The Fig Tree
A fruitless fig tree was an Old Testament symbol of God's judgment on Israel's idolatry and corruption. For example:
“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.
There will be no figs on the tree,
and their leaves will wither.
What I have given them
will be taken from them.'”
So, the episode with the cursed fig tree is a living parable Jesus is acting out in front of the disciples. He is showing them the consequences for the hard-heartedness of the religious leaders.
Can prayer really cause a mountain to be thrown into the sea? I don't really know.
What I do know is that prayer changes things.
Scripture Passage:
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Overturning the Tables
The reason there were moneychangers and merchants in the temple courts in Jerusalem was so that pilgrims who came in from far away could easily buy an animal for sacrifice. Galilee is in the north of Israel, e.g., and I'm told it was at least a 2 week walk from there to Jerusalem. Obviously, it wasn't practical for Jews coming to worship and sacrifice in Jerusalem to bring animals with them, and the Jews of the Diaspora wouldn't even have local money with them, hence the moneychangers.
I don't think it is the presence of the moneychangers and the merchants that is necessarily wrong; it is their abuse of their position to which Jesus is objecting. If they had offered a fair rate of exchange and fair prices, then they would have been doing the pilgrims a service. But, it seems they were price-gouging, and thereby profaning the Temple.
Today’s Scripture:
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When It's Time to Fight
The Mount of Olives overlooks Jerusalem, and on Palm Sunday Jesus comes down the Mount of Olives in a triumphant procession as he enters the city. The excitement around Jesus has been slowly coming to a boil, but each time the lid is about to blow off, Jesus calms the crowds, or quickly withdraws, or tells the people not to say anything. Palm Sunday, however, is the moment when Jesus goes public. He encourages the shouts of Hosanna and the waving of the palm branches; his procession is a deliberately provocative and political act. And, just a few days later, he'll be crucified.
So, why does he do it?
I think the answer is that it's finally time for him to engage the fight. Jesus was born to die. Up to this moment, he has been biding his time. Now that the time has come, he's ready.
At some point, the difficult thing can't be avoided--it must be engaged.
Today’s Scripture:
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On Appetite and Desire
Our understanding of appetites is entirely wrong. Here's what we think:
- I have an appetite or desire for something;
- I satisfy that appetite or desire;
- That appetite or desire goes away.
Or to put it another way, we think:
- I have an itch;
- I scratch the itch;
- No more itch.
Anyone who's ever had poison ivy knows that that is completely backwards!
Here's the truth about appetites and desires: the more you feed them, the more they grow. We've all experienced this. Take working out, for example: if you haven't been working out, you don't want to start working out. But, if you will yourself through the initial inertia, what happens? The more you work out, the more you want to keep working out. Healthy eating is the same way: once you will yourself to start and make it through the first few days, it becomes something you want to do.
Now, apply this to the disciplines of faith, like reading the Bible: the more you read the Bible, the more you want to read the Bible. You don't bring a desire to it so much as you get the desire from it.
Good appetites grow when fed, but so do bad appetites. How does lust work?
- Lust whispers, "Feed me, and I'll stop bothering you--I promise."
- For a time, Lust keeps its promise and is quiet. But it's only for a time....
- After a while, Lust whispers again, though this time more insistently, "Feed me."
- And the cycle continues and accelerates.
This cycle is true for anger and addiction and every other destructive appetite we have. The more we feed it, the stronger does the appetite grow until it becomes almost impossible not to satisfy.
Appetites grow when fed. There are healthy appetites and there are destructive appetites. The key, then, is to feed the healthy appetites and starve the destructive ones. For most of us, the destructive appetites never go totally away, but they do become much weaker over time, and instead of an insistent, sibilant whisper on your shoulder, that appetite, which previously had seemed irresistible in your life, becomes an occasionally recurring thought that you can slap dead as you do a horsefly.
Appetites grow when fed. There are healthy appetites and there are destructive appetites. The key, then, is to feed the healthy appetites and starve the destructive ones. For most of us, the destructive appetites never go totally away, but they do become much weaker over time, and instead of an insistent, sibilant whisper on your shoulder, that appetite, which previously had seemed irresistible in your life, becomes an occasionally recurring thought that you can slap dead as you do a horsefly.
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If You Could Ask For Anything....
I love the directness of Jesus's question to the two blind men in Jericho:
"'What do you want me to do for you?'"
Matthew 20:32
To their credit, they are bold in their request:
“'Lord,' they answered, 'we want our sight.'”
Matthew 20:33
And they receive it.
If Jesus asked you that same question today, what would you say?
Today's Scripture:
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Unfair Labor Practices
Introduction–Jesus is not Santa Claus
Haven’t you ever wondered why, since Jesus was such a nice guy, meek and mild; since Jesus is basically Santa Claus in sandals and a bath robe; since Jesus never wanted to hurt anyone’s feeling–haven’t you ever wondered why Jesus was killed? Jesus wasn’t killed by accident; Jesus was killed because the things he did and said caused people to hate him. Matthew 19-20 is a good example of the sort of things Jesus said that got him killed, because these 2 chapters contain some difficult, explosive teachings from Jesus. In 2019 at Munger, we’re reading through the Gospels over the course of the year, with short readings assigned each weekday. So, each weekday I’ve been trying to write a brief commentary to go along with that day’s Gospel reading. I’m a few days behind, so I’m going to post my comments on Matthew 19-20 in 3 separate posts, one after the other; to understand Matthew 19-20, we need to look at all of Jesus’s teachings together, so be sure to check out each of the 3 posts. Part 1 is about Jesus, Marriage, and Divorce; Part 2 is about whether Jesus would ever turn someone away [the rich young ruler]; this is Part 3: about a truly explosive, troubling parable [the laborers in the vineyard].
Unfair Labor Practices
I remember the first time I really heard the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. I was in seminary, and it was the first time I understood the explosive nature of the teaching of Jesus. This parable does not make you feel good, and the more you think about it, the more disturbing it seems. It just seems fundamentally unfair that the people who have labored all day in the hot sun get paid the same as those who only put in an hour of work at the close of the day.
Maybe that's the point: there is something about the kingdom of heaven that just doesn't fit with how we think things should be. And, considering what a mess we've made of things, maybe that's very good news.
Scripture Passage:
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Would Jesus Ever Turn Someone Away?
Introduction–Jesus is not Santa Claus
Haven’t you ever wondered why, since Jesus was such a nice guy, meek and mild; since Jesus is basically Santa Claus in sandals and a bath robe; since Jesus never wanted to hurt anyone’s feeling–haven’t you ever wondered why Jesus was killed? Jesus wasn’t killed by accident; Jesus was killed because the things he did and said caused people to hate him. Matthew 19-20 is a good example of the sort of things Jesus said that got him killed, because these 2 chapters contain some difficult, explosive teachings from Jesus. In 2019 at Munger, we’re reading through the Gospels over the course of the year, with short readings assigned each weekday. So, each weekday I’ve been trying to write a brief commentary to go along with that day’s Gospel reading. I’m a few days behind, so I’m going to post my comments on Matthew 19-20 in 3 separate posts, one after the other; to understand Matthew 19-20, we need to look at all of Jesus’s teachings together, so be sure to check out each of the 3 posts. Part 1 is about Jesus, Marriage, and Divorce; this is Part 2: about whether Jesus would ever turn someone away [the rich young ruler]; Part 3 is about a truly explosive, troubling parable [the laborers in the vineyard].
Would Jesus Ever Turn Someone Away?
I don't think we ever see Jesus turn someone away. But, what we do see are people who refuse what he has to offer. The story of the rich young ruler is a good example of this: he asks Jesus how to have eternal life, and Jesus answers him honestly. Jesus tells him that his possessions will make it very hard for him to receive the kingdom. The man doesn't want to hear that, and walks away sad.
Jesus calls every person to follow him, but we come on his terms, not our own. There are many people in the Gospels and in our time who aren't willing to accept the terms Jesus gives. Wealth is obviously a major stumbling block for us, because when we are wealthy it's much harder for us to trust Jesus first. But, wealth is not the only stumbling block in a person's life.
So, here's the question: what is the thing that's keeping you from following Jesus today?
Scripture Passage:
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Jesus, Marriage, & Divorce
Introduction--Jesus is not Santa Claus
Haven't you ever wondered why, since Jesus was such a nice guy, meek and mild; since Jesus is basically Santa Claus in sandals and a bath robe; since Jesus never wanted to hurt anyone's feeling--haven't you ever wondered why Jesus was killed? Jesus wasn't killed by accident; Jesus was killed because the things he did and said caused people to hate him. Matthew 19-20 is a good example of the sort of things Jesus said that got him killed, because these 2 chapters contain some difficult, explosive teachings from Jesus. In 2019 at Munger, we're reading through the Gospels over the course of the year, with short readings assigned each weekday. So, each weekday I've been trying to write a brief commentary to go along with that day's Gospel reading. I'm a few days behind, so I'm going to post my comments on Matthew 19-20 in 3 separate posts, one after the other; to understand Matthew 19-20, we need to look at all of Jesus's teachings together, so be sure to check out each of the 3 posts. This is Part 1: about Jesus, Marriage, and Divorce; Part 2 is about whether Jesus would ever turn someone away [the rich young ruler]; Part 3 is about a truly explosive, troubling parable [the laborers in the vineyard].
Jesus, Marriage, & Divorce
Matthew 19 is a hard passage. It is hard to understand, and even harder to live by. In Matthew 19, Jesus speaks to the topic of marriage and divorce. In this post, I am not going to offer a comprehensive theology of marriage and divorce, and there are lots of questions I'm not going to try to answer; what I will try to do is explain what I think Jesus is saying. Don't shoot the messenger! So, let's walk through this passage, verse by verse:
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”Matthew 19:1-3
Jesus has now begun his journey to Jerusalem. He's left the Galilee in the north, and has come south. Unsurprisingly, he has drawn a crowd. And, equally unsurprisingly, the Pharisees--who hate Jesus--have come to try to trip him up. Some things haven't changed; even today, talking about marriage can get you crucified!
The question about divorce is not an earnest, truth-seeking question, because the Pharisees who ask it are trying to set a trap for Jesus. Why is this question so controversial? In the time of Jesus, there were two rabbinical perspectives on divorce: one perspective (from Rabbi Hillel) said that men could divorce their wives for any reason, and the other perspective (from Rabbi Shammai) said that divorce should be reserved for cases of adultery. In both cases, it was understood that only a husband could seek a divorce, and not a wife. Unsurprisingly, the Hillel perspective was the popular one in the time of Jesus.
As he always does, Jesus uses scripture to frame his answer. In fact, he goes back to the very beginning of the Bible itself: Genesis 1-2. (Specifically Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24.)
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Matthew 19:4-6
Note that Jesus doesn't actually answer their question directly, but instead talks about the purpose of marriage, as designed by God. I think there are 4 interesting implications to his answer:
- Our identities as male or female are not an accident, but part of God's purpose for our lives.
- Marriage makes new families. The husband comes from one family, the wife comes from another, but when they get married, a brand-new family is created through them.
- The marriage union is meant to be total: in the biblical language, "one flesh." Marriage is a complete union: emotional, of course, but also, in some mysterious way, bodily as well. The physical result of that bodily union, obviously, is a child. A child is the "one flesh" that results when a husband and a wife come together through sexual intercourse. A child is one, though it comes from two: a mother and a father. Even at the molecular level, this is true: the child has one DNA sequence, but that sequence has been made from the DNA of two parents. There are billions of us on this planet, and every single one of us--without exception, and whether we know them personally or not--has a biological mother and a biological father. The fact that each of us is the fruit of our parents' union is really astounding, but because it is commonplace, we overlook it.
- The marriage union is meant to be lifelong.
The Pharisees reply with an obvious point:
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Matthew 19:7
In other words, they say: "Jesus, that sounds really nice, but if marriage was meant to be life-long, why is divorce sanctioned in the Old Testament?"
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Matthew 19:8-9
Note that the Pharisees say that Moses "commanded" divorce, whereas Jesus corrects them by pointing out that Moses did not command divorce, but "permitted" it. Why? Because the presence of sin requires it, i.e., "because your hearts were hard." Because all people are sinful, divorce is necessary. Jesus implies that sexual immorality breaks the marriage covenant or somehow makes marriage impossible. In that case, then, divorce is a way of acknowledging that the marriage covenant has already been abrogated.
It is important to point out that since it is only men who were able to divorce their wives in the time of Jesus (and not vice versa), then the practical effect of Jesus's comments is that they protect women, who, without clear divorce laws, could be cast aside for any and every reason. Jesus's words sound harsh, but they are actually helpful to women whose husbands wanted to divorce them for any and every reason.
The disciples are shocked at the implications:
"The disciples said to him, 'If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.'"
Matthew 19:10
In response, Jesus says that they are correct: this is a difficult teaching:
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
Matthew 19:11-12
A "eunuch" is a man who has been castrated so that he is unable to reproduce sexually. Eunuchs were present in antiquity from the Middle East to China and they were often important members of a royal household; because they were obviously unable to found their own dynasties, they were often entrusted with important matters of state.
Note what Jesus is saying:
- Some people are, from birth, either not able or not willing to procreate: "eunuchs who were born that way."
- Some people will not procreate because of what other people have done to them. It is unclear to me if "eunuch" is in this instance only to be understood literally--that is, people whose genitals have been cut off or altered so that they cannot reproduce--or if it is also metaphor, referring to something else.
- People who freely choose not to marry and reproduce for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Here, "eunuch" is obviously a metaphor. And, Jesus himself is in this 3rd category, since he never married.
This entire passage is extremely counter-cultural.
First, this teaching of Jesus flies in the face of our divorce culture. Since Governor Ronald Reagan signed the nation's first no-fault divorce law into effect in California in 1969, we have come to accept (not only in law, but in our understanding) that marriage is something that either party can end for any reason whatsoever, and once divorce papers are filed, then the marriage is over. Jesus says that, in effect, marriage is more durable than that, and that regardless of what the papers say, marriage can't be ended as easily as that. This is a radical teaching.
I am not trying to give a comprehensive Christian understanding of divorce in this post, but I also know that if you've read this far, you likely have many questions about grounds for divorce. Remember that this is just one scriptural passage in which Jesus is replying to a specific question put to him about a particular Jewish controversy. So, drawing from the rest of the Bible, here is one answer to the following question.
What behaviors break the marriage covenant and are grounds for divorce?
- Adultery (Matthew 19:9);
- Abuse (Exodus 21:10-11);
- Abandonment (1 Corinthians 7:15).
The words of Jesus on divorce will seem radical to our culture, but his words on sex will seem INSANE. Our culture believes that a fulfilling and happy life must include sex. Think about our advertising--it's not that our advertisers use sex to sell things--though they do--it's that they also imply that a life without sex is a life not worth living. Jesus flatly contradicts this implication. In fact, he suggests that some people will choose not to marry and have sex and make these choices out of service to the kingdom of heaven.
One important conclusion we can draw from this passage is that Jesus saw both marriage and singleness as legitimate callings for his disciples. In different times in church history, we have favored one at the expense of the other. Nowadays, we clearly prioritize marriage over singleness, but over the last 2,000 years, there have times when the church has stigmatized marriage and over-praised singleness.
As for other conclusions, I will let you think on these issues yourself. This is just one passage in all of Matthew's Gospel, which is but one book in the entire Bible--on marriage and divorce, we need to take the whole counsel of scripture. But, what do you think--is Jesus right? Is marriage meant to be lifelong, or can it be ended when either spouse wants to end it? And, is it possible to have a fulfilled life without sex?
Scripture Passage:
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The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
The basic plot is easy to follow:
- the king forgives one servant an outrageous sum--millions and millions;
- servant A then refuses to forgive a much much smaller debt that servant B owes servant A;
- king finds out and has servant A thrown in jail and tortured!
Then, Jesus sums up the parable:
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew 18:35
What?! Some Quick Thoughts on This Crazy Parable
Context Matters
Remember, context matters: this parable comes at the end of an entire chapter (Matthew 18) on how to live together as the church. Verses 1-5 are about who is great in the kingdom, with the focus on humility. Verses 6-9 focus on temptations to sin. Verses 10-14 tell the Lost Sheep parable. Verses 15-20 talk about dealing with sin inside the church community. Verses 21-22 talk about forgiveness. Verses 23-35 tell the parable of the Unmerciful Servant. The central theme is verses 15-20--sin in the church--and the rest of the chapter is explanation and commentary on that theme.
Living together in the church will require humility; God will pursue sinners at great expense; sin in the church must be dealt with; we will need to forgive others over and over again; but, forgiveness should produce a response in us.
Forgiveness and Obedience Are in Tension
I like how Klyne Snodgrass puts it:
"This text is a clear example of the tension between two or more truths that are always present in Christian theology. The community cannot tolerate sin without confrontation and reproof, but must always love and forgive without limits....
The parable prevents any presuming on grace. The church has often presented a grace that did not have to be taken seriously, but biblical grace is transforming grace. When you get the gift, you get the Giver, who will not let you go your way."
Klyne Snodgrass, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus
Discipleship Produces Obedience
Dr. Snodgrass goes on to say:
"Neither Matthew nor Jesus is legalistic, neither promotes salvation by works... but both insist that discipleship includes obedience.
Klyne Snodgrass, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus
Here's the Point
Forgiveness is limitless, but it can't be presumed, and should't be wasted. If forgiveness doesn't change us, we haven't really understood our need for it anyway. Also, Jesus is not a sentimental Santa Claus; people prattle on about how loving Jesus is--which is true--but he is a giver who has a hard edge, and he demands a response, which you see if you actually read the gospels.
Today's Scripture
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On Sin in the Church
Imagine if, during the recent sex abuse summit at the Vatican, Pope Francis came out and said, "Stop being so judgmental: sex abuse is not that big of a deal." Can imagine the furor that would justifiably result? Why? Because we know that sin actually hurts people. Imagine if I, as a pastor, continued to employ someone who was stealing from the offering plate. Our church members would be justifiably angry with me.
The most frequent complaint outsiders make against the church is that it is filled with hypocrites; in other words, the problem outsiders see in the church is that Christians are not holy enough. Sin is a problem.
Today's passage shows Jesus takes sin in his church seriously, and gives practical steps we can follow to confront sin in our midst. Of course it is the case that we ourselves are sinners, but that doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to lovingly confront active sin.
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Humiliation
This idea that children are sweet and innocent and valuable is a modern idea. In the ancient world, children were overlooked and unimportant. It is the influence of 2,000 years of Christian teaching that accounts for our culture's belief in the inherent value and importance of children. The reason this is important is because it is easy for us to misunderstand when Jesus talks about children. From today's scripture passage:
"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'"
Matthew 18:2-5
The picture Jesus gives is not one of sweet sentimentality, but of humiliation: children were the unimportant, overlooked ones. They were the lowest of the low. So, to become like a child, then, is to be someone truly humble.
The next time you feel overlooked, ignored, or unimportant, remember: those who are overlooked, ignored, and unimportant are the people who are great in the Kingdom. A taste of humiliation can be used by God to prepare our character for the Kingdom. Also, that slight taste of humiliation is a gift from God, in that it enables us to share in the much greater humiliation of Christ.
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The Fish Coin?!
I'll admit, this is a strange story. The first part is straight-forward enough: Jesus thinks that though he doesn't actually have to pay the Temple tax, he will do so, so as to not cause an unnecessary problem. It's the next part that is CRAZY:
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Matthew 17:26-27
What are we to make of that? I really have no idea, but I thought this paragraph from Stanley Hauerwas on this passage was helpful:
"Christians rightly desire to do great things in service to God and in service to the world. But too often Christians think such service must insure the desired outcome. We simply do not believe that we can risk fishing for a fish with a coin in its mouth. Yet no account of the Christian desire to live at peace with our neighbor, who may also be our enemy, is intelligible if Christians no longer trust that God can and will help us catch fish with coins in their mouths. No account of Christian nonviolence is intelligible that does not require, as well as depend on, miracle. Christian discipleship entails our trusting that God has given and will continue to give all that we need to be faithful."
Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew
Today's Scripture
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Of Pigs and Human Nature
Do you actually want to change, or would you rather wallow in the filthy status quo?
"When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 'What do you want with us, Son of God?' they shouted. 'Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?'
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, 'If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.'
He said to them, 'Go!' So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region."Matthew 8:28-34
Jesus performs an astounding miracle in their village, freeing these two men from filth and misery, and the villagers would prefer he leave than cause any more changes to the way things are.
You don't think that those villagers had parts of their lives that needed healing? But rather than begging Jesus to stay and work among them, their immediate response is to beg him to leave and never come back.
How true of human nature--so often we prefer the pain we know to the possibility of change.
Today's Scripture
We Know (But They Don't)
After Jesus calms the story, the disciples are amazed and say to each other,
What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!
Matthew 8:27
Matthew is using dramatic irony here: we (the readers) know something that the disciples (the characters) don't: Jesus isn't an ordinary man at all, but the God of Israel himself, incarnate.
When someone like that asks you to follow him, providing lame excuses as to why you'd really like to follow him but it's just that you're so busy--that makes no sense at all.
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The Centurion & the Response
One of the most amazing things about the ministry of Jesus is that it is for everyone. Although Jesus was a Jew and his ministry was to the people of Israel, he made it clear that he was inviting anyone who would hear and respond into the eternal life of the Kingdom of God. For example, in today's passage after he heals the slave of a Roman centurion--a man who was a living embodiment of Roman oppression and pagan idolatry--Jesus says this:
"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 8:11
Wow! Jesus is saying that there is nothing about a person's identity before he or she encounters Jesus that precludes that person from following after Jesus. If he is willing to follow Jesus, then even a Roman centurion can be his disciple.
But then Jesus says something troubling (as he always does):
"But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 8:12
That part I don't like as much. In that specific context, Jesus is saying that just because you were born a Jew in Israel does not mean that are exempt from responding to Jesus. But, applied more broadly it means this: even religious people like me have to actually say yes and follow--no one gets a free pass.
P.S.
Peter was married! I love those little details the Gospel writers throw in from time to time.
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How to Become a Survivor
Storms are inevitable in life. And what's worse is that they are also unforeseeable. In literal storms, millions and millions of random occurrences come together to produce the winds and the waves; life's storms are also the result of random interactions of complex systems. So, how do you prepare for something inevitable that's also completely unpredictable and random?
In what follows, I want to talk about how we can become the kind of people who can weather life's storms by walking us through the Sermon on the Mount. I personally have been doing a lot of reading and studying recently of this famous set of Jesus' teachings (Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy has been a particularly helpful source of ideas), and I finally feel as if I understand what he was getting at, which is exciting, because this is AMAZING stuff! (This will be a much longer post than I've been writing recently in my weekday commentary on the Gospel reading, but I want to help you understand how in Matthew 5-7 Jesus is giving his followers practical advice they can actually use to become the kind of people who survive life's storms.)
Amazed At What He Had To Say
There's this really fascinating aside Matthew gives us after Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount.
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Matthew 7:28-29
Having just heard Jesus give this famous set of teaching, his hearers are amazed. What Jesus has been saying was so insightful and unusual and so obviously cut to the heart of the matter of everyday life that it was nothing short of astounding. And you know what? Nothing has changed in 2,000 years--these words are still AMAZING.
The Two Kinds of People
Let's begin at the end. Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount by saying that there are two options in life: the way that seems easy but actually ends in ruin, and the way that seems difficult and unpopular but actually results in blessing [Matthew 7:13-14]. He expands on this by talking about how it's not what people say that matters, but what they actually do (and how to tell between the talked and the doers) [Matthew 7:15-23], and then he sums up the entire set of teachings with a little parable:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27
In his conclusion, Jesus says that the difference between the people who are destroyed by life's storms and those who survive them are that the survivors actually do what Jesus said to do. But how do we actually do that? That's what he's been telling us in the previous 3 chapters of his famous sermon. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount is meant to be a How-To manual to becoming the kind of person who can weather any storm. And the first thing we have to understand is what Jesus meant when he talked about the "Kingdom".
What the Kingdom Is
Here's how Matthew sums up the central message of Jesus:
"Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'”
Matthew 4:17 NIV
Another way of translating this might be:
"HEY! Turn around and change your mind: living in the reality of God is now one of your options."
Matthew 4:17 AFV [Andrew Forrest Version, in the vein of Dallas Willard]
A kingdom is wherever a king's will is done; beyond that frontier, it's no longer that king's kingdom. Queen Elizabeth reigns over the United Kingdom; she does not reign in France. Each of us has our own kingdom or queendom; where my will is done is my kingdom. So, my body is one part of my kingdom, for example: I command my finger to move, and it does; I command my mouth to speak, and it does. The kingdom of heaven is wherever God's will is done. The only place in the Creation where God's will is not done is here, where God has permitted for a while his human creatures to exercise their own reigns. This is why we pray in the Lord's Prayer "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth [as it already is] in heaven."
From the beginning, it was God's plan that men and women would exercise their free will and rule in his name over the earth [see Genesis 1:26]; it remains God's will that we would freely choose to align our kingdoms under his Kingdom.
So, the message of Jesus is that through him God's Kingdom is now available to anyone, anywhere, RIGHT NOW if they are willing to do what he says. Apprenticeship or discipleship to Jesus is learning to live your life in the reality of the Kingdom. In the Sermon on the Mount which follows, he provides some practical examples of what Kingdom life will look like.
The Introduction and Overview
Jesus begins the Sermon by telling people that there is no spiritual condition that precludes them from learning to live in the Kingdom now: not the spiritually poor, not the mourning, not the meek, etc. [We call this section "The Beatitudes", Matthew 5:1-12.]
Then, Jesus tells his followers that living in the Kingdom will make them distinct from people around them: it will be as if they are salt--thereby bringing out the flavor in life--or light--thereby showing others how best to live. [Matthew 5:13-16.]
To be clear, Jesus wants his followers to understand that he's not doing anything new, that this is ultimately what the Old Testament is all about, and that he's not come to abolish "the law and the prophets". [Matthew 5:17-20.]
With those remarks out of the way, Jesus explains what it looks like to put his words into practice and live in the Kingdom. What he is going to do is take familiar situations that arise and give an example of what Kingdom living would look like in each of those situations.
Here’s the point: it would seem at first that going along with the conventional wisdom in each of the examples that follow would be the best course of action; actually Jesus wants us to understand that if you just do what everyone else is doing—“the wide and easy path” he references in Matthew 7:13—it will be the equivalent of building a foundation on sand. Instead, if you do what he says to do, as counterintuitive as it might seem, you’ll be building your life on bedrock.
Here’s the point: it would seem at first that going along with the conventional wisdom in each of the examples that follow would be the best course of action; actually Jesus wants us to understand that if you just do what everyone else is doing—“the wide and easy path” he references in Matthew 7:13—it will be the equivalent of building a foundation on sand. Instead, if you do what he says to do, as counterintuitive as it might seem, you’ll be building your life on bedrock.
A Practical Plan for Becoming a Survivor
Anger
Jesus begins his advice by talking about anger. He tells his hearers that though it is obvious that murder will mess up your life, the anger and contempt that are behind and underneath murder are also spiritually dangerous. So, rather then indulging in anger, Jesus tells his followers that they should actually seek reconciliation with people with whom they have bad blood. Living in the Kingdom is trying as hard as humanly possible to be reconciled with others. [Matthew 5:21-26.]
Building on Sand: anger and contempt.
Building on Rock: seeking reconciliation.
Lust
Next, Jesus tells his followers that though it is obvious that adultery will mess up your life, what's really important is to rid your thoughts of lust. Lust is using someone else's image for your own gratification, which is evil because people were created in the image of God, and not for the purpose of pornography. Jesus says that Kingdom living, then, is about doing whatever it takes--he uses the hyperbolic image of cutting off your own hand!--to learn to see other people as God sees them, and not as objects of desire. [Matthew 5:27-30.]
Building on Sand: indulging your thought life.
Building on Rock: disciplining your thought life.
Marriage and Divorce
People have been having marital problems since the Garden of Eden, and they had marital problems in Jesus' day, too. But Jesus tells his followers that marriage is not primarily a contract between two people for the purpose of meeting their emotional needs; rather it is a covenant before God. And so Kingdom living is about being reconciled with your spouse (remember reconciliation is an important Kingdom value) as far as is in your power. Now, if your spouse persists in adulterous behavior, reconciliation is clearly outside of your power, but Jesus tells his followers divorce is a last resort. [Matthew 5:31-32.]
Building on Sand: leaving a marriage when it doesn’t fulfill your emotional needs.
Building on Rock: working towards reconciliation as far as is humanly possible.
Manipulation ("Oaths")
Then Jesus takes on a pervasive human behavior: that of trying to manipulate other people into doing what what we want them to do. In his day there had developed this convoluted practice of swearing on the Temple in Jerusalem to convince people you were sincere. ("I swear on the Temple I didn't take your money!") We don't do that, but of course we try to use language (social media posts?) to get other people to do what we want them to do. In contrast, Jesus says that kingdom living is much simpler: just say what you mean, and leave it at that. [Matthew 5:33-37.]
Building on Sand: trying to manipulate others.
Building on Rock: saying what you mean, and leaving it at that.
Vengeance/Retaliation/Enemies
You will have enemies; people will seek to do you harm. Though it seems natural to us to hit back and hate the people who hate us (the wide and easy path always seems "natural" to us at first), Kingdom living is about forgoing retaliation and instead seeking ways to bless the people who mistreat us, even to the extent of praying for God to bless them! Jesus makes the reason explicit: when you try to love the people who hate you, you are acting like God, who wants to bless all his children. So, Kingdom living is learning to act like God in the times of inevitable conflict we will encounter. [Matthew 5:38-48.]
Building on Sand: vengeance and retaliation.
Building on Rock: seeking to bless those that hate us.
Virtue-Signaling (e.g. Giving and Fasting)
Jesus tells his followers next that they should be careful of trying to impress other people with how they help the poor or do "spiritual" things like fasting. Instead, those should be personal practices and a way of life that's more private than public. In other words, learning to live in the Kingdom is learning not to need to impress other people with how good you are. (Think of all the virtue-signaling on social media.) [Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18.]
Building on Sand: virtue-signaling to impress others with your goodness. Building on Rock: doing the right thing because it’s right, not because people will see you do it.
Prayer
Jesus tells his followers how to pray. Learning to live in the kingdom is to make prayer a habitual action ("When you pray, go in your room and shut the door....") and to use Jesus as a model for prayer. [Matthew 6:5-15.]
Building on Sand: praying haphazardly.
Building on Rock: having a plan for habitual prayer.
Money/Wealth
It seems that having more money will make you happier, but Jesus points out that which we all already know: more stuff won't necessarily make you happier. (If that were the case, then the people in Beverly Hills would be the happiest people on earth, but we know that isn't true.) Living in the Kingdom is learning to trust God more than our own stuff. [Matthew 6:19-24.]
Building on Sand: thinking more stuff will make you happier.
Building on Rock: learning that trusting God actually makes you happy.
Worry!
If there were ever a topic for practical pastoral advice, it would be worry! Jesus tells his hearers that worry, which seems so natural ("the wide and easy path") will actually be harmful. So, he tells his followers to focus only on the problems of that particular day (over which they actually have some measure of control), and leave the rest of God. [Matthew 6:25-34.]
Building on Sand: getting worked up and worried over things you can't control.
Building on Rock: focusing on what you can control today, and working to trust God with everything else.
Other People's Behavior and Hypocrisy
Jesus tells his followers that though discerning between good and bad, right and wrong has a place, focusing on other people's behavior and ignoring our own is foolish. Rather, kingdom living is about turning most of your attention on your own shortcomings and working on those. [Matthew 7:1-6.]
Building on Sand: judging other people by their actions and yourself by your intentions; getting all worked up over other people's hypocrisy.
Building on Rock: focusing on your own actions and shortcomings.
Asking God for Stuff
Which brings us to the final bit of practical advice in the sermon: definitely ask God for stuff you need! Lots of folks think "I don't want to ask for the wrong thing; I'll just pray a generic prayer for God's will to be done." Instead, Jesus tells his hearers to ask boldly. [Matthew 7:7-12.]
Building on Sand: refusing to ask and not persisting in prayer.
Building on Rock: asking and persisting in prayer.
Two Kinds Of People
All of the above is Jesus providing his hearers of examples of what Kingdom living looks like. Each topic he covers is a topic that each of us encounters all the time; doing what Jesus said is putting his principles into practice when you encounter anger, lust, worry, etc. Anyone can choose to participate, because Jesus came to bring the good news of the Kingdom to everyone. But, he concludes with telling his followers that hearing is not the point: actually practicing what he said is the point.
The people who actually do what he says will be the kind of people who, rather than going along with everyone else by taking "the wide and easy path" will be the kind of people who take the narrow, hard path that actually leads to life.
The people who do what he says will be able to survive any storm--even death!--because they are learning to live the eternal life of the Kingdom RIGHT NOW.
If you want to learn how to survive life's storms, start doing what Jesus says. Go down the list, and begin to practice the kingdom response or mindset. It works.
The Sand Palace of Mexico Beach
In October of 2018, Hurricane Michael came ashore in the Florida Panhandle. It made landfall on the town of Mexico Beach. When the winds died down and the sun came out afterward, this is what remained:
This house, called "The Sand Palace", was built by two men in 2017. They didn't do whatever everybody else did, they built their house their own way, to withstand the storm of all storms. What they didn't know was that that storm would arrive just a year later. When it left, all the houses around theirs were destroyed, whereas the only damage the main structure of their house retained was one cracked shower window.
Storms in life will inevitably come; no one is exempt. Jesus says the only way to prepare is to start learning to live in the Kingdom now, and the Sermon on the Mount offers advice how to do just that.
What are you waiting for?
Today's Scripture
Matthew 7:13-29, though I actually just covered Matthew 4:17-7:29.
And, In Case You Missed It
I preached a version of this message last night.
How to Subscribe
I’m blogging through the Gospels in 2019. Subscribe here to receive a weekday update on that day’s Gospel reading. (There is also an option to subscribe to non-Gospels posts as well through my plain ole Andrew Forrest Newsletter.)
Medicine for My Daughter
My little daughter recently had a sinus infection that caused one of her eyes to swell shut. (This happened over Christmas. Of course it did.) The doctor prescribed medicinal eye drops, which we were to apply to her little eyes several times a day. I don't know if it's easier to rope a calf than to apply eye drops to a squirmy toddler, but I'm certain it's more pleasant for both cowboy and calf. After dropping the clear little drops in her hair and her ears and her mouth and her nose, we decided on a different tack: bribery. "If you let me put the eyedrops in your eyes, we'll give you some 'choca'''. ("Choca" being her word for chocolate.) It worked. A drop was equal to a chocolate chip, and soon several times a day we were being asked for "I-jops" and "chocas", and dispensing a fair quantity of both.
And then her prescription ran its course, the infection went away, and we no longer needed the bribe. However, like many a corrupt Third World bureaucrat, my daughter had become hooked on the hush money, and would silently sidle up to me several times a day, climb into my lap, stick her face in mine, cock her head like a crow, and earnestly ask, "I-jops? Chocas?"
Weak father though I am, I am not about to give her medicine she doesn't need, and so I've been politely turning down her requests. If it were good for her, I'd refill the prescription, but it isn't and I haven't.
But you know what? I love it that she asks, and I hope she never stops asking me for things.
Jesus says that if human fathers like me delight in giving to our children, how much more will the one he calls our "Father in heaven" delight in giving to his children.
So, when he says in today's Gospel reading, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you", I wonder: maybe he really means it.
What do you need to ask for today?
Today's Scripture
How to Subscribe
I’m blogging through the Gospels in 2019. Subscribe here to receive a weekday update on that day’s Gospel reading. (There is also an option to subscribe to non-Gospels posts as well through my plain ole Andrew Forrest Newsletter.)
How to Tell If You Are a Hypocrite
[I'm reading through the Gospels this year, and every weekday I'm posting some thoughts on that day's reading. Here's today's post.]
Take this Test to See if You are a Hypocrite
Are you breathing?
I'm sorry to tell you: you are a hypocrite.
Still not convinced?
Do you judge other people by their actions but yourself by your intentions?
Congratulations, you are definitely a hypocrite.
Still not persuaded? There is one final test.
Go look in the mirror. Only hypocrites can be seen in the mirror.
I kid. But seriously. When Jesus tells us not to judge, he doesn't mean that we should refrain from discerning between right and wrong, good and evil. He means that we should beware putting ourselves in the morally superior position of the Judge. We're not the Judge; we're the same as everybody else: we're all hypocrites.
Which means we all need mercy.
Today's Scripture
In Case You Missed It
I preached a whole sermon about this passage on Sunday:
What if Jesus Meant it Literally?
What if Jesus meant it literally?
When talking to his followers about anxiety and stress, what if he wanted them to literally do what he said?
When he told his followers to "Consider the lilies," what if he really meant it?
And when he says, "Seek first the kingdom," what if he actually wants us to do it?
What if you spent time today looking at something beautiful and ordinary that God made?
What if you the first thing you did upon waking tomorrow was to spend time in quiet prayer and reflection before God?
What if this stuff actually works?
Today's Scripture
And, In Case You Missed It
I wrote a post last night about "Antidotes to Anxiety." I also preached a sermon last week on this exact passage:
Antidotes to Anxiety
I subscribe to a fascinating (free) newsletter called "The Masculinist." It's put out by a man named Aaron Renn, and it is broadly about "the intersection between Christianity and Masculinity." This month's edition is about anxiety and what practically we can do about it. Mr. Renn writes:
"In my experience today, far too many people are way too saturated with stress (cortisol) on a persistent basis. The culprit is pretty simple to identify in many cases – national politics – but there are many other possible sources.
It’s natural to be anxious about election results, but even prior to Trump, the news cycle and social media were increasingly keeping people in a perpetual state of agitation.
I see so many people today who regularly post rants on Facebook about the outrage du jour. Even when I agree with them, I can’t help but think that some of these folks have damaged their mental and even physical health by working themselves up like this daily.
Most of the things that get me upset fall into two categories: 1) minor indignities of daily life that quickly pass, such as getting cut off in traffic, or 2) macro events that I cannot plausibly effect. The former tend to be self-correcting. The latter will turn me into a cortisol factory if I let them."
He's so right: so many of us are worked up about things over which we have no immediate control. But what can we do about it? How do we break this harmful habit? Mr. Renn continues:
"So I actively take steps to try to ensure I’m raising my “testosterone” and lowering my “cortisol.” For example, while I did personally vote, I didn’t even watch the midterm election results roll in. I kept my computer shut and just woke up the next morning to see who had won. Similarly, I tuned out the news and social media the final week of the Kavanaugh confirmation process.
When there is something in the news that I consider “bad,” I try to tune things out. Conversely, when something happens that I see as a “win,” I spend a lot of time on Twitter....
The point is to avoid getting perpetually stressed out over things I can’t do anything about. It's not that I don't care, but I try to focus my engagement where I do think I can make something of a difference, even if small scale....Another way to think about this comes from Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I’ve actually never read the book, but a mentor used an illustration from it to kick me in the butt one time. This model involves two circles, one nested inside the other. The smaller, inner circle is our "circle of influence" (or control). This is what we are responsible for or can affect in some way. The larger outside circle is our "circle of concern," which is everything we are worried about or can affect us.
Our circle of concern should be bigger than our circle of influence, because that’s how we grow. We expand our influence into new areas this way. But if our circle of concern is too much bigger than our circle of influence, then we end up distracted from focusing on the things we can do something about or the things we are actually primarily responsible for. What’s worse, because we can’t do anything about the things that are inside our circle of concern but outside of our circle of influence, we get eaten up with useless worry, etc. This is the zone of negative energy where our cortisol levels spike up and our effectiveness decreases and our health can even be jeopardized.
This mentor told me my circle of concern was way too big – far larger than my circle of influence - and it was only going to get me in trouble. And he was right.
Because of social media and other things, our circles of concern today tend to be gigantic. We are worried about all sorts of macro things, especially national politics, far removed from our sphere of influence in our daily lives. Again, this only causes us mental and even physical health problems, and takes our focus and energy away from where it should be." [emphasis added]
Read the whole thing, and, men, do yourself a favor and go ahead and subscribe to "The Masculinist."
There are lots of bad things in the world, and lots of reason to be outraged. I'm just not sure, however, if our constant anxiety is really helping anything. Forgive me for quoting myself, but I think the advice Jesus gives is the best antidote I know to anxiety. Just do it every morning, and see what happens:
Try it tomorrow.