How's Your Hearing?

Mark 4:1-34

"If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!" – Mark 4:23 NET

As in Matthew's account of this same event, Mark records the words of Jesus carefully. And there is a special emphasis placed on listening and hearing. Jesus even starts off his first parable with the command, "Listen!" Then two separate times He uses the interesting phrase, "If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!" Inferred in this statement is the fact that one can hear and not really listen. Anyone with small children can attest to the reality of that fact. And yet Jesus seems to be demanding much more than simply listening. His real point of emphasis seems to be understanding. When talking about the mystery of the Kingdom of God, He tells His disciples that they have been given permission to understand was He is saying. Which is why He takes time to explain to them more fully the meaning behind His parables. But then He quotes from the writings of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, and says about the others who have heard Him speak, "When they hear what I say, they will not understand" (Mark 4:12 NLT). They will hear and, more than likely, listen intently, but they will fail to understand, and as a result, they will fail to believe.

It is interesting to note that in His parable about the seeds and the soils, in each case, they all represent individuals who hear the same message. But the condition of the soils, or their hearts, has a direct impact on the viability and success of the seed. For some, their hearts are like hardened footpaths where there is no place for the Word of God to take land. They hear, but Word simply sits on the surface, where it soon disappears. Others hear the message gladly and it seems to make a difference, but their problem is that their hearts are shallow, and there is no way for the Word of God to take root. At the first sign of problems or persecution, they give up. And there are those who hear, but their hearts are filled with the cares and worries of this life. They are enamored by materialism, wealth, and the things of this world, so the message is slowly crowded out and, eventually, forgotten. But there will be those few who hear, listen, and understand. Their hearts provide a fertile soil in which the message can take root, grow, and produce fruit in their lives.

Jesus implores them to "Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and more will be added to you. For whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Mark 4:24-25 NET). He is telling them to judge what they are hearing Him say carefully. They must not measure or judge His message by the old standard of the Law. He is warning them to listen intently because He is presenting them with new information regarding the Kingdom of God and how they might have a place in it. The old message of inclusion based on inheritance is no longer valid. Just being born a Jew is not enough. Being a descendant of Abraham is not a guarantee of a place in God's Kingdom. If they will listen to what He is saying and discard their preconceived notions of what it means to be included in the Kingdom of God, they will be given even more understanding. They will receive even more insight into the mysteries or secrets of the Kingdom. But for all those, like the Pharisees, who hear, but refuse to listen and understand, because they are using the wrong standard of measurement, "even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them" (Mark 4:25 NLT).

From our vantage point this side of the resurrection, so much of this makes sense to us. But we have to remember that this was all new information to the disciples. It was radical and revolutionary. It did not gel with their understanding of God, His Kingdom or the Messiah. It wasn't what they had been taught growing up as young Hebrew boys. Everything Jesus said seemed to be controversial and contradictory to what they had been taught to believe. But He encourages them to listen. He tells them to give up their old standard of measurement or belief and to hear what He is saying and understand the truth for the first time in their lives. And while so much of this makes no sense, Jesus tells them that His Kingdom will grow. Like a farmer who plants his seed and then waits for harvest, the disciples will learn that the message they have heard and soon will share with others, will take root in the lives of others and grow – all because of the work and power of God. But it all begins with listening, hearing, and understanding. The more intently they listened, the more they understood. The more eager they were to understand, the more carefully Jesus explained everything to them. Which begs the question, how well are we, as His disciples in this generation, listening to His words and understanding what He is trying to teach us?

Father, hearing can be hard sometimes. There are so many distractions, so much noise. And there are times when I am hearing, but not listening. You are speaking, but I am too busy listening to other voices. But even in those times when I do listen to You, I can easily fail to understand because what You say does not fit in with what I want to believe. I am using the wrong standard of measurement. I am judging Your Words by the world's standards. I want pleasure and happiness, and Your desire is for my holiness. Give me ears to hear, listen and understand. Soften my heart so that the Word always finds fertile ground in which to take root, grow and produce fruit in my life. Amen.

The Secrets of the Kingdom.

Matthew 13:1-52

He replied, "You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them." – Matthew 13:11-12 NLT

Jesus is sitting in a boat along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, teaching a crowd of people. He has just had a series of confrontations with the Pharisees, where they have confronted Him over healing on the Sabbath, and even accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan. They even demanded that Jesus perform some kind of a sign to prove who He was – in spite of all the miracles and wonders He had already done right in front of them. It is important to keep all this in mind as you read the events of chapter 13. It contains a series of seemingly unrelated parables that deal with everything from seeds and soil to the Kingdom of God and judgment. Jesus uses all kinds of imagery and metaphors, and it can be easy to get bogged own by it all and lose the point of what He is trying to tell His disciples. While Jesus is speaking to a crowd of interested onlookers, He only explains the meaning of the parables to His closest disciples. And He tells them that He is sharing with them the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, He is letting them in on some previously hidden information regarding God's Kingdom and how it functions. This is information not known to the Pharisees. In fact, they were operating under some serious false assumptions regarding God, the Messiah, and the Kingdom. Jesus accuses them of looking, but not really seeing. "They hear, but they don't really listen or understand" (Matthew 23:13 NLT). Notice all the times Jesus uses words related to seeing and hearing in this passage. That is the real message behind what He is saying. As the Son of God, He came with a message about the Kingdom of God that was new. He was revealing a new way to have a right relationship with God. No longer would it be based on human effort and hard work. He came bringing a message of grace that was based on faith, not works. But the majority of the Jewish people, including the religious leadership, refused to hear it. They saw Jesus perform miracles, but couldn't see who He really was. They heard Jesus speak, but could comprehend what He was saying. Why? "For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes – so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them" (Matthew 13:15 NLT).

That is the real point of Jesus' message. And using a series of parables, Jesus reveals to His disciples what is taking place around them. There are those in the crowd who hear His message, but don't get it. There are others who hear it with great joy, but the shallowness of their lives give it no place to root and the troubles and cares of the world cause them to fall away. Still others hear Jesus' message about the Kingdom only to have the worries of life and the love of wealth crowd it out. But there are those few "who truly hear and understand God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!" (Matthew 13:23 NLT). And these fruitful few would find themselves surrounded with all the others, attempting to live their new life among the shallow, ignorant, worldly and worriers.

Jesus was letting them know that His Kingdom was not going to be an earthly Kingdom where He would set up a throne and rule from Jerusalem. At least, not yet. No, His Kingdom was going to be made up of followers who lived as a faithful citizens in the midst of a hostile environment. And while His kingdom would start out relatively small, it would grow and spread, like yeast in dough. It would expand and flourish like a tree. And it will continue to grow until the judgment, when God will separate out the people of the Kingdom from those who belong to this world and to the prince of this world – Satan. Jesus is trying to help them understand the nature and importance of His Kingdom. It is valuable. It is worth giving up anything and everything for. Any sacrifice required to become a part of this new Kingdom will be well worth it in the long run. Any short-term sacrifice will have long-term benefits. This is not about a temporal, earthly kingdom, but an eternal, spiritual one. And membership in this Kingdom will not be based on nationality or bloodline, but on belief and faith in Jesus Christ. This was new information. Jesus described what He was sharing as "new gems of truth." He was completing the redemption story begun by God in the Old Testament. He was fulfilling the law of God and completing the plan of God for the salvation of mankind. And it was important that they saw the difference and heard the truth of what He was saying. Their hearts had to be willing to accept this new news willingly, faithfully, and gladly. Even in spite of all those around them who refused to see and hear.

Father, I am glad You gave me the capacity to hear Your message of grace and forgiveness in Christ clearly. Only You could have given me the ability to truly hear and understand the message of salvation through Christ alone. The Good News was new news to the people in Jesus' day and it made no sense to many of them. It went against their expectations. It sounded far-fetched and too good to be true. It was difficult to understand because it didn't require human effort or reward good works. It was the goodness of God expressed through the gift of the Son of God, and based on faith, and nothing ore. Thank You. Amen.

A New Family.

Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21“Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." – Matthew 12:50 NLT

Jesus had a family. He had a mother and step-father. He had brothers and sisters. And He cared for them deeply. Yet in this passage it would be easy to conclude that Jesus had a less-than-expected love for His family based on His seemingly callous statements. But Jesus is making a statement about the Kingdom He had come to establish. In His spiritual realm, there would be new relationships forged that would be as important and binding as those of flesh-and-blood family. In accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, an individual becomes part of a much larger family or community, made up of all believers – of every language and culture. This new family expands the sphere of relationships and increases our responsibilities to include all those who share a common belief in Christ. It does not negate our love for or responsibility to our earthly parents or siblings. No, Jesus is saying that, as believers, we become part of a much larger family – the family of God.

In that new family there will be personality conflicts and relational issues. There will be the occasional disagreement or fight. At times, one of our new brothers or sisters will hurt or offend us. And we will do our fair share of hurting as well. But God has placed us in this new family so that we might live experience the oneness and unity He, Christ and the Holy Spirit enjoy. He has called us to live in unity and love. We are called to use the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control – in the context of our new family. We are commanded to love one another, pray for one another, bear one another's burdens, serve one another, be patient with one another and more. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul tells them, "You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT).

We are to love our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. But we are also called to love our spiritual family. It is within the context of our new family that the power of God is revealed as we live in close community with those with whom we have little in common except our common love for the Lord. Paul went on to beg the Ephesians "to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future" (Ephesians 4:1-4 NLT).

We are members of God's family. An amazing concept to grasp. But what a difference it will make when we do.

Father, thank You for my earthly, physical family. They are a blessing to me. But thank You also for placing me in Your family. Help me to see my brothers and sisters in the family of God the way You do. Help me to view them with the same love and affection You feel for them. Expand my love to include my expanded family. Amen.

How's Your Eyesight?

Luke 11:24-26, 29-36

“Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness." – Luke 11:35 NLT

There were times when Jesus seemed to talk in riddles. Of course, when He used parables, they could be very confusing and difficult to understand, but that was His intent. He was actually hiding truth from those who refused to believe in Him. But there were other times when He just seemed to be teaching or speaking and the analogies or metaphors He used seemed somewhat obscure and their meanings were not exactly clear. The passage for today is a perfect example. Luke records that right after Jesus talked about "the sign of Jonah" and the refusal of the people of Israel to believe in Him, Jesus broke into a short discussion on the lamp and the eye. He makes that very familiar statement, "No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts in under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house" (Luke 11:33 NLT). I can't tell you how many sermons I have heard on this verse that have tried to make it all about sharing your faith. I am not against us sharing our faith, but I don't think that is what this verse is about. I don't believe that was the message Jesus was trying to convey. Because He goes on and describes the eye as a lamp that provides light to the body. What is He talking about? What's the point of this message?

I think the key to understanding this passage can be found in the original language in which these words were recorded. In the New Living Translation, the eye is described as being either "good" or "bad." Those two words can mean a lot of different things in English. But in the Greek, the word translated "good" is a word that means "whole." In other words, it is complete, healthy and able to do its job well. A whole eye is a fully functioning eye, doing what it was intended to do, without any flaws or defects. But a bad eye is literally a "diseased" eye. In an ethical sense, it is blind and unable to do what it was intended to do. It is no longer whole or healthy. It may appear to be a fully functioning eye, but it is incapable of providing light to the rest of the body. So what's the point? What is Jesus trying to say? If we keep the context in mind, Jesus has been addressing the unbelief of the Pharisees. Rather than see all the signs and miracles that Jesus had performed as evidence of His claim to be the Messiah, they chose to write it off as the result of Satan. When Jesus refers to a light that is placed on a stand where everyone can see it, He is most likely referring to Himself. He elsewhere refers to Himself as the Light of the world. "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life" (John 8:12 NLT). Earlier in his gospel, John speaks of Jesus in these same terms. "The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it" (John 1:4-5 NLT). Jesus is the Light sent from God, like a light set on a stand where it can be seen by all. Jesus words and works were clearly visible for all to see. The problem was not with Jesus, but in the ability of the people to SEE Him clearly. In verse 34, Jesus makes a transition and describes the eyes of the people like a lamp that provides light to their body. A good or healthy eye will allow light in so that the entire body can benefit from it. But a diseased or partially blind eye will fail to recognize the light, and instead, will tend to mistake partial darkness for light. Which is why Jesus says, "Make sure the light you think you have is not actually darkness" (Luke 11:35 NLT). The Pharisees were guilty of failing to see Jesus as the light. They refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah. Instead, they mistook the darkness in their own lives – their feeble attempts at self-righteousness – as light. And as a result, the Light of Christ was not able to penetrate their lives and expose the dark, sin-filled recesses.

They came asking for a sign. Yet Jesus had come like a light clearly displayed on a lamp stand for all to see. The problem was not with the Light, but with their capacity to see.

Father, there are countless millions of people today who still fail to see the Light of the world, Your Son, even though He shines clearly in the lives of those whose lives He has transformed through His redemptive work on the cross. These people are blinded by their own self-righteousness. They are attempting to earn favor with You based on their own merit. But the light they think they have is actually darkness. Open their eyes Lord so that they may see the truth and experience the life-transforming light of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Someone Greater.

Matthew 12:38-45

“The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here – but you refuse to repent.” – Matthew 12:41 NLT

"Show us a sign!"

"Do something miraculous that proves who you say you are!"

"We won't believe in you until to convince us you are really from God."

That's the attitude of the religious leaders who confronted Jesus on a regular basis. The bottom line was that they refused to accept His claim to be the Messiah. They couldn't bring themselves to believe He was the Son of God and the long-awaited Savior. Yet they had seen and heard about the many miracles Jesus had performed. There is not doubt that they had heard rumors about Him turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana early in His ministry. He had healed a man of leprosy. He had healed the servant of a Roman officer – long-distance – by just speaking a word.  Early in the account of Matthew, he writes, "And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed – he healed them all" (Matthew 4:23-24 NLT). Word got out. Crowds followed Him wherever He went. And in those crowds were the Pharisees. The truth is, these men didn't try to discount the fact that Jesus had done all these things. No, instead, they wrote them off as having been done in the power of Satan. They accused Jesus of getting His power from the enemy, not from God. So it wasn't that they refused to believe in His miracles. They refused to believe in who He said He was. So when they come asking for yet another sign or miracle to prove His authority to do the things He did, Jesus responded with words of warning.

He accused them of being an evil, adulterous generation. They were unfaithful to God. Here was the Son of God standing in their very presence, but they refused to believe in Him. They would ultimately reject Him and have Him crucified. Which is exactly what Jesus is talking about that the only sign they will receive that they might believe would be His own death and resurrection. But even that would not turn their hearts toward Him. The people of Nineveh, an evil Gentile nation, repented when they heard the words of the prophet Jonah. But the people of God, the Jews, would not repent even after hearing the words of the Son of God. The queen of Sheba was amazed at the wisdom of Solomon, but Jesus is far greater than Solomon and these men refused to hear a word He said.

They were masters at looking spiritual and living lives that appeared to be righteous. But their hearts were empty. They saw themselves as right before God's eyes simply because they were descendants of Abraham and were members of God's chosen people – the Jews. But Jesus informs them that their future was bleak because they were turning their backs on the very one who could transform their lives and make them right with God. Their attempts at "cleaning house" on their own and making themselves presentable to God were going to prove futile. They would end up worse off in the end. All because they refused to repent. All because they were unwilling to believe.  And yet, today there are those who continue this tradition of rejection and refusal to believe. They just can't seem to accept who Jesus claims to be. They have heard the message. They have even seen His miraculous work in the lives of friends and family members, but it is not enough. They need more proof. They require more evidence. When they are told about Jesus death, burial and resurrection, they write it off and label it as myth. It is too hard to comprehend. It makes no sense rationally or scientifically. But in the end, it is the only proof God is going to give. The resurrection of Christ is the only evidence they are going to receive. He is alive and at work in the lives of millions of people on the earth today. He is transforming lives daily. He is ministering constantly. And yet, in spite of all He is doing, millions continue to reject Him. But there are millions who are also turning to Him. The Gospel continues to spread. The message of salvation through Christ continues to be preached. And the mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ continues to be freely offered to all who will receive it.

Father, we will always have those stubborn, hard-hearted individuals among us. But don't let us lose faith or grow weary telling the message of Good News to all we see. Because You are still redeeming lives and restoring the lost to a relationship with You. We are the best advertisement of Your transforming power. May our lives reflect Your resurrection power and prove that Jesus Christ alive and well and at work in our lives today. Amen.

No Neutral Ground.

Luke 11:14-23

“Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working for me is actually working against me.” – Luke 11:23 NLT

This is Luke's version of the incident we looked at yesterday. Jesus had just healed a man who was demon-possessed, blind and unable to speak. The people who witnessed the event were amazed. But according to Matthew's account, the Pharisees accused Jesus of getting His power from Satan. Notice that they didn't attempt to deny the validity of what Jesus had done. They couldn't. They had witnessed it with their own eyes. They knew the people could and would easily refute any attempt on their part to deny that something miraculous had just happened. So they resorted to discrediting Jesus' source of power. They refused to believe He was from God, so that left them with only one option. He must be from Satan. Jesus obviously had power, so He was getting it from the enemy. If they could get the people to believe that, surely they would turn on Jesus and His ministry would fade away into oblivion.

But Jesus quickly exposed the fallacy of their premise. It made no sense for Satan to cast out his own demons. Why would the Prince of this world aid and abet God? Would possible benefit could Satan get by casting out a demon from this man and releasing him from a life of blindness and muteness? As Jesus was prone to do, He quickly turned the moment into an occasion to expose the hearts of the Pharisees and religious leaders. Luke reminds us that "He knew their thoughts" (Luke 11:17 NLT). He didn't just hear what they said, He knew the thoughts behind what they said. Jesus knew that these men were against Him. They stood opposed to Him and His ministry. They refused to believe that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. As a result, they spent all their time trying to discredit Jesus, trap Him, trick Him, expose Him and get rid of Him. And Jesus makes it very clear that the real enemy in this story was them. If anyone was working in allegiance with Satan, it was this very same, self-righteous men. Jesus said, "Anyone who isn't with me opposes me" (Luke 11:23 NLT). This statement presented Jesus' listeners with a problem. If He was who He claimed to be and what His miracles seemed to prove Him to be – the Messiah – then He was from God. He was the messenger of God doing the very work of God. And to oppose Him was to oppose God. Yes, the Pharisees had offered up another option, that Jesus was in league with Satan himself. But now they were faced with the challenge of choosing which option they would embrace. Jesus makes the decision even more difficult by adding these words: "and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me" (Luke 11:23 NLT). The choice was theirs. And it would have eternal implications. Was He the Son of God? Was He working on behalf of God as He claimed to be? Jesus easily refuted their argument that He was receiving His power from Satan. That choice made no sense. But if He was casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God had truly arrived among them, and He was proof.

In the world in which we live, there is a battle going on between the Kingdom of God and the forces of the enemy. It is a real battle with real casualties. Satan has never let up in his quest to dethrone God and destroy His creation. Jesus Himself told us that "The thief comes only to steal and killand destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (John 10:10 NLT). Satan hates God. He loathes Jesus. And as a result he has an insatiable desire to destroy all those made in the image of God. He is out to steal, kill and destroy us. And the world he rules, according to Jesus, hates us. Every day of our lives we have a choice to make, whether we will love God and live according to His will, or whether we will love this world and allow it to influence our beliefs and behavior. We must daily choose to work with God and His cause. To not do so is to stand in opposition to Him. Remember when Jesus had informed His disciples that He was going to have to go to Jerusalem, be betrayed, tried and killed? Peter rebuked Jesus and told Him that these things could not and would not happen. He literally said, "Heaven forbid, Lord!" In other words, may God Himself stop what He intends to do. Peter was in essence denying God the right to be God. Jesus' response was harsh, but it reveals the seriousness and danger of opposing the will of God. "Jesus turned to Peter and said, 'Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's.'" (Matthew 16:22 NLT). Peter was standing in opposition to Jesus. He was opposing the will of God. Why? Because He was seeing things from his limited, human perspective. And we can be guilty of the same thing. So we must walk carefully. We must choose wisely. We must evaluate our circumstances from a heavenly perspective. We must learn to ask, "What is God doing here?" "What is His will in this situation?" In opposing Jesus and His intent to obey the will of God for His life, Peter had become an unwitting ally to the enemy. May we constantly strive to work with God and not against Him. To do so, we must always be seeking to know what it is He is doing in this world and in our lives. We must always assume that God is in control and is using any and every circumstance for our good and His glory, whether we like it or not. He is sovereign. He is God. And we must always choose to work with Him and His Son, never against them. 

Father, it is so easy to stand against You and not even know we are doing it. We can oppose Your will for our lives by simply rejecting what You allow to come into our lives as uncomfortable, unwanted, and even unnecessary. We can refuse to listen to and walk in Your plan for our lives because we have better plans. We can reject Your way for our own. And when we do, we stand opposed to You. We end up working against You, not with You. Help us to see life from Your perspective, not ours. Show us how to seek Your will and live in it, regardless of whether it is pleasant or even makes sense at the moment. Amen.

The Kingdom Has Arrived.

Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:20-30

“But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.” – Matthew 12:28 NLT

The utter blindness of the religious leaders towards Jesus and His claim to be the Messiah seemed to be limitless. It didn't matter what He said or did, they refused to recognize the power and authority that oozed from every pore of His being. His very words had power. At His command the seas calmed, the lame walked, the blind gained sight, the demon-possessed were set free, water turned to wine, and the dead rose from the grave alive. He miraculously fed 5,000 people with a meager meal that was barely enough for a single boy. He walked on water. He forgave sins. He taught with a power and authority that no one had ever seen before. Thousands flocked to see Him. And yet the religious leaders were blinded by their own arrogance, pride, self-righteousness and greed-driven ambition.

Their logic was illogical. The conclusions they reached were far-fetched and made no sense given the overwhelming evidence. How in the world could they seriously believe that the reason behind Jesus' ability to cast out demons was that He was demon-possessed Himself? They had just witnessed Jesus and His encounter with a man who had three strikes against him. He was blind and mute. But as if that wasn't bad enough – he had a demon. But none of that was a problem for Jesus. He simply healed him. The crowd was amazed and began to wonder if He really could be the Messiah. But the Pharisees reached a different conclusion, saying, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons" (Matthew 12:24 NLT).

It's absolutely ridiculous to think that these men could have witnessed something so amazing and still have written off as a trick of Satan. In essence, they were attributing to the enemy what was an obvious work of God. Which is why Jesus warned them about blasphemy against the Spirit. He tells them that to attribute to Satan anything that was a work of God through the Spirit was unforgivable. It was dangerous territory. But they refused to believe that God was at work in their midst and that the Kingdom of God had arrived. Their very words revealed the true nature of their hearts. And God was going to hold them accountable for both their words and actions.

But the real point is that Jesus clearly claims to be stronger than Satan. That is the reason He was able to cast out demons with a simple command. He gives them a much more logical conclusion to reach. "But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you" (Matthew 12:28 NLT). Why? Because only God would have the kind of power to defeat Satan. "Only someone even stronger – someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house" (Matthew 12:29 NLT). Which is exactly what they had just watched Jesus do. But they couldn't bring themselves to see it or admit it. And so they would miss out on it – the Kingdom that is. They had the very Messiah of God standing in their presence. They were witness to the power of God working right before their eyes. But instead of confess Jesus as the Messiah and His power as coming from God, they attributed it all to the enemy. They gave Satan credit for what had been done by God. Not the wisest move in the world.

And yet, how often do we fail to see God at work in our midst? How many times have we been blind to the working of God in our lives, even occasionally blaming the enemy, because things didn't turn out quite the way we had hoped. Jesus was not what the Pharisees expected. He did not come in the manner they supposed He would. He didn't look like they thought He would. He didn't teach and speak in a way that tracked with their conclusions and their own dogma. He was not only a disappointment, but a nuisance. So they plotted to get rid of Him. They looked right past the evidence because it failed to prove or support what they were wanting to see. And we can be guilty of the same thing. We can refuse to see Jesus working in our lives because He doesn't do it the way we want Him to. When He doesn't keep our agenda, we can easily become blinded to His presence in our lives. Just like the Pharisees. But the Kingdom has come. And He rules and reigns according to His terms, not ours. He does as He wishes. He works in our lives according to His plan. His power is on display every day for us to see, but we can easily become blind to it. The proof of who He is is all around us. May we open our eyes and see His power at work and praise Him accordingly.

Father, forgive me for failing to recognize and acknowledge the power of Your Son at work in and around my life. I know there are times that I give Satan more credit than I do Jesus because things don't appear to be going the way I wanted them to. But He is King. He is sovereign. He is in complete control. He is stronger than Satan and He has tied him up and plundered his house. May I see that increasingly more clearly with each passing day. Amen.

Saving Faith. Visible Faith.

Luke 7:36-8:3

“And Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” – Luke 7:50 NLT

One of the things that continually got Jesus into trouble with the religious leadership was His habit of forgiving people of their sins. It really upset their religious sensibilities because, in their minds, only God could forgive sins. Which is exactly why Jesus did it. He was God. And as such, He had the power and the authority to offer forgiveness of sin – but not in some willy-nilly manner. Faith had to be expressed, either verbally of visually, by the individual before Jesus could offer forgiveness of their sins. They had to illustrate belief in who He was and illustrate by their words or actions that they believed He had authority from God to help them. This tended to be people who were in great need and recognized their helplessness. They saw in Jesus a source of help and hope, and turned to Him in faith.

Such was the case of the woman in this story. She was a sinner. Her reputation as such preceded her. Luke describes her as an immoral woman, perhaps a local prostitute. But when she learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisees house, she showed up with a jar filled with expensive perfume and a plan of action. She poured the perfume mixed with her own tears on to the feet of Jesus, using her own hair as a cloth to clean them. She even kissed His feet repeatedly. These were NOT normal actions for anyone, even a prostitute. For her to walk into the house of a Pharisee, uninvited and unannounced was bold and brash, to say the least. She didn't fit in. She would have been unwelcome and unwanted. Fingers would have been pointed. Shocked expressions and accusing whispers would have filled the room. Even the Pharisee thought to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She's a sinner!" (Luke 7:39 NLT). I love that line. "She's a sinner!" It expresses the Pharisees repulsion and shock. But it also perfectly illustrates Jesus' point when He said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost" (Luke 19:10 NLT). Earlier in Luke's account, he records Jesus statement, "I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent" (Luke 5:32 NLT). This woman was exactly the kind of person Jesus came to save. But the only difference between her and the Pharisee was that she recognized her sin and he couldn't or wouldn't. She believed in Jesus and he didn't. Her faith in Jesus was expressed by her actions. Nowhere in this story does she say a word, and yet Jesus knows her heart because it shows up in her actions. Jesus makes a point of highlighting all that she had done to the Pharisee. "Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil for my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume" (Luke 7:44-46 NLT). It wasn't what she did that Jesus is emphasizing, but the heart behind her actions. This man, as the host, had neglected to do even the most rudimentary acts of kindness for Jesus. Why? Because he had no respect for Him. He did not believe in Him. But this woman, because she recognized her own unworthiness and valued who Jesus was and what He could do for her, went above and beyond normal protocol. And as a result, Jesus declared her sins forgiven. NOT because of what she had done. No, Jesus makes it clear. "I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love" (Luke 7:47 NLT). She was repentant. Otherwise she never would have come to Jesus. She believed in Him, or she never would have bothered coming to the home of the Pharisee that day. Her washing of Jesus' feet was an act of thankfulness expressing her gratitude to Jesus for the forgiveness of her sins. This had been the message of John the Baptist and of Jesus from the very beginning. "Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven" (Luke 3:3 NLT). Repentance and turning to God for forgiveness. What Jesus saw in this woman was a repentant heart that had turned from sin and to God for forgiveness. And she expressed her gratitude to Jesus as the Son of God.

Her faith showed up in her actions. Her beliefs influenced her behavior. Her gratitude flowed out in good works. That is the way it should always be. James put it this way: "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds" (James 2:18 NLT). Saving faith is always a visible faith.

Father, how humbling it is to read this story and to realize just how grateful this woman was. Her actions were out of the ordinary and costly. She didn't care what everyone else in the room thought or said. She didn't care how much it cost her financially. She didn't care about the potential damage to her reputation, because she knew the truth about herself. She had been a sinner in need of a Savior and she had met Him. She had received acceptance, hope and forgiveness from Jesus and expressed her thanks in her actions. May I learn from her example. Amen.

Rest For the Weary.

Matthew 11:20-30

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

These three verses are highly familiar to most of us. But how many of us know the context in which they were given? As is always the case when studying Scripture, context plays a huge role in helping us understand and apply what the Word is trying to communicate to us. Here in Matthew, we have Jesus addressing the question from John the Baptist regarding His Messiahship. He then launches a stinging attack against the cities of Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida. These three small cities sit on the north side of the Sea of Galilee and would have been regular stops for Jesus during His ministry there. Capernaum had become His adopted hometown and it was there that He based most of His ministry while He was in the region of Galilee. So the people living in these cities would have had regular glimpses of Jesus and heard His messages repeatedly. Yet Jesus condemns them for their unbelief. In spite of all the miracles He had done right in front of their eyes, they remained non-repentent and unbelieving. Jesus shocks them by comparing them to the cities of Tyre, Sidon and and Sodom, each with a well-known reputation for wickedness and godlessness. Jesus indicates that had He done miracles in these cities, they would have been convicted of their sins, repented, and believed in Him. But the hearts of the people living in Galilee were hardened, stubborn, and representative of the rest of the nation of Israel. Here was Jesus, the Son of God, working miracles in their midst by the power of God, and calling them to repent and return to God, but they refused.

Right in the middle of His stinging discourse, Jesus prays an interesting prayer. He turns to His Father and thanks Him for hiding the truth of His message from those who think they're wise and clever, but for making it plain to the childlike. Jesus recognizes that this was God's plan. Regardless of how many miracles Jesus performed, those who arrogantly relied on their own wisdom and knowledge would fail to see Him for who He was. The Pharisees and religious leadership of Jesus' day are perfect examples of this kind of individual. They were self-righteous and unwilling to recognize their own sinfulness and repent of it. They saw no need for a Savior for their sins, they simply wanted a Messiah to set them free from Roman rule. But Jesus says that God reveals His truth to the childlike, those who are innocent, humble and trusting. It is to those individuals that God chooses to reveal His Son. Those whose lives are marred by sin, sorrow, and a recognition of their own helplessness and hopelessness are the ones who seemed drawn to Jesus and had no trouble believing in Him. The blind, the lame, the diseased, the outcasts, the chronic sinners – these are the ones who believed.

So Jesus offers them His well-known invitation. And it comes in two parts. First, He invites all those who are weary and weighed down to come to Him. His offer is to all who are burdened by sin and weighed down by the requirements of trying to keep the Law in their own energy. They are worn out by trying to carry the heavy yoke of the Law. It never was meant to save them, but to reveal their own sinfulness and incapacity to satisfy the holy demands of a righteous God. Jesus offers them rest. But then there is the second part to Jesus invitation. He invites them to exchange the yoke they are carrying for the one He offers. He describes His as an easy yoke, because in this yoke they will find they have a partner to help them pull the load. Jesus offers to come alongside them, teaching, training, and assisting them. Rather than arrogant and unloving like the religious leadership of the day, Jesus says He is humble and gentle, caring and compassionate. His yoke is easy to bear and the burden He gives is light. Yes, there is still work to do and effort is required, but rather than weariness and heartache, Jesus offers rest, peace and joy.

It seems that those who come to Jesus are the ones who are weary and worn out from trying to live life in their own power. They are beaten down by their own sinfulness and their inability to do anything about it. Like a blind man, they have no problem knowing they have a problem and that they are unable to fix it. Like a man who has a demon and is powerless to get rid of it, they will run to Jesus and beg Him for help. Jesus invites the weary to find rest in Him. But He also invites those same people to get in the yoke with Him, to begin focusing their efforts on accomplishing His will and living for His kingdom causes. He replaces our self-effort with His own power. He exchanges our heavy burden with His light one. He gives us an easy yoke in place of an impossible one. But it all begins with childlike, innocent, trusting faith in Him.

Father, I find that the degree to which I find rest in Jesus is directly related to my willingness to recognize just how weary I am from trying to live the Christian life in my own strength. I can get too wise and clever for my own good, and begin to believe that I can somehow pull this off in my own strength. But it is when I run out of steam that I tend to run to Him. Keep me childlike and dependent. Don't allow me to become arrogant and self-righteous. Keep me in the yoke with Christ, living in dependence on Him and resting in His love, strength and grace. Amen.

Trusting God's Plan.

Matthew 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-35

“But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God's plan for them, for they had refused John's baptism.” – Luke 7:30 NLT

John sits in a prison cell, on the orders of Herod Antipas. His crime? Speaking out against the leader's immoral relationship with his own brother's wife, Herodias. She had been incensed by John's remarks and arranged to have him imprisoned. From his cell, John sends two of his own disciples to ask Jesus an interesting question. " Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?" (Luke 7:19 NLT). Was John's question an indication of a lagging faith or a growing impatience? Was he beginning to doubt whether Jesus truly was the Messiah, based on his own imprisonment? Or was he simply wondering when Jesus was going to begin acting like a Messiah and usher in His kingdom? The passage does not tell us what was going on in John's mind, but based on the tone of his question, it seems as if John is struggling with both doubt and impatience. After all, he is sitting in a prison cell and Jesus is traveling around the countryside drawing crowds, but also drawing the anger and animosity of the nation's religious leadership. If John is suffering from a case of doubt, who can blame him? While he had been chosen by God as the one to pave the way for the Messiah, he did not have a in-depth knowledge of just how Jesus' ministry would unfold. I don't think John is wrestling with his imprisonment as much as he is with his expectations of just what should be happening outside the walls of his prison cell. Like all Jews, he had an image of what the coming of the Messiah would look like. He had preconceived ideas of what Jesus should be doing and he was probably wondering just what was going on.

When the two disciples arrived and presented John's question to Jesus, Luke tells us that "at that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind" (Luke 7:21 NLT). Then Jesus told John's disciples to go back and tell him what they had seen. But He adds a point of clarification: "the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, 'God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.'" (Luke 7:22-23 NLT). Jesus seems to be assuring John that His miracles were evidence of His authority and power, and that His message of Good News spoke of His agenda. Then Jesus encourages John to stay faithful in the face of adversity. There were going to be bumps along the road. Not everyone was going to believe in Jesus' or His message, just as not everyone believed in or took advantage of John's baptism. In refusing John's baptism, the Pharisees and experts in religious law were really rejecting God's plan for them And that seems to be the real message of these two passages. Jesus compares the generation to which He came to children playing a game. They argue and bicker over everything. They can't agree with one another. The people to whom John had been sent and to whom Jesus was ministering were cynical and skeptical of this new message. They were attracted to Jesus' miracles, but didn't know quite what to do with His message. He tended to challenge them and raise the bar of expectation for them. He seemed to be making it harder, not easier. Jesus challenged the status quo and made them uncomfortable in their self-satisfied little worlds.

For John and all those who heard the message of Jesus, it tended to make no sense at times. It was confusing and seemingly contradictory to all that they had come to know about how to have a relationship with God. Jesus' message was about faith in who He claimed to be – the Son of God, sent directly from the throne of God with a message of repentance and a plan of salvation for restoring man's marred relationship with God. And the wisdom of what Jesus was saying would be proved true in time – for John and all those who chose to have faith in Him. "But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it" (Luke 7:35 NLT). John would be executed long before Jesus was tried, crucified, buried and raised again. But the disciples of Jesus would see the wisdom of Jesus' message proved true. They would see their own lives radically changed. They would witness a literal revolution that would spread throughout the known world in a very short period of time, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, powered by the Holy Spirit, exploded onto the scene and into the lives of men at Pentecost. So Jesus encourages patience and faith. Give Him time to do what He came to do, in the manner in which He came to do it. Things would never be the same again.

Father, Your way is right. Your Son's methodology, while radical and hard to understand at the time, was prove true and right. He knew exactly what He was doing, because He was doing exactly what You sent Him to do. How easy it is for us to question Your ways even today. When things don't seem to be turning out quite like we expected, we tend to lose faith and begin to doubt. Help us to remember that wisdom, Your wisdom, is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it. If we give You time, Your ways will always work out for our good and Your glory. Amen.

Amazing Faith.

Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-17

“When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, ‘I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!’” – Matthew 8:10 NLT

I would venture to say that it would take a lot to amaze Jesus. After all, He is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, and the creator of the world. He has literally seen it all. But in this story we read that Jesus was amazed. At what? The faith of an unnamed Roman officer. The Greek word used here for amazed means that Jesus was astounded, astonished – literally stunned by what He heard. Consider the source. This man was a Gentile – a non-Jew. On top of that, he was a Roman citizen. And to make matters even more astonishing – he was a Roman officer. Yet this man had what most of the Jews didn't have: believing faith. Luke tells us this man was a good man who had been kind to the Jews under his jurisdiction, even helping pay to have a synagogue built for them. He was so well respected by the Jews, that they sent a delegation of their elders to seek out Jesus on his behalf. And interestingly enough, the reason this man was wanting Jesus' help was because he had a SLAVE who was sick and hear death. Obviously, this man was a compassionate person who cared for those under his authority. He was more than just a leader of men. He was a servant leader who modeled many of the very characteristics Jesus had just taught about. "Do good to those who hate you." (Luke 6:27 NLT). "Do to others as you would like them to do to you" (Luke 6:31 NLT). "Love your enemies" (Luke 6:35 NLT). "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate" (Luke 6:36 NLT). "Give, and you will receive" (Luke 6:38 NLT).

Jesus was amazed at this man's faith. As a Gentile and a Roman officer, there was no reason this man should have had any thought of turning to Jesus for help. But his need drove him there. His heart of compassion and his desire to love others, but his inability to help his servant, drove him to seek out Jesus. And he knew that Jesus could help him. He sensed that Jesus had the power and authority to solve his problem. He also knew that he was unworthy of the help for which he was asking. He told Jesus, "I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you" (Luke 7:6-7 NLT). What humility. What faith. What awareness of his situation. This man was illustrating exactly the attitude Jesus was seeking from His own people, the Jews. But He sadly states, "I haven't seen faith this in all Israel!" (Luke 7:9 NLT).

This man's faith amazed Jesus. It amazes me. And I believe it stunned the people in Jesus' audience that day, including His disciples. Even they would struggle believing the way this man did. They would doubt and struggle with faith over the next few years, even as they walked alongside Jesus and watched Him do miracle after miracle. And I can be guilty of the same thing in my life. The key to faith is humility and a recognition of need. Faith requires reliance and dependence. It is based on an inner assurance that Jesus can and will help. He has the power. He has the authority. He has the desire. He just needs to be asked.

Father, I want my faith to be amazing faith. I want my reliance on You to be complete, not partial. I want to turn to You and rely on You, faithfully. Give me amazing faith like the man in this story. Amen.

Say What?

Luke 6:20-49

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” – Luke 6:27-28 NLT

Whenever I read some of the message of Jesus, I can almost hear those in His audience looking around at each other with confused looks on their faces, and shrugging their shoulders, as if to say, "What is He talking about?" Most of us have heard these messages a thousand times and we have grown used to them. But those in Jesus' audience on the day He delivered these words would have been shocked at what they were hearing. Some of what He said probably sounded like nonsense. How in the world could the poor be blessed by God? For those in the crowd who were hungry because of a lack of food or funds, Jesus' talk of blessing and satisfaction would have contradicted their experience. If you happened to be in sorrow that day due to the circumstances surrounding your life, having Jesus tell you that a time of laughter was on its way would have sounded hollow. Oh, and it gets better. "What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy!" (Luke 6:22-23 NLT). Now let's be honest. Think about just how ridiculous that sounds. Now imagine how it must have sounded to the common Jew sitting listening to Jesus speak that day. They were already hated, excluded, mocked and cursed in so many ways. Their own religious leaders looked down on them. Yet here is Jesus promising them more of the same if they would simply follow Him.

Then Jesus really confused them. He began to contradict their long-held concepts regarding prosperity and righteousness. Their faith system had taught them that the blessings of God were materialistic in nature. To be wealthy and prosperous was a sure sign of God's blessing. Yet Jesus pronounces a series of woes on the rich, fat and happy of His day. He paints a completely different picture on how to view these things. Basically, Jesus says that those who find their fulfillment, happiness and satisfaction in the things of this world, instead of in God, will someday be sorely disappointed. The tables will be turned. The justice of God will set all things right. This message would have been a shock to the system of His hearers. All they had been taught and believed would have been turned on its head by Jesus' words.

And then He really rocked their boat by giving them a whole new way of relating to their enemies. For the Jews, enemies were everywhere. They were then, as they are now, a despised people. They were under the iron-fisted rule Rome. Their entire history had been one of constant wars, living as a conquered people, putting up with oppression, captivity and the degradation of living as little more than slaves in their own land. But Jesus tells them to love their enemies, to do good to those who hated them, to bless those who cursed them, to pray for those who hurt them. This was radical stuff. Not only that, it was impossible. These requirements would have seemed onerous and off-setting to the Jews in Jesus' audience. His suggestion to turn the other cheek would have sounded ridiculous and repulsive to their middle eastern sensibilities.

But what Jesus was doing was clarifying the standard by which God judges. Jesus tells them, "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!" (Luke 6: 32 NLT). Doing good to those who return the favor takes no special capability. Anyone can pull that off. What Jesus is suggesting is impossible. It goes against our very nature as human beings. But it is the very nature of God. Which is why Jesus told them, "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate" (Luke 6:36 NLT). He is the standard. And what God wants from His people is godliness, not just more humanness. Our humanness is what got us into trouble in the first place. It is our very humanity that will be the death of humanity. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells them "Imitate God, therefore in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ" (Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT). What Jesus is describing for His listeners is the life of a believer. But He was still in His incarnate or earthly state. He had yet to die, be resurrected or ascend back to heaven. The Holy Spirit had yet to be given. The lifestyle He was describing WAS impossible. Apart from a relationship with Christ, none of these things would be possible. Later on in His ministry Jesus would say, "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5 NLT). But those who placed their faith in Jesus Christ would be given the power to pull off what Jesus was saying. Their live would be marked by a new set of rules, new power, a new nature, and new capacity for living in the difficult surroundings of this fallen world. Jesus closes out his message with a promise. Those who would listen to His teaching and follow Him, all the way to the cross, would have a firm foundation on which to stand amidst the storms of life. They would receive the power to thrive in this world and live a distinctively different life just like the one Jesus describes in this passage. And we who are in Christ today, are the recipients and beneficiaries of that promise.

Father, even today, some of what Jesus said sounds so impossible. But never let me forget that all of this is only possible through Your grace and mercy. I need Your power to pull it off. If I try to do it in my own strength I will fail. But with You all things are possible and apart from Christ I can do nothing. Amen.

The Narrow Gate.

Matthew 5-7:29

“You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who would choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it.” – Matthew 5:13-14 NLT

This is what is typically referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus finds Himself surrounded by a crowd of people, so He takes advantage of the situation and uses it as an opportunity to instruct them about His views regarding the Kingdom of God. It is important to keep in mind that His audience would have already had an understanding about God's Kingdom and their part in it. More than likely, the majority in the crowd that day were Jews and they would have seen themselves as already members of God's Kingdom as descendants of Abraham. They were God's chosen people. They had the Law, given to them by God through Moses. They had the Temple, where they believed God dwelt and there they regularly offered their sacrifices and offerings. They saw themselves as set apart and different from the so-called pagans of the world, who worshiped false gods. If you would have asked them, they would have said that they were a blessed people. Not that they necessarily enjoyed their lives or were satisfied with how things had turned out for them, but they would have had a nationalistic pride in being Jews.

Then along comes Jesus. In this sermon or message, He turns much of their world upside down. He does a data dump on them that would have left most of them reeling and wondering what this was all about. In fact, Matthew tells us, "the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority – quite unlike their teachers of religious law" (Matthew 7:29 NLT). Jesus blew them away. He addressed everything, including their perspective on the blessings of God to the true meaning of the law and how to interpret it. Jesus upped the ante. He raised the bar and increased the standard. But what Jesus was sharing was not a list of things to do. He was not describing a new set of laws to keep. He was presenting a new way of life. His audience had lived their lives under the oppressive requirements of the law. They were stuck under a system that required them to keep the law in order to have a right relationship with God. But it was impossible. And yet, it would appear that Jesus is only adding the burden. He tells them to, "let you good deeds shine out for all to see" (Matthew 5:16 NLT) and "unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" (Matthew 5:20 NLT). Talk about a shock to the system. Then Jesus went on to tell them that God's standard for righteousness was even greater than they understood the law to be. Anger was just as bad as murder. Lust was equivalent with adultery. Rather than hate your enemy, you must love and pray for him. And when it came to things like prayer, fasting, and giving – you were to do it in secret, so no one could see what you were doing and be impressed with your efforts. In other words, righteousness was to come from the heart, and was not to be done for show. Which was a far cry from the way things were done in that day. Rather than seeking the accolades and appreciation of men, you were to look to God for your reward. He was to be your focus. Rather than worry about money, materialism and the things of this world. your focus was to be on God and His Kingdom. You were to trust Him for all your needs. You were to make His Kingdom and rule your highest priority. Your life was to be known for its fruitfulness. Not self-effort, but the fruit that is produced through you by God. Your actions should be an indicator and identifier of who you were and who you belonged to. "Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions" (Matthew 7:20 NLT).

This entire sermon was an attempt by Jesus to get the people in His audience to recognize their need for what He came to offer. Jesus did not come to abolish or do away with the law, but to fulfill it. He came to keep it in its entirety. He came to obey His Father completely. He was going to do what no man alive could ever do. He would be the righteousness of God. He would be the one to completely satisfy the just demands and requirements of God by keeping His law down to the last detail. In doing so, He would qualify as a worthy sacrifice for the sins of man. He would be able to be that spotless, sinless sacrifice to pay for the penalty required for man's sinfulness and rebellion against a holy God. And in so doing, He would provide a way for men to live out what He was laying out in the Sermon on the Mount. The contents of this message were no less impossible for the people of His audience to keep than was the original law. He is painting a picture of life made available through faith in Him. That is why He says, "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate" (Matthew 7:13 NLT). Later on Jesus would make it clear when He said, "Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:9-10 NLT). What Jesus was describing in this message was the rich and satisfying life He came to offer. But it was only going to be available through faith in Him. It was only going to be made possible through His death and resurrection. This was a description of Kingdom life, made possible through the sacrifice of the Son of God. It would be life with a new perspective, a new foundation, a new purpose and a new source of strength.

Father, rather than lower Your standards, You provided a solution to our problem. We were unable to keep Your righteous standards and live our lives in faithful obedience to Your law. So You sent Your Son to do what we could never do. And in doing so, You made it possible for us to live the life you expected us to live all along. You have given us the capacity and the power to live just as Jesus described it in this passage. Sacrificially, selflessly, humbly, obediently, faithfully, dependently, and happily. All because of the life Jesus Christ lived and the death He died. Thank You. Amen.

Prayerful Decision Making.

Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16

"One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.” – Luke 6:12-13 NLT

The choosing of the twelve. If we're not careful, we can easily view Jesus' calling of the disciples and His choosing of the twelve as one and the same event. We can also mistakenly view this process as having been somewhat random and indeliberate. After all, in His calling of the various disciples named in this list, Jesus appears to have just stumbled upon them and invited them to follow Him. But there was a method to His madness. Luke and the other Gospel writers record that sometime earlier, Jesus had begun the process of calling certain men to follow Him. "One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water" (Luke 5:1-3 NLT). Simon did as he was told. And not long after that, he followed Jesus' further instructions and was witness to a miraculous catch of fish. As a result, Simon and his business partners, James and John, "left everything and followed Jesus" (Luke 5:11 NLT). Jesus would also end up calling the other men found in this list. But they would be among a larger group classified as followers or disciples of Jesus. But today's passage records a very special and separate occasion in which Jesus chooses from among all His followers a group of twelve men. He called all of His followers together and selected those men who would be His apostles. The Greek word used to convey this choosing process is ekléxo and it is very similar to the Greek word ekklesía which is translated "church" in the New Testament. It simply means "called out." It refers to a called people. The men listed in this passage were called out by God for a very specific purpose. He appointed them to be apostles, or "sent ones." These men were going to be sent by Jesus as His ambassadors and representatives to the world, witnessing of who He was. His choice of these twelve men was both conscious and calculated.

It is interesting that only Luke makes a point of including what took place prior to Jesus action of selecting the apostles. He refers to Jesus having spent the entire night prior to this event in prayer. And the word he uses describes an all-night prayer vigil. In other words, Jesus bathed preceded this process with intense and intimate communion with His Father before He did or said anything. While He was the Son of God, He did not take His position for granted, but modeled for us the very attitude we should have have when considering a decision. He consulted with His Father. He listened. He shared. He sought guidance. He took direction. And He sought confirmation. It was only after an entire night in prayer that He was willing to move forward with His choice. His list of names had been communicated and confirmed by God Himself. But Jesus probably prayed for more than just a list of names. Once He knew the men who would be chosen the next morning, He probably lifted each of them up individually, asking God to prepare them and protect them for what lie ahead. I have a feeling His prayer sounded much like what He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane right before His betrayal. “I have revealed youto the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are" (John 17:6-11 NLT).

This was a momentous decision. He was choosing, setting apart the very men who would take His message of salvation to the world once He was gone. And isn't it fascinating that His list included the name of the very man who would betray Him? Because Judas' role was essential in the whole process. His betrayal of Jesus is what would help set in motion the final assault on the Son of Man and lead to His trial, crucifixion and death. Judas was not just a bit player, but a integral part of the plan of God for providing redemption to the world. His choice was bathed in prayer as well. Jesus knew what Judas would eventually do, but He prayed for him just the same. More than likely, Jesus prayed, just as He did in the garden on the night of His betrayal, "Your will be done" (Matthew 26:42 NLT). Jesus prayed for the will of God. He sought for the will of God. He ultimately obeyed the will of God, because His choice of the twelve was the very will of God. A decision bathed in and based on prayer.

Father, what a powerful reminder of the many, many decisions I make that are prayerless in nature. I tend to decide far too quickly and without talking to You first. Forgive me and thank You for reminding me that decisions that will make a difference for eternity are those that begin at the throne of Heaven, kneeling before You in humility, obedience and eager anticipation. Amen.

Healing Power.

Matthew 12:15-21; Mark 3:7-12; Luke 6:17-19

"Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.” – Luke 6:19 NLT

Having read the stories surrounding Jesus' earthly ministry for so long, it can be easy to become callous about the countless miracles He performed. We read about Jesus casting out demons, restoring sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, the mute to speak, and making the diseased completely whole as if they were everyday occurrences in our world. For many of us, the miracles of Jesus have become mundane. They have lost their power and significance. But imagine what it must have been like in those days. Consider what the atmosphere surrounding Jesus would have felt like as hundreds, if not thousands of people flocked to Him everywhere He went, all in the hopes of being healed by Jesus. Think about it. There were few doctors in those days. Medical care was scarce and disease was a regular part of everyday life. Injuries and ailments abounded and there was little people could do about it except suffer with it. The general misconception was that most disease and illness was a result of sin, so there was a social stigma attached to it as well. So if given a chance to be made well, who wouldn't have jumped at it? And the rumor was that all you had to do was touch Jesus and you would be made whole. That's why Luke adds, "Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone." Jesus wasn't just a celebrity, He was a source of hope and expectation for thousands of people who had long ago given up and resigned themselves to a life of pain, suffering and despair.

So the people came from all over – north, south, east and west. Luke says "there were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon" (Luke 6:15 NLT). Many walked for miles just to get to where Jesus was. They may have journeyed for days to get to the village where Jesus was last known to have been seen, only to find out that He had moved on. But in spite of their infirmities and disabilities, they kept pursuing Jesus. Their need drove them. Their helplessness motivated them. Their hope that Jesus could do something for them energized them. And Mark tells us that there were so many of them that Jesus had to tell "his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him" (Mark 3:9 NLT).

Jesus had healing power. So much so, that just to touch the hem of His robe would activate that power in a person's life. A little later on in the Gospels we have the story of the woman who had suffered for years from constant bleeding. She had spent all her money pursuing treatment from doctors, but was simply poorer as a result, not better. In fact, she had actually gotten worse. Mark tells us, "She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, 'If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.' Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition" (Mark 5:27-29 NLT). Jesus was immediately aware that something had happened. Even in all the pushing and shoving of the crowd, He noticed that "healing power had gone out from him" (Mark 5:30 NLT). And that power revolutionized a woman's life forever. Jesus told her, "God in peace. Your suffering is over" (Mark 5:34 NLT).

The miracles of Jesus were designed to reveal who He was and to reinforce His claim to be the Son of God. The demons certainly had no problem recognizing that reality. Every time Jesus cast one of them out of an individual, they would scream, "You are the Son of God!" There was no doubt in their demented minds that Jesus was just who He claimed to be. His power was self-evident to them. They were no match for Jesus. And while the people who happened to receive healing from Jesus may not have fully understood who Jesus really was, they had no trouble recognizing the fact that He had healing power. They had experienced it first hand. Their lives had been changed by it. They were walking billboards of Jesus' miraculous healing power. And we should be too. Each one of us who have been healed from the deadly disease of sin should be a living testimony to the healing power of Jesus. We have not only been healed, we have been given new life. We were dead, lifeless and hopeless, with no means to do anything about our situation. Like the woman in the story, we had exhausted all our resources trying to fix our situation ourselves, only to be worse off than when we started. But Jesus touched us. His healing power transformed us. We immediately went from being spiritually dead to alive. He removed our sinfulness from us and replaced it with His righteousness. He took away our disease and replaced it with wholeness. He did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. But we run the risk of treating our miraculous transformation just like we do the stories of Jesus' healings in the Scriptures. It can become old hat and pedestrian, losing its significance. We can easily forget what Jesus has done for us. We can take our healing for granted and allow our miraculous salvation to become mundane. Which is why we need to remind ourselves daily of what has happened and what Jesus has done. We must see ourselves in the lives of the people in these stories. We shared their hopelessness and helplessness. We were just as despairing. We were outcast and rejects, deformed and disfigured by sin. But when all hope was lost, the healing power of Jesus touched and transformed us. And our suffering was over.

Father, never let me take for granted the amazing transformation that has taken place in my life through the healing power of Your Son. I don't want it to become old hat and old news. May I constantly be amazed at just what has happened in my life because of Your love and Jesus sacrificial death in my place. I am healed and whole. I am alive and well. I am sinless and righteous before Your eyes because of what Jesus has done for me. Amen.

Hardened Hearts.

Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11

"He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts.” – Mark 3:5 NLT

Another Sabbath and yet another confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in the village of Capernaum. In the crowd there is a man there with a deformed hand. But there is also a group of Pharisees who are closely watching Jesus' every move to see if He attempts to "work" on the Sabbath by healing someone, thus breaking the law. In fact, Matthew records the question they posed to Jesus, in hopes that His answer would condemn Him. "Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?" (Matthew 12:10 NLT).

Jesus knows their hearts and so he brings up the man with the deformed hand and has him stand in front of the crowd, in full view of everyone. Then Jesus confronts His antagonists and asks them a simple question in return: "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" (Mark 3:3 NLT). His enemies are speechless, not knowing how to respond.  So Jesus continues, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11 NLT).

This exchange between Jesus and these religious leaders causes Him to be both angry and sad. He is angry at their insensitive hearts and their indifference to the needs of those around them. They are more concerned with their rules and regulations than they are for the people under their care. But who exactly were these men and what were their responsibilities. In essence, the Pharisees were a religious sect or order. Their name seems to mean "separated ones." But what or whom were they separated from? The general consensus is that they separated from the 'people of the land,' the 'am ha'ares. This was a designation of the illiterate and the unrefined people of the land, the peasants, whose illiteracy impeded any careful fidelity to the religious duties such as concerned tithes and cleanness" (Alan Ross, The Religious World of Jesus). They tended to view the common people as ignorant and cursed (John 7:49). They tended to equate their separateness with holiness. That's why they were constantly shocked by Jesus' decision to eat and associate with the common people, including all manner of sinners. These men also prided themselves in their refusal to be tainted by the influence of the Greeks and Romans. They considered themselves the few remaining "pure" Jews, who kept themselves untainted by outside influence. They were prideful, arrogant and brutally condemning of all those who disagreed with them.

Jesus is angered by their attitudes and saddened by their hard hearts. In all their religious fervor, they had become hardened to the real point of having faith in God. They didn't share God's heart. They were incapable of seeing the world from God's perspective. In fact, they had attempted to fit God into their own mold, and force Him to operate according to their standards. To them, God was just another Pharisee or rule-keeper. And yet Jesus, as the Son of God, revealed to them the very heart and nature of God the Father. He was compassionate, caring, empathetic, loving, sensitive and responsive to the needs of men – all men. He had a special place in His heart for the condemned, disenfranchised, broken, helpless, hopeless, sinful and needy. It was God's love for mankind that motivated Him to send His Son in the first place. It was not that God jettisoned His law and replaced it with love. No, God still had exacting standards and His requirement was still sinless perfection. But He knew that no man, Pharisee or other, could ever meet that standard. He gave His law to reveal to man his insufficiency and need. Then He sent His Son to do what no man had ever done before – keep the law of God perfectly and live His life sinlessly. He became the perfect, sinless sacrifice to pay for the sins of man. That is just how much God loves us.

But the Pharisees represent all self-righteous individuals who still believe that it is the keeping of rules that sets us apart from the rest, that our ability to perform earns us favor with God. But this attitude angers and saddens the Savior. It keeps us from recognizing our need for Him, and it prevents us from seeing ourselves as no better than any other man or woman who walks the face of the earth. We too, are sinners saved by grace. We are in need of the mercy of God every day of our lives. Of all people, we should share Christ's passion for the lost and a heart for those still suffering from the effects of sin.

Father, give us a heart like Your Son had. Help us to see the world the way He did. Don't let us live our lives or view ourselves as somehow better than everyone else. We have been transformed because of Your grace and mercy, not because we somehow deserved or earned it. Give us the ability to see others the way You do. Motivate us to extend grace in the same way it has been extended to us. Amen.

Lord of the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5

"Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people,not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27-28 NLT

The Pharisees had turned the requirements of God into a set of ridiculously impractical religious rules. They had expanded God's law, adding an overwhelming list of additional prohibitions that made keeping it burdensome. All the while, they missed the point of the Law altogether. The Law, like the Sabbath, was created to protect man from himself. The original law given by God regarding harvesting on the Sabbath, was to prevent farmers from allowing their greed to allow them to ignore God and, in essence, worship material gain instead. It also protected them from forcing their workers to labor on the Sabbath. The Sabbath itself was designed that man might have rest one day out of the week. The fourth commandment given by God reads: "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy" (Exodus 20:8-11 NLT).

The Sabbath was to be a day of rest, It was a day to be set apart for the Lord. But the Pharisees had turned even the observance of that day into a list of rules to keep. Rather than restful, it had become laborious and cumbersome. For the average Jew, the day was filled with fear and trepidation because you never knew if some simple act you performed was violating some new rule added in by the religious leaders. So it is no surprise that the Pharisees confronted Jesus and His disciples, accusing them of harvesting on the Sabbath just for rubbing a few heads of grain together in order to satisfy their hunger. According to the Pharisees, they were working. But their keeping of their own laws was quite subjective in nature. On another occasion, Jesus had a similar conversation with the Pharisees after he had healed someone on the Sabbath. They were appalled. Jesus simply replies, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11-12 NLT). In other words, Jesus knows that these very same, self-righteous men would violate their own rules if it involved something of value to them. And that is Jesus' point in this story. People are more valuable than the religious and ritualistic observance of the Sabbath. And because He is the Son of God, Jesus has authority over the Sabbath. He can do what He chooses to do, and because He is doing the will of His Father, it is NOT in violation of the Sabbath, but in keeping with God's original intent. Jesus would later say, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29 NLT). Jesus came to bring mankind rest from the weariness of trying to keep the Law. He came to bring rest from the burden of trying live under the overwhelming requirements of religious rule-keeping.

When asked one time what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT). Loving God and loving others trump all other laws. Every other law given by God was based on these two. The Pharisees had missed this point. They loved their rules more than they loved people. They loved their rules more than they loved God! Keeping their rules had become an idol to them. That is how they could look past the miraculous healing of a man on the Sabbath, and only see the violation of their rules. And we can be guilty of the same thing today. We can have our own list of denominational rules or standards. We can have a stack of religious requirements that we put on ourselves and others that are not based on a love of people, but a love of rules. We burden others with our own rules, burdening them down with requirements rather than easing their load with love. We require people to clean up their act, THEN we'll love and accept them. Jesus loved people as they were. We require people to learn our rules and live by them, then we'll consider them part of our community. Jesus accepted people as they were. We are to love God and love others just as He did. If any rule, requirement, or religious standard keeps us from doing either, it is not of God. If our rules drive others away from God rather than to Him, they are of our own making, not His. Jesus came to ease burdens, not create them. The same thing should be true of us.

Father, it is easy to fall into the role of the Pharisee. Without even knowing it, I can find myself creating rules and standards that I hold others to, but that are not from You. Those rules can become burdensome and drive others away from You rather than to You. Help me to see this tendency and change it. Show me how to put loving You and others ahead of any rule I may hold sacred. Amen.

The Son of God.

John 5:1-47

"You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!” – John 5:39 NLT

In this passage, Jesus encounters a man who had been sick for 38 years. Every day, this man somehow made his way to the pool of Bethesda, near the wall of the Temple. The waters were thought to hold healing properties and, when they were stirred up, if you could be one of the first to get in the water, you would receive healing. This man's problem was that, after 38 long years of suffering, he had no hope of ever getting in the water in time. Jesus asked him a question with a very obvious answer. "Would you like to get well?" (John 5:6 NLT). To which the man replied, "I can't, sir, for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me" (John 5:7 NLT). In response, Jesus tells the man, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!" (John 5:8 NLT).

And immediately the man is healed and does just as he is told. It was an amazing moment. This man's life was changed forever. But John reminds of us one small detail in the story. It is the Sabbath. And when the Pharisees see this man "working" on the Sabbath by carrying his mat, they are appalled. And when they find out Jesus told him to do so, they begin to confront Jesus about breaking the Sabbath. But it would be Jesus response to them that would turn their anger into thoughts of murder. Jesus said, "My Father is always working, and so am I" (John 5:17 NLT). Here lies the greatest disconnect between Jesus and the religious leadership of His day. He claimed to be the Son of God, and in so doing, He claimed to be deity. According to their standards, that was blasphemy, a crime punishable by death.

And this is still the disconnect most people have with Jesus today. Most have no problem believing that Jesus lived or that He was a powerful and influential teacher. Many have little or no struggle with the idea of Him doing miracles. But where the problem comes up for most is with the concept of Jesus as the Son of God. This remains a stumbling block for most people today. Even for many church-going, Bible-believing, so-called Christians today. Like the Pharisees, they search the Scriptures, thinking that in them they will find eternal life (John 5:39). In other words, the secret to having a right relationship with God is through discovering His requirement as found in His Word. So they read the Scriptures trying to decipher the rules and requirements God has set out so that they can keep them and make God happy. But Jesus reminds us, "the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life" (John 5:39-40 NLT). Jesus' miracles were simply to act as proof of who He claimed to be. They were evidence of His deity. The power He displayed came from God and so did He. In fact, Jesus makes it clear that God had given Him the power to provide eternal life to any and all who would believe that He was God's Son. "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life" (John 5:24 NLT). It was essential that they believe that Jesus was sent from God and was the Son of God. And not only has God given Jesus the life-giving power to provide eternal life to those who would believe He came from God, He has given Him the power to judge all men at the end of the age. With a word from Jesus, all the dead will rise and face judgment – some to face eternal life and someeternal death. The Pharisees saw the miracles of Jesus. They heard the powerful teachings of Jesus. But they could not handle the claims of Jesus to be God. That was beyond their ability to comprehend or consent to. And as a result, they missed the point. They were so busy trying to work their way to eternal life that they missed the very one who could give them eternal life.

Jesus was and is the Son of God. He is the second person of the Trinity. He was God's means by which the world might be saved and men might be reconciled to a right relationship with Him. But it is essential that men believe Jesus was who He claimed to be. The miracles and messages of Jesus mean nothing if they do not point us to His deity. The words of Scripture will mean nothing if we do not find within them the message that Jesus is the Son of God, sent to save the world from the judgment of God. Jesus was more than just a man. He was more than just a prophet. He was more than just a faith-healer. He was more than just a teacher. He was the Son of God. Yet Jesus can still say to so many, "For I have come to you in my Father's name, and you have rejected me" (John 5:43 NLT).

Father, it was Jesus' claim to deity that became the stumbling block for so many. They couldn't comprehend it, so they simply rejected it. They couldn't explain it, so they refused to believe it. But to those who believed through a simple act of faith, He gave eternal life, and I am so grateful to have been included in that number. Thank You. Amen.

New Wine.

Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39

"New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” – Luke 5:38-39 NLT

When it comes to reading, studying and understanding the Scriptures, context is everything. In other words, it is critical that we always look for what is going on in and around a particular passage. Lifting verses out of context is a recipe for disaster. It allows us to twist and manipulate the intended meaning to fit our own preconceived notions. So discovering the immediate context of a passage is essential to understanding what the author intended. And the greatest context we must always keep in mind when approaching the Word of God is that of God's holiness and man's sinfulness. From beginning to end, the Bible records for us this tension and how mankind has attempted to resolve it. The Bible makes it clear that God is holy and that man is completely sinful. And yet God commands man to be holy as He is holy. He even provides mankind with a set of divine rules and regulations that clearly articulate His expectations. But man is sinful and incapable of living righteously and holy as God demands. And the penalty for man's unrighteousness? Death. That is the context of Scripture. God is a holy God and He has holy expectations of man. Man is unholy and he has a serious problem. So as we read through the Scriptures, we see men attempting to find ways to somehow solve their problem and satisfy the just demands of a holy God.

When Jesus appears on the scene, the context is no different. In fact, it had only worsened with time. And it was particularly bad among the Israelites, who He had chosen as His own people. He had hand picked them and then given them His Law to keep. Their keeping of His law would have set them apart from all the other nations. But they had failed. They were still trying when Jesus came along, but there track record was not exactly stellar. So when the disciples of John approach Jesus and ask why His disciples didn't fast in the same way they and the Pharisees did, Jesus gives them an interesting and somewhat confusing answer – unless we remember the context. The fact that these men ask, "Why don't your disciples fast like John's disciples and the Pharisees do?" (Mark 2:18 NLT), reveals that this fasting was ritualistic in nature and tied to one of the many man-made laws that had been added to the Law of God. The fasting was tied to a form of righteousness based on human effort. Their fasting was performance-based and designed to bring them into good standing with God. So they can't understand why Jesus' disciples (and Jesus as well) are not doing the same thing. Didn't they want to keep God happy and satisfied. Were they "too good" to do what even the Pharisees did to stay right with God?

But Jesus, knowing the greater context, tells them that they are missing the point. And He does so by using some very interesting metaphors. He compares the activities of His disciples to those of wedding guests celebrating with the groom at his wedding. That's not a time for fasting, but for feasting and festivities. Jesus' very arrival on to the scene in Israel had changed the rules of the game. The groom had come. This was not a time for fasting. It was a time of celebration. He then uses the imagery of a new patch being sewed on to a piece of old clothing. Once washed, the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old clothing, leaving it destroyed and useless. Jesus is trying to convey that He had come to bring a new way of solving man's age-old problem of his sinfulness and God's holiness. But this new way wasn't going to be an add-on to the old way of doing things. It wasn't going to be based on merit, earning, performance, or rule-keeping anymore. Fasting as a form of self-righteousness was not the way to a right relationship with God. Jesus came to bring something completely new. It wasn't going to be about works or self-effort anymore, because that way didn't work.

Jesus' last metaphor seals the deal. He says, "no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins" (Luke 5:37 NLT). Jesus came to do something new. He came to present a new way to righteousness and a restored relationship with God. And that new way was not going to play well with the old way. The Pharisees, like old wineskins, were rigid and set in their ways. They couldn't handle the new way Jesus came to offer. His message of grace, mercy, and repentance didn't set well with them. They were satisfied with the old way, the old wine. They didn't want what Jesus came to offer. "'The old is just fine,' they say." (Luke 5:39 NLT). So Jesus says, "New wine must be stored in new wineskins" (Luke 5:38 NLT). In other words, His new message was going to require new hearts, and new lives transformed by the power of God. This was not going to be more of the same old thing, but something new altogether. Jesus was doing away with the old works-righteousness methodology and replacing it with something completely new that was going to work. Paul described it this way, "Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy" (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT). New wine in new wineskins. The work of God, not man.

Father, mankind has suffered from the same old problem for centuries. And our solution has always been the same. We just keep trying to do good and live our lives in such a way that we might somehow please You enough to satisfy You and make You happy with us. But that was the old way and it never worked and it never will. So You came up with a new way, make possible through Your Son. You didn't change the context, You just came up with a new solution to the same old problem. Thank You! Amen.

The Danger of Self-Righteousness.

Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32

Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” – Luke 5:31 NLT

Jesus never was one to mince words. Especially when it came to His views about the religious leaders of His day. At times, He could be brutally blunt and painfully honest. Not out of meanness, but because He wished to expose the hypocrisy and dangerous precedence they were setting for the people. They represented everything that was wrong with religious and the pursuit of a relationship with God in His day. They were prideful, arrogant, self-centered, and amazingly self-righteous. In other words, they had convinced themselves that their own efforts were their ticket to a right relationship with God. They had earned favor with Him by keeping all the rules. But what they had failed to understand was that God's standard of measurement was not based on human effort, but the condition of the heart. And theirs were wicked.

You see time after time in the Gospels where these men confronted Jesus about His actions. They condemned Him for His words and railed on Him for His propensity to associate with those whom they considered unworthy, unclean, and unrighteous. They had established themselves as the gold standard and nobody else could measure up. They despised the common people as spiritually and morally worthless. They saw people like Matthew, a tax collector, as no better than a common prostitute. They looked down their noses at those who they considered second-class citizens from a spiritual perspective. When they saw Jesus having dinner with Matthew and his fellow tax collectors, they "complained to his disciples, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?'" (Luke 5:30 NLT). In their minds, it made no sense for the "righteous" to associate with the "unrighteous." Obviously, Jesus was not of their caliber, because He didn't have the spiritual astuteness to know a sinner when He saw one.

But Jesus' response to them is simple, yet profound. He calmly says, "Healthy people don't need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinful and need to repent" (Luke 5:31 NLT). In those few words, Jesus paints a vivid picture of their problem. He also clarifies the biggest difference between His view of how to attain righteousness and theirs. Their problem was that they refused to acknowledge their own sin. They saw themselves as already righteous and in no need of a "doctor." They had no need of a Savior, because they were saving themselves. Theirs was a self-manufactured form of righteousness. As you read the Gospels, you can't help but notice that the common people, especially those who were social outcast because of their lifestyles, moral choices, or health issues, were the ones who seemed to flock to Jesus. Why? Because they knew their need and understood their helplessness of hopelessness. They knew they were sinners and didn't know what to do about it. The morally corrupt could no more save themselves than the lame, blind, deaf and dumb could heal themselves. So they flocked to Jesus. And many of them believed in Him. But the Pharisees, mired in their self-righteousness, couldn't bring themselves to admit their own need. They refused to acknowledge their sin and confess their need for a Savior. And that sense of religious pride and self-righteousness still exists today. Even among Christ-followers. We can easily measure our worth based on our own self-effort. We can convince ourselves that we are somehow pleasing to God because of all that we do for God. We work hard at fixing ourselves through self-effort and behavior modification, failing to realize that our problem is beyond our capacity to remedy. We have a heart condition that can only be healed by Jesus.

The real point of Jesus' message in this passage is that He came to call those who KNOW they are sinners and who know they NEED to repent. They know they need to change, but they don't know how. So they turn to Jesus. They abandon self-effort and any attempts at self-righteousness and place their hope in Him. And He does for them what they could never have done for themselves. He supplies them with a righteousness that is not of their own making, but His. He takes their sin and replaces it with His righteousness. But it all begins with an awareness of need, an acknowledgement that you're sick and need healing.

Father, self-righteousness can creep up so easily in my life. I find myself trying to earn favor with You on a regular basis. I also find it easy to think that I am better than I am based on some self-established standard of conduct. Never let me lose sight of my own susceptibility to sin and my daily need for the Savior. Without Him, my spiritual immune system is an easy target for the sin that so easily infects this world. But thank You that Your Son came to heal the sick like me.  Amen.