Leading up to the Tribulation: Matthew 24:1-14

The Scripture

 

1 Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.

 

2 And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."

 

3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

 

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you.

 

5 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.

 

6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

 

7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

 

8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

 

9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

 

10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.

 

11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.

 

12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.

 

13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

 

14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

The Temple

 

(Image believed to be one of the stones from the Temple!  "To the Trumpeting Place" by Talmoryair.  Wikipedia.  Public Domain in the United States.)

The prophecy of the Temple's destruction was fulfilled only a few decades later, in 70 AD.

This event certainly had significance for the Jews at the time - it was another step, like the veil of the Holy of Holies tearing in two at Christ's death (Matthew 27:51), demonstrating that Judaism was no longer the way to serve God, and that His dwelling place on Earth was no longer a physical building, but in His followers themselves (1 Corinthians 3:16).

But the disciples' questions about the End Times show that they picked up on some apocalyptic significance, as well.  This gets into kind of the mind-bending principle that even though we classify the "End Times" as the 7-year Tribulation of Revelation that is yet to come, the "End Times" basically actually started in Acts.  For example, the prophecy of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit identified as fulfilled in Acts 2:16-21 is also End Times in nature.  But what's significant about the Temple's destruction in terms of the End Times is that it marked a critical event in Roman persecution of the Jews - and of Christians, who were considered a Jewish cult by the Romans.  This corresponds with the fact that, throughout history, Christians around the world have been persecuted - something that will intensify more and more as we get closer to the Tribulation.

Brief Elements

 

How are the false Christs manifested?  Well, in 20th century America we have certainly seen some famous cult leaders literally claim to be Christ and amass followings, and I believe we may see a lot more of that as it gets even closer to the Tribulation.  But we've also seen people presenting false Christs - such as in the "Christian" cults of Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses, who preach a Jesus and a Gospel totally different than the true ones.  And, there have been other religions such as Islam to develop and gain popularity that offer a different identity of God - another type of false Christ.

 

Next, the passage mentions rampant wars, famines, and earthquakes.  There are two ways to look at this: (1) that these will intensify as the world gets closer to the End, and (2) that they will accomplish the "agenda" of the End Times.  It seems to me that both have turned out.  For example, we've had two world wars in the past century, and major natural disasters certainly seem to be escalating (although I don't have statistics on that).  But as for the second way, the End Times are all about demonstrating judgment and bringing people (with emphasis on the Jews) to repentance.  We can certainly see how wars and disasters throughout history could be used to accomplish these objectives.

 

But let's take a moment to step back and look at what Jesus said about how we should react to seeing these things:

• We are to not fear.  We need to remember that even if the world is consumed by war, if natural disasters shatter our nations, and if people seek to kill us because of our faith, that God is still in control.  Easier said than done, obviously, but if we train our minds to remember that God is in control when "little" things go wrong in our lives now, it will be a far more natural reaction when the sky starts to fall.
• We are to keep it all in perspective - there are so many "birth pangs" leading up to the "actual" End that we shouldn't freak out that "The End is nigh!" every time a flood happens or some country threatens to nuke the world.  That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be psychologically prepared for the possibility of the End Times occurring during our lives, or that we shouldn't actively engage in staying attentive to world events and comparing them with Biblical prophecy, but it does mean we shouldn't go crazy.  That only makes people think that Christians are all morons when the End doesn't happen right away - and that can prevent them from coming to Christ themselves.
• We need to stay resolute in our faith.  More on that directly below.

The Great Apostasy

 

We Americans are disgustingly unaware of the persecution of our brothers and sisters around the globe, but frankly, outside of the Western World, it's quite rampant.  And there are certainly many cases where people renounce their faith because of the persecution.  Persecution of Americans has already started on small scales - Christian businesses have been fined for refusing to provide abortion pills to their employees, and we can get fired, suspended from school, and even arrested for "hate speech" for speaking God's Truth.  But one day, probably sooner than many people think, global persecution of the Church will arrive - and that includes America.  If the authorities showed up at your door today ready to cart you off to prison on the charge of being a Christian - would you proclaim your faith in Him?  If the punishment were death - would you still proclaim your faith in Him?  We can all flippantly say, "Well, yeah, of course" - that's easy because we don't really think that will happen.  But think it through - right now.  Vividly imagine that scenario.  Picture the handcuffs.  Picture the prison.  Picture the beatings.  Picture the noose, the electric chair, the firing squad.  Then ask yourself again: Would you claim Him, or deny Him?

 

 

But there's another thing still that drives people to fall away, an evil strong and active in the West right now: apathy.  The Church is lukewarm, claiming Christ but not living it out.  It accepts fornication, freely uses God's Name in vain, and is lazy, encouraging Christians and "Christians" to pursue their own lives with God on the side, rather than making every education choice, career choice, and relationship choice centered on Him.  Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.  Evil and apathy are rampant, and the Western Church clings to the abominable lie that we have a "right" to a "normal life" - and that "God understands" this.  Friends, that is evil.  If a person couldn't look at a random day of your life and tell that you are not just a "Christian" in the American sense of the word, but that you passionately believe it with every fiber of your being, something is wrong.

 

We cannot stay strong for Christ on auto-pilot - it is a daily war against the flesh, the evils of this world, and Satan's forces.  There can be no resting from it until the day we are called home.

 

The Gospel to All Nations

 

One of the prerequisites to the literal, official End is for every nation to hear the Gospel.  I can't locate exact information at this time, but last I heard, all we have left is a few pockets in Asia and Eurasia.  In other words: It's almost fulfilled!

 

But this brings up another important issue: What about the people who have never heard the Gospel - how is it "fair" that they go to hell when they've never had a chance to get saved?  Well, even though God likes to use us to spread His Good News (primarily for our sake, I believe, as it gives us a purpose and helps us mature in our faith), it's not as if He's limited to only using human words to bring people into a saving relationship with Him.  Romans 1:20 explains that God reveals the Truth about Himself through nature, and elsewhere Scripture makes clear that if someone is truly seeking God, He will reveal Himself to them, no matter if a missionary is around.  In fact, there have been multiple cases in the Middle East where Muslims have sought the True God, and God revealed Himself to them in dreams.  There will indeed be people from every tongue and tribe and nation from throughout history in Paradise.

 

What, then, is the point of the Gospel being verbally preached to all nations before the End can come?  I believe it's largely symbolic - that God's purpose for the world has been accomplished completely, at long last.

 

Any comments you'd like to add - insight, thoughts, further Scripture references?

Or any questions about this passage (or anything about the Bible or Christianity) you'd like to ask?

Then leave a comment below. :-)  Or you can e-mail me questions, if you prefer.

 

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Woe to you - Matthew 23:13-36

Like our last study, personal questions will be a significant portion of our exploration of today's passage, but we'll also look at some elements of Jewish culture to deepen our understanding.  Also note that today we reach the end of the long interchange between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders.

Today we cover the passage known as the "Eight Woes," filled with the phrase, "Woe to you..."  So before we dive into Scripture, let's define that phrase really quickly.

• The word "woe" itself means distress, lamentation, grief, anguish, etc.
• So, "woe to you" isn't exactly an act of cursing the "you."
• Rather, in this context, the recipients (hypocritical religious elite) will experience that woe because of the implied curse because of their evil acts that Jesus lists out.

13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Under the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law and sacrifices and festivals and all that were the way to serve God, but salvation (because Christ's death reaches both backward and forward in time) was still based on faith, a heart genuinely striving after God (see Romans 4).  Since these religious leaders were only interested in bringing glory to themselves, they had no true relationship with God.  But the situation was far worse in that these religious leaders were teaching common Jews legalistic principles instead of God's true intent in His Law, preventing them from coming to truly know the Lord for themselves and understand what it meant to really follow Him.  False teachers are extremely influential -which is why the Church is instructed to be constantly on watch for them, so no one is sucked in (see 2 Peter 2:1-3 and Romans 16:17-18,for example).

Are you diligent to keep false teachers' words out of your ears and eyes, checking all teachings against the Bible?  Do you also try to protect weaker Christians around you from false teaching's influence?

14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

We've talked about how to handle bracketed verses before (verses found in some early manuscripts but not others), but if you are new here or need a refresher, click this post and scroll down to the blue sub-header that reads, "What about That Verse in Brackets?"  Based on my opinion on the bracketing issue, this verse qualifies as genuine Scripture.

Here, the religious elite were taking advantage of the people they were supposed to be taking care of, and engaging in religious activity just for the sake of appearing holy to others.  (For more on the issue of public prayer, look at Matthew 6:1-6.)

But what's the deal with the "greater condemnation"?  As I talked about in this post on Matthew 11 (under the sub-heading, "Speaking of the Judgment"), it's not a matter of different circles of hell like in Dante's Inferno; it seems more along the lines of those people having far more shame since they, as God's very own Israel, had far more opportunities to truly know Him than people of other nations had.

15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

FYI, a proselyte was Gentile convert to Judaism.  So basically, these religious elite were going on "mission trips."  Obviously, the few Jews who really did love Gentiles enough to go tell them about the One True God were amazing people, but the religious elite referenced here were doing it for all the wrong reasons - for their own glory.  That may seem like an odd manifestation of glory-seeking, but a missionary I know has told me that some missionaries have actually gotten saved for real on mission trips (perhaps they went because it's seen as simply a noble thing to do, or a related motivation) - so this still goes on today.

But since most of these scribes and Pharisees never came into genuine relationship with God, they taught the converts the same false teachings they themselves lived by.  Think of it kind of like Mormons going on mission trips today.

16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.'
17 "You fools and blind men!  Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?
18 "And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.'
19 "You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
20 "Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
21 "And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.
22 "And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

There are a lot of little details here that may seem confusing, but the basic principle is actually quite simple:

• In Jewish culture, people often swore to do certain things in the service of God - like abstain from something for a set time, or give Him a certain percentage of their income.
• In the Old Testament, keeping your vows is treated as extremely serious (Deuteronomy 23:21-23, for example).
• But the religious elite decided to make up all sorts of little "word game" rules to let people get out of their vows.
• Obviously, this was an affront to God.

Have there been times when you've known that God wanted you to do something, but you tried to justify your way out of it?

23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

The religious leaders were also big on counting tiny seeds and flecks of herbs to tithe the set percentage - because such time-consuming acts were seen as very religious.  But they totally ignored the big-picture commands like loving others, which cannot be quantified and are not as noticed - and are actually much harder to do, when you really think about it.

Modern examples include spending (say) 2 hours in prayer and Bible study each day - but that clutters your schedule so much that you don't have time to show God's love to your elderly neighbor by helping her with yard-work.  Or having rigid rules of exactly how many inches below your collarbone or above your knee the clothes you buy can go - but not dealing with your pride or judgmentalism.

Does this principle "click" with your life in any way?

25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26 "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like white-washed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28 "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Jesus Himself interprets His symbols and sums it all up in verse 28, so I won't spend much time here, except to prompt:

Are there things you do to look religious when other people are watching, but that are the exact opposite of what you truly are like on the inside?  (For example, putting lots of money in the offering plate, but refusing to lend a family member money so they can make their rent.)

29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
31 "So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 "Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
33 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
34 "Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."

Wow, there's a lot of information in this passage!  I think I'll focus on two main points:

First:  While there are many, many ways God uses the persecution of His saints for His glory (you can check out the "Persecution" tab under "Studies by Topic" on the left, if you're interested in studying this out deeper), in this passage, the focus seems to be to give the persecutors even more chances to repent through the testimony of the martyrs, and to heap more shame on them when they reject it (as we discussed above).  God doesn't waste the suffering and death of His martyrs - He offers mercy to the persecutors, but if they refuse to accept it, His justice will prevail for the martyrs (see Revelation 6:9-11).

Second:  We as humans always talk big, claiming we would have acted nobly during some time period where radical social change led to conflict.  But a major point I see in this passage is that, while we may think times have changed and we're not faced with that same decision today, we really are facing the same choices - so if we say we would have acted a certain way, why aren't we???

• "If I were alive during the Holocaust, I would have done whatever I could to help save the Jews!"  Unborn babies created by God are being slaughtered everyday - are you standing up to help save them?
• "If I lived around the time of the Civil War, I would have helped free the slaves!"  Slavery still exists in the world today - what are you doing to put a stop to that?
• "If I lived during the Protestant Reformation, I would have been willing to die for my faith!"  (Not picking on Catholics here; I've just heard this line a lot.)  Well, today, right here and now, are you willing to bear shame and be socially ostracized, and risk your job and your grades and your family for your faith?
• "If I lived in Jesus's day, I would not have been ashamed to minister to the outcasts and sinners right alongside Him!"  Today, are you showing God's love to homosexuals, and the homeless, and people who annoy you, and people seen as "weird" - not worrying what people will think of you for spending time with them?

I say these just as much as a challenge to myself as to you guys.  We need to take it seriously.  We need to actually do what Jesus would do, instead of throwing around the cliché acronym without putting any thought into how to put it into practice.

Image credit: "The Sermon of the Beatitudes" by James Tissot.  Wikipedia.  Public domain in the United States. 

Instructions to Abraham...and to Us

I was reading Genesis 12 a few days ago, and a few things stuck out to me about the covenant God makes with Abraham (one of many total) in that chapter.  Let's look at the passage together.

Now the Lord said to Abraham,
"Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.
- Genesis 12:1-3

Now, when God spoke these words to Abraham, he was asking him to literally pack up and move far away and literally promising to give him many descendants, and that last line (about the whole Earth being blessed through him) is a promise that the Messiah would descend from him.  But there are also many ways this entire passage applies to us modern believers, as well.  [To those of you unfamiliar with this blog, links (usually to Bible verses I'm referencing) are in pink.]

Christ also asks us to leave our homes and families for Him.  For some people, like the early disciples and modern missionaries, but as for the rest of us, we are all commanded to value Christ far above our families, careers, lifestyles, etc.  We leave our old way of life behind and become a part of God's family. 

We are heading a different "land" that God will show us - eternal paradise with Him.  Just as Abraham's journey to his new home was difficult, so is ours - but the end destination is worth it!

We are also instructed to create a sort of "great nation" (a group of people with common heritage - in this case, being sons of God) for God by spreading the Gospel.  Through all us believers serving as the Body of Christ, bearing His message to those around us in different ways, the whole world will be blessed because they will come to know Christ through the testimony of our words, our actions, and our lives.

If you haven't yet accepted God's forgiveness, becoming one of His children, click here to learn how to do so in English, or here to learn how to do so in another language.

Any questions or comments?  Leave 'em below. :-)

Denominationalism, Hypocrisy, Scheduling, and Christmas

To use the Christianese phrase, God's really been putting something on my heart the past few days - He's been teaching me new things about my long-held approach to denominationalism (the practice of having multiple denominations, like Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Bereans, etc., within Christianity).  I'm going to talk about that today instead of posting a Bible study tip.

I'm going to be bold right up front, and if it offends or shocks you, please keep reading - I'll be attacking myself, too. ;-)

I believe that the American method of splitting the church into denominations is contradictory to Scripture - that it is anti-Biblical.  I believe that, for those Christians who do not have the same interpretation of Scripture regarding this issue as I hold, it is not a sin issue because they're not consciously doing anything wrong, but, that doesn't change the fact that (in my view) it has many extremely negative consequences.  These consequences damage the Church and inhibit witnessing to the lost.

Okay, hang with me.  Let's look at the Scripture that I base this belief off of:

1 Corinthians 1:10-13

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.  For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you.  Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."  Has Christ been divided?  Paul was not crucified for you, was he?  Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

The problem in this passage is that the Christians in Corinth were no longer using "Christian" as their way of identifying their beliefs - they were latching onto their favorite Christian leaders, and those leaders' personal doctrine.  This is exactly the case with the denominations today.  And I see it play out all the time - when a Christian is asked what religion they are, so often they don't say, "I'm a Christian," they say, "I'm a [insert denomination name]."  The fact of the matter is, we should all say "I of Christ"!!!  Christ is our identity, and the rest additions, not labels - they can describe our beliefs, but they should not be used to identify ourselves!

Alright, so what bad comes out of this?  Two consequence groups: (1) Division within Christ's Church, and (2) Appearance of division to unbelievers, which inhibits witnessing.  Let's start with number one.

Okay, division within the Church [when I say Church, I mean all Christians everywhere; when I say church, I mean a local group that fellowships together].  Recently, I have seen a missionary's account where she was lauding Christians who responded to a natural disaster overseas...only, she didn't say "Christians" - she said her own specific denomination.  I've also seen an organization offer free resources on how to share the gospel and disciple believers - but the large note at the bottom said it was only available to people who belonged to that specific denomination.  Saints, this is evil!  It breeds arrogance and hostility toward other believers - both of which are out-right sins.  And it prevents churches from working together to accomplish things for God's kingdom!

In addition, it negatively impacts our ability to share the gospel!  Many unbelievers don't see denominations as different forms of Christianity, they see them as different religions altogether.  They think that if Christians can't even agree with each other, why should they bother believing it?  Therefore, denominationalism may result in fewer people being saved from Hell.

BUT...

But, I also can understand why Christians throughout history have thought that splitting into denominations would be helpful and beneficial:

(1) Let's look at division for branches instead of denominations - Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodoxy.  I would lack all academic integrity to claim that the above 1 Corinthians passage doesn't apply to this division, because there is absolutely no Scriptural or logical reason I could claim that.  I fully believe that there are some Catholic Christians who are genuinely saved, some Protestant Christians who are genuinely saved, and some Orthodox Christians who are genuinely saved.  Yet, these types of Christianity are so radically different that, other than Christ alone, they have virtually nothing in common.  Saying one word - Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, is a quick way to explain so much about what you believe.  It's a major time saver.

(2) Branching off of this, there's the practicality of fellowship.  For example, a woman praises God with worship songs done with electric guitars and a man who praises God with worship songs done in Gregorian chant are unlikely to be able to attend the same church service and both feel edified.  Likewise, a woman who believes that no spiritual gifts exist today and a man who believes that every congregant should exercise his/her spiritual gifts at every church gathering are unlikely to leave the same church service both feeling edified.  Now, in both of these cases, Biblically, they should treat each other as brethren - as fellow believers - and they may even be good friends.  But this doesn't mean they'll attend the same church service.  So, by having denominational labels, a church makes it much easier for people to immediately identify which church would fit their worship and teaching style best.

(3) When you get to the absolute extreme ends of any doctrine, the two opposing sides view each other as absolute heretics, and follow the Biblical command to cut off fellowship with that who proclaim false teaching.  And the thing is, in at least some cases, one side is right.  But how do we know which one?  I don't have an answer - God alone knows which approach to every single doctrine ever is correct, because no man ever has or ever will have perfect doctrine.  So, in this case, denominational labels are a way of disassociating with perceived heresy.  That's a good thing - IF they're right.  It's a really sticky issue.

Okay, so we've looked at a Bible passage, at the negative consequences of denominationalism, and at the reasons why denominationalism may have been perceived as necessary.  Now I'd like to share how my own approach has changed.

I used to classify myself as "non-denominational" because of the Bible passage and negative consequences shared above.  But I've recently realized that in my mind, this view had shifted to me making "non-denominational" into a denomination, and I was growing arrogant and slightly hostile toward those who preached denominationalism!  In other words, in the name of the Unity of the Church, I was fostering Disunity!  That made me a hypocrite.  I've encountered a term that I can think of myself as to fix this mental shift, but unfortunately, the term means different things to different people.  The term is "pan-denominational" (pan means all).  Some people use this to mean all religions, and I do NOT mean that.  I mean all Christian denominations.  I mean that I will not reject any Christian who believes the basics of Christianity - things like the Trinity, that salvation comes through grace by faith in Jesus Christ alone, etc. (check out what I consider the core basics under the "About" tab) - and that I will continually strive to not take a divisive, arrogant, hostile attitude toward those who have different doctrinal views than I do on non-salvation issues.

But that still doesn't solve everything - there's still the imbalance between the negative and postive effects of denominationalism.  My personal view at this moment is that perhaps there's a happy medium where labels exist only for the purpose of simplifying whose church services you're most likely to mesh with, but without creating a divisive mindset among Christians and without creating the appearance of disunity to unbelievers.  Perhaps steps toward this would include identifying ourselves as "Christian" alone in conversation and not sticking to "church circles" where we only work together with identically-minded congregations.

Please feel free to share your thoughts.  What negative impacts of denominationalism can you think of?  What postiive impacts?  How can we fix these problems?  How can we overall balance the situation?  Do you have personal experience (good or bad) with denominationalism?
Your opinions are 100% welcome.  However, personal attacks on individuals or specific denominations will not be tolerated and I reserve the right to remove them - that will only breed division, which is the very thing I'm trying to prevent here!

Finally, on to a bit of "house keeping."  I'm on Christmas Break for a month, so I will be able to post much more frequently during that time period.  Here's the new schedule:
Mondays: Verse-by-verse Bible study in Matthew
Wednesdays: Personal commentary on a social issue or topical study
Fridays: Verse-by-verse Bible study in Matthew
Saturdays: Weekend post - combination of Bible study tip, Christian media review, song, etc.
Bear in mind that these posts will often show up in the late afternoons, unless I write it the day before and schedule it.  If checking back a few times on posting days to see when I get a post up drives you crazy, you can either: (1) Follow the blog if you have a Google account and regularly visit your Blogger dashboard, in which case my new posts will pop up there automatically, or (2) Follow by e-mail, in which case Blogger will send you an e-mail every time I put up a new post.  Both of these can be found on the right side-bar.

Finally, because it's the weekend and we're getting close to Christmas, I'd like to share a Christmas song you may not have heard before - "A Soldier's King" by Kenny Rogers.  I find it incredibly touching.

Identity Mix-Up - Matthew 10:40-11:6

Vicarious Blessing

 

40 "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

 

41 "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

 

42 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."

 

Let's have some fun looking at translation of words first. :-) "Receive" carries a few different connotations in English; what exactly does it mean in this passage? Well, actually, two different Greek words, with two different meanings, are translated as "receive(s)" in these three verses. Where the word "receives" appears, that's the Greek word dechomai, which means receive in the sense of welcome and accept. But when the word "receive" appears, that's lambano, which is receiving in the sense of being given something. So, for clarity, we can read verses 40-41 as:

 

He who accepts/welcomes you receives Me, and he who accepts/welcomes Me receives Him who sent Me. He who accepts/welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet shall be given a prophet's reward; and he who accepts/welcomes a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall be given a righteous man's reward.

 

Now, who is the one who sent Jesus? That's referring to God the Father. This may seem odd to we Christians today who (kind of) understand the concept of the Trinity, but remember - this occurred very early in Jesus's ministry, and there was definitely some confussion in the disciples' minds about who precisely the Messiah was. So Jesus is saying, "Look, dudes - they'll be welcoming God!" So, whoever welcomes us and what we have to say is welcoming God. Just think what a great honor that is that God is with us to that extent!

 

Another thing to clear up is what the term "in the name of" means. In the American Church at least, we tend to end all our prayers with "In Jesus's Name, Amen," as if they're magic words (this practice is pulled from John 14:13-14, but for many has become ritual and lost its original intent). But what it actually means is, "as so-and-so would do it," or "in the capacity of." So, for example, "in Jesus's Name" actually means "as Jesus would do." Sooooo, what I think this passage is saying is that even if we're not super-spiritual (like prophets or "the righteous"), if we accept what they have to say and make an effort to act as they do, God will reward us! Genuine effort is more important to God than success itself.

 

Verse 42 seems simple at first glance, but there are a few beautiful encouragements for us in it: (1) It shows us that being a disciple is not about big stuff like going on overseas missions trips - living as a disciple of Jesus Christ is about showing love through small acts in the day-to-day...simple things, like giving water to the thirsty; (2) it demonstrates that he loves even the lowliest of us (in Jewish society at the time, children were essentially the lowest class); and (3) He will reward us for the little things, too! Again, it's not about competing with each other to be the best Christian - it's about doing whatever God has put before *us*. All in all, this simple verse is a concise love letter!

 

With this in mind now, let's remember the context from our last study post: He just talked about a bunch of terrifying consequences of following Him, including your own family turning you in for execution, and spoke that famous line, "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." Today's passage balances out the scariness with love and rewards, and elaborates on that line.

 

For more on why God rewards us and what these rewards look like, check out Matthew 25:31-46 and our past study on heavenly crowns.

 

Everyone Doubts, and How to Answer Them

 

1 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

 

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

 

3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"

 

4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:

 

5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

 

6 "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."



 

Okay, so Jesus sends all the disciples out to "do ministry" one their own, without Him to guide their every step. They're probably feeling nervous and scared, and what is Jesus doing meanwhile? He's spreading the Gospel in the disciples' hometowns. While they're feeling like they're all alone, Jesus is ministering to their loved ones! This is a beautiful example of how when we feel like God's not near, He is still working "backstage," taking care of us in ways we're not even aware of.

Next, in verses 2-3, we see that John the Baptist is having some doubts as to whether or not Jesus is really the Messiah. Consider for a moment that because of the prophecies about his own birth and how much devoted his mother was to God, he was surely raised with the knowledge that his younger cousin was the Messiah. At the very least, it is extremely clear that his experience with baptizing Jesus left him fully convinced that Jesus was Messiah. Yet, because of his terrible circumstances (being locked up in a dungeon), he doubted. This is a wonderful example for us that even THE John the Baptist had a lapse in his faith, so the "valleys" in our own spiritual walks are to be expected. These valleys are indeed brutal, but it's certainly not like God gets angry at us for having them! As we're about to see...

 

In verses 4-5, Jesus doesn't get at all angry with John for his doubts! Neither does He simply say, "Of course I am," or "Yep." What does He do? He demonstrates it - that is, He purposefully chooses an answer that will directly address John's doubts. God *always* seeks restoration of our relationship with Him.

 

Here's another thing interesting about His answer: He references some fulfilled prophecies as a practical proof, but His primary focus is on how He's been working in people's lives. We can apply this, too... While there is definitely a time and place for arguing academically for the existence and supremacy of the Christian God (scientifically, historically, philosophically, etc. - evidenced by the success of such books as The Case for Christ), what works best most often seems to be simply telling people what God has done for you - i.e. how His love has changed you.

 

Unfortunately, verse 6 doesn't translate into English well at all. But when we look into the Greek, we see that it clearly ties back to the point of John doubting. The word for offense here is skandalizo, which basically refers to making you stumble (not in the sense of falling into sin, but of tripping you up in your faith) or fall away. So, this verse can kind of be phrased as, "And blessed is he who does not <doubt, and so stumble in his faith or even fall away [like John the Baptist is doubting]>." Obviously, life is far better when we never allow our faith to be shaken (easier said than done, of course).

 

Questions for You

 

Verses 40-42 have a lot of things going on in them; do you see another angle I missed?

 

When in your life had you had doubts and/or gone through valleys? What soothed your doubts or pulled you out of the valleys?

 

Giving Credit Where It's Due

 

Image Number One: Crown of Christian V (1671) kept at Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, picture taken by Claus15. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. Used by permission.

 

Image Number Two: St. John the Baptist by Titian. Wikimedia Commons. {{PD-1923}} Public domain in the United States. {{PD-old-100}} Public domain in countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years, including the European Union.

A Blessed Adventure and an Arduous Burden - Matthew 10:5-23

The Encouraging Part

5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Don not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;

6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

9 "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,

10 or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.

11 "And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city.

12 "As you enter the house, give it your greeting.

13 "If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.

14 "Wheover does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.

15 "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement than for that city."

Okay, so why did Jesus tell His disciples to only minister to the Jews? Is this some sort or racist favoritism? Not at all - it's just that the Jews had been following God for centuries, and the Messiah was promised to them, so it is fully appropriate that He would come to them first. This was only temporary - Jesus sent them to spread the Gospel to all people after His resurrection, and He repeatedly made exceptions for individual Gentiles (non-Jews), such as when He healed the Roman centurion's servant and exorcised the Canaanite woman's daughter. Also bear in mind that, as Luke 12:42-48 explains in detail, "From everyone who has been given much [spiritually], much will be required." Because the Jews had more reason to anticipate the Messiah's coming (thus His coming to them first), they would also be dealt with more severly for rejecting Him (like in verse 15, when Jesus compares their sin to that of the two most notoriously sinful Gentile cities which God destroyed in His judgement in the Old Testament). There are two applications here for us: (1) God loves all of us the same - including Jews and Gentiles, and (2) We also ought to realize that the blessings and "spiritual advantages" (like living in a country where we don't get arrested and executed for owning a Bible) mean we're expected to do more with them!

Related to this is how Jesus instructs them to handle their money and supplies. While they are among the Jews - the people who were supposed to be God's people - the people they preached to were supposed to support them. But He later reverses this, telling them that when they go out among the Gentiles, they are to bring money and their own supplies. Christians are supposed to support other ministering Christians, but we should never expect unbelievers or new believers to do the same - that is why so many think that Christianity is a sham and the clergy does it just to make money! Paul purposefully didn't ask for financial support from those he ministered to on a couple of occasions, as well.

The stuff about healing and casting out demons and raising the dead is super exciting...but did you notice how Jesus mentions sharing the Good News before he rattles these off? Yes, God has given us the power to do all this stuff (dependent upon His will and our faith, of course), but remember Luke 10:20, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." So, we have here in these verses a reminder of some things we've learned from Matthew's Gospel so far: (1) We do have the power to do miraculous stuff, just like Jesus, (2) We need to minister to both people's spiritual and physical needs, and (3) Miraculous power is amazing, but God's salvation is even more so, so we need to keep this hierarchy of importance in perspective.

Now, what's going on with that blessing bit? We don't exactly talk about blessings and curses much in the American Church. On one hand, we know that words aren't magic - God cannot be forced into pouring out blessings or curses on people just because of some special phrase we say. But, He has created some system we can't fully understand where His followers' words have some degree of power - or else why would He instruct the disciples to take back their blessing if it was found to be undeserved? (For more to confuse you on how blessings and curses do and do not work, check out the story of Balaam...lots to think about there.) But there is something in these verses that is easy to grasp and applies universally: Did you notice how Jesus instructs them to give the blessing before they find out what kind of person is there? We are to assume the best of people, and act kind and lovingly toward them from the start, instead of waiting to find out if they "deserve" it.

The Not-So-Encouraging Part

16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

17 "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;

18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

19 "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."

21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

23 "But whenenever they perseucte you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish goring through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

The verse about being shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves is quite famous. I love how John Eldredge explains it in his book Beautiful Outlaw: <We like the innocent as doves part; that sounds nice. Very Sunday school. But that first bit - hold on now. Shrewd as snakes? When you hear someone say, "He's such a snake," do you think, Oh - what a fine Christian? The things Jesus says. Let's get the religious drapery off this. A dove and a snake. Surely they remember the dove descending on Jesus. As for the snake metaphor - these Jews would have connected instantly to the serpent in the Garden. Be as holy as the Spirt and be as cunning as Satan. You want us to do what?! Jesus is saying, "Look, this is a very dangerous world." The disciples glance at one another, thinking, Right. We've got the Son of God on our side. "I mean it," he continues. "Take this seriously. I'm sending you into the Congo with a butter knife. You are easy pickings. You must be holy and you must be cunning.>

When we give our lives to Christ, we are willfully accepting that Satan has now put a bounty on our heads. Consider what 1 Timothy 3:12 has to say: "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." John 15:19-20a echoes, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persectued Me, they will also persecute you..." Jesus elsewhere instructs His disciples to obtain weapons to defend themselves with, and in this passage, He tells them to use their brains and flee if necessary.

But this is another issue with multiple sides (most things in the Bible seem to be like that...). Sometimes, God allows us to be persecuted because that will give us an opportunity to share the Gospel - or even just be an example of how passionately we really do believe in Jesus (that's where the "innocent as doves" part comes in!)- in ways we would not otherwise be able to. If persecution allowed the Early Church to personally interact with Roman rulers - the rulers of the world - then what other influential people could God have in the works for us to witness to today? In these cases, we are not even to plan a speech to defend ourselves, but just to let God speak through us. How can we tell if we should flee or take a stand? By simply listening to the Holy Spirit and acting as He leads. There's also a tangential application here - in day-to-day interactions, such as sharing the Gospel with a friend, sometimes we should plan our "moves" ahead, and sometimes just let the Holy Spirit lead the application (this has happened to me) - and again, the only way to tell when to do what is to head the Holy Spirit's leading.

Finally, we see that the Gospel is so offensive that it can even turn families against each other - to the point that they will turn each other in for execution! There is simply no middle ground when it comes to following Christ. If the world hates us, that means we're either doing something terribly wrong or entirely right.

Count the cost - are you willing?

Questions for You

Have you ever felt put off by Christians expecting payment from unbelievers, or emphasizing the financial aspect far too much? How can we be both "shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves"? What has following Christ cost you?

Giving Credit Where It's Due

Image Number One: The Great Commission, at the Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick in El Paso. Wikimedia Commons. Used by permission.

Image Number Two: The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Leon Gerome, commissioned by William T. Walters. Wikimedia Commons. Used by permission. Public domain worldwide.

Image Number Three: The Lapidation of Saint Stephen by Rembrandt. Wikimedia Commons. Used by permission. Public domain worldwide.





Shock and Awe - Matthew 9:32-38

Getting Too Used to Things and Assuming the Worst

32 As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him.

33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."

34 But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

I may be the only one who finds this funny, but in verses 32-33, Matthew doesn't even bother relating the casting out of the demon - he simply says, "After the demon was cast out..." It's almost as if, having recounted so many stories of various miracles, he's used to it - it's "old news." But look at the crowd's reaction: They're completely awestruck! This plays out in modern-day Christianity as well... Have you noticed how new believers have such powerful responses to God's work and passages of Scripture, whereas seasoned believers are sort of like, "Ho, hum"? It makes sense, but it's still not optimal. God's work and Word are just as astounding today as they've ever been. Let's make an effort to pay attention to what amazing things God is doing today, and to conscioulsy think about how amazing they really are, no matter how many times we've seen them.

Now let's look at the Pharisees' response. On the one hand, it's good to be wary of apparent magic. I mean, consider that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) - he will try to pass off his evil power as something holy to trick people. This is how witch doctors, for example, have magical powers. But in this case, they were simply dead wrong! And they could have realized that Jesus got his authority from God (see Jesus's conversation with them about this in Mark 3:22-27) if they'd only thought about the prophecies and humbled their hearts. So, the lesson for us in here is, let's also appreciate what good God is working out from circumstances! We need to keep an eye out for ungodly interference, but we also need to not always assume the worst. Like many things, it's a balance.

Compassion with Action!

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and like sheep without a shepherd.

37 Then He said to the disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."



Reading verses 35 and 36 together, it becomes very apparent that what he felt - compassion - led to concrete action - healing them. Just feeling bad for people won't help them - we are called to follow Jesus's example and actually physically help them. James 2:15-16 tells us, "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" Also notice a couple of other things Jesus did: First of all, He went to them. He didn't demand that they come to Him - or in our case, to our church - to hear what He wanted to tell them; He went out among them to the places they went - He made it about them. Second, He both shared His message with them and ministered to their needs. So many try to spread the Gospel only by talking, but Jesus put action - evidencing His sincere love for them - behind His words.

Finally, Jesus instructs His dicsiples to pray for more Christians to go out and share the Gospel with more lost souls. We should do the same. And also consider: Is it perhaps your task to be an answer to such a prayer? Who in your life can you share Jesus with?

Sharing the Gospel Is an Investment in Someone's Life

This post is much shorter than our usual studies mainly because of time (it's almost midnight Wednesday night as I write this, and I know I won't have a free moment tomorrow to work more on another chunk of Scripture), but I also wanted to save a portion of this to share the below video with you. It fits perfectly in with what we've talked about so far, and may give you some new insight on how to effectively share the Gospel with others.

Please take the time to watch it - it's seven and a half minutes long, but well worth your time.




Questions for You

When have you been completely blown off your feet by God? Have you ever noticed yourself developing a sort of immunity to being so shocked by Him?

When you've shared Jesus with others in the past, what worked for you?

Think about how you came to Christ - what "worked" on you, and how can you use that on others?

Share these, and anything else you'd like to ask or add, in the comments section. :-)

Giving Credit Where It's Due

Picture Number One: Medieval illustration of Jesus healing the Gerasene. Wikimedia Commons. {{PD-1923}} Public Domain in the United States. {{PD-old-70}} Public Domain in the European Union.

Picture Number Two: Ravenna Mosaic of the Good Shepherd by Meister des Mausoleums der Galla Placidia. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain worldwide.

Questionable Behavior - Matthew 9:9-17

Love Trumps Appearances

9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.

10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.

11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?"

12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Let's look at Matthew first. He started out as a pretty bad guy - a tax collector. Now, I know we all hate the IRS, but this was a bigger deal back then: a tax collector betrayed his own people by working for their Roman oppressors and cheating them out of as much money as possible for personal profit. And yet, the *instant* Jesus calls him, he obeys. Furthermore, Matthew humbly omits this in his own gospel, but we learn from Luke 5:28-29 that Matthew was extremely rich and left everything behind to follow Jesus. Things are not always as they seem - the worst of sinners can become the most dedicated of Jesus's followers (see Luke 7:47).

This story loses its shock value once you've heard it a few times, but try to think of it in a modern context: What would you think if you saw your pastor at Olive Garden with half a dozen prostitutes? But that picture still doesn't render what it would have been like when Jesus did it, because in His day, dining with someone carried the cultural connotation of sharing with them, communing with them. Jews regularly refused to eat with certain groups of people, so Jesus doing this truly is revolutionary.

There's a critical lesson here. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 5:9-13:

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler - not even to eat with such a one [there's the cultural aspect of sharing a meal, again]. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

Unfortunately, we as the American church tend to practice the opposite of what is taught here: We don't dare say a word when our fellow believers are willingly living in sin - having sex before marriage, using the Lord's name in vain in every other sentance - but we take public disapproval of sins such as homosexuality to the extreme of public hatred (for example - Chick-Fil-A taking a stand against homosexuality is honorable; but picketing the funerals of gay soldiers is deplorable).  We are supposed to be out among the world, showing God's love to everyone regardless of the sin they engage in. Jesus hang out at these tax collectors' wild parties, approving of them as people without approving of their behavior, and as a result, they came to know God.

[Side note - see this post on how to correct other believers.]

Now, let's look at the Pharisees really quickly. There are two times where people question Jesus's behavior - once above, and once in the verses below under the next heading; we'll contrast their motivations and approaches. The Pharisees are questioning as a way to condemn - they don't actually want to learn the answer; they're trying to trap Jesus and prove to the world that He's in the wrong. Here's another thing they do poorly: they question His disciples, not Jesus Himself. This opens up two possibilities: (1) They know Jesus will be able to refute them, as He does repeatedly (for example, Matthew 22:41-46), and/or (2) they're purposefully trying to plant doubts about their Teacher in the disciples' minds to draw them away from him.

Finally, what's Jesus talking about in verses 12-13 about the sick needing a doctor? Luke 5 gives a longer account of this event, and verse 32 tells us, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."  Now, is anyone truly righteous, spiritually healthy? No - but many, like the Pharisees, think they are. Jesus's point is that, yes, everyone is spiritually sick, but He's come to minister to the people who admit that they are sick. In this, the tax collectors - who freely admit they're sinners - are more righteous than the Pharisees, who pretend they're not. Let us be humble in heart and admit our spiritual illness.

Lecture at the Party

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

15 And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of hte bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

16 "But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

17 "Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but htey put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

John the Baptist's disciples also question Jesus, but this scenario plays out much differently than the one with the Pharisees. Since their teacher praised Jesus so highly, it is reasonable to assume that they're questioning Him because they genuinely want to learn. Also notice that they came directly to Jesus to ask the man Himself - they're not talking about someone's allegedly faulty practice behind His back, but with Him.

And, as we can see, Jesus is happy to answer them directly. He explains that there simply would be no point to His disciples fasting while He's walking on this earth with them! People fast for different reasons, but the most common one is so that every pang of hunger will remind them to pray immediately, often for a specific issue. But Jesus's diciples at the time spent every moment of every day with Him, so they'd constantly be reminded of His presence.

Verses 16-17 can get a little convoluted, and there are many takes on what they mean. Here's what I think makes sense, particularly in context: No matter how many religious rituals (like fasting) you perform, it doesn't make any difference if you're not in a relationship with God. You can't just patch up or refresh your own life; you have to let God completely renew you for that to have any bearing - you have to be "born again."

If you haven't yet accepted Christ, click on the "How to Receive Salvation" tab near the top of the page. Nothing else is more important than this.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Questions for You

Was there a time in your life before you got saved when you tried to fix yourself? How do you think we can reach out to the world in a way that shows God's love but does not condone their behavior? Share your answers, or any other questions or comments, by leaving a comment below.

Giving Credit Where It's Due

Picture Number One: The Calling of Matthew by Vittore Carpaccio. Wikimedia Commons.  {{PD-1923}} Public Domain in the United States. {{PD-old-100}} Public domain in Italy.

Picture Number Two: The Exhortation to the Apostles by James Tissot. Wikimedia Commons. {{PD-1923}} Public Domain in the United States. {{PD-old-100}} Public Domain in the European Union.