The Church's Foundation and Call

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 29, 2005

The Church’s Foundation and Call
by Dan Trygg

"He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am? [Lit., "Whom do you say Me to be?"]’ 16 Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 17 And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’" Matt. 16:15-18

The Church’s Foundation

The core of Peter’s confession was that Jesus was the King, the Anointed One (= Christ = Messiah) of God. Peter’s insight and confession form the bedrock of the new congregation of God’s people, a multitude gathered and assembled from every tribe, tongue, people and nation to begin the Kingdom assault on planet earth.

The "Peter Problem"

Some have misunderstood the emphasis of Jesus’ words to mean that Peter was somehow special, that special authority would be given to him above the other disciples. That perception totally misses the point of Jesus’ affirmation.

First, the word "blessed" [Gk., makarios] simply means "happy" or "fortunate". It is a congratulatory exclamation. It’s as if Jesus said, "Good for you, Simon, because you understood what the Father has showed you." A different word [eulogeo] was used to invoke a blessing upon someone else. In other words, Jesus was not saying, "I bless you, Simon", rather, He was just saying, "Hey, great!"

Secondly, the statement that God, not flesh and blood, was the source of this insight did not set Peter apart from other believers. "Flesh and blood" was a phrase used to describe humanity in its natural state (I Cor. 15:50; Eph. 6:12; Heb. 2:14). All Jesus was saying was that this insight was not by Peter’s human ingenuity or intelligence. It came as a revelation from God. Only a short time before, right after Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, the Lord had said that no one could come to Jesus, unless the Father drew him. In fact, quoting from Isa. 54:13, Jesus said that all those who come to Him would be "taught by God" (Jn. 6:44,45). To use Isaiah’s words, "This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD."

Thirdly, the Peter/petra comparison does not at all identify Simon Peter as the "rock upon which [Jesus] will build [His] church." To what am I referring? In John 1:42, when Jesus originally met Simon, He gave him the nickname, Cephas, the Aramaic equivalent for Peter, both names meaning "rock" (cf. Lk. 6:14). On a surface reading of the English, then, it would appear that Jesus is saying, "You are Rock (Peter), and upon this rock I will build my church." It looks as though Jesus is identifying Simon Peter as the foundation for the church. The Greek, however, tells a different story. The word for Peter is petros, a masculine noun meaning, a stone, boulder, or detached fragment of rock, while the word translated as "rock" on the second occasion is petra, a feminine noun referring to the underlying bedrock, a rocky crag, or a rock cliff (Matt. 7:24,25; 27:51,60; I Cor. 10:4; Rev. 6:15,16). So, actually Jesus is making a distinction between Peter and the bedrock. Peter is only representative of a "chip off the block", so to speak. What is the bedrock, then? The realization and affirmation which Peter had expressed, namely that Jesus was the King. Therefore, Peter, as a detached stone, would be one of the foundation stones laid upon the bedrock (petra), but he was not the foundation itself. As Paul says, "There is no other foundation able to be placed beyond the one existing, who is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 3:11).

Fourth, in the book of I Peter, Peter himself uses the image of Jesus as a living stone, by men having been rejected but precious and chosen by God. We are like living stones being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices well-pleasing to God by means of Jesus Christ. After saying this, Peter quotes several OT passages which are clearly prophetic about Jesus as the object of faith (2:6), and the "bedrock (petra) of offense" over which the disobedient stumble (vs. 8). Notice that he never claims any special place for himself in this word picture. His focus is on Jesus as the bedrock, not himself.

Fifth, some believe that Jesus’ reference to giving Peter the "keys of the Kingdom of heaven" and the power to "bind and loose", mentioned in vs. 19, sets Peter apart from all others. The "keys to the Kingdom of heaven" refer to that which opens the way into the Kingdom. What can that be but faith in Christ? The "keys" are simply the message of the good news regarding who Jesus is, why He came, and the invitation to follow Him as King. Since Peter was the first to clearly confess the truth of who Jesus is, he also was the first one to utilize the "keys" by his confession. The binding (forbidding) and loosing (permitting) capabilities of which Jesus spoke on this occasion are extended to all the disciples in Matt. 18:18. They are not special prerogatives enjoyed by Peter alone, anymore than the employment of the "keys" to entering the Kingdom of heaven belong to him alone.

Finally, the fact that the disciples soon would be disputing which of them was the greatest, and would do so repeatedly (Matt. 18:1; 20:20-28; Lk. 22:24-30), indicates that none of them, including Peter, understood Jesus’ words to him at Caesarea Philippi as giving him any special authority, place or position among the apostles. It would have been so easy for Peter to make a claim based upon this incident, if it could be perceived as placing him above the others, but he never does so.

Building Up A People

The language that Jesus used next would have sounded very different to the ears of the disciples than it does to us. First of all, the employment of two words by Jesus in this phrase would have perked up the ears of these Jewish men in a way that gentiles of that time, and modern people of our time, would have missed entirely. The first significant word is "I will build". It was common enough Greek word for constructing houses, repairing and strengthening them, if needed. Metaphorically, it was used for building up individuals with encouragement and teaching. What was absent in Greek usage, however, was the notion of building up a nation or a group of people. However, that particular usage was employed several times, with forms of the same word Jesus used here in Matt. 16, by the prophet Jeremiah, in the Septuagint Greek translation of the OT. (The Septuagint translation would have been familiar to Galilean Jews, as well as Jews dispersed outside of Palestine.) God had appointed Jeremiah as a prophet over the nations, at times to pluck up and destroy, and at other times to build up and to plant (1:10). After allowing Israel to be defeated and exiled for their sins, God promised that He would regather them from the nations where they had been scattered, and would turn His eyes toward them for good, to build them up and to plant them once again in the land (24:6). They would be built up again and would celebrate in the land (31:4). God promised to restore their fortunes, and to rebuild them as He had before (33:7). So, the language Jesus used here at Caesarea Philippi would have been very familiar to the twelve. They would have understood that Jesus was going to establish, grow and prosper a people.

The second significant term which Jesus used was the Greek word, ekklesia. He said, "…upon this bed-rock I will build My ekklesia…" This Greek word meant "assembly", literally, "those ‘called out’ for a purpose". It was a term used in both Greek and Jewish cultures, but in both it was a fairly non-descriptive, generic term. In the Septuagint, it had been used for the congregation of Israel, but it was not used for the specifically religious gatherings. The term which had been commonly used for those was "synagogue", which continues to be used today. So, when Jesus uttered these words, His disciples would have recognized immediately that the Lord was saying that He was going to build up a congregation of people. While there was continuity with the congregation of OT saints, there was also a difference. Jesus was not going to be simply continuing the synagogue system that He and His disciples had grown up with. This was important for the Jewish readers of Matthew’s gospel to understand. Being a Christian meant that you did not have to separate from your OT heritage, but, on the other hand, it did mean that you weren’t going to be doing what other Jewish people were doing. Jesus was calling out His people for a purpose, …and it wasn’t to "play synagogue".

Called Out For A Purpose

What is this mysterious purpose? Jesus did not go in to much detail here, but what He did say will rock your world, if you truly grasp it. He said, "…and the gates of Hades will not be able to prevail against her…" The target is the very gates of the underworld. In those days, attacking a city meant trying to break down, burn, or open the gates of the city under assault, so that your armies could enter and wrest control away from the enemy. The gates were the most vulnerable place to focus the attack. The church is "called out" to assail the strongholds of the enemy, to defeat his forces, and liberate people for Jesus. We are to be an aggressive force to go out and take ground away from Satan.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 22, 2005

Who Do You Say That I Am?
by Dan Trygg

" Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ 14 And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15 He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16 Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’"
Matthew 16:13-16

I have belabored the fact that in the previous two chapters of Matthew Jesus had been crisscrossing land and sea, looking for some private time with His disciples.

He had gone from the west side of the Sea of Galilee to the east side, where He was met by a large crowd (over 5,000 men), whom He ministered to and miraculously fed. Then, He crossed back to the west side, where He was recognized and another crowd soon formed. He taught them, and healed their sick. Some Pharisees and scribes attempted to pull Him into a squabble about religious traditions and ritual purity. Jesus exposed their foolishness and hypocrisy, declaring that the real issue was the condition of the heart, not keeping rules of outward cleanliness. After this exchange, He and the disciples journeyed on foot some 40 miles to the northwest, along the Mediterranean Sea to escape notice in gentile territory. Even there He was discovered, and He delivered the daughter of a Canaanite woman from a demon. Once again, He left and and traveled to the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee, again to gentile territory. Crowds gathered, and He taught and healed for three days, before feeding a crowd of over 4,000 men, plus women and children. Again, He crossed the sea to the western shore. Soon a delegation of Pharisees and Sadducees approached Him, asking for a sign. He refused, and crossed the waters again eastward, this time to the area on the northern end of the lake. From there, they traveled 30 miles north to the region of Caesarea Philippi.

This journey would have been an uphill trek, climbing some 1850 feet in elevation. The Jordan river cascades down a narrow gorge through much of this journey, barely visible from the ground level on either side. Because the river is virtually inaccessible, there are few towns along the rim of this gorge. Most of the countryside is rural, with no settlements of any significant size nearby. Nine miles and 690 ft up in elevation, they would have come to marshy Lake Huleh, around which was a plain, offering a distance of some 8 miles of relatively flat elevation, although riddled with ravines going down to the lake. The northern end of this plain slopes upward for about 7 miles, and attains another 140 feet in elevation. From there, it is another five miles and 1,000+ feet in elevation to the site of Caesarea Philippi, located on the southern slopes of Mt. Hermon, a snow-capped peak which towers another 8,000 feet above. (It would be comparable to climbing from Lake Superior to Eagle Mountain on Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior. Another comparison is that St. Paul is 702 ft above sea level, and New Orleans is over 1,000 miles away. In the case of Jesus’ trip, the elevation is almost 3 times, but the distance is only 30 miles.)

There are actually four main sources of the Jordan river, but Caesarea Philippi was considered by the Jews to be the true headwaters of the river. At the actual source of the river, as you come through the trees, you come to a high, vertical rock face, where there is a gaping cave entrance. From this cave, the Jordan waters flow out from under the mountain in sufficient quantity to be a 30 foot wide stream. In a land where water is supremely valuable, this sight was an overwhelming, awe-inspiring vision of abundance. It is no wonder that ancient peoples had worshiped the Baal idols in that place (the site was called Baal-Gad [Lord of Fortune] in Joshua 11:7). The Baalim were thought to be localized fertility gods, usually having to do with rain and water supply. Here, it was perceived that the Lord of Fortune brought water out from the mountain to water the valley below, before ascending to the skies to become the god of rain and thunder. Later on, when the Greeks conquered the area under Alexander the Great, they established a shrine there to Pan, the woodland god of their mythology. It became a center for Pan worship, and the entire area became called Paneion. There were niches carved in the rock face, which contained statuary in honor of Pan. There, in this isolated place, in the midst of these symbols of pagan idols, Jesus began to question His disciples.

"Who do people say that I am?" What prompted this question? Why was it so important to get His men alone for an extended time? Let’s go back to the first time these suggestions surface. In Luke 9, Jesus sent the twelve out on their mission (vss.1-6), and then we have recorded Herod’s perplexity over the report of Jesus’ activities. In those verses (7,8), we discover that people were already discussing who Jesus was, and they were saying the very same things which the disciples report in answer to Jesus’ question at Caesarea Philippi. "…it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again." Luke stated that, because of these reports, Herod began to try to see Jesus.
This, and the return of the twelve from their mission, are the two events which seem to have initiated the wide-ranging attempts to find privacy, which culminated at Caesarea Philippi.

From John’s gospel, we also find that Jesus got very direct with those who had followed Him across the Sea of Galilee, after being fed by the multiplied loaves of the 5,000. "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you,… …My Father …gives you the true bread out from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven to give life to the world. …I am the bread of life… …I have come down out of heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. …I am the living bread that came out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I give for the life of the world is My flesh. …unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who gnaws on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate [the manna], and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever" (6:27,32,33,38,51.53-58). John records that many were offended and put off by this teaching, and stopped following Jesus. Jesus asked His twelve, "Do you want to go away, too?" On that occasion Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." From there, He led the little band to Tyre and Sidon, searching for privacy outside of the Jewish territories.

Finally, after failed efforts to find a place where they could be alone, Jesus dialed up the question of who people thought He was. (Again, I feel it is important to underline that knowing God’s will does not always mean immediate success in one’s attempts to carry it out, …not even for the Son of God. What Jesus modeled for us, however, is a faith that did not give up when met with a dead end. Cf. Acts 16:6-10. He also had to "test-out-by-trial-to-discover [Gk. – dokimazo] the will of God" – Rom. 12:2.) Note that He does not even comment on their speculations, but goes straight to the real issue, "But who do you say that I am?" Jesus needed to refocus His men on the core issue, their relationship to Him. Speculations mean nothing. The real question is, "Who is Jesus to me?" Were the disciples enamored with their experiences of spiritual power in their missionary tour? Were they caught up in theories of who Jesus was? Did they only want Jesus because of what He could give them in the short term? Were they looking for positions of importance? Food? Spiritual excitement? Did they remain loyal, even though so many had abandoned Him?

Peter’s confession gets to the core issue. It obviously expressed what Jesus was looking for, although our 21st century ears may miss the point. Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Lest we misunderstand, let’s check the parallel passages. Mark has, "You are the Christ" (8:29), while Luke records, "You are the Christ of God" [i.e., God’s Messiah] (9:20). What does this mean? The words, "Christ" or "Messiah" mean "Anointed One", the Jewish title for their King. The Jewish leaders had to explain this to Pilate, who, like us, was not raised in Jewish culture. Their charge against Jesus was that He was "saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Lk. 23:2; cf. Psa. 2:2). Matthew includes the additional phrase, "Son of the living God", because to Jewish ears that was also a technical title for the King of Israel (Psa. 2), not a statement about His origin. Bottom line, what Jesus was doing was regrouping and refocusing His disciples, centering their thoughts and attention on their acknowledgement of Him as their King. What mattered was their loyalty and committed obedience to Him.

After drawing out this confession, Jesus told them to not tell what they understood to anyone. That is kind of strange, isn’t it? Why go to all this trouble to get the disciples alone, wring out this commitment, only to tell them to keep it to themselves? The problem was that the notion of a Jewish king meant different things to the people at large than what God was intending to accomplish at this time. This event, this time alone with the disciples initiates a key turning point in Jesus’ ministry toward His disciples. From this point on, He begins to prepare them for the suffering and death that await Him in Jerusalem. He begins to try to teach them that He has come to conquer, but not in a way that they expect. He tells them that He has come as a suffering servant, as One who will lay down His life for others (Matt. 16:21). He also begins to train them to see their own lives as following this same path. If they are going to pursue Him, they must deny themselves, lose their self-agenda and follow Him (16:24-26). From this point on, He begins to face the cross, and He challenges them to do the same.

Who is Jesus to you? Who do you say that He is? Is He the Source and focus of your life? Are you willing to be committed and loyal to Him? Do you take the time to learn and hear from Him, so you can do His will? Are you willing to take risks, to be different, to lay your life down for Him? Is He truly your King?

Watch Out For "Leavening Influences"

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 15, 2005
Watch Out For "Leavening Influences"
by Dan Trygg

"’Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Matthew 16:11b,12

Last time we looked at Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman, from the middle of chapter 15. Remem-ber that the Lord had been trying to secure some time alone with His disciples. His popularity had become so great that He could not go anywhere without being recognized. Once people knew He was nearby, they brought their sick and demonized to Him for healing. The demand for His attention was intense, so that it was often difficult to even get a break for a meal.

In an attempt to find privacy, Jesus had crossed over to the east side of the Sea of Galilee, but people ran around the north end of the lake to meet Him when He came ashore. That was the setting for feeding the 5,000 men, plus women and children. Then, He sent the disciples back across the lake, and came walking on the water in the middle of the night. Upon reaching the other shore, a crowd once again formed, and they were inundated for requests for healing. Next, Jesus tried to leave the Jewish territories and journeyed west to the Mediterranean Sea, and went up the coast to the region of Tyre and Sidon, some two or three day’s journey distant. He tried to remain in obscurity, but even there He was recognized, and the Canaanite woman sought Him out. Apparently, this came to the attention of others, for He left there and came back to the area of the Sea of Galilee, this time proceeding down the eastern side to the region of the Decapolis. This was also a predominately gentile area, a league of ten cities, where, again, His fame should have been a little less well established. (The city of Gadara was one of these cities, where the people had actually asked Him to leave after the demons He had cast out of a man had destroyed a herd of pigs [8:28-32].)

In spite of these efforts, however, He could not escape notice once again. Great multitudes of people came, bringing their sick with them. Matthew lists the varieties of their afflictions: "the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others". Once again, "they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they [i.e., these gentiles] glorified the God of Israel" (15:30,31). This healing and teaching ministry went on for three entire days, and no one took the time to even eat. This was the occasion of another miracle of food multiplication, this time involving a group of 4,000 men (plus women and children). Seven loaves and a few small fish were multiplied so that everyone was satisfied, and seven hamper-sized containers of left-over fragments were collected afterwards (15:32-38).

After this miracle, He crossed over to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, to the region of Magadan (or, Magdala). Shortly after arriving, some Pharisees and Sadducees approached them, asking for a sign from heaven to show them He was sent from God. Obviously, they had come because His fame had become so great, and they were fearful as to His intentions, and what would happen if He proclaimed Himself to be a king. They were afraid that this would cause the Romans to clamp down their already oppressive grip upon the nation, and they would likely lose many of their freedoms, if not their positions of recognition and importance.

For these two groups to be in league together for any purpose was very unusual. They were usually very critical of one another, and were at opposite ends of the religious and political spectrum. Pharisees tended to be hyper-religious legalists, keeping both OT laws and religious traditions and rituals. They tended to be middle class merchants and tradesmen who were recognized and respected among the common people in the synagogues.

Sadducees, however, were more secular. They were from the wealthy priestly and Levitical families who had accumulated land holdings near Jerusalem. They tended to reject the religious legalism and ritual of the Pharisees, which were based upon human tradition. They held strictly to the Mosaic laws, especially regarding the ceremonial rites of the Temple, where their basis of recognition and authority was. They did not believe in angels or demons, and they found the devotional intensity of the Pharisees to be distasteful. They were religious formalists, who felt that one’s love for God should be private and somewhat dispassionate. Politically, they were opportunistic.

Jesus was unwilling to play their game. Obviously, if they were truly interested in finding out if He were from God, they could come to hear Him preach and they could observe the miraculous signs which He performed before the multitudes. Certainly they heard the many reports of His activities. They, however, had no honest desire to find out the truth. The truth was in conflict with their expectations and their self-interest. They were more interested in finding some way to criticize Him. Had He performed some sign for them, they undoubtedly would have tried to turn it into a provocation against the Roman authority.

Instead, Jesus turned their challenge against them by pointing out their spiritual blindness. Why is it that what was obvious to everyone else was not recognizable to them? He used the common ability to predict the weather, based upon the color of the sky, to show that they had enough intelligence to recognize natural phenomena. Why then did they not discern "the signs of the times"? This statement implies that there were already enough signs available for them to come to a conclusion regarding Him and the validity of His mission. Why did they not grasp the obvious? In the gospel of John He had identified their problem as being self-focused instead of God-focused, "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" (5:44).

Here, in Matthew 16, He comes right out and says "an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign" (vs. 4). He told them that no sign would be given them, except the sign of Jonah. Then He turned and went away from there. (This reference to the "sign of Jonah" had been referred to before. He challenged them with this in Matthew 12, when they had previously asked Him for a sign. Clearly, from His comments there [vss. 39-41], this was a reference to the resurrection, though from the vantage point of being on the other side of that event, it would have made no sense at all. The resurrection is the premier sign validating both Jesus’ identity and His ministry. Cf. Acts 17:30,31; I Cor. 15:12-19.)

Apparently, this encounter with them was enough cause for Jesus and the disciples to get back in their boat and go again across the Sea of Galilee to the eastern shore. In their preparations, which may have been hasty, the disciples had not thought to purchase bread. Once they were out on the water, Jesus, still ruminating over the conflict with these religious leaders, voiced His thoughts by giving a word of warning to the disciples, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

The disciples, however, did not follow His line of reasoning. They were more focused on simply the natural and earthly things of everyday life. They had not come to see things from a spiritual point of view. Furthermore they did not fully see themselves as leaders in training, ones who would some day have to deal with the likes of the Pharisees and Sadducees on their own. They weren’t expecting to receive advice for the future. They began to discuss among themselves what it was that He was saying. Someone thought that because Jesus had mentioned "leaven", He must have been talking about bread, and noticed that they had forgotten to bring any.

Overhearing this, Jesus chided them as being "men of little faith", pointing out the lessons they should have learned from the multiplication of loaves and fishes that He had miraculously multiplied for thousands of people on two occasions. "How many baskets of leftover fragments did you take up after we fed the 5,000?" "How many hampers (large baskets) did you take up after we fed the 4000?" "Why would you think I would be concerned about bread? But pay attention to the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." After this prodding they realized that He was talking about the doctrines or beliefs of these religious groups.

What does this mean? What was Jesus getting at? Why should the disciples "watch" and "pay close attention to" the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees? Because, as the word picture implies, these teachings have a way of spreading through and permeating a group of well intended people, pulling them either to the extreme of religious legalism, or to the other extreme of compromise with the world and a dead formalistic religion. Neither alternative is acceptable to God, but there is an attraction to each that will divert some people, if not clearly confronted or exposed.

On the one hand, there is a part of our humanity which can be attracted by religious activity and the performance of rituals and traditions. It can give us a sense that we are performing well, and therefore we are more acceptable to God. This can begin very subtly, but can grow to become more and more demanding and extreme. Soon, like the Pharisees, we are so focused on doing our religious duties that we lose sight of the larger picture of true relationship with God and love toward others. We can easily get caught up in pride and self-righteousness. Thinking to be godly, we actually drive others away from God by our arrogance and self-importance.

On the other hand, we can, as the Sadducees, fall into a trap of thinking we can decide what is right. We judge the Scriptures by our reason, or by our own understanding. We can begin to compromise in little ways, thinking that if we just go to church we are better than most. We can justify ourselves all the more if we give large gifts to the church, even though we practice dishonesty or injustice in our business enterprises. If we think that wealth implies a blessing from God, we may wrongly assume that we have His favor, when in reality we are storing up wrath for the day of judgment by the inequitable ways we treat others.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were just human beings pulled into deception. We need to "watch" lest we, or others in our group should be lured off into either of these errors. We are made of the same stuff as they, and can be pulled into deception of these, or other, varieties. The Bible makes clear that we need to watch out for one another. There are shepherds, yes, but we all must be responsible to be on the watch for each other (Heb. 3:12,13; 12:15). As disciples, we are also being trained to teach and work with others, so let us not be oblivious to the Master’s counsel. If we truly believe that we are going to learn to encourage and help others, we will be more attentive to practical advice from those leading us. Learn how they think. Watch what they do. Imitate what is good (Heb. 13:7).

Rebuffed By God?

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 8, 2005
Rebuffed By God?
by Dan Trygg

"And going out from there Jesus withdrew to the territories of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from those regions came out and was crying out, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demonized.’ 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples, coming near, were urging Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying out after us.’ 24 But answering He said, ‘I was not sent if not to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ 25 But coming, she knelt before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ 26 But answering He said, ‘It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the little-dogs.’ 27 But she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little-dogs eat the little-crumbs falling from the table of their masters.’ 28 Then answering Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that hour." Matt. 15:21-28

It is important, once again, to see the context. Of the lessons I hope you learn from these studies in Matthew, the importance of examining the context is one of the most significant to incorporate in your study methodology. The twelve had recently come back from their missionary journeys, assigned to them by their Master. Since returning, they had been inundated with the activity of preaching and healing the seemingly unending flow of people who came to them in distress. Jesus had suggested that they cross the Sea of Galilee to get some time for rest and to process what they had learned. When they arrived on the other side, however, they found a crowd of probably more than 15,000 gathered, people who had seen them out on the water and had hurried on foot to meet Him at landfall. Again, they brought their sick and afflicted with them. Jesus ministered to them the remainder of the day, and returned at night to the other side. In the morning, once again some people recognized Him, and sent word throughout the countryside, so that people came flocking to Him again. Among them were some Pharisees and scribes, who tried to pull Him into a conflict at mealtime over a supposed impropriety of His disciples. Having dealt with that issue, the narrative moves immediately into this story. The Greek is structured in such a way so as to make clear that this is a continuation of this few days of hyper activity, not a separate, unrelated storyline. This background is crucial to understanding Jesus’ behavior in the account of the Canaanite woman.

Leaving the crowds and pressures behind, Jesus leads His troupe of followers to the areas around Tyre and Sidon, about 40 miles to the northwest. This was Gentile territory to the north of Galilee, the areas which had been the headquarters of the ancient Phoenician empire, whose glory had long-since faded in history. Though not directly expressed in the narrative, this seems to have been Jesus’ method for finding a place where they could rest in relative obscurity. The regions of Tyre and Sidon lay along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. While there was a main roadway that led into that area, and beyond, the King’s Highway and the other main caravan routes were considerably to the east, running directly north from the Sea of Galilee, with arterial routes veering off toward the east. Most of those who would have come into, or out of, Palestine would have taken those thoroughfares. Clearly, Jesus had chosen to bring His disciples to a region where they would likely not be recognized. If this were not clear enough from Matthew’s account, Mark’s version tells us plainly (Mk. 7:24).

The woman in the story was a Canaanite, a Syrophoenician by birth (which simply means she was born in that area, called by some Syrophoenicia, a compound word derived from Syria and Phoenicia). She is also referred to as a "Greek" in some translations, but the word "Hellenes" was often broadly used by the Jews to describe non-Jews or "pagans". It is important to remember that Canaanites had originally settled all of that area, and down into Palestine. The original tribes of Canaanites living in Palestine became very immoral and worshipped false gods. Many were guilty of human sacrifice, especially of children. Under God’s direction, they were mostly killed, or driven out of the land and displaced by the Israelites under Joshua. The significance of a Canaanite calling upon Jesus for help is that she would represent the most unclean, unacceptable of persons in the mind of legalistic Judaism.

Putting Matthew and Mark’s account together, Jesus was not completely successful in escaping notice, even though He stayed at someone’s house. She heard He was there, and came to ask for help for her daughter, who was severely demonized. Apparently, Jesus gave her no answer for some time. She must have waited to speak with Him, and then followed Him whenever He went out. Matthew’s version implies that she was crying out loudly for Him to help her, but He said nothing to her. Finally the disciples came to Him and asked Him to "send her away" or "release her" or "dismiss her". Their intent is not clear. They had seen so much of the miraculous. Certainly this request would have seemed to be a very small thing for Jesus to do. Were they asking Him to give her what she wanted, so she would leave them alone, …or did they just want Him to tell her to go away? In any case, she was shameless in her pursuit of Him. To the disciples, she was an embarrassment. They wanted Jesus to deal with her in some fashion.

In the English, Jesus’ words seem to be very harsh. In the Greek, however, there are hints that He may have actually been speaking to her in kind of a "tongue in cheek" fashion. First He says, "Not was I sent if not for the lost sheep of the house of Israel." We have no way of knowing what His tone was. Was He curt or harsh? I think not. Certainly the focus of His ministry was to the Israelites, but this is not the first time He had ministered to non-Jews, even in Matthew’s gospel (8:5-13). Was He repeating out loud the expectation of the disciples, that He was their King, and therefore the benefits that He could bring rightfully belonged to the Jews, and were not to be shared by other nations? Was there a hint in His voice that He was poking fun at the very words He was uttering? By bringing up that His ministry was to the Israelites, Jesus was dialing up the old rivalry. Would she put that aside to lower herself to seek refuge from a prophet of Yahweh from the Jews, a people who had sought to destroy her ancestors? We don’t know how these words may have come across to her. In any case, sweeping aside Jewish nationalism or Canaanite rivalries, falling at His feet this desperate mother simply cried out, "Lord, help me!" She finally had His attention. It was just about Him and her, now. It was a personal appeal.
It was not uncommon for proud Jews to refer to gentiles, or any so-called "impure persons", as "dogs", a term of deprecation. If Jesus had wanted to follow this Jewish nationalistic bent, He could have used that term to insult her. Instead, He uses a diminutive form, a form used for the familiar household pet, a term almost of endearment. "It is not right to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little-doggies." Possibly picking up on His playful tone, she immediately responds with, "Yes, indeed. But even the little-doggies get to eat of the little-crumbs (a diminutive form of the word for "scrap" or "crumb") that fall from the table of their masters." Her answer reflects that she knew there was enough of God’s great provision for everyone. No one was trying to shut her out. It also recognized that the God of Israel was indeed the true God, and that He had chosen the people of Israel to be His special covenant people. That did not exclude her from coming to this great God, however. She had faith that He had room for her and would care for her need.

Upon hearing her answer, that she was not offended but actually pressed in again after the grace that she knew was there, Jesus said to her, "O woman, great is your faith. Let it be done to you as you have desired." That was enough for her. She trusted Him enough to leave her relentless pursuit of Him, and return to her home. Like the gentile centurion of chapter 8, she too did not need Him to accompany her to the sick child. She trusted that distance was not a problem for the God of heaven and earth. She returned home to find her daughter having been "cast upon the bed" but the demon was gone (Mk. 7:30).

There are many lessons to observe in this passage:

First, the humanity of Jesus is once again portrayed to us. He was intending to escape attention and get away from the unending flow of people coming to His door. So He travels a good two-day journey on foot, through a mountainous countryside, to get a little "alone time" with His disciples. No sooner did He get there than a woman begins to call upon Him. In His humanness, His plan did not produce the expected result. This is the second time He tried to get away from the crowds, with no success. As a Spirit-led human being, however, He did not get upset. He actually used this episode to teach a very strong and clear lesson to His disciples. He waited upon His Father. He waited for the right time, so that the disciples would be keenly watchful of His actions. Then, He obliterated racial and ethnic prejudices by His little role-playing, followed by His commendation to the woman and the deliverance that followed (which she evidently came back to report).

Secondly, we see that God is no respecter of persons. It matters not what race, nationality or gender a person may be, God will accept them if they come to Him with an honest and good heart of faith (cf. Acts 10:34,35). He is a personal God, who treats all of us personally, as individuals before Him. Furthermore, no matter what someone may have done or been in the past, all of that can be put aside when a person approaches God in repentance and humility, looking to Him for His provision.

Third, we see that Jesus demands that we all lay aside our former identity and humbly come to Him under the same source of provision, His grace poured out through what He has done in history through the Jewish people, ultimately culminating in Jesus the sacrifice for our sins and risen King of Glory.

Fourth, we see the single-minded, shameless faith of the woman, who pressed in after Jesus, even though He seemed to pay no attention to her, and even seemed to rebuff her. Her faith in His character was stronger than the somewhat offensive words which He parroted to her. She immediately caught on to the "straw men" which He was setting up as objections, and kept pressing her need upon Him. She was confident that He would hear her and give her what she asked. Her faith carried her through the dry times, the times when it appeared that Jesus would not respond to her. She modeled the importune faith Jesus taught about in Luke 11:5-13 and 18:1-8.

Truly Honoring God

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 1, 2005

Truly Honoring God

"‘…for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.’" Matt. 15:6b-11

The context for this episode in both Matthew and Mark are identical. In both gospels, Jesus returns across the sea of Galilee after feeding the 5,000. As the people on shore see Him approaching, they recognize Him and send word throughout the countryside that He was there. People began bringing their sick to Him to be healed. As many as touched the hem of His garment were healed.

At some point during this, or immediately afterwards, some Pharisees and scribes came to Him from Jerusalem. They noticed Jesus’ disciples beginning to eat without properly washing their hands in the customary ritual manner. They asked Jesus why His disciples disregarded the traditions of the elders and ate with unwashed hands.

(It is interesting that they did not ask the disciples directly. Apparently Jesus Himself had washed His hands, or was not eating, for they did not accuse Him. This is the second time that the Pharisees took issue with Jesus over the behavior of His disciples. They had criticized them for working on the Sabbath because they had plucked some wheat kernels as they walked through the fields, rubbed them between their hands, and then popped the hand-threshed kernels into their mouths [12:1,2]. On both occasions they came to Jesus about their behavior. Isn’t that a little dysfunctional? Why not simply correct the disciples themselves? Interesting, too, that both incidents involved the eating behavior of the disciples. Does that possibly say something concerning the priorities of the disciples? They appear to have been a little overly-focused on feeding their faces [Cf. Phil. 3:13-19; Rom. 16:18], a sign of their spiritual immaturity. If this episode took place after the message recorded in John 6, the disciples’ behavior is even more ironic [cf. Jn. 6:27].)

Here Jesus and His disciples had spent the entire day working with the people. The power of God was evident by the many miracles which were being performed. Yet, when they finally break for supper, the Pharisees and scribes were quick to point out an apparent inconsistency, or at least an impropriety, because they did not wash properly according to their religious tradition. They tried to turn this impropriety into an opportunity to attack Jesus.

(One lesson to be observed here is that we are always on display before others. Our behavior reflects back on Jesus, if we claim to follow Him. Even though we may claim that we are not faithfully walking out our faith, those who are opposed to Christ will use our inconsistency to attack both Him and the Christian cause, crying, "Hypocrite!" It is vital that we "walk our talk" all the time.)

What is this "tradition of the elders" the Pharisees and scribes were so concerned about? Why was Jesus not so concerned about keeping these? In Jewish history, between the time of the last OT books and the first century, there was an oral tradition which began to accumulate, consisting of interpretations by well-known rabbis of the Torah. These were applications of Mosaic commands which were not specifically expressed in the Scriptures.

This custom of hand washing is one example of a tradition that was taught in these commentaries, and became an accepted practice among the Jews. The custom was that you were supposed to carefully wash your hands in pure water before eating a meal, and again immediately afterwards. You were supposed to dip your hands up to the wrist in water, and then dry them. Eventually, prescriptions were created concerning the kind of vessels that could be used to hold the water, and instructions were given regarding the washing of plates and cups involved in the meal. Particularly zealous Jews went so far as to wash their hands between courses.

While probably a commendable practice, as far as cleanliness and sanitation are concerned, none of this was specifically mentioned in the OT Law, at all. It was purely the creation of these rabbis who were commenting on and expanding upon what the Word of God actually said.

So, when the Pharisees and scribes approached Jesus about this totally unbiblical practice, making it sound as if the disciples were breaking God’s Law, when actually it was just a human tradition, Jesus put them in their place.

He took the opportunity to expose the foolishness of human religious traditions, even to show how they actually can conflict with the direct commandments of God. The example He used exposed a loophole for selfishness in regard to honoring and caring for one’s parents.

It is not unlike some estate planning schemes promoted by certain religious groups today. What was going on was that the adult child would take an oath to dedicate the fruits of his income or property to God after he died. He could continue to utilize and enjoy this while still alive, but it was to be dedicated to God upon his death. In the meantime, if the parent would come to be in need, the child would say, "Gee, Dad/ Mom, I’d like to help you, but I’ve dedicated my wealth to God, so I can’t make use of it to help you. That would be like stealing from God."

What a crock! They were using this "religious loophole" to appear righteous, but at the same time escape their responsibility to care for their parents in their old age. Jesus pointed out that their human traditions actually countermanded the teachings of the Scriptures! One of the ten commandments was to honor your father and mother (Ex. 20:12). This practice did not value or esteem them, but actually disregarded their needs.

Then the Lord got to the real underlying issue, "What is it that defiles a person in the sight of God?" The focus of their human tradition of hand washing was to clean the outside of the person. Somewhere the belief lurked in their minds that if they managed to look clean and good on the outside, then they must be clean and good on the inside. Instead, Jesus got to the heart of the matter (no pun intended). It is not what is outside of a person that can defile him. There is no food that a person could eat that would truly spiritually defile someone. Why? Because it just goes through the digestive track and into the latrine.

(Mark underlines the impact of this teaching for his Gentile audience by saying, "Thus He declared all food clean" [Mk. 7:19]. What he meant was that Jesus’ statement indicates that the dietary restrictions of OT Law no longer applied because the Lord "cleansed" all foods [cf. Acts 10:14-16].

Food could not "defile" anyone. How does this fit with Jesus’ saying in Matt. 5:17-20 that He had not come to annul the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them? The purpose of the OT dietary laws was to set the Jewish people apart from other people to be dedicated to God [An added benefit to keeping them was that they avoided eating things that could be more prone to disease and parasites, if improperly cooked, but they did not necessarily know that.] The dietary practices were just a word picture, a symbol of the fact that they were God’s people. What Jesus came to do was to truly set free us from the defilement of sin, and to set us apart for God by a genuine transformation of the heart.

Furthermore, God’s intent was not to make all people Jews, but to make both Jew and Gentile into an entirely new humanity in Jesus Christ [Eph. 2:11-22]. In that sense, the purpose of the dietary laws was figurative, and they are fulfilled by the sanctifying work of Holy Spirit [I Cor. 6:11].) The real issue regarding a person’s standing before God has to do with the condition and focus of his or her heart.

The Pharisees and scribes had developed "religious loopholes" because their hearts were not in agreement with God’s heart. They wanted to "be righteous", by outwardly keeping the requirements of the law, but they devised methods for still protecting and accomplishing their selfish interests, many of which were in conflict with direct teachings of God.

The schizophrenic approach to spirituality was alive and well back in Jesus’ time, and it still is today. On one hand, people are devoted to keeping religious practices and duties, but at the same time they are living lives that are immoral or clearly in conflict with God’s purposes for them. They give God a little acknowledgement, a little "corner" of their lives, but they retain control. They live life as they want. They just want to assuage their consciences a bit, and maybe appear righteous and respectable to others, by going to religious meetings and doing religious activities, but, at the core, they still are calling the shots, determining their own life-plan, setting their own course. They have not truly surrendered or sold out to God. Their heart is readily evident by their attitudes, speech and behavior. As Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matt. 7:16-20; 12:33-35). Jesus quotes from Isa. 29:13, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me…".

What defiles a person before God? What is the source of the "bad fruit" in their lives? It is an unregenerate, self-centered, sinful heart, and the things that "flow out" from that deceitful heart. Proverbs 4:23 says that "the springs of life" flow out of the heart. What that means is that our thoughts, words and actions are the expressions of our inner hearts.

Jesus’ comment to the Pharisees focused on the mouth, because they were so concerned about what went into their mouths. He declared, "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." Later on, when the disciples asked for an explanation of what He meant, He explained in more detail, "Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

So what do we do? How do we deal with the "heart problem". The Pharisees and scribes had it all wrong. Jesus called them "blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Their "outside-in" approach doesn’t work. We can’t change the heart by doing religious activities, good deeds, or by any acts of self-effort, at all. What we must do is get a new heart, and learn to live out of that inner "spring".

That’s precisely what Jesus came to give us in fulfillment of OT promises regarding a new covenant God would make with His people, putting His law inside them, writing it upon their hearts and minds (Ezk. 11:19,20; 36:25-27; Jer. 24:7; Heb. 10:15-25). This inner transformation produces an outward change in thoughts, words and behaviors, if we learn to live out from that new inner source.

Note that Jesus said the Pharisee’s hearts were far from God. We must draw near to God in reverence, humility and repentance (Jas. 4:8), and accept the gift of a new heart from Him. Then we must remain connected to God as our Source (cf. Jn. 15:1-8). He becomes our well-spring (Jn. 7:37-39). Paul talks of this in terms of "walking in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16-25). If we abide in Him, we will be filled with life and vitality. From Him as the center and truest love of our lives, we will find ourselves able to do His will (Jn. 14:15,23).

This is what truly honors God, lives that are genuinely lived from Him as the Source, bearing the fruit and character which are an honest and clear revelation of His presence in the life of His people.

Developing "Little-Faith"

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: April 24, 2005
Developing "Little-Faith"

"Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ 29 And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’" Matthew 14:28-31

The incident of Jesus’ walking on the water is reported in Matthew, Mark and John’s gospels. It was an awesome evidence of God’s power over nature, and a powerful sign to the disciples concerning who Jesus was. There are strong parallels in each account, but only Matthew records the story of Peter’s stroll upon the sea. There are some valuable lessons to be gained here. Let’s take a closer look.

We saw last time that, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus sent the twelve away in a boat to go to the other side before Him. This was probably because the crowd was all wound up with excitement over the miracle, and were intending to come and declare Him their king (Jn. 6:14,15). The fact that the writers say that Jesus had to "compel" (Matt. 14:22; Mk. 6:45) His disciples to get into the boat and leave suggests that they had also been caught up in the mood of the multitude. So they went "ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away".

After this, the Lord went up the mountain to pray, so that a considerable time went by before He turned His attention back to catching up with His disciples. By this time, they were a considerable distance from shore. They were straining at the oars, fighting their way through the waves and wind which were battering against their progress (Matt. 14:24; Mk. 6:48).
Mark’s gospel says that He came to them in the fourth watch of the night, between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. He was walking on the water, and He was intending to walk by them to get to the other side before they did (6:48). That is an incredibly significant statement. Jesus did not operate in the absolute knowledge of future events, or even of His Father’s will, while He walked among us. Like us, He took one step at a time. He expected that, in the darkness and storm, He would pass by them undetected. They saw Him, however, and cried out in fear, thinking that He was a ghost. Immediately Jesus responded to the need of the moment, saying, "Take courage. I am. Do not be afraid."

Most versions translate this middle statement as "It is I", but the Greek is clearly "I am". The significance of the "I am" statement in this context could not have been more vivid. Here is Jesus standing on the water, defying all the so-called "natural laws" which these fishermen experienced everyday. What does He say about this? He identifies Himself with the "I am" of the OT (Ex. 3:14), the covenant God of Israel, the Creator of the world. John refers to six other times where Jesus did the same thing. In each setting, Jesus either demonstrates or claims something for Himself which normally would be ascribed only to God (Jn. 4:16-26; 8:24,28,53-59; 13:19; 18:1-8). This is not just a slip of the tongue, or a weird way of expressing oneself. This is intentional on Jesus’ part, …and repeated. By using the "I am" language in this manner, Jesus identifies Himself with God. Could this be staged in a more dramatic setting?

At this point, Matthew reports the account of Peter’s response to this experience. He said, "Master, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Was this Peter’s way of testing to see if it really was Jesus? Did he know what he was getting himself into? Certainly, if it was just a spirit masquerading as the Lord, it would not be able to keep him from sinking into the sea. It was a ready test to see what was going on, …and Peter did know how to swim. He was going to call the bluff of this phantom. He carefully worded his test, "if it is You", command…", knowing that the real Jesus would not command him to do anything harmful or foolish. The real Jesus would not command him to do something which could not be done, either. If it wasn’t Jesus, it would soon become apparent, however.

Jesus said, "Come!" -- Now who is calling whose bluff? No way to find out, but to get out of the boat. -- So, Peter got out of the boat, and …walked on the water toward Jesus! Wow! That must have been awesome, overwhelming, unbelievable! As he moved toward Jesus, Peter began to really take stock of the situation. The text says, "seeing the wind, he became afraid" (vs. 30). Having the wind blow through his hair and on his back while he was in the boat was very different than being totally exposed out on the water. Here the wind blew all around his entire body. Noticing this, and suddenly realizing that here there was no hand rail or safety rope, Peter became afraid, and started to sink. He cried out, "Lord, save me!" There was no railing or rope, but there still was the Master’s hand, and Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of him. Lifting him back up, they both walked back to the boat, and got in. As soon as they did, the wind ceased. The experience was so overwhelming, all they could do was bow down and do obeisance to Him, exclaiming, "Truly You are (a) son of God!"

How they understood their exclamation is hard to say. The Greek has no "the" in the phrase. The title, "son of God" was a title used for the Davidic king (cf. Psa. 2). Certainly by this time, they had come to believe that Jesus was a powerful man of God, at least a prophetic-type of figure. Often, when we read and interpret things, we lose sight of the progressive nature of the understanding of the disciples regarding who Jesus was and what He was here for. Whatever their understanding, they knew that they had seen some amazing things that day. They had twice seen the ordinary laws of nature suspended as He multiplied the loaves and fishes, and now having seen Him walk on the water. Being monotheistic Jews, they probably did not think of Jesus as the "son of God" as we have come to view Him. The title meant more that they clearly knew that God was with Him. They had seen God do great things through Jesus, and they knew there was a special relationship between Him and the Father in heaven, but the full extent of that was still unknown to them.

Let’s take a look at some of the lessons to be found in this passage. Peter was a very colorful character. He was very impulsive. If his question to Jesus sprang from an attempt to test the manifestation he saw on the lake, as I have suggested, …or if it was out of pure devotion to Jesus, …or even out of a bravado desire to be strong in faith as his Master, is not completely evident. What we do see is that (1.) he was the only one of the disciples to take the risk to get out of the boat; (2.) he successfully walked on the water, like Jesus; (3.) he became distracted and fearful of the wind and waves, and began to sink; (4.) he immediately called upon Jesus for help; (5.) with Jesus’ help, he walked back to the boat; and (6.) his faith in Jesus was deepened and enriched by his experience.

It is important to recognize that Peter was grasping the lesson that the miraculous was not something only for Jesus to perform. His reaction to seeing Jesus on the water was to believe that he could do that, too, by the same power that enabled Jesus. Was this justified? Was this a conclusion Peter should have made? Was it something that was consistent with what Jesus had been showing them?

Yes! In Matt. 10:1, Jesus had sent the twelve out to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God and "gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." In fact, in Luke 9:1-11, it is the return of the apostles from this very preaching mission that is the reason given for Jesus’ suggesting that they withdraw privately that brought them across the sea of Galilee in the first place. Given that kind of background, assuming that they did indeed see God working through them miraculously as He did through their Master, it would be no big stretch to think that they could do other miraculous things that they saw Jesus doing.

In Peter’s mind, he probably thought that if the Master gave him authority over diseases and demons, and they responded to the power of God in him, would it not be the same for walking on water? "If Jesus could do that by the power of God, and He called me to come to Him, should not God’s power be there to enable me to do as He does?" Of course! Was Peter right? Yes! He got out of the boat, and the water held him up! He even began to walk away from the boat toward Jesus. How amazing that must have been!

What happened? The text says that "seeing the wind, he became afraid". In other words, the experience of the wind whirling around him distracted him enough that He stopped trusting in God. Fear, instead of faith, gripped his heart. Somehow, this faith component seems to have been a critical ingredient for the power of God to work on His behalf. Without it, he began to sink. Terrorized, he cried out to Jesus, "Lord, save me!"

Jesus grabbed him, and then said, "Little-faith, why did you doubt?", or literally, "Little-faith, unto what end did you doubt?" It is important to understand that Jesus recognized and acknowledged that Peter did have faith, just not the full-formed and consistent trust needed to complete this test. (This word occurs five times in the NT, four times in Matthew – Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Lk. 12:28.) His trust was not adequate to remain firm in the face of the fearful experience of the wind whipping by his head and body.

The way the remainder of the phrase is translated really colors the interpretation of what Jesus meant. Was Jesus really asking why did Peter doubt? Wasn’t it obvious? If, on the other hand, Jesus was pointing out the end or result of Peter’s doubt, wouldn’t that turn this experience of stumbling into a teachable moment? Peter had been successful in employing the proper kind of faith which God delights to work through, but the result of his doubt was to sink and hinder the work of God’s Spirit, a valuable lesson to observe so vividly.

Interestingly enough, it is Peter who later writes about the devil’s attempts to scare and intimidate us, like a roaring lion seeking prey. He counsels us to "Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world" (I Pet. 5:8,9). It would seem that he learned his lesson, and he saw how critical it was to maintain a stable, steady, calm faith in the midst of whatever turmoil or harassment we may undergo.

Faith comes from hearing and knowing the provisions and promises of God (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:1,6). As we see that God is trust-worthy or dependable, we find we can risk and trust more fully in Him. Risking is an act of the will. Faith, at its core, is a choice. Hope can be developed by observing God at work in your life, or the lives of others, as He is called upon and trusted. Faith is exercised when we choose to trust in spite of seemingly contrary experiences.

Feeding 5,000 & Maintaining Spiritual Health in Chaos

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: April 17, 2005

Feeding 5,000 People and Maintaining Your Spiritual Health in the Midst of Chaos

“Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. …19 Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children. 22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.” Matthew 14:1314,19-23

There are many ways to approach this passage. Of course, at center stage is the incredible miracle of feeding the 5,000+ people by multiplying five loaves and two fish. (This was the lunch offered by a small boy who came to hear the Teacher [Jn. 6:8,9]. Apparently, he was so caught up by the healings and the teaching of Jesus that he did not take the time to eat during the long day. – That is a powerful lesson in itself, the smallest of gifts brought by one of the most insignificant of people provided the starting place from which the miracle was produced. It does not matter what we have, or who we are. Our willingness to offer ourselves unreservedly to our great God gives Him the opportunity to show us what He can do. Cf. II Cor. 12:9,10.)

Depending on the English translation you are reading, and the care with which you study, the setting can easily be misinterpreted. In the NASB version, cited above, the setting appears to be that Jesus had heard of the demise of John the Baptist and crossed over to the other shore of the Sea of Galilee. He was seeking some alone time, some time to pray and seek His Father’s face. When you compare the parallel accounts of Mark 6:30-44 and Lk. 9:10-17, however, a different reason for the departure across the lake seems to be given. In these accounts, the disciples are returning from the mission which Jesus had sent them to fulfill. They were filled with stories of their experiences, and were weary, so Jesus suggested that they depart to a lonely place to gain some rest and privacy to talk together. So, which is it? If you look closely at the NASB, you will notice that the words “about John” are in italics, which means that they are not in the original text, but the editors felt that they were implied by the context. Furthermore, if you look at verses 1-3 of Matthew 14, you will find that it is clearly stated that John the Baptist had died some time before. This is confirmed by Mark 6:14-29 and Lk. 9:7-9. For people to be thinking that Jesus’ miraculous ministry was due to the fact that He was really John raised from the dead implies that John’s death had been a well publicized fact already.

How do we explain the apparent confusion? Is there really a contradiction, or not? Actually, things become very clear when we realize the nature of the first three gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke are called “synoptic” gospels, meaning they “view together” the life of Jesus. They all seem to follow the basic framework of events. As scholars have studied this, most have come to believe that Mark was written first, and Matthew and Luke used his writing as a framework for their own. Mark is more detailed and vivid in what he reports, while Matthew and Luke will often abbreviate what he says, and add their own additional content to tailor their letters to their particular audience. If we remember that, and look closely at the language actually used by Matthew and Luke, we find that they express themselves very precisely. They are careful to preserve a correct timeline, even if they choose to change the order of events slightly, by using a flashback, as Matthew does here.

According to Matthew, then, what Jesus heard (vs. 13) that prompted Him to leave the region was that His ministry had come to the attention of Herod (vss. 1,2). This is supported by Mark and especially by Luke, who records that Herod “kept trying to see Him” (9:9). It is Mark’s account where Jesus invites the apostles to depart to a lonely place to “rest a while”. Actually, He probably needed some rest, too, since they had been so busy with dealing with people that they did not even have time to eat (Mk.6:31). These are not mutually exclusive or contradictory reasons for leaving. They could have all been factors in Jesus’ decision to leave.

Upon reaching the other shore, He finds gathered a whole crowd of people. These would have had to have traveled by land around the northern end of the sea to get to Bethsaida before Him. They had seen Him go, and had anticipated His destination, and traveled on foot to meet Him when He came to land. He probably rested in the boat while they were sailing, and when He came ashore there was a great multitude of people waiting for Him. All four gospels record that there were 5,000 men, plus women and children (Matt. 14:21), easily a gathering of 10-15 thousand people. [Actually, when you think about it, the spiritual condition of the crowd waiting for Him on the other side of the sea was almost the exact opposite of the crowd He had just recently faced in His hometown of Nazareth (Matt. 13:54-58). They had been offended at Him, and were unwilling to believe or trust in Him. Consequently, He could not do many miracles there. The crowd that traveled around the Sea of Galilee was motivated, spiritually hungry, desperate to hear more and see God at work. As a result, the power of God was present and available in a powerful way, and those people experienced a special miracle and a powerful revelation of who Jesus was.]

When He saw them, He felt compassion for them, because He saw them as sheep without a shepherd (Mk. 6:34; cf. Matt. 9:35-38), and He began to teach them and heal their sick (Mk. 6:34; Matt. 14:14; Lk. 9:11). As evening approached, the disciples suggested that He send them away to find food and lodging. Jesus tested them with the challenge, “You give them something to eat!”, and by asking Philip, who was from that area (Jn. 1:44), “Where could we buy bread, that these people could eat?” (Matt. 14:16; Jn. 6:5,6). Once they realized the enormity of the task (“It would take 200 day’s wages to buy enough bread for this crew!” or, as the New Century Version renders it, “We would all [i.e., the twelve disciples] have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person to have only a little piece.”), Jesus instructed them to have the people sit down in groups of 50 to 100 people. Then He took bread and fish which the boy had offered and began to break it into pieces, as the disciples distributed it to the groups of people. Everyone had enough to be satisfied, and they had 12 baskets of leftover pieces to snack on before heading home the next day.

That the miracle was obvious to everyone is most clearly communicated in John’s gospel. The people saw what Jesus had done as being similar to Moses’ giving the people manna in the wilderness, and identified Jesus as the promised Prophet like Moses (Dt. 18:15-19). They were so excited that they wanted to force Him to become their king (Jn. 6:15). He could see that they were getting out of control, and the disciples were getting caught up in the furor, so He compelled them to get into the boat and leave without Him, while He dismissed the crowds (Matt. 14:22). After He sent them away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray. Finally, He was alone.

After what they had seen, according to John 6, the people came seeking after physical bread, and wanted Him to keep making bread for them. He told them not to seek after bread that perishes, but to seek after the bread from heaven that endures to eternal life. He said He Himself was the Bread of Life, having come down out of heaven to give life to the world. If anyone trusted in Him, …if anyone partook of Him, “ate of His flesh” and “drank of His blood”…, he would have eternal life. The one continually partaking of Him abides in Him, and He in that person. The Jews who ate manna in the wilderness became hungry again, and eventually died, but the one who “eats” of Him will never die, but would live forever. It’s not about food, or material things. It is about God sending a Savior to set us free from sin and death so that we could live our lives for Him. We can’t truly experience life apart from the Life which comes from Him. He is our source of Life. Those who would experience all He has for them must abide in Him.

I wanted to end this study by pointing out how Jesus Himself was dependent upon His Father, and how He responded in peace and grace to the changing events in His life. He saw the need for His disciples, his student-trainees to get some time alone from the hubbub of the ministry. He also was drained, tired from a long days of working with endless people. So, He decided to go across the sea for some time alone. When He got there, however, He found huge crowds waiting for Him. Instead of being disappointed or upset, He looked at them with spiritual eyes and saw them as people in need, …people who were lost and hungry for spiritual guidance. He immediately arose to the occasion, and ministered until the sun began to set. After doing the miracle, He protected His disciples from the foolishness of “mob-think”, and sent them away. After they left, He dismissed the crowd, and in the twilight or near-dark, He finally went up the mountain to be alone with His Father and pray.

While Jesus lived among us, He lived as a human being, filled with the Holy Spirit (Heb. 2:17). In that, He was an example to us of what a faith-walk is to look like. Do you ever make plans that don’t seem to work out as you expect? Have you ever tried to get some alone-time with God, only to have someone call on you at the last moment, or show up when you think you’re finally going to get that rest you need? Jesus was able to maintain His sense of peace and purpose in the midst of the chaos. He modeled the freedom that comes from understanding the truth of Eph. 2:10, “you are My workmanship, created… for good works, which I have prepared beforehand that you might walk in them.” He was able to let go of His agenda and peacefully accept a course correction from above.

Note, too, that He did eventually get His alone-time with His Father. He had to carve out the time for that by choosing to stay up later by Himself, or, on another occasion, to get up early in the morning (Mk. 1:35). He knew Who the Source and Strength of His life was, and did not neglect quality time with Him. That is how He maintained His spiritual health in the midst of the chaos of His life. Do you think it would work for you as a busy mom with kids? Would it work for you as a business person with demands and deadlines to deal with? Count on it. He is the one truly needful thing, the “good part” (Lk. 10:42). Choose Him. Abide in Him. Receive from Him. Live for Him.