God, the blessed and only Ruler

1 Timothy 6:11-16
What an exhortation!
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen."
That last verse there about God living in unapproachable light, and no one seeing Him - it is yet another great reminder of how full of glory He is.

Righteousness through faith

Philippians
 I have copied below a passage from today's reading in Philippians.  It is a powerful passage because of the strength of the language Paul uses to describe worldly accoutrements versus heavenly treasures.  It really puts life into perspective, for me.  Consider the verses below and just see what you can learn from them. 

Phil 3:7-11: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.


*I included verses 10 and 11 even though they are in tomorrow's reading simply because you can't stop at verse 9!

Faith and works

Ephesians
Here it is, right in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  We are saved by grace, not works (Ephesians 2:8-10).  And yet, it also says that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works!  So while we are not saved by what we do, we need to demonstrate our complete faith and trust in God by joining him in expanding his kingdom on earth, by doing good works.

Life in Christ

Galatians
2:20-21 - "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”


We are not saved by works, but through faith in Christ.

Caleb

Joshua
Caleb's faith is a wonderful thing to read about.  Here he is, 85 years old, and still ready to fight the foreigners in the name of God.  He went and asked Joshua to let him take over some land in Canaan that still had some other nations living there.  Caleb said in Joshua 14:12 - "Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."  Caleb had great faith in God's promise that Israel would be able to conquer the promised land.
We may not have to physically fight for land to fulfill God's promises, but we do have to move forward in faith that God will come through.  We can't idly sit around waiting for God to bless us.  We have to take part in advancing his kingdom, and in doing so, we will reap many blessings.

Olive shoots and salvation

Consider this passage from Romans: Paul is talking about grafting in wild and cultivated olive shoots.  Gentiles are the wild shoots and the cultivated ones are the Jews, who have grown up with a belief in God.  Paul says that they were cut out of the tree because of unbelief (in Jesus) and we were grafted in, but we shouldn't take pride in this fact, because they can easily be re-grafted into the tree (of faith in Christ).  Romans 11:30-32 states "Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.  For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all."
That last sentence always confused me because of the word 'bound'.  But we have to understand it not as an involuntary sinfulness, but as voluntary.  God has allowed us to be disobedient (by our own choice), but in our sin he comes near and provides a way out - salvation by grace through Christ - and thereby shows his glory and majesty to all men.

Breaking the Sabbath

Key verse
Romans 5:19 - For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.


Numbers/Matthew
I would have liked more information about the man who broke the Sabbath (see Numbers 15:32-36).  He was gathering wood on the Sabbath, and those who found him brought him to Moses and Aaron, and he was stoned to death outside the camp, on God's orders.  Was it because he didn't trust God to provide the wood after the Sabbath, or he hadn't thought of God's day the day before, so he was had to gather wood on the Sabbath?  The story doesn't offer many details, and I'm left hoping that God didn't just have him stoned out of an unintentional sin.  But here is where we have to go on faith that God is gracious and compassionate and has proven himself to be such time and again.
In some ways, it is easy to see how the Pharisees became so focused on the letter of the law (see Matthew 23:23).   Looking at stories like this one from Numbers could lead them to think that breaking the Sabbath by doing any work is completely out of the question, or else you'll suffer the consequences.  But Jesus had the right attitude - it's not the outward appearance, but what's going on in the heart that God really looks at, so that is what we must focus on.

Doing God's will

Numbers
Why is it often difficult to see the fulfillment we can get out of doing God's will rather than our own?  It takes great faith to go out into the unknown and trust that God will deliver you.  But we can rest on previous experience and knowledge too, that we know God will come through.  The entire bible is a testimony to the grace of God, the trustworthiness of God.  The Israelites had to make a hard choice: invade a land of enemies and trust that God will prevail, or turn away from God's promised land and not have to face a hard situation.  Instead of doing what they did, and turn away, when you're faced with a clear opportunity from God that will bring immense joy and peace, go for it!  It may be tough work or take a lot of faith to get to that promise from God, but he'll see you through.  He was with the Israelites, even when they ignored him, and they eventually got to where God wanted them to go.  He is faithful.

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.

---

[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).

Implicit trust

Key verse
Job 2:10 - "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?"

I've done some background reading on the new books we're looking at in my Archaeological study bible.   Here are some things I learned, along with my own thoughts I'd like to share.

Job
I've learned something new about the book of Job.  Apparently, when it was written, the popular idea about suffering was that if you were going through bad times, it must be because you had sinned or your ancestors had sinned.  The story of Job shows that people can suffer even though they are righteous.  This new view presents a whole different picture of what God is like, and how little we can understand of him in our finite world.  Implicit trust and faith in the ultimate goodness of God is required.

How do you reconcile the problem of suffering in this world with the belief in a good God?

Ezekiel
This book was written for the exiles to Babylon.  Ezekiel was preparing them (in 593 BC) for the destruction of Jerusalem so that they wouldn't live in the false hope that the city would somehow be spared.  The city was destroyed in 586 BC.

Faith without deeds

Key verse
Jeremiah 10:6 - No one is like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.


James 2:26 - As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Jeremiah
One thing we can learn from Jeremiah is perseverance.  People are plotting to kill him so that they don't have to listen to his message from the Lord, and yet he still relies on God for safety and continues to speak.


James
I think what James is getting at here is not that you have to do good works in order to be saved, but that good works are a natural outcome of true salvation. If we truly believe in Christ, we should believe in what he taught, and follow through on his teachings.  Therefore, true faith cannot come without good works.

Faith!

Key verses
Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Luke
I like the imagery God uses even at the death of Jesus. Luke 23:45 says the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  The curtain that separated us from God in the temple was destroyed, and now we can meet with God whenever and wherever we want!  Jesus truly opened the way.

Hebrews
Those people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 all died and did not receive what was promised to them (v. 13).  That's faith!  Sticking with it and believing that God is going to come through, regardless of what you personally experience.  I'm fairly impatient, so I definitely have a lesson to learn here.  God's in control - he knows what he's doing.  Why don't I just let him do it, and align myself with him, rather than try and push my own agenda at him and hope that he'll do that instead?  We can think we know what's best, but in the end, only God sees the whole picture.

Confidence of Faith

Key verse
Luke 23:43 - Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Hebrews 10:31 - It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Proverbs
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth (27:1).  This verse has me thinking about hope.  I want to hope for things that will happen tomorrow, and talk about them with my friends and family.  What does boasting about it mean?  Taking pride in what will happen, believing that I can bring it about, rather than relying on God to bring about what I'm hoping for.

Isaiah
This passage ties right into Proverbs 27:1.  God is in control, so there is no way we can take pride in what happens, thinking that we have brought it about.  God is in all things and has power over all things.  He will bring down anyone he needs to and raise up anyone he wants.

Hebrews
Encourage one another daily.  This is such a great goal, and one that I aspire to, and yet do I do this?  I get so caught up in my own life that I end up completely ignoring the people that I want to be in community with, like fellow church-goers, immediate family members, friends.
Verse 35 speaks about confidence, having confidence of faith.  I believe I have faith, but there's always doubt because I wonder what I would do if I were in the situation of some of these biblical characters who were persecuted and robbed because of their faith.  Would I stand strong? This is always the question.  So far, I have not been able to irrevocably say yes, I would.  There's always doubt that I am too weak.  I know with God all things are possible, and God works through my weakness, so am I doubting that God would work through me?  I believe that God would become my strength.  I have to forget my doubts, lay them aside, and walk forward in the truth that God is my rock and my salvation.