JEREMIAH 28:5-9

THE BACKGROUND

The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had invaded Judah (and Jerusalem), took all the sacred vessels from the temple, and carted off many (not all) into exile in Babylon.  He then set up Zedekiah as the puppet king of Judah. Hananiah was a prophet in Zedekiah’s court who was popular, because he told people what they wanted to hear.  Everybody wanted to join forces with Egypt, to oust Babylon, and win back their independence.  Hananiah prophecies that all this will happen within two years, and they’ll even get their sacred vessels back.  God told Jeremiah that this is wrong, and it was going to be a long time before things are put back in place.  Jeremiah spoke his piece to the king, and was sent away.  But before he went, he told Hananiah what God told him—that Hananiah would be dead within a year.  Guess what happens?  Yep. Within a year, he was a gonner!

THE DETAILS

  • Jeremiah responds to Hananiah’s false prophecy. Basically he says “Hananiah that would be really nice, but I doubt it”.  (vv. 5-6)
  • He reminds Hananiah that in the past, every time Judah made an alliance with other nations, it went badly for Judah.  He’s saying that if a prophet tells you something you want to hear, then you should presume that he’s not telling you the truth. (vv.7-9)
  • After this, Jeremiah is sent away.  His prophecy fell on deaf ears.  In the end, he was right, and everybody else was wrong. 

THE TAKEAWAY

Some things never change.  We have preachers who speak for God, and preachers who tell the people what they want to hear.  Let us pray for discernment, so that we can choose between the two!
 

ROMANS 6:12-23

THE BACKGROUND

This is a continuation of last week’s lesson.  This time, we get an explanation using an analogy.  The analogy Paul uses worked great in his day, but it is less effective today.  He talks about being “slaves” to either sin or to obedience to our Lord.  In Paul’s time, slavery was a normal thing.  It was so commonplace, that people felt that there was nothing wrong with it.  Historians estimate that between 20% and 35% of the population were slaves.  A better analogy might be addiction.  Some are addicted to smoking, some to shopping, drugs, etc.  (I’m addicted to my iPhone.)  Maybe you can think of another analogy that works for you.  But let’s try out the addiction concept. 

 

THE DETAILS

  • The passage begins with a profound statement—“do not let sin rule your life!”  (v. 12)
  • Instead we are to present ourselves to Gods as “instruments of righteousness”.  Righteousness is living our lives as God intended.  (v. 13)
  • And, just in case you missed it in last week’s reading, here it is again.  Just because we know that our sins are forgiven does not mean that we can do anything we want.  Heck no! (vv. 14-15)
  • Using the analogy of addiction, verse 16 might read like this:  “…you are addicted to the one whom you obey, either addiction to sin, which leads to death, or being addicted to obedience to God, which leads to righteousness.”
  • Back in Romans 3:23, Paul told us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  Now, Paul lifts us up onto a pedestal.    We now are no longer addicted to sin; we are addicted to living our lives in right actions (righteousness).  The main thing that Paul is driving at is that since we love and obey God, we no longer walk in sin, but in righteousness.  We no longer are destined to die, but to live in Jesus.  (vv. 17-21)
  • Being sanctified simply means that we are made holy. Through our baptism, we have been made holy.  We should act accordingly!  (v. 22)
  • The summary of this whole discussion comes in the famous verse 23.

THE TAKEAWAY

So, dear friends, let us “walk the walk”.  Let’s reject the temptation to sin.  Instead, let us choose life in Christ Jesus!  This should be our addiction!

 

MATTHEW 10:40-42

THE BACKGROUND

It’s a good time for us to stand back and take a look at this whole area of Matthew’s gospel.  At the end of chapter 9, Jesus realizes that the needs of the people are more than one person can handle.  He decides to take his inner circle of disciples, 12 of them, and send them out to do what he has been doing.  In the process, he gives them full authority and power to heal, revive, and preach.  Most of chapter 10 is devoted to detailed instructions for them, as they go on this mission.  These past weeks, we’ve been studying most of those instructions.  Today’s reading is the last of this instruction.  It is good to know that Matthew wrote down this gospel about 50 years after the fact.  At the time of his writing, many preachers of the gospel travelled from church to church. I’m sure that he had these preachers in mind when writing this, as well as those who welcomed them into their homes.

THE DETAILS

  • In these verses, Jesus sort of knits a chain of communication and care.   If we welcome a teacher of the Good News, it is as if we welcome Jesus himself.  This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:35-40, where he says if you give a needy person a drink, it is as though we were giving Jesus a drink. 
  • The phrase “in the name of” might be a little confusing.  Try replacing it with “having respect and honor for”.  I don’t think it changes the meaning of Jesus’ words, and it makes more sense.
  • In verse 42 He uses the term “little ones”. Jesus uses this a few times, when referring to his disciples.  I believe he is talking about believers who love God and put their trust in Him as a child would his parent.

THE TAKEAWAY     

Martin Luther said that a Christian is a “little Christ” to their neighbor.  Since we, too are Jesus’ disciples, we are Jesus’ hands and feet to those around us.  We are indeed “little Christs” to those whom we love and care for.