"What do you want-I mean, really?" Matthew 12.38-50 The other day I got a phone call from a woman asking me about fibromyalgia-as she knows I have managed it for many years-in order to help her adult daughter. As I listened and then asked a few questions about her daughter's lifestyle and exercise, for instance, she reported that her daughter, who had been an accomplished athlete, no longer exercises and in fact has put on a lot of weight. I explained that in order to manage Fibromyalgia, exercise is key, even when you're enflamed or in pain. Sounds counter intuitive maybe, but it is true. 'So, an elliptical trainer would be perfect for her-low impact, no pounding on her joints, and an all-over workout.' 'That's perfect; I will get her one.' 'Wait!' I said. 'Are you sure your daughter will use it, and here's a bigger question, are you sure she really wants to get well?' As we look at the request of the Pharisees (the most pious and overtly religious of the four sects of Jews in the first century) in Matthew 12.38-'Teacher, we want to see a sign from you,' I would ask, 'well, how many do you need? You have seen blind men healed, the paralyzed made to walk again, the man's withered hand restored, the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years healed ... how many signs do you need? By 'sign' they meant miracle. The original language does not include the word we use for miracle, but uses three other words-wonder, power and sign. They wanted a sign. John uses the word 'sign' frequently in his gospel; early on, in John chapter 3, verse 2, Nicodemus a Pharisee himself and a member of the Sanhedrin came under the cloak of darkness to talk to Jesus. 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.' ['An acknowledgment from the religious right that Jesus did miracles, or signs.] A sign points beyond itself to something else. The signs or miracles of Jesus showed his power, and also pointed to the Father, who authorized his miraculous power. It would be easy to criticize the Pharisees, but we are really not so different from them, I fear, at least in this aspect. "Give us a sign," they demanded, even though they had seen many and heard about many more. But I'm wondering-how many times God has given you a sign, has stepped into your path, to extend himself to you, and you chose to walk around him, or ignore him? Perhaps God answered prayer in a mighty way, but once out of your desperate situation, you soon forgot about his tender intervention in your life. Or worse yet-you chalked it up to coincidence. I love that Lee Strobel, a hardened, cigar-smoking, Chicago law reporter atheist, at least had the courage to say, 'if you're there, God, I want to know it...show me.' Has God shown you, and you chose to ignore it? 17th century French mathematician and scientist, Blaise Pascal laid out his reasoning something like this: "It is rather simple: it is smarter to bet that God exists, and to believe in him, because if it turns out that he is real, you win everything; if he is not, you lose nothing. So why not take the leap of faith?"1 The parallel account of this section in Matthew 12 is in Luke chapter 11, where Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it." What did Jesus mean 'hear the Word of God and obey it?' Do that which we know to do, and do not do that which we know we ought not-otherwise, it is sin. It is the struggle Paul talked about in Romans 7. We will know this struggle all of our lives. But Jesus says more. "For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."2 Jesus' brothers are mentioned in several Bible verses. Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, and Mark 3:31 say that Jesus' mother and brothers came to see Him. The Bible tells us that Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55). The Bible also tells us that Jesus had sisters, but they are not named or numbered (Matthew 13:56).3 Matthew 12.50 What is the will of the Father? Pretty simple. To know him and obey him. Only one way to know what that would look like-reading his Word. Most especially, the will of the Father for us is summed up in Jesus' words: " And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."4 Are you the brother or sister of Jesus, as Jesus referred to in Matthew 12.50? "For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Hmmm . . .will require faith in Jesus, which at some point is indeed a leap of faith as Pascal said. Second, it will require the desire to obey him and do his will, and that will require we know something about what that looks like: studying his beautiful words to us. S.O.S. ~ Study. Christine 1 - Blaise Pascal quote from Newsweek, April 9, 2007, article 2 - Matthew 12.50 4 - Mark 12.30-31 |