Anger in the temple

Matthew
Some may wonder how Jesus could get angry enough to overturn tables, and still not sin.  Anger doesn't have to be sinful.  Holy anger, indignance at the way people mistreat God's holy temple, is quite justified.  If all anger was sinful, then Ephesians 4:26 would make no sense: "In your anger, do not sin."  If anger was sinful, then it would be impossible not to sin while being angry.  But that's not the case.  So when you are angry, work it out for the good and glory of God.

Psalm 46

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.       Selah

4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

6Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.       Selah

8Come and see the works of the LORD,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shields^b with fire.

10“Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

11The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.       Selah

I wanted to insert this whole Psalm because it is very powerful in its language and wording.  Just read through this Psalm and let God speak to you.  His power and might don't have to be scary things; they are a comfort to us in times of need.  He is so powerful, we can trust him with anything!

Sitting at his right and left hands

Matthew
It seems kind of crazy that a mother would ask Jesus to have her sons seated at his right and left hand.  Perhaps she just thought he would somehow come into an earthly kingdom?  That would make sense, and Jesus's reply that she didn't know what she was asking fits with that scenario.  It was easy for me to read this passage with my own biased lens and assume that she was asking about his heavenly throne, because that is the kingdom that Jesus was ushering in, a spiritual and heavenly one.  But that's not how most people saw the Messiah back in his day.  He was going to be a king and set up a new political reign.

Joining in God's mission

Acts
Paul's journey to Rome is an excellent example of God's faithfulness.  When we join him in his mission, we'll win every time!  It may not be the way we think we'll win, but it's the best way.  In faithfulness to God, Paul said he would go to Rome to preach the good news and appear before Caesar.  God rewarded that faithfulness and Paul didn't die in the shipwreck (see chapter 27).
What mission are we on?  Ours or God's?  Let's align ourselves with God's mission and see what wonders he can work in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

The rich young man

Matthew 
If you read the October 9, 2010 post and comment (click here), you'll find I already commented on today's reading from Matthew 19:16-30 - the story of the rich young man.  This young man hadn't actually kept all the commandments, even though he says he did.  At least, he didn't keep the spirit of the law, because he neglected the poor and needy all around him, even though he had so much wealth.  He was completely missing the point on what eternal life is all about.  It's not about us doing anything on our own; it's about us coming alongside God in his mission and participating with him in his work (helping the downtrodden, for instance).

Jesus on divorce

Key verses

Psalm 42:1, 11 - As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Matthew

In Matthew 19, Jesus talks about divorce.  Interestingly, this passage is also found in Mark and Luke, but both of those books do not include an exception to the rule.  Matthew suggests that divorce is wrong, except for situations of marital unfaithfulness, but both Mark and Luke say that divorce is prohibited.  As William Barclay states, I think we have to go with the interpretation in Mark and Luke, and understand that Matthew's exception was included at a later date, and was derived from the evolved practice of the church, and not on what Jesus himself said.

Evangelism

This post has nothing to do with the bible reading, but it does relate to something else I read today.  I've been reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Church, and he said something quite interesting about evangelism:

"My dad is the best fisherman I've ever met.  If there is only one fish in a lake or stream he will catch it. . . . How did he do it? ... Did God just like him better?
"As I got older I realized his secret: My dad understood fish.  He could 'read' a lake and figure out exactly where the fish were; he knew what time of day they liked to eat; he knew what bait or lure to use depending on the type of fish; he knew when to change bait as the temperature changed; he even seemed to know exactly how deep to drop the line into the water.  He made it as easy and attractive as possible for fish to swallow his hook - so they did! He caught fish on their terms.
"In contrast, I never had a strategy when I went fishing.  I'd cast out anywhere in the lake hoping something might bite.  Fish rarely went for my hook because I fished with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. . .  my fishing spots were usually determined by what was most comfortable to me.  I had no strategy, and my results showed it.
"Unfortunately, many churches have this same lackadaisical attitude toward fishing for men and women. . . They want to win people to Christ as long as it can be done a comfortable way." (pp. 185-186).

Binding and loosing on earth and in heaven

Matthew
Matt. 18:18 is a lesson in not reading verses on their own.  This verse says "I [Jesus] tell you [his disciples] the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
I kind of wondered what that meant, but it is easy to figure out if you read the next verse: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."
These two verses speak to the same thing: what we accomplish here on earth, God will bless and work through it from heaven.  Jesus is really only talking to his disciples here, so we can't take too much leeway with the text and apply it to ourselves, but we can still understand that God gave authority to the disciples to continue Jesus's ministry.

Sacrifices

Leviticus
As I was reading about the sacrifices that the Israelites had to make to appear holy before God, I honestly started wondering, why all these sacrifices?  Why the slaughtering and the blood?  What's the point?
This is just a picture of what God truly wants.  He wants us to understand that approaching him is a serious business.  Animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.  God desires mercy instead.  But mercy is a sort of sacrifice.  We're giving up what we would want to do to others, and offering them something else in return.  We're giving up what we would want to do in life, and taking up God's will instead.  Like it says in Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."  Instead of breaking animals on the altar, we're breaking ourselves, and that is usually a whole lot harder to do.

Help my unbelief

Matthew
Today, I read about the story of the father with a demon-possessed son.  He comes to Jesus and says that he had brought his son to the disciples, but they couldn't heal him.  In the Matthew version, he doesn't even ask Jesus outright to heal his son.  Then Jesus responds, pointing out that this man, and his generation, did not have enough faith.  In Mark's version, the man claims that he does believe in God's power, but requests help for his unbelief.
Either way, Jesus had done many miracles before this one, so there was precedence for having a belief that he could do such wonderful things, and yet the man didn't completely believe.  When we come to God and ask him to work in our lives, trust in his power and allow him to minister to you.  Don't hold out.

The transfiguration

Matthew
Peter is so real.  By that I mean, he doesn't wait to act.  In today's reading, he saw Jesus transfigured on a mountain, and immediately he thought to build shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  How great it would have been to stay on that mountain, surrounded by the glory of God and the greatest God-followers of all time.  But we can't always stay in that attitude of revelation.  At some point, Jesus had to move on and accomplish the rest of his mission.  In the same way, when we hear from God, we can't stay in that zone.  We've got to take what we've heard or learned, and let it shape us into even more committed, more mature followers of Christ.

The coming of God's kingdom and Paul's quick thinking

Key verse
Psalm 37:39 - The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.


Matthew
Matthew 16:28 almost seems like some of Jesus's disciples won't die until his second coming.  But if you compare this verse to its parallels in Luke and Mark, you find out that in fact, it just means that some of his disciples will witness the coming of the kingdom of God through the Holy Spirit.  God's kingdom came with power on the day of Pentecost, and many of the disciples certainly witnessed this event.

On another note, it's a comfort to know God doesn't require us to be perfect in order to participate in his kingdom.  For example, Peter first announces that he believes Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, and will follow him, and then in the next verse, he tries to dissuade Jesus from his mission (perhaps unknowingly) and is rebuked - "Get behind me, Satan!" Jesus says.

Acts
When the text says "Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees...", I could just imagine Paul scheming in his head, thinking, "Hmmm, what will make these people get in an uproar?"  The debate about the resurrection of the dead sure will!

The sign of Jonah

Key verses

Psalm 36:5-6 - Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.  Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.

Matthew

Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees, people who knew the law inside and out and yet didn't follow the heart of God's message.  Perhaps this is what Jesus was getting at when he said that their generation would only receive the sign of Jonah.  "A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."  These are just my thoughts, but I'm thinking the sign of Jonah is that, just like Jonah heard God's message but didn't fully accept it, so these people hear what Jesus is saying, but aren't accepting his message.  Instead of the Jews accepting Jesus, the Gentiles will hear and repent, just like the Ninevites did.

In the cleft in the rock

Exodus 33:21-23 - Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

I really like this passage.  It really demonstrates the awesome glory and holiness of God.  If you start feeling like God isn't all that important, read this passage, and you'll feel like you've been put in your place.  There are a number of passages like this throughout the bible, like when God speaks to Job about measuring out the foundations of the earth, or some of the Psalms as well.  The majesty and wonder of God knows no bounds.  I am so utterly grateful that he has shown me love!

Innocent of the blood of all men

Acts 20:13-38
I must admit that when I first read Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders, I thought that for some reason, the Ephesians were arguing about Paul's previous life of persecuting the Christians.  When Paul said that he was innocent of the blood of all men, I thought that referred to the people he had killed before he became a Christian.  I read a few commentaries on this passage though, such as William Barclay's, Matthew Henry's, and Barnes's notes, and I found out that Paul was actually just saying that he preached the gospel with such dedication in Ephesus that if people weren't saved, it was through no fault of his own.

I hope we can say the same for ourselves.  I was reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Church this morning and he was saying that faithfulness does not exclude fruitfulness, rather, it requires fruitfulness.  Jesus said a number of times that bearing fruit is of utmost importance.  In fact, he even cursed a fig tree that didn't have fruit as an example to his disciples about the importance of bearing fruit.  Am I being faithful?  If I believe the answer is yes, is there evidence of my faithfulness?

Be ready for anything

Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus has shown us a great example of how we always have to be ready to witness to others and work for God's glory.  John the Baptist was just murdered by Herod, and Jesus was trying to find a place to mourn the loss of a friend.  When he finds a solitary place, he is converged upon by a crowd of people, and instead of leaving, he ministers to them, healing their sick.  He stays with them so long that they all get hungry, and Jesus has another opportunity to show the glory of God, and he feeds all five thousand of these people with only two fish and five loaves of bread.  Imagine if he had simply moved on to another location to find peace and rest.  His disciples and those people would have missed out on something amazing.  Even when we're tired and need some time alone, be ready to listen to the will of God so you don't miss an opportunity to be part of his spectacular plan.

The glory of God

Exodus 24:9-11 - "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank."
These men sat with God, eating and drinking.  What an amazing experience.  And Aaron was there.  I cannot believe that a few chapters later (I'm getting ahead of the reading) he goes down and makes a golden calf for the people, when a few days earlier he had actually seen God!

Into your hands

"Into your hands I commit my spirit."  I wonder if Jesus had Psalm 31:5 in mind when he was dying on the cross, because his words are an exact replica of David's.

Some commentaries (click here) suggest that this verse was simply very appropriate for Jesus at this time because he was in a time of great trouble, as was David when he originally penned these words.  I would agree with this idea.  It's a comfort to know that even Jesus had a use for the psalms.  Poetry can express our feelings to God more adequately than prose can at times.

The fear of the Lord

Some ramblings on the love and fear of God:
We all know that God is love.  Did the Israelites know that?  God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today, and forever.  But his dealings with the Israelites were through a bunch of laws.  He said he would show love to a thousand generations of those who loved him, and punish only to the third and fourth generations of those who did wrong, which he did.  But could they really see that God was love, even in the midst of the law, and that God was interested in changing their hearts, and not just in governing their way of life?
I've heard that Jews don't see the law as a burden, so maybe as an outsider looking in I'm misunderstanding this, but Jesus seems to have made God's heart for relationship a lot clearer through the New Testament than God did in the Old Testament.

My main point is this: I'd like to come to be a better understanding of a full dimensional God who is understood in the New Testament reality, but through the lens of the Old Testament.

An invitation

Here is an invitation to be part of Jesus's family - "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50).

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Matthew
Matthew 12:31 and 32 says "And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."

This passage was always a bit confusing to me, and I wondered what exactly was meant by speaking against the Holy Spirit.  Since I am now writing this blog, I took the time to look into these verses from today's reading.  What I found made a lot of sense.  I looked at some online commentaries from the bible.cc website (mainly Barnes' notes on the bible).  When Jesus was talking about the Son of Man, he referred to his earthly nature.  Insults or comments against that part of himself could be forgiven, such as comments regarding his birthplace (nothing good ever comes from Nazareth).  Speaking against the Holy Spirit referred to Jesus' divine nature, the part of him that was 100% God.  For people to speak negatively about that, such as by assuming he came from the devil rather than God, there would be no excuse.
Wesley describes the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit as follows: "It is neither more nor less than the ascribing those miracles to the power of the devil, which Christ wrought by the power of the Holy Ghost."  Barnes puts it this way: "He that speaks against me as a man of Nazareth - that speaks contemptuously of my humble birth, etc., may be pardoned; but he that reproaches my divine nature, charging me with being in league with Satan, and blaspheming the power of God manifestly displayed "by me," can never obtain forgiveness."

An oral culture

As I was reading Exodus 10 to 12, I thought about how repetitive the passage seemed.  Then I recalled what I had heard elsewhere.  The Israelite culture was mainly oral, as no one really read or wrote back then.  Information was passed along via the spoken word.  In order for the Israelites to remember the crucial directions from God, it needed to be repeated a number of times.  That is why we may find some passages to be information overload, but they originally served an important purpose of making sure that God's people knew what they had to do.

His yoke is light

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

God almost killed Moses

Key verses
Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Exodus
It's a good thing that God had a pharaoh come in that didn't know Joseph, or else the Israelites may have stayed there forever in peace with the Egyptians and not shone as a light to all nations.

Exodus 4:24 intrigued me because we just read about God being friendly to Moses, talking to him and giving him a mission to carry out, and then in verse 24, God is about to kill Moses, but Zipporah intervenes.  I read a few commentaries online, and Wesley's notes interested me the most, largely because of the way he phrased his statement regarding the relationship between God and Moses [see bolded part below].
     "It seems the sin of Moses, was neglecting to circumcise his son, which perhaps was the effect of his being unequally yoked with a Midianite, who was too indulgent of her child, and Moses so of her. The Lord met him, and, probably, by a sword in an angel's hand, sought to kill him - This was a great change. Very lately God was conversing with him as a friend, and now coming forth against him as an enemy. In this case of necessity Zipporah herself circumcised the child without delay; whether with passionate words, expressing the dislike of the ordinance itself, or at least the administration of it to so young a child."

As shrewd as snakes

Key verse
Matthew 10:16 - "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Genesis
Jacob was probably one of very few Hebrews to be embalmed (chapter 50)!  I wonder if this process was strange to his family (excluding Joseph, of course).
Joseph's brothers had clearly not forgotten what they had done to Joseph so many years earlier.   Is there evidence that they had kept the true story from their father when they found out he was alive?  In any case, Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers is a good picture of the type of forgiveness we should bear toward one another, as it says in 50:21 "And he reassured them [his brothers] and spoke kindly to them."

The 12 tribes of Israel, and Paul and Barnabas

Key verses
Matthew 9:37-38 - Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Genesis
Another curious reading in Genesis - today we find out that Manasseh and Ephraim are adopted by Jacob as his two sons.  This got me thinking about the 12 tribes of Israel, because Jacob already had 12 sons, and I knew that these two sons of Joseph figured in there somewhere.  After some digging, I got to Numbers 34.  Here God tells Moses which people will assign the inheritance of land to the tribes.  Reuben and Joseph are not mentioned, and Joseph's first two sons are.  If you want to read an outside article on this, check out http://www.gotquestions.org/twelve-tribes-Israel.html.

Acts
What a perfect story to demonstrate mob mentality.  In Acts 14, we read about Paul and Barnabas' ministry in Lystra.  They healed a crippled man and the crowd thought they were Hermes and Zeus, which both Paul and Barnabas quickly denied.  Here they are cheering Paul and Barnabas, and then a couple verses later, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium come around and persuade the crowd over to their side (which is against Paul and Barnabas' Messianic message), and the crowd goes from cheering for these two to nearly killing Paul by stoning him!  You've got to have a tough hide to be a missionary.

The staff and salvation

Genesis
I was curious as to what Genesis 47:31 meant - "'Swear to me,' he [Jacob] said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff."  Particularly the part about the staff interested me.  What I found out was that out of 10 or so translations, the NIV was the only one that used 'top of his staff'.  The rest talk about the head of the bed.  However, the staff terminology comes from Hebrews 11:21 and the Greek version of the Old Testament, which makes more sense than the Hebrew version 'head of the bed'.  In fact, as I found out from the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, the bed likely didn't have have a 'head' as it was just a mat, so top of the staff makes more sense.  Clarke's commentary suggests that Jacob, in his old age, simply needed to lean on the staff for support, and he worshiped God because Joseph would be able to bring his bones back to his forefathers' resting place.

Matthew
In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
This verse reminds me that once we're saved, it's not the end.  Jesus was always looking to speak to the sinners, to rescue them and bring them into new life.  Once we've been rescued, we shouldn't sit on our laurels; we should go out and help Jesus extend God's kingdom on earth.

Discipleship

Here's a great quote from Dallas Willard, as found in Bill Hull's book on Discipleship: "We have not only been saved by grace, we have been paralyzed by it."  This quote suggests, as Hull rightly states "only serious Christians pursue and practice discipleship, while grace and forgiveness is enough for everyone else."

The wild sea

I heard an interesting insight from Professor Jim Lucas on the story of Jonah.  This relates to today's reading in Matthew.
The disciples were in the boat with Jesus when a massive storm came up.  The disciples were afraid and saw that Jesus was sleeping, so they went to him and asked "Don't you care that we're going to die?"
The disciples would have been familiar with the story of Jonah, and quite likely would have automatically thought of the storm motif in the story of Jonah.  It was the same situation.  A wild storm comes up, tosses the boat around, and the pagans in the story of Jonah were terrified, and saw this man of God asleep in the midst of it.  Fortunately, the disciples didn't have to throw Jesus overboard to calm the storm, as Jesus had power over the storm.

I have some additional comments on the story of Jonah, since we're on this topic.  These ideas actually came from Lucas as well.
Consider this: Jonah is actually suicidal – he’d rather die than do the will of God.  You see, in those days, the sea was the most dangerous place to be as no one knew much about it.  But Jonah was so desperate to escape the will of God that he goes to sea in order to run away.  Once he finds himself in the storm, and the sailors ask him what to do, he again takes the more dangerous route, requesting that he be thrown overboard (and thereby be drowned), rather than suggesting they just row back to shore so he can continue on to Nineveh.  When God rescues Jonah by sending a fish, Jonah would not have been pleased.  His efforts at drowning were foiled.  He finally goes to Nineveh, but only preaches half the message, telling the Ninevites of impending doom, but leaving out the message of hope and possible redemption.  Miraculously, wherever Jonah went, in spite of himself, revival broke out!  The sailors on the boat prayed to God regarding Jonah's fate, and the Ninevites repented.

The silver cup and prayer

Genesis
In reading chapter 44, we see that Joseph had his steward put his special silver cup in Benjamin's bag of grain.  It would be interesting to know what the steward was thinking at this point.  The previous trip that Joseph's brothers had made was already out of the norm, since their money had been returned to them.  This time, would the steward recall that incident and simply take this new action in stride, chalking it up to some strange eccentricity of Joseph?  Perhaps he wouldn't give it a second thought anyway, since it wasn't his place to question his master.  Still, he knew where the silver cup was, and yet he made a show of searching through all the bags, from oldest to youngest, before finally pulling it out.  The steward doesn't really play an important role in this story of God's will coming to fruition, but it would have been neat to be there to see this play out.

Acts
As I was reading Acts 12, the story of Peter's miraculous escape from prison, I was reminded of that lesson about the power of prayer.  Acts 12:5 says that the church was praying for Peter's release from prison.  Lo and behold, he does get released one night during an angelic visit.  He goes to the house of Mary, where a number of Christians were gathered and praying, and when Rhoda answered the door, saw Peter, and exclaimed over who it was, no one believed her.  They didn't realize that their prayers were going to make a difference.
A similar story on prayer recounts a tale of a country church who decided to hold a prayer meeting to ask God for rain to end the drought, as they relied on farming for their livelihood.  Well, all of them show up to the prayer meeting, but only one little old lady brings an umbrella.  All the rest of the people are surprised and ask why she had bothered bringing it, since it wasn't raining.  Well, she actually believed it was going to rain!
Why bother praying if you don't even believe that God might make your prayer happen?  Further still, you should believe that God will answer your prayers, because he does listen to the cries of his children.  There is a lot more that could be said on prayer, but I'll leave it at that.

Persecution and ministering

Isn't it amazing that Saul, only a short while after having persecuted the church, could then minister to the very people who he had first persecuted?  I'm thinking of today's reading in Acts 11:19-30.  This passage begins with "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch..."  and later this passage reads "Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch...".
I've highlighted some key words here.  Saul had been intensely involved in the persecution of Stephen and his fellow Christians.  Then those who had been persecuted went to Antioch, and then Barnabas and Saul go to Antioch as well, staying there for a whole year doing ministry in Jesus' name.  Isn't that incredible!  That transformation is what can happen when God gets involved in our work and we allow him to be the force behind our ministry.  Saul had a lot of trust to build up with the people he was ministering to, as they had firsthand experience with who he had been before he himself became a believer.
If you think you can't follow through on the mission God has given you, think of this Barnabas/Saul story.  If God worked in the heart of Saul and the hearts of his audience to be able to bond together and learn from each other, God can work in your situation as well.

The Importance of Faith and its Transforming Power

Fortunately for all of you, I have found that paper I referred to earlier today.

The Importance of Faith and its Transforming Power

Matthew 8:5-13: The Faith of the Centurion

Introduction

Barriers are common in today’s society.  There are cultural barriers, social barriers, economic, political, and religious barriers.  We have trouble interacting with people who are different from us.  Jesus has called us to overcome these barriers.  A passage that highlights, and exemplifies this breaking down of walls is Matthew 5:13-18, the story about a centurion’s faith.  The centurion was a Roman, and Jesus a Jew.[1]  Historically, these two groups did not get along very well, yet Jesus converses with this man.  He praises the great faith of the centurion.  Jesus is at work tearing down barriers here.  He demonstrated that faith is better than status or works.  Those who heard Jesus’ words for themselves, or read the words from the gospel according to Matthew, were transformed by the message this passage contains.  To enter the kingdom of heaven, faith alone is needed.  The outer man has nothing to do with salvation.  This story shows that we must all be transformed by faith, and in so doing we will break down walls in society and bring others into a restored relationship with God as well.

Matthew 8:5-13, the Faith of the Centurion

In this particular passage in Matthew, a centurion approached Jesus and asked him to heal his servant, who was at home, and Jesus agreed.  The centurion, however, told Jesus that he did not have to come to his home, but rather just had to tell him that his servant would be healed and he would be satisfied.  The centurion indicated that he was familiar with just having to say a word and have something be done because of his authority in the Roman army.  Jesus marveled at this man’s faith and exclaimed to the crowd of followers around him that he had not even come across such strong faith in the people of Israel (the Jews).  He therefore healed the centurion’s servant immediately and told the crowd that there would be many coming from foreign places and entering the kingdom of heaven, but that some from Israel would not enter.

Transformation: The First Level

There are three different levels to this passage.  In order to fully understand this passage, we must look at three different audiences.  First of all, we can look at the passage and see what it says directly.  Jesus is speaking to the centurion, and there is a crowd of followers surrounding Jesus, as there often was during his years of ministry.  Just by reading this passage we can see that Jesus’ words can have a tremendous impact on those who hear them.  While Jesus is talking directly to the centurion, we must take a closer look, and see that he is really trying to change the lives of those following him.  The centurion already has a great faith, and as Jesus himself later said, it was not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick.[2]  Thus, Jesus was more concerned with the crowds around him, composed mostly of Jewish men and women, who were still questioning his validity and his claim to the title Messiah.

This crowd had surrounded him in the town of Capernaum, located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus had moved here from Nazareth and had made Capernaum the base of his missionary work.[3]  The Roman centurion probably knew about this place because of his military base’s proximity to the town.[4]  It was about the year AD 27.   The people of Capernaum were mainly farmers and fishermen, but industry and trade also supported the economy in Capernaum.  The Damascus road was close to the town, which supported the trade network. [5]  The Jewish followers would be well acquainted with foreigners, particularly because of the trade routes and the Roman military base.  However, they would not be too concerned about the spiritual welfare of these foreigners, because their religion was meant for their own Jewish group alone.[6]

We can look at the life of one individual in particular, a Jewess by the name of Elizabeth.  Her husband was a farmer, and looked after a plot of land behind their house.  She would help her husband look after their animals and crops, as well as work in the kitchen preparing the daily meals.  She was used to hard work, long days, and little rest.  God had blessed her family, however, because the nearby Roman guard was kinder to the dominant Jewish population than many other Roman bases in the region.  In fact, just the other year, the Roman centurion had funded the construction of a new synagogue in Capernaum!  Surely the Lord had blessed them greatly.  Therefore, every Sabbath, she would accompany her husband to the outer court of this synagogue and give thanks to God for their many blessings.  She followed the law of God as laid out in the Torah and as taught to her by her husband.  She was glad to be a part of this special people that God had called to be his own.  But then she began hearing of a Jew from Nazareth, a man called Jesus, who was preaching to fellow Jews around the country side.  In fact, she had found out from her husband just the other day that Jesus had come to stay at Peter’s house right here in Capernaum, and would probably be staying there for a long time to come.  Elizabeth had heard rumours about Jesus.  He was teaching strange things, saying that they were not quite following God’s law, and that the Torah meant something slightly different than what they had all thought.[7]  She was curious about this man who could supposedly heal people from diseases.  Her cousin had just fallen ill, and perhaps Jesus could go to her.  Elizabeth was also cautious, however, because too many men had tried to fight against the Roman domination and their rebellions had simply ended in futile bloodshed and failure.  Surely God was still looking out for them, though, and would save his holy people from their suffering at the hands of pagans.

Now, let us take this picture of Elizabeth, a fictional character, but one resembling a true historical personage, and place her in the crowd following Jesus in Capernaum.[8]  She was aware of the Roman presence in Capernaum, and was not too antagonistic towards the soldiers, especially since the centurion seemed to be friendly toward the Jews.  Neither was she open to sharing her life and faith with them, for they were truly outsiders.  She was part of a people called to a holy life, called to following the one true God.  It was a special calling open only to a few.  She was curious what Jesus would do when he saw this centurion walking up to him, but assumed that he would probably only give him a passing glance while continuing on to his destination.  When she heard the exchange, she was surprised, and upset.  The “divine grace” of God was not just hers alone; it did not belong only to her people.  God’s grace was available for everyone through faith in Christ.  Status had nothing to do with God’s gift; indeed, God’s grace was being extended to those on the outer fringes of society as well.[9]  Elizabeth was under the impression that the Jews would gain access to God’s kingdom because of their lineage.  Abraham, their father, had been the one considered righteous by God.[10]  Surely this lineage would count for something.  According to Jesus, all that history was not enough any longer to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Salvation was no longer reserved strictly for the Jews, and this was certainly a surprising realization.

Jesus was trying to broaden Elizabeth’s surroundings.  He wanted to show her that God had created all mankind and that every human was important to him.  She was so intent on her lineage, so entrenched in the stubbornness of her people, that she needed a shock to be able to experience a change in her thinking.  Jesus provided that shock factor in his statement regarding the salvation of foreigners at the expense of the Jews.  In verse 12, he said that “the subjects of the kingdom” would be expelled.  Elizabeth’s security was now completely washed away, and she was scared – surprised and scared.  Lest she be too scared to do anything about this, however, Jesus also showed her the way to salvation: faith.  He praised the great faith of the centurion and indicated by his statement regarding the servant’s healing that blessings would come to those with faith.[11]  Jesus also wanted to show Elizabeth that a strong faith, a belief that Jesus could actually do all he set out to do, would be enough to get her through tough times.  That is to say, faith in Christ provides the opportunity for Jesus to exercise his authority over our situation.[12]

Elizabeth would take more care to befriend her neighbour, Junia, the wife of a cousin of one of the Roman soldiers.  She believed what Jesus had said, some Jews may not experience the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, Elizabeth would do more to take part in God’s rescue mission.  She had heard earlier from Jesus that the Torah was more than just a series of laws stipulating how to live.  It was meant to change hearts, to enable Jews to truly love their neighbours.[13]  From this moment on, Elizabeth would try harder to share her meager belongings with those in need.  She would talk to Junia about Jesus, and bring her along whenever she heard that Jesus was talking with the crowds.  Her life would be transformed by the interactions with Jesus; Elizabeth would become a more caring, more concerned woman of faith.  She would trust in Jesus.  She believed now that he was the Messiah and would save her and others, whoever would believe.

Transformation: The Second Level

The second level of interaction in this passage took place between the writer of the Gospel of Matthew and his first century audience.  The book of Matthew was probably written around AD 85 by a Jewish scribe who had been a follower of Matthew, one of the twelve disciples.[14]  The writing style of this book indicates that the author was comfortable with using Greek, rather than Aramaic, which would have been the case had Matthew the disciple written it.  Thus, we can be reasonably certain that the author of Matthew was a Jewish scribe, as mentioned, who was working in Antioch, compiling the teachings of Jesus according to Matthew.[15]

This scribe’s audience would have consisted of members of the Jewish Diaspora, like himself, who had come to Antioch (also known as Syrian Antioch) fleeing the persecution in Jerusalem.  Antioch was a large commercial centre, as many trade routes went directly through the town.  Because of this commercialism, Antioch’s population consisted of a number of different ethnic groups.[16]  One character who may have read the Matthean scribe’s gospel is Cassius, a Jewish fisherman who worked on the docks in Antioch.[17]  He was first exposed to Christianity through another Antiochian fisherman, Jonas.  Jonas had invited him to a meeting of The Way.  Members of The Way believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  Cassius thought Jonas abandoned the Jewish faith to participate in this Christianity.  He thought Jonas had too little regard for the Torah and God’s special calling for the Jews.  And yet, out of curiosity, he accompanied Jonas to one of the meetings to see for himself what these people actually believed.  When he arrived at the meeting house, he was surprised to see a number of different ethnicities present.  There were Greeks, and some fellows Jews that he knew from the synagogue.  There were also Syrians and Romans!  Apparently, Jesus the Messiah (if that is truly who he was, Cassius was not quite certain yet) had come to save all people, not just his holy nation of Israel.  Cassius did not quite think this was fair; after all, he had lived his whole life paying the tithe and following God’s law.  He had been privileged to be part of that special nation of God.  All of a sudden, others could join in as well, others who did not have such a special heritage?  Moreover, Romans, who had subjected Israel for decades, could experience God’s grace?  This was a bit of a shock to Cassius, but as he heard Matthew’s version of the news about Jesus, he began to realize that Jesus had some important things to say.  Jesus had a very different idea of what the Torah meant, and suggested that it change the inner being of every man, rather than just let it govern the outer appearance. This certainly made more sense to Cassius, as he remembered how the Pharisees cared little about their people but pretended to be so holy.[18]  Cassius decided to go to another meeting of The Way to find out more about how Jesus was going to transform everyone into true righteousness-seeking people.

Cassius, having heard Matthew 8:5-13 read at one of the meetings of the Way, accepted the initial message a bit easier that Elizabeth had.  After all, there were more cultural groups than the Jews present at the gathering.[19]  Clearly, Jesus had come to include all peoples in the kingdom of heaven.  The more he thought about this story, though, the more Cassius realized the change that would occur in his life if he truly accepted Jesus’ implicit message.  Keeping the Torah was not enough anymore.  The Torah could only train Cassius in the way that Jesus wanted him to go.[20]  Following the Torah only initiated the inner change that Cassius needed to experience, that of believing in Christ’s power, and then acting on it, like the centurion.

The Matthean scribe included the story about the centurion because he wanted to show that Jesus cared about the Gentiles.  Antioch was a city teeming with both Jews, and Gentiles – Romans, Syrians, and Greeks.  The Jews would have been rather hesitant to include the other groups in their own religion, even after they had become Christians.  Including this story would have helped the Matthean scribe drive his point home that now there is no Jew or Greek, only individuals loved by God.[21]  Moreover, the Gospel according to Matthew is an entire book devoted to showing how the Torah was meant to demonstrate the proper way for relating with one another.  The Torah was meant to help the Jews practice love the way God loved, the way that God was love.  Jesus was calling all his followers to a “greater righteousness”, one more involved than keeping the letter of the law. [22]  The story of the centurion proves that merely keeping the law is no longer sufficient for salvation.  Greater righteousness, greater faith, is needed.  The Matthean scribe included this particular story, then, to support his argument that Jesus was opening up the doors to everyone, providing each human with the opportunity for salvation.  Furthermore, the scribe was demonstrating that following the law was insufficient for salvation, and that this new opportunity required faith in Jesus.  Cassius had to have the faith like a centurion, a faith strong enough to believe that Jesus could do all he said he could do.

Cassius would be impacted by the reading of this passage by treating others with a greater kindness.  He realized that having a strong faith in Jesus would spill over into the rest of his life.  That is to say, he understood that the greater faith that Jesus required of his followers would lead to a greater representation of Jesus within himself.  Believing in the all-powerful nature of Christ would enable Cassius to trust that Jesus cared about his troubles, such as when those traders would swindle Cassius out of a fair trade for his fish.  What could Cassius do when they used false scales to weigh the coins and barter for his goods?  If he upset them, he would lose his customers.  In this situation, however, Cassius realized now that he could turn the other cheek.[23]  He had to remember that Jesus cared for even these Roman merchants.  He now believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the true son of God that had been spoken of by the prophets.  Jesus rescued him from his sin.  He had to show others that they could experience the same salvation.  Just like the centurion believed Jesus could heal, so Cassius believed that Jesus would give him strength, courage, and kindness toward these Romans.  Perhaps in so doing, he could win them over.

Transformation: The Third Level

Since scripture is God-breathed, and useful for teaching, rebuking, and correcting, a contemporary audience can also be transformed by the reading of God’s word.[24]  For myself, I am both like and unlike the previous two characters who have been impacted by the story of the centurion’s faith.  First of all, I am a Gentile, not a Jew, and therefore do not have that cultural heritage of being part of a specific nation called by God to represent God’s covenant to all humankind.  I am more open to the idea that God has come to save all nations, because I am part of one of those nations who were once far off but have now been called near to God through the blood of Christ.[25]  However, I still sometimes think that God should not extend his mercy and grace to various people, such as murderers, adulterers, or pornography addicts.  The truth of the matter, as we can see from this passage in Matthew, is that God has extended his grace to all people, and some who think they are deserving may not enter the kingdom of heaven, while others, “more terrible sinners”, will be able to enter the kingdom through a change of heart and a faith in Jesus Christ.  If they truly believe that Christ has covered their sins, grievous though I may think they may be, God will still see fit to restore a relationship with them.  And others, if they are not careful, may end up banished from the kingdom even though they carried out good works.

In the end, I am transformed by this passage in a profound way.  Like the early church characters, I come away from hearing about the centurion with two specific changes.  First of all, I will seek to be more open to all sorts of people, regardless of whether I may think them worthy of God’s love or not.  God’s mission, to seek and save fallen humanity, includes everyone, and I cannot decide who should be saved.[26]  Second, I am reminded that status or good works have nothing to do with salvation.  I will seek to be more faithful in my relationship with God, to truly believe, like the centurion, that whatever God says, that he will do.  This mindset will be a powerful life-transformer, in that I will no longer be relying on my own strength, but on God’s, and he will come through every time.  In these two things, greater kindness and greater faith, I am like the two characters from history.  Like Elizabeth who befriended her Roman neighbour, I will make more of an effort to reach out to those who are near to me, but who I previously thought were beneath me, or too different from me to interact with.  In this way, I will mirror Jesus’ love toward the centurion.  Like Cassius, when times are tough, when I am poor, or have been taken advantage of at work, I will take the high road, and believe that Jesus can reach into my situation and save me, if I but ask him to help.

Conclusion

The story about the faith of the centurion highlights the need for faith in Christ.  By faith alone we will be saved.  Jesus praised the faith of the centurion above the works of the law-abiding Jews.  The Matthean scribe underlined the fact that Jesus was calling both Jews and Gentiles alike to a greater righteousness, a life-changing transformation that would occur only through faith in Christ.  Today, we can experience the same transformation if we believe in Jesus and his atoning work, and pass this message onto others.  If we give our faith room to go past simple “head” knowledge and become life-altering “heart” knowledge, we will draw closer to God, as Jesus said we would.

Bibliography

BibleGateway.  A Roman Exception.  Found online at:

<http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getCommentaryText&cid=1&source=1&seq=i.47.8.4>.  Accessed April 12, 2009.

Casting Crowns.  If We Are the Body.  Sony Imports, 2003.

Clarke, Howard.  The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers.  Indianapolis: Indian University Press, 2003.

Cousar, Charles B.  An Introduction to the New Testament: Witnesses to God’s New Work.  Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.

Ewing, W.  Capernaum.  Found online at: <http://bibleatlas.org/capernaum.htm>.  Accessed April 12, 2009.

France, R. T.  “Faith.”  Pages 223-226 In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.  Edited by Green, Joel B., Scott McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Henry, Matthew.  Matthew Chap. VIII: Christ Heals the Centurion's Servant.  Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 5 (Matthew to John).  Found online at:

< http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.Matt.ix.html>.  Accessed April 14, 2009.

NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Saddington, D.B.  “The Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13: Consideration of the Proposal of Theodore W. Jennings, Jr., and Tat-Siong Benny Liew.”  Journal of Biblical Literature 125, no. 1 (2006): 140-142.

Scott, Ian.  Witnesses of Hope: A Pathway into the New Testament.  Found online at:

<http://www.tyndale.ca/~iscott/WitnessesOfHope/index.php?chapter=5&section=1>.  Accessed April 13, 2009.

Wiersbe, Warren W.  Be Loyal.  Wheaton, Illinois: SP Publications, 1980.

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[1] Some scholars suggest the centurion may have been a Syrian, and others suggest we can never know the centurion’s exact identity, but the underlying point is that the centurion was certainly not a Jew.  See: Howard Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers, (Indianapolis: Indian University Press, 2003), 99.  See also: D. B. Saddington, “The Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13: Consideration of the Proposal of Theodore W. Jennings, Jr., and Tat-Siong Benny Liew,” JBL 125, no. 1 (2006), 142.

[2] Matt 9:12

[3] Matt 4:13.  See also: Matthew Henry, Matthew Chap. VIII: Christ Heals the Centurion's Servant,  Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 5 (Matthew to John), (Found online at:

< http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.Matt.ix.html>).

[4] W. Ewing, Capernaum, (Found online at: http://bibleatlas.org/capernaum.htm).  See also: Luke 7:5.  Luke indicates that the centurion built (funded) a synagogue, so he must have been quite closely linked to this town.

[5] NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 1643.

[6] Henry, Matthew Chap. VIII.

[7] Refer to the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matt 5-7.

[8] The character of Elizabeth is entirely fictional, and is partially based on a character in Ian Scott, Witnesses of Hope: A Pathway into the New Testament, (Found online at: (<http://www.tyndale.ca/~iscott/WitnessesOfHope/index.php?chapter=5&section=1>), 3.9.21-3.9.27.

[9] Charles B. Cousar, An Introduction to the New Testament: Witnesses to God’s New Work, (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 121.  See also: Henry, Matthew Chap. VIII.  See also: Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Loyal, (Wheaton, Illinois: SP Publications, 1980), 57-58.

[10] BibleGateway, A Roman Exception, (Found online at:

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getCommentaryText&cid=1&source=1&seq=i.47.8.4).

[11] Matt 8:10, 13.

[12] R. T. France, “Faith” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (eds. Green, Joel B., Scott McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 223.

[13] See the Sermon on the Mount, Matt 5-7.

[14] Scott, Witnesses, 4.2.6.  Some scholars still insist that Matthew was written between AD 50-60, but the most recent sources indicate that the later date is more reliable.  See p. 1556 of my bible.

[15] Scott, Witnesses, 4.2.8.

[16] NIV Archaelogical Study Bible, 1904.

[17] The character of Cassius is entirely fictional and his description is in part based on a character from Scott, Witnesses, 4.11.8-4.11.13.

[18] Cousar, An Introduction, 115.

[19] Scott, Witnesses, 4.3.4.

[20] Ibid., 4.6.5.

[21] Biblegateway, Roman Experience.

[22] Scott, Witnesses, 4.6.2.

[23] Matthew 5:39.

[24] 2 Timothy 3:16

[25] Ephesians 2:13

[26] I am reminded of a Casting Crowns song, If We Are the Body, where they sing, “Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come.”  (Sony Imports, 2003).

The faith of the centurion

I have studied the passage of the faith of the centurion in the past, but at the moment I don't have access to a paper I wrote about this passage.  When I find this paper, I will post it for your benefit.  In the mean time, read over this passage (Matthew 8:5-13 or Luke 7:1-10) and let me know what you think of it.  I personally think that the crowds who surrounded Jesus and this centurion would have been very surprised at Jesus' response, perhaps even a bit disgruntled, because Jesus commended this foreigner above many Jews.

God does not show favouritism

Acts 10:34-35 - Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right."

Here is an excerpt from Matthew Henry's commentary on this passage: "Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects."  (Derived from bible.cc).

Peter's statement reminds me of what Jesus himself said in the Sermon on the Mount.  We read that particular passage a couple days ago in Matthew chapter 5:43-48.  God causes the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous and does not treat anyone differently, as he loves all of us.

The Golden Rule

Do to others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:14).  Jesus speaks those words at the end of a section on asking and receiving from God.  We wouldn't give bad things to our children; God likewise doesn't do that, but rather only gives good gifts.  And he knows far better what is good for us.  Then Jesus says, "So in everything, do to others...."  We should take God's example of giving good gifts to us, and try and replicate it ourselves in our actions with everyone.  The easiest way to picture this happening is to go about doing to others what we would have them do to us (which would presumably be good things).

If you want an explanation of how this verse came to be "The Golden Rule", check out Scarboromissions.ca.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone!