Bridge Builders

Matthew 15:29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." 33 Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" 34 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." 35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.  

Why would anyone in their right mind come to Jesus? What does Jesus have to offer?

Have you ever heard those questions asked?

Evangelism is essentially a bridge we attempt to build between one who is lost and The One Who can save – Jesus, The Christ.

Many people, (perhaps even most people,) resist crossing the bridge we attempt to build to Jesus because they cannot see Him with their eyes, and because they do not perceive His ability to meet their needs.

“If only they could SEE Christ,” we might say, “evangelism would be easy.” (Easier, anyway.) Since they cannot see Him we are left with attempting to convey His ability to meet their needs.

There is another problem with evangelism. We fail to even attempt to build the bridge to Christ of which we speak.

There is a constant drumbeat to Jesus’ ministry, for this very purpose. Over and over again we see Jesus meeting people’s needs.

He is so busy meeting people’s needs for two reasons. The first is because He has compassion on the people He is serving, and His loving desire is to love the people, and to show He loves the people by His willingness to heal and to feed. These are both deeply felt human needs which supersede all else when the need is present. Hunger will drive a person, as will illness. Nothing will or can keep them away from one who can feed, and nothing will or can keep them from one who can heal.

The second reason is to over and over and over again demonstrate to His followers His ability and His willingness to meet the people’s needs. Jesus may no longer be visible to the eye, but He is still meeting every need of those who are ushered into His presence by the bridge of evangelism. When was the last time you attempted to build one?

-Pastor Bill

The Faith Required

Matthew 15:20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." 21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. 29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." 33 Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" 34 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." 35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

It is a fact Jesus came to minister to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

That being the stated case; why this venture into the region of Tyre and Sidon? (There would be no lost sheep of the nation of Israel to be found in Phoenecia, (the modern-day nation of Lebanon,) – only lost sheep.)

On a couple of occasions, Jesus pointedly set a different course than His primary stated ministry would have Him go. He ventured into Samaria, and He also ventured into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

In each case, we have it recorded for us that Jesus met with a woman, (in this case a Canaanite woman – a gentile.) Since it was not fitting for a rabbi to have any dealings with a gentile, and especially with a gentile woman, Jesus is obviously going out of His way to make a point about how His ministry is to spread after He is gone.

Certainly, the first efforts would be to the Jews, but there would also be a greater audience, soon and very soon. This new audience for the Word of God would be THE WHOLE WORLD. (Gentiles included.)

How interesting it is to see how Jesus demonstrated the capacity for faith in this gentile woman, in the presence of His disciples – who would one day be ministering in these same fields.

-Pastor Bill

The Traditions of the Elders

Matthew 15:1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5 But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"-- 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " 10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." 15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." 16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

Tradition masters. Think about it. The Pharisees were the masters of tradition in the nation of Israel. That’s a pretty heady position. (To make sure everyone keeps all the traditions of the elders.)

But wait, it isn’t really possible to keep track of everyone, and so the job is narrowed down to tracking those who have drawn some sort of attention…

First task: Make sure these, (whoever-they-are,) are keeping the “traditions of the elders,” because if they are not than those observing them may determine the traditions of the elders are worthless and have no foundation in truth or purpose.

Since so much of culture is based upon ‘tradition,’ it is easy to understand why the Pharisees saw this as such an important role. Most cultures are identified and distinguished by their ages-old traditions more than they are by skin color or language.

The Pharisees are the protectors of all that has gone before in the land, and they see Jesus as a real threat to their protection racket. The reason is because He has reason on His side. One of the biggest problems with the keeping of traditions is often they make no sense, and everyone discovers that upon anyone choosing to break with them. This was the role of Jesus’ disciples in this case.

The inference of the Pharisees was that this ceremonial washing of hands must be implemented to keep oneself clean. Jesus, knowing this was in fact untrue, chose to allow His men to break with this tradition, because you could wash your hands all day long and still be unclean. The heart of the cleanliness issue is the cleanliness of the heart.

-Pastor Bill

Flounder Founder

Matthew 14:22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." 34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

There are some things Jesus can do that we can’t do.

The question is: Why / when would we try to do things only Jesus can do?

Here we see Jesus separated from His disciples by His own choice. Immediately following the ‘feeding of the five thousand,’ Jesus put the guys into a boat, and He headed to a lonely hilltop to spend some time in prayer.

Why did Jesus send the guys away on their own, immediately after allowing them to directly participate in the one miracle so great it is written about in all four of the gospels? Wouldn’t this have been a great time to hang with them and celebrate and re-iterate one of the greatest public miracles of all time? (Who did what, when? Did you see how the people reacted? It was great! Wow!)

But Jesus would not allow them to receive acclaim. The people were so amazed it is only natural to expect them to heap praise upon everyone involved, up to and including desiring to make Jesus their king. But why?

Meeting physical needs was never the point of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus immediately sent the people away, and then He sent the disciples into a storm on a boat all by themselves. But He always kept His eye upon them. He knew just where they were, and what was in their hearts.

The boys may have shipped out with buoyant hearts, filled with the joy of feeding the people – but now they are weary and in fear of the storm, and apart from Jesus. It has now occurred to them they are nothing - absolutely nothing - apart from Christ. They are floundering apart from the Founder of the church, even after doing – being a part of – a great and miraculous work, and they know it.

Here comes a ghostly figure striding confidently across the water in the darkness and the storm, completely unconcerned about the environment that has the disciples floundering. This One, not those ones, is the Founder of the church. His name is Jesus.

-Pastor Bill

Meeting the Need

Matthew 14:13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." 16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17 And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18 He said, "Bring them here to Me." 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." 34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

Called out from a rest period with His disciples following hearing the news of John the Baptist’s death, (murdered by Herod,) Jesus was immediately moved to heal the sick present in the multitude who had tracked Him down in His place of rest.

We do not know the kind of physical effort required of Jesus to heal the sick, but we do have a clue: earlier, when the woman who had a flow of blood twelve years touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He said He, “perceived power going out from Me.” (Luke 8:46)

Then, His healings of the sick of the multitude produced yet another need. As they lingered through the day because of His healings and teachings, they became hungry – and they were in a remote place with no food. What would the ‘Great I AM’ do now? (Of course we know the answer.)

Later, when His disciples were alone in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of a storm in the dark of the night, another great need presented itself. Again, what would the ‘Great I AM’ do? (Again, of course we know the answer.)

What kind of God is this that we serve?

-Pastor Bill

The Cost of Defiance

Matthew 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." 3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 4 Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter." 9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." 16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17 And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18 He said, "Bring them here to Me." 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

We were informed in Matt 4:12 that John the Baptist had been arrested by Herod, and this was the reason Jesus had gone to Galilee to teach and to preach.

John, a personal hero of mine, was not one for mincing words.

Unfortunately, as we are all aware, if you stand for something, someone will oppose that stand. It becomes very obvious as a child of God the only way to avoid all controversy is to avoid taking a side.

It was never in John’s nature to avoid anything. You could lay this off as being caused by his fiery personality, but I think a more likely cause is the fire of the Holy Spirit, which has given John an undeniable passion for the truth, no matter where that truth may land him. (It lands him in jail, and it lands his head on the chopping block.)

By contrast, Jesus Christ has a passion for creating a different sort of controversy: feeding hungry people. When does feeding people become controversial? When it is employed as a tool to distinguish who His followers are, and exactly why they are following him. Do they follow Christ to be fed – or do they follow Christ for the food?

-Pastor Bill

God’s Kingdom

Matthew 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 52 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." 53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  

The essential question about “the kingdom of heaven” is: who owns it?

Ownership in every economy is established in one of two ways: by creation of an entity, or by the purchase of it.

On both counts, God establishes Himself as Owner.

If you are looking for a Creator, (AKA – YOUR Creator,) you have two choices: either you believe you emerged from nothing, and that nothing caused everything to exist, or you believe there was a cause for your creation – and that cause is God. If you believe in the only rational position, which holds God as Creator of all things, (including you,) than He is also your Owner.

We know once creation was accomplished, creation itself fell under the control of Satan. In essence, Satan stole creation away from God, and established himself as ruler of the earthly kingdom. That this has taken place is inarguable when you consider the nature of the world - which groans in torment and travail, and is filled with crime and disease, and poverty, and natural disaster. Every day people die of starvation in a world that yields itself to the ownership of Satan by theft. Satan makes people slaves to sin, and then he drags them down to hell in the midst of evil, tormented lives - into a condition of eternal torment. (All the while either blaming God for the torment Satan causes, or deceiving people into thinking God does not exist.) Either way, Satan wins.

For those who will allow it, God re-establishes ownership of His creation – this time through purchase. The cost to God to re-establish ownership, and to purchase the lives of those Satan has made slaves to sin is incredible.

Jesus here tells us exactly what God the Father was willing to pay. Everything. His most precious possession. His only Begotten Son.

Since we know the price willingly paid establishes to value of the entity in the eye of the purchaser, what does that tell us about how God values His Church?

-Pastor Bill