Basic Christianity

Four cities

2007-04-05T20:41:00.001-07:00

Four Cities: Patterns of Church Leadership

There is a church on the south side of the city that uses the word “Antiochian” in its name. I thought it was strange when I first saw it; I had never seen the word before, and did not know what the implications were. Nobody had ever made much of a point about anything distinctive about the New Testament church in Antioch, except that disciples were first called Christians there.

But there is something distinctive about the church in Antioch. The leadership at Antioch appears to have been comprised of prophets and teachers.

“Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers; Barnabas, and Simon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” Acts 13:1

Neither apostles nor elders are mentioned at Antioch, while the church in Jerusalem appeared to be lead by a combination of apostles and elders.

“And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, it was determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.” Acts 15:2

The church in Antioch sent representatives to Jerusalem to settle an issue; the church in Antioch appears to accept the authority of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. So a contrast is apparent between Antioch and Jerusalem. Jerusalem is lead by a number of apostles and elders, yet Antioch is lead by prophets and teachers. Antioch is about four hundred miles away from Jerusalem, yet it sends men to Jerusalem to settle a difficult issue. The prophets and teachers of Antioch deferred this issue to apostles and elders. Prophets and teachers were not able to settle this issue on their own.

Yet the church at Antioch is the beginnings of Christianity in the non-Jewish world. Antioch was a city of a half million people; it was the third largest city in the Roman Empire. The disciples of Jesus Christ are called Christians first here. The apostles Barnabas and Paul were sent out from Antioch on the first missionary journey into the Greek world. This church appears to be strong; Paul considered it to be his home, returning to Antioch after the first and second journeys. The disciples here were good examples. When prophets indicated that a famine is coming over the entire world, the disciples here sent money to the believers in Judea. Antioch is a good church, yet it is led in a different manner than the church in Jerusalem.

Paul and Barnabas started churches together throughout the southern part of Asia Minor on their missionary journeys, but with a different pattern of leadership than Antioch. They appointed elders in each of the cities as they returned from preaching further up country. Paul continued to do this on his journeys. He spent about three years in Ephesus teaching; when he passed by on his way to Jerusalem later, he called the elders of Ephesus to meet him. Paul clearly placed the responsibility for the leadership of the church in the hands of the elders.

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28

Paul gave Timothy and Titus a similar leadership pattern for the churches, instructing them on appointing elders in the churches.

Ephesus is a contrast to both Jerusalem and Antioch. Jerusalem was led by apostles primarily: James the Lord’s brother, Peter’ and John being the pillars. Antioch was led by prophets and teachers. But Ephesus was led by elders without apostles.

Corinth illustrates a fourth pattern for leadership. Corinth does not appear to have strong elders, or a definite set of apostles, or prophets, or teachers. Paul taught there for a year and a half; he sent some of his co-workers at times. Apollos preached there for a time. False apostles also preached there. Corinth seems to be divisive, with difficulties dealing with spiritual gifts. The problems in Corinth are the subject of two of the longer epistles in the New Testament. It is apparent that there is little leadership; Paul had to make a point that they should be able to find at least one wise man who can settle issues between Christian brothers.

Now the course of the history of Christianity has emphasized a form of the pattern illustrated by Jerusalem. By the second century, primary leadership in a region or city rested in the hands of a single bishop, with elders giving assistance. The hierarchical pattern of leadership in Christianity quickly became dominant, eventually leading to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The Protestant Reformation brought changes, but often the same pattern of leadership continued in different forms. The Lutheran Church restructured the doctrine, but kept much of the familiar outward patterns. Even the more congregational churches typically emphasized a single leader in the local church, with some role for elders/deacons.

For the most part, leadership in Christianity is based on a single executive model, whether in a hierarchical system or in a congregational system. But this model relies upon the single executive being like James, the brother of Jesus. After everyone had presented their case in Jerusalem, with much debate, James spoke. The issue was settled, not by organizational authority, but by the wisdom in what James said, using Scripture to resolve this issue. The writings of some of the early church fathers emphasize the godliness of the bishops: their genuine qualifications to lead. The lives of these bishops confirm these statements; some of them willing going to martyrdom.

But history gave us centuries of singularly unqualified individuals leading the church. Today, there still does not seem to be a mechanism to filter out the unqualified, in any branch of Christianity. Corrupt leaders look much like the good, until their sins are revealed.

It is the strong, independent personalities that typically succeed in our paradigms. The Esau’s tend to inherit from Isaac, not the Jacob’s. The Esau’s have received the household of Abraham for the most part.

We have become more like Corinth; a leaderless city plagued by division, and unable to get past the problems of carnal men within the church. We say we have the Holy Spirit, but we cannot judge right from wrong.

There are two other paradigms for leadership, mostly lost in the passage of time. One is the elder-based leadership, with no single individual exercising a dominant role. I have watched a church near me with a truly elder-based leadership become a church with a dominant cleric in about twenty years; the people tend to return to the familiar. There are some religious cultures that have held onto an elder-based leadership, but this is primarily in isolation. The elder-based leadership paradigm tends to give way to a single bishop/pastor, just as it did in the beginning.

The other paradigm is similar to the elder-based leadership, but with a significant difference. The elder-based paradigm was based on men of character leading the church, having been given responsibility for the individual members of the church. Their qualifications are character; the spiritual gifts are secondary. But the paradigm illustrated by Antioch depends on the qualifications of spiritual gifts. Two gifts are singled out in the leadership in Antioch: prophecy and teaching. The disciples in Antioch were lead by men who were gifted to teach Jesus Christ, and by men who were gifted to reprove, rebuke, and exhort. Their disciples became known as “Christians”, “little Christ’s”.

Antioch is an interesting example; certain they could have appointed elders and deacons at some point. The church in Jerusalem did. Paul did on his missionary journeys. But in this beginning phase of the church in Antioch, in a time of rapid growth, and shifting paradigms, this small group of gifted men made disciples of Jews and Greeks in an urban environment.

One of the significant things to notice is the way that these men dealt with issues. Acts 13 begins with them fasting and ministering to the Lord; this is how they did things. When the Holy Spirit said to set apart Barnabas and Paul, they fasted and prayed more, before sending them out. When issues over Jewish law arose, they sent men 400 miles to Jerusalem to let the apostles and elders there settle the issue. They have learned to let the Holy Spirit confirm direction.

Normally leaderless committees are a great way to keep anything significant from happening. But Antioch does not have a committee of prophets and teachers; it has a community. They have learned to do things together. The prophets judge the prophets; the prophets judge the people. The teachers teach Jesus Christ; the prophets make certain men are listening. The two gifts work together. Neither works well alone.

The fullest expression of the working of the gifts is in Ephesians 4.

“And He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds and teachers…” Ephesians 4:11 Interlineal Translation

Certainly the roles of elders and deacons have apostolic authority, both in Jerusalem and in the Mediterranean churches. But the leadership in Antioch illustrates the effectiveness of just these two gifts alone, even without shepherds. We have emphasized the role of shepherds, but the shepherd lacks a particular gift. He cannot see. He does not know the heart of his sheep; he may come to know them, but he cannot see the darkness that has taken hold within individuals. He will be there to deal with the train wrecks, but prophets can see the deception and pain before it destroys. The paradigm in Ephesians 4 lists prophets as second to apostles. So does I Corinthians.

“And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, kinds of tongues.” I Corinthians 12:28

The Corinthian church had these kinds of gifts, but they did not have what Antioch had. The prophets and teachers were a community working together at Antioch. Corinth was a free-for-all, without significant leadership, without anyone to judge between brothers. Antioch was an urban mix of Greeks, Syrians, Romans, Jews, and others in a large prosperous capital of the region. So was Corinth. The cultures were not particularly different. What is different is the community of significant gifts. Christians would be afraid to go to church while lying to the Holy Spirit in Antioch. Antioch had a unified community leading it; Corinth had chaos. Both had gifts; but Antioch made disciples.

The Antiochian paradigm illustrates the effectiveness of objective truth working with subjective truth. Objective truth alone can become lessons in role-playing. Prophets are needed to reprove, rebuke, and exhort before the train wrecks.

Gifts work in community, real community expressed in time together. Prophets need other prophets to confirm their message. Prophets see things no one wants to express, especially the prophets. But prophets also need a framework within which to work; if no one knows the difference between right and wrong, how can you reprove them.

The Antioch in Acts 13 only existed for a short time probably, but it illustrates something that we can use today. A community of the greater gifts can do what the gifts without community cannot do. A handful of the spiritual, working together in a common task, submitting to one another, helping one another, can make Christians, little Christ's, out of believers.

Antiochian community can be a realistic paradigm; all it takes is a few with the greater gifts.

An alternative to building

2007-04-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

We need a vision; a vision for the direction of the church. We need to decide how we will “do business” in this world. The choice is ours to choose a direction. In the parable of the talents, the good servants invested with the intent of getting a return for their master’s wealth. They had not been instructed in what to do, only that they were to do business with what he gave them until he returned. We need a vision for how we will invest.

Conventional wisdom for churches holds that churches grow by building. But the buildings are hardly going to be of value to our returning Lord. The only rationale for building is in the purpose that the building serves. In the normal course of investment, choice must be made between investments, weighing potential return with potential risk. Most investments offer some potential for return; some just offer more. But there are other possible investments.

A big addition to a church will usually come with a big loan. A $2 million dollar building loan will cost about $10,000 per month to service the debt; for twenty years the church will be committed to this expense. This is an investment choice, one that carries an inescapable long term commitment.

But the same money could be invested in other ways. An alternative investment using the same amount of money can address the work of the church in a different way. Instead of a building, an investment can be made in staff.

We are accustomed to certain roles within church leadership. Usually it is a mixture of salaried and volunteer staff. Usually salaried staff is seminary-educated; volunteer staff usually is not. The usual responsibilities generally are more than what salaried staff can accomplish in a normal week. Volunteers fulfill many functions within a church, but these are almost always part-time, primarily on Sunday. We have a paradigm for staffing, just as we do for many other aspects of the church. Usually a church of a certain size can afford a certain number of salaried staff, and a certain size of debt.

There is another paradigm: one that comes from Ephesian 4. The work of Christ in the church comes through the four-fold ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. (I count four looking at an interlineal translation; some count five.) Now today, the concept of apostles is normally avoided, so setting it aside for the moment, we have still have a need for these roles. We have usually limited the primary leadership of the church to a small number of salaried pastors, seminary educated. Evangelists are usually limited to traveling preachers, preaching in churches to primarily churchgoers. Prophets are usually silenced, told only to speak safe things, even in groups that accept the role. Without getting into other issues, we are left with a small number of salaried pastors trying to equip the church, without the support of the other roles, and being fully tasked already. Few pastors have time to spend with all of those under their care; usually they must deal with crisis management.

Some have tried to fill the role of the pastors and teachers with elders, seeing a New Testament pattern that supports this concept. But this usually does not change the dynamics of shepherding the flock, for these men do not have much time to devote to the sheep. The realities of our economy require responsible individuals with families to work full-time jobs. Even when elder/shepherds are attempting to share in the work of the pastor, they cannot give more than a few hours a week to the task.

The consequence of the normal paradigm is that the roles of Ephesian 4 go substantially unfilled. The church does not have enough pastors and teachers. The church does not have evangelists working among them. These two roles in particular simply require time. The number of pastors and teachers should be proportional to the number of sheep. If there are not enough shepherds, the sheep will stray. The normal paradigm for staffing does not work to fulfill Ephesians 4.

The alternative is to invest in staff, instead of buildings. The $2 million dollar building loan requires a monthly payment of $10,000. If this money were invested in staff instead, a focused effort could be made to fulfill the equipping work of Ephesians 4. Two salaried individuals could be brought into the labor. Assuming that the existing staff can handle the normal requirements of the church, and the difficulties of crisis management, these two individuals could focus on other tasks.

First, a church needs an evangelist to manage the front door, figuratively speaking. He should have no other responsibilities other than evangelism. He should not be the director of evangelism or director of anything. He should not be responsible to make Christians witness; he is to evangelize himself. He must be one given by Jesus Christ to the church to do this. He must have the gifts and calling of an evangelist. He should not be required to fill the pulpit, or teach classes, or have revival meetings. He should be in Starbucks, at the community center, at whatever place he finds someone to listen. For all of our talk about the importance of evangelism, we have not been willing to pay someone a full-time salary to do it. We are called evangelicals, but we will probably have a difficult time finding this individual. I have known some; leading people to Christ is a normal thing for them. But they have had to support their families doing something other than what Jesus Christ made them to do because we will not pay the workman what he is worth.

Second, a church needs someone to manage the back door, figuratively speaking. We need someone to disciple those who come to our church; we need a shepherd who is not burdened with other tasks. Again, this pastor is not to be the director of anything else; we are not to steal him away from his work. He is only responsible to build relationships with the new people in the church. Most churches actually have many who pass through, seeking a place to call home. In the course of a year, dozens have come through, willingly walking in the front door, and soon leaving by the back door. The problem is not finding people; it is keeping the ones that God sent to us. This pastor needs to be sent by Jesus Christ to do this work; he also needs to have the gifts and calling of God upon him. He and his wife will need to share in a common task, a full-time task, where the workplace is primarily in the homes of others. Like the apostles of the early church, they may be teaching from house to house, sharing meals with new disciples, building up the faith face to face.

This paradigm is about investment. A $2 million investment will give us a nice building to use or it will give 20 years of focused labor by two or three sent by Jesus Christ to equip His church. The essential point is that this investment of what is “spendable income” can complement the work of those who lead the church now. Those who lead the church now are fully tasked with what is necessary. There is no one who has the time to evangelize 40 hours a week. There is no one who has the time to disciple 40 hours a week. The existing leadership can provide an opportunity for these individuals to work at what Jesus has sent them to do. They can do what the existing leadership desperately would like to see done.

Now this is a paradigm shift for me as well. I would be the last person to suggest hiring more staff. In my mind, this is the work of the elders and the body. But the reality is that workmen need to earn a living at what they do. If they cannot, they must in good conscience find something that will support their family. In the early church, Paul instructed churches to give “double honor” those who ruled well, especially those that work hard at preaching and teaching. Working hard at preaching and teaching takes time, time that could have been spent tending to their own business. Paul understood this, and wanted these men to be given twice what other elders were given. A workmen is worthy of his wages. Even if these roles in Ephesians 4 were fulfilled by those within the church as it was often in the New Testament church, they should be compensated. Usually, these men have careers, good careers. They are probably earning salaries that reflect their abilities. We should want to invest in the best workmen we can find; we should pay at least what they can earn farming or teaching or practicing law.

In some cases we can find these gifted individuals within the church itself; in some cases we may need to bring them in from elsewhere. Whether they are seminary educated or not, they need to be capable workmen. The gifts and calling of God should be evident. The work is significant. These tasks should not be limited to the leftovers of anyone’s day.

As far as the rest of the gifts of Ephesians 4, the role of the prophets as we know it does not require this approach. (See the next blog for an alternative.) Paid prophets are almost always a bad idea. If we are allowing prophets to speak, they do not need 40 hours a week to do this. It does not take long to speak to the heart of a man. They can serve well by working with their hands, tending their own business, and walking humbly before their God. They don’t need to be paid to intercede. The apostles should be paid; those who are sent by God with the gospel should be supported by His people. We are doing this, at least in part, through the missionaries we support. Missionaries are the apostles sent by God to preach, just as Jesus sent out His twelve apostles. “Missionary” is just a word from Latin corresponding to “apostle’, an equivalent word from Greek.

We have a choice to make in the direction of the church. If we choose the normal thing, and obligate ourselves financially for buildings, we will not have the possibility of paying any other type of workmen. We need to set a priority; there are no “and’s” in life, only “or’s”. We need a vision for what we are doing.

This is not normal; we only see larger staffs in large churches, and usually then they are fully tasked with the administration of a larger church. We seldom see this type of commitment to evangelism; evangelism is something that everyone is supposed to do but few ever do. We seldom see this type of commitment to discipleship; again this is something that is supposed to happen automatically. But if the work of Ephesians 4 is a reality; if Christians can be equipped to grow into a mature man, then this type of investment is reasonable. The Master would enjoy seeing the fruits of this investment.

Change of subject

2007-04-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

I started this blog with something I wanted to write about. The process of writing almost daily was good; some of the things that were written about the teachings on the kingdom of God were new to me.

Having finished another topic that took 1100 pages, I started writing on the Sermon on the Mount separately. Now that I have gotten into that, I want to pursue the teachings on the kingdom of God in that format, not in a blog at this point. A blog in my mind should be more limited in scope, something that I was not able to do very well with my topic.

So having written a few short things based on various ideas, I want to change my subject in this blog, and use it to publish more limited thoughts.

Twelve

2007-02-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

Matthew records a number of things that Jesus did after the Sermon on the Mount. In most cases, what is recorded is what Jesus did with a single individual or at a single point in time. In a one case, separate events, similar in nature, are told side-by-side, and in another case two events are told with one story within another. After these events, Matthew tells of Jesus chosing twelve apostles, and sending them out. Some of the events that Matthew records before the chosing of the apostles are also recorded in Mark and Luke. In some cases, Mark and Luke have more details than Matthew does, which is notable since Matthew records many things in much more detail than the others.

These events make twelve logical illustrations of how Jesus dealt with man.

1. Cleansing the leper
2. The centurion's great faith
3. Healing in Peter's home
4. Cost of discipleship
5. A storm at sea
6. Demonic opposition
7. Healing the paralytic lowered to Him
8. Calling Matthew
9. Healing touch
10. Blind men following
11. Restoring the dumb man
12. A need for shepherds

This list of stories illustrates how Jesus dealt with men in different ways. A number of points can be made. The issues of authority and freewill can be addressed. The work of healing can be addressed. The nature of the Christian life can be addressed. But another point can be made, which reveals a structure in what Matthew was doing as he wrote this Gospel.

These twelve events relate to the twelve tribes of Israel. Genesis 29 and 30 tell the story of the births of eleven of the sons of Jacob. With each child, an explanation of the name is given. Later at the end of Genesis, Jacob blessed his sons, prophetically giving each an appropriate blessing. Four hundred and forty years later, Moses blessed the tribes, giving a conclusion to what God was doing in each son. (This takes about 300 pages to explain.)

These twelve events correlate with the twelve tribes, taken in the order given in Genesis.

Matthew had the twelve tribes in mind when he recorded events between the Sermon on the Mount, and the choosing of twelve apostles. The twelve tribes provide an illustration of God working in four directions on three levels. The events of Matthew express that same multi-faceted work of God.

The names of the twelve tribes are on the gates of the eternal city. The names of the twelve apostles are on the foundations of that city. These twelves mean something enduring.

Compassion and workers

2007-01-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Jesus went about teaching, preaching, and healing in that region. As He went about, He felt compassion for those He saw.

"And Jesus was going about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:35-36

This is what His disciples recognized; Jesus had compassion for those He saw. Compassion was integral to the work He did. The people He saw were not specifically those on the fringes of society; He did not just have compassion on the failures and outcasts. He had compassion on the people of the land; mankind was "distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd". Those He saw may not have felt distressed and downcast; they were living "normal" lives. In comparison to others around them, they were OK.

But Jesus saw them like sheep without a shepherd. Sheep cannot survive on their own. Sheep need care. They are defenseless, near-sighted animals. Jesus, the good Shepherd, looked at the multitudes with the eye of a shepherd. The multitudes needed to be tended to. Sheep need their feet trimmed, or they get foot rot. Sheep need the wool on their rumps trimmed, or they get a load of manure stuck to them. Maggots eat away their flesh under the manure. Sheep need fresh pasture, or parasites build up in their guts. Untended, sheep are not OK. The multitudes were not OK.

But even though Jesus went about teaching, preaching, and healing among these people, He felt compassion on them, for they did not have a shepherd. His very powerful ministry did not fill the role of a shepherd. Jesus turned to His disciples, and told them to pray for workers.

"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

Workers are needed to be the shepherds for the multitude. Jesus understood that.

We need to understand this as well. The greatest Sunday services do not fulfill this need. Someone is needed who will get his hands dirty tending the sheep.

A dumb man speaks

2007-01-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

A man was brought to Jesus who could not talk, yet who was recognizably demon-possessed. After Jesus cast out the demon, the man spoke. Everyone around was amazed at this, saying that nothing like this had happened before. But the Pharisees took exception to the wonder, saying that Jesus was simply casting out demons by the ruler of the demons.

Jesus had cast demons out of people before; the point that seemed to be significant was that the dumb man spoke. This man, who did not speak, also could not communicate in other ways; the evil spirit within him overshadowed any form of sign language. Those who had known this man must have assumed that there was no reason within this human form. They must have assumed the dumb man was an idiot.

Yet when Jesus had cast out the demon, this man spoke. The person, who had appeared to be without any intelligence, could converse with them. For those who had known this pathetic man, a whole man suddenly appeared where they thought there was nothing but a shell. This was something great to all those who watched.

Except the Pharisees could not see the significance of what had happened. A whole man had appeared where only a shell had been before, but the Pharisees did not value common people. This was not significant to them. Their only concern was to maintain a "talking point". They needed to look like they understood what was going on. They knew nothing of demons, or the government of demons; but they confidently stated that Jesus was working with the devil. They found a "talking point" when they knew they did not know what was happening.

What the disciples saw was Jesus casting out a demon through His authority, and in so doing, releasing the whole man from bondage. A man was inside the shell, imprisoned by evil.

Authority can free men from what looks like stupidity.

Blind men following

2007-01-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

As Jesus went on, two blind men followed Him, crying out as they went. But Jesus continued on His way until He came into a house. The blind men came to Him, and then Jesus addressed them. He asked them if they believed He could heal them. They said they did; He then touched their eyes, and their eyes were opened. Jesus urged them not to tell anyone, but they went and told everyone in that area.

What is at first odd is that Jesus did not stop along the way to heal these two blind men. Obviously it was difficult for the blind men to follow someone they could not see, down a road that they could not see either. They cried out to Him to have mercy, but Jesus did not stop.

These two blind men must have sustained themselves by begging, sitting beside a travelled road, crying out for mercy from those that they heard walking past. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out to Him, just as they cried out to others for alms.

But Jesus did not address them in that place; He forced them to leave what was familiar to find Him. They may have followed the noise of the crowd; they must have asked directions to find the house He was in. But beggars would have not gone into a house to ask for alms; they left their familiar role of beggars. Jesus came to them, not addressing them as beggars, but as men of faith.

They had asked Him to show mercy; the tacit implication is that they did not know if He would show mercy. But in the house He asked them if they believed He was able to give them sight. Jesus was leading their faith down a path. They said "yes"; they believed He was able. That response still did not address whether they believed He was willing to heal them. Then Jesus touched their eyes, and said "Be it done according to your faith." By touching them, Jesus addressed His willingness to heal them. They then believed He was willing; and their sight was restored. Their faith had been made complete.

These men did not believe Jesus was willing to heal them when they first cried out to Him; they were only begging. But after leaving their familar place, they began a journey that led to faith.

His disciples watched what Jesus did, seemingly ignoring these men's cries, but then later addressed them as men, not beggars. Jesus had made blind men follow Him; He had given beggars faith. Jesus had led them on a journey of faith.

We may not understand His silence at times, or His failure to act. He does not seem merciful to us at times. Yet He is the same today as He was then. He may be trying to lead us away from our familiar place in life; He may want to take us from the familiar into faith.

"Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house..."

Point of contact

2006-12-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

In Capernaum, a synagogue official came to Jesus asking Him to come to his house. His daughter had just died, yet he believed that if Jesus touched her, she would live. Jesus got up, and followed the man back to his house.

While Jesus was on the way to this man's house, a woman came up from behind Him, to just touch His cloak. She had suffered from a hemorrhage from twelve years; Mark adds that she had suffered much at the hands of physicians, having spent all that she had trying to become well. Like the synagogue official, she believed she would be healed if she only touched Jesus; even if He did not know that she touched Him.

This woman touched the outer cloak that Jesus wore, from behind Him. Mark makes it clear that she immediately felt that she was healed. But both Mark and Luke added that Jesus felt power go out from Him. He turned around, and asked who touched Him. The woman, in fear, came before Him and told Him what had happened. Jesus told her to take courage; He expressed to her that it was her faith that had made her well.

When Jesus came to the synagogue officials house, the mourners, including fluteplayers were already there. Jesus told them to go away, saying that she was not dead, only sleeping. The crowd laughed at Jesus, but He went inside the house, and had the crowd sent outside. He took the girl by the hand, and she arose.

These two stories are told in this same way in Matthew, Mark, and Luke; the one story is always embedded in the other. What is in common in the stories is issue of a point of contact for faith. Jesus made a point of stopping to find the woman and then making it clear to her that it was her faith that made her well. But she was made well when she touched His cloak; Jesus felt power going from Him when she touched His outer garment. Her heart had focused on a point of contact; she had good reason to think that the physical contact had healed her. In the same way, the synagogue official thought that if Jesus laid His hand on his daughter, see would be made alive. He also had focused on a point of contact. In both cases Jesus healed, even when their heart had focused on a point of contact.

His disciples saw Jesus go with the synagogue official, to lay His hand upon the girl as the man had asked. Jesus did not seek to convince the man that He only needed to speak a word and his daughter would live; the centurion understood that, but the synagogue official did not. Jesus was willing to work with the man's faith, even though his faith was limited by a need for a point of contact. But by going, Jesus rewarded the faith that this man had; this man watched Jesus raise His daughter from the dead.

His disciples also saw Jesus find the woman who had touched Him; she had been healed without His knowledge, but He wanted to see her face to face. Jesus told her face to face that her faith had made her well.

What His disciples saw was His concern for the faith of those who came to Him; He wanted those who came to Him to understand that those who come to Him by faith are rewarded.

The synagogue official must have prayed much for his daughter; the people of the synagogue must have joined him in prayer. Yet his daughter slipped away. He had sought for healing, but he did not find it. The woman had gone to many physicians, and had endured much pain in their "treatments"; she had spent all she had seeking to be cured. She had trusted many different physicians, and had not been helped. She had sought to be healed, but she had not found it through what she had done. They had both sought healing in what they thought would work, but had not found it. When they came to Jesus in faith, they found healing.

This is the point of what the disciples saw: those who seek Him are rewarded.

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of of those who seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6

Seek the touch of the Rewarder, not the reward.

Letting go of culture

2006-12-17T07:42:00.000-08:00

Jesus went out from where He was teaching, and as He walked through the city of Capernaum He called a man to follow Him.

"And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, 'Follow Me!' And he rose, and followed Him." Matthew 9:9

Crowds followed Jesus everywhere; as He walked He was surrounded by people. But Jesus picked this man Matthew, a tax collector for the Roman government, to be a disciple. Jesus called Matthew to follow, and at that simple imperative, he got up from his place and followed Jesus.

Matthew may have listened to Jesus preach and teach; many had. Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount indicates that he was there; no one else recorded it in such detail as far as we know. But Jesus found Matthew back at the tax office. Matthew had a job to do, even if everyone hated him for it.

Luke makes it clear that Matthew held a feast for Jesus at his house; many tax-gathers and other sinners came to this feast. These men would have not been allowed in the house of a religious Jew, but Matthew was one of the sinners. So as Jesus and His disciples sat at the table surrounded by the "worldly", the "righteous" asked His disciples why their Teacher ate with sinners. But Jesus overheard their comments, and replied to the Pharisees.

"...It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:12-13

Jesus answered the Pharisees in a way that spoke to the basic assumptions of their culture. The Pharisees were the best; they were the most righteous, the most careful in keeping the Law. Yet nothing in their culture could offer hope to the weak. Jesus instead said that He would be a physician to the sick; He quoted a portion of Hosea that is about healing the apostasy of Israel. Jesus made the point that God wanted compassion, not empty sacrifice. Jesus implied that their culture was an empty sacrifice.

After that, the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus to ask Him why His disciples did not fast. They fasted, and the Pharisees fasted; Jews had always fasted. Jesus replied to them about fasting, and more.

"...The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast..." Matthew 9:15

Jesus answered the disciples of John with a picture of the attendants of a bridegroom, who would obviously not fast during a wedding feast. But then Jesus added that they will in a time to come when the bridegroom is not there. Jesus challenged their understanding of the reason to fast. Then He told them using two comparisons that their culture would not work with what He was doing.

"But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." Matthew 10:16-17

There is a common element in these three events around the calling of Matthew. Matthew and his friend saw themselves as "sinners"; these men did not follow the practices their religion. The Pharisees made a point of not associating with "sinners"; they thought it was wrong to eat with them. The disciples of John the Baptist thought it was wrong to not fast. What is common to these three events is a religious culture: the commonly held practices and assumptions.

But Jesus did not follow the forms of their culture; He was more concerned with function. He agreed with the Pharisees that the tax collectors and sinners were sick; but Jesus intended to heal the sick. Jesus agreed with the practice of fasting; He fasted and in time His disciples would fast. But the outward forms need to follow the inward function.

John the Baptist had been making ready the way of the Lord; what he taught his disciples was to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. The disciples of John the Baptist came to the Messiah that they thought they were preparing to meet, and did not recognize Him. The form had superceded function.

The disciples of Jesus watched Jesus deal with the culture of their world. They were probably not pleased themselves with Jesus calling a tax gatherer to join them. They were probably not pleased to go to a feast with tax collectors and sinners; their friends would wonder what they were doing. Yet as they watched Jesus, they would have seen that He was reaching out to these men outside of the religious culture. Function was more important than form.

There would come a time when the disciples of Jesus would fast, but they would do it for a good reason. There would come a time when Jesus would teach His disciples about dealing with a brother who has sinned, but that would be within the church. The forms were good if they followed function.

The same processes are at work in our culture. Many people in our world would not feel comfortable in a church, or around Christians. Many Christians would be uncomfortable around them. Like the disciples of John we want an emphasis on the outward first; new Christians should be intensely devout from the beginning. We need to examine our forms to see if they actually follow function; our culture can be excluding "sinners".

Where can a "sinner" listen to us without pretending to be religious?

A broken man

2006-12-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

After the people asked Jesus to leave their region, Jesus went back across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, where He had been staying. Mark and Luke tell how several days later Jesus was teaching at home, surrounded by many people, in particular Pharisees and teachers of the Law. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a litter. They were unable to bring the man to Jesus because of the crowd; so the men carried him onto the roof, made an opening in the roof, and lowered him to Jesus.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that Jesus took note of the faith of those who brought the man to Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven." The man had been brought by his friends to be healed; they had worked had to find a way to get him close to Jesus. What Jesus said at first was not what they expected.

What Jesus said was also not what the Pharisees and teachers of the Law expected. They spoke among themselves that Jesus spoke blasphemy, since only God could forgive.

But while this paralyzed man is lowered before Him, Jesus addressed the religious leaders and teachers. He asked them why they were thinking evil in their hearts. He asked them which is easier, to say that your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk. Then, speaking loudly enough for all those gathered around Him to hear, Jesus said "But in order that you might know that the Son of Man had authority on earth to forgive sins", He turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Rise, take up your bed, and go home."

The man rose up, took up his litter, and made his way through the crowd to go home.

The people gathered around were afraid, not because the man had been healed, but because God had given the authority to forgive sins to men. This was something completely new; this was not part of the Law.

His disciples saw what happened, and knew that Jesus had made a point of saying in front of many people, including Pharisees and teachers, "...your sins are forgiven" before He healed him. Jesus repeated the point stating that the Son of Man had the authority to forgive sins. They knew this would bring a reaction from the educated; this was not part of the accepted interpretation of the Law. Jesus had a point to make with the religious scholars.

Jesus had been teaching many religious scholars, so many that this man could not be carried to Jesus. The scholars physically kept this man from being healed; they also spiritually kept him from being healed. In their thinking the man's paralysis was seen as an indication of the judgment of God against him. They could not offer the man forgiveness; only God could forgive. Jesus needed to deal with what this man had been taught by the religious teachers before He could heal him. The culture kept the man from believing he could be healed.

What the disciples saw was more than another healing. Their religion was built around the issues of sin and guilt, but within their religion there was no forgiveness, only covering. There were no sacrifices for intentional sin. Yet forgiveness is a part of Scripture; David spoke of the one whom God has forgiven. This essential part of faith was not a part of their religion.

But His disciples saw a completely different paradigm. Jesus forgave the paralyzed man because of the faith of his friends. The authority to forgive works in community through faith. Religion can become an obstacle to healing when the religious do not have the authority to forgive. The scholars did not make way for the paralyzed man on a litter to be carried to Jesus; they kept their backs turned to him. Carrying the broken to Jesus was not part of their paradigm; they were more concerned with the important matters of teaching. This broken man's friends had to find a way around the religious scholars to Jesus; they had to deconstruct part of His house to get their friend to Jesus.

His disciples saw the religious become an obstacle to the ones helping a broken man; His disciples saw Jesus give these men what the religion could not.

Religion without authority is an obstacle to the broken.

Demoniacs in the way

2006-12-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

When Jesus came to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, two men who were demon-possessed met Him on the road Jesus was taking from the sea. These men were extremely violent; the people of that region knew better than to take that road. Before Jesus did anything, the demons cried out to Jesus, recognizing who He was. Knowing He would probably cast them out, they asked to be sent into a herd of swine nearby. Jesus simply said, 'Begone', and the demons came out and went into the pigs.

The pigs immediately rushed down a steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. The herdsmen, having seen what had happened to the demoniacs and the pigs, ran back to town. The people of the city came out to met Jesus, and asked Him to depart.

Jesus had come to preach in this region, but He left as the people asked. The demons had driven the pigs into the sea, causing the people in the nearby city to be upset. The people were frightened by what Jesus could do. The demons had worked to prevent Jesus from preaching, even though He had authority over them. These demoniacs had been a barrier on this road leading from the sea to the region. Even when they had been cast out, they found a way to obstruct the path of Jesus in this region. The reaction of the people demonstrated that they had great influence in this area. This Legion tried to keep Jesus from preaching in the region.

The disciples saw what happened, and they saw what Jesus did. Jesus honored the request of the people of that city, even though He wanted to preach in those cities. In a way, the demons had successfully defended the region. The disciples saw Jesus turn back, and return to the boat. He did not preach in this region at this time.

Mark and Luke add that one of the men, out of whom the demons were cast, followed Jesus. When the men of the city came out to ask Jesus to leave, they found him clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus. This man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus directed him to return to his own home, and tell everyone what God had done for him.

The Legion had kept Jesus from entering, but they did not stop the man whom they had oppressed for so long. This man went into the region proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.

But what the disciples had seen was a confrontation with demons that had tried to prevent Jesus from preaching in the cities of that region. The people of this city were afraid, and had asked Him to leave; He departed as they requested. These people were not ready yet to listen, and Jesus left. The Legion of demons were involved in the fear of the people, but Jesus did not proceed against their wishes. He returned to where the people wanted to listen.

The disciples saw something they needed to see; a door is not open in every place. There is opposition to the message; sometimes the door is closed. Matthew did not add what the man who had been released did; Matthew focused on the one aspect of the story only.

Sometimes the door is closed.

Small faith in a great storm

2006-12-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

When Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee, a fierce gale came down on the sea. The waves were breaking over the boat, threatening to sink it. But Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat. His disciples came to Him, and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord, we are perishing."

Jesus said to the men, "Why are you timid, you men of little faith?"

Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the seas, and it became perfectly calm.

His disciples were amazed that even a storm and the sea obeyed Him. They had seen Jesus heal and perform miracles, but they were surprised when nature, in its grandeur, obeyed Him. Their faith was limited to smaller things.

Jesus asked them why they were afraid. He was not just asking a rhetorical question; His disciples were afraid for a reason.

They were at sea in a small boat in a fierce gale, with waves breaking over the sides. The boat would soon sink because of the water. Matthew describes the sea as covering the boat; Mark and Luke describe the sea as filling up the boat. Some of the men in the boat were experienced fishermen, who had worked on this sea for years. Their expectation of perishing at sea was reasonable.

Jesus was with them, but He was asleep. They were afraid of what was around them, and they knew Jesus was not paying attention. They assumed they could perish in the sea while He was asleep. They were afraid because He was not awake. Their faith was in what Jesus did; while He was asleep, He was not doing anything.

But the disciples saw Jesus sleeping in this storm, resting in the stern of the boat on a cushion. He was in the same boat in the same storm, yet He found rest.

When He awoke, He rebuked the wind and the waves; and then addressed the faith of the men with Him. They were afraid because their faith was small. Their faith was in this Man asleep in the boat; their faith was in what they had seen in Him. While He was asleep, their faith had nothing to hold on to. Yet Jesus had faith in this same storm, for His faith was not in what He could do, but in His Father. The small wooden boat, in the midst of a violent storm at sea was in the hands of His Father. He could rest in the hands of His Father. His disciples saw Him do that.

A day would come when the disciples of Jesus Christ would not see Him with them; they would face the violent storms of life without seeing Him with their eyes. Their faith needed to rest in the hands of the Father; they needed to rest in the trials of life, knowing that underneath were the everlasting arms. Jesus showed them this faith as He slept in the boat in a violent storm.

Disciples need to see a faith that can rest in storms of life, and can quiet those same storms.

The costs of discipleship

2006-12-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

As Jesus went about preaching, the crowds continued to follow Him. Seeing the crowds, He told His disciples to cross over the sea in boats. Crossing the Sea of Galilee would take his disciples eight miles across the water, but over a day's walk from home.

A scribe, an educated man who could read and write, came to Jesus saying that he would follow Him wherever He went. Jesus answered the man, saying that even though foxes and birds have places for the night, He did not have any set place to rest at night.

Another man, who had been following Him, asked Jesus to allow him to stay with his father until he died. Jesus answered this man, saying to let the dead bury their own dead.

Matthew does not record what choices these men made; neither does Luke. Matthew only records the brief interchanges. Whether these men chose to go with Jesus across the Sea, we do not know. We only know that they had to choose.

The scribe said he would follow, but his training as a scribe would indicate that he did not work outdoors. He may not have been rich, but he must have had some financial means to afford an education. Jesus chose to make it clear to him first that following may mean sleeping on the ground at night. Jesus did not try to convince the man to stay home; He simply wanted the man to willingly choose hardship, not just accept it later.

The disciple who asked to go back to his father did not communicate a pressing need, but rather a desire to hold on to family relationships. The answer that Jesus gave him implied that Jesus knew there were other family members to care for his aged father. Jesus wanted this man to willingly choose to leave family, not just try to be a disciple while holding on to family.

In both cases, Jesus wanted those who followed Him to have consciously counted the cost of discipleship. The scribe may have had difficulty on the road; the son may have had difficulty leaving family ties. But it was better to choose to follow wholeheartedly than to follow with misgivings.

Jesus did not answer these men out of a hard heart; He wanted these men to follow, but He understood that they needed to let go. Making their choice clear to them was a good thing to do.

These men may have been following Jesus, listening to what He said. In their own mind they may have seen themselves as disciples of this Jesus. But when Jesus wanted to cross over the Sea that evening, they had to choose to get in one of the boats or not. While Jesus was going about Galilee preaching, they could follow without getting in the boat. Most of those who were following were probably not fishermen; most would have been uncomfortable in a small boat on the sea at night. But Jesus was crossing the sea that night; they had to choose to get in the boat or not.

Jesus wanted to separate His disciples from the crowd. Using the boats to cross the sea made a distinction between those who would follow and those who came to watch. It turned out that Jesus did not stay on the other side very long; He soon returned to Capernaum. But He had separated His disciples from the crowd; they would know that they were disciples after crossing the sea that night.

Discipleship should come from a clear, conscious choice.

An inconvenient guest

2006-12-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

At one point Jesus came into Peter's house in Capernaum. (Both Mark and Luke relate that Jesus had just come from the synagogue where he had cast out a demon.) When Jesus entered the house, He found Peter's mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. Jesus healed her, and she got up and waited on those who had come in.

When evening came, many gathered at the door. (The Sabbath was over when the sun went down.) The people brought many who were afflicted by unclean spirits; Jesus cast out the spirits; He also healed all who were ill. Peter's house became a very crowded place.

Peter had brought this Jesus home; Jesus healed his mother-in-law who had been suffering from a high fever. But a crowd soon gathered at the door, bringing every diseased and possessed person in Capernaum. Jesus was not a convenient guest.

Matthew made it clear that this was prophecied of Jesus: "He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases." This is what Jesus was intended to do; Jesus would never be a convenient guest.

Both Mark and Luke relate that Jesus got up very early in the morning, and went out to pray. In the morning everyone in the city was looking for Him; when Peter and his companions found Him, Jesus told them that He must go preach in other cities, for He was sent for that purpose.

Peter brought Jesus to his home; perhaps Peter thought that this Jesus could stay in his home. But it became quickly clear that He drew the oppressed and hurting. Peter's family was probably relieved in the morning that Jesus left to preach in other cities, taking Peter and the others with Him.

But His disciples saw what happened when Jesus stayed in Peter's home for one night; his house was overrun with the possessed and the sick. This was difficult for everyone in the house. These same people came to Jesus as He went about preaching, but at least it was away from their homes.

This is the point: Jesus cannot just be a convenient guest, healing only the residents of the house. We say we want Jesus to heal us, and to work with power among us. But if He did, we would find the same problem; the oppressed and hurting would overrun our nice church. Jesus has work to do; if we want to be a part of it, things are going to get bumpy.

Jesus saves the lost, the hurting, the oppressed. Do we really want them in our church?

A centurion's faith

2006-12-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion sent word to Him, requesting Jesus to heal his servant, lying paralyzed at his house, suffering great pain. Matthew relates the event without clarifying that the centurion did not come himself to Jesus, but sent word by some Jewish elders. Luke includes this detail, telling how these elders also told Jesus how this centurion loved the Jewish nation, and had even built a synagogue for them. Jesus agreed to come heal the centurion's servant.

But when the centurion was told that Jesus was coming, he sent his friends to Jesus to ask Jesus to just say the word. The centurion believed that Jesus did not need to physically enter his house, and physically touch his servant to heal; instead he recognized that Jesus had the authority to command what He wanted.

The centurion saw in Jesus what was a normal part of his life. If Rome sent word, the legion would go. Caesar did not need to come to give his orders in person; what Caesar said would be done. The centurion was under authority, and knew that he would obey his orders. The centurion had soldiers under him; they would obey him in what ever he said. The centurion recognized the miracles that Jesus did came from the authority of another kingdom, a kingdom greater than Rome. Jesus had preached that the kingdom of heaven is near; the centurion believed it was. His servant would be healed if Jesus commanded it.

Jesus heard what the centurion said, and was amazed at his faith. Jesus pointed out this man's great faith to His disciples, as He told the centurion's messengers that it would be done as he believed. The servant was healed in that same hour; when the messengers returned with word, they found the servant already healed. The authority of the kingdom of heaven had healed the servant when Jesus spoke; it did not wait for them to return.

The centurion's faith provided a contrast to the leper's faith. The leper assumed that Jesus had to touch him in order to be heal; it is what everyone understood to be necessary as they watched Jesus healing. So the leper stopped before Jesus, bowing down, not knowing if Jesus would be willing to touch an unclean man. The centurion recognized what Jesus did to be the result of authority, not physical touch; he saw a kingdom at work. The centurion did not want to trouble Jesus to enter his house, knowing that a Gentile's house would be unclean to the Jews. The leper needed Jesus to touch what was unclean because his faith needed that point of contact. The centurion did not need Jesus to touch what was unclean because his faith did not need that point of contact. Both the leper and the Roman centurion were outsiders to the Jewish community; both had faith that Jesus could heal. But the Roman centurion had a greater faith, not needing the outward point of contact.

Jesus used this event to teach His disciples; briefly, as the friends of the Roman stood before them, Jesus told His disciples that many shall come from the nations to sit at the table in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His disciples had seen Jesus begin to walk to a Roman army officer's house; He had already touched a leper, now He was going to enter the house of a Roman soldier. His disciples watched as Jesus did the unexpected, not restrained by their cultural barriers. But when Jesus turned to them, telling them of this Roman soldier's great faith, greater than anyone in Israel, they knew they were included in those who had lesser faith. When Jesus said that many will come from east and west to sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they knew that the kingdom of heaven was not just a Jewish kingdom. Everything that they had assumed about the kingdom of heaven was shaken; the kingdom of heaven was open to all nations. When He said that the sons of the kingdom would be cast out into outer darkness, they knew that it was not enough just to be Jewish.

But this is all Jesus said about this as they walked in Capernaum that day. His disciples did not hear an elaborate thesis on the Gentiles from the Scriptures; Jesus did not discuss the mechanics of faith. But the disciples would remember what happened; later they would understand. Again, this is "see one, do one, teach one". They would need to deal with the issue of the Gentiles themselves soon enough.

His disciples saw Jesus give love to an "enemy", this Roman officer who acknowledged the greater authority of the kingdom of God.

Disciples must see faith in the inward, apart from the outward biases of culture.

Cleansing a leper

2006-12-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

After Jesus came down from the mountain, crowds of people continued to follow Him. A leper came to Him, in front of many people, seeking to be healed.

Leprosy was an incurable disease of that time, appearing first in the skin. But it was more than a disease, for the leper was required to live apart from others, in isolation. The Levitical law addressed leprosy, stating that the leper was unclean. Specific instructions were given in Leviticus for the priest to examine skin conditions and declare a person either clean or unclean.

The leper who came to Jesus was unclean in his own eyes, and in the eyes of his culture. He wanted to be cleansed from what made him unclean.

This man must have heard how Jesus had healed all who came to Him; he came to Jesus believing that Jesus could heal him just as He healed others. But what he had heard was that Jesus healed through His touch.

So when this leper came to Jesus, he said "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." He believed the touch of Jesus would heal, but he did not believe that Jesus would be willing to touch him. No one else would touch a leper.

This is what His disciples saw: a man, unclean in his own eyes, bowing before Jesus, wanting to be cleansed, but not knowing if Jesus would be willing to touch him. His disciples saw Jesus stretch out His hand, touching the leper and telling him "I am willing, be cleansed." The visible signs of leprosy were immediately cleansed. The man was cleansed, but not clean.

This man was unclean because he had been declared unclean by the priest in accordance with Leviticus 13. In order to re-enter society, the priest needed to declare him clean. Jesus directed the man to go to the priest, presenting the offerings according to Leviticus 14 for one who has been cleansed. Jesus could cleanse the man from leprosy, but the priest needed to declare him clean. Jesus did not take the place of the priest, but directed the man to go to show himself to the priest first.

(Mark adds that the man did not do this, but immediately began telling everyone. Because of this, it became even more difficult for Jesus to enter any town or city.)

The disciples watched Jesus touch a man who was unclean according to their culture and their religion. Jesus did not say anymore about it; the disciples did not ask. But this is "see one, do one, teach one". What they watched Jesus do, they would need to do themselves.

Disciples touch the unclean.

Seeing the kingdom at work

2006-12-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

Jesus began His ministry preaching the kingdom of God, and healing those who came to Him. As He made disciples, He began to teach them. As His disciples followed Him, they watched Him as He dealt with individuals. What they saw as they watched Him was essential in discipleship. The Word needs to become flesh; teaching needs to be illustrated in life.

Matthew gives a number of separate events of what the disciples witnessed between the Sermon on the Mount and when Jesus sent out twelve apostles. Mark and Luke record some of these as well; the account in Luke is probably more chronological for that was Luke's intention. Matthew usually begins each account with "and when"; Matthew is relating events, not necessarily the chronological order of the events.

These events gave the disciples a working understanding of the kingdom of God; this is what prepared them to be sent out and preach. A physician commented that during his training in surgery the rule was "see one, do one, teach one". He was shown once how to do a particular procedure, then he was expected to perform that procedure, and then he was expected to be able to teach that procedure to another. These events were the "see one" step in the lives of the apostles.

These events also address significant issues, but instead of a lengthy explanation which could be misunderstood, the disciples witnessed the practical application. The memory of the event would endure better than a explanation. When the disciples were ready to understand the concept, they were already familiar with the application.

Matthew records 15 separate events between the Sermon on the Mount and the choosing of the apostles. These events were part of how Jesus made disciples; in many of these events Jesus gave a short teaching as He acted.

These events deal with issues of theology: the will of God, the work of salvation, free will, power, prayer for others, relationships in the world, traditions, healing, and ministry. But His disciples were not listening to a lecture in a classroom, they were simply following this Man. Everything they witnessed was a work of God in life; they were being taught applied theology.

This is an essential part of discipleship. This is how Jesus made disciples; this is how we are to make disciples.

We are making disciples of ourselves every day in one way or another. Every choice we make and every thing we say is communicating something. We may not be communicating what we would like to, but we are communicating who we actually are. Those who are part of our life are learning; we are teaching one another. We may be teaching how God works in life or we may be teaching how we try to make things work.

The disciples of Jesus Christ became like Jesus Christ. They could say "Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." They had followed Him; they had witnessed what He really did and how He really acted. Discipleship is imitation.

Our disciples will become like us.

The spirit of Elijah

2006-11-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

John the Baptist was sent by God for a purpose. The angel who appeared to John's father said:

"...And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And it is he who will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:16-17

Elijah was a prophet in a time when Israel had turned to the worship of pagan gods. Ahab's wife Jezebel had killed as many prophets of the Lord as she could find, and supported hundreds of prophets of Baal and of the Asheroth. The people had known the God of Israel; they knew their history. But they had adopted the religions of the peoples around them, religions of prosperity and sexuality.

Elijah called for a famine on the land; for three and a half years no rain fell. Then Elijah told Ahab to gather all of the people of Israel to Mount Carmel, to witness a test between the God of Israel and Baal. Elijah told the people gathered at Mount Carmel:

"...How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him..." I Kings 18:21

After the prophets of Baal had failed to bring fire on their offering, Elijah called the people to watch. He had the offering drenched in water, and then prayed in the hearing of the people.

"Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that Thou, O Lord, art God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again." I Kings 18:37

The fire of the Lord fell, consuming the offering, the wood, the stones, and the water in the trench around it.

Then the people fell on their faces, saying:

"The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God." I Kings 18:39

Elijah turned the hearts of the people back to the Lord. This is what John the Baptist did, coming in the spirit and power of Elijah.

But John performed no miracles; no fire fell on any mountain. Yet the hearts of the people were turned back to the Lord.

There had been no famine in Israel in the time of John the Baptist, yet the people were hungry, spiritually hungry. They went out into the wilderness to listen to a strange man from the desert.

No fire fell when John the Baptist preached, yet the people came to him to be baptized, as they confessed their sins.

John the Baptist had come in the spirit and power of Elijah; the same spirit and power was at work in John. Elijah prayed, and it did not rain. In the time of John the Baptist there was a spiritual famine, a hunger for the word of the Lord.

"'Behold, days are coming,' declares the Lord God,
'When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the Lord.'" Amos 8:11

Elijah had prayed for fire to prove that the Lord was God. John the Baptist preached, and men believed that the Lord was God. Elijah called for the people to bring the prophets of Baal down to the river. John the Baptist called for the people to come to the river to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Elijah prayed and the sky poured out rain, and the earth bore fruit. John the Baptist told those he baptized to bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.

The spirit and power of Elijah was present in John the Baptist, not in outward ways but in inward ways. This is what was needed to prepare a people for Jesus Christ.

This is what is needed now, a wild man who does not fit into our world.

...A wild man to pray for a spiritual famine in the hearts of men.
...A wild man to bring fire on men's hearts when they preach.
...A wild man to bring men to the river.
...A wild man to pray for spiritual rain to fall on men.

Our tame world does not have many like John the Baptist, but there are a few. We may try to preach like John the Baptist, thinking men will listen, but it is not the same. Men listen because they are hungry; they are hungry because a famine has been sent on them. A famine was sent because someone actively prayed. Someone prayed because he does not live in this tame world.

It is not our events that bring repentance; it is a man with the spirit and power of Elijah.

Make ready the way

2006-11-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

John the Baptist came before Jesus; he preaching away from the cities and the synagogues of Israel.

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Matthew 3:1-2

Even though he preached out in the rugged country of Judea, men came to him from Jerusalem, and all of Judea. Men came, listened to him, and were baptized in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

He performed no miracles, yet nearly everyone came out to hear him preach about the kingdom of God. The people listened to his message of repentance, perhaps wanting to see the kingdom of God restored to Israel.

But John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus.

"This is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
'The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!'"
Matthew 3:3

His message was repentance, and the works that come from repentance.

"...And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Luke 3:9

People asked John what they should do.

"And he would answer and say to them, 'Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise."" Luke 3:11

The tax collectors, Jews working for the Romans, asked him what they should do.

"And he said to them, 'Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.'" Luke 3:13

Roman soldiers asked him what they should do.

"...And he said to them, 'Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.'" Luke 3:14

John the Baptist preached that One was coming after him, who will separate the wheat from the chaff.

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not even fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:11-12

The message of John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord, to make a roadway through the rough landscape. He called for men to repent openly in baptizism; he told men to walk in genuine works of righteousness. He told men that someone much greater was coming, who would thresh the righteous from the wicked.

John the Baptist prepared men to listen to Jesus Christ.

What prepares us to listen to Jesus Christ?

The Jewish people were already very religious; their culture was centered around the synagogue locally, and the temple in Jerusalem. They had many religious teachers and leaders. Yet God sent John the Baptist to speak to a people who heard the Law and the Prophets read every Sabbath.

We are religious as well. We have our churches, and our leaders. We read the Bible, and listen to Christian music. What more do we need to prepare us to listen to Jesus Christ?

We need to hear the Spirit of God speak through a man; we will know the difference between religion and power. We need to feel the dragnet pushing us in to judgment; we need to repent. We need the kingdom of God to come near, like it came near in John the Baptist.

The kingdom of God comes near in a man. It came near in John the Baptist, and everyone went out to him. The kingdom of God has come near in other places and times. Three thousand men were pierced in their hearts on the day of Pentecost when Peter preached. Ireland turned to Christ at the preaching of St. Patrick. Many in England turned to Christ at the preaching of John Wesley. We can see the effect in history; we can know this in our time.

John the Baptist was sent by God. He was the voice prophesied in Isaiah 40; he was the messenger in Malachi 3:1. Yet John found the kingdom of God in the wilderness, away from men and away from his place as a priest.

"And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel." Luke 1:80

We also need to grow; we cannot give what we do not have. The presence of the kingdom cannot be imitated; it cannot be faked. We can make ready the way of the Lord in men; we can bring a sense of real righteousness. The nearness of the kingdom of God can be felt; it is a dragnet pushing all men toward judgment. But each of us must find this kingdom before we can bring it near to our world.

The kingdom of God was near; when John preached, men repented.

An alternative foundation

2006-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Sermon on the Mount can provide an enduring foundation for our life. An alternative foundation is offered by the devil. Just as the Sermon on the Mount addresses life in three levels, the devil seeks to direct us in three levels as well. The temptation of Jesus illustrates the alternatives.

The devil came to Jesus when He had been fasting for 40 days, and had become hungry. The devil spoke to Jesus about the hunger, suggesting that as the Son of God Jesus could turn the stones into bread in order to meet satisfy His hunger. The temptation was to use the things of this world to satisfy the hunger in the heart. In His reply, Jesus did not address food in terms of the needs of the body, but food to satisfy the needs of the heart. "...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.."

The second temptation was to test God's faithfuness to provide for our body. The devil used Scripture himself to state that the angels would protect Jesus if He threw Himself off the top of the temple He was standing on. In His reply, Jesus did not disagree with the Scriptures used, but quoted again from Deuteronomy. "...You shall not put the Lord your God to the test..." The rest of the quote says "...as you tested Him at Massah." Israel had demanded that Moses give them water; they were trying to compel God to provide.

The third temptation was to submit to the kingdom of darkness to gain the desires of the soul. The devil showed Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world, offering to give Jesus authority over them, if Jesus would accept the devil's authority over Him. Jesus again quoted from Deuteronomy in reply "...You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." Jesus not only rejected the offer of the devil as wrong, but He did the opposite. Instead of accepting the devil's authority, He took authority over the devil, commanding him to leave.

The same pattern of three points is addressed in the temptation of Jesus as is addressed in the Sermon on the Mount. The devil offers us an alternative foundation for life, either in part or in whole, based on what he offers in these three points.

We are tempted, whether we recognize it or not as temptation, to use the things of this world to satisfy our heart. This is much more a part of our life than we want to acknowledge.

We are tempted, and we do not see it as temptation, to use prayer as a means to force God to provide for the needs of the body. Prayer was not meant to be a means of manipulating God; prayer is meant to be a confession of trust in His faithfulness.

We are tempted, and we certainly do not recognize that this is true, to accept the devil's authority over our life in order to gain the desires of our soul. We do not take authority over the devil, forcing him to leave, at the cost of what he offers our soul.

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, and did not sin. Jesus rejected each temptation. But we have not. We have been tempted and failed. We have built our life on our failures in these three things. We use the things of this world to satisfy our heart. We seek to manipulate God in prayer to meet the needs of our body. We have another master who promises to give us our soul.

We do not come to the Sermon on the Mount as free men; we come to the Sermon on the Mount as those who have been taken captive. We have built our lives on a foundation of the devil's design. We don't know why our house can be swept away in a flood of worthlessness; we don't know why we are bound by failure. And we don't know how to change it.

We need to build on the Rock; we need to first dig deep to find it.

Making disciples

2006-11-22T04:32:00.000-08:00

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples on a mountain in Galilee where He had told them He would meet them after the resurrection. There He gave them the Great Commission.

"...All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

The Great Commission is to make disciples. Just as Jesus made disciples, we are to make disciples. We are to make disciples who are like us.

But this is not part of our culture; western education does not seek to make disciples. We prefer to keep a distance between teacher and student; we also prefer to separate the intellect from behavior. But this is not the paradigm intended by Jesus. Disciples are to become like their teacher; teachers should be good replications of Jesus Christ.

This process is summarized in "teaching them to observe all that I commanded you"; literally this could be stated "causing them to learn to keep all that I told you to do." The teacher is responsible for building a life that can successfully do what Jesus said.

The Sermon on the Mount is what Jesus commanded us to do. The Great Commission is a directive to train people to live out the Sermon on the Mount. He taught a process that He meant to be implemented. What He taught that day, when implemented, becomes a working mechanism that results in an enduring foundation.

The Sermon on the Mount is like a software program inside a nice box. It is just a pretty box until we unwrap it and take it out of the box; when we put the disk in the drive, and let it load, we will see what it can do. It is meant to be executed; the pretty box has little to do with what it really is.

Some of us will have to muddle through this unfamiliar program, trying to learn how to use it. But those who have learned how use it can show others what it can do.

It is worth the effort to learn.

Authority to teach

2006-11-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

Jesus taught with an authority that others did not have.

"The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority , and not as their scribes." Matthew 7:28-29

The rabbical schools had developed an extensive written system of interpretations during the time of the exile to Babylon; these traditional interpretations had taken the weight of Scripture by the time of Christ. Those who were educated based what they taught on the traditional interpretations; this is what the people expected a teacher to do.

But Jesus taught as one who Himself had the authority to teach; those who listened were amazed at this. Jesus not only specifically taught what contrasted with their traditional teachings, He also taught in a way that implied that the traditional teachings were of no value.

Jesus did teach based on Scripture, but not in a simple, limited way. He had learned the same Scriptures that the traditions claimed to understand; but He understood them. He taught based on an understanding of Scripture. The Sermon on the Mount came from that understanding. It follows the pattern of Psalm 18, but it includes an understanding of the rest of Scripture. All Scripture is from one Author; it is understood in whole, not in pieces.

We are in a similar religious culture. We are taught our traditional interpretations. Seminaries do this, trying to pass on the orthodoxy of the denomination. Most Christian teaching, whether in church or in popular Christian books, is built on the conclusions of others. What we consider to be the teaching of the Bible is often a historical interpretation that has now taken the weight of Scripture for us. We use proof texts, but not a personal understanding of Scripture.

But we are to teach like Jesus taught; we are to have the authority to teach personally. We need to dig down to bedrock in Scripture; we need to be able to distinguish the rock of Scripture from the overburden of tradition. We must have rock to build on.

"Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock..." Luke 6:47-48

This is personal; we are to teach what we have found. We are to teach what we know will not break.

The kingdom of God gives this authority; it does not come from the traditions of men.

Discipleship

2006-11-20T05:14:00.000-08:00

The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5 through 7, was given to disciples, those who were following Jesus.

"And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him." Matthew 5:1

Great crowds from various cities and regions were following Him because of the miracles. But when Jesus wanted to teach, He went up on a mountain, making it more difficult for the crowd to follow. The mountain is not identified, but the region around Galilee has substantial hills that require an effort to climb.

Jesus sat down on the mountain, perhaps the first time He had sat down for a while with so many people pressing to get close to Him. But for the Jews, sitting was also the posture taken by a teacher in the synagogue. Those who had followed Him up the mountain, were the ones who wanted to hear what He had to say. This would have been their first opportunity to sit and listen apart from the crowds as well.

Jesus taught what we have labeled the Sermon on the Mount. However, the label does not carry the right implications. This was not a sermon in our sense; this was not preaching. This was teaching. The Greek word "teach" could be more literally translated as "to cause to learn". Teaching is not just verbalizing information, casting it out like seed. Preaching is more like casting out seed. Teaching is causing to learn. More is involved in teaching than the information.

Jesus picked a location to teach which took His disciples away from the crowd. He lead the way up the mountain; He would have been visible to those who wanted to follow Him. The crowd would have not wanted to follow Him up there. Those who followed would have had to put out an effort to climb the mountain.

Jesus taught those who followed. This is essential in "causing to learn". Teach to those who are willing to put out an effort to come to listen.

Another thing which stands out in what Jesus taught is the difficulty. Jesus taught what was challenging. He did not repeat what they already knew. Those who listened to what Jesus said would need to keeping thinking about what He said, trying to understand what He meant. Jesus did not keep it simple. The language was simple, but the meaning was difficult. Just as they had to climb up a mountain to listen to Him, they would have to work to understand what He meant. Teach what those who are listening do not know.

All three synoptic Gospels indicate that Matthew was called after this time. But it is the Gospel of Matthew which records the Sermon on the Mount with great detail. Only someone who was there would have been able to remember such detail. The structure given in Matthew indicates that this is the complete message given by Jesus; each piece in a highly structured logic was there. Matthew, a Jew serving as an offical tax collector for the Roman Empire, remembered details completely. (Zaccheaeus, a chief tax collector, later could tell Jesus that he would repay four times to any he had defrauded; he remembered the details also.) Matthew was probably there listening. Some time later Jesus walked by Matthew as he sat collecting taxing; all Jesus said was "Follow Me." Matthew rose up, left his office, and followed Jesus. Matthew had thought about what he heard on the mountain; Jesus did not need to say anymore. Teach to make disciples, nothing less.

Cause to learn.

Fulfilling the Law

2006-11-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom of God; He came healing and performing miracles. All that accompanied Him seemed new; He was a radical departure from the structured religion of the Jews.

An assumption could be made that since the religion of the Jews was based on the Law of Moses, and since Jesus did not take a place within the religious structure, then Jesus was doing away with the Law and the Prophets. But this assumption rests on understanding the purpose of the Law. If the religion of the Jews was an accurate expression of the purpose of the Law, then what Jesus was teaching was abolishing the Law, since He was not building on the traditional Jewish teachings.

But Jesus made a completely different point in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. He was not teaching that the Law and the Prophets were past; instead He said that He was fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. This was in itself a radical departure from Jewish tradition.

Jewish traditional interpretation of the Law and the Prophets sought to "build a fence around the Law". The acknowledged intention in the teachings and traditions of the rabbis and scholars was to attempt to keep the Law by building cultural fences to keep men from breaking the Law. If one was to not boil a kid in its mother's milk, then a careful Jew should have two sets of dishes to keep from the possibility of breaking this particular commandment. The rabbis had constructed an elaborate structure of traditions as a fence around the Law. They themselves would have acknowledged that the fence was not the Law, but was only a means to keep from breaking the Law.

But what Jesus stated was His purpose was to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. His emphasis was on what the intention of the Law was, not on a fence around the Law. To fulfill the intention of the Law, the meaning of the Law must be understood. This is radically different than building a fence around what is not understood.

Jesus did not look at the Law as disposable. He taught that not the smallest letter or stoke of the Law will pass away, until all is formed. The Law was given for a purpose; it is part of what God is doing. The Law was not to be kept by building fences around it; the Law was to be used to build.

The teacher who just loosens the requirements of the Law, thinking that he is doing the right thing, has a very small part in the kingdom of God. He is not getting what God intended in the Law. The teacher who does the Law, fulfilling what the actual intention is, has a significant part in the kingdom of God. Jesus did not use the word "keep", emphasizing not breaking; He used the word "do" or "make", emphasizing that the Law has a constructive purpose.

So the need is not to build fences around the Law in things like having two sets of dishes, one for meat and one for milk. The need is to understand what God meant. As an example, Paul later made a point that the commandment to not muzzle the oxen threshing the grain had to do with letting those who minister to the church receive payment for their work.

Jesus did not accept the traditional teachings as the fulfillment of the intention of the Law. He made the point that no one will enter the kingdom of God unless he does more than what the scribes and Pharisees did. Even the most careful in keeping the Law will not enter the kingdom. Righteousness was meant to be abundant righteousness; righteousness is to fill a life.

We have our traditions as well; we teach what we think "keeps" the Scriptures. We have built fences around what we think is right as well, though we are not as thorough as the rabbis. But we are not oriented toward fulfilling Scripture; we are not usually doers of the Word. Hearing the Word is much easier.

The rabbis heard the commandment about not boiling a lamb in its mother's milk, and could only perceive that God's intention was limited to the outward. Circumcision is required by the Law, yet Moses and the Prophets make it clear that circumcision of the heart is God's desire. The rabbis tried to keep the outward, but could not do anything about the inward. In the same way, we tend to teach righteousness based on outward limitations, not on inward change.

But entering the kingdom of God requires a righteousness built on inward change. Righteousness is to fill; righteousness is to be abundant. We emphasize imputed righteousness, almost to the exclusion of any fulfillment of righteousness. We are stuck at Romans 4:5; we are afraid to work after we have been imputed righteous thinking somehow this is going to damage what God already done. But we are to walk in the newness of life; we are to pursue the things that make peace and build up one another. God has imputed us righteous; He wants to fulfill in our life what He has already accounted to be ours. He wants to bring us into His kingdom, where He reigns, not sin.

What should be taught is not just limitations in the outward, but abundant righteousness coming from what is built by the Word inwardly.

Salt and light

2006-11-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

Following the blessings of the Beatitudes, Jesus told His disciples that they were the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. The blessing of God has a consequence in us.

Disciples are different in two ways: they have something valuable in them, and they are able to express the character of God in the world.

Disciples are the salt of the earth because of what is in them. Salt was valuable in their culture, simply for its use. What is now one of the cheapest commodities in a grocery store, was for them of significant value. It is needed for every meal; it is useful in the ordinary tasks of life. One of their sources of salt was a mineral deposit found in that area of the world; we mine salt as well in places. But the salt they mined was not pure NaCl, table salt; it had other minerals. If that salt became moist; the table salt could be leached away, leaving what appeared to look like salt, but without the flavor of salt. This salt of the earth, mineral salt, could lose it favor; it was then worthless. No one would have a reason to keep it; it would just be thrown out in the street. That salt of the earth needed to be kept dry; sealed in a closed container. It could not be left out on the table like our salt shakers.

Disciples have something within them that gives them flavor; this needs to be kept hidden away. Disciples can lose what makes them valuable; this needs to be kept in secret.

Disciples are also the light of the world. The good works that result from the blessings of God are like a light shining in a dark place, or a city set on a hill. It is difficult to hide light in a house; no one would do it anyway. It is difficult to hide a city. In World War II, cities were hidden from bombers by blackout; no lights outside, and all windows carefully covered. Normally, the lights of each house make our cities visible at night from far away.

The good works of disciples of Jesus Christ are a light shining in this world. What comes from the work of blessing within us can be seen by others. But the light needs to come from the glory of God, not from us. The way our good works are done is significant.

Jesus is again giving complementary aspects of one work of God. The Holy Spirit within us works through the body. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. But there are two aspects of how He works. He works within us using what is done in secret, away from man. This is like the salt of the earth, which must be kept sealed away from moisture. He also works through us in good works, for men to see. This is the light of the world; this is a lamp filling the house with light or a city set on a hill. These are very different pictures, but both are necessary parts of the work of the Spirit.

The corresponding passage in Psalm 18 speaks of the Lord being his stay, or support, and then speaks of the Lord bringing him into a broad place, having rescued him. The hidden work of the Spirit is a stay in our body; the visible work of the Holy Spirit in our body is deliverance from our enemies. We do not have to be bound by failure, overcome by meaninglessness. The same complementary pieces are in Psalm 18.

Disciples are the salt of the earth; if the hidden life is kept, we will be the light of the world.

Need in every direction

2006-11-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

The eight examples of blessing in the Beatitudes provide an illustration of need coming from a number of directions, and in complementary aspects. Not all need is poverty. Need can be for what is necessary to accomplish good things, or to make meaningful change within us.

The first two Beatitudes express need in the direction of provision. Poverty is an emptiness looking forward; mourning is an emptiness looking back. Both address a need for provision in the present. In poverty, He can show Himself faithful to provide for our daily needs outwardly. In mourning, He can give an enduring comfort inwardly.

The second two Beatitudes express need in the direction of actions. Whether we are rich or poor materially, we are in need in what we do. The gentle can act in this world with strength, without using anger. We need what can make us outwardly gentle: strong in action, soft in touch. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness need an inward change; righteousness comes from within.

The third two Beatitudes express need in the direction of the heart. The merciful need mercy to continually flow out of them for the world. Mercy must be renewed day by day; the merciful need a heart of mercy. The pure in heart need a cleansing in their heart to wash away the past. The merciful need a grace for the outward; the pure in heart need grace for the inward.

The fourth two Beatitudes express need in the direction of others. The peacemakers need the wisdom that comes from above to make peace; for them wisdom gives them something for the outward. For the persecuted, they need a wisdom that gives them something for the inward. In the midst of their suffering, they need to grasp their great reward.

Together the Beatitudes illustrate that the God who delivered David in Psalm 18 does the same for us in every direction and in every level of our life. He can deal with the negatives of life; He can also deal with the positives of life. He can provide for us; He can act through us. He can change us; He can help us in this world. In each of these things, the kingdom of God comes near to those who call on Him. Our circumstances and our efforts can be a place to grow as we call on Him.

Blessed are those who need help.

Point of beginning

2006-11-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. He had a reason to begin at this point. The basic message in the Beatitudes is that we can be something significant in this life. We can be gentle; we can be peacemakers. We can be significant; we can be significantly good.

But our "Christianity" is usually passive; we do not seek to be significant. We do not expect to do anything significantly good. We did not get this from Jesus; He was never passive. But what we accept as normal is a passive approach to life. Our theology reflects this; our mindset reflects this even more. We take the same Scriptures that Jesus held, and come away with our theology, but not His life. We have mega-churches, and mega-ministries, but we still live passive lives. We are fans, going to church to watch our favorite team play. We would rather watch professionals play than try to play ourselves.

We have reduced the work of the Son of God to forgiveness, and eternal life to a distant future. Our "correct" theology is mostly correct, but it is only a part of what He taught. Forgiveness is not the main issue in the first three Gospels; neither is eternal life. The main issue is the kingdom of God is near. But most of us are not looking for deliverance in this life, only for assurance. We want to be assured that we have eternal life without necessarily seeing that we have eternal life.

The Beatitudes have a message for a world like ours; they are in contrast to what we actually think.

The poor are blessed. We can find the provision of God in this life apart from money.

Those who mourn are blessed. We can find profound comfort in loss.

The gentle are blessed. We can deal with others moderately; we can find grace to do this.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed. We can realize righteousness in this life; we can see the workmanship of God in us.

The merciful are blessed. We can share His feelings for man.

The pure in heart are blessed. We can be cleansed in fact not just in theory.

The peacemakers are blessed. We can find His wisdom in this life.

Those who are persecuted are blessed. We can share in the sufferings of Christ for good reason.

We need the message of the Beatitudes. Everything is not just imputed righteousness; everything is not just positional salvation. He is big enough to not only deal with our sins, but also to deal with our sin. He can work in us in this life. We can actually be sons of God in this life; those who have been nurtured by our Father in heaven. He can give what is actually good to weak men; He can give what can actually help them.

This is the point of beginning in the message of the kingdom of God. The working authority of God can come near to us in this life; the good news is that He can actually help us.

Therefore we can choose to act, trusting that the kingdom of God is near. Christianity is meant to be actively expressed; we were meant to look like Christ. But we need to be taught how to do this.

The good news of the kingdom is the point of beginning in the Sermon on the Mount. This teaching is where we find that the kingdom of God is near; we will find no other rock to build on. We can all build something in this life, but only a disciple's house will stand when the floods and winds burst against what he has built.

Passive "Christianity" is right, partially. "Christians" shouldn't try to do big things; they will just fail.

But disciples can build enduring houses.

Significance

2006-11-16T04:20:00.000-08:00

Jesus said that the poor in spirit are blessed; He listed seven more characteristics that are blessed. These are very different characteristics; most have nothing to do with poverty. But these characteristics all have to do with need.

The picture in Psalm 18 of distress uses a metaphor of being bound with ropes, and a metaphor of floods of water. Deliverance also uses this picture: He drew me out of many waters. David made a picture of a man bound with cords being carried away in a flood of water. These are the things that David described as his enemies; these are the things that are too strong for him.

But the words of Psalm 18 speak of the cords of death, and the cords of Sheol. What binds man is the fear of death expressed in life; we are afraid of cause and effect. Little children learn that they can get hurt; little children learn to be cautious, one hurt at a time. The daily fear of a soldier in war is of actual death; the daily fear in man is the same internal mechanism, even though no one usually is seeking to actually kill us. The fears of interpersonal conflicts are the same fears as battle, even though no one is carrying automatic weapons. These fears of cause and effect in life bind us internally; we are afraid to act in many things, just as a soldier walks with fear of the next IED or sniper. The words of Psalm 18 also speak of the torrents of ungodliness; this word "ungodliness" is often translated as "worthlessness". The worthless things of life can carry us away like a flood of water. The parallel phrase uses the expression "snares of death"; these are things that can trap us in our life in a cycle of cause and effect. The torrents and snares are real parts of life.

Psalm 18 describes reality for us, using symbolic language. We are bound by our fears of cause and effect. We are carried away by worthless things; what is not evil of itself can become a flood carrying us away from what is significant. We can be trapped by cause and effect; what we did not mean to happen does happen because of a choice. We become insignificant, not because we wanted to, or because we did not try, but because our enemy was too mighty for us. We were afraid because of our fear of cause and effect, and did not try. We tried, but were carried away by the useless things of life. Or we tried, but were trapped unintentionally.

This is life. We need a Deliverer, just as David did. We need the heavens to be bowed down; we need Him to ride on the cherub and come down. We need Him to draw us out of many waters. Our enemies are too mighty for us.

What follows in Psalm 18 is a picture of significance. Using the role of a king, Psalm 18 describes a process that gives victory. Deliverance leads to significance. This is the blessing of the Beatitudes.

The unstated part of the Beatitudes is that anyone who attempts to do something significant will find the cords of death, the torrents of worthlessness, and the snares in his path. But in calling out because of distress, we are delivered from what is too mighty for us. We can do something significant, not because we are strong, but because He will come down to us.

Those who attempt significance are blessed, because He can fulfill significance. God gives a place to grow.

Blessing

2006-11-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with a series of statements that each contain an apparent contradiction. Those who are poor whether physically or spiritually are in need; they are hungry. Yet Jesus said that they are blessed. He did this for eight characteristics, each of which puts a man in need. What He said appeared to be a contradiction. The one who is hungry is not blessed, is he?

Those who were listening probably had an assumption of what "blessing" should be; it does not include hunger. Aristotle contrasted this Greek word "blessed" in the text with a word meaning "the needy one". The one who is blessed should not be needy. This Greek word for blessing comes from the Greek idea of the state of the gods; the gods, on Olympus, are blessed. Jesus did not intend this Greek meaning of blessing.

The Hebrew word for "blessing" that corresponds to this Greek work is word found in Psalm 1.

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..."

This word comes from their word for "straight"; it is used in the sense of a straight path, a good path. By extension, it means happy, not from lots of stuff, but from a straight path in life.

This is the sense of the word "blessing" that Jesus used; He used the blessing of the Scriptures, not the blessing of Greek mythology. Those who are blessed are on a straight path; their path is not full of obstacles.

What is not stated at first by Jesus is how the needy are blessed. He did not explain this as He taught. But He did explain this in the last statement; those who are persecuted have a great reward in heaven. The present experience is on a straight path leading to what is good. The same applies to each of the statements. But this blessing is not just in heaven, the straight path begins on earth.

Those in need cry out to God. In this, things change on earth. He bows the heavens; He comes down. He delivers men from their strong enemy. The kingdom of God comes near in this life.

The blessing of the Beatitudes is not an intrinsic quality that accompanies suffering; the blessing of the Beatitudes is in the experience of God coming near in answer to our cries. We have known the cords of death, and the torrents of ungodliness; in our distress we cried out. Each of these eight things is a different experience of need. But for an individual his need is significant; each need can lead a man to cry out.

Blessing is a place to grow. The needs of life can bring us to cry out to the Lord; this is the beginning of growth. But we cannot grow until we are poor in spirit, until we know we need help.

For some, the circumstances of life are the means by which they see their need. For others, the challenges of life are the means by which they see their need. Those who do are blessed.

The blessed are the delivered, not the lucky.

Structure in the Sermon

2006-11-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

The Sermon on the Mount ends with a contrast between a house built on a rock and a house built on the sand. This point is the conclusion. Jesus had been addressing stability all along in the Sermon on the Mount; the end is fitting to the whole. What is not easily apparent is the structure of the whole. A pattern of three points addressing a particular issue can be seen; this pattern is helpful to understand how parts of the Sermon on the Mount relate to each other. Seeing that seeking His kingdom is related to fasting helps us understand how to do what He is teaching.

The pattern of three points follows a particular order. The first point addresses the work of the Father in the heart. The second point addresses the work of the Spirit in the body. The third point addresses the work of the Son in the soul. The overall structure of the Sermon on the Mount is Father, Spirit, Son, then Father, Spirit, Son, and then keeps repeating for a total of five times. The overall structure ends with the one point about the house on a rock.

The first part of Matthew 6 addressed three spiritual disciples; each discipline directed at a separate point. The last part of Matthew 6 addressed the effect of these disciplines in us, again using the pattern of three points. The first part of Matthew 7 addressed the challenges of these disciplines, again using the pattern of the three points.

The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 (the word beatitude is from a Latin word for blessing). The Beatitudes give a perspective on what God is doing in our heart. He is bringing a blessing through His work in us. The Father gives good things.

Following the Beatitudes are the passages about salt and light. These passages are about our place in this world. We are salt; we are light. These passages imply that we have been changed. This is what the Spirit does in our body; work of the Spirit results in a bodily change.

After this, Jesus taught about Himself, and entering the kingdom of heaven. He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; He came to fulfill. The righteousness of the Law is more than the outward observances; the kingdom of heaven requires a greater righteousness. This is the work of the Son, to fulfill in us the intent of the Law.

Jesus began with an overview of what God in three Persons is doing. The Father is giving a blessing through life. The Spirit is changing us bodily. The Son is calling us into the kingdom of heaven. These are the first three points; God is doing these things.

The next part of the Sermon on the Mount brings in contrasts. There was no contrast to what God is doing in the first part of the Sermon on the Mount. But when Jesus began explaining the Law, He used contrast to help make it clear. Jesus repeatedly contrasted what men had interpreted the Law to mean, with what fulfills the intent of the Law. Each of the six pieces follows this pattern. But Jesus also gave the pieces in pairs, to illustrate complementary aspects in what He taught.

The first pair is about murder and adultery. The fulfillment of the Law is that we hold no anger against our brother, and that we have hold no lust for a woman. Both concern what is in our heart; the Father judges both.

The second pair is about divorce and vows. The fulfillment of the Law is that we keep our covenant with our wife, and that we make no oaths. Both concern outward sin; the Spirit in hindered by both.

The third pair is about justice and neighbors. The fulfillment of the Law is to entrust justice to God and to accept men as neighbors in the eyes of God. Both concern our soul; the Son calls us to be sons of our Father who is in heaven.

The second part of Matthew 5 is again a set of three points addressing what we are to do. The set of three points, beginning in Matthew 6 on the spiritual disciplines, gives us how we are to do this. The set of three points, beginning in the middle of Matthew 6 tells us why we are to do this. The set of three points beginning in Matthew 7 tells us the problems in doing this. These five sets of three points lead to the conclusion that the word of the Lord is the rock to build our life on.

Jesus based this teaching on Psalm 18. This psalm of David is about the struggles of a man with his enemies. Jesus understood that it is about the kingdom of God; the struggles are spiritual struggles. The process within Psalm 18 reflects the order that Jesus used in His teaching.

The psalm begins with David praising God who is his rock; the psalm begins with David saying that he is blessed. David has been given a place to grow. This is how the Sermon on the Mount begins: God gives blessing, a place to grow.

David described where he had been; he was overcome. But in his distress, he called on the Lord. The Lord came down and delivered him. This is the picture that underlies the Beatitudes. We are not blessed because we are poor; we are blessed because in our poverty we have cried out. We are blessed because the kingdom of God has come near to us.

David described being brought to a broad place; he was set free. We have also been set free; we are examples of deliverance. We are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.

David related deliverance to righteousness, to keeping the ways of the Lord. David repeatedly brings up reward and recompense. This is what Jesus builds on in the Sermon on the Mount. Righteousness is significant; actions have consequences. The Law reflects the heart of the Father. It is in His eyes that we find reward.

David then turned to the character of God. To the kind, He shows Himself kind. David lists three things, and then gives the contrast. To the crooked, He shows Himself crooked. This is what Jesus builds the three spiritual disciplines on. This is what He also uses to say that the hypocrites receive nothing from God.

David told of God saving an afflicted people, but humbling the proud. Jesus spoke of the treasures that direct our heart.

David told of God lighting his lamp, and giving his body great strength. Jesus spoke of a lamp shining in the body.

David told of a refuge in God. David told of God making his way blameless. Jesus spoke of seeking His kingdom and His righteousness.

David told of how God in His gentleness had made him great. He had made him sure-footed; He had trained him. He had given him a shield; He had upheld him. Jesus spoke of keeping the gentleness of God upon us; we should not judge lest we lose the gentleness of God.

David told of how God enlarged his steps, how God gave him victory over his enemies as he pursued them. Jesus spoke of the prayer of pursuit: asking, seeking, knocking. David's battle became a picture of prayer.

David told of how God had given him opportunity to establish his kingdom in war, and how his enemies pretended obedience to him. Jesus spoke of a small gate, and a difficult way that leads to life. Jesus also spoke of those who pretend obedience to God.

David then concluded with praise for his rock. "The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock". David expressed again that it was the Lord who gave him victory over his enemies, and establishs his kingdom. Jesus concluded with the picture of a house built on a rock, which withstood the storms that burst against it.

Jesus translated the language of a prophecy written by David into a message of the kingdom of God. Jesus taught with an authority that their teachers did not have, and yet He was teaching from the same Book. The structure of the Sermon on the Mount came from Psalm 18, but the message was of the kingdom of God. Jesus was sent to preach the kingdom; He had an anointing to do it.

"The Spirit of Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To bring good news..." Isaiah 61:1

Stability in life

2006-11-12T06:33:00.000-08:00

Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with a picture of two men each building his house.

"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall." Matthew 7:24-27

In each case, the house each man built is assumed to be a solid house. The difference is in the foundations. The man who hears the words of Jesus and does them, has found solid rock to build his life on. What Jesus taught on that hillside was meant to give stability in life.

This is a significant point: what gives stability is not the things we build in life, but on what we build them. We could build a life as part of one culture, and find stability through the challenges of life; we could also build a life as part of another culture, and also find stability through the challenges of life. We could find stability as a Pentecostal, or a Baptist, or an Adventist, or a Catholic. What gives stability is not our culture, but this foundation built on the words of Jesus.

But at the same time, we could be a perfectly good Pentecostal, or Baptist, or Adventist, or Catholic and watch our house collapse in the challenges of life. Our cultures alone cannot give stability in life.

What Jesus taught on that hillside two thousand years ago had a logical structure, though no one would have seen it as they first listened to it. Jesus kept teaching in sets of three; the three things addressed three different levels. But He kept the same order; He kept building on what He had said before.

Jesus kept this order in His teaching: what relates to the Father, what relates to the Spirit, and then what relates to the Son. Giving alms relates to the Father; prayer relates to the Spirit; fasting relates to the Son. Each set of teachings takes an aspect of life, and then expresses what is needed on three levels.

The structure in His teaching emphasizes what is needed for stability. It also suggests why we have trouble finding stability. We tend to emphasize one thing. Some emphasize doing good; some emphasize the life of the Spirit; some emphasize the Lordship of Jesus. But we seldom recognize that we need all three. We seldom take any of them as far as Jesus takes them. But stability requires all three, in the way that Jesus taught.

Doing all three will result in a foundation founded on a rock that will give stability. Without all three we will have sand under our house.

The point that Dallas Willard makes about Jesus is significant. He said that we should think of Jesus as the smartest man who ever lived. He said that because we don't. He said that in that way because we don't even categorize what Jesus said as being relevant to our real life. In our way of thinking, religion is separate from reality. We may agree with what Dallas Willard said, but we still have a problem. The religion we have constructed has left so much out of what Jesus taught that it is not useful for the real issues of life.

More Christians than we know are mentally ill. Religion can be difficult to integrate into life. Our high standards and high expectations can become a rational crisis. Plodders may do fine with religion because they keep their expectations low; but the Bonhoeffer's cannot live with minimal religion.

Many Christians simply quit. They tried it, and failed. Christianity as it has been given to them is not completely functional, at least not for them. There is one universal criteria that religion must meet: it must work. Whether we can figure out why it didn't work or not, we conclude that it didn't work if it doesn't provide stability in the trials of life. Our "Christianity" has not passed this test for many of those around us.

We need something solid to build on. We have in our hands what Jesus says will give a solid rock to build our life on. But it will only work if we do it. This is the problem in front of us: this Sermon on the Mount is not part of the "Christianity" that has been constructed. Everything in it is too difficult, too extreme; who would listen to us if we really taught this.

Isn't the easy way easier?

Which way?

2006-11-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

The way that leads away from the gate is difficult. We cannot determine that we are on the right road because of circumstances. Trials are a part of this way. We must walk by faith through our trials.

But we cannot determine that we are on the right road by faith alone. God gives faith; we may have faith even when we are on the wrong road. We cannot determine that we are on the right road by the works of faith that come through faith either.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" Matthew 7:21-23

We will not find the way by what we believe alone; believing the right things is not enough. We are justified by faith alone; we are reckoned by God to be righteous by faith alone. But we can only find the way in obedience.

The narrow way is found in doing the will of the Father. The way that leads to the kingdom of God is found in keeping His word. The outward works of faith are not enough; the outworking of the gifts of the Spirit are not enough. If we are walking in lawlessness, He does not know us. We have another master; we do not serve Him. We will not have an inheritance in His visible kingdom.

No one will overcome without Christ being the Shepherd and Guardian of his soul. Without a Shepherd, we will stray. We will get ourselves lost.

The only way we can determine which way is His way is in obedience to His word. His word is a lamp to our feet; the Word lights the way immediately in front of us. If we are lawless, we are not on the right road. We have strayed, just as all sheep do without a shepherd.

Our lawlessness can serve a good purpose, just as the Law was meant to do. We can be calling Him "Lord, Lord"; we can believe that He is our Lord. But if we are lawless, our lawlessness is telling us that we do not have a Shepherd keeping our soul. We need to return to the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls; we need to forsake the master that does rule us, denying him obedience. We need to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. While we may be confused about His kingdom, we are not confused about His righteousness. We have no excuses; our lawlessness is not His righteousness. Even we can tell the difference.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Him. This is not just at the point of justification; this is throughout our life. If we have another master, Jesus is not our way, our truth, or our life. He has been taken away by our neglect. But we cannot come to the Father without the Master we have abandoned.

The Christianity we have built emphasizes the outward. We want to think that the plagues of our soul can be hidden; we want to look at our outward success, not our inward lawlessness. We know what we believe is right; we call Jesus "Lord". But no one asks; no one tells. Lawlessness is the river that flows through our lives, and we pretend it is not carrying away those we love. Yet we are watching our favorite shows while a Category 5 is pounding the levees.

The way to the kingdom of God is found in doing the will of the Father; it is found in obedience in the small things. He who is faithful in little is faithful also in much. We can enter the kingdom of God; the will the Father can be done on earth.

He knows how to take me from here to there; I just need to follow the path that the Word lights for my feet today.

Which gate?

2006-11-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

We are to enter by the narrow gate, but which one? Other gates could look right. Who is leading us to the narrow gate?

Jesus immediately warned us about those who mislead others.

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." Matthew 7:15

These false prophets look right; they may have the appearances that we expect. But we cannot see their heart. They know themselves that something is wrong inside; they know they are not what they appear.

Jesus gives a way to distinguish the one who is speaking by the Spirit of God and one who is speaking from himself.

"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16-19

We cannot distinguish always what is of the Spirit of God, and what is not, by content. God may say what we do not want to hear, or what we do not understand. But we can distinguish the fruit of that spirit in the person's life, whether the fruit is good or bad. We should be able to taste that. Only the starving will be unable to taste the difference.

This a significant point. We do not judge a person in this way. We do not expect perfection out of another believer. But we are not judging the person of the prophet; we are judging the spirit within the prophet. The spirit which gives utterance to this person may be the Spirit of God, or it may be another spirit.

We know that each of us has tares along with the good seed. Each of us must seek for the kingdom of God sown in our heart, knowing that we are also infested with tares. But the prophet claims to have found the kingdom; he claims to speak for God. He is not claiming to be speaking for himself. He has either found his place in the kingdom of God, or he is deceived, or a deceiver, knowingly lying. The issue is the rule of the kingdom in this person.

We can know if the kingdom of God rules in this person, not by what he says, but by what he does. We see this mechanism in Galatians. A person is either walking by the Spirit of God, or he is walking in the strength of his flesh. The one who is walking by the Spirit of God yields the fruit of the Spirit; the one who is walking in his flesh yields the works of the flesh. Our flesh cannot produce the fruits of the Spirit. The two trees produce different fruit.

Paul is writing to believers in Galatian; this is not an issue between unbelievers and believers. It is believers who may turn to walking by the strength of the flesh. This is the whole intent of Galatians, to get believers back on the right path, walking by the Spirit of God.

This is the same mechanism in what Jesus taught. It is an issue of rule. We cannot serve two masters. The prophet who is ruled by another spirit cannot serve Christ. The prophet who is ruled by the Spirit of God will serve Christ his master. This is true for the prophets just as it is true for us.

We may look good, saying the right Christian things, maintaining appearances around other Christians, but know in our heart that the Bridegroom has been taken from us. We know that the Shepherd and Guardian of our soul is not at work in us. We know the plagues of our own heart. Someday, when we are honest with ourselves, we will fast, seeking the kingdom of God first, denying obedience to the things that have mastered us. We need this; the prophets also need this.

But we must sort out now those who speak in the name of God. They are leading others to destruction; they are keeping some from the narrow gate. We are no better than them, but we must determine which spirit is at work in them.

We do not think this way. We look at the outward. If a man speaks what sounds right to our ears, and looks good, we assume he is good. We do not try to look at who he is; we do not make an effort to examine the person. If we have not tasted good fruit, we may not be able to taste the difference. Our leaders are generally only held to the standard of numbers; the successful ones bring in money and bring in nice people. But if a man has been overcome by sin, he will not be able to set others free. He may hold all of the "right" doctrines in our particular denomination; he may play the part well, with all of the "right" mannerisms. He may put on a good show. But he will not make disciples of Jesus Christ; he has another master, whether he admits it to himself or not. He cannot lead others to the narrow gate; it would never occur to him.

It has been two thousand years since Jesus Christ spoke these words on a hillside somewhere. Many men have built on the foundation of Christianity over those years. Some spoke by the Spirit of God; some did not. What we call "Christianity" is the synthesis of two thousand years of teachings. What we think is "the right way" may not be; "the right way" may be culture, not Christ. We know we do little with what Jesus taught. The Gospels do not fit well into our Theologies. Most of us think the narrow gate is the point of becoming a Christian, nothing more.

We do not know which gate is the narrow gate; our prophets do not know either.

Entering His kingdom

2006-11-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had said to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. In Matthew 7, Jesus described the way.

"Enter by the narrow (stenos) gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small (stenos), and the way is narrow (thlibo) that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Matthew 7:13-14

This is where we will find the kingdom we are seeking. The narrow gate is restrictive (stenos); we cannot carry much through this gate. The way leading away from the gate is difficult (thlibo). The word rendered "narrow (thlibo)" is related to the word that we usually render "tribulations". This is the way that leads to life. Few find this way.

Jesus used contrast to describe this way. The difficult way is contrasted with an easy way. Another way leads to destruction. Its gate is wide, its way is broad. Many people take the other way. Jesus gave contrasting pictures of the two ways; without specifying immediately what is different between them, He makes it clear that they are very different.

This is the point of beginning for entering into the kingdom. The gate is restrictive. Jesus made that clear. For those who were looking for a revival of their nation, and victory over the Romans, this was not what they wanted to hear. For us who want our forms of Christianity to be blessed by God, this is not what we want to hear. The kingdom of God is not the "Easy Button".

This is where we must start: not with a sense of inclusion, but with an attitude of exclusion. We need to clearly say: "No, you cannot bring all of your stuff with you." Multitudes of people were listening to Jesus as He gave the Sermon on the Mount; but Jesus did not give something for a multitude, but something for an individual. He was saying to them, 'If you want to find the kingdom of God, you should understand now that the way is difficult.' This should be our message concerning discipleship. We should not be trying to make discipleship as easy as possible, lowering the bar for every level of effort. Discipleship should be understood to be restrictive and difficult. Fasting is a picture of this; fasting is restrictive and difficult. A disciple fasts; a disciple takes a restrictive and difficult path.

Like Jesus, we should have multitudes coming to see what is going on. But like Jesus also, we should point out to the multitudes the narrow gate. The door of the church should be open wide; the church should be a place where people can sit on the grass and listen to what this unique Man is saying. But we should distinguish between people gathered on a hillside and discipleship. We should feed the thousands gathered, providing for them what they do not have. But this is not discipleship. Those who are gathered to listen should see a small, restrictive door off to the side; it should be made clear that sitting in a padded pew is not discipleship. Discipleship is through that narrow door.

Our concept of discipleship has been conformed to our consumer-oriented world. The third leg of the tripod has been lost. Things are our master; the Bridegroom has been taken away from us. Fasting specifically is about food and drink; but the discipline can be applied to many parts of our world. We could fast for a time from television; this is not a decision that television itself is universally wrong, but that addiction is wrong. We could fast from electronic input. We could fast from our lifestyle. There is value in the disciplines of abstinence. Discipleship is restrictive; it is difficult.

But we need to have something on the other side of that small door, for there will be a few that want to go through. Others may want to later, but some want to go through now. They want significance; they want more than "dress and attend". If we do not have something significant to offer those who want to grow, they will find someone else.

"Beware of the false prophets..." Matthew 7:15

We should be able to put down on paper explicitly what discipleship is. If we cannot do that, then how can we make disciples of Jesus Christ. We should be able to describe the restrictive gate and difficult way without looking for words. A drill instructor in boot camp knows exactly what he is going to train recuits to do; he will do himself everything he orders them to do.

A few want to enter the kingdom; we should at least know where the door is.

Active prayer

2006-11-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

Jesus began what He taught on prayer in Matthew 7 with a picture of action, like someone asking for directions to a place, seeking to find that place, and then knocking on the door.

"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." Matthew 7:1-2

The Greek verbs for "ask", "seek", and "knock" are in a present imperative tense. This tense implies continuing action. "Keep asking..." "Keep seeking..." "Keep knocking..." His words describe an active pursuit, always getting what was prayed for.

And yet this is the problem with prayer. Jesus makes it sound like you get what you pray for; but this is not the experience for most people. We pray for a time; sometimes we get what we want, and other times we just finally give up.

The problem is in our paradigm. For us, prayer is about getting what we want. But this is not the picture in what Jesus said. Prayer begins with asking: asking for wisdom. Wisdom leads us to where we will find what we need. When we find it, we ask to enter. Prayer is not getting God to provide, but bringing us to God's provision.

Prayer is an interactive process. We are changed as we are given wisdom. We begin because of a need, but the wisdom from above gives us a direction that we did not see before. As we search in that place, we find provision for our need that may not be what we were certain we needed. But as we enter into that provision, we find that His provision is far better than what we could ask or think in the beginning.

This is not a Wizard of Oz substitution of cheap trinkets for genuine requests; this is our Father giving the good that only He can give. We would not give our children trinkets; He will not either.

"Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he should ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" Matthew 7:9-11

Our Father gives the good; we may need to work through the process in order to receive it. We need to leave the point of beginning. We have a need, but in that need we are to ask for wisdom. In wisdom, we will be led in a direction, perhaps in action, perhaps in thinking. This leading will lead to the provision for our need. Then we knock, asking to enter. But we are not where we were in the beginning. We have come to the place where He will provide.

There is a similar verse in Luke, when Jesus said something similar at another time.

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."
Luke 11:13

The good that Jesus was referring to in Matthew is pictured by giving the Holy Spirit in Luke. This is the basic process in prayer. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; as we pray, giving the Spirit the opportunity to shine, the light will shine throughout our body. The Holy Spirit can fill the body if He is allowed to be expressed. It is in interactive prayer that the process of giving wisdom, leading, and provision that we will receive the good that our heavenly Father wishes to give. This is not a passive process; we are an active part of prayer. We have an active part in receive the good, the Holy Spirit in our bodies.

"...keep being filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ."
Ephesians 5:18-21

This active pursuit in prayer is not in isolation. He gives wisdom; He may give it through another. He leads; He may lead us into closer fellowship. He gives provision; He may give provision through others. As we keep asking day by day, He may be actively answering us through those who are around us. Our relationships with others are crucial to the process of active prayer. Jesus made that the concluding point.

"Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

This is logically connected to what Jesus said about prayer, active prayer. Our prayers are to be part of life, coming from the concerns of life, and being shaped by the provisions that we find in life. Prayer is not an experiment in a bell jar, cut off from the world around us. Prayer works through a process that includes those around us. We grow, not in isolation, but in the interactions of a living body.

"...the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." Ephesians 4:15-16

We should pray; we should ask for what we need. But if it is important, we will need to pray actively. The things that mean the most to us are worthy the effort. We are not just dropping coins in a defective vending machine, hoping to get something back. We think we know what we want, but we may find that the good that He wants to give us is far better than the fix that we had in mind. But He gives what is good to those who keep asking. It is in the active process that we will enter into His provision. We just wanted something; He wants to bring us into something greater.

Prayer is not getting God to provide, but bringing us into God's provision.

Judging what to give

2006-11-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

Jesus taught about how we are to give in the Sermon on the Mount.

"Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured unto you." Matthew 7:1-2

In particular, Jesus is warning us that in the way we judge others, we will be judged. The measuring cup we use to give to others will be the same measuring cup that is used to give to us. God judges us in the same way we judge others. Luke 6 records a similar teaching.

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; release and you will be released. Give and it will be given back to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." Luke 6:36-38

God is at work in the circumstances of life, not to punish us for our hard heart, but to teach mercy. We are to be merciful, just as He is merciful. We are to be perfect, just as He is perfect. He has a purpose in what He is doing; He is diligent to return our judgments to us in such a way that we recognize that we are receiving something in return for what we have done to others. We are to live by a law of mercy for others.

"So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." James 2:12-13

Mercy, not judgment, is to guide us in what we give to others.

In mercy, we are to give richly to others. But in this mercy, we need to recognize that we also need help. In giving, we may come to see ourselves as better than those we help.

"And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Matthew 7:3-5

Jesus did not word what He said to imply that sometimes we have a worst problem than those we are helping; He said we will have a worst problem that those we are helping. We would not be noticing the speck if we were not judging; we are assured that we will find a larger problem in ourselves.

Our actual ability to help one another depends on finding what works in us, not what we think should work in them. We are being taught mercy toward one another; we are being taught our need for grace: grace that can help.

In giving, we give with mercy, being careful to not try to fix others. In giving, we are also to give what is wanted, not what we think they should have.

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under your feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." Matthew 7:6

A bucket of pearls may be of great value to us, but to a hungry pig, it is of no value. They are still hungry.

As we give, we are to freely give, without assuming that giving gives us the right to "fix" them, or assuming that those who receive will appreciate our values.

Giving is letting go.

An audience of one

2006-11-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

In each of the three spiritual disciplines, Jesus started with a contrast to the religious role-players of that culture. These men practiced their religion to be see by others. The consistent point that Jesus made is that the Father owes them nothing; they have no reward for their efforts. They did give money to feed the poor; they did pray; they did fast, frequently. Yet, there is no return from God for what they have truly done.

This is a serious point. We don't look like the Pharisees, but their failure to find reward is a warning to us. They appeared to be unware of the obvious hypocrisy in their practices. Is it possible that we are sharing the same failure.

The Pharisees played to an obvious audience; they even made certain that enough people were watching. But we may also be playing to an audience, an audience of one. We may be playing a religious part to our self-image.

What we do may not be to please our Father who is in secret. We may be seeking to satisfy a self-image that we have received from our culture. Jesus said that our left hand should not know what our right hand is doing as we give to the poor. This is what is necessary for the alms to be in secret. We cannot even perform for an audience of one; we should not consider what we do to be "spiritual".

This is even more significant in fasting. The very purpose of fasting is to humble our soul. We are very aware of fasting. The distinction in fasting is in what we are seeking. The parable of the Bridegroom makes it clear that we fast because the One we intended to serve has been taken from us. There is no religious self-image to satisfy in this. We have submitted to another master, who has taken the place of the Lord. We are not fasting because we are so spiritual; we are fasting because we are infested with tares. We are seeking to find His kingdom which has been choked with weeds in our heart; we are seeking His righteousness we realized we have lost. Fasting is not about getting our way in something; it is to repent from having taken our way.

There is a focus in fasting; we are seeking what we have lost by our own neglect. We are seeking to return to the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.

But we can fast to play a religious role, thinking that God can be moved by our "spirituality". This is seen in Isaiah 59.

"Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done righteousness,
And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight in the nearness of God.
Why have we fasted and Thou hast not seen?
Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
Behold you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like this to make your voice heard on high."
Isaiah 59:2-4

Fasting, without recognition of sin, is of no significance to God. Fasting to get our way is not heard on high. Fasting has purpose; fasting is to loosen the bonds of wickedness, beginning in me.

"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bonds of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And to break every yoke?
Isaiah 59:6

I am bound; I have been captured in wickedness. I am oppressed. I fast first for myself. The Bridegroom has been taken from me by my neglect.

This is where we begin in fasting. Fasting is not enduring the hunger or thirst; fasting is seeking. If we do not have something to seek for, why fast? He would not be impressed anyway.

Fasting is specifically related to what has mastered us; Jesus specifically addressed anxiety for food, drink, and clothing. But in our culture, many things have become masters, taking the place of the Bridegroom. Drugs, alcohol, sex, and media are only a few of what have become master over us; whatever we are unwilling to do without is master for us. Fasting must include these things as well; whatever has mastered us must be denied obedience. We can only serve one master; it only takes one master to keep the Bridegroom from us.

*******

None of this is within our paradigms. We delight in the nearness of the Lord; how can we possibly think that the Bridegroom has been taken from us. This would imply that we are in serious trouble. We are not prepared theologically or personally to accept this. But we know that things are not quite right; our soul knows that it has not really been kept. We know the tares are crowding in. But the cost is too high; we would have to admit we are holding to another master. We would have to admit that our actions reveal that we despise the Lord.

We know the Psalm: we just don't know what it feels like.

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want."

The Triune God

2006-11-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

The three spiritual disciplines that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount reflect the different relationships we have with the Persons of the Triune God.

With the Father, we have a relationship pictured by a father and son. We seek to please Him; we obey Him. We fear Him. This is a heart relationship.

With the Spirit, we have a union with our spirit. From within, the Spirit of God is our Helper. He helps us pray; He helps us speak. The Spirit works in our body, giving it life. Out of our innermost being flow rivers of living water. The Spirit is evident in our body.

With the Son, we have a relationship that deals with our soul. To follow Him we must lose our soul, in that we find it. We come to Him, taking His yoke; He gives rest to our soul. He is the Shepherd and Guardian of our soul.

These are different relationships. We need each of them. We are a trichotomous being; we have been made in His image. Each relationship is good, but none is enough by itself.

Jesus did not just teach noble ethics; He taught pragmatic mechanics. He did not teach spiritual ideals; He taught these spiritual disciplines because they work.

Good works are necessary, not because they obligate God, but because we need to be changed.

Prayer is necessary, not because we get our way through prayer, but because we need to be changed.

Fasting is necessary, not because it makes us master over our body, but because our Master has been taken away from us. We have been serving another master, and we have not recognized that the Bridegroom is gone. We know things are Not Quite Right, but we have never figured out why. We still have the Spirit; we still love the Father. Yet things are NQR. In His way, we need to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, denying obedience to our default master. We need a change.

Which of these is the most important? The answer depends on the person.

I John 2:12-14 indicates that spiritual children need the relationship with the Father, young men need a relationship with the Spirit, and fathers need a relationship with the Son.

As we grow, we will sense a lack; we will sense when things are Not Quite Right. The rich young ruler did; Jesus gave him a straight answer. He can give us a straight anwer; the kingdom of God is near.

Seek first His kingdom, everything else can wait.

Stability for the soul

2006-10-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Fasting is meant to give stability to the soul, not by means of mastery of the body, but by finding the Master.

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24

We cannot have two masters. Even if we think we serve the Lord, He is not Lord over us if any other thing has mastery over us. We cannot be a slave to God and riches both.

This does not mean we cannot possess riches, only that riches cannot possess us. What riches can provide us is not to be our focus.

"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; or for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Matthew 6:25-32

We are not to be focused on the provision of these necessary things. These things can become master over us if given opportunity; these things have been master over us. We need to seek His kingdom, the place where He is Master over us.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

His kingdom will not be found in the externals of life; His kingdom is sown within us. The good seed is the seed of the kingdom. We have the kingdom of God growing within us; we must look within our heart to find it.

But another master stands in the way, not in dark robes of evil, but in the normal everyday concerns of life. The disciplines of abstinence are the mechanisms to deal with this master. Simply, one day at a time, we can deny obedience to what has mastered us. We do need food and drink and clothing, but perhaps not today. We have held on to these things, not considering them to be master, but we have been unwilling to let go. For a time, for a day, we can let go.

"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

We simply deny obedience to the master who has stood in the way of the Lord. Without that master we can seek for His kingdom and His righteousness. The Lord can then add back that which we have let go of, but under His rule.

Why do we fast? It is simple: we wish to find the Master who has been taken away from us by another master. We have to choose: we cannot serve both.

"And Jesus said to them, 'The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'" Matthew 9:15 (this is also in Mark 2:19-20 and Luke 5:34-35)

The Bridegroom has been taken away from us, not by death and ascension, but by our willingness to let food and drink and clothing rule us. We had no need to mourn when He ruled over us; but if we recognize that He really doesn't rule because another has taken His place, we will mourn. We will deny obedience to the one who has usurped His authority.

All of our fine words calling Jesus Lord mean nothing if anything else is master over us. We cannot serve two masters. If we hold on to one master, we will despise the other; not in our words but in our actions. Our soul will be the slave of another master. The bridegroom, full of joy and gladness, will have been taken away from us.

When we see that He is not at our table full of food, we will fast.

We need the Shepherd and Guardian of our soul; we need Him.

Stability for the body

2006-10-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Prayer is for the body. Prayer illuminates our physical life. Prayer can be a light shining in our life, giving order and understanding to experience.

"The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" Matthew 6:22-23

The word rendered "single" here is a Greek word meaning literally not folded; it seems to have the meaning of simple, or single in viewpoint. The word rendered "bad" is a common word for evil, but the Greek word is from a word for toil. "Bad" in this sense is toilsome, or difficult.

Prayer can be the lamp of the body. Prayer can give a simple, straightforward viewpoint of life. This is what is in the Lord's Prayer.

"Our Father who art in heaven": God is our Father; we can understand how He is looking at us.

"Hallowed be Thy name": His name is in His word; the Scriptures are holy. We can understand that; in a simple, straightforward way we come to the Bible, giving it honor.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven": This world is not the expression of His will. We can understand that. The kingdom can come; His will can be done. But it comes to a place. We can understand that.

"Give us this day our daily bread.": God supplies our needs, one day at a time. We can understand that.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.": God gives mercy with His eyes open. We can understand that.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.": We need deliverance from evil; only God can do that, but He may work through trials. We can understand that.

This is a straightforward view of life. Prayer like this gives us a perspective on our physical life; it gives an order to what we do.

But if our prayers are really a toilsome effort to get our way, our physical life will not make sense. We will not understand what God is doing, or what we are supposed to do. Prayer should not be our will folded inside His will.

Simple, straightforward prayer gives our body stability. Light shines in our physical life; we can understand the difference between what God does, and what we do.

Pray then in this way.

Stability for the heart

2006-10-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Giving alms, giving to the poor, requires a choice to give to others. What is given could have been kept; whether it was saved or spent to gain something, it could have been used in this world. Jesus again used the language of the familiar to express the spiritual.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21

Treasures in heaven will last; treasures on earth may not even endure through our life.

But the treasures in heaven have been stored up for the same reason someone would store up treasures on earth. A high value has been placed on what is stored up. Those who store up treasures in heaven have just placed a high value on something different than the person who is accumulating possessions.

Those who lay up treasures in heaven are placing a high value on pleasing God; His reward is given for what has pleased Him. The action itself is without value if it does not please God; those who give to the poor in order to gain honor from men do not please God even if they gave more. The widow who gave a tiny amount of money pleased God far more than any of the men who gave great gifts; she gave all that she possessed. We are not obligating God by our good works; God was not obligated to give anything to the hypocrites, even though they gave to the poor. We are simply giving God pleasure by our good works. This is our treasure, that we have pleased God in this life in the things that we have done.

The impact of this is that if we treasure pleasing God, our heart follows this choice. Our thoughts are shaped by what we truly treasure. Our decision to please God feeds back into our heart. Our heart can find stability in this, a stability that it cannot find in the transient things of this world.

Pleasing a generous God is a good investment. The work of pleasing a generous God is good medicine for the heart.

Three mechanisms

2006-10-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

Jesus addressed three things in Matthew 6 in a very similar fashion, contrasting each with the role-playing of the religious in their culture. He made the same point that God will repay in each of these things.

Jesus is not detached from reality. He lived as a man; He understands the realities of life. We work because it is necessary to work. We make a living for ourselves and our family by getting paid for what we do. Getting paid is important to us.

This is what Jesus is addressing: getting paid - not just in money, but in a way that addresses the realities of life more than money alone.

What follows these three disciplines are explanations of the mechanisms that are at work in each.

The mechanism in alms is placing our treasure in heaven.

The mechanism in prayer is a healthy view of life.

The mechanism in fasting is the search for the kingdom of God within us.

The mechanisms deal with the pressure of materialism that each of us face. But the conclusion of the explanation of these three mechanisms is the assurance that our heavenly Father will provide all of the necessary concerns as we walk in these three disciplines.

"...and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:33-34

The three disciplines address what we are anxious about; we are not to give alms, pray, or fast because it is the "right" thing to do. We would be only playing a role. We are to give alms, pray, and fast because it makes our life right; we are repaid in a meaningful way.

We have a hard time accepting that we would work for God because He pays well. We keep wanting to get back up on the stage, acting the role of the wonderful person who does things because they are the right thing to do. But we still have to face our real life when we finish our pathetic performance. Our myth is about role-playing, the very thing that Jesus repeatedly addressed. He wasn't just slamming the Pharisees; He was embedding something for us. We can easily fall into the same trap, though we could never give as good of a performance as they did.

Yet our whole life is concerned with finding what pays well. It is an essential reality that should be extended fully into our relationship with God. He pays well; His business can afford to pay good employees what they are worth to Him. Jesus would not have repeatedly stated that the Father will repay if it wasn't important; He would not have said it if it were not true.

The King's gold is better than the glory of the stage.

Return on investment

2006-10-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

The three disciplines of Matthew 6- alms, prayer, and fasting- are each contrasted with the practices of the role-players, and are each repaid by God.

The word rendered repay or reward is apodidomi, meaning to give back. God is giving back to us what we gave to Him.

He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord.
The Lord will repay him for his good deed. Proverbs 19:17

God pays His debts.

God gives back in return for prayer. It is the essential hope of prayer, that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The third thing that Jesus said is repaid is fasting. The disciplines of abstinence, to use Dallas Willard's term, are repaid like the disciplines of giving to the poor and prayer. These three things are like a tripod. These three things give stability. Balancing a tripod on one leg or two legs is possible, but it is unstable. The slightest disturbance will cause it to fall.

We long for stability in life. We want to end the plate spinning, trying to keep a lot of unstable things going. We are tired of walking a tightrope, always a misstep from falling.

To repeat Dallas Willard's point: Jesus is not just a great teacher with high ethics. He is the smartest Man who ever lived. Listen to Him; He is really teaching a lot more than you think. Jesus just didn't mention alms, prayer, and fasting arbitrarily; these are essential. We will not be mislead by assuming that we can trust Jesus in what He teaches. This is what He commanded in the making of disciples: teach them to observe all that I commanded you. Jesus can teach us stability.

We have tried to create stability according to the paradigms that seem right to us. But even though prayer should make us stable, it doesn't seem to make us bulletproof. We look for the intimacy that will keep us close, yet we stray. Some, not many, have tried to create stability in the disciplines of involvement, to use Dallas Willard's term. But even as needful as these are, we do not find the stability in ourselves that we want. We have helped our brother, but we keep stumbling.

There is something in these three things, something deeper. There is a reason that these things together work.

There is a reason to fast: it fills a place that other things cannot.

A place within life

2006-10-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

Prayer is specific in time and place; giving alms is specific in time and place. But fasting is within life. In the course of everything else, one can fast. In fact, this is how Jesus teaches us to fast.

"And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your fast so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting is to be done within life, without any obvious indication to others that something is happening.

This practice is not like prayer: prayer involves communication, but fasting does not. It is not like giving to the poor: alms involves giving money, but fasting does not. Nothing is given, yet Jesus says that our Father will repay us. God is repaying us for something that we have done, yet fasting is the absence of eating.

Prayer is directed at God; alms are directed at the needs of our fellow man. God repays us for these things. Fasting is not directed at God, nor is it directed at our fellow man. Fasting is directed at our soul. We are humbling our soul through fasting. This is what God is repaying. Humbling our soul is just as much a work of faith as prayer or giving alms. It is significant to God, or He would not repay us for it.

Fasting, or any of the disciplines of denial, are just as much a part of the work of God as any of the disciplines of involvement. Our soul is of great value; it is worth more than the whole world. That which works to humble our soul works to bring a full salvation in life.

Each of these three disciplines - alms, prayer, and fasting - are significant. Each is rewarded. But each is different; each serves a different purpose. Prayer alone does not take the place of alms and fasting. All three are necessary.

The disciplines of denial fill a place within life that other disciplines do not.

Fasting is just as necessary as eating. We are hungry: hungry for something that food cannot satisfy.

The present reign

2006-10-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

A kingdom is a different form of government than a representative democracy. The few monarchies left in the world are generally limited monarchies; government is primarily administered on the basis of legal and legislative systems. The monarch is usually a figurehead, in some cases honored and respected, but without actual authority.

But the basis of government of an actual kingdom is the king. Originally a king had absolute authority, without limitations of any legal or legislative constraints. No one had rights before the king; the king's decisions were final. For us, this is the description of a dicatorship; for us, this is assumed to be inherently bad.

But the kingdom of God is ruled by a king. God reigns in the kingdom of God. He makes decisions based on His own authority. God is making decisions about us; we are subjects in the kingdom of God. We cannot manipulate the King, or appeal to a higher authority. God, without regard to what we think, can reward us or chastise us.

This is what Jesus taught. In His teaching about reconciliation with our brother, He warns us that we can be thrown into prison, until we have paid back the last cent. In His teaching about lust, He warns us that the whole body could be thrown into hell. God can chastise us in this life. It is part of the kingdom. God can also reward us in this life. In His teaching about giving to the poor, He tells us that God will repay us for what we have done. God is King; He makes decisions about us, judging the intentions of our heart.

Even in the issue of forgiveness, God is King. He will not forgive us for our transgressions, if we have not forgiven others for their transgressions against us. God is not acting in the darkness; nothing is darkness for Him. Our unwillingness to forgive another is plainly visible to Him even while we are asking for forgiveness.

"For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgression." Matthew 6:14-15

The kingdom of God is near to us; it is not near to the world. God does not deal with the world in this way. He deals with us as King; He is actively involved in our life.

Is He a dictator? Yes.

Does He know what He is doing? Yes.

Do we trust His decisions? Do we want a real King?

A prayer to pray

2006-10-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

Jesus gave His disciples a prayer to teach them to pray.

"Pray then in this way:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus had just taught them not to pray on a stage, either before men or God. But He then gave them a prayer. Is this not just acting a role, as we repeat these words?

The difference is not in the outward issues of which words are said; the difference is in the heart. To pray for men to see comes from a heart that see men as an audience to impress. To pray in ways that are intended to manipulate God comes from a heart that sees God as an audience to impress. But this prayer is not meant to impress God or man.

This prayer is meant to change us.

This prayer is about the name of God; but we usually do not give this any thought. This prayer is about the kingdom of God; but we are more interested in getting things our way. We want things, but this prayer only seeks what is needed for today. We want forgiveness, but this prayer connects forgiveness with how we have forgiven others. We do not want trials, but this prayer seeks deliverance from what has overcome us.

This prayer gives an example of what prayer is meant to be; it stands in contrast to how we usually pray.

But Jesus gave this prayer without an extensive explanation of what it meant. He briefly emphasized the point about a just forgiveness , but more could be said about everything in this prayer. Yet this is what He did.

How can a prayer that we only understand in very limited ways change us?

This prayer can change us because it is the word of God: it is seed that can spout and grow in a good heart. This prayer can yield a harvest where it is nurtured.

This is the mechanism of how this prayer can change us; not through extensive theological examination of its meanings, but by growth. What seems like a small thing at one point in time can result in an abundant harvest.

As we simply do what He said to do, this prayer will unfold within us. These few words can become the outpouring of a changed heart.

A place to pray

2006-10-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Jesus first taught His disciples to pray by making a point about the physical place.

"And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:5-6

God ignores the prayer made in the context of seeking honor from others. The physical place itself does not hide God from us; God has hidden Himself from the pride of man. We cannot pray from a stage. A physical place hidden from others removes us from concern for what others think. The place to pray is a place where we are alone with the hidden God.

But even physically alone, we can still be playing a role on a stage.

"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him."
Matthew 6:7-8

Trying to manipulate God is little different than a hypocrite praying publicly to seek honor from men. We are still performing on a stage.

Prayer is not meant to manipulate God; He already knows what we need. Prayer is honesty; man being honest with God. The place to pray is a place of honesty, without any role playing.

There is no stage in heaven, only a throne, before which only honest men can stand.

Intelligence in the kingdom

2006-10-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

We do not expect intelligence in government; government is to be based on law, without any place to make an intelligent decision.

But the kingdom of God governs with intelligence. God can distinguish between two things that are outwardly the same.

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:1-4

There are consequences in the kingdom of God that are not the result of physical actions. A physical action can be rewarded; the same physical action can also result in silence from God. God looks at us with intelligence; He knows what in is our heart. Cause and effect in this world come from physical laws, but cause and effect in the kingdom of God comes from His intelligence. He rewards men, and He chastises men.

"Make friends quickly with your oppponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you shall not come out of there, until you have paid up the last cent." Matthew 5:25-26

God rewards alms given from the heart; God chastises disregard of others. He does this with intelligence, He is not confused by any role-playing on our part.

This is not how we have learned to live. We have learned to hide what we are ashamed of, in order to maintain a proper appearance. It is an unspoken assumption that what is not seen does not count.

But there is intelligence in the kingdom of God. We cannot give something to a poor man without God seeing it; we cannot hide that from Him. We cannot disregard a brother without God seeing it; we cannot hide that from Him either. No matter how insignificant outwardly something is, it is significant. There are no timeouts; there are no sidelines. There is no darkness for God.

This intelligent God acts in real time; He rewards now and He chastens now. He acts like a father would act toward his children. No earthly father writes down the good and the bad in a book to settle accounts with his children later. An earthly father acts in the present moment, because that is when it can do some good.

Our heavenly Father acts in this present time; He acts with intelligence.

Sons of your Father

2006-10-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

When Jesus taught that we should love our enemies, He connected it to being a son of a heavenly Father.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love you neighbor, and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to shine to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus made a reference to one of the two most important parts of the Law: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This is the royal law; all of the Law hangs on this commandment and one other: "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." But what Jesus taught exceeded the requirements of the Law.

Jesus did not appeal to the Law as the basis of what He taught; He appealed to sonship. But we all have an earthly father; we are not the physical sons of a heavenly Father. Jesus is not appealing to a universal Fatherhood of God. He is specifically stating to those who are listening that God is their heavenly Father; they are to be different than all others because of this difference.

The basis of what Jesus taught is that something in us that is a son of the heavenly Father. This is the point that He makes in the parable of the tares: the good seed are the sons of the kingdom. Just as in the parable of the tares, the word "sons" is used, not the word "children". The word "sons" implies maturity; something in us is can be a mature expression of our heavenly Father.

What Jesus taught is what is necessary for us to express the life that our heavenly Father has conceived in us. We cannot make a son of the heavenly Father by doing the right things, but we can nurture the life that He has placed in us. The life that He has placed in us is like Him.
We are not just muddling through, trying to do the "right" thing; something alive inside us is seeking to be expressed in this world. His life within us is an accurate expression of who He is: nothing less.

In the kingdom of God, the will of the Father is done; the life inside us is that kingdom brought near in us. We are to be perfect like our heavenly Father because the kingdom of God is near.

Platitudes

2006-10-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

The teachings of the Sermon on the Mount are familiar to many, but are so obscure that most take them as platitudes, trite sayings without meaning. (Platitude is from the French word for flat, "plat".) His noble thoughts are taken to be two-dimensional, without depth. No one could expect people to live by what He taught. In some cases, what He taught is viewed as destructive: "give to him who asks of you".

What Jesus teaches are either meaningless platitudes, or His teachings are profound. He is either teaching about nothing, or He is teaching about something that no one else has ever taught.

As Jesus did from the beginning of His ministry, He is focusing on the kingdom of God. He is teaching how it works when the heavens have bowed down to a man; He is teaching how to live when the kingdom of heaven is near. What He teaches should be meaningless apart from the kingdom of God. If we do not see the dimension of the kingdom of God, then everything He says is flat, a platitude. If we are seeking the kingdom of God, everything He says is profound.

Things are different when the throne, the cherubim, the wheels within wheels, and the fire are at work inside. The paradigms of the usual world do not work; we need these new paradigms.

Domesticated Weeds

2006-10-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

Jesus addressed murder and adultery in one portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Society recognizes these things as bad; society concurs with a higher ethic in these things, though it cannot grasp the logic. But society does not accept His teaching on rights.

Human society is based on rights, justice, and ownership. However poorly this is implemented, these things are a basis of civilization. But Jesus taught what society cannot accept.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who want to borrow from you." Matthew 5:38-42

Human society cannot implement these ethics; it would not even want to. What Jesus teaches in this would produce chaos in the world. Society could not function without rights, justice, and ownership.

But Jesus is addressing a significant issue in the heart. Our selfishness is a tare; it is a more domesticated weed than murder or adultery, but it has still been sown by the evil one. This more than the others looks like wheat; it looks right. But every tare looks right in some way. A domesticated weed is still a weed in the kingdom of God.

Jesus gives us a path that denies a place for selfishness to grow, and hide the kingdom. But this path looks risky; and it is. The kingdom of God can only be purchased at the cost of all that we possess, and only at that cost.

What Jesus teaches is difficult only if the cost is too great. The kingdom is costly.

Soil Mechanics

2006-10-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

The tares are weeds growing in our heart, competing with the good seed, making the wheat harder to find. But the owner did not want to pull out the tares, knowing that the wheat would be ruined as well. In the same way, we cannot extract the evil from our heart. We must wait until the day when He removes evil from us.

But Jesus taught how we are to deal with evil now. In the parable of the sower, the seed grew well where the soil was good to grow in, and it did poorly where the soil was hostile. The soil is our heart; we can make a place for the good seed to grow. We can also make a hostile place for the tares; we choose what we give ourselves to.

This is the point in Romans 6.

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."
Romans 6:12-13

Jesus taught about anxiety, giving direction on what we can do. We cannot remove the evil, but we can direct ourselves in another path. He is addressing the soil of the parable, our heart; the kingdom is cultivated, but the weeds are not.

In the same way, when Jesus taught about murder, He addressed the soil of the parable, our heart. We cannot remove the evil, but we are given direction to make our heart a hostile place for hate.

When Jesus taught about adultery, He again addressed the soil of the parable, our heart. We cannot remove the evil, but we can remove what is giving evil an opportunity.

When Jesus taught about vows, He again addressed the soil of the parable, our heart. Even a small expression of pride in a foolish tradition is evil. We can choose to change what we say; in that the evil withers.

These are the means to deal with tares; neither we nor angels can pull them from our heart. But our heart is the soil in which the tares grow; we can make our heart a hard place for tares to grow in. The mechanisms are the soil mechanics of our heart.

Jesus taught this because He did this. He was man; He struggled with what we struggle with, and He overcame. The devil sowed his lies in Jesus in the wilderness; Jesus did not let them grow.

What Jesus taught are the mechanics to overcome; what He taught works in men. The kingdom of God is near; we can find it at work in us.

Gardening in the kingdom of God

2006-10-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

Just as Jesus directed us to seek the kingdom in the context of what He was teaching about anxiety, much of the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount are also related to cultivating the seeds of the kingdom of God within us. These are not just "nice" things; these are not platitudes. What Jesus taught is essential to nurture life within us.

The good seed has been sown in our heart; but tares have been sown as well. We cannot just let the things in our heart have free expression. Many things are designer weeds, meant to choke out the life of the kingdom. The parable of the tares explains what is behind what Jesus taught. We must deal with tares.

Jesus addressed murder; for human society to function, murder must be unlawful. But Jesus taught what we need for the kingdom of God to function within us. Anger against a brother is a tare that chokes out the life of the kingdom. Jesus had no intention that human society would try to implement what He taught; it cannot. But we can. What Jesus taught is for us to cultivate the kingdom of God within us.

"If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering at the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23-24

Relationships are significant; Jesus taught what is vital for us to find the workings of the kingdom of God.

Jesus addressed adultery; for human society to function, marriage must be given some respect. But the desire for adultery within us is a tare, whether or not it is fulfilled. Human society cannot legislate a pure heart; but we can watch over our heart. Again, Jesus addressed this in strong terms, using a frightening picture.

"And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29

Without considering further what He meant, we can see the importance that He is putting on direct action against the tares within us. Nothing in what He said suggests that we should let this slide.

Jesus addressed vows in their culture; for human society to function, contractual agreements must be binding. But vows in their culture carried a presumption of power. These are just quaint cultural practices, but Jesus called it evil. He was not looking at this from the Law of Moses, or from a sociological point view, He was looking at cultivating the kingdom of God.

The ethics of the Sermon on the Mount are not high ideals, which we should all try for, but which no one will really fulfill. The teachings of the Sermon on the Mount are a gardening handbook, a practical guide to cultivating the kingdom of God. This section is on weeds, spiritual weeds.

If we feel like the kingdom of God is hard to find, we should consider how healthy the weeds are.

Finding the kingdom

2006-10-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Jesus taught that we should seek the kingdom of God.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

A kingdom in this world should not be hard to find; it exists in a geographic place. But this kingdom does not exist in a particular place; we will not find it by going here or going there. The kingdom of God is found in righteousness, not in the right place. The kingdom of God is near to us, but it is not here.

The kingdom of God is at work in us; the good seed has been sown in our hearts. What we are seeking is not a place in this world, but the life that is growing inside us. The good seed will yield a harvest of righteousness in our life; we can recognize His kingdom working in us by what it yields.

"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." Matthew 7:17-18

But tares have been sown in our heart as well; not everything in our heart is good. We must seek for the kingdom among tares. The kingdom is expressed in righteousness; stumbling blocks and lawlessness do not come from the kingdom. Whatever is lawless is of the evil one.

For this reason, the search for the kingdom is in the context of what Jesus taught about anxiety.

"Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33

The tares planted in us need attention to grow; the anxiety for the things of this life can give strength to tares in us. We need to deny the tares the attention they want. The tares will choke the good seed if they are allowed to grow.

We can find what we are seeking for: the kingdom of God has sown seed in our heart. We can find the kingdom of God in us, but we will find it among tares. In order to find the kingdom, we must distinguish between what is actually good and what looks good.

Our heart is deceitful above all else; we deceive ourselves for tares are at work in our heart. The only objective means to distinguish between a good tree and a bad tree is the fruit. Bad fruit is from a bad tree, even if it has some very clever excuses why the fruit is bad. The kingdom of God is near, but we may need to chop down some trees in order to find the good tree.

Is it odd that the spirit of this age engenders a desire in us to hold on to everything? He is trying to hide the kingdom of God in the clutter of what we have filled our life with.

Seeking His kingdom

2006-10-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven is near.

"From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Matthew 4:17

As He taught, He continued to refer to this kingdom of heaven. He made a point about entering the kingdom of heaven.

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20

He preached that it is near, yet He also taught that it is difficult to enter.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21

This kingdom, near yet too difficult to enter, is somehow good news. The gospel is the good news of the kingdom ("gospel" is an Middle English word for good news).

"And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." Matthew 4:23

Those who came to Jesus saw that the kingdom of God was near to Him; in all that He did the kingdom of God was near to man. Yet what is this to a man, flawed and frail? How can he enter this kingdom?

Jesus described the point of entry into the kingdom as difficult.

"Enter by the narrow gate; for gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Matthew 7:13-14

In Luke, Jesus worded this differently on another occasion.

"Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able." Luke 13:24

This is not what we expect. We think in terms of the "Easy Button" at Staples. Somehow two thousand years of religion have made what Jesus said seem inconsistent with all that we think Christianity is.

This is the gospel that Jesus preached; this is what He thought was good news.

Is this kingdom worth looking for?

A dragnet in the sea

2006-10-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Jesus gave another parable about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew. Four parables had been about life that is sown into something; two had been about value. The seventh parable is about fish.

"Again the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:47-50

This parable speaks of a final judgment for mankind: the wicked are taken out from among the righteous at the end of the age.

But the point of the parable is that the kingdom of heaven is the net, stretched out over a wide area of the sea, drawing in everything. For fish in the sea, a net is an unescapable reality, forcing them toward the surface.

The parables that were told before had to do with the kingdom of God in a man; but this parable addresses the kingdom of God in the world. The kingdom of God persuades all men of a coming judgment.

Believers know they will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for the deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men..."
II Corinthians 5:10-11

Holiness is perfected in the fear of Christ.

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Christ."
II Corinthians 7:1

But the Holy Spirit also persuades the world of a judgment to come.

"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment..." John 16:8

The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit cannot work this in the world directly. The Holy Spirit works through us. We are the salt of the earth; we are the light of the world. Where the kingdom of God is near, the Holy Spirit is convicting the world of judgment.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are the fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma of death to death, to the other an aroma of life to life..." II Corinthians 2:14-16

The kingdom of God is like a dragnet in the sea, forcing all to a sense of coming judgment. For believers, it brings a sense of life; but for unbelievers, it brings a sense of death. This is at work where the kingdom of God is near, and only where it is near. We are the point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world; we should not be surprised if some do not want the kingdom of God near them.

Stumbling blocks

2006-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Jesus explained the parable of the tares to His disciples, identifying the parts. He was the sower of the good seed; the seed that became the sons of the kingdom. The devil was the sower of the tares; the seed that became the sons of the evil one.

The harvest is the end of the age. Angels, spiritual beings, will gather up out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness. These things, like the tares, have been allowed to grow until this time. Only at this time are these things gather up and burned. Stumbling blocks and lawlessness have been growing in His kingdom until this time. Both wheat and tares have been sown in the soil; we have both seeds in us.

The sons of the evil one in us become stumbling blocks and lawlessness in our life. Again, this is not about others; this is not about the weak elements in Christianity or society. This is what is at work in us. The small lies that we received lead to well established patterns that get in the way of faith; these are well engineered ways of thinking that stumble us as we seek to follow Christ. The small lies lead to strongholds that reject the authority of God; lawlessness comes from something that has been able to repell the kingdom of God. The sons of the evil one within us have become saboteurs; they have been doing all they can to hold back the work of the kingdom in us.

What we are to be cannot be seen fully until the stumbling blocks and lawlessness has been removed from us.

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father..." Matthew 13:43

This harvest is what Paul describes using a different metaphor.

"Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire." I Corinthians 3:12-15

This is what is at work in the kingdom of God: men are choosing what they are working with. What we are building may be of no value in the end, not because we did not work hard, but because of what we were using. Things of great beauty can be made from wood, but if the test is be fire, then wood was a poor choice, even though it is easier to work with.

Paul is using a different allegory, but the picture is similar to the parable of the tares. We are building in ourselves, upon the one foundation Jesus Christ. But we can choose to use what will not stand the judgment of fire. During our life, we may think we have done well, because we have been busy. But what is in us will either be from good seed or a lie. What we receive into our heart, and allowed to grow, will grow. This is the choice of materials in the picture of building a house.

What the parable of the tares adds to the picture is the life that is growing within us, both the life of the sons of the kingdom and the life of the sons of the evil one. We tend to see ourselves as one person, just with lots of stuff going on. But what Jesus described is a person in whom something made by God is growing and something made by the evil one is growing. Our life will be influenced by both.

This works out to the seeming chaos of life. We want to do good things but find that it does not work out. What we don't recognize that this particular habit in one part of our life has been instrumental in preventing growth in another. We look at our life as separate pieces without realizing that everything has an impact. We do not see that some of our habits are saboteurs, intentionally stumbling our growth. We do not see the impact of our "little" sins.

We want our sins to be a consumer commodities, to be used, and then discarded. But these sins that we choose to use, thinking everything will be OK once we are done, are not lifeless objects that stay put. They are competitive weeds, taking every opportunity to grow; if fed they become larger. They are intentional saboteurs to the work of the kingdom in us; in every way they can, they become a stumbling block to growth.

This is who we are; we have at work in us things that we don't want to admit are even there. Tares have been sown in our heart.

Plant science: tares

2006-09-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

The tares of the parable are most likely a species of annual ryegrass: Lolium temulentum, also known as darnel. It is a member of the family of true grasses: Poaceae; ryegrass makes up the genus Lolium. Wheat is also a member of this family, but in a different genus: Triticum.

Both are similar in appearance during growth, but differentiate as they mature. Wheat bears a tufted head of kernals; darnel bears a zigzagged head of smaller seeds. The plants are easily distinguished by their seed heads.

"But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also." Matthew 13:26

Weeds in general look different than wheat from the time they first sprout. Most are broad leafed plants, very different than grasses. Thistles look like thistles from the first true leaf.

But this parable refers to a plant that looks like wheat until it is mature. The picture is not one of obvious good versus obvious bad. Rather it is a picture of similar things that yield differ results.

Ryegrass is a host to a fungal endophyte that is carried on its seeds. It can act as a poison if consumed. The owner's plan to harvest first the tares, keeping them separate, reflects this concern. They understood tares were poisonous.

But darnel is also a competitive weed; it can seriously reduce the yield of wheat. Today, various types of annual ryegrass are a major problem for wheat growers in the US and Australia.

The parable of the tares pictures a spiritual competition in us. Plants compete for light, nutrients, and water. What one plant takes will not be available to the plant next to it. It is the same for us; what is taken by the evil growing in us is being taken away from the good.

This is a picture of the kingdom of God; this is a reality within us. We have the good seed growing within us; we also have tares competing with the wheat. The tares even look like wheat for a time. But the harvest that comes from the tares is poisonous; if mixed with the wheat, the tares will poison the wheat as well.

The clever lies that seem to be good for a time can make us unfruitful in the end. Tares have been sown with the wheat; a spiritual struggle is present within us.

It isn't all good; God did not sow the tares.

Rooted together

2006-09-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

The parable of the tares illustrates a significant question: why is there evil in us?

"...And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.'" Matthew 13:28-29

This is not just a question about evil in the world; the question is about our very nature. We try to look at ourselves in terms of a single personality; we try to explain what we do in terms of experience and influence. We interpret the new birth as being a new birth in this single personality. But the reality of what believers do is difficult to explain if this single personality has been completely transformed. We are forced to rely on escape clauses: "they must not have been saved".

The picture that Jesus gives in the parable of the sower is that our human existance is the soil. (Adam was named for the dirt he came from.) Rebirth is spiritual. A spiritual seed, received by the soil, grows into something spiritual. In the parable of the tares, Jesus added another piece. Some evil can grow in the soil as well. Who "I" am is not well expressed by the dirt alone; I am much more than that. I have in me a son of the kingdom; something in me came from God's hand, and is growing under His care. But I have in me also sons of the evil one. In whatever I have accepted a lie, something is growing, something evil.

How can someone who is born again become addicted to something: drugs, gambling, porn, alcohol, gossip, depression? Simple: he received a lie, and then allowed it to grow. Sin is not a consumer commodity to be used as we please, and then discarded. Sin is a living spirit that will grow if it is given a chance. We will do what we never intended. The monsters in the news that do inhuman things may not be monsters. Those who thought they knew them are sometimes completely surprised by what happened. Some may have been good people in other areas of their life, but they have let something grow. What we allowed in something little has become something monsterous.

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much." Luke 16:10

A very little deception can become the entry point for something very evil.

Should God remove this evil in us? The parable of the tares points out that He is choosing not to uproot it; the fix would destroy what He planted in us. These things are rooted together in us.

The tares are our responsibility. Jesus faced the lies of the evil one; He withstood each temptation. We are the soil; what we allow to grow is our choice. Nothing can grow that we have not allowed. We must be carried away by our own longings; we must buy the lie.

"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." James 1:14-15

It is what we receive that determines what grows in us. The word has already been sown in our heart; we can choose to allow it to grow in us.

"Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls."
James 1:21

We do not live in a fairy tale world of "good Christian men"; we live in a "little shop of horrors" world. In this world, evil grows in ways we never intended. A good, devout, responsible man can murder his twin daughters for no apparent reason.

It is not the dirt that bears fruit; it is what grows in it.

Honesty

2006-09-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

The parable of the tares easily leads one who is listening to assume that he is a son of the kingdom. For the Jews who listened, this was their theology. They, as the sons of Abraham, would be the sons of the kingdom; all others are therefore the sons of the evil one.

John the Baptist spoke against this attitude.

"Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." Matthew 3:8-9

God could make statues that look like Abraham; they would do nothing either.

We can listen to this parable in the same way, only taking Christians to be the sons of the kingdom. Are not Christians born again by the living and abiding word of God? That should make us sons of the kingdom. Jesus has just scattered us across the world, and the devil has scattered his sons across the same world.

But to take the parable in this way leads to a straightforward conclusion that we were always the sons of the kingdom, for we were sown that way. Then how can we have been dead in our trespasses and sins, if we were sown the sons of the kingdom?

This would also make Jesus less than honest.

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water."'" John 7:37-38

(His statements would need some fine print about not applying to the sons of the evil one.)

If we assume that we are sons of the kingdom, then how do we explain ourselves? How can a son of the kingdom contain what we know is in our heart? Would we not fit better in the category of the stumbling blocks and lawless? Imputed righteousness not withstanding, how can we assume that a son of the kingdom would do what we do, unless being a son of the kingdom, sown by Jesus Christ, does not really result in real righteousness.

If the sons of the evil one are those around us, then nothing can be done for them. We would be living in a world with a race that is completely without hope and without God. Our theology would turn our heart to stone against the rest of mankind.

But this is not the heart of God.

"This is good and acceptable in the sight of our God and Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time." I Timothy 2:3-6

Jesus did not physically sow men; the devil did not physically sow men. Jesus sowed the word of the kingdom. The sons of the kingdom grow from that seed. But just as Jesus sowed good seed, the devil sowed tares in the same ground. The devil sows lies; lies that take root and grow.

Honesty tells us that He was describing us; we have the good seed in ourselves, and we have tares. We have things growing in us that came from the devil. We may even know when the tares were sown.

This parable has nothing to do with looking down on others; it is describing a painful reality about ourselves.

A kingdom in a man

2006-09-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

The parable of the tares shows a use of language that does not fit our understanding of meanings. The sons of the kingdom should be persons, flesh and blood sons. The sons of the evil one should also be persons, flesh and blood sons. Yet our normal use of the language does not fit how Scripture sometimes uses this term.

"Now there came a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came in among them." Job 1:6

The sons of God did not have flesh and blood; they were spirits, for God is a spirit. What is born of a spirit is spirit. The sons of a spiritual kingdom are spiritual sons; the sons of a evil spirit are also spiritual sons.

The wheat comes from the word of the kingdom of God; it is growth of something spiritual in a human. In the same way, the tares come from the lies of the evil one; it is the growth of something evil spiritually in a human.

The story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 illustrates this understanding of something growing in a human. The king of the New Babylonian Empire had a dream that terrified him; he sought an interpretation from his counselors, but no meaning was offered. He called for Daniel, who he knew understood dreams and mysteries. When Daniel heard the dream, he told him the meaning. In a year, the dream was fulfilled.

The dream and its fulfillment give an example of how God views a man.

The dream was of a great tree, visible throughout the earth. All of the animals of the earth gathered to it, and found food and shelter in it. But in the dream, an angel called out from heaven to chop down the tree, cut off its branches, scatter them. Yet the angel said to leave the stump in the ground. The angel said that his heart should be changed to the heart of a beast.

Daniel explained that the tree that he saw in the dream was him.

"...it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your greatness has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth." Daniel 4:22

The tree was Nebuchadnezzar, but in the account that follows, when he spoke to exalt himself a year later, the man Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind. He became like a beast, eating grass, living away from man. The man Nebuchadnezzar in our use of the word was still there; his body was alive. All that we physically recognize as human was there, except the mind.

Daniel heard the dream, and concluded that since the stump was left in the ground, his kingdom was assured to Nebuchadnezzar after the seven years. The stump of the great tree was part of his kingdom; most was cut down, but the stump and roots remained.

In this dream, the part that we would call "human" would be the dirt, and only the dirt. The great tree was a kingdom that had grown great.

In the same way, the parable of the tares is using this view of a man; it is using the same view as the parable of the sower. Men are the dirt of the field. The sons of the kingdom are spiritual sons that grow in the dirt; the sons of the evil one are spiritual sons that also grow in the same dirt.

Kingdoms can take root in a man and grow.

The parable of the tares

2006-09-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Jesus used parables to explain the kingdom of heaven. Each parable makes a primary point; each parable adds something to the whole description of the kingdom of God. One parable may emphasize one aspect; another a different aspect. Jesus gave an explanation for some of the parables; others He did not. The parables were meant to be pondered in order to be understood.

Jesus told one parable about a sower sowing seed on different soils. The primary point is that the different soils matter in the growth of the seed. This parable had one seed, but different soils. Jesus explained this parable, stating that the seed was the word of the kingdom, and soil was the heart of man.

Jesus told another parable, but using two different seeds.

"He presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?" And he said to them, "An enemy has done this!" And the slaves said to him, "Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?" But he said, "No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow them both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"'" Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus explained this one as well. He is the Sower who sowed good seed; He is the Son of Man. But His enemy, the devil, sowed bad seed in the same field. Jesus explained that the field is the world. Jesus went on to state that the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the bad seed are the sons of the evil one.

Now the parable could be taken as saying that some men are sons of the kingdom, and were born that way. And some men are sons of the evil one, and were born that way. This would then imply that men are simply made the way they are; they can have no other destiny. Tares cannot become wheat, nor can wheat become tares.

But this does not agree with the point of the parable of the sower, nor does it agree what Peter wrote.

"...for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, the living and abiding word of God." I Peter 1:23

The seed gives us a new birth; we did not always have life. The life was sown in us, sprouted, and took root. This is the picture in the parable of the sower. The imperishable seed is the son of the kingdom, not us. We are the soil that the seed grows in. The wheat grows in us.

If we as a person became the soil for the word of the kingdom, then we as a person can become the soil for the bad seed. Whatever is received into the soil grows. It is our choice.

A son of the kingdom can grow in us, and a son of the evil one can grow in us as well. In both cases it is an issue of a life growing in us. What we receive will grow in us. We do not construct wheat; we do not construct tares. The nature of the seed determines the outcome.

The parable of the tares works with the parable of the sower, expanding the description of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven brings life from above; the kingdom of the devil brings his life.

Sons of the kingdom grow from good seed; Christ can be formed in us. Sons of the evil one grow from bad seed; the devil can be formed in us.

When Jesus asked His disciples who He was, Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied to Peter saying that he was blessed because the Father was the One who revealed this to him. But immediately afterwards in Matthew, Jesus rebuked Peter, but in the name of Satan.

"But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.'" Matthew 16:23

In the same person, the Father was revealing truth, and Satan was also active.

Be careful what you accept.

Significant treasures

2006-09-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Jesus told two parables about the kingdom of God using a picture of a purchase.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys the field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Matthew 13:44-45

The thing that was common to both parables is that the man sold all that he had to buy something he treasured.

In the first parable, the one who sold the land did not know how valuable it was; the owner of the field did not know that there was a treasure hidden in it. The emphasis is that others do not know how valuable the kingdom of heaven is. They would sell it for far less than it is worth.

In the second parable, the one who bought the pearl was convinced that the pearl was worth the price. He bought and sold pearls; he knew that this one was of great value. He was willing to pay a great price because he believed it was worth even more. The emphasis is that a man needs to make this choice; he needs to choose to do something that will cost him everything. We cannot purchase this one thing, and still hold on to everything else.

What is also common to both parables is that others did not fully understand how much what they had was worth. The kingdom of God is of great value, but only some know the full value.

The kingdom of God is a significant treasure. In the midst of a world of insignificance, the kingdom of God is the one thing that is worth the price we pay. It is the one thing that does not end up in a landfill.

Its selling price is fixed; it has always been for sale for the same price. It has always cost all that we have.

The leaven of the kingdom

2006-09-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Jesus told another parable about the kingdom of God, using leaven at the picture.

"He spoke another parable to them, 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.'"
Matthew 13:33

Just as the seed sown on the ground pictures the word sown in the heart, the leaven in the meal pictures the life of the kingdom mixed in our natural life.

They did not have prepared yeast to mix with flour; they kept a small amount of leavened dough to use to leaven the next batch of meal. They mixed two things that were similar, except that one had life. In the same way, the life of the kingdom can seem to get lost in daily life. But the little thing that seemed to be lost, can change the whole.

The point of the parable is that the life of the kingdom can change the whole individual, but it will take time.

Small seeds

2006-09-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

Jesus gave another parable concerning the kingdom God which used seed in another way. The parable of the mustard seed is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 13.

"He presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" Matthew 13:31-32

The point is that the seed is smaller than all other garden seeds, and yet it produces something larger. The kingdom of God can work in this way. A very small amount of information can produce great consequences. The word of the kingdom is the seed; the field is the heart. The logos of the kingdom even in a small quantity can grow into something of great size and influence not only in us, but in this world.

We tend to emphasize the quantity of knowledge today, just as they did in the time of Christ. Yet what we see in history and in our world today are those with a singular focus having great impacts. Saint Benedict of Nursia wrote some simple rules for his monastic community, and provided a foundation for monasticism in the west. Martin Luther had a focus on justification by faith, and began the Protestant reformation. William Carey had a focus on bringing the Gospel to other cultures, and began the modern missionary movement. Small seeds can become significant impacts our world.

In the kingdom of God, life focused in a small thing in an individual can produce a great impact in this world.

Annual crops in the kingdom of God

2006-09-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Jesus repeated the use of seeds in other parables.

In the Gospel of Mark only, Jesus told a parable describing how we sow seeds, having no understanding of how they grow, and yet we sow expecting to reap a harvest.

"And He was saying, 'The kingdom of God is like a man, who casts seed upon the soil; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed spouts up and grows - how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-29

The point of the parable is that, in the kingdom of God, the word grows on its own, without our efforts. The investment cycle begins with sowing seed; in the course of growth no seeds are to be found. What was just a seed in our hand becomes something very different, very not seed-like. But in time, new seeds are seen in the mature grain. It is then the time for harvest; the investment cycle is completed when the word that we sowed in the beginning has been replicated fully.

This is part of doing business with the riches of the kingdom of God. We don't have to understand how the word can grow in a man; we should just expect it.

The parable of the sower

2006-09-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Jesus expressed the mysteries of the kingdom in parables. He told a story about a man sowing seed.

"...Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Matthew 13:3-8

Later He explained it to His disciples. The seed is the word of the kingdom. The soil is the heart of a man.

The kingdom of God is about life. Life that can be sown like seed; life that can grow and produce a harvest of more seed. We are the medium for life to take root and grow, but the life is different than the medium. The kingdom of God is not about our life; it is about a life that has been planted in us.

The parable of the sower illustrates the economy of the kingdom. Sow seed; harvest much more seed. Sow life; harvest much more life.

This life comes from the word of the kingdom.

The means to reign

2006-09-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

The economy of the kingdom of God is based on life; the life of Christ is the riches of the kingdom. This is what the kingdom of God brings to us.

We do not have the life from above in our bodies. Our body is dead to what God intends.

"And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness." Romans 8:10

We can be born again, with the Spirit dwelling within us, and yet have a body without life. This is the point in Romans 7. A law is at work in the body that is opposed to the law at work in our minds. We find that we do not do the things that we want to do, but do the things that we do not want.

This is not an issue of "willpower"; this is an issue of authority. Sin reigns through the death that comes from sins. Sin has the authority to reign. We cannot wish this away, or work it away. Sin has authority to keep us its slaves because of death.

The kingdom of God can deal with sin because it brings life. Sin reigns through death; where there is life, sin does not reign.

"...as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:21

Grace reigns where there is life. The kingdom of sin has no authority where there is life.

But God can give life to our mortal bodies here.

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." Romans 8:11

In the landscape of our world, under the domain of darkness, with sin reigning in each individual, there are exceptions. The heavens have bowed down in places; in places there is life. In those places sin does not reign; the King reigns there. The kingdom of God is near in those places. Life is at work where the kingdom of God is near. This is the only place where life is found.

The economy of the kingdom

2006-09-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

Jesus described the kingdom of God with many parables, using a variety of pictures to illustrate different aspects. One parable that illustrates the responsibility that we have is the parable of the talents in Matthew 25; a similar parable is found in Luke 19.

The parable tells of a man about to go on a journey who entrusted his possessions to his servants. In the parable in Matthew 25, he entrusted differing amounts to each servant, based on his ability. In the parable in Luke 19, he entrusted the same amount. Jesus told this parable in differing ways at different times, perhaps to emphasize the most important point. In Luke 19, the man told his servants, "Do business with this until I come back." This is not stated in Matthew 25, but the servants in that story also did business with what their master had entrusted to them. But in both stories, one servant hid what his master had given him. When the man returned, he found that his servants had earned more for him by what they had done with his money. But the one who had hid the money, had gained nothing; he had kept it safe, and gave back what had been given to him. The man was angry with the slave who had done nothing; the slave sought to justify his inaction saying that he was afraid to use it, thinking he may lose it in business. But the man replied that at the least he should have taken it to the bankers; they would at least give interest.

This parable of Jesus speaks to the issue of our responsibility in the kingdom of God, but one thing must be determined. What is it that the parable is illustrating by money? What is the economy of the kingdom?

Jesus spoke of money in another place in Luke.

"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?" Luke 16:9-12

Money is not the true riches; it is not money that is the issue in the parable of the talents.

Neither is it something that we possess; it is not our abilities, or talents, or gifts. We cannot do business with these things.

The economy of the kingdom is based on life. The life that is in Jesus Christ is the true riches.

We have been entrusted with this life, His life within us. With this life we do business. We can take this life into the world; we will bring back more than we brought out. We can also bury this life; we can do nothing, take no risks. The life endures, but it does not multiply hidden away.

He has given us His life; He expects much in return.

Responsibility in the kingdom

2006-09-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

The heavens are bowed down for the kingdom of God to come near to a man. An individual becomes the point of contact between the kingdom of heaven and the world. Like Gideon, he is given authority over things in this life. Because the kingdom of God is near, an individual becomes significant.

This is inherent in the message of Jesus Christ. We are the light of the world; we are the salt of the earth. Not because we were the light of the world, or the salt of the earth. We were not. But as a point of contact between the kingdom of heaven and this world, we are given the power to be these things. In this He holds us responsible.

"...And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." Luke 12:48

The power of the kingdom of God is available; God can hold me responsible for what I have done with that. He expects nothing out of the strength of my flesh; He can expect something from what He has made available to me.

This is the central issue of repentance. We are used to muddling; we are used to failing. We have built a culture around our failure to be holy. We expect little from ourselves. We like a good movie about heroes who do something, who never give up. But that is as close as we want to come to a real challenge. Repentance is not being sorry that we are weak; repentance is changing how we think about life. We are weak, so what! Are we to keep beating a dead horse?

Repentance is to embrace the kingdom of God coming near in me. Repentance is to embrace responsibility as a son of God. Repentance is to let go of our role as the infants of God.

The Lord is with you

2006-09-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

The story of Gideon illustrates the nearness of the kingdom of God. In particular, Gideon provides an example of how we expect God to work.

In the time of Gideon, Israel had turned again to the idols of the cultures around them. The Lord gave Israel into the hand of Midian, who oppressed them severely for seven years. Midian took everything they could find from one end of Israel to the other. Israel finally cried out to God.

An angel appeared to Gideon as he was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites.

"And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior."" Judges 6:11

The angel said that the Lord was with him, but Gibeon replied to the issue of the Lord being with Israel.

"Then Gideon said to him, 'O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, "Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?" But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.'" Judges 6:13

Gideon had lived through the seven years of oppression; his older brothers had been put to death by the kings of Midian. He does not think that the Lord is with Israel.

But the angel spoke to him again.

"And the Lord looked at him and said, 'Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?'" Judges 6:14

The angel made it more clear; the Lord was with him, the individual, not Israel the nation. Gideon was to deliver Israel.

But Gideon replied that his father's house was the smallest in his tribe, and he was the youngest. Gideon's expectation was that God would work through others, not him. But the angel spoke to him again.

"But the Lord said to him, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.'" Judges 6:16

Gideon illustrates our attitude. We expect God to somehow work in the world to fix what is wrong. We are not expecting God to do it through "me".

This is the workings of the kingdom of God; the kingdom comes near to an individual to fulfill its intention. Israel had cried out; the Lord spoke to Gideon. Israel was delivered through Gideon. Midian was given into the hand of Gideon, not the hand of Israel. If Gideon had not acted, Israel would not have been delivered.

The point of contact between this world and the kingdom of heaven is an individual. The power of the kingdom of God works through a person.

The effect of the kingdom

2006-09-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

The kingdom of God works in a man to train him to overcome the world around him. The kingdom does not just change the world around a man without changing him. We must be changed; the world is then changed by us.

Psalm 18 illustrates this in the language of David, the king of Israel. The language uses the words of warfare; David spoke as he was moved by the Holy Spirit speaking of his experiences. The Lord trained his hands for battle; He made him able to fight. We face a spiritual battle, hidden within the struggles of life. But what David wrote has been written for us; we can experience the same God of our salvation.

In our distress we call out to Him; He bows the heavens and comes down. He sets us free, putting us a in broad place. He gives us light; He trains us to fight. The kingdom comes near, and changes us. We then change the world around us.

"I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.
For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle;
Thou has subdued under me those who rose up against me.
Thou hast also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I destroyed those who hated me.
They cried out for help, but there was none to save,
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
Thou hast delivered me from the contentions of the people;
Thou hast placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners fade away,
And coming trembling out of their fortresses."
Psalm 18:37-45

Twenty times in this passage David used the word "I" or "me". The kingdom of God works through "me", not "them".

Man was meant to rule the earth; sin has enslaved him. The kingdom of God can restore rule to man. The kingdom of God brings salvation to a man, saving him to the uttermost.

"You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." I John 4:4

The work of the kingdom

2006-09-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

The kingdom of God comes near to one who calls. The Lord bows the heavens and comes down. Psalm 18 describes the work of the kingdom.

"He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me."
Psalm 18:16-19

The kingdom of God sets an individual free from what has overcome him. This is what Jesus read to the synagogue concerning the gospel of the kingdom.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."
Luke 4:18-19

This is the good news that was evident in Jesus Christ. He set free the downtrodden. But Jesus did more than that; He trained disciples.

This is what is seen in Psalm 18.

"For Thou dost light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
For by Thee I can run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
The God who girds me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?
He makes my feet like hinds' feet,
And sets me upon my high places.
He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Thou hast given me the shield of Thy salvation,
And Thy right hand upholds me;
And Thy gentleness makes me great.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped."
Psalm 18:28-36

This is the work of the kingdom of God; it sets a man free, and trains him to fight. The kingdom of God begins in a man, and works through that man. The world around him will be changed by him.

The kingdom comes near

2006-09-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

In his vision, Ezekiel saw inside the cloud; he saw four living creatures, fire, an expanse, a throne, and One sitting on the throne. What he saw is similar to what John describes in heaven in the book of Revelation 4. What is significant is that Ezekiel saw this on earth. The throne of God came down to earth; the kingdom came near. Ezekiel saw this in a vision while he was in exile in Babylon. The kingdom of God came near to him on the plains of Babylon.

David describes the kingdom coming in Psalm 18.

"He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them."
Psalm 18:9-14

He bowed the heavens, and came down. What is in heaven came down to earth. David described the kingdom of God coming down to earth, just as Ezekiel did.

But what is important to see in Psalm 18 is that the kingdom of God came down because someone called out to Him.

"The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears."
Psalm 18:4-6

David called out of his utter helplessness; his voice was heard in heaven in the temple of God. A man called from earth; the earth was shaken because of it.

"Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it."
Psalm 18:7-8

God became angry; He bowed the heavens and came down to earth.

The kingdom of God comes near because of the voice of man.

Point of contact

2006-09-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

The kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven. It is not a kingdom of earth; it does not consist of things that man has made. The kingdom of God is eternal; it has always been and it will always be.

But it can come near to earth. This is seen in Scripture.

The Lord came down to earth on Mount Sinai. The appearance to Israel was of a thick cloud, covering the mountain.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently." Exodus 19:18

The kingdom of God came down in a place for a time. Moses went up the mountain; he spoke with God on the mountain. He received tablets of stone fashioned by the finger of God. The kingdom of God had come near.

Ezekiel saw this cloud as well; he saw it coming across the plain.

"And as I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire." Ezekiel 1:4

Ezekiel described what he saw inside the cloud.

"And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings. And their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man, all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went." Ezekiel 1:5-12

Ezekiel saw four living beings inside the cloud, like nothing he had ever seen. He described them using similarities to living creatures, but these living beings were far more complex. What is at work inside the cloud is not based on the work of man. These living beings live within fire; they move like lightning.

"In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning." Ezekiel 1:13-14

Inside the cloud is fire and lightning; things happen quickly inside. What is at work around them are interworking mechanisms far more complex than the mechanisms of man.

"Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions, without turning as they moved. As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. And whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose above the earth, the wheels rose also. Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living being was in the wheels." Ezekiel 1:15-21

The kingdom of God works through complex mechanisms, yet with full vision in what it is doing. The kingdom of God works together in all things; nothing is disconnected or inconsistent. The kingdom of God works with one purpose; it is moved by one Spirit. It is a kingdom, not defined by a place on earth, but by what is above it.

"Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, extended over their heads. And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering their bodies on the one side and on the other. I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings." Ezekiel 1:22-25

This kingdom comes with awesome sound, but when it rests in a place, it is quiet. Then the King can be heard when He speaks.

"Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of his loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking." Ezekiel 1:26-28

This is the kingdom of God which comes near. This is the point of contact between heaven and earth. In a place and in a time, the workings of heaven come down to earth in holiness. In that place and time He speaks to man.

Not the kingdom

2006-09-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

The message of Jesus Christ centers on the kingdom of God. But just as those who listened to Him had their own understanding of what the kingdom of God was, we also can translate His message into terms of a kingdom that fits our understanding.

We can interpret the kingdom of God as the kingdom coming, not present in this time. Some of what Jesus teaches can be easily understood in this way. We can interpret the kingdom of God as a general overriding presence of God in our world. Since He is King and reigns overall, this seems appropriate. We can interpret the kingdom of God in more specific terms, making it equivalent to particular aspects of this world. In general, most theologians seem to hold that the kingdom of God has a present subjective reality, and a future objective fulfillment. The references to the kingdom in Scripture usually force this type of composite view.

But the present subjective reality of the kingdom of God is usually seen in a global sense. This view would expect that as each Christian fulfills his role, the kingdom of God will be advanced in our world. In this understanding, the kingdom of God is present in our world, working in various ways to fulfill His will.

But this paradigm gives us difficulty with what we see around us. The global kingdom of God does not seem to govern very well. The kingdom of God is not around us; it is not here. The kingdom of God does not rule this world. This world is not the kingdom.

This world has been given to man to rule; God has not gone back on His word. But man has become enslaved because of sin. The ones who rule the world are the slaves of sin. The kingdom of darkness can govern man because of sin; the world around us is ruled by the subjects of darkness.

But the kingdom of God, the real kingdom, is near. Those who stand in this world can be freed from the darkness; the authority of the kingdom of God can be realized in them. In a world of slaves, free men can walk among them; they are the point of connection to the kingdom of God.

Not the Man

2006-09-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

The center of Christianity is Jesus Christ. In Him the kingdom of God has come near to this world. In a man life from above has been revealed.

The reaction from the kingdom of darkness has been to distort the humanity of Jesus Christ. The reason is straightforward. If Jesus was not really a man like us, then He did not prove that a man can have life. If we cannot live, then all we can do is muddle through. The kingdom of darkness is afraid of the light of life; it does not want the light of the world shining in its domain. It is vital to the kingdom of darkness to deny the humanity of Jesus Christ in one way or another. It is a signature of darkness.

"By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." I John 4:2-3

The signature of antichrist is to deny that the man Jesus was the Christ sent from God.

"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." I John 2:22

Either the spirit of the antichrist supports the view of Jesus as a man, but denies that He is this One sent by God, or the spirit of the antichrist fabricates a Jesus that is not fully man. The first position is easily accepted by those who have little interest in Jesus anyway. The second position is more subtle. For those who have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the spirit of the antichrist works using a more believable lie.

If Jesus was only God, but not man, then His life proves nothing. Of course God can be perfect; He is God. If Jesus was infinite in mind, in power, and in compassion, then following Jesus is pointless. We could not follow this Jesus. Whatever He says is great for Him, but we are not that strong. This is the more believable lie.

This is what we see in our culture.

The Jesus in the art of the Middle Ages is thin, pale, otherworldly. He is detached from this world. This Jesus is holy because He has the form of man, but not the substance of man.

The Jesus of today is infinitely faster, stronger, smarter. He is the ultimate CEO of the world. He is in charge of everything; everything is part of His plan. He was this way when He walked the earth; He is this way today. This Jesus saves because He is strong. He had the form of a man, but He never was as weak as a man.

This modern Jesus is just as much a denial of the humanity of Jesus as the Jesus of the Middle Ages. Jesus Christ emptied Himself; He was tempted in all things like we are. The real Jesus was like us. This Jesus has something meaningful to say to us.

The message for the individual

2006-09-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

We can be the point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world; we can be profoundly significant. We can bring to this world what would have been prevented from entering. We are the only point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world.

The kingdom of God is the message that Jesus Christ preached. His teaching is primarily based on the kingdom of God. This is what the Man who had emptied Himself to be born as a child taught; this is the message of the Man who was tempted in all things like we are and yet was without sin. Jesus Christ did not overcome because He was faster, stronger, or smarter than us; He overcame because the kingdom of God was near. The power of the kingdom was at work in Him; it can be at work in us. We can find the same power that He found; it is in the same place.

"In the days of His flesh, He offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety." Hebrews 5:7

Jesus can express to us where blessing is found because it is where He found blessing.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3

The message of the kingdom of God is the message for the individual; we are finite and weak, yet the kingdom of God can work through us in this world. The kingdom of God can be near in whatever place we stand.

Jesus did not speak within the limitations of our abilities; He did not dumb down the message to fit the frailities of man. He spoke to those in whom the kingdom of God is at work.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck measure, but on the lampstand; and it give light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

An individual can be the light of the world; we can be a beachhead of light in the kingdom of darkness.

For this reason, we need to re-think our assumptions; power to change everything is near.

"...Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17

The gospel of the kingdom

2006-09-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom; He preached good news.

"And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." Matthew 4:23

The gospel of the kingdom is to be preached to all the world.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." Matthew 24:14

This is the message of the apostle Paul in Rome.

"And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered." Acts 28:30-31

The kingdom of God was near in the person of Jesus Christ when He was here; it can still be near even though Jesus Christ is seated in heaven. Christ can be in us.

"...the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but now has been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:26-27

The kingdom of God is near now through this. We can be the point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world of darkness; we can be the beachhead.

But the language of the New Testament addresses our sharing in Christ in two ways. We are in Christ.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..." Ephesians 1:3

We are in Christ in the heavenly places. In spiritual things we have become new in Christ.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come." II Corinthians 5:17

Yet Christ is also in us. Christ is to be formed in us in this life.

"...for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13

We are to be transformed. The new creature is in Christ in the heavens; here Christ is in the mature man. A process is at work here in our bodies.

"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Christ is being formed in us in this life; this is an ongoing process. It is in the mature man that Christ has been formed. When a believer loses his way, reconstruction of Christ in him is needed. He is still in Christ, but Christ is not in him.

"My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you..." Galatians 4:19

Christ can be formed in a man. Christ can be in us in this life.

Christ is in us; the kingdom of God is near. This is still the gospel of the kingdom.

The point of connection

2006-09-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

Heaven is ruled by the kingdom of heaven; earth has been given to man to rule. The kingdom of darkness rules over man through lies and deceit; the world around us is an elaborate mechanism constructed to keep man in darkness.

But the kingdom of heaven is near. It is near only at one point; it is near in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the point of connection to the kingdom of heaven. He was the beachhead in the fortress of darkness. When Jesus Christ walked on earth, the kingdom of heaven was near in Him. And it was evident that the kingdom of heaven was near. Things happened; things that darkness usually keeps from happening.

Jesus brought light to a dark world.

"Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'" John 8:12

This light can dispell the darkness that rules over man. What is crucial to understand is that this light is the light of life; this is not the light of knowledge alone. Books on the shelf do not give this light unless His life is at work.

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprend it." John 1:4-5

The truth alone cannot penetrate the darkness; the light of the world is only seen by those who follow Him. It is His life that gives light to men.

His life gives light to those who walk in the midst of the kingdom of darkness. He is Himself the point of contact to the kingdom of heaven. When He was here the kingdom of heaven was near. It was near in no other place.

Near

2006-08-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

The kingdom of heaven is near, but it is not here. The will of God is not always done on earth; this is seen in the Lord's Prayer.

"Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:10

In heaven, the will of God is done; heaven is part of His kingdom. But earth was given to man to rule.

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls on the earth.'" Genesis 1:26

Man has been given rule over the earth; what God gave He has not taken back. He has not gone back on His word.

But the ruler of the earth has become a slave. God spoke to Cain concerning what was in his heart.

"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.'" Genesis 4:6-7

Sin has crouched at the door of mankind, like a lion waiting for an opportunity to devour its prey. Like Cain, we have not mastered the lion.

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." I Peter 5:8

In a continuous process of lies and deception the devil builds his kingdom in this world. His kingdom is built by means of darkness; his agents work continuously to secure his hold on mankind.

"Put on the full armour of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:11-12

The devil has constructed fortifications against the light, to keep his possessions safe. The light destroys the works of the devil.

"...The Son of God has appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8

This is the struggle between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. The kingdom of darkness has fortified itself heavily against any inroad by the light. Just as Hitler fortified the continent against Allied armies, the kingdom of darkness has prepared itself to resist the light.

The kingdom of God can only draw near where there is an opening in the darkness. Someone must create a beachhead.

Repent

2006-08-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

The message that Jesus preached began with this word, "repent". Our English word "repent" carries the implication of feeling sorrow or regret for what one has done. But the word in the Greek text carries a different meaning. The word is "metanoeo", which means to change the mind. Our word "repent" does not imply a change of thinking. But the message of Jesus began with a call to make a change in thinking.

The paradigm for the Jews was the kingdom of David. It is the example of all that they hoped for. David ruled as king over the earthly kingdom of Israel; Israel subdued the nations around it. All of their thinking was based on their paradigm: the Messiah would restore the earthly kingdom.

Their assumptions kept them from understanding what Jesus taught; they needed first a change in thinking. They needed a completely different understanding of the world.

Their worldview had them in the center. They were the descendants of Abraham; they were the heirs of the covenant of blessing. This was the foundation of their worldview. One of their rabbis had taught that it is better in the eyes of God to be a evil Jew than a righteous Gentile.

But John the Baptist had told the religious leaders who came to him:

"...do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." Matthew 3:9

Their thinking was based on their birth, not on their actions. John the Baptist implied that a statue of stone might look also look like a descendant of Abraham, but it does nothing either. Actions are required.

"And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Matthew 3:10

All of the people went out to John to hear this wild man; they all were baptized in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. They were Jews; they had a religion already. But they listened to a man from the wilderness who told them to make ready for the kingdom of God.

John the Baptist preached a new thought: "what you do really is significant to God". This is what is inherent in repentance. This is the beginning of the message of Jesus.

The expected kingdom

2006-08-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Jesus knew that those who listened did not understand what He meant by the kingdom of heaven. But it is the nature of all languages that they must be learned from context. Little children learn to understand speech and speak effectively, long before they can grasp the rules and definitions of their language. Jesus preached in the context of an outward demonstration of power. Even if those who listened could not concisely define the kingdom of heaven, they saw what the kingdom being near was like. Things happened; things that no one could make happen happened. Something was at work that they could not see, nor could they explain. But these things happened around the person of Jesus. Those who were near Him were healed; those who were near Him were set free from bondages. This is what Jesus used to explain what He meant by the kingdom of God.

But those who listened hoped for an earthly kingdom. Israel had a great king at one time: David the king had expanded the authority of his kingdom over all of the nations around Israel. But the kings of Israel were gone; the Gentile nations had dominated them for centuries. For a time, the kingdom of Israel had been restored under the Maccabees. A family of high priests descended from the Maccabees had ruled as kings for years. But through many internal conflicts the nation had become subject to the Roman Empire; the Roman emperor held authority over the land. Those who reigned or governed that region did so under the authority of Caesar.

For those who listened to Jesus, their kingdom of heaven could only be realized in the person of a king, a king like David. This king would lead them in war against the nations that had dominated them. This is what they had been taught; this was their hope. Their Messiah would lead them against their enemies.

But Jesus used "kingdom of heaven" in a far different way.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3

A kingdom must have soldiers, yet Jesus implied that those who are weak are the ones who own the kingdom of heaven. How can the weak stand against the Roman legions?

Jesus spoke in their language, but in new ways. He spoke about a kingdom far different than the kingdom of David. The more He spoke, the more they probably realized they did not understand Him.

The kingdom of heaven was at work in front of them, but they were looking for something else. Even John the Baptist did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah because of this.

"Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples, and said to Him, 'Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?'" Matthew 11:2-3

John the Baptist had himself preached that the kingdom of heaven is near, but he did not recognize it when he heard of it. He expected something else.

The kingdom of heaven is near

2006-08-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

The central idea in what Jesus preached is that this kingdom is near. It is not far, nor is it here; the kingdom is near.

Of all that Jesus could have focused on, this is what He did preach. This is what John the Baptist preached. This is what He told His apostles to preach. All the end of the book of Acts, when Paul is in Rome, after having written many of his epistles, he is still preaching the kingdom of God.

"And he stayed in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, with all openness, unhindered." Acts 28:30-31

Now almost two thousand years later, the kingdom of God is still not here. But this was never a statement of when Jesus will return; it is a statement about the work of God. The kingdom of God is near in distance; the word rendered "near" has to do with space, not time.

Jesus pointed out to those who were watching what He meant by "near".

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." Matthew 12:28

This was an evidence that this kingdom is near, very near.

Kingdom of heaven?

2006-08-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

The message of Jesus Christ is just what He preached.

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

He spoke directly to the essential need of mankind, though those who heard did not understand it.

They thought He was saying that the physical kingdom of David would soon be restored; they wanted to see the Romans driven out and a Jewish nation reestablished. This hope was strongly embedded in their culture; even His disciples thought that He was referring to this.

But as Jesus taught, He often spoke of the kingdom of heaven in ways that did not make sense in their cultural understanding. As His disciples listened, they must have continued to be struck by the incongruity between what He said and what they assumed He meant. But even after His resurrection, at the time when He was going to ascend into heaven, His disciples asked Him if He was restoring the kingdom to Israel at that time. After three years, they did not understand what He meant.

Western civilization has looked at the kingdom of heaven in a similar way. We have taken the message of the kingdom of heaven in terms of the physical world. The Jews looked for a restoration of the kingdom to Israel; we have looked for the outward rule of Christianity in our cultures. We have looked for the institutions of Christianity to be the work of God in our world. We have looked for the kingdom of heaven in the church or in law or in culture.

But the kingdom of heaven is not found in the physical institutions of this world. At one point when the religious leaders were questioning Him about the kingdom of God, He answered them in a way that rejected their assumptions about the kingdom of heaven.

"Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or "There it is!' For behold the kingdom of God is in your midst." Luke 17:20-21

The kingdom of God is not seen in the outward. As Jesus Christ stood in their midst, the kingdom of God was in their midst. The kingdom of God is realized in a person, not in the outward.

His message

2006-08-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Jesus, who emptied Himself to be born as a human child, learned what no one else has learned. He actually learned to obey His Father in everything. He was tempted in all things, and yet was without sin.

In spite of what we say about obeying our Father, we don't. We do not know how to not sin. We try harder, and still fail. We do not know how to live as humans. We have good theories about how someone who is not human should live. Our myths would be good for robots, incapable of choice. But we do not know how a finite human could walk in this life, in our weakness, and yet obey His Father in everything.

Jesus did learn to obey His Father in everything. At the age of thirty, He began to teach what He had learned. His message is summarized in one simple statement.

"From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Matthew 4:17

This is what Jesus had learned as a man. Jesus was not faster, stronger, or smarter than humans. As a human, He had found what actually works. What He preached can work in us, because it worked in Him.

The Man

2006-08-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

The basic element of Christianity is that Jesus was a man: He was fully human.

He is also the visible expression of the invisible God. He is the Word made flesh. He is the Son of God; He is One with the Father.

But the most profound thing in Christianity is that Jesus was fully human. If we were not human, this would not be important. But we are human, and so Christianity has something to say to us. God can express Himself in a human. God accurately expressed Himself in the man Christ Jesus. God can do something in me even though I am weak.

The basic experience of Christianity is just what Jesus experienced. He was fully man; He had to learn how to do what was right.

"Although He was a Son, he learned obedience from the things He suffered. And having been made perfect, he became to those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." Hebrews 5:8-9

True Christianity is about being truly human; true Christianity is not about idealizations. Jesus emptied Himself to be made a man; He was just as weak as me.

Yet He learned to obey His Father, even though He was just as weak as me. He learned what no one else has ever learned.

The basic message of Christianity is what the man Christ Jesus learned.