Wilderness Wonderings

Wilderness Wonderings

New Testament

The Covenant Kingdom Promise of Deliverance Fulfilled

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The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1

As we enter the advent season, it is reasonable to investigate what the gospel writers have to say about the events surrounding the incarnation and birth of the most important person to have ever walked the earth. Matthew, as a Jewish disciple of Jesus and known outcast as a tax collector, provides us with some keen insights into the purpose of his gospel and the nature of the who Jesus was.

The word that is rendered as “genealogy” in the first verse is the Greek word “genesis”, meaning simply “the beginning.” Just as Moses began the Pentateuch with the story of human origins, Matthew’s gospel begins with telling us the origins of a new human – a Messiah who was promised, A King who would deliver, and a Covenant He would fulfill.

The Messiah Who Was Promised

As far back as Genesis 3:15, God had promised to deliver mankind through a Messiah that would crush the head of the serpent that brought deception and death to humanity through a sacrificial offering of Himself. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring, he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heal.” This the first promise of salvation for humanity that found its fulfillment in a descendent of the woman – Jesus. The gospel of Luke meticulously traces the lineage of Jesus all the way back to Adam and Eve, illustrating the fulfillment of this prophecy recorded by Moses in the beginning. It is a prophecy that finds its final fulfillment on the cross of Calvary.

The King Who Would Deliver

As Matthew was a known tax collector, it is reasonable to extrapolate that he had an intimate knowledge of law and quite possibly the implications of inheritance law. As a result, he leveraged this knowledge as he traced Jesus’ lineage through his earthly, foster father Joseph as a descendent of King David, of the tribe of Judah. This establishes Jesus’ legal right to the throne of Israel, in spite of the occupation of the Roman Empire of the day. Again, a Kingdom prophecy spoken by Jacob over his sons finds its fulfillment here:

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.” (Genesis 49:10, 11)

The Covenant That Is Fulfilled

Matthew further traces back to his own Jewish roots to illustrate fulfillment of a covenant promise of the Messiah as the son of Abraham, the ultimate patriarch of the Jewish people. By invoking the Abrahamic covenant, Matthew reminds his readers that not only was Abraham a sojourner in a foreign land, Israel was effectively the same under Roman rule. Yet God promised a new covenant to Abraham in that He would bless him and through his descendants all people would be blessed:

“And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his[a] enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18)

It is through this Son Jesus that God has made it possible for all the nations of the earth to be blessed, not just the nation of Israel. As a result, any who places their faith in Him as the Messiah is adopted into the Abrahamic family covenant of blessing as promised by the Lord Himself. Because Abraham did not withold his only Son from the Lord, God Himself chose to not withhold His only Son, Jesus from the sacrifice of Calvary that paid the price for sins of the world.

Grace to you this Christmas advent season, my friend. Cling to the promised Messiah. Bow to the delivering King. Remember His covenant just as He remembered it 2000 years ago and continues its fulfillment to this day.

The Heart of Reproach

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Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Matthew 9:14-17
Bedouin with an old wineskin

If another of the faith does not publicly worship in the same manner that you do, does that make you holier than the other? The disciples of John (the Baptist) challenge Jesus who has on other occasions told His disciples to practice their fasting in private (Matthew 6:16-18). However, here they come boasting of their spirituality and equating themselves with the Pharisees, who we have already seen challenge Jesus with their own disagreements with His methods and teaching. When you associate with the prideful, your own pride will quickly surface and lead to your own downfall.

Using a religious practice to demonstrate your piety is shallow faith, like putting a shiny new patch on an old pair of jeans. When it comes times to wash that garment, the compatibility will quickly become apparent and lead to damage of the main garment. In the same way, using a religious act to demonstrate your faith instead of allowing a heart that is consumed with love and compassion for your neighbor be the measure of your faith produces the same damaged results.

In the same way, if you try to put freshly fermented wine in old, worn out wineskins, the wineskin will not be able to handle the weight and corrosive action of the wine against the weakened leather and lead to the entire crop of wine to be spilled and wasted, unusable – unfit for consumption.

Is your faith fit for consumption? Then preserve it in a true vessel of compassion and grace and a heart that is prepared to offer restoration and reconciliation instead of furthering division and bitterness. Is your faith restorative? Then prepare it first with immersion in the water of the Word before applying it to the visual edifice of your life. This way, your deeds do not stand out as a sore thumb and not reflective of the garment you wear before witnesses.

When you are in the presence of the Bridegroom, it is time to celebrate His grace and His love. It’s not a time for dour piety. It’s not a time for drawing attention to yourself and your religiosity. It’s a time to focus on the Savior. The time for fasting will come in due course. And when it does, do not do so like the hypocrites and draw attention to yourself.

Grace to you, my friends. Revel in the presence of the Savior. Celebrate Him for He is indeed worthy of our attention.

A Heart for Restoration

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As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:9-13
The Call of Matthew, as portrayed in The Chosen, created by Dallas Jenkins, (c) 2019

One of the recurring themes throughout the gospel of Matthew is the theme of reconciliation and restoration. Additionally, we see repeatedly how when Jesus fulfills this missionary mandate, He is met with resistance from the religious elites. And Matthew himself was no stranger to being an outcast in his own society. Tax collectors across the Roman Empire were often despised by their local communities – much the same as they are today even. However, as tax collectors were handsomely rewarded by their Roman overlords for their meticulous, and often excessive, collection of revenues, local communities would often look at tax collectors as traitors to their own people – parasitic leeches living off the fruits of the labor of others.

And this colored the perspective of the Pharisees who prejudiciously viewed tax collectors as cheats and traitors, thus classifying them as societal “sinners”. The truth of the matter we don’t know how much tax collectors cheated their charges, but the fact that they served a foreign occupier in deference to their own people was sufficient reason for their shunning.

But Jesus, as He always does, looks past the circumstances and status and offers grace and restoration, much to the consternation of the Pharisees. Jesus had already been criticized by the scribes and experts of the law for forgiving sin. Now the Pharisees, the elite priests and teachers of the law of Moses, criticize Him for relating to the outcasts.

We have seen this attitude play itself out all too often in today’s society, most especially in the intersection of faith and politics. We find ourselves divided in the camps of red and blue, each shouting down the other as out of touch, reprobates, and sometimes worse. In each camp, members are more concerned about furthering their agendas than fostering reconciliation and relationship. Each camp has different ideas of how to address the common problems we both see, but one camp sees it as a problem for the government to fix while others see it as a problem for private individuals to address. Is it possible that there is somewhere in the middle where both could be right? To hear the rhetoric from both camps, one would think there isn’t any common ground upon which we can stand. As a result, the dividing wall of separation continues to stand stronger than ever before, but I digress.

It should come as no surprise that Jesus would quote from the prophet Hosea to His critics in this circumstance. He directly quotes the first part of Hoses 6:6, but I believe He intentionally left out the second part of the same sentence and when you read it, you can easily see why:

“For I desire steadfast love [mercy] and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Hosea 6:6

To know God is to love Him; to love Him is to desire to know Him more. This is first and foremost on the heart of God the Father – a restored relationship with His children. This is why Paul referred to his ministry as a “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Our number one mission in this world is to restore relationships between mankind and God as well as between each other. The heart of the gospel is redemption and restoration.

As we enter into this festive holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I challenge you to seek opportunities to restore broken relationships. I challenge you see opportunities for redemption at the foot of the cross. I challenge you to humbly set aside your pride and prejudices and seek reconciliation in the name of the Father of grace.

Above is a video from Season 1 of The Chosen, available in your mobile device app store, showing a creative take on the call of Matthew. The attitudes I described before are prevalent in this scene, but are also setup in earlier episodes. I encourage you to download the app today and experience this unique presentation of the life of Christ and His disciples in your app store today.

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-chosen/id1473663873
Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…

A Heart for Redemption

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“And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing[a] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”

Matthew 9:1-8

When Jesus forgives, He heals hearts, but forgiveness doesn’t always bring healing naturally. Sometimes, forgiving someone of their trespasses brings judgement from those who have refuse to give up their self-interests. When we sit in judgement of others who seek forgiveness and healing, or even one who seeks to forgive and heal others, we expose our own hearts as burrowed with bitter roots of unforgiveness and hatred. The religious establishment was more concerned about the following their traditions and rules that they were willing to sacrifice relationship in favor or religiosity.

In this season of our country, there are many who are seeking to get past the bitterness and brokenness of the rhetoric that we have witnessed and are still witnessing play out in the media and in social media. Yet, there are elements on both sides of the aisle that are more concerned about being “right” instead of being reconciled. While there are some legitimate concerns on both sides – and you can see them if you look beyond your own preconceived notions of justice and look to the heart of each other – when we sit in judgement of those who wish to bring healing and reconciliation instead of taking your preferred side of the argument, we expose the condition of our individual hearts.

And such judgement is evil to the core. And Jesus sees it for what it really is. The fact of the matter is that it is easy to say “I forgive you.” It’s quite another matter to offer restoration, because restoration requires healing of brokenness. Brokenness of heart. Brokenness of vision. Brokenness of spirit. And brokenness brings pain. Pain is nothing more than a neurological signal that your brain sends out that says change is necessary. If you put your hand in the fire, you are going to get burned and it’s going to hurt. That is a signal that your body is telling you to stop and take your hand out of the fire and don’t do it again. That’s a picture of repentance.

The same image applies to how we treat one another. We experience pain and brokenness in our relationship and we change and break off the relationship. But that produces even more pain and brokenness as the relationship becomes strained and broken. It’s not enough to simply offer forgiveness. Forgiveness is merely the first and easiest step. Restoration requires healing and healing requires work and time. But a refusal to offer restoration is in fact just as sinful as the pain that broke the relationship in the first place.

Restoration and reconciliation are acts of grace. Grace is undeserved, but grace is what we all need. It’s one thing to receive grace from God Himself, but quite another to extend that same grace to our neighbor who offends us. If we consider ourselves Christ-followers, we have an obligation to view everything in the world against the backdrop of the cross of Calvary. In that act, Christ showed us the price it took for God to forgive mankind. In so doing, when we surrender our lives to Him, we also surrender our right to be unforgiving towards anyone.

And in many cases, restoration is only possible through the intervention of Jesus Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit. The paralytic’s friends brought him to Jesus for restoration. They knew they didn’t have the power to heal, but they knew who did. If you humbly come together before Jesus seeking restoration in your relationship, He is faithful and just to forgive and heal. But it requires humility on the part of all in order for all relationships to be healed.

I challenge you to seek restoration in your relationships this season. Seek and give forgiveness to one another, but don’t let it stop there. Pursue restoration and reconciliation with all your heart. And if the pain is too great, seek the intervention of the Father. Seek wise counsel from intermediary. We are in a period of Thanksgiving, soon to be followed by celebrating the advent of our Lord Jesus with Christmas. What better time to come before Him in humility together and seek restoration for ourselves and for each other.

The Curse of the Gadarenes

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And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Matthew 8:28-34
The colonnade at Gadara

When you see someone who has suffered find relief, what is your natural response? Generally, our first response is to celebrate with them. But what about when that relief comes at a great cost to yourself without your “consent”? How do you respond then? Do you give glory to God for healing or do you curse Him for the price that was required to bring that healing?

Jesus and his disciples have just crossed the Sea of Galilee after ministering to Peter’s household and his local community. In fact, the primary reason that Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee was to seek refuge from the pressing crowds (Matthew 8:18). After calming the storm and the fears of His disciples, they disembark the boat in the country of the Gadarenes, south of the River Yarmuk. Gadara was the capital of the province of Peraea, and is known today as Umm Qais in the country of Jordan, near the border of Syria. In 218 BC, the Greek historian Polybius described Gadara as the “strongest of all places in the region.” It was one of 10 cities in the region designated by the Roman governors as the Decapolis.

What is perhaps best known about Gadara is that it was the birthplace of Meleager, one of the most admired Hellenistic Greek poets of antiquity. He was most known not only for his own work, but more so for his compilation of the works of other Greek poets in his collection that comprised the “Greek Anthology.” Additionally, Gadara was known as a major trading station for pork, which was highly prized in the Roman Empire as a welfare allowance for the poor. As a result, Gadara was quite rich due to the herding and hunting of wild pigs.

At the time that Jesus was there, Gadara is known to have had no fewer than 3 performance theatres, a colonnaded market street, and a Greek temple to the mythological god, Poseidon – as evidenced by the large baths discovered during excavations. The god Poseidon was also known as “lord of the earth” or the “earth-shaker” and was historically credited as the reason for the seismic activity in the region as regaled in Greek myths. As you may recall from yesterday’s study of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, this speaks directly to the religious insights of the Gadarenes as it pertains to earthquakes in the region.

Not only did Jesus demonstrate His power over nature in the calming of the storm, He also demonstrated His authority over the “god of the earth”. Furthermore, in comes two demon-possessed men – likely adherents to the worship of Poseidon from Gadara. According to Mark’s account (which he sets in Gerasa – a few miles south of Gadara – which likely more accurately places the events somewhere in between the two cities), there were multiple demons – as many as 1000 – as evidenced by the name “Legion”.

As Jesus cast the demons into the pigs and the entire herd rushed into the Sea of Galilee and drowned, the herdsmen ran away and reported to the leaders of the city. Word got around so much so quickly that the entire city came out to meet Jesus. However, contrast the response of wonder from Jesus’ disciples with the response of the people of Gadara as they begged Him to leave the region.

They didn’t just politely ask Jesus to leave. They begged Him. Jesus was viewed as a threat to their economic way of life. He was a threat to their religious way of life. The very act of casting out the demons from these two men demonstrated that Jesus was a threat to everything they held dear.

And I ask you, what happens when Jesus upsets your apple cart? How do you respond when He challenges your way of life? How do you react when He takes from you that which holds you back from serving Him? Do you beg Him to leave you alone so that you can go back to the chains of this world? Or do you invite Him to make Himself at home within the recesses of your heart and mind? Do you offer Him your everything for the sake of His kingdom knowing that He has the power to overcome everything that binds you?

I beg you, I implore you. Open you heart to hear from Him today. Cling to Him for dear life and rest at His feet knowing that He has your best interests at heart. Let His Kingdom come in you today.

The Path Through the Pain

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And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?”

Matthew 8:23-27

Are you willing to follow your leaders into battle? Many people do so blindly every day. Soldiers follow the orders of their commanding officers, trusting that the officer has the intelligence necessary to win the battle ahead. Business teams follow their own leaders into the battle of commerce, trusting that the strategy that has been communicated to them is effective and profitable. Students follow the instruction of their teachers, trusting that the education they are receiving will serve them well in the years to come.

Jesus’ disciples followed Him, and they went blindly trusting Him. And they weren’t ignorant of the dangers that potentially lie ahead. The Sea of Galilee is known for sudden storms caused by uplifts of air from the Mediterranean to the west that come in and strike the mountains and then rise up and form storms on the other side of those peaks. Additionally, the region of Israel is also known for being at the northern end of a tectonic plate that comprises all of the Sinai Peninsula to the south. This tectonic activity is largely responsible for the formation of the Red Sea that separates Egypt from Saudi Arabia, as well as the formation of the Gulf of Suez on the west of the Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. Peter, Andrew, James, and John all knew the potential dangers of setting out on the Sea of Galilee that could strike without warning as it was their careers as fishermen that prepared them for these dangers.

Yet, when the storm arose and the ship began to be overrun by the waters, they became afraid. And this was no small storm. “There arose a great storm” is translated from the Greek phrase “ginomai megas seismos”. In essence, we are talking about a gigantic, mega-earthquake. And Jesus was sleeping through it all. As they trembled in fear, they awoke their Master, who rebuked their lack of faith in the One who has already demonstrated His power over disease and infirmity. Then He stands and rebukes the very power of nature itself. And they stared in wonder and admiration at the fact that even the unpredictable powers of nature were at His command.

The term “ginomai” is actually a theatrical term which means “to come upon the stage” or to make a sudden grand entrance. “Surprise! I’m here!” If there is anything that 2020 has taught us this year, it’s that life is unpredictable. That is an inescapable fact. War, disease, fires, hurricanes, political unrest. Who would have predicted a year ago that everything we have experienced this year would come to pass. And yet, too often I have seen disciples who have chosen to follow the Savior cower in fear as if Jesus was not present or “asleep at the wheel.” Too many of us have put our faith in our political leaders to resolve our problems instead of crying out to the only One who can command the storm. We blame “climate change” on one another instead of the natural shifting of nature over time that has occurred for thousands of years.

We must never forget that Jesus not only got into the boat, but as His disciples we got in the boat with Him, knowing full well the dangers that lie ahead in this life. Being a disciple of Christ doesn’t mean checking your brain at the door. God can still use your career and all of the knowledge you have gained in the world to serve His kingdom and provide you with a fresh perspective of His power and authority in this life. The fishermen among the disciples knew what they were supposed to do when the storm strikes, but for some reason they believed those skills no longer mattered to the kingdom. The appropriate response was not to freak out in fear, but rather to anchor deep trusting in the mission of the Master.

If you are a disciple of Jesus, I implore you – remember that He’s on the boat with you. His presence is not negated by the arrival of the storm. Sometimes, the storm is simply a test for you to use the skills and competencies that you already have to serve the Master. Instead of running in fear to Him, try trusting in what you already know to be true. Trust that Jesus has a purpose for the pain. There is a reason that He chose the path through the storm instead of going around it. That reason is build an opportunity to trust Him and believe in what He has called you to do and that is to follow Him through the storm, knowing the dangers that lie ahead, and trusting that He will calm the storm with simply a word. Live your life in wonder and admiration of the One who can see you through it all.

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