The spiritual world is very near--even now at hand--and all around, and yet it is also inaccessible to us by normal human actions. The spiritual world is invisible, but it is there. From time to time, God permits us to experience the spiritual world, but those times are rare this side of the grave, like seeing a snow leopard or Haley's Comet.
Peter, James, and John are given one of those rare glimpses of the spiritual world on the Mount of Transfiguration:
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Matthew 17:1-3
They see Jesus as he is in the spiritual world--glorious and radiant. When the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he humbled himself and became as we are, but on the Mount of Transfiguration, his glory is unmasked.
Understand, though, that his glory is not in spite of his humiliation, but because of his humiliation:
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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.)
Things haven't changed. Suffering is part of life, and the faithful will suffer. The Cross comes before the Crown. Good Friday comes before Easter Sunday.
But of course, if suffering is part of life--and I'm certain that it is--that means that you will suffer if you choose faithfulness, and you will suffer if you don't. Both the faithful and the unfaithful suffer. The question is, will we suffer because we are walking the Way of Jesus, or because we are trying to seek our own way? Both ways are difficult, but only one way leads to life.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 2What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
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.)
The church is not a charity. The church is not a social service agency. The church is not a fraternal club.
The church is a group of people called and centered around Peter's confessional claim at Caesarea Phillipi:
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Matthew 16:16
Now, the church indeed does charitable things, serves the community, and draws people together. But each of those things derives from its identity; none of those things constitutes its identity. It is Jesus himself who gives the church its identity.
As long as we hold onto Peter's claim, the forces of evil and death itself will never prevail over Christ's church.
Herod is dead. Caesar is dead. Pilate is dead.
But Jesus is alive, and his church will never be defeated.
Amen.
As long as we hold onto Peter's claim, the forces of evil and even death itself will never prevail over Christ's church.
Some Quick Notes
The English word "church" is a translation of a Greek word which means "called out." It was originally a political term that the early church co-opted.
"Peter" is really just "Rock." Peter's given name was Simon--"Simeon"--but in this passage Jesus gives him his nickname and explains its significance--he will be the "rock" on which Jesus begins to build his church. (By the way, the Aramaic word for "rock" is "cephas," which is why Peter is sometimes called "Cephas" in the New Testament. It seems clear that Aramaic and not Greek was the first language of Jesus and the disciples--Greek was the language of commerce and politics.)
Jesus's words to Peter are a bit confusing there at the end:
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:19
What does that stuff about the binding and loosing mean? I like how Grant Osbourne puts it:
"The church exists on earth but with a heavenly authority behind it. As the church takes the teaching of Jesus and lives it in this world both in terms of opening the doors of the kingdom to converts and opening the truths of the kingdom to the new messianic community, it does so with the authority and guidance of God."
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.)
Some years back, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth (TX) put on an exhibition called "Picturing the Bible: the Earliest Christian Art." I went and still remember being struck by one particular theme that emerged over and over in the artwork: Jonah!
Why Jonah? The early Church saw Jonah as a symbol for Christ:
In today's passage, Jesus for the 2nd time in Matthew's Gospel refers to the "sign of Jonah." The Pharisees ask him for a sign, and this is what he says:
“When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”
Matthew 16:2-4
"The Sign of Jonah." Of all the images he could have pulled from the Old Testament as a way of explaining his ministry, I would never have predicted that Jesus would pull from Jonah!
But Jesus is endlessly surprising, which is one of the things I really like about him.
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.)
Here's the first question to ask of this difficult story: what is Matthew trying to tell us? The Gospels are not an exhaustive transcript of the events of the life of Jesus. Rather, they have been arranged selectively to make a theological point. For example, here is how John explicitly explains the purpose behind his Gospel:
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.... If every one of [the things Jesus did] were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 20:30-21, 21:25
Although Matthew doesn't have a statement of purpose as explicit as John, his point is fairly obvious: he wants us to believe in Jesus. So, the only reason to include the strange story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman must be because Matthew thinks it teaches us something important.
Context, Context, Context
Where does the story take place? Not in Israel proper, but in "the region of Tyre and Sidon." These are cities of Israel's traditional enemies, and to make sure we don't miss the point, Matthew makes it clear that it is a "Canaanite" woman who is pestering Jesus. The Canaanites were the violent idol-worshippers the Children of Israel fought when they entered the Promised Land. In other words, she is DEFINITELY NOT an Israelite.
This story takes place near the territory of Israel's historic enemies. [image credit]
Contrast the Pharisees dismissal of Jesus with the Canaanite woman's persistent pursuit of Jesus. The chosen people REJECT the Messiah, whereas the Gentiles are eager to receive him.
"To the Jew First, then to the Greek"
Since Genesis 12, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before the time of Jesus, the Lord's plan has been clear: to use the family of Abraham as the means by which he would save the entire world. The Apostle Paul explains this plan in Romans 1:16:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Romans 1:16
Jesus is therefore explaining the rescue plan accurately when he says, "“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel" (Matthew 15:24). His ministry takes place in Israel, and is directed toward Israelites. But because the Jews reject him as Messiah, the gospel is then taken by Paul and others to the non-Jews, the "Greeks" or Gentiles.
The Jews traditionally viewed the Gentiles as unclean sinners, and no devout Jew would have anything to do with them. The Jews also called the Gentiles "dogs." Jesus is therefore using traditional Jewish ways of referring to Gentiles in this passage. He seems like a jerk, but I think he's setting up the disciples (and by extension, us) with the language he's using.
You Know the Tree by Its Fruit
His language seems harsh, but look at what Jesus does: he heals this pagan woman's daughter. Jesus has been telling us over and over again: you know the tree by its fruit. It's not words that matter, but actions. Though his words might seem harsh at first, he does in fact heal the little girl, just as he has previously healed the Centurion's slave. The ministry of Jesus is to the Jews, but here and with the Centurion there is foreshadowing: soon the gospel will be taken to the ends of the earth.
The Canaanite Woman is a Model for Faith
I think Matthew includes this story because he wants us to see the woman as a model for faith. She is persistent and single-minded: she needs what Jesus has, and she's not going to stop until she gets it.
I think Matthew includes this story because he wants us to see the woman as a model for faith. She is persistent and single-minded: she needs what Jesus has, and she's not going to stop until she gets it.
How can you imitate this unnamed woman today?
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.)
I know it's been a few weeks since I've sent out my daily posts on the Gospel readings, but I'm back from Israel and actually sleeping at night, so here we go again. The plan is for me to write a brief commentary on each day's reading that I will post on my blog and email out to those of you who are subscribed to my Gospels 2019 mailing list. In addition, I write other posts on all sorts of other topics from time to time, and I email those out to folks who are on my Andrew Forrest newsletter list. Subscribe!
Context is Key to Understanding the Gospels
One of the keys to understanding the Gospels is to pay attention to context:
Where specifically is this story taking place?
What happened beforehand? What happens after?
Why did Matthew (or Mark, Luke, or John) place this story in this specific place?
Two Contrasting Banquets
Today's story of the feeding of the 5,000 is a great example of the importance of context, because it occurs immediately after Herod's beheading of John the Baptist at a drunken banquet. (I preached about that story yesterday.) After a banquet that culminates with a scene of horror --John's severed head is brought in on a platter--Matthew tells us the story of a very different kind of banquet on the green hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
The crowds are gathered to see Jesus, and he has compassion on them. In addition to healing their diseases, Jesus presides over a remarkable miracle: everyone there is given plenty to eat.
How to Tell A Good Man from a Bad Man
Jesus has been telling us throughout the Gospel of Matthew: you know a tree by its fruit. A good tree produces good fruit, a bad tree produces bad fruit.
It's not what someone says that matters, it's what someone does. We know all we need to know about the difference between Herod and Jesus by comparing what happens at the two quite different banquets.
You know how to tell the difference between a good man and a bad man? Watch his actions, not his words.
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.)
As I'm sure you have heard, Jeff Bezos is getting divorced. This is news because Mr. Bezos is--at least on paper--the world's richest man, and presumably his divorce settlement will have effects on both his company--Amazon--and maybe on the American economy itself. I am very sorry for this news; Mr. Bezos and his wife are real people with real feelings, and it must be humiliating to have your private details known all around the world. I feel sorry for them.
But this news just proves once again what virtually everyone who ever lived used to know, and what most people today have forgotten: our deepest problems are spiritual problems.
The spiritual is real, but it is not the material. The material can be experienced with the five senses; the spiritual can't be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or heard. But it is definitely real.
For example, friendship is spiritual in nature. It has effects in the material world, absolutely--you might meet a friend for coffee and the mugs you hold are material--but the source of the friendship is spiritual.
If it were the case that our deepest problems were material, then money would fix our deepest problems. But they aren't, and it can't. Our deepest problems are spiritual. And so Jeff Bezos--world's richest man--is getting divorced.
If it were the case that our deepest problems were material, then money would fix our deepest problems. But they aren't, and it can't. Our deepest problems are spiritual. And so Jeff Bezos--world's richest man--is getting divorced.
In Matthew 9, Jesus first forgives a man of his sins, and then heals his paralysis. Why? Because the man needed both--spiritual healing and physical healing. Jesus clearly knew that if he had only healed the man's legs, the man would still be lacking. It would be false to say that our material needs don't matter--the baby would never have been born in Bethlehem if God didn't love the material world--but it is true that our deepest problems are spiritual.
The good news: the God who is Spirit entered into material reality and fixed our problem himself.
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.)
I'll be 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.)
