Bible Study led by Leila Hirtler

The Bible Study is conducted via email. Anyone wishing to join can contact Leila at lhirtler@yahoo.com

Our current Bible Study is the Gospel of Matthew

Study 2026:

Matthew 16
July 1, 2026

We continue in the third Discourse, which began in Matthew 13, following themes from Leviticus about God calling all people to draw near to God, to live lives of holiness, to know we are acceptable to God, and to the hard labor of living as the people of God.  As in the previous 2 discourses, this discourse follows with examples of living lives of righteousness, in view of what Jesus taught in the previous discourse.   

Chapter 15 began with Pharisees and scribes coming from Jerusalem to ask Jesus why his disciples break the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands in the proscribed way.  Jesus asks them why they break the commandments, like honoring their parents, for the sake of their traditions.  Jesus has been healing people, and teaching people, and all the Pharisees and scribes can see is that his disciples are not washing their hands the right way.  Jesus is not impressed and talks about how it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, because this comes from the heart:  evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.  Failure to wash hands in the correct way does not defile.  

Jesus then interacted with a Canaanite woman who wanted healing for her daughter.  This woman was unclean, and despised by the traditions of the elders, yet she was the one whom Jesus named “great in faith”.  

From there, Jesus went up a mountain near the Sea of Galilee, and taught the people, and healed those who were sick.  After the crowd of about 4,000 people had been with Jesus for 3 days, any food they might have brought with them was gone.  Jesus had compassion on the people and asked the disciples what food was available.  The disciples produced 7 loaves and a few fish.  Jesus had the people sit down, then took the bread and fish, blessed them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.  When everyone was satisfied, Jesus told the disciples to gather up the left over food, and they gathered up 7 baskets full.  

Feeding 4,000 families for a day requires 12,000 to 16,000 pounds of food, assuming a standard family size of 3 to 4 people and a minimum requirement of 1 to 1.2 pounds of food per person per meal. In total, this translates to roughly 16,000 to 24,000 individual meals. (https://spoonfuls.org/blog/food-waste-math-how-much-food-do-we-need-to-rescue-to-feed-every-american-facing-food-insecurity)  

Yes, it is possible some of the people planned ahead and brought food with them.  After 3 days, all of that food would have been gone.  Yes, it is possible there were some rich people in the crowd who sent their servants back home for food for themselves.  Even if these rich people had extra food brought in for others, the servants would not have been able to bring this much food back with them.  This was a desert place:  there was not this much food available in the area.  There was no way to transport this much food to the area if it had existed.  Jesus taking 7 leaves and a few fish, then turning them into this much food, with such precision that everyone was satisfied, that there were only 7 baskets left over boggles the mind.  This could not happen without divine intervention.  

Jesus then dismissed the crowd, and went down to the shore with the intention of going to the region of Magadan.  

This is where chapter 16 begins.  As we have seen before, (8:18-23), as Jesus and his disciples went down to the lake (Sea of Galilee) to get into the boat, people followed Jesus to ask further questions.  This time Pharisees and Sadducees followed Jesus to ask questions.   

16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees were two prominent Jewish religious and political groups during the time of Jesus, differing primarily in their social class, scriptural authority, and theological beliefs. The Pharisees represented the common people and valued oral tradition, while the Sadducees were wealthy aristocrats who strictly followed only the written Torah.  The Pharisees taught the people in their synagogues, while the Sadducees managed everything to do with the temple in Jerusalem.  It is hard to imagine these two groups agreeing on anything, so seeing them here together to ask Jesus the same question immediately grabs our attention.  (See last page.)

The thing these religious groups want from Jesus is a sign from heaven.  Jesus has been on this mountain, by the lake, with these people for 3 days.  He sat down and taught them.  “Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the maimed, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.  And they praised the God of Israel.”  (15:29-31)  On the third day, Jesus gave them a feast, out of 7 small loaves and a few sardines (the principle fish in the area).  These are things that do not happen in a normal day, or in a normal lifetime.  This can only happen by divine intervention!  How did these religious groups miss all of this?  

16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 Jesus answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”

The leaders could look at the sky and know what the weather was going to be like.  Somehow, they could not see what was happening around them.  They could not see that only God can feed this many people with almost nothing, only God can heal people who are blind or maimed or deaf or mute.  If these things are happening, God must be among them!  Or maybe, they would not see, because the people God chose to use were poor people from the northern part of the country.  

Jesus told them, “no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Lets look at this briefly:  The prophet Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for 3 days and nights, after running away from God, and being thrown into the sea after God sent a storm to attack the boat Jonah was on.  While in the belly of the fish, Jonah repented, and then God made the fish get sick and vomit up Jonah on the beach.  Jonah then did what he was told, and the city he had been sent to preach to repented.  

Jesus will soon die and be buried in the belly of the earth for 3 days and nights, just as Jonah was buried in the belly of the the fish for 3 days and nights.  This is the second time Jesus alludes to his upcoming death, and uses Jonah’s  time in the big fish as a sign of what is going to happen.  The first time is Matthew 12:30.  

16:4 Then he left them (meaning the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the people he had taught and healed for the past 3 days) and went away. 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” 

There were 7 baskets of food left over from the feast.  What did the disciples do with them?  Were they in such a hurry to get Jesus away from the religious leaders that they just left all those baskets on the shore?  I hope the birds and critters enjoyed the feast that the disciples left for them.  

While the disciples were thinking about “Ooopps! No food!”  perhaps Jesus was thinking about the people he had spent the last 3 days teaching and healing and feeding.  Perhaps he thought about the Pharisees and Sadducees who had been unable to see God at work in what happened during those 3 days.  Perhaps these thoughts led to thoughts of his other interactions with them: when they condemned his disciples’ failure to wash their hands properly, but decided it was fine to break the commandment about honoring parents;  or when the disciples picked and ate grain on the Sabbath, and then Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and the leaders had no compassion for those who were hungry, or maimed, or deaf, or blind, and dismissed the healings as evil.  Perhaps Jesus remembered when the leaders named him a servant of Satan, and something unclean, like yeast that ferments inside the flour and causes the bread to rise.  

For whatever reason, 16:6 Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” 8 And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? 9 Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 12 Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  

And what was this yeast that was being kneaded into the bread dough of everyday life of the people?  It was that outward actions were more important than a relationship from the heart.  It was teaching that God was honored by conspicuous show, rather than inward devotion.  Jesus wanted his followers to know that the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees were not bread, but merely yeast.  

Jesus teachings are not just words.  They are not just outward actions to impress others.  Jesus’ words are an entire social, and political, and religious way of life under God.  Jesus is the true bread which gives us life and strength for the journey.  

Then Jesus and the disciples got in the boat and left for Magadan.  We have no idea what Jesus and the disciples did in Magadan.  Very likely, they did the same things they had been doing in other towns, healing and teaching about the coming kingdom of God, and then moving on to the next town to heal and proclaim the coming kingdom of God there too.    


We catch up with Jesus and the disciples again in the area of Caesarea Philippi.  This city is located about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, and sits next to a massive natural spring that is one of the primary sources of the Jordan River.  Because of this large, deep cavern where water rushed out of the mountainside, ancient Greeks believed the site was literally an entrance to the underworld or Hades. The city was originally named Paneas after the Greek god Pan, and the site featured a temple to Caesar Augustus, shrines to Zeus, and this massive cave dedicated to the Greek fertility god Pan, and lined with niches dedicated to many other gods.  Herod the Great built up the area into a city and named it Caesarea, after Caesar.  Herod built 3 cities, all named Caesarea, in honor of Caesar.  Herod’s son Philip (Philip the Tetrarch, not Herod Philip) continued to build up this city, used it for his capital city, and added his own name to the name of the city, possibly so people knew which Caesarea was his.  (holyland.net, gotquestions.org, BiblePlaces.com)  

16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Jesus’ question takes for granted that disciples and readers, and we, understand what Jesus means by “Son of Man.”  Lets look at this briefly.  First it means “human” or “child of Adam and Eve”:  in the book of Ezekiel, God names Ezekiel “son of man” to remind him that he is just a human. (cf. Psalm 8:4  “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?”)  Second, in the book of Daniel, (ch. 7), there is “one like a son of man”  who receives power and authority from the “Ancient of Days.”  He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into that presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).  Jesus is referring to both of these meanings.  

 16:14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

First:  Why John the Baptist?:  John was a powerful, popular figure.  Herod (14:2) believed he was John come back to life.  Herod announced this to be true to his people.  People believed it.  And as ludicrous as this might sound to us, there are still people who believe everything their leaders tell them.  

Second:  Why Elijah?  Elijah was one of the greatest prophets of ancient Israel.  He was a helper of the weak and forerunner of the coming of the Messiah.  He didn’t die:  he was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, pulled by horse of fire, within a whilwind.  Since he didn’t die, he must be still alive, and could show up anywhere.  Elijah did amazing miracles, and Jesus did amazing miracles, so maybe they were the same person!  Elijah might be among them again!

Third:  Why  Jeremiah?  Jeremiah was an ancient prophet who warned the people of Judah about their coming destruction and exile.  He was a critic of Jerusalem and what was happening in Jerusalem, and in response the leaders of Jerusalem made life very difficult for him, and periodically tried to kill him.  Maybe those who saw Jesus as Jeremiah were noticing the tension between Jesus and the religious and political leaders of the time.  

Or one of the other prophets?  All of the prophets proclaimed that the people needed to return to their God with their whole hearts, and reject the false gods in their lives.   Jesus proclaimed a new righteousness which involved the whole person, not just outward actions.   

16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Jesus brought his disciples to these enormous rock formations, this enormous “temple” dedicated to the gods of this world, and in the presence of all these earthly gods, asked his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”  

Simon Peter’s response is proclaimed in the presence of heaven and earth, and all the gods of this world, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Messiah:  means “the anointed one” or “the chosen one” and refers to the ancient practice of pouring holy oil over someone’s head to consecrate them for a divine, or God-ordained purpose.  In Judaism it refers to a promised human leader who was a descendant of King David, who would unite the tribes of Israel, gather the Jewish people, bring ultimate peace, and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Messiah could also refer to any leader, or anyone, who was appointed for a specific office, such as a prophet, priest, or king.  In later Jewish literature, “Son of Man” becomes a messianic title, particularly noticeable in 1 Enoch 37-71, 4 Ezra 13, and in the New Testament.

Son of the Living God:  There were many gods surrounding the disciples when Jesus asked his questions.  These gods were all dead, never alive, representations of things people longed for, put their hope in, and turned to when they were in distress.  In contrast, the God of Israel was alive, present and powerful, and Jesus was this God come to live and walk and teach among them.  Jesus referred to God as his father.  That would mean he was God’s son.  He was the son of the Living God.  As Son of the Living God, he bears the presence of God, and acts in the place of God (1:23).  He is not the renewer of old traditions, but the bringer of God’s fresh creative work, bringing in the new heavens and new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  

16:17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter (Petros), and on this rock (Petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!”  Simon means “listening”, or “one who listens” or possibly “One who listens with understanding.”  Simon has ears, and listened, and understood (at least for the moment).

“For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.”  Simon, you have not been listening to human wisdom and understanding, or the Pharisees and Sadducees, but you have been listening to my Father in heaven (God).  

“And I tell you, you are Peter (Petros)”, And I tell you, person who listens, you are a rock, like these rocks around us, except they proclaim the many gods of this world, but you proclaim  the Living God.  The Greek word “Petros” is masculine, singular and is referring to a specific person.  

“and on this rock (Petra) I will build my church,”  The word translated “rock” in this case does not mean the disciple Peter.  It is the feminine form of the word rock, and refers to the truth, or wisdom, Simon Peter spoke, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  The church will be built, not on Peter himself, but on this truth that he has proclaimed.  

“ and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”  The place the Greeks and Romans referred to as the Gates of Hades was standing right there beside or in front of the disciples.  The gods of this world and the underworld are not able to destroy the truth which Peter has spoken, nor are they able to destroy the people of God whose lives and beliefs are founded on this truth Peter has spoken.  “Will not prevail against it” indicated the gods of this world will try to destroy this truth, but they will lose.  

16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  

Keys open locked doors.  In this case, the keys open the doors of the kingdom of heaven.  Why are these doors locked?!!!!  Thankfully, Jesus answers these questions for us!

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.” (23:13, cf. all of chapter 23)

The kingdom’s door is locked by those whose religion is only a show, whose relationship with God is only words, only a way to manipulate other people.  

Binding and loosing:  In ancient rabbinic literature, the terms “bind” and “loose” referred to “forbidding” and “allowing” actions.  In legal decisions, some items were not binding to certain individuals in certain circumstances.  So “bind” and “loose” refer to the ethical life of the religious community, first for the disciples, and followers, and latter to the community of faith Matthew is writing for.   This ethical community would be shaped by the teachings of Jesus, such as the Sermon on the Mount.  Binding and loosing would refer to who was admitted or who was excluded from the community.  And who would have the authority to decide who can be admitted to this new community founded on Jesus?  Would it be Peter?  Or maybe the disciples?  Given the conversations between Jesus and the religious leaders, we know they would not have any say in how this community was gathered.  

Everything in the gospel points not to Peter, and not the other disciples, and not the leaders and  teachers they have trained, but consistently and only to Jesus himself.  But how does Jesus continue to instruct his followers after the resurrection?  Through his words, written in the gospel of Matthew, and probably Mark since it was also written by this time.  This gospel (these gospels) are a treasury of the words of Jesus, and actions of Jesus.  They address the community with authority, teaching people how to enter the community (keys), and what the standards of behavior are within the community (bind and loose).  

Matthew assures his community, founded on the confession of Peter, and the labors of the disciples, that it has a solid foundation, not resting on human authority, but on Jesus, son of the Living God.  And Jesus is not just a figure from the past.  He is still alive and continues to teach his followers through the words he spoke to his disciples.  It is Matthew’s belief that anyone claiming to speak with authority in the community should be tested against the words of Jesus, as presented in the gospel of Matthew.  (Smith,  p.199-203)   

Today’s section started with Jesus warning his followers to beware of those whose religion is merely for show, or to exercise authority over others in the community, but do not live a relationship with God.  Jesus then took his disciples to the spiritual center of the known world, and asked them who they believed he was.  Peter, as spokesman for Jesus followers declared Jesus was the promised Messiah, and son of the Living God.  Jesus blessed Peter and told him that this declaration was the rock the community of Jesus was built on.  

In Mark’s gospel, Peter’s declaration is a climactic moment for the disciples, but in Matthew’s gospel, this is just a necessary stepping stone to greater teaching.  16:20 “Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”  With this declaration, it is time to settle down, and begin to learn much harder lessons than they have experienced so far.  


And we will save these much harder learnings for next week.  

Blessings on your week.
Key Differences at a Glance
Feature                        Pharisees                                                                                              Sadducees
Social Class                Middle and working class; highly respected by the masses.                Wealthy aristocracy; largely comprised of priests and elites.
Scriptural Authority      Accepted the written Torah, the Prophets, and oral traditions.            Accepted only the written Torah (the first five books of Moses).
The Afterlife & Angels  Believed in the resurrection of the dead, angels, and demons.           Denied the resurrection, the afterlife, angels, and spirits.
Primary Focus             Synagogues and applying the Law to everyday life.                            The Temple in Jerusalem and managing its sacrificial system.
Political Stance            Resisted Hellenization (Greek/Roman cultural influence).                  Collaborated with Rome and the ruling class to maintain the status quo.
Historical Legacy         Survived the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD;                               .Ceased to exist after the destruction of the Temple.
                                     evolved into Rabbinic Judaism

(GotQuestions.org)

Matthew 15

June 24, 2026

Welcome to Matthew 15. We are still in the third discourse, which corresponds with the third book of Torah, Leviticus. Leviticus is a call from God to all people, inviting them to draw near to God, to live lives of holiness, to the knowledge we are acceptable to God, and to the hard labor of living as the people of God. As in the previous 2 discourses, this discourse follows with examples of living lives of righteousness, in view of what Jesus taught in the previous discourse.

We started the third discourse in chapter 13 with several parables about the kingdom of God. In these parables we saw that God pours out God’s word on all people, regardless of their deserving; yes, there are weeds among the wheat; the kingdom of God is a treasure of such great worth that giving up everything to possess this treasure is the wise thing to do; and while the kingdom may look worthless or foolish to some, it grows into something greater than anyone could possibly imagine.

In chapter 14, we looked at two feasts. One feast, put on by the political ruler, was exclusive, put on for show, to impress “the right people” and part of the entertainment was murdering John the Baptizer. The other feast was put on by Jesus: even though he was grieving for his cousin, Jesus cared for the people, and showed it by healing them, and then at evening when the disciples wanted to send them away, Jesus insisted they be fed first.

After feeding the 5,000 families, Jesus finally got time to talk with his father and grieve his cousin. He then walked on water to rescue his disciples from a terrible storm, and invited Peter, at his request, to walk on the water with him. Peter walked on the water for a bit, but got distracted by the wind and waves and began to sink; Jesus caught him, and said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Driven by the storm, the boat again landed on the shore in Gennesaret, where they were warmly welcomed by those who told them to leave last time. This time the entire region came to greet him, and ask him to heal them: everyone was healed, even those who only touched the tassel on his prayer shawl.

Throughout this chapter we were awed and amazed at what Jesus was doing: feeding 5,000 families with 5 loaves and 2 fish, walking on water, stopping a storm, and healing multitudes of people. We also noticed Jesus wanted to include his disciples in the joy of caring for these people, and problem solving on how to do this. Hopefully, since we also claim to be among Jesus’ disciples, we heard Jesus include us in the call to care for others, and work to meet their needs.

Suddenly the scene changes, and religious leaders from Jerusalem have tracked Jesus down to complain about his disciples hand washing techniques.

15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.”

In Judaism, ritual hand washing (Netilat Yadayim) is not primarily a hygienic practice, but a spiritual and symbolic act of purification. It is designed to elevate the mundane into the sacred, transition into states of holiness, and promote mindfulness. The ritual mechanics—using a vessel, pouring a specific amount of water, alternating hands, and saying a blessing—help break the participant's routine, encouraging them to pause, focus, and be intentional about their upcoming actions (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hand-washing/)

The disciples were already in sacred space. They were living with, walking with, talking with, eating with, and listening to the promised Messiah day after day. They watched Jesus heal people, cast out demons, feed people, walk on water, and stop storms. They witnessed his compassion for all people. They saw him do things and heard him say things no one else had ever done or said. Ritual hand washing was not going to make this event more sacred.

The religious leaders were so busy studying every rule/ commandment/ directive, and then in their zeal to do everything right, expand on these rules/commandments/ directives, until perfect performance is achieved, that having a relationship with the Living God is no longer the focus, but just perfect observance of the perfect performance of the rules. Healing people was less important than washing one’s hands in the prescribed way: they believed washing one’s hands in the right way was more pleasing to God than healing people, and telling them that God loved them.

We become part of these “religious leaders” when we judge people by their religious affiliations, their political affiliations, the color of their skin, their immigration status, the length of their hair, the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, the songs they sing in church, the pronouns they use, or anything else we use to divide them from us, and judge them less pleasing to God.

Jesus is not impressed.

15:3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you nullify the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:

8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
    teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)

Jesus was not impressed with their complaints. If the religious leaders had actually been watching Jesus and listening to him, they would have noticed the same things the disciples were noticing: this man was giving perfect sight to people who were blind, perfect hearing to people who were deaf, replacing missing limbs so they looked like a perfect match but suddenly they were not only present again but there was no arthritis or pain or disease. There is no logical explanation of how this could be happening. This had to be an act of God!!! Instead, the leaders completely dismissed the healings and the teaching, and focused on how the disciples washed their hands. One has to wonder how the leaders could have missed what Jesus was doing!!! But they did.

15:10 Then Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”

The religious leaders were so focused on obeying the commandments as they understood them, including all the additions they added to ensure the commandment was obeyed perfectly, that they were unable to see and comprehend what Jesus was doing. They were so focused on how perfectly they obeyed God’s word that they were unable to see God in the people around them, even the One who healed people who were paralyzed or were blind, or had a missing arm.

13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

Reference to the parable about the wheat and the weeds, Matthew 13:24-30.

15:14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind, and if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”

Jesus tells his disciples that the religious leaders are blind. They believe they see God’s word and commandments with absolute clarity, but they completely miss the works of God happening right in front of them. They are blind to God. They are attempting to teach and lead people who are also blind to God. Nothing good will come of this, instead, bad things will happen both to the blind leaders and to the blind people they are trying to lead.

15:15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding?

What parable???? I was not speaking in parables!

15:17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and passes on out? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

Failing to wash one’s hands in a specific manner will not separate a person from God. The filth occupying the human heart: evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, can and will separate a person from God. These are the things a person should be concerned about getting washed out of their lives. Failing to wash one’s hands in a specific manner will not separate a person from God.

As in the previous chapter, Matthew wants to compare the wrong response to God with the right response to God: Matthew wants to show us what the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees looks like versus true righteousness looks like. In Chapter 5 Jesus says “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (5:20).

15:21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

This story, when taken out of context causes a great number of problems: Is Jesus racist? Is Jesus just being mean? Does Jesus hate women? The answer to each of these questions is a resounding NO! Matthew is placing this conversation next to the conversation with the religious leaders to compare their unrighteous attitudes to a righteous attitude.

Tyre and Sidon: These cities were prosperous port cities on the Mediterranean coast in modern day Lebanon. They were known for their wealth. They worshiped as many gods as there were sailors in the cities. As in any other port city, they were known for unrighteous living.

15:22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

The Canaanites were polytheistic, and worshiped Baal and Asherah. Israel was frequently warned of the religious and moral danger of intermarrying with the Canaanites and adopting their practices. This led to many conflicts and prophetic warnings. (Ex. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-6; Joshua 23:11-13).

This “foreign” woman was desperate to get help for her daughter. She had heard of a Jewish healer named Jesus, and decided to check him out. She listened to any information she could get about him; she watched him. She heard he did thing no human had ever done. Perhaps she went to see and hear him personally to judge for herself if this man was who people said he was. She also heard people talking about the possibility that this was the long awaited Messiah, son of David that the Jewish God had promised to send. When she saw what he did, and heard about what he did, there was no doubt in her mind that this was God in the flesh and she was going to ask this God to heal her daughter.

Since this was Israel’s God come in the flesh, it was wise to address this God by that title, and immediately state her need: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” Her attitude is opposite that of the Jewish leaders.

15:23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”

The woman immediately realized this God knew she was not a part of Israel, and speaking to him as if she was part of Israel was a lie. He did not answer her because she was claiming a relationship they did not have. Had he answered, he would have joined in the lie, agreeing to the relationship that did not exist between their two cultures.

15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” She could have agreed, ‘You are God of the Jewish people: I am Canaanite: We can’t have anything to do with each other. But she was despite for her daughter, and what she had seen and heard prompted her to try again, even with the voices of his disciples instructing him to ignore her, or send her away. She needed his help. Speaking to him as part of Israel was the wrong approach, so she needed to try something else.

15:25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

All pretext is gone. She simply states her need. She knows he can help her.

15:26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

He reminds her that the voices of the prophets all state that Jews should stay away from Canaanites. She knows that. He reminds her that the Jews were considered children of God, and her people were considered equal to the dogs, or even less.

She didn’t care. She wanted help for her daughter. She knew this person was God. She knew God could heal her daughter. She wasn’t going anywhere.

15:27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

You are God. You can do amazing things. I am not part of your people Israel. I am not claiming your attention as part of Israel, or even as someone who deserves your attention. I am a foreigner. But you are so powerful, all of Israel cannot use up your power. I don’t need you to do anything great. I only want a tiny crumb of your power. Dogs are allowed to eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables. Give me a tiny crumb.

15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

We remember words much like this when Peter got out of the boat and walked toward Jesus. However, he forgot who had called him and began to sink, attracting the words, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (14:31) This woman never took her eyes off who she knew this man to be. She was convinced this was God in the flesh and she would not let go until she had what she came for. Jesus was very impressed with her, and said she had great faith.

She came from a people known for their unrighteous living. However, this woman could see with her eyes, and hear with her ears, and knew this was God. Nothing could shake her faith. This is righteousness.

15:29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the maimed, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31 so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Like the woman, the people come to Jesus with their problems. They are the righteous, who have seen and heard and know this person is their God who has come to heal them.

For I will restore health to you,
    and your wounds I will heal,
            says the Lord, (Jeremiah 30:17)

He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases, (Psalm 103:2-3)

Again, God is seen as faithful to ancient promises, even though Jesus breaks hallowed traditions like hand washing. As scandalous as it may appear to the religious leaders, what Jesus says and does brings glory to the God of Israel.

15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And all of them ate and were filled, and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.

We know Jesus did not spend all his time healing. He would have taught the people also, because that is what he did. Perhaps the people had planned ahead this time and brought food with them, however they would not have brought enough for three days. Yet, being in the presence of Jesus was so amazing they would not leave, even if it meant going hungry.

Jesus knew their needs. Jesus knew they were hungry. Again, he wanted to include his disciples in fixing this problem. Again, the need overwhelmed them and they had no idea what to do. One wonders why they didn’t remember how he fed the people just a short time ago. Perhaps they were also hungry and today's hunger was stronger than their memory of what Jesus did in the past. Once again, they looked at their resources, and found them woefully inadequate for the task before them. Once again, Jesus took the resources they gave him, blessed them, and gave those resources back to the disciples to pass out to the people. Once again, there was more than enough, and everyone got as much food as they needed, and there was food left over.

Meals and bread are very important in chapters 14, 15 and the beginning of 16: Herod’s birthday banquet; the feeding of the 5000 families; what people eat does not defile them; crumbs from their master’s table; and the feeding of the 4000 families. Seated on the mountain, surrounded by people, Jesus declares he has compassion on the crowds, and tells his disciples he is unwilling to send them away hungry. The disciples do not know how to feed all these people, but they give the problem and their meager resources to Jesus. Jesus invites the people to be seated, like guests around his banquet table. In Jesus’ hands, little becomes enough, and everyone is fed and satisfied.

15:39 After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Only after everyone is fed and satisfied, does Jesus send the people home, and get into the boat to cross to the other side of the lake.

Matthew 14
June 17, 2026

Matthew 13 was the third discourse, which corresponds with the third book of Torah, Leviticus.  Leviticus is a call from God to all people, inviting them to draw near to God, to live lives of holiness, to the knowledge we are acceptable to God, and to the hard labor of living as the people of God.  As in the previous 2 discourses, this discourse follows with examples of living lives of righteousness, in view of what Jesus taught in the previous discourse.   


14:1 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 

Interesting:  The religious leaders accused Jesus of getting his miraculous powers from Satan;  Herod decides Jesus got his miraculous powers because he is actually a dead man, or a ghost.  I’m not sure which idea is more absurd.  It does however draw attention to the very human obsession with refusing to see God present and active in God’s creation.  

This sentence breaks the news to us that John was not released from prison.  Instead, he was put to death.  John’s arrest and death prefigures Jesus’ own arrest and death, which Jesus will soon start talking about, (16:21). 

14:3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 

This Herod (Antipas) is the son of Herod the Great, the Herod who tried to kill Jesus just after he was born.  Herod Antipas is one of the three sons of Herod the Great who lived to adulthood: Herod Antipas, Herod Archelaus, and Philip, (known as Philip the Tetrarch, not to be confused with his half brother, Herod Philip).  Herod the Great murdered his other 3 sons, as well as a wife and inlaws.  Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee, and Perea, territory east of the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. 

When Herod Antipas first “noticed” Herodias, he was already married to the daughter of King Aretas of Nabateans, an Arab kingdom with its capital in Petra (cf, 2 Corinthians 11:32).  When Herod Antipas saw Herodias, he immediately sent his wife back to her father.  Offended, Aretas later declared war and defeated Antipas, an event interpreted by some ancient Jews as divine punishment for Antipas’ execution of John (Josephus,  Ant. 18:116), (Smith, Augsburg Commentary on Matthew, 184).  Herodias was the daughter of Antipas, Archelaus, and Philip’s elder brother Aristobulus, and sister of Herod Agrippa I,whom the Apostle Paul stood trial before (Acts 12:1-4, 20-23).  (Sibanda Edwin, The Herods: A New Testament Overview).  

Matthew portrays Herod Antipas as having unrelenting hatred for John, and a longed to execute him, restrained only by public opinion.  Mark suggests Herod Antipas actually respected John, and claims it was Herodias who actually hated John.  Given this family’s history of hatred and blood shed, its probable both hated John, but Antipas showed some restraint due to public opinion, which could have been seen as possible respect.    

14:6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias (Salome) danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 

We have all hear comments that people living 2000 years ago, in the time of Jesus, did not keep track of their birthdays, and therefore didn’t celebrate birthdays.  Herod did know when his birthday was, and yes, he celebrated with feasting, showing off his wealth, and various forms of entertainment, including making expansive statements he couldn’t walk away from.  
 
14:8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 

We know that Herod Antipas was grieved, but we don’t know about what.  Matthew has not breathed a word about Herod regarding John as a righteous and holy man, and the thought that killing a righteous man would offend God.  Perhaps he was grieved that he was manipulated into killing John, and couldn’t get out of it without loosing face in front of his guests, wife and step daughter.  Perhaps he was worried that he would suffer a drop in public opinion, since the people thought John was a prophet.  

Whatever the concern, we see 3 generations of descendants of Herod the Great who followed exactly in his footsteps.  Murder runs in this family.  At this point, we are being invited to see how Herod’s family contrasts with Jesus’ biological family, and the new family Jesus claimed in those who followed him.  


14:12 His disciples came and took the body and buried him; then they went and told Jesus. 

His disciples pay their final respects to their master, and after burying him, go to tell Jesus.  So the forerunner completes his work, bearing witness to Jesus, not only with his words, but with his life, and now in his execution by the hands of Herod, foreshadows Jesus’ own execution and burial.  

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 

When Jesus heard about his beloved cousin’s death, he wanted to go some where he could be alone and share his grief with his father.  In the next verse we see that he shared his grief with his disciples, and brought them with him.  However, as soon as the people in the towns around the lake heard he was there, there was a mass exodus of people into the wilderness to follow him.  

14:15 When it was (becoming) evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Late in the day, with the sun rushing to the west, the disciples notice a problem:  the people are hungry, and they have no food.  The people have also walked hours to get here, and will have to walk hours to get home, in the dark.  Walking in the dark with friends is not a bad thing, sometimes, except when one has hungry children, or hungry elderly friends, or if one is hungry oneself.  

The disciples suggest Jesus dismiss the crowd.  Maybe the people can buy food in the towns along the way as they walk home.  Jesus will not abandon the crowd to their own devices, to the hope someone will feed them along the journey home, just as he will not abandon them to religious and political leaders.  Jesus commands his disciples, “You give them something to eat.”  

The disciples examine their inventory and find very little, only 5 loaves and two small fish: not even enough for them, far less for the crowd.  But Jesus lives abundance with very little.  In the presence of the crowd, Jesus takes the little the disciples have to offer, blesses it, then returns it to the disciples, catching them up in the joy and excitement of what God is doing as they pass out the food.  And 5000 families were satisfied.  

We immediately notice similarities and differences between the two banquets.  Herod was celebrating himself, and showing off for those he wanted to impress:  Jesus was grieving his cousin and needed time to be alone.  Herod wanted to impress, and was worried about public opinion:  Jesus was not worried about public opinion, he was here to do the will of his father.  Herod celebrated by killing someone:  Jesus celebrated by healing people and feeding them.  

Like John, Jesus attracted people like a light attracts moths.  Like John, Jesus would soon be considered disposable for the sake of politics and power.  

We also notice similarities between this day’s activities and Israel’s time in the wilderness:  the people left civilization to journey in the wilderness;  the people follow the visible presence of God, the “Shekinah”, into the wilderness, and surround it;  the people are miraculously fed where there should be no food.  

14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, … 

Now, at the end of the day, Jesus’ need to grieve and pray has not diminished.  He sent the disciples to the boat with instructions to go ahead to the other side.  As the disciples were leaving, Jesus sent the crowds home.  Then Jesus climbed a nearby mountain for some much needed prayer and alone time with his father.  

14:24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

Out on the lake, the disciples are once again at the mercy of a horrendous storm.  Once again these brave fishermen are afraid.  Only this time, Jesus is not sleeping in the stern.  They cannot wake him up and ask for his intervention.  He is on land, far away, praying, maybe not even realizing they were in danger, which made them even more afraid.  The disciples had come to believe Jesus could handle anything, and in his presence they could dare to do anything, but now out here in this storm, they felt all alone, and being without Jesus was terrifying.  

Suddenly, in the middle of the crashing waves and icy spray, in the middle of the bone piercing cold and dark, they see something walking towards them.  It might be Jesus.  It might be a ghost.  Maybe their eyes were playing tricks on them as the wind slashed their faces with ice;  maybe their minds had been shattered by the wind and turned to mush in the cold.  They were terrified:  “Its a ghost!” 

14:25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Somehow, over the howling of the wind, they hear a gentle voice speak to them, “Take heart, it is I, have no fear.”  The Greek words translated “It is I” (Ego Eime) is the phrase, “I, I AM”.  “I, I AM” is the translation of the Hebrew form of God’s name, given to Moses, “Say to the people, ‘I, I AM,  has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14).  Very literally, Jesus walks into the storm that is attacking his disciples and pronounces his name over them.  And because his name has been pronounced over them, they have no need to fear.  

You will want to take this picture with you, as a picture of your own baptism.  In baptism you were drowned in the icy waters of death, but Jesus, who has pronounced his name over you, walks into the storms of your life with you, and so you do not need to fear, no matter what the storms say.  

This is also a good time to notice the foreshadowing going on in this discourse.  In Leviticus (third book of the Torah = third discourse), chapter 16, we learn about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year, when the High Priest atones for the sins of the nation through sacrifice, and the sins of the people are pronounced on the head of a goat and it is sent into the wilderness.  Leviticus 23 is a review of Passover when lambs were sacrificed to save the lives of the people.  

In this discourse, the religious leaders determine Jesus must die, followed by the political leader (Herod) telling people that Jesus was a dead man.  At his birthday banquet, Herod kills John, which foreshadows the death of Jesus:  At Jesus’ feast by the Lake (Sea of Galilee), we are told twice that evening had come, and that the hour was late, then Jesus is left all alone on the mountain and his disciples are attacked by a horrible storm when they are a long way from the shore, a long way from safety.  

We could spend hours, or years, discussing how Leviticus foreshadows the Messiah.  I have books you could borrow in this subject.  

Lets return to the boat.  

13:27 Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Lets talk about Peter briefly.  In the gospel of Mark, the writer obviously thinks Peter is the greatest person on the planet next to Jesus.  Some say Mark was a disciple of Peter and that is why Peter is so prominent.  In Peter’s letter, he refers to Mark as his son (1 Peter 5:13).  There is some discussion whether Peter is referring to Mark as his biological son, or as his spiritual son.  I believe Mark is Peter’s biological son, and his gospel is a telling of the marvelous adventures and conversations he and his dad had with Jesus.  

Matthew is not pointing out Peter as the #1 disciple whom we should all emulate.  Peter is a good person, who has a big heart and frequently follows his heart rather than logic or reason.  Mark has already made everyone aware of Peter.  Matthew has decided Peter is a good person to serve as an example of every disciple.  And since Peter is frequently larger than life, Peter stories are the ones that jump to mind first, and people tend to remember.  

Jesus’ appearing calms the disciples.  The horrendous storm has not stopped.  The wind continues to whistle in their ears, the waves continue to toss the boat around like a stick and slap the disciples in their faces, they are still cold and wet, but they are not afraid, because Jesus is standing there, on the water, near them, but not yet in the boat.  

Peter, whom we already know as a righteous man, and someone who leads with his heart, asks that if the person standing on the water is indeed Jesus, that the person command Peter to walk on the water to him.  Jesus says “Come.”  Peter climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to Jesus.  

The storm has not stopped.  The waves continue to pitch and crash, not just around Peter, but under him as well.  Suddenly another wave slapped Peter in the face and attempted to knock him down.  Suddenly the reality of what he was doing hit Peter as hard as that wave did.  And he was going down.  But Jesus saw this coming, and grabbed him, and put Peter back in the boat, and got in the boat with him. 

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased, like Jesus has just flipped a light switch, or in this case, a wind switch.  Can you hear them laughing, in the middle of the lake, as they attempt to wring out some of the water from their clothes, and bale water out of the boat, how the Rock (Peter is the Greek word for rock) thought he could walk on water, and Jesus said he had a little faith, and then the laughter sort of slipped away as they all realized just what happened, and stared at Jesus with awe and amazement over what they had just experienced.  “Truly, you are the Son of God.”  

14:34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word to that whole surrounding region, and people brought all who were sick to him 36 and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

The last time the disciples were caught in a storm, they landed on the shore in Gennesaret.  It happened this time too.  Last time, they were met by two men who were possessed by demons, and Jesus freed them.  The men wanted to go with Jesus, but he told them to stay and tell people all that God had done for them.  The men stayed.  The men told everyone who would listen what God had done for them.  

Now Jesus and the disciples are back.  The towns people who asked Jesus to leave last time, recognize him, welcome him, spread the news of his arrival throughout the entire region, and people from the entire region brought everyone who was sick to him for healing.  These people were so certain of his ability to heal, that they begged to just touch the tassels on the corners of his prayer shawl, and everyone who touched those tassels were healed.  

Those who were once considered outside the people of God are rushing to enter in.  The kingdom of God is coming and blessing the nations, just as God promised Abram and Sarai.  The light of the world came to this dark place, formerly habituated by demons, and darkness is banished away.  The light cannot stay hidden, and people flock to know Jesus, and be healed of all their brokenness.  

TBTG

Matthew 13:24-38

June 10, 2026

We are remembering that Matthew arranged Jesus’ words in a series of five discourses, reminding us of the five books of Moses, also referred to as Torah. We are in the third discourse, reminding us of the third book in the Torah, Leviticus. Leviticus is a call from God to all people, calling all people to God’s self, to drawing near to God, to communication with God, to lives of holiness, to the knowledge we are acceptable to God, and to the hard labor of living as the people of God. This is the lens we are using as we study the third discourse, Matthew 13.

In the first half of this discourse, we saw a sower we identified as Jesus, scattering seed over every possible landscape, and scattering it abundantly. We looked around and recognized each of those types of landscapes in the world around us, and as we looked harder, we recognized each of those landscapes in ourselves. We concluded with the affirmation that God loves us and pours out the seed abundantly in all of the various landscapes around us and in us. We felt content … for a while … and then the questions started popping up.

How can it be that any of the seeds fail to yield? If Jesus really is the sower, isn’t his work invincible? Why is there evil in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why are there some people in our community who appear to be “bad seed”? Or at least do not appear to be working for good? If Jesus planted good seed, how can this happen?

It appears the disciples asked these same questions.

13:24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a farmer who sowed good seed in his field” Both the farmer and the seed are good.

“but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds (darnel, cheat, some other noxious weed) among the wheat.” When the blades of wheat started to sprout, so did the weeds. Some of the weeds were very obvious from the beginning, while others looked like wheat, but when the time came for them to produce grain, the weeds did not produce grain.

“the slaves (the disciples) of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’” The servants immediately betray a lack of trust in the farmer (Master) by questioning the quality of his seed. The presence of the weeds trouble the disciples, and people of faith, down through the ages: where did these problems come from? How can God’s people look so ugly some times? People we have looked up to for years suddenly show us a side of themselves that shock or disturb us. It takes little talent to point a finger at members of the church who look like they might be bad seed.

Society frequently disturbs us. We wonder how people can be so ugly inside. There are a lot of weeds. Their presence overwhelm us. We wonder what to do. We run to the master and ask how this happened. How can God permit evil to grow and flourish?

The master answers the disciples (and our) questions and panic with calm: ‘An enemy has done this.’ (13:28) The master calms the servants and fixes the blame on the enemy.

The servants immediately feel something should be done. “The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’” Should we call out the church members who do not believe exactly like we believe? Should we rush into the field and eradicate every last weed?

Again, the master restrains his servants: “he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” (13:29-30)

The master’s calm stands in sharp contrast to the worry and confusion of the servants (disciples). The master is not worried about the weeds using up the soil and robbing nutrients from the wheat. On the other hand, pulling up the weeds prematurely might damage the wheat. The master has a use for the weeds, just as the master has a use for the wheat.

13:31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Lets start by clarifying terms: the mustard seed is not THE smallest seed, it is A smallest seed. Seeds can be sorted by size, coconuts are huge seeds; squash, beans, corn and peas are large seeds; wheat, barley, apple, and citrus seeds are all medium sized seeds; carrot, lettuce, poppy, dill, and mustard seeds are small seeds, or among the smallest seeds.

Second, there is no such things as a mustard tree. Mustard is a fast growing, cool season annual from the Brassica family, cultivated for spicy seeds, edible leaves and oil. It is not a tree.

Jesus’ audience knew this.

Jesus is telling people about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is like a single mustard seed, which has very little potential in the eyes of the world, and if planted produces almost nothing, even under the best circumstances. Birds might eat its seeds; birds do not and would not build a nest in its “branches”. However, God is the one who plants this tiny insignificant seed. Since God is the one who planted this seed, it grows greater than anything anyone could possibly imagine, and becomes a shrub, which is miraculous all by itself, but then it continues to grow and becomes a tree. This tree is so huge and strong that birds come and make strong nests in it to raise their young in safety.

So God pours out seed in abundance, on every type of soil. Bad seed, planted by the enemy, only produces weeds, which will be burned in the oven. The good seed, seemingly small and insignificant, will produce the great kingdom of God. Thanks be to God!

13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Three measures of flour is about 50 pounds of flour, enough to feed about 100 people, or more.

God is seen not just as a farmer or a landowner, but also as a woman making bread.

Like the parable of the mustard seed, something small and insignificant is hidden, and grows unseen, until it feeds, nourishes, of provides safety for a multitude.

In these last two parables, Jesus might be talking about himself. A single mustard seed is useless, leaven is a symbol of uncleanness: those who oppose Jesus believe he is useless at best and unclean at worst. Soon he will be hidden in the ground, but like the mustard seed in the good soil, or the yeast in the flour, it grows to become something new and wonderful.

These parables could also refer to the early church; few in number and considered of no account, but somehow it just kept growing beyond all human understanding. Two thousand years later, the movement begun by Jesus has become a huge tree covering the whole earth. Somehow the church continues to see itself as a small, insignificant seed, and the world sees it as unclean and unwanted agitant in life, but that tiny seed, that tiny bit of yeast, has transformed and continues to transform the entire planet.

13:34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
    I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation.” (Psalm 78:2)

Matthew’s original audience would have completed the quote: (Psalm 78:1-4)

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
    that our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
    we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might
    and the wonders that he has done.

Leviticus proclaims the conviction that the Holy God who called Abraham and Sarah, and freed the people from slavery in Egypt, continues to live with and among God’s people throughout their pilgrimage, and is encountered in rituals and ordinances.

Jesus sees the coming of the kingdom of God in the everyday occurrences of life: planting a field, making bread, seeds growing, weeds dealt with. God is present, not just in the rituals of the temple, but in the rituals of everyday life. Everything around us proclaims the glory of God, and convinces us of God’s presence with us and among us.

Matthew wants us to see that Jesus’ parables build on the framework of God’s presence that the people already knew, and expanded it into all our daily interactions.

13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

This (third) discourse might be a turning point in the gospel, or at least a change is starting to happen. The religious authorities have already written Jesus off as evil. We don’t know what is happening to the crowds: they come to listen, but they do not ask questions, nor do they appear to interact with Jesus’ words. We know they are present, but we don’t know what is going on inside them. Are they like the path, which received good seed, but the birds swooped down and gobbled it up, and they never thought about the words again; are they like the rocky ground which accepted the word with joy, but did not make it a part of their lives, and then it just died; are they like the seed that fell on the ground that got strangled by weeds, and they were so busy with the cares of life they didn’t have time to let the word grow in them? The disciples are listening carefully to Jesus’ words, and asking for explanations when they don’t understand. The word is growing in them. Obviously they are the good soil.

For the benefit of the disciples, and for us, Jesus expands on the parable of the wheat and the weeds: the sower is Jesus (the son of man), the field is the world, the good seed is children of the kingdom, the weed seed are children of the devil, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

What happens in the entire history of this planet, including the history of the church, all the way to the end of the world is a conflict between the son of man (Jesus) and the devil. Good and evil struggle to gain mastery over people, communities and nations. Good and evil people live side by side. Evil is real. Good is far greater. Evil will be vanquished. Good will grow greater and more glorious than anything we could possibly imagine. The present kingdom of the Son contains both good and evil, but at the end, the Son will act as Lord of the Harvest to exclude all doers of lawlessness, and the kingdom of the Father will dawn like the sunrise and the good will shile in the glory of the Father.

Judgment has always meant rewards for some and punishment for others, but who is in and who is out? Matthew states that the standard of judgment is not what people expect, it is not ethnic, national, geographical or even religious. What counts are deeds as an expression of what is in the heart. The various judgment scenes in Matthew all reveal God’s own hunger and thirst for good fruit, for deeds of righteousness, mercy, and love, and God condemnation of indifference to the needs of the neighbor. (3:10; 7:23-27; 13:47-50; 21:28-32; 22:11-14, and especially 25:31-46)

13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Finding the treasure, or finding the pearl, is finding the kingdom of God. The joy of finding this treasure is worth more than anything else we might possess. We reorder our lives with joyful abandon to live in the kingdom of God.

On the other hand, we are that treasure, we are that pearl, and God abandoned everything to be born in a cattle shelter in Bethlehem, to become one of us, to be tortured and killed, in order to possess us, and then joyfully rose for the dead proclaiming the cost was nothing compared to the joy of being reunited with us.

I believe both are true.

13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The parable of the net and the parable of the weeds are very much the same. The parable of the weeds and its explanation bracket the parables of the miraculous growth: the mustard seed and the yeast in the bread. The explainable of the weeds and the net of fish bracket the parables of the buried treasure and the pearl.

The mustard seed which becomes a tree, and the yeast that becomes a huge amount of bread are both parables about the astonishing work of God, producing something amazing and wonderful out of something the world considers useless.

The buried treasure and the pearl focus on people joyfully sacrificing anything in order to seize the prize of the kingdom.

God does amazing things, bringing greatness out of nothing: The people respond by joyfully giving up everything to possess the kingdom. On either side are the weeds, and then the net. The weeds and net speak of good and evil, righteousness and lawlessness. As the mustard seed and the yeast are the beginning and not the end, the joy of possessing the treasure and the pearl are also the beginning and not the end. Possession bring responsibility. Position between weeds and net brings urgency.

In the parable of the net, nothing is mentioned about catching, nothing is mentioned about stretching the net between the boats, or closing the nets, or dragging them to shore. Not even the joy of catching something is noted. Both fishing and hunting are images of bringing someone or something to justice. At the close of the age, the angels will come and sort the fish, just as the angels sorted the wheat from the weeds.

The flourishing of evil people in any community is a problem: so is the arrogance of those who believe in their own piety. Matthew talks about this uneasy coexistence many times: two kinds of trees (7:17-19), two houses (7:24-27), good and bad fish (13:47-50), two sons (21:28-32), wedding guests with and without proper clothing (22:11-14), wise and foolish bridesmaids (25:1-13), sheep and goats (25:31-46). All urge the hearer to examine, not the other, but themselves, and warn that God will be the judge in the end. To the person is given the responsibility to examine their own behavior: to the community is given the responsibility to forgive and make disciples.

13:51 (Jesus asked), “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus asks them if they understand. Their swift answer is “Yes!” They certainly understand what Jesus is saying and doing better than the religious leaders who are following Jesus and condemning him. It remains to be seen how much they really understand, but what they do understand is that God is present and active in what Jesus says and does. They understand that in Jesus, ancient promises are being fulfilled.

After the return from Babylon (538 BCE ish), scribes began to emerge as legal experts. They were lawyers and theologians, and became the predecessors to the rabbis. Who are the new scribes? These are those who listen to Jesus and follow him, and in listening and following him, are trained for the kingdom of heaven. The disciples are the new scribes and teachers of the kingdom of heaven. These bring out new and old treasures: ‘new and old’ tell us the disciples understand and follow the ways of Jesus (new), but do not destroy or do away with the Law and the Prophets (old).

13:53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

Matthew now ends Jesus third discourse with the formula: “ When Jesus had finished these parables,” (7:28; 11:1; 19:1; 26:1).

Matthew how launches into a commentary about Jesus’ family. Immediately before this discourse (12:46-50), the question was asked, who is Jesus, and who are his real family? One might expect his family of origin and the people of his hometown (Nazareth) to answer that they know Jesus the best of anyone, and these are his real family. However …

13:54 He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” 57 And they took offense at him.

They wondered at his source of wisdom, but simply could not see him as anything other than the son of a carpenter. They knew the names of his mother and brothers, and they knew his name, and the names of his sisters. They knew all there was to know about him, and knew he was nothing special. Since he was not special, he had no business teaching in their synagogue, and no business trying to sound wise. They were completely convinced of their old knowledge, and unable to consider something new. Instead, they were offended.

13:57 But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own hometown and in their own house.” 58 And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

So we end with the question, who is this Jesus? Is he the charlatan and servant of the devil the religious leaders claim he is? Is he just some nobody, like the people of his home town suggest? Or is he what the disciples see, the presence of God among us? And who are his real family? And are we a part of it?

Matthew 13:1-23

6.3.26

Matthew 13 is referred to as the third discourse. We are following the idea that Matthew arranged Jesus’ teachings into five discourses which correspond to the five books of Moses (Torah). The third book is Leviticus. Leviticus is a call from God to all people, calling all people to God’s self, to drawing near to God, to communication with God, to lives of holiness, to the knowledge we are acceptable to God, and to the hard labor of living as the people of God. This is the lens we will use to study the third discourse, Matthew 13.

13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 If you have ears to hear, listen!” (13:1-9)

“That same day …” Matthew 12 took place on the Sabbath. This phrase tells us the events of Matthew 12 happened earlier in the day.

“Went out of the house…” We have only heard of two houses in the gospel of Matthew, the house of Matthew the tax collector and the house of Peter the fisherman. Since this house is close to the Sea of Galilee, and there is a boat near by, it seems safe to assume this is Peter’s house. Also, since there is no name attached to this house, but Jesus goes in and out of it regularly, it is safe to assume he lives at Peter’s house.

“A sower went out to sow …” We notice immediately that this sower is not careful with the seed. Seed is scattered everywhere. One would expect the sower to prepare the ground, remove stones and thistles, and avoid scattering seed on the path, to make the ground more suitable for planting. This does not happen. Each patch of ground is given seed just as it is. We have to wonder about the intelligence of this sower: seed is valuable, most of these locations are not valuable in their present state. However each location is accepted just as it is.

“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” I spoke with some farmers some years ago. They spoke of getting a “bumper crop” that year and I wanted to know what that meant. They said “bumper crop” meant getting a return on their planting that was greater than expected. I of course had to follow that trail and ask about yields. I got a lot of numbers I didn’t understand, and so continued down that rabbit trail until I got something I could understand. They told me the annual return on investment for growing wheat in Kansas was between -50% and 15%, 15% being their highest dream and -50% being their greatest nightmare.

The sower in this parable gets returns on investment of 100%, 60% and 30%. The lowest return on investment is 30%. 30% is twice as high as these farmer’s highest dream of return on investment! And the sower is sowing on the path, over rocks, and amid thistles, as well as good soil! No wonder this sower can be so careless with the seed!

Lets continue reading.

13:10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ (13:10-13)

We remember the harsh rejection Jesus has just received from the religious leaders earlier in the day. These leaders had condemned Jesus for allowing his disciples to pick and eat heads of grain when they were hungry, not because they were stealing someone’s crop, because the poor were allowed to take ears of grain from the sides and corners without repercussion, but because they were picking the grain and eating it on the Sabbath. Picking grain is harvesting, and harvesting is work, and work is prohibited on the Sabbath. Next Jesus healed a man with an injured hand on the Sabbath, at the synagogue. The injury was not life threatening, and the religious leaders instructed the man to return on the next day to be healed, believing that healing was work and dishonored the Sabbath. This was followed by Jesus healing a bunch more people. From the perspective of the religious leaders, Jesus had no respect for the Sabbath. The leaders decided, and told the people, that Jesus was able to heal and cast out demons because he was a servant of Satan. Jesus said mercy was greater than the leaders’ understanding of honoring the Sabbath. He also said they were calling good evil and evil good, which was a sin against the Holy Spirit.

13:10 ‘Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”’ People can hold on to and understand stories better than they can hold on to and understand lectures. When we can see things, we can understand them better. Jesus is a good teacher. He knows his audience. He knows what interests them. He speaks in pictures they can understand.

“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, …” The disciples, and hopefully some of the crowd, can understand what Jesus is talking about. It makes sense. They can take these images with them and think about them, and learn. The secrets, or puzzles, are that the kingdom of God comes with such meekness, or weakness, that Jesus, the one accused of breaking the law, is the one who brings God’s grace, and that gentiles, and the poor, and the outcasts, and those who are considered nobodys, are included in the coming kingdom.

13:11 “but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” … ‘Them’ are the leaders who can see nothing good in what Jesus is doing and saying. They see evil in his lack of respect for their interpretation of how things should be done. They see evil in healing on the Sabbath. They see evil in feeding hungry people on the Sabbath. The see evil in Jesus’ acceptance of the crowds acclaiming him as the promised “Son of David”. Jesus is giving these people life, while the leaders are plotting Jesus’ death. In plotting for the death of an innocent person just because he honors God is a way different from them is definitely causing these leaders to loose whatever good they had.

Those who have are the ones who listen to Jesus, and ponder what they see and hear: they will be given more to see and hear. Those who have nothing, the religious leaders who condemn mercy and compassion, will not understand Jesus or see good in him, but, by their own choice, will move further and further from the good Jesus offers, until they decide the only appropriate response to Jesus is to kill him.

13:13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:

‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
    and you will indeed look but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and their ears are hard of hearing,
        and they have shut their eyes,
        so that they might not look with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.’ (Isaiah 6:9-10)

This prophecy from the book of Isaiah was first spoken to the people of the southern kingdom, Judea and Jerusalem, after Assyria had conquered the northern kingdom, Israel. The southern kingdom felt safe in their own righteousness and were certain nothing bad could happen to them: the northern kingdom was bad, and that was why the northern kingdom was destroyed; the south was good and nothing bad could happen to them.

Jesus uses this prophecy against the religious leaders of his own time first as a reminder of what happened in the past when the leaders failed to listen to God, and shut their eyes to what God was doing, and second as a warning of what would happen if they continued on their present course. At this point, the leaders are in danger of becoming those Isaiah was speaking to about 700 years earlier. However, there is still the possibility the leaders will hear the prophecy, and turn, and God would heal them.

13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

But the disciples of Jesus do understand. Jesus announces that they are blessed, because they can see what God is doing in Jesus, and they can hear the words Jesus is saying and know they are from God. These are the ones who have seen, and heard, and turned, and understood. These are the ones who have repented, and have been touched with God’s healing. Many prophets and righteous people down through history longed to see and hear what the disciples were privileged to see and hear. Those who long to see God and long to hear God’s word become righteous, as they live in the word of God, and look for God’s coming. We are also among the blessed, because we also listen to the words of Jesus, and study what he did, and know the presence of God was among them then, and continues to be among us now. Like them, we are blessed.

13:18 “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The word of God is proclaimed openly and abundantly to all. No one has to clean up their act, or go through a self improvement course to qualify to hear the word of God. God comes to us where we are. Some people ignore the word, and loose it immediately (the path); some loose interest when problems come, when life doesn’t work out the way they want it too, or the demands of the word seem too hard to follow, some loose interest when others bully or harass them for what they believe, or they are persecuted for what they believe, and they decide standing up for their beliefs is too hard, and life would be easier if they abandon their beliefs and agree with the crowd (rocks in the soil); some receive the word, but the cares of life, the desire for wealth, the desire for more stuff, choke the word, and it produces nothing (thorns). Then there are those who hear the word, and accept it with gladness. They hold on to the word, they trust God, they live joyfully in spite of problems, they hold on to God more than any earthly treasure, they grow in righteousness, producing an abundant harvest, which is far greater than anything anyone could possibly imagine (those planted in good soil).

This last soil is a sketch of the disciple of Jesus, one who with the prophets and the righteousness hold onto the word, caring more about God than earthly treasures, who long for the coming kingdom of God.

Or perhaps the good soil is Jesus himself, called and chosen by the word from heaven itself, living with simple joy and trust even under the pressure of rejection, obeying God all the way to the cross, not caring about his own life, but bringing life to many, bearing much fruit.

A third possibility is that each of these soils are in each of us: sometimes we are not paying attention, and the good seed disappears, and we don’t know what happened; sometimes life is just too hard, and we stop trying; sometimes we get distracted by bright shiny ideas and forget who we are and whose we are; And sometimes we stop and notice what we have been allowing to get in the way of our relationship with God, and we repent and turn back to the source of life and every good. Regardless of what kind of soil we are representing on any particular day, or any particular hour, there is no time, or no soil, when Jesus will stop scattering his word in our lives. We are always loved by God, regardless of our deserving. Thanks be to God.

Lord, let my heart be good soil,
open to the seed of your Word.
Lord, let my heart be good soil,
where love can grow and peace is understood.
When my heart is hard,
break the stone away.
When my heart is cold,
warm it with the day.
When my heart is lost,
lead me on your way.
Lord, let my heart,
Lord, let my heart,
Lord, let my heart be good soil.

(Handt Hanson, 1985)

Matthew 12

May 26, 2026

Matthew 12 occurs on a Sabbath. Now for those of us who think of Jesus as the Word of God in human form, we would expect Jesus to be really good at obeying the commandments. The people of his time would agree: If Jesus was really the son of God, he would know the commandments and do them. However, the Sabbath seemed to be one of those times Jesus got into a lot of trouble, which would have convinced the religious leaders of his time that he was a charlatan. So lets start by looking at the rules about the Sabbath in the Old Testamant (Tanakh).

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

This seems straight forward: do no work on the Sabbath. No one is excluded.

Lets look at the context of this commandment: the people were slaves. Slaves do not get days off. When slave owners get days off, the slaves typically have to work harder to make this a work free day for the slave owner. God gave the sabbath to these former slaves as an act of mercy and compassion, first to show God’s care for them, but also to show that they were worthy in God’s eyes to be treated with respect. God even announces that resting on the seventh day is part of the created order.

Exodus 31:14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.

Again, the Sabbath is a gift of love. The Sabbath is holy, set apart, for God’s people. Whoever works on the Sabbath will be put to death.

I have to wonder about “death”: is this the best translation? Also, there is nothing said about how the person will be put to death, and when? So obviously I need to look this up.

The word translated “everyone” in this translation is “nephesh”. “Nephesh” is “a feminine noun meaning breath, the inner being with its thoughts and emotions”. It can also mean the whole person in its relationship to God, (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, OT#5315). What I hear here is that humans require a day of rest every seven days, and if they do not get this rest they die inside. Those of us who work hard and do not get that day of rest know what it is like to feel dead, emotionally and physically. When we do not get the rest we need, we die. This command is a gift of mercy and grace from our God who loves us, and wants only good things for us.

Exodus 12:12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.

This six day work week was a gift, not just for the master, but for the animals and slaves and foreigners. Every person and every animal deserved to have a day of rest to relax, refresh and recreate. It is not just a nice idea, it is built into who we are.

Now that we have looked at the commandment about the Sabbath, we have some background on how to look at this chapter, and Jesus’ Sabbath problems.

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

The Pharisees were following Jesus and his disciples. Were they just traveling in this direction? Or were they intentionally following Jesus and the disciples looking for things to criticize and condemn? Whichever their initial intent, they immediately found something to condemn: the disciples were plucking heads of grain to eat. This could technically be considered harvesting, which is work, and work is prohibited on the Sabbath.

However, the disciples were not plucking heads of grain in order to store the grain for later, but to eat at that moment, because they were hungry. Jesus believes feeding the hungry is of greater importance than the Pharisee’s opinions about harvesting grain on the Sabbath, and offers three arguments to support what his disciples are doing.

First: 12:3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 How he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests?

Jesus is referring to an event recorded in 1Samuel 21:1-6 when David and his men were fleeing from King Saul. David and company were hungry, and when they arrived at the tabernacle in Nob, asked the priest for food. The priest had no food available except for the “bread of the presence” (or show bread), which was reserved for the priests to eat. David asked for that bread, and the priest gave it to him. David did not incur guilt for eating that bread, nor did the priest incur guilt for giving the bread to David and company. This story shows that human need, and mercy takes precedence over strict adherence to the rules.

Second: 12:5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

On each day of the week, the priests were to slaughter a lamb and offer it for sacrifice, morning and evening. On the Sabbath, two lambs were offered morning and evening. Slaughtering the animals, then preparing them for sacrifice, and putting them on the altar for the offering is definitely work. On the Sabbath the priests were required to do twice as much work as they did on the rest of the days. They are not considered guilty of breaking the commandment about the Sabbath when they do this, (Numbers 28:9-10). Priest were also expected to exchange old loaves of bread for new loaves, and to double the amount of flour given as sacrifice, (Leviticus 24:8, Numbers 28:9-10).

Priests continued their service on the Sabbath because the greatness of the temple exceeded the law against working on the Sabbath. Something greater than the temple was present. And what is this something greater? God is greater. God’s presence is what makes the temple holy. God and the kingdom of God are present in Jesus, in his mission, and in his followers. If Jesus, the presence of God, believed it was acceptable for the disciples to pick heads of grain to feed themselves when they were hungry, it was acceptable.

Third: 12:7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Mercy is greater than sacrifice. Mercy is greater than any person’s political agenda. Mercy is greater than rank or privilege. When people are hungry, we feed them. If the Pharisees had understood the prophets, they would know that God’s gentle yoke of mercy is greater than the laws of Sabbath. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, first as he is the author of Sabbath and has the right to change things, or interpret things, as he might choose, and second, and more important, he is the one who opens the door to the eternal Sabbath of God, the promised rest, (11:28-29).

12:9 Jesus left that place and entered their synagogue; 10 a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.

Jesus left the grainfield, and entered the synagogue. The pharisees followed him. There was a man already in the synagogue whose hand was crippled. This was not a life threatening emergency. The Pharisees had been corrected about eating fresh grain on the Sabbath, but that did not mean they had stopped looking for things to use to condemn Jesus. The man had been injured but it was not life threatening. Healing could wait. Would Jesus heal on the Sabbath? Jesus answered their question with a question of his own: “If you had one sheep, this is your only sheep, and it fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would you pull it out of the pit?” Now its possible the sheep would not die if left in the pit for a few hours, but not knowing the condition of the sheep, it would be wiser to pull it out where it was safe and could be cared for. It would be kind to the sheep to rescue it. Humans are more valuable than sheep. Since it is lawful to do good to a sheep on the Sabbath, it is obviously lawful to do good to a human on the Sabbath.

And Jesus healed the man’s hand.

12:14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. 15 When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many followed him, and he cured all of them, 16 and he ordered them not to make him known.

The Pharisees had their own ideas about following the law, and they did not have room for mercy. The new righteousness Jesus preached demanded both mercy and justice from the heart. Their ideas about following the will of God keep getting further apart, and now the Pharisees decide Jesus has to be destroyed, because he is teaching others to disobey the law, as they understood the law. Mercy was not a priority to them. Mercy was a priority to Jesus. Jesus immediately demonstrates just how divergent he is from the thinking of the Pharisees by spending the rest of the Sabbath healing people. He did ask people to keep quiet about what he was doing, because he had a lot more work to do, and publicizing what he was doing would cause problems.

Matthew looks at what Jesus was doing and immediately saw a fulfillment of the words of Isaiah:

17 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

18 “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
    my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the gentiles.
19 He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a bruised reed
    or quench a smoldering wick
until he brings justice to victory.
21     And in his name the gentiles will hope.” (Isaiah 42:1-4)

Jesus task is to be merciful, and to bring justice to the gentiles. He was not here to subdue the gentiles with a force of arms, but to bring them the grace of God’s salvation. “He will not wrangle or cry aloud”; he will not stoop to name calling or arguing, but will act with mercy to all people. He will not break off people who are hurt or wounded, but will bring healing. He is mercy and life to all with battered bodies and broken spirits.

12:22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. 23 All the crowds were amazed and were saying, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this man casts out the demons.”

The crowds continued to come. So did the opposition. The crowds were amazed, and thought this was surely the promised son of David, their promised Messiah. The Pharisees could only see that Jesus was breaking the law. Since Jesus was breaking the law, he could not be the Messiah, nor could he be the son of David, nor could he be a righteous person. He could only be a servant of evil. So they spoke to the people and warned them, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this man casts out the demons.”

12:25 He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? 27 If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered.

Jesus responds to their accusation with reason: No house, or city, or kingdom, divided against itself will continue to stand. If Satan is casting out Satan, that would indicate civil war was going on in Satin’s kingdom. It is interesting that the followers of the Pharisees also cast out demons, and we have to wonder how it is that the followers of the Pharisees casting out demons is considered good, while Jesus casting out demons, doing the same thing, is considered evil. If Jesus is casting out demons by the Spirit of God, just as the followers of the Pharisees are, then one would have to acknowledge that the Kingdom of God has come to them in Jesus. Satan is like a strong man defending his property. One cannot plunder a strong man’s property without subduing the strong man first. Jesus is plundering Satan’s property, releasing those who are captive to Satan. He must have bound the strong man and defeated him in order to do this. Jesus is obviously not a servant of Satan.

12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

A lot of things have been said about these words, and many of those things hurt people. God’s people are not being told they are bad; God’s people are not being sent to hell for some imaginary wrong they might have done. I have heard people denounce others for committing the “unforgivable sin” for most of my life: these people are liars and are being spiritually abusive. Maybe those liars attacked you with these words also.

Lets work through these words slowly, in context.

First, Jesus cares about the people. Jesus has healed a lot of people. Jesus has poured his time and energy into helping people. Jesus has not refused kindness and healing to anyone.

Second, there are people, some of the Pharisees, who do not like what Jesus is doing. These people see the good things Jesus is doing and call them evil. Jesus is not doing what they want; Jesus is not doing things their way; Jesus is not bowing down before them and worshiping them; Jesus is not asking their permission to heal people, or to speak to people about God: they hate this. When the crowds praise Jesus, these people say he is a servant of Satan, and he is doing all these things by the power of Satan.

These Pharisees are looking at the good Jesus is doing and calling it evil. They are calling Jesus evil. They are telling people that Jesus is evil. Not all of the Pharisees were like this. Some of the Pharisees were followers of Jesus. However, there were some who followed Jesus and his disciples around to cause trouble, to accuse them of evil, and to tell people that Jesus was evil, and the reason he could do miracles was because he was a servant of Satan.

These Pharisees believed they were doing good, by calling Jesus evil and attempting to convince people that what Jesus was doing evil by healing them.

Jesus was speaking to these Pharisees who believed good was evil, and that evil was good. Jesus was not speaking to his followers: he was not speaking to those he had healed: he was speaking to religious (and political) leaders who were so convinced of the rightness of their own thoughts and actions, that they had no room for anyone who didn’t look exactly like themselves, who didn’t think their thoughts, who didn’t hate the people they hated, who didn’t agree with their opinions

Jesus continues talking to the Pharisees who were accusing him of being a servant of Satan:

12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

Apple trees produce apples; orange trees produce oranges; fig trees produce figs. These Pharisees claimed to love and honor God. If these people loved God, as they claimed, they would love God’s people. However they appeared to hate the people of God, which would indicate they hated God as well. Jesus loved God, and loved the people God had made. These Pharisees produced bad fruit, so must have been bad trees. Jesus produced good fruit so must have been a good tree.

12:34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.

You poisonous snakes! You are full of venom! You speak evil things because your hearts are full of evil! The things you treasure are evil. When you share the things you treasure, you share things that are evil. Good people treasure and share good things. Evil people treasure and share evil things.

12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus is still speaking to people who call good evil and evil good. Jesus tells them, and us, that the way they, and we, speak to people matters. We can use our words to hurt people, or we can use our words to help people. God hears everyone of those words, and will call them, and us, to account for those words.

12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

Interesting request: did they somehow miss all the people Jesus had just healed, all the demons he cast out, all the lame people who were now skipping and dancing for joy, all the deaf people who were rejoicing in birds singing, all the blind people who were rejoicing in the colors of grass and flowers and sky, all the mute people who were singing God’s praise at the top of their lungs? Did this somehow escape their notice? What more could they ask for?

12:39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41 The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and indeed something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed something greater than Solomon is here!

When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s preaching, they repented. Jesus is greater than Jonah. The queen of the south heard of Solomon’s wisdom and traveled from the far reaches of the earth to hear his personally. Jesus is greater than Solomon. These people have the honor to see and hear this one who is far greater than Jonah or Solomon, but they treat him with scorn and call him evil.

The day is coming when God will rip the stone off Jesus’ tomb and raise him to ultimate authority. And sadly, when these people get the sign they asked for, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, they are the ones who make up lies to try and cover up the sign.

12:43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it returns, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.”

When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it looks for new quarters. Jesus has been walking around Galilee casting demons out of their homes and signaling the presence of the kingdom of God. If these newly freed people do not take Jesus into their hearts, do not accept his yoke, do not follow him, do not become part of the coming kingdom, then they are not merely missing an opportunity, they are putting themselves in a terrible situation.

These words stand as a terrible warning. Where does our allegiance lie? Our words and our actions signal our allegiance. The times are perilous. Who is in? Who is out? Who is the family of God?

46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Who is the family of God? The coming of the kingdom redefines who is family and who is not family. Family is not defined by ties of blood, or close friends, not by ethnic identity, or familial traits. Family is not defined by nationality. Family is defined by doing the will of God, which is becoming Jesus’ disciple, accepting the yoke of discipleship, and putting one’s trust in God. These are the family of God.

May God grant us to look like Jesus in all of our words and in all our interactions. May God grant us strength to do the will of God. May God bless us with peace. Amen

Matthew 11

May 20, 2026

In Chapter 10, Jesus sent his 12 disciples out to heal and proclaim the coming kingdom. Jesus warned them of problems they would encounter on their journey, enough to make the bravest heart want to turn and run away. Then we were reminded that Jesus went through all those problems too, and in going through those problems, we were walking in our Lord’s footsteps.

11:1, Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.

The problems they would encounter did not stop Jesus. It will not stop us either.

11:2-3 When John heard in prison what the Messiah (Christ) was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

Let’s review for a moment who this John is: John’s parents were old and had no children, (Luke 1:5-7) so we know he is an only child. John’s father, Zechariah, was a priest, (Luke 1:5), so its safe to assume John would have been trained to be a priest also. John’s parents were righteous, (Luke 1:6), so we expect they were very careful to share their faith with their only child. John’s birth was announced by an angel, (Luke 1:8-13), which is fairly unusual. Jesus’ mother and John’s mother were cousins, and John was six months older than Jesus, (Luke 1:36). Given Mary and Elizabeth’s relationship, John and Jesus definitely knew each other, and probably spent a lot of time together as children.

Matthew ignores John’s birth narrative, just as he ignores Jesus’ birth narrative. Instead, Matthew’s John suddenly shows up in the wilderness, dressed like the prophet Elijah, calling people to repentance, and announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand. John looks and sounds like the great prophet Elijah, (1 Kings 17 to 1 Kings 2). People swarm to the wilderness to see John, to hear John, and to repent and be baptized by John. Like so many others, Jesus went to see John at the river and be baptized as well. John objected to baptizing Jesus, and said he should be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. Jesus told John they needed to do this to fulfill all righteousness, and John consented. Not long after this, their paths cross again, and John’s disciples ask Jesus’ disciples why they don’t fast, like John’s disciples do. Clearly John and his disciples have clear expectations about who Jesus is and what he will do. Equally clearly, Jesus is not fulfilling expectations of John and his disciples any more than he is fulfilling the expectations of the Scribes and the Pharisees.

Some time after this, Herod got tired of John’s condemnations and calls to repentance, and put John in jail. In jail, John has a lot of time to think, and wonder, and finally has to send a message to Jesus to ask what is going on. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (John 11:3) John said, I thought I knew what to expect. You are not fulfilling expectations. Are you actually the one we have been expecting for all these thousands of years? Or am I confused? I need some help here.

It is not easy to see who Jesus really is. He seems like just one more wandering teacher, who says good things. We would think the healings should catch people’s attention, but somehow when Jesus does it, it feels normal, like recovering from a cold, or waking from sleep: Yes, I was born blind, but Jesus spoke and I got better; Yes, I fell and I couldn’t move, but then Jesus told me to get up and I did; Yes, my daughter was dead, but Jesus came and said she was only asleep, and then he took her hand and she woke up. The things Jesus does are so far outside of our understanding, and our experience that we have difficulty comprehending what is going on. Somehow we expect God to come with lightening and thunder and flashing lights, and change everything to be the way we want it. The people of his time expected the Messiah to come as a king and chase out the Romans, and begin a golden age of peace and prosperity. Even Jesus’ cousin John had to ask, ‘Are you the one we have been waiting for? I thought you were, but you are not like anything I have ever imagined. Have I been deceived? Are we actually waiting for someone else?’

Jesus answered John’s question by referring to Isaiah 35, which is a blueprint of the Messiah’s work:

3 Strengthen the weak hands
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
    “Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
    He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
    He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. (Isaiah 35:3-6)

11:4 Jesus answered them (John’s disciples), “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” (Mt.11:4-6)

Maybe John got too focused on the one sentence in Isaiah 35:4, and forgot the context? If we go back over the past five chapters, we see Jesus do each one of these miracles. Most likely John’s disciples had shared each one of these miracles with John, which might lead John to wonder where his miracle was, and why he was still in chains, in a prison.

Sometimes we sit in that same prison next to John and wonder with John, ‘Where is my miracle?’ Jesus knows, and tells John, and us, “Blessed is any who takes no offense at me.” Sometimes Jesus just leaves us there in that prison. It is not for lack of knowing, or lack of caring that Jesus leaves us there. Jesus has something else planned, and does not choose to tell us why we need to wait, but we can trust that it is something good, because God is good.

Jesus then turned to the crowd and asked them some questions:

11:7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What, then, did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet?

John had asked Jesus three questions, and now Jesus turns around and asks the crowd three questions about John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? What was this thing that was stirring in your heart? What were you hoping for? To see a reed shaking in the wind? Were you expecting to see someone dressed as a king or a ruler, or someone equally powerful by earthly standards? No. You do not find those kind of people in the wilderness. You went into the wilderness to see a prophet.

11:9 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’ (Malachi 3:1)

Malachi, chapters 3 and 4 are a very strong description about the coming of the Messiah, and the messenger who would go before the Messiah.

11:11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and violent people take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John came, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 Let anyone with ears listen!

Yes, the people believed John was a prophet. They were very impressed with him. Jesus informs them that John is far more impressive than they think; he is far more than one more prophet in the long line of prophets; he is the fulfillment of prophecy: He is the one sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. John is the promised prophet who would announce the coming of the Messiah.

V.11, Jesus heaps extravagant praise on John. Jesus not only compares John to other prophets, but also to kings, rulers, poets, priests, farmers, fisherman, and every other person on the planet, and proclaims John is greater than each of them. John is the one who stands at the threshold to the promised kingdom and points to the Messiah. There can be no greater work.

John was great because he looked into the face of Jesus, and knew he was seeing the face of God. John looked into the face of Jesus and knew he was seeing the coming kingdom of God. But John will not live to see the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. The kingdom comes in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the least of those who live in that kingdom, under the authority of the crucified one who rose again, are greater than John, who could only point to the kingdom’s coming, but not to its arriving.

V.12, The kingdom of God does not creep in like the sunrise of another peaceful day. From the moment John began proclaiming the coming kingdom of God, it had suffered violence in its head on collision with the old order of doing things. The kingdom will not submit to wealth, or power, or human proclamations of either religion or politics. The kingdom cannot be forced into a box, no matter how hard the old order tries. Before John’s name even appeared in this gospel, the world’s powers were already unleashing violence in an attempt to destroy the coming king. John would soon feel the full weight of the world’s wrath, as would Jesus, but regardless of the world’s wrath, the kingdom will come, just like the sunrise.

V.15, John is the transition from the old to the new. John is the long awaited Elijah come to point to the Messiah. He was not here to be admired. He was not here to be a celebrity. The only appropriate response to John was to listen, and then step forward in faith and obedience, and enter the new kingdom he proclaimed. Let those who have ears, listen!

11:16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Jesus said the people were fickle, like little children calling out to their playmates: Let’s play wedding games! And you refuse. Ok, let’s play funeral games! But you refuse to do that too.

The crowds noticed John, and thought it was exciting to have a real live prophet to go see in the wilderness, but they really didn’t hear him. Those who did hear found him offensive. John came in the funeral style. He came fasting and calling for repentance, and they thought him mentally unstable.

Jesus’ style was at the other end of the spectrum. He came in the wedding style. He came feasting and inviting others to joy. Those who found John offensive for fasting found Jesus offensive for feasting, and named him a drunkard and a glutton, and someone who kept bad company.

“Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the heavenly Wisdom, the Son of God, and will be vindicated by his, or her, deeds, regardless of what popular opinion decides. Jesus brings in the kingdom of God, is the beginning of the new age of righteousness, speaks God’s verdicts of blessings or woe, and reveals the face of God. the land of Sodom than for you.”

11:20 Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum were three very Jewish cities in Galilee in which Jesus spent a lot of time, and did many acts of power. These were cities who rushed into the wilderness to see John. Jesus spent significant time in these three cities. He walked their streets. He did many miracles there. They were surrounded by the marvelous acts of God, and yet they did not repent.

These three Jewish cities are contrasted with three gentile cities who were known for their corruption, Tyre, Sidon and Sodom. Jesus said these cities would have repented if they had seen the deeds done in them which had been done in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. These three cities felt honored and blessed, but it did not lead them to repentance. God’s acts of power and grace and blessing were, and are, meant to draw people to repentance. Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum felt blessed, but Jesus cries “woe.” Woe is a dirge, a lament for the dead. Precisely because they were so blessed, their failure to repent will count more heavily against them. There will be a day of judgment. May we respond to God’s warm and friendly face now, and repent while there is time.

11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Here at the end of the chapter, all brooding over opposition ceases and is replaced with joy as Jesus enters the intimacy of private prayer.

“At that time,” right now, in these very moments of opposition, Jesus does not talk about the opposition or the pain of rejection, but instead rejoices in God’s presence, and thanks God as “Father” for all of creation, seen and unseen. Jesus sees the divine plan in the things God has hidden from the wise, but revealed to babies, to the poor, to the meek, to the tax collector and sinner, to those the world considers foolish, to those who lack the “wisdom” of experience and power.

And what is this wisdom that is revealed to infants? “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.” Jesus boldly declares that the intimacy between human parent and child (infant) is a picture of his own relationship with God. Good parents treasure their children and ensure their needs are met with generosity and compassion. Children delight to be in their parent’s presence. In the best of these connections, we see the connections between God as Father and Jesus as son.

We might expect Jesus to follow with with more teaching about his relationship with the Father, or maybe an invitation to look to his father as our own father. What we don’t expect is Jesus’ words, “Come to me.” This “me” is the Jesus who taught in Galilee, who wandered around the country with no place to call home, who did many miracles, and even more, was crucified and resurrected, and now wears the mantle of absolute authority in heaven and on earth.

11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus issues his invitation to “all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens.” These are the little ones, the ones who have no power and authority of their own, the people listed in Jesus’ beatitudes, sheep left defenseless without a shepherd, people whom political and religious leaders have heaped burdens with no intention of helping them carry those burdens, people kept imprisoned by the strong man Ba’alzubul.

John saw this and proclaimed axe and fire. Jesus saw this and proclaimed an invitation to God’s own rest (which we will talk about more in chapter 12). God’s own rest will include two healings on the Sabbath, which highlight Jesus’ extravagant promise: He has come to bless people with God’s rest, including the new life of God’s new world.

But what does “come to me” mean? Jesus explains these words with two additional images: “Take my yoke”, and “learn from me.” What kind of yoke can this be? Yokes are symbols of subjugation, made of wood or metal, and put on the neck or shoulders of slaves or oxen or draft animals, to make them pull a load. How can this be a positive?

Jesus said, “Take MY yoke.” This would indicate Jesus was sharing the work with us. We are not alone. Torah, personified as Lady Wisdom, (Mt. 11:19; Proverbs 8:22–31; 9:1–6; Sirach 24:23; Baruch 3:38–4:1), invites the people of Israel to take her yoke upon their necks. Rabbis spoke of reciting the Shema and of performing God’s ordinances as an act of taking upon one’s self the yoke of God, the yoke of Torah, the yoke of the kingdom of the heaven, (Mishnah, Berakoth, 2.2).

The image of the yoke is followed by the words, “Learn from me.” The Greek word for learn (μαθαίνω) is similar to the Greek word for disciple (μαθητής). When Jesus says “Learn of me”, he is saying, “Be my disciple.”: ‘Come take up my yoke of discipleship, trusting I am neither a tyrant nor an oppressor.’ In fact he assures us, “for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (11:29). The word translated “gentle” appears two more times in the gospel of Matthew, (as “meek” 5:5, and “humble” 21:5). These appearances give us a clearer idea of what Jesus is saying. In chapter 21, Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem, not with the arrogance of a conquering hero, but with the humility of a servant. In 5:5, the meek person inherits the kingdom of God. All who take Jesus’ yoke will find rest and renewal. They may worry about loosing their lives, but Jesus assures them, they will find their lives and inherit the earth.

Discipleship is both yoke and burden, but it is not a yoke or burden that oppresses and crushes. Being yoked to the son of God makes one part of his indestructible life, in all its majesty and glory. Jesus has crushed under foot everything that threatens to destroy us, and instead gives us his own yoke which is easy and light.

Thanks be to God!

Matthew 10

5.13.26

Welcome back to Matthew. We are in chapter 10, and we have jumped forward in time suddenly. To explain the jump, we need to return to our introduction to the gospel of Matthew. You will remember Matthew is a Jew, writing to Jews who lived in the diaspora, or the dispersion. Even if they did not know the Hebrew language as well as they would like, they knew the Torah, and the Prophets very well. Knowing this, how better to undergird Matthew’s assertion that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, than to use the Torah as the outline for Matthew’s writing? Yes, Matthew is continually making references to the Torah and Prophets as he wrote, but using the Torah as his outline takes this to a whole new level!

Genesis is the book of beginnings. This is where God first begins forming a people for God’s self. This is where we get a good look at God and see God’s power and compassion and justice (also known as God’s righteousness).

In Jesus’ first discourse (ch 5-9), he calls people to a life of righteousness (compassion and justice) greater than that of the scribes and pharisees. And quite bluntly, being more righteous than the scribes and the pharisees is an extremely high bar to exceed. This new righteousness demands not just knowing the right answer to every question, it means living that life. Righteousness must be a matter of the heart, not just the head; righteousness must be who we are, not just what we do.

We then get a picture of God’s righteousness en-fleshed in Jesus. He heals every disease, including skin diseases, paralysis, demon possession, hemorrhaging, and even death. He speaks to the storm, and the winds and waves obey him! Then he gives sight to the blind and voice to those who were mute. If we were paying attention, we can not help but stand beside the disciples and saying, “Who is this, that even the wind and waves obey him?”

Jesus’ second discourse, beginning in 9:36, parallels Exodus. In Exodus, because of God’s great compassion, God calls God’s people out of captivity, and takes them on a journey through the wilderness.

Matthew 9:36 reads, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

This sounds very much like God’s reaction in Exodus:

Exodus 2:23, “The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cry for help rose up to God from their slavery. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.”

Jesus responses to seeing “the crowds harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” by telling his disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (9:37-38)

And those whom Jesus told to pray, are also the ones whom he choose to be part of the solution.

10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

Twelve disciples, not more, not less. Exactly twelve. Why? Because there were twelve tribes of Israel. Is this replacement theology? Are these 12 disciples replacing the twelve tribes of Israel? Absolutely not!

When Israel left Egypt, the land of their captivity, there were a lot of people other than Israel who left also. When God speaks about the twelve tribes of Israel being called out of Egypt, God is including everyone who left as part of God’s people. Twelve tribes was an inclusive term, not an exclusive term. We know the names of the original twelve sons of Israel, but by the time they were called out of Egypt, only God knew all their names. And each was included in the name, twelve tribes of Israel.

Now we have twelve disciples, (original students), who will soon become the twelve apostles (ones who were sent out). We know the names of the first twelve. Since those first twelve were sent out, the number of God’s people has grown, and only God knows how many there are, and what all their names are. Again, twelve is an inclusive number, not an exclusive number, and each of us who have been called to be part of the children of God are included in that number.

10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

Before we continue, Luke and Mark also have a list of the twelve disciples:

Mark’s list looks exactly like Matthew’s list:

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Mark 3:13-19)

Luke’s list looks a bit different: “These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Judas the son of James; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Luke 6:1-4)

Luke’s list includes a person named “Judas, son of James”, while Matthew and Mark list a person named Thaddaeous.

In Israel, at the time of Jesus, there were multiple cultures in the country who did not see eye to eye: Israel and the Romans. It helped to have a Roman or Greek name and a Hebrew name; a business name and a religious name. Thaddaeous and Judas, son of James, are the same person. This is another example of people having both a Greek name and a Hebrew name: This person’s Greek name is Thaddaeous, and his Hebrew name was Judas; We don’t know which James was the father: but we do know both names, Judas and James, were extremely popular names, and listing this Judas’ father’s name helped people differentiate between the two Judas. We see this with the Apostle Paul: Paul was his Greek name, Saul was his Hebrew name; and as we noticed earlier, the disciple Matthew has two names: Matthew is the Greek name, Levi is the Hebrew name. And this one might surprise you: Simon Peter; Simon is from the Hebrew, and Peter is from the Greek.

I used to find this very confusing, so I thought I would pass on what I learned just in case it confused you too.

10:5  These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons.

Those who were sent out were given given the same words John the Baptizer and Jesus had used, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ They were given the same power and authority to do the same deeds of power Jesus did, except for commanding storms to be still.

Verse 8 states: “Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons.”

“Cure the sick”: Being a medical doctor is a noble profession. If you are not able to be a medical doctor, you can still work for the health and safety of all people.

“Raise the dead”: Who are the dead in your life? People in hospitals and nursing homes? People who have given up on life, or can think of no reason to continue living? People who have been so beaten up by life they can think of no reason to continue trying? Can you see dead people? Let them know you see them.

“Cleanse those with a skin disease”: ‘skin disease, sometimes referred to as ‘leprosy,’refers to anything that excludes people from society. This command means we are to bring all people into the community of God’s people, and not look for reasons to exclude others.

‘Cast out demons’: Yes, there are forces for evil both in soul and society. We are to actively oppose evil, not just step back and say, “My thoughts and prayers are with you.” Although talking with God is a good starting point, we can’t stop there. We are commanded to step forward with the power of God to combat evil.

“You received without payment; give without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers deserve their food. “ (10:8-10)

Don’t get hung up on “stuff”. You are free to travel light. You are a servant of the Living God. God will take care of you. Your journey, like Israel’s journey through the wilderness, will be full of problems and opportunities: God did not abandon them. God will not abandon you either. God took care of them. God will take care of you also.

11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (10:11-15)

In all their journeys, the disciple will find shelter in the homes of those who are “worthy.” Worthy means those who listen to the apostle’s words, and accept them. The unworthy do not accept them. Shake off the dust on your feet, and keep walking.

16 “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this town, flee to the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have finished going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (10:16-23)

A few verses ago, all people were sheep needing a shepherd. Suddenly the disciple is confronted with people who do not welcome them, do not accept them, who may even be hostile to them. Suddenly the disciple does not feel like one sheep telling another sheep where to find water and green pasture, but like a sheep surrounded by wolves. They tried to walk away, and brush off the rejection, but it didn’t help. Things have suddenly become very scary.

“Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Be honest about what is happening. Do not stoop to the behaviors of evil people.

24 “A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (10:24-25)

Things get much worse. The disciples and teacher not only share the power to do great things, they also share the terror of being rejected, abused and crucified by the world. Jesus has been exactly where you are right now. Jesus was murdered, and buried in the ground. But he did not stay there! And neither will you. The Spirit of God the Father is with you, loving you, caring for you, giving you words to say. Yes, even the closest of family relations will fall apart, but God is still your father, and still claims you, and still cares for you. Endure. God is your salvation. (This is what the name Jesus means!)

(Side note: The word “Ba’al” means Lord or master. Ba’alzebul, also spelled Beelzebul, means “Lord of the high places.’ This was the name of the Canaanite rain god. Israel referred to the Canaanite gods as demons. When Jesus is called Beelzebul, he is being called a Canaanite demon. Sometimes you will see the word Ba’alzebub, or Beelzebub. This is not a variant spelling. It means ‘Lord of the flies’, or ‘Lord of the dung heap.’ It is used when Israel is making fun of the Canaanite god, meaning he is not an exulted lord, but the lord, or master, of excrement.)

If Jesus, the master of the house, is called a Canaanite demon, those of us who belong to his household can expect to be called names also.

When they persecute you in one town, keep walking to the next town. There are lots more towns who need to hear your proclamation of the coming kingdom.

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (10:26-30)

Don’t be afraid. Don’t let fear stop your proclamation of the coming kingdom. God’s gracious rule, at first covered and hidden, will at last be revealed and known. The kingdom comes in silent ways, in quiet ways, in secret ways, in ways the world does not notice, but it does come, and we get the honor of being heralds of its coming.

Don’t be afraid. You feel very small and insignificant, like a little sparrow. But as small and insignificant as sparrows are, they are not outside God’s knowledge or will. God watches over each sparrow. You are worth more than many sparrows. God is taking care of you also. God even knows how many hairs you have on your head! Sometimes persecution can cause you to be afraid and doubt God is watching over you and caring for you. But God is there for you regardless of what ever might be going on.

10:32 “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

We have come full circle from verse 17, when Jesus’ disciples were dragged into earthly courts for their testimony about Jesus. Now these same people, both disciples and accusers, are called in to the heavenly courts. Jesus is both prosecutor and defendant. The Father is the judge. Good things are going to happen.

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

35 For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Yes, being a disciple of Jesus is not the easy road. Living a life of righteousness is not easy. Living justice and compassion can lead to trouble from those who are closest to us, if they do not have the same values as we do. We are called to live righteousness from our hearts, not just our heads, and sometimes that does cause problems, especially from those who believe the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees is as good as it gets. Living Jesus’ righteousness can and will cause problems, and Jesus knows this, but still he invites us to live his righteousness, even though it may bring conflict.

40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

On the other hand, the rewards for following Jesus and his righteousness has great rewards.

Lord, we want to live your righteousness every day of our lives, to the glory of your holy name. Amen

Matthew 9

5.6.26

Yesterday, (chapters 5-8), Jesus preached his sermon on the mountain, teaching about living a life of righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus then healed a leper, walked to Capernaum, interacted with a centurion who was convinced Jesus had as much authority over disease as he had over his soldiers, healed the centurion's slave from a distance, then walked to Peter’s house and healed Peter’s mother in law. Since the mother in law ministered to their needs, we can assume Jesus and company ate something. The whole city appeared to have noticed that Jesus was in town and that evening brought everyone who was sick or demon possessed to Jesus to be healed, and Jesus healed everyone of them. Jesus then told his disciples to get in a boat, and go across the lake. As the disciples (and we really have no idea how many at this point) were getting in the boat, two men came and had conversations with Jesus about being his disciples. Jesus then got into the boat, and fell asleep in the stern. Then as the boat was crossing the lake, an extremely nasty storm came up and the disciples were terrified, so woke up Jesus and begged him to save them. Jesus stood up and spoke to the wind and the waves, and told them to be still, and they obeyed him.

When Jesus and company reached the other side of the lake, 2 demon possessed men greeted them. The demons immediately knew who Jesus was and begged to not be sent into “torment before the time”, and pleaded to be sent into a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus allowed this. The pigs did not want to be demon possessed and rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned. The pig herders ran into town and told the townspeople what had happened, and the townspeople came out and told Jesus to leave. From Mark’s gospel we learn that while the pig herders were gone, the formerly demon possessed men (or man) begged to go with Jesus, but were told to stay and tell people what God had done for them.

Jesus and company then cross the lake again, arrive in Capernaum (chapter 9, day 2), and were greeted with a paralytic, laying in his bed. (For a fuller story than Matthew chooses to share, read Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26).

9:2 And some people were carrying to him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, child; your sins are forgiven.” 3 Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” 7 And he stood up and went to his home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings. (9:2-8)

Lets start with questions: my first question is, why wasn’t this person brought to Jesus last evening when everyone else was brought to Jesus? Why did they wait until Jesus came back from his trip across the lake? Did the injury happen last night? Or did someone refuse to bring this person to Jesus because they felt the person deserved their injury, or maybe they though Jesus would refuse to heal this person? Or perhaps the person who was injured believed they deserved their injury, and refused to come the previous evening? And now the person’s friends decided to take matters into their own hands and bring their friend to Jesus whether the paralyzed person agreed or not?

My next question had to do with the phrase, “Take heart, child.” The translations I usually read say, “Take heart, son”. I had never questioned this until I read the current translation. Yes, I looked it up. “Child” is a better translation.

This reminded me, a boy becomes bar mitzvah (son of the covenant) at 13, and technically, a man. When Jesus uses the word “child,” that tells me this was a very young man, probably a young teen. This leads me to think about how young teens are so very good at finding trouble, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and injuring themselves in the process. Teens (14-16) are typically very legalistic, often viewing the world in absolute right/wrong terms. They tend to focus on strict rules, and boundaries. They are also known for disobeying, which can seem contradictory. But they are trying to figure things out. Putting all of this together suggests to me this young man may have been somewhere he probably should not have been: being in the right/wrong mind set, he came up with the idea that he had sinned and his injury was punishment for being where he should not have been, doing something he probably should not have been doing.

Following this mind set, when people suggested he be taken to Jesus last evening, he refused. He believed he had received just punishment for his sin, and asking to be healed would be refusing to live with the justice of God’s decision.

His friends and family were devastated when Jesus got into the boat and left, and promised each other they would not allow this possibility to escape them again, no matter what their friend said. Then sometime the next morning, or afternoon, someone noticed Jesus boat was returning, and the news rushed through the town. This time the paralyzed young man’s friends and family would not listen to his protests and took him to Jesus.

Jesus saw the young man, knew exactly what was going on, and said to him, “Take heart, child; your sins are forgiven.” These are exactly the words the young man needed to hear. He needed forgiveness more than anything else. He would have been happy to remain paralyzed, if that was required of him. Forgiveness was everything.

9:3 Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” We remember that Scribes were experts in the law, and Matthew’s gospel was written for people who knew the law so there was no need to expand on the scribes’ words. Mark’s gospel had a larger audience, so sometimes added details Matthew did not include. Mark writes, (2:6-7) ‘Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Well done scribes! You are absolutely correct. God is the one who forgives sin. (Yes, people can also forgive sins. When people forgive each other, they are extending God’s grace to the other person, so technically, God is the one who forgives them.)

The scribes, and the boy, were very concerned about righteousness. Both were very concerned about honoring God and obeying the law. The scribes however, did not see God at work. They saw Jesus as a person who was dishonoring God, by usurping God’s authority.

In response to the Scribal objections, Jesus responded, ‘“Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” 7 And the man stood up and went to his home.’ (9:4-7)

Both physical healing, and spiritual healing are an act of God. The boy received both. The scribes did not.

According to Matthew, this interaction happened immediately after Jesus got out of the boat. According to Mark, this interaction between Jesus and the scribes and the paralyzed boy happened in a house, soon after Jesus and company reached the shore. We have no idea whose house. I believe both accounts are correct, with each author including details they felt were most important.

After healing the boy, Jesus returned to the lake (sea) and again people came to hear him.

9:13 Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.

9:14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

We remember that Capernaum was near the border between the territories of Philip and Herod Antipas. Customs officials would have set up booths at the border and collected duty on goods in transit. So Matthew (Greek name) aka Levi (Hebrew name) probably collected import and export duties for Herod, not poll taxes (fixed rate tax on each adult, usually used to support the military) or property taxes for the Romans. Whichever he collected, Levi/Matthew was in a despised profession.

Again, Jesus steps over social boundaries to be inclusive. Jesus calls to himself people who are totally lacking the ordinary qualifications for being righteous. This continues when Levi hosted a dinner party and invited Jesus to attend.

9:15 And as Jesus sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Despite being in a despised profession, Matthew does not lack hospitality. He has a dinner party and invites those who like himself are also despised: other tax collectors, and other people who were labeled sinners for whatever reason. He also invited Jesus, and all Jesus’ disciples, and Jesus’ many followers. There was room enough and food enough for anyone who chose to come.

Surprisingly, even the scribes came! And were welcome. However they did not come to eat and enjoy the company. They came to watch Jesus and look for opportunity to condemn him. What they found worthy of their condemnation at Matthew’s dinner party was that Jesus did eat, and did enjoyed the company of the people around him. The scribes believed that since God is holy, God’s people must also be holy: This would mean separating oneself from pollution, including people whom they considered polluted and separated from God. When they looked at Jesus, they saw nothing but impiety, carelessness and danger. He touched lepers; he spoke with gentiles; he took a boat to visit a gentile community; he ate with sinners; he even forgave sinners. He was careless of the dividing line between righteous and unrighteous, between pure and impure. They found his behavior completely unacceptable.

In response, Jesus refers to himself as a physician. He came to rescue and heal sick people. He does not romanticize and say these people are not sick. They are. But he will not build a wall to shut them out, or to isolate or confine them. Instead, true to his name, he heals them.

His behavior is not impurity, or unrighteousness, but mercy. This is the mercy God called for through the prophets: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6 NIV) Sacrifice, in this context, is any action, procedure, tradition, or teaching or pious people which somehow manages to obscure mercy. Mercy is another word for the love that reaches out even to enemies (5:44): “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (9:17) Jesus did not come to confirm the common standards of righteousness; he did not come to support the standard methods of dealing with unrighteousness; he came to announce and en-act a new higher righteousness. He came to summon sinners out of their old life into a new relationship with God.

9:14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined, but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

First the scribes, then the Pharisees, and now John’s disciples look at Jesus and say, ‘I don’t get it. ’The Pharisees said, ‘Why do you feast with sinners?’ John’s disciples said, ‘Why do you feast at all?’

Jesus responds with a little parable. ‘Can the wedding attendants mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?’ Jesus’ presence brings a totally new situation, the bursting in of the kingdom of God. Jesus presence brings healing and hope and inclusion, forgives sin and stills storms. Mourning and fasting has no place here. There will come a time when Jesus’ followers will mourn, and perhaps fast, when the bridegroom is taken away by crucifixion. The followers will indeed mourn at this deed of unbelief, misunderstanding, and mule headed ness. That will be the time to fast.

And perhaps these words go beyond the crucifixion and resurrection, to times when the church’s members are too busy claiming their own righteousness and excluding others, or when the presence of Jesus is obscured by ego and littleness of faith. Fasting is definitely appropriate at these times as a sign of sorrow over sins, and a strengthening of prayer that the coming kingdom will be revealed in and among Jesus’ disciples in every age. Religious practices become old, and do not fulfill the needs of the growing church. Things change, even ways of worship change. Fasting is appropriate here also as the church reaches out to the next generations in ways they can accept and understand.

9:18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment. 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the report of this spread through all of that district.

While Jesus is speaking to John’s disciples, still at Matthew’s dinner party, he is interrupted by a leader. In Mark and Luke this leader is named the leader of the synagogue. Matthew doesn’t care what kind of leader, only that this leader kneels in faith, with a cry of anguish and a confession of faith, asks Jesus to touch his daughter’s dead body and bring her back to life. Jesus immediately got up and followed the ruler. While on his way to touch the leader’s daughter, a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years, reached out to touch the tassel on the corner of his prayer shawl, believing a single touch would heal her. Jesus immediately knows his prayer shawl had been touched, and turns to the woman and addresses her as “daughter”, using the same word the ruler had used about his child, and announced that her faith had saved her.

When Jesus got to the ruler’s house, the professional mourners were already there, leading the crowd in mourning. Jesus told them the girl was not dead but sleeping. The people all laughed at Jesus: they know what death is, and they know what to do, and Jesus announcement meant nothing to them. The mourners and mockers model unbelief, just as the woman and the leader modeled faith. The woman had faith and was saved: the mockers were cast out. Jesus entered the house of death, took the girl’s hand, and the girl got up.

These two miracles compliment each other. One person was on the top of the socio economic ladder, and the other was at the bottom. In both cases, touching these people should have lead to uncleanness. Instead, in both cases, Jesus’ touch led to life. The woman showed a simple but profound faith: the little girl could show nothing, being dead. But the little girl showed that Jesus has power not only over sickness and storms, but also over death itself. Throughout the last two chapters (8,9) Matthew has shown Jesus’ amazing authority and the necessity of faith. This narrative includes both themes.

9:27 As Jesus went on from there, (the leader’s house) two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he entered the house, (no idea whose house, maybe he returned to Matthew’s house, or maybe he went to Peter’s house) the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you have faith that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.” 31 But they went away and spread the news about him through all of that district.

“Son of David”: This is a prominent Messianic title for Jesus, appearing 17 time in the New Testament (Apostolic Writings), signifying he is the promised Heir to King David’s throne. It highlights that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, direct descendant of King David via Joseph and Mary, and the rightful king of Israel. It is frequently used by people pleading for healing indicating their faith in him and belief he is greater and more powerful than their ailments.

In this interaction, the blind men speak their faith in both the title they give to Jesus, and in their request. Even though blind, they can clearly see who Jesus is, and what he is able to do.

Jesus told them not to tell anyone. Perhaps Jesus wanted people to “see” who he was themselves. By being silent, people could make up their own minds. However, the formerly blind men were unable to stop talking about what had happened to them.

9:32 After they had gone away, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”

Matthew finishes this section by reporting with extreme brevity that Jesus exercised a demon, so that a mute man spoke. Matthew has now presented at least one example of each kind of miracle named in Jesus’ reply to John the Baptist in 11:5. Jesus’ miracles show his matchless authority. They do not force people to believe, leading to extremely different responses: the crowds marvel at what they see and experience; the leadership evaluate Jesus against old assumptions and standards, and find him unacceptable.

9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

9:35 is almost identical to 4:23, and between these summary verses, Matthew has narrated Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and introduced Jesus’ healing ministry. These two verses proclaim the great themes of Jesus’ ministry: he teaches and proclaims the good new of the coming kingdom, and he heals every disease. Jesus does this because of his great compassion for humanity, because people are harassed and helpless like sheep, and he has come to care for them. This is not a solitary adventure; all his hopes and dreams will not be extinguished on the cross. Jesus has gathered disciples and followers and will share this ministry with them, to Israel, and to the nations. They stand with Jesus at the beginning of a new community: the new heavens and the new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13) Therefore, the first order of business is not to act, but to pray to the Lord of the Harvest.

Gracious Lord, you do all things well. Your power is far greater than anything we can imagine. And you have called us to work with you! We are honored and excited to see what you will do. Pour our your spirit on all nations; raise up faithful followers to proclaim your greatness; let your will be done on earth, and among us. Bring peace and healing to the nations. Let all nations, including this one, turn from violence and turn to righteousness; bring us to the new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwell. We long for you. We thirst for you. Come quickly Lord, and heal us, so that your righteousness will cover this globe, to the glory of your holy name. Amen

Matthew 8:16-34

April 29, 2026

Jesus has just spent several hours sitting on the side of a mountain teaching people. When he came down from the place he was sitting at, he was met by a man with a skin disease. He probably met and healed a bunch of other people too. As he is going into the town of Capernaum, he is met by the commander of the local Roman garrison (centurion) who wants him to heal the commander’s slave. Jesus immediately says he will come and heal the slave, but the commander feels it would be too much of an imposition on Jesus and suggests Jesus just speak the word and the slave would be healed. Jesus spoke: the slave was healed. Jesus continued to his chosen destination, which was Peter’s home, where Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law, and we were given a glimpse into the life of Peter and his family.

It doesn’t take long for the whole town (Capernaum) to learn that Jesus was in town, and that evening (the evening of the day Jesus had preached the Sermon on the Mount, healed a man with a skin disease, interacted with the local centurion, healed his slave with a word, healed Peter’s mother in law with a touch, and hopefully was able to eat dinner) the city was quick to take advantage of the presence of the famous healer.

8:16 That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and cured all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Matthew’s readers would immediately know he was referring to Isaiah 53, a passage which describes a "Suffering Servant" who bears the sins of others, suffering to bring healing and peace with God for the people. Many Jewish scholars, particularly from the 11th century onwards (popularized by Rashi), interpret the servant as the nation of Israel, which has suffered and been persecuted among the nations. However, some ancient Jewish commentators also viewed it as a messianic passage. Matthew obviously saw this as a direct prophecy of Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection, and wanted to make this connection for his readers. (Isaiah 53 is included on the last page for you.)

“And cured all who were sick.” I wonder how many sick people there were in Capernaum that day? Were there people running around town shouting the news to their neighbors? I wonder how far outside town the word of his presence spread? Were there people running to the next town to shout the news? How far into the night did he continue healing people? And when people were healed, did they stick around and watch the next person get healed? Did anyone decide they were tired and wanted to go home? Or was it so exhilarating to be in his presence that they just could not leave, no matter how late it was?

8:18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

By this time, Jesus was exhausted. He could not retreat into Peter’s home for much needed sleep because the crowd would not leave, and Peter’s family needed their rest too, as well as needing their own space. So Jesus looked at his fishermen disciples and said: We need to leave. Get in the boat! We are going to the other side.

As he was saying this, two men come to speak to him ...

8:19 A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Does Jesus sound exhausted to you? He does to me. I have to wonder what side of midnight the scribe made this announcement. Jesus responds to the scribe’s declaration of fidelity by pointing out that he (Jesus) is homeless. Yes, Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum to expand his ministry, and escape the narrow mindedness of Nazareth, and to fulfill prophecy, but there is nothing said about him having a house there. He appears to have enjoyed the hospitality of Peter and Peter’s wife, and Peter’s mother in law, and given how much he enjoyed children, he must have enjoyed the hospitality of Peter and wife’s children also. He may have stayed with his disciples James and John sometimes, and their families. Other times he might have gone down to the lake and slept in one of the boats. He was homeless. If this scribe wanted to follow him, it would include living a life of a homeless traveler. We have to wonder what this scribe decided to do.

We also remember that earlier that day, Jesus had said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) This feels like another connection Matthew wants us to see, so lets look at what a scribe did.

Scribes were professional, highly literate scholars who meticulously preserved Scripture, acted as legal experts and government officials, and held significant influence in both religious and political life. They were responsible for copying the Old Testament with immense accuracy, counting every letter to ensure precision. Scribes were experts in the Law of Moses, teaching it and applying it to daily life. They functioned as lawyers, drafting legal documents and acting as judges. They served as scribes in royal courts, keeping records and handling correspondence. Scribes were revered experts in Jewish law. For one’s righteousness to exceed that of a scribe sounds impossible.

On the other hand, Matthew has just presented Jesus as the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53. There is one whose righteousness exceeds that of the scribes.

8:21 Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

The people of Israel and the other countries of the ancient Near East considered it very important to honor those who had died by giving them a proper burial. Because of the warm climate in Palestine it was important to bury people within twenty-four hours after they died. In fact, Jewish law required that a dead person should be buried before sunset (Deut 21:23). To let a loved-one’s body decay above ground where vultures and dogs could eat it was considered a serious dishonor. After the burial, those who handled the body were considered unclean and had to undergo a cleansing ceremony in order to be part of the community again (Num 19:11-20). (https://www.americanbible.org/engage/bible-resources/articles/burial/)

It is late in the evening, definitely after sunset. If this disciple’s father had died that previous day, the son would have made sure he was buried before sunset. If the father was sick, the son would have brought him to Jesus to be healed with all the other sick people in Capernaum Jesus had just finished healing. We can only conclude that this disciple’s father was neither dead, nor sick. What is this disciple asking? Is he saying that he wants to be a disciple, but right now is not a convenient time? Is Jesus’ answer to the scribe making him rethink his commitment? Is homelessness more than he was willing to agree to? He had a home: why would he leave it? He had a father to care for: why would he leave his father to follow some homeless man? This afternoon, the words of Jesus sermon made a huge impact on the man, and then watching all those healings was exciting, and this man wanted more of this, but he could not leave all his obligations to follow a homeless man, never knowing where he was going to sleep that night.

There was nothing wrong with this man staying home and caring for his family. According to the law (Torah) this was the right and God pleasing thing to do. This man was doing the right thing. His was the righteousness of a scribe. However, it did not exceed the righteousness of a scribe.

Jesus’ answer feels harsh: If you want to be my follower, it will cost you everything.

Matthew has just reminded us of the Isaiah 53 passage about the suffering servant. Matthew clearly believes this passage points to Jesus. Jesus has not only left everything, but is also willing to suffer and die to make peace between people and God. These follower’s righteousness do not equal the righteousness of the Suffering Servant. However, we have no reason to suspect these men did not get into the boat with the other disciples.

8:23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 A windstorm suddenly arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

Exactly as Jesus had warned them, followers of Jesus cannot expect smooth sailing, (8:19-20). This lake is famous for sudden violent storms. These men were experienced fishermen. They knew this lake at its worst, or at least they thought they did. Suddenly the lake convulses in a great shaking (Greek: seismos) and these fearless fishermen know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to die. The only reasonable response was to rush to Jesus, wake him, and inform him of the situation!

Yes! Jesus was sleeping through this emergency! He had an exhausting day and apparently decided he needed to take care of his body before the next great adventure. Just like any other person, he got tired. Just like any other person, he needed to rest.

The next interaction is not human.

8:26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a dead calm.

First, Jesus speaks to his disciples and calms them. Part of this calming includes asking why they are afraid. Please note, the storm is still convulsing. I expect I would be screaming at him to look around and notice what’s going on, and how the worst storm in history was threatening to drown us. Perhaps some of them were screaming this as well. Then Jesus describes them as “You of little faith.” Please notice, he did not say they had no faith. He did not say their faith was failing them. He said they had a little faith, which is probably why they rushed to him with their fears.

Next he stood up, in this boat, in the world’s worst storm, and spoke to the winds and the lake. He stood up. He spoke to them. They immediately obeyed him.

8:27 They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Two thousand years later, this astonishes me. Yes, in the past 12 hours, approximately, Jesus has taught about righteousness from a hillside, healed a huge bunch of people, he has reached out to a Roman foreigner, he has healed a man from a distance, and he has healed a bunch more people and cast out demons way into the night! Now he stood up in the middle of a storm and told it to be still, and it obeyed him! And this is no ordinary storm: it is a storm so severe that it scared seasoned fishermen. Was this some underwater earthquake that shook the lake like it had never been shaken before? Might this have been the powers of hell trying to stop Jesus before he was able to finish his work? Whatever it was, it did not intimidate Jesus. He knew why he was here; he knew what he was going to do; he knew nothing was going to stand in God’s way. He spoke: the winds and waters obeyed him.

What an amazing display of Jesus’ power! This is also an amazing display of Jesus’ compassionate care for each follower. It is also encouragement for each believer who is overwhelmed by the storms of life. Jesus does not condemn us. Jesus encourages us, and commends the faith we have. Jesus is in this boat with us, and is going to do great things.

What would happen if we spoke to the terrors around us and said, “The one who cast out demons and commanded the wind and the waves to be still, is still in charge!”

It is now morning, and Jesus has come to the other side and invades the Gentle territory. (This story is also told in Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39, and Matthew 8:28-34.) Why is he doing this? Couldn’t he stay in his own neighborhood to rest? After the sermon and the healings, is this some big event that must be done before he can continue his ministry in his own country?

8:28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two men possessed by demons came out of the tombs and met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way.

Two demonic guards are there to block his way. They are terrifying individuals. People cannot control them. They make their unclean home in the place of dead people, far from human habitation. … Which is why I suggested the storm was the powers of hell trying to stop Jesus. Hell wants to stop the Jesus invasion. The storm tried, and failed, now it is the guards’ turn to challenge his pathway.

8:29 Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

The demons know who has come. They name Jesus, “Son of God.” They are afraid. They are not even going to pretend to have any control: They want to know what he is going to do to them; they know God is always victorious; they know a time is coming when they will be dealt with for time and eternity, and are afraid that day has already come.

And perhaps, this visit to the land of the gentiles was a foreshadowing of when the gospel of Jesus would reach into all the world, after his death and resurrection. And the demons were objecting that this was too soon. Jesus was invading the world of the gentiles already, and the demons were afraid.

8:30 Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32 And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine, and suddenly, the whole herd stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water.

The demons wanted human hosts to use for their own purposes. They knew Jesus did not approve of their use of people, but wanted to retain some sort of body, so asked to go into the pigs. Jesus said, “Go.” The demons entered the pigs, and the pigs decided death was preferable to being infested with a demon, and all of them rushed into the water and drowned.

One has to wonder if demons are able to drown. Probably not, as they are unclean spirit creatures, not physical creatures which require oxygen. But what happened to them after they lost their bodies? Were they returned to the abyss never to bother another person again? One can hope.

8:33 The swineherds ran off, and, going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the men possessed by demons. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their region.

We have to wonder why Matthew ended this story where he did. Was this a reflection on how Jesus goes to the greatest lengths possible to heal people and proclaim the coming kingdom of God, and people frequently send Jesus away? Or maybe the people got scared when they saw Jesus’ power?

Mark’s gospel adds another paragraph to this story:

5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. 19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” 20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

In Mark’s gospel, the man who was previously possessed, begs to go with Jesus. Jesus says no, and sends him back to his family and friends to tell them what God had done for him. Here is the answer to the questions we asked as we started to look at this visit: Jesus is the offspring of Abraham who is going to bring blessings to the whole world; Jesus has come to bring the kingdom of heaven to all people; the good news of God’s presence with us had to be shared with all people. The people is the Gadarenes were unable to accept Jesus when they met him. He was a stranger. He was too powerful. He scared them. However, they knew the man who had been possessed, they knew his life story, and now he could share what God had done for him with them.

And now, having sent out his newest disciple to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God, Jesus could return to Capernaum and plan what he was going to do next.

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed what we have heard?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
    a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity,
and as one from whom others hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him of no account.

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
    and carried our diseases,
yet we accounted him stricken,
    struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
    crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
    and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
    Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people.
9 They made his grave with the wicked
    and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with affliction.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
    he shall see his offspring and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
11     Out of his anguish he shall see;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
    The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out himself to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors,
yet he bore the sin of many
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 8:1-15

4.25.26

Jesus has just spent the past few hours on a mountain preaching to a crowd of people spread out on the grass at the base of that mountain, talking about righteousness, and what righteous living looks like. As soon as he gets down from the mountain, he heals a person with a skin disease, then walks to Capernaum to heal a centurion's slave, and then went to Peter’s house to heal Peter’s mother in law. One has to wonder why Matthew chose to highlight these particular miracles. Is there something in these miracles that is meant to teach us about righteousness?

8:1 When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him, 2 and there was a man with a skin disease who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be made clean!” Immediately his skin disease was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (8:1-4)

With all the crowds of people listening to Jesus, why is this man with a skin disease the only person mentioned. One might expect Jesus healed a lot of people after his sermon; he was also known to cast out demons; and to heal all the sick people who came to him. Was there only one person in attendance? This seems hardly likely, especially since he was already well known as a healer (4:23-25), and people would have come for that specific reason. There must be something important about this healing that stood out for Matthew.

In older bible translations, the man is identified as having leprosy. With as often as the word leprosy is used in the bible, we might begin to imagine that leprosy was a huge problem in the Middle East during biblical times. This would be incorrect. The Hebrew word commonly translated as "leprosy" in the Old Testament is tsara‘ath (or tzaraat). It is not the same as modern Hansen’s disease (true leprosy), but rather a general term for various skin conditions, as well as fungal infections on clothing or houses, signaling spiritual ritual impurity, (The BAS Library and Wikipedia). 

Leviticus 13:1-59 describes the various tsara’ath and what should be done for each. In most cases, the person is to practice social distancing, and they are excused from all their normal tasks. They are to live away from the rest of the population, and their primary occupation is to spend time with God. They are not abandoned: people are expected to bring them food and whatever else they need, and every week the priest is commanded to visit them to ensure they are cared for and to check for signs of improvement. However, the skin disease might not clear up in a week or two, and the person is separated from his community until it does.

We immediately notice this man is not obeying the law. He is supposed to be staying away from people, spending time with God, until the priest says he can re-enter community. Instead he leaves his home to see and hear Jesus. Since he shows up in this story, he must have heard of Jesus: does he have thoughts about who Jesus is, or is he just curious? We don’t know. However, something in Jesus’ presentation convinces the man that this is indeed God in the flesh, and after the sermon, he throws himself at Jesus’ feet, as one presents oneself to God.

The skin disease, whatever it might have been, was seen by the man, and his community, as an outward manifestation of inner unrighteousness, an inner spiritual impurity. The man takes his unrighteousness and gives it to Jesus, asking to be made clean. He states, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus touches the man and turns the man’s plea into his response, “I am willing, be made clean.” Immediately the man is healed.

Having an impairment is hard; believing that the impairment is caused by something you did that was wrong is worse, especially if you have no idea what you did that was wrong; being shunned by society, and labeled as untouchable because of this impairment is still worse. By touching him, Jesus reached through all of these layers of impairment to welcome this person back into community. Immediately the impairment was gone, and Jesus told the man to go and show himself to the priest, and offer the sacrifice (gift a person gives to God in thanksgiving for being healed) to show everyone that he had indeed been healed, and it was now the community’s responsibility to welcome him back into community.

This man was in a state of unrighteousness. We do not know why this happened. What we do know is that this unrighteous person took his unrighteousness and placed it at the feet of Jesus, and asked to have it removed. Jesus immediately and compassionately removed his unrighteousness, healed him and restored him to community and Torah observance. Jesus took his unrighteousness and made him righteous. Most likely, Matthew wants us to see ourselves in this man, as people who need to take our spiritual impairments and unrighteousness to Jesus for healing, so that Jesus, God in the flesh, God among us, can heal us and give us the righteousness of God.

Having told us the correct response to Jesus’ sermon, Matthew now places Jesus entering the city of Capernaum. We have no idea how far it is from the mountain to Capernaum, but we do know that Capernaum is the major city in the area, and is located on the Sea (Lake) of Galilee (aka, Sea of Tiberius). We also know this is where the disciples Peter, James and John are from, and where Jesus moved to after leaving Nazareth.

There is also a Roman garrison located in Capernaum, as this was the major border town between the territories of Herod Antipas and Philip the Tetrarch, and the garrison would be in charge of monitoring trade and movement along the “highway”, and of course ensuring taxes were paid. The person in charge of this garrison would be a centurion, meaning the officer in charge of 100 men. The centurion had absolute authority over his men, and each was expected to respond with absolute obedience or be killed, along with several of the men who surrounded him and had not kept him in line.

8:5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.”

The Romans first conquered Israel in about 63 BCE. The Romans believed they were a superior race with a superior culture and superior gods, and felt imposing their beliefs and life style on their conquered nations was a kind and generous thing to do. Israel already had a culture and a God, and had no desire to change. At no time did the Romans and Israel agree with each other, or appreciate the other’s presence. The idea that a Roman centurion would stoop to speak to a Jew was incredible; the idea that a centurion would ask something of a Jew was absurd. It couldn’t happen. And yet it did. Somehow, this centurion valued his slave enough to research what medical options were available and decided that Jesus was his best hope. This is not what anyone would expect of a Roman centurion.

Jesus’ response is equally absurd: “I will come and cure him.” No Jew would agree to help a Roman. This help would only be given under threat of death, and even then, dying may be preferable. Yet Jesus immediately offers his presence and help to this Centurion and his slave.

This conversation continues:

8:8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.”

The word translated “Lord” here (and in the previous miracle) is not a “confession of faith”. In both cases, it is an appropriate title for a superior officer, or a revered teacher. At the same time, an important Roman centurion addressing a lowly Jew as a superior officer, and expecting that superior officer to not only respond, but be able to respond by healing his slave, beggars the imagination. These words (and the “leper’s” words) sound more like an address to deity than to a human: the heart is saying more than the lips are able to express.

8:10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. (8:5-13)

At the beginning of the gospel of Matthew, we started with the genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham. In Abraham we were reminded of God’s invitation to Abraham (and Sarah) to go to a place which God would show them, and God would make them a great nation and through them bless all the nations of the world. Later in the genealogy, three women leave everything, status, reputation, their gods and their culture, to be part of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. This centurion, from “the evil Roman empire” stands next to those women, asking to be part of that blessing, that coming kingdom, and shows himself to be a person of righteousness.

Since Jesus and those with him are now in Capernaum, it makes sense to go somewhere to eat and spend the night, and where better to go than Peter’s house? Was Peter’s wife the best cook in Capernaum? Did Peter have a bigger house than anyone else, so could accommodate the crowd following Jesus? Or did Jesus know that Peter’s mother in law was sick and decided the next thing he wanted to do was to go and heal her? Maybe all of these?

8:14 When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; 15 he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.

We have no idea what Peter’s mother in law was suffering from, but what we do know is that as soon as Jesus entered the house, he saw her, and he reached out to heal her. We also know this: healing was not just in part, but she was immediately fully healed. There was no weakness, no exhaustion, she just jumped to her feet and immediately started taking care of them. What an amazing picture of righteousness!: Jesus touched her and healed her; she immediately responded by reaching out in compassion to others.

Another picture of righteousness that is often missed is that of Peter and his wife. My first question in this picture is, where is the father in law? Did he die, or is he disabled? This leads to my second question: why is she is this house? The cultural expectations were that the eldest son took care of his parents, and the rest of the family. Where is her eldest son? If she has no sons, and if her husband is dead, or disabled and unable to care for her, his brother would be expected to care for her. Where is his brother? If the husband had no brother, her brother would step in to care for her. Where is her brother? Why is she living with her daughter and son in law? Has some sort of tragedy afflicted her so that she has no one to count on, except her daughter and son in law? Peter would have been expected to care for his own parents, and siblings, but in this story we see he has reached out to care for his wife’s parent (s) as well. Since his wife’s mother has no male relatives to take care of her, it would follow that Peter’s wife’s sisters would have no one to look out for them either, meaning that Peter has shouldered responsibility for all of them. Peter and his wife are the center of a huge care network. Peter and his wife are obviously righteous people, caring for this many possibilities.

I want to pause here to examine how these 3 healings, and the additional self imposed obligations illustrate what Jesus was speaking about in his sermon on the mountain. First we have a man who has been separated from his community due to a disease or affliction: he goes searching for Jesus, and by words and actions confesses that Jesus is greater than his disease or affliction. Jesus touches him, heals him, and sends him back to community and a life of obeying the word of God. Next we have an “evil outsider” who does his research and goes searching for Jesus. He also confesses Jesus is greater than the affliction his slave is experiencing. His understanding of Jesus is a step further than the man with the skin problem: Like the man with the skin problem, he knows Jesus is compassionate; he also knows he is unworthy of Jesus’ presence in his life, but chooses to ask for Jesus’s compassion because of his own compassion; and, he knows that Jesus has the power to speak a word and his slave will be healed. In the third story, Jesus goes to find the woman, no words are spoken, he touches her, she is healed and jumps up to serve others. And in her response to Jesus, we see a glimpse of what life looks like for Peter and his wife in loving service to their extended family, and whoever else shows up at their door. Each is a picture of living a life of righteousness. Each picture is unique to that individual. Each picture is an illustration of what Jesus was speaking about in his sermon.

Lord, we also long for your touch, we long to be made whole, we long to be people who live your righteousness in our lives and in our communities. Bless us so that we may be a blessing, and your name be praised, both in us and through us. Amen

Matthew 7:13-28

4.15.2026

This is our sixth week studying the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been teaching about the new righteousness that “exceeds that of the scribes and the pharisees”, an inner righteousness that fills everything a person thinks, and does, not just a righteousness pulled out of the closet and put on for show, to impress others. The only one worth impressing is God, and God looks at a person’s intentions, not the things they do to impress others. Today’s reading is the conclusion of this sermon.

“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (7:13-14)

It is easy to follow the crowd. It is fun to have the crowd cheering for us, and agreeing with us. It feels great to have the boss or supervisor praise us for our work, for being a team player, for being someone the entire team can count on. It feels great to know we are working for an excellent company, and we can support them completely; it’s great to know that our country is the best; our political affiliation is the best; our sports teams are the best. It’s nice to know all the answers.

Yes, sometimes our country, or our political affiliation, might make a poor call, but we can ignore that, because they are as close to perfect as they can get and this tiny insignificant flaw only proves how perfect they really are. Or if our team doesn’t accomplish all we wish from them, we can put the blame on a single individual, and then shame them, and replace them.

This is what the wide road looks like. No hard questions. No acknowledgment of personal wrong doing. No need for repentance. No reason to apologize. No need to change our minds. We are perfect, they are not perfect, so whatever we do to them is completely justified. We deserve the best, because we are the best: they do not, because they are not. We can do and say whatever we want without adverse consequences, because we are the best.

This world view leads to trouble for everyone who buys into it, eventually. Those who believe in this myth are always unprepared for how horribly this world view turns out. Without repentance they will spend the rest of their lives blaming others for their own shortcomings, and never see that they are the ones who caused these problems. The wide, easy road ends in disappointment.

Jesus calls his followers to a new righteousness. Jesus calls his followers to live lives of justice and compassion for all people, including those from different countries, different ethnic backgrounds, different ideas, different beliefs, different doctrines, different politics, different cultures. This deep compassion, and thirst for justice for all people, must be so deeply ingrained we will not allow differences to blind us to the needs of others, or restrain us from living justice and compassion.

This is the narrow road. The world is full of things that attempt to tell us this is the wrong road, and when we are walking on this road, that will work to push us off this road. Walking the narrow road requires attention. It requires intention. It requires dedication. Sometimes it is really hard. It requires repentance, and turning from harmful thoughts and actions. It requires humility and honesty about ourselves and our attitudes and behaviors. Justice and compassion don’t just happen: they require intention.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. (7:15-20)

Because the narrow road is difficult, we look to prophets and teachers to help us in our journey. However, not all prophets and teachers are worthy of our attention. Some of them pretend to be good and helpful, and are actually trying to eat us. We need to know how to recognize good leaders, and differentiate them from bad leaders. We will recognize them by their behaviors, just like we recognize good trees and bad trees by their fruit.

Good fruit is compassion, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Evil fruit is sexual immorality, heavy drinking and drug use, worshiping wealth, power or social statue, selfish ambition, causing dissensions and discord, jealousy, fits of rage, hatred, and things like these. (Galatians 5:19-21)

Good leaders, or good prophets, do not worship wealth, they do not have fits of rage when they don’t get what they want, nor do they start wars. Good leaders are compassionate. Good leaders work for peace. Good leaders are faithful. Good leaders look for ways to be kind and helpful.

Evil leaders, or evil prophets, are not compassionate, gentle, or self controlled. Evil leaders look for ways to cause evil things to happen in the lives of others. Evil leaders think only about themselves, expecting others to serve their own selfish ambitions. Evil leaders cannot be trusted.

We can recognize good prophets by their behaviors: we can recognize evil leaders by their behaviors. God sees more clearly than we do. The evil that oppresses us will be destroyed.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you workers of lawlessness.’(7:21-23)

This calls for wisdom. No matter how important a person may think they are, or want others to think they are; no matter how great they, or the world thinks they are: they will be judged by their compassion and justice. They will be judged by the righteousness that fills their whole person, not their power, not their wealth, not the stuff they owned, not anything else. Those who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do the will of God.

“Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!” (7:24-27)

Jesus ends his sermon giving us two choices: lives that do the will of God and lives that do not do the will of God. Those who do the will of God produce good fruit: compassion, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, and more. These are the righteous who build their lives on the rock, and the storms of life will not destroy them.

Those who do not do the will of God produce evil fruit. It will be obvious to all who experience this fruit. These people are the lawless ones. They are like people who build a house without a foundation, on a flood plane, and the storms of life will sweep through and destroy them.

Now when Jesus had finished saying these words, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes. (7:28-29)

May God grant us the grace to look to God for guidance in life rather than to those who desire to destroy us. May God open our eyes to the truth, both about ourselves, and about those we look to for guidance. May compassion and justice fill us, so that we may do the the will of God will all our hearts, our minds and our lives. Amen

Matthew 6:19-7:12

Seek God’s Kingdom and Righteousness

4/11/2026

Welcome to our fifth week studying the Sermon on the Mount. Our plan for this week is to finish chapter 6, and hopefully make major inroads into chapter 7.

A bunch of years ago, I spent a semester (about 16 weeks) studying 1 Peter, in Greek. It was grueling. I spent 4-6 hours a day on that course. When it was over, the professor asked, “Did you enjoy the course?” I said, “No.” “Why not?” “I thought, spending 16 weeks, 4-6 hours a day on this little book, I might start to get a handle on it. I thought I might stop feeling like a little pebble skipping across the surface of the ocean! Didn’t happen.” “Maybe what you need to do next then is choose a book of the bible and dedicate a whole year or two to studying it. Maybe then you will find what you are looking for.”

I have spent the past 13 years studying Torah. And every time I sit down to study Torah, it is brand new: I am still that tiny pebble skimming the surface of the ocean. I am having these same feelings about Matthew. We have spent 4 weeks on the Sermon on the Mount, and are still little pebbles, barely skimming the surface. Today it occurred to me, God is so huge, we can never know God entirely. No matter how much we learn of God, we are always still pebbles, skimming the surface of all God wants to share with us.

Or to expand the metaphor slightly, we are minnows swimming in the ocean of God’s love. No matter how big we get, or how much we know, we can never know all of God, there is always much much more. We cannot exceed God’s resources. God is always more than enough.

6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust (or worms) consume and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust (or worms) consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Treasures in the ancient world typically included finely woven cloth, beautiful garments, maybe a bag of coins, maybe a finely carved box, or a barn full of grain, or a flock of animals. Moths and worms could easily ruin the cloth; rust could attack the coins; thieves could dig into the house, or barn, through the mud brick walls to take what was inside. The answer to these problems is not to hire more guards, or build thicker walls, or make better locks. The answer is to turn away from earthly wealth to the treasures of heaven, where moth and worm and rust do not eat the treasure, and thieves cannot steal the treasure away. (v.19-21)

Jesus challenges his followers to cut the chains that attach their peace, joy, and security to the ebb and flow of the stock market, to the newest and best stuff, the biggest house, the greenest lawn, or having one’s picture on the front cover of a national magazine. If your treasure is in heaven, if your peace comes from the name of God, and your joy is the will of God, then your heart, your life, your joy will rest on a foundation as firm as heaven itself.

But people do not see God as their greatest treasure. Instead they see clothes, or bolts of cloth, or bags of money, or social status as treasures. Which makes our eyes light up and our heart swell? What illumines the road before us? If God is your light, your whole life will be full of light: if you turn from the light of God then the road is darkness. This is not a healthy alternative! If the light that is leading you is actually darkness, then you will stumble and fall, and your whole life will be groping and guessing. (v. 22-23)

Disciples are called to be “light to the world”. What happens when we try to claim both treasures? What happens when we try to keep one eye on each treasure? What happens to our brain when one eye is focused on light and the other eye is focused on darkness?

Loving God and loving wealth, or status, or power, are mutually exclusive. One will be more important, and one will be less important. As one demands more time, the other will get less time. Each wants to be our only master, the center of our life, out greatest treasure. A decision for one is a decision against the other.

Are you noticing these verses look to be a commentary on the first part of the Lord’s prayer?

Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be revered as holy.     

May your kingdom come.
    May your will be done
        on earth as it is in heaven. (6:8-9)

They look like a commentary to me … What are we actually honoring as holy? What do we treasure? What do we want to have control of the earth? Whose will do we obey?

Let’s keep this idea of a commentary on the Lord’s Prayer in mind as we look at the next set of verses.

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (6:25-34)

I think we can clearly see this section is a commentary on the next line of the Lord’s Prayer:

“Give us today our daily bread.” (6:11)

“Daily bread” includes everything we need in life: food, clothing, shelter, a living wage, health care, good friends, safe living conditions. (No, this list is not complete.) And we worry about these things a lot.

What would life be like if we actually believed God cares about these things more than we do, and already has a plan to take care of us? What would life be like if we believed God wants these things for every person, not just a few? What if we noticed God filled this planet with everything we could possibly need, in abundance, and expects us to share with each other this amazing, abundant wealth? For example, there are currently 8.2 billion people on this planet: We are currently producing enough food to feed over 10 billion people. Why are people suffering from hunger? Why are people starving to death? Is it possible God expects us to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem?

How do our attitudes, our conversations, our votes, show we honor God’s will that all people have the food, clothing, shelter, living wage, health care, good friends, safe living conditions, etc., they need? Without stipulation.

6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If our love for God, and the coming kingdom are our first consideration, we will not feel a need to worry about these things, or feel afraid we will miss out. No one is more generous than God.

7:1 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (7:2-5)

It makes sense that these words about judging others by our own standards would follow immediately after teaching about not storing up earthly treasures, not trying to serve two masters, and remembering that God loves us and cares for us. If we know we are loved by God, we will not feel we need to search for imperfections in the other to justify not helping them and loving them as God has loved us. This looking for imperfections in others is a far greater flaw in ourselves than anything we can find in the other.

Can we hear in these words:

“And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (6:12)

6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

Jesus wants to grab our attention! Nobody would give holy things to a dog, or throw treasures to pigs. This would only lead to the dogs, or the pigs, burying or trampling the treasures, resulting in the treasures being ruined, and if the animals were hungry and hoped you wanted to feed them, them getting angry. These are not intelligent things to do! In the same way, judging others is not wise, and can lead to terrible consequences. Don’t do it!

“And do not bring us to the time of trial,
        but rescue us from the evil one.” (6:13)

Instead:

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? 10 Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? 11 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

God is good: all the time. As parents, we give good things to our children! God is far more willing than even the best parent to give good things to God’s children. We can ask for things; we can search for things; we can knock on heaven’s door! When we ask, God gives; when we seek, God lets us find; when we knock, God will open the door and pour out abundant blessings. God will not give us a rock when we ask for bread; God will not give us a snake when we ask for a fish.

Knowing this is what God is like, what kind of people should we be? How do we live God’s righteousness in our everyday lives? How do we live everything in the law and the prophets to the glory of God?

“And please Lord, we not only want you to answer these questions, we want your response in a short simple way we can remember and understand! Yes, summarize all of the law, all of the prophets, and all that you have said in a single statement you can say while standing on one foot.”

And Jesus said,  “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (7:12)

Lord Jesus, you are amazing and wonderful. We want to love you more. We want to know you better. We want to see you in the world and the people around us, and show our love for you by loving them. Amen.

Matthew 6:7-15; Luke 11:2-4

Today we look at the most famous prayer in all of Christendom, “The Lord’s Prayer” also known as the “Our Father.” Hundreds of thousands of books and commentaries have been written about these words, and honestly, I feel intimidated commenting on this. Then after much thought and prayer, I am reminded that hundreds of thousands of theologians have been commenting on every line of the entire bible for thousands of years. I am one more grain of sand saying, I hear God speaking in these words, and this is what I hear.

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (6:7-8)

We start with an injunction against heaping up empty phrases, and wonder what that means. Perhaps a good place to start in exploring this idea is with the prophet Elijah when he challenged the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel. (1 Kings 18:16-45)

‘“How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him.” … Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made.  At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry louder! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”  Then they cried louder, and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.’

It was a custom of the ancient peoples to divide the daylight into twelve “hours” from sunrise to sundown. If the day began at 7:00 AM and ended at 7:00PM, that would work well from our perspective. If the sun rose at 5:00AM and set at 9:00PM, the hours would be longer. Since the prophets of Baal began first, they probably started around sunrise. They screamed and cried, and gashed themselves with swords, trying to catch their god’s attention. This continued until the time of the offering of oblation, probably somewhere between mid afternoon and sunset.

The thing that is most important about the Baal follower’s worship is their need to catch the god’s attention through screaming, crying and cutting themselves. When Elijah made fun of them about noon, he said they were not shouting loud enough. This would indicate they was making a lot of noise. They also limped around their altar, appearing to hope their god would respond if it thought they were injured. With all the screaming and crying and slashing and limping, it was clear they did not believe their god was listening.

We have no idea when Elijah started building his altar. He was all alone, and he built the altar with twelve large stones. He then needed to prepare the wood, and the bull, and pour copious amounts of water over everything to ensure it could not light accidentally. He would have wanted the people to see every detail of what he did so there could be no questions about what would eventually happen. It would be reasonable to believe he started his work mid afternoon after the prophets of Baal had acknowledged defeat, then continued to work until late afternoon, when the sun was still bright enough that everyone could still see everything clearly.

‘And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. (1 Kings 18:36-38)

Awesome!

In Jesus words, (Matthew 6:7-8) we hear him saying, Don’t be like the prophets of those fake gods. Don’t go whining and crying and shouting and limping around, hurting yourself, trying to get God’s attention. You do not need to do that! God is already paying attention, already listening.

Instead, look to God as you loving parent (God is genderless, so both mama and dada, the first words a child learns, are equally correct in addressing God.) God already knows your needs even before you do, and has already put things in motion to meet those needs. You are wholly and completely loved. Crawl into God’s arms, snuggle into that love, and then in confidence that you are loved and heard, speak to God.

Your words may look something like this. Make them simple.

Our Father: Mommy, Daddy, the one who made me, the one who loves me, and not just me but every person on this whole planet, the one who also made the trees and mountains, and the dogs and the ducks, and everything else …

Who art in heaven: Who fills all of space, who fills the atmosphere, who is closer than the air I breathe, whose breath is life to all people and all animals …

Hallowed be thy name: You are awesome. You are amazing. Even your name (Mommy, Daddy) is awesome and amazing …

Thy kingdom come, They will be done on earth as in heaven. Let your awesomeness fill all the earth. Do all the good and amazing things you have planned. I can barely wait to see what you will do. I am excited to see what you are doing right now.

Give us this day our daily bread: We tend to worry about all sorts of things: give us those things you know that we need. You know we need food, and clothing, and health, and safety and friends. We get totally consumed with those needs, and then totally consumed with worry about them. You know our needs. We place those needs in your hands, confident that you know us better than we know ourselves, and you will take care of them for us.

Forgive us our trespasses: Sometimes we make bad choices. Sometimes those bad choices hurt ourselves. Sometimes those bad choices hurt the people around us. Sometimes those bad choices hurt the world around us. Mommy/ Daddy, here it is, its broke, you take it, you fix it.

As we forgive those who trespass against us: Sometimes other people make bad choices. Sometimes those bad choices hurt me. Sometimes those bad choices hurt the people around me. Sometimes those bad choices hurt the world around me. Mommy/ Daddy, here it is, its broke, you take it, you fix it.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Mommy/ Daddy, protect me from things that might hurt me. Protect me from things that scare me. When I have to go in scary places, walk with me and hold my hand. “From goulies and ghosties, and long legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” (Old Scottish/ Cornish prayer) Help me to make good choices.

You probably noticed that each of these pronouns in this prayer are written in the plural form: Our, us, we. None of us are alone. All of creation is cuddled up in God’s lap and praying for God’s peace and presence and protection in our lives. There are no outsiders. There is no one or no thing outside of God’s care and compassion.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,  but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (6:14-15)

If we fill our lives and our thoughts and our attitudes with all the wrongs others have done, we will soon find there is no room for anything else. We need to dump all the broken things in our Mommy/ Daddy’s hands and say, “It’s broken. You fix it,”

Immediately after this teaching about prayer, Jesus talks about fasting:

 “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (6:16-18)

One spring, many years ago, I was working at a camp/ retreat center. I had been working very hard, had not had time to do laundry, and one morning discovered that the only clean clothes I had left were a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. This would not have been a problem, but we were in the mountains, and it had snowed to previous night.

I threw all my clothes into a washing machine and went to breakfast, where as you would imagine, everyone teased me about wearing shorts in the snow. As I went about my morning activities, my legs were so cold it was distracting. At first, I thought of how thankful I would be when my clothes got out of the dryer. This led to thoughts about people we could not get out of the cold, who did not have warm clothing, who had no place to go to get out of the cold, who were homeless. I found my thoughts and prayers were filled with homeless people, and the cold I was feeling kept sending my heart back to those who could not escape the cold, who did not have a dryer full of warm clothes waiting for their attention.

Lunch time I was still in my shorts.

“What! Did the washing machines break? Where are your pants?”

“Back in my room, all folded and put away.”

“Why didn’t you change?”

“I’m fasting from warm clothes.”

“What? !!!!”

“Whenever I felt cold this morning, I would think of homeless people who are cold, and can not escape from the cold, and I would pray for them. I’m going to stay in this space with them today. I’m going to remember how cold they are, and be cold with them. And pray for them when my legs remind me of how cold it is today.”

Suddenly after lunch, every counselor in the camp was wearing shorts, in the snow. Our guests were confused about our clothing and asked what was going on. Our answer was, “Today, we are choosing to be intentional about walking with our homeless sisters and brothers. They are cold today. We choose to be cold with them.”

I don’t know how that day affected anyone else. I do know it shaped my awareness of homelessness, and my response to it.

Fasting takes a lot of shapes. It is not just eating less, or skipping a meal. It is intentionally putting ourselves in a place where we can hear God. In prayer we speak to God: in fasting, we put ourselves in a place where we can listen to God speaking to us.

Lord, trouble our hearts with those things that trouble your heart: let us care about righteousness, and justice, rather than selfish pursuits; let us seek to embrace divine perspectives rather than worldly comfort; let us seek to know the heart of God, and let us find. Amen

Matthew 6:1-8

In Matthew chapter 5, we talked about “surpassing righteousness” and how that righteousness was to be seen in one’s interactions with family, neighbor and enemy. In this next chapter, this higher righteousness is defined in relationship to traditional acts of devotion: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.

Matthew 6:1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Righteous behaviors are between ourselves and God. Other people may or may not notice, but it is none of their business, so we do nothing to make them notice. When we do good things to get the attention of other people, our reward is that other person’s response. Egotism contaminates devotional acts. They are no longer simple direct cries to God from the heart. Instead self grabs center stage, and pushes neighbor and God out of the way. Please note, whatever we do will be noticed by someone, this is just part of life, the problem is in doing these acts of devotion with the intent to get attention from others.

6:2-4, So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

First on the list is almsgiving. This does not include our offerings or our tithe to church. That we will tithe is so expected that it is a non item. Tithe means 10%. Some people give 20%. Some people give this entire amount to their place of worship and don’t think a lot about it. Some people look around and pray about where God wants this money to be given: their place of worship, schools, food pantries, homeless shelters, fire department outreach programs, etc. Some divide the tithe between various recipients. Whatever the amount, and whatever the recipient, it is always a set amount, probably a percentage, taken off the top, given to specific places in love and gratitude to God for who God is and what God has done.

Almsgiving is additional to the tithe. Almsgiving is reaching out with love and compassion to a particular need at a particular time. It may be repeated. It might not. Almsgiving is a matter of the heart: I see a need; I respond to that need.

Some years ago, I was in a small Asian restaurant with a friend. As we ate, we heard one of the employees sobbing loudly from the back of the restaurant. He was telling another employee about his wife’s medical problems, and how he had spent everything they had to pay for doctors and medicine, and now he did not have the money to pay the rent, so they were going to be evicted from their apartment. He said that if he had saved to money for the rent, she would not have been able to get the medicine she needed and would have died. Now, since he had spent the rent money on the medicine, they were not able to pay their rent, and they would be evicted from their apartment, and she would die on the street, because her health was so fragile. He didn’t know what to do.

The man was speaking in an Asian language to his friend. I doubt, in his grief, he even knew there were people in the dining room. If he knew we were present, he also knew none of us knew what he was saying. But there was a lady in the dining room who not only heard his cries, but understood what he was saying. As she listened, her response was a heartfelt, “On my!” Her companion asked what the man had said, and she shared what she had heard. Her companion asked, “Can we help?” To which the woman responded, “Of course!”

The two women quickly wrote out checks and called the waitress to give the checks to the man in distress. Suddenly, every other table in the restaurant called out to the waitress to take cash or checks from them also for the man in distress. The waitress ran to gather up the money, tears streamed down her face, bobbing her head and saying thank you thank you thank you, over and over and over, before running to the back with the gift. Less than a minute later, the man who had been sobbing in grief was now crying in gratitude, bowing to all of us and thanking us over and over and over. The woman who had understood his language responded to his thanks with, “Of course, of course,” or something similar, and returned his bows, as did the other people in the restaurant. There were a lot of tears, and not just from the Asian man and the waitress.

This is almsgiving: seeing a need and responding to that need, with no expectation of reward.

I learned a lot about almsgiving that day. I saw two women who reached out to a sobbing man because their hearts were moved. Those two women were “white bread”: who would have suspected one of them understood that particular Asian language well enough to understand what was being said between sobs? Who knew that the second woman’s question was on the heart of every person in the restaurant? I was as astonished as the waitress and the grieving man to see every table respond with compassion. Nobody knew each other. Nobody was trying to get attention for what they did. They had just come to the same place for lunch, and then suddenly they came together for a moment to help someone in need. It was an amazing experience.

Alms giving does not have to be this big. Usually it is a small event, shared only between the giver and the recipient: the giver notices a need, and quietly, frequently anonymously, helps out. Jesus points out that it is done in secret, so that “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Alms giving is done out of love for God, and no other reason.

6:5-8;  “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The Greek word, hypocrite, was the ordinary word used for an actor, but in the New Testament it is used to refer to a moral or spiritual pretender. A hypocrite is one who pretends to be a moral or spiritual person, but without having the inner reality. Its just an act.

I don’t know anyone who makes a show of praying on street corners. I do know people who pray long prayers. I have known people who prayed so long over a meal that it got cold. It occurred to me that if that person was in a habit of long prayers before the meal, perhaps those gathered should pray before the food was taken from the oven, or from the stove. Or was this overly long prayer actually a show?

I remember back in the early 70s, when it was cool to be a Christian. It was not cool to go to one’s own church, but it was cool to go to other people’s churches to experience worship from a different perspective. Supposedly, one could understand that other congregation completely, and the denomination it represented, by going there once. I remember people wearing crosses like a neon sign: the bigger the cross, the better Christian they were. It didn’t matter that they lied and cursed, and slandered their neighbors, and swore at the neighbor kids, they were “under the blood”, and “judge not that ye be not judged!” Did they wear those huge crosses to ensure everyone knew how righteous they were? Were those big crosses the same as praying on the street corners, to get people’s attention, to impress people with how righteous they were?

I don’t object to long prayers, and wearing crosses. I have been known to do both from time to time. Prayer is a conversation with God, and long conversations are good regardless of which friend I am talking to, so it makes sense that one would desire long conversations with God also. Friends can also have short conversations. Wearing a cross reminds me of who I am and whose I am. When I am stressed, or concerned, I find myself running my finger over my cross. When I am not wearing a cross, I cross myself. When I cross myself, I try to make the crosses small, and unnoticeable, because they are my own private prayer, and nobody else needs to see. Children see. I have had way too many parents chew me out for teaching their children to cross themselves. Ooopps.

Jesus was known to pray all night: long prayers are not a problem, provided one is talking to God, and not showing off to impress people.

Our love for the world’s praise is notorious. It is nice to be praised, to be respected, even to be honored for what we do. Humility is not something we usually value. People probably do not set out to be hypocrites, but they do accept the role assigned to them by society, business, religion, or government, and perform all sorts of acts in the name of duty or tradition. When these acts conflict with the person’s own sense of right, and people accept this split between their moral center and expected external behavior, the person becomes an actor, or a hypocrite. Because of this, we are encouraged to go somewhere private, where we will not be observed, where we will not be distracted, where we will not be tempted to put on a show, and interact with God honestly, from out hearts.

This injunction to go somewhere private to pray is not referring to, or negating, corporate worship, nor is it negating the value of liturgy, or even of long liturgical prayers (like the Bidding Prayer Liturgy). It is negating anything that distracts from worship, or draws attention away from worshiping God and refocuses that attention on a person.

This passage is not a prohibition to living one’s faith. Our faith, our beliefs, our values will show in our lives through our actions, regardless of our conscious intent. Instead of a prohibition, this passage is an encouragement to live our faith honestly. We do not need to put on a show to get people’s attention; we do not need to exaggerate our actions; God is not more pleased with us for being loud and aggressive about our beliefs. As Jesus said in chapter 5, God’s people are lights set on a stand to give light to the whole room. They can’t be ignored. They will be seen. God’s glory will be proclaimed in us and through us, because we belong to the Lord.

I’m sure we can all think of examples we have seen when others have caught our attention by giving alms, praying or fasting to draw attention to themselves. I’m sure we can all think of times we have been guilty of the same behaviors. I have to wonder if frequently these attention seeking behaviors are caused by feelings of separation from God: Does God see? Does God care? Does God know I am sinking into the darkness of despair? Will God’s people reject me if they find out how much I hurt inside? Will God’s people reject me if they find out I don’t feel like God is listening, or that God cares about me?

Jesus responds to these fears immediately: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (6:8) You have no need to act like the hypocrites, because God is your loving parent, who knows your needs even before you know them, and has already arranged for those needs to be cared for. You are loved. Entirely! Relax in that love, just as a small child who crawls into their parent’s arms for comfort and consolation can relax in their parent’s love.

Let us pray:

Hold us close to your heart Lord. Comfort our fears; wipe our tears; strengthen us with your presence; love us in ways we can understand; hold our hands and let us walk with you. Amen.

Matthew 5:13-48

3.12.26

We started Matthew with a genealogy. The first person named was Abraham (and Sarah) who left their home, their culture, their family, their gods, everything familiar, to be the people of God is a distant place. We remembered men of faith. We were reminded of four women who left everything, their culture, their family, their gods, and everything familiar, to become part of the people of God. This genealogy ends with a man named Joseph who is just and compassionate.

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebeckah, Jacob, Leah, Rachael, Judah, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Joseph were all examples of righteousness. For them, living in God’s presence, and living as the people of God was of far greater value to them than anything else in their lives.

Suddenly we are transported to the Jordan River where John is calling people to repentance, to prepare for the coming of the kingdom of God. And what does repentance look like? Is it just a bath and a promise? No, it is a life that produces good fruit, but John does not tell us what this fruit looks like, instead we see Jesus come to the Jordan and ask to be baptized. John tried to object. Jesus insisted that he needed to be baptized “to fulfill all righteousness.” (3:15) John consents; Jesus is baptized; and suddenly the heavens are ripped open and the Spirit of God descends into our world, into our lives, and the voice of God which we have not heard since Mt Sinai thunders, “This is my son, my beloved, with whom I am delighted!”

Immediately, the Spirit of God drives Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus fasts and prays for 40 days and 40 nights, and is famished. At this point, when Jesus is at his weakest, the devil appears and demands Jesus prove he is the Son of God. Each of the devil’s suggestions were completely reasonable: care for his own and other people’s needs; get people’s attention by showing God’s care and deliverance; rule the whole world, and run things the way he wanted it run. However, as appealing as these ideas were, doing them now would be obeying the devil, and the ends never justify the means. Jesus would do these things in the future, but not now when the devil told him to do them, instead Jesus mildly quoted scripture back to the devil until the devil fled.

All of this, these first 4 chapters of Matthew, was just the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, where we listen to Jesus describe to us what righteousness actually is.

In our previous study, we talked about those Jesus named “blessed”: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, those who are pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. These people have Jesus’ commendation. Jesus is still speaking to these people. Jesus is still telling them, and us, what righteousness looks like.

5:13-20

Jesus first compares these people to salt.

5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

Salt is useful for many things. In the culinary world, it is essential for seasoning, curing and preserving. Outside the kitchen it is used for de-icing roads, manufacturing plastics, in water softening, and cleaning surfaces, in stain removal, and in fire safety. Salt is essential for human health: It is crucial for hydrating cells, aiding digestion, and transmitting brain impulses. Common therapeutic uses include saline rinses for sore throats, sinus irrigation, and Epsom salt baths to soothe sore muscles. We cannot live without salt. The complete lack of salt in our lives leads to severe fatigue, confusion, seizures and death. We need salt!

Salt is a chemical compound, one part sodium, one part chloride: It cannot loose it flavor. However, if salt gets damp, or wet, or is stored in a humid environment, the sodium chloride can dissolve and leach out leaving behind whatever fillers or impurities were in it behind. These fillers or impurities look like salt, but do not taste like salt, because they are not salt. Historically, salt was often harvested with other minerals. If the NaCl washed away, what was left might look like salt, but would not taste like salt. So maybe these are ways “salt” could loose its flavor. However, this is not real salt, it is only an imitation.

The ones Jesus refers to as blessed are like salt. They are essential to life on this planet. They preserve life, they improve the flavor of life, they assist healing, they perform many valued services which make the world a better place, the world would quickly die without them.

At the same time, we are called to act like salt. We are called to actively work to make the world better and healthier and safer because we are in it. If we simply wear the outward appearance of our faith, but do not live our faith in tangible ways of compassion and justice, we are like salt that has lost its saltiness, and are no use to anyone.

Jesus then compares these people whom he has labeled “blessed,” to light.

5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Light is as difficult to hide as a city built on a hill.

Once a person has gone to the trouble of lighting a lamp, they don’t immediately snuff it out, or hide it under a bowl. That would be foolish. A light is lit to illuminate a space, and it is placed where it can give the most light possible for that space.

Jesus refers to his followers as light. And what flashes of light are expected of God’s friends? The fire of John the Baptist? The white heat of the desert monks? The lightening bolts of the zealots? The fire works of healers and miracle workers? No! Jesus defines light as good works! And the good works we do are what gives glory to God in heaven!

Jesus vision for all his followers, for all of the world, is to “give glory to your father in heaven.” When this vision is finally realized, when people have been captured by the love of God, to do the will of God, then the kingdom of God will have come among us in all its spender and glory.

This splendor and glory is not something new. It is not achieved by throwing out the previous ways God has spoken to us. For some, there is a huge disconnect between the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament (Apostolic Writings). Jesus does not support this disconnect. Jesus says:

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

“The law and the prophets” refers to the Hebrew scriptures as a whole, “the singular but complex revelation of the mind and will of God, a treasury of learning and lore, wisdom and commitment,” (Smith, p.89). Jesus was accused by some of his enemies as a destroyer, as trying to break down the law and destroy the temple, (5:17, 24:2, 26:61, 27:40). Additionally, there are some who suggest that since Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, that it ceased to have any value, its usefulness had ended, and it could therefore be thrown out. Jesus says no, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished,” (5:17-18).

Jesus is the bringer of the promised new world, and it is a world marked indelibly with the new and greater righteousness. He did not come to break or shatter the law, but to affirm it’s original intent, and carry it before him in his life, in his teachings, in his death and resurrection. Already, in his confrontation with the devil, Jesus shows his loyalty to the scriptures, announcing that the word of God is his bread.

In every age, the authority of God’s word (the law) suffers both quiet erosion and noisy assaults, pessimists, and those who view human history and see no place for God’s word in it. Jesus separates himself from those who would erase, or diminish God’s word, or bemoan its decline. He declares that rather than diminishing God’s word, not the smallest bit will disappear, and all of the law in its complete totality will be accomplished. God’s people are invited to live the law/ God’s word in their lives, in their actions, and their interactions, even as Jesus did, does, and will continue to do.

Jesus states, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (5:20) Jesus does not say the Pharisees don’t know the law, or understand the law. Jesus credits the Pharisees with righteous. However, he demands his followers exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. From here to the end of the chapter, Jesus points out the meaning of righteousness that exceeds or is more than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.

5:21-48

Each of the next six paragraphs begin with the formula, You heard it said … But I say to you.

Some of the pronouncements intensify the law, some of the pronouncements involve cancellation and replacement, some could go either way. Jesus is showing what it means not to cancel, but to fulfill the law. He is offering concrete examples of the higher righteousness. He is spelling out how people think and behave. It is important to see that the higher righteousness cannot exist by itself, but is a mark of the coming kingdom. The coming kingdom and righteousness are inseparable.

5:21-26: ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’

Jesus finds no fault with these words, but will not rest on the surface meaning. He penetrates to the feeling behind them and condemns insignificant infractions that an ordinary court would ignore: being angry, insults, calling a person a fool. These behaviors all lead to judgment, the council and the hell of fire. Each of these draw attention to, and puts pressure on our ordinary way of thinking. All of these thoughts divide people from each other. Each is the opposite of kindred spirit, fellowship, reconciliation and righteousness.

For example, if one is offering a sacrifice, and remembers they have wronged someone, they should leave the sacrifice and go and be reconciled with that other person. It might be inconvenient and impractical to stop. The sacrifice could be ruined by the time the person got back. The event could become chaotic, and messy. However, nothing is more urgent than the call to peace between brothers and sisters.

According to the Mishnah (Yoma 8:9), for transgressions between two people, the Day of Atonement will have no effect if a person has not first appeased that other person.

Or, if a person is being hauled off to court at the insistence of the accuser, earthly wisdom would remind us of the stupidity of self pride which locks one out of reconciliation and into prison.

God’s children should seek peace and reconciliation and so fulfill the will of God, who forbids blood shed and the destruction of life.

5:27-30: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

Every society has rules regarding sex. Adultery means breaking into someone else’s marriage, and is condemned in the ten commandments.

Jesus again presses beyond the letter of the law and sharpens the command. The tenancy in society is to place guilt upon the woman. Jesus changes this and addresses men: 28 “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” He follows with two more unthinkable actions: Pluck out your eye, or cut off your hand if that’s what it takes to keep your coveting eye or seizing hand from someone’s wife and so injuring her and her husband, and also ruining your own life with God.

Talk of marital relations continue and Jesus rejects the traditional arrangement and allows divorce only for unchastity. Sounds like another opportunity to practice reconciliation and peace.

5:33-37: “ Do not swear at all,”

Talk is cheap. People tend to exaggerate, make false statements, and resort to promises and oaths to convince others that their words are sincere. Jesus does not introduce a set of new, or simpler, of stricter oaths. He just says, do not swear at all; let your “yes” mean yes, and your “no” mean no.

5:38-42; 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, …”

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was actually a very enlightened principle: the punishment should fit the crime, and vengeance must be controlled. Jesus does not call for greater control of retribution, instead he calls for greater compassion, unbalanced forgiveness, and irrepressible sharing.

5:43-48: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Humans tend to believe that those who are like them, or in their particular circle are worthy of love, and believe it is permissible to hate and exclude those who are in any way different, or not in their particular circle. This is standard operating procedure. Jesus is not blind. He sees where this behavior leads. He also sees that some people really are evil and cruel and sadistic enemies. But he still says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Why love? So that you may be the daughters and sons of your father who is in heaven. Here is the first reason for loving, so that you can be like God, reflect the essential being of God, and display kinship with God. Like parent, like child. God would have us stamped with the divine image, just as human parents would have children who carry on their highest values.

We are called to be holy, merciful, perfect, just as our father in heaven is holy, merciful, perfect. This is how our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees.

Matthew 3:13-4:25

2.25.26

We have been introduced to John the Baptizer. We found him in the wilderness, calling people to repentance, announcing that the kingdom of heaven was near, and baptizing the repentant in the Jordan River. John demanded people show their allegiance to God through righteous living, and proclaimed that the Mighty One who brought in the coming kingdom of heaven would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Then, as John’s call to repent and live righteousness permeated the country, Jesus, a carpenter from Nazareth, travels south to where John is baptizing, and asks to be baptized as well. To a casual observer, this carpenter from Nazareth is nobody. He is merely one more poor peasant looking for something greater than the current political situation. John however, recognizes him immediately, knows he has no need of repentance, and asks instead to be baptized by him. “But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”” (3:15).

Jesus did not come to John to repent. He had no need. However, John’s baptism wasn’t just about repentance, it was a declaration of intent to live a life of righteousness before God.

Volumes have been written on the “Seven Last Words of Christ.” Not so much on first words, but first words are equally important, showing what the person’s focus in ministry, and in life are, to help us understand what is coming next. Jesus’ first words, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness,” tell us that Jesus’ focus is on righteousness, on living faithfully before God. By watching Jesus, we will know what righteousness looks like as the way of life. In Jesus, the kingdom of heaven has come to dwell among us, and we will recognize the appearing of the promised kingdom in the person of Jesus.

“And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and coming on him.” (3:16)

What an amazing thing this is! The all too solid boundary between heaven and earth is suddenly ripped open! How often we have looked at the sky and wondered where God is; how often we have prayed and felt our prayers hit the sky and bounced off, and did not reach the throne of God; how often we have felt that God is far away, and we are alone with our problems and pain; how often have evil ones attacked us and we felt alone and helpless before them?

When Jesus identifies himself as a human in need to baptism, and proclaims he will fulfill all righteousness, as a human, as one of us, the heavens are ripped open, and God descends to be among us, not as judge, not as fire, not as a farmer with axe in hand threatening the roots of the tree, or even as wind blowing the chaff away, but as a gentle dove. The God we once perceived as far away has come near: The God we once perceived as angry and vengeful comes to be among us, gentle as a dove. The ancient longing of humanity for the presence of God, “O that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would quake at your presence!” (Is. 64:1) is starting to be realized.

 ‘And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am delighted.”’ (3:17)

The heavens break open, and we hear the voice of God. We expect a voice that terrifies the hearer, like the voice of God terrified the people of Israel when they came to Mt Sinai, after they left Egypt (Exodus 20:18-19). Instead we hear a warm and inviting voice naming Jesus “My son”, “My beloved”, “My delight.”

And what is this righteousness Jesus has come to fulfill? Is it perfect obedience to God’s will? Is it observing God’s commandments perfectly? Was it a joyful submission to John’s call to baptism? Or is it being God’s tool which God uses to lay hands on a broken world and bring healing? Might it be all of the above, and much more? We will watch and see.

In a few short words, Matthew has shown us a solid connection between righteousness and baptism, between being daughters and sons of God and doing the will of God. In hearing God claim Jesus as son and beloved in his baptism, we hear God pronouncing the same words over us; “daughter”, “son”, “beloved”, “delight”, and we are called to follow Jesus in lives of righteousness.

“This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am delighted.”’ (3:17) is an amazing announcement, echoing two great passages: Psalm 2, which was composed to encourage both king and people in a moment of crisis, quotes a phrase used on the day of the king’s coronation: “You are my son, today I have begotten you.” (Ps. 2:7). The coronation formula, used here as a promise, is rooted in Nathan’s word to David. In it, God pledges to preserve David and the Davidic kings forever: “I shall be his father, and he shall be my son” (2 Sam. 7:14). With the exile and humiliation of Judah’s royal house, the psalm is not thrown out, but comes to be understood as a promise about a future king who will be raised up by God to restore the lost fortunes of God’s people (Ps. 89:19-37; Is. 9:1-7; 11:1-9).

Additionally, the voice also echos the first of the four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah (42:1-4). This song begins, “Behold my servant (or son) whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased (delighted).” The Servant Song portrays the nation (or maybe a prophet, or some other individual), not as a powerful sovereign, but as a magnificent servant, marked not by might, but by meekness, with a passion for justice, and a concern for enlightening the nations, rather than for crushing them. The servant is mocked, despised and afflicted, yet remains trusting, uncomplaining and obedient (Is. 42:1-43:21).

Mixing the Royal Psalm with the Servant Song, certainly feels odd, but Matthew believes both are true of Jesus, and will bring them together in the life and words of Jesus, as we continue through his writing.

4:1, Suddenly the scene shifts from the gentle waters of the Jordan to the harsh wilderness of the desert, from milling crowds to lonely solitude, from conversation with John to dialogue with Satan, from awesome presentation as God’s son, to pitiless testing (4:1-11). The gentle dove that settled on him when the heavenly voice spoke to him now drives him into the wilderness when he will fast forty days and nights, and be tempted by Satan. God said to Jesus, “You are my son”: Satan says, prove it!

Baptism and temptation really belong together: Two of the three temptations begin where baptism ended: If you are the son of God. The temptations speak hard words to baptism: Has heaven really opened? Did God actually speak? Has the Spirit really descended? Has the new age of the new sovereign really started? How do we know? Aren’t we still in the old state, harassed by demons? Isn’t human history still stuck in the old well worn grooves? If there has been a crack in the tough shell of the old world, where is it? What exactly are the signs of God breaking into our lives and into our world, making all things new?

“How are kingdoms built? Caesar Augustus and his successors founded the Roman Empire and held it together by means that seem to correspond to the devil’s three temptations: (1) by providing bread and circuses for the masses, (2) by outsmarting rivals on the inside and crushing hostile enemies on the outside through political intrigue and the power of the legions, and (3) by galvanizing the patriotism and religious fervor of the diverse people in a single cult devoted to the goddess Roma and the genius of the divine emperor.” (Smith, p. 61).

Rome dominated the Mediterranean world. Rome prided itself in extending the blessings of peace, justice, and a good administration to citizens and subjects alike. However, Rome had an insatiable hunger for power, glory and wealth, and crossed land and sea to gobble up weaker nations and devour their resources. They gutted political institutions, imposed foreign culture, and shamelessly exploited resources by theft and ruthless taxation.

How do we read these temptations? Did Jesus turn his back on being a benevolent dictator? Did Jesus step away from influencing others through fame and fortune? Do the temptations deal with public issues of economics and politics? Or do the temptations deal with personal issues of trust, commitment and style? All of these address human hopes and human plans for dealing with the evils of this world. What direction should Jesus go? Do the ends justify the means?

“Son of God” has royal overtones, so it is easy to see its bearer will bless God’s people through powerful means. However it also involves establishing righteousness through selfless service. In fact, the one who is “Son of God”, God’s presence on earth in flesh, will obviously collide with the rulers of this world who have their own ways of ruling their kingdoms. This confrontation begins here in the temptation narrative, but will be played out in Jesus’ real life situations until the end of Matthew’s narrative.

Matthew does not tell us exactly what these temptations mean, leaving us to wrestle with their meaning in our own lives. What we do know is that Jesus wrestled with Satan and conquered every temptation. Lets look a them a little bit more closely.

First, Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights. This fasting indicated total reliance on God. What an amazing thing! God’s own son, the beloved, the one on whom the Spirit of God descended, experienced hunger pains!

Then the tempter comes and tried to drive a wedge between Jesus and God, tried to draw Jesus away from holy dependence on God. The tempter seizes on the word from God, proclaimed at Jesus’ baptism, “Son of God”. The tempter encourages Jesus to command stones to become bread, to direct his power to meet his own needs. But Jesus is certain that life is more than food, and speaking not only for himself, but for all humanity, proclaims that the human shall not live by bread alone, or by anything else that is visible, or edible, or attractive, or collectible, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

In his answer, Jesus does not attempt to display any cleverness, or originality, but simply quotes scripture (Torah) in childlike simplicity. Jesus applies to himself directions from the first chapter of Deuteronomy on how God’s people were instructed to stand up to temptation.

For the second temptation, the scene changes to the holy city, on the pinnacle of the temple. A great basilica called the Royal Stoa ran the length of the southern edge of the temple platform. Some peak on the roof of the southeast corner of the basilica, high above the temple court, which itself was elevated by the great retaining wall, which in turn was located on a hill, has often been referred to as the pinnacle (Smith, p.65.). No longer in the solitude of the wilderness, but in the holy city, in the heart of the temple, the devil presses Jesus for a display of power. In the first temptation, Jesus responded to the devil by quoting scripture: in response, in this temptation the devil quotes scripture to Jesus as justification for his demands, and turns the conversation into a debate about scripture and faith. ‘You say you have faith in God? Prove it! You trust God, don’t you? Surely God will not allow you to strike your foot on a stone! If you refuse, it means you don’t trust God’

Jesus refuses to test God, or attempt to manipulate God. He demands no proofs of God’s care and again quotes Deuteronomy (6:16), “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

For the third temptation, the scene shifts again, this time to the top of a very high mountain, where Jesus could see all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. He was invited to become king over the whole vast expanse without suffering. In Psalm 2, the anointed one was promised world domination, the nations as his inheritance and the ends of the earth as his possession. The devil boasts, “All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.” The devil appears to be offering Jesus exactly what the Psalm promised him.

However, whatever causes the people of God to turn from the path of trust, obedience, and service to God is satanic and idolatrous. This temptation cannot be followed, even though it appears to fulfill the Messianic promise of Psalm 2. Jesus immediately banishes Satan with the words, “Be gone Satan! You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve! (Deuteronomy 6:13).

Jesus is the only human in this interaction; the devil fails to trap Jesus and has to leave. Surrounding Jesus, and every child of God, are the everlasting arms. At the beginning of this narrative, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness, and at the end of the narrative angels come and minister to him.

However, there are questions that need to be asked: Has Jesus renounced food? No. Has he renounced using his power? Again, no. He will use his power to feed thousands of people, twice. He did not throw himself off the temple, but he did walk on water. Jesus works by the Spirit of God, doing what honors God, and refusing to perform miracles on demand in order to attain popularity. The temptation narrative reveals the mind of Jesus. It is a prologue to his ministry which tells us about how Jesus thinks and will react: He can use words, he can use silence, he can use both power and weakness, he will act in total disregard for self, and in total harmony with the will of God. Jesus, moved by the Holy Spirit and supported by God’s angels, will respond to the devil’s attack on humanity by pressing back against Satan and his evil empire, sweeping the world clean of demons, freeing people to live lives of faith and righteousness.

4:12ff After this, John the Baptizer was arrested, and Jesus returned to Galilee. Since Jesus came from Galilee, one might think Jesus was running away to the security of home, as if fighting with Satan, and the imprisonment of his cousin John had somehow frightened him. One would be incorrect in this assumption.

Almost immediately, Jesus left his hometown of Nazareth, and settled in Capernaum, by the sea (actually a very large lake), in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. The areas belonging to the original tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali were the first chunks of ancient Israel to be swallowed up by Tiglath-Pilesar III and renamed Assyrian provinces (732 BCE), 10 years before the rest of Israel was subjugated. Isaiah said the first territories to feel God’s wrath would also be the first to enjoy salvation at the birth of Messiah (Is. 9:1-7). Although they sat in the darkness of subjugation, light would dawn on them; the Light of the whole world would come to them also.

Throughout these opening chapters, Matthew has traced prophecies about geography, and has showed how Jesus fulfilled them. It is like the ancient prophets had a map of Jesus’ travels hundreds of years before he was born, and Matthew is calling attention to this. Jesus’ movements are not random. All of these movements lie deep in the mind of God, and Jesus is following the path of fulfillment of God’s purpose. Jesus is completely in tune with the will of God.

Since Jesus chose to begin his ministry in Galilee, lets get a little bit more acquainted with this area. Galilee was not an isolated settlement of purely Jewish settlers. Nor was Galilee a backwater area of uneducated, or simple farmer folk who had no idea about the rest of the world, and didn’t care about it either. Galilee sat at the crossroad of international trade routes, and was always open to Damascus and Syria to the north, Egypt to the south, Phoenicia to the northwest and the Mediterranean to the west. Jewish and pagan communities lived side by side. Jesus choose to begin his ministry here specifically because it was the cross roads of the nations.

Jesus began his ministry exactly where John had left off, even using John’s exact words, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus does not have a brand new word from God. The call to repent is the beginning of the good news of the kingdom. Jesus in his splendid entirety is the approach of God, the light of God, and revelation of God. In Jesus, something new is already here. In Jesus, the promised kingdom has already come.

4:18-22, The first recorded action of Jesus after he arrives in Capernaum is to walk by the lake. As he walks, he sees 2 brothers out fishing, Peter and his brother Andrew. Jesus calls them to follow him, and they leave everything to follow. A bit later, the scene is repeated when Jesus sees two more brothers, James and John working with their father. The invitation is repeated, as is the response: the brothers leave everything to follow Jesus.

Jesus’ invitation is strange, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” We think of Jesus as a rabbi, but rabbis do not go out looking for people. They expect people with the appropriate background and credentials to come to them. Instead, Jesus took the initiative, and went to them. Nor does Jesus invite them to master Torah, or learn Biblical scholarship, or even meditate on biblical texts. Instead he just invites them to follow him.

Jesus calls them to fish for people. What a strange thought. When a person casts a net or a line for a fish, they draw the fish out of life giving water, into death. Fishing seems more a metaphor for judgment and condemnation, where the fish are dragged from their hiding places to face judgment, and death. Fishing sounds much like John’s metaphors about God being a farmer with an axe at the root of a dead tree, or God being a farmer who separates the straw and sets it aside to be burned.

Does fishing for people meant dragging them from their hiding places and setting them before the judge at the end of life? Or might fishing mean teaching people, drawing them from ignorance to wisdom, from the worship of things that harm them to the God who loves them? Is fishing actually drawing people out of darkness into God’s marvelous light? In each case, there is a radical change of environment, and a complete break from the former way of life.

Immediately, and without hesitation or lengthy conversations, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, the brothers leave everything and follow. (Were they “hooked”?)

4:23-25, Jesus then walked through Galilee, “teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease, and every infirmity among the people.”

Jesus does not walk aimlessly, but steps forward, deliberately, teaching, preaching and healing. He heals every disease and every infirmity. He teaches in the synagogues. He preaches the gospel of the kingdom. The kingdom is near, at the very gates. Its power is present in Jesus, blessing and healing, but also disturbing the old order, shaking its foundations, reordering all of life.

In these opening chapters, Matthew presents Jesus as God’s own movement into the world, God’s own interfering presence, God’s counter attack against Satan and all things evil, and twisted. Jesus’ arrival on the scene is the beginning of the coming kingdom, and is filled with awesome and terrible possibilities. God has ripped open the heavens and broken into our world with strength and power to make all things new: Are we ready to be changed?

Matthew 3

2.12.26

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’ ”

4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The first four chapters of Matthew stand as an introduction with the purpose of identifying who Jesus is, filling in his background, describing his connections, and setting the stage for his public ministry. The time between the end of chapter two and the beginning of chapter three is about thirty years, but the time does not seem to matter, and the readers move easily over the gap.

Matthew’s meditation on the names of Jesus, Son of Abraham, son of David, Jesus, Emmanuel, culminates in this chapter with a heavenly voice that names him “my beloved son”, a name that is questioned by the evil one in chapter 4.

John the Baptizer bursts into the scene unannounced. When we first see him, he is preaching, and people are responding by confessing their sins. John’s first words are “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” These words could serve as a summary of everything John says. Between “repent” and the confession of sins, Matthew examines John’s credentials, and his effect on his audience. Matthew focuses more attention on John’s proclamation, and less on Baptism, nothing on forgiveness, and everything on repentance.

Perhaps Matthew’s audience was finding security before God in the rite of baptism, and somehow lost the connection of baptism to the call to repentance from the deadly power of sin, and the demand to respond with righteous living. In contrast, Matthew describes baptism as confirming repentance, and energizing people to walk the way of righteousness (21:32, 28:18-20).

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him.” (21:31-32)

As we just read in 21:31-32, John’s words are very much a call to rethink and reorder one’s life: baptism confirms repentance, and energizes people to walk the way of righteousness. Without repentance, and the commitment to righteous, baptism becomes little more than a bath. While baptism is much more than this, these were the concepts that John wanted to impress on his hearers, as he prepared the people to meet their God.

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Repent: change your mind; change the way you think; change the way you act; implying a feeling of regret and sorrow; turn away from sin and toward God.

Kingdom of heaven: literally, “the kingdom of the heavens”. The phrase occurs no where else in the New Testament, but is used 33 times in Matthew. It means the “Kingdom of God,” but avoids saying the name of God out of reverence and respect, although the phrase “Kingdom of God” is used 4 times (12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 43). This phrase can also be written as “thy kingdom” (6:10, 13, 20:21), “The kingdom of their (my) Father” (13:43, 26:29), or as just “kingdom” (6:33, 25:34).

“To say that this kingdom or sovereign rule is “of heaven” or “of God” is not to locate it in the heavens above but to assert that it has its source in heaven or in God, that it comes as a gift from above, and that it is something wholly different from earthly kingdoms and sovereignties. Secular empires rest uneasily on the bones of slaughtered enemies and are sustained by violence and threat of violence (cf4:1-11; 22:41-45; 26:52-53). The kingdom of heaven proclaimed by John (3:2) and Jesus (4:17) and the disciples(10:7) surpasses earthly imagining and earthly deserving. … more than any other New Testament writer, Matthew stresses the vital connection between the kingdom and righteousness (cf 6:10, 33).” (Smith, Robert H. Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, p.48.)

The long awaited kingdom is finally at hand. John knows that he is standing at the edge of that coming kingdom, or perhaps at the gate, and like a trumpet must sound the call for all to prepare.

John is certain of the coming kingdom. He demands God’s own people repent. He summons insiders to radical change (not outsiders). He especially demands religious authorities stop thinking they know best about what God demands, and instead calls them to stop resisting God. John shouts that repentance is not an option, but a requirement: the price of salvation is unconditional surrender to God.

John is a prophet in a long line of prophets. He not only speaks prophetically, he fulfills prophecy. The prophet Isaiah envisioned a road through the desert, designed by God, to bring the captives home from Babylon. Isaiah heard a voice crying out in the wilderness, inviting people to prepare the way of the Lord, and make his path straight. Matthew interprets John as not just one more prophet in the long line of prophets, but as the fulfillment of this cry at the end of the ages, as the herald of the coming kingdom.

4 “Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” (3:4)

Now Matthew turns to what John wore and what he ate. Why would this be important? In 2 Kings 1:7, 8, we read: ‘He (the king) said to them, “What sort of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?”  They answered him, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”’

To anyone who saw John, they would remember how the king recognized the prophet Elijah: He was a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist. The people would not only recognize the physical description of Elijah, they would remember he didn’t die, but was taken up in a chariot of fire, pulled by horses of fire. If he didn’t die, that would mean he was still alive and could return some day, maybe even now. John’s clothing indicated a self identification with the prophet Elijah, and the people recognized this immediately. By wearing these clothes, John signaled that he was not just a prophet, but he was the expected prophet and these were the expected times.

Locusts and wild honey: food provided by the grace of God with no human intervention. It might also indicate he was a holy man who renounced meat and wine (Luke 1:15). 5 -- The Baptizer’s cry calls to the hearts of all who hear him, and they flock to him from Jerusalem, Judea, and all the regions around the Jordan. The regions around the Jordan may refer to the area across the Jordan, on the east side of the river; this could also refer to the wilderness area east and southeast of Jerusalem; or it could refer to the Jordan plain that stretched from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee; or all of the above. These regions were ruled by Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great (the Herod who attempted to kill the infant Jesus); Antipas hated John, and later killed him. Obviously, not everyone who heard his proclamation chose to repent.

6 – John lives with God in the wilderness, in a place of incredible beauty, in a place of brutal possibilities. The wilderness is devoid of life giving necessities; it is filled with hungry creatures, poisonous snakes, thorns and long expanses of nothing; the weather is extreme; it is not an easy place to live. The wilderness is also where Israel became a nation, where they became the people of God.

John’s voice moves them to confess their sin. Sin is not some small infraction of ancient rituals, or community rules, or forgetting a task. The crowd began to realize they had broken their covenant with God, they had broken faith with God, they had broken the ties that bound them to God. The people confessed their sin, and then they sign their repentance by submitted to being baptized in the river, to wash away their sin. The penitent does not wash themselves. John administers the water, and so earns the nickname, “Baptist”, or “Baptizer”. John’s goal, with word and baptism, is to call the people back to God, back to living a life of righteousness, to prepare for the day of the Lord’s appearing.

7 – “Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came.” So, who are these people? The Pharisees and the Sadducees were 2 of the 4 primary groups in Judaism during the second temple period, the other two groups were the Essenes and the Zealots.

The Pharisees were in influential group of legal experts and lay teachers known for strict adherence to the Torah, and the oral traditions. They were often common people, scribes, and synagogue leaders. They focused on personal piety and ritual purity. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, angels, and the afterlife. Later they formed the basis for Rabbinic Judaism.

The Sadducees were a wealthy, aristocratic, politically powerful group, closely associated with the temple in Jerusalem, and the high priesthood. They were conservative leaders who controlled the Sanhedrin, they rejected the oral law and afterlife beliefs of the Pharisees, accepting only the written Torah. They also rejected the existance of angels or demons, and the immortality of the soul, believing this life is all there is. They played a major role in the trial of Jesus, they worked closely with the Romans to maintain peace and their own status, and faded from history following the destruction of the temple in 70 CE.

The Essenes were s devout, mystical group, known for their strict adherence to purity laws, ascetic lifestyle and communal living. They are often associated with the Qumran community and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They often wore white linen, shared belongings, and in some communities, practiced celibacy. They separated themselves from mainstream society, living in small communities, typically in the Judean wilderness. They focused on studying the Torah, anticipated the imminent Messianic era, and considered themselves “Sons of Light.” Daily ritual baths were a central practice.

The Zealots were a religious movement dedicated to overthrowing the Romans through armed revolt. They were formed by Judas the Galilean around 6CE following the Roman census. They were extremely “Zealous” for the Torah, believing in an absolute theocracy, and viewed Roman taxation and pagan influence as blasphemy. Their rebellion is credited with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70CE by Rome. They were active until the fall of Masada in 73CE.

So why did the Pharisees and Sadducees go out into the wilderness to see John? Were they there with the rest of the people to repent? Did they come just to see what was happening? Were they sent by the Romans to ensure there was no rebellion fermenting? We don’t know. John was certain he knew: he called them poisonous snakes.

Lets look at desert vipers a bit more closely. The Saharan horned viper is a venomous snake from the deserts of Africa and the Middle East. It is a nocturnal ambush predator that buries itself in the sand. Its venom causes severe swelling and tissue damage, but is rarely fatal to humans if they receive immediate medical care. John says these respected religious leaders were no more than a brood of snakes, because instead of caring for, nurturing and guiding the people, they were stinging and poisoning the people in their care.

This paragraph lifts up a tension between baptism and the fruit of repentance. No tension should exist here. Repentance is not casual, nor undertaken on a whim. John’s demands are deeply personal, and moral, and touch the foundation of ones relationship with God and neighbor. John calls for a radical reorientation of life. If it is real, it will naturally produce fruit. Fruit is not works done to impress God or neighbors, it can not be forced, threats will not result in fruit, neither will pleading or coercion produce fruit. There is no way to force fruit from a dead tree, and fruit is an infallible sign of a healthy tree. (7:16-20; 12:33; 13:8; 21:19, 34, 41, 43; James 3:12, 17-18.)

9 – “We have Abraham as our father”: The religious leaders claim privilege: we have the right stuff, we are the people of God, we are doing the right things, we are above reproach, take your criticisms to outsiders, to pagans, to those who are not chosen and perfect in God’s sight. People frequently believe they are better than others due to color, or gender, or wealth, or place of birth, or social class, or citizenship, of religious affiliation, or even on certificate of baptism. John said these religious leaders were no different than any other person who depended on their own righteousness, and not on God. They also needed to repent.

“God is able to raise up from these stones children to Abraham.” In Hebrew and Aramaic, the words for sons and stones are nearly identical. Perhaps John is continuing to comment on the environment of the desert, snakes, dead trees, stones and using these objects as lessons for his hearers. Maybe John is thinking of how Abraham and Sarah were so old, they could be considered almost dead, but God had brought life out of them, and Issac was born; a living child out of dead flesh. Only God can create life, and was doing it here among people the world considered of no more worth than the rocks in the desert: the poor, harlots, outcasts, tax collectors, and gentiles were responding with faith and obedience while the religious leaders stood around debating what was happening, doubting, and condemning what they saw.

10 – John emphases the urgency of his proclamation: God is farmer, and stands next to the unfruitful tree with axe in hand, sharp edge against the roots, ready to chop it down, then chop it into kindling. The religious leaders believed wrath was against the heathen, against the Romans, against those outside God’s chosen people, or even against thieves and harlots and tax collectors. John did not say that. Instead he said, ‘Every tree that does not bear good fruit is worthless.’

John now compares his own work with that of the Coming one.

11-- John says his baptism is water for repentance. The whole point of his baptism is to prepare the people for the One Coming after him. This One will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And how are we to see these two forces? Are these two positive forces working together for the final cleansing and refining of God’s people? (Zech 13:9; Mal 3:2-3). Are these two negative forces, the wind and fire of God’s wrath, blowing the chaff away and burning it? (Is 29:6; 30:27-28; Ez 1:4). Or should we see them as alternatives set before each person, either be renewed by the creative Holy Spirit, or turn from God and at God’s returning, experience God as a consuming fire? (Joel 2:28-32).

The last option seems to fit with Matthew’s gospel. Fire in this gospel is not associated with the Pentecostal outpouring, but in each case is a symbol of judgment. (3:10, 12; 5:22; 7:19; 13:40,42, 50; 18:8-9; 25:41). And baptism of the Holy Spirit never suggests a wind that blows chaff away. Additionally, at the end of this gospel, the Holy Spirit is associated with the Father and the Son in the work of gathering God’s people into the family of God.

13 – John had just spoken about an axe threatening the roots of dead trees, now he uses another farm image, that of a wheat harvest. John speaks about the end of harvest, when the stocks are cut, and the heads have been beaten, or cut to release them from the stock. The stocks have been bundled and laid aside to be use for fuel. Now the farmer grabs the winnowing fork and tosses the heads of grain into the wind. The wind catches the light chaff and deposits it a few feet away, while the heavier grain falls back on the ground where the farmer can gather it into his granary. This is John’s picture of the fate of those who repent, and those who refuse to repent.

We have been talking for 5 pages, and have only worked through the first 13 verses of chapter 3. I do not expect the next 4 verses to be short, and they lead very naturally into the next chapter, so I am going to leave them for next week.