Missions Paul

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16 v 24)

The cross shapes you and casts a shadow as others follow you.

I spend most of my life with leaders. The one to one with Pastors, Church leadership meetings and discussions with leaders of leaders continually show me there is much to talk about. And there is much to read also. Scores of books and training documents on how to be a good leader of people. Churches today are needing strategists, problem solvers, business executives, high ranking managers, visionaries, movers and shakers. People are following transactional leaders, democratic leaders, charismatic leaders, introverted leaders, transformational leaders, authoritarian leaders, delegating leaders and of course coaches and mentors. But there is one question that overpowers all those powers:- are we carrying the cross?

How are our lives shaped by the pressure of the cross?

Is our life formed by the crucified life?

Whether in the pulpit or the pew the authority given to us is not to be lord and master but to be the edifier of Christ’s body, the Church. ‘Touch not the anointed’ never applies to you and me in the context of being unteachable, unchangeable and unmoveable.

The world needs to see the power to carry the cross of love every day, in every setting, with all our conversations and in any decision we make. That is the power we seek. The power for the cross to shape us and to cast a shadow behind us.

Every problem a Church ever experiences can be answered in this sentence of Jesus. Every problem.

As this becomes more the focus of our life then mission to the world becomes more naturally effective. The world becomes drawn to a shape it has never seen and convicted by a shadow of love that rests upon them.

We need more courses on carrying the cross.

The need today more than ever before is for the world to see gloriously disfigured disciples of Jesus.

People can tell whether or not you are just in Christianity or a disciple of Jesus. You are marked. They can tell by how you speak, how you treat others and the kindness of your acts. They can tell by your self-promotion, how you defend yourself and your hidden agendas that always surface.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16 v 24)

Being a disciple is a choice.

You can enjoy the benefits of Christian ministry without making the choice of discipleship.

You can be known as a ‘nice Christian person’ you can be a member of a church and join the choir and never have made the choice of discipleship.

You can instruct others on being a disciple and be a great orator of the Bible and not have made the choice of discipleship.

Disciples are the ordinary who say, “It’s not about me!” (deny)

Disciples are the ordinary who say, “I will lay my life down for others.” (cross)

Disciples are the ordinary who say, “I don’t know it all”. (follow)

We need disciples not attenders or preachers.

Jesus has just told his disciples the purpose of his life was soon to begin, his death and resurrection. They have not understood and wouldn’t for quite some time. Peter was the first to speak up:

“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16 v 22-23)

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him; sometimes your friends can take you aside and away from the path of discipleship and become angry with you for the road you have chosen. Your road isn’t their road.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan; sometimes you have to turn away from your friend and their voice for it is more influential than they realise.

you are a stumbling block to me: sometimes friends take obstacles away from us and sometimes they become the obstacle.

you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns: sometimes friends only have genuine human concern for you but it stands in opposition to the concerns of God.

What kind of friend are you?

^“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matthew 16 v 21)

From that time on there was one thing that Jesus repeatedly spoke about and that was the purpose of his life. In fact Matthew will record him saying this same thing 3 more times (17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:2).

Jesus explained that the full weight of the Jewish leadership will be against him; that he must go, he must be killed but that on the 3^rd day (always seen as at some point of that day, the 3 days and 3 nights is any portion of that time) be raised to life which obviously indicates that someone else is doing that raising.

From that time on…

From today perhaps?

Focus on what you must do; you must be a disciple, you must carry your own cross, you must follow Jesus.

Settle your mind knowing that whatever opposition or challenges that come against you they will be used for the fulfilling of what you must do.

Acknowledge that there is One who is the raiser of your life and even in your death your ultimate resurrection and as such this purpose will never fail.

You have followed Jesus for 2 days over hills and rocky terrain and you arrive at Caesarea Philippi. This was a location famous for its pagan rituals and sacrifices. Jesus then leads you to a famous cliff called the ‘Rock of gods’. At the base of the 100 feet high cliff was a cave called ‘the gates of Hades’ and people believed gods such as Baal entered the cave. Into the crevices of the rock the people had placed hundreds of idols and statues.

Here, Jesus taught the people about His and their mission.

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.” (Matthew 16 v 13-20)

Standing near one of the shrines, Peter declares “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

“You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

On this rock of gods and every religion imaginable, I will build my church.

There is no cliff face for us but we live in a culture of idols and false religion.

The disciples were familiar with the Scriptures that tell us we are from a different rock.

The gates of Hades will not stand up against the power of the Church. Our mission is to take on evil and defeat it within culture.

Today this is why God has planted you where you are. In the factory, neighbourhood, school etc. It is not easy to live and work in such an environment. But it is here where Jesus is building His church.

“I am perfectly self-aware and my self-awareness tells me I am right.”

“I have self-diagnosed myself and my self-diagnosis says there’s nothing wrong with me.”

Yeast.

All the disciples were thinking and talking about was what they were going to eat for lunch. No one had brought lunch for this trip. There was one loaf in the boat (Mark’s account) so they had something, but this was never enough for these men.

Jesus then sees something that they were never going to see.

Yeast.

“When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.  “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16 v 5-12)

Throughout the Bible yeast is represented as sin. The celebrating of the Passover was to be done with the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the removal of yeast from their houses for 7 days. It all pointed to Jesus being the Bread of Life who was without yeast/sin. On the boat Jesus warns of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. The disciples begin to argue again about them having no lunch because clearly Jesus was referring to their food, wasn’t he?

No.

He was seeing what they should have seen. They had witnessed 2 miraculous crowd feedings from 5 and 7 loaves of bread. They are now grumbling about having no bread (or one loaf in Mark)! Their problem is not in what they see but in what is hidden. Their problem is a severe lack of self-awareness.

In short:

• The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod is the hidden sin that pervades throughout their life. On the surface they appear religious and successful but underneath are attitudes and motives that are not true and that are failing. Eventually they will consume the house they are in causing it to collapse.
• This yeast can cause even the disciples not to see or hear what is right in front of them. They can see the miracles and hear the teachings but fail to see who Jesus is and He is right there in the boat with them.
• For us today, don’t let the unseen attitudes of the heart, the yeast, block you from recognising the hand of God in your life.

Dig deep and find that yeast.

People manage to fall out over the smallest of things.

No one had packed sandwiches for lunch! Actually Mark tells us that they had one loaf in the boat (8:14) in a way that sounds like it was yesterday’s bread and in any case how are they going to distribute one loaf amongst all the disciples?

 “When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16 v 5-12)

Do you get worked up over not having enough? Are you worried about not eating lunch?

Don’t you remember …?

I love the Message translation: “Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all?”

Remember the provision stories in your own life. Carry them with you at all times.

They had all been there at the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 which started with a small amount of food and which resulted in basketfuls left over.

Jesus is more than enough.

If he can do this for 5,000 and 4,000 don’t you think he can do it for 12 disciples?

It is like they had forgotten that whole experience as they argue and discuss what they should do for lunch. Jesus was on board their boat. He is always enough. But for some reason they hadn’t understood that the miracles Jesus did for others, he could do for them.

This lack of recognition was more than a weakness it was a sin which Jesus likened to that of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He called it yeast. But more of that tomorrow.

Some still want signs from heaven.

We only have a short time on this earth. So why spend that time trying to please people? Why waste energy proving yourself, defending yourself and trying to convince those who are only trying to trip you up that you have been sent to them as a gift? Jesus didn’t so why should you?

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, ‘When evening comes, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,” and in the morning, “Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ Jesus then left them and went away.” (Matthew 16 v 1-4)

Throughout Galilee Jesus drove out demons and healed a man with leprosy. It was a sign.

The Sea of Galilee had never seen so many miracles in its history. Jesus did all these. It was a sign.

Even the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 were all signs.

But these religious leaders were relentlessly pursuing Jesus. They had seen or at least heard of the many miracles of Jesus. So why ask for a sign?

• It was a test. They wanted him to fail. They wanted proof of who he was. They wanted him to try and prove himself to them.
• It was in the middle of questioning. They were the mobile judge and jury. They already had made their mind up.
• It was to authenticate his preaching here on earth. A sign from heaven to prove what he is doing on earth.

If you know you are being trapped by those who are not for you, do what Jesus did? Walk away.

Do you remember that feeling of arriving at a certain place in life when there are more questions than answers?

Where am I? Where am I going? What am I meant to be doing here? Am I meant to be here?

Hold this thought.

“After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.” (Matthew 15 v 39) However …

“After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.” (Mark 8 v 10)

The fact is no one knows.

Scholars for centuries have thought they knew but then others have successfully discounted their argument. Should Magadan be called Magdala? Was it a copyist error? Is Dalmanutha in Magdala? Are they the same place or places next door to each other? Or are these actually clever descriptive places by the gospel writers?

No one knows.

But what Matthew and Mark do agree on is what happened at Magadan/Dalmanutha’. It was a place for the attempt of the entrapment of Jesus. We will read the verses tomorrow.

But ponder this with me. Within the gospel story there is a moment on looking back when because of a lack of evidence all we have is confusion. We know what happened there but we don’t know where it was exactly nor the reason for being there.

That may be your story too.

There may be a chapter in your life when all you can describe it now as it was a place of confusion. Perhaps you are in that chapter now. If so, then be careful. The confused place could be a place the enemy is trying to catch you out.

You may not know where you are but you know who you belong to. You may not know why you are here but you know who sovereignly led you here.

Confused but caught not by the enemy but the perfect plan of God.

I have been sat for some time just dwelling on a familiar story. Familiar, not because it is a go-to passage in the Bible but because it is similar to a more well-known passage. Here is the story of the feeding of the 4,000 which is preceded of course by the more popular feeding of the 5,000. Some probably think it was the same miracle but it wasn’t as Matthew will reveal later (16 v 9-10).

These 3 words are speaking the loudest to me: Presence; Care; Learn. But let us read …

“Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.” (Matthew 15 v 29-39)

The 5,000 miracle occurred near Bethsaida, a Jewish region; the 4,000 miracle occurred in the Decapolis (according to Mark), a Gentile region.

The 5,000 Jewish miracle had 12 basketful of broken pieces perhaps referring to the 12 tribes of Israel; the 4,000 Gentile miracle had 7,000 basketfuls where the number seven is known as complete perfection (that the complete gospel is for the Jew and the Gentile). The feedings by Jesus were for both groups of people, the gospel is for all.

So come back to the 3 words:

• Presence

“The people were amazed … And they praised the God of Israel … they have already been with me three days”

The crowd lingered with Jesus. Camping out on the remote mountainside and caught up in the powerful presence of Jesus.

Let’s not get caught up with each other too much. I am not minimising this problematic world of social distancing with empty church buildings but what good are crowds without Jesus? His presence is everything. Those moments of feeling ‘marvelled’ (NASB); the place of wonder (ESV); this is what I seek, don’t you? When did we last linger with the presence of the Lord? The people were caught up in the praise of God. Which God? The God of Israel, here in our nation, alongside us, His presence in our presence, the divine exchange. I believe that is still possible for you and me, don’t you?

• Care

“I have compassion for these people; they have … nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

Jesus was concerned for these people not only whilst they were with him but on their journey home too. The heart of care for people is needed today. People are not a commodity to be used as a statistic; or to feed ego; they are people incredibly loved by Jesus. I don’t think the most important ability for a Pastor is whether they can preach or how charismatic they are or even how evangelistic they are. Give me someone who cares. Give me someone who is concerned that people don’t get harmed along the journey, That’s the heart of Christ which we all should have.

• Learn

Isn’t this interesting?

His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 

When are we going to stop asking Jesus the same questions?

When is Jesus going to stop asking us the same questions?

When are we going to keep watching Jesus do what He wants us to do?

Are we learning? Some people never learn and so they go through life with the same scenarios being played out time after time.

Presence; Care; Learn.