I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 25-26.

    In today’s passage Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven using three parables: the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, the three servants each given a share of their master’s money to manage, and the Sheep and the Goats. We usually interpret these parables independently. The middle parable always bothers me because I often feel that, like the third servant, I have made poor use of the gifts which God has given me. However, it struck me today that in some ways we need to look at all three parables as progressively expanding on the same theme (which does not absolve me of having made poor use of my gifts, but changes the context in which that use is evaluated). Five of the virgins had failed to bring extra oil with them and when the arrival was delayed, they were unprepared. In light of the other two parables, these represent people who start out well but then think they have done enough. The second parable represents people who are offered opportunities to serve the Lord (feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide hospitality to strangers, visit and look after those who are sick or in prison). So, in light of all three parables, have we used the opportunities to care for others to give ourselves more opportunities to care for others?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 23-24.

    This passage contains Jesus’ longest and most in depth teaching about avoiding hypocrisy. He begins by instructing His followers to listen to the teachings of the Pharisees and other teachers of the Law, but to under no condition follow their example. Just as He does in other places where He preaches against hypocrisy, Jesus warns us against doing things for show. We should not act so as to cause others to praise us for our righteousness. Actually, there is a part of this that is often overlooked which truly drives the message home. Jesus tells us not to style ourselves as “Rabbi”. or “Teacher”, or “Father”. He explicitly tells us not to call anyone on earth “Father” (I am pretty sure He is not referring to using “father” to refer to our actual father). Jesus starts out His teaching about not adopting titles by pointing out that all of His followers are siblings, are on the same level. Yet despite this, Christian denomination after denomination adopts the distinction between clergy and laity using special terms of address for the clergy, “Father”, “Reverend”, “Excellency”, and even “Pastor”. These terms are all designed to put those to whom they refer on a pedestal as somehow superior to the ordinary person.

    Jesus goes on from there with condemnation of the Pharisees hypocritical behavior. It is easy to look at that and think, “Oh, look how terrible the Pharisees were!” but that is not Jesus’ purpose here. However, Jesus is not telling us, “Look how bad THOSE people are.” He is giving us guidelines to judge our own behavior.

• Do we come up with reasons why it is OK for us to do things we say are wrong for other people to do?
• Do we work to convince others to teach the same rules we do, then encourage them to consider themselves a special case to whom the rules do not apply?
• Do we put greater stock in the superficial expression of righteousness than the underlying structure which creates it?
• Do we focus on measurable acts of goodness, while overlooking actually treating others well?
• Do we expend great effort to appear righteous in public, while hiding immorality, hate, and other sins that we commit in private?
• Do we condemn the actions of people long dead and claim that we would have behaved differently, while following the socially acceptable rules of today the way that they followed the socially acceptable rules of their day?

We can see examples of these things in the headlines today. While there is some value in looking at how after all of these years human nature has not changed, the more important thing is to examine our own lives and root out any ways in which we may be doing these things.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 21-22.

    When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey He was making several statements. The first statement was that He was coming in peace. This aspect is something which the religious and political leaders of Jerusalem missed completely. I suspect that the Zealots, those who supported to violent opposition to Roman rule, did not miss this and that may have played a role in their apparent siding with the Pharisees at Jesus’ trial before Pilate. However, Jesus had another message which no one present seems to have gotten. Riding the donkey was a symbol that the war was over and the king had triumphed. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, He was declaring that the battle was over and that He was victorious.

    When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem he went straight to the Temple where He drove out those who profited by exploiting those who came to the Temple to worship. The fact that no one confronted Him about it until the following day suggests that these merchants were perceived as preying on their customers rather than as providing a service. The following day when the religious leaders did finally confront Jesus about His actions it is clear that they thought they had Him in a trap. They were confident that whatever answer He gave they could use against Him…and they were sure that this time He would have to answer them. I am going to take a slight detour here. I once heard a Christian apologist, I think someone from “Answers In Genesis”, say that when someone asks you for proof that God exists, ask them what they will accept as proof before you try to answer them, because if you do not they will just find a reason why your proof is not really proof. Jesus’ answer to the religious leaders was similar. He made it clear to everyone present that there was no answer which they would accept. No matter where He claimed His authority came from they were going to use it against Him.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 18-20.

    In this passage are two stories about Jesus explaining to His disciples what it takes, what it means, to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the first story, when the disciples ask Jesus who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus points them to a little child. But He does not tell them they need to be like a child to be great. He tells them they need to be humble like a child to even get into the Kingdom of Heaven. He then goes on to talk about sinning and temptation so that we generally miss the point. If you are considering yourself a candidate for being the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven you are in danger of not even getting in! Then later, the mother of James and John asks Jesus to do her the favor of making her sons the two most important people in the Kingdom of Heaven after Himself. Jesus immediately turned to them and asked them if they were prepared to undergo the suffering which such a role entailed. When they responded in the affirmative, He told them that they would indeed undergo such suffering, but that He did not have the authority to choose who got those positions. Then HE called the twelve apostles together to explain what it means to be a leader. In this world, those with authority use it to force those under that authority to satisfy their needs and desires (you can see how this works by reading the headlines over the last week). However, Jesus explains that those who wish to be leaders in the Kingdom of Heaven need to use their authority to satisfy the needs and wants of those are under their authority, even at the expense of their own needs and wants.
    The best way I can explain this is by using the example of two managers in the company I work for. The first followed the world’s model. He had lots of great ideas about how to improve the business unit of which he was in charge. Whenever, he had one of these ideas, he would instruct someone to put it into practice. The other manager spent a lot of time getting his subordinates to come up with ideas to improve their area of the business unit of which he was in charge. Then when they did so, he used his authority and clout to empower them to accomplish their ideas. He worked to identify what his subordinates needed to do their jobs and then worked to get them those things. The latter is what we should do if we wish to be leaders. Identify what those we seek to lead need to do God’s will, then work to provide them with those things.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 15-17.

    There is something I noticed for the first time about the first story in this passage. Some Pharisees and religious teachers came from Jerusalem to listen to Jesus, then they challenged Him about some of His teachings. There are a couple of interesting things about this. Their attitude suggests that they acknowledged that Jesus’ teachings were part of their tradition. They found little in His teachings which they could take issue with. However, they wanted to make sure that He understood that He had to stay in line with the “home office”. They were from Jerusalem after all, the center of all learning and authority concerning the worship of God. They chose carefully when they challenged Jesus. They chose a tradition which was not at all objectionable, even useful. It was a subtle, but not very subtle, attempt to establish their authority over Jesus’ teachings. However, Jesus was having none of that. He immediately confronted them about another tradition. One which was directly contrary to biblical commands. There are really three parts to this story: Jesus rejecting the authority of Jerusalem and tradition, Jesus establishing that God and Scripture are the final authority, and Jesus teaching that how we speak to and treat others matters more than following the correct ritual.

    There is a lot more that spoke to me this morning as I read this passage, but I am going to conclude by commenting on two more of the stories recounted here. The first is the feeding of the four thousand. It has only been a short time since the disciples witnessed Jesus’ feeding five thousand people from a small amount of food and yet they still questioned how He expected them to feed this crowd. Actually, now that I have written that I realize I am going to touch on a third story in this section. The story about the boy whom the disciples were unable to heal gives us an insight into their lack of faith(and ours) as well. We rarely, if ever, see miracles today like those Jesus performed and the answer given here is that this clearly demonstrates our lack of faith. I think that Jesus’ illustration about moving a mountain is instructive about our failure in faith. There are two elements to that instruction. If we believe that it is important to God’s plans that that mountain be over there, we will grab a shovel and a wheelbarrow and start moving it. That is, we will do what is within our power to move that mountain, even if the task seems overwhelming. In addition to that, we will plan and act as if, when the time comes that it matters, the mountain will be where we need it to be.
    The other story I want to touch on is Jesus telling the disciples to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus had compared our faith to yeast in a positive way. Now here He is comparing the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees to yeast in a negative way. How does this work? The answer is an important one. Seeking to serve God and follow Jesus can have a positive influence on those around us, causing those who have no interest in God or doing His will to behave better than they otherwise would. However, the reverse can also be true, especially when it comes to ideas and teachings. It is easy to allow an innocuous seeming idea or teaching enter into our thinking and gradually undermine those teachings and ideas that we know are important.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 13-14.

    In today’s passage Matthew recounts some of the parables which Jesus used in His preaching. It is clear from this passage that Jesus used a lot of parables in His teaching. His disciples asked Him why He used so many parables rather than using less ambiguous language. Jesus answered by saying that people hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. As a result they do not understand God’s message and do not turn to Him for healing. I have always heard this explained to mean that Jesus taught in parables so that only His disciples, who received more detailed explanations, would understand. However, it occurred to me today that Jesus taught in parables because it is easier to understand a lesson explained in a parable than one without the parables. I come to this conclusion because while Matthew provides explanations for the meaning of some of the parables, he does not do so for all of them. This latter fact suggests that Matthew expected that once people understood the logic of Jesus’ parables they would understand the message of all the rest of His parables.

    I was not going to comment on the parables other than the above, but I have some thoughts I want to share today about the parable of the weeds, the parable of the treasure and the pearl. The parable of the weeds is exactly contrary to the saying, “kill them all, let God sort them out.” My understanding of Jesus’ point here is that we should not seek ideological purity within the Church, because in doing so we might eliminate some who would otherwise produce results in the service of God. This is tempered by Jesus’ teaching regarding Church discipline in Matthew 18 and Paul’s writings regarding the same matter in 1 Corinthians.
    Then we come to the twin parables about the great treasure and the pearl. In both parables Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to something which the individual greatly desired. The desire was so great that the individual in the parable was willing to sacrifice everything else they had in order to obtain the object of their desire. Jesus tells us in these parables that we should desire the Kingdom of Heaven so much that we are not only willing but eager to sacrifice everything else in order to gain entry. This is consistent with elsewhere where Jesus says that we must be willing to leave abandon our father, mother, children, or spouse in order to do God’s will. There should be nothing which we are not willing to give up if by doing so we can enter into doing God’s will.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 10-12.

    Jesus’ sent the twelve apostles out to preach His message on their own. This was a sort of “student teacher” training for when He would alter give them the Great Commission. He sent them only to the Jews, expressly telling them not to go to the Gentiles, or even the Samaritans. He was sending them to those who believed in God and understood God’s commands. He did not send them to those who did not believe at all (the Gentiles), nor did He send them to those who believed in God, but did not understand His commands (the Samaritans). Later, when Jesus gave the Great Commission He removed this limitation. Here He instructed them to go out in faith that God would lead them to people who would provide for their needs. It occurs to me that I have often interpreted the application of Jesus’ instructions to His apostles too narrowly. They were being sent and they were not to worry about how they would pay their way. They were to go in faith that God would provide for their needs.
    As part of the instructions which Jesus gives here He tells us not to be afraid of confrontation, indeed we are to expect it. Jesus gives us some useful instructions on our behavior in these confrontations. The first part is that we are to be “as shrewd as snakes”. That means we are to use our wits, and to avoid falling into logic traps which those we are debating may try to set for us. However, we are also to be “harmless as doves.” Which means we should not let ourselves give into anger, nor should we attempt to humiliate or belittle those with whom we are debating. Finally, when we are brought before authorities to be held accountable for our beliefs, we should not worry about what to say. We do not need to rehearse our lines and/or stick to a script. Instead we should trust that the Holy Spirit will direct our words. This does not mean that we should not prepare ourselves and make sure we know our stuff, just that we should not worry, nor focus on getting the words “just right”. We are to stand up for what we believe in, even if that means we might lose friends, even if our families might ostracize us for it. Being willing to face confrontation does not mean that we have a free pass to be rude, or mean.

    We can learn a lot about how the Church is supposed to work from reading Jesus’ response to John the Baptist’s disciples. When they asked Him if He was the Messiah, Jesus did not ask them to believe based on what He said about Himself. He told them to look at what He was doing and decide for themselves. Let us look at what He told them to look for. First, the physical needs of people were being met, where a disability was keeping them from bettering themselves it was addressed. Jesus provided healthcare for those in need and the Church should do the same today. Jesus was able to provide miraculous healing and I believe that the Church should as well. However, where it does not, it should aid those in need to obtain healing from those who use more mundane techniques. Once physical healing had been provided, mental healing was provided as well. The poor were provided the training they needed to better themselves and just as our first choice in the physical realm was transformation, so is that our first choice in training. When we preach our primary focus should be on the transformation which God offers, but we need to follow that up with training in the habits necessary to succeed.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 7-9.

    I mentioned yesterday that there were so many messages in the passage that I had trouble writing this blog because I did not have time to cover everything. Today’s passage is similar. Unlike many other passages in the Bible, most of the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are clear and easy to understand. In addition, they are largely foundational ideas upon which the rest of an understanding of what it means to be Christ-like can be built. In light of this I want to start by focusing on a passage which was much emphasized among Mennonites when I was very young: Matthew 7:13 & 14

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

The importance of this passage is hard to overstate. First, it indicates that those who truly follow Christ are always in the minority. Along with that it tells us that we cannot take the easy course through life. With this statement, Jesus is unequivocally rejecting the idea of Universalism, the idea that everyone will “get into Heaven”. Universalists hold that being good is easy for people and with just a little bit of teaching everyone will be good. Jesus, on the other hand, says that being good is essentially impossible for anyone other than God. A few verses later, He revisits this idea when He tells us that not everyone who acts in His name will find themselves allowed into Heaven. It is not enough to act in God’s name, you must also do His will.

    This passage informs our understanding of other things Jesus says, both here and elsewhere in the Gospels. It gives us an understanding of His teachings about us as salt, yeast, and being a light to those around us which is different than it might be otherwise. When Jesus talks about building on a firm foundation He is expanding on what He said here. Despite Jesus declaring that few would find and follow the path to life, He tells us that the potential harvest is great and that we should pray for God to send workers. Of course, when He says this Jesus once again points out that the numbers are few (“the workers are few”). So, let us pray that God sends more workers, and if we are those workers whom God wishes to send, let us go.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 5-6.

    Today’s passage contains most of the Sermon on the Mount. It starts with the Beatitudes. Contained in the Beatitudes are eight characteristics which society does not generally value highly, a couple of them society may claim to value, but they are rarely traits which are held up as the way to get ahead. However, Jesus tells us that these are the traits you need to have to excel in the Kingdom of God. In many ways these characteristics are additive; you start with the first and each one leads you to the next. While that last is not entirely true, it is indeed true that the more you follow the previous characteristics, the more the last one will be true.

    Whenever I attempt to write on this passage I struggle because there are so many things of importance contained here. One thing I never noticed before was Jesus’ emphasis here on the contrast between what is legal and what is right. It is not enough to follow the law. We must go beyond the law in doing what is right. Further, Jesus points out that the law cannot spell out what is right. It can only delineate things which are always wrong. The law calls for justice and punishment, but we are called to forgiveness and mercy.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 1-4.

    Matthew begins his account of Jesus’ life with a genealogy. Matthew makes a point of noting the fact that there were 14 generations from Abraham to King David, 14 generations from King David until the Babylonian Exile, and 14 generations from the Babylonian Exile until the birth of Jesus. When I went to see if I could find a reference which explained the significance of 14 generations I discovered something interesting, There are only 40 generations (41 if you count Jesus) listed. However, if you read closely you notice that Matthew counted David twice: Abraham to David, David to the Exile, the Exile to Jesus (Jehoiachin is counted after the Exile). I found several explanations of the significance of those 14 generations, but only one that I found satisfying. Matthew pointed out the three sets of 14 in order to illustrate God’s careful planning and foretelling of Jesus’ coming.

    Why was John the Baptist’s reaction to the Pharisees and Sadducees different from his reaction to the “common” people? I think the answer is fairly simple. The “common” people who came to John were fully conscious of their sins. They were the same type of people who today say, “I’m going to Hell, but it won’t be so bad, all my friends will be there.” Whereas the Pharisees and Sadducees were the type of people who made them think that way. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to feel the feeling of being cleansed without admitting there was anything from which they needed to be cleansed. If you do not acknowledge that you have done wrong, you cannot stop doing it. It is not enough to come to God and ask for forgiveness, you must also be willing to change, to stop committing the sins which you have identified in your life.

    When I began writing today I was not sure I was going to go over what I think is the core of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. At this point in His life Jesus had realized that He had been called to bring about change in the world. Further, He had a desire, and a plan to do so. The temptations He faced in the wilderness are those faced by anyone who wishes to change the world. Not only that, but they are temptations to focus on symptoms rather than root cause. Each temptation is twofold.
    The first temptation is to provide food (or basic necessities) to gain power, but it is also the temptation to treat the need for basic necessities as the problem which needs to be solved. Jesus refused to accept that the need for food was the basic problem and He refused to use His ability to provide for people’s physical needs to gain power. The second temptation is to use religion to acquire power, but it is also the temptation to divorce people’s spiritual needs from their physical needs. Once again, Jesus rejected the idea that addressing people’s physical needs would solve everything and He would not use His power to overawe people into yielding to Him. The third temptation is the one which opened this all up to me. The third temptation is to enter into the political arena and gather political power in order to address the world’s problems; if we could just fix the problems with corruption and inefficiency in our political bureaucratic organizations all would be well. Jesus rejected the idea that the world’s problems could be solved by playing politics and He refused the compromises necessary to acquire political power. All three of these areas are symptoms of the real problem: our broken relationship with God. We do not need better and more just laws, we need better and more just people. It is not enough to meet people’s spiritual needs, we need to help them meet their physical needs as well. On the other hand, it is not enough to meet people’s physical needs, we need to satisfy their spiritual needs by drawing them into a relationship with God.