All posts by AttilaDimedici

Bible Study

Matthew 4 sermon for February 4, 2024 — Jesus Plans His Strategy

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I have been asked to give the message during the worship services at Zion Mennonite in Birdsboro, Pa on February 4th as part of a series the pastor is doing on Matthew.  I will be using  Matthew 4 as my sermon text.  I decided to compose my thoughts here and publish them for those who read my blog.

Today’s passage picks up immediately after Jesus had Himself baptized by John.  This is important context because it tells us that Jesus was preparing Himself for His ministry.  Like many men, Jesus hoped to transform the world.  Unlike most, He was going to do so beyond what anyone else could imagine (and well beyond what anyone else had done before, or has done since).

I need to make a slight aside here. I believe that Jesus was fully God, but I also believe that He was fully human. And, as a human, His brain was limited. As a result, Jesus did not possess full omniscience, full knowledge of everything, while He went about His earthly ministry, because the human brain is finite and just cannot contain all of that knowledge.

So, once He was baptized Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and commune with His Spirit, the Spirit of God, about how He should execute His ministry. Or, perhaps I should say that His Spirit led Him into the wilderness to commune with Him.  Into this situation comes the devil to test and tempt Jesus (the Greek word which is most commonly translated as “tempt” can also mean “test”.  And I think both meanings apply here.).  Jesus faced three tests, three temptations, about a way to a “shortcut” to His ministry.  They represent three pitfalls that every spiritual leader can fall into.  And they represent three pitfalls that those seeking a spiritual leader to follow can fall for.

So, the first one:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

With the hunger which Jesus was experiencing after fasting for forty days and forty nights, the devil saw an opportunity to offer Him a shortcut which would derail His ministry

Which brings me to one of those rabbit holes I warned you I tend to go down the last time I gave the morning message. “40 days and 40 nights” represents throughout Scripture a period of preparation. When the flood happened, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. When Moses went up on Mt. Sinai, he was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (this actually happened twice: once before Aaron made the golden calf and then again afterwards). After his contest with the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled into the wilderness having given up. God provided him with food and he traveled an additional 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb, where God restored his faith. Then there are all of the periods of 40 years. There is actually a separate message right there.

The devil suggested to Jesus that He could satisfy His hunger by turning stones into bread.  And if He could satisfy His hunger that way, He could satisfy that of the poor the same way.  We don’t really understand the power represented by this, because hunger is not a daily reality for most of us.  We fail to understand the degree to which for most of human history most people went through periods of time where they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from, or even when it might come.  The temptation here was for Jesus to build a following by regularly meeting the physical needs of people.  They wouldn’t really listen to what He said, but they would fight in support of whatever it was they thought He had said.

There is another side to this as well.  We are tempted to follow those who promise us that following them and doing as they instruct us is the way in which all of our physical needs (and perhaps even our physical wants).  Jesus’ answer to the tempter tells us why that doesn’t get us where He wants us to go:  ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Jesus rejected  the “prosperity gospel” and the “social justice” answer here.  I don’t like using “social justice” here because it oversimplifies what many of those who espouse it believe they are working for, but I needed something which encapsulates the fact that there are those on both the left and the right who think that the answer is just meeting people’s physical needs.  We need to listen to what God is speaking to us and act upon it.

Which brings me to the second test:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Here, Jesus faces the temptation of a “celebrity” ministry.  Go to Jerusalem and put on a big show.  Everyone will follow you because they want to be close to the celebrity.  Harness the power of the opinion leaders to get everyone on your side.  If Jesus had put on this show, He would have had the priests and the religious leaders on His side, promoting His ministry (after that big miraculous show, they would have had to back Him, or lose their position).  The problem is, those leaders would not have followed Him because they understood how what they had been doing was wrong.  They would have just transferred those same one size fits all rules to supporting Him.  This is the test I have the hardest time summarizing.  It’s the bigger is better philosophy.  Getting caught up in the glitz and glamour and thinking that because it makes us feel good it means we are worshiping God.  Ultimately, it is expecting God to do the hard work and we can just go along for the ride.

I wish I could explain it better, but let’s move on to the third test:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

This represents the temptation to take the political route to fixing the world’s problems.  If Jesus was just the Emperor, He could change things.  He could stop all of the injustices of the system.  From our perspective, the temptation is thinking that if we can just get the right person in charge, if we can just get the right laws in place, we can fix everything.  Jesus sees the problem with this.  In fact, it is built right into the offer.  In order to take this path, you have to compromise with evil to gain the power to act.

All of these are shortcuts to gain a mass following to change things and bring justice to the world.  The tempter told Jesus, “Do these things and you will quickly have a following which will allow you to transform the world.”  Jesus rejected each of these.  Fortunately, Matthew shows us how Jesus chose to build His ministry in the next few verses:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.

Rather than seeking  to change the world wholesale, Jesus chose to change the world retail.  Instead of trying to change systems and institutions, Jesus sought to change individual hearts.  He chose a small group of followers and taught them how to act and how to treat others, one at a time.  He didn’t go for a one-size-fits-all method of fixing what was wrong with the world, because He knew that the problem was not the systems.  The problem that needed fixing was the desire in each of us to have mastery over our fellow man.  In order to change that, He chose to teach a few people the power of being a servant.

Daily Bible Study

February 2, 2024 Bible Study — Making Restitution to Those We Have Wronged

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 5-7.

Today’s passage tells us that we can be guilty of sin, even if we are unaware of committing the sin when it happens, and in another place that we can be guilty of sin, even if we did not intend to commit the sin.   “I didn’t know” is not an excuse for doing wrong.  A little further on this passage requires that if anyone dishonestly gains at the expense of another, they must make restitution to their victim.  As I read this, I see it is not enough to repent of our sins, we must also seek to make right the injury we have caused to others.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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February 1, 2024 Bible Study — Instructions Concerning Offerings After the Construction of the Tabernacle

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 1-4.

In the last chapter of Exodus which I covered yesterday, God instructed Moses to set up the tabernacle and then consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests.  Then it tells us that when Moses finished setting up the tabernacle that the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and that Moses could not enter it because the cloud had settled on it.  Here, the Book of Leviticus begins by telling us that the Lord called to Moses from the tent of meeting and gave him instructions for the Israelites.  One of the things which this passage brought home to me was the way in which the composer of these books (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) intersperses describing the activities of the Israelites moving through the wilderness into the various Laws which God gave them through Moses.  I do not know if this was a literary device which the writer(s) used to break up the monotony of the laws, or if the laws were given spread out like this as events occurred to the Israelites.  Certainly today’s passage seems like the latter, as it contains instructions concerning the sacrifices which they were to offer following the setting up of the tabernacle, but preceding the ordination of Aaron and his sons.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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January 31, 2024 Bible Study — The Lord’s Presence Filled the Tabernacle

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 39-40.

When work was completed on the tabernacle, Moses inspected the work to ensure that all of the pieces had been put together according to the correct specifications.  If you have ever bought something which came in multiple pieces that you had to put together at home you know the importance of knowing what the final product is supposed to look like before you begin putting it together.   Since at this point, Moses was the only person who knew what the tabernacle was supposed to look like, he was the only person who could determine if all of the parts were correct.  Once Moses had determined that the pieces were constructed correctly, God instructed him to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and place all of its furnishings within it. The passage tells us that Moses set up the tabernacle and its furnishings and as soon as he finished the glory of the Lord filled it.  The New Testament tells us that our bodies are now God’s Temple, so if we have finished preparing ourselves according to His instructions, the Lord’s Presence will fill us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 30, 2024 Bible Study — Giving With Enthusiasm

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 36-38.

In yesterday’s passage, Moses repeatedly told the people that offerings of materials for the construction of the tabernacle was to be completely voluntary.  No one was obligated to make such an offering.  Today’s passage begins with those who were actually constructing the tabernacle interrupting their work to ask Moses to get the people to stop bringing more material.  People had brought in so much that more being brought in was interfering with them getting the tabernacle built.  We should approach giving with the same enthusiasm, and with the understanding that not everyone will, or should be, inspired to give.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 29, 2024 Bible Study — God Knows Us by Name

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 33-35.

My first thought when I read this passage was to wonder if, perhaps, over the years the order of some of this got changed during copying over the years.  However, that brought me to my current thoughts on it: God is all-powerful, therefore the order which we find this in today is the order in which He desires us to read it (or, as likely, reading them in the order which would not make us think they were out of order would not reveal anything about God’s Truth which reading them in this order does not, whether or not they were originally written in that order).  There may be those who read something about our relationship with God from the order these passages are in, but changing the order to the way my brain wants to say was how it was originally written does not currently change anything in my understanding of this passage.

In any case, I will write about what this passage says to me as we have it.  So, when Moses returned to the mountain after restoring order in the camp, God told him to leave the area around Mt. Sinai and lead the people to the Promised Land.  But that He would not go with them, otherwise He might destroy them along the way.  When the Israelites heard these words and were distressed.  As a result, they began removing their ornamentation even before they heard Moses tell them that God had told them to remove their ornamentation.  Then, a little later, Moses asks God who He will send with them when they go.  God tells Moses that His Presence will go with them, and Moses replies that if God’s Presence does not go with them He should not send them out from Mt. Sinai.  Moses then asks God how people will know that He is pleased with Him, if He does not go with them? And, what will distinguish Moses and God’s people from everyone else if God is not with them?

And now I finally get to the meat of what I want to write about this passage.  For me today the heart of this passage comes when Moses says to God, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. ”  I seek, and I hope that you seek, to please God so that He will continue to teach me His ways, to teach me how I may please Him more.  However, I also seek to please God so that He will be with me wherever He may send me.  What distinguishes me from others is God’s presence with me.  If God is not with me, I am no different than anyone else.  We are only God’s people inasmuch as God is with us, and anyone can be part of God’s people by seeking to be in His Presence.  I am not better than anyone else because what makes me distinct is God’s Presence.  Therefore what distinguishes me from others is not to my credit.  Rather credit for however I am distinct from others goes to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 28, 2024 Bible Study — It Takes More Than Good Speaking Skills to Make a Leader

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 30-32.

Moses was on Mt. Sinai for a long time talking with God and receiving God’s commands for the Israelite people.  This led the people to become discontent with sitting there at the base of Mt. Sinai and start to complain about why they weren’t travelling towards the “land of milk and honey” they had been promised.  Some of the people around Aaron told him that he needed to do something to maintain control, and probably suggested that he needed to make an idol to be the god of the Israelites.  So, that is what Aaron did.  It would also explain why Aaron did not lose his position as high priest for this affair.  After Aaron made the idol for the Israelites to follow as their god, they held a festival with sacrifices and other activities to celebrate their new god.  When Moses came down from the mountain the party was still going on, and the people, or, at least some of them, refused to stop partying.  So, Moses rallied the Levites to his side in order to restore order in the camp.  They had to kill 3,000 of the people in the camp before order was restored.

All of this happened because Aaron was not a strong leader.  He was in his position because he was a good public speaker (and Moses’ brother).  While there is much more to be learned from this passage, it illustrates the danger of selecting leadership because they are great orators.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 27, 2024 Bible Study — God Desires to Dwell Among Us

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 28-29.

My first thought when reading this was that the sacred, priestly garments would serve to make the priests stand out from everyone else.  As I thought about that, I struggle with the idea of a priesthood elevated above the “common man”.  I don’t think God desires us to elevate a small group of people as above everyone else, as between the ordinary person and God.  However, when I thought about it a little more I saw a connection with what I wrote on the 24th.  Those of us who follow Christ have been called forth into a holy priesthood.  Perhaps we should seek to dress in ways which make us stand out from those around us so that any who look will know that we strive to serve God.  Of course, if we do that we will also have to make sure that none of our casual utterances or actions bring dishonor to God, the way in which some drivers with a “fish” logo on their car bring dishonor to God by the way in which they drive.  I do not know what such clothing should or would look like, but I do believe the Church would be well served if its members could be visually distinguished from others by the casual observer.

Note: I come from a tradition which used to dress in a distinct manner (and some branches of this tradition still do). I think the reasons given for abandoning that dress were specious, but I also believe that many who wore such outfits thought that doing so made them better than others, without actually exhibiting the godly behavior to which I am referring.

I had not originally planned on writing that much about priestly garments.  Instead, I was going to make the focus of what I write today be on what God says at the end of this passage.  He said that after consecrating the tabernacle and Aaron and his sons, He would dwell among the Israelites and be their God.  They would thus know that He was their God and that He had brought them out of Egypt so that He could dwell among them.  Since creation, God has sought people who would know that He was God among whom He could dwell.  It was for this same reason that He came as Christ and died on the cross; so that we would know that He was God and He could live among us.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 26, 2024 Bible Study — Following the Patterns Which God Established

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 25-27.

I have said before that I find detailed descriptions of how things were built, such as today’s description of the tabernacle and some of its furnishings, to be tedious.  As I was reading the description of how the tabernacle was to be built it struck me that perhaps the reason, or part of the reason, for this detailed description was to provide instructions for rebuilding the tabernacle.  After all, the tabernacle was primarily made out of cloth, which would eventually wear out.  The same would be true of the altar of burnt offerings, it would eventually wear out.  It is less obvious that the other things mentioned here would wear out, but a little thought reveals that they too would eventually suffer the ravages of time and need to be replaced.  So, that provides us with an explanation as to why these details were needed for the Israelites, but why do we still need them?  I do believe there are reasons we should continue to read these descriptions.  One part of that is something mentioned several times during this description.  At different points during the description, Moses was told to make sure that when these were built they were made according to the pattern or plan which he had been shown.  Which suggests that there existed an eternal version after which these are patterned.  Another reason we should read these descriptions is to learn that we should record how we worship God in our congregations so that those who come after have a model they can look at to do so themselves.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 25, 2024 Bible Study — Do Not Revile Judges or Curse the Ruler

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 22-24.

I am not quite sure exactly what all I am going to write today, my thoughts on today’s passage are not a coherent whole.  But I will start with verse 28 in chapter 22, which the translators chose to render as “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.”  In the translator notes it says that another possible translation would be “Do not revile the judges or curse the ruler of your people.”  Considering the context, I prefer this alternate translation.  I believe the command not to blaspheme God exists in enough other places that reading this as saying something else does not diminish our understanding that blasphemy violates God’s commands.  Also, I find my reading of this verse challenges my actions and words more than that chosen by the translators.  I am not tempted to blaspheme God, but I am tempted to revile the judges of my nation from time to time.  Whether I agree with their decisions, or the logic which they use to reach it, I need to work to respect them for the office God has put them into even if I do not believe they are godly people.  I need to remember that those in positions of government authority are in those positions because they are the people whom God desires to hold those positions.  God may have chosen them because of their wickedness, because those over whom they have authority have behaved wickedly, but God has chosen them and we must honor the position which He has given them.

 

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.