Covenant, not Oaths

And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. 

Matthew 23:22

In the Bible, the Father has stressed the value of covenant.  But the tendency for humanity is to take oaths.  Why is that, and why does Jesus discourage oaths (Matthew 5:37)?

Covenants require two people, each one fulfilling their part of that covenant.  As an example, read Deuteronomy 27-29.  On the one hand, the people are to fulfill the covenant by being obedient to His laws.  On the other hand God promises to appropriate blessings for that obedience, and curses upon violations of that covenant.  The nature of the "transaction" (a base version of the idea) is entirely dependent upon each other - interrelated even.

An oath, however, is invoked by a single person and introduces a burden of obligation on themselves that they may or may not be able to fulfill.  Of note, often the oath is sworn by someone or something that had neither considered, nor chosen to be involved.

All throughout the gospel, Jesus' teaching revolves around relationships - relationship with God and relationship with one another.  He values it.  He even requires it.  But relationships (healthy ones) are hard.  They require investment of something more than material possession.  It requires communication, honesty, integrity, love - investments that are the resources of the Kingdom of Heaven.  When these things flow within the context of covenant, they create bonds that are priceless in the eyes of the Father of the heavenly lights.

When there is no relationship, oaths feed into deception.  It's the deception that we don't need another to fulfill our dreams, commitments or desires.  It's the deception that we can do it on our own.  This is the very same deception that leads many down the road of religiosity.  It's the deception that we can "achieve" heaven on our own.  It's the deception that we can remain in control of our own destiny.  It's the yellow brick road that leads to a feeble man behind a feeble curtain.

But lest we be deceived we all have that capacity, even propensity, to go down that trail of tears.  We must be on our guard to avoid that road, and if we do find ourselves among those briars we must find our way back to the true but narrow road.  It's not who we are anymore for those whom Jesus has known (Matthew 7:21-23), but we often forget; we are saved, but also in the process of being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 2:15).  And if we must call on others to help us find our way back to that true road, all the better, for it calls us to enter into covenant - to enter into relationship.

We are not wired to stand alone, so every oath is vain.  We must plug in to the Network that is the Kingdom of God.  Oaths are the solvent that separate us - that isolate us - from that domain.  Covenant is the glue that bonds us to that domain.

Remain in covenant.

Crabs in the Pot

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."

Matthew 23:13

For generations, possibly millenia, the religious leaders of Israel had been holding the Law over the heads of the people - dangling it by a bloody thread, using it as a means to control others.  Forgetting its purpose - a Fatherly contract of blessings and curses; a means of compelling all (including themselves) to depend on the God of All, for none could follow it in its entirety.

Here's a random thought: What if the people of Israel, including the religious elite, realized they could not adhere to this sweltering list of rules with a pure heart and cried out to God earlier on?  Would Jesus have show up at an earlier age under an earlier under a different set of circumstances?  But the question is moot, for "at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

Instead, human nature took over and the religious leaders used the Law and their propensity for corruption to oppress.  That was the system that had become entrenched in Jewish society, and nobody gave it another thought. Like crabs in a crab pot they pulled anyone who tried to relate to God into the boiling inferno with them.

And lest we judge this system as uniquely despicable, it replicates itself in all walks of society - not just religion.  In politics, in business, in bureaucracy,,, the list goes on.

But Jesus was about to detonate the entire system with one epic explosion - the event of His sacrifice.  And for the religious elite who chose not to embrace that sacrifice, their doom was secure.  In this Jesus declared their sad, unfortunate condemnation.

Doctrine vs Revel8tion

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?

Matthew 22:45

When responding to Jesus' question "Whose son is the Christ?", the Pharisees seem to have responded without hesitation: "The son of David". (v. 42)  But Jesus countered with a further question: "If David calls him 'Lord', how can he be his son?" in referencing Psalm 110:1.  To whit, they did not answer - they seemed stunned at the question.

Often in culture, we are taught things that are not questioned; we simply take them at face value with no or even minimal teaching - from topics of evolution, creation, media news influence, societal traditions, and yes religious doctrine.  But we must go deeper if we are to have conviction with substance.  To answer that the Messiah is "the son of David" lacked just that substance.  To the Pharisees, the answer was a matter of fact based on accounts in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings.  But Jesus challenges them that there is something deeper than that of genealogy to this One to come.

If we go to the rest of Psalm 110, we find that deeper thing:

The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
    “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
Your troops will be willing
    on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
    your young men will come to you
    like dew from the morning’s womb.
The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
    and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
He will drink from a brook along the way,
    and so he will lift his head high.

This hails the Messiah as much more than simply one of David's sons:  He is a priest like that of the mysterious Melchizedek - arrayed in holy splendor - who will rule in the midst of enemies.  This is precisely what Jesus did in his death and resurrection; He ruled in the midst of the frenzy of His enemies.  This is more than a son of David, and Jesus was challenging them to see this - to look deeper than their doctrine.

Look deeper into your beliefs, and challenge yourself to know why it is that you believe what you believe.

  

Second Moses

"But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I
am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

- Matthew 22:31-33

Matthew describes a season where three political factions came to him - each with their own perspective.  These were the nationalistic Pharisees, the pro-Roman Herodians and the Sadducees, who did not hold to the resurrection from the dead.  While Jesus answers their questions, He remains on-message and that message remains: Give your life to God.

That God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (who are dead) does not necessarily prove that they are alive in a resurrected state.  The Sadducees are trying to find out if Jesus holds to that idea.  But Jesus' answer is from the Torah, namely the Pentateuch to which the Sadducees do hold.  The quote "I
am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" refers to two verses in Exodus 3 - verses 6 and 15.

Exodus 3 is a recounting of the encounter Moses has with God at the burning bush that was not consumed.  Sandwiched in between the two verses stating that God is the God of the Patriarchs is the commission God gave to Moses - to set His people free.  It is a microcosmic parallel of Jesus' mission for all mankind.  Instead of Moses, the freedom fighter is Jesus.  Instead of Egypt, the place of bondage is sin and death - the human, mortal condition.  Instead of Pharaoh the tyrant is the prince of darkness.  Instead of the land which is to become Israel, the promised land is Jesus' kingdom.

Indeed, Jesus is announcing in one reference that He is the second Moses of whom God Himself prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18.  And this Second Moses is the one who is the Life for all who believe Him.  And He challenges all to give their lives to Him in not only His answer to the Sadducees but also the Pharisees and Herodians (verse 21).  Truly He is the God of life and the living!

Sons of Abraham

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

- Matthew 21:42-44

There are two ways to encounter the Son of God, and both of those ways end in death.  It is better by far to be broken than to be crushed, because if you're broken, that means you can be put back together.  To be crushed is to be decimated beyond recognition.

Jesus is the cornerstone that was taken outside the city and rejected.  But the chisel was taken to that Rock and fashioned into a cornerstone.  This hearkens to Hebrews 5:8 - "Although he was a Son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered."

But again we circle back round to fruit, and the Kingdom of God has been given to those who will produce the Kingdom's fruit.  These are the sons of Abraham that John spoke of in Matthew 3 - "I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."

So then, Jesus who was rejected has been fashioned into the Stone who then fashions those who have been broken - both the good and the bad - into those who bear the wedding clothes of righteousness; this is the same righteousness that was reckoned to Abraham.  And so they become the living stones, the sons of Abraham - all through Jesus, the Son of God.

Like Father, Like Son.

Which of the two did the will of his father?”
“The first,” they answered.

- Matthew 21:31

With this parable, Jesus instructs them of their error by pointing out that those who don't follow the Father at first but then later repent are doing the right thing over those who say they will follow but do not.

But there's a sweeter, deeper dynamic than the issue of the parable at hand.  This is probably the only extended dialog with the religious elite noted in the Bible.  Jesus is taking the time to reason with them through parables.  They won't answer His question in the previous section: was John's baptism ordained by God or just another human idea?  To put a fine point on it, they won't take a stand.  They are taking as politically correct a position as they could.

They start out by asking Him a direct, confrontational question.  But Jesus refuses to "knock that chip off their shoulders" until He gets them to take a stand of their own.  Because it seems they are honestly more comfortable in their scrutiny and judgment of Him than they are in choosing whether He's the "real deal" or not.  So He addresses them indirectly with a parable and then, after they answer His question about that parable, He gets back around to John endorsing him as one who needed to be heeded.

(Regarding their original question about the source of His authority, the documentation of this answer to them in that area is found elsewhere in the gospels. See Matthew 5:36, 37 and Matthew 10:25 are just a couple incidences.)

But the deeper dynamic is this: Jesus meets with us even in the thick of our contention with Him.  Don't be surprised when He confronts us in our struggles with Him.  But neither be surprised that He will likely not answer us in the manner that we expect.  He doesn't play by our rules.

The Fig Tree Incident

Then he said to [the fig tree], “May you never bear fruit again!”

Immediately the tree withered.

Matthew 21:19

If Jesus was so hungry, why didn't He just turn a fig leaf into a fig and be done with it?  Jesus does and says everything with a purpose.  In this case He was making a point, pronouncing judgment and extending mercy in one fell swoop.

The point: Faith is fruit.  "If you believe and don't doubt, then whatever you ask in prayer will be done." (verse 22)  While this may sound like a genie-in-a-bottle statement, there are some significant differences.  First is knowing the one in Whom we put our faith - he is not our slave; He is our God, and believing Him (not just believing in Him) is the lynchpin that puts supernatural things into motion.  Secondly, this faith is expected of us before anything else is to occur.  To put our belief in the Creator of All is a fruit that only human trees can bear and angels long to look into.

Pronouncing judgment: The days of religiosity and its influence over men had been pronounced as over.  Finished.  The power that the religious establishment had was prophetically announced as dead in this key moment.  Withered.  Weak.  Fruitless and completely powerless.  This was on the heels of clearing the temple - evidence that Judaism was not producing the fruit that was expected of it (verses 12,13).  (As if it could every provide answers in the first place, but it had devolved into something tragic and even wicked.)  This was also on the heels of a short, curt answer to the chief priests.  And He did not pause to listening to their answer.  Rather, from there He went to Bethany, the  House of Answer.  This was as if to say to them, you have no answers for these people anymore; I'm proceeding to a place (or time, if you will) where we will get on to providing answers for them.

Extending mercy: Jesus was also provided a stern warning to all that fruitlessness was a very grave condition, yet there is still time to make a change.  He is not a God of sugar and spice and everything nice.  There are boundaries to the love that He extends.  (Indeed, to have no boundaries to love is to cheapen the love itself.)  To respond to this love in faith is the fruit that He craves.  To refuse beyond this boundary is a tragedy that ends only in death.  Yet until the boundary is crossed His mercy remains to extend the opportunity, that all may enter into this life-giving relationship.

John Reichardt sums the passage well:

The Fig Tree Incident wasn't a capricious act by Jesus, but rather a deliberate teaching moment and the result of his motivation to make a level path for God to come. The shock value of the miraculous object lesson was a history lesson in microcosm on the relationship between God and Israel from the Old Testament.

Jesus, fresh from his frustrating second cleansing of the temple immediately realizes the spiritual parallel of this disappointment with the disappointment of his encounter with the beautiful yet barren fig tree. His response is apocalyptic in nature and consistent with Old Testament Biblical themes of God's repeated disappointment with Israel and repeated near destruction.

May we all bear fruit in adoration of this King!

Turf Wars

But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw ... they were indignant.

Matthew 21:15

To Jesus, the gig was up.  The temple courts was the place where Gentiles could go to worship the God of the Jews - the only real God.  It was designated to be the place where all nations could go to pray.  (Isaiah 56:7)  But instead, the priests and teachers had allowed it to be something akin to a gift shop in a 911 museum of sorts, where people could go to exchange foreign for local currency and then buy sacrifices on the cheap - turning a profit in over the sacred.  At face value, it was not quite extortion.  But it was indeed holding the act of worship to God in full contempt.  And it smacked of Eli, Hophni and Phineas at Shiloh where the tabernacle. (Read 1 Samuel chapters 2, and 4)

So when the chief priests and teachers got indignant over a) his healing the blind and lame, b) over the kids enjoying this new celebrity in their midst, and c) over driving out the profiteering in the temple, the straw had broken the camels' backs and they just had to express their indignation.  It was enough that he challenged their system of traditions, theologies and hierarchies.  It was enough that he was showing them up in the performance of their care for the people.  But now He was encroaching on their home base - the temple.  As if it was theirs in the first place.

Indeed, they had lost sight of the intent of this dear place.  But now the time for them to understand had come.  And they were either going to repent and fall in line or they were going to draw the line and sacrifice the Lamb for the sake of every soul.

The final battle had begun, and the children were at stake in the very heart of it all.

Autopilot

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Matthew 21:9 

Events are beginning to take over all of their own, and this is one of those moments.  All of His teachings, all of His challenging, all of His miracles are now squarely backstage as Jesus is escorted into the climactic reason for His coming.  In the celebration of it all, the people even praise Him with an appeal - the same appeal of the blind men at the end of chapter 20.  For Hosanna literally means "Lord save."  Their praises are escorting Jesus the Messiah into answering the very prayer with which they are hailing Him.  He is not praised like this before or after this moment; the moment stands by itself.

It's safe to say that they didn't know what they were doing, but it is the unfolding of an ancient psalm (part of the Hallel recited on Jewish holidays) into its fulfillment.  And it's all playing out without any intervention from Jesus.  His destiny of the saving of our souls has firmly gained impetus, and He is simply riding this wave to its final end - the horns of the altar (Psalm 118:27).

And all we can do is observe, receive and abide in gratefulness.

Redemption Lived

in consolation is journeyed hard and far

the wedded times of water and wine

what price to pay has found us here

where trees and shadows remain

then dance with me and we will be

as never before this moment now one

- revel8r 5-26-19 -

Separating the Dreamers from the Dreams

"I'm lookin' California, but I'm feeling Minnesota"

Soundgarden, BadMotorFinger, Outshined

I listened to this song this morning and couldn't get this line out of my head.  My wife and I had planned a date today in the vineyards of Virginia, and we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful countryside.  The tasting at Narmada were excellent, and Magnolia was just as exceptional.  Recommendations include the Viognier at the former and Hawkins Red Run at the latter.

But as we were on our way back home I was feeling as David Wilcox says it, "metaphorically bugged".

2018 and the beginning of 2019 have been rough on the vineyards of Virginia.  We've had a lot of rain, and that's bad for the vines.  Some vineyards have been wiped out because of it.  Driving up to these vineyards, even these vines don't have nearly as much growth on them as I've remembered in years past.

And it got me to thinking: There's the California wine industry and now there's the much younger Virginia wine community.  Many vineyard owners out here have gotten into it as a second career.  They made a decent amount of money then went all-in on something that they loved.  They rolled the hard six on a dream.  They all put in the hard work, and gave it all they've got.  But then it happened: Just when things started getting traction, just when your dream was beginning to turn the corner into becoming a reality, a curve ball comes and smacks you right in the head.

You lose everything.

That's when you have to make the hard decisions.  Many walk away from the dream, and no one can blame them for it.  They put feet to their dreams where most never even started.  But life happens, and you've got to move on.  They move on to the next dream, holding precious the fond memories.

But there are others who "Re".  Reexamine.  Reinvent. Recalibrate.  They ask themselves, "what do we have that works?"  I could imagine it playing out something like this:  Out of the thousands of vines, there's this one vine on the estate.  It's a Chardonnay.  You planted several varietals.  Viognier, Cab. Sauv, Petit Verdot.  At the beginning you were firing all the torpedoes.  And then there was your pet.  Your cherished varietal that you hoped would be the pièce de ré·sis·tance - Merlot.

But the only thing that survived the rain was that one Chardonnay vine.  You threw it into the mix on that very first day because, eh why not?  But now you set your focus on making that one vine work for your dream.  You're no longer a dreamer.  You've become the dream.  And with that, you make the best danged French Oak aged Chardonnay!  It becomes your passion.  Your favorite varietal - even more than your first love, Merlot.

You're no longer a dreamer.  You're finally living the dream.  No longer looking California.  California wishes they looked like you!

It's seasons like these that separate the men from the boys, the dreamers from the dream.

Stay focused through it all!  The other side is the best glass you've ever had.

The Potter's Cup

Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.

Matthew 20:22

On the heels of outlining the principle of being least, the disciples are suddenly appearing to jockey for position.  Since He just finished detailing the matter in which He would be killed and then rise from the dead, He responds to them by asking them this question: "Can you drink from the cup that I'm going to drink?"  In other words, can you go through what I'm going to go through?  Their answer is founded in a stew of cockiness and ignorance.  But in a stroke of prophecy, He declares they will indeed end up drinking from that cup.

But lest they lose sight of a foundational principle that He wants to make clear, He takes advantage of the sudden strife in the immediate family, loses the pedagogy of speaking in parables and becomes blunt in stating plainly: If you're yearning to be great, you must become a servant.  Hence, the cup from which they will be drinking.  This is the way of Jesus.  This is the mandate and economy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Is it really all about greatness, though?  Sitting at Jesus' right or left is not an issue for Him to decide; the Father will be doing that.  And the disciples would possibly have been quite surprised and possibly indignant (from their current understanding) if they knew then who that going to be:

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesian 2:6,7

This falls squarely in line with the parable of the workers in the vineyard (20:1-16).

Let us, then, serve not for the sake of earning greatness.  But rather, let us serve in the noble and great heart of our Servant King.

The Economy of God

But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.

Matthew 20:13,14 

In this parable, Jesus is not speaking of whether socialism or capitalism are the most "fair" economies.  Rather, He's highlighting the way He distributes the gift of the kingdom to those who respond to His call.  To those who respond to Him on the basis of a contractual relationship, He responds in-kind.  To those who respond to His invitation apart from any agreement, He rewards with the same payment - but as a gift.

The master could have paid them first, so that they wouldn't have known what he did for the latecomers.  But when the ones who worked hardest to earn the wage saw what he did, they viewed it as unfair.    Why, then, did the master make them wait so that they were made to see that the ones who did the least amount of work got paid the same amount as they who worked the most?

It was a mercy, of sorts.  It was to help them see that the payment was a reward and not something that could be earned.  Indeed, he called this hard-working group "friends" (v. 13).  He was appealing to them to not take offense at what he had done, but to shift their perspective on how the master treats all those who come into his vineyard.

If we understand the reward of heaven as something that is earned, then we are living as the first group who worked in the vineyard based on a contractual relationship.  His appeal is that we repent of this mindset - for this is the mindset of religiosity and false piety.  The denarius of heaven is only and always a gift.  To work in His vineyard - the kingdom of heaven - is a privilege, whether you join in the labor early or participate in the joy with your last breath.  Whether you lived your life to the highest of moral standards or whether you responded to His invitation while languishing on death row.  To perceive it any other way is a travesty that will only lead to wrong relationship with the King and His vineyard.

Not All Idols are Made of Wood or Stone

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good.”

Matthew 19:17

Jesus is asked by a rich man in his prime what good must he do to get into heaven.  His intentions are implicit; instead of asking to follow Jesus, he wants to know a recipe for achieving a goal.  Nevertheless, Jesus enters into the discourse and ultimately brings it round to the thing that's been nagging at the young man all along:

“Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

And he walked away sad, knowing that his wealth had too great a hold of him.  For him, that was the thing that blocked him from the goodness of heaven's atmosphere.  For many, wealth is that thing that holds us back.

We say all the right things. We do all the right things.  But in the end there's something that we lack.  Jesus knows what that thing is.  For some, it's family.  For others it's wealth.  For others it's home - or culture, or even religion.  But Jesus is a jealous God, and He will not share His affections with another love!  Don't hedge that relationship by trying to do or achieve or acquire this place of God's goodness while holding on to the very thing that stands between you and Him, for He will surely see through that empty ruse.

Boundary Lines or Something Else?

The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." 

[Jesus said,] "The one who can accept this should accept it." 

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matthew 19:10, 12, 14

This discussion about the legalities of divorce according to the Law was started by "some Pharisees".  He answered their question unequivocally and in response painted a picture of marriage that, at least apparently to the disciples, was too heavy of a burden to carry.  Apparently they were hoping for an answer that gave a little more leeway in the matter...?

But the Law of Moses is what it is - something that paints such a picture as to highlight the need for a more overarching premise.  Since, however, they were asking Him to remain in their weeds He remained there with them until they (the disciples at least) realized that marriage is not intended to provide a way out, and the "way out" that God allowed Moses to provide in the Law is really not a way out after all.

So they express their overwhelming exasperation: "It is better not to marry."  To which He responds, "If you can stand to stay away from that covenant, then do it."  Does this imply, then, that Jesus is not in favor of marriage?

Laws are defining lines - much like rules of a sport or boundary lines on a playing field.  The Law of Moses is no different.  And people spend their whole lives studying these rules.  Often people spend more time sweating over how close they can come to those lines without stepping out of bounds than they spend actually playing the game.

Jesus answers the question of whether God is in favor of marriage by turning around and blessing children (which, under God's design, is one of the primary intended fruits of marriage).  He is, then, indeed in favor of marriage!  Otherwise, one could say that He would not have blessed the children - especially on the heels of stating that if you can stay away from marriage, then do so.

What Jesus is saying is this: "Live your life within the context of following Him - not the Law."  In this, we will happily play this wonderful "game", without any consideration for the boundary lines within which we will then naturally abide.

Gratitude and Forgiveness

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 18:21,22

Why did Peter ask this question? Conceivably, he knew that there is a difference between a call to repentance (which was covered in verses 15-20) and forgiving the sinner.

Forgiveness is best moved by the force of gratitude.  When the servant in this parable (verses 23-34) was forgiven the unpayable debt, he was un-phased by the forgiveness extended by the king.  "When the servant went out [of the king's court]", he apparently gave no further thought to what had been forgiven him.  For when he went out he saw his coworker who owed him a couple dollars and "refused" to even him grace - forgiveness notwithstanding.

What kind of testimony, then, are we (who do not extend forgiveness) to a watching world?  Will they accuse us before the One who forgave us our unpayable debts?  Indeed, they will at least harbor judgment.  What's more, from the Crucified and Resurrected One calls us to hold our offenses loosely in light of the debt we ourselves have been forgiven.

Recognize the sin and address it, but do not harbor the offense - lest it harbor you.  Let gratitude instead motivate you to extend that forgiveness Jesus calls of all of us.

The Power of Unity

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 18:18

What is it that gives us such power and authority over earth and heaven?  In the verses leading up to this one, Jesus is providing guidance on how to bring a lost (or strayed) sheep back into the fold.  He tells us to first confront the brother one on one, then in a small group, then, if all else fails in front of the church (or ecclesia, or assembly implying one of legislative authority).  When all else fails, then let him go to reap the consequences of his ways - to follow that road to its painful end.

The intention, though, is not one of only dealing with sin.  The overarching goal here is to maintain an integrous unity of heart within the church.  In fact, Jesus had been coming at this mandate from several angles since verse 6, when He admonishes us not to cause others to fall into sin.  Armies work best when operating in unison.  The same goes with sports teams.  The Church is no exception.  But when the Church moves in unison, there is another "X Factor" at play - the rule and authority of Jesus Christ.

When all gears are turning in this formidable Force, then we can

• bind up the broken  
• bind up the influence of demons
• set the captives free
• command demons to flee.

Let us walk in unity!

What Offends God?

Photo by Jakob from Pexels. 

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.  Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

Matthew 18:6,7

At the end of chapter 17, Jesus made a strong inference that the disciples were exempt from the ransom/atonement/temple tax because of their sonship. (See Exodus 30:11-16)  But just as significant, He also insists on not offending those who were asking for payment of this tax.  Jesus understood that people have their "hot-buttons".  Those hot-buttons are varied, depending on individual convictions.

But what is it that offends the Almighty?  Shouldn't we care about this more than any other offense?  In a world where avoiding offense is the prescribed, most sacred moral value, what gets the Lion of Judah so much in a rage that He states that the offender should prefer the death penalty above all other punishments?  God is offended to the core when anyone leads or steers a believer onto the road of sin.  Indeed, addiction or poor attitude are avenues of sinfulness.  But what really angers Him to the core is when we convey sinfulness onto another.  The propagation of the human disease is the truest offense to God.

To be honest, though, I think it is safe to say that we are all culpable of this cosmic crime.  We have all led others astray - be it directly or passively.  We are truly lost - the blind leading the blind, bumping against each other in a comedy of mirrors.  But the good news is the passion of Christ that He left the fold to rescue each one of us, one by one, and bring us back into His care.

Let us be more patient, then, with one another.  Let's cooperate with this Great Shepherd and bring the lost back with joy.

Why Faith?

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20

Up to this point in Matthew, Jesus has admonished the disciples for their lack of faith several times.  He has been surprised by people's faith, and he has been surprised by people's lack of faith.  But what is faith? Is it measurable? Why does God put so much value on it?

It's no accident that Jesus uses a mustard seed as a metaphor for faith.  A seed, no matter the size, contains all the nutrients and DNA it needs to become a tree.  It is activated by sunlight, warmth and moisture.  With that activation the seed exerts the energy it needs to break open, push above the soil and sprout.  But without the exertion from within, there can be no tree.  In the same way, His presence and love are the activation.  And the faith that we exert within us is a deliberate act of demonstrating trust in, even pulling on the Father. The two forces act together in a miraculous transformation, and fruit is born in and through us.  Without faith, then, there is simply no fruit.

It's a foundational principal of the way things have been designed in the fabric of the Kingdom.  As fundamental as gravity, our faith is integral to overcoming the soil of this presence reality.  Ever since the first mortal disobedience, we have heaped upon ourselves countless lies.  And these lives have propagated perversion, internal wounding and disease.  But now the Kingdom of the Son has dawned on the world.  Our faith must breach through this darkness to manifest His life-giving power on a desert of death.

is Faith, then, the undoing of all these lies
spun through ages by time’s tragic toil
and our own vain deception?

be then, my vision, to breach that wicked wall
and lay waste, stone by stone
with each strike of that fell hammer!

His blood is precious and all too powerful
to let it flow to forgotten trenches
lean on this mighty river
and let the truth in!

From Father to Sons

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Matthew 17:5

Why did the Father repeat Himself? He had already said it after Jesus was baptized in Matthew 3:15. Why did this event happen at all?  This appearing of Moses and Elijah. This bright cloud that covered them all.  This amazing event that dropped these three to their faces.  Was it about Jesus? Was it to demonstrate that He was in good company with the greatest of prophets, even Moses and Elijah?

Ultimately, as with any other being-stretching event, it always does wind up to be about the Son of God.  It all points to Him in the end.  Which is likely why Moses and Elijah were present and not Abraham or Jacob.  For they were the ones who pointed directly to Jesus, even from the Old Testament.  Moses, who stated that one would come who was greater than he (Deuteronomy 18:15-22).  And Elijah, whom Micah stated would be the one who would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (Micah 4:5-6)

But in all these things, the Father also has an agenda of intentions toward us.  In this case, His intention was to baptize them in His glory and thereby to unveil to them - for a brief moment - the full reality of who Jesus is.  Much as Jesus was baptized in a commissioning of sorts in Matthew 3, this was a commissioning of these disciples.  A commissioning and a charge to listen to Jesus and to take this revelation (in due time) to the people.

There are times when fathers will take their children to a special place and reveal to them amazing things - from father to daughter or son - so that the secret will be infused into them and carried on to the next generation.  Such is the case when Jesus was transfigured on the high place.

When was this commission unveiled to you?  Is it still as real to you now as it was that day?  Maybe it has yet to occur.  Wait for it, and savor every minute!

Buying the Stairway to Heaven

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Jesus 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. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

There was a song in the late seventies sung by a popular band named "Led Zeppelin". The title is "Stairway to Heaven".  The song paints a picture of a woman on a fantastic voyage that ends up being a metaphor for our own journeys. It's quite deep, but also misses the mark by a fair piece.

In this scripture, Peter risks a revelation of Jesus that I think he may have been secretly keeping inside for some time.  He opens up about it at this moment for his closest friends to hear.  And Jesus' response sets the tone for the history of the Church - namely that, as long as She builds on the faith and knowledge that He is the Messiah then the proverbial sky is the limit.  Moreover, whatever we legislate on earth will be legislated in heaven.

Indeed, it hearkens back to another recorded encounter that the Patriarch Jacob had with the Father in Genesis 28:11-13.

When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.”

Here, Jacob is in a place of rest (on a rock, no less) when he dreams of a stairway to heaven.  At the top of the stairway stands the Lord who says that the land belongs to his descendants.  When we are given land, it's not just a place where we are to be "hanging out" or merely existing; it's a place over which we are to exercise authority - much as Jesus stated when he gave us legislative authority over the earth in the opening scripture above.

Indeed Jesus even states that He, Himself is the stairway in John 1:51.

“Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

So then - how is the Church to be built?  We are to be built only on the revelation that Jesus is the means to accessing heaven.  And what's more, this revelation opens up the means to exercising heaven's rule and reign on the earth.