Matthew 18:1-5 The Greatest or The Least?

Matthew 18:1-5  At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

In today’s verses we see a world turned upside down with the greatest on earth as the least and the least on earth as the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  This condition is unimaginable in our world where we measure almost everyone by who is a winner and who is a loser.  We fight or compete for positions of honor or to be well-known by others.  We want to be popular, respected, or maybe even feared.  Institutions and groups of all sorts preen or even battle for acceptance to insure financial support above other similar organizations.  Religious groups war over what god or divinity should be served.  Christian communities split or even kill each other over dogma and beliefs about God.  Humans are not inclined to take a backseat.  We want the driver’s seat, determining the direction of our lives.  Even in our most intimate relationships, we do not back down or take less than what we think we deserve.  Any supposed slight deserves retribution rather than salve to heal the dispute.  Our first response is often to defend instead of seeking understanding.  To prove a point, we will allow for permanent division in our relationships.  There is no respect, honor or advantage in being the least; we want to come out on top.  We desire the center stage, the ballerina or the star of the production with the spotlight on us.  We hope to be noticed and respected, a significant person with rights and privileges that are important and recognized by others.  Sometimes our existence depends on taking advantage of others, the less fortunate, even without our recognition of this reality.  They sew our clothes, produce our electronics, toil in the fields to produce our food— all under the duress of not having enough food and housing to take care of themselves.  They are the least and we are glad we are not the least.  We believe we were created for better things than to be servants to others.  In the above focus, Jesus reveals how different humans are compared to the divine.  We know Jesus lived out his life as a servant, even dying an ignominious death for his enemies, willing to be a slave to their need of eternal life.  We do not want to be childlike with little power.  We want to be the knowledgeable, prominent humans who can dictate terms to others on how to live successfully.  But Jesus says to the disciples, Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  The answer to eternal life, to existence that is forever is not what James and John asked Jesus for: Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.  “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”  “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  (Mark 10:35-37)   Eternity does not rest on who is the greatest, who holds the best position in heaven, eternity depends on being as Jesus is.  He was a servant to all.  Peace, tranquility, eternity comes in knowing God’s nature, not the proclivity of men to determine winners or losers.  Peace, goodness, and love are attributes of God, not competition for the best spot in heaven.  He will give his attributes liberally to all people who place their faith as a child in his grace and mercy.   The Father glories in his creation.  We bring great joy to him, for we were made in his image.  Each of us is loved greatly, honored for who we are IN CHRIST.  No one of us is above the other.  All are workmanship of the perfect God, perfect in the image of his most beloved Son.  

When Jesus was baptized by John, we hear the heart of God about the Son He gave for the purpose of saving mankind from judgment.  When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.  And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  (Luke 3:21-22)  He, known as the Lamb of God, was given to humans to perfect them before God’s eyes.  Perfect lambs in Israel died on the altar as a sacrifice for sin.  Jesus was the Lamb of God placed on the altar for every sin mankind has ever committed.  As little children who possess complete faith in their parents, who do not question the metaphysical or ethereal reason for living, we are to treat God and life with this faith, the faith of a child.  With that kind of faith in life and God and in Jesus’s work, we are clothed in righteousness.  IN CHRIST we are hidden in his perfection.  Because of Jesus’ perfection, we also hear, My dearly loved sons and daughters, you bring me great joy!  These words of adoration come to us through the gate of eternal life: Jesus Christ.  God honors no other gate.  We are blessed forever by God because his Son Jesus Christ is blessed forever by the Father.  Many people believe they can win God’s eternal favor by their own efforts.  They possess the feeling, “I can do it.”  In my own effort, I can please God.  They are telling God the work of Christ is not that great, I can do better.  I will show you I am a quality work from your hands.  The rich young man who wanted to follow Jesus is an example of this.  Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”  The disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  (Mark 10:23-25)  Jesus in this statement is not only castigating the rich, He is speaking to all people.  He knows that people’s survival is attached to doing well in this world.  One does not eat unless he works hard, does not find housing unless he strives for it.  Money is an issue to reveal how bound we are to this earth.  The more money, houses, lands, and the concomitant amenities we have, the more difficult it is to release ourselves into God’s hands.  A child is not greatly concerned about having these possessions because milk comes from the mother’s breast, housing or clothing is taken for granted, and they know nothing about storing up capital for the future.  They take life as it comes.  The disciples understood what Jesus was saying.  They knew he was talking about all human beings; none of us are like little children.  Even Judas carried the money pouch for Jesus and his disciples’ needs.  The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”  (Mark 10:26)  If a man who has worked hard to please God cannot be saved, who can be saved.  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”  (Mark 10:27)  Jesus understood their concerns, for they all fell under the guiltiness of loving this world more than God.  The best effort will always fail.  Even loving your mother, father, son, and daughter more than God is an imperfection God will not allow if you are to be pleasing to him.  No man, woman or child can reach this level of perfection.  We see Jesus in the wilderness without food, totally dedicated to God in prayer.  We see the devil coming to hook him into life: make this stone into bread.  But Jesus said, I live by the will of God or his words, not by bread or the comforts of this world.  But even in that situation, the angels came to minister to the man Jesus in the wilderness.  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.  (Matthew 4:11)  The disciples who gave their all to follow Jesus understood that no person could stand before God in the clothing of his own efforts.  No one could be absolutely sure that his whole life was totally satisfying to a holy God.  But Jesus reassures them of the message of the Lamb of God: all things are possible with God.

We are all too ready to greet men and women of stature, the elite of our world, but we will pass by the least in our world without a greeting.  We receive the help of a clerk or a waiter without a thank you.  The maintenance people in our lives are often ignored—everything they do is taken for granted.  We walk by people who are living on the street without even looking at them.  Our demeanor gives them the impression that they do not deserve recognition.  Little children go by us hopping and skipping with joy, and we are too busy to give them even a smile.  The least are not very important in our eyes, but if the President we favor would visit our community, we would stand out for an hour in the weather to greet him.  The least are not very important.  If our team loses a lot of games, we no longer identify with them by wearing their uniform.  The least are not very important to us.  But Jesus says, the least are the most important in the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, we should practice being the least: the servant, the slave to all people, the one who washes the feet of others.  If we design our lives in that way, the God of heaven sees us as the greatest or most honored.  Jesus tells us to strive to be instruments of love.  To love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to take care of our neighbor’s needs before our own needs.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.  Are we willing to pay attention to the least in our community?  Are we willing to wash the feet of the least favored in our community?  This is the question for the authors of this breakfast.  And it must be answered with “Yes.”  Christians are to be Christ-like.  Not dividers, not aloof, not judges of right and wrong, good or bad.  We are the ones who should welcome a child in the name of Christ.  We are to love the people of the earth, not the things of the earth.  Our duty is to serve.  Not talk about serving or write about serving, BUT TO SERVE.  Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  (Matthew 20:25-28)  Breakfast companions, we are all the same.  There are no great among us or more spiritual among us.  We all have good intensions, but we must look around to see who should be served.  If that is in your home, do it.  If it is with your next-door neighbor, do it.  Life in Christ is an activity, not words or intentions.  Therefore, let us encourage each other to have faith like a little child and to have actions with our faith.     

Matthew 17:24-27 With Great Joy!

Matthew 17:24-27  After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”  “Yes, he does,” he replied.  When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak.  “What do you think, Simon?” he asked.  “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”  “From others,” Peter answered.  “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.  “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line.  Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.  Take it and give it to them.

The temple tax was used to take care of the needs of the temple and its upkeep.  This tax was an atonement tax when collected by Moses in the wilderness.  The tax was levied on all who were twenty years or older.  The money was used for the upkeep of the tent where Moses met God and spoke to him face-to-face.  God ordered Moses to take a census of all the people who were twenty or older.  These people were to give a half shekel to God as a  payback for sparing their lives from the hands of Pharaoh.  God had set them free, so now they should express their thankfulness to him by paying this fee for their deliverance.  The tax would remind the Israelites that the God of heaven had separated them from all other people in the world.  They were not just any people: they were God’s chosen, so they should show their thankfulness by paying this money.  God delivered them from the hands of slavery to the ways of the world; no other power or god did this wondrous deed.  This tax was to be a perpetual memorial to that fact.  A plague would descend on Israel if the people did not acknowledge God as their deliverer and no one else. Then the Lord said to Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted.  Then no plague will come on them when you number them.  Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.  This half shekel is an offering to the Lord.  All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord.  The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.  Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting.  It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”  (Exodus 30:11-16)  All the Jews released from slavery were considered by God of equal value, all precious in his sight.  Therefore, the rich and the poor gave the same ransom payment.  No man or woman was considered above the other.  Also, the price God will eventually pay for each soul released from the hands of the Evil One, the blood of Christ, would be applied equally to all men and women.  No one would be more important than the other.  By paying the tax, the Israelites confirmed their awareness as children of God and their acceptance that their lives were in his hands.  This understanding gave them strength to know their futures were also in the hands of God, but they must follow this Moses who met God in the tent of meeting.  Moses knew God as a friend.  His face shone like the Sun when he came out of the tent of meeting, so they were willing to pay the tax for their atonement, knowing God had directed Moses to levy this on them.  With thankfulness the Jews would say with the psalmist, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.  (Psalm 103:2 KJV)

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”  “Yes, he does,” he replied.  Jesus paid this tax of atonement even though He did not have to pay it.  Jesus never sinned; therefore, He was never in the hands of the Evil One.  He always followed God’s will, so He did not need a tent of meeting to meet God face-to-face.  His hands, his feet, his face were always in the center of God’s will.  He would not be disciplined as Moses was disciplined for striking the rock twice with anger to satisfy the thirst of the Israelites for water.  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.  Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.  But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”  (Numbers 20:11-12)   Moses used force his anger, his human strength, when he struck the rock.  Jesus used his words to change the nature of things.  He calmed the wind and the waves with words.  He touched the eyes of the blind and set people free from diseases and infirmities with his words, always following God’s will even under difficult situations.  Jesus led the people through his teaching, his words of wisdom and light.  He was revealing that He was the true Shepherd.  When Moses struck the rock in anger, he did that because the people were angry at him for bringing them out into the wilderness.  They wanted to go back to Egypt where they had food and shelter.  They did not want Moses to shepherd them.  Moses understood they did not want God to lead them anymore, for their bodies were in need of water and food.  They were asking, where is this God of Moses?  So Moses used force to prove that God was with him and that God, not he, had placed them in the wilderness.  Jesus used miracles and wonders to let the people know that God was in their midst and that Jesus was the true shepherd who would bring them to the Promised Land.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  (John 10:11)  Jesus as the good Shepherd, the sinless One, did not have to pay the atonement fee, for He was the King of all people.  He was the hand of God, the Son of God.  Sons do not pay the tax of atonement, for they are already in the household of God.  No need for a ransom for those who are already in God’s dwelling place.  But for the people’s sake, Jesus paid the tax to keep the temple of God in order, so that men and women might find God there.  But He as the Son of God always was in the presence of God, so He had no reason to pay the tax.  Neither do we who have already had a ransom paid for us, Jesus Christ’s blood, need to pay a price to ransom our souls.  Jesus has paid the complete and satisfying payment to God for our redemption.  Because of this payment, we are children of God with no need to offer any other price, for we are not strangers to God.  We are his sons and daughters in his household, secure because of Christ Jesus, our elder brother.

Because of being children in the house of God, we are exempt from paying any further price for our ransom.  Jesus tells Peter, "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”  “From others,” Peter answered.  “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.  Often Christians attempt to pay another price for their release from slavery.  They place their lives on the altar as a sacrificial animal was placed on the altar.  To give all to God, not a bad idea unless one places his life on the altar in an attempt to win salvation for himself.  If we desire to win salvation by giving our lives for God, we dismiss the work of God; we count his sacrifice of Jesus Christ as not being very important.  Yes, we might think, it was a wonderful idea to give Jesus to the world and to have him give his life for our sins, but we must win the pot of salvation by placing another integral card on the table: good works or self-immolation.  But a hand of good works will never win the prize of salvation—only the card of Christ’s sacrifice will win eternal life.  God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.   (Romans 3:25)  Jesus Christ’s sacrifice atones completely for our waywardness.  Not the sacrifice of animals or our good works, or our self-sacrificing will be acceptable to God as an atonement for sin.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!  (Hebrews 9:14)  He through our faith in his works is our salvation.  We enter into him, the Temple of God, where we serve God forever, part of the body of Christ, children of the living God.  Jesus fulfilled the demands of the temple tax collector: Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.  Take it and give it to them.  God had placed the coin in a fish.  The coin did not come from Jesus’ hands, for He IS THE TEMPLE!  No reason for him to pay this tax, a fish pays it.  But He does satisfy the demands of the religious community by paying the four-drachma.  He does not cause offense by not following the rules of the temple.  His fight was not with the officials of the temple; his fight was against the devil and the powers of the high places.  He intended to deliver mankind from the control of the Evil One, not from human bondage to laws and regulations.  His battle was for a greater cause, the freedom of all mankind from Egypt.  Dear friends around this breakfast table, your freedom has been accomplished through Jesus Christ’s works.  Believe on him, the Good Shepherd, who will lead you to the Promised Land without one fault.  To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!  Amen.  (Jude 24-25)  

Matthew 17:22-23 Follow Me!

Matthew 17:22-23  When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.  They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”  And the disciples were filled with grief.

Jesus comments three times on his impending death to his disciples.  They do not want to hear him talk about their Lord and teacher dying.  This is not a subject that they felt good about, for they loved Jesus and  probably had hopes of him using his power to conquer their enemies and to place himself on the throne of Israel. If Jesus’ future would be like they wanted to envision, then they, his retinue, would receive concomitant power and honor.  Surely their sacrifices for Jesus would pay off.  We know some left their means of making a living such as fishing.  They left their homes, family, and intimate friends.  Yes, Jesus was a man of miracles and power, but the disciples paid a price to follow Jesus.  Even though they had great allegiance and love for Jesus, they still possessed a love of life.  When Jesus talked about his coming death, they sorrowed and questioned laying their own lives down for Jesus.  Peter said that he would defend Jesus to the death, and he attempted to do so when the mob came to arrest Jesus.  At that time there was a chance that violence might prevent Jesus from falling into the hands of these ruffians.  But later when there was no chance of freeing Jesus from the authorities, he denies Jesus, knowing Jesus taught, whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven.  Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.  (Matthew 10:32-33)  When Jesus was arrested, they all fled, but fleeing was necessary, for the Lamb alone would take away the sins of the world.  At the time of Jesus’ capture, the disciples were not willing even to be arrested and surely not to die for Jesus.   Only God’s Son could pay the price for the sins of wayward men and women.  The Lamb of God would pay this heavy price of delivering men from the consequence of sin: eternal damnation.  Jesus would carry the sins of the world to the cross in his body, for He was a spotless sacrifice.  When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.  “HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE CROSS, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.  (1 Peter 2:23-25)  Later the disciples would willingly pay a price for the redemption of mankind by carrying the Good News through many lands.  “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”  (Mark 8:34-38)  

Jesus’ admonition pertains to us today.  Christians are not to hold this life more dearly than the Good News.  The Good News is God’s message of eternal life to all who will put their trust in Jesus’ work, in his perfection, and not their own.  The disciples sorrowed, for they expected more from Jesus’ existence here on earth, and they hoped for more for themselves in the future.  They did love Jesus.  They followed him with dedication and diligence, but their love at that time could only go so far, for they held their lives dear, not as Paul who said that his life was being poured out as a sacrifice to God.  All he saw for his future from city to city was suffering and intimidation.  He counted his life not dear in respect to the message of eternal life.  In prison, Paul tells Timothy to endure through hardships and trials like a good soldier.  As a disciplined soldier of Christ, he told Timothy not to get entangled with the affairs of the world, instead to dedicate his life to ministry and to follow God fervently.  He wanted Timothy to know that God’s redemption plan is powerful and comes only through Jesus Christ.  Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.  This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal.  But God’s word is not chained.  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.  Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.  If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.  (2 Timothy 2:8-13)   After Pentecost and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the disciples would commit their lives totally to Jesus Christ.  They did not hold their lives that dear anymore.  For the brilliance of the Good News gave their finite lives little significance in comparison with their future of living in God’s household forever.  As the levitical priests of old, this world and its lands were not the inheritance the disciples were looking for.  They were looking to be reunited with Christ, an inheritance God had promised them, an inheritance of a close relationship with the Creator of all things.  This is what they lived for, what Paul lived for, and what all Christians from the resurrection have been looking toward.  The other tribes of Israel when they moved into the Promised Land received large allotments of land, but the levitical priests were not allotted a huge section of land to occupy.  No, they received a few acres around their cities for their immediate survival to raise a little grain and a few animals.  As Christians we are considered priests in the household of God.  As Peter wrote, As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 2:4-5)  We have been placed IN CHRIST, in his body, to live with him forever.  Our lives, spiritual sacrifices, are honored by God because of the heavy price Jesus paid for us, to rescue us from our finite lives of sin.  

Since we have been rescued by Jesus’ death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection, we do not sorrow over Jesus’ death, but praise God for his wonderful plan of salvation.  This mysterious plan of rescuing mankind from an implacable sinful state was in God’s heart from the beginning.  When God created man, He created man with freewill to choose.  This freedom led men and women to a desire to determine his or her own future.  Adam and Eve fell because of this desire.  We were made in freedom, but freedom led to the sin of rebellion, to be like God.  Jesus came to break that hold of self-will in mankind, which can be described as sin.  We who are IN CHRIST are to be carriers of that Good News: sin has been defeated, and the Evil One and his temptation cannot harm our eternal lives, for we live in Christ’s righteousness and not our own.  To spread the Good News of eternal life, we must show Jesus’ nature by serving mankind.  Jesus revealed his nature of being a servant to men and women by washing the disciples’ feet.  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”  Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”  (John 13:2-8)  Jesus came to serve, to rescue mankind from the condition of sin.  In the above verses, we see Jesus setting the example for the church of the living God.  Christ came to serve, we are to serve.  Paul talked of himself as being a slave.  Peter talks about us committing ourselves one to another as wives and husbands commit their lives to each other.  Jesus said to Peter, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  Peter understood later, writing how slaves are to commit to masters, people to kings, and wives to husband.  To bring light to the world, we must be willing to love our neighbor as ourselves.  In all these situations, a true master, a true ruler, a true husband will give their lives for those who are their responsibility.  The disciples will learn through Jesus’ death that a true Lord will sacrifice for those he loves.  A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:34-35)  Why is this a new commandment?  This commandment of love is evident in other places in the Bible.  But this commandment is new because it goes further than any other love treatise, giving your one life for those who you love.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  As Jesus loved us so should we love others, even to the point of giving our lives.  We are to love people in the world who hate us just as Jesus loved those who hated him.  We are the one to jump on a live grenade in a room of our enemies to save them.  This is what the disciples did in their lives.  As the deacon, Stephen, said, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.  In other words, God, free them from the responsibility of this act.  Can we do that with our enemies or are we bitter, angry, revengeful, wanting to fight back.  If so, we are too much in the world and its condition of violence.  Initially, the disciples did not know God’s plan of redemption.  They were filled with grief even though Jesus said He would rise again.  They could not conceive of the second part of Christ’s mission: the resurrection, so they sorrowed.  But we, Christian partners, know the second part is true: so rejoice, for God has made a way for you to be in his presence forever and ever.  Amen!  

Matthew 17: 14-20 Have Faith!

Matthew 17: 14-20  When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.  “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said.  “He has seizures and is suffering greatly.  He often falls into the fire or into the water.  I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”  “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you?  How long shall I put up with you?  Bring the boy here to me.”  Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.  Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”  He replied, “Because you have so little 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.”

What did Jesus mean with He said, Nothing will be impossible for you?  Did that mean we can take complete control of our lives from God, determining what will happen to us in our day-to-day activities?  Are we now the masters of our own fate?  If we stumble and scar our knee will the scar disappear before our very eyes as we pray for the renewal of the skin.  Did Jesus mean that aging will disappear, such as happened with Moses, for he died with the strength of a young man—God just took him.  What kind of faith removes mountains, and what are those mountains in life?  In the above focus, Jesus was disappointed with his disciples, probably the nine that were left behind as He, James, John, and Peter were on the mountaintop, hearing God’s affirmative voice about Jesus.  For when they came down from that experience, they met a crowd and within that crowd was a man who had a very sick boy, possessed by a demon.  This demon intended to kill his boy.  He has seizures and is suffering greatly.  He often falls into the fire or into the water.  Within that crowd, we can assume that only the disciples had any power over demons.   When Jesus addresses his disciples, He is also addressing the people.  You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you?  Of course, only the apostles are with Jesus all of the time.  They had heard all of his teaching, they had seen all of his healings, they had seen the power He had over the physical world.  He could stop the wind and knock down the waves.  These disciples knew Jesus as a person of great power, so great that they thought of him as like God.  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?”  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!”  (Mark 4:39-41)  The disciples struggled with their thoughts about Jesus.  In the boat, their fear about their finiteness overwhelmed their belief about Jesus being divine.  Even though Jesus was in that boat, completely at peace for He was asleep, they could not calm their souls by his nearness.  If He truly were a man of power, they had no reason to fear, but they woke Jesus, for fear possessed their minds.  Jesus reprimands them by saying Do you still have no faith?  After seeing all that you have seen, why are you possessed with fear and anxiety?  Do you not really know who I am!  Of course as with today’s focus, the disciples were struggling with who they were and who Jesus was.  Jesus lived as all humans live, with the normal bodily needs: eating, drinking, and resting.  They knew He also aged.  He was altogether human, so how could they imagine he was God in the flesh?  Only after the resurrection could they accept completely who He was and even then, Thomas doubted.  To know Jesus as completely God was difficult for them to conceive.  

Jesus is harsh with his disciples, for He had compassion for the people.  Lord, have mercy on my son.  He heard the broken heart of a father who dearly loved his son.  Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.  There was no waiting to see if the boy was normal.  As sure as the wind stopped tossing the boat, the boy was calm and his mind clear.  The disciples should have been able to rid the boy of this demon.  They had already experienced great things through their own ministry.  Jesus had sent them out to minister the Good News to Israel.  When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  (Luke 9:1-2)  . . .So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.  ( Luke 9:6)  Under the commission Jesus gave them, they effectively attacked the devil’s work of darkness and sickness.  They proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom of God being near, and they healed people everywhere.  But now we see them unable to rescue a boy from a demon of death.  Jesus was not happy with the nine, for they did not understand the power of God in the words of 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.  No special commission or dispensation needed; the words of Christ and the words of his followers in Christ’s name carry great power.  This was a time when darkness was dispelled in Israel with the demonstration of power.  God was confirming to the Jews that Jesus and his disciples were his messengers and that Jesus was the Messiah of deliverance sent to bring light to the Jews and to all the world.  Power, signs and wonders were needed.  The people’s eyes and ears had to be opened.  Today, the same power is needed to open the eyes and ears of those who are living in darkness.  Darkness cannot be dispelled easily.  Miracles still happen, but prayers must be done in faith, not in a double-minded way.  We see after the resurrection, the establishment of the church as God’s presence in the community was necessary, even Peter’s shadow brought healing to the people.  In Ephesus we see the same kind of power evident to establish the church.  God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.  (Acts 19:11-12)  To attack the devil’s strongholds, the power of God must be evident in people’s lives and words.  This is still necessary in today’s world: miracles have not passed away as unnecessary in a dark world.  They are essential!

But the story of our lives is still in God’s hands.  We cannot say that all things will work out well as we conceive them.  Healings do not always happen, struggles do not always disappear, and the vicissitudes of life do happen to us, not just to others.  We see such accounts occurring repeatedly in the Bible.  We cannot say that in certain  circumstances people did not pray, that faith in Jesus Christ as Lord was not present, but we can say that God was always there.  We find James, one of the three that saw the transfiguration, was martyred.  Paul was stoned and beaten with rods.  John the Baptist was beheaded, Peter was imprisoned, all the disciples but John were martyred.  When Jesus talked to his disciples, He promised them trouble and trials.  He told them, In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.  (John 16:33)  Historical records of the early church describe martyrdom, difficulties, and trials.  People of faith died by the sword, were tortured unmercifully, were ostracized, and experienced hunger and all manner of sorrow.  James speaks of some believers when he talks of giving food and clothing to those in need.  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  (James 2:15-16)  Jesus spoke of helping the needy.  Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  (Matthew 25:37-40)  What did Jesus mean when He said, Nothing will be impossible for you.  Does He mean, we say, “Bring it on Lord!  I can withstand all things, for I will change anything that is not to my liking and control the world around me.  We do not see that reality in the church’s journey through this world.  Instead, we are told, Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  (Philippians 4:4)  This is difficult, for at times the world is a harsh place, hard to control or avoid.  Paul reveals his frustrations when he juxtaposes the worldly believers boasting about their fine and secure lives with his and the apostles.  His world is out of control, and he cannot determine what is best for his life.  He says, For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena.  We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.  We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ!  We are weak, but you are strong!  You are honored, we are dishonored!  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.  We work hard with our own hands.  When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.  We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.  (1 Corinthians 4:9-13)  Breakfast companions, can you identify with Paul’s words or are you unwilling to place your lives on the altar, trying to escape every vicissitude in your life.  Yes, pray about all things, believe for all things, have faith in everything.  As John the Baptist, you can lower the mountains and make straight the way for the work of Christ in people’s lives.  You can bring Good News to the sightless, to the deaf, by performing God’s works in your lives, even healings and miracles, through strong faith in Jesus Christ.  But above all, display the love of God by faith to a dark and weary world.