10/10/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5.17)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Whatever we do we must live by the imperative of Christ, “Go and do likewise.” It is in the Great Commission remembered by Matthew that we are confronted with this imperative. Jesus said to those gathered on Mount Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration, “All authority on earth as it is in Heaven has been given to Me. Now, Go!” In Luke, at the time of commissioning of seventy-two followers of Christ (not including the twelve) to move out in thirty-six directions to thirty-six towns and communities to prepare for the literal “coming of the Lord,” Jesus said, “Now, GO!” Was there reticence among the believers to do what they knew was right and good? Were they afraid of success or failure or persecution or a combination of all three? What was on their heart and mind may well be the very same thing that is on yours, mighty one of God! Be honest with yourself. I do not have to urge you to be honest with God as He already knows what is on your heart or mind. I do not ask you to confess to one another as a spouse, friend or colleague. None of that matters or it matters beyond reason if you are not honest with yourself. What is keeping you, me and us from abiding by the Jesus imperative: “Now, GO!”?

Here in the heart of the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is revealing this imperative as the accountability statement of the life of righteousness. As we reflected yesterday on verse 17 of chapter 5 (see the verse above), Jesus’ life and ministry was not a sign of the end of the world as they or we now know it. The evidence of that was and is His mission empowered, enacted and fully indicated by “fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.” This is a challenge of encouragement which Jesus issued to all those who were gathering on the hillside to receive from Jesus whatever it was He was willing to give them. They each brought a laundry list of “needs and wants” with a hope that Jesus would respond in kindness and generousity. From the closest of family and friends to the even closer enemies and doubters, the people gathered to Jesus and each with their own agenda. We are no different, right? Do we go to our houses of worship, or refuse to go to a house of worship, with a blank slate. Have we erased all thought of ourselves like the man who cleaned out his house thoroughly so that there was no “bait” for an evil spirit to keep residence there? If so, are we as willing to allow God to scribe on that tablet His working order and His walking orders as is designed for our lives? No, we draw near to or push back from God because of what we know about ourselves and what we believe is needed to make sense of our lives and our context in which we live both near and far. Far too many have this false thought that “if Jesus will just be the One, then I don’t have to worry about one thing.” It is true, we don’t have to worry. Jesus will offer, “Don’t worry about tomorrow as tomorrow has enough trouble on its own.” We aren’t supposed to borrow trouble nor are we supposed to add trouble. We are supposed to deal faithfully and abide purposefully each day.

And what is it that we are supposed to do? GO! There is such simplicity in what Jesus asks us to do. He doesn’t make it difficult; we do. We heap worries, doubts, fears, anxieties, assumptions and death into the mix. Look at the recipe book and see if you can find those ingredients for pursuing righteousness and fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. As I have said before already, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” All our adding to the list just complicates the matter of the simple gospel. The simple gospel is what defined the ministry of Jesus. It is summed up in one Aramaic word, Shema. We have reflected on it many times and know it stands for the greatest commandments. Those commandments are: Love God and love one another. This is the framework of Jesus’ entire life and ministry. His passion was to love God and love one another. Nothing Jesus ever did was beyond the boundary of this paradigm. Why should it be any different for us? How many of you believe that it would be the end of your world if you pursued all righteousness by fulfilling the Law and the Prophets according to the paradigm of the Shema? But, Jesus never said it would be. We would do well not to put words into His mouth. Doing so is like offering lukewarm water to Jesus or living a lukewarm life and call it faithfulness. The result is a spewing out of Jesus mouth. There are no words to describe it. He just spews.

And where are we supposed to GO! The imperative is a simple directive which means moving with purpose and design. To Matthew’s account it was “Go, therefore, into all the world and preach the good news, baptize believers and bring glory to God.” To Luke’s account it was “Go without reserve or reservation and heal the sick while asking for nothing in return. Simple respond, The kingdom is near.” Back to Matthew’s recollection of the Sermon on the Mount is was “Go, fulfill the Law and the Prophets without condemnation or objection.” Pretty tall order and pretty simple to accomplish: “GO!”; “DO IT!”; GO, DO IT, NOW!”

PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.