Monsterlizard - Born Again

Christmas is approaching and my mind has turned to the birth of our savior.  I was thinking about the 3 wise men and the star in the east.  I was thinking that if 3 men can from the east, how could they follow a star in the east.  Wouldn’t they be traveling west?

As I started reading, I found they are only talked about in Matthew 2.  The first thing I noticed is that it doesn’t say there were 3 of them.  I figure that number came about because it talks of 3 gifts.  Anyway, back to the east conundrum.

Matthew 2:1-2 says, 1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
 2“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Ok, so the Bible explicitly says they came from the east.  It also says they saw His star in the east, but it doesn’t say they followed it….yet.  So we have some undetermined number of magi coming from the east because they saw a star in the east and knew it to be the star of Christ.

Matthew 2:3-9 says, 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 
 4Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 
 5They said to him, “^(E)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
    6‘^(F)AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
         ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
         FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
         WHO WILL ^(G)SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”

 7Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time ^(H)the star appeared. 
 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 
 9After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.

They went to Jerusalem not following the star, but because the star was there in the east.  They met with Herod which leads me to believe we are talking about days, weeks or months of travels while the star was there, not hours like my childish mind had envisioned.  So, they find out from Herod who finds out from the priests and scribes that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem which was written in Micah 5:2
.

So, they begin to head west to Bethlehem and the star from the east goes west before them to the exact spot where Jesus is.  He is already born and no longer in the barn, it says He is in a house.

Matthew 2:11 11After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This was all pretty eye opening, I guess you can’t believe everything you sing.

1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”  3He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1-8) 

Why were God’s Laws written?  This could and has sparked a debate that could go on for eternity.  However, Jesus reminds us that is was not written so that we would go through the motions, it was written so that we might grant grace to others.  These laws even had caveats for Priests.  Not only can Jesus do his work on the Sabbath because he is doing good work, he is the LORD of the Sabbath and greater than even the Temple.  He ends this passage with a quote from Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6)  Don’t do things because they hurt you, do things because they help others.

 9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

 11He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

 13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. (Matthew 12:9-14)

Jesus has told them to use your common sense.  If someone needs help no matter the day, help them.  You would help your livestock, why not another person?

After Jesus is done explaning that he is the Messiah, he explains who John is: The profit Elijah.  Jesus quotes Malachi 3

1“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.  (Malachi 3:1).

 Finally Jesus showed the hypocracy of the leaders saying John was mad and had a demon because he didn’t eat and drink (remember the bag of locusts he carried for food), and saying Jesus was gluttonous and a drukard because he ate and drank.

1When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. 
 2Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 
 3and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 
 4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 
 5the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 
 6“And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”  (Matthew 11:1-6)

How do we know that Jesus is the Messiah?  John the Baptist had the same question, and it is answered in the book of Isaiah

4Say to those with anxious heart,
         ”Take courage, fear not
         Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
         The recompense of God will come,
         But He will save you.”
    5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
         And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
    6Then the lame will leap like a deer,
         And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy
         For waters will break forth in the wilderness
         And streams in the Arabah. (Isaiah 35:4-6)

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
         Because the LORD has anointed me
         To bring good news to the afflicted;
         He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
         To proclaim liberty to captives
         And freedom to prisoners;
    2To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
         And the day of vengeance of our God;
         To comfort all who mourn, (Isaiah 61:1-2)

9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?”

 12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13)

I think I have found my favorite verse But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’.  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13)  This really jumped out at me.  I found the corresponding verse that Jesus was talking about and it was Hosea 6:6. 
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
       and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

That got me reading Hosea 6, which I am sure was Jesus’ reason for citing it.  More to come on that book later.

Well I think we really need to remember “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” because sometimes I think we do things more as a sacrifice to God than as mercy to others which Jesus is commanding.  Are we going to church to show mercy to others who may need it that day, or are we sacrificing our Sunday for something we would rather be doing?

14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. 
 16When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
   ”He took up our infirmities
      and carried our diseases.” (Matthew 8:14-17)

The first thing that amazed me when reading this was that Peter’s mother-in-law after being healed “got up and began to wait on him.”  I know when I am sick and get better, the last thing I want to do is wait on someone.

Now verse 16 has me wondering what does it mean “daemon-possessed”.  Was it a scene from the Exorcist, or was it healing someone with a sickness?  I don’t think I will ever really know, but that is my new quest.  If anyone has an Old Testament reading they can lead me to, I would really appreciate it.

Finally, I looked up the passage in Isaiah that is referred to in verse 17, it comes from Isaiah 53.  This chapter fortells the coming of Jesus, and too the letter explains his life:

1 Who has believed our message
       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 
 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 
 3 He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 
 4 Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted. 
 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed. 
 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all. 
 7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
       yet he did not open his mouth;
       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
       and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
       so he did not open his mouth. 
 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
       And who can speak of his descendants?
       For he was cut off from the land of the living;
       for the transgression of my people he was stricken.  
 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
       and with the rich in his death,
       though he had done no violence,
       nor was any deceit in his mouth. 
 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
       and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 
 11 After the suffering of his soul,
       he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
       by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
       and he will bear their iniquities. 
 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,  
       and he will divide the spoils with the strong,  
       because he poured out his life unto death,
       and was numbered with the transgressors.
       For he bore the sin of many,
       and made intercession for the transgressors.
(Isaiah 53) 

1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:1-4)

Having leprosy in the times of Jesus was a big deal. You were outcast and forced to live outside of society. You couldn’t be around others, let alone be touched by them. But, Jesus was not only willing to heal this man, He touched him. This had to be a huge shock to those that were watching. After he heals the man, he tells him to go to the priests and make the offering from Leviticus 14:1-32. He doesn’t stop there though, I think it is significant that Jesus says “… as a testimony to them.” He is showing the priests that He has performed a miracle by healing someone, and made him accountable to the laws of Moses.

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  (Matthew 7:13-14)

This is really eye opening to me.  If we see the masses doing something, it is probably the wrong thing to do.

 15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.  (Matthew 7:15-20)

When ever I hear the word fruit used in the Bible, I think of the Garden of Eden.  I am not sure if I am supposed to or not, but that is the image that pops into my mind.  This passage really brought me there because it also talks about thornbushes and thistles: in Genesis 3 it says

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
       “Cursed is the ground because of you;
       through painful toil you will eat of it
       all the days of your life.

 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
       and you will eat the plants of the field.  (Genesis 3:17-18)

I think Jesus wanted us to think about Genesis here.  The serpent (Satan) offered bad fruit to Eve, just as he offers to us today.  The people he works through may sound godly, but if what they are asking goes against the teachings of God, then they are evil.

 21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’  (Matthew 7:21-23)

This for me throws a wrench into many teachings of Christians today.  We are told that faith in Jesus will give us ever lasting life.  However, I think Jesus is telling us that there is another step we have to take.  Having and spreading faith in Jesus is not enough, we must obey the will of God.  If we are called to do something, and we ignore that calling, then we are heading toward that broad gate.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-28)

This has been one of the most difficult sections for me to understand in Matthew.  Heather has friends who are Messianic Jews.  They practice traditional Jewish law, but also believe Jesus is Christ. (At least that is what I think they believe, if I am wrong some please correct me.)  They are good people, and Joshua is going to teach us Hebrew which I am very excited about (but that is subject for another post).  Anyway, knowing them has started Heather and I on a journey to discover where the laws of Moses should sit with Christians today.  “Should we keep Kosher”, has been our biggest question.

As I have been readings other views on this section, I find people saying Jesus is saying that we must keep the law, while I find others saying that we don’t have to listen to Old Testament law.  Who is correct?  I think I have determined that both are. 

Abolish Vs. Fulfill
First, I don’t think you can study these 3 verses without looking at the semantics.  Jesus is saying that he has not come to abolish in the NIV and NASB.  In the KJV it says “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy…”  From my research I have found that abolish/destroy translated from the Greek “kataluo” which means “destroy, demolish, dismantle, do away with, abolish, annul, make invalid, repeal”.  While fulfill translates from the Greek “pleroo” which means “make full; bring something to completion, finish something already begun; by deeds, a prophecy, an obligation, a promise, a law, a request, a desire, a hope, a duty, a fate, a destiny; Complete, finish, bring to an end”  From here I see that Jesus is not getting rid of the laws.  So, then do we need to follow the laws of Moses as Christians?  It would seem so to me at this point, but we need to keep reading.

Practice and Teach the Commands
As I read verse 19, it would really appear that we should follow the laws.  “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)  It is right there in plain English.  Don’t break the commandments or teach others to break them.  It is looking really bleak that I will be eating sausage for breakfast tomorrow.

Righteousness
But wait, verse 20 throws a wrench in it: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 5:20)  The Pharisees are the high priests.  These are the guys that make sure all Jews are following the law.  They are the ones that decide what the law really means.  How can we possibly surpass them?  I believe the answer is in the word “righteousness”.  Jesus doesn’t say don’t eat this or wash that a certain way.  He doesn’t say that the law must be followed to the letter.  He broadens it to “righteousness”.  As you read further through to the end of chapter 5, Jesus shows that it is not the robotic motions of obeying the law that are important.  It is doing good things in bad situations.  Not killing anyone during your life does not get you into heaven.  It is mearly the anger which casts your fate.  So, I believe that the Laws of Moses and the demands of the Prophets in the Old Testament are relevant today and should be followed by all Christians.  However, don’t get caught up in semantics.  It is the spirit of the laws that are important, not blindly doing things from muscle memory.

1 Corinthians 9
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.  (1 Corinthians 9:20-21)
I don’t want to get into this too much until I am ready to discuss 1 Corinthians, but this line really caught my eye: “though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law”  Christ has redefined the law so as to make it relevant to all, Jews and Gentiles alike.

Matthew 4 ends with Jesus going back to Galilee when he hears that John the Baptist has been put in prison (see my post on the Herods). This fulfills a prophecy of Isaiah 9:1. He then begins to call on disciples: Simon (called Peter), Andrew, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother. Calling on Simon and Andrew is the famous verse, “fishers of men”: Matthew 4:19. Finally Jesus began healing the sick and teaching the gospel (Old English for “Good News”) of heaven. I find it interesting that “So a report about him spread throughout Syria.” Matthew 2:24. The message of Him spread through Syria and not Israel.