Thy Kingdom Come

Meditation May 30, 2020

Matthew 6

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us today our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one. ’

 

We have examined the first petition; i.e. “hallowed be your name” and come now to the second and third petitions, “your kingdom come; your will be done. A few mark these as the first two petitions and understand “hallowed by your name” as a doxology but I am in agreement with those who understand it not as a doxology but as a petition that God who is our Father in the heavens, infinitely transcendent to all creation, would enable us to glorify, honor and revere His as we ought.

 

Revering Him then, as the awesome God who is the creator and sustainer; who as such has the right to determine all that occurs withing His creation and to dictate the behavior of his moral creatures, our petitions should be “you kingdom come; your will be done and earth as it is in heaven.

 

These petitions, would by no means be a new concept to the Jewish followers of Jesus. Messianic expectations, the coming of God’s King to rule the peoples of the earth had long been looked for by Israel and a similar petition is found in the kaddisch or qaddish, a hymn used in Jewish services (sadly still used for they do not recognize Messiah has come) the words of which are as follows: “May His great name grow exalted and sanctifies (Amen) in the world that He created as He willed. May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your day, and in the life times of the entire Family of Israel, swiftly and soon. Amen” Thus, the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer are long familiar to those whom Jesus is teaching.

 

The difference, and no small difference, is that Jesus, their teacher, knows that He Himself is that King, the looked-for consolation for which Israel has in this manner so long prayed and the answer to that prayer is near. Unlike the kingdoms of the world that are ruled, and necessarily so, by force of might, for such is necessary to control fallen man, the Kingdom of Messiah is ruled by the acknowledgement of and hungering and thirsting after righteousness. It is that kingdom of which Daniel spoke when he in a night vision he saw one like the Son of Man and ^“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:14

 

It is a kingdom in which God
exercises and makes know his His sovereignty to an extent what he does not so
do in the common course of the unfolding of the history of His creation. Christ
was introducing a kingdom that, until the last day of common history, is to be
ever growing as His subjects advance more and more in their hunger and quest
for righteousness. And we learn that Christ’s kingdom has come for Jesus says, “
if I cast out demons by the
Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matt. 12:28)  and again when questioned by the “Pharisees as
to when the kingdom of god was coming, He answered and said to them, ‘The
kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed nor will they say Look,
here it is! Or There it is!. For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. (Luke
17:20-21)
As that leaves no doubt as to the coming of the Kingdom, its fullness, its
completeness, the realization of that day when all is righteousness among God’s
people and the whole of creation is set free from its bondage (Ro. 8:22) is yet
to be realized. Variously retarded and advanced by man’s obedience and
disobedience, it is yet that city make without hands which every child of God
seeks thus we are to petition our God, “Your kingdom come” even as John closed
the Revelation with the petition “Come quickly Lord Jesus.”

I
do not agree with those who suppose this to be a prayer for that millennial kingdom
at the end of which the last great rebellion of man against the King is
defeated; rather, it is that Messianic Kingdom in which the last battle has
been won, the last vestige of unrighteous-ness and the last blemish of sin on
the created order removed and all created beings under His reign have brought
their wills, their desires and every behavior into conformity to God’s will.

 

It was therefore ever growing to a completeness, which it has
never yet reached. Its advance to that completeness might be retarded by man’s
self-will, and hastened by man’s fulfilment of its conditions. And therefore,
we pray that it may “come” in its fulness, that all created beings may bring
their wills into harmony with God’s will. Such was the importance of this
petition, the prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom that it was said among the
Jews “every blessing, or prayer, in which there is no mention made of…’the kingdom’,
is no prayer” (Gill et al.)

In consideration of the coming, the advancement, of God’s
kingdom to its fullness, the most consequential prayer we can make is that His
will, His purposes may be brought to fruition among men.

Such prayer is not a prayer of submission, subjection,
resignation to the providence of God in the unfolding of the affairs of history
but a prayer that as subjects of his Kingship, 
to be precise, as citizens of His Kingdom which has come as noted above,
we hunger, thirst and seek the obedience for which we have been equipped as new
creatures in Christ that, by so doing, we may hasten that day when the last
trumpet will sound and we will dwell in the new heavens and the new earth and
God, in the  Person of the Son will reign
among us from the Holy City, the new Jerusalem which has come down from God out
of heaven and there is praise to His glorious name forever and the whole earth
is filled with his glory. (Psalm 7:9)

A God Apart

Meditation May 29, 2020

Matthew 6

We saw in the opening words that which leads directly to this petition when we read, “Our Father who is in the heavens…” and noted that being in the heavens indicated one who is infinitely beyond us. Our God is, as put by the Westminster divines, is “…infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, justice and truth…. ” He is the God before whom the seraphim covered their faces and cried, Holy, Holy; Holy. (Isaiah 6:1)

If asked about God, most will aver that he is a Being infinitely beyond our comprehension. Sadly, I think, though contemporary men, those who will acknowledge God at all, say about God, their attitudes toward God are quite the contrary. A large population of believers, most I fear, approach God with an unwarranted familiarity that however little intended is disrespectful. God is an awesome God until they want something then it is all “Hey, Dad, what’s up? I need to borrow the car.” And it the answer is No; the last shred of awesomeness and respect dissipate like fog in the morning sun. Undoubtedly Jesus knew the tendency to which men would turn with the freedom to approach God as “our Father.”

God is very jealous of His name for it represents Him, who He is and what He does. It is the reason we do not take His name in vain by oaths and vows. It is the reason we do not “name it and claim it,” suggesting that somehow God is under our control when the contrary is true. We are reminded by Ezekiel that God insists upon His holiness being honored when God says to his people” "Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned (defiled, polluted, desecrated, treated with abuse, irreverence, or contempt) among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. (Ezekiel 36:22-23) Read the chapter. It is for God’s great namesake that we are given heart of flesh, redeemed and made obedient.

Giving names our children because we think they are pretty names, names that are popular, name that honor an ancestor etc. was not the common practice among peoples in the OT. Names were given then that reflected the personality of the one being named. The name was the nature and character of the one so named.

Jesus says then, when you pray, though you go to God as your Father and rightly so, he is nonetheless your Father in the heavens, infinite, eternal and unchangeable; therefore pray “hallowed be your name.” Whether we know Him by the name of Father, or Jehovah, or any of the many other names by which he makes Himself know in the Scriptures or by His revelation of Himself in His creation, we are to glorify God in everything and every way He has made himself known to us. Whenever and however we apprehend God, whether in His word or in His creation, we are to recognize Him as the Holy One of Israel. Our Father, Yes, but our Father who is the Awesome God before whom even the angels of heaven bow crying Holy, Holy.

That is what hallowed means; i.e., to hold holy, to acknowledge as set apart from what is common; that which is in the heavens. Something hallowed is different from other things and a person hallowed is different from other people. The temple was holy because it was set apart as a place of worship; consequently, when desecrated by being used for other purposes, Jesus cleansed it by driving out the merchants. An altar was holy because it was used a place of sacrifice. It was not used to cook the evening meal. Thus, God by whatever name He makes himself know, whether God Almighty or Father, is to be approached as One set apart, Holy.

Thus, Jesus teaches us to pray “Our Father, who is in the heavens, hallowed (holy) be your name….” Here, I think, it is not a doxology, it is not as the seraphim crying holy but a petition, a recognition of the tendency of men, privileged to boldly approach the throne of grace, forgetting it is the Holy One they approach; so, Jesus gives the petition “hallowed by your name” i.e., may we hold you holy, here as we approach the throne of grace may we never forget that it is the great and awesome God who sits upon that throne who we are approaching, hallowed by your name. We are being reminded that as we approach God, we ask Him to enable us to acknowledge, to give to him, that place of honor and respect that is uniquely His; that place His being, His nature and His deeds demand.

First, negatively, we are careful not to profane God's name with our mouths. We avoid swearing or taking his name in vain. We speak of him with great reverence. This is perhaps the least requiring aspect of hallowing his name.

Second, we begin with the positives: We reverence him as Father with acts of public and private worship. I personally consider the morning worship at the church I pastor to be the most important aspect of my life and ministry (apart from my personal devotion). I do not consider my sermon to be the most important part of the service but the worship. Is God's name truly being lifted up? Do the hymns, Scriptures, and prayers lift up his name? We hallow his name when we worship.

There is a third way: We reverence God or hallow his name when our beliefs concerning him are worthy of him. We cannot hallow his name if we do not understand it. Specifically, in the Lord's Prayer we must understand his Abba-Fatherhood…We understand the depth and wonder of saying, "Abba Father" only through the Holy Spirit…

And fourth, we hallow his name by living a life that displays that he is our Father... Luther was right. We best hallow God's name when our life and our doctrine are truly Christian. When we pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name," we are dedicating ourselves to lead lives that reverence all that he is. (Hughes, R. K.)

 

We often pray “Father: with heartfelt gratefulness and sincerity, but do we pray “hallowed be you name” with the same heartfelt wonder, humility and mourning of knowing there are areas of our life and tongue in which God’s name is not hallowed? When we pray “hallowed be your name” we petition God as did the psalmist, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)

Pray in this Manner

Meditation May 28, 2020

Matthew 6

Jesus has set before us, in the beatitudes, the characteristics of His people, His followers, those who by the grace of God have been born from above and made new creatures in Him. He has show how, having been made this new person, we are to conduct ourselves with regard to fellowship, interaction, with our fellowman; not He is giving instruction for our conduct in our religious duties as they are comprehended under three heading; i.e., charity, prayer and fasting. We have seen that our charity, our giving, is to be done, as it were, in secret; the same also is true of prayer. In neither are we to draw attention to ourselves, The pharisees, when they prayed, liked to draw attention to themselves by a flourish of activity or words. Jesus said, don’t do that. It is reasonable that the people, having no example taught them but that of the Pharisees et al. whose prayers were always a flourish surely were pondering in their minds, ‘How then do we pray?’ Luke, in fact, tells us that his disciples, (pupils, learners) asked him specifically how they should pray. Some think Luke and Matthew are speaking of different occasions. It is possible his disciples (his students, followers, learners, for such is the meaning of disciple and we err to always only think of the twelve as we so inclined to do) were a different group on different occasions, or, given we are as we are, it is possible they were the same and had either forgotten what was taught them before or were paying so little attention they had to ask again. Whether the prayer as recorded by Matthew and Luke were on the same occasion or not, it is the same prayer and Jesus says to His disciples

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

Jesus does not mean we should pray these words and only these words. He is giving the pattern after which we should pray, the manner in which we should pray; not the very words we should pray. A mnemonic I learned for prayers is ACTS; i.e. adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. You find those same elements of prayer in The Lord’s Prayer thought not in that order. It is a way of guiding our thoughts and words in prayer so that we are not wandering about in prayer, as a former pastor put it (in regard to another subject) like a drunken farmer following a cow. This is of particular importance in public prayers. Thus, after the following pattern, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray saying,

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us today our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, ^a

but deliver us from the evil one. ^b ’

 

(Literal translation in parenthesis follows)

“Our Father (the Father of us) who is in the heaven (heavens)…” God has a unique right to be called the Father of every creature, the father of the beast of the field as well as man. All receive their life and bodies from Him. All, man and beast alike, are made by God and preserved day to day by God. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) Thus, in that sense, every man may call God his Father.

Here, however, Jesus is speaking to his followers and thus I think Jesus is referring to that unique Fatherhood of God to those who in Himself have been given the right to be called the sons (children, descendants) of God. (John 1:12) Being adopted in Christ into the special relationship of being uniquely the sons and daughters of God, His peculiar possession and as such having given to us the special privilege of coming boldly to the throne of grace, we may call him Abba, Father.

Some erroneously think this is an entirely new concept; i.e. the idea of God as Father. In fact, as early as Exodus we find God referring to Israel as His son. In Malachi we find God referring to Himself as a Father (1:6) and in Isaiah we find Isaiah saying “O LORD, you are our Father. (64:8) Nonetheless, with the coming of Christ, there is a new understanding of the intimacy and access we have to God as our Father that the saints of the Old Testament seem unaware. David may be an exception for it is near impossible to read through the psalms without being impressed with the intimacy and freedom of speech David had with God. This is so much the case that some say one cannot pray well who does not well know the psalms. And we must not forget in regard to the Fatherhood of God, that at this point in the ministry of Jesus, it was – if we may put it this way – still an OT understanding the people had of God. They were still overwhelming ignorant of the Person and work of Christ.

It may be that the Pharisees had a way of praying that appealed to God as a Being to whom only those of particular righteousness (themselves) had special access and this as a way of reminding the people that it was they and not the  people who were Pharisees; thus, bringing honor to themselves, and Jesus in contrast is reminding the people that God is their Father in all that it meant to see Him as Father.

Thus, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray “Our Father, who is in the heavens….” Why in the heaves? Why not just leave it at our Father? I think it is likely a reminder of the transcendence of God. The God we serve is infinite and eternal and completely unlike the idols of men who gods are finite, made of wood, metal and stone and wrapped up in world, part and parcel with all that needs explanation as is the case with pantheism. At the same time, the God we serve is not like the God of the deists, the Great Watchmaker who put the world in order and left it to itself. Our God is indeed an infinite and eternal God whose ways are higher than our ways and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts, wholly transcendent above all that we can attain; the one before whom Isaiah cried “Woe is me, I am undone…” when he came into God’s presence, and we must never forget this when we come to Him in prayer and worship. At the same time, He is the God who has made Himself wholly immanent as well, and being in Christ, having had our lips cleansed as it were (cf. Isa. 6) by the blood of Christ, we may come before the Holy One of Israel, not crying for the mountains to fall on us and hide us but saying, “Abba, our Father….”

Look At Me

Meditation May 27, 2020

Matthew 6

In the beatitudes, Jesus has given us the characteristics, the traits, that constitute the psyche of the new creation in Christ. He has told us that those having been given these traits become the salt and light of the world. Lest we suppose ourselves to be of the new creation when, in fact, we are not, he has explained how those of the new creation, those who are humble, meek, long for righteousness etc., conduct themselves in relation with their fellow man. Now he turns to show us how those of the new creation conduct themselves in their religious duties. Be not deceived, as are some, there are religious duties that attend the new creation. The two great commandments are to love God with all our heart mind and soul and our neighbor as ourselves. As we have noted, they two are inseparable. As our duties in relation to our fellow man are always encompassed by our love of God, so our duties to God always involve our fellow man. The most obvious of these being our duty to gather together for worship.

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Some translate the Greek dikaiosynen as “alms deed” but it seems to me “righteousness” is better as it is rather obvious Jesus is speaking to any and all religious activity and not just to tithes, gifts and charity. This verse then is an introduction our duties specifically to God; i.e. our duties in our religious activities Having introduced the topic by encompassing all these duties as acts of righteousness, he goes on to list them individually as alms giving (charity) fasting and prayer. These were the duties practiced and taught by the Pharisees. I think it is safe to say under these three, all religious duty can be included for it is noticeable that Jesus does not say as he often has said before, “you have heard…but I say.” He does not add to nor detract from these duties; rather, he addressed the way in which they are conducted.

2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

We need not understand this literally. It is possible but doubtful that even the worst of the Pharisee blew a trumpet or had someone else blow a trumpet when putting their coins into the alms box. At the same time, it is clear that by timing or some flourish of activity, the Pharisees made certain it was noticed that they were giving alms. The trumpet is a metaphor for doing whatever it is a person may do who wishes to draw attention to their devotion to religious duty. But that is the problem. It was all on the outside. They had no real concern for the approval of God. They wanted to be approved by men, to be seen as holy and applauded as holy whether they were so or not. So, in other places Jesus says of them they are whitewashed sepulchers, i.e. all nice and clean on the outside but a rotting corpse on the inside.

For those hearing Jesus at that time, those who daily saw the Pharisee with their flourish of outward ‘holiness’ the message was clear. “You see what the Pharisees do; don’t you do that. They give to get the approval of men. “I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. When they get the applause and honor of men that “they have received their reward in full.”

Rather than making a flourish of you giving so that all notice or announcing to others afterward that you have given such and such amount, “don’t let your left hand let you right hand is doing.” Probably a proverb at the time for doing something in secret. I remember from my youth the brother of my piano teacher who, when he was visiting her would attend church with her. He was a US ambassador and as skillful as any I have seen in 80 years at drawing attention to himself. (Perhaps that was a learned skill necessary to ambassadors.) When he would enter the church, he would remove his hat and walk to the front of the church (he always sat in the second pew) and take his seat. Yet, without any obvious flourish, he could not have drawn more attention to himself if he had blown a trumpet. It was the same when the offering plate was passed. It would be difficult to put a finger on anything specific he did to draw attention to himself; yet, had he put the offering in the plate while doing a handstand on the back of the pew with the other hand, he could not have made it more obvious. Rather than that sort of activity, Jesus say, give as secretly as possible and your Father in heaven who sees will reward you. The message is clear; i.e. you reward will be eternal and not the brief applause of man.

5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

As with the giving of alms, so also is it to be with prayer. You remember the Pharisee who lifted up his voice and cried out to God in ‘prayer’ “I thank you I am not like this Publican etc.” That was likely a parabolic teaching and not the recalling of a specific event; nonetheless, such was the custom of the Pharisees. By putting themselves into conspicuous places, praying loudly and/or using a multitude of words, the Pharisees would draw attention to themselves. It was a way of saying.” See me. See how righteous I am.” Our prayers should not be such. The Geneva Study Bible on this verse says “He (Jesus) rebukes two revolting faults in prayer, ambition, and vain babbling.” Words in public prayer, whether by eloquence or abundance, meant to impress those hearing were of one; i.e. sounds made to draw attention to oneself. We are to pray with and for one another in public as well as in private but if in our prayers the hearer is drawn to us rather than to God we have need to better learn to pray. There should be no question in the mind of those who overhear us praying that here is a man or woman who is talking with God. As with the giving of alms, Jesus says those who pray to be heard by men have their reward, they have been heard. That is it. The end of their reward.

“Do not be like them”

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Meditation May 26 2020

Matthew 5:43-48

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor ⁱ and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

I think, for my own benefit, I will begin giving something of an amplified translation of the Greek text. It will help me in reviewing Greek and perhaps it will help you in gaining a little more precise understanding of that which the English is saying. Taking this approach, I suppose will make the thoughts more exegetical and less expository but I think it will make them more useful to me in the future.

By way of introduction: Jesus is still fleshing out that which he began with the beatitudes; i.e. that which is the character, the new creation of those in Him, and the way in which the you being that new character sets to conduct yourself in the world. This is your new character: you are poor in spirit (humble before God and man) you mourn your sins (implying you strive to overcome them) you are a peacemaker; you hunger and thirst to be righteous etc. Being of such character you are salt and light to the world. As salt and light to the world you strive to keep the commandments of God rather than the commandments of men. The commandments of God are two that comprehend the whole of God’s moral law; i.e. that we love the LORD our God with all our heart, mind and soul and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. These two are not separable; i.e., to love God with all one’s heart, mind and soul entails loving our neighbors as ourselves and loving our neighbor as ourselves entails loving God with all our heart, mind and soul. Neither is possible without the other and those who care not for God but suppose themselves to be great lovers of their fellow man only deceive themselves. The same may be said of those who suppose themselves to be lovers of God and followers of Christ but shut up their bowels of compassion toward their fellow man (1John 3:17) That, I think, is where Jesus now is in the sermon. He is explicating what is involved in being new creatures and keeping the two great commandments.   

V43 – You have heard that it was said, “Love - wish well, care for, long for good things (the meaning of agape) - for your neighbor, friend, one near to you and hate, - by comparison wish less well, care less for, your enemy – those who revile, intimidate, seek to destroy you.

There is probably no word in the Greek language more abuse by preachers than Agape. Perhaps because it is used of the love of God for the world in sending Christ as Redeemer, it is most often interpreted as a sacrificial love. Agape may we entail sacrifice, but it may just as well not entail sacrifice. The basic meaning of agape it to wish another well, to long for their good, thus, to love your neighbor as yourself means to wish as well for your neighbor as you wish for yourself and that whether it involve sacrifice or not. Moreover, it is an active love, it is about what one does and not about how one feels. Consequently, to wring one’s hands in self-righteousness bewailing the plight of one’s poor neighbor while doing nothing yourself to improve your neighbor’s circumstance is complete failure at agape. Agape has to do with action; not affection. Agape is acting for the benefit of others regardless of one’s feelings toward them and regardless of cost; i.e. whether great cost (sacrifice) is involved or no cost (sacrifice) at all is involved.

On the other side of the coin of often misunderstood words is hate. As with agape (love), miseo (hate) has to be interpreted within the context in which it is found. Hate does not mean, as we tend to understand hate, that one has a frothing at the mouth, must destroy it distaste and disgust toward something or someone. And, as agape, hate in its root, whether Greek or English (Germanic) refers to one’s actions rather than one’s passions, emotions or feelings. To hate someone is to demonstrate hostility toward them, to fail to act in their best interests, regardless of how we feel about them. Hate, miseo in the Greek, is a comparative word that means treat one person less favorably in comparison to another person. Thus, I John 3:15 etc. “Anyone who hates a brother is a murderer,” is equated with those who have material goods but does not aid a brother in need. (1 John 3:17) In 1 John 4:20ff we get a demonstration of how love and hate are to be understood when we find hating explained as not loving.

If we learn from this only to stop and think when we read ‘love’ or ‘hate’ in the Bible and ask ourselves just what is meant here rather than reading it in the commonly accepted usage which may well be far removed from what is intended, we have spent the time well. We move on.

V44 – But I tell you;= (i.e. contrary to that you have heard I tell you) love (wish well, act for the good of your) enemies (those who have resolved to do you harm) and pray for (offer prayers to God) for those who persecute you, i.e. those who pursue you to do you harm. Your enemies (i.e.those irreconcilably hostile toward you.

Having a correct understanding of love and hate this needs no explanation. Simply stated we are to act toward our enemies just as we act toward our brothers.  The reason for so acting is given in the next verse.

V45 – that you may be (i.e. you may prove to be) sons (descendants, children) of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

God, though he must act in justice, takes no delight in the death of the wicked (Eze. 18:23ff) and though justice demands punishment upon the wicked, in this life, God loves them, wishes well for them, by causing the sun and rain to fall on them just as on the righteous. Thus, we, in order that we may show we are his descendants, his children and therefore have a like character as God insofar as it is possible, are to act as he acts; i.e. love our enemies.

V46 – if you love (wish well) only those who love (wish well) you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors (Publicans) doing that?

 In other words, if that is the way you act, you are acting no differently from unbelievers.

V47 – and if you greet (welcome, draw to yourself, pay respect) only your own people (your brothers, those of kindred mind) what are you doing more than anyone else? Do not even the Gentiles (pagans, heathen, unbelievers).do that?

V48 – Be perfect therefore (i.e. demonstrate by being different from the heathen that you have become that which God in Christ has created you to be) as your Father in heaven (i.e. as God is that which He is.

Perfect here does not mean flawless or without defect as we normally think when we think perfect. Rather it means to become complete or to become that for which intended. The idea is well demonstrated by a folding table or chair or telescope. When unfolded, it becomes fully useful as that for which it was intended. It is the idea of becoming mature, being brought to the usefulness for which it was meant. Thus, we as children of God, become useful for that which the characteristics given us in the new creation were intended. We become salt and light by demonstrating to the world by our love that we are the children of God. Lemons are seldom found beneath apple trees.

Principle to Live By

Meditation May 24 2020

Matthew 5:28ff

38“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ^h 39But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
We find this law first given in Exodus 21. It has popularly become known as lex talionis, the law of the claw, justice by the rule of beasts. There is little doubt the religious leaders turned it into that; i.e. a law of retaliation or revenge. However as given, it was intended as a law to regulate the decisions of judges so that their judgments were neither more severe than required by the crime nor so lax as to be a joke. Either would be a travesty against justice. This seems abundantly clear in the reading of the law.
Nonetheless, the scribes, the Jewish lawyers, those who drew up legal documents, true to nature, took the letter of the law ignoring most of what is said in the law as given. An eye for an eye, was meant to put restraints on unfettered “justice” which is and was nothing less than an exercise of vengeance guided by no more than the passions of the offended. By advocating the letter of the law, the Scribes made it into a rule governing private, personal retaliation that had no more restraints on the limits of the penalty than whatever vindication satisfied the temper of the offended. Thus, did they take the statute God seems to have intended only as a guideline for judges with regard to the penalties they should impose for violent offenses and turn it rather into a sanction for whatever law-of-the-beasts retaliation the offended thought necessary to assuage his temper. Any fair reading of Exodus 21 will persuade the reader that the law there given and lex talionis as popularly embraced are only most remotely akin.
It is that misunderstanding of the law Jesus is correcting. When he says “you have heard it said…” he is referring not to the law as given - to suppose he was contradicting or correcting a law of God is inane – but to the law as they had heard it; i.e. that which we have described.
Two things are to be said regarding this before we press on. Personal retaliation seems never to have been sanctioned by God. Even before justice systems more or less as we know them were in place, retaliation belonged to the avenger of blood who acted when there had been murder or manslaughter, acted on the behalf of others; not on his own behalf. The over-arching injunction in the OT regarding seeking justice was that they should not say “I will pay you back for this wrong…or “I will do to them as they have done to me; I will pay them back for what they did.:…but that they should “wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you.” (Proverbs 20:22; 24:29)
Jesus is not introducing some radical new idea apart from the law of the OT, the law that came from God, but it is a radical new teaching contrary to they law as “You have heard it said….” It is not the law of justice, as given through Moses, with which Jesus finds fault but the gloss the Scribes and Pharisees had put on it. What had been given as a guide to the magistrate, the Scribes and Pharisees prescribed for private, personal vengeance.
Against this Jesus says speaking to private persons, those gathered on the mountain with him; not the magistrates, “I tell you, do not resist an evil person.” This is the same injunction we find in the Proverbs quoted above. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, give them the left cheek also. He is giving a practical application of that which he has taught in the beatitudes about being meek and a peacemaker. It seems evident to me that putting this into the context of the whole of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not offering a new code of laws to be kept to the letter. That is the very thing he is teaching against. Rather he is teaching principles to be followed under the law. Jesus is not, as some think, teaching some ideal, untttainable meekness.  Only fallen man is so foolish as to suppose the cow may jump over the moon. When Jesus says turn the other cheek, if sued for you car, give then your truck also; if pressed to go a mile, go two miles, he is teaching that those who are blessed, those who are meek and peacemakers are not to seek their own redress but to control, subjugate the natural desires to retaliate for himself but to leave redress for those whom God has put into position for that purpose. Jesus, though slapped by the servant of the high priest did not resist or retaliate though he did protest, Paul vehemently rebuked similar treatment. (Acts 23:2ff) The principle is that we are by all means to suffer wrong without personal retaliation except where that principle is superseded by law; e.g. the sixth commandment which enjoins upon us the preservation of life.
The same understanding is to be applied to giving to those who ask of you what is lawful to ask of you. Compelling someone to go a mile is of Persian origin. They did not have telephones, telegraphs etc. They did have something of a Pony Express. The rulers had persons, usually riders, stationed between towns and outposts who would relay new from one place to another to keep the rulers informed, usually of any dangers or threats but of any news deemed important for them to know. These messengers were authorized to stop any passerby, if needed, and press them into service carrying a message. If you had walked a mile from a town and were passing a relay station, the official messenger may press you into service to go back the mile you had just traveled to carry a message. Jesus says, if they press you to go a mile; be willing to go two miles. Obviously, this is meant as a principle; not a law to be followed to the letter. What would be the point of travelling a mile past the point where the message was to be delivered? So also, of that which follows. Friends, family, even strangers are free to ask for a gift or loan. To such as ask of us, Jesus says, “do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Again, this is an abiding principle; not a rule to be followed to the letter. We are not to give or loan with no concern for that which such a loan will be spent to gain. If an addict asks of you a gift or a loan to get food, you buy him food but you don’t give him money with which he can feed his addiction. Such a gift would not be a fulfillment of the law but a violation for is would procure that by which he was destroying life. As concerns human civil intercourse, the law is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” As you should engage in no activity that would bring harm to yourself so you should refrain from any activity that would aid, abet or encourage another in bringing harm upon themselves. That is on the negative side of the commandment. On the positive side, if needed to assist another to maintain life by providing the means thereto, “do not turn away….” I could probably work on this one a bit more.

A Reminder

Just a reminder. The thoughts I post here are only a casual exegesis. Thoughts I have as I read scripture and dig into it a bit to understand it better. Unlike some who suppose the meaning of a passage rests with the reader, usually a short-cut to shared ignorance, I am convinced the writers/speakers had a particular meaning which they were attempting to share. That being the case, it behooves us, as much as possible, to discover the ideas they intended to convey. If you believe, as I am convinced, that all of scripture comes by revelation from God, then, assuming God is consistent with himself, all scripture sheds light on all other scripture, or briefly, as it is usually expressed, scripture interprets scripture. If you think you have stumbles on a contradiction is scripture, rest assured you haven't and keep digging comparing scripture with scripture.

That is the approach you will find here. If you disagree with that approach, if you are among those who hold scripture open to correction by some authority other than itself, you are welcome to stay and follow my thoughts or leave. I take scripture as the final authority.  If I need correction from scripture, please do so.

Meditation May 23 2020

Matthew 5:31-37

 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

In these verses we have subject we can treat more speedily. Like the laws on murder and adultery, Jesus is dealing primarily with correcting the people regarding the laws as they had been taught them by the Rabbis and religious leaders. Murder, adultery etc. had been understood or interpreted and taught to have reference only to the strict letter of the physical act. Jesus teaching them that the real problem and the sin is at the heart and not simply in the outward act which is only a manifestation of that which lay in the heart out which proceed the issues of life.

The verses dealing with divorce and oaths had reference to laws that were uniquely Jewish. For this reason; i.e. they have less application for us (I did not say no application). For that reason, and the fact no one seems to agree on them, we can handle them more cursorily.

Divorce was originally disallowed. We know this because we read that regulations regarding divorce we added because of the hardness of the hearts of men. Divorce was never ordained by Got, promoted by God nor sanctioned by God. It seems to me that originally not even sexual unfaithfulness was grounds for divorce. If such occurred, it seems the marriage was to stay intact and reconciliation and forgiveness sought. I think we can glean this knowledge from Hosea’s example and primarily from God’s dealing with His whoring people, the church, the bride of Christ.  Divorce was ‘allowed’ by God with a certificate of divorce because of the hardness of the hearts of men. Matt. 19:8. One can imagine the regulation was given to maintain something of an orderly society in the face of the sins of man. At the first, divorce was allowed only for unfaithfulness, sexual impurity, either before or after marriage. The wickedness of man’s heart being such as it is, the Rabbis et al., yielding to the desires of the people rather than taking their guidance from God, quickly diluted the regulation as God had given it to allow divorce on no better grounds than that a man’s wife simply no longer pleased him – which, I suspect, invariable meant he was pleased by someone else. Women were not allowed to initiate and seek a divorce for any reason. This is the ‘law’ the people had been taught and it is this Jesus is correcting. In doing so, He takes it back to the original allowance made by God, i.e. sexual immorality.

At this point, it seems any agreement ends. By sexual immorality did Jesus mean only the physical act by the wife of having sex with someone other than her husband? Some argue that would be a very strange way of understanding it since he is dealing with the issues of the heart contrary to purely physical acts. But if he means something other than the physical act, what would it be? Some say a flirtatious spouse, one who shows that in their hearts they desire another, would be allowable grounds. Still others argue that a spouse who no longer can or will perform their physical spousal duties so that the other is left to “burn in the flesh” (1 Cor. 7:9) would be acceptable grounds for divorce. Still others would include psychological abandonment, the forsaking of fellowship and companionship with a spouse as acceptable grounds.

My personal conviction is that divorce on any grounds is contrary to the original intent of God in making us man and woman, male and female and is therefore sin for which we should seek God’s forgiveness. I say that as one divorced. The same is to be said regarding the remarriage of a divorced person. Is the new wife, assuming adultery did not occur before a divorce nonetheless guilty of divorce for marrying a divorced man? Under Jewish law apparently it was only the divorced wife who, if she remarried, that was guilty of adultery. The man could divorce and remarry for any cause and unless he was guilty of actual physical sexual immorality while married he could divorce are remarry as often as he wished without being charged with adultery, but the woman, though she was the offended, could not remarry without presumably being subject to stoning.  It seems pretty clear these laws did not come from God.

What are we to make of Jesus teaching about remarriage? Again, I think it best to assume guilt and seek forgiveness. It matters not our sin. When we have turned from it and seeks God’s forgiveness, God in mercy through Christ grants forgiveness. It is my experience that if we think we may possibly have sinned in something we have done; we probably have done so. We ought then to take that concern to the throne of grace. One of the saddest things I see in the life of Christians is notion that they are lost if they have any sins. That belief, the remaining notion that somehow they be sinless to please God, though most often completely denied in doctrine, is seen to be alive and well in the fear of going to God with their sins. Joy in the Lord is found not in the pretense of purity but, as Jesus has just said, in mourning over sin.

With regard to the taking of oaths, Jesus reference is to common oaths. Those oaths, for example, that we take when we say to someone something such as “I swear on my mother’s grave, I am telling the truth.” Or “I swear to God that is what happened.” It is not an absolute forbidding of all oaths as some take it. Jesus gave testimony under oath. (Matt. 26:63ff) Paul often uses oaths. (Ro.1:9, ! Cor. 15:31; etc) God in numerous places swore by Himself (Isa. 43:23).

To put it in perspective as I see it, God has created in Christ new creatures, a peculiar people, a holy nation (blessed a people) for Himself. Those people are humble (poor in spirit) mourn over their sins and hunger and thirst to be sinless. Being such a people, they are salt and light in the world and being such, they strive after holiness. That means striving to keeps God’s commandments. But keeping God’s commandments means knowing them and knowing them correctly; therefore, Jesus clarifies the commandments not only that they may know of a truth that after which they are to strive but that the blessed may the better know their sinfulness and dependency of His finished work for their redemption. It is the recognition and admission of our sinfulness that keeps us abiding in the Vine. The least notion that in this or that area I am guiltless, cuts me from the Vine. May God grant there is no sin for which we exonerate ourselves.

One-eyed Jack

Meditation May 22 2020

Matt. 5:27-30

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ^eBut I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Jesus now proceeds in his sermon to the seventh commandment to give the true interpretation of the commandment “You shall not commit adultery.” Some manuscripts include you have heard it was said to the ancients, usually translated as to them in old times etc. but whether included or not it is implied. Where else would they have heard it but from the Rabbis and what would one expect the Rabbis to be teaching except tradition. So; Jesus says, “You have heard it was said to the ancients, you shall not commit adultery; i.e.  the letter of the law referring narrowly only to the actual physical act of sexual immorality and that modified by the traditional spin that had been put on a writing of divorce

It seems abundantly evident that the original law regarding adultery that was given Moses applied equally to all, young or old; male or female. A later amendment was allowed granting the right to divorce for sexual sin by the wife – women were not allowed to divorce their husbands under any circumstances. The Rabbis had then allowed further dilution of the law so that it became allowable for a man to divorce his wife for no better reason than that she no longer pleased him – meaning almost invariably that someone else had caught his eye.

This is that to which Jesus is making reference when he says, “you have heard it said.” It was the law as taught to the people by the Rabbis and the other religious leaders and teachers. (A passing lesson to be learned from this is the danger one embraces when he fails to read the Scripture for himself or reads it only as interpreted by a particular theological position rather than searching the Scriptures, as did the Bereans, to see whether or not those things being taught were indeed what the Scriptures said. “To the law and to the testimony and if they do not speak according to that there is no truth in them.”)

As with the sixth commandment, Jesus says to the people gathered, “you have heard it said…but I. In the Greek, when Jesus says I, it is emphatic. When not emphatic, I is normally assumed but not written or spoken. For instance, Lego de would also be translated ‘but I say’. That would be more of the nature of, that was there opinion and here is my opinion.; However, when I is written or spoken as it is here, Ego de lego (I but say)  the I is an emphatic I, and until convince otherwise, I am convinced that when paired with de (but) it indicates an emphatic negation of the foregoing. This, it seems to me is the thing that was shocking to those hearing Jesus’ sermon. He was saying to them, I am the authority here. You have heard the Rabbis say but I am telling you that the contrary is what the law teaches.

The Rabbis had taught them that you shall not commit adultery referred only to the physical act of sexual unfaithfulness. I am telling you, Jesus says, is not the case. I am telling you that if you even look on a woman (or man) lustfully you have already committed adultery. It was in your heart, but it was adultery nonetheless. The command is not violated by simply being attracted to someone of the opposite sex. To find a person of the opposite sex attractive is built into us to carry out God’s directive to multiply and replenish the earth. That which is a violation of the law is the looking that “cherishes or indulges unchaste imaginations, desires, and intentions.” The temptation, the attraction is one thing and not a sinful violation; the indulging of the temptation, the yielding to it in the heart and imagination is another thing altogether and is a violation of the seventh commandment. Jesus was tempted in every way as we; yet, he was sinless because He did not yield to the temptations. If you see a beautiful, attractive man or woman, God made them attractive for good reason; however, if you yield to that attraction outside marriage, in the flesh or in your mind, if you indulge unchaste imaginations and desires, you have committed adultery.  We must never forget that is from the heart that the issues of life flow. (Matt. 15:19)

Victory of the temptations of the heart and the lusts of the flesh come only with labor and as often as not painful labor at that. But labor nonetheless we must. Christ’s sacrifice of Himself was to save us from our sins; not to save us in our sins. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue is sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Ro. 6:1) The Bible acknowledges that it is a war that goes on within, a struggle between the old man of sin and the new creature in Christ; a war between the Spirit and the flesh. (Ro. 7:23)

Therefore, Jesus says, if your right eye or you right hand offends you, pluck it out; cut it off. If a member of you body causes you to stumble or fall (the original meaning of the word translated offend) into sin get rid of it. Clearly Jesus did not intend this to be taken literally as some have done. A man with one eye out and a man with one hand may lust and sin as easily as a man with two eyes and two hands. The problem is the heart; not the eye or hand. Some commentators tend to make more of the eye and hand than I think is warranted, even going so far as to explain why the reference may have been to the right rather than the left. The reference to plucking out the eye or cutting off the hand, it seems to me is meant to emphasize the importance of subjugating the desires of the heart to yield to temptation. It is meant to symbolize the strenuous effort one should put forth in the struggle against sin.

The author of Hebrews writes,” In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” It may be as some suggest the reference is to those martyred for the faith. When the executioner’s rope is around ones neck the temptation to recant of one’s faith can be powerful. Be that as it may, it is better to obey than to save one’s life by sin. Or it may be, as other have suggested, a pugilist reference indicating the intensity of the fight against sin. Taken either way, the implication is the same as Jesus gives here; i.e. you must struggle against sin no only to the loss of goods and reputation, to submitting to taunts and reproaches and becoming a laughing, but you must resist temptation to whatever extent is necessary to avoid sin  Well may we be beat down in the struggle and, as it were, with bloody head rise to continue the battle determined we will yet prevail but let us do so with this hope "The athlete who hath seen his own blood, and who, though cast down by his opponent, does not let his spirits be cast down, who as often as he hath fallen hath risen the more determined, goes down to the encounter with great hope" [Seneca].

Go Then Come

Meditation May 31 2020

Matt. 5:23-26

23“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25“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. 26Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

We live in the age of, I don’t have time for that, I don’t have time for negative people, I don’t have time for people filling my life with their drama, I will unfriend. Sometimes there is good reason(s) to unfriend/ cut off relationship with another person. Most often, it seems to me, we just need to adult them. I don’t mean challenge them to act like adults. I mean we need to act like adults ourselves. That is what Jesus is getting at here.

The Lord knows the heart of man. He knows our weaknesses and temptations. He was tempted in every way we are. (Heb. 4:15) We are to obey the law of God but we can’t. The point of the law, apart from being God’s directive for the way we are to conduct our lives, is that it reveals to us our sin. our utter inability to be obedient and therefore drives us to seek mercy by grace through faith in Christ. In Romans 7:7, where we find Paul wrestling with the old man of sin and the continual violation of the law we all face, we find him saying also that except for the law he would not have known sin, he would not have known his need of Christ. At the end of his agonizing over his failure to keep the law he cries out “Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of sin? I thank God through Jesus Christ….” But none of that relieves us of the obligation to repent, to strive against sin, to labor daily to put off the old and put on the new.

Therefore, Jesus brings us now to repentance. Men are very prone to fall into rash anger. Sometimes it is over serious matters but contrary to reason, which is not surprising, in my observations, most rash anger is over more trivial matters. Almost without fail, on the heels of rash, irrational anger comes contemptuous, abusive name calling and accusations. We tend to make little of such speech as sin but Jesus makes much of it. He says it is murder. This is not a sin to be rectified by religious devotion. Regular attendance at church, Sunday School and prayer meeting is not going to relieve you of your guilt and duty in the face of this sin. Your daily prayers and devotions are not sufficient. All that without repentance is an offense to God. It was such as that of which God said “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; they are a stench to me.” (Amos 5:21) You suppose yourself coming to worship, God says, “who asks this of you, this trampling of my courts? (Isa. 1:12)

This is a serious matter. Jesus says, if you come to Gods courts, if you come to worship, to offer prayers and gifts of devotion and remember that you have said opprobrious words about a fellow man, stop, stop right where you are. “Leave your gift in front of the altar…go and be reconciled; then come and offer your gift. The right time to seek reconciliation is the moment you realize you have made enmity between yourself and a fellow man. You are in church? Get up and leave. You are on your bed for nightly prayer, stop, get up and go to you phone or dress and drive across town but do not trample the court of God by continuing without repentance and reconciliation. Harsh words are a serious matter not to be differentiated from murder. We may feel they were justified. We way feel the person against whom we speak did or said something that justified our anger. We should have settled the matter then. But instead of reconciling we retaliated. Now sin is at the door and now it is our sin.

Several years ago, there was a man, Alvin Straight, who had become estranged from his brother. This is a true story. They had not spoken in years. They lived now 300 miles apart. Alvin lived in Iowa and his brother in Wisconsin. Alvin, now 73, heard that his older brother was sick. He thought perhaps he would lose his older brother. He did not want him to die with them still on the outs, as they say, with one another. Mr. Straight’s eyesight had become too poor for him to any longer get a driver’s license so he got on his lawnmower and began the 300-mile trip to see his brother. Twice along the way he had to stop and make repairs on the mower and at last, only two miles from his brother’s the mower broke down again and, having spent all his money on previous repairs, he had to push it the last two miles to his brother’s house. But push it he did and the two were reconciled. Such a matter of urgency Jesus places on this issue.

Jesus is addressing the one who has spoken rashly. If that is you, stop where you are and go. Go and get friendly with your adversary, the one against whom you harbor resentment; the one against who you have spoken ill. The charge is to the offender, to you if it is the case you have spoken ill of someone. You who have made and adversary of a fellow man by speaking ill of him. Don’t wait for him to come to you. Stop what you are doing now, even if it is in the midst of leaving your gift at the altar, and go make friends with him. That is what the word translated “be reconciled” indicates. It is not a matter of just saying to him, “I got a little upset and said some things I didn’t really means, things I shouldn’t have said. Sorry about that, OK?” That isn’t at all what it means. It means to thoroughly change things. You made an enemy of him, now go make a friend of him, do it quickly, and don’t continue with your offering until you have done so lest you be found guilty of trampling the courts of God.

Jesus is not indicating that by doing this or not doing this we earn or lose our salvation. He is indicating that if you are saved, if you are blessed, if you are poor in spirit, meek, a peacemaker etc. this is what the indwelling Spirit will urge you to, “do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thess. 5:19) Therefore…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (Eph. 4:30-31)