Tag: Christ

Matthew 12:38-42 – The Sign

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Jonah in the belly

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

“The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen. (NLT)

We often must unlearn before we learn. We need to let go so that we can take on. Repentance is the key to transformation. To repent is to change; and, change involves the humility to admit when we are lost, ask for help, and go in a different direction. The greatest miracle, the best evidence of God’s work in the world, is a changed life – both personal and corporate transformation. Genuine change is not a minor tweak of habits; it is a wholesale reorientation of the heart. New life is not re-branding oneself but is akin to being born again.

For many folks, when it comes to change and transformation, the focus is on others changing – other people need to bend their lives and organizations to how I believe things need to be. As you can tell, this sounds an awful lot like pride and hubris. And, it is.

Repentance and new life is for everyone, not just a select few or others for whom we believe need to change.

Jesus made waves with lots of people by hobnobbing with the least, the lost, and the lowly. Christ actively sought such people out, and healed many of them from sickness, disease, and sin so that they would be united with God and no longer remain on the fringes of society.

Some within the religious establishment of the day did not take the healing ministry of Jesus into consideration because they themselves were not in the transformation business. So, healing miracles which created new life meant nothing for them. For them, Jesus was not flexing any real Messiah muscle and improving their designs to see Gentiles kicked out of Palestine. They even went so far as to ascribe the healing ministry as the work of the devil. They wanted a sign from heaven that would authenticate proper Messiah credentials.

Jonah sign

Jesus said there is already an existing sign: Jonah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so Jesus would be in the earth for three days and nights. The death and resurrection of Jesus is needed, and when faced with this information, the only appropriate response is repentance, a complete U-turn, to a changed life.

Jesus mentioned the Queen of the South to make the same point. When the ancient Ninevites, who were a sinful people, encountered the person of Jonah, they repented; when the Queen encountered the person of Solomon, she changed.  Therefore, how much more ought we to change when encountering the person of Christ?

Jesus himself is the sign. Jonah was in the belly of a whale. He was all but dead. But God caused the whale to belch up Jonah, and he went out as a changed man. The experience of having stomach fluids work on a person for three days and nights would have changed a person both spiritually and physically – bleached completely white and an incredible sight to see!

The whole point of bringing up Jonah was to communicate the great need for repentance when faced with Jesus, his life, his teaching, his ministry. The appropriate response to Jesus is a changed life. Jesus was looking for status quo malcontents, and a desire for transformation and new life. The process of change is hardwired into all creation – from seasons of the year to the seasons of people’s lives – all are designed for a sustained process of time to renew and revolutionize us.

Jesus modeled this for us. He switched his address of heaven and moved into our neighborhood to bring us new life. As the Master of conversion, Jesus extends the invitation to change. All he asks is to let God do the work of change within us, be patient with the construction of the soul he is doing and persist with daily routines of faith individually and with one another.

It pleases Jesus and it is the heart of God to realize new life. Change for change’s sake is not the point. Change that reflects the values of God is. So, we must hear the Scriptures, and we must pray to seek the mind and heart of God.

God Almighty, we desire to be transformed by you and allow the life of Jesus to be expressed through us. We desire to walk in the light of your spirit. Reveal to us those things in our life that need to be made anew. Allow us to discern between flesh and spirit so that we can choose a healthy holy path. Continue to give us spiritual awareness. Transform us into something new altogether. May our old life and way disappear, and our new life emerge for the blessing of the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Matthew 12:15-21 – The Servant of the Lord

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus the Liberator
Jesus the Liberator by Argentine artist Adolfo Perez Esquivel

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
    In his name the nations will put their hope.” (NIV)

It is important to say the words, “I love you.” It is also significant how we say it. If our tone of voice is monotone and our affect flat, then the incongruent words of love will go unrequited. If, however, our tone is soothing and excited and our face beaming as if starstruck, then the love expressed will likely be received and stick.

Christians have a message of love to the world; it is a message of Jesus Christ and his love for humanity. Both the content of our message and the way we communicate it are vitally significant. For if the words we speak are grotesquely mismatched with our tone of voice and affect, then love is not what we convey. Yet, if we have been profoundly and meaningfully touched by the love of God in Christ, then that love cannot be constrained and will find a way to express itself with appropriate mannerisms.

Both the message of Jesus, and the way he proclaimed it, testified that he was, indeed, the promised Savior and the rightful King for God’s world.

The message of Jesus was to proclaim justice to the nations. The disciple Matthew used a quote from the prophet Isaiah to explain the reason why Jesus withdrew, and told people not to make him known.  This was a curious act for a Messiah, to say the least.  After all, we might believe Jesus should loudly proclaim who he is and what he is doing. Human ingenuity might say he should be advancing, not retreating – getting his name out with some notoriety in a slick marketing message so people will come running into the kingdom of God!

Nope, Jesus goes a different direction. Matthew quoted the prophet Isaiah to make it clear who Jesus is and what he is all about. Jesus is God’s servant. Jesus is God’s beloved Son with whom he is well-pleased. The Holy Spirit came on him in his baptism. Jesus became a teacher of justice to the nations, that is, to all kinds of people – even the ones we do not like.

I personally find it strange that there are folks who seem to think justice is something which is not part of the Gospel, as if it were nice, but optional.  However much they believe it is important to engage in some sort of social justice toward the downtrodden, some believers want to put it on a secondary shelf that bends to the primary initiative of speaking, as if we could or should separate the message from the messenger. However, we can no more divide the good news of forgiveness in Christ from social justice any more than can neatly separate the cross and resurrection. It is all redeeming work, and it all goes together.

Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus Christ emphasizes the kingdom of God. The Sovereign of the universe desires all things and all people to be redeemed and come under the Lordship of Christ with the practice of justice as central to making redemption a reality for humanity.

“And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8, NIV)

Mercy and justice go together like corn on the cob and butter, and like pork ribs with barbeque sauce (okay, so I’m from Iowa).  Mercy is God’s unconditional grace and compassion.  Justice is treating all people with equality without favoritism. Biblical justice is not primarily punishment for wrongdoing; it is to give people their rights – and this concept is overwhelmingly taught in the Scriptures, over 200 times in the Old Testament alone. Christ’s back to the Bible movement rightly emphasized justice.

God loves and defends the weak, the poor, and the powerless:

He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. (Psalm 146:7-9, NLT)

We, as God’s people, are to share his passion for justice:

Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable. (Proverbs 31:8, CEB)

“Cursed is anyone who obstructs the legal rights of immigrants, orphans, or widows.”  All the people will reply: “We agree!” (Deuteronomy 27:19, CEB)

Since believers are justified by faith in Christ, we must in both word and deed bring justice to our communities by advocating for the least, the lost, the last, and anyone else without social or economic power in this world.

If we have a voice, we must use it both for ourselves and for those who have no voice.  The voice of justice is the voice of action.  To be concerned for the justice of God is to actively work for the kingdom of God to enter every inch of this world, and every nook and cranny of our homes, neighborhoods, and schools.

The Christian life is much more than avoiding sin; it is about actively pursuing God’s will through words and acts of justice on behalf of the needy.  Jesus came to this earth to proclaim justice, and, as his followers, he expects us to do it, too. For this to happen we must overcome our own prejudices toward anybody unlike us so that we will stand with the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the lowly, and the hurting among us.

The probing question for all of us is: Am I able to see the image of God in someone different from me?

Jesus did. The quote referencing that Jesus “will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice” is referring to the way of Christ – gentle, humble, and meek.  Jesus did not look for dramatic confrontations with others but instead went quietly about his Father’s business.  Jesus was not bullhorn guy, who loudly proclaimed his message on the street corner.  He interacted with and ministered to the lowliest people of society who had no power and nothing to give in return. Jesus did everything to connect with them and not avoid them.

Along the Jordan River in Israel, reeds grew by the millions in Jesus’ day.  They were of little value because there were so many.  Reeds were used to make baskets, pens, flutes, and a variety of other things.  A perfect reed is fragile, and a bruised one is useless.  When the text says that God’s servant will not break a bruised reed, it means that he will treat the weak with sensitivity.  A smoldering wick is also not worth much; if it is damaged, we would just get another one.  A contemporary example might be a paper clip; it is not worth much to us, and a damaged one we would just discard and get another.  The point is that Jesus handles hurting people with care. Society’s poor, disadvantaged, and struggling will not be callously overlooked and tossed aside by Jesus.

Jesus Christ discovered his own island of misfit toys and demonstrated to the world that they were a needed part of society. Small wonder, then, that droves of the lowliest people throughout history have come to Jesus, placing their hope in him.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16, NIV)

My hope is in the name of Lord who made heaven and earth. May you also find Christ as your anchor and hope in the world.

Holy Father, you have given all peoples one common origin. It is your will that they be gathered as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of humanity with the fire of your love and the desire to ensure justice for all. Through sharing your goodness, may we secure equality for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, hatred, and war. May there be a dawning of a truly human society built on love and peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 – The Parable of the Weeds

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Welcome friends! Click the video below and let us gather together around the teaching of Jesus:

You may also view this video at TimEhrhardtYouTube

Click Be Thou My Vision sung by Nathan Pacheco as we seek to grow in the soil of God’s grace through Jesus Christ our Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Soli Deo Gloria.

The Parable of the Weeds

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment
Van Gogh Wheat Field
Wheat Field and Cypress by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, NIV)

We live in an increasingly polarized world. We see it, feel it, and experience it daily in our politics and economy, and even in our families, churches, and faith communities. How are we going to deal with our differences? What kind of path might we chart forward? Where might we turn for help?

Let us acknowledge from the outset that within our world there are vast differences in religion and belief structures, as well as deep differences on issues surrounding human sexuality, immigration, race, and COVID-19, just to name a few. And let us also acknowledge that when we read Christ’s parable of the weeds (or the parable of the wheat and the tares) there is strong tendency to view ourselves and our beliefs as the good seed, which leaves anyone who does not agree with us as the weeds.

It is fruitless for us to debate who is the genuine crop and who is the weeds. We will likely just go around and around with airing our own opinions as gospel truth and expecting others to simply accept our arguments. That approach is neither wise nor even possible. I highly suspect that Christ’s disciples had such a mindset. I see them as the servants who eagerly ask the owner, “Do you want us to pull up the weeds?” In other words, whenever we see weedy people, we want to yank them out and get them out of our lives.

Oh, wouldn’t it be nice if it were that easy? If we could only purge all those problem people with their goofy thinking and crazy politics from among us, then all would be okay. Right? Wrong. It would not be okay. For those who are followers of Jesus, we take our cues from him. So, what Jesus says takes precedence over our personal approaches of how to handle those who express evil.

And what Jesus gave was a clear and unequivocal answer to the issue of weeds: “No, do not pull them up!” I can imagine the disciples (and us for that matter) retorting with: “Well, for heaven’s sake, why not, Jesus? Don’t you see what is happening to our world? Are you going to let this evil keep happening? I thought you cared about us!”

“I’ll tell you, why not,” said our Lord, “Because doing violence to the weeds will end up doing violence to the crop as well.” Christ’s response to our questions about the problem of evil in the world is to let God take care of it. That means, in the meantime, we are supposed to co-exist with each other. Yes, you heard that right. No holy crusades to stamp out problem people. No inquisitions or purges or forced takeovers to uproot whom we consider to be wicked people.

There has always been a temptation for people throughout history to exterminate evil people and force others into right doctrine and theology. That, however, is not our mandate as Christians. God, the owner of the world’s field, will send his own harvesting angels to do the work. They will separate the crop from the weeds. That is not our job.

So, what are we supposed to do with evil – just let it go?  Am I to let that evil person just be evil?  Shouldn’t I give them what they deserve?  Shouldn’t I at least tell them that they are no good rotten sinners and that they are going to hell because they are wicked?

Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had already dealt with how to handle so-called problem people saying,

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44). 

Jesus will decisively solve the problem of evil, and not us!  It is not our place, and if we make it our place, we will end up hurting and destroying our fellow brothers and sisters in the church and the world.  We are to love and pray people into God’s benevolent rule and reign of the earth, not give them the message that they must either turn or burn.

The sobering reality taught by Jesus in this parable is that it is not a simple matter that we, the crop, are here; and they, the weeds, are over there.  It is more sinister than that: The enemy is within, not out there.  We have no further to look than in our own hearts, which is why we desperately need the lordship of Christ to completely overtake us.

Evil is present alongside the good.  Evil exists in the here and now where there is a desire to trip others up, to discourage people in their respective faith commitments, to offend and hurt others who believe differently, to overlook the weak, and to speak ill of others.  Evil is in our backyards where there is an impatient eagerness to step on others to get our way.  Evil is at its height where there is ignorance of Christ’s teaching, for no one can truly follow Jesus if they do not know what that way is. “We have met the enemy, and he is us,” said Walt Kelly in his mid-twentieth century newspaper comic strip, Pogo.

Walt Kelly - Pogo 

The eventual end of evil, when Christ returns, is that wickedness will be handled once and for all. There will be no more tormenting of others; no more oppression; no more inattention to those who are in need; no more disparaging of the weak; no more misguided or petty wars waged on the innocent; no more injustice; no more pain; no more bondage to sin. The tormentors, apart from repentance, will become the tormented. As they have gone about their lives in anger fomenting division and destruction in this life, so the tables will turn in the next life. Therefore, the Holy Scripture is adamant that Today is the day of repentance and salvation because tomorrow is judgment day. As the writer of Hebrews said:

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts… See to it, brothers, and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? (Hebrews 3:7, 12-18, NIV)

Grace awaits us, my friends, ever-present and poised to wash over us with baptismal power and spiritual rest. We may expect God to do things in a hurry.  However, the kingdom of God does not work that way.  The kingdom of God comes gently, like a seed planted in the ground; and, it takes time for it to grow.  Meanwhile, evil exists, and we think it ought to be sucked-up in God’s divine vacuum cleaner like clods of dog and cat hair.  We expect not to be left waiting, and for God to act drastically when we are wronged or are uncomfortable in any way.  We might confuse God’s slowness as being uncaring, when it really means that God is patient, and desires people to come to repentance.  God awaits us, always ready to hear the prayer of the penitent person.

O Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, we are complacent people.  While you desire us to be a beacon of light to a world in need, we have become preoccupied with all the weeds in the field.  We are sorry for the madness unleashed through our own sinful desires.  We invite you now to plant a seed of love in our hearts for all people, not just our friends.  We commit ourselves to watering that seed and nurturing it with your Word.  We choose to trust you and live by your words, Lord Jesus.  Amen.