Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus Calms the Storm

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”   He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

It appears the lawyer didn’t follow Jesus after all. There’s no mention of him in the boat. I wonder how many folks start with great intentions but never follow through?

At any rate, Jesus was exhausted and took this opportunity to take a nap. He was still sleeping when the storm came up on the lake.

This episode reveals three reactions from the disciples:

1.   They identified the danger

2.   They recognized the solution

3.   They were surprised at the results

Danger is common to all of us but is something worth mentioning. First, it’s important to be aware that simply because we’re in the boat with Jesus doesn’t mean we are not vulnerable to the same dangers as everybody else. This realization is one of the things that keep us from beating ourselves up (or questioning our faith) when we find ourselves in trouble. It also allows us to respond to the danger quickly. That’s healthy.

Second, it’s very nice to have Jesus “just a prayer away”. When His presence in our lives is intimate, it’s a natural response to turn to Him for help. This event is a reminder that we need to cultivate a daily relationship with Jesus that elicits this natural response. Some of us are so estranged from our Lord that we’d have to waste valuable time searching for Him. Meanwhile, the dangers are mounting. What would we do if we couldn’t find him?

Finally, I think it’s healthy to maintain a level of amazement at God’s faithfulness. C.S. Lewis wrote a marvelous book entitled Surprised by Joy. Specifically the book describes the author's conversion to Christianity 24 years earlier. However most of his friends observed the curious juxtaposition of the publishing of the book with his marriage to Joy Gresham. It suggests that Lewis was willing to live an “anticipatory faith” that never tired of God’s miraculous involvement in his life.

Would Jesus have let them drown if they had been sleeping and not asked for help? I’m sure not. But…I can imagine the circumstances would have been far more traumatic for them had the storm had more time to wreak its havoc on that boat. 

Let’s pay attention and let Jesus surprise us.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 8:18-22 The Cost of Following Jesus

 ¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.  Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”   Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”   Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”   But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

My grandson spoke up from the back of the car. “We’re going to Ikea”. Perhaps he had not been part of the conversation about Giant Eagle. He was completely clueless but didn’t let that dampen his enthusiasm.

The lawyer thought Jesus was simply going to the other side of the lake. He said “I’ll go with you”.

Another follower said “I’ll meet you there…as soon as I finish my chores”.

Wrong...!

Are we really following Jesus? Turn off the GPS and throw away the planner/scheduler. Can we still be as enthusiastic as my grandson Luca? Somehow it all seems a bit risky…but, it’s not for everybody. How about you?

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 8:1-17 Jesus The Healer

A Man With Leprosy

 ¹ When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ² A man with leprosy^[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

 ³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion

 ⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

 ⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

 ⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

 ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ 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. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus Heals Many

 ¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.  ¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:  “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”^[b]

Need a miracle? We have three incidents of divine intervention…with three important lessons.

1.   The Leper: For God’s Pleasure. “Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean.”  And, of course, Jesus said “I am willing”. The clear implication here is that Jesus intervenes on his own terms...not ours…but is always willing to be convinced.

However, if we presume upon God we show intent to control the outcome…as though we know more than God…with predictable results. When the children of Israel asked for a king (so they could be like other nations) God said “I’ll give you a king…and when that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” (1 Sam 8:18). We get what we ask for. So…let’s not ask God for it unless we’re certain God wants it.

2.   The Centurion: By God’s Power.  “Just say the word and my servant will be healed.”  Hand in hand with the Leper is the Centurion…who understood his own impotence. If any divine intervention was going to happen it would not occur because the Centurion commanded it but because Jesus did.

We often take a different approach. I’ve witnessed a demanding sense of entitlement in many Christians that is not becoming. It’s as though they speak and God is required to listen. It assumes God power must conform to their expectations. Jesus far prefers the humility of the centurion and says, by comparison. “Many in the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

3.   The Demon-possessed: According to God’s Purpose “To fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah.” Divine intervention is part of the whole. It is not an end in itself, or does not unfold independent of a greater context.

It may sound irreverent, but God is not particularly spontaneous (that’s a human quality). Whenever God does anything it is intended to accentuate or illuminate some prime principle. When we are fortunate enough to be recipients of God’s intervention we should be asking “why?”  God does everything with a purpose. I doubt the purpose is solely for our comfort and convenience (although I wouldn’t completely rule it out) but is more likely intended to accomplish some change in us or through us. When the prophesy of Isaiah is revealed, “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases,”  we recognize immediately that Jesus did these things to demonstrate he was who the prophet was describing.

 I’m pretty sure this isn’t all there is to say about miracles. I do know, however, that the believers in each case got what they wanted and needed. It might be worth a try.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 7:24-29 The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “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. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ 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. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” ²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Over Christmas it was 17 degrees below zero and the wind was howling.  I was sitting next to my warm fireplace…toasty warm…thankful my home was fulfilling its responsibility to keep me safe. You know it doesn’t happen without effort. Like most of you, every spring I take a look at the structure to see how it’s holding up. A new roof, caulking windows, extra insulation in the attic…there is always a list of needs.

We’re not always as diligent with our personal lives…

We’d prefer to say the Sermon on the Mount is just rhetoric…unattainable standards that are nothing more than aspirations. If we were to say this, we would be wrong. There are severe consequences to ignoring the words of Jesus.

Jesus says if we acknowledge these Divine standards but don’t follow them, our lives will crumble. On the other hand, if we put these standards into practice our lives will withstand all the onslaughts the world can mount against us.

And, what were those words?

Our lives begin to crumble when we focus on instant gratification rather than on heavenly rewards. Our lives begin to crumble when we take matters into our own hands because we don’t trust God to direct us. Our lives begin to crumble when we fail to love the other more than we love ourselves. Our lives begin to crumble when we get busy judging others rather than living authentically. Our lives begin to crumble when we stray from God’s design.  Our lives begin to crumble when we take the advice of ungodly people.

Not too complicated…yet, I wonder why we have such difficulty “connecting the dots”. As people of faith we often see our lives deteriorating before our eyes and wonder why.

Don’t equate crumbling with trouble. Trouble is common to all mankind. Rain and floods are the perfect metaphor for trouble. It’s the nature of life. When the rains of trouble are buffeting your life…how warm and safe is it inside? The question is…can you feel your foundation slipping, or is it solid?

Jesus had it about right, I suspect. Let the Sermon on the Mount be your checklist for weatherproofing your life.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 7:15-23 True and False Prophets

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

    ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

We know we can’t believe everybody that has an opinion. The question is, who can we believe?

-      People say 9/11 was an inside job

-      People say our president is not a citizen

-      People say Jesus isn’t God

Sometimes the rhetoric sounds reasonable. Sometimes we aren’t sure. Obviously it isn’t always of great concern but…some issues can be “life or death”. But, Jesus says the liars (false prophets) have only one motivation…to destroy us. So, why would we ever risk listening to somebody who does not have our best interests in mind?

Jesus offers some guidance:

1.   We’ll know the truth-tellers by their fruit – Galatians 5:22 says “the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. These are not nine fruits…but one. Good fruit (singular) embodies all these qualities, not just some of them. We must be able to discern these qualities in the people we intend to trust. These are godly characteristics that reveal the source of the message.

2.   We’ll know the truth-tellers by their motivation – It’s not uncommon for me to ask people “why are you telling me this?” There should be only one answer: “because God told me to”. I generally think to ask the question when something about the conversation doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe we should ask it all the time.

If the person on the other end of our conversation can’t pass these two tests beware. It doesn’t mean that they are always wrong. It just means we can’t count on them to be right.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 7:13, 14 The Wide and Narrow Gates

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

We’ve all heard it: “Many roads lead to God”.

Really?

In fact, in John 16:6 Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.

The notion of many wide gates is appealing. It gives us a voice (choice) in the whole thing. It’s a nice socially correct message. Our neighbors will love us for it right up until they are held accountable for their own faith.

Lest we smugly say “amen”, as though we have some presumed privilege to that narrow road and small gate, I suggest that we pray daily with a humble heart “Lord, show me your way”.

Live boldly out there today…

Matthew 7:7-12, Ask, Seek and Knock

   ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

   ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Ask for what?

I’ve never liked the phrase “God always answers prayer…its yes, no, or later”. It’s trite and very unsatisfying. The truth is, this explanation also focuses on the answer, not the request. In so doing, I believe we miss the point of what Jesus is saying.

If today’s text is true…it must mean something else. Let me try…

In my experience many people live lives of spiritual desperation. Their lives careen from one crisis to the next…and are always on the precipice losing faith. Why? Because they are focused on the answers (or circumstances) in their lives rather than on conformity to Christ.

“God didn’t get me that job…He must not care about me!”

Jesus wants to put all this to rest. He categorically states “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. I suspect this statement is intended to “pull us back from the ledge” and help us gain peace and perspective in the midst of our challenges. In other words, He’s saying “don’t worry about this. It’s all taken care of!”

This part is absolutely true…

However, He concludes by saying “so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”.

Huh?

Well, there is a condition…and James clarifies it in the 4^th chapter of his epistle.  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

The right motive? We call it the “golden rule”. My ability to experience the blessings of this promise is contingent upon my willingness to eradicate my own inner selfishness and seek what’s best for others. It’s scary, but there is no risk involved. The guarantee has been ratified by Christ’s own words.

So, let me suggest this. Let’s quit thinking about the answer. Let’s begin demanding that our head and heart “sum up the law and the prophets”. Before we know it, answers will flood into your life and overwhelm us.

Live boldly out there today…