Jackie Bolen
Matthew 5:1-12
February 10, 2008
KNU English Church
In the hiking world, there are two extremes with regard to backpacking styles. The one extreme is the, “Everything and the kitchen sink” type. These people carry this massive first aid kit that would rival a well-stocked emergency room. Also in their packs are: a massive tent, indestructible and ready to face the fiercest snowstorm even in the middle of summer. Extra clothes for every imaginable situation. A winter sleeping bag, extra food rations, enough to last double their anticipated time on the trail. Guidebooks, maps, a compass, they have it all.
So what attitude is representative of these people? Fear! They fear the outdoors and think they need to prepare for every possible situation when the reality of dying in a bear attack, getting bitten by a rattlesnake or getting caught in a snowstorm is far lower than getting hit by another car on your way to the trail. Their fear is mostly irrational. These people view the wilderness as something to be conquered, overcome and kept at a distance. They are tied down by all their crap: it takes them at least a couple hours to pack up in the morning, get their bag organized and ready to start walking.
The second type of backpacker, on the other extreme is the ultralighter, When I go backpacking, I carry very little: almost no first-aid, no extra food or clothes. This type of backpacker is characterized by freedom, in that the less you have, the easier the walking is. It’s a life characterized by simplicity….you just have to wake up in the morning and walk. You just get rid of all the stuff that hinders you and have the minimum necessary to survive. It’s about working with the wilderness, being flexible and adapting to the conditions as opposed to trying to conquer it and preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Backpacking really is a pretty simple thing. You just walk through the forest. You get some water from the stream. You eat your simple food. You sleep in the forest. Then you wake up and keep walking. Maybe you see some animals or a beautiful sunset or have a good conversation with a friend or stranger. Yet most people try to make it into this thing that’s so complicated, requiring all this special equipment and preparation and turn it into this thing that is not so amazing or fun anymore. When you’re carrying 30 kilograms of stuff, and walking up a mountain it becomes more torturous than anything else.
Following Jesus, like walking through the forest is also a pretty simple thing that some people make a lot more complicated than it really is. Like where do all these Church type rules come from…about drinking, smoking or having to be nice or having to wear certain things or pursuing certain types of entertainment or conforming to a certain standard of sexual purity, or tithing a certain percentage of our income or who we should spend our time with. These rules are sometimes spoken, but often not. It’s just expected that you’ll follow them if you want to be part of the community. And where do these rules come from? It’s a lot of times not from the Bible or if it is, it’s based upon poor, narrow minded and simplistic interpretations of it that don’t take into account the larger context. These rules often don’t reflect the reality in which Jesus lived his own life. Did you know his first miracle was turning water into wine at a party when the guests had probably already had enough to drink and that he hung around with prostitutes? He was considered a glutton, a drunkard and a friend of sinners by the people of the day. Did you know that he sometimes got angry, like in the temple when he freaked out and starting throwing table and benches around because his father’s house was supposed to a place of prayer and not a market place? Clearly these rules that we follow about not drinking, hanging around with certain people and always being “nice” don’t reflect very well the reality that is Jesus.
So if we claim to follow Jesus, it would perhaps be pretty helpful for us to know what Jesus was actually like, apart from all these rules that we have, which we try to uphold and by doing so, think that we’re following Jesus. By having all these rules, we just end up looking a lot like the self-righteous Pharisees who Jesus didn’t have a lot of good things to say. Or, on the other hand, if we fail to live up to these rules, we just feel guilty all the time when in reality Jesus loves us wherever we’re at. I think God’s grace is far bigger than any of can even imagine.
In reality, following Jesus is pretty simple once you throw off all these extra rules and things that distract you from what is most beautiful and true and that is being loved by Jesus and loving him and the world around you in return. When you’re climbing up a mountain with 50 or 60 pounds of crap on your back, after about 10 minutes, you won’t be having a good time anymore. Sure, maybe it’s beautiful and peaceful and quiet and you’re with good friends but hey, who really cares…all you know is that you need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and you’re just so tired.
To follow Jesus is as simple as seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes and having a life that imitates His. Let me repeat that. That leads us to the question, “What is Jesus actually like and how can we see the world through His eyes?” The text for Today, Matthew 5:1-12 can give us a pretty good idea.
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Let me give you a bit of background information. Matthew chapters 5-7 is called “The Sermon on the Mount” and it’s probably the most famous public speech that Jesus ever gave that we have recorded. I think it’s even cooler because it’s on a mountain. It kind of seems like all the big stuff in the Bible happens on mountaintops and this is no exception. The Sermon on the Mount is clearly a reference to Mt. Sinai, where God revealed His will to Moses in the Old Testament. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this law that was revealed to Moses and he comes to bring blessing instead of cursing.
The Sermon on the Mount, while closely related to the Old Testament radically differs from the current understanding of it, in the time of Jesus. The Jews looked forward to a Messiah who would rescue them. Their conception of it was that the Messiah would be this great political leader who would free them from the Romans who were ruling over them and that He would establish a new Jewish Kingdom to rule the world. But the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ life itself turns this conception upside down in that the most humbled are the most exalted. The poor, the mourning, the hungry, the merciful, the pure, the persecuted are what God’s Kingdom is all about. These are not exactly common characteristics of political rulers.
So not only does Jesus challenge the current interpretation of the Old Testament, he goes beyond it as well. The Laws of Moses in the Old Testament demanded righteousness. So did Jesus, but in addition to this, he demanded a right attitude as well. In reality, you had to BE right as well as doing right.
So let’s try to figure out what doing and being right actually means and who Jesus was and how we can look like Him.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Something that is very rarely talked about these days is humility and yet this is the very essence of Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
I look around and see a lot of pride in this world. As in, “My country is better than yours.” “My Church denomination is better than yours.” “I have white skin and you have brown which means that I’m better than you.” “I’m a man and you’re a woman which means I have more value than you.” “I’m rich and you’re poor so obviously I’m not sinful and you are.” “God bless my country at the expense of the rest of the world.” The list goes on. We have all these rules and ideas that actually get in the way of knowing God and seeing the world through His eyes because they maintain our pride when in reality, it’s the humble to which God gives His Kingdom. It’s the poor in Spirit, who imitate Jesus all the way to death on a cross that are actually following Him. It’s in suffering like Jesus that He is all the more real. It’s in turning our eyes off of ourselves and to this hurting world around us that we are following Jesus. It’s regarding others as more important than ourself. And it’s depending on Jesus to help us with all these things and being thankful for God’s grace, both in our lives and those around us.
To the humble belongs God’s Kingdom. It’s actually quite simple really. Imitate Jesus in His suffering, dying to yourself and the things of this world. Forget about all these rules that only make you feel guilty or maintain your self-righteousness.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
There are 9 words for mourning used in the New Testament and the one used in Matthew 5 is the strongest possible one. It refers to the type of mourning you would do for the death of a loved one; it’s a deep, inner agony. Martin Luther calls the entire Christian life an act of repentance, for our sin and for the state of this world.
It’s actually quite simple really. The humble with receive God’s Kingdom and those who mourn will be comforted. I look at the world around me, so many hungry, sick people in the two thirds world juxtaposed with so much greed and apathy in the first world and I wonder how anyone could not mourn? I look at the world and see so many broken relationships and hate and wonder how you could not be sad about it. And finally, I see God’s beautiful creation being destroyed by our consumption and wonder if the people who claim to be truly happy all the time are just maybe not looking closely enough. The world will one day be made new and until that day, we should mourn for the imperfection of creation.
Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Earth.
So I think that the Jews of Jesus’ day were a lot like us. We are all pretty good at spiritual pride and self-sufficiency. Like by focusing on the externals instead of living a life of simplicity seeking the things that really matter, we think that God will somehow love us more. The Jewish people 2000 years ago actually believed that when the Messiah came, he would commend them for their external acts of righteousness. Where they went wrong was forgetting about the bigger things like justice, mercy and putting others before themselves. I think they probably got a bit of a shock when they began to understand what Jesus was all about. Jesus, the weak and humble God-Man, somehow, meekly dying on a cross. Bizarre really, when you actually think about it. God, being the very antithesis of violence and vengeance, describing himself as a Shepherd, a servant of all.
Anyway, it all seems pretty simple. Humility, mourning and meekness all fit together easily it seems. It’s these people who will inherit this Earth in the age to come. Meekness, as in a willingness to follow God even to the death with a single-minded determination. Unrelated to our common idea that meekness means being nice or having a lack of conviction. This gives me hope. Some more Church type rules out the window it seems.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
I look around me and see a lot of well-fed people so I’m not sure we entirely understand what it means to be hungry and thirsty.
So one time when I was hiking, I ran out of water. It was a hot, hot June day in New York State. I usually don’t carry that much water because I plan pretty carefully where the streams are and where I can fill up. Anyway, I had no water by the time I got to this place where my guidebook and map said there’d be a stream. When I got there, it was this slimy, slow-moving, low-lying stream that I probably wouldn’t even let my dog drink out of. I consulted my book. Another stream in about 6 miles. So on I walked…getting hotter and hotter as the mid-day sun beamed down on me. My mouth got drier, my muscles got weaker, I started to feel kind of faint. I couldn’t stop thinking about water; it became an obsession. I started to get delirious and was practically sprinting down the trail…having visions of water all along the way. Finding the next stream was a happy, happy occasion.
Anyway, imagine if we actually hungered and thirsted for righteousness like our lives depended on it? This would involve becoming more and more dissatisfied with our self and our efforts to win God’s approval. It would involve freedom from dependence upon external things because nothing can really satisfy us except for God. People, addictions, money will never really fill the emptiness that we all feel inside of us, only hungering and thirsting for God will. It almost just seems easier and simpler this way. Hunger and thirst for God and His righteousness and you can stop worrying about all these other less important things that consume so much of our time and energy.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Of the Beatitudes, these previous 4 statements are considered the inward focusing ones. It’s upon having these attitudes of humility, mourning, meekness and single-minded righteousness that the next 4 outward focused statements can actually be realized.
Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.
To follow Jesus involves more than just an inward reality. While this is obviously part of it, if you’re truly following Jesus, this will have some sort of impact upon the way that you live your life. It’s more than just a feeling; it’s a desire to share with the world the mercy that God has shown to you.
And what exactly is mercy? 2 stories from the Bible come to mind. The first: a man was walking down the road when robbers came, beat him up and took everything he had. They left him for dead on the side of the road. A highly respected man, a religious leader crossed over to the other side of road because he was afraid of being made unclean. Then, another, a long-time Church-goer comes, and he also doesn’t want to get involved. He speeds up, diverts his eyes and goes along, on his way. Finally, a prostitute, the lowest member of society comes and mercifully, bandaged his wounds, brought him to a hospital, paid his entire bill and came to check on him in a few days. Who was merciful?
Or another story: there was this young, foolish boy whose father was very rich. When he was 18, he asked for his inheritance, which was almost like saying that he wished his father was dead and that he never wanted to see him again. He goes off to some distant country and squanders his wealth on prostitutes and partying. He’s destitute and resorted to life on the streets. He comes home again and his Father is standing at the end of the driveway, having stood there for years, watching and waiting for his lost son to come home, The boy was just hoping that he could at least be a servant. But his Father welcomes him with open arms and restores him to his full status as an honored son.
We have received mercy from God, so go and do the same to the world around you.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
So back when Jesus was walking around Israel, the dominant religious group were the Pharisees. They interpreted and reinterpreted the Old Testament laws in a very literal kind of way so that these rules covered almost every aspect of their lives in an extremely legalistic kind of way. Jesus’ main issue with them was that they ignored the bigger picture things like love and mercy and justice at the expense of all these little things. Basically, they thought holiness and purity of heart was found within all these rules. Maybe we’re not really so different today? I know I have to make a conscious choice to think big picture and not get caught up in all the little things. Maybe it’s kind of like when I’m hiking and there are mosquitoes and I’m thirsty and hungry and tired. My feet are sore and I stink like and look like a dirty hiker. And the trail is rocky and uphill, obviously all the way. So I walk and don’t feel happy because I’m so focused on the small things when in reality, the bigger picture is that I’m in this beautiful forest, surrounded by mountains and trees. It’s quiet and peaceful. Purity in heart is all about looking like Jesus and seeing the world through His eyes. It’s a single-minded devotion to the one who loves us.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God.
So almost everything that we see around us tells us to put ourselves first. Consumerism comes at the expense of peace and a life that is sustainable for all people on this Earth. This spills over into politics where countries greedily seek after what is best for themselves and not the world as a whole. War is the result.
In way of summary, showing mercy, being pure in heart and being a peacemaker are countercultural, subversive and have the potential to be revolutionary. Imagine, if as a group of people, we were actually serious about living this way, how strangely the world would look at us. With the result probably being persecution for we would just be too different and serve as a condemnation for the rampant consumerism that’s so prevalent around us.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Those who faithfully live out humility, mourning, meekness, mercy, purity and peacemaking will be persecuted. If this is something you aren’t interested in, it’s actually pretty easy to avoid: you just have to look like the rest of the world, compromise with it or look uncritically at it.
Being popular with everyone means one of two things: that you either have no faith at all or you have compromised it so much that it really is of no use in God’s Kingdom. Jesus was persecuted and harassed throughout His life and died a painful, humiliating death. Are we actually serious about following Him to this same end?
Listen to what Soren Kierkegaard has to say:
No one can be truth: only the God-man is the truth. Then comes the next: the ones whose lives express that which they proclaim. These are witnesses to the truth. Then come those who disclose what truth is and what it demands but admit that their lives do not express it, but to that extent still are striving. There it ends. Now comes the deceit. First of all come those who teach the truth but do not live it. Then comes those who even alter the truth, its requirement, cut it down, make omissions-in order that their lives can correspond to the requirement. These are the real deceivers.
Following Jesus is hard because it’s often at complete odds with the world. And most of us I think are pretty confused about how to actually follow Jesus because we have all these rules and things that we’re expected to do when in reality they’re not the bigger picture things. Kind of like when I’m hiking and because my pack is so heavy that I forget how beautiful it really is. Following Jesus is as simple as looking like Jesus and seeing the world through his eyes. We look like Jesus when we’re humble, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness. We see the world through Jesus’ eyes when we’re merciful, pure in heart and peacemakers. As a result of things we’ll be persecuted. Yet, the Kingdom of Heaven will be ours, we’ll be comforted, we’ll inherit the Earth, we’ll be filled, we’ll be shown mercy, we’ll see God and we’ll be called sons and daughters of God. It seems worth it to me.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Matthew 4:18-22, Josh Broward, February 3
KNU International English Church
Josh Broward
February 3, 2008
Matching the Master
Matthew 4:18-22
Are there any music lovers here today – anyone who truly loves music? Today, before we begin talking about our text from Matthew, I want us to watch a video of Master Andres Segovia, the greatest classical guitarist of the 20th century. In this video we see Master Segovia in his 1965 class of guitar students who are also studying to become master guitarists.
Watch: http://profacero.wordpress.com/2007/11/19/andres-segovia-master-class-1965/.
Students were only admitted to Segovia’s Masters Classes by an invitation from Segovia. Such an invitation meant that he considered you to be (or to have the potential to be) one of the best guitarists in the world. A class usually began with students arriving early and tuning their guitars. They exchange music. A few may try to impress the others by playing some incredibly difficult piece.
Then, slowly, as the time approaches, a silence dawns, like the silence before a storm. The Master approaches. Segovia is on his way. Everyone waits. Suddenly Segovia walks through the door, with slow relaxation. Everyone stands.
Segovia sits at center. The students are now free to sit again. After some greetings and some instructions on the music of the day, Segovia calls a student to the center to perform. The Master offers comments: “Cleaner here. Would you please play that passage again? Crescendo here. Keep the tempo- don't pause at the end of each phrase. Be careful of your tone. … Well, you must work on that some more.”
One day in class, a student was amazed that Segovia could achieve such wonderful sound while his right hand hardly seemed to move. Segovia explained to the class how important it is to have absolutely perfect finger nails, to allow subtle differences in angle when touching the strings. At this point he began to demonstrate. Students came forward from around the room to get a closer look. Many sat on the floor in front of him. Some lied down at his feet looking carefully up at his hands to see the tiniest detail. The disciples were literally at the master’s feet.
However, these demonstrations of technique and the suggestions and criticism only account for a portion of Segovia’s impact on his students. In these Masters Classes, there was something that transcended the student/teacher relationship. Something more than knowledge or content or technique was being taught.
Michael Lorimer, one of Segovia’s students and now also a famous guitarist, explains it like this: “Just as important as everything he says, perhaps more important, is his presence. … The power of Segovia's teaching … is the relationship of apprentice and master, based on the idea that it is important to be in the presence of one who knows, a master.”
“Through Segovia's playing, my understanding of the guitar's potential expands. … Segovia's playing has shown me paths for transcending my limits and for reaching more feeling in my playing … Segovia has found the life force in the music and always keeps it in the center of his playing. He makes clear what is essential… Being around Segovia, I embrace more feeling in myself.”
The master and the disciple. Simply being with the master expands our universe. Giving loving, devoted attention to the master and to the master’s teaching shows us how to transcend our own limits. The master’s life “makes clear what is essential.” The master and the disciple in music.
To borrow a phrase from Brian McClaren, “Jesus was a master of making the music of life.” He didn’t use the wood and string of a guitar or a piano. He used the “skin and bone, smile and laughter, whisper and shout,” of a real body and a real life. And using this instrument, “he invited the disciples to learn to make beautiful life-music in his secret, revolutionary kingdom-of-God way. He helped each of them learn the disciplines and skill of living in the kingdom of God. They watched him play, watched him live and interact, and imitated his example until they began to have the spirit of his style, the power of his performance.”
When Jesus walked along the beach on the Sea of Galilee and called out to those fishermen, “Come, follow me,” he was inviting them into this kind of apprentice/master or disciple/master relationship. He wasn’t just saying, “Hey, come on, let’s go for a walk.” He was using a very special phrase that was used for rabbis (Jewish teachers) and their disciples.
Ray Vander Laan explains how this normally worked on his website: www.followtherabbi.com. (This is a great website, and I highly recommend it.) At age 5, boys began the study of the Torah. At age 12, if the boy succeeded in memorizing the Torah, he started learning two things: the rest of the Hebrew Bible and a trade (like fishing or building). At age 15, most people were finished.
However, a few of the most outstanding students looked for a famous rabbi to take them on as a disciple (or talmid). This was the top of the line – like getting into Harvard. Very few boys ever made it this far. Usually, the boy would find the rabbi and get up the courage to ask if he could “follow” the rabbi.
At this point, the rabbi had to “size up” the potential candidates. This was a really big deal for the rabbi because his reputation was on the line. Disciples weren’t just students. They weren’t just trying to get knowledge. Almost anyone can get almost any knowledge if they work hard enough long enough. But disciples were after something more. Disciples want to become who the rabbi is and to do what the rabbi does. So the rabbi has to decide, “Does this kid have what it takes to be like me? Does this kid have the ability, the commitment, the heart to do what I do, to live like I live?” Maybe he asked the boy some questions. Maybe he decided to just watch him for a while. But eventually, he either said, “Sorry, kid, you don’t measure up,” or “Come, follow me.”
Those words were very important. Once the rabbi said, “Follow me,” the kid became the rabbi’s disciple. Instantly, the kid’s life comes into focus. He was just admitted into the Jewish Harvard or Seoul National University. From now on, the kid has one calling, one consuming passion: to be like the rabbi. They want to be like the Rabbi more than anything else in the world. They listened to every word he spoke, every prayer he prayed. They watched everything he did. They answered his questions and asked more questions. They followed him wherever he went. They obeyed every instruction he gave. They were whole-heartedly, unreservedly committed to the rabbi, with one goal in mind: I want to be who he is.
Ray Vander Laan tells a story about a time when he saw a modern Jewish Rabbi (you know with the long beard and the little black hat) and his disciples (10-15 year old boys). They were traveling, maybe in an airport or a bus station or something, and the rabbi had to go to the bathroom. He gets up to go to the bathroom, and along behind him come the train of little disciples. They’ve got to be with him in the bathroom, maybe not in the stall, but at least in the bathroom. He might pray while he’s in there. He might say something to somebody. How does the Rabbi interact in an airport bathroom? This is an important question if you have committed your life to becoming exactly like the rabbi.
Are you starting to get a sense of what it meant to be a disciple? The disciple was passionately committed to the Master, to the rabbi. More than anything else in the world, the disciple wanted to be just like the rabbi.
Now, let’s go back to that story of Jesus and Peter and Andrew and James and John.
A young rabbi has just come to town, and he has been stirring up a lot of attention with his message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). Capernaum was a small town (1,500 people), so everyone had heard the stories of this new rabbi. The fishermen brothers may have even been to hear him preach, “The Kingdom of God is at hand, right here at our finger tips. We just have to start living it.”
These guys have apparently finished their study of the Hebrew Bible, and they have decided to settle for fishing. They aren’t out looking for a rabbi. They aren’t trying to be anyone’s disciple. Maybe they just don’t think they have what it takes to be a rabbi. They are just going to pursue their trade: fishing. Not a bad life – a little smelly maybe, but always enough food for the family.
Suddenly, while the brothers are going about their day’s work, full of sweat and smelling like fish, they see the rabbi. He has already seen them, and he has something to say to them: “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.”
Remember, now, “follow me,” was a special phrase, used only for rabbis and disciples. Jesus was inviting them to be his talmidim, his disciples. Jesus was saying, “Come, be my disciple, and I will show you how to do what I do, how to be who I am.”
This was extremely unusual. Rabbis didn’t usually recruit their own disciples. Usually the disciples went up to the rabbi, begging to be a disciple. But this rabbi, this young rabbi who preached that the Kingdom of God is near, went up to four fishermen and said, “Follow me. You can be like me.”
We have to get a real picture of the opportunity and the cost here. The cost was everything. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were committing everything they were and ever hoped to be into Jesus’ hands. They were leaving behind everything they ever had, their family, their way of living, their security. They were committing to change anything that needed to be changed, to whatever needed to be done, to go wherever they needed to go. The cost was total and absolute.
But for these four fishermen, the opportunity outweighed the cost. This was like winning the lotto for them. They were suddenly vaulted to the top of their class. They were the elite. They were invited to be talmidim, disciples. The freshest, newest, most powerful rabbi of their time believed in them. Not only that, Jesus believed that they could be like him. Jesus believed that these four fishermen could be like him. He believed in these guys so much that he didn’t wait on them to come to him. He went out to them and specifically chose them out of the crowd to be his disciples.
This rabbi seemed to understand the ways of God like no one else. And he was inviting them to be like him, to learn his life, to also understand and live the ways of God, and to “fish” for other people to live this way.
Maybe these four brothers felt like the people in Jesus’ stories: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hit it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” (Matthew 13:44-46).
Yes, the cost was great. The cost was everything. If they said yes, their life would never be the same. They would have to give up everything to follow Jesus. But obviously, the opportunity was even greater. They didn’t have to think twice. They were getting a bargain. They were giving up their lives to get his life! What a deal!
They said, “Yes!” Right then and there, Peter and Andrew dropped their nets on the beach and followed Jesus. James and John left their dad in the boat to figure out the nets for himself, and they followed Jesus. Of course, they would. Of course, they followed. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, they said yes.
Now, Jesus also walks down the beach beside our Sea of Galilee. He walks down SsangYong Daero or on the sidewalks of KNU. He walks down this middle aisle. And he looks into our eyes and into our hearts. He sees all that we are, all that we know, all that we have, all that we have ever been. He knows us completely, and he looks at us with a smile and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people. Come, be my disciple, and I will teach you to do what I do. I will help you to become who I am. I believe in you. I believe you can be like me. Come, follow me.”
Did you catch that? Jesus actually believes we can be like him. Jesus actually believes we can do what he does. Jesus actually believes we can live like he lives. And he asks us to do it. He asks us to follow him.
Now, like Peter and Andrew, James and John, we need to face honestly the cost and the opportunity.
The cost is total, absolute. Jesus asks for everything. Jesus asks for unflinching, unlimited obedience and commitment. Those fishermen standing there beside the Sea of Galilee didn’t really know who Jesus was. They didn’t understand all about him and his message and the life he would demand from them. They hadn’t heard all of his teaching yet. They hadn’t seen him die on the cross yet. But they committed to follow him anyway. They put their old life, their old ways behind them. They made a total commitment to change whatever needed to be changed, to do whatever needed to be done, to go wherever they needed to go. The cost is great!
But for us as well, the opportunity is even greater. The greatest teacher who has ever lived has invited us to be like him. The wisest man who ever walked the face of the earth has invited us to learn his wisdom. The best life-musician who has ever played the music of life has invited us to sit as his feet for private lessons. We have the opportunity to be like Jesus, the Son of God. We have the opportunity to live in and to live out the Kingdom of Heaven in our everyday lives. We have the opportunity to change the world by fishing for people to join this movement of grace and love that will be the healing of the universe. We have the opportunity to live the very life of God in our world.
This is the great exchange. We get to trade our lives, our broken down, worn out lives, for Jesus’ Spirit-filled, love-charged, peace-giving, true Life.
The cost is great, but the opportunity is greater. The cost is great, but the opportunity is immeasurable. The cost is great, but the opportunity is infinite!
Jesus is here. Jesus is walking down these aisles, looking into your heart, and asking you a question: “Will you follow me? Will you be my disciple? Will you give up everything you have and receive everything I have? Will you give up all you are to receive all I am? Will you follow me?”
Lent begins this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. We’ll be having an Ash Wednesday service here at 7pm. I hope you’ll come. Throughout Lent this year, we’ll be preaching from Jesus most famous sermon ever, “The Sermon on the Mount.” This is widely considered to be the summary of all Jesus’ teaching. This is Jesus’ basic view of life in the Kingdom of God. We’ll be talking about it for seven Sundays. I challenge you to read the Sermon on the Mount (in Matthew 5-7) at least once every week for the next seven weeks. If you really want to be a disciple of Jesus, if you really want to live life his way, this is a good way to start.
Jesus is looking into your heart and asking one question: “Will you follow me?” What is your answer?
Josh Broward
February 3, 2008
Matching the Master
Matthew 4:18-22
Are there any music lovers here today – anyone who truly loves music? Today, before we begin talking about our text from Matthew, I want us to watch a video of Master Andres Segovia, the greatest classical guitarist of the 20th century. In this video we see Master Segovia in his 1965 class of guitar students who are also studying to become master guitarists.
Watch: http://profacero.wordpress.com/2007/11/19/andres-segovia-master-class-1965/.
Students were only admitted to Segovia’s Masters Classes by an invitation from Segovia. Such an invitation meant that he considered you to be (or to have the potential to be) one of the best guitarists in the world. A class usually began with students arriving early and tuning their guitars. They exchange music. A few may try to impress the others by playing some incredibly difficult piece.
Then, slowly, as the time approaches, a silence dawns, like the silence before a storm. The Master approaches. Segovia is on his way. Everyone waits. Suddenly Segovia walks through the door, with slow relaxation. Everyone stands.
Segovia sits at center. The students are now free to sit again. After some greetings and some instructions on the music of the day, Segovia calls a student to the center to perform. The Master offers comments: “Cleaner here. Would you please play that passage again? Crescendo here. Keep the tempo- don't pause at the end of each phrase. Be careful of your tone. … Well, you must work on that some more.”
One day in class, a student was amazed that Segovia could achieve such wonderful sound while his right hand hardly seemed to move. Segovia explained to the class how important it is to have absolutely perfect finger nails, to allow subtle differences in angle when touching the strings. At this point he began to demonstrate. Students came forward from around the room to get a closer look. Many sat on the floor in front of him. Some lied down at his feet looking carefully up at his hands to see the tiniest detail. The disciples were literally at the master’s feet.
However, these demonstrations of technique and the suggestions and criticism only account for a portion of Segovia’s impact on his students. In these Masters Classes, there was something that transcended the student/teacher relationship. Something more than knowledge or content or technique was being taught.
Michael Lorimer, one of Segovia’s students and now also a famous guitarist, explains it like this: “Just as important as everything he says, perhaps more important, is his presence. … The power of Segovia's teaching … is the relationship of apprentice and master, based on the idea that it is important to be in the presence of one who knows, a master.”
“Through Segovia's playing, my understanding of the guitar's potential expands. … Segovia's playing has shown me paths for transcending my limits and for reaching more feeling in my playing … Segovia has found the life force in the music and always keeps it in the center of his playing. He makes clear what is essential… Being around Segovia, I embrace more feeling in myself.”
The master and the disciple. Simply being with the master expands our universe. Giving loving, devoted attention to the master and to the master’s teaching shows us how to transcend our own limits. The master’s life “makes clear what is essential.” The master and the disciple in music.
To borrow a phrase from Brian McClaren, “Jesus was a master of making the music of life.” He didn’t use the wood and string of a guitar or a piano. He used the “skin and bone, smile and laughter, whisper and shout,” of a real body and a real life. And using this instrument, “he invited the disciples to learn to make beautiful life-music in his secret, revolutionary kingdom-of-God way. He helped each of them learn the disciplines and skill of living in the kingdom of God. They watched him play, watched him live and interact, and imitated his example until they began to have the spirit of his style, the power of his performance.”
When Jesus walked along the beach on the Sea of Galilee and called out to those fishermen, “Come, follow me,” he was inviting them into this kind of apprentice/master or disciple/master relationship. He wasn’t just saying, “Hey, come on, let’s go for a walk.” He was using a very special phrase that was used for rabbis (Jewish teachers) and their disciples.
Ray Vander Laan explains how this normally worked on his website: www.followtherabbi.com. (This is a great website, and I highly recommend it.) At age 5, boys began the study of the Torah. At age 12, if the boy succeeded in memorizing the Torah, he started learning two things: the rest of the Hebrew Bible and a trade (like fishing or building). At age 15, most people were finished.
However, a few of the most outstanding students looked for a famous rabbi to take them on as a disciple (or talmid). This was the top of the line – like getting into Harvard. Very few boys ever made it this far. Usually, the boy would find the rabbi and get up the courage to ask if he could “follow” the rabbi.
At this point, the rabbi had to “size up” the potential candidates. This was a really big deal for the rabbi because his reputation was on the line. Disciples weren’t just students. They weren’t just trying to get knowledge. Almost anyone can get almost any knowledge if they work hard enough long enough. But disciples were after something more. Disciples want to become who the rabbi is and to do what the rabbi does. So the rabbi has to decide, “Does this kid have what it takes to be like me? Does this kid have the ability, the commitment, the heart to do what I do, to live like I live?” Maybe he asked the boy some questions. Maybe he decided to just watch him for a while. But eventually, he either said, “Sorry, kid, you don’t measure up,” or “Come, follow me.”
Those words were very important. Once the rabbi said, “Follow me,” the kid became the rabbi’s disciple. Instantly, the kid’s life comes into focus. He was just admitted into the Jewish Harvard or Seoul National University. From now on, the kid has one calling, one consuming passion: to be like the rabbi. They want to be like the Rabbi more than anything else in the world. They listened to every word he spoke, every prayer he prayed. They watched everything he did. They answered his questions and asked more questions. They followed him wherever he went. They obeyed every instruction he gave. They were whole-heartedly, unreservedly committed to the rabbi, with one goal in mind: I want to be who he is.
Ray Vander Laan tells a story about a time when he saw a modern Jewish Rabbi (you know with the long beard and the little black hat) and his disciples (10-15 year old boys). They were traveling, maybe in an airport or a bus station or something, and the rabbi had to go to the bathroom. He gets up to go to the bathroom, and along behind him come the train of little disciples. They’ve got to be with him in the bathroom, maybe not in the stall, but at least in the bathroom. He might pray while he’s in there. He might say something to somebody. How does the Rabbi interact in an airport bathroom? This is an important question if you have committed your life to becoming exactly like the rabbi.
Are you starting to get a sense of what it meant to be a disciple? The disciple was passionately committed to the Master, to the rabbi. More than anything else in the world, the disciple wanted to be just like the rabbi.
Now, let’s go back to that story of Jesus and Peter and Andrew and James and John.
A young rabbi has just come to town, and he has been stirring up a lot of attention with his message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). Capernaum was a small town (1,500 people), so everyone had heard the stories of this new rabbi. The fishermen brothers may have even been to hear him preach, “The Kingdom of God is at hand, right here at our finger tips. We just have to start living it.”
These guys have apparently finished their study of the Hebrew Bible, and they have decided to settle for fishing. They aren’t out looking for a rabbi. They aren’t trying to be anyone’s disciple. Maybe they just don’t think they have what it takes to be a rabbi. They are just going to pursue their trade: fishing. Not a bad life – a little smelly maybe, but always enough food for the family.
Suddenly, while the brothers are going about their day’s work, full of sweat and smelling like fish, they see the rabbi. He has already seen them, and he has something to say to them: “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.”
Remember, now, “follow me,” was a special phrase, used only for rabbis and disciples. Jesus was inviting them to be his talmidim, his disciples. Jesus was saying, “Come, be my disciple, and I will show you how to do what I do, how to be who I am.”
This was extremely unusual. Rabbis didn’t usually recruit their own disciples. Usually the disciples went up to the rabbi, begging to be a disciple. But this rabbi, this young rabbi who preached that the Kingdom of God is near, went up to four fishermen and said, “Follow me. You can be like me.”
We have to get a real picture of the opportunity and the cost here. The cost was everything. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were committing everything they were and ever hoped to be into Jesus’ hands. They were leaving behind everything they ever had, their family, their way of living, their security. They were committing to change anything that needed to be changed, to whatever needed to be done, to go wherever they needed to go. The cost was total and absolute.
But for these four fishermen, the opportunity outweighed the cost. This was like winning the lotto for them. They were suddenly vaulted to the top of their class. They were the elite. They were invited to be talmidim, disciples. The freshest, newest, most powerful rabbi of their time believed in them. Not only that, Jesus believed that they could be like him. Jesus believed that these four fishermen could be like him. He believed in these guys so much that he didn’t wait on them to come to him. He went out to them and specifically chose them out of the crowd to be his disciples.
This rabbi seemed to understand the ways of God like no one else. And he was inviting them to be like him, to learn his life, to also understand and live the ways of God, and to “fish” for other people to live this way.
Maybe these four brothers felt like the people in Jesus’ stories: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hit it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” (Matthew 13:44-46).
Yes, the cost was great. The cost was everything. If they said yes, their life would never be the same. They would have to give up everything to follow Jesus. But obviously, the opportunity was even greater. They didn’t have to think twice. They were getting a bargain. They were giving up their lives to get his life! What a deal!
They said, “Yes!” Right then and there, Peter and Andrew dropped their nets on the beach and followed Jesus. James and John left their dad in the boat to figure out the nets for himself, and they followed Jesus. Of course, they would. Of course, they followed. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, they said yes.
Now, Jesus also walks down the beach beside our Sea of Galilee. He walks down SsangYong Daero or on the sidewalks of KNU. He walks down this middle aisle. And he looks into our eyes and into our hearts. He sees all that we are, all that we know, all that we have, all that we have ever been. He knows us completely, and he looks at us with a smile and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people. Come, be my disciple, and I will teach you to do what I do. I will help you to become who I am. I believe in you. I believe you can be like me. Come, follow me.”
Did you catch that? Jesus actually believes we can be like him. Jesus actually believes we can do what he does. Jesus actually believes we can live like he lives. And he asks us to do it. He asks us to follow him.
Now, like Peter and Andrew, James and John, we need to face honestly the cost and the opportunity.
The cost is total, absolute. Jesus asks for everything. Jesus asks for unflinching, unlimited obedience and commitment. Those fishermen standing there beside the Sea of Galilee didn’t really know who Jesus was. They didn’t understand all about him and his message and the life he would demand from them. They hadn’t heard all of his teaching yet. They hadn’t seen him die on the cross yet. But they committed to follow him anyway. They put their old life, their old ways behind them. They made a total commitment to change whatever needed to be changed, to do whatever needed to be done, to go wherever they needed to go. The cost is great!
But for us as well, the opportunity is even greater. The greatest teacher who has ever lived has invited us to be like him. The wisest man who ever walked the face of the earth has invited us to learn his wisdom. The best life-musician who has ever played the music of life has invited us to sit as his feet for private lessons. We have the opportunity to be like Jesus, the Son of God. We have the opportunity to live in and to live out the Kingdom of Heaven in our everyday lives. We have the opportunity to change the world by fishing for people to join this movement of grace and love that will be the healing of the universe. We have the opportunity to live the very life of God in our world.
This is the great exchange. We get to trade our lives, our broken down, worn out lives, for Jesus’ Spirit-filled, love-charged, peace-giving, true Life.
The cost is great, but the opportunity is greater. The cost is great, but the opportunity is immeasurable. The cost is great, but the opportunity is infinite!
Jesus is here. Jesus is walking down these aisles, looking into your heart, and asking you a question: “Will you follow me? Will you be my disciple? Will you give up everything you have and receive everything I have? Will you give up all you are to receive all I am? Will you follow me?”
Lent begins this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. We’ll be having an Ash Wednesday service here at 7pm. I hope you’ll come. Throughout Lent this year, we’ll be preaching from Jesus most famous sermon ever, “The Sermon on the Mount.” This is widely considered to be the summary of all Jesus’ teaching. This is Jesus’ basic view of life in the Kingdom of God. We’ll be talking about it for seven Sundays. I challenge you to read the Sermon on the Mount (in Matthew 5-7) at least once every week for the next seven weeks. If you really want to be a disciple of Jesus, if you really want to live life his way, this is a good way to start.
Jesus is looking into your heart and asking one question: “Will you follow me?” What is your answer?
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