Reed Mueller

I quite enjoyed my personal study leading up to last weekend’s message. It confirmed in my mind and heart something that is of considerable debate in some circles, namely the question: “Did Jesus believe he was the messiah and King?” If you didn’t catch it, you can listen to the message, taken from Matthew 21:1-11 and supported conceptually by Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:22-29, here: download or listen online/podcast feed/iTunes.Based upon the actions we see as recorded in Matthew we can see a few of important facts:

1. Matthew’s goal in this record seems to be revealed at the end of the passage through the words on the lips of those in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:10, as the people of Jerusalem say “Who is this?”). I believe that Matthew’s goal in recording this event is to help the reader ask that question, too. So, who is Jesus? How can we know? Matthew offers us two pieces of evidence.
2. Matthew’s answer to this most important question comes first through the actions of Jesus. We can see by looking at the text’s first five verses that Jesus intentionally set out to fulfill a well-known messianic prophecy something that would be crazy to do if you didn’t believe that you were the messiah. What was that prophecy? It was that the King would arrive in Jerusalem riding on a beast of burden (Zechariah 9:9). In light of this prophecy, which the masses apparently knew as well, he sent his disciples to find just such an animal so that he could – through his intentional enactment of that prediction – say one thing to the onlookers that day: “I am King.”
3. Who is Jesus? Matthew next presents the crowd’s response: they proclaim Jesus to be King (Matthew 11:6-9). It’s one thing to claim to be King, it’s quite another for people to believe it. But what do we see in the record? We see the crowd get it! They honor Jesus as King and even sing the words from a very familiar messianic psalm (Psalm 118). Look deeply into that psalm and you’ll see that it draws a picture of a processional, led by a King, right to the place of sacrifice. This is God’s doing, says the crowd, our messiah is finally here! And they celebrate wildly!

But what was the response of the mass of people who flooded Jerusalem that week before the passover celebration? It was to ask the question of the day – “Who is this?” – but answer it in a way that made Jesus weep (Luke 19:41-42). He wept because the people of Israel, on the whole, saw him not as messiah but simply as one teacher and prophet among many (Matthew 21:10-11).

Matthew’s question is still essential to consider today: Who is Jesus… to you? He still weeps for those who don’t receive the peace the King offers to those who trust…but there is great joy for those who see the servant-King for who he is, and lay it all down before him.

Should you want to comment or ask a follow-up question on the blog, follow this link.

I ran across this quote in my background research for my message two weeks ago and am just now getting it posted. Simply, yet profound thinking on how God worked in the world through his word.

“Pretty much all the nations and tribes from Bible times that were of Israel’s size are gone. So why did Israel survive? Not just survive; in the words of Thomas Cahill, ‘how did a tribe of desert nomads change the way the world thought and felt? What distinguished Israel from everyone else?’ It wasn’t power. Most of its history Israel was a vassal nation. It wasn’t wealth. Israel was never a consistent economic player. It wasn’t size. Israel was dwarfed by Greece, Egypt, Babylon, and Rome. What did Israel have? A book.” – John Ortberg, People of the Book, Leadership Journal, 29(1), p37

It was Israel’s dogged commitment to hearing God speak through his word that influenced the intellectual (and spiritual) history of the world.

By the way, if you’re interested in  joining the bible study methods class that will be starting up in a few weeks, email me.

To comment or ask a question, follow this link.

I need your help. I’m planning a march series, called “168 Hours,” which will follow Jesus’ footsteps during the seven days from when he entered Jerusalem through the cross and and his resurrection.

How can you help? I’m glad you asked! Please respond on the blog with your thoughts on one or more of the following questions:

• What questions do you have about his final week – his final 168 hours?
• What most inspires you as you think about his final week?
• What has the church in general (or CRCC in particular) neglected to teach about his final week (and why is this important)?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts…they will be part of shaping our March series and Easter outreach weekend!

To respond, follow this link.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been looking hard at what motivates worship (here) and what God-pleasing worship is. While last week we looked at what pleasing praise is (here), this week we looked again at Hebrews 13:13-16 to discover what pleasing sacrifice is (download/podcast feed/iTunes).

I do not believe that God is pleased in sacrifice for sacrifice sake. God is neither ego maniacal nor sadistic and thus the reason for sacrifice can’t be found in his need or our pain. So what is the reason? To shape us into who we were always meant to be; in essence, to heal us.

For this to make sense, healing must be construed correctly. It can’t be about alleviating pain (for many times, sacrifice for God or others results in discomfort of some kind, be it physical, emotional, interpersonal, or financial). True healing is healing that shapes us into what we were always meant to be: whole persons, accurately reflecting Christ in our world. That is why God is pleased with sacrifice, because it is part of our healing, part of God’s placing of each of his children into his work in the world (1 Peter 2:4-5).

In the message I made reference to three healing (and therefore pleasing) sacrifices:

1. The healing sacrifice Christ made on our behalf (verses 13-14);
2. The healing sacrifice we make when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord (this is sacrifice because we remove ourselves from the center of our own lives and healing because it is Jesus who is placed there; verse 15);
3. The healing sacrifice we make in our attitudes and actions toward others (this is sacrifice because we seek to heal others by seeing them as better than ourselves and healing because by this we become more like Christ; verse 16 and Philippians 2:3-11).

In all of this I implied (to my chagrin) that healing comes as we sacrifice through our own power. While it is true that healing comes through sacrifice, it is not true that healing sacrifice must be (or should be) done on our own power. Far from it, our energy, motivation, and power to sacrifice for others and for God in a healing way comes from His Spirit, as he leads, moves in us, and empowers us (Romans 8:12-17; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:29). So move about in God’s lead as you sacrifice by confessing him and serving others…and in so-doing you will participate in your own healing!

By the way, thanks for your comments (either emailed or posted to the blog) to the “feed-forward” entry earlier in the week! They helped me consider this post.

Should you want to comment or ask a follow-up question on the blog, follow this link.

Last week’s message (download/podcast feed/iTunes) was really fun for me! For those of you who asked, the opening video (”Sports Sunday: The Big Show”) can be found here and the closing video (”The Gift of Worship”) here.  Also, the song behind the closing video is “Sweetly Broken” by Jeremy Riddle.

The passage we looked at (Hebrews 13:7-14) is steeped in Jewish history (see Leviticus 16), the person of Christ, and our response out of that history and to that person. As I studied and prayed, I summarized the truth that challenged me in this phrase:

You won’t worship God for who he is, until you’ve seen Jesus and what He’s done.

This, for me, sums up the passage we worked on…and it rings so true. Until we see just how much God loves us in Jesus, we’ll hold back in our worship. Until we understand just how great our God is, we’ll hold back in our worship. Not because we’re being obstinate, but rather because we just don’t see what all the fuss is about.

But when we really appreciate that…

• in Jesus we’ve been singled out, called, and loved by God in grace, then we find motivation to say thanks through worship. We are strengthened by his grace, and nothing else (v9).
• in Jesus we’ve not only been loved, but been made holy (v10-13; Hebrews 10:10-14); not simply by forgiving our sins through Jesus’ sacrifice, but also by setting us apart to serve him as his chosen instruments in the world! So, if you’re his child, say it with me: “I am holy!” Not because you’re perfect, but because God, in his power and grace, has called you so!
• in Jesus we’ve not only been loved and made holy… we’ve been given hope beyond all the struggles of this life as well (v14).

It is when we really appreciate all of this that we’ll be motivated for worship! He’s taken someone (me/you) and called us worthwhile. He’s taken someone (me/you) and set us apart for his service and as instruments of worship. He’s taken someone (me/you) and given us hope beyond all the tragedies and struggles of life. I can find no greater reasons to worship with thanksgiving than these!

With these truths in mind I have a couple of questions for you (feel free to answer any or all online or off):

1. What most motivates you for worship? Is it in the list above, or something else?
2. If you really saw yourself as holy, as his chosen instrument of worship and action, how would that change your life on a day to day basis?
3. What most confuses you about worship?

The first two questions are in response to this message while the second one anticipates the topic I’ll be dealing with in this weekend’s message: “What is worship?”

To leave your answers to my questions, or to ask me a question of your own, just follow this link!

In following up from my message last weekend (Together We Must Know / download), I wanted to post a few more thoughts to encourage my own thinking as well as yours.

First, a recap. I see the ancient proclamation/confession “Jesus Christ is Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5) as central to all that we’re doing at CRCC.

• We hold to the belief that there was a historical figure, Jesus, who walked the earth and preached and lived the good news of the Kingdom of God (see, for example, Matthew 4:23 in addition to the Luke passage I touched on in the message). As followers, we share his mission in this, seeking to be the healing hands and voices of our generation in our our church community, our city, and our world.
• But it doesn’t just end there, for we also believe that this Jesus rightly has the role of Christ (or Messiah: “Annointed One”) who died for our sins. As referenced in my message, one of the oldest confessional formulations in the New Testament comes from 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 and focuses upon two assertions of faith: that Christ died for our sins and that he was resurrected.
• But it doesn’t end there, either, for this Jesus, who walked the earth, and this Christ who died and rose again, is proclaimed as Lord – he lives today and always and we give our lives in trust to him and in action like him. We trust his sacrifice on our behalf as Christ, we trust his leadership in our lives as Lord, and in this trust we act, moving like Jesus in our journey as individuals and as a congregation.

This leads me to my second reflection. I am more convinced now than ever that we must uphold both Jesus and Christ as Lord. By this I mean we must be the gospel and preach the gospel of God’s dream for the world as a whole in the here and now. We must work to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free. We must work to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and educated the immigrant. But we must also, and simultaneously, be true to our call to preach the gospel of God’s dream for individuals, that they might find forgiveness and hope and eternal, abundant life in Christ. Of course we will get enamored and distracted from time to time by one or the other of these “gospel poles” but we must, as much as possible, always return to the center and do both with excellence. Furthermore, I must lead in this and equip the church to become this…quite frankly, this is one of the reasons for this blog.

Third, I realize that in talking of the essential, or core, confession of the Church – and our church – I could have gone with many options. I could have chosen the proclamation “Jesus is Son of Man” (one of Jesus’ favorites; e.g., Mark 10:45; Mark 13:26) or the “Jesus is Messiah/Christ” of the earliest Jewish followers (Acts 3:18-20) or even “Jesus is Son of God” which was Paul’s proclamation in Damascus after his conversion (Acts 9:20). However, I went with “Jesus Christ is Lord” because it seems to tie together all of these confessional claims and was embedded in a text that challenges me as a pastor (2 Corinthians 4:5).

I’ll finish up with a quote I found in my background research for this message. It is from theologian James Dunn (UDNT, pp. 56-57) and his study of the early confessional formulae of the Church. To him (and to me), it seems that the unifying strand of belief in the early church was

…the conviction that the historical figure, Jesus the Jew, is now an exalted being – that this Jesus is and continues to be the agent of God, supreme over all other claimants and titles, Lord and Son of God… First, it is Jesus who is confessed – not his ideas, faith or teaching in itself. It is not the faith of Jesus which here comes to expression, but faith in Jesus… Second, it is the present status of Jesus which is confessed – not what he was, but what he is. This is most obvious in the case of the kyrios (”Lord”) confession… Third…Jesus is the subject of the confession; it is the historical person who is so confessed.

In other words, each confession itself maintains the vital link between the historical person and the one who is the present author of life, justification, power. Jesus, the Jesus who was, is, now is and continues to be Christ, Son of God, Lord… [the] unifying element within earliest Christianity…is the unity between the earthly Jesus and the exalted one who is somehow involved in or part of our encounter with God in the here and now.

Okay, enough of me. Because I framed my message last weekend as a kitchen table talk (and would love for this entry to be seen as such as well), feel free to comment and push back on anything at any time!