Author Archives: Chuck Smith, Jr.

Day Forty-eight – Matthew 17:24-27 (part 1)

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Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”
Matthew 17:24-25

I find this passage so intriguing that I am going to spend two days with it.

There is no hint in their conversation that Jesus had recently called Peter “Satan,” and no indication that Peter carried any residual shame from that rebuke or that he had any discomfort being with Jesus. Peter had not lost the revelation he received regarding Jesus–in spite of his lapse into the mind-set of human self-interest. He did not lose the spiritual growth he had experienced traveling with Jesus. Rather, he learned a valuable lesson that he would not have learned apart from his error. Continue reading →

June 12, 2011

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Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:41-42 (read verses 38-42)

INTRO: Last week, a lawyer challenged Jesus with a couple of tough questions

First, what should he do to inherit eternal life
– since he asked about doing, Jesus sent him back to the Law
– there it is made clear that doing works of love is the path to life
Then, secondly, the lawyer tried to hide behind the old game of “define your terms”–e.g., “Yes, but what do you mean by neighbor? That is a rather complicated subject, isn’t it?”
– Jesus responded by telling the story of Good Samaritan, and then sent him off to “do the same”

This is one of the classic episodes in the story of Jesus, but it leaves a question unanswered–in fact, unasked! Continue reading →

Day Forty-seven – Matthew 17:14-23

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Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”
Matthew 17:17

There is nothing easy about this statement. A man approached Jesus, fell to his knees before him, and begged the Lord to have mercy on him and his son, who was demon-possessed. He had taken his son first to the disciples of Jesus and they could not help him, so now he goes to Jesus.

Jesus’ response immediately takes us by surprise. Is he exasperated? angry? To whom is he speaking? The disciples that were unable to help the man because of “the littleness” of their faith? The man? The whole crowd? I also wonder if Jesus meant that he had to put up with them or with their nonsense that got in the way of their progress. Continue reading →

June 5, 2011

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And He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” Luke 10:27-28 (read vv. 25-37)

INTRO: As the story opens, two important themes are introduced

  1. The first theme is embedded in the question, “what shall I do?”
    – Jesus forms his response around the word “do”: “do this” (v.28) and “do the same” (v. 37)
  2. The other theme is the tip-off that the lawyer is being dishonest, “put Him to the test”
    – a lawyer in this context was someone who had received extensive training in the Law of God

There is more to this interaction than we see on the surface Continue reading →

Day Forty-six – Matthew 16:27-17:13

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Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. Matthew 17:1-2

This is a strange story and, at first, we might ask whether the gospels need it. What does it teach? What does it prove? But its strangeness is the very reason we should suspect its importance.

In the previous episodes, Jesus had been challenged by his opponents to provide them with a sign from heaven. In effect, they were demanding that he show them his credentials or produce something to identify himself as someone sent by God. A short time later, Jesus asked the disciples what people thought of him. In their minds, who was he? He followed that question by asking them, “But who do you say that I am?” Continue reading →

Day Forty-five – Matthew 16:13-26

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Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Matthew 16:23

What did Peter do after Jesus hit him with these harsh words? Did he hang his head in shame and slink away to some dark corner and hide himself? Was there a moment when he assumed he had failed at discipleship and Jesus did not want him tagging along with the rest of them? After all, Jesus called him Satan!

Can you imagine how you would react if Jesus called you Satan and said you were an offense to him? Continue reading →

May 29, 2011

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All things have been handed over to me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. Luke 10:22 (read Lk. 10:1-24)

INTRO: Can you think of someone whose words and actions made God beautiful to you?

Has there been anyone whose words and actions made God seem terrible, oppressive, or abusive?

For me, the development of my own mature knowledge of God generated some resentments
– I found myself feeling anger towards people who had misrepresented God to me
– Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, camp counselors, and pastors who gave me the impression that God was unloving, always angry and disappointed, that every day he had to be won over-again, yet was impossible to please Continue reading →

Day Forty-four – Matthew 16:1-12

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How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:11-12

In Matthew 16, we revisit themes from the beginning of Jesus ministry, perhaps because from this point on, Jesus is looking toward its end (e.g., v. 21). For example, in both chapters 4 and 16

  • Jesus’ identity is placed in the spotlight (4:3, “If You are the Son of God” & 16:13-17, “But who do you say that I am?”)
  • Jesus is challenged to prove who he is by performing a miracle (4:3 & 16:1)
  • Jesus experienced the challenge as a temptation (4:1 & 16:1 where “testing” translates the same Greek word for “tempting”)
  • Bread is an important issue (4:3 & 16:5-12).
  • Jesus responds to temptation with the command, “Go, Satan” (4:10 & 16:23, where he says, “Go behind Me”).
  • Jesus defines the role of his disciples (4:19, “Follow Me” & 16:24, “deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”) Continue reading →

May 22, 2011

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When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. Luke 9:51-53 (read verses 9:51-62)

INTRO: In the last few months, I’ve been asked a couple of times, what I thought of Harold Camping’s predictions of a May 21 rapture

– I didn’t really know anything about it
– since I could not force myself to get interested in it, I never looked into it

But now, after it didn’t happen, I am interested
– what is he doing the day after? How is he handling his failure?

  • is he blaming God? Satan? The media? His calculator?
  • is he coming up with rationalizations–why he wasn’t wrong?
  • or is he sitting in humility admitting he made a mistake, that he let his excitement get the best of him and now he’s learned important lessons about the mystery of scripture and letting God be God? Continue reading →

May 15, 2011

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And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:29-31 (read verses 28-50)

INTRO: Do you find it irritating when non-Christians try to explain, define, or describe Christianity?

– inevitably they miss something important and usually it is the essence of knowing Jesus
– they make this mistake because they stand outside of Christianity and are trying to prove a point

It is equally irritating when some Christians try to define contemplative prayer
– because they stand outside of it, they have only a superficial understanding of it
– that is why their observations sound nonsensical to those who take waiting on God seriously
(For example, “The purpose of contemplative prayer is to enter an altered state of consciousness in order to find ones True Self, thus finding God”) Continue reading →