Matthew 5:38-48 I told you some time ago that love is the strongest thing known to man. This only makes sense when you remember that we were wrought in love and formed from the substance of God’s love. How could we not be made for love? However, I find that there are a lot of counterfeits out there to the agape kind of love to which God is calling us (and He’s calling us to Himself, who is love). It... Read more
Matthew 5:27-37 In the previous passage in the Sermon on the Mount we talked about how Jesus’ teaching is an intensification of the Law: to not get angry is much more difficult than to not murder. Likewise, today, to not lust is much, much more difficult than to not commit adultery. It’s not so much that Jesus is trying to make the Law harder: He’s simply explaining what the Law meant all along. Sometimes we have a tendency to think... Read more
Matthew 5:17-26 The Sermon on the Mount, as I alluded to in my commentary on Matthew 5:1-16, is Jesus’ perfect exposition of the Law. He who gave the Law and perfectly kept it is also its most perfect interpreter. After establishing that God’s Law will not pass away, Jesus begins to apply it in a most perfect and, therefore, most exacting way. We would do well not to explain away or diminish the radical, revolutionary, and perfect nature of what... Read more
Matthew 5:1-16 The Sermon on the Mount in general and the Beatitudes in particular are as dense as a black hole! It’s a little intimidating trying to say something meaningful about the Beatitudes in such a small space, but here goes. The first thing that strikes me is the very name Beatitudes. This name, of course, isn’t found in the original manuscripts but comes from the Latin word “beatus” for “blessing” or “blessed.” As opposed to the rest of... Read more
Matthew 4:12-25 “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” I want to try one of my favorite tricks when reading the Bible. It’s a technique I pioneered when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade. Ever... Read more
Matthew 4:1-11 Baptism-Fasting-Feasting. This is the pattern of the life of Christ in Matthew 4, and it is the pattern of our lives as well. You can even see this pattern in the Church Year that the church has created and preserved. Advent and Christmas are kinds of baptisms or new beginnings: Advent is the initiation of the church year in which we prepare for Christ, and Christmas is the initiation of the life of Christ, whose life we join... Read more
Matthew 3 “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” There, that’s what you came to hear me say, wasn’t it. It’s what I’m most famous for. Some called me Elijah. But they were wrong. Others called me The Prophet. They, too, were wrong. Some actually thought I was the Messiah, if you can believe that–me, John. You may call me the John the Baptist as most do, or John, son of Zacharias, or just John. You may have... Read more
Matthew 2:13-23 I am amazed and humbled again at the obedience of Joseph. Now it’s true that Joseph was especially privileged to have heard angels speak to him in dreams, upon several occasions. Yet he still had to obey. And if it’s true that Mary was perpetually virgin, which has implications for Joseph’s sex life, then Joseph is nothing short of heroic! Joseph, not yet understanding that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, wanted to do the right thing... Read more
Matthew 2:1-12 I want to talk this morning about zombies. . . . Yes, zombies – you know, the living dead that you see in horror movies. I don’t watch a lot of movies compared to a lot of people, but in my time I’ve watched a number of strange movies. One of them was The Night of the Living Dead, which is basically about an attack by zombies. (For the connoisseur, check out Dawn of the Dead, part of... Read more
Matthew 1 “Hello, I’m your host, Guy Smiley. And now it’s time to play Fun with Genealogies, that wacky Bible trivia game in which our contestants try to see who can come up with the most creative way to stay awake while reading biblical genealogies. Last week we had a woman who stapled her eyelids open and a man who installed an IV drip of Starbucks into his body. Our contestant this week is Father Charles Erlandson who has a... Read more
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