Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

Plates Of Plenty

    Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, `Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God (Proverbs 30:7-9).

As I surveyed the surmounting plates of Christmas delights, my eyes grew bigger than my stomach. For what we had gathered for meal and for snack, was far more than the whole group of us could consume within the time we were to be together. It seemed a pleasing thing to us all to be able to grab a bite of this or that throughout a day. If anyone of us wanted a snack, all we had to do was turn to the many candy or nut dishes randomly placed throughout the house. Or perhaps go to the refrigerator and grab a piece of fruit or some leftover Christmas ham. Whatever the case, we were able to eat on a whim--or not eat--and be sure that we could find something that appeased our appetites.
Though the special occasions seem to draw a surplus of delectables, I have also found that I do not suffer from lack of abundance or variety at any time of the year, for Christmas is not the only time that there is more than enough to fill both eye and belly. Within my home we often get to have good, full meals, and those are always what we choose. And if sometime later a hunger bug arises, there is sure to be something to snack on in cupboard or refrigerator.
How fortunate we are to have such abundance, such variety, such convenience. We have no need to worry about what we shall eat from one meal to the next, and it would seem as well that we have no need to make a big deal over the fact that we do have so much. In fact, we seldom consider what it might be like if we did not have so much. Instead of seeing the blessing of the variety, we grow pickier in regard to the variety. Instead of seeing the blessing in the abundance , we become annoyed if the cupboard or refrigerator are suddenly missing some things to which we have grown accustomed. Instead of seeing the blessing in the convenience, we are frustrated if we ever have to wait for our meal longer than what we would like. In short, it might seem as though our good fortune has blinded us to the blessings.
When I consider how we can so easily take for granted the abundance and variety of food, it causes me to draw similar thoughts surrounding our spiritual food that comes from God. Could it be that we have such an easy access to the abundance of Words from God that we can also take such riches for granted? I imagine that in some countries, a simple can of peas would be a feast to a family who goes without food so often and for extended periods of time. In the same likeness, I visualize a soul finding a single page that somehow was torn from a Bible, and upon finding the page, the person reads it over and over--taking it in like the starving family feasting on a single can of peas. Perhaps the person lives in a country where the Word of God is not published, read, spoken or preached; and to that person, finding a single page would be like finding a pearl of great price.
I wonder how much we truly consider what is on our plate of plenty. Do we see our abundance of the Word of God that is easy to find, preached on the airwaves, sold in great quantity and variety? Or do we hear God’s word with overstuffed ears, taking only what suits our tastes, letting the Word of God become stale morsels of leftovers passed over by those of us who simply have too much? If, by some chance, we see ourselves to be ungrateful gluttons, perhaps we should consider the following verses of scripture very seriously, and ask God to show us whatever He has to show us in considering these things.

    For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (Luke 12:48).

    The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same (Luke 3:11).

God has given us plates of plenty--not that we might consume, but that we might share. Whether it is physical sustenance, or the Word of God, we have a greater responsibility to what has been given to us than to continue to fill ourselves to satisfaction.

[Soldier4Christ]

Near the Water's Edge

    Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Sprit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Gal.3:3).

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Jesus asked--or as the King James version renders the question--"Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" Can any one of us force ourselves to grow by thinking about it? Can any one of us change the course of our past? All that is being done, will be done or has been done--will be; and though we have a choice to seek God's wisdom in the things we can change, we should consider the words of "Prayer of Serenity" and learn to accept that which we cannot change.
There is much that we try to gain control of and much that we try to avoid altogether. Yet it is truly through the wisdom of our Lord that we will discover our place in all things considered. We shall find what He directs us to move within or toward, and we shall find what He directs us to draw away from. Yet we must also realize the power by which all things must be accomplished--that power that is found in God's Spirit rather than in human efforts.
One area in particular has to do with our righteousness. Our true righteousness was attained for us by the work of Christ, and it is found in our believing in Him. For example, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Rom.4:3; Gal.3:6; Jas.2:23). Our trusting His work marks our "beginning with the Spirit" mentioned in the verse above. It is the place wherein faith takes its place in our hearts, superseding personal righteousness and religious works.
We must realize that there is a significant difference between works out of faith and works done through human efforts. Works done through faith are outward. That is, they are done for the purpose of helping and loving others--meeting their needs and bringing the Love of God closer to humanity. While works that are not done because of faith are inward. That is, they are done so that we feel better about ourselves, our righteousness, our purpose and our place. They are works that are done so that the person who does them might feel accepted by God and gain His acceptance, approval and entrance into His presence. The works, however, that are born from faith seek no selfish gain, but seek to help others come to God's righteousness, purpose and place for their sake.
Now let us consider a pear tree. The tree grows good and strong as it has what it needs to grow. If it remains in good soil, and well watered, it will produce much fruit. The tree does not have to worry about producing fruit, and it does not have to think about it or force itself to do it--it just does. Why? Because as long as it is where it needs to be, the growing and thriving and fruit bearing are all part of a very natural process.
Jesus uses the vine and the branches illustration to help us to understand our growth and fruit bearing process as His disciples. He tells us, "I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). It is a very natural process to grow in Christ and to produce fruits that are good works through faith. But there is a stipulation: we must be where we need to be so we will have what we need to grow, which means that we must abide in Him--like a tree near the water's edge.
Apart from Him, we can to nothing. To try to do righteous works while not abiding fully in Christ is like trying to force yourself to grow fruit--it's not going to happen. Going to church, witnessing, teaching, leading Bible studies; are all misrepresentations of the true and lasting fruit if these things are not done through faith and abiding. And it all comes down to a matter of perspective--we must take our focus off of the works and turn our focus to the Lord. It's kind of like hitting a ball, you don't focus on swinging the bat--but you keep your focus on the ball.

[Soldier4Christ]

From Repentance to Holiness

    You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:1-6).

There are times when what is wanted would seem to have much greater power than what is right. The attraction and pull of personal desire seems to take control of our thoughts and our actions. Within, there is often a severe struggle to move away from that which the spirit would not allow; while the flesh entices to draw closer. There are times when it would seem that the flesh is extremely willing, and the spirit is so weak that it has become nothing more than a faint and dying cry. For “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt.26:41).
There are two distinct choices we face with such struggles: the choice to move toward God, or away from God. We should not allow ourselves to make it to be anything less. For in our flesh we will try to minimize the severity of our actions. In so doing, we will focus on our sin and realize our weakness, but we stop there. For it hurts too much to take it to the fullness of the impact that it yields, and that is that it is nothing short of betrayal to God. What else can we call a willful movement away from God? For it is a crime that we turn to that which we know to be wrong, but it is of greater importance to recognize that it is a willful turning away from God that is committed.
If we can then affirm to ourselves that our smallest of insurrections against God are indeed severe in that they are a betrayal, perhaps we can then find true repentance that will cut sin off in its path in the future. To know that we have sinned or failed God will so often make us have regret and feel remorse, but to know that we have betrayed will leave a bitter taste in our mouths that will not soon disappear. And rather than having our mouths water at the site of a sinful temptation, our mouths will remember the bitter taste of betrayal, and therefore compel us to move away from sin--and run to find safety in the arms of God.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (1 Cor.13:11). The reasoning we use to get what we want can be seen to be nothing less than childish. We shrink beneath the guise of personal rights and rationalize to the point of convincing ourselves that we deserve this or that, and then we continue toward it and away from God. It is not unlike a selfish and spoiled little child, determined to get what he or she wants--regardless of the good reasons presented as to why not--forgoing thought of consequences. But as we know, it does not matter how much we try to convince ourselves, we will suffer the consequences of our actions, and our betrayals against God.
I pray God open our eyes to the things we defend that have no place in His children. Lust, pride, greed, stubbornness, discontent, anger, deceitfulness, maliciousness, selfishness, inconsideration of others, gossip, self-righteousness, etc., etc. These are the foes we defend as if friends when we struggle to get our way or have what we want to possess. We look into the distance to see the enemy--holding something we so greatly desire--and we look to God, kiss Him on the cheek, and turn away. Is there anything that this world has to offer that is truly worth turning our backs on God?

[Soldier4Christ]

We Are Called

We are called to be holy. Set apart from the world for purposes of a divine nature. Our differences are not to blind men from God, but to enhance His image in a rightful representation of Christ who lives--Christ, who is the light--Christ, who shines as a bright and morning star in a distant galaxy.
We are called to be as strangers in a foreign land. Even as Christ was the Light who shown in the darkness, yet the darkness could not comprehend Him. We too are to be light, and we too will be misunderstood. In John chapter 15, Jesus tells us, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin” (18-22). “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord” (Mt.10:24).
Shall we call ourselves the children of God? Then let us walk after His likeness. Let us, as children, grow to take on the similitude and characteristics of our heavenly Father, even while on this earth. For we are part of the heavenly house of God and have no place in this earth--it is not our home. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph.2:13-22).
And even as His temple has always been made holy by His residing presence, so we also, who being joined together in one body do rise up as the Holy temple of God--not because we are holy, but because He who resides in us has come to make us holy. An instrument for His perfect purpose. Set apart, untainted, unsoiled, pure and sincere.
Because of this, we are wisely instructed, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:1-10).
For to long we have forgotten that we are not our own--that we have indeed been bought with a costly price. It is not, nor will it ever be too late, to put away selfish want so as to draw near to God and embrace His desires as our own. It is not too late to give up anything that takes our eyes off of our Lord. For only in our death to self will we truly ever find life. And that life is in us and with us daily. We come to a gracious God because Christ has opened the door for us to boldly approach the throne of grace. And as we approach Him, we find forgiveness, love and true peace. And when we go into our day we are not left alone but are given what we need from Our Lord to keep us along our way. “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:14-18).

May God bless you as you seek His will in this new year--and the years to come.

[Soldier4Christ]

 John 21:24-25

THE FINAL WORD

We come at last to the second, final conclusion of the Gospel.  “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them,” it says, “and we know that his testimony is true” (v. 24).  The “we” suggests that at least this passage, if not the entire twenty-first chapter, was written by an editor.  His reference to John is in the third person: “his testimony is true.”

Perhaps this writer was one of John’s disciples, and, in ruminating on the stories of Jesus he had heard John tell, he decided that the ones in chapter 21 should be added to the Gospel originally written or dictated by John himself.  He appended the narratives of the fishing expedition, the meal at the seashore, the commissioning of Peter, and Peter’s asking what John was to do.  And then, in verse 25, he imitated John’s original conclusion in 20:30-31.

Again we are told that Jesus did countless wonders—too many to put in any book.  But what wonders we have seen in this book!  Water turned to wine, blind men given sight, lame persons made to walk, a dead man raised.  The risen Christ appearing to his disciples, displaying his wounds, and causing a skeptic like Thomas to cry out, “My Lord and my God!”  What more could anyone ask?

The author had been confronted by the problem of Jewish Christians’ deserting the faith because of new rules excluding them from the synagogues.  He wanted to remind them of the essentials of the faith, and to do so in such a compelling manner that they reaffirmed their belief in Jesus as the Messiah.  So he showed them what it meant that God, the eternal Word, had become flesh and dwelt among us.  The old religion was totally inadequate beside him.  He was the bread of life; a fountain of living water; the way, the truth, and the life; the good shepherd; the doorway of the sheep; the true vine; the resurrection and life.  He was in perfect unity with them.  To this end, he had sent his Advocate, his Spirit, among them to teach and guide them after he had his hour of glory and returned to be with the Father.  How could anyone leave the Christian faith after being reminded of all this?

We live in a tough world, too, where people daily desert the faith.  Therefore, the Gospel is as meaningful to us as it was to its original readers.  And it is to be hoped that we, like Thomas, will come through our doubts to fall down before Christ and exclaim, “My Lord and my God!”  If we do, we will fulfill the promise of Jesus in 20:29; “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 6:24-34

HAVING TRUE PEACE

  Shalom, the Hebrew word for fullness and peace, was frequently heard among the Jews.  But Jesus struck at the irony of a religion in which so many people spoke of shalom and so few people actually possessed it.  Most Jews, he observed, were like the Gentiles—they clamored for food and clothing and security as if they were the most important things in life.  True shalom had not become part of their life-style.

None of us, said Jesus, can worship both God and worldly possessions.  If we care about mere things—if we pile them up in order to have plenty tomorrow—they inevitably interfere with our giving full attention to God.

How this cuts across the grain with us, just as it did in Matthew’s day!  We must prefer the theology occasionally found in the Old Testament that says that possessions are a sign of God’s favor.  But the New Testament seems to have a bias in favor of being poor—not because there is any special virtue in poverty itself, but because the poor are freer to respond to the radical demands of God’s realm.

God’s wayfarers in the world—that is how the New Testament pictures the disciples of Jesus.  People like Peter and John, who, when accosted by the crippled beggar in Acts 3, had no silver or gold coins to give but gave him instead the healing power that sprang from their dedication and purity of heart.

Peter and John had shalom—really had it – because they had left everything to follow Jesus.  When will we learn there is no other way to have shalom?

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 7:1-12

HOW TO LIVE IN THE WORLD

In these verses, Jesus turns to practical advice for Christians who must go on living in the world.

First, he speaks about how we are to look upon others who live and think differently from us.  It is easy to get upset with them and complain about their way of seeing or behaving.  But, given the fact that we are all unrighteous in God’s eyes, who is really in a position to judge?

Second, he admonishes us to be discreet in how we try to give what we have to others.  Some people will be ready to receive our love and testimony about the heavenly realm.  But others will be like dogs in the street, which turn and snap at those who try to befriend them; or they will be like rough swine that trample on anything of value thrown before them.

Third, he reminds us that we are not alone in facing the world, for God is always there to hear us when we pray.  Just as a parent watches out for a child, so also God is watching over us and will respond to our cries for help.

Finally, Jesus sums up how we are to behave toward others in the world: In simplest terms, we should do everything for them that we would like them to do for us.  This, said Jesus, is what all the law and the prophets come down to.  They are not a vast, complicated compendium of rules and regulations for binding our spirits and making us feel guilty.  They are guidelines to help us interact more equitably and happily with others.  And if we have the Spirit of God in our hearts, we will do it without stopping to recall chapter and verse from the law.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 7:13-23

 

BEING CAREFUL ABOUT WHO WE FOLLOW

Continuing his “worldly advice” for Christians, Jesus warns about the importance of care and vigilance in living as members of God’s realm.  Contrary to our tendency to feel buoyant and expansive about the ease of following Christ’s way, he cautions that the way is actually narrow and difficult, so that few who set out in it finally reach their destination.

Part of the problem is the many unprincipled, opportunistic leaders who easily take advantage of our eagerness and gullibility.  Lacking real spiritual depth, they are nonetheless adroit at manufacturing the appearance of religious knowledge and devotion.  They include pastors who are inwardly unsure of their own faith and evangelists who preach only for materialistic rewards and teachers who manipulate and abuse the truth for their own advantage.  These “false prophets,” as Jesus called them, not only lead the ignorant and undiscerning astray, but also cause even the wise and thoughtful to wonder whether the message of Christ is fundamentally and irrevocably true.

The real test of any follower, leader, and disciple, said Jesus, is not in the outward manifestations of faith—whether he or she calls publicly on the name of God—but in the quiet and consistent way in which the follower sees and does the will of the divine.  Many Christians will probably die under the illusion that they are among the elect of God, only to discover that they have missed the mark altogether.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 7:24-28

MINDING HOW YOU BUILD

When Hurricane Andrew cut its devastating path through southern Florida, in 1992, it severely tested the standards of building construction.  Authorities who investigated the scenes of misery and destruction laid the blame for much of the property loss on contractors who had taken short and easy routes to the erection of houses.  Houses that had been built properly, they said, with all the joists and beams secured in the recommended fashion, generally suffered little damage.  While they sometimes lost shingles, almost never did their roofs blow away or walls collapse.

Jesus, who may have grown up as a carpenter’s son in Nazareth, understood the principles of home construction.  It is fitting that the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, which is a summary of teachings about living as God wants us to live, should be drawn from such plain, down-to-earth experience.  The wise person, he said, will establish his or her home on a trustworthy foundation.  Then, when life becomes difficult or when the soul stands before the judgment of eternity, that person’s inner being will emerge safe and intact.

It was no wonder that the crowds of people who heard Jesus speak were amazed at his teachings.  They were not the carefully hedged and footnoted sayings of a young rabbi, always deferential to older scholars and teachers.  They were the strong, incisive, no-nonsense statements of one who obviously knew both life and God and was able to relate them in ways that were immediately relevant for everybody.  People knew instinctively that he spoke with divine authority.

 

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 8:1-4

THE POWER TO HEAL

After the section on Jesus’ teachings, Matthew new turns to reports of Jesus’ healing power.  The very first story, of the healing of a leper, continues the theme we touched on earlier, that Jesus is greater than Moses, who gave the Torah.

The Torah, in Leviticus 13 and 14, gave very specific instructions about persons have leprosy.  At the very first sign of an itching sore, the inflicted were to present themselves to the priest.  If he verified that they had contracted leprosy, then they must go outside the community and live alone until they either died or were cured of the dread disease.  In the event of a miraculous cure, the healed person was to present himself or herself to the priest, who would determine whether the person was indeed relieved of the disease.  If the priest decided that the person was cured, he would kill a bird, dip a living bird in its blood, sprinkle some blood on the cured person, and release the living bird to fly away as he pronounced the person well.

Moses’ memory was sacred among the Jews because he was the giver of the law.  But here was one who could do more than give a law about a person with leprosy—he could heal the person.  Jesus reached out and touched a man, says Matthew, and immediately the man was cleansed of his disease.

Finally, as if to emphasize again that he had come to fulfill the law, not to destroy it, Jesus told the man to go to the priest and make an offering of the two birds as Moses had commanded.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 8:5-17

MORE HEALINGS

Here we have more stories of healings—two more, to be precise: the servant of the Roman centurion and Peter’s mother-in-law. And then all those nameless ones who were brought with demons and illnesses.

Why, out of the hundreds of stories Matthew must have known, did he choose these two in particular?

The centurion probably represented the non-Jewish world, much as the narrative of the magi had symbolized it in the birth episode.  Even though his Gospel was intended primarily for Jewish Christians, because he was at such pains to point out how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, Matthew obviously wanted to say something here to include all the non-Jews who had become Christians.

“Many will come from east and west,” said Jesus, “and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness” (w.11-12).

As for Peter’s mother-in-law, well, Peter had become something very special in the history of the church, and this little domestic touch would have meant much to the early Christians.  This story is not entirely unlike the first.  After all, Peter was an outsider to the Pharisees, too—one of the little folks, the people of the land, who were practically illiterate on important religious questions.  And a mother-in-law would have enjoyed almost as little status as a servant.  She was, in effect, a nobody.  But even the nobodies are included in the gifts brought by Jesus.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 8:18-22

SAYINGS FOR DISCIPLES

These two sayings, involving would-be disciples, are interesting for their emphasis on the radical demands that Jesus laid upon those who would follow him.

First is the scribe who was awed at Jesus’ teachings and vowed to follow him wherever he went.  He did not know what he was saying, apparently, and Jesus apprised him: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 20).  Two suggestions leap from this saying—one, of the restless itinerant nature of Jesus’ ministry, and the other of the stature of the man.  “Son of Man” is one of several messianic titles found in the scriptures.  Albright and Mann, in the Anchor Bible translation, render this title “The Man,” insisting that is means “Representative Man” as in the book of Daniel.  Either way, Jesus identifies himself with the end time of history and as a cosmic figure who should lack a specific residence.  Persons wishing to follow him were thus reminded that it was no little movement they would become attached to, and that it was not one from which they could turn back whenever they desired.

Second was the follower who wished to come with Jesus after delaying to bury his father (Jewish law required burial within twenty-four hours).  “Follow me,” said Jesus, “and let the dead bury their own dead” (v 22).  What is the meaning of this apparently harsh answer?  Would a day have made that much difference?  Perhaps Jesus was underlining the demand for obedience among his disciples.  Or perhaps he was emphasizing the difference between the old, the era of the Torah, and the new, the era of the Messiah, in which case he was saying in effect, “When you follow me, you are entering a completely new age; let those who belong to the old age take care of their own.”  Whatever the meaning, it is clear that the emphasis was on total commitment to the Messiah.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 8:23-27

THE LORD OF THE WINDS AND SEA

Matthew now narrates three separate incidents depicting the extraordinary power of Jesus: the calming of the sea (8:23-27), the casting out of demons from two Gadarene demoniacs (8:28-34), and the forgiving and healing of a paralytic (9:1-8).

One of the remarkable things about the narrative of the storm when we think about it, is that the cry for help came from disciples, some of whom were fishermen, men of the sea.  For years, the sea had been their second home.  They had surely ridden out many storms for storms were prone to arise quickly on the Sea of Galilee.  Why this sudden evidence of fear and distrust in their own ability to survive?  We can only surmise that the storm’s fury was greater than any they had seen before, and that in the height of the churning clouds and the depth of the troughs opening in the water they were genuinely afraid they would perish.

Jesus was the center of shalom through all of this.  The violence of the storm did not even awaken him.  The men had to shake him and cry out to him that they were on the verge of perishing.  Turning his face toward them (Mark records that he had been sleeping on a pillow), he asked why they had so little faith.  Then he stood and transferred the calm that was in him to the sea itself, and to the winds, so that everything became still.

“What sort of man is this,” marveled the experienced seamen, “that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (v. 27).

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 8:28-34

LORD OVER DEMONS

What have you to do with us, Son of God?” cried the demons.  “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (v.29).  Matthew surely used this story to emphasize that Jesus was recognized as the Messiah even by the evil spirits that inhabited people.  In Enoch, a Jewish apocalypse, demons are said to have power until the day of judgment.  Here, in Matthew, they realize that Jesus is the bringer of that day of judgment, though the final catastrophic day has not arrived.

The passage also indicated again the universal character of Jesus’ messiahship, for he is in Gentile, not Jewish, country (hence the herd of pigs), and these particular demons inhabit two men who are not Jewish.

In Mark’s Gospel (5:1-20) there is only one demoniac, and when Jesus has used his power to exorcise the demons, the man becomes the focus of attention for the townspeople who come out to see the effects of the miracle.  But Matthew, who possibly has combined the Marcan account with another in Mark 1:23-28, so that there are two possessed men instead of one, has the crowds come out to see Jesus, not the cured demoniacs.  It is a subtle change, perhaps, but an important one.  The identity of the Messiah is what is important in all of these stories, not what is done in the stories.  He is the Lord of the new creation, and that is the theme that matters to Matthew.

Mark makes it plain why the men begged him to leave their part of the country:  They were afraid.  Unaccustomed to witnessing such displays of power, they asked Jesus to go away.  They preferred to keep matters the way they were.

[Soldier4Christ]

Matthew 9:1-8

 

THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE AND THE POWER TO HEAL

This story goes beyond the preceding miracle stories in Matthew because it raises the question of Jesus’ authority to forgive sins.  Mark’s account of the same story (2:1-12) makes the problem more explicit:  Only God can forgive sins.  Jesus was accused of blasphemy, therefore, because he was exercising the divine right to forgive.

This would have been a ticklish issue for the Jews, for whom the matter of forgiveness was institutionalized into a system of priests and sacrifices.  Jesus was flying in the face of the entire system by telling the paralytic that he was forgiven.  But Matthew apparently set the story here for two reasons: to indicate the growing conflict between Jesus and the scribes (and by implication the Pharisees) and to further enhance the picture he has already drawn of  Jesus as the leader greater than Moses, who was able to deliver the law but unable to exercise the priestly function of absolving guilt.

The healing miracle, which to human flesh would seem to require more power than forgiving sin, was performed in the story as a sign of authority, which the people could understand.  And, while we do not know the reaction of the scribes to this, the crowds, as is often the case in Matthew’s gospel, respond as though electrified, glorifying God for having sent such authority among them in the flesh.