Tag: Gospels

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Contrarian mandate for leaders.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world Lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

BE DIFFERENT

Matthew’s gospel records a series of conversations that seem to flow from one difficult conversation to the next. These observations may not be linearly connected. However, Matthew, isn’t just writing a gospel account, he is led and inspired by the Holy Spirit to communicate a narrative, and he does so with persuasive intent.

Jesus had just been telling his disciples of the events that would take place very soon. Namely, that he would be handed over to the Romans, tortured, then crucified! But afterward, he would rise from the dead. That’s A LOT to take in for his followers!

Then, Matthew has a mother approaching Jesus, asking for a future favor that would place her two sons on the right and left seats of the ruling throne of a king. Of course, she believed that Jesus, being the messiah meant that he was going to be taking over Rome and establishing himself as the legitimate heir to rule and reign over Jerusalem and the people of Israel. She believed this is how God would create a new world order.

Jesus clearly told her this is not how things will take place. He said to her, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” She and her boys were still thinking of the suffering it would take to overthrow Caesar and take the capital by force. “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”” Jesus ends the conversation with, “that is up to Father God.”

Just the mention of which of the disciples would get honored positions gets the whole group riled up! Matthew writes, the others were (aganakteó), grieved and incensed! Jesus then admonishes the disciples telling them the counterculture, counterintuitive way the Kingdom of God works. Jesus admits that rulers in this world lord and flaunt their authority over those they lead. Interesting Jesus connected secular lordship with rulers exercising “decisive control,” and power, “exerting authority downwards, oppressively.” We know this is how the world works. Rulers or leaders get to wield control and power to get things done.

However, Jesus emphasized the model of His rulership. Anyone who desires to be great in the Kingdom of God will NOT lead through control and power, but rather they will lead by serving! He told them very specifically, “But among you it will be different!” Leaders in God’s economy will be (diakonos), a servant/minister. The word comes from the common table waiters that serve in the open air cafe’s that line the dusty streets of Jerusalem. As Kingdom leaders, they wouldn’t control or oppress, they would serve so well, so fast that they would “raise the dust” to attend to their guests! They would be dust-raising table waiters! What? How? Why?

Jesus didn’t just tell them this is how he rules and reigns in the Kingdom of God, he showed them, he lived it! “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I will leave it up to you to decide if this applies to ALL disciples, all followers of Jesus – which may be you. Or, it just applies to those who aspire to lead, to pastor, to shepherd. Maybe it even applies to those who lead in their business or other areas where they volunteer. You decide. Just know this, if you choose to LEAD in God’s Kingdom, God’s economy – you MUST be a dust-raising table waiter… a servant of all. Albert Baylis said, as a Jesus follower, “we all want to be called servants until someone treats us like one.”

Prayer

Dad,
That all sounds wonderfully spiritual and humbling for sure, but everyone knows it it NOT easy. It’s easy to preach and proclaim servanthood. It’s easy to tell others to serve. But when it comes down to it, actually serving others, it is very hard. Once one serves, people begin to expect it and they seem happy to demand more. It’s hard to figure out the difference between humbly serving and being someone’s doormat. Try we must, right? You did it. You let people mock you and speak lies about you and yet you still gave your life to save us. What a magnificent mystery. Help me not to hold power or control over others, but instead, to serve them.

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Jesus and the H.R. department

Reading Time: 3 minutes


This story always rattles the nerves of an economy based on money, fairness and work ethics. Jesus has no problems telling an offensive story to make a point when it comes to comparing God’s economy to ours. The Kingdom of Heaven is like… God’s Kingdom, God’s rules.

The landowner hires workers for his vineyard for the day. He hires in the morning, noon, afternoon and just an hour short of quitting time. And if we look at fair labor laws and practices, we might think about reporting Jesus to our human resources department, or get the government to fine Jesus for unjust treatment. It is ironic that I can only read and understand this story in my own cultural framework. And, I can immediately Americanize it and see God and His Kingdom as unfair. But this story wasn’t told in my cultural context. And, the listeners weren’t American. And, my own framework of unfairness is actually very fair and filled with grace for folks like myself – a non Jew. Oh, but when I find myself in the story, I see it in a completely different light? Yeah, that’s what happens when making every Bible story about me! A little reminder that this whole life experience is all about God and His story, not mine.

The Jewish audience listening to this would completely understand this as a historical lesson as well as a spiritual one. The first hour workers were readily recognized as the very earliest of humans that followed God – Adam, Eve, Noah and such. The next would be the post flood followers, then the patriarchs like Abraham and Moses. The next would be the prophets. And last would be the Gentiles, which would be most of us! The Jewish listeners would completely see themselves as the “late to the field” workers, because the more famous, obviously more holy ancients would be seen as the longest, hard working hired hands in the story. It was the “last shift” workers that became the problem. God had always intended that ALL come to faith and forgiveness including the Gentiles! God wanted the Jewish people to be the ones who reached across the religious isle to embrace them. This angered the religious leaders who felt that their heritage and their “righteous” acts should get them MORE.

Certainly if the last hour workers received a full days pay, then those who “worked” longer should get some kind of bonus or reward. This isn’t at all how grace works and that’s why Jesus told the story to begin with. We like to think about grace when applied to us who might have served Jesus longer, maybe even better. In our economy, those who came first should get MORE grace, extra favor! We might bristle at the idea that the thief in the cross received the same amount of grace and forgiveness as Mary, the mother of Jesus did – but it’s absolutely true.

Some might think that God’s grace to Mother Teresa or Billy Graham might be exponentially MORE than the small amount of grace you or I would receive. God’s grace is given, not as a reward, payment or bonus, it’s given completely and wholly out of His abundant mercy, His inexhaustible, unfathomable LOVE. And we did NOTHING to deserve it. It is not owed to us, it is a gift! Let’s just say, I will not be reporting Jesus to H.R. I will rejoice when one sinner comes home, when one person, even with their last breath repents and receives mercy and God’s full measure of grace!

Prayer

Dad,
Whoa. I am such the slow learner when it comes to understanding your grace. And, I am constantly fighting the urge to judge others by my own economic standards of spiritual fairness. I am so thankful for the grace extended to me. Thank you for Jesus’ reminder to not be one of the disgruntled workers in your field!

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Missional detour to talk divorce.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick. Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Matthew, being a disciple of Christ, and the “disciple of detail,” captures and compares the moments of Jesus’ mission and contrasts that with our incessant need to preserve our loopholes.

We all have our heart detours to get around the principles and the will of God. What do I mean? Matthew clearly tells us that Jesus was busy fulfilling his purpose and mission from God. Jesus stated before, he was here for the sick – and were not talking purely physical illness. “Large crowds followed!” Why? Because humanity has a lot of needs – we suffer! And, Jesus being Jesus, He healed them. On mission – exhausting work, but WORTH IT! The very next scene appears to be in direct conflict with Jesus’ mission. But maybe it’s not?

Religious leaders also show up, but they don’t show up needy or appear to be suffering. They are sick as well, but don’t know it. They come with tests, traps and spiritual controversies. They have obviously thought through their questions carefully, choosing the ones that would catch Jesus conflicting or twisting God’s own rules.

The Pharisees bring up an interesting question, one that is both very old, yet very current even today! DIVORCE. Oh, the learned, crafty men don’t ask about the pain and suffering of divorce. They don’t ask about the division of families or leaving women destitute after the marriage ends. They don’t even talk about the deep shame of relational failure – when one or both men and women have to live with or hide away in their souls. They want to know if it is permissible, if it’s acceptable to get around or get away with breaking one of God’s earliest relationship rules. That’s why Jesus made a quick joke about the question. “Oh, you haven’t read the scriptures,” Jesus says, trying not to smirk a wry smile. Oh, they knew the one Jesus was referring to. The Genesis 2:24 reference, the “leave and cleave” idea, often still used in many marriage ceremonies. The whole idea of marriage between a man and a woman is this idea of becoming one! They are united, together, a beautiful blending of wills and ways in body and soul. One can imagine the pain and suffering after tearing a whole and unified person apart. Physically, it would be excruciating and it would be a miracle if both halves survived. It is as dangerous and rare as separating conjoined twins! However, that’s not what the Pharisee’s were asking. And that’s not what they wanted Jesus to talk about. No, they were more interested in Moses’ loophole around God’s will, His intent in marital relationships.

Moses, the superhero, the patriarch and leader who brought Israel out of slavery. The man who met with God, talked with God and brought the “big-ten” commands of God down from the mountain. It was this Moses that gave the “command,” allowing a bill of divorce. Yep, in Deuteronomy 24:1 Moses writes his own commentary on getting out of a marriage! Of course, Moses had just finished telling the Israelites about the seriousness of making a vow and keeping a promise. But then he immediately tells the men how to get out of their own marriage vow. For starters, Moses may have referred to fraud in the marriage vow, it certainly wasn’t adultery because that was punishable by death! If you read the verse, it does seem very pro-male and disrespectful to women, “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her…”

The Pharisees mistakenly quote Moses’ allowance as a LAW! Jesus, who is the best possible authority on giving truth and commentary about all things, corrects the misinformation that permeated the religious culture in that day. Jesus takes time away from one mission, while the crowd has gathered, seeking and hoping for healing, to another mission. To try to admonish and correct faulty theology and practices of the religious leaders. This was grace extended, to them and corrective truth, to any who would be trying to use the Moses’ loophole to hastily justify divorce and destruction of families.

Jesus spoke right to their own hearts, saying, “Because of your hardness of heart, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” Notice the liberal use of “you,” and “your”? It was absolutely true then as it is still today – divorce is awful, messy and expensive for husbands and wives. It is devastating when children are involved. If you, family or friends have been through divorce, you know it’s true. There is no need for shame, but we should quit pretending it’s a good thing, an easy thing. Please don’t minimize or idolize divorce. It’s hard. It’s emotional. It’s traumatic. But it should never be trivialized! I don’t just say this just because it’s true. I say this because I am the product of multiple divorces in my family – both birth family and adoptive family. I count four of them!

Prayer

Dad,
You’ve tried explaining that we hard hearts and stubborn desires to get what we want. But it feels so odd that in this story, Jesus us healing those in pain on one hand and begging people to quit causing pain on the other! We must be quite the oblivious spectacle to look down on. Help us. Forgive us. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning, because we are a big bunch of sin-spenders!

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The Jesus process of correction.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

WARNING! NSFC – not safe for church

By now we are painfully aware that we are ALL sinners! The religious, the puritan, the pagan – we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory! Jesus’ words are not a matter of a saint correcting a sinner. This is a believer, a Christ follower, reconciling to another of the same. This is a sinner to sinner situation. Jesus, being perfect, holds the authority to tell us how this should be done.

The steps are simple enough.

  1. A believer sins against you. Ah, but defining “sin” in a church culture is tricky, right? Is it a sin, sin – or a religious preference of opinion? Sins are fairly defined unless we make up non-Biblical offenses, then it becomes super awkward. Someone cheats you, defrauds you or spreads a lie about you…that’s a sin. Someone wears stylishly shredded blue jeans with holes in them to church on Sunday… that is NOT a sin. Having a “sin” conversation about one is very different to having one about the other. Let’s continue.
  2. Go privately. The whole idea is reconciliation between two believers. It’s not a public matter at this point. I find it interesting that Jesus comments AFTER this process and mentions some insight about how God feels about proper behavior and a sense of unity within the community of faith. Jesus uses two examples that we have forever taken completely out of context!
    • One, the idea of “binding” and “loosing.” Whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. What in the world is Jesus talking about? And why have preachers forever used this verse to represent agreement on casting out demons or claiming cash as a blessing from God? Maybe we should look into this verse a little more for ourselves. One of my favorite commentaries believes, “It has to do with admission to and rejection from the membership of the Church.” Whoa! Another suggests that it is more than an “ecclesiastical authority,” it’s a disciple’s authority to deal with sin – thus power to forgive! It is certainly not a freedom to bind or loose whatever we want!
    • Two, Jesus also lets us in on this beautiful truth, that has also been twisted and tweaked beyond its intent. The power of Jesus presence! Jesus remind us that this process of correction and reconciliation is so important that He promises that the outcome can be extraordinarily supernatural. “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them” (18‬:‭19‬-‭20‬). This agreement to settle a grievance is godly, it is holy. And to prove it, Jesus says, when we do things God’s way and not our own – BOOM – Jesus himself is present! This isn’t about a church gathering folks, it’s about the difficult, nitty-gritty grind of reconciling sin!!! It is so powerful and so healthy and good that Jesus personally adjudicates the interaction Himself! So it must be about someone really sinning against us. And, it must be done privately, at first. If there is no confession, no remorse, no admission to SIN, then and only then, can we bring in others to witness and confirm the situation. There’s even a fourth step, if it’s a sin, confronted privately, then with two or three others and there is still no change in owning the sin, no change in behavior, then the church is to be informed that we love a person enough to not allow them to fellowship with us. We give no opportunity to let someone fake their Christianity among us by ignoring, mineralizing or normalizing sin! Jesus basically says, let them go live their life as they please, be it a pagan or corrupt tax collector. They have been put out of the gathering, the fellowship.

We dislike this whole concept of confrontation, confession and correction that we just throw out Jesus words here in these verses. Oh, the words are still there and they are true, but it is so difficult for us to follow, that we just pretend they don’t exist. And, if for a moment you think, “well, as a pastor, you should be the one to obey it.” Or, “as a pastor, you should make us follow the words of Jesus!” Right. That’s worked so well over the past couple thousand years.

These are the rules of faith and behavior as BELIEVERS, as followers of Jesus. We all have the responsibility to listen and obey. This is another reason we have so many problems and issues within the church. This is why we lack unity – because we lack obedience to the Lord’s commands. We have 40,000+ denominations, all fractured and fragmented because we don’t follow the rules of restoration! Instead of obeying the words of Jesus, we have dysfunctional workarounds, subverting God’s will. We triangulate (securing others for our case and cause) and gossip, spreading poison and infecting others. We stay in our churches holding onto bitterness, grudges and un-reconciled relationships. OR, we pickup our spiritual toys and move to another church to start the process all over again. It’s embarrassing! All because I won’t tell you privately, you sinned against me – you hurt me, and I love you and God enough, to tell you. We can do better, right? I know… It starts with me.

Prayer

​Dad,
What can I say? I’m horrible at this. This is so difficult to practice. I have excused my lack of faith and obedience in this area for far too long. Forgive me. Help me, not just hear your Word, but obey it! Amen.

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Dabblers in darkness

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Oh, you can bet the enemy, the liar, seducer, the diabolos, is coming for our children! Mark’s gospel does a better job giving the context of this explosive story. There’s a high moment on the mountain and there’s the devil waiting when you come down the hill! It happens almost every time God is working in us at high moments, when we are winning.

A crowd had already gathered and there was a lot of commotion because a father had brought his child to the disciples for help and the demon inside this boy was manifesting – that’s what they call it today. The demon was acting out what its intentions are for every human who would fall prey to its seduction – pain, suffering and a complete lack of control over our minds and bodies. But how did it get into an innocent child, this young boy? I believe that someone allowed it or even invited in!

The father seems most likely because, in Mark, he’s willing to admit his boy was his responsibility and he didn’t protect him. In fact, it maybe possible that the community let this young man down by intentionally inviting evil to be a part of their town. Jesus, perceiving there was much more going on said, “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy.” (Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭21‬). I believe there were adults that failed to protect the child and likely explored dark and evil practices that opened a door to a very nasty spiritual realm. No matter how it happened or who was responsible, there was a young boy now suffering.

Jesus was irritated by evil perpetrating the innocent and the lack of adult faith to deal with it. Jesus was looking for the tiniest bit of faith, and couldn’t find it. Had evil consumed all hope? Had fear vanquished all belief? The town was stunned and the disciples were stumped. Jesus’ righteous indignation rose in anger as his time on earth was coming to an end, He said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? The word Matthew uses for corrupt is interesting. The word is diastrephó: thoroughly turned. Jesus called out their distorted, twisted, perverted practices. There was definitely something else going on behind this seemingly “random” act of possession! The town may have been filled with dabblers in darkness.

Also, when Jesus says he “puts up with,” the word is anechó: to hold up, bear with. Jesus tells them I won’t be here long to “suffer with you” in these kind of attacks on humanity. The community was in pain, the boy’s dad was in pain and the child was definitely in pain – but Jesus was also in pain! If you’ve ever had a friend continue to invite evil into their life, if you’ve ever seen parents invite or allow evil into their home, you begin to understand how Jesus felt. It is crushingly painful. You feel helpless to fix or change the situation.

I believe the father had a change of heart when he asked Jesus to help him in his own unbelief. It wasn’t just a lack of faith to exorcise a demon, he needed a new faith to reconstruct his entire life! Jesus, please help those in unbelief! Help us to quit inviting evil into our homes, our schools and our cities.

Prayer

Dad,
Help us Oh Lord in our unbelief, our impatience, our impertinence, our corrupt, perverted attempts of reaching for evil to solve our sinfulness. We cry mercy! We repent and ask for forgiveness. For the sake of our children and the young among us – save us, rescue us from ourselves. Amen.

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The experience of a lifetime

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.” Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This powerful episode, this transfiguration, takes place high up on the mountain. A transfiguration is, “a complete change of form or appearance into something more beautiful or spiritual.” We would use a similar word, “transformed.”

Matthew tells us that this is what happened on the mountain when Jesus took three of his closest friends (the minimum for number of witnesses in legal matters) with him to pray. How did Matthew know what happened? He interviewed Peter as an eyewitness.

As Jesus’ physical appearance rapidly changed, his face and clothing bursting with blinding white, two other figures also appear in that moment. Two super, well known characters from the Old Testament – Moses and Elijah. The whole scene is reminiscent of the high mountain moments that took place on Sinai. The presence of God had clearly descended on that place. Jesus, Moses and Elijah are having a conversation, like it was normal, you know, old friends catching up after not seeing each other for 1600 years! The three disciples, Peter, James and John are just standing there, taking it all in. Peter, of course, has to say something, offering to build some temporary tents for the three to have an extended time of fellowship if they so desired. Mark’s gospel adds, “he didn’t know what to say.” Jesus doesn’t respond. But then the cloud comes down.

This descending cloud is directly connected to when God came down on the first tabernacle (Exodus 33:9) and filled the house of the Lord on the dedication of the Temple” (1Kings 8:10). It was, in later Jewish language, described as the “Shechinah” glory of God’s presence. It was a holy moment. It was also a difficult moment to process for the disciples. This friend of theirs, Jesus, was indeed the messiah. But they could not wrap their brains around the concept of what the messiah would be and do according to everything they had been taught about him. Their understanding did not match these experiences. Jesus had proven that He is God through miracles. He had proven that He had all power and authority over ALL things! And now this supernatural moment just put it over the top. And yet, Jesus had already told them he was to die, resurrect, then leave?

In this moment on the mount, these three average guys are experiencing something no one else could even dream of – a meeting with Jesus, two famous Prophets and God-the-Father’s voice coming out of an ominous CLOUD! What’s the protocol for such situations? What does one do when in the middle of a supernatural, other-world event, taking place right in front of you? You fall! You bow! You make yourself as low as possible and stay that way until someone tells you different. You don’t peek! You don’t look at your friends to see what they’re doing. You flatten down, shut up and be very, very still – like you’re dead! Being terrified doesn’t even begin to capture the emotions of that moment. Think about this, when the Apostle Paul says, “every knee will bow and tongue confess,” this moment describes why. Humans won’t bow and confess, being forced to do so. It will be the natural response to complete and utter realization of who Jesus is! Jesus touches them so they can get back up.

This whole experience must have been so overwhelming for the three apostles, Peter, James and John. It did not however, prevent them from having future doubts, questions and even failures! It would be a mistake to think that spiritual high-points are somehow the answer or “fix” to our problems. It didn’t happen then, it’s not going to happen today! The deep patterns of a spiritual life are still the same, denying ourselves, being obedient to pick up the cross of Christ and follow Jesus daily. When we fail, we confess, repent and get back at it.

Prayer

Dad,
It is so hard for me to imagine experiencing something so powerful, so profound, so supernatural. It would take me forever to even process an event like this. Even so, I would completely expect my life to not just be changed, but that I would never again wrestle with doubt, faith or even sin! Ah, but they did, and I realize… so would I. I need your grace and mercy all the way to the end! I need your forgiveness and patience my whole life through. I am grateful for your long-suffering love.

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Hardcore Seventies Vibe.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Coming to Christ in 1977, the tail end of the “Jesus movement,” was a radical time of faith. Calvary Chapel and Chuck Smith were very much at the forefront of this raw truth, with this “turn or burn” belief system. Our youth group’s messages were all about picking up your cross, expecting opposition, even suffering and doing life for the cause of Christ! Yes, we all had rapture fever. And, there was a unified feeling that our family and friends could miss heaven and spend eternity in hell, if they didn’t believe and become saved. “Chic-tracs,” and salvation pamphlets could be found everywhere in restaurants and restrooms. The new translations of the Bible were selling like crazy. One of them, “Good news for modern man,” was a paraphrased version of the Bible. It read like a modern young adult drama, using surfing lingo instead of the King’s English. It was offensive to older folks and a bit off in the translation, but it was a big attention getter in High Schools. It became a conversation starter on campuses across America.

Students curiously stared at those who carried a Bible to school and read it at lunch. They would pass by these new “Bible Thumpers,” and with some respect say, “Whoa, that’s radical man!” I can tell you that it was powerful to be counter-cultural with Christianity in the seventies. But the message wasn’t soft, and filled with comfort and peace. It was considered to be hard-core, and in one’s face about their faith. When we would openly talk about Jesus in class, on campus, it wasn’t seen as judging, narrow minded, bigoted or phobic, it was hard truth. And, it was expected to challenged – we were taught that our faith would be challenged because Jesus himself was challenged!

In my high school science class, my teacher made this brash, arrogant statement about the theory of evolution. But in stating evolution as a fact, he just couldn’t help taking a jab at Christianity, saying, “who would be stupid enough to believe the God created the world?” I was young in my faith, and didn’t think through the moment. I just heard him insult my faith! I raised my hand and said, “I am.” I don’t think he expected anyone to challenge him. Ah, but the sixties and seventies were all about challenging authority figures! He gleefully took opportunity to mock me in front of the whole class.

“Garvin!” He shouted, “you are dumb enough to believe that God created the world?” “Yes,” I said, my cheeks turning bright red with emotion and embarrassment. “How in the world could you believe such nonsense?” he asked. I quietly responded “God said He did in the Bible. And I believe it’s true.” He went on with his lecture and I immediately thought of this idea of picking up the cross and losing my life – or at least my dismal high school reputation. My Youth Pastor had told me this kind of thing would happen when one follows Jesus and quoted Jesus saying “pick up your cross!” Great lesson, right?

I wasn’t being bold, I was just determined not to have anyone knock my faith in the One who had saved my life, promised to change me, lead me and love me. After class, I tried to slip out to avoid the blowback from other students. Shockingly, several of my classmates came up and said, “I’m a Christian too,” and congratulated me for standing up to “the man.” Quietly, I thought, why didn’t anyone else say something? Why didn’t any of them side with me in class? Here’s the thing. I was not some kind of bold, brash evangelist. I didn’t stand on a lunch table and start preaching. I just carried my Bible, had a few conversations with friends and lived my faith with confidence.

Where is that boldness to carry my cross of faith and conviction? Where is the fear of losing my life today? It’s been masked and submerged in trying not to OFFEND others. I must remember the Apostle Paul’s words, “the cross is offensive!” It’s also foolish, he said. (Galations 5:11 & 1 Corinthians 1:18). I understand being gracious, but I was much more forward about defending my faith when I was new believer. Christ died for me, saving me. That’s not just my story, it’s millions of others as well.

Prayer

Dad,
Restore unto me the joy of my salvation! Kindness does not mean I should deny truth, not my truth – THE TRUTH. It should not mean that I can’t boldly tell my story and let you work in those who will listen. Thank you for reminding me to pick up my cross, laying down my life to follow you.

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Religious brand of yeast.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I am told that yeast has some pretty unique, if not plain freaky properties. IT’S ALIVE! I’m not a baker nor a microbiologist, studying eukaryotes (fungi), so my only experience with “leaven” is eating it in pizza or sourdough bread (yum). When I’m told that it can live forever, if properly fed and tended to, it’s pretty creepy. The fact that yeast has to eat and grows and spreads rapidly gives us the perfect object lesson from the most common household ingredient.

The subject of Biblical leaven is spoken of all through the gospels – zýmē, leaven (yeast); (figuratively) the spreading influence of what is typically concealed (but still very dramatic). Leaven is generally a symbol of the spreading nature of evil. Jesus gave multiple warnings about a particular brand of yeast – the religious brand, known as the Pharisee and Sadducee brand. You could pick it up everywhere that people gathered – water-cooler (city gates), church (temple), and grocery stores (marketplace). By the way, the Jews were only allowed to eat Jewish leavened bread, NOT Gentile’s bread. A simple synopsis, given by a Bible Commentary, highlights the beliefs of these two religious groups: “The doctrines the Pharisees taught were the commandments and inventions of men, the traditions of the elders, and justification by the works of the law: the doctrine of the Sadducees was, that there was no resurrection of the dead, nor angels, nor spirits: now because they sought secretly and artfully to infuse their notions into the minds of men; and which, when imbibed, spread their infection, and made men sour, morose, rigid, and ill natured, and swelled and puffed them up with pride and vanity.”

So there’s the brand of yeast, the mother – the starter! The real beauty of Jesus’ illustrations isn’t just the content of the yeast (the arrogant traditions), it was the insidious spreading of these beliefs that so quickly infected others. Its “mother” is traced back to the garden of eden when the choice was made to believe a lie over the truth. God told the first humans not eat because He himself was to teach them about good and evil. The tree was a shortcut to get the “knowledge” sooner, faster and satisfy their own desires as quickly as possible.

This starter brand of yeast was the choice to sin, and the religious zealots peddled it everywhere they went. The argument about who forgot the bread (while traveling WITH the bread of life) was a sure sign of Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s recipe. Jesus smelled the rising aroma of religious yeast, the division and lack of spiritual awareness, then warned his friends TWICE. Can you smell it?

If we could only smell the difference between the wonderful aroma of unity and spiritual perception rather than the attractive fumes of bitterness, division and solely physical experiences! The rising yeast of one is very different than the other. Jesus’ warning wasn’t that the religious bread stunk and could be identified by a putrid smell. Contrarily, it smelled like human desire, pungent and looking delicious to quickly take it and eat it. BEWARE He said. Maybe a modern axiom would be, “if it smells TOO good to be true.”

Prayer

Dad,
I don’t want to eat or promote the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees! I want to know, carry and share the aroma and bread of life – Your gospel – THE truth. Help us see and smell the difference through our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors. I noticed it showed up in how the disciples reacted to a problem and then turned to blame each other. Is this how it works? Give us wisdom in these last days to love one another and stay clear of sin’s religious yeast.

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Scraps for the scrappy

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Matthew sets us up with a rare treat when Jesus travels to these two Gentile areas. I say rare, because Jesus almost exclusively stayed within Jewish territories. Here, while escaping the constant harassment of the Pharisees, Jesus and his friends escape to some of the most beautiful rural scenery. It’s there that a Syro-Phoenician woman, a Canaanite, approaches Jesus.

Matthew helps us compare this woman’s “story of the one,” with the verses that follow in vs. 29-31. The seemingly forced conversation over one little Canaanite girl being healed and the multitude of healings of the Jewish people in vs. 31 – “A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.”

The shocker, after the mother begged Jesus for mercy, Jesus was SILENT. One commentator wrote, “Christ silent to a sufferer’s cry is a paradox which contradicts the whole gospel story.” and, he’s right. It feels unsettling. There were protocols and mission, purpose and intention behind every action that Jesus took! Here, we get a glimpse of God’s singularity to hold true to a promise made to the people of Israel. His favored people had priority of timing and revelation of what God was doing in these few years compared to centuries of preparation. Jesus’ silence was painful for all present.

The disciples, both showing some disdain for the woman and a sense of protectiveness over Jesus, blurted out – breaking the awkwardness of the moment. Dismiss her! (a word specifically used of divorcing a marital partner) She is croaking or shrieking too loudly. Jesus finally speaks and says, “I was (apostelló) sent on a defined mission by God the Father and it is to the people of Israel.” Jesus was always ON MISSION.

The dilemma was clear. Does Jesus veer off course for one cursed and suffering mother and child? Would Jesus then have to follow her into her neighborhood, exorcise a demon and deal with all the others suffering nearby? Would there be another healing mob, all of which would be Gentiles? It wasn’t meant to be cruel, it was to express the seriousness of Jesus’ own purpose and obedience to that calling. It would seem odd to us, but Jesus, having the wisdom and urgency of God’s will over his own, knew that even one misstep could have unintended consequences.

But then the woman threw herself at his feet, worshipping and pleading saying, come, rescue me! This moved Jesus to NOT send her away just yet, but instead gave her a reason for his hesitation to get involved. He gives her an illustration of how difficult it would be to fulfill her request. Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” Even though it sounds like Jesus is calling her and her kind, dogs compared to Jewish children. It wasn’t like that at all. Jesus was comparing to the different loves in a family household: the beloved children and the beloved family pet. Both are loved! Certainly, if a choice had to be made of which one lives and which one dies of starvation, the child would take priority. The thought of a parent taking food out of the starving mouth of their child and then turn, and throw it down to the family pet would be considered a horrible act of abuse. Jesus really did a good job framing the true struggle behind his decision. First he had her pleading for mercy. Then she recognizes who he is by calling out his God-given lineage, connected to Israel’s greatest king. Then she falls at his feet worshipping him! Come on… this is very intense and real.

Ah, but then the woman says something that goes above and beyond the average person begging God for help. She basically says, “Oh, I would never be so bold to think I am worthy of taking the bread from a child’s mouth, but I don’t need the whole bread. I only need the crumbs that may fall as the bread is eaten! I’m not greedy and I know my place, my station in life. I’m just asking for the bits of crumbs that may fall.”

Jesus was obviously impressed with this woman’s faith. Jesus told her that her faith was great and her daughter was healed. God loves it when we cry out to Him. He loves it when we worship and humble ourselves before Him. But, boy oh boy, God really loves our FAITH. And that faith moves the heart of God.

Prayer

Dad,
Wow, I’d really love to have the kind of faith that this woman had! And, I believe that a mother’s prayer, a mom’s request, has got to be the most powerful kind of prayers! Thank you God for momma’s and their faith.

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Cancelling God.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Calling a spade a spade or the pot calling the kettle metal! Jesus calls out the misplaced attention to traditional detail, while the more weighty moral issues are dismissed as unnecessary.

First of all, EWE! Were the disciples not washing their hands before meals? 😂😂😂. No, that’s not what the religious leaders were calling out.

The disciples were not going through the rigorous rituals of purification that were mostly performative, instead of a duty to simple cleanliness. Jesus, using one of his own parable illustrations, doesn’t focus on the splinter in the disciple’s eyes, he wants to point out the log in the Pharisee’s eyes. It’s not the first time that religion is criticized for being overly critical of nonessential behaviors!

Jesus does not waste one second on answering the question. Jesus cross examines one of the most egregious offenses to the law itself. Number five on the big ten list, and the first in priority of our horizontal relationships. The religious ask about clean hands, Jesus asks about unclean hearts. Jesus quickly describes the Pharisees workaround to “legally” avoid honoring their own fathers and mothers. It was such a common, but nasty practice that no one would dare talk about it out in the open, especially in some public conversation. I’ll bet the teachers of the law wished they had never ask Jesus about hand washing.

Their sidestepping of God’s law, intent on honoring their parents, was super complicated but effective. As parents age, their ability to continue to work for money becomes increasingly more difficult. This is still true today. As such, the parents become more dependent on their children to care for them as they enter this elderly stage of their life. Sometimes, things did not go well for them in their senior years and they would become destitute and possibly lose their home and even their means to eat. The part of “honoring” parents meant that the children would step up and make sure their own parents wouldn’t be thrown out on the streets, begging for food and money.

Leave it the religious lawyers to scheme their way out of that responsibility. The Pharisees had it all worked out to skirt this God-honoring system. Just before their parents would become destitute, they would make a formal vow to donate much of their excess money to the temple. That vow was legally binding, but the money was placed in a discretionary fund that was only accessible to those working in the temple system. It was similar to using a “tax-sheltered” method to avoid giving it to the IRS. Except, in this case, they were avoiding the financial care of their own parents! The money was technically “unavailable,” so they could claim deep apologies to their parents for the lack of support. Pretty evil, right?

It was Jesus words in addressing this “attention to wrong priorities” that gets me. Jesus said, “In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition” (vs. 6). Religion and religious practices can often get so entangled in the wrong priorities and give attention to the wrong details that we lose perspective! And when that happens, we are all in danger of nullifying or CANCELLING God!

And in my selfish ignorance, I may choose to judge someone else’s petty sin in complete ignorance of my own major sin. I would end up cancelling God AND judging others in the process! This is another reason it is dangerous to step into the arena of judging others, we lose perspective on our own wrongdoing.

Prayer

Dad,
The nerve of religiosity attempting to cancel you! It’s clearly our own whacky desires that would lead us to not just prefer our own agendas and priorities, but then to formalize them into rules that we would hold over others and judge them as well. Who in the world do we think we are…God ourselves? Oh, that’s the real point, isn’t it? We want to BE our own gods, behaving in some skewed image of ourselves rather than reflecting who you are. We were created in YOUR image, not the other way around. Help us, forgive us Oh Lord.