It's not too late! Join us as we move through Matthew Chapter by Chapter...

 We are just finishing chapter 6, but you can catch up quicking by reading and watching the videos below, and then read Chapter 7 every day this coming week.  We read the same chapter every day of the week, discuss it in our Sunday adult education classes, and it will be the topic of both Sunday messages.

If you can make it Wednesday evenings, it will be the topic of the class or message for evening worship.

If you can't make it to services or live outside of western Oklahoma, you can still follow along online and perhaps start your own local study group.

Marching through Matthew

Matthew 1

Part 1

Part 2

Matthew 2

Part 1

Part 2

Matthew 3

Fruit Worthy of Repentance (Jan 2020)

Part 1

Part 2

Matthew 4

Part 1

Part 2

Matthew 5

Part 1 (video)

Part 2 (video)

Part 3 (video)

Part 4 (video)

Part 5 (video)

Part 6 (video)

Matthew 6

Part 1 (video)

Part 2 (video)

Part 3 (video)

Part 4 (video)

Matthew 7

 

Matthew 8

 

Matthew 9

 

Matthew 10

 

Matthew 11

 

Matthew 12

 

Matthew 13

 

Matthew 14

 

Matthew 15

 

Matthew 16

 

Matthew 17

 

Matthew 18

 

Matthew 19

 

Matthew 20

 

Matthew 21

 

Matthew 22

 

Matthew 23

 

Matthew 24

 

Matthew 25

 

Matthew 26

 

Matthew 27

 

Matthew 28

 

 

Matthew 4 - Part 1

 

Read Matthew 4

Sometimes, looking at the original language is helpful.  Sometimes it is confusing.  Language is no currency exchange where on any given day there is an exact exchange rate.  Language is always an approximate fit.

Even today, language varies from decade to decade.  Sometimes it seems to vary year to year.  There are new words and new idioms and of course, there is slang.

When I was in the United Nations, we had officers from 32 different nations.  English was the official language.  We had 10 radio channels of which not all were assigned.  Channel 1 was not assigned, so if a Russian in the Southern Sector wanted to talk with one of his countrymen in the Northern Sector, he would ask that officer to switch to Channel 1 for a national conversation.  Then the two officers would speak in their native Russian.

One evening we were passing the time in the desert talking about all manner of things, and I mentioned that the Americans could never have a private conversation because everyone had to speak English and it didn’t matter what channel we were on, anyone could listen in.

I was surprised when many officers told me that when two Americans were talking to each other, nobody else knew what they were saying.  Language is not always as straightforward as it might seem.  Exploring various translations of the original language can be helpful or sometimes a rabbit trail that does not produce much fruit, but it is interesting to consider some various translations of a few words in this first verse.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

The root word here is anagó.  It is a verb that means, by most translations, to be led or led up, but consider the other meanings attached to it:  bring, brought, launched, led, put out to sea, putting out to sea, set sail, setting sail.

Last week when I talked about the baptism of Jesus being like the commissioning of a ship, many of your just thought I was using nautical analogies because all of my cruises were canceled.  Consider the validity of this analogy.

The ministry of Jesus set sail.  He was underway.  The Spirit put him out to sea.  In this case, the sea happened to be the wilderness, but Jesus was underway in his ministry and his ministry began with a head-to-head encounter with the devil.

Jesus fasted 40 days and nights.  That will bring you to the point of physical weakness that none of us have experienced.  He was as weak in the flesh as a person can be, and then he faced the temper—the devil.

We know what comes next.  Jesus was hungry.  There was no way he was not starving at this point and the devil said, why not just make some bread out of these stones?  C’mon now.  You’re the Son of God.  This would be easy stuff for you, C’mon!

You know the response.  Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.   

Think to John 4 when Jesus tells the disciples that he has food they know nothing about.  His food is to fulfill the will of his Father, to do the things he was sent to do.

Think to his baptism.  Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness.  It all comes down to doing what God says to do, even if you are starved and could turn rocks into rye bread.

The devil didn’t pack up and leave, he took Jesus to the highest part of the temple in Jerusalem.  He double dog dared Jesus to jump off.  C’mon, you know that your Father will dispatch angels to save you.  You won’t even hit the ground hard.  The angels will set you down gently.  C’mon.

The devil knew God’s words as well, at least one psalm. 

Jesus Knew his Father’s words as well.  Do not put the Lord, your God, to the test. Read all of Deuteronomy 6 to get the full context.  Here’s the short version.  God gets really angry if you test him by putting other gods before him.  Just do what he says.

Is there ever a time to put God to the test?

This part is prelude to the next temptation.  The devil took Jesus up on the highest mountain and told him to take a good look around.  For the simple act of bowing down and worshipping his tempter, Jesus could have everything that he saw. 

C’mon man.  This is the deal of deals.  Whatever your Father has sent you to do is going to be difficult at times.  This is all yours for one simple act of worship.  C’mon.

What’s the real offer here?  Skip the trip to the cross and take the immediate payout.

Jesus told the devil to hit the road.  It is written:  Worship the Lord, your God, and serve him only.  Deuteronomy 6 was a popular chapter in this encounter.

Perhaps these temptations remind you of Jacob and Esau.  Esau was famished and sold his birthright for a bowl of stew.  Imagine being 40 days famished and staying the course of what your Father in heaven sent you to accomplish.

It would be so much easier to take immediate gratification.  Who could blame a starving man for eating?  Who among us could have held out a moment longer?

But Jesus would fulfill all righteousness. The devil hit the road and angels came to attend to Jesus. 

Understand that Jesus could have done everything he was tempted to do.  We know the 4 gospels.  Jesus turned water to wine.  He fed multitudes with a couple fish and a few loaves of bread.  The wind obeyed him.

Jesus could have done a triple backflip off the top of the temple and landed more gently than if he was diving into a pool.

Of greater importance to Jesus was to do the will of his Father.  He did.  Now it was time to preach and minister.  Jesus identified himself as the light of the world in John’s gospel.  Isaiah told the world that this light was coming.

Jesus—the light of the world—has come.  Hear the message of the Lord as he began to preach.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Amen.

7 I Am Metaphors in John

 

The words I am are powerful words.  They are how God’s people were to know that Moses was sent by God.  The words I am move boats across water or cause armed guards to fall backwards

They are words that use God’s name to precede ours.  Who are you?  I am Tom or I am Jane or I am whatever name your parents gave you.

These are words that identify God and help us to understand our identity and they are more than we can comprehend in a single serving.  Jesus gave us 7 I Am metaphors to help us understand him and his Father in heaven and what it is to have life in him.

Let’s briefly consider each of these I Am statements.

“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35-51)  Jesus used this one several times in a single pericope.  Bread sustains physical life. Christ offers and sustains spiritual life. Think to the fourth chapter of John’s gospel.  Jesus said he had food that his disciples didn’t know about.

His food was to do the will of his Father. His food was to finish the work he was sent to do.  Jesus still ate meals but his real sustenance was in doing his Father’s will.

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Jesus and his commands to us sustain us.  We are to receive him and his commands with the same enthusiasm we have for the fellowship meal.  Will we be nourished?

 “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as a guide. John has a recurring theme of light and darkness.  While Jesus was in the world, he was the light of the world.  We as his disciples are charged to be the light of the world.  You can be the salt of the earth while you are at it.

Will we walk in the light?

In chapter 11 of John’s gospel, when the disciples are concerned about going back to Judea and Jerusalem because the Jews there wanted to kill Jesus, he told them that if they walked in daylight they would not stumble.  If they walked in his light, they would be protected.

“I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7-9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.  If every sheep and shepherd go through the gate, everyone is protected.  Visualize a small or narrow gate that offers only one way in or out.  Only the thief would climb the fence to steal or kill or destroy.  Jesus is the gate and the gate is the way, which will come up in chapter 14.

Will we by receiving him also receive his protection?

“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11-14) Jesus loves and protects all who belong to him.  Everyone who had been entrusted with the shepherding of Israel before fell short.  Jesus is the model of shepherding.  His sheep know his voice.

Will we know his voice?

As we are talking shepherds, I’m going to make a little rant here.  I see a lot of scripture abused on the internet.  Scripture is twisted or rewritten to fit the desired narrative. That’s the age that we live in.  Sometimes, I am compelled to comment.  Here is one of those cases.  It’s from Luke 15.

Have you seen the one about how Jesus leaves the 99 to find the 1?  Did you have any problems with that?

Jesus tells the parable. He is not in the parable. What difference does it make?

Besides manipulating the scripture to fit the desired narrative of the one who posted it; it ignores the literary tool selected by Jesus. The parable helps us understand the things of God by setting it alongside the things people understood in the world.

The shepherd in the parable is your basic human shepherd. Even he would leave the 99 in the open country to search for the lost sheep. If the human shepherd would do this, how much more will your Heavenly Father search for those who are lost?

How great the celebration in heaven when the lost one is found and home again.

Trust that Jesus knew what he was doing when he told this parable.  He is the Good Shepherd after all.

“I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Martha thought that resurrection was a date on an eternal calendar.  She was probably right, but resurrection was standing in front of her.  Resurrection, life, and life eternal are in Christ. 

These bodies will wear out but we will live.  We will live.

Ask ourselves the same thing that Jesus inquired of Martha.  Do you believe this?

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) The disciples wanted to see the Father.  C’mon, they had followed Jesus for 3 years.  If anyone should be entitled to a glimpse of the Heavenly Father, it was them. 

Jesus explained that if they had seen him, they had seen the Father.  Jesus was in the Father and the Father in him.  You want to know the Father, then know me.  That’s the essence here.

Everything is through Jesus.  Everything that was made was made through him.  Everything that we need comes through him.  Everything that we hope for is in his name.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Will we trust in the Lord with all of our heart?

“I am the true vine.” (John 15:1-5) You know those disconnect notices that we gave out a few years ago and I still use about once a week.  They pose the question to their readers, “Are you connected to the body of Christ?”

Jesus asks us if we remain connected to him.  Are we a teachable spirit?  Have we taken his yoke and do we learn from him?

Do we really want to know the Father?  Then we must be prepared for him to do some pruning.  He will prune away everything that does not produce good fruit.

We have made it through John’s gospel.  If you check out my postings online, you got a high speed flyover of the entire gospel this week.  These 7 I Am metaphors are also a good way to retain much of what you have learned.

I am the bread of life.  Will we be nourished?

I am the light of the world. Will we walk in the light?

I am the door of the sheep. We will receive his protection?

I am the good shepherd.  Will we know his voice?

I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?

I am the way, the truth, and the life.  Will we trust in the Lord with all of our heart?

I am the true vine.  Will we stay connected and do we trust our Father to prune us so that we may produce good fruit?

Those are the 7 I Am metaphors. I find them a fitting way to conclude what has been a 5-month journey.

John told us that his gospel did not contain everything that Jesus did, that it was enough for us to believe and by believing have eternal life in Christ.

So let us believe and have life.

Let us live as his disciples and produce good fruit.

In a world of deception, let us know his voice.

Amen.

What's for Lunch?

Read John 4

Jesus had talked with this Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar, which is in Samaria. The disciples had been in town rounding up some grub.  I guess it takes 12 men to find something to eat. 

When they returned, they witnessed the tail end of a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman.  This was not something you would expect to see, but the disciples neither asked Jesus nor chastised the woman.

They did ask Jesus if he wanted something to eat.  He replied, “I’m good.”

Actually, he said that he had food that the disciples didn’t know about.

What?  Did he get delivery? Had he been packing extra rations for the trip?

Jesus said that his food was to do the will of his Father. 

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

Have you ever been working at something so intently that you forgot to eat?  It’s not that you couldn’t spare the hour, it’s that your task or mission was so consuming that it sustained you.

Doing the will of his Father sustained Jesus.  It’s not that he did not eat.  He did.  He ate with religious leaders and with sinners.  The Last Supper is surely the most widely known meal in history.

Jesus lived a human life and ate and drank and did everything that human metabolism required, but on this occasion, he was sustained simply by doing what his Father sent him to do.

The conversation then shifted from what Jesus had for lunch to the harvest of souls for eternal life.  One sows.  One harvests.  The two work together.

The disciples could relate to seed time and harvest. 

Today we find ourselves in the same situation.  Some sow and some harvest.  Some will plant the seeds of life in Jesus Christ; yet it is another who finally leads the person to salvation.

The true work is from the Holy Spirit, but we have our parts.  Too often, we limit ourselves to those that sow seeds, but sometimes we are called to be part of the harvest. 

As we consider the present disruption of the comfort zones of many people who previously served the gods of Apathy and Ambivalence, we should see it’s time for us to be a part of the harvest.  Seeds have already been sown in most.

Fulfilling our commissions should be sustaining to us.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to eat.  We do.  It means that what we eat, drink, wear, and do with our days is subordinated to doing the will of our Father in heaven.

Jesus gave us a commission.  If we spent our days fulfilling it in every way, we might be tired at the end of that day, but living for the Lord will sustain us.

Human wisdom tells us that if we give everything that we have to something, that something will consume us.  We will burn out.

But God’s wisdom tells us that if we give all that we have to him, he will sustain us.

Enjoy your lunch when you can but let doing the will of the Father be our true sustenance.  He has work for us to do.  We sow and we reap for him and he will provision us and sustain us for that work.

Amen.