It is easy to
miss the point of the Bible.
Let me say that
again: It is easy to miss the point of the Bible.
Without
faith, we can miss the point of Jesus’ teachings and leadings. By faith,
though, we receive from him.
I mean, the
disciples couldn’t grasp what the Master-Teacher, Jesus, was getting at in
Matthew 16:1-12. The religious rulers were on pushing Jesus for a sign. Jesus
didn’t take the bait, though; the sign they requested would be demonstrated soon enough. Jesus and the disciples disengage
for a moment and paddle across the lake.
The disciples
get hungry.
And Jesus says
something seemingly connected to their hunger: “Be on guard
against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
“I guess we
shouldn’t get bread from those guys, even though we didn’t bring bread.”
It’s here that
we see how the disciples lost the plot. “You of little faith! This wasn’t about the food they offered. This was about their teaching; it's blind people leading
blind people.”
The previous
chapter exposes the Pharisees and teachers of the Law as blind guides (Matthew
15:13-14). It’s no wonder why they would be looking for a sign (Matthew
16:1-4). Their hearts are far from Jesus. They didn’t get him. They didn’t get
him because they didn’t see him for who He was. You can almost hear Anselm
screaming from beyond the grave, saying, "I don't seek to understand in
order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand.”
This differs
from the Canaanite woman, a woman of great faith (Matthew 15:21-28). Jesus
defined his mission as one sent to the lost sheep of Israel. That didn’t stop
her from seeing Him: “Lord, Son of David, have
mercy on me!”
When the Pharisees
saw Jesus, they saw offense to tradition.
When the
Canaanite woman saw Jesus, she saw mercy.
When the
Pharisees saw Jesus, they doubted his authenticity.
When the
Canaanite woman saw Jesus, she saw God’s promises fulfilled.
What did the
disciples see with the eyes of faith? A better question would be who were the
disciples like more: The Pharisees or the Canaanite woman? They
have walked with Jesus for a while now. They just saw him feed thousands of
people. They have seen him perform the miraculous—healing the sick, liberating
the possessed, and calming storms. The ones who have seen all these signs seem
to look more closely like those who demanded signs. And the
one whom Jesus’ mercy was supposed to come to eventually (see
Acts 1:8), believed quicker than they did. Faster. Why would Jesus ask for food when He can just make it? Why would Jesus encourage them to eat food from his opponents if their "yeast" was bad?
She didn’t lose
the plot though. She didn’t miss
the point.
I have spent
much of my life reading the Bible, studying historical, literary, and social
contexts of the Bible, theology, etc. I'm a "professional" Christian (whatever that means) that is involved in teaching and preaching ministry. And I'm still in school studying more of this stuff! What a terrifying
thought, though, to have studied all of this stuff and missed the point of it. What a
summons to great, big, bold, audacious, “I’ve got nothing to lose” kind
of faith! And specifically, faith in the Son of God, Jesus!
Father, I don't
know if you would say I have great faith! I feel like the disciples, after
hearing from Jesus sometimes. I hear you say something, but I can confuse it
with something else. Instead, help me repeatedly believe the most rudimentary,
basic, critical promises that You’ve made! Would you say to me: Timothy, you
have great trust in me and the Son!
Faith in
Jesus is the point, friends! Receive what He has for you!
Follow where He leads today! Do what He says for you to do today!
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