#Matthew22 - Three Round KO With Jesus

Click here to read Matthew 22:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

This whole chapter is sort of a standoff between the teachers of the law and Jesus. After Jesus shares the parable of the wedding banquet, there are three different groups of religious and civic leaders who come to Jesus trying to trap him in his words. Each time Jesus answers in such a way that the leaders are silenced. They can't argue or debate with him because he has actually not only answered the deeper meaning of the question, but in doing so pointed out their error and flaws of logic and heart. After the three questions, Jesus takes his turn to ask one. This question is kind of like a knock-out punch in a boxing match. In fact, the way Jesus answers their questions is not as much like a boxer trying to dodge or deflect, it's more like Neo in the first Matrix movie when he stops the bullets and sees the agents for what they truly are. Still, even though Jesus delivers a knock-out punch to their tricky questions, I don't think his intention was to shame and humiliate. I think it was to wake them up. He was very harsh with the religious leaders, but not to destroy them. Only to get through to their hard hearts that they too would have a chance to repent and be born again (just like Nicodemus, with whom Jesus spoke very gently).

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

Well the parable of the wedding banquet follows immediately after the parables from yesterdays reading in Matthew 21. They all share a similar message. The father asks one son to do a job and he doesn't do it. The landowner hires an initial group of people to manage the vineyard and give him dues. The king invites an initial group of people to the wedding banquet. In each scenario, I think Jesus is referring to the nation of Israel at large, specifically those who call themselves religious leaders. They rejected the prophets, actually neglected God at times, and ultimately killed the Son of God. Jesus is saying that God's patience doesn't last forever, and he is already alluding to the fact that God is now "allowing" Gentiles to become a part of the kingdom and family of God through faith in Christ. The Gentiles and "sinners" were always seen as outsiders of the blessings of God, but in each of these stories, Jesus is saying that those Gentiles and "sinners" who are hungry and eager to receive the blessings of God will be welcomed while those heart-hearted among the Jews will be cast out. Paul also teaches this way using the illustration of natural branches vs. grafted branches on a tree in Romans 11:11-24

3. What does this mean for my life?

I don't know if this was intended to be a Christian finance 101 class with the question of paying taxes, but Jesus' answer helps me to think through my personal finances. There is a pretty common question among Christians of whether we are supposed to give or "tithe" a percentage of our gross income (before taxes are taken out) or net income (what we take home after taxes have been taken out). The best answer is probably, "It doesn't really matter, as long as you give generously and joyfully." But this answer Jesus gives in Matthew 22:18-21 helps me think that really, we should give a percentage of our gross income. As long as we live under a government there will be taxes, and we should give to the government what they have allotted, and give to God what He has asked. Jesus doesn't say, "pay your taxes and then if there is any left over give it to God." Anyway, that's kind of a funny way of looking at it, but it helps me to be a little more generous in giving off of the gross.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

I think I understand the big picture meaning of the wedding parable, as explored in question #2, but there is still a little piece that I don't really understand. When the servants go out and bring in everyone off the street, there is a man who is not wearing wedding garments. Even though he is called "friend" by the king, he is still tied up and thrown outside. I heard once that everyone attending would have been given garments, so he must have either rejected them or chosen not to wear them. Yet my question is still, "What significance does this have for us today? Or what meaning would have been implied to the listeners then?"

That's it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In Christ,
Dan


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#Matthew8 - Touched by Jesus

Click here to read Matthew 8:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

In the first story of healing, Jesus not only proclaimed healing for the person with leprosy, he TOUCHED him. Now, a lot of people use that in a deep emotional sense of the word, "That message really touched me." I think we say that because there is something incredibly powerful about safe, healthy, loving physical touch. Someone with leprosy would have been used to people shunning them and walking to the other side of the street. As a result, they would likely not have experienced any sort of physical touch since they contracted the disease. This touch of Jesus not only brought physical healing, but I believe it meant so much emotionally as well.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

After Jesus heals the Centurion, he reveals that like the Centurion who had put his faith in Jesus, many who were outside of the Jewish heritage would also receive salvation through faith in Christ. And some who were Jewish would be rejected by God because of their rejection of Jesus. This reminds me of a parable Jesus told of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22. The king invites people to a wedding banquet, but the guests don't who up. The king then invites everyone who is out on the streets to come in.

3. So what does this mean for my life?

As I read this chapter, I couldn't help but put myself in the position of the townspeople whose pigs Jesus had just driven off a cliff. At first I think, "Who cares about the pigs? Look at what he did for the demon possessed men." But then I think there may have been times in my life where I wanted to take a step back from God, because he revealed himself in a way that made me uncomfortable. Maybe he asked "too much" of me. Whatever it is, I need to let God be God and follow Jesus wherever he leads.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

In verses 18-22, some people want to follow Jesus, but Jesus dismisses them with some comments. Why did Jesus dismiss them? They didn't seem like unreasonable statements or requests. One person simply declared a desire to follow Jesus wherever, but maybe Jesus knew that he would not be able to follow through on that declaration. Another wanted to bury his father, but I guess we don't really know what that situation was. Maybe his father wasn't even dead yet, and he was saying in effect, "As soon as my father passes away I'll join you." I just wonder what the circumstances were that would cause Jesus to answer in the way that he did.

Have a splendid day.

In Christ,
Dan

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#Ephesians3 - Second Most Powerful Prayer In The Bible

If you can get past the early 90's styles, this is a song by the group Acappella that uses Ephesians 3:20-21. It's beautiful.

Ephesians 3:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

For being a relatively short chapter of the Bible (only 21 verses) there is SO much good stuff in here. What caught my attention was this profound prayer that Paul offers for the Ephesians and "all the Lord's holy people." It is both very simple in nature and incredibly powerful in the outcome. It is a simple prayer, that people would receive the Holy Spirit as their source of strength and guidance, put their faith in Christ, and understand the deep love of God the Father in Christ. It's not long or drawn out, and it's not asking for riches or health or success in careers. It's a prayer for people in their relationship with God. Honestly, of all the recorded prayers in the Bible, I would put this as number 2 on the list of prayers we should all know about and pray ourselves. (Number 1 is the Lord's Prayer...if that needed clarification).

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

First, in this prayer, Paul really emphasizes how we relate to each member of the Trinity. God the Father is the head of the family, Christ is the Son and is our Savior in whom we put our faith, and the Holy Spirit is sent to dwell within us. Since we just read the book of Galatians, I thought of a portion of Galatians 4 that really mentioned the members of the Trinity in a similar fashion. Second, since this is a prayer that I believe we as believers should be very familiar with, I thought right away of the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 and also in Luke 11.

3. So what does this mean for my life?

This chapter and prayer was sort of a slap-in-the-face reminder that I need to be praying for others in this way. I do pray, and I do pray for others, but it's usually about healing their illness or helping them through something. While none of these prayers are bad, I often forget to pray for my friends (believers and unbelievers alike) that they would simply come to know Christ more and more and more. The mission statement of Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps is "To know Jesus Christ and to make Christ known to all." This mission is based on the same passion as Paul's prayer here in Ephesians 3, that people would know Christ in a life-changing way. I need to pray this prayer more often for others, as well as for myself.

4. What question do I have about this passage?

This is more of an English question than a theological question, but the two are related. What is the meaning of the word 'administration' as it appears in this chapter in verses 2 and 9? It seems to confuse me just a little bit. I get the overall picture of how Christ's salvation by faith in Him was kept a mystery until it happened and now it is revealed, but I don't know what the "administration" part is. If that word doesn't appear in your translation, click the link on the "Ephesians 3" above to read it in NIV on BibleGateway.com .

God's blessings.

In Christ,
Dan

Acts 11 - Even to the Gentiles

The big news of this chapter...God's gift of grace that leads to life is not just for a small group of people, but to everyone who believes and turns to the Lord. This is a big deal. In the Bible, the language of "Jew and Gentile" or "Jew and Greek" is used a lot to describe those who are "in" and those who are "out" of God's covenant promise. So the fact that these disciples recognize that God's gift is given "even to Gentiles" is HUGE. I know I am thankful for this promise, because I'm not Jewish. That means that even I can be included in God's plan for salvation. We have known this for for 2,000 years now, but reading this chapter brought a new level of gratitude for God's provision.

Acts 11

1. What stuck out to me from this chapter?

Two things, one small thing, and one small thing with huge implications. First, this time through the chapter, I caught the part where the "disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." That's cool. The believers were also referred to as disciples, or followers of The Way. Second, the phrase in Acts 11:21 really stood out to me: "...a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." The descriptive, visual language of turning to the Lord is very powerful to me. "Believing" implies a heart change, but can often be reduced to a head knowledge or acknowledgement of what is true. However the language of "turning to the Lord" implies a life change, a new direction, a departure from the old way of living and embracing of the new life in Christ. For most people, "believing" something new might not be visible to others, but "turning to the Lord" would mean that things look different. It means that your walk lines up with your talk. It means that the Holy Spirit living in you should produce new (and improved) fruit. That phrase really came at me with a lot of meaning as I read it today.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

About 10 years ago is when my journey with reading the Bible began seriously. I dove in to a couple books initially, and one was Isaiah. Ever since then I remember a very powerful verse from Isaiah 49, in verse 6, which says, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." I LOVE THAT! It is TOO SMALL A THING for the Messiah to only redeem Israel. That seems like a big thing to me, but God's vision is bigger than mine (go figure) and thankfully includes the whole world. Acts 9-11 is largely the fulfillment of this prophecy from Isaiah, or at least the beginning of it.

3. What does this mean for me?

This was the first question I wanted to answer. In verse 17, Peter says, "...who was I to think that I could stand in God's way?" That phrase cut straight to my heart. I wonder how many times I have "stood in God's way" of sharing the gospel message with someone. Maybe I prejudged them. Maybe I was "too busy." Maybe it was inconvenient. Maybe I just didn't want my life to get more complicated at that moment. Ughh. Lord please help me to be more sensitive to your Spirit's leading and let you speak through me despite my feelings.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

In verse 27, there is a reference to "some prophets" who came from Jerusalem. I know there were prophets in the old testament, and a lot more than just the ones who have Bible books named after them. :) But how long had these prophets been prophets? Since Pentecost? Or had there been a group of prophets all the way from Malachi to Jesus' birth? If so, didn't they have some word from God? That would be interesting to find out.

I'm really enjoying these blog entries. I can already tell the Spirit is using it to renew my mind in God's Word. I hope that whether you read a chapter here or there, or join me for the daily chapter, that you feel the same way.

In Christ,
Dan