Seeing His Kingdom, Not Ours
Matthew 11:2-13:53
At the very beginning of this passage John the Baptist is in prison and sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah, or if they should wait for another. What prompted John to do this? The fact that Jesus didn’t fulfill his expectations of a conquering king bringing wrath and judgment on the wicked and establishing a geographical kingdom of God? Possibly. Could it also be that John had become focused on his own condition in prison and his own ministry, and thus had gotten out of tune with what Jesus was doing and how His ministry was developing? It seems that both these things are possible, even probable. How much do I – do we – do this in our own lives? God doesn’t fulfill our expectations in the way we had hoped or planned, and we get discouraged. We become so focused on our own lives that we don’t take the time to lift our heads, look around, and see what God is doing in the world – where He is on the march, and so we get out of tune with Him and think He isn’t working because we don’t see great strides being made in the areas we are focusing on. We get so absorbed in our own area of ministry or our own ideas about how to do something that we almost forget it’s God who is ultimately in charge and who has the master plan. Perhaps we, like John, need look and listen to what God is already doing around the world. Jesus did not perform some miracle or send some profound thought to John to convince him; rather, He told the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (11:4-6) What is God doing in the world? Are we a part of it? Or are we falling away on account of God’s often unconventional approach to life, ministry, and the spread of the gospel?
A few more scattered thoughts from the rest of this passage:
12:12b – “Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” As Christians we oftentimes have something of a split personality about the Sabbath. We don’t “keep the Sabbath” in the traditional Jewish sense – after all, that was part of the old Law and we have designated the first day of the week, not the last, as our day of communal worship in honor of Christ’s resurrection. But there are many sections of the church that still practice some sort of traditions on Sunday centered around “keeping the Sabbath holy” – spending more time on spiritual study or catechism, not doing normal work, spending time with family, etc. It has also become increasingly popular among some groups to incorporate Jewish Sabbath traditions into their weekly routines, to observe Sunday as a literal “day of rest” for mind and body (including, particularly in my community, not doing any studying or grading on Sundays), and to refrain from “business as usual” on this one day each week. While resting is certainly good, traditions can be helpful, and setting aside special time for communion with God and others is beneficial and necessary, what troubles me about these practices are the subtle undertones that those who don’t practice Sabbath in such ways are somehow less spiritual, less in tune with God, and not as good at time management. Having practiced some of these disciplines, I can say from experience that it definitely provided an ego boost to tell someone, “Yes, I have time to get together – I don’t do any work on Sundays.” The above words from Christ are very freeing to me in this regard – “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Christ seemed to see the Sabbath as a prime day of opportunity for ministry, and in so doing He defied many of the cultural norms surrounding Sabbath observance. I’m not sure exactly what my point is in saying these things, or if there even is one, but somehow I think it’s important to be open regarding Sabbath practices. If one person is called to “do good” in a way that we are not, we should not fault them for behaving differently, nor should we allow our ever-present pride to bubble up in self-satisfaction, congratulating us for having a more mature understanding of the Sabbath because “we rest.” In chapter 11 Christ says that He Himself will be our rest, and this is certainly not limited to one day each week!
13:33 – “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Unobtrusive, ignoble, even invisible in its beginnings, the kingdom still makes its presence known by producing incredible results in the end. As in the passage on John the Baptist, we should not be surprised or dismayed if the kingdom looks differently at first or not as impressive as we had imagined. If we patiently wait for the dough to rise, stand firm through the processes of punching down, kneading, and baking, in the end God’s handiwork as the master baker will be apparent to all.
At the very beginning of this passage John the Baptist is in prison and sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah, or if they should wait for another. What prompted John to do this? The fact that Jesus didn’t fulfill his expectations of a conquering king bringing wrath and judgment on the wicked and establishing a geographical kingdom of God? Possibly. Could it also be that John had become focused on his own condition in prison and his own ministry, and thus had gotten out of tune with what Jesus was doing and how His ministry was developing? It seems that both these things are possible, even probable. How much do I – do we – do this in our own lives? God doesn’t fulfill our expectations in the way we had hoped or planned, and we get discouraged. We become so focused on our own lives that we don’t take the time to lift our heads, look around, and see what God is doing in the world – where He is on the march, and so we get out of tune with Him and think He isn’t working because we don’t see great strides being made in the areas we are focusing on. We get so absorbed in our own area of ministry or our own ideas about how to do something that we almost forget it’s God who is ultimately in charge and who has the master plan. Perhaps we, like John, need look and listen to what God is already doing around the world. Jesus did not perform some miracle or send some profound thought to John to convince him; rather, He told the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (11:4-6) What is God doing in the world? Are we a part of it? Or are we falling away on account of God’s often unconventional approach to life, ministry, and the spread of the gospel?
A few more scattered thoughts from the rest of this passage:
12:12b – “Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” As Christians we oftentimes have something of a split personality about the Sabbath. We don’t “keep the Sabbath” in the traditional Jewish sense – after all, that was part of the old Law and we have designated the first day of the week, not the last, as our day of communal worship in honor of Christ’s resurrection. But there are many sections of the church that still practice some sort of traditions on Sunday centered around “keeping the Sabbath holy” – spending more time on spiritual study or catechism, not doing normal work, spending time with family, etc. It has also become increasingly popular among some groups to incorporate Jewish Sabbath traditions into their weekly routines, to observe Sunday as a literal “day of rest” for mind and body (including, particularly in my community, not doing any studying or grading on Sundays), and to refrain from “business as usual” on this one day each week. While resting is certainly good, traditions can be helpful, and setting aside special time for communion with God and others is beneficial and necessary, what troubles me about these practices are the subtle undertones that those who don’t practice Sabbath in such ways are somehow less spiritual, less in tune with God, and not as good at time management. Having practiced some of these disciplines, I can say from experience that it definitely provided an ego boost to tell someone, “Yes, I have time to get together – I don’t do any work on Sundays.” The above words from Christ are very freeing to me in this regard – “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Christ seemed to see the Sabbath as a prime day of opportunity for ministry, and in so doing He defied many of the cultural norms surrounding Sabbath observance. I’m not sure exactly what my point is in saying these things, or if there even is one, but somehow I think it’s important to be open regarding Sabbath practices. If one person is called to “do good” in a way that we are not, we should not fault them for behaving differently, nor should we allow our ever-present pride to bubble up in self-satisfaction, congratulating us for having a more mature understanding of the Sabbath because “we rest.” In chapter 11 Christ says that He Himself will be our rest, and this is certainly not limited to one day each week!
13:33 – “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Unobtrusive, ignoble, even invisible in its beginnings, the kingdom still makes its presence known by producing incredible results in the end. As in the passage on John the Baptist, we should not be surprised or dismayed if the kingdom looks differently at first or not as impressive as we had imagined. If we patiently wait for the dough to rise, stand firm through the processes of punching down, kneading, and baking, in the end God’s handiwork as the master baker will be apparent to all.
posted by Erin at 12:00 PM
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