Matthew 4:24-25 ESV
Matthew 5:5 and Psalm 37:11 ESV
Today we begin a new series about parallel passages found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
I’m excited about studying the similarities and possibly the differences found in the parallel passages.
I am an avid lifelong learner…I did two years of college after high school. Then I went back to school and I did my final two years of college in my late 30’s. Much to my surprise, God called me to go to Seminary when I was 54 years old. I went back to school. A Master of Divinity degree is a very long program (144 hours) and I finished when I was 60 years old. I LOVE learning and when I write…I learn. That’s why I am excited to study the parallel passages!
And so, we begin…
In Matthew 4 Jesus began His ministry, called His first disciples, and began healing the sick. Once word spread that Jesus had the power to heal we read in Matthew 4:24-25,
“So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.”
It stands to reason that once word spread, the number of people following Jesus increased exponentially.
The same thing would happen today. Even though modern medicine has greatly improved, if people could be healed from cancer today word would spread very quickly!
Since many people were starting to follow Jesus, He needed to find a setting where he could be heard by everyone. Jesus found a fairly secluded spot on a good size hill (a mount) probably somewhere near the Sea of Galilee. It would have also been helpful to speak in a place where working people could gather away from the center of the trade markets where the wealthy merchants sold goods.
Speaking outside the busy city would have also made it so they could gather without being closely watched by the Roman Soldiers. Remember, Jesus was just starting to draw a crowd but this sermon was fairly early in His ministry. The Romans may have noticed people were following Him at this point, but the crowds probably weren’t ‘a bother’ to them.
Jesus began teaching to the crowds that day on the mount about different ways God will bless them. Jesus used words that they may have heard before in Temple worship, but When He spoke to them that day, the words (we call them The Beatitudes) were a solid promise Jesus gave to the people. The Beatitudes tell us a lot about the character and nature of God.
For example, In Matthew 5:5 we read, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Even (or maybe especially) in our world today we don’t think of the meek as being blessed.
Meek equates to weak in our world. Even having Jesus tell them over 2,000 years ago that you are blessed if you are a humble person would have raised eyebrows.
The name of the winning game in the world is power, and when Jesus turned that around and told them if they are meek and humble they will inherit the earth, it would have been a shocking statement. I can’t begin to imagine how they would have received his words. In my mind, they would have looked at each other and whispered, “did He just say what I thought he said? How can that be true?”
The point is, the meek will inherit the wonder of the earth that God created. What Jesus wanted them to see if that being meek is NOT being weak. He was telling them that by surrendering their lives to God…by being humble TO God, they will inherit everything that God has to offer. They will inherit eternal life IN God.
So, for just a moment, let yourself sit with the crowd on the mountain. In this section of scripture Jesus was offering a blessing to everyone who was present. Each person there felt like Jesus was speaking to them…only to them. Their hearts were pierced with emotion as Jesus spoke to them. When Jesus said, “bless-ed” He was individually giving them a holy blessing. The New Testament Greek word for bless-ed is ‘Makarioi’. It is an adjective meaning to be blessed or happy, and an underlying meaning that you can be envied.
It wasn’t a bad kind of envy. It’s the kind of envy that a wealthy land owner who has a lot of responsibility from owning businesses and being wealthy might have for one of his workers who is carefree and happy all the time because he possesses great peace and contentment. The happy worker doesn’t have a lot of possessions, but he has enough to feed and clothe this wife and children. This is the kind of family that works together, eats together, and plays together.
Jesus understands what it’s like to be part of a working class family. He came from a family of carpenters. Joseph and his sons worked hard to provide a living for their family. They also worked hard to provide the absolute best craftsmanship they could provide for their customers.
In 1st Century Palestine there was no such thing as advertising.
Your only means of getting and keeping a customer base was by word of mouth. That meant every piece you made and sold had to be outstanding…a real work of art. It’s the kind of work that you get real peace from because you created something beautiful.
King David also wrote about the meek. In Psalm 37:25, David wrote, “I have been young, and now am old.” This Psalm of David written in his older years is an acrostic song using the Hebrew alphabet.
He was no longer a young man…he was older and much wiser. David knew first-hand what it meant to have God’s peace. He had made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime, and he had been forgiven because he admitted his mistakes and turned to God. He learned the hard way (remember Uriah the Hittite, first husband of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 and 12?).
David learned to surrender to God.
In Psalm 37:11 he wrote, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”
The literal Hebrew says the ‘poor or humble inherit earth delight/make merry over/on abundant peace.’
Verse 11 begins with the Hebrew word that means meek/poor/humble. The meek are those who surrender to God. In order to surrender you first need to recognize that you need to surrender. This is not a surrender to another man or to the earth…it is a full out surrender to God. Recognize that God is everything, all powerful, nothing else compares kind of surrender.
David had to learn that kind of surrender… when he wrote Psalm 37:11 he wrote about what he had learned first-hand.
The truth is that young or old, we are all learning…ever learning daily how to “meek” humility when it comes to God. That’s because we are not perfect. Thankfully, God knows that and loves us all everyday.
What God really loves is when we come to Him just to sit and visit!
Spiritual Practice: Surrender
Surrender and wait for God to call your name. Write down what God tells you (what comes to your mind). Sit with God for as long as you want. Let the Spirit of God touch you.
In God, Deborah
acrazyjourney,com
Comments