships that are part of following Jesus.

The second response is by an otherwise unknown bystander who also wished to follow Jesus but first he wanted “to bury his father.”  He was not talking about going to a funeral but waiting until his father was dead.  He had a higher priority than following Jesus—his family.

Jesus is not saying that these are sinful activities (being comfortable or taking care of and enjoying your family).  He is saying that if they conflict with following Jesus, then you are not really prepared to follow Him.  By the way, whatever conflicts with following Jesus in our life, whatever takes a higher priority, is actually an idol. Whatever replaces the sole object of our worship is an idol.

The Priority of Trust
Matthew has more to say about following Jesus in the next couple of pericopes.   Let’s look at Matthew 8:23-27.  Those who are familiar with the Old Testament account will recognize that there is a little Jonah motif going on here.  There’s a storm at sea and Jesus is asleep in the boat and all hands are doing everything in their power not to go down and they waken Jesus to get His help and by His words, the storm stops.  But there are some powerful differences from the account of Jonah.  Jonah was running away from God.  He didn’t want to follow God.  Jesus was running away from worldly acclaim to follow God.  And the disciples?  They are following orders and so far they have been willing to make following Jesus a priority.  There are more comparisons we could make because even Jesus compared His death and resurrection to Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish.  But let’s move on to look at some more field notes for would-be followers of Jesus.

What do the disciples think when they are confronted by danger in the midst of the sea? 

1) They think that Jesus is unaware.  

2) They think that Jesus Himself (and they) are in danger (“We are perishing!”).  

3) They think they need to prod Him to DO SOMETHING.  They think they know what He needs to do and so they tell Him to do it.  

4) They do believe that He can do something about their circumstances.

How like our own relationship to Jesus!  These first three thoughts they have about Jesus are a demonstration of their need for faith.  The last thought shows they do have a little but it’s time to grow.

So, when Jesus wakes up we really have an anticlimax.  He rebukes the wind and the sea and there was a great calm. Now what do the disciples do?  They marvel.  Who is this?  (We keep wanting to grab them by their shoulders and shake them!  This is the creator of heaven and earth.  The God who made the wind and the seas.)  Notice that Jesus asks them: “Why were you afraid?”  Their fear is an indication of a lack of trust.  A follower of Jesus will encounter danger so He must trust Jesus.  That’s another priority of followership.  We trust other people to a certain extent.  We can trust ourselves a little, but to follow Jesus, we must trust Him completely.

The Priority of Spiritual Transformation
Okay, one more pericope, Matthew!  Matthew 8:28-34.  What sort of authority does Jesus have and what does He require of would-be followers?  This pericope tells us about Jesus rescuing two captives from a horde of demons.  These two men lived away from society in Gadara across the Sea of Galilee far from the comforts of Capernaum and their families and the adoring crowds.  Jesus and the disciples braved the pull of comforts and home and the sense of being involved in a hugely successful ministry and just now the stormy sea (which Jesus had to rebuke!  This was no ordinary obstacle that Jesus overcame!) – they did all this just to rescue two men who had been given over to be tortured by evil spirits.   How do you define success?  When you are doing what God really wants, you may experience even more obstacles!  Don’t let trials and difficulties make you think you are doing something wrong.  Your commission is from God and you follow despite the circumstances!  So they leave home crossing the sea on a mission. Later Jesus would commission these disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel.  

Notice what we learn from this pericope: 

1) We don’t get our theology from demons, but this account of Jesus’ encounter with them teaches us a lot. 

2)  The two oppressed men are the reason Jesus crossed over and left the crowds. 

3)  He has already demonstrated the prophesied healing ministry of the Messiah and now He demonstrates His Messianic fulfillment of setting captives free—spiritually. 

4)  Notice the disciples are with Jesus in this seemingly suicidal mission and they are safe because He is with them.  We are always safe with Jesus.  Notice, He said they were to cross to the other side—drowning in the middle was not crossing to the other side!

5)  Sometimes a changed life will bring about such a drastic change that it will be understood or even viewed as dangerous, harmful, or even chaotic.  In fact, it may affect the economic life of the community.  Jesus came to change us, too.

6)  They learned how horribly dangerous it was for these two men to continue to be held captive by these demons. 

7)  We learn the reality of demons AND their self-confessed destiny (AND by association) the destiny of those connected with them!

Overview:  In chapter 8 we see that Jesus does have authority and following Him must take precedence over personal comforts of home and family because this world is not our home.  We do not abdicate our responsibilities but we do rearrange our priorities.

We also see that following Jesus means that our understanding of “needs” must be carefully scrutinized.  We don’t always understand what is best, what is really needed, but God ALWAYS does.

Following Jesus ultimately requires trust in Him even when we don’t see Him “doing anything” when it seems like everything needs Him to do something now.  God knows exactly what is going on and what to do and precisely when to do it.  We may be getting wet, the waves may be washing over us, our boat may be sinking, we may even die(!) but we still trust Him—for far more than our feeble lives in this mortal shell.

Following Jesus does NOT always mean to go where the people are clamoring for help.  Some would tell us to “go where God is working,” but notice that God also works in seemingly small ways as well as in spectacular ways.  If Hudson Taylor had only gone where God was already working, he would never have gone to China.  Jesus left Capernaum and the great crowds to go to Gadara to rescue two captives.  Crowds do not necessarily mean success in God’s work.

Following Jesus can be scary (like the storm and the demons) which are physically and spiritually beyond our own strength.  With Jesus, however, everything is under control.  Trust him.

Finally, following Jesus you may be rejected by people but don’t look for rejection as proof of following Jesus.  It is your trusting Jesus that proves you are truly following Him.  Jesus does tell people to follow him but even more He tells them over and over again to trust Him—especially to those who claim to be following Him—even to those who claim to have given up everything.   And if you are following Jesus understand that not many will also follow along with you.  The crowds ultimately rejected Jesus and will also inevitably reject those who follow Him.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

The Healer Revealed (Matthew 8:1-17)

In our last study, we saw that after Jesus taught the people in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ they were astonished.  This week, Matthew switches this around and in the midst of a three-episode healing narrative, it is Jesus’ turn to be astonished!

Episode 1:  In vv. 1-4 Jesus is coming back down from the mountain where he had given His great Sermon on the Mount.  Meanwhile the crowds keep following Him as he journeys along the road back to Capernaum.  And on the way an untouchable leper came and kneeled down before him and said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”  And Jesus touched him and said, “I will; be clean.”  And immediately, he was clean.  The leprosy was gone.  Jesus told him to show himself to the priest and offer the prescribed sacrifice according to the Law. 

What is this about?  Sicknesses, disfigurement, etc. disqualified a person from going to the temple.  Under Jewish Law and culture such people were a living visible testimony to the curse of sin which now infests the earth.  Furthermore, their presence in a home or in a city or even touching another person transmitted “impurity” to that other person.  It required special ceremonial cleansing and sacrifices to remove the impurity.  All of this was a continual reminder of the need for cleansing from sin.  So, imagine the shock as the people watched this holy rabbi touch this impure untouchable leper.  But seeing the disease melt away from his body, they could see that this rabbi was Someone quite special.  Notice Jesus healed because He was willing.  It was Jesus desire to heal him.  Hopefully, the people would begin to understand that Jesus is coming to deal with far more than sicknesses because He was willing.

Episode 2:  In vv. 5-13 Jesus continues down the road and enters Capernaum which is a fairly good size town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  A Roman centurion was stationed there with his troops and his servant had become paralyzed.  This servant was likely a man who took care to see that the centurion’s affairs were tended to.  He would have been in charge of his financial affairs as well as being his purchasing agent.  This loyal servant was highly esteemed by his master, the centurion, who heard that Jesus had returned to town.  He did not delay but approached Jesus and called Him Lord and appealed for the suffering servant in his home.  Jesus offered to go home with him and heal him!  Another astonishing thing!   A Jew did not even enter a Gentile home lest he become impure.  But the centurion was sensitive to that cultural faux pas as well as to Jesus’ true person.  He was not worthy of having Jesus enter his home!  “Just say the word and heal him because you have authority and I understand authority.”  Now it is Jesus’ turn to be astonished!  A Gentile who gets it!  And He believes it!  He has more faith than these “sons of the kingdom” – these Jews to whom the kingdom promises were made had yet to show faith like this!  So, Jesus said the word and the servant was healed that very moment!  Jesus did not have to touch someone to heal them!  He healed with just a word!  The centurion’s faith was the kind of faith Jesus was looking for among the Jews.  It was what was needed to enter the kingdom.  All he had done was approach Jesus in humility and ask and it was done.

Episode 3:  In vv. 14-17 Jesus enters Peter’s house.  Here we learn that Peter was married and his mother-in-law was living with them but she was sick in bed with a fever.  Jesus touched her hand and she was healed and began to fix dinner.  But the drama doesn’t stop.  All evening people kept coming to the house with sick people needing to be healed or people who were oppressed by demons.  And Jesus cast out the demons with a word and healed all the sick who were brought to Him. 

Now Matthew draws our attention to the prophecy of Isaiah in chapters 52 and 53 about the Messiah, the servant of the Lord, Who would suffer for the sins of us ALL.  And Isaiah notes that He would bear our sicknesses upon Himself and heal us by His wounds.  Notice that this is not just a figure of speech for healing us of our sins only.  Matthew points to these physical healings as a partial fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. 

Isaiah 53:3-9 English Standard Version (ESV) 3 He was despised and rejected by men,     a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces     he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs     and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,     smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;     he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,     and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;     we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him     the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,     yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,     and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,     so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;     and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,     stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked     and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence,     and there was no deceit in his mouth. English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Isaiah’s suffering servant had not yet been revealed, but the healing Messiah had begun to show Himself.  A foreigner actually gets it!  But the people?  Will they see that He doesn’t just speak with authority but he also acts with authority—that He, in fact, has authority?  Who is Jesus to you?  What kind of authority does He have in your life? We will see more and greater examples of this next time.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

Foundational Wisdom of the Messiah (Matthew 7:24-29)

Jesus finally wraps up His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in Matthew 7:24-29.  Let’s highlight the main points He has made in “these words of Mine.”

Remember that Matthew prefaced Jesus’ sermon in 4:23 by calling His message the “gospel of the kingdom."  He then records Jesus' sermon to the crowd there in Galilee. 

As we saw in our previous study, Jesus begins by describing the “blessed ones” – the ones who will enter the kingdom someday. Their lives are characterized by righteousness both in their behavior as well as in their attitudes.  They are not surprised by their persecution but go on rejoicing and letting their light shine so that God is glorified not themselves.  They have a reward in heaven for every deed done that glorifies Him, whether seen or not.  Their concern is for others as well as for themselves that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven and that His will would be done here as well.  They prioritize their resources toward that end and trust God to supply their daily needs. 

They recognize that it is not their duty to condemn but to be constructive and not hypocritical in their evaluation of others.  They recognize that not everyone is mature enough to handle every truth they might hear.  The kingdom of God and all that pertains to it right now is to be asked for, sought, and the door knocked on.  All this wisdom can be summed up in the revelation given to Moses and the prophets in what we call the “golden rule.” 

This kingdom path is narrow and exclusive; it is hard to find and difficult to execute because so few are going that way.  Many will come and falsely claim to speak for God, but their fruit, that is their message, is contradicted by Jesus’ message.  That is how you can identify them.  In the end many of these false prophets will be surprised to discover that entrance to the kingdom requires a relationship to the King.  Any other path leads to destruction.

So now Jesus says that His words that we have just reviewed are wisdom.  The one who “hears” is wise.  Hearing here means more than passively monitoring a sermon or taking notes.  It means putting them into practice.  (James calls this a “doer of the Word and not a hearer only.”)  Jesus compares this kind of hearing with a wise man who builds his house on bedrock.  He starts his efforts in life with a sound foundation.  There will come a time of testing where the foundation will make all the difference in the world.  (Paul talks about the foundation which is Christ which will save even if all the rest is burned up in 1 Corinthians 3.  Paul goes on to speak of the wisdom of the builder who is careful how he builds on the foundation because our rewards are in view.)  For now, Jesus is speaking mainly of the foundation which will save the wise although He has constantly spoken of our rewards in heaven as well.  The point is that we cannot expect that our good works will be of any value at all if we don’t have the foundation of a relationship with the King.  Without that relationship, we are like a foolish man who builds his house on the beach.  It doesn’t matter how beautiful and well-appointed it may be; without a solid foundational relationship with the King, that house will be turned into so much Katrina debris.

Then Jesus was finished and the crowds were “astonished” at His teaching.  They were well used to hearing the experts in the Law of Moses expound the opinions of the various rabbis on the fine points of the Law.  But this was earth-shaking because they recognized that he spoke with authority.

Would they be hearers or doers?  In the next section, Jesus will begin demonstrating that he did indeed have the authority to proclaim this gospel.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

Ravening Wolves and Bad Fruit (Matt. 7:15-23)

Last time we looked at the narrow path to God.  We saw that even though it is hard to find, and is difficult to travel, yet it is sure and can be trusted because Jesus Himself is the Way.  Now this time I want us to look at another difficulty that Jesus warned us that we may face on our spiritual journey.  This is the issue of “false prophets.”

Matthew 7:15-23 has two paragraphs of material because there are two facets to this warning. The second paragraph explains some of our questions about the first.  When the New Testament was written, there were no paragraph markers or headings as your Bible probably has.  When we see those little headings there it is easy to view the paragraph sections as random little unrelated excerpts from a much longer sermon but a careful reading reveals that this entire sermon holds together paragraph by paragraph and sentence by sentence.  Let’s look at these two paragraphs.

The first paragraph warns us about “false prophets.”  Prophets are mentioned throughout Scripture and many of the books of the Bible were written by prophets.  The writing prophets frequently made written as well as spoken predictions about the future in order to encourage or warn or even rebuke God’s people.  Other prophets never wrote any books. There is no canonical book of Elijah or Elisha, for instance. This is because the primary role of the prophet was to speak for God whether it concerned the future or not.  Sometimes they introduced God’s message with the formula: “Thus saith the Lord.”  Prophets were very important to Israel and later to the Church especially before the written record of God’s revelation was completed in the Bible.

There is some disagreement among Christians whether there are true prophets at all today.  Instead of studying that question now, let me point out that we are actually discussing “false prophets.”  And instead of simply dismissing anyone who presumes to speak for God on the basis that this is impossible, let’s look at it the way Jesus did.  His discussion of “false prophets” presumes that there is such a thing as “true prophets.”  I am not now debating whether they exist today but just pointing out that certainly Jesus was a prophet and He still lives today.  Paul and John were prophets and their words still live in the New Testament.  So true prophets (or their words) exist.  But there are also "false prophets."  They are false because they only presume to speak for God.  This could be very dangerous if someone were to take to heart the message of such a person.  In our context of a spiritual journey looking for the narrow way and not necessarily the popular path, a "false prophet" could give false information about the way to heaven or about Jesus.  Let’s examine this "false prophet" a little more closely.

How do they appear according to Jesus?  They have “sheep’s clothing.”  Who are the sheep?  These are the believers who have one true Shepherd.  "False prophets" try to look just like the sheep!  They try to talk like them, act like them, dress like them.  They are just like the Pharisees who looked very nice on the outside—whose righteousness was considerable if you looked at their works.  But God looks at the heart and He describes these "false prophets" as being ravenous wolves inwardly—the insides—where only God can see!  So how do we detect these "false prophets?"

Jesus says you will know them by their fruits.  A lot of people quote this verse and apply it to evaluating everyone.  But remember that Jesus is talking about "false prophets" here.  Furthermore, what are these fruits?  Well, in some places in the Bible "fruits" seems to refer to our works but remember here that the "false prophet" looks just like the sheep on the OUTSIDE.  So, many people have come across religious leaders who presume to speak for God but it turns out that they are "false prophets" and I have heard people say, “Oh, but he seemed so nice.”  Some of these guys—not all of them—may actually lead a very good life—something worth emulating even.  So if their “fruits” are not their OUTWARD works, what could it be?

Before we attempt to answer that question look at how Jesus describes their "fruits."  It is “bad.”  From the world of the farmer, Jesus compares their fruit to that of a thistle or a thorn bush and contrasts it to that of a fig tree or a grape vine.  They don’t produce anything worthwhile—in fact it is downright harmful.  What does the false prophet produce?  Let’s look at that second paragraph before answering!

Jesus talks about that Day coming when the deeds of every heart will be revealed—when our inner being will be revealed.  The false prophets (and everyone of us) will have to give an account and some will hear Jesus say, “Depart from Me.”  “I never knew you.”    

These will say, “But, Lord!  (False prophets wearing sheep’s clothing will call Him Lord!) Didn’t we do all these great works in Your name?” Some will have done deeds that everyone will think qualifies Him as a prophet of the Lord.  Even the false prophets will have fooled themselves!  But miracles and power and mighty deeds are no substitute for knowing the Lord and being known by Him.

So, looking at these two paragraphs together, it seems clear that it is not for lack of good works or even powerful works but for lack of knowing the Lord that they are sent away!  The false prophets who presume to speak for God were in actuality not speaking for God at all.  So, their bad fruit was their message not their works or their lifestyle necessarily.

You see the problem here is that the message of a false prophet is not from God at all.  It may promote a false savior or a false way to heaven.  But how will we know unless we listen to the true prophet Jesus!  We must know Him and His message to discern a false message from a false prophet.

Now it is true that there are some other tests of a false prophet in Scripture.  If they fail any one of these tests, they are false.  Deuteronomy 18:22 says if the prophet makes a prediction that fails, they are false.  Not all prophets can be tested this way, but failed predictions are easily discerned.  Isaiah 8:19-20 says if a prophet encourages his followers to do something contrary to Scripture, they are false.  These are both related to a false message that can be tested.

Some people would add this passage we just read and call it the “fruit test.”  They might say that if anyone fails to have fruit they are probably not a follower of Jesus at all.  Once again, this passage is only referring to false prophets.

Yes, a lack of good works is certainly a grievous lack.  According to our study a couple sessions ago, we learned that we are to evaluate people who profess to be followers of Christ with a view to restoring them if they exhibit evil instead of good. The problem with tying the idea of a “fruit test” to this passage is that we all sin from time to time and that doesn’t necessarily make us a false prophet nor does it necessarily mean that we are going to hear Jesus tell us “Depart from me, evildoer.” 

Nor can such a test refer to a Bible teacher or Pastor who mistakenly teaches anything in the Bible wrongly!  Look—with all the different views on when Jesus is coming back that are preached from the pulpit—does that mean if you are wrong on that (and not every one of those views can be right!), you are going to hear those fateful words? From the immediate context, Jesus is pointing to people who presume to speak for God and steer people onto the wrong path to heaven.

What Jesus' words mean is that some people will not only deceive others but also themselves and may be quite sincere but if they don’t know Jesus, they are in danger as well as those who are guided by them.  We have to evaluate the message—not their outer "fruits."  Their message reveals whether they know Jesus.

What does that mean for us?  Do you know Jesus?  Where can you learn to know Jesus more?  Are your spiritual leaders following Jesus?  Do they know Him?  THAT is Jesus’ point here.  Now of course as you get to know Jesus you will be changed into His likeness and you will do good works and you can truly be seen as a follower of Jesus but it is a process that may be difficult to see at times.  But God sees the heart.  We evaluate the messenger by the message.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

The Gate to Life and the Way of Destruction (Mt. 7:13-14)

Remember that Jesus is sharing His vision of the gospel of the kingdom in these last three chapters we have been examining in Matthew known collectively as the Sermon on the Mount.  He has identified the characteristics of citizens of the kingdom.  He has pointed out that the kind of righteousness needed to enter the kingdom must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes.  Their righteousness was entirely external outward behavior.  But righteousness of the heart is also required.  This lifestyle requires a change in focus.  It is focused first of all on God and His program and secondly on others.  It also begins now in this evil world in which the kingdom is not yet arrived.  This earthly sojourn is going to involve pain and suffering and we will experience the effects of evil but God will supply our needs if we remain focused and invested in His program to be lights in this evil world until the kingdom comes.  We must trust Him not only for our daily bread but also to be able to overcome evil because His kingdom really is coming on earth as it is in heaven.

Last time we saw that we are to take this longing for the goodness of the kingdom that is planted in our hearts and treat others with that same goodness we expect from others.  But how can we tell others how to enter the kingdom unless we know the way?  Jesus has already said to ask, seek, and knock and we will receive, find, and open.  How much do you want the kingdom?  How much do you want others to find it also?  So you see it begins with a prayer of faith and asking God our Father in heaven who always gives us good things.  And now in verses 13 and 14 of chapter 7, Jesus talks about the seeking of this entrance into the kingdom.

Jesus talks about this path of life we are all journeying on.  As we begin to seek the way to the kingdom, we will notice that there is a fork in the road.  One road is a major highway—an interstate!  It is well-traveled and there is a lot of traffic.  But even though it looks promising based on the high volume of traffic, it is evil!  Remember how Jesus tells us we need to carefully consider our options between good and evil.  Evil is frequently the easier road.  We can’t evaluate good and evil based on popularity, or polls, or how well-travelled the road may be.  Proverbs 16:25 says there is a way that seems right to a man but it leads to destruction.  So, if human reasoning and evaluating will frequently lead us to destruction how will we actually find the path to life?

It is because we are in relationship to our Father in heaven we can ask him and seek the answer and receive a good reply.  Notice that these three words: ask, seek, and knock are exactly the words we would use in getting directions!

God is the One we should ask!  We need to seek Him and we will find the path.  When we knock it will open.  Later in John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by Me.”  In John 10 He also said, “I am the door.” 

Now back to the fork in the road.  There is another road there that is just a narrow path.  Few people seem to go that way.  But it is actually the right path!

This is opposed to today’s popular message that there are many roads to heaven.  Yes, if heaven were strictly a human construct invented by imaginative primitive peoples, then there would be many roads because many minds dreamed up the goal.  Such an evaluation of heaven makes Jesus’ “way” just another path.  But as Peter says in Acts 4:12 “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

There are many well-worn paths that multitudes are following. It seems to be an easy way and there is lots of company.  But, following Jesus is NOT easy.  And those who follow Him alone are called “narrow-minded” or even “hateful.” But remember Jesus said that the way to life is narrow and to expect evil people to hate you.  What path are you placing your trust in?

Look.  If the bank says my checking account is overdrawn and I need to make a deposit before writing any more checks, is that “narrow-minded” and “hateful” of them?  How is your account at the Bank of Heaven?

The really scary part is found in this next section about false prophets.  We will look at that in our next installment.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

The Messiah on Making Distinctions (Matthew 7:12-14)

Overarching Truth: The Importance of Evaluating Good and Evil

Jesus' teaching:  We have noticed that Jesus has established one truth after another that may seem to be randomly chosen bits of wisdom but are actually designed to build one upon another to demonstrate even greater truths.  Here, one overarching theme is that of evaluating ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ 

Man’s teaching:  While today man has asserted that there is no such thing as moral good and evil, yet his very actions depend on an innate sense that some things are right while other things are wrong.  We pass laws and create regulations because we believe they are ‘necessary’ for the greater ‘good.’  While such man-made laws do not claim to be from the mouth of God yet the very fact of the common clamor for the creation of such laws demonstrates that man is intensely interested in promoting the ‘good’ and defeating ‘evil’ however these may be currently defined. 
Limitations and parameters for evaluating: We began chapter 7 by examining how we ought to evaluate the behavior of others and Jesus gives us some limitations and rules to use in that endeavor.  So, we take a stand against evil, but it is people who conceive and commit such deeds and we too are people who are just as capable as anyone of doing the same things.  So, we saw that there should be:

1)      No condemnation:  When we evaluate someone's behavior, we are not the judge and jury.  Rather we are attempting to help someone to meet God's standard.  Our goal is not punishment by restoration.

2)      No hypocrisy: We are not to judge hypocritically.  We determine to shine the light of truth on our own behavior before we examine another.  This allows us to approach the erring one in humility and grace.

3)      Not prematurely:  We are not to judge prematurely.  Not everyone is ready to face the truth about themselves.  Even some believers can drink only milk and cannot handle meat.

4)      Always be constructive: All judging is to be done in a constructive manner.  Its purpose is not condemnation but edification.

What is ‘Good’ and ‘Evil?’  In the next part of Jesus sermon we saw how He began to unfold this evaluation of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ in the context of supplying our needs in an evil world.  Even though Jesus calls us 'evil' He also says we tend to do 'good' for our own loved ones.  He argues then that since God is 'good' how much more can we trust Him to supply what is 'good' to His children. What God supplies is 'good.' That was last time.

1)      The Law: Jesus has constantly lifted up the Law of Moses as revealed by God to be the known standard of ‘good’ and ‘evil.’  But, as He points out, the Law cannot police our heart attitudes which are the greenhouses for our outward activity.  This was the great failing of the Pharisees attempt to evaluate ‘good’ and ‘evil.’  They completely ignored the heart although it was central to the tenth commandment which evaluates the heart attitude of covetousness as the evil precursor to sinful behavior. 

2)      The provision of God:  Then in discussing prayer and its essential connection to our family relationship to our Father in heaven, Jesus gives us another clue to the identity of what is ‘good.’  We saw that what God provides, even in answer to prayer, is always ‘good.’ This is always true even though His provision may not be what we envisioned.  God does not give us ‘evil’ gifts.

The Golden Rule: So now we look at this famous verse in Matthew 7:12 sometimes called ‘the golden rule.’  Notice that Jesus is talking about our relationship to “others” and our behavior toward them.  Here on this sinful earth, where Jesus has placed us until His kingdom comes, we are to be “other-centered” even though these others may do evil.  The Christian life is not for “lone wolves.”  It is NOT “me and Jesus got a good thing going.”  George Jones and Tammy Wynette went on to say, “We don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about.”  It’s not just bad grammar, it’s bad theology.  You and I do need each other.  When God said it is not good for man to be alone, He wasn’t just thinking about the need for a spouse.  Not everyone gets married or even wants to, but everyone needs other people in their life.  The writer of Hebrews begs us to continue to assemble ourselves together to stimulate one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25).  The constructive edification of other believers is in view.

The golden rule tells us even more—that every person we come in contact with needs something from us.  They need to know that you care just as much about them as you do for yourself.  What if they are giving us evil before they even know us?  How would you wish to be treated?  You give them ‘good’ not ‘evil.’  Remember back in Matthew 5:38, Jesus told them that not only do I not retaliate in kind but I proactively do ‘good.’  “Do good to those who despitefully use you.”

So this is not new in Jesus sermon AND it is not new theology.  Jesus says it is the Law and the Prophets.  This was a Jewish way of referring to their existing Bible.  In it, in Leviticus 19:7, it says, ‘Love your neighbor AS yourself.’  Jesus point is that we are to turn from being self-centered to being other-centered. 

Not self-love!  Now I need to point out a fallacy that some have promoted here.  Some have said, well, my problem is that I loathe myself and I need to learn to practice self-love first so I can actually love others.  By the way, I understand this is supposed to be the reason for so many behaviors that are definitely hurtful to the person doing them, but remember, they are not really thinking straight either—or else we wouldn’t try to get these people into counseling.  These people love themselves but loathe their circumstances.  They care more about their own disappointment in life than they care about their loved ones who are devastated by their behavior.  Yes, hurting people are not thinking straight and they do need people helpers who will care for them and love them.  But we are being misled to think that we can’t love others because we don’t know how to love ourselves.  Jesus tells us here how to love others!  We treat them the way we might wish to be treated.

So how does this help us to evaluate others?  Our evaluation of others should be the kind of evaluation we would wish to receive!    No, not a dishonest piece of flattery!  But a kind, hopeful, and helpful constructive evaluation that will encourage them to change their choices.  There are things about a person that they cannot change:  their past, their appearance perhaps, their circumstances maybe, but they can change their choices about their behavior.

Next time we will evaluate good and evil in light of eternity.

© 2018 Eric Thimell

Seeking Eternal Values in a Material World (Matthew 7:7-11)

Jesus is now beginning to wind up his sermon by helping those who seek after the Kingdom of God to understand how to live in a world with temporal material values while still anticipating the Kingdom with eternal values in view.

Remember he told us in chapter 6 to seek the kingdom of God as a priority and God would supply all our needs.  All of our material resources should be used and invested with an eternal perspective whether it is discretionary spending or it is being used for our daily necessities.  The world values the wrong things.  It values having wealth and material possessions because that is what we can see.  Jesus says these things do have value in that they can be used and invested in a way that makes an eternal difference.

The world does not generally value eternal things.  At best it undervalues them.  So in our last study, we saw how Jesus compared that kind of perspective with giving pearls to a pig.

Did you notice this progression in thought and action regarding our material possessions?  1)  We need God’s perspective.  2) We need to carefully share that perspective with others and now 3) We need to value the things God has entrusted to us and use them wisely.  Let’s look at our passage, Matt 7:7-11.

This is a familiar passage but we mainly hear it discussed as an encouragement to ask God for things we need.  And that is certainly true.  We are to ask, to seek, and to knock and the result is that we will be given, we will find, and it will be opened.  Some have commented – correctly – that this should be translated “ask and keep on asking,” “seek and keep on seeking,” and “knock and keep on knocking.”  This is indeed a persistent action.  So, yes, we need to be persistent in prayer.  I don’t want to underplay that one bit.  But notice that in Jesus’ explanation we are petitioning God the Father.  We have a relationship with Him.  So Jesus compares our persistent asking, seeking, and finding with a child going to her parent because there is a relationship there of love and trust.  We can be persistent with a parent and not feel like we are being impertinent or presumptuous because this is Dad!  And Jesus says that such a parent will NOT give us something evil but good! 

There is a danger here that Jesus is highlighting for us.  We might actually undervalue something precious that God gives us.  Why else would Jesus have to remind us that our own earthly parents (who He reminds us are actually evil) will always give us good things so how much more will our Heavenly Father!  [By the way, even evil people sometimes do good things!  We are all born evil but even before we met Jesus, we still did some good things.  We are evil because we all come short of God’s glory.]  God’s answer to our cries for help is always to give us something good.  But sometimes we are tempted to act like the pigs who turn on their keepers who try to give them pearls instead of that delicious slop we so desperately wanted.  This is exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden!  God had surrounded the first couple with good things and even warned them about the one dangerous item in their garden.  But they believed the serpent’s lie that God was withholding good from them.  And they trampled on His warning only to discover they had fallen for a lie.  They had undervalued God’s goodness in what He had provided.

Remember Esau!  He despised the birthright of God’s blessing that God had promised to His father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham.  But his twin brother Jacob valued it.  Later in his life Esau wept bitterly about how he had traded God’s blessing for a bowl of soup—just because he was hungry.  Here is Jesus’ question to you and me:  Do we despise something He has given us?  Or do we value God’s provision even though it may not look particularly great when comparing it to what others might have?  Unbelievers surround us and they naturally despise the precious promises given to us in the Word of God.  They don’t value the same things you do.  But what about you?  What about what you have in terms of this world’s goods. 

One more word about eternal values.  God is the One Who measures out what is ‘good.’  Corrie ten Boom learned that fleas were good at Ravensbrück because they kept the guards from discovering the Bible study!  Ravi Zacharias tells how a Christian prisoner in North Korea learned how latrine duty was good because that was where he discovered discarded pages of the Bible!  Good is never measured by my expectations!  It is measured by God’s.

© 2018 Eric Thimell