2008-05-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, I'm am led to wrap up the supporting Scriptures to MT 7:1-6 and, if space permits, begin looking at some other verses which help us have a better understanding of the issue of judgment. This first section has called us to have a clear idea of what is within only God's right to judge and what judgments He allows us to make. It also makes clear our need for discernment and lack of hypocrisy in the approach to the judgments we are allowed to make. Now, let's look at MT 7: 28-29, the passage regarding Christ's authority.
It's not too difficult for us to imagine what the Pharisees must have been like. They were taught the Law and then examined the OT in detail. That was the written law, taught quite dogmatically. This is the clear picture of the "Tenach" [Hebrew for OT], also in the broader context called the Written Torah [n.b. This includes the first five books of Moses, and all of the rest of the OT's 39 books]. However, also in their training is the human-crafted Oral Torah, an on-going compilation [heavily from the 1st-3rd century AD writings]. This Oral Torah contained: 1) rabbinic commentaries on the Law the Talmud, 2) rabbinic statements of the law itself, the Mishnah, and 3) a collection of sermons telling stories relating to Jewish culture and reading between the lines of the Tenach and the Talmud, called the Midrash. The writing of the Oral Torah has been going on for 3800 years and counting. With the addition of the Oral Torah, the traditionally Jewish picture of Biblical truth is severely clouded with human spins on God's teaching. Even in modern times, Jews learning about their chosen faith system are taught from rabbinic commentaries, rather than directly from the Tenach. The bottom line is that while the Pharisees and teachers of the Law thought they knew God, they were never able to teach with the authority and clarity that Christ could. An old and very persistent communication problem occurs when a human intermediary is inserted between God and the believer, putting his spin on God's teaching. Whether it is a Catholic priest, or a Jewish rabbi, or a purveyor of false or convoluted teaching of any kind, the problem is clouding one's understanding of God. In this writer's humble opinion, God explains Himself better than any human can.
MT 7: 28-29, "When Jesus finished saying these things [the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount], the crowd was amazed at the way He taught. He wasn't like the teachers of the Law; instead, He taught with authority." The people being astonished still stands today. All these years later, Christ's teaching is as relevant as it was then. It will always be relevant forever. It's revolutionary character shouldn't be lost on us. If we fail to see that, then we have missed its meaning. Christ's authority is eloquently described by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown in their commentary, Critical and Explanatory Comment on the New Testament. "The consciousness of divine authority, as Lawgiver, Expounder, and Judge, so beamed through His teaching, that the scribes' teaching could not but appear driveling in such a light."
It's important for us to take some time to meditate on the extraordinary teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. I do so by beginning a discussion of several Biblical verses and passages, which I can't finish in today's message but will continue in next week's. Let's begin with EPH 2: 1-5, a passage about the transition from death to life. "In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger. But God's mercy is so abundant, and His love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience He brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved." If this almost appears otherworldly to us, then we need to look at it for what it is-God's amazing power "to transform us inwardly by the complete renewal of our minds, so that we may know His will-what is good and pleasing to him and is perfect" [RO 12: 2]. It is a view of God's heart and of His ability and will to keep His promises. I often cite EZK 36: 26-27 because it is God's promise in the OT to "give you a new heart and a new mind, to take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart." It is also His promise to "put My Spirit in you and to see to it that you follow My laws and keep all the commands I have given you." There were no "completed [Messianic Jews] or Christians when this promise was made, but today, there are. And yet, there are still many people whose lives are led by their natural desires. Hedonism, cruelty, greed, and other kinds of sinfulness are on the rise, just as God said they would be as we near the end times. God alone knows the exact date that Christ will come [MT 24: 36]. At the same time, there is another promise being kept-the spread of the Gospel in places and with people where it never was believed before. I promise more on this intriguing passage and others in the next few weeks. Let me leave us with my expression of how blessed we are that we have the Sermon on the Mount to help us live righteously from our loving Lord, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, each day that we are faced with difficult challenges, we are also faced with a series of judgments. You have not wanted us to be Your "puppets on a string." Instead, You make it clear which things we must leave up to You to judge, and which smaller matters You have given us minds and hearts with which to decide for ourselves. With the Scriptures, which are useful for all kinds of things [2 TIM 3: 16-17] and prayer, in which You will give us direction if we seek You out [JER 29: 11-13], we have the tools needed to make wise judgments on those matters You allow. It is not enough to have the tools; we must use them with wisdom to make right decisions, ones that will benefit us and others. One such judgment is whether or not we should come to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, something You want badly for us to do. We can recall Nicodemus' secretive night visit to Jesus in JN 3: 1. This was made in response to the miracles Jesus was performing. At that time, Christ told Nicodemus, "I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again" (3). The discussion that followed led to Your Son's most important statement to date in (16). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish but have everlasting life." Nicodemus stood to lose a lot of his comfort, because traditional Jews of his time who came to faith in Your Son were excluded from their temples, kept from making a living, and ostracized in other ways. Nicodemus was a leader, giving him even more to loose. And yet, I believe that You gave him the judgment and courage to come to faith in accordance with what Your Son, Jesus Christ taught him. Dearest Father, please give us the wisdom to always follow Your truth and direction in our lives. We thank and praise You for caring about us enough to hear our prayers and to answer them. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
As I promised above, next week I am led to continue writing about some cross- references that reveal God's will in the matter of judgment. How can we not praise and thank our Lord for His fabulous teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Who would have ever thought that He would lead me to spend almost two years writing about this three chapters of Matthew [5-7] and still have more to be given to me by the Holy Spirit! Each of us can stand in awe at God's amazing power and compassion. 1 PET 2: 9 forces us to look back on where we were before coming to faith in Christ and where we are now. "But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, Who called you out of darkness into His own marvelous light." If the example of what God told Jeremiah at the time of the latter's commissioning as a prophet is true, then, God knew before we were born His will for our lives. JER 1: 4, "I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations." Similarly, God also chose which things were only His right to judge and which things He would leave up to us. He didn't create us to be automatons, but instead gives us a system of teaching that would help us to make the judgments He leaves up to us in a way which is right with Him. If we make the wrong choices, then we must endure the consequences. God wants us to be in close relationship with Him. This is an obediently faithful working relationship, but it is also a deeply personal one. And yes, it is one in which both parties are vulnerable. Each party, because he cares so much about the other one. And God is the hugely more powerful party in this Covenant of Grace. Praise and thanks be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn