Author: Ryan Hale

Jesus had been confronted yet again by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Jewish law. They came to them because, evidently, the disciples had not washed their hands prior to eating. Of course, washing their hands before eating was not a law from God, but it was a ritual that had been inserted by the religious leaders, by the scribes. It was considered by the Jews, and especially by the religious leaders, to be a weighty tradition. It was extremely important to the people of Israel.

And I can imagine that each of us would agree. It is good, and important, to wash our hands before we eat. Anytime that we touch something that is about to go into our mouths, it is probably a good idea, from a hygenic perspective, to wash our hands. No doubt about it.

But that isn’t the sense in which the Pharisees and teachers of the law are coming to Jesus to register their concern and ask the question that they asked. No, instead, this is a delegation that has come out to where Jesus is teaching from Jerusalem, from the capitol city itself. Jerusalem is the religious center of the Israelites, so these Pharisees and these teachers of the law have come from the top. It is as if we would have said that they have come from “headquarters” to look in on what is happening with Jesus’s ministry.

And when they arrive, what do they see? They see the disciples breaking the traditions of the elders, something that, according to their tradition and teaching, should never be done by anyone, much less by the disciples of an increasingly popular rabbi, a prominent teacher in this area of Galilee.

However, in response, Jesus pointed out to these leaders that his disciples are breaking the traditions, but they, the Pharisees and teachers of the allow, are actually teaching the people to break God’s law.

How are they doing that?

They are telling the people that, despite the commandment – directly from the 10 commandments that we are to honor our father and mother – the teachers are teaching the people that if something that they have is “devoted to God” (also referred to as “corban”), then they don’t have to give it to their parents.

So what are the practical implications of this teaching?

If someone’s parents are in need, then the child would have an obligation to help them.

However, let’s say that instead of the person, that child, desiring to give something to their parents to help them, they want to keep it for themselves, for whatever reason. Maybe that person is in need themselves. Maybe they just like, and want to keep, that which they should, instead, be giving away.

But if they declare it to “corban”, if they declare it to be “devoted to God”, then they don’t have to give it. They are allowed, instead to keep it, because it is devoted to God.

Not good, right?

No, and that is what Jesus is telling the Pharisees. In his reply, he is essentially saying:

You all are coming to me to complain that my disciples are breaking a tradition, something I am not teaching them to do. However, you are actually teaching the people to break God’s law. What right do you have to come to me?

And so Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying that Isaiah was actually speaking about them, speaking about the religious leaders, prophecying about the spiritual teachers of Israel when he said:

These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.

Matthew 15:8-9

Jesus quotes Isaiah and it is recorded in Matthew 15. However, the quote comes from Isaiah 29:13. Jesus is looking back and saying that Isaiah actually is referring to the religious leaders when he prophecied in this way.

So I think it is worth asking: What about us today?

Do our lives look like what Jesus taught us to do? Or have we adopted cultural norms that teach us and lead us in the way that we live our lives more than does the word of God?

Do our Christian communities follow a Biblical pattern? Or do we instead prefer to follow the ways of the world?

Do our churches look and act the way that Jesus demonstrated for us? Or are we falling into our traditions and what we have preferred over time to adopt as a substitute?

I pray that we wouldn’t find ourselves honoring God with our lips with our hearts far from him. And if we are leading our lives, or living within our communities and churches in a way that is far from God or far from the teaching and heart of Christ, that we would turn immediately to honor him not only with our lips, but with all that we are.

Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to Jesus asking for a sign. Jesus was clearly not very pleased with their request telling them that their request shows that they are wicked and adulterous. He says that they will be condemned by the Queen of the South, and then he says that they will be like an empty house that has an impure spirit and seven of his best friends move in with him.

Ouch!

Why is Jesus being so harsh with these Pharisees? They only asked for a sign, didn’t they? Hasn’t Jesus been performing signs on a regular basis for other people?

Yes, he had, and that was exactly the point. The signs that Jesus was performing were intended to be confirmation of his words. The people should have been able to see and understand that his words were from God because, beyond his teaching, Jesus was also performing signs that only someone who had come from God could do.

And yet, instead of listening to his words, the people were more interested in seeing more signs. They wanted to see another miracle. Instead of believing Jesus, instead of believing in him, they wanted to see more signs.

Jesus said that the Queen of the South would condemn the people of this generation. He was specifically speaking to those Pharisees and teachers of the law when he said:

The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:42

Who is this Queen of the South? Jesus is referring to the Queen who had come from Sheba, the area that is present-day southern Arabia and possibly also the horn of Africa, in the time of Solomon:

When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan —with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”

And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

1 Kings 10:1-10

Why is Jesus making a reference to this Queen of the South? He is making a comparison to a queen who had come to Solomon from outside of Israel – therefore a Gentile – and believed. She came to listen to the son of David and heard all that he had to say, believing that God had truly blessed him and the kingdom of Israel.

She believed that God was with Solomon. She believed that God was with Israel. But now, Jesus says someone even greater than Solomon had come.

The people asked themselves as they heard and saw Jesus, “Could this be the Son of David?” And by this, they wondered if Jesus was the Messiah king that would rise up to restore the kingdom back to Israel.

Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they are wicked, adulterous, and that the Queen of the South will condemn them. Why? Because instead of believing him…instead of believing that the Son of David – that is, Jesus – was even greater than Solomon, the first son of David, they just asked for a sign. They wanted more signs, when instead what they needed to do was listen and believe, doing what he said to do. That is what the Queen of the South did, and that is what they must do as well.

For us, Jesus’s words are also a warning. For those that don’t believe, they must hear so that they can know Jesus and come into relationship with God through him.

For those that do believe, we must believe to the extent that we do what Jesus says to do, treating him as the king and the Lord that he is, the ruler over all of heaven and earth, just as he has called each of us to do.

It must have been dizzying to listen to Jesus speak. The way in which he spoke, the authority with which he said the things that he said, and the audacity of the meaning behind what he was saying, all would make it a challenge to listen to Jesus. In some ways, I can understand why it would have been difficult for the Pharisees and other religious leaders to listen to him. No one else ever spoke the way that Jesus spoke.

Here is a great example:

All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Matthew 11:27

Wow – I can only imagine what it would have been like to hear Jesus say this directly. Let’s take it one step at a time:

All things have been committed to me by my Father.

This is similar to Jesus saying that he has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) . His Father, God himself, had given Jesus authority over everything. Over all of heaven. Over all of the earth.

That is: Everything.

Why? Because Jesus is, himself, God.

That’s shocking because he is also standing there in front of all of the people, in human form, teaching them. He touched them with his hands. God touched them.

They heard him with their ears. The very voice of God was resounding.

He was God, right there, in the flesh. The ruler over all things. The king of heaven. The king of the earth. Speaking to them.

No one knows the Son except the Father…

Jesus referred to himself as the Son. He would typically say he was the Son of Man, but he called himself the Son regardless. There is no doubt that Jesus is referring to himself in this case as he speaks of the Son.

Jesus was being revealed to the world. He was being revealed to those to whom the Father called to know the Son. So at this time, Jesus says that the one who knows the Son is the Father, and yet we will see that the Son is revealed to the people by the Father.

…no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jesus, as the Son, knew the Father. The Father was the one who had sent the Son and so there was an intimate relationship between the Father and the Son. Jesus was carrying out the mission of the Father, and at the same time, he was the mission of the Father. The Father had placed all things under the Son, and yet the Son was there to give his life as a ransom, to purchase people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to come into the kingdom of God, where the king himself is Jesus.

As I said, it must have been dizzying to listen to Jesus.

And yet we still have his words, even here today. It isn’t as if we have less of a possibility to understand Jesus because we weren’t there to hear him. It isn’t that we have less of an opportunity to know him because we weren’t there. No, perhaps we can know him even more. We have his words and we can hear him. We can understand him. We can know him.

We can know the king. The Father has revealed the Son to us and now we must seek to know him more. We must seek to know him even more deeply. Father, I pray that you would help us to know the Son!

Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a Muslim friend of mine. We were talking about the final days of the earth, discussing that both we as Christians as well as Muslims are awaiting Jesus’s return to the earth to bring judgment and justice amongst all people.

Then this morning I read these words from Jesus:

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:37-38

I immediately had this thought: On that last day, as my friend and I were discussing, I certainly don’t want to hear those words from Jesus:

“You are not worthy of me.”

The one who has authority over all of heaven and all of earth could potentially say to each of us: You are not worthy of me.

Jesus is not content with second place. He will not allow us to put him in a lower priority in our lives. First place – of greatest importance, in the greatest priority – is the only position, the only priority, that we can possibly give to him. Otherwise, we are not worthy of him.

Can I go even one step further?

In the context of what I was reading in Matthew 10, Jesus had just called his twelve disciples to himself. These are the men that he had chosen. These are the ones that will walk with him in the closest possible way. In fact, these are even the twelve men who, in the context of what is happening in this time, will go out to represent Jesus. They will pray for workers. These disciples will tell these other new workers about the kingdom of God. They will be beaten and will suffer for Jesus.

Presumably Jesus is even speaking these difficult words, this difficult teaching, directly to the disciples.

Isn’t he? Even if they have put their faith in him… Even if they have believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior… Even if they have been baptized… Can’t we say, based on what Jesus has said here, that if they love their mother and father, or their sons and daughters, more than they love Jesus, they won’t be worthy of him.

In other words, according to what Jesus is saying, they will be judged, and they will come up short. They will be found wanting and not enter into eternity with Christ.

Let’s take one last step forward. Jesus says that if we don’t pick up our cross, just as Jesus did, we will not be worthy of him.

Let’s be clear in the words that Jesus uses: He doesn’t say whoever isn’t willing to take up their cross. Neither does he say whoever isn’t ready to take up their cross. We frequently add words like this in our teaching and preaching, but that isn’t what Jesus said. He said, “Whoever does not take up their cross…”

How should we read those words? How should we understand what he is saying? I think it is simple. Jesus took his cross and went to die. Now he says that if we don’t do the same, we are not worthy of him.

And then he goes on to finish the statement saying that we will find our life by losing it, but we will lose our life if we think that we have found it.

In other words, if we live our life in the way that we want – or maybe we could say, if we live our best life, as is popularly said today – we are destined to lose it. Living in this way, in the way that we want, thinking we have found our life, we are not worthy of Jesus. We have prioritized what we want. We have prioritized the things that we desire instead of the things that Jesus desires.

Instead, if you lose your life – if you give the entirety of your life to Christ and allow him to direct your steps, doing what he says that we must do to be his disciple – you will find your life. You will find the life that he desires to give you. You can be sure that it will be difficult. You can be sure that there will be one challenge after another. You might even quickly find that you will be called to suffer or even die. But you will truly find your life, a life full of joy, a life full of peace, a life full of love. The fruits of the Holy Spirit will be the marks, the description, of your life.

So we must make a choice. Will we live in a manner that is worthy of Jesus? Will we prioritize him over mother, father, children, and even our very own life? Only in this way will we be worthy of him.

Several years ago, when we lived in St. Louis, we were part of a new church that we called Levi’s Table. Rob and Karen Graham are our good friends and they led this church at that time. We took the name from the story that I’m reading today in Matthew 9, and I’m remembering some of the beautiful times that we had together.

We called this new church Levi’s Table because – as I recall – we had a desire to call the “sick”, to call the sinners to come to the table with Jesus.

Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees, the religious rulers at the time. They couldn’t understand how Jesus could come to a tax collector’s booth – Matthew’s booth – where a Jew worked for the Roman government, then went to his house where he proceeded to have dinner and take part in a party that was thrown by Matthew, the traitor tax collector, alongside several of his best friends, other sinners.

Yet this is exactly where Jesus wanted to be. He wanted to be with the “sick”, the sinners who were far from God so that he could call them to come to repentance, to believe in him. He didn’t intend to become one of them. Neither was he tolerant of their sin and behavior. He called them sick and in need of a doctor. He called them sinners, not righteous.

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

Matthew 9:12-13

At the same time, Jesus’s response, when asked why he was eating with these tax collectors and sinners, seemed to rebuke the Pharisees. Aside from explaining what he was doing, as I read what he is saying, Jesus almost seems to be calling out these religious leaders. Without him saying it directly, I think you can read between the lines of what he is saying and almost hear Jesus asking a question or two:

Why wouldn’t I eat with the sinners?

Why aren’t you eating with the sinners?

Do you think you are so “healthy”, Pharisees?

We need to be asking ourselves similar questions. Even if we aren’t criticizing others, or asking the same questions that the Pharisees are asking – why are those people eating with sinners? – are we abstaining from inviting others who are sinning from coming to Christ?

One of the greatest joys that I have had in the work that we have done recently is to invite some of the ladies, the prostitutes of our city, into parties that we have thrown. Especially as teams have come to town to work along with us, we have invited people that we have met while the teams have ben here with us to come to a party, typically toward the end of the time that the team has been with us. We have food, games, music, sometimes some dancing, and celebration. But in the midst of the various interactions, those who were invited and have come to the party are hearing about Jesus.

The last group that visited us spoke Spanish. Many, if not nearly all, of the prostitutes of our city also speak Spanish. Having room yet at the party, we sent the team to go and invite the ladies to come and join us at the party. Two of them did. They ate. They laughed. And they had a good time.

But most of all, they heard about Jesus. They understood that the reason for all of this was to spend time together and know Jesus. And they stayed. They didn’t run. They received an invitation to the banquet, and they came.

As far as I know, they haven’t yet gone on to believe. We have yet to see the ladies of the area that men typically frequent, where their bodies are sold, and where drugs and alcohol are freely distributed, come to faith in Christ and be baptized. But we are continuing to pray that this will become a reality. We continue to ask God that Jesus would be known amongst these people and that the work of these women would end because they have repented and left behind their old lives for something new. A new life. A life in Christ.

But that will only happen if we will go to the sinners, if we will eat with them, and we will share Jesus with them, just as Jesus did at Matthew’s house.

In our politics today, if you want to characterize the other side, your opponent, as someone that you shouldn’t vote for, one of the first words that you reach for is this one: Extreme.

He is on the extreme right, we might say of our opponent.

Or she is on the extreme left, if we want to characterize them as the worst person for which we could possibly vote.

What are we trying to say? We’re saying that we are “Us”. We are part of the crowd. We are the majority.

But they are “Them”. They are outside of the majority. They are a small group with radical ideas. Their ideas are too much for the majority to take. Get rid of those people. Vote against them because they are extreme.

As I think about Jesus, despite the characterizations of being loving, merciful, and full of grace – which he most definitely was and still is – he was also extreme, and he expected his disciples to be the same way. Jesus was all of the way in with regard to his mission, and he expected his disciples to be all of the way in, in exactly the same way. He was completely committed to the task at hand, to carrying out the mission that he was on, and he expected his disciples to do the same.

Jesus had just finished giving the sermon on the mount and as he came down and began to travel, he had large crowds following him. Seeing the crowds, he decided that it was time to cross the lake. Now was the time to start to sift between the people. Some would go with him and others would not and so some of the people began to speak up.

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go,” said one of the teachers of the law.

But Jesus knew that this would be difficult – in fact, too much for this man:

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:20

Then another person wanted to go as well, but he had a problem in his family. His father had died: “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:22

How many of us would be repelled today by Jesus saying things like this?

Jesus, are you saying I can’t even have a house? Wouldn’t we object that shelter is a basic human need? Don’t I need that before I can follow you?

Jesus, are you saying that I can’t even bury my father? Is not the love of a son for a father something that you want to honor? Is not the obligation to my family extremely important?

It isn’t very difficult to understand the objections. I think most of us, if we heard a teacher respond to someone who had these objections today, say that Jesus wouldn’t permit him to have a home and also still follow him. Or Jesus wouldn’t permit a person to bury their father and also still follow him… I’m pretty sure that each of us would say that the teacher is much too extreme.

And yet, that is precisely what Jesus said.

In fact, if anything, we might say that Jesus was intentionally driving people away. And I think that if we said that, we would probably be right. It seems to me that he was calling people to himself at an extremely high cost. The time to separate the disciples from the crowd had come, and the way that Jesus had decided to make the separation was with a calling that was so high, it was difficult for the people to accept.

Jesus wasn’t trying to keep a big crowd around him. He was looking for the few who were willing to be completely committed to knowing him and to being a part of the work that he was doing.

The same is true even still today. Nothing has changed. If we think that Jesus is fine with us remaining to be part of the crowd, we are mistaken. If we think that Jesus was just sort of mainstream, and he wants us to just sort of be mainstream, we are mistaken.

There was nothing mainstream about Jesus. He is the king over all things. He is the creator and king of the universe. And yet he came to purchase each of us with his blood to come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God. It doesn’t get more extreme than that. It is not possible be more committed to your cause than that.

And that is who Jesus called each of his disciples to be as well. That is still who he calls us to be, even today.

It’s not what you know, it is who you know…

I’ve heard that advice for decades. As I was finishing high school and moving into university, then on into my career, like many other parents taught their kids, my parents taught me this idea, that I should develop relationships with others.

Working through my career, various people consistently told me to invest in relationships with those who were ahead of me. Build your network. Connect with the right people.

Well, a career is one thing. Yes, it is important to be able to support yourself and support your family. We must make money to be able to live. Absolutely.

But your eternity is a different level of discussion, a different level of importance altogether. It isn’t discussed nearly as often, but as we think about our eternity, we are discussing a topic that is vastly more important than anything that we may have done, or anything that I ever will do, related to my work.

And yet, there is a similarity between these two things. With regard to my eternity, it isn’t what I know, it is instead who I know that will make the difference. It isn’t what I have done, but it is instead who I have been with and who I have done it for that will change everything related to my eternity.

Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7. The final idea, aside from telling the people that they would be wise to put his words into practice, was that we must know him if we are to enter his kingdom:

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

Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus says that only those who do the will of his Father in heaven can enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Clear enough, but then, strangely, Jesus shares some objections that people will use when he refuses them entry into the kingdom:

Did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not drive out demons in your name?

Did we not perform miracles in your name?

I say “strangely” because these things seem like they would be doing the will of the Father. Don’t they? Aren’t these not only good religious or spiritual types of activities, but maybe someone would even say next level religious or spiritual activities? How many people do you know who are out giving true prophecies? Or truly driving out demons? Or truly performing miracles in Jesus’s name?

How could it possibly be that these activities would not be the will of the Father? How is it possible that driving out demons would not be what God would want us to do? Isn’t that precisely what Jesus just said that we must do? To do the will of the Father, and those that do that would enter the kingdom of heaven?

I think there are a couple of important points to make here:

First, at the final day, despite the objections, Jesus says to these same people, “I never knew you.” Amongst all of the important things that we can do, the most important thing that we can do in our lives is to know Jesus.

A little later, in fact, Jesus says that we must remain connected to him. He used as a parable an example of him being like the vine in a vineyard and we like the branches. If the branch wants to stay alive, it must stay attached to the vine. We said must abide in him. But how?

By reading his words. By remaining in prayer. In stillness and listening to his Spirit speak to our spirit. In doing what he says to do. Each of these ways will allow us to abide in him, to know him. This is how we can know Jesus.

Second, when we know him, we will also know what he wants from us. Yes, there may be a time when he asks us to prophecy. There may be a time when he calls upon us to drive out a demon or to step forward to be the hand that performs the miracle that he wishes to do. But doing these things doesn’t necessarily guarantee that we are doing the will of the Father.

By knowing Jesus, we can know what he is doing. Jesus came to reestablish his kingdom on the earth. The Israelites had rejected God as their king, but now the king had come to the earth to reestablish his rule and reign. He had come to give himself, to purchase people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, ripping them out of the kingdom of darkness by purchasing them away from that kingdom with his blood so that they could come into the kingdom of God. Jesus himself is the king and his Father’s will is to establish the king upon the throne of the kingdom of God forever, bringing all people into his kingdom.

If we know and understand this… If we know that this is the will of the Father, then we work with Jesus to do what he wants to accomplish, and do exactly what he told us to do. We become part of his plan.

It isn’t enough to do what we want to do. It isn’t enough to only prophecy. It isn’t enough to only drive out demons. It isn’t enough to only do miracles.

Yes, there were instances that Jesus had his disciples do these things, and there will be instances in which we are called upon to do the same. But these weren’t the primary things that Jesus told us to do. However, we wouldn’t know that if we don’t truly know Jesus.

If, instead, we look around us within our world today and see religious works that draw attention, if we look to see the things that draw the crowds – prophecies, casting out demons, doing miracles, and othr things – and we desire to do those things, then what is it that we desire? We want the works. We want the crowds.

We aren’t wanting Jesus. We aren’t necessarily desiring him.

But if we look to Jesus, to know him, then we both abide with him in both the moments that are quiet and the moments that are loud and public and we know and participate with him in what he is doing.

We know and participate with him in what he is doing.

Jesus is preaching and speaking to the crowds, helping them to understand his kingdom, the kingdom of God. He begins to use the “but I tell you…” statements that certainly would have awakened the crowds.

No one else would dare do that. No one else would say “but I tell you…” when it came to the word of God. And yet, that is exactly what Jesus began to do in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus is going straight into some of the most practical, everyday matters. These are situations and sins that are common to each of us, and he starts with anger and bitterness.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:21-26

Jesus starts with murder. You’ve heard it said that anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. Well, yes Jesus, that makes sense. Isn’t that one of the worst things that we could possibly do, to murder someone? He of course knew that everyon would be in agreement at that point, but then he uses “but I tell you…”:

He says that even if you are angry with someone, you are going to be subject to judgment.

Wait a minute… If I’m angry with someone?

Yes, Jesus is comparing anger to murder, placing them at the same level, that each of them would make us subject to judgment before God.

Clearly Jesus doesn’t like angry people… But why? What is the issue here? You haven’t really sinned just by being angry, have you?

The issue is that anger is the root of many other issues. Yes, in extreme cases, it can be the root of murder. But it is also the root of division. It is the root of unforgiveness. It is the root of litigation in the courts. It is the root of divorce. It is the root of families that don’t see one another for years and years, even if they have a hard time remembering why.

Jesus isn’t just interested in getting us to obey a law, or to be good, moral people. Yes, we must be obedient, but the obedience is to the life that he gives us, a life that is full. A life that desires to truly know him in the depths of our being. A life lived based on love for God and love for other people. That is the life that will allow us to offer forgiveness to one another and to continue in a depth of relationship with one another. That is the life that he has called us to step into today.

Satan knows the word of God, and he will use it against you.

The Holy Spirit had led Jesus into the wilderness, specifically with the intent that he would be tempted by Satan. Jesus’s identity had just been confirmed in his baptism, but now it was time to prove it. It was time to show Satan that he no longer ruled over the earth. A new authority, the rightful authority, had arrived, and he would be the one to rule and reign from this point on.

Satan tries to lure Jesus into his trap. Twice he attempts to test Jesus’s identity. “If you are the Son of God…”, he said.

Then he offers Jesus everything, but only if he will bow down to Satan and worship him. He will give him fame, fortune, and power. Jesus will rule over the earth, and everyone will know.

Except Jesus already knows that he will rule over the earth. He understands who he is. He understands what God has said about him. And so he continues to put his relationship with his father, the Father, in the first place. To this last temptation, he says:

“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Matthew 4:10

What is the difference between how Jesus responded to Satan versus how we respond when we are tempted, we listen, and then we fail, falling into sin? The difference is that Jesus not only knew the word of God. He did it. He lived it. He went on to put action to the words and live by them.

As Satan put Jesus to the test, asking him about his identity, Jesus responded:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus was in fact living at that very moment without bread. He wasn’t eating. He was fasting, and he was content. If he had the word of God, he had what he needed. He was living what he quoted.

Then as Satan told him to throw himself down so that the angels would catch him, Jesus responded by saying:

“It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

How many times do we try to bargain with God? How many times do we say, if you do this, then I will do that? Or if you will save me, or save someone else from this suffering, then I will believe. But if you won’t…

Jesus didn’t go there. He didn’t do this. He was already in the test. He would suffer and he knew it. He would be tested greatly, and he knew it. But he wouldn’t make try to make deals. Jesus would say, “Thy will be done”, trusting that God’s will is correct and best because he is the one who would truly know what is right.

And finally, as Satan offered him everything, if only Jesus would bow down and worship him.

But Jesus correctly pointed out that the only one that we must worship is the Lord our God.

So it is not enough to know the word of God. We must do it. We must obey it. We must live it. Only in this way will we, like Jesus, be able to stand when the whispers of temptation come.

This statement that Jesus said to John the Baptist has always been a difficult one for me. I haven’t really understood how it could be that, in baptizing Jesus, they could be fulfilling righteousness.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

Matthew 3:13-15

Jesus is perfect. Spotless. No sin. He has no reason to be baptized because he hasn’t sinned. John’s baptism was for repentance, which Jesus didn’t need. Further, he told the Pharisees that one was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That “one” was Jesus. Why do this baptism, and how does that fulfill righteousness?

Thinking about this and doing some additional reading in various commentaries this morning, I was reminded of a couple of an additional scripture that helped me. It is a prophecy in Isaiah 53 that speaks to the coming of Christ. Here is what it says:

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 53:12

Jesus was numbered amongst the transgressors. And furthermore, he bore the sin of many, making intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus was considered to be a transgressor. It has been said that Jesus confessed sins that he did not commit and repented of them before God. So, in this way, as in many other ways, Jesus was numbered amongst the transgressors. Even if he didn’t need to be baptized, that didn’t actually matter. He was taking on the form of a transgressor so that the sins would be placed upon himself and he would bear them in the place of the actual transgressors.