I Give You the Kingdom So that You Will Not Be Lost

Matthew 13:24-36

 

As we know, Jesus commonly taught in parables.  Parables were meant to give a clearer insight and understanding into the difficult concepts that Jesus was bringing to the children of Israel and the world. In this portion of scripture, Jesus is teaching about the condition and makeup of the Kingdom of heaven, a complicated and perplexing subject. This concept is hard for our minds to wrap around. It is like discovering quantum physics. The kingdom of heaven is complex and dimensionally not easily defined. It is something that we can experience and yet we cannot see it as a Kingdom should be seen. There are no fortresses and armies in the way we might normally have expected a Kingdom to appear. 

Thus Jesus explains it by telling about how the word of God can be planted, even as small as it might be, in receptive hearts, and then it grows and that this is part of the Kingdom. He tells us that the   Kingdom is also something unseen, as he puts it, like yeast. We cannot see the actual yeast in the bread dough but we know it is there because it changes everything and allows the bread to  expand. Thus the kingdom is expanding and growing. We often refer to yeast as "working" in the bread. So it is with the kingdom as it continues to work its way into our lives almost unseen, and  into the life of the culture we live in.

Indeed, His birth opened a door that we had no idea was being opened. Visually we can almost see Jesus in this long trailing cape that comes out of the heavens following him to earth as it brings this swath of material into the world ( the kingdom). There is no doubt that Christ's impact has left us and the world remarkably changed. Even in its great sin, the world's expectations, vision, and  moral compass were radically changed.  It would be a long dissertation here if I were to go into how Christ's teaching erupted the world order that existed when He entered the world.

However, it is important to simply consider how we as a country, a community, a church, a neighborhood  etc. respond to national or international tragedies or disasters. As a predominantly Christian nation, America is incredibly generous when it provides assistance to  others through out the world. And it is not just in this country. Christianity has been the leader in changing the world from disowning its poor, afflicted, down trodden etc. to a world that provides agencies, funds etc. in order to assist people  in all sorts of situations. There is even a world consensus that frowns on mistreatment of human beings. Yes, I know it is far from perfect. There are huge humanity problems left unattended. Yet, the impact is there. The kingdom is working. We must truly give examination to what the world would be like today if Christ had not come to earth.

 

It is interesting that at the end of these  three important parables, Jesus' disciples ask him to explain what he has just taught them. But they do not ask  about all three parables, just the one about the wheat and the weeds. The wheat and the weeds stands out because like some other passages we have seen over  this week, it explains a reality that we often would rather not deal with. It answers the question that even today, we struggle with: "will my unbelieving friends who scoffs at God and religion, will they also go to  heaven?" In the wheat and the weeds parable, Jesus pronounces several things. We are the wheat and the weeds i.e. we are the believers and non-believers. Satan is real and he is planting right along side of what God is planting. Like all weeds, Satan would like to take over the field. In the end God will harvest all and He will separate the wheat from the weeds. Those who have turned their back on the truth, will indeed, be tossed into the fire. It will not matter that they were nice people, with good reputations and generous hearts. If they decided that God was not for them and Jesus was just a myth, then God has a place prepared for them. It does not appear to be heaven.

Most of our culture, even our church going friends, do not want to hear this. It is a difficult Truth. It is the way God made this world and He is at the helm. It is the thing we struggle with because if we accept it, we must now understand in our head and even more troubling, in our heart,  that our loved ones who have turned away from God will have this as their eternity. And this breaks our heart. At the same time, it should make us want to lift them up in continuous prayer so that they may come to the Lord and know His gift. It should make us want to go to them one more time, and a time after that, to tell them the good news. Only God can save them. But he gives us a mouth and mind that can teach them and make the  complex idea of a heavenly Father looking for His  children a reality. It is our only hope.  He is our only hope.

 

Laurie Erdman

Examining The Dirt...

Friday, January 19th - Matthew 12:46-13:23

As always there's much to think about in this passage and too much to consider in writing.

Soil testing. For years, I've read this passage and thought things like, "I know that I'm growing in my faith, so I know I'm good soil. So and so is going through a pretty thorny patch right now. I wonder what it will take to break through the hardness in so and so..."

But as I consider Jesus' teaching in yesterday's reading about how the words we speak reveal the goodness (or badness) of our hearts, I'm challenged to see this passage differently today. I know that for all the good words I say, there are plenty of bad ones, too. Although the words, themselves, might not be terrible, the words I use often reveal a heart that is far from being as perfect and holy as our heavenly Father is. My words reveal a divided and inconsistent heart.

So today, I'm wondering if the soils mean something more, something more challenging for me. Are we not fields full of soil - even different soils? I know there is good soil in me, because I know that God has grabbed a hold of me and rescued me; I know I desire to know my Savior more and become more like him. But I am also certain I have rocky soil in me, places in my heart and mind, where I still resist what God has for me and fail to understand. I suspect that my field has paths worn by habits, and trampled down by life, where the Gospel struggles to sink in and spring to life. I know I've felt thorns and fear in patches of the field of my life where it's difficult to walk by faith, because the pain convinces me to avoid risk and the threatening fears of life convince me to trust the things I see and pretend to control more than the incredible and competent God who hangs the stars in the sky. And I'm thankful that there is good soil in me that's producing fruit. Still, I wonder if the harvest comes anywhere close to Jesus' most conservative estimate of 30 times - much less 100 times - as much as was planted.

I'm grateful that we have the opportunity to read God's Word, to hear it spoken in sermons, to read your reflections on it in blogs and comments, so that it can continually find its way deeper and deeper into the soil of our lives. I trust that as that happens, God is fertilizing each of us and transforming more and more of who and what we are into good soil, producing crops that bring glory to Him.

So today I'm thankful that we have these words of Jesus. I'm grateful that we have the examples of faithful men and women who have gone before us. And I'm glad that we can walk this road together. I'm trusting that, as we continue on this journey, we'll find fewer rocks and thorns and hardened paths, and more and more places where it's obvious that God is growing life in us.

Let's hear what the Farmer has to say about what kinds of soil He finds in the fields of our lives, and trust Him to plow and fertilize and prune, so that His work in, through, and among us is increasingly fruitful.

No Room for Neutrality

"Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. Matthew 12:30   Again, today's reading in Matthew brings us to a number of interesting scenes in Jesus' earthly ministry - casting out demons, confrontations with the Pharisees - as well as bringing us face-to-face with some challenging teaching regarding divided kingdoms, unforgivable sin, the words we speak and spiritual warfare.  Wow!   I'll address one area that stood out to me; I'd love to hear how God spoke to your heart as you wrestled with these difficult passages.   My thoughts on today's reading center around this idea: In our relationship to Jesus, there is no room for neutrality.  In the great struggle that we read about in vs. 25-30 between Jesus and Satan, between the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light, everyone must pick a side.  The claims that Jesus made about himself and His kingdom are so exclusive that those who are indifferent or apathetic are actually on the side of those who deny Him. Jesus is asserting His authority over Satan and, assuming that Jesus is still speaking to the Pharisees and the crowd that had gathered (vs 23-24), he seems to have used this opportunity to sound a warning: either you are for Me or you are against Me.  Following Jesus halfheartedly may be just as dangerous as opposing Him outright.   I won't pretend to fully understand what "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" means (vs 31), but I can tell you my simple interpretation of those passages.  (If I'm wrong, hopefully the professionals will step in!)   I believe that when Jesus says that "speaking against the Son of Man" is forgivable,  He is talking about not accepting the truth of the gospel.  As we know, there is repentance and forgiveness for those who do not yet believe, and Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  Until our dying day (witness the criminal crucified alongside Jesus), it is not too late to receive Him in faith.  It seems to me that the unforgivable sin of speaking against the Holy Spirit may be the very same rejection of the truth of the gospel except that it is done with full understanding of what is being done.  I think we are being warned in this reading, as well as in a couple of places in Hebrews, against a thoughtful, willful, and fully conscious turning away from Jesus.    When Jesus says that there is a sin that "will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come", we see  a very different Savior from one that many people have come to "know".  Many prefer the Savior that loves all, forgives all, accepts all....and requires nothing.  No repentance.  No brokenness.  No submission.  Especially no taking up your cross.  But Jesus, the REAL Jesus of scripture, told us in Matthew 7 that "the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it".      I know I need to keep wrestling with these difficult passages of scripture so that I can better know Jesus - not just the white-washed, sanitized, (dare I say Sunday School?) version of Jesus, but the One whose words are both convicting and affirming.       Lord Jesus, your words can be challenging, confusing and even scary, at times.  There are times when we read scripture and we have more questions when we're finished that when we began.  Thank you for not being angry or impatient with our lack of understanding.  We know that we must choose this day who we will serve; we cannot stay neutral.  Will you give us the faith to choose You?   We are resting in your care, Amen.    Karen

How Do I Measure Up?

These “word-pictures” in the readings are “special”.  We can “see” it!

“O Lord, do I judge people in protest for doing something forbidden when I may be guilty of some weakness/failure in my own life that I don’t admit to You?” 

v. 7  “Mercy” is better than some “sacrifice” we could offer to the Lord.

v. 9  People trying to “trick” Jesus! …Imagine!

I find it is very helpful when the Gospel writer included Old Testament writings and texts to show us how they are “fulfilled” in the life of Jesus.

 

Donald E. Pardun

Simple Equations

Matthew 11:16-30


"To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, 'We played wedding songs and you didn't dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn't mourn.'"


According to "this generation," here's how it's supposed to work: if we sing happy songs, you dance. If we sing sad songs, you mourn. It's a simple equation. We've got it all figured out.

The people to whom Jesus was speaking had a sense of what was right and proper. John the Baptist was suspect because he didn't spend his time eating and drinking, which you're supposed to do. Jesus was also suspect because not only did he drink and feast, he did it with tax collectors, which you're definitely not supposed to do. Both John the Baptist and Jesus stepped outside the lines of "how it's supposed to work," and in doing so, defied the expectations of the people.

Jesus had been preaching, teaching, and doing miracles in towns throughout the region, and the people responded, "Ho-hum." And we are perhaps a bit incredulous that anyone could have that response to Jesus. But Jesus indicates that these are people who think themselves to be very wise and clever. They've got it figured out. Why do they need this repentance Jesus brings? It doesn't fit in with what they know.

In contrast, Jesus says that had he preached in notoriously wicked cities, like Tyre or Sodom, the people would have repented en masse. What accounts for the difference between these people? It seems as if the wicked know their need, and gladly repent when forgiveness is offered. The rest are too sure of their own wisdom to accept the wisdom of Jesus; too certain of how it's supposed to work.

Too often we look to formulas and self-help manuals. Hoping to find the key to spiritual fulfillment, we reduce Jesus to mathematics. But to this generation -- to every generation -- Jesus offers this simple equation to those who know they need him (to me, perhaps the sweetest words Jesus ever spoke): "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Drew Clausen

The Dividing Line

Matthew 10:34 - 11:15

In this passage Jesus continues his instructions to the apostles as he sends them out to preach and teach. In Saturday's reading, Jesus gave his apostles the basic "to-do" list, and in yesterday's reading he related the outward opposition they would encounter on their mission. Today's reading turns our attention toward the inner struggles that Jesus' followers would face, and it is a difficult struggle indeed.

"Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword."

If nothing else gets your attention, this statement does. It flies in the face of everything we think we know about Jesus. He's the Prince of Peace, right? He's healed the sick, spoken words of comfort, preached the Good News. And for Jesus to say that he brings a sword? That doesn't sound like the Jesus I know because it just doesn't sound very . . . nice. (Jesus, of course, is always asking me to get to know him better.)

However else Jesus meant for that statement to be taken, I suspect it was certainly intended to be taken prophetically. There have been many conflicts, great and small, as a result of Jesus' entry into history. And in instructing his apostles (and through them, us) I think here he is focusing on smaller, internal conflicts.

"Your enemies will be right in your own household," he says, and if we haven't experienced it ourselves, we probably know families that have been in conflict as a result of Jesus' entry into their own personal histories. The sword that cuts also divides: a husband resents his wife's new-found faith and the time she spends at church; a student returns home from college with a vibrant new relationship with God, and her family worries she's joined a cult; a young person responds to a call to the mission field and moves halfway across the globe against the wishes of his parents. When someone enters into a relationship with Jesus, all other relationships will (or should) feel the effects.

And we are divided within. Jesus asks his followers to take up their crosses and follow him. Sometimes we take this to mean that we must embrace the hardships that come from following Jesus -- and it does -- but the apostles knew what taking up the cross meant. It meant death. "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."

Even John the Baptist shows this inward struggle. Here is the man who prepared the way for Jesus, who saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending on Jesus, and a voice from above saying "This is my son." And even he struggles with doubt, wondering if Jesus really is the Messiah. If such a man as John the Baptist can doubt, so, too, can we all. And so we do.

But with that sword he brings, Jesus draws the dividing line between faith and doubt, between holding back and surrendering all, between clinging to life and taking up the cross, and he asks us to step across. For his sake.

Drew Clausen

FEAR vs. FAITH

Mathew 10:16-33

 

Three times in this passage Jesus says don’t be afraid (26, 28, 31) In the reading a few days ago he contrasted fear and faith as he quieted the storm (8:26).

 

When he tells us not to fear he is also saying to have faith.  If he wants us to have faith, why didn’t he just say have faith?  Perhaps it is because we can relate to fear better.  I know I can.

 

So what fears are ahead of me today?  No, No—specifically—what fears are my fears today?  Right now?  I need to identify and confess them.  Then turn to Jesus and trust him in faith.

 

Steve Louden