Quiet Time - Jesus and the Word
Jesus was different from prophets and other teachers that had existed throughout the Jewish history. He was also different from the Pharisees and the scribes of the day. After teaching several things to the crowds, they marveled not just at his teaching - but also at his authority.
“And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Matthew 7:28-29 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.7.28-29.esv
Jesus is not just giving his opinion or his interpretation of the law like the Pharisees and scribe did - he was teaching as if he was the original author of the law (he was).
His teachings hold a level of finality and decisiveness that makes things clear, but also makes them more uncomfortable that we would like. Ambiguity (especially in spiritual and religious matters) gives us some comfort. But let us look at the teachings that preceded the previous verse.
“"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."”
Matthew 7:21-27 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.7.21-27.esv
Jesus is making an uncomfortable distinction between people who just call him Lord (even if they are doing great acts) and those who will be saved. This is a point that contemporary Christianity should consider. Does merely saying that Jesus is Lord save you? Jesus immediately follows by talking about obedience. When someone calls Jesus Lord, do they treat him like their Lord? Do they give complete obedience and devotion to him? By building our lives on the adherence to the word we can weather the storms of life. It is also interesting to not that Jesus does not promise us carefree lives with no "storms". But by building our lives on his word we can survive and persevere through the struggles of life.
“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God," he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"”
Matthew 15:1-9 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.15.1-9.esv
Jesus's interaction with the Pharisees is always insightful. It is so easy to try and be legalistic about our faith - to make following Jesus a matter of adhering to an onerous list of rules. The Pharisees were experts in this area. They had created an entire system of law on top of the Old Testament law in order to make sure that they were safe from even inadvertently breaking the law. Strangely enough, Jesus is saying that their legalism is causing them to do exactly that. Hand washing was not an Old Testament commandment, but was human tradition built on the idea of ritual cleanliness. On the other hand - the Ten Commandments says to honor your father and mother - but the Pharisees had built a legalistic system where instead of honoring and taking care of your parents in their old age, you could donate what you would give them to the temple instead. This undermined the "spirit of the law" of what the commandment was saying to do in favor of the "letter of religious tradition". I think that there are many similarities today. How do Christians treat their enemies or sinners? Do we love them as Jesus commanded, or do we shun them and treat them with disdain? Do we give to the poor and take care of them even when we have not enough ourselves, or do we make excuses and put it on other people to do? How many ways have we let tradition and religion get in the way of truly understanding and following the will of God?
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."”
John 8:31-32 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.8.31-32.esv
Saying that the truth will set you free is almost a trite saying today. But the original context of the saying is incredibly powerful. Jesus's true followers will be obedient to his word, and this will cause them to know the truth. Knowing the truth about life and the universe will set the free (from sin, the world, anxiety, etc). It is a strange concept to us (especially westerners) to grasp that obedience leads to freedom. If this concept interests you I recommend reading Galatians.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
http://bible.com/59/2ti.3.16-17.esv
The scripture referenced includes the Old Testament, the later gospels, and letters to churches. It is meant to be our tool in living the godly life and following Jesus. It should be the basis for everything that is done in a community of believers. Training highlights something that is never complete and is always ongoing. People who train their bodies do not work out just a few times and then expect to remain in shape for the rest of their lives. As followers of Jesus we need to be getting our "spiritual workouts" by daily delving into God's word.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV
http://bible.com/59/heb.4.12-13.esv
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
1 Timothy 4:16 ESV
http://bible.com/59/1ti.4.16.esv
We need to be living the life that Jesus called us to. A popular quote attributed to Gandhi talks about how he wished that Christians were more like their Christ. How many people have been turned away from Christ or the Bible because of the way that we saw Christians living? I was raised as marginally Catholic (going to church only occasionally) but became functionally Agnostic when I saw and heard about the way that priests and other parishioners acted. I only became a follower of Jesus again after meeting people who actually practiced loving everyone and taught directly out of the word rather than teaching tradition.
“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.”
Acts 17:10-12 ESV
http://bible.com/59/act.17.10-12.esv
The word is meant to be examined and reasoned with. Anyone I have met who has earnestly examined the Bible with an open mind and wrestled with the meaning has come out a strong believer in Christ. Accepting the word on blind faith without examination leads to a weak spiritual foundation and opens the door for many bad things later on such as being misled by false doctrine or giving in to traditionalism. We should all examine the basis for our beliefs with an open mind periodically to root out tradition and cultural norms so we can arrive at a better understanding of God and his word.
“If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.”
John 12:47-48 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.12.47-48.esv
We will ultimately be judged according to the Bible. Just like students are graded according to the course material - don't you think it is important to study for the final exam of life?