Revelation, Authority, & Infallibility ...

Who are you?  What are you?  The answers to these questions will say a lot about you.  Your identity can be self-described in a number of ways.  It may begin with your name.  When others pose the question to you, “who are you”, the most common response may well be your name.  Your name is a title given to you since birth.  It is meant to distinguish you from others in your family.  It is meant to identify you in terms of great affection, originating from your parents, where no matter the relationship you have today, it most probably began with one of extreme love at the birth of a new child to them.  But over time, some decide the name given them at birth, does not suit them, and they decide to change it to something better in their minds, to something else.  This is not meant as disrespect.  And in fact, in the Bible it happens a few times.  Abram, was changed to Abraham, and Simon to Peter.  The change for Abraham had meaning beyond affection, it meaning in designation to “who” he would become.  The same is true is for Peter.  And at the end of all things, Jesus intends to give us all new names in the Kingdom of heaven, names better suited to identify who we are meant to be, and who we will also become in the state of perfection throughout eternity.

What are you; is perhaps the more interesting question.  The answer here could originate in a combination of your age, or sex, or religious or political affiliation.  But most commonly your answer may find root in your job, your occupation, your skill set – that help you earn a living and sustain yourself.  Most of us grow up into the job we have, through a series of educational progressions, and then influenced by a set of circumstances we never could have predicted but find ourselves either victim of; or reaching the aspirations of.  We do what we need to do, to make a living, to provide for ourselves, or for our families.  So what we are matches the demands of the place, opportunities, and times we live in.  And there are few among us who answer this question as … I am a prophet of God.  The ones who do answer this way, are pretty much seen as “cuckoo lulu” right out of the gate.  Our minds jump right to the ideas of con-man, or self-deluded, and in the worst of all states, an agent of Satan.  So what kind of revelation, does it take to be a prophet of God?  And could it be a position more of us could occupy, if we only understood it better?

When we think of the great heroes of the Bible a few of them stand out because they are most closely associated with the ideas and the term prophet.  Isaiah prophesied of the coming Messiah.  Daniel of the Old Testament and the apostle John of the New, prophesied in tandem of the timeline of our world, all the way to the end of all things as we know them.  So it is easier to look at John and declare he was a prophet, even though He was also a disciple, and a fisherman, and a searcher of God.  After reading the book of Revelations however, it is easy to see how John could carry the title “prophet”.  But then is the gift of prophecy a full-time occupation?  Saul, the first king of Israel, who is known more for his ignominious end than his life, was given to bouts of prophecy.  So much so, that it was a common expression to ask, is Saul among the prophets.  And Matthew reveals to us that Peter too was given revelations that would become prophetic.  Does this make Peter a prophet, and if not, could the idea of prophecy being a more limited thing that happens in the course of one’s life, make you a more likely candidate than you might have once believed?

I ask for many reasons, but the context of my question comes from personal experience.  No, it was not me this time 😊.  In this instance it was my wife of 30+ years.  Over the course of our life together my life has not always been what it should have been.  I went to the Lord in prayer asking what His will was as I struggled with the situations I put myself in.  And out of the mouth of my wife (totally unbeknownst to her) were descriptions of my situation as clear as if she had first-hand knowledge – which she did not at the time.  My answers came from her lips, and all the way to the writing of this blog she has never known it.  But I did.  And God did.  His word passed the lips of my wife without her knowledge or cognition.  Does this make her a prophet, perhaps, perhaps not.  But more importantly, does it mean that revelation that comes from God, can pass through any human vessel – even when they are unaware it is happening, this I think is how it happens.  Matthew in his gospel to the Hebrews seems to cite an example of just such a case.

The story begins in chapter sixteen picking up in verse 13 saying … “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?’  The story begins with a simple question of identity.  Jesus is not looking for an answer directly from the crowds, He has chosen to wait until the troop has traveled far from the last crowds, and He is now                                                                                                                                                           focusing in on what the disciples think about who He is.  His question (like many a helpful teacher) already has the answer in it.  The “Son of Man” is another way of referring to the Messiah, the Christ, or the Son of God.  Nevertheless His disciples appear to miss the clue and offer more genuine insights into what the common answers are (perhaps including what they themselves are thinking).  They respond in verse 14 answering … “And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.”  This answer is meant to be flattering.  For Jesus to be associated or identified with Elijah or Jeremiah or even more recently John the Baptist (all of them back from the dead) means that Jesus would definitely be a hero to the nation.

It might account for all the miracles, if God saw fit to bring back a prophet of such high caliber back from the dead to be His messenger / Messiah to His people.  While a “normal” Jewish believer could not do what Jesus does, perhaps a resurrected hero of the past could do it.  So it is not altogether impossible to believe that the disciples were using the response of the people to this question, to hide the fact that they may have shared these beliefs.  As such, Jesus gets more specific, and removes the cover of the people and the collective “they” in their answers.  Picking up in verse 15 He asks … “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?”  Now the veneer of what other people think has been stripped away from the answers they will give.  And to us the answer should be obvious.  Frankly, they must have been having a collective memory problem for it to be anything less than obvious to them.  It was only days ago when Jesus walked on water, calmed a storm, instantly bent time and space for them to move a great distance.  He fed 5000 then 4000 men (plus their women and children).  He healed like Israel had never seen before.  No prophet of the past had ever done anything like this, on any scale like this, ever.  So why did they hesitate in their response?

Could it be, that they, like us, get fixated on an idea, and even when the Truth is presented differently to us, we may declare it for a moment, but begin reverting to our preferred ideas almost immediately.  The disciples were falling victim to their respect of the existing church leadership, believing that it would be hard for them to get it entirely wrong.  These ideas of an answer they already offered, while supposed to be flattering, were also a compromise between what they should have known, and what the church leadership would offer as a counter argument at the time.  The miracles of Jesus were undeniable.  But if Jesus were Elijah come back from heaven, then perhaps not so implausible.  It keeps Jesus from being the Son of God, while offering a “logical” argument on how Jesus did what He did.  And generations of non-believers continue to look for compromises of the idea of faith where the identity of Jesus remains.  Make Jesus a “really good guy” and throw out the miracle stuff as exaggeration.  Even within in the church, make Jesus a partner in your salvation, not the author and finisher of it.  A compromise between what the Truth says about Himself, and what we will allow ourselves to believe about Jesus and how it all works.

However Peter offered a dissenting voice from his peers continuing in verse 16 saying … “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. [verse 17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”  The revelation of who Jesus is, is indeed a revelation sent from God the Father to Simon Barjona (who will be called Peter momentarily).  This revelation cuts through all the compromises and makes clear who the Truth is.  Peter did not know it was coming.  Peter was not in deep prayer asking for a revelation.  Peter was there, and God spoke through him.  The words of the Father God sent through the mouth of Peter, not for the benefit of Jesus (who already knows who He is), but for the benefit of the church (those others around him) who needed to hear it loud and clear.  To chase the compromise out of the room, and out of the thinking, God spoke through Peter.  And because of this Jesus rightly points out that this revelation is a blessing.

Prophecy, and revelation, need not be a full-time occupation, or gift of the Spirit that happens every moment of every day.  It can come as it is needed and through any vehicle our God chooses, at the time when it is needed most.  It is not a casual thing, it is an important thing.  It is not needed to predict the conditions of the roads before you travel to work, or help you find your misplaced keys.  God may help you find those keys, but that is not revelation, it is the love of a Father.  Revelation has immediate impact on the church, it drives away compromise.  The words of my wife had exactly that effect for me.  They made clear my compromises and clear what Jesus is capable of fixing, even when I could not see the way clear for it.  The words of Peter did the same thing for those like-minded friends & followers in that venue, and were verified by Jesus Himself as being true.  This was revelation indeed, but was it authority?

Jesus continues in verse 18 saying … “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  The first thing Jesus does after this revelation is to change the name of Simon Barjona into Peter, which has the meaning of a small stone.  Throughout scripture Jesus is referred to as the cornerstone (or the stone upon which everything else relies in the structure).  Telling now formerly Simon, that his new position is Peter, is telling him that he too will be a stone in the structure of the church Jesus is going to build.  Peter will NOT be the cornerstone.  Only Jesus could ever be that.  A church built upon any man is sure to fall.  But a church built upon God will last and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, and believe me, they have tried, and continue to try.  Jesus is trying to convey to Peter that he has a position in the new church, that it will be his shared mission to promote and grow the church Jesus will build.  This is the same position Jesus offers you and I.

Jesus then looks across the group of His disciples and continues saying in verse 19 saying … “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  The disciples are to be given the keys of the kingdom.  This is obviously symbolism.  There were no literal keys ever minted or transferred.  The meaning was to be symbolic.  Whatever the church was to ask for (in unity) would be granted and done by Jesus who would soon return to heaven.  Whether to open a door, or to seal one up for protection, requests of the church (when two or more would gather), were to be heard by the kingdom of heaven. 

It is important to understand how DIFFERENT this model was, than the one Israel had since the days of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt.  Since the wilderness wanderings, Israel had a temple first constructed with gold plated boards, and covered in tent materials, containing a physical ark with a mercy seat.  Later king David would collect the materials and make the plans for a temple his son Solomon would build over many years.  That temple would survive until Nebuchadnezzar invaded and twice destroyed it progressively.  Israel would rebuild it and in the days of Christ it would be only a former shadow of itself yet still magnificent.  Even then Israelites tended to face the temple when they prayed (no matter where they were in the world).  They were proud of their temple and believed that the presence of God Himself could only be found in that location.  What Jesus was saying now, was something entirely different.  From now on, the unity of believers would represent His church and as few as two of them could open or seal up the kingdom.  The presence of God would be found anywhere instead of only in one place.  That was radical.  That was contradictory to the prescriptions of Moses at the time, and for centuries of tradition since.  But this was to be the new model.

So then the question; was authority transferred by the words of Jesus?  And what authority?  Obviously the church of Jesus would forever belong to Jesus not men.  Obviously the work of our salvation would forever belong to Jesus not men.  And often we would not understand it, or even like it.  Matthew continues picking up in verse 20 saying … “Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. [verse 21] From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”  Right off the bat instructions from Jesus regarding His church include NOT sharing the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God.  How completely counterintuitive.  You would think the idea of sharing the identity of Christ would be priority one.  But the timing was not right.  So it was not.  Had the disciples been wholesale sharing their beliefs at this time, the anger of the church leadership would have cut short the ministry of Jesus.  And Jesus knew that cutting short His ministry without time to prepare His disciples would have an even more catastrophic effect on them with what was coming.

Jesus also begins revealing to His church what was to come in the near future.  This was prophetic, as it had not happened yet.  Yes, Jesus was a prophet in the terms we think of.  But then Jesus was God, so knowing what God knows, can it still be considered prophecy, or just more of the Truth.  But it did not matter, the message of the Truth, was something His church did not want to hear.  The shortsightedness of man sees the death of Jesus as the end of hope with respect to the Romans.  This was true.  The reign of Rome was to continue for centuries after Jesus (first militarily, and then as a great religious persecuting power).  Jesus did nothing to undo that.  And the Truth He was sharing with them was about His death, but also about His resurrection.  It seemed the back half of that news never could pierce the hearing of His own church leadership.  Peter (the newly identified small stone in the house of the Lord) now does what any prudent deacon should do, when the Pastor seems to be running amuck.

Matthew continues in verse 22 saying … “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.”  Peter takes Jesus aside (keep in mind this is a rebuke) and says to Him, hey look, this just isn’t going to happen to You.  The people are ready to make You our King.  In fact, they have tried several times by force already, and somehow You have been able to disappear from the adoring crowds.  But in any case; You have a job to do according to our interpretation of scripture, where You are supposed to throw off Roman oppression, and setup Your Kingdom forever.  So You need to put this death nonsense out of Your head, and get busy with Your primary mission.  No more death talk, you get it.  Especially accusing the church leadership of wanting to torture and kill You.  That kind of talk is going to get You tortured and killed, by the people who still trust them, if not by them.  Now are we clear with what needs to happen?  I am sure all of us believe the same way here, and want the same things here.  You just gave us keys, so this is how we intend to use them.

And there it is folks, a paraphrase of every church leader throughout the ages reacting to news and the Truth they did not want to hear.  Reciting every logical reason why the Truth was wrong.  Reciting every long held doctrinal position so clearly backed up by scripture there could be no possible argument against it, except the words of the Truth, they do not want to hear.  In short, they all net down to the desires and vision of men, stacked against the will of God, that remains in our best interest, and not the best interest of God.  That is what Love means to Him.  Jesus responds in verse 23 saying … “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”  Ouch!  There is no stronger rebuke in history.  If Peter was given this name of affection because of his new role as being a stone in the construction of the church, he has just gone from blessed – to an offense as bad as Satan himself.

It is interesting that Jesus does not throw Peter out of the church.  But what occurs here is an object lesson on why authority can never be transferred from Jesus to any human.  Peter, and men throughout the ages, and in our churches still, and in our mirrors still; value our own desires – the desires of men – more than the will of God.  It is Satan himself behind this phenomenon.  And it seems perfectly reasonable, perfectly logical, perfectly sensible.  We know God loves His people.  We know God does not want His people to suffer at the hands of injustice.  We know God does not enjoy people worshipping pagan gods as a substitute for Himself.  So it only makes sense that Jesus end all the suffering brought on by Rome.  How could He not?  How could He leave the most cruel empire in human history in charge of the fates of His own people?  This empire ultimately being responsible for the deaths of so many of them.  That does not make any sense.  Yet Jesus looks at that line of thinking, and states, get thee behind me Satan.

In a short period of time Peter has gone from reciting the will of God through his lips, to reciting the will of Satan.  He has fallen so far he is literally “an offense” to Jesus.  No person is perfect, or should be revered just because the words of prophecy have passed their lips.  The message is what is important.  And as to the message, just because you have recited the will of God through your lips, does not make you immune to becoming the messenger of Satan and allowing his words to escape your lips as well.  There is fallibility in mankind, or in any office within the church of Jesus.  Leaders, and lay people alike, make mistakes.  We sometimes pursue a direction that is more akin to the will of Satan than it is the will of God.  To avoid this, we must heed the council of Jesus.  Put aside our own desires, as He did.  Submit our very desires to the transformation only Jesus can enact in us.  And allow Jesus to put our will in harmony with the will of God.  This takes submission on our part, and transformation on His.  But He does not fail.

Our Catholic friends like to use this sequence of texts to proffer the idea that here is where Jesus made Peter the first pope.  I see no evidence of that.  Nor do I see any evidence of establishing a line of succession of the transference of power through the ages.  What is clear, is the absolute fallibility of men, even of Peter.  Peter went from the revelation of God the Father, to attempting to rebuke Jesus citing the words of Satan as what Jesus should do.  That is not the mark of perfection, or of a church leader who can do no wrong.  It is quite the opposite.  It is also a demonstration of what occurs when the will of one person is offered without submission.  Even groups can be convinced of the wrong thing.  It is not just that when two or more are gathered.  It is not just the gathering.  It is the submission of self in the name of, to the person of, Jesus – only then can the will of God can be discerned.

And we must be willing to accept that will and that direction, even when we do not understand it.  Even when we do not think it makes sense.  Even when it seems entirely counterintuitive.  No matter what the revelation we receive over the course of our lifetimes, He is always right, we are often wrong.  Better to rely upon the authority of Jesus to run His church, and your life.  Better to trust the infallibility of Jesus who has never been wrong, than the record of your decisions which are scattered with wrong choices.  Better to look for the revelation of the will of God which comes when we are in submission to Jesus, than find ourselves uttering the revelations of Satan that are so much more pleasing to ourselves, and aligned with our desires and goals.  And the Truth has so much more to say …

 

 

Mis-Spent Power ...

We surround our ideas with the vacuum of space itself.  We insolate our opinions with a thick bubble of like-minded friends & followers and create distance between ourselves and those who may disagree.  There is no room for “different” to seep through.  In politics we think ourselves open-minded, but others see us a part of the fringe whether left or right.  Once viewed long enough this way, our gestures are anomalies that convince no one that we are as we view ourselves.  In our families, we are that “crazy uncle, or aunt” that everyone talks about but no one sees in the mirror.  No matter who we are, there is always a family member crazier than me.  And in church we have become the Pharisee or Sadducee we ridicule when we read their stories in the Bible.  We ask ourselves how they could have been so stupid, so stubborn, so wrong – and not have caught it.  We ask ourselves this, close the book, and fail to see us as we really are, through a different set of lenses, through a different perspective – because different has no entry door into who we are.

Case in point.  Matthew records a story of de-ja-vu.  It was only a few chapters ago in chapter twelve where the Pharisees and Sadducees (and us) came looking for Jesus to provide a sign to validate “who” He was and is.  The response offered was only the sign of Jonah.  The rebuke was that only an evil and adulterous generation goes looking for signs.  Ouch.  This was not a rebuke directed at the atheists or pagans of His day (though the logic still holds).  This was a rebuke directed at the church leadership of His day.  They, like us, had insolated their own opinions so well, that no sign of Jesus would have ever penetrated it to the point of a change of beliefs.  Now before you recoil at the idea of “us” being that stubborn, consider for a moment the denominational boundaries we embrace, and the wall it creates between ourselves and our fellow followers of Jesus Christ.  Name tags do more than differentiate us.  They create a “we are right” / “you are wrong” set of ideas where it comes to interpreting the Bible.  We all have the same set of facts, and same scriptural writings, but widely different views of what it means.

It is no different in life.  MSNBC, CNN, and Fox all report the same stories, but from widely different vantage points because they fundamentally hold widely different opinions about them.  An apple may be an apple, but it can be red or green, it can be small or large, it can be rotten full or worms and unfit to eat, or it can be a gorgeous work of perfection fit for baking in a pie like mom makes.  All of this, still looking at an apple, just from different viewpoints.  In church, we have decided exactly what the apple looks like.  Others of like mind join our spiritual social circle, and voila, a Christian church is born.  But Christian churches are not defined by their beliefs as much as they are by their differences of beliefs with other Christian churches.  Think about that.  Where we could have the Love of Christ so defining our lives, our actions, our responses, and our relationships that ALL our other beliefs are hardly even known – the opposite is true.  Our beliefs are known, our love isn’t.

Adventists are defined by their belief in keeping the Saturday Sabbath, the state of the dead, prophecy, and a trend towards vegetarianism if not an avoidance of unclean meats.  Mormons, who do believe strongly in our savior Jesus Christ, are defined by a history of multiple partner marriages, an entire world of beliefs about Jesus in the USA, and a widely different picture of the end of all things in heaven.  Catholics are defined by their Pope, by a history of persecution, by rituals of confession and communion and a preponderance of tradition still embracing Latin in traditional churches.  Baptists are defined by immersion of baptism, by traditions of hell and brim fire sermons, by forgiveness but in equal measures of condemnation for those who refuse to repent.  Here are four simple examples of large bodies of believers of Jesus Christ.  And instead of being known for the overpowering Love of Jesus Christ, in how we live, how we act, how we hold our familial relationships – we are known instead for the differences of our doctrines.  Would it not be better for others to see no distinguishable differences between us, because of the transformative power of Jesus in our lives, making us who He intended us to be, rather than clinging to the ideas we think important.

Instead what we do share, is a look towards heaven in our prayers, for God to take action, to solve problems … for ourselves and our families and those we love.  There is nothing wrong with praying for mom with the passionate love of her child.  It is simply where it comes to our enemies, or to those we hardly know, that passion nearly completely disappears.  We are lucky to “remember” to mention the prayer requests we hear in church, or are asked for on Facebook, or are asked for by friends at work.  We repeat the words, we might even muster a bit of concern, but then it’s done.  If it were us, or mom, or our child, our repetition would be often, and our passion high.  But for others, we are no stranger to “casual” in how we ask what we ask.  It is hard to manufacture feelings that simply are not there.  So in our private talks with God, we ask for a sign, for Him to validate “who” He is, by pouring out what we want in the lives of us and our families.  And if He has time left over, or blessing left over, perhaps He could answer some of these other requests we hear about as well.

The evil, and the adulterous, of our generation, are to be found in our mirrors – and this is not from a lack of belief in God (though some struggle).  It is not just from the sexual sins we wrestle with.  It is not just from our greed.  But it is instead a focus of our God’s attention forever on me first, then those I love, then those I can remember to ask for, then perhaps in a brief mention – my enemies.  We would mis-spend the power of our God, by reinforcing our own selfishness.  Something Jesus carefully avoided in the 40 days of temptation in the wilderness.  He would not spend His power on Himself.  He would not offer a sign to “prove” who He was.  He is God.  He does not need to prove it to anyone.  Pay better attention, and you will know exactly who He is.  For His love for you is hard to miss.  Back to the Case in Point from Matthew.

Matthew opens chapter sixteen of his gospel to the Hebrews in verse 1 saying … “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.”  When you see the word Pharisee or Sadducee, put your own name there.  Don’t read scripture as a history lesson, read it as an object lesson, not meant for your crazy uncle, or “other” people you know, but for you and only you.  Notice the word “tempting” Him.  This was not an earnest prayer spent on the behalf of someone else.  It was a temptation from Satan’s mouth, directed right out of the mouth of the church leadership of His day.  These were the folks who studied scripture night and day, who debated it, formed theories about it, and knew it better than anyone else.  They believed the Messiah would come to establish His Kingdom to reign forever and ever – the right belief, simply the wrong timing, the wrong visit.  Before that could happen, we would all need the blood of Lamb, to take away the sins of the world.  They knew those scriptures as well, and never believed for a minute they were becoming the vehicle of their fulfillment.

The best educated minds, the most devout, the church leaders bent of making sure Israel never broke the law again – got it wrong.  Because they insolated their opinions with so much ego, nothing new, nothing different, even the entirety of the Life of Christ, and the miracles He performed could not make a dent.  Jesus responds to this temptation picking up in verse 2 saying … “He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. [verse 3] And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? [verse 4] A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.”

De-ja-vu.  The same request from church leadership, gets the same response and rebuke.  Jesus does actually take the time to point out that their ability to look into the sky and generally predict or assess the weather is based on what they have seen in the past.  Jesus has already performed so many miracles – not the least of which is freeing the human character from its desire to sin.  And yet they disregard all of these signs of the times, in favor of something else, something bigger, something meant just for me and only me.  But it will not come.  Not for the Pharisees of old, or for me.  Asking God to mis-spend His power on me, would only reinforce the selfishness I already struggle with – selfishness He is trying to free me from.  He already loves me.  He is already meeting my needs.  Now a prayer with passion for the salvation of my enemies, for God to help me find a way to witness through the persecution and injustice they are happy to inflict, for a way to reach them – that is one God is happier to answer.  It helps my enemy most of all, and me incidentally in the process, teaching me where my love should be poured out - on the greatest need.

But the lesson was not over yet.  Matthew continues the story picking in verse 5 saying … “And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. [verse 6] Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”  Take heed.  Beware.  Be aware.  These are not the admonitions of something casual.  They are weather warnings to avoid the storm on the horizon.  It was not only Pharisees who in history thought it wise to “add” to the law, or introduce the traditions of men as being equal to the law.  Many a church leader has done that since and does it still.  The history of the Catholic church it littered with examples, and a belief that even changing laws is permitted by a power they alone have been granted – though no evidence in scripture exists for this.  Even in the days of Matthew writing this gospel, power struggles within the new Christian church were beginning to emerge.  Churches already taking pride in who founded them, or what human messenger they followed.  Already the leadership of the Roman church believing they had a natural right to exert leadership on a broader scale.  And where there is a struggle for power, there is introduced the same leaven the Pharisees introduced.

But the disciples took this literally as Matthew records picking up in verse 7 saying … “And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. [verse 8] Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? [verse 9] Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? [verse 10] Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? [verse 11] How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? [verse 12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

Jesus reminds His own disciples that they just misinterpreted what He said.  They, His disciples, got it wrong.  These were not perfect men, and though they may be on a journey towards perfection, they had not arrived.  They still believed some wrong things.  Wrong like the same beliefs the Pharisees held that the Messiah would free Israel from Roman oppression.  And now wrong, that the leaven of the Pharisees somehow had anything to do with forgetting to bring bread to feed them all.  The facts you have on hand today are not always the reference point to be used in interpreting scripture.  A good deal of prophecy has been misinterpreted this way.  Sometimes there is something more in the message.  Sometimes what is meant has a more profound meaning.  The disciples finally got it that the leaven of the Pharisees was the doctrine of the Pharisees.  Church leadership got it wrong, making church leadership quite dangerous.

But here is where the vacuum of space we put around our ideas rears its ugly head once more.  The disciples never seemed to question themselves about “which” doctrines the Pharisees got wrong.  Nor did they follow up with Jesus about that topic.  They all still believed that Jesus would throw off the yoke of Roman oppression.  They believed it so strongly they were already making plans about who would do what in the next Jesus Administration.  They “wanted” to believe that.  They did not want to let that belief go, even if it was wrong.  That belief gave them hope.  But it was mis-directed hope. 

It would have been mis-spent power.  Jesus came to conquer evil, all of evil, all of sin – that victory was far more important.  For without that, I would be doomed to be who I am.  With the victory of Jesus, He is able to re-create me into who He wants me to be, freeing me from my slavery to self-love, and self-obsession.  As I surrender to His victory, I can be remade through the power of that transformative love.  And this transformation was not just reserved for me, it was intended specifically for you.  It will be a unique transformation for us both, because we are unique.  But our Jesus is the same, His love is the same, and the results of His recreation will be as He intends it to be, for each of us, and for both of us.  Why ever trade that for a simple victory over Romans in a particular time in earth’s history.

But the opinions of the disciples were insolated by a group of like-minded friends & followers (just as thick as social media offers today) and were so protected that their worlds would have to shatter to let the “new” in, the “different” in.  It would destroy what they all believed in this moment, to accept the Truth of what Jesus had to offer.  Church leadership can get it wrong.  Even when that is the Church leadership of old, or the person standing in the mirror.  How will we begin to allow the Truth to mold, reverse, and change our thinking?  Will it take a shattering of our world to accomplish this?  Are there beliefs we hold to so tightly because we do not want to let them go in favor of the Truth?  Are we so firm in our doctrines, that not even Love can break through?  It sure looks that way from an outside perspective sometimes.  To an outsider, we sure look a lot like that crazy uncle – not because we love like a banshee – but because of our crazy ideas are based in doctrines we refuse to even begin to consider could be wrong.  How sad our doctrines still out-shadow our Love instead of enhancing them.

 

Three Day Church ...

OK let’s run a little mental imagination test.  I want you to imagine one of the better experiences you may have ever had going to a church (any church) in your past.  For this test, it does not matter how old you were, why you were going, or what you did there – only that you remember the experience more fondly than harshly.  For most of us, church is a window of 2-3 hours, when that general time frame is over – so is church.  Now there may be a few old-timers like me, that remember an event we used to camp-meeting.  Camp-meeting was a kind of church that was generally held for a week, usually at a site where the outdoors was in close proximity.  Believers would bring the trailers, RV’s, or arrange lodging in nearby camp sites with tents provided in abundance for just this kind of occasion.  Camp-meeting however, was far from regular church.  There were a number of different speakers, themes, and activities.  The farther back you go in time, the more activities would leverage the outdoor aspect of the get together.  The more recent you go in time, the practice has nearly disappeared, in favor of internet broadcasts, and limited socialization.  But whether you fall into the 2-3 hour category (most of us do), or even if you can remember back to outdoor events like camp-meetings that lasted a week.  Nobody, and I mean Nobody, attempted a 72 hour back-to-back single solitary three-day church with the same speaker, no real music, and zero planning.  That is, nobody but Jesus.

This would be heresy in our time.  Imagine if you walked into your regular church you attend, and were told you were going to stay there for three days straight.  Oh, and first thing, we are going to get you into a bus and drive to the closest desert mountain we can find, climb to the top of it, and then is when the three-day clock starts.  Same clothes.  No showers.  No bathrooms close by unless you can find a semi-private place to squat.  But hey, don’t worry yet about the bathroom situation, you won’t be eating, and likely not drinking much (unless it is your regular practice to carry food and water with you when you go to church).  This experience is quickly dropping from possibly entertaining, to borderline kidnapping and torture at this point.  With desert climate, little clothing that makes sense in outdoor desert air.  And no one prepared for any of this.  It has all the makings of a disaster worthy of coverage by CNN to criticize whoever would dare to suggest this ever occur.  Someone would need to teach a lesson about this so we never do something so stupid again.

But now let’s sweeten the deal.  Imagine if the speaker you were going to hear and see was Jesus … the Jesus.  Does it matter what band He brought with Him to this anymore?  Or the lack of one?  If music is really your thing, couldn’t you just bring a guitar (ancient harp) or just sing acapella if needs be?  Imagine the thought of getting to hear and see Jesus preach.  Is Jesus worth three days of your time?  Could you take time out of work for this?  Call in sick?  Move whatever you have in your schedule that might conflict with it so you could do it.  It might be a one time only event after all.  You never know where He might go next, He may not be back in your region for quite a while.  Is there anything else in your life that could possibly be more important that this?  If so … you may have bigger problems than three days in a desert mountaintop.

Now let’s sweeten the deal again, and this time, big time.  When you get there, Jesus is going to heal you.  Jesus will heal you completely of everything you may have wrong.  Potential cancer – gone.  Heart problems – gone.  Missing an arm or leg – take off the prosthetic, and get ready for a brand new created one from Jesus that works like you were born with it, cause it will be yours after all.  If you have bad vision, toss the glasses.  If you cannot hear or speak, get ready to hear and shout for joy.  The miracles of healing will be given to every single attendee from grandpa to baby junior.  If sermons are not your thing, then would 100% pure health do it for you?  If clearing up every mystery you have never been able to understand about scripture does not grab you, would a renewed energy level and tossing the allergies do it?

Is three-day-impromptu church sounding like a dream come true about now?  It should.  And it did, for about four thousand men (plus their wives, children, parents, and servants if they had any).  Matthew tells the story in his gospel to the Hebrews.  This event was similar to one that happened before, but more intense.  This was Lola-palooza, Woodstock, campmeeting, and church with a target squarely painted on The Truth for a highly limited engagement.   Matthew picks up in chapter fifteen of his gospel to the Hebrews starting in verse 29 saying … “And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.”  This was NOT the temple in Jerusalem.  This was not even a local synagogue in the area.  This was on the top of a mountainside where Jesus often went to pray.  There was no comfortable seating nearby.  There were rocks.  This was outdoors, where it is hot, no air-conditioning even conceived of in these days – you were going sweat.  If you thought about it for a few minutes before dashing out the door before this opportunity passed you by, you might have thought to take food, but that is a maybe.

Matthew continues in verse 30 saying … “And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: [verse 31] Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.”  Ahh, what the people did remember, were their family members in need.  And need was plentiful in Israel.  Romans were forever creating need.  The lame and maimed were probably a hefty percentage of that crowd.  Roman swords are unforgiving.  The blind were not all genetically predisposed, a good many lost eyes on the end of Roman fire brands and heated steal.  A good many lost tongues as part of Roman torture.  There was a reason why the people so desperately wanted a Messiah who would throw off the yoke of Roman rule.

But the people waited patiently to be healed and healed they were … every single one of them.  And the passion began to take hold, as this impromptu crowd began to shout and praise the God of Israel.  Not since … well not since ever, had these kinds of miracles been seen in Israel, for that matter, not seen anywhere on planet earth.  A crowd healed in their entirety.  And they sat.  And they listened to the words of love as The Truth, spoke them.  They were listening to the God of the Universe speak to them, telling them of His love for them all through the stories of the Old Testament they were vaguely familiar with.  This was not a crowd of the Pharisees and the upper educated echelon.  These were common folk.  These were wounded folk.  Likely more than few bound by demons, until then.  Likely more than a few carrying leprosy, until then.  And what they must have heard on the hillside.  Oh, that we could have gotten the transcript of that.  What a loss for us.  And this went on for three days straight.

Nobody left.  Nobody even contemplated it.  Its possible the crowd continued to grow over the three days, but not a soul left it.  Would you?  Completely regenerated by the God of the Universe, and then able to listen to The Truth He speaks – could you ever pull yourself away from that in order to resume the mundane structure of your life?  They couldn’t either.  Matthew finally reveals the span of time almost casually picking up in verse 32 saying … “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.”  After 3 days, Jesus is ready to send this eager crowd home, even if they are not.  But like Jesus, He perceives their needs, again even if they do not.  And like Jesus, He is ahead of meeting their needs.  Jesus knows the human body can only take so much fasting, especially if this included not only food but water.  Regardless, Jesus plans to make sure everyone gets a solid meal before they leave.

Matthew continues in verse 33 saying … “And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?”  Arrgg.  It is like the disciples channel nearly every church board meeting in the last hundred years, in every church denomination that exists today.  We only have “this” much money, how could we possibly expand our ministries to meet the needs of so many people.  There will always be poor.  We need to take care of our own first, before we can look to meet so great a need.  The disciples, when they did plan, or carry provisions, carried only enough to feed themselves and Jesus.  They could have never anticipated needing to feed 4000 men plus all the other entourage that came.  And they are in the desert.  Not like you could just go glean local farmers fields and pick up more food.  From the disciples point of view, this was an unreasonable demand Jesus was making.  Unreasonable – despite everything they had seen and bore witness to.  Unreasonable – despite having encountered this exact situation before and witnessing the power of God to provide to those who step out in faith and realize God has no limitations.

I’m sure inwardly Jesus was trying to figure out how better He could say it, so they finally understand it.  How does God teach ones who seem so reluctant to learn? (them and us) Matthew continues in verse 34 saying … “And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. [verse 35] And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. [verse 36] And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. [verse 37] And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. [verse 38] And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. [verse 39] And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.”  Much to digest here (pardon the pun).

First, Jesus takes whatever is offered.  He does not complain about it, or how little it is.  He can use anything, for any purpose, and still accomplish what He wants to do with it.  Even when we cannot see how.  Second, He takes action, commanding the multitude to sit down.  He blesses His food.  And then instead of handing to the people directly, He instructs His disciples to serve.  Even after ALL the lack of faith they have shown, He STILL includes His disciples in the miracle of ministry.  Third, this hands-on involvement accomplishes more than one thing.  It burns the imagery into the minds of the disciples that it is real.  Jesus can do anything.  And it teaches them what the place of the leaders of ministry are supposed to do.  They did not lead.  They followed.  They did not command, Jesus did that.  They took what Jesus offered as gifts, and gave that to the people.  Leaders are servants most of all.

At the end of this, everyone eats, and 7 baskets of fish are gathered to send out to the poor.  He sends away the crowd after this glorious meal.  And he takes a ship to the far coasts of Magdala.  In this section of the story Jesus has moved from the far northern coasts of Tyre and Sidon back down to Galilee and now across the sea to Magdala.  None of this travel happens in an instant.  It is likely uncomfortable.  But Jesus moves wherever his Father sends Him.  Jesus is not driving per se, His Father is.  And someone needs Him where He is going.  Mind you, we do not read about Jesus resting anywhere in these texts, and we know He loves to climb the mountains at night to pray.  Three-day church did not slow Jesus down one iota.  Even the thought cripples us.  But someday, we will have more than three days to sit at the feet of Truth.  Someday we will have forever, that will be a “church” experience that bests our current memories by quite a long ways.