Food and Following (Matthew 9:9-17)

April 1, 2024March 21, 2024 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

It seems like food is significant in every culture. Whether a culture is known internationally for its food or not, something about sitting down together to eat carries more significance than the mere fuelling of the body or renting restaurant space for a meeting. In Jesus’ time, it is evident that table fellowship mattered greatly.

In Matthew 9:9, Jesus called Matthew from the tax booth to a new life as a follower of Jesus. That may seem like a familiar idea to us, but having such despised sinners as followers was a radical act by Jesus. Who deserves to be his follower? Who deserves to be his apprentice, learn from him, become like him, relate to him, and be launched into a life of ministry representing him? Did Matthew deserve it? Do you or I deserve it? May we never lose the wonder of the call to be his followers!

Immediately, we read of Jesus reclining at the table with many tax collectors and sinners. Luke’s account points out that Matthew laid out a “great feast,” although Matthew was too humble to mention that detail. (Luke 5:29)

The Fellowship Question (Matthew 9:10-13) – The meal sparked a fairly obvious food-related question – who should Jesus eat with? To the religious evaluators, it was obvious that Jesus should not be eating with tax collectors and sinners. Indeed, they were the ones who’d earned the invite to the special meal.

I was recently with a pastor whose church seeks to reach out to the marginalized and the maligned of society. He took my family to dinner, and we enjoyed a wonderful meal together at his favourite restaurant. He told us how, when his church had started, they hired this restaurant and filled it with people who may never have eaten in a restaurant before. The feast was a gift. The gift was not just the food; it was a fantastic way to get to know a Jesus who would sit and eat with societal nobodies like Matthew’s friends.

It is interesting how Jesus responded to the question. He differentiated between those who are healthy and those who are sick. It is the sick who know they need the help of the physician. After all, whoever says, “Let me allow my broken ankle to heal, and then I will head for the hospital,” or “Let me wait for this abdominal pain to pass before I go and get checked out?” It makes no sense to hold back when you know you need help.

Jesus called the religious to soften their hearts toward those who knew their spiritual need.

The Fasting Question (Matthew 9:14-17) – Matthew follows up with another food-related question. Why do Jesus’ followers eat? Some of John the Baptist’s disciples wanted to know about fasting. After all, the Pharisees were promoters of the Old Testament Law and promoted fasting. Then, they were followers of the final Old Testament prophet and were into fasting, too. So, indeed, if Jesus were a step forward religiously, he would promote fasting even more. The Law, the Prophets, and now came Jesus; therefore, his followers should be fasting extra! But they missed something: Jesus was not just another step forward. He was the goal of it all!

Jesus spoke in wedding terms. A wedding day is not a normal day. You never walk into a wedding reception and expect to find people fasting. It is a day of feasting! It cannot be a typical day when the bridegroom is present!

Jesus went on to give two everyday examples to make a point. Nobody would put a piece of unshrunk cloth onto an old garment because it would self-destruct when it got wet and dried again. Everyone knew that. Likewise, nobody would put new wine into old, hard, shrunk, leathery wineskins. Again, it would self-destruct when the wine fermented and expanded. Everyone knew that, too. So, to Jesus’ point – his work was not just another step forward in the Old Testament line of promise. It was the launch of something profoundly new that could not be contained in the old framework.

We may not be from a Jewish background and tempted to try to squeeze the radically new gift of New Covenant life into the framework of the Old Covenant. But actually, we are all tempted to try to add the new life Jesus offers into the old way of religious effort that always characterizes humanity. It is so easy to think that becoming a Christian adds a few more responsibilities onto my to-do list of moral efforts for respectable living. However, that is not how it works. It is a radically new life.

Jesus came to transform our lives by his presence. He calls us to live a radically new life as his followers. We are called to be with him, enjoy time together, learn from him, and be transformed from inside to out. We are called to feast in joy because he has come. We are called to fast in earnest because he is currently away. Jesus is not asking you to become more religious; he is offering something far more radical than that.

As our thoughts are drawn to the first Easter, remember the radical nature of all that Jesus has done for us. And then don’t settle for a modified version of religious living. We get to follow the risen Christ through the year ahead. Jesus offers a radically new life to really needy folks like you and me.

Running on Fumes

June 10, 2022June 10, 2022 / Peter Mead / 5 Comments

When a car has very little fuel in the tank, we say it is running on fumes. It is moving forward, but warning signs indicate the vehicle is in trouble. It won’t go very far unless something changes. And the something is simple – it needs fuel.

The same thing happens with Christians too. They give the impression of keeping on spiritually, engaging with the church, and so on. But there are warning signs, and they won’t go very far unless something changes. Again, the something that needs to change is relatively simple – they need fuel. Simply being around Christians and using Christian language is not enough. Without a vital personal relationship with Christ, they are merely running on the fumes of Christianity.

Warning Signs – In a car, you have warning lights on the dashboard to alert you to an issue before it becomes a problem. If you proceed far enough, the engine will start to sputter and make unusual noises. What are the warning signs when a Christian is running on the fumes of Christianity?

Loss of Joy – There are many reasons for a loss of joy, so do not assume that the spiritual tank is always empty when joy fades. However, any warning light is a reason to investigate. Indeed, when someone’s tank lacks the fuel needed, delight in the things of God and church life will only come in fits and starts. The classic biblical example is Martha in Luke 10:38-42 – she was doing the right thing, but the joy was gone.
Alternate Fuels – Is work or a hobby suddenly becoming more significant? Are they starting to find motivation and purpose in something other than Christ in a way that was not true earlier in their Christian journey? Alternative fuels are attractive because someone struggling will see the alternative as more readily accessible and the goals more attainable.
Blaming the Church – It is very rare to hear someone drifting from church life and being honest, “Oh, I am staying away because I am not fuelling my soul, and so I feel awkward being around other Christians right now.” It is much easier to talk about how the church does not meet their needs, and they don’t fit, the programs are not helpful, the other people don’t like them, etc. Not every person being critical of the church is in a bad place personally, but many are.
Verbal Paper Cuts – Sometimes it is not the full force explosions that hurt, but the subtle paper cuts. Someone in a low place spiritually will often make little paper cuts with their words. Little bits of gossip. Little criticisms. Little digs. Maybe nothing significant enough to confront or challenge, but enough to leave you feeling that sting of an open wound when they walk away.
Emotional Outbursts – Sometimes, things do come out in full force explosions. And, like a cornered animal, someone feeling spiritually empty can lash out and attack rather than admit their need and open themselves up to help from others.

Emergency Measures – What do you do when someone is running on empty and about to run out of fuel and grind to a halt?

Re-Fuel – To be blunt, they need to be in the Word of God and allow Him to minister to them. But they may struggle to feed themselves if they have let their tank get too low. Perhaps a friend can help them get into the Word and start back into a healthy pattern.
Recognize the Emergency – How often do we pridefully persist on our path, ignoring all the warning signs? Many a stranded motorist thought they could go a little farther before stopping for fuel. Part of solving the problem will be humbly admitting the problem. As long as pride continues to stir excuses and explanations, the fuel cap remains in place. They must humbly acknowledge how they have allowed themselves to drift, how they have arrogantly felt they did not need to be in the Word personally, or how another sin has built a blockage between them and God. Whether that is a giant skeleton in the closet or the “respectable” sin of personal pride, confession will be like a doorway to help for the struggling believer.
Reach out for Help – These are in the reverse order. We need to be fuelled again, but often that won’t happen until the nature of the problem is recognized, and often that is hard to achieve without first calling out for help from another. If you see the warning signs in a friend, encourage them to face the reality of their situation. If you are desperate, you could point them to this post and ask if it resonates with them because you are concerned. If you see warning signs in yourself, then get a friend immediately. We tend to think that a renewed effort in my quiet times, or perhaps some alternative, will fix the issue. A thimble of fuel won’t get you too far. Call a friend and walk through it with someone.

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Check out a Psalm from this week for your encouragement:

The Cost of Diversity

June 1, 2021May 23, 2021 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

It is such a wonderful thing to look around a church and see the diversity of people that make up the body of Christ. People from different backgrounds, with different stories. Some seem to be likely participants in a church; others seem most unlikely!

One person might say, “I was raised in a Christian home,” but next to them will be someone who might say, “I never went to church until recently.” Someone might say, “You would not believe what I used to be like,” while another will say, “I always thought I was a good person.” The church is a beautiful blend of backgrounds, personalities, cultures, and stories.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas traveled through Turkey on the second missionary journey recorded in the book. Eventually, they arrived at the coast, and God directed them to cross over into Europe. We are thankful they did! Their first stop was Philippi.

In Philippi, we are introduced to three people who encountered the transformational power of the love of God. In just these three people, we get a glimpse of the diversity to come as God builds the church in Europe. And there is also a challenge for us.

The first person we read about is Lydia. She seems to have been a successful businesswoman from what we read of her home town and her trade (purple cloth). Paul met her at the prayer gathering beside the river. (If there weren’t ten Jewish men in the town, then there could not be a formal synagogue, so this gathering was the informal equivalent of a synagogue.) We read that Lydia was already a worshipper of the Lord. It is hard to imagine someone easier to reach with the Gospel!

In reality, even religious people who know the Bible are not easy to reach. The text reminds us that it is always a miracle when someone accepts Christ because, we are told, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Lydia was a person with a successful life and a genuine interest in God. What a blessing it is to have this kind of person before us in ministry. Still, let us remember to pray that the Lord will open their hearts – otherwise, the story will always end very differently!

The second person we read about is the slave girl. This girl must have had a horrible life. She was a slave, used by her owners for her demonic powers. The brief glimpse we get of her in this passage shows that she seemed to be a genuine inconvenience to Paul. Thankfully, God delivered her from the evil spirit. We don’t know what happened next, as the story swiftly moves on. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to imagine believers like Lydia taking care of her.

Europe still has many people that we might find inconvenient, in comparison to the Lydias. So many people in our continent bring with them a lifetime of brokenness and baggage. Reaching them might feel more like a spiritual power encounter than a pleasant conversation about spiritual things over a cup of coffee. And discipling them will always be more complicated for the church. What a blessing it is to have this kind of person before us in ministry. Let’s pray for eyes to see the broken and the hurting around us. Let’s pray for God’s power to set them free and change their story!

The third person we read about is the jailer. This man was probably a retired Roman soldier who had served his twenty years and was now responsible for the local prison in this colony. He was perhaps a hardened man who had seen a lot and was now content to live with his family and experience as little trouble as possible. This man would be hard to reach. Thankfully, God knew how to get through this man’s hard exterior and capture his heart.

Reaching this jailer proved to be a costly experience for Paul and Silas. They were seized, dragged before the authorities and tried by a mob. They were stripped, humiliated and beaten with rods. Then their wounded backs were probably pressed against a wall as their feet were put in stocks by the jailer—a horrible few hours, and perhaps a lifetime of scarring to show for it. Perhaps the jailer heard the Gospel from them as he locked them up. Maybe he lay in bed wondering what they had to sing about. And perhaps he had just drifted off when the earthquake shook him awake! Sure that they would have escaped, he prepared to end his life to save the higher Roman authorities the task. But then Paul called out and brought him into the jail. They were all still there, after all. And at that moment, the jailer was turned spiritually upside-down!

If God could release a slave girl from demonic oppression, why did God not do another mighty miracle in the town square and impress everyone with his power? Why all this suffering for Paul and Silas? God could have sent a bolt of lightning down during the day, but instead, he waited and sent the earthquake that night. Why? Because that hardened jailer perhaps would have joined the crowds and prostrated himself before a display of God’s power, in fear and trembling, grovelling before this foreign god. Yet God’s goal was not to show his power but to demonstrate his love.

As the jailer stood before Paul and Silas, he discovered that their suffering was not under compulsion. They chose to stay in that cell. Their suffering was somehow voluntary. That blew the circuits of his hard old heart. Maybe this is what they meant when they spoke and sang about Jesus willingly suffering for sinners like him!

We should praise God for the diversity of people brought together in the body of Christ. The “successful” people like Lydia, the people with lots of baggage like the slave girl, and the hardened veterans like the jailer. Some might seem easier to lead to Christ – praise God when they are! Some are more inconvenient to rescue and disciple. And some will cost us a great deal of suffering to reach.

There is an actual cost to make the diverse body of Christ possible. But ultimately, that cost is not ours, but Christ’s. He suffered voluntarily to reach the hardest of hearts. If we keep our eyes on him as we walk whatever path God sets before us, then maybe we can be like Paul and Silas. Perhaps we will also sing hymns of praise as we get the opportunity to represent the voluntary suffering love of God’s heart.