Author: Nina Schmidt

To our ears, adjusted to 21^st century hearing and understanding, this verse intimates that the weak and timid will inherit the earth. In our hearing, meek is associated with diminished and mousy. Not very pleasant qualities, to be sure; not for the 21^st century, at least. The word “meek” comes into our English language through the Old Norse word “mjukr” and is used to translate the Greek word “praus.” The Old Norse means “gentle,” while the Greek means “strength under control.” In the olden days of ancient Greece, “meek” was a standard for training war horses. The best war horses were meek—that is, trained to use their strength and power under the direction and control of the warrior riding them. Not the will of the war horse but the will of the rider controlled the animal.

You can appreciate this imagery for how “meek,” as it was used in ancient Greece, anticipated Luther’s imagery regarding the human bound will. Luther depicted the human as a beast of burden that had a rider. The animal did not fulfill its own will but only the will of the rider. The rider could be either God or Satan. Either way, whether God or Satan, the meek beast of burden endured the control exerted by the rider. When ridden by God, the beast enjoyed freedom (cf. Jn. 8:36). If ridden by Satan, the beast suffered under bondage.

Here we must note that the biblical notion of freedom does not include the ideas of independence and autonomy… ideas readily apparent in our American notion of freedom. The biblical notion of freedom relates to purpose… the freedom to live according to God’s purpose. Which is, as the Apostle Paul gives it, simply freedom for freedom’s sake (Gal. 5:1). The human creature is truly free only when bound to God, its rider. When Satan rides that human beast, true bondage results… bondage to that trio of powers: sin, death, and the power of the devil. Only the free inherit the earth. Only those freed by their being bound to Christ receive such an inheritance. Only free and meek men and women enjoy that future.

Table Talk: Discuss the difficulties that you—as a beast of burden—have with knowing who is in the saddle without resorting to words of works righteousness.

Pray: Father, place your Word in my ears so that the Holy Spirit calls me into confidence that you are my rider. Amen

Matthew 5:1–12

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You just can’t please some people! Jesus makes it obvious. John the Baptist came to the people. He was full of pious practices, self-abasement, and asceticism. Yet, the religious authorities complained. They criticized him and claimed, “He has a demon!” Jesus came to the people. He was generally empty of pious practices, violated the Sabbath rules, and scoffed at the cleanliness customs: he ate with tax collectors and sinners. The religious authorities criticized him, “Glutton! Drunkard!” You just can’t please some people! Especially, when the “some people” are the in-group and you belong to the out-group.

Critics and complainers abound, and even Christian church congregations have them aplenty. Perhaps you’ve experienced this. Maybe you’ve been a visitor or a newcomer to a congregation where some have found your presence among them to be off-putting or offensive in some way. I doubt they openly accused you of being demon-possessed or labeled you a drunkard or a glutton. But, in other subtle ways, they let you know how unwelcome you were among them. Or, to turn the table, can you number yourself among the so-called religious authorities by counting your long history with the congregation? You may not openly dismiss or deride a visitor or a new member but casually spurn them by the lack of a smile, a dearth of warmth, or a cold shoulder or two.

Jesus addresses the tension between those of the in-group and those of the out-group. The in-group (in this case the religious authorities) proves hard to please because its specialized wisdom doesn’t allow for wisdom outside of its own boundaries. The out-group (in this case Jesus and John the Baptist) brings its own form of wisdom that is justified, not by appeals to authority, but simply by its effectiveness. Jesus breaks through the boundaries of every in-group by his effectiveness at being “the way, the truth, and the life!” (John 14:6)

Table Talk: Discuss occasions when you’ve experienced the tension between the in-group and the out-group.

Pray: Father, grant to me the effectiveness of Jesus as my way, my truth, and my life even though I must hold them in faith until he comes in his glory. Amen

Matthew 11:12–19

12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds

Jesus spoke harshly to that royal official. The man had traveled quite a distance; one, maybe two days on the road walking. We don’t know many things about this royal official: We don’t know whether he’s in the Roman or Jewish royal hierarchy. We don’t know if he had heard of Jesus’ miracle. We don’t know if it was faith or desperation which drove him to seek out Jesus’ presence and help in saving his son’s life. We do know that this occasion presented Jesus with the opportunity to disparage the people’s trust in signs and wonders. And we do know that Jesus’ word of promise (“Go home, your son will live.”) was sufficient for the working of faith in the official (The man believed the word that Jesus spoke…).

Jesus often disparages the peoples’ trust in signs and wonders. Their need for a visible display of the miraculous or of the wondrous runs contrary to a faith delivered by the mere Word of God. The Apostle Paul later put it succinctly, “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Jesus did deliver a promise to this royal official. Jesus promised the man healing and life for his son. The man received this promise and “believed the word that Jesus spoke” (vs. 50). The man had no idea whether Jesus’ word was effective. He had no way of knowing whether his son would live. Nonetheless, the man believed and set off for home. We receive a second testimony of the official’s faith when he receives the news of his son’s healing. That miracle… that sign… confirmed his faith and delivered his entire household into faith (vs. 53).

Jesus has promised you, too. He has promised you the forgiveness of sins; he has promised you life, life eternal; he has promised you salvation from the powers that beset you: sin, death, and the power of the devil. All these promises you grasp in faith for Jesus has told you, an evil and adulterous generation, that you will receive no sign but the sign of Jonah (Mt. 16:4 & Lk. 11:29). The promises Jesus makes to you deliver you out of this sinful world with its need for signs and into the household of God (Ro. 8:29). Believe it! You have his word on it!

Table Talk: Discuss the difficulties of holding only to a promise and not to a sign.

Pray: Father, Grant me trust in Jesus’ word. Amen

John 4:46-54

46 Now he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine. In Capernaum there was a certain royal official whose son was sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe!” 49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus told him, “Go home; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and set off for home.

51 While he was on his way down, his slaves met him and told him that his son was going to live. 52 So he asked them the time when his condition began to improve, and they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon the fever left him.” 53 Then the father realized that it was the very time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household. 54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign when he returned from Judea to Galilee.

Jesus tells this parable twice. The first time he tells it, he’s enjoying a Sabbath meal as a guest in the house of a leader of the Pharisees (Lk. 14:15-24). There, despite their watching him closely, Jesus heals on the Sabbath and acknowledges the reality of immediate need. He gives advice on how to choose your seating arrangements at banquets. And he tells this parable on feasting in the kingdom of God—that is, the great eschatological feast. The second time Jesus tells this parable is in the aftermath of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus enters the Temple and endures the testing that comes from religious rulers who attempt to find fault with him just as if he is the Passover Lamb being examined for fault and blemish. This second telling of the parable sets a harsher tone. The king is not only furious enough to invite other guests, but he is furious enough and murderous enough to send soldiers out to deliver his vengeance upon those invitees who had spurned his invitation and killed his messengers.

The king had started out with joy and delight in his son’s marriage. He wanted to not only celebrate it but to publish it far and wide. He prepared a banquet. Judging by the menu (oxen and fattened cattle), a multitude must have been invited. The king intended to have the wedding hall full. When those initial invitees spurned the king’s feast, his vengeance was kindled, and those unworthy invitees died. But the king would not have the wedding hall remain empty. He would have it filled. So, out went the slaves, gathering in all they found with no thought to the good or to the bad but only that the hall would be filled and the occasion celebrated.

An obvious division here would associate the unworthy invitees with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day and the ultimate crowd gathered with no respect to the good or the bad to be those folk who hung out with Jesus, even the tax collectors and sinners. For you who think you hang out with Jesus, that you walk with him, and that you confess him as Lord, only do not claim these activities make you righteous in yourselves. Such a claim will just get you ejected from the feast (Mt. 22:12-13)

Table Talk: Discuss the distinction between being clothed in Jesus’ righteousness versus being righteous in yourself.

Pray: Father, grant me a seat at your table for Christ alone is my righteousness. Amen

Matthew 22:1-14

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”