The book of Matthew was written by a Jew to the Jews. The evidence is astounding as Matthew continually speaks of Christ fulfulling Old Testament scripture. In contrast to John 4 (where Jesus' first contact is with a Samaritan woman), Matthew records none of that occurance. Matthew, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, smartly avoids what he knows will be a touchy subject for his Jewish readers. Instead he merely states that Jesus went preaching saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matt 4:17)
Two lessons are clear: (1) That we must know our audience and speak accordingly, whether by language or level of communication, and (2) That we don't force down someones throat something they simple are not ready for.
Matthew continually uses "...so that the scriptures would be fulfilled" to indicate to the Jews (the established religion of that day) that this was indeed the Messiah that the prophets spoke of.
We also live, especially in Grand Rapids, in a culture that is very much dominated by "religious" history and heritage. But that religion has many divisions with a wide diversity of beliefs and opinions. Add to that a half-dozen very well-known and esteemed Christan colleges and the debates and emotions over those various beliefs can have some heated and intense debate. That abuse has happened in these churches and in these denominations is undeniable.
The question is raised: Can we, like Jesus, go to these churches, these established "religions of the day" and stand up and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."
It's a tough question, that causes more questions than satisfying answers. Ultimately, we wait on our Lord and believe His promise that "Vengence in mine. I will repay."
But I also don't believe that we should ignore justice in our time. We are called, especially elders, to protect the flock. Matthew 18 is the pattern we follow.
Next we find that Jesus gathers his band of brothers. He takes to himself his disciples, those twelve men that Jesus would confide his true nature, calling and reason for ever being there. These men would love him, betray him, frustrate him and fall asleep on him in his hour of most need. But Jesus knows this already and doesn't hesitate to keep these fallible men at his side.
We learn from this that Jesus had support. He had men that were on the same mission, they supported each other and offered the God-man companionship. There is no weakness in bringing the same mission with fellow companions that have the same God-centered goal in mind.
Finally, at the end of Matthew 4, Jesus becomes a rock star. He goes from town to town, preaching, teaching, and healing. People come in droves to see this man that can heal anything. Thousands of people follow him around like groupies at a concert. He has engaged himself into his culture. Yes, he preaches and teaches, but he's also healing too. Yes, he's healing and preforming miracles but he's also preaching and teaching.
We see from this that the Gospel isn't just about condemning men for their sin. It is about giving, presenting ourselves "a living sacrifice." Everyone has heard this saying: No one will care how much you know, unless they know how much you care.
Christ presented himself as the ultimate sacrifice and gave up far more than any of us will ever have to give. How involved in our own selves are we that we can't see the need of our neighbor, co-worker, fellow student, or family member to help in some way?
This led to a discussion on church unity. But I think that will lead to different blog.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
The First of Many (Lord willing)
Welcome to my first official blog in which I would like to chronicle the results of a Bible study that was started in our house on Thursday, November 29, 2007. For weeks, we had been have a number of young adults over to watch "the Office." Without doubt, it seems to me to be a very "culturally relevant" show. You such diverse yet mono-characteristic characters that are almost a joke unto themselves. You have the token black guy, the unhappy christian, the goofy-but-likable guy, the office drunk, the suck-up, the ditsy talker, the guy no one seems to like, and of course, the boss the tries so hard, tries too hard, and doesn't try hard enough in all the wrong places.
When a pastor called to talk about something unrelated, he mentioned that he heard there were a group of young people meeting to watch this show and was concerned because of its content. I informed him that it was happening at our house and it made me think that if we're going to watch such shows, perhaps we had better at least study God's word too. I struggled with whether I was watching the show to stay "relevant" or if I watched it because I simply find it funny and the characters really are caricatures of many that I know.
The idea of the Bible study was well received by the group and it was decided that we would study Christ, the apostles and how THEY related to culture. How were they able to present a "relevant" gospel?
The ground rules were these: there would be no ground rules. I didn't want to talk for 40 minutes to an hour, forcing people to see what I thought the Bible had to say about the topic. Instead I wanted us to read the Bible without a set agenda, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us and let God teach us what He wanted us to know. And then, more importantly (or at least just as importantly), I didn't want it to be a study where when we were done, we patted each other on the back and didn't do anything about it. The one thing that is absolutely essential to continued this study, IS TO ACT ON IT!!
Well, that's the history. Now to the first real night of study.
RELEVANT, NOT RELATIVE
The first four books of the new testament (the Gospels) are written by 4 different men. Matthew is primarily written to Jews by a Jew. Mark to the Romans. Luke to the Gentiles by a gentile and finally, John to the Greeks. They are relevant to the people they are written to. They have different emphasis, languages, and styles but the all have the same truth: CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION.
So we start in the Gospels, it is God's love letter and open, tangible, visible, and incarnated example that He cares about culture because He sent His own Son into it to show His love and how broken hearts could be healed.
Jon M starts with the woman at the well (John 4:1ff). Jesus has just been baptised and received that incredible seal of approval when the Spirit of the Living God descends upon Him in the form of a dove and the Father testifies that this IS is Son.
Rather than following Jewish cultural norms of avoiding Samaritans, Jesus becomes a counter-cultural revolutionary and plops down right in the middle of them. What a way to start a ministry!
SAMARITANS TODAY
This leads us to ask ourselves: what is our personal cultural Samaritan? What groups or types of people do we avoid because they are culturally or sub-culturally irrelevant?
Our Samaritans: Homeless, Rich kids, Goths, People who live in sin, kids from high school, extremist (Pharisee-like) Christians, big sin people, Hispanics and homosexuals.
The biggest amount of time was spent on homosexuals. Why do we single them out? If sin is sin then why is special attention made to that particular one? Isn't ALL sex outside of marriage sin? It was a good discussion if not a little more specific than what our intent was for the study. But I think it's good to flesh some of these things out so when we come to scripture that deals with them, we will already be ready with our questions.
THE LESSON LEARNED
Christ didn't shy away from culture (His birth proves that). He didn't assume that one section of culture was untouchable or should be avoided. And he didn't go in condemning either. He talked to the woman first, and let her see her sin for herself. He also didn't shy away from telling her that she was sinful and that she needed something other than multiple husbands to fix her. He pointed her to Christ, to Himself.
We shouldn't be afraid either. Christ began His ministry AFTER the power of the Spirit descended upon Him. It is the same Spirit that we have. We are to be like Christ.
When a pastor called to talk about something unrelated, he mentioned that he heard there were a group of young people meeting to watch this show and was concerned because of its content. I informed him that it was happening at our house and it made me think that if we're going to watch such shows, perhaps we had better at least study God's word too. I struggled with whether I was watching the show to stay "relevant" or if I watched it because I simply find it funny and the characters really are caricatures of many that I know.
The idea of the Bible study was well received by the group and it was decided that we would study Christ, the apostles and how THEY related to culture. How were they able to present a "relevant" gospel?
The ground rules were these: there would be no ground rules. I didn't want to talk for 40 minutes to an hour, forcing people to see what I thought the Bible had to say about the topic. Instead I wanted us to read the Bible without a set agenda, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us and let God teach us what He wanted us to know. And then, more importantly (or at least just as importantly), I didn't want it to be a study where when we were done, we patted each other on the back and didn't do anything about it. The one thing that is absolutely essential to continued this study, IS TO ACT ON IT!!
Well, that's the history. Now to the first real night of study.
RELEVANT, NOT RELATIVE
The first four books of the new testament (the Gospels) are written by 4 different men. Matthew is primarily written to Jews by a Jew. Mark to the Romans. Luke to the Gentiles by a gentile and finally, John to the Greeks. They are relevant to the people they are written to. They have different emphasis, languages, and styles but the all have the same truth: CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION.
So we start in the Gospels, it is God's love letter and open, tangible, visible, and incarnated example that He cares about culture because He sent His own Son into it to show His love and how broken hearts could be healed.
Jon M starts with the woman at the well (John 4:1ff). Jesus has just been baptised and received that incredible seal of approval when the Spirit of the Living God descends upon Him in the form of a dove and the Father testifies that this IS is Son.
Rather than following Jewish cultural norms of avoiding Samaritans, Jesus becomes a counter-cultural revolutionary and plops down right in the middle of them. What a way to start a ministry!
SAMARITANS TODAY
This leads us to ask ourselves: what is our personal cultural Samaritan? What groups or types of people do we avoid because they are culturally or sub-culturally irrelevant?
Our Samaritans: Homeless, Rich kids, Goths, People who live in sin, kids from high school, extremist (Pharisee-like) Christians, big sin people, Hispanics and homosexuals.
The biggest amount of time was spent on homosexuals. Why do we single them out? If sin is sin then why is special attention made to that particular one? Isn't ALL sex outside of marriage sin? It was a good discussion if not a little more specific than what our intent was for the study. But I think it's good to flesh some of these things out so when we come to scripture that deals with them, we will already be ready with our questions.
THE LESSON LEARNED
Christ didn't shy away from culture (His birth proves that). He didn't assume that one section of culture was untouchable or should be avoided. And he didn't go in condemning either. He talked to the woman first, and let her see her sin for herself. He also didn't shy away from telling her that she was sinful and that she needed something other than multiple husbands to fix her. He pointed her to Christ, to Himself.
We shouldn't be afraid either. Christ began His ministry AFTER the power of the Spirit descended upon Him. It is the same Spirit that we have. We are to be like Christ.
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