Glorying God in Culture: Redux

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Don Merritt

We Christians can be critical of culture; I include myself in this statement.  It is actually quite easy to be critical of culture since culture involves so many questionable things; especially present day culture.  We would be making a mistake if we just wrote it all off however, for there is no reason whatsoever that God cannot be glorified right in the midst of the culture of man!

I often listen to Public Radio.  The reason that I do is that I enjoy classical music.  It’s kind of fun listening to the announcers on politically correct public radio stations introducing classical music pieces that announce in music the grandeur of Jesus Christ, for in case you don’t listen to it, a very high percentage of classical music, especially Baroque and earlier was written as music of praise for worship.

Everyone knows about the great cathedrals of Europe.  They are monuments built to glorify God!  It is easy to criticize them for being monuments to man, I suppose.  It is also true that their construction involved a great deal of political shenanigans, and that they were built in times that were spiritually troubled.  Yet, consider: Most people today don’t know much about the spiritual problems of 500 years ago.  In fact most people today hardly know there ever was a “500 years ago”.  But everyone knows about those cathedrals that even now are architectural testimonies to faith and our great God.

Today, we may worship differently than our ancestors did.  We may worship differently than they do at the church across the street, but all Christians can give glory to God!  Why can’t we look at what previous generations of Christians have done to glorify God in culture, whether it was in a big way or in a small way, and ask ourselves what we can do to reclaim our culture for Jesus Christ?

Can we give Him glory in art?  Can we give Him glory in literature?  Can we give Him glory in architecture or sculpture or theater or in dancing?  I think we can!

Culture doesn’t have to go against God; it only does because we have surrendered it to those who would mock Him.

I agree that spending hundreds of millions to build a cathedral probably isn’t the best stewardship, but how much does it cost to write a play, a book, a poem, a song, a symphony or paint a picture?  If all of the Christians who have such abilities applied themselves, could we really shake up our culture for Christ?

Yes.

We haven’t gotten very far just complaining have we?

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Matthew’s Story Continues

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Don Merritt

As mentioned in the last post, after Jesus completed His final public address with His lament for Jerusalem in 23:37-39, He and the disciples left the Temple area and walked to the Mount of Olives which overlooks the Temple Mount. Their conversation begins along the way as the disciples call His attention to the Temple:

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.  “Do you see all these things?”he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (24:1-2)

It is vital that we catch the timing of this: First the lament for Jerusalem, they leave and as they do, the disciples call His attention to the Temple, and He tells them it will be completely destroyed.

You may recall that when Jesus first arrived in Jerusalem, He went to the temple and cleared it in an act of active prophecy, directing our attention to its having been corrupted by the reigning Jewish religious establishment. Then we had that odd little scene the next morning when Jesus cursed the fig tree; another prophetic act that hinted at what would happen in the city. That was followed by the conflict at the temple, which has just ended; Jesus laments the city, and now, only minutes later, after pronouncing judgment against the religious establishment, tells the disciples that the temple will be destroyed. They arrive at the Mount of Olives, and sit down privately; they ask Him a question:

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (24:3)

It is important for us to notice that “this” can refer to nothing other than the destruction of the temple, for that is what they have been talking about; it is the context. It is also important that we note that their question contains a premise that the destruction of the temple is going to happen at the same time He returns and the age ends.

As the disciples would soon discover, the premise of their question was false; Jesus answered two different questions in His rather frank response that extends from 24:3 all the way through chapter 25.

This text is a controversial one today; there are many views on it and gallons of ink have been spilled as people record their thoughts. You may have a view that differs from mine, and that’s OK with me. Rather than get into a laborious discussion of the exegetic details, I will continue with Matthew’s larger narrative in these posts, for in my view, the larger narrative is vastly more important than getting lost in the details.

However, I will provide some links to a series of posts I ran about a year and a half ago on this section (which is called “The Olivet Discourse) for those of you who desire more information. Included in those posts is an explanation of how I arrived at the conclusions I am stating in this larger study of Matthew. The first links are below if you are so inclined… and we will pick up on Monday!

 

  1. “Off We Go!”  (Introduction)
  2. “The Real Question” (Matt. 24:1-3)
  3. “Detective Stories and Working Theories” (Figuring out how many questions the disciples really asked in 24:3)
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Judgment!

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Don Merritt

Matthew 23:13-39

After the preamble of 23:1-12 that we discussed in the last post, Jesus continued into this passage, often referred to as “The Seven Woes”. In these verses, we reach the very climax of the confrontation that began when Jesus entered the city, in which Jesus, now very much on the offensive, pronounces the judgment of God upon the “teachers of the law and Pharisees”, representing the entire Jewish religious leadership of the day. For best results, please read the passage before you continue…

“Woe” is a noun meaning “great sorrow or distress” and is used in conjunction with the judgment of God in apocalyptic passages throughout the Old and New Testaments, as Jesus, whom you will remember is still on a prophetic mode, does here. It is important that we remember the makeup of the audience He is speaking to as set forth in 23:1 “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples”; for the most part, the religious leaders had retreated to their private lair to lick their wounds, but I’m sure their “eyes and ears” were lurking…

As we read His words, what forms is really the antitype of a disciple, a person who is the exact opposite of what it is to be a follower of Christ. In 23:13-15 we see that they have dedicated themselves to keeping people out of the Kingdom while Jesus invites all to enter; exactly the opposite of what a disciple would do. In 23:16-24 we see them characterized as “blind guides” whose fallacious reasoning is focused on their obsession with the minutia of the law instead of things that are truly important, which creates an unbearable burden upon the faithful.

In 23:25-28 we see that their great and awesome piety is nothing more than an external show for the benefit of others and to advance their social standing, while inside they are filthy with corruption. The final “woe” in 23:29-32 connects the leadership of that day with all of those who had come before and tortured and murdered God’s messengers for brining God’s truth to their guilty ears. Oh yes, the “teachers of the law and Pharisees” spoke of their high regard for the prophets of old, whom their ancestors had murdered, but even now they were plotting to murder Jesus: “Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!” (23:32)

The next paragraph is huge:

You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation. (23:33-36)

And so it did come to that generation, for the book of Acts is full of this story as the early church was persecuted by the Jewish religious establishment, just as Jesus said it would be, until God stepped in and destroyed Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem was clearly on His mind as Jesus wraps up His address:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ (23:37-39)

For centuries God wanted a real relationship with His people, but time and time again they rebuffed Him. They turned their backs on Him, they perverted His laws, they murdered His messengers while pretending to be holy, and now they would murder His Son. Regrettably, they would pay a steep price for their obstinate unbelief. These were Jesus’ last words in a public address.

The harshness of chapter 23 stands in direct contrast to His words in the Sermon on the Mount, for the Sermon was a blueprint for a disciple, and the Woes describe the opposite approach, the approach of an adversary of God. With this, the stage has been set, the actors are all in their places, and Jesus has completed His work in Jerusalem for now. He and the disciples descend from the Temple area, cross the narrow Kidron Valley (more of a gulch than a valley), and ascend the Mount of Olives that overlooks the Temple. It is there where the action resumes a short while later as Jesus and the disciples discuss what has just taken place.

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Jesus Goes on the Offensive

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Don Merritt

Matthew 23:1-12

In these verses, Jesus goes on the offensive against His foe, and it is important to recognize that His foe is actually Satan, and not the Jewish religious leaders who have been deceived into playing the role as Satan’s shills. I point this out again, because what these texts are really all about is the larger spiritual conflict; we have seen over and over again that these leaders were incapable of seeing the obvious right in front of them, and I have pointed this out many times in this study. For Jesus, the ball game is in His play to the disciples and the crowd; He knows that the Pharisees and teachers of the law aren’t going to change their minds because they have hardened their hearts. A few will understand and repent later… but precious few.

As for the crowds, many will respond in time, perhaps because of what they have heard Jesus say, but most did not. The disciples however are the real prize, for they are destined to lead the church forward in its infancy; they must hang on with Jesus, and as you will see, the next two chapters of this section are discussion between Jesus and the disciples alone. Finally, in our day, in our world, not much has changed from Jesus’ day, and often the battles we find ourselves in have similar dynamics as we must deal with people who are really not our foes, even though they are in our faces. In such cases, the battleground is really in the hearts and minds of those who witness the events as they unfold; we would do well to remember this.

Jesus, now in full Old Testament prophet mode, opens His assault by telling the people that they must do what their leaders tell them to do, acknowledging their position in the seat of Moses, and then tells the people not to do the things their leaders do, for they are hypocrites (23:1-4).

He explains their hypocrisy by reminding the crowds that everything their leaders actually do is for show; to impress people with their importance, their righteousness, and their positions (23:5-6). Then beginning in verse 7, Jesus asserts His divine authority, in my view as a preamble to what follows in 23:13 ff. They are not to call their leaders “Rabbi” or “teacher” for they have only one Teacher. They are not to call anybody “father” for they have only one Heavenly Father. They are not to call anyone “instructor” for they have only one Instructor, and He is the Messiah (who by the way is the One who is speaking).

I’m not quite sure what else He could have said that would assert His superiority over everyone present that would have done so more thoroughly than He did in these verses.

Then, a familiar refrain: “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Personally, I think this was for the disciples’ benefit, since they have heard Him say this a number of times, and haven’t seemed to comprehend it before.

As verse 12 is reverberating across the Temple mount, Jesus is about to deliver God’s judgment upon the Jewish leaders, and all that they represent, but we must wait until next time to hear it!

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Perspective on Matthew’s Continuing Narrative

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Don Merritt

Matthew’s Gospel is one long narrative, with five themes that make up the five main sections of the book. Yet, even though there are shifts in theme, it is still one long narrative. Actually, if it helps you, we can think of the five main themes as phases of the narrative. Our discussion of this continuing narrative left off last time right in the middle of the section that comprises chapters 21-25 in which the theme (or phase) is the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities.

During this time, Jesus acted in the role of an Old Testament prophet who exposes the utter hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders and their complete lack of righteousness (cf. Jer. 7:14, 26:4-12; Ex. 9:1-10; Dan. 9:26). By means of prophetic symbols (21:1-22) and parables (21:28-22:14) Jesus has warned the Jewish religious leadership of their impeding judgment, and even of the impending judgment on the very temple over which they preside. When these leaders are reduced to silence in debate, Jesus seizes the offensive and exposes and denounces their prevailing character traits (23:1-36) and expounds on the doom that awaits them and the consequences that doom will bring upon their beloved city (23:37-39, 24:1-34).

There will be a shift of scene in this process (cf. 23:1 and 24:1-3) yet the theme continues, for chapter 23 prepares us to recognize what is being discussed in 24:4 -25. In these last two chapters, Jesus is answering the disciples’ questions that resulted from the narrative of chapter 23. The tone of chapter 23 seems harsh to our modern sensibilities, and we might wonder how such a loving Jesus could be so harsh. It is important for us to understand that the Jewish religious leadership has established a system that essentially excluded God, and in doing so, they were effectively trying to strangle the life out of God’s precious children; and why were they doing so? Because they had allowed themselves to become corrupt to their very cores. We can say that in chapter 23, Jesus brought this problem to their attention in a way that would have been hard for them to miss in one final attempt to bring them to repentance, or at least to bring some to repentance, and in this effort, Jesus succeeded. The majority as we know did not repent, and ultimately their actions caused the Son of God to be nailed to a cross to silence the truth.

In connection with this, it is also worth noting that the harsh things Jesus said in chapter 23 are well within the conventions of the ancient world for prophetic pronouncements, both in the Hellenistic world and in the Judaic past, which is to say that what sounds surprisingly harsh to the modern ear, would not have seemed as much so in Jesus’ time.

Finally, these verses carry a warning note for the church, lest we should succumb to same temptations to place our pride, prejudice, materialism and perceived position above the needs of the people we lead, and the will of God

In our next post, we will join Jesus as He has a little heart-to-heart with the Jewish leadership.

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Jesus Seizes the Initiative

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Don Merritt

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Matthew 22:41-45

Jesus has sent three waves of frontal assault into headlong retreat; now His counter attack begins; it seems harmless enough, for He begins with a simple question about the Messiah’s paternity; the Pharisees who were there gave Him a clear and correct answer, at least from their point of view, the Messiah is the son of David.

By asking them this question, Jesus is actually giving them His answer to the authority question from 21:23, for what He is about to tell them is that He is much more than the just the son of David. He quotes Psalm 110, in which David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (“by the Spirit”) acknowledges this son as his Lord; how can that be if the son in question is merely David’s offspring?

That is the question that shuts everyone up, and as Matthew has pointed out in the text, no one dared ask Him any more questions, for in this quotation of David himself, is revealed the transcendent character of the Messiah, who sits at the very right hand of God Himself.

Jesus has come from God, full of the authority of God!

Of course the Jewish religious leaders are now even more anxious to kill Him, because, whether they knew it or not, they were acting as the agents of Satan.

In the next post, I will give some background about what happens next in Matthew’s narrative, in which Jesus pronounces God’s judgment upon the religious leadership.

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Photo of the Week: January 20, 2016

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Don Merritt

 

We had a bit of snow last night, and this morning when I was outside shovelling it off of the sidewalks, I noticed that the sun was really sparkling off the snow giving it a twinkling effect. I ran and grabbed my camera to try my luck at capturing it, and this is the result. I don’t think that I really succeeded at capturing it, let’s face it, I really had no idea how to capture such things, but maybe you will still get the idea from this one…

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The Third Wave is Beaten Back

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Don Merritt

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:34-40

With the repulse of the second assault team comprised of the Sadducees, the third wave assault team advances, this time comprised of Pharisees. Unlike the first two waves of attack, this one included an “expert” in the law; they were bringing in one of their “big guns” at this point. It’s interesting to note a slight variation in Matthew’s account in relation to that of Mark 12:28 ff., Mark portrays the third wave as asking a genuine question, while Matthew, the eyewitness, indicates that the question was a test.

Yet in just reading the text, it seems like a fair question; where is the test? Here’s the “behind the scenes story”, as revealed in ancient rabbinic writings:

The Pharisees, sticklers about the law, identified 613 laws of Moses, 365 of which were negative commands, and 248 of which were positive. Of the 613, they differentiated between those they considered “light” and those they considered to be “heavy”, meaning that some of them were a bigger deal than others. However, just because one of these commands was “light” did not mean that it could be neglected, for as they wrote, “Be as heedful of a lighter precept as of a weighty one, for thou knowest not the recompense of reward of each precept” (m. Abot 2:1; Str-B 1:904-5).Since the whole idea of which commandment was greatest was commonly discussed and debated in Pharisaic circles, their trap was that Jesus, and notice they called Him “teacher” (Rabbi) when they asked, might give an answer that implied that one or more of the commands could be neglected, and in doing so could be charged with a violation of Torah that would discredit Him with the people. Back to our story…

Jesus not only avoided their trap, but He rejected their entire (unspoken) premise in mentioning the two love commandments; love God, love your neighbor. In fact, He stated these as the backdrop for His entire approach to the Law, for the Law must not be understood as simply a list of do’s and don’ts, ordinances and violations, but rather in relational terms, a concept that was as foreign to the Pharisees as it was appealing to the crowds. Sadly, it is foreign to a lot of Christians as well.

The third wave assault team was stopped in its tracks.

When we get together again next time, Jesus counter attacks; you won’t want to miss this one!

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The Second Wave

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Don Merritt

Matthew 22:23-33

The stage has been set for the second wave of the Jewish leaders plot to unfold. The second assault team, this time made up of a group of Sadducees, makes their advance on Jesus.

The Sadducees were a rival group to the Pharisees, they were an aristocratic bunch, in high favor with the wealthy, and Jesus was a clear threat to their high and lofty status in the land. Their attack centers upon the issue of the resurrection of the dead, something the Sadducees do not believe in.

They give Jesus their example of seven brothers, all of whom end up being married to the same woman, as each dies in succession without producing an heir. This is a reference to Deut. 25:5-6 and Lev. 38:8 which directs that when a man is married and dies without a child to be his heir, his brother must marry his widow and produce an heir for his dead brother. The premise of their question is that after the resurrection (that they don’t believe in) people remain married in the afterlife, and as it turns out, this is an entirely false premise.

Jesus tells them that “you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God”  He goes on to explain their misunderstanding of the power of God as He tells them about the complete transformation of people in the afterlife as they become “like the angels” in heaven with no further need for procreation. Then He demonstrates their lack of knowledge of the Scriptures in an interesting way, using an example from Exodus.

Citing Exodus 3:6 where God reveals Himself as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” Jesus points out that these three men were centuries in the grave, while God spoke of them as though they were still very much alive, and drives His point home by saying “He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”. It would seem that the extreme materialism of the Sadducees had blinded them to the truth contained in the Scriptures.

Matthew doesn’t record the reaction of the Sadducees, but the crowd was “amazed” at his teaching.

And the second wave of the assault fell back in defeat; the third wave assault team, this time comprised of Pharisees made ready to advance…

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The Jewish Leaders Unleash Their Plot

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Don Merritt

Matthew 22:15-22

The Jewish leaders, after being made to look foolish in public have withdrawn from the scene to plot. They really want Jesus dead, but they still fear their own people will react against them if they simply grab Him and take Him away; they don’t want a riot.

They scheme and plot in secret…

Later that same day, their plans begin to unfold; they will send surrogates to trap Jesus into saying something that incites the crowd. They attack in three waves, this being the first; the surrogates are an interesting little group of the disciples of members of the Sanhedrin and a delegation of Herodians. The Herodians were those who were allied with Herod, the Roman backed “king” of Judea. Herod wasn’t a Jew; relations between the camp of the Jewish leaders and the Herodians were always strained, but to get rid of Jesus was a cause that temporarily united them, and they advance on Jesus with their question about paying tax to Rome. We have already discussed how unpopular this was, so if Jesus would speak out against paying Roman taxes, He would be in deep trouble with the Romans, and subject to arrest. If He spoke in favor of paying the tax, He would lose the favor of the crowds and the leaders would have their opportunity to strike; either way, Jesus would be in trouble.

They begin with flattery, as though to make Jesus relax and think He was among friends. Here’s a tip for you: When you hear politicians, such as this delegation, engage in this kind of flattery, watch out! Jesus was not fooled by this rather thinly veiled tactic, and when they get to the question, He responds by calling them hypocrites. More than that, He demonstrated their hypocrisy when he asked for a Roman coin… and they produced one, right there in front of all the people.

What were these great spokesmen of Jewish virtue doing carrying Roman money around?

When Jesus induced them to acknowledge whose image and name were on the coin, they were finished, and I am reasonably certain they knew it. But Jesus wasn’t quite finished with them; He answered their question in a way that did not betray any obligation to Jewish Law or tradition; “give back to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and give to God that which is God’s.”

They couldn’t help but be amazed for remarkably, they hadn’t seen that one coming; they retreated in defeat. The stage is set for the second assault, a group of Sadducees is ready to advance; Jesus is waiting for them.

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