Let's start it right this time:
Consider the following literal and cultural context in your
thinking about this set of verses, by imagining what the use of
these words and the images they might have sparked in the hearers
of Jesus in that time and place. These thoughts are not intended
to say that this is absolutely what He meant. Rather meditate on
the words in hopes the richer connotations might expound on the
history and setting of His sermon and expand your joy in Christ.
Last time we talked about genealogy in context of what
some historians describe about the first century and OT Jewish
culture and its influence on the hearing of the passage on the tree
and its fruit "after its own kind." Today is entirely literal. It
involves a couple words in the English language--narrow,
broad/wide--but in the original language it is four words. In
Matthew 7:13-14 it talks of a narrow gate and narrow
way that leads to life and a wide gate and broad
way that leads to destruction. Let's consider these six words.
gate. Construct in your head the picture of a gate,
something on this side leading to the gate, a path or road on the
other side. Only don't think of a picket or chain link fence gate
like today. Rather the opening is really the gate, not necessarily
just a piece of swinging wood or metal. It is an opening in a
boundary. Think of the gate of a sheepfold, which may merely be an
opening in a foot or two thick stone wall (and the shepherd standing
in the gap is the "gate") or even the gates of a walled city like
Jericho with 40 ft thick walls.
wide is the gate. The original word would conjure a gently
sloping wide open field. Spread out and flat. Doesn't sound like
much of a boundary, and it would take an incredible hinge if it were
chain link or wood.
broad is the way. spacious, broad. That does not mean just
that it's a wide open field but there's plenty of room to walk and
no one pushing against you going the other direction (you'll see in
a second). You can also envision the space in front of you, not
really any way to mark your progress walking across a field or a
desert (again, you'll see in a second).
"Indeed the safest road
to hell is the gradual one - the gentle
slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without
milestones, without signposts." - C. S.
Lewis The Screwtape Letters
narrow (strait) is the gate. narrow because of
obstacles around it (think Straits of Magellan). The root word this
is based on means suffering. The original language gives an image
of an opening so tight that you would have to suffer to squeeeeeze
through it, leaving behind anything you carry because it's so tight,
and even then it is still painful to pass through.
narrow is the way. narrow because of a crowd. Literally the
word means groaning, affliction, suffering, tribulation, a throng.
It's not that there isn't a wide path, it's that there's difficulty
walking forward through all the people pressing against you opposing
your progress. Every step forward is a burden. Imagine a NY city
street, you could get carried the opposite way. Only, they aren't
just traveling in a different direction, they are troubling your
progress. Progress is an important aspect of this word "narrow".
Go back to that picture. A gate, on the incoming side incredible
obstacles leading to a painfully tight fit through a potentially
thick boundary. Come out on the other side to meet a way pressed
through a throng, a tumult of people, progress is difficult and
groaning with persecution.
way that leads to life. This word "way" is little but packs
a punch. It means the physical road, the route or directions, the
distance, the act of traveling that road, and even the progress
along the route being traveled. All in one little word. In
English we think some of this too but not all at the same time. The
way to the store, I'm on my way (or for you texters, OMW), show me
the way, which way, along the way, ONE WAY, WRONG WAY...way too much
information? It's the route to take, the road you walk to get
there, and the progress you've made to your destination...sometimes
all at once. Chew on this, we'll come back to it.
It's a sermon:
So why mention this suffering strait gate only found through the
obstacles that comes out headlong into the groaning suffering throng
way leading to life?
Immediately before v12. Therefore, all things whatsoever you
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for
this is the law and the prophets.
These are the blessednesses...I have come to fulfill the Law and
the Prophets. These are the true demands of the Law.
Therefore, be the salt. Do all things whatsoever to all the throng
that cause groaning, bless those who persecute you, pray for those
who spitefully use you...for this is the Law and the Prophets...that
leads to life. And there are few who find it (the
gate, the way, the life).
Immediate after v15ff. ...this is the Law and the Prophets...beware
of FALSE prophets--ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing. You
have heard by them of old the Law says this, but I say otherwise.
True conversion is a gate amid obstacles. The true road to life is
strait, suffering, through the throng (not with it). And consider
those who tell you almost the truth but not quite, the false, the
imposter, as the persecutors. It's not just those who hate the
gospel to stand against you in the throng as you pursue faith. It's
also those who make it hard to pursue through false teachings,
slowing you down, relaxing your pursuit, steering you out of the
truth into the high grass where it's harder to walk and see the
steps of those who have gone before. But your job in faith is doing
ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER to all men (even those in the throng working
against you) as you believe they should do to you--that's the REAL
Law and the Prophets!
Is Jesus saying this is the blessednesses (Matt 5) and the
true demands of the Law? Does v12 ring true with Matt 5? Does true
and false ring true with Matt 6? Is He saying suffering what it
takes to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God even if
persecuted for righteousness sake is the way to true life? He is
the author (Matt 7:24), and He comes to fulfill the Law and the
Prophets (Matt 5).
Want an application? Well, this is as close as I can
get:
1. who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame...I AM the WAY, the Truth, and the LIFE. (Alpha and
Omega, the source and the destination, the seed and the exceeding
great reward). No man comes to the Father but by ME. He is
the suffering gate amid obstacles, the groaning way against the
throng, and the Life awaiting.
2. What good father who's son asked for bread would give him a
stone. You want blessing? It's not comfort and relaxation.
That is not true blessing. Poor in spirit, persecuted for
righteousness sake, the narrow way--that is true blessing because it
gives us Him more perfectly and closely. for so persecuted they
the prophets of old.
Every NT writer talks of this:
Acts 9:15-16, Rom 8:15-19, 2 Cor 1: 5, Phil 1:29, Heb 2:10;11:25,
James 5:10, I Pet 2:20ff, Rev 2:8-11
3. the light of the body is the eye. Did you know that if
your printer is without black ink, it won't print color pictures
correctly? that's just good advice. But keep in mind "secret" in
the sermon is not the same as darkness. How you see black and white
(truths) changes how you receive colorful joy. James tells us that
persecution is not working against us but actually is evidence God
is working for us, to perfect our faith and bring us joy. James
1:2-4. What you see is what you get. So now, for the joy set
before you, despise the shame, take up your cross
and follow the author and finisher of your faith who
was made perfect through suffering
One Sermon.
Part 1 and Part 2 of this afterWORD come together in John 8,
starting in verse 31 and really going to the end of the chapter.
"then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him... "
If you have a few minutes this week, consider the text yesterday
with the Jewish culture as you read John 8, looking for the words
"seed" and "My word in you" and "father" and "fruit" and "come
from". And then think on today's words in the original language as
you read "continue" "life" "free" "keep".
In a group Bible study or Sunday School, it often helps to look at a word in the original language, it's roots and uses. A foreWORD might help set tone for an upcoming study and afterWORDs are great to revisit once the lesson has “soaked in.” There are also onWORDS and upWORDS, downWORDS and otherWORDS to expand your faith’s perspective and possibly get a deeper glimpse into the character of God being revealed in the passage. You just can't fit it all in in an hour. And you shouldn't have to.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
afterWORD Matthew 7 PART 1 Genealogy
Life Truths Family,
I labored a long time over this week's study of Matthew 7. I am still laboring and worry that the lesson was too much, or uneven. Maybe you got that clue when we finished the small group and introductory discussion with 10 minutes left in class...
I want to offer two critical texts as a follow up that we didn't have what I felt was sufficient time to cover as they deserve (or were too delicate to go into depth), thinking rushing would do it disservice or even cause more harm than good. The purpose of these two parts, much like the rest of the lesson, is to illumine the whole sermon on the mount as an actual sermon. We sit as a congregation for a 20-40 minute sermon. But you can easily talk through Matt 5-7 in much less time. But if you approach it as a sermon, given in one standing, contiguous session to people in a very different culture, you'll have to understand that culture and that setting on the mount to get the richer bigger picture as well as the richer detailed picture. And flip the tapestry of scripture around to see the threads on the back, and two of the biggest, most colorful knots in this sermon are these two, but to untie them would take significant time and without understanding their colors might cause us to rush and break the strings rather than follow them to fruition.
So I want to take these two in different emails. Read or dump as you feel necessary. It may take a few minutes to read it all, but hopefully it will be worth your while.
The first is an expansion of "a tree and its fruit" and the second, the broad vs. the narrow way.
word 1. tree and its fruit: genealogy
core phrase: depart from me workers of iniquity, I never knew you.
competitive phrase: did we not prophesy, cast out demons, perform miracles in Your name?
culture: all Israel is steeped in the first 5 books, and you'll see at the beginning of Matthew he says "this is the genealogy of Jesus," tying the King to the Davidic kingdom as well as to Abraham and the founding of the faith. It matters what tree you come from.
core word: genealogy - "generations, birth, history, where it came from."
context:
Gen 2:4 - g of creation (though most English versions translate "generations" or "history" it's same word)
Gen 5 - g of Adam 6 - g of Noah 10-11, 25, 36, 37 and so on. We call it a family tree.
In creation, He made animals to produce "after their own kind" (Gen 1:20ff) and it repeats in the description of the ark, animals coming in that then repopulate the earth "after their own kind", the ability to reproduce is a definitive function of creation. When I learned "evolution" as a theory xx years ago, the definition of "species" back then was "two species that breed would have an offspring that was infertile." The Bible uses the word "kind" and describes it similarly as ability to procreate.
In the plants (Gen 1:11ff) He says "yielding seed...and fruit after his kind whose seed is in itself..."
With that context, think again "a tree is known by its fruit" it can only produce seed (in its fruit) after its own kind. It's not a surface picture of an apple tree bearing an orange. Not at all. It's about the seed within the fruit, that the tree produces after its kind. It's not a picture of the fruit but the seed carried by the fruit. Apple tree seeds can only be carried in an apple. This would be heavily laid on anyone in the Jewish tradition of the scriptures. Or anyone with any sense of farming or agriculture or husbandry even today.
One last little tidbit, the word "know" in Jewish culture is a euphemism for you-know-what, as it is written in Gen 4:1 "and Adam KNEW his wife Eve, and she bore a son." If you go back and read the scriptures where God speaks of the seed, it's not a mere standpoint of descendants in a record book. Activities had to happen to get those people born, very intimate acts. So when they said "we did these amazing things in Your name" He says, "you're not my children simply because you claim my name, I never knew you, so you are not of the righteous seed." Or "your fruit is not after righteous kind." It's not just a symbol of relationship as in we have friends we know very well.
Workers of iniquity. This is profound. You bore iniquity because the Lord wasn't part of the conception. Consider the child of the bondwoman and the child of promise. Both produced mighty nations. Both were offspring in the human sense from Abraham. But the "seed of faith" was when Abraham believed God, not when he tried to accomplish of his own human effort. God may have blessed Ishmael, but Isaac was fruit of the tree after its kind that led to Jesus.
Consider going back through all of scripture and studying the word "seed" (suggest KJV or a Strong's concordance to keep the words straight with the original language). Also the word "fruit" or "tree"
I will put enmity between your seed and the woman's seed...
story of Tamar... (also in Matthew's genealogy)
tree planted by the river, fruit in its season
a farmer sowed seed, in the night the enemy sowed tares in among the wheat...
some fell by the wayside...among thorns...stony ground...fertile soil...bear fruit.
bear fruit that is meet with repentance
fruit of righteousness
fruit of the Spirit...
you must be born again...born of the flesh is flesh, of the Spirit is Spirit...
Ok, I know I know, too much. Maybe also TMI. Well let me at least ask the question, "how does this make the Sermon on the Mount one cohesive sermon?" Well tie it to the beginning and the end. Matt 5 --blessed are ye BECAUSE the Lord has done all these things (where faith came from)...so bear fruit after its kind. I came not to abolish the Law, I wrote it! I'm here to fulfill it in your midst. Our Father, Thy kingdom come. Matt 7 -- He taught as one having authority (He was the author) not as a scribe (someone who studies it or copies it).
Next time, Matthew 7:13-14.
Love you folks! Thanks for reading this far and letting me blab on and on.
Tim
I labored a long time over this week's study of Matthew 7. I am still laboring and worry that the lesson was too much, or uneven. Maybe you got that clue when we finished the small group and introductory discussion with 10 minutes left in class...
I want to offer two critical texts as a follow up that we didn't have what I felt was sufficient time to cover as they deserve (or were too delicate to go into depth), thinking rushing would do it disservice or even cause more harm than good. The purpose of these two parts, much like the rest of the lesson, is to illumine the whole sermon on the mount as an actual sermon. We sit as a congregation for a 20-40 minute sermon. But you can easily talk through Matt 5-7 in much less time. But if you approach it as a sermon, given in one standing, contiguous session to people in a very different culture, you'll have to understand that culture and that setting on the mount to get the richer bigger picture as well as the richer detailed picture. And flip the tapestry of scripture around to see the threads on the back, and two of the biggest, most colorful knots in this sermon are these two, but to untie them would take significant time and without understanding their colors might cause us to rush and break the strings rather than follow them to fruition.
So I want to take these two in different emails. Read or dump as you feel necessary. It may take a few minutes to read it all, but hopefully it will be worth your while.
The first is an expansion of "a tree and its fruit" and the second, the broad vs. the narrow way.
word 1. tree and its fruit: genealogy
core phrase: depart from me workers of iniquity, I never knew you.
competitive phrase: did we not prophesy, cast out demons, perform miracles in Your name?
culture: all Israel is steeped in the first 5 books, and you'll see at the beginning of Matthew he says "this is the genealogy of Jesus," tying the King to the Davidic kingdom as well as to Abraham and the founding of the faith. It matters what tree you come from.
core word: genealogy - "generations, birth, history, where it came from."
context:
Gen 2:4 - g of creation (though most English versions translate "generations" or "history" it's same word)
Gen 5 - g of Adam 6 - g of Noah 10-11, 25, 36, 37 and so on. We call it a family tree.
In creation, He made animals to produce "after their own kind" (Gen 1:20ff) and it repeats in the description of the ark, animals coming in that then repopulate the earth "after their own kind", the ability to reproduce is a definitive function of creation. When I learned "evolution" as a theory xx years ago, the definition of "species" back then was "two species that breed would have an offspring that was infertile." The Bible uses the word "kind" and describes it similarly as ability to procreate.
In the plants (Gen 1:11ff) He says "yielding seed...and fruit after his kind whose seed is in itself..."
With that context, think again "a tree is known by its fruit" it can only produce seed (in its fruit) after its own kind. It's not a surface picture of an apple tree bearing an orange. Not at all. It's about the seed within the fruit, that the tree produces after its kind. It's not a picture of the fruit but the seed carried by the fruit. Apple tree seeds can only be carried in an apple. This would be heavily laid on anyone in the Jewish tradition of the scriptures. Or anyone with any sense of farming or agriculture or husbandry even today.
One last little tidbit, the word "know" in Jewish culture is a euphemism for you-know-what, as it is written in Gen 4:1 "and Adam KNEW his wife Eve, and she bore a son." If you go back and read the scriptures where God speaks of the seed, it's not a mere standpoint of descendants in a record book. Activities had to happen to get those people born, very intimate acts. So when they said "we did these amazing things in Your name" He says, "you're not my children simply because you claim my name, I never knew you, so you are not of the righteous seed." Or "your fruit is not after righteous kind." It's not just a symbol of relationship as in we have friends we know very well.
Workers of iniquity. This is profound. You bore iniquity because the Lord wasn't part of the conception. Consider the child of the bondwoman and the child of promise. Both produced mighty nations. Both were offspring in the human sense from Abraham. But the "seed of faith" was when Abraham believed God, not when he tried to accomplish of his own human effort. God may have blessed Ishmael, but Isaac was fruit of the tree after its kind that led to Jesus.
Consider going back through all of scripture and studying the word "seed" (suggest KJV or a Strong's concordance to keep the words straight with the original language). Also the word "fruit" or "tree"
I will put enmity between your seed and the woman's seed...
story of Tamar... (also in Matthew's genealogy)
tree planted by the river, fruit in its season
a farmer sowed seed, in the night the enemy sowed tares in among the wheat...
some fell by the wayside...among thorns...stony ground...fertile soil...bear fruit.
bear fruit that is meet with repentance
fruit of righteousness
fruit of the Spirit...
you must be born again...born of the flesh is flesh, of the Spirit is Spirit...
Ok, I know I know, too much. Maybe also TMI. Well let me at least ask the question, "how does this make the Sermon on the Mount one cohesive sermon?" Well tie it to the beginning and the end. Matt 5 --blessed are ye BECAUSE the Lord has done all these things (where faith came from)...so bear fruit after its kind. I came not to abolish the Law, I wrote it! I'm here to fulfill it in your midst. Our Father, Thy kingdom come. Matt 7 -- He taught as one having authority (He was the author) not as a scribe (someone who studies it or copies it).
Next time, Matthew 7:13-14.
Love you folks! Thanks for reading this far and letting me blab on and on.
Tim
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