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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 9

09 Dec

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

Matthew 2:3

Dear God, before I read Piper’s commentary on this verse, I want to sit with the last five words: as was everyone in Jerusalem. As word spread about the magi being in town and looking for the newly born “King of the Jews,” what were they thinking? And I want to put a pin in these people for if we talk about the flight to Egypt and the killing of all the young boys, but for now I want to consider what their hope and fears were. Herod’s are pretty easy to figure out. He just saw a threat. A threat to himself. A threat to his bosses in Rome. A threat to his lineage.

But for “everyone in Jerusalem,” what were they “deeply disturbed” by? Did they even want a Messiah, or was the status quo more comfortable? Were they afraid of war? Were they willing to possibly pay the price they thought they would be asked to pay in following a Messiah into battle against the Romans? This is what I assume they were thinking.

And then there is the reality. If they had recognized what Jesus actually came to do–to offer a path to the controlled burn I talked about yesterday–would they have rejoiced instead? Would they too have sought out the baby? What kept all of them from going to Bethlehem and following the magi?

There is so much here that is me. Afraid of the word it will take to follow you. Afraid of risking what I have. Afraid of what would be new. Yes, I might be living in a pit, but the pit is home now. I’ve made it work. What would my life look like if I were to upset all of that to do something you’re calling me to do?

Okay, I just read Piper’s commentary, and it lines up remarkably with what I just said except he was more articulate about it:

There are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus the Messiah. The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a non-entity in their lives. This group is represented by the chief priests and scribes: “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” Well, they told him, and that was that–back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the religious leaders are overwhelming given the magnitude of what was happening

Compare that with the reaction Herod and the rest of Jerusalem: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born, and everyone but the chief priests took note. Why did they not go with the magi? There were not interested. They did not want to worship the true God.

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus are those who are deeply threatened by him. Herod was deeply afraid–so much so that he schemed and lied and then committed mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

Father, I think I am going to lean on the serenity prayer this morning. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 9, 2024 in Advent 2024, Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Hard Hearts (Matthew 28:11-15)

24 May

11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Dear God, the idea of one person’s word against the other is interesting here. Assuming that verses 12 and 13 are true (and I do), then at what point did the chief priests not stop in their tracks and ask, “Oh my. Did we kill the Messiah?”

I think a hard heart is one of the hardest things to avoid for any human. We get so wrapped up in our agenda and in self-preservation that we can miss the basic facts. I can see instances in my work where I continually have to remind myself to step back and look at the facts rather than try to make the facts fit my own agenda (like the chief priests did here).

I am a Rotarian, and every week we recite the “Four-Way Test”:

  1. Is it the truth?
  2. Is it fair to all concerned?
  3. Will it bring good will and better friendships?
  4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Father, there is a particular conflict in my life right now, and I end up asking these questions of myself a lot as I go through this process. I don’t want to lose sight of truth in the midst of the struggle. I don’t want to be so bent on my own agenda that I can’t live within the confines of these four questions. So far, I am at peace that I’ve been able to do this. I pray that you will help me and all who are involved in this struggle with me to be able to do the same.

 
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Posted by on May 24, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Public Humiliation (Matthew 21:23-27)

03 Apr

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Dear God, what should they have done? I’m looking at the chief priests and elders here and wondering, given their misgivings and concerns about Jesus, what should they have done? I think in an ideal world they should have gone and asked to speak with Jesus privately. Three or four of them meeting with Jesus and two or three disciples. They should have sat down and asked their questions. They should have said, “Help us understand.” Jesus would have answered in extraordinary ways and then the hardness of their hearts would have determined what they did from there. I would think that at that point, if they rejected Jesus, they could have kept him from entering the Temple as a heretic. But instead they impulsively came up with their questions and tried to publicly shame him and embarrass him. Of course, that didn’t work because he was, indeed, you and he was there by your authority (to answer their question in verse 23).

One of the things that is important for me to remember is that I don’t have to have people think I am the smartest person in the room. If I want truth then I can often seek truth quietly and behind the scenes. Sometimes this isn’t possible, but I think that, in the interest of me glorifying you, I should do it when I can.

Father, the chief priests and elders had an agenda that was of their own making. It was not of you to try to discredit Jesus. It was of them. So I ask that you would be my motivation and guide my actions through whatever challenges lie in front of me. I want to point the world to you and not to me. I want to decrease as you increase. I want to live in your peace and embrace you wholly.

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2012 in Matthew

 

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