ScottDickson.net

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54 ESV)

I’ve always identified with the centurion. I guess it’s because I spent a little over fourteen years as a police officer and still work in law enforcement as a civilian crime analyst. In a way I can identify with him. Likely, he knew little about the religious/political intrigues that got Jesus crucified. Had he been in Pilate’s position, he may or may not have come to the same decision to hand Jesus over for crucifixion. However, he did understand the need for the rule of law to keep order in society.

It was probably that understanding that caused him to carry out his orders to oversee Jesus’ crucifixion. After all, Jesus and the two thieves being executed with them had been judged and found guilty by the legal system of the day. Like the scene with a centurion in Matthew 8, he was a man under authority and knew the importance of carrying out orders.

As a centurion he had probably served as a soldier for quite some time. He had risen through the ranks and now was in charge of a detachment of 100 soldiers. In addition to fighting Roman wars, the soldiers acted to keep the peace in occupied territories.

Like soldiers and police officers today, he had probably seen plenty of depravity and death during his service. You don’t have to convince a police officer or a soldier that all men are sinners. They have seen it first hand. They have seen what sinful men will do to one another. They have seen the blood flow and smelled the peculiar smell that accompanies death. In this case, the centurion had likely carried out orders to crucify some poor wretch more times than he could count.

But this time it was different.

While the centurion had likely crucified hundreds of condemned men in his career, he had never crucified the Son of God before. Never had he seen someone die as Jesus did, not cursing his tormentors but blessing them. And never had he seen all creation rebel against this execution with darkness and earthquakes and strange happenings.

This centurion may have never set eyes on Jesus before that Friday. But in spite of that, he recognized who Jesus was by the way he died.

Who is Jesus to you?

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:13-14 ESV)

John the Baptist, Jesus’ relative had just been executed in prison. When Jesus got the news he got into a boat and headed out for solitude. In spite of his need to be alone with his grief, the crowds followed him anyway. Do you think he ever got tired of the peoples’ demands of him?

Just a little later on we see this:

And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, (Matthew 14:23 ESV)

What is it about solitude that seems so essential to Jesus’ prayer life? Often our world seems so filled with noise, either literal from radio, TV, etc. or figurative from Facebook, the Internet, etc. We could learn something from this; that solitude is important sometimes. That we need to push away every now and then in order to draw strength and encouragement from God.

Do you practice solitude in your own spiritual life?

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)

This doesn’t exactly make for an attractive religion. The “gate is narrow and the way is hard”? I wonder if sometimes we are guilty of trying to widen the gate and ease the way and in doing so are really entering through the wrong gate. So much of what is popular in our culture runs counter to the teachings of Jesus. Christians are not immune to this either. It seems like many Christians today are more worried about seeing “their side” succeed in politics or wield power than they are with seeing the Gospel lived out.

Which way will you choose?

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:19 ESV)

In reading this passage in Matthew chapter 1 I was struck by the description of Joseph as being a “just man”. Joseph and Mary were betrothed. In their culture the betrothal was a formal version of being engaged. It was if they were married without the sex part. However, if Joseph or Mary had sexual relations with others, it would have been considered adultery which was punishable by death. Joseph finding his bride-to-be pregnant and knowing that he couldn’t be the father, would have had every right to call Mary out on this and to see her stoned to death for her seeming betrayal.

This brings us back to Matthew’s description of Joseph being a “just man”. The Greek word translated ‘just’ is the word (transliterated as) “dikaios” which has this definition according to Strong’s:

“Equitable (in character or act); by implication, innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively):–just, meet, right(-eous).”

What I find so interesting is that Joseph’s idea of just does not include the wrath or anger that we would have expected. When we hear the word just, we often think of a murderer standing before a judge to receive a harsh sentence for his crime. When the judge sentences the murderer to death, we say to ourselves that ‘justice has been done’. But Joseph’s idea of being just does not include a harsh punishment for Mary’s supposed crime. To Joseph, justice does not include vengeance but it does include mercy.

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (Matthew 22:30 ESV)

Jesus was asked a question by some religious folks who weren’t really looking for an answer but instead were looking to instigate trouble. But their question centered around marriage, heaven, and life after death. I find the answer to their question troubling.

I love my wife. I like being married to her and can’t imagine life without her. In fact, later this year we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. While I am not perfect and neither is she, we are perfect for each other. But according to Jesus’ teaching, when we die and go to heaven, we will no longer be married to each other. I don’t know about you but I find this sad.

But I also know what else the Bible and Jesus teach about heaven. I know that God loves me and wants me to enjoy eternity in heaven with him. For whatever reason, he has something else in store for us after our life here is over. I have to trust that it is better than my already wonderful marriage.

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:11-12 ESV)

Shortly after witnessing a confrontation between Jesus and the religious authorities of they day, the disciples mistakenly assume that Jesus was admonishing them about lack of food when he warned them to “beware of the leaven” of these authorities. Jesus corrects their mistaken assumption and tells them that he was referring to their teaching as “leaven” or yeast.

When making bread, one uses a little bit of yeast, which then reproduces and works it’s way through the entire lump of dough. This metaphor of yeast as being like the teaching of these religious leaders is apt. It only takes a little bit of errant religiosity to work it’s way through the entire institution and corrupt the entire thing.

I had a conversation recently with a man who indicated that he struggled as a child with organized religion. What’s funny is that Jesus’ harshest criticism was not directed at ordinary sinners such as unchaste women, or dishonest tax collectors but instead was leveled at religionists. In fact, Jesus usually welcomed the sinners and rejected the religionists. Sinners often know their lives aren’t what they should be. Religionists often don’t because the teachings of their religion become a functional god to them, obscuring their view of God himself and of their need for a savior.

In the case of the religious authorities of Jesus’ day, they missed the long awaited Messiah promised in their religious texts because they had allowed some of this leaven to work it’s way through their entire system. I think that we should probably heed the same warning ourselves and make sure that our institutions haven’t had leaven work through them in the same way. Are the teachings of your faith more important than the object of your faith?