The Vision (10.21.22): The Meekness of Christ

 

Image: Pears, North Garden, Virginia, October, 2022.

Note: Devotion is taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 21:1-11.

All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold thy King cometh unto thee meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass (Matthew 21:4-5).

As Matthew describes our Lord’s “triumphal” entry into Jerusalem, he declares that Christ’s actions fulfilled the prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9.

Matthew does not merely cite the passage as it appears in the Old Testament, but, guided by the Spirit, he offers a free citation of it that rightly captures its essence. Whereas Zechariah in the original spoke of the Messiah as being “just,” “having salvation,” and “lowly,” Matthew combines these into one declaration that Christ in his actions demonstrated that he was “meek.”

This term was used by our Lord in his teaching of the beatitudes in Matthew 5:5 when he said, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (citing Psalm 37:11a). “Meekness” must not to be confused with “weakness.” Biblical meekness refers to power and strength that is under divine control and directed to God’s purposes. Christ will later call upon those that labor and are heavy laden to come unto him, to take his yoke upon them and learn from him, “for,” he said, “I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Here is Christ, the one who was in the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1), who had entered into time.

Here is Christ, the one made all things, “and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3), who had become man.

Here is Christ, the one who was “in the form of God” and “thought is not robbery to be equal with God” who had “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness o men” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Here is Christ who left all the riches of heaven and for our sakes become poor (2 Cor 8:9).

Here is Christ, who might have called for twelve legions of angels to deliver him from arrest and crucifixion (Matt 26:53), but who, in passive obedience, submitted himself to the will of the Father.

Here is meekness. Here is power and strength, the Servant and only begotten Son given over to the will of Father, clothed in humility.

In the apostle John’s account of this event he acknowledges, “These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him” (John 12:16).

Christ came to the cross with all meekness that he might give his life “ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). To him be all praise, glory, and honor.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (10.14.22): Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David

 

Image: North Garden, Virginia, October, 2022.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 20:29-34.

And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David (Matthew 20:30).

Matthew 20:3-34 records Christ’s healing of two blind men. Notice three things in their crying out to Christ:

First, notice the cry for mercy. Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you do deserve.

The cry for mercy is, in some ways, a confession of sin. It is saying, I know that I have come short of God’s glory. I deserve God’s wrath and punishment, both in this life and that which is to come. But I am asking Christ to be the instrument through which I do not receive what I deserve.

The cry for mercy is a common refrain found in the Psalms. David’s great Psalm of Repentance in Psalm 51 begins, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (v. 1; see also Psalm 86:3; 123:3).

Second, notice that they call Jesus “Lord.” This anticipates the earliest Christian creed, “Jesus is Lord” (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11).

Third, notice that they call him “the Son of David.” The Gospel of Matthew began in 1:1 with calling our Lord “the Son of David.”. This is the fulfillment of prophecy, that the Messiah would come from the line of David and establish an everlasting kingdom (see 2 Samuel 7:12-13).

This prophecy is there when Isaiah spoke of a rod that would come forth from the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1-2), and when the Lord said through Jeremiah, “I will raise unto David a righteous Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

To say Jesus is the Son of David is to declare he is true man; to say he is Lord is to say he is true God.

This healing of the two blind men is a faithful record of an event that took place in Christ’s ministry, but it also has spiritual overtones. It relays the experience of all those who were spiritually blind in their unregenerate state, but who were converted and who then called out to God through Christ for mercy, confessing him to be their Lord and King.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (9.9.22): A sorrowful parting from Christ

 

Image: Scene from CRBC Labor Day Fellowship (9.5.22)

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 19:13-22.

Matthew 19: 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

It has long been debated whether or not Christ’s words to the “rich young ruler” in v. 21 was a general teaching of discipleship or a teaching especially tailored to this particular man. I think it is the latter. Christ did not make this sort of demand of every disciple.

He told the Gadarene demoniac to return to his home and show the great things God had done for him (Luke 8:39). So, he was not called to follow after Christ, but to stay home.

When Zachaeus reported “half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8), Christ said, “This day is salvation come to this house” (v. 9). So, he was not told to sell all he had to give to the poor, though he pledged to do so with half.

The commonality of the calls to discipleship is that following Christ must have a precedence over all else in one’s life.

This brings us to Matthew’s description of the rich young ruler’s response. His arrogant bravado had disappeared. He cannot not claim to have done this from his youth up (cf. v. 20). Matthew simply reports, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (v. 22).

This scene is filled with about as much pathos as any other in the Gospels. There is many a sorrowful parting from Christ. In this man’s case, he had a greater love for his possessions than he did for Christ.

Spurgeon observed: “We must love Jesus and his great cause better than our wealth or else we are not his true followers” (Matthew, 279).

This young man claimed to have kept the moral law, especially the second table, but Christ shows he failed to keep the first table. In not obeying Christ he had not loved God with all his heart.

How will we respond to Christ? Will we obey and follow him with joy above all else, or will we have a sorrowful parting from Christ?

Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (9.2.22): Quit you like men

 

Image: Ruins of the temple of Apollos in Corinth, Greece

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).

We are drawing close to the completion of our Wednesday evening Bible Study series through 1 Corinthians, now looking at the 16^th and final chapter. Last Wednesday one verse we examined was 1 Corinthians 16:13.

As with all Paul’s letters and following the conventions of ancient letters, Paul ends with exhortations (parenesis). In v. 13 he offers four quick, forceful commands in staccato style:

First: “Watch ye.” This is an eschatological command. It is a call not to be lax but to remain vigilant till Christ comes again. As Christ himself said, “Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42).

Second: “Stand fast in the faith.” The definite article “the” reminds us that Paul is urging the church at Corinth to hold fast to the body of sound doctrine (cf. Jude 3). Some had denied even the resurrection, but Paul reminded them not to abandon right belief (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-5).

Third: “Quit you like men.” This is not a call to “quit” but to remain steadfast and to defend the faith like men sent into battle. This was addressed to the whole church, men, women, and children, as they were all to demonstrate the best God-given qualities of men, to fight for truth and to protect the well-being of the family of God.

Fourth: “Be strong.” We may look at a sin-ruined landscape and at our own failures and feel weak beyond measure, but then we are reminded that our confidence is not in our power but in Christ’s. As the Lord told Paul when he asked for the removal of the thorn in his flesh, “my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 11:9).

So friends, let us heed the command of the apostle and watch, stand fast, act like men, and be strong in the faith.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (8.5.22): Except ye be converted, and become as little children

 

Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 18:1-10.

Matthew 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The original disciples asked the Lord, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Most of us were born with a desire to be noticed, to stand out in the crowd, to be recognized as the best or the greatest. We soon learn, however, just how ordinary or average, if not below average (!), we actually are.

How does Christ respond to their question? He begins not with his words, but with a symbolic or spiritual and prophetic action.

This is the sort of thing that prophets do. Isaiah walked naked and barefoot for three years to show how Egypt and Ethiopia would be humbled by the Assyrians (see Isa 20—just six verses!). Jeremiah wore a filthy girdle about his waist to show how sinful Israel would cling to a holy God (Jer 13). Hosea married the harlot Gomer (Hosea 1).

Christ brings forward a “little child” and he sets the child “in the midst of them” (18:2). The word here rendered as “little child” is paidion, and it means a very young child, even an infant. The same word is used in Matthew 2:11 to describe the wise men coming to Bethlehem to see “the young child with Mary his mother.”

A young child is a perfect symbol of weakness, helplessness, dependency, and vulnerability. Such a child depends on others to do absolutely everything for them. They need others to feed them, to give them to drink, to clothe them, to change them, to carry them.

After providing this striking visual illustration, Christ then adds his powerful words, beginning, “Verily [Amen] I say unto you, except ye be converted [strepho, meaning turn or turn around, or change]….” (v. 3).

Most of the disciples, save Judas, were believers, true followers of Christ, but they were headed in the wrong direction, by trying to vie with one another to be the greatest in the kingdom as the world defines such things.

Christ says they must do a 180 and instead of seeking greatness for themselves, they had to become “as little children.” Otherwise, they could not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Spurgeon observed: “A little child has no ambitious dreams; he is satisfied with little things; he trusts; he aims not at greatness; he yields to command” (Matt, 254).

We are reminded here of what really makes a man’s life great. It is following the Lord Jesus Christ. How can we be great in the kingdom? We must become like little children. We must acknowledge our total dependence upon him in all things.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision: Who is your King?

 

Image: Butterfly bush, North Garden, Virginia, July, 2022.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 17:22-27.

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and given unto them for me and thee (Matthew 17:27).

This miracle is one of the most unusual in the Gospels. Only Matthew has a record of it.

Men come asking Peter whether or not his master pays the “tribute” (17:24). This is likely a reference to the Jewish “half-shekel” tax, extending back to the time of Moses for the support of the tabernacle (and later temple) worship (see Exodus 30:11-16).

When Peter comes to Christ to inquire, our Lord “prevents” (gets ahead of) him by already knowing of the query (17:25). The Lord asks whether kings take tribute from their children (sons) or from strangers? When Peter says from strangers, the Lord declares, “Then the children [sons] are free” (26).

His point is that since he is the Son of David (Matthew 1:1) and the Son of God (Matthew 16:16), he need not pay the tax. Yet so as not to offend (Greek: skandalizo) he sends Peter out to collect the funds needed for the tribute, making provision in a most extraordinary manner (17:27).

He sends Peter, a fisherman, out to fish, not with a net, but with a hook. He tells him to look in the mouth of the first fish he catches to find a “piece of money,” and with it to pay the tribute for himself and Peter. This is a miracle that modern naturalists love to hate. How could this be? And yet, the believer knows that with God nothing is impossible.

What does this miracle mean? Rick Warren suggested years ago it implied that evangelism (fishing) would result in adequate church funding. If you catch them, they will give money! Clearly that is wrong.

The real point is the power of Christ. What a marvel of provision this is! He superintended a coin to come into the mouth of the fish, Peter to cast the hook, the fish to bite the hook, and Peter to discover the coin.

What is more, there is a foreshadowing of what is to come. He, as Son of God, did not have to pay the price, and yet he did. What is more, he paid it for Peter, his disciple. This anticipates his substitutionary atonement on the cross.

He is, in fact, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.

Who is your King?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (3.4.22): We would see a sign from thee

Image: Beaded work, from "These Memories Can't Wait: Beryl Solla, A Retrospective," PVCC, Charlottesville, Virginia, March 2022

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 12:38-45.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee (Matthew 12:38).

The skeptics of Christ asked a sign from him. In Luke’s account he says, “And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven” (Luke 11:16). In John’s Gospel, this word “sign [sémeion]” is one of his favorite words to describe the miracles of the Lord Jesus.

But what has Christ just done? He healed a man blind and mute, by casting out a demon (Matthew 12:22). What we learn is that those who reject Christ are never satisfied by the evidence of his authority and power. They always claim to need just a little more! Those whose faith is based on their experiences are never satisfied by those experiences.

Of course, they were also trying to manipulate our Lord, to control him, to have him do their bidding, to make him their servant, rather than bending the knee before him as their Lord. Do you recall Christ’s description of this generation as being like fickle children in the marketplace (11:16-17)?

Consider Christ’s account of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16. The Rich Man in hell looks to Father Abraham and asks him to send Lazarus from the dead to warn his five brothers about this place of torment. That would have been quite a sign! But how did Abraham respond? “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (v. 29). And, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (v. 31).

Here too the scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign, and Christ gives them the Bible. First, he rebukes them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it….” (Matthew 12:39). Then, he points them to the Scriptures, to Jonah and Solomon, declaring, “a greater than Jonas is here” (v. 41), and “a greater than Solomon is here” (v. 42).

In the light of the reality of who Christ is and how God has revealed him in the Scriptures, will one really say that he needs something else to make him believe? You say you need a sign? You need more evidence? He has risen from the dead. You have the Scriptures. Is that not enough?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle