On Line Bible Study - For the week June 2 - 8, 2008

Lesson 338

Matthew 16:13-28

It’s “Sign Time”. The sign will come from without, but will be confirmed by what is believed within, and what is stated with our mouth. Here is the setting:

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵”But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Where do you go to find the answer to this question? We have already been faced with a previous question: Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? (13:54.) Some believed Jesus could do what he did because he was the Son of David. Many of the religious leaders were of the opinion he could do what he did because he was in league with Beelzebul – the prince of demons. (See 12:22-24.)

Who you are has a great deal to do with what you can do. Up to this point in his gospel, Matthew has left us little doubt as to what Jesus could do. Now, in Chapter 16, he puts the critical question right in our face: Who do you think Jesus is?

Simon Peter will step up to the plate, and Jesus will impart some very important information. . .

Matthew 16: ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven…”

First, Peter’s answer is the blessed answer. Not Right are you! But Blessed are you. . . It’s a blessed answer that Peter gives. And, equally important, it is a revealed answer.

We do experiments to verify results; we test theories in search of explanations. We study laws of nature, the dependable habits of physics. We look at strands of DNA for insight, do focus groups to gauge public interest or awareness. We poll to uncover what people think. But Christianity is, at the heart of it, a revealed religion. Matthew works hard to offer some rational explanation for the belief that Jesus is the Messiah. That’s why we find so many passages from Isaiah In his gospel. Paul will work hard to make a rational case for Jesus as “Christ”. But when push comes to shove, we are not going to believe because of some algebraic equation or some law of physics. We will come to faith in Jesus because we have received revelation. It can come to us by way of some personal experience, some epiphany. But even then, we have to choose between “coincidence” or some divinely breathed moment in our lives. Flesh and blood do not provide the impetus for us to cross the line of faith in Jesus. The revelation comes from heaven.

Simon, the son of Jonah, is given a new name at the point of his declared faith – he is now “Peter” – rock – part of the foundation of the community – the ecclesia – the church – that Jesus will build. With this revelation as the integral part of its foundation, and depending on your translation, neither hell nor death will prevail against it! Such high hopes Jesus has (and Matthew, too!) for this new community! I wonder how many folks in the pews every weekend are cued in to what Jesus expects from us!

I already know the answer to that question – and so do you. Look what happens! No sooner has Peter declared his faith but that he attempts to dissuade Jesus from the Messianic Mission:

Matthew 16: ²¹From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. ²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

This is a stark reminder to us all: Just because you have the right answer to the critical question is no guarantee that you understand the project or are willing to embrace it, even if you do understand it.

Get behind me, Satan! replies Jesus. This project is going to cost you your life! And that’s because it is the only project worth giving your life for!

It is revelation that leads to faith; but believing in Jesus is no guarantee we are truly following him. That is worth thinking about.

For next time we will look at another “sign” – Read Matthew 17:1-21.

On Line Bible Study - For the week May 19-26, 2008

Lesson 336

Matthew 15:1-28

This week we consider two questions:

1. What defiles a person?
2. The need for persistence in the spiritual life.

Matthew 15:^{1 -2} After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, "Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?"

^{3 -9}But Jesus put it right back on them. "Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God's commands? God clearly says, 'Respect your father and mother,' and, 'Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.' But you weasel around that by saying, 'Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I've given to God.' That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God's command by your rules. Frauds! Isaiah's prophecy of you hit the bull's-eye:

These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn't in it.
They act like they're worshiping me,
but they don't mean it.
They just use me as a cover
for teaching whatever suits their fancy."

(From Eugene Peterson's The Message.)

Matthew anticipates the struggle Jesus will have with the center of Jewish pharisaical tradition - his critics "came all the way from Jerusalem". Bible Scholar John Nolland reminds us that the last time Jesus had contact with anyone from Jerusalem in Matthew's Gospel was way back in chapter 4:25. There, it was crowds of people from all over that followed Jesus; here, it is leaders from the heart of Judaism that came not to follow, but to criticize. Peterson's paraphrase puts the issue squarely on the table: the accusation is mutual - people are playing fast and loose with God's commands.

On the surface of it we recognize the trouble this will get Jesus into. Under the surface is the equally unsettling question: What about us? It is so easy to rationalize our way out from underneath the explicit commands to love God and our neighbor. While the Pharisees and scholars home in on ceremonial washing, and Jesus sets his sights on honoring parents, we all know the number of issues is legion. We are constantly finding ways to convince ourselves that: Surely, Jesus didn't mean for me to forgive that person! Certainly, Jesus couldn't have meant that we should sell all we have, give it to the poor and follow him!

It's not that Jesus necessarily expects us to live entirely above board; it's that he wants us to be honest about the fraud we daily commit. Throughout the centuries we have used Christ as a "cover" to kill, to hoard, to justify our own selfishness. Instead of criticizing his disciples, had they admitted that they, too, have not always kept either the letter or the spirit of the law, I wonder how Jesus would have responded to these religious leaders! Here is where the Bible tells it like it is: No matter how hard we try, we are not going to get it right. That doesn't excuse us from trying; it simply keeps us honest. We are all in constant need of humble repentance!

And, as if to prove this point, look at the next story in Matthew 15:

Matthew 15: ²²A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

²³Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

²⁴He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

²⁵The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

²⁶He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

²⁷"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

²⁸Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

(NIV Translation.)

A Canaanite . . . the epitome of Israel's enemy and object of scorn! And a "woman" at that! This is the first time in the Gospel of Matthew that a woman addresses Jesus (Nolland). Matthew has mentioned women - in 8:14 (Peter's mother-in-law), 9:20 (the woman who touched Jesus' garment), and 14:21 (women in the crowd who were fed). But in this situation, the woman initiates the conversation by calling out to him.

Jesus is on a Jewish mission, and he will not be dissuaded from it. But in this case we are reminded - by a foreigner - of the kind of faith Jesus expected to find in Israel. I say "reminded" because it was another gentile - the centurian in Matthew 8:ff - that first impressed Jesus with his faith.

Matthew seems to be making the case that our "worthiness" before God is more about our faith than our deeds. "Faith" is the catalyst for redemptive action. What do we do when the people who manifest the most faith are from outside the "faith community"? Remember this as we prepare for next week's lesson - we will consider Matthew 16:1-12 for next time. Read it if you get the chance.

On Line Bible Study - For the week May 12 - 18, 2008

Lesson 335

Matthew 14: ²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Several interesting things here:

1. We read at the end of John's Gospel that Jesus calls to some of the disciples who were out in a boat fishing. In that story, it is John who recognizes the risen Christ on the shore; but it is Peter who jumps into the water to go to Jesus. (See John 21:1-7.) John Nolland conjectures that perhaps there is a tradition of Peter "getting out of the boat" that underlies the story we are reading this week.
2. Several verses before, we read the crowds gathered around Jesus and they were hungry. The disciples want to "dismiss" them; Jesus refuses. Now that the crowds are fed and satisfied, it is Jesus who dismisses the crowd. Jesus doesn't "dismiss" us until he has fed us.
3. Jesus, intending to join the disciples later, goes to the mountainside to pray. Is he already anticipating the suffering that lies before him?

Storms come - the biblical symbol of chaos and uncertainty that is so much a part of our lives.

Matthew 14: ²⁵During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. ²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." ²⁸"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." ²⁹"Come," he said.

The next time you find yourself tossing and turning in the night (the fourth watch is approximately between 3 and 6 AM), worried about some looming crisis (real or imagined), remember these disciples. They were in the same boat!

Let's take a look at It's a ghost . . . The Greek word is phantasma - used in the New Testament only in this story in Matthew and Mark (6:45-56). The saving power of God reduced to an apparition! Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the spiritual life is to discern the difference between the authentic manifestation of the divine, and a cheap counterfeit. Peter asks the important question: Lord, is it you? That's what is implied! We don't want to be making pronouncements about God only to discover that there is some logical explanation for what got us all excited in the first place. How do we know the difference?

It might sound trite and simplistic . . . but here is a question to ask: Does the event lead us closer to Jesus? What are we all excited about? Does it inspire us to take a risk for the sake of the gospel? Does it move us to worship? The high point of this story is not Jesus walking on water; it is not Peter momentarily doing the same. The high point of this story is simply this:

Matthew 14: ³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

May something happen to you this week that inspires you to say of Jesus: Truly, he is the Son of God!

For next week we will look at Matthew 15:1-28. Read through that section if you have the time.