Bible Reading Challenge Blog

There is a lot of theology in this chapter that we could parse and look through. We could talk about what did Jesus mean when he talks about and heals on the Sabbath? How are we able to remain righteous so that Jesus can inhabit our lives as opposed to the demons of society and cultur which constantly look to take residence in our lives? But instead we are going to look at something that is a little more straightforward that is confusing to many who do not read that Bible that often. Did Jesus have siblings? This chapter answers that question.

There are theological reasons for why some denominations require that Mary remain a perpetual virgin, which would clearly mean that she had no children except for Jesus. In this strain of thought she is considered to some a co-redemptress. For us, this is heresy. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus, and Jesus alone. So when we read in Matthew 12 that Jesus’ family, and it is delineated as his mother and brothers and he adds in his sisters, then we can clearly see that this was not the case. We even understand that James was potentially written by the blood brother of Jesus as well. Now he self defines his family as those who do his will, but we do see that he had a biological family.

There is an ongoing debate in Biblical scholarship as to whether Jesus portrays himself as the Messiah, and whether he actually believed that he was the Messiah. This chapter in Matthew shold dispel the debate, along with chapter 1 of Messiah, because he is clearly defined and called the Messiah. Did you know that the technical term for Messiah is Christ, or Christos in the Greek? So when we say Jesus Christ we are actually saying Jesus the Messiah.

This chapter contains a lot of John the Baptist because he was the one who prepared the way of the Lord for Jesus. It does make me think of Godspel when I say that and the well known tune: Prepare the Way of the Lord. It might be fun to sing along to it.

We hear a little bit of a different voice from Jesus here. There is not the soft-spoken, unassuming Jesus that we are used to, but rather the one who tells it like it is, without mincing words. That doesn’t mean that he is unkind, or that he is pursuing a fight, but rather he is telling the truth in a way that those who have ears are able to hear it. When he sends out the twelve disciples he does so with a very specific mission, you can find that in vs. 5 and following. He tells them specifically to whom they are to speak, the Israelites, what they are to do, they were a type of doctor who healed people, and they were told when to leave, when they were no longer welcomed.

He then launches into a warning about those who are not only against them as disciples of Jesus, but actually working against them. He does not tell them to raise arms against them, but rather, just avoid them. Pretty simple, do not spend time with them, find people who are willing to welcome you and receive you. That sounds like some pretty sound advice in life. Don’t react, just pivot and move on.

Each Gospel contains many of the similar stories as the other Gospels, just not all of them. But each Gospel tells the story in its own way. For example, this chapter we have a number of stories that are told very differently in other Gospels. The man on a stretcher is the same story in Luke where his friends cut a hole a in the roof and lower him down to Jesus because the house is so full. That doesn’t happen here because Matthew chooses not to tell that part of the story. Similarly, the woman healed from a flow of blood is done in a much less dramatic fashion than in Luke as well.

I’ll never forget my senir high school English AP Class the teacher, without us knowing, had another teacher come into the room and just start yelling at him for no apparent reason. She then left the room and the teacher asked each of us what happened, and each of our stories was different. That can even happen to an individual after a major life event. I used to keep a journal for that same AP English class and in the middle of that school year I came to know Jesus personally. My writing after that moment was so very different than before that moment.

This entire chapter is filled with miracles that Jesus performs. There are a number of different settings where this takes place, but his disciples seem to be with him at each step along the way. What continues to strike me is that Matthew portrays Jesus clearly as the Messiah, it is how the Gosple begins, by describing him as the Messiah. And yet in the midst of all that Jesus does we hear that the disciples ask among themselves, look at vs. 27: What sort of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? Sitting on this side of history it is easy to second guess the disciples and criticize them for not understanding who Jesus was even as he is healing and casting out demons and calming storms. And yet don’t we find ourselves in a similar position? God is at work all around us, and yet we often wonder about Jesus, what sort of man is he?

This chapter has always given me pause because while it contain so many familiar verses and lessons, there are so many warnings on things that we do. Do not judge, but we always judge. Our days are filled with one judgment call after another. The whole rest of the chapter is built upon those things that we decide to do, that we judge as worthy of our time. What pursuits do we have that are outside of the kingdom of God?

Building our lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ is a choice that we can make, but we choose not to make it. We choose to use as our foundation that which makes the most sense for us and that which is within our grasp. Living by faith is basing your life upon that which cannot be seen, or touched, or even, at times, heard.

This chapter in Matthew underscores the provision of God to which we should spend our entire life without the worries and the concerns that we actually have all the time. This is one of those cases where if we would just listen to God then things would be so much easier. So much of our anxiety is based having our needs met and what it takes to make that happen. Can you imagine a worry free life? It is actually possible, it is attainable, if we would, as this Scripture states strive first for the kingdom of God and righteousness and then all these things, including release from anxiety and worry, will be given to us. I can’t help but include this song from the Bob Marley.

We have to state the obvious even though the Scripture that we have today does not reflect what this day is for us. September 11 is a day that we will never forget. It has changed the course of history not only for our nation but for the entire world. As disciples of Jesus we are to live in this world and not of it as Paul tells us, but the events of this world impact us and affect us. I pray that today you will have an opportunity to think about how the evil actions of a very small group of people in this day and age are able to impact the broader world in general. It never used to be that way. But the converse should also be true. The action of a very small group of peole for good should also be able to impact and sway the world toward Jesus. That should be our goal.

Matthew 5 contain what is famously called either the sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. The sermon on the Mount because we read early in this chapter that he climbed a mountain and spoke to his disciples with a crowd of people being present. The Beatitudes because the first 11 verses begin with the word in blessed which in the Latin is beato and so the term beatitude. There is so much to touch bases on. Jesus calls blessed all those who act and live in a completely opposite manner than what current culture and society tell us how we ought to live.

We have teachings on anger, adultery, divorce, swearing, and vengeance. We also have one of the most poweful commandments, not options but commandments, to love our enemies even if they hate us and revile us. We are told in respect to our enemies that we are never to return evil for evil. That’s pretty powerful, and it is something we should follow.

This chapter is divided into two fairly consequential events in Jesus’ life. Right after he was announced to the world in his baptism he is taken away into the desert where he goes for 40 days and 40 nights. That sequence of 40 should ring familiar especially for the Old Testament where Moses and the Israelites wandered for 40 years. Noah and his family were on the boat as it rained for 40 days. Elijah, in a very similar fashion to Jesus, fasts for 40 days and then the angels come and give him food. This fasting and removing himself from people was all done in preparation for the beginning of his ministry. Going away and fasting and preparing yourself for what comes next is never a bad idea.

It is important to see that it is also in this chapter where we find out what Jesus’ home town was as an adult. It isn’t Nazareth, from where he grew up, it isn’t Bethlehem, where he was born, but rather you can see in verse 13 that he made Capernaum his home town. It is right along the Sea of Galilee.

Then Jesus calls some of his disciples, not all of them. We find this as the call of the fishermen where Peter and Andrew and James and John are called to follow Jesus so that they would one day become fishers of people. They dropped their nets and followed him. This is before we read about any miracles or anything that happens that would make one think that Jesus was a followable person. The miracles happen at the end of the chapter and he fills out his disciple cadre later on.

Jesus has not yet begun his ministry, and yet here we find ourselves already in the third chapter. We find that the first step before he begins his ministry is to be proclaimed to the world through his baptism by John the Baptist. John is quite an interesting character. Keep in mind John the Baptist is not the same person as the John who wrote the fourth Gospel. That John was the beloved disciple of Jesus. This John is Jesus’ cousin who was born to Elizabeth and Zechariah as we read in Luke 1. John the Baptist was probably one of the ascetics who lived in Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

But John’s goal was clear, he came baptizing in water for the forgiveness of sins. Let’s be clear, the baptism that he provided was very different from our sacrament of baptism. His baptism was in order to prepare and cleanse people before they entered the temple. It had to happen frequently and often and that is why he had such a crowd around him at all times. Especially the religious leaders who had to be cleansed every time that they entered the temple. Our baptism, the sacrament of baptism, is that which has taken the place of circumcision. It is done once and for all and it is a sign and the seal of our acceptance into the kingdom of God through the grace and blood of Jesus. It is not an act that we chose to do, it is that which God provides for us in order to welcome us into his kingdom.