[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 330 – 1 Corinthians 4-6; Matthew 17 summary!]
Deuteronomy 27-29 offers us a long sequence of curses and blessings that would come to the Israelites depending on whether they obeyed God or disobeyed Him. Moses summarizes the covenant between God and the people of Israel again, and calls them to obey it. We cannot miss the significance of the connection God made between our actions and the consequences. Obedience would bring blessing, and disobedience curses. As we have stated in summarizing previous times when such content was the basis of previous chapters, we know we don’t always receive blessings for obeying God. Much of the New Testament tells us we will suffer for obeying God. Jesus is the greatest example of one who was absolutely obedient to God yet was crucified as a result. The principle remains true: Obeying God leads to blessing. The difference between the Old Testament understanding of that principle and the New Testament understanding is in the Old Testament God told the people they would receive a “one-for-one” correspondence between obedience and blessing. Obedience would bring blessing every time. In the New Testament we see obedience to God might bring pain in this life but will always bring blessing or reward in the next life. We don’t always, or often have to wait for the blessings of obedience, because the greatest reward of our obedience to God is a closer relationship with Him. Every time we obey Him regardless of the immediate consequence physically or materially, we will become closer to Him relationally. That relationship will be made perfect only after this life, when we meet Him face to face, but every step of obedience here-and-now, draws us closer in relationship with Him right now.
As we reread John 2, let’s focus on His cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. John records this event happening at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, while the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) record the event as taking place after Jesus’ Triumphant entry, which means it took place in the last week of Jesus’ life. Does that mean John is wrong, or that the other three are wrong? What if Jesus cleansed the Temple twice? There’s no reason to think He wouldn’t have done it twice. After all, one of Jesus’ purposes in coming, was to show the lack of power religion has to save us. The Jewish religious leaders saw their rituals and traditions as the means of pleasing God. They also twisted those rituals and traditions for their own benefit. Jesus told them they had made the Temple “a house of trade.” God’s places and God’s purposes must never be reduced to opportunities to earn a buck. We are not to “use” God. We belong to Him. We are stewards of all He has given us, and therefore, He gets to use us however He pleases. The good news is God will never “use” us in the sense of taking advantage of us. He will always use us in ways that bring Him glory, but also bring us good. That’s why we must seek Him and His Kingdom first in our lives. As we see from Jesus’ interaction in the Temple, when we misuse God’s places and purposes, Jesus will always stand against that. He will do it at the start of His ministry and at the end. We must, too!
Day 330 – 1 Corinthians 4-6; Matthew 17
In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul makes a case for his authority as an apostle, and for the Corinthian believers not to think so highly of themselves. They have elevated themselves above their original leaders–Paul and Apollos. He reminded them they might have “10,000 guardians, but not many fathers.” That is such a key point for all us to remember: we need leaders whose investment in us is more than as teachers or preachers, but who care about us as sons and daughters.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul takes a strong stance against those in the church who are practicing sin as a way of life. He gives the example of a man who was committing sexual sin. He then reminded the Corinthians not to associate with those who are sexually immoral. Then he makes sure they understand he means those inside the church. Those outside the church aren’t subject to the same standards. As I’ve said so often, “I don’t expect non-believers to act like believers.” I got that from Jesus and Paul. They didn’t either. But when we are believers, our actions must change, because we now have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul speaks about the absurdity of believers suing one another in secular courts. He points out that we will judge angels, so why would we need a secular authority to judge each other. He points out it would be better to be wronged than to go to court. How much that has to say to our modern litigious world, which undoubtedly includes Christians suing each other. Paul then goes on to underline who important it is to avoid sexual sin. He points out we are the “temple” of the Holy Spirit, and therefore we must be holy. To commit sexual sin is to stain the temple. He reminds us we are not our own, and we have been bought with a price. He doesn’t mention the price, but we all know it is the price of Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. That’s the highest imaginable price, which is why we must never forget it.
As we return to Matthew 17, we read of Jesus being transfigured with Moses and Elijah. The experience was overwhelming to Peter, James, and John who were with Jesus. When the experience ended and they went down the mountain to rejoin the crowds, a man had brought his son to be healed by the disciples. They were unable to cast a demon out of the boy, and Jesus demonstrated some frustration. When the father said he had faith, but needed Jesus to increase his faith, Jesus healed the boy.
At the end of the chapter, Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish, in which is a coin that enabled Peter to pay the Temple tax for him and Jesus. That’s as close as Jesus ever came to performing a miracle for Himself, but He didn’t overpower nature to do that. Peter just had to catch the right fish!