Signs

Scripture:

1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’  You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”  Jesus then left them and went away.

Observation:

This is the second time in Matthew that the Pharisees and Sadducees had come to Jesus asking for a sign.  He refers to the sign of Jonah… again.  The first time was only a few chapters back in Matthew 12:38-45.  Go read it.  I’ll wait. 

Back?  In this exchange, he’s not being cryptic with them, he’s simply telling them “The answer hasn’t changed”.  Jonah was a prophet and God had sent him on a journey to speak to the capitol city of the Assyrian nation, Nineveh.  Nimrod founded Nineveh after the fall of Babylon, a city characterized by people who (like their leader) had turned violently from God.  Jonah, knowing how wicked they were, didn’t want to go.  You can read that story in the book of Jonah. 

So what was it that Jesus was really saying to the Pharisees? A couple of things:  First of all, he’s chastising them for demanding a sign.  Chapter 12 says that Nineveh’s generation will rise up on judgment of them.  Why? Because they believed without signs and wonders, and repented on the strength of Jonah’s preaching alone.  Jesus told them clearly that he was even greater than Jonah or Elijah and still they demanded a sign, as though he were a trained monkey to perform on command!  Secondly, it was a prophesy of his death and resurrection.  Just as Jonah was three days in the belly of a whale, so would he be three days in the ground and then rise.

Application:

When I read this, I can’t help but think how many times I too have wished for proof or a miracle.  Granted, my motivations were different than those of the Pharisees, but I still desire to know that He is working in my life. 

In my inner ear I can hear Jesus speaking to Thomas (John 20:29) “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

It boils down to faith, doesn’t it? 

I get so much comfort from knowing that Jesus peeked through time and saw you and me, in our moments of crisis.  John 17:20-21, after he prayed for the disciples he also prays for us: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” 

Prayer:

Father God, I praise you for the Holy Spirit that bears testimony of your presence, the helper you sent who confirms your truth.  I pray for those who read this today who struggle with their faith.  I ask that you meet them where they are, and reveal yourself to them.  Amen.

Things Left Unsaid

Matthew Chapter 11

Scripture:

2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask Him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”  (Matthew 11:2-6)

Observation:

There is more to unpack in this chapter than I can write in a devotional.  So much is said clearly and directly in the passage that you can go a long time on just what is written.  But in preparation for the study today I was struck more (and for the first time) by the things that were not said.  In fact, they are SO pointedly not said, that I hear them whispering to each other between the lines.  Let me show you what I see, and you tell me if you hear the echoes of it too.

John the Baptist is in prison – taken by Herod the Great’s son, Herod Antipas.  He sends word through his disciples, to ask Jesus “if he is the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 

For the longest time I thought that John used the plural “we” as in the Jewish people as a whole.  (Referring to the belief that the Jews had concerning the messiah coming to deliver the nation from the oppression of the Romans, much the same way Moses delivered his people from the Egyptians)  This makes John sound like he’s second guessing his own ministry as outlined in the gospel of John 1:6-28.  (A different John than the one we are talking about today) His whole ministry was to prepare the way for Jesus as the messiah.  It seemed as though John forgot in the dark what he knew in the light. 

Yet, Jesus doesn’t rebuke him for this – instead he quotes scripture to him, saying in verse 4 of Matthew,  “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”  

Jesus is responding to John with reference to this quote taken from Isaiah 35:4-6  “4 Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 5 Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness.”  And Isaiah 61:1 “The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners.” 

I went back and looked again at the question John asks, and this time focused on the word “we” as a personal we, instead of a plural or national one, and the word “expect”.  Could it be that John was expecting Jesus to set him free; to rescue him from Herod Antipas?  If so, it changes how I read this chapter and opens up an internal dialogue that I’d never seen before. 

Maybe he wasn’t doubting Jesus as the messiah, he simply waited in expectation of a rescue from prison.  And, when Jesus quoted the messianic verse without the rescue portion, that was his answer. 

In quoting the verse, Jesus claims that he is the messiah; the fulfillment of the messianic prophesies given so long ago, but John shouldn’t look for rescue from his literal prison.  God has given his sign of authority through the miracles performed, and Jesus’ mission was to rescue the world from their prison of sin. (I’m thinking that leading a raiding party to spring John from the clink might have ended Jesus three year ministry before it’s time.)

All of this subtext conversation is contained within references and missing quotes; needing to know the scripture, and what’s missing in the responding quote in order to decode the meaning.  I believe that Jesus knew that the crowd would misunderstand John’s question.  He spends verses 7 through 19 underscoring the importance of John’s ministry.

Application:

So what can we take away from this? Sometimes, the answer is no.  No, you will not be rescued from your situation.  When Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit as our comforter, to ensure that we would never be alone while we are in our dark places.  This same chapter goes on to tell us in verse 11 how the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater even than John; because of this marvelous gift. 

Also, I think it’s good to ask ourselves what our expectations of God are.  Are they realistic?  Do they line up with The Word? 

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for sending the comforter to us, to walk with us in our dark places.  Thank you also for the way your word unfolds to us through time, always yielding new things to learn.  I pray you speak to us in our tender spots and give us the courage to throw off the expectations of the world and conform our lives to you.  Amen.

Left-handed Rightness

Matthew Chapter 6

Scripture:

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  (Matt. 6:1-4)

Observation:

I am convicted by this.  Not because I shout it from rooftops when I give, but because this is the test of our religion.  (James 1:27) What we do, and who gets the honor when we do it is the question.  Instead of trumpets, we now have published lists of donors on websites, in brick, on plaques…

It’s inside us to want to horde, to control others with our resources.  It is in us to want the world look on us favorably for our generosity.  Why else would we publish those lists, create matching funds, have donor perks and such?  We crave recognition when we do righteous things.  It’s human.

Conversely, I think that it is also one of a million ways that we can thumb our nose at God.  “See?  I don’t have to follow your rules to be good.  I can still be moral on my own terms.” 

But peel back the wealth and look at the motives that guide your giving and you will see the true nature of your religion.

Application:

I love that there is a progression of maturity contained in this chapter.  First, it tells us to give, to value God’s assessment of our choices and decisions more than the world. (vs 1-4)  Then second, it talks about securing a dialogue of prayer, literally teaching us how to do it.  Third is a call to deepening that relationship through self-discipline.  In this case; it uses fasting as the example.  Fourth, after you have soaked up the good things that come from being in such a rich relationship, to store your treasures in heaven, where it’s safe from damage, reinvested in the right things so that we are looping at the beginning of the cycle, it becomes self-sustaining. 

Then last, when the priorities are right concerning our wealth, we aren’t to worry about stuff, not to carry the stress from it with us from day to day like stones in a pack.

I think all of us have to approach this lesson in order.  We have to start by being willing to give, and to do it for the right reasons; in secret, for the benefit of others, not for how it looks.  Have you checked your motives lately, asked who it is you are trying to please?

Maybe you are further down the road of maturity.  Maybe you ARE giving in secret, maybe you ARE actively doing things with your resources here on earth that further the kingdom – but you fret.  Maybe you need to focus on trust.  For you, this is an exercise of your faith that your Heavenly Father will supply your needs.

Wherever you are on this progression of maturity, it’s as much of a reflection of your relationship with God as it is with your relationship with man.  Giving ties both relationships together through your point of action.  To give freely and secretly requires trust that you believe in a God who provides for your needs.

Prayer:

Lord I pray as Jesus taught us, that you would give us this day our daily bread.  Help us trust you enough with what we have today, to do with it as you lead, knowing that you will give us what we need tomorrow.  I pray that we would learn through fasting, denying ourselves, how to serve you better.  Amen.

God with Us

Scripture:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.” (Matt. 1:22-23)

Observation:

I can’t help when I read this verse to sit in Christmas mode, and it gets locked into a seasonal message.  So, pardon my dust a moment as I remodel this room in my mind, the walls need to push out, and I have to put the Christmas ornaments back into their box.

What does it really mean for God to “be with us”?  It’s one of the oldest and most common Christian greetings that we have: “the Lord be with you.” 

Off the top of my head I can trace through the bible many places where this phrase is used.  This is not an exhaustive list – check a concordance for a complete one.  But I can immediately reach for where he said he would be with Moses, he assured his successor, Joshua, that he’d be with him.  He called Mary “favored one” and “the Lord is with you” and in John 16:32 Jesus says “I am not alone, he who sent me is with me”.  Then Jesus tells us that he must go so that the Comforter can come to be with us.  Then later, after he’s died and risen again, before he leaves the earth in the ascension, he gives the great commission for ALL believers to make disciples, leaving us with the promise that he would be with us always, even unto the end of the age.

In all those examples that come to mind, each of those people were given a job to do.  Chosen; selected for a purpose in a place and time to accomplish the next step of His plan. 

And that includes us. 

Application:

I suppose the logical step from the last thought is to this one is: Is He with you?  Are you fulfilling the great commission?  He has a plan, he’s with you to move the story (his story) forward.  He’s not with you to make you feel safe or good. 

I confess that in my life I have had times when I’ve wanted a Christmas Box version of him “being with me”.  A talisman I can hold on to like a comfort toy, something that makes me feel safe.  But he’s not a stationary idea.  He is a living presence that calls us to move and to act, often in uncomfortable ways that forces us out of our comfort zones.  He might not be calling you to part the waters, bear his son, or deliver his people from sin; but he does call you to make disciples. 

So, are you reaching for opportunities to know your neighbor, and introduce them to the gospel?  Do you bear one another’s burdens, admonish, and encourage one another?  Are you training your children?  Have you ever held anyone accountable; restored anyone to the faith with gentleness?  All of these things fall under disciple making, and are the reason he is with us.

Prayer:

Lord, give me the courage to go out of my comfort zone.  I like feeling safe, I like feeling in control, and I like having my own way.  What you ask of me is hard.  In fact, what you ask is impossible for me to do out of my own goodness or strength.  It’s why I need you to be with me.  Amen.