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Matthew 28 - Master's Voice

Jesus' disciples have personally witnessed Jesus being crucified and dying on the cross. The women discover that Jesus is raised from the dead and relay Jesus' message to meet Him in Galilee. The disciples go to meet Him as instructed and the result is:

Matthew 28:16-17 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him – but some of them still doubted!

Some of them still doubted! But, all that changed when He spoke. In the very next verse we see:

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth...

The moment they heard Him speak they knew, they knew it was Him!

Several years ago, I looked looked like a hairy wildman, sometimes people joked and said I looked like Ted Kaczynski - like the picture in the upper left (click here for a larger picture). I had hair down to my shoulders, a full beard and a moustache that I could curl into handlebars. I was working with the youth of my church at the time, and had been for several years. One day during the week, I decided to shave it all off and get a haircut. The next Sunday I came to church a few minutes after the start of the youth service. I was wearing a suit and my glasses, which I ordinarily did not wear. I walked down the middle aisle and stood in front of the youth for about thirty seconds. They were all wondering who the visiting preacher or speaker was. Then I spoke, just one word. I said the word "Metamorphosis", that was all. Immediately those that were familiar with me now recognized me and a collective gasp arose. A transformation had occurred to my physical appearance, but now they knew me because they had heard me. They knew my voice.

I believe that it was much the same with Jesus in verses 16-18. The disciples were looking at him saying, "He looks familiar..." Remember Jesus now had a resurrected body, he was changed. However, when he spoke, they knew Him. As the scripture says;

John 10:4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me"

How do we know that they truly believed? Just look at the book of Acts. These men were indeed changed, because they were now willing to lay their lives down. Obviously they were totally convinced that Jesus was truly raised from the dead.

They recognized his voice. We must do likewise. How? By reading His words, learning of His characteristics and mannerisms, only then will we be His sheep, following the voice we know - His word.

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 26 & 27 - Liar, Lunatic or Lord?

Many years ago now, Josh McDowell put out an awesome book named Evidence That Demands A Verdict. In it, among other things, he empirically proves the claims of Christ and the New Testament. Matthew 26:63-64 and Matthew 27:11 reminded me of today's title.

Matthew 26:63-64 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say. And in the future you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven."

Matthew 27:11 Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. "Are you the King of the Jews?" the governor asked him. Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say."

Josh McDowell stated that many people consider Jesus a good man, even a prophet, but refuse to acknowledge him as God. He contends that Jesus is either God or He must be a Liar or a Lunatic. Why? Well, Jesus stated in the above verses that He is indeed The Messiah. So, He is either lying, or He is deranged. He cannot be good if He is lying. And He cannot be a prophet if His prophecies are not 100% true. And He most certainly would be insane if He wasn't who He claimed to be since He was going to be executed because of His claim.

Something to ponder.

You are Blessed, Jan
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Matthew 25 - Is hell real?

In Matthew 25:31-46 the veil of Heaven is peeled back for us. Jesus allows us to see what the final judgment will be like. For those that doubt that there is a hell or an eternal punishment for rejecting Christ, I don't think if could be any plainer. Just look at these two verses - note that Jesus does not call this a parable.

Matthew 25:41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons!

Matthew 25:46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."

It is also plain to see that this was not God's original plan for us. He says that the eternal fire was prepared for the Devil and his demons, not mankind. If that is so, what was the plan for mankind? Jesus tells us in verse 34.

Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

From the foundation of the world God has had a Kingdom prepared for us! Before we were even a twinkle in our parent's eyes as the expression goes, God already had our eternal home prepared. All we need to do is accept it.

Thank you Father for the gift of eternal life!

You are blessed, Jan
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Matthew 24 - If it were possible.

What an awesome statement in verse 24!

Matthew 24:24 False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

The italics are mine for emphasis. The obvious implication of this part of the statement is that the elect (true Christians) cannot be led astray by the false messiahs and prophets!

The Greek word used for if is Ei. It is "a primary particle of conditionality." Ei is also translated as whether.

The Greek word used for possible is Dunatos. Other definitions are; mighty in influence, strong in soul, and having power for something.

So, what I see being said is that even through strong influence, we the elect, cannot be led astray. Why am I so certain? Because scripture interprets scripture. If I turn a few pages to the right, to the book of John, I see that we cannot be removed from Christ.

John 10: 27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

I am truly thankful that it is not my power that does it. Because I know that I don't have any power outside of that which Christ living in me provides.

Blessings to you, Jan
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Matthew 23 - Do as I say, not as I do.

I'm sure that most of us have heard this statement, or similar, at one time or another - "Do as I say, not as I do." It may have been as a joke, or the person may have been as serious as a heart-attack. Either way, we probably looked at them as if they were a loon. It is plain to anyone that a double standard like that is wrong.

In Matthew 23, we find what I think is Jesus' most damning rebuke of the "religious" crowd. He calls them all sorts of insulting and demeaning things in an attempt to shake them out of their self-righteous complacency. He starts the whole thing out with acknowledging that they are in a position of power and therefore should be obeyed. Then He immediately exposes their double standard.

Matthew 23:2-3 "The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. Therefore do and observe whatever they tell you. But don't do what they do, because they don't do what they say.

Even in the rebuke Jesus explained what God requires. However, it is doubtful that any listened.

Matthew 23: 11-12 The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

They needed to humble themselves, to serve their people, not expect to be served. In other words, they needed to do as they said.

Father God, may I truly be willing to do as I say. There are many that watch my life. Please allow me the grace to be an example that will point them to You and Your Son Jesus.

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 22 - God of the living

I love the grammar lesson in verse 31 and 32. Jesus corrects the "educated" people about something that was obvious - if they would have only paid attention.

Matthew 22:31,32 And regarding your speculation on whether the dead are raised or not, don't you read your Bibles? The grammar is clear: God says, 'I am - not was - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.' The living God defines himself not as the God of dead men, but of the living."

Because these men who trusted God for their salvation are no longer dead but alive, we have assurance that when our time comes, we too will be alive with Christ.

Thank you Jesus for the gift of eternal life.

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 21 - Blank Check?

I just read this chapter and keyed in on verse 21 and 22:

Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus answered, "I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, "Get up and throw yourself in the sea,' and it will. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

I don't know about you, but the word whatever seems to be a bit of a blank check. All we need to do is believe it and we can do it or get it? Since Jesus said it that would be true, if there was nothing else in the bible about prayer. But scripture interprets scripture. For a complete inventory of the bank account this prayer check is to be drawn on, we need to look at some other scriptures that reference prayer.

Romans 12:14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.

Philippians 1:9 I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding.

Philippians 4:6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Colossians 1:11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy,

1 Timothy 2:1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks.

1 Timothy 2:2 Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity.

James 4:3 And even when you do ask (pray), you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.

James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

Jude 1:20 But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.

It is clear that we need to be praying for things that are part of God's will for us, not our carnal selfish will (James 4:3). I think the key to receiving what we ask for is found is in Jude 1:20. We are to pray as we "are directed by the Holy Spirit."

May we truly be directed by Him.

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 20 - It's unfair!

If you have children you have probably heard this statement many times, probably just in the past week alone. "It's not fair!"

Children seem to have some sort of internal scale that weighs things in the balance. "He got half and inch more cake than I did." or "Why does he get to stay up fifteen minutes more than me?" are statements that are constant reminders of this fairness meter. Somewhere along the line, as we are growing up, we begin to understand that the world is an unfair place, and we stop - or at least greatly decrease - noticing it. However, that built in meter is always present, suppressed perhaps, but there.

In Matthew 20 we see this parable by Jesus:

Matthew 20: 1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the workers on one denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 To those men he said, 'You also go to my vineyard, and I'll give you whatever is right.' So off they went. 5 About noon and at three, he went out again and did the same thing. 6 Then about five he went and found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?' 7 "'Because no one hired us,' they said to him. " 'You also go to my vineyard,' he told them. 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, 'Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.' 9 "When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. 10 So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: 12 'These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day and the burning heat!' 13 "He replied to one of them, 'Friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Didn't you agree with me on a denarius? 14 Take what's yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. 15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my business? Are you jealous because I'm generous?'

The workers that came early were jealous of the ones that came later. They thought that they deserved more since they worked more. "It's not fair!", they yelled. And at first glance that would appear true - if their reward was to be based upon the amount of labor. However, it was not. It was based upon doing the agreed upon task. Which, in this instance, was working until quitting time. Therefore, there was no unfairness.

The message is that even those that come to Christ late in life get the same reward as those that have served him a lifetime - heaven. Praise God for that! It means that anyone can be saved at any time. It is God's gift to us and it is not fair - it is grace.

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 19 - The Sin of Divorce?

First, let me apologize for the length of this post. It must be lengthy to properly address this topic. Most of my background research of it comes via the work of Dr. David Instone-Brewer of Cambridge.

Starting at verse 3 we read the following discourse between Jesus and some Pharisees:

Matthew 19:3-9 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

We, and most of the church throughout history have looked at this verse and said, "Whoa, you can never divorce except in the case of unfaithfulness." However, this is a flawed reading of the discussion. Without knowing the proper historical context to the Pharisee's question we would think that he is asking "Is divorce legal?" That however would have been an incredibly stupid thing to ask since divorce was already legal and had been since the time of Moses. So what is the proper historical context and what was being asked?

In the first century AD, Jesus' time, there were two dominant schools or rabbinical groups of Jewish religious law. One was the Hillelites, the other the Shammaites. These two groups differed on the interpretatin of Deuteronomy 24:1, which reads, 

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,"

The Hillelites contended that there were two provisions for divorce in this verse. They believed that the word some (or any) was one reason, and that uncleanness was another reason. The Shammaites asserted that there was only one reason, uncleanness. In knowing the background, we can see that what Jesus was really being asked was, "Can a man divorce his wife for "any" reason?"

Let me put it another way, in the USA, the legal drinking age is 18-21 depending on which state you live in right? - Wrong! You can drink anything you want at any age provided it is not alcoholic. You, like most people, automatically inserted the word alcohol into my question. In the same way, the Jews of Jesus' day were more than familiar with the argument about divorce, and they would have automatically referenced the Hillelite vs. Shammaite debate into the question posed to Jesus. There are times where we need to view scripture from the perspective of the intended audience in order to discern the true meaning of the text.

What Jesus did in this section was to assert that Deuteronomy 24:1 only provides for one valid cause of divorce, some uncleanness. The specific example of uncleanness is not revealed nor important to the discussion. What He said was that there is only one reason in this scripture.

So, back to my title question, is divorce a sin? In looking at scripture, the answer must be a resounding no! Look at Jeremiah 3:6-8a.

"The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and played the whore there? And I thought, "After she has done all this she will return to me"; but she did not return, and her false sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; "

Wow! God himself divorced the nation of Israel! Since God cannot sin, therefore the act of divorce is not a sin. Sin leads up to, and causes divorce, but divorce is not a sin. Look at it this way, does a death certificate by the coroner make a person dead? No, it is a pronouncement of what has already occured, a divorce decree is similar. It states that this person is no longer married, in a oneness union. A Jewish divorce certificate literally stated, "You are free to marry any Jewish man that you wish." That was all. It was a document of liberation, not shame and enslavement to second-class citizen status.

But what if you divorced and you didn't have the golden out of adultery by a spouse? What then? Excuse me, but does not God forgive sin? Hello! repent, resolve to not sin in that way again and get on with your life!

However, let me further add that the bible actually provides for three additional reasons for divorce, they are; abandonment, lack of love or abuse, and lack of provisions or squandering of them. The Jewish courts based the last two on Exodus 21:10. The Apostle Paul put forth the abandonment reason, which was a traditional Greco-Roman Divorce - just leaving and not returning. Futher the Apostle Paul reaffirmed the requirements for marriage found in Exodus 21:10 in his letters to the Corinthian church when he told them what their responsibilites in marriage were.

I've written enough, if you'd like more information about this topic, I suggest visiting www.instone-brewer.com for amazingly exhaustive and thorough research about it. Another excellent way for you to research this would be via his book:

DAVID INSTONE-BREWER, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002). Pp. xi+355. $US26.00.

In Christ, Jan

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Matthew 18 - Treat them as a Pagan or a Tax Collector

In this chapter there is an interesting piece of scripture as follows:

Matthew 18:15-17 "If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that "every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,' as the scripture says. And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector.

I have added the italics to the last part of verse 17 to highlight what I'm focusing on. I bet you, like me, have thought that this scripture is essentially saying to have nothing to do with that person. Or to take it a step further, to rejoice when he stumbles, finally crashing and dying. You then expect to line up with many others to pee on his grave, knowing that he got what he deserved.

But that is missing the point entirely! Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost! What did Jesus say just a few chapters ago about Pagans and Tax Collecting sinners?

Matthew 9:10-13 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans (Tax Collectors) and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

It is amazing what I am seeing when I reread familiar passages from a new perspective. The Message version of the bible translates Matthew 18:15-17 like this:

"If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him - work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love.

He is a Pagan, a Tax Collector - a sinner. What did Jesus come to do? To seek and to save that which was lost. We are to do likewise.

Heavenly Father, please allow me to see those that hurt, dismay, or abuse me as You do - as sinners in need of salvation. Help me to be faithful and not give up.

In Christ,
Jan Broucinek
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Matthew 14 - Change of heart

A few chapters ago we read how Jesus had healed two demon possessed men. The response of the area residents was;

Matthew 8:34 "The entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone."

To put it succinctly, they were freaked out.

However, after Jesus and his disciples left, the guys that had formerly been possessed by the demons started telling everyone about what Jesus had done for them.

Mark 5:19-20 "But Jesus said, "No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been." So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them."

Now in Matthew 14 we see a remarkable change in the very same town people that had begged Jesus to leave in Matthew 8.

Matthew 14:34-36 "After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. The news of their arrival spread quickly throughout the whole surrounding area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. The sick begged him to let them touch even the fringe of his robe, and all who touched it were healed."

As the scripture says, "a word fitly spoken is as apples of gold in fittings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). In other words, precious and beautiful. Those fitly spoken words by the healed men enabled Jesus to minister mightily to the people of Gennesaret and Decapolis (the ten cities or towns).

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 12 - Quietly overwhelm

This section of scripture just reinforces to me how we are to behave. The term Christian, means to be in Christ, or Little Christ. So if that describes us, how did He behave?

Matthew 12:16-21 He also cautioned them to keep it quiet, following guidelines set down by Isaiah: Look well at my handpicked servant; I love him so much, take such delight in him. I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations. But he won't yell, won't raise his voice; there'll be no commotion in the streets. He won't walk over anyone's feelings, won't push you into a corner. Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers.

I think these verses say it well, don't you?

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 11 - Rest - ahhh, the sweet sound of it.

I have always liked the following verse, no matter which version of the bible it is translated from. But I felt that The Message had a wonderful way of wording it, so here it is.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Thank you Jesus that you allow us to live freely and lightly, if only we'd take the time to watch, walk and work with You.

Be blessed.
Jan Broucinek
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Matthew 10 - Like our Lord

I was going to write about an incident from my teen years relating to verses 32 and 33. But something else just sort of jumped out at me when I read it again - this time in The Message version of the bible. It was verses 12-15.

I know a man that if you reject what he has to say regarding the gospel, he takes these verses to mean that he is to literally take his shoes or sandals off and smack them together audibly in front of you shaking the dust from them. All the while he loudly asks the Lord to judge you.

Honestly, for years I had thought that these verses said to do something similar to that too. But when do we ever see Christ doing that to the hurt, confused, lonely, - the lost? The only people He treated harshly were the self-righteous and those taking advantage of others. Our God is a God of order, a God of mercy and of compassion. He is not willing that any should perish. So what does a proper perspective on these verses look like? What was Jesus really saying? I think that The Message hit the mark. It reads:

Matthew 10:12-15 "When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way. You can be sure that on Judgment Day they'll be mighty sorry - but it's no concern of yours now.

In looking at "shake off dust of your feet" in a new light, I can clearly see Jesus saying, "Don't spend any more time there, leave that place behind and go elsewhere. Others will listen. My Father will take care of them in the end. They didn't reject you, they rejected Him."

In verse 16 Jesus compares us to sheep, He tells us to be wise as serpents, gentle as doves. Are serpents noisy when they do their thing? No, only the rattlesnake makes a sound, and that is to warn you to keep away so that you don't get hurt. How about doves, how much noise do they make? No, it is clear that we are to gentle with those in need of Christ. God will judge them, it is not our place to do so, it is His.

Look at Christ's rebuke when the disciples wanted to have fire come down from Heaven to consume a village that had rejected Him.

Luke 9:55-56 "But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village."

No, it is quite clear that my job, and yours is to show the love of Christ. God will take care of the results.

Be Blessed! Jan
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Matthew 9 - Mercy to the Healthy or the Sick?

Matt 9:11-13 The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor; those who are sick do. Learn what this means: 'I want mercy, not sacrifices.' I've come to call sinners, not people who think they have God's approval."

I see two interesting things in this particular section. The first is that Jesus authorizes doctors. He clearly says that sick people need a doctor. So all of the doctors among us can rejoice, Jesus said that there is a place for you.

The second thing I see is that the "religious" crowd got ticked off at Jesus for eating with "sinners". Jesus' response is awesome. He quotes Hosea 6:6 "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." - He basically lays them out for putting on a good religious show, but completely missing the message of God. That message is that He desires all to come to Him and repent - that none should perish.

Thank you Father that You are the great merciful physician!

In Christ,
Jan Broucinek
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Matthew 8 - Servant or Child - either way, do I have faith?

I keyed in on the Faith of the Roman Centurion. This man had signed on with Rome for a 25 year tour of duty, in other words his entire life, which made him a professional soldier. This was unlike many of his troops, some of whom could be conscripted for a much shorter time period. He rose to the rank of Centurion, which means leader of the hundred. In actuality he would have had between 60 and 160 men under his direct control. So he certainly knew what authority and rank meant since he had men under his authority and he was himself under authority to his superior officers. An interesting thing to note is that as a Centurion, if he were given permission by Rome to marry, he had the privilege of having his family live with him. This last point will take on relevance shortly.

This brings me to the word "Pais". This word is translated as "servant" in this section of scripture by most bible translators.

Matt 8:5-13 When Jesus went to Capernaum, a Roman army officer (Centurion) came to beg him for help. The officer said, "Sir, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain." Jesus said to him, "I'll come to heal him." The officer responded, "Sir, I don't deserve to have you come into my house. But just give a command, and my servant will be healed. As you know, I'm in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, 'Go!' and he goes, and another, 'Come!' and he comes. I tell my servant, 'Do this!' and he does it." Jesus was amazed when he heard this. He said to those who were following him, "I can guarantee this truth: I haven't found faith as great as this in anyone in Israel. I can guarantee that many will come from all over the world. They will eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The citizens of that kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there. Jesus told the officer, "Go! What you believed will be done for you." And at that moment the servant was healed.

However, in looking at the original Greek meaning of this word, the very first definition is, "child, boy or girl, infant, or children". The secondary definition is "servant".

It really doesn't change the effect of the miracle one bit, nor the faith that it demonstrated. But replace the word servant in the scripture section above with son and it may shed light as to a reason why it was important for the Roman Centurion to personally come to Jesus to ask for a miracle. Remember, as a Centurion, if he had a family they could most likely live with him where he was stationed.

Another reason that I feel this might have been his child is the word "my" in the above verse. In Greek the word is "moo" and can be translated as "of me". So the scripture would read, "Sir my own son is lying home..."

Still, no matter which it was, servant or son. My question must be, "Do I have that kind of faith?" I'm sad to say the answer is no. My computer, my brain, has been too trained to deal in what I can see hear, taste, smell and touch. As a result, I struggle with faith. Lord, please increase my faith. Luke 17:5.

In Christ, Jan

p.s. Incidentally this word, "pais" appears 24 times in the New Testament, and 8 times in Matthew. Another example is below. As you can see, if you replace servant with son, it does not alter the meaning much, and in fact enhances it.

Matthew 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

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Matthew 7 - Spare Time Worship?

I must confess that I am getting a bit discouraged. I thought that this would be a daily accountability email (see www.dBrag.org). But the only ones from our group participating are Eric and me...

However, on that same subject I find these verses in today's reading. Funny how God does that.

Matthew 7:13-14 "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life - to God! - is vigorous and requires total attention."

It seems that God is telling me to stay the course, that I must persist in doing those things that I have committed to do, no matter what anyone else may or may not do. The "total attention" part speaks to me in how I've been treating my daily reading, I do it whenever I find some time. But, I'm seeing that I need to be intentional about it. I need to set aside a specific allotted time, and stick with it.

Father, please forgive my lazy Christianity and help me to be intentional about my relationship with You. Amen.

In Christ,
Jan Broucinek
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Matthew 4 - Honor your father and mother

In this section of scripture I find something that at first glance appears to be a violation of the fifth commandment - "Honor your father and mother". In verse 21 and 22 Jesus calls James and John to follow him, and that they leave their father Zebedee behind with the boat and nets. This would be quite dishonoring to just abandon the family business and leave their father to fend for himself. However in reading Mark 1:20, a parallel account of the same event, I find that they left their father Zebedee with the hired men. That changes the picture completely! They didn't just up and abandon their father, he had the help that he needed to maintain the family business.

Thank you Heavenly Father for being a God of consistency.

In Christ,
Jan Broucinek
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Matthew 3 - No John, don't hold back, say what you really think.

I recently read this chapter in The Message version of the bible. I was captivated by the way that it was written. This chapter was worded in a way that just brought fresh perspective to me.

Two things stand out.

The first is that John the Baptist was truly a man of character that did not fear people. Look at this quote from verse 7 ...he exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? I don't know about you, but if I was a leader, a respected authority in my community, I'd be quite offended to be called a slithering snake. I can only hope that I am willing to be as bold for the Lord.

Then of course there is verse 17, And along with the Spirit, a voice: "This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life."

Unlike many men I received love from my father growing up, but like many he never actually said the words I love you to me. However there was one occasion where he did. I believe it was my sixteenth birthday. I don't remember the event clearly, but I do remember the feeling. It was a profound sense of validation - of acceptance. My father, my hero, the man that has always been larger than life to me, loves me! I knew that he did, but I longed to hear the words.

If God felt that it was important to verbally validate His Son - and on more than one occasion (Matt 17:5), I need to be very mindful to let my children hear me say the same to them.

In Christ,
Jan Broucinek
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Matthew 2 - Material Needs

I find it comforting to see God's provision for Jesus and His parents in this section of scripture.

The wiseguys arrive in Jerusalem about 2 years after Jesus' birth and freak out the regime in power. They are afraid that their authority will be lost (Matt 2:3). They concoct a scheme to figure out where this power vacuum is coming from so that they can eliminate it (Matt 2:8).

Meanwhile back at the house, note that Jesus in no longer in a stable, Joseph and Mary are trying to care for their son. We would probably call them living from paycheck to paycheck in our society. They are not rich, but are on the upper end of the poor scale. We can see this from Luke 2:24 where Mary offered 2 doves as a sacrifice. Leviticus 12:8 allowed this particular sacrifice if you couldn't afford a lamb. She could have gone one step lower and offered just flour if they were even poorer (Lev 5:11).

Enter the wiseguys, they bring expensive gifts and money! Then they leave.

Joseph and Mary must escape with baby Jesus or He, and likely they, will die. Remember they are poor, so how can they make a last-minute unplanned trip out of the country? Obviously God provided the finances through the wiseguys! He is truly awesome in how He knows what we need before we do! Thank you Father!

In Christ, Jan
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Matthew 1 - Boring Genealogy?

I find the genealogy in Matthew 1 just utterly fascinating! I know some of you are thinking, "Say what?" Follow me in this a minute.

Unless it can be proved that Jesus is a son of David, and a son of Abraham, the Jews cannot accept him to be their Messiah. This particular genealogy traced Jesus' step-father's lineage all the way through his kingly ancestors showing that Jesus was indeed a royal descendant of King David and an Israelite (descendant of Abraham (Gen. 12:3; 22:18)).

However, there are three generations in particular that just jump out at me. There is "Salmon and Rahab". It is said that this is the same Rahab who was the prostitute from Jericho. Think about it, Jesus' earthly lineage includes a Gentile prostitute. In James 2:25 it says that God counted her as righteous because of her faith.

Then there is "Boaz and Ruth". Ruth, another Gentile, a Moabitess to be exact, was the great-granddaughter of Balak, king of Moab. It is seen that from her lineage quite a few heroes of the faith were born. David, Hezekiah, Josiah, and Daniel all came through her.

And finally, there is Bathsheba. She kind of jumps right from the page as well. King David, committed adultery with her, and then essentially had her husband, Uriah, murdered to cover it up. Prophecies found in (2 Sa. 7:12; Ps. 89:3, and more) said that the Messiah was to come from David's lineage.

That God chose these particular women; Rahab, Ruth, and that God chose this particular wife of David's - he had many other wives that God could have selected from - speaks volumes to God's redeeming grace! God did not choose these women by accident. He put them there for us to see that He truly is a God of second chances.

In Christ, Jan Broucinek
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Who am I?

I am a Christian man in his mid 40's. Like many men, I struggle with daily life issues. I know that my wife and children deserve to have a man of integrity, a man of courage, a man of passion, in short - a warrior for God, as head of our home.

Therefore, one of the things I have resolved to do is to chronicle my bible readings as the Lord Jesus gives me strength and ability. I am doing so with several other men that God has placed in my life. It is a concept that you can find on www.dbrag.org. I encourage you to follow suit.

Remember, if you are in Christ, you are blessed!

Jan Broucinek

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