The Motley Crew

July 7, 2010

The Questions

Read Matthew 16:1-4 – then say a thank-you prayer to God that you can read!

1. I wonder what they thought they had been seeing?

Matthew 15:38

Matthew 15:28

Matthew 14:21

Matthew 12:22

(just to name a few!)

2. So what were the Pharisees after in this request?

3. True or False – Unbelief seems to find a way to reject the truth, no matter with what credentials the truth is presented.

4. Dr. Lenski quotes the French Philosopher Voltaire, “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open market place before 1,000 sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.” How does that apply to the Pharisees? How does that apply to you?

5. They seemed to be spending more time watching the weather than watching the spiritual signs of the time. What do you spend more time watching?

6. What does the end of verse 4 mean?

Read Matthew 16:5-12.

7. Did they forget to take any bread at all?

8. So why were they worried?

9. Do you get the impression that Jesus was very upset by the Sadducees and Pharisees?

10. The Pharisees appealed to religion and a show of holiness, and the Sadducees appealed to natural reason which led men to disbelief and loose living. Are these religions still alive and well today?

11. What do we learn from the apostles?

The Motley Crew

July 7, 2010

Some Suggested Answers

We opened with prayer.

Read Matthew 16:1-4 – then say a thank-you prayer to God that you can read!

The Demand for a Sign

1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

2 He replied, [a] "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' 3 and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.

Footnotes:

a. Matthew 16:2 Some early manuscripts do not have the rest of verse 2 and all of verse 3.

1. I wonder what they thought they had been seeing?

• Matthew 15:29-38: Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

• Matthew 15:21-28: The Canaanite Woman

• Matthew 14:13-21: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

• Matthew 12:22-37: Jesus Heals the Demon-Possessed, Blind-Mute Man

(just to name a few!)

Clearly, Jesus had given them plenty of signs.

This is the second attempt by the Pharisees to get Jesus to give them a sign, and the second time that He has told them to look to the sign of Jonah. See Matthew 12:38-45 and Luke 11:29-32 (both reproduced below). The last time, they wanted “to see a miraculous sign from you." Now, they wanted a “sign from heaven.” In both occasions, of course, Jesus refused to be tempted.

The evil one wants a sign from heaven, uses the Pharisees and Sadducees as pawns, and gets a lesson about the sky. They could not see the spiritual signs of the times, even when those signs were right in front of them.

“... what about the spiritual signs of the times? Thousands do not know that there are such signs, or they look at them and then see no meaning in them:

• the spread of the gospel over the world;

• the Bible being translated into language after language and being ready to every man's hand;

• the renewal of true faith in unexpected quarters;

• the testimony of martyrs being repeated from time to time;

• the works of mercy and of Christian devotion.” Lenski, p. 613.

I recently reacquired a copy of an old favorite, The Cost of Discipleship, by Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was among the last to lose his life in opposing the evil of Hitler and the Nazis.

2. So what were the Pharisees after in this request?

They seem to imply that these were just earthly signs, and that they deserved/needed to see “a sign from heaven.” The hope was this would trip Jesus up and discredit him.

They weren't interested in a miracle. The skeptical will not be convinced by any demonstration. They refused to believe, and worse, they were teaching others. They didn't want what Jesus was selling; it was not the message that they wanted to hear. Again, many Jews were looking for that political-military leader to free them from Roman occupation.

“The unbelief of these Pharisees and these Sadducees declares that only a sign “out of heaven” could suffice. There had been such signs: when Joshua made the sun and the moon stand still [Joshua 10:12-13], when Elijah caused fire to fall from heaven [2 Kings 1:10], and when upon Samuel's prayer thunder discomfited the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:7-11).” Lenski, p. 609.

The Pharisees and Sadducees demanded a sign from heaven. They tried to explain away Jesus' other miracles as sleight of hand, coincidence, or use of evil power, but they believed that only God could do a sign in the sky. This, they were sure, would be a feat beyond Jesus' power. Although Jesus could have easily impressed them, he refused. He knew that even a miracle in the sky would not convince them he was the Messiah because they had already decided not to believe in him. Life Appreciation Bible.

3. True or False – Unbelief seems to find a way to reject the truth, no matter with what credentials the truth is presented.

True! We have pretty hard hearts at times.

“Unbelief always finds a way to refuse to accept the truth, no matter with what credentials it is presented. As was the case here, another creditial can always be demanded and those already furnished be discredited. What would prevent the Pharisees from attributing any “sign out of heaven” to the aid of Beelzebub?” Lenski, p. 610.

Many people, like these Jewish leaders, say they want to see a miracle so that they can believe. But Jesus knew that miracles never convince the skeptical. Jesus had been healing, raising people from the dead, and feeding thousands, and still people wanted Him to prove Himself. Life Appreciation Bible.

4. Dr. Lenski quotes the French philosopher Voltaire, “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open market place before 1,000 sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.”

• How does that apply to the Pharisees? On target!

• How does that apply to you? Like the father of the boy with the evil spirit: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). Like Peter walking on the water, we need to keep our eye on Jesus in order to avoid sinking beneath the waves. “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' ”

God has promised us that He will hear and answer our cries to Him, and He continues to do so – again and again and again. The only time He'll turn and walk away is when someone has so hardened their heart that the seed spread by the Sower will fall on the hardened path, never to sprout.

And us? If I was to see a real Jesus miracle, I would hope that I would believe, too. And, of course, most of us have seen a real Jesus-type miracle. Did we recognize it at the time? Did we believe? Did we put our skepticism behind us?

Many times in the last year this group has prayed for someone facing serious medical problems. And many times in the last year we've seen fantastic results, and heard the doctors say that they've never seen such a fast and complete recovery. Did we recognize God's hand? Did we remember to thank God for that blessing?

Pastor told a true story of a young pastor and healing:

In the young pastor’s ministry he was called to the hospital to visit a lady who was having complications with her leg. When the pastor was ready to leave and asked to pray for her she said, “Yes and please pray that I will be able to walk again.” The young pastor did and after he said amen the lady jumped up and started walking! She actually went up and down the hall telling everyone that Jesus had healed her! She caused a big commotion among everyone there which made the pastor very uncomfortable. After he snuck onto the elevator he looked up to heaven and said to the Lord, “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

5. They seemed to be spending more time watching the weather than watching the spiritual signs of the time. What do you spend more time watching?

We sure hate to miss the evening weather. It's a good thing we have the weather channel … or is it?

While it's important to watch the sky, it's also important to watch the heavens.

Several of us mentioned our surprise when we found that the “red sky in the morning” came from the Gospel (as well as numerous other popular sayings and wisdom). One member who has an interest in weather said that this observation was true for Israel because storms are moving from the West to the East, and that this is true for many locations in the mid-latitudes, including Alabama. He also mentioned that the saying is not always true, since sometimes our storms come from the south, not the west. For more about this weather phenomena, see the discussion by meteorologist Jeff Haby, “ RED SKY IN MORNING, SAILORS WARNING” <http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/139/ >

6. What does the end of verse 4 mean?

It was a sign. Jesus needed to get away from them. A thought for us to ponder: what happens when Jesus leaves someone because of their disbelief.

“Jesus then left them and went away.” That is, Jesus left them (spiritually) and went away (physically).

“The sign of Jonah is the resurrection of Christ, the climax of the signs of grace for believers, but at the same time, given also to these Pharisees and Sadducees and to all unbelievers as the final, fateful sign of their judgment. … When Jesus leaves a man, this means that grace leaves him to judgment.” Lenski, pp. 613-614.

Read Matthew 16:5-12.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

7 They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread."

8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

7. Did they forget to take any bread at all?

Nope. They had one loaf. Mark 8:14.

Even though I'm often slow to pick up on His messages to me, thankfully, He continues to work with me, too.

8. So why were they worried?

Because they forgot the miracles of Matthew 14 and Matthew 15, too.

It's the same reason that I get “wrapped around the axle” over small stuff.

When those dishwashers or clothes washers or automobile transmissions go out, sometimes we forget, too. Especially at those times, we need to call out to God, knowing that God will take care of these troubles, whether big or small. When Peter called out to Jesus, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.” He'll reach out and catch us, too.

And concerning the importance of these “catastrophes,” there is always a way to keep things in perspective: Will it matter in a year? Will it matter in 100 years? While some things are important, many more are not.

9. Do you get the impression that Jesus was very upset by the Sadducees and Pharisees?

Yes! He is still talking about them on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Why? Because they were leading so many people away from the truth.

It only takes the smallest amount of leaven to rise a loaf of dough. And it takes only the smallest amount of untruth to poison people's understanding. Whenever we hear a message from someone who purports to be a religious leader or teacher, we need to remember Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:15-23: “… every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

10. The Pharisees appealed to religion and a show of holiness, and the Sadducees appealed to natural reason which led men to disbelief and loose living. Are these religions still alive and well today?

You bet! We see them in churches & people that foster legalism & hypocrisy, and in churches & people that foster “anything goes.”

And we always need to guard against these tendencies in ourselves as well.

Harkening back to Pastor Eddie's sermons two weeks ago, the Pharisees were working for their salvation. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican certainly gives insight into that problem.

“God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” (Luke 18:9-14)

In addition, we recalled again that for the Pharisees and the Sadducees, there was the concern about their financial interests in maintaining the status quo.

The teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees alike “... act like leaven which silently penetrates the heart and mind when it is not recognized and expelled and thus antagonize the divine truth and ruin the soul.” Lenski, pp. 617-618.

Leaven is used in making bread. Its use is to pass through the flour, and cause it to ferment or to swell, and become light. It passes secretly, silently, but certainly. None can see its progress. So it was with the doctrines of the Pharisees. They were insinuating, artful, plausible. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines, they instilled them secretly into the mind, and they pervaded all the faculties, like leaven. Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

11. What do we learn from the apostles?

That they were slow to get it … and sometimes, so are we! Thank God that Jesus keeps looking for His sheep!

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:38-40

We can't know how we would have reacted to the daily teachings of Jesus that showed the error of the teachings of some of the most respected men in that society. The Apostles and Disciples were having to “unlearn” much of what they'd been taught throughout their lives. But, because we know the full truth given by the true Messiah, we can quickly turn away from wrong teachings, and embrace the good news.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

Several commentators mentioned that the disciples might have been initially confused. They were concentrating on the bread, but then the Lord start to talk about leaven, which might have seemed like a non sequitur.

“ … the Jews had many particular rules about the leaven which might be used in making bread. Many held that it was not lawful to eat bread made by the Gentiles; and the disciples, perhaps, supposed that he was cautioning them not to procure a supply from the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

“There were two things, especially, which seem to have driven the disciples into a mistaken interpretation of these words, so that they understood them of leaven properly so called.

“I. That they had more seldom heard leaven used for doctrine. The metaphorical use of it, indeed, was frequent among them in an ill sense, namely, for evil affections, and the naughtiness of the heart; but the use of it was more rare, if any at all, for evil doctrine.

“II. Because very exact care was taken by the Pharisaical canons, what leaven was to be used and what not; disputations occur here and there, whether heathen leaven is to be used, and whether Cuthite leaven, &c. With which caution the disciples thought that Christ armed them, when he spake concerning the leaven of the Pharisees: but withal they suspected some silent reproof for not bringing bread along with them.”

John Lightfoot, “A Commentary on the New Testament.”

We closed with prayer.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Matthew 24:35

Texts that were the basis of the Motley Crew Bible Study class for April 14, 2010:

Matthew 12:38-45. The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

Luke 11:29-32. The Sign of Jonah

29As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

For more information, see the The Motley Crew notes for April 14, 2010. http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/SPLC/2010-04-14.html

Parallel Texts

For Additional Study

Online Resources

Book of Concord in PDF Format, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod <http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/TrigBOC.pdf> (2MB file)

These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

A number of important Lutheran texts can be found in the Belief and Practice section of the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=112

John S. C. Abbott and Jacob Abbott, Illustrated New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/ain/

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/

Harold F. Buls
http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/index.html and
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-bul.html
Adapted from Exegetical Notes, Series A, Festival Season Sundays, Gospel Texts, by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1980

The Adam Clarke Commentary
http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/

Burton Coffman, Commentary on the Whole Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/bcc/

John Darby, Synopsis of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/darby/matthew1.htm

The Greek Interlinear Bible,
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm
Based on NA26/27. A word-by-word translation of the Greek New Testament.

David Guzik, Commentaries on the Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/

The Geneva Study Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/geneva/matthew1.htm

John Gill, Exposition of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew1.htm

Jamieson, Faussett and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew1.htm

B. W. Johnson, People's New Testament
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/johnson/matthew1.htm

John Lightfoot, Bible Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/light/matthew1.htm

Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians
http://www.studylight.org/com/mlg/

J. W. McGarvey, Original Commentary on Acts
http://www.studylight.org/com/oca/

J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel (also known as a "Harmony Of the Four Gospels")
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/four/matthew1.htm

Alexander Maclaren, Commentaries on the Books of the Bible
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a2330

The NET Bible. <http://bible.org/netbible/> A completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes. It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Excellent notes, citing both the Greek and Hebrew, as needed. Greek and Hebrew fonts available without cost.

W. Robertson Nicoll, The Greek Expositor's Testament. Vol. 1. Five Volumes. (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1910). Excellent notes on the Greek text and summaries of commentators. Available at Google Books (www.books.google.com) and the Internet Archive (www.archive.org; easier to find here than at Google Books). A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/

C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)
http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/

Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
http://www.studylight.org/com/tod/

R. A. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
http://www.studylight.org/com/tsk/

W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
http://www.antioch.com.sg/bible/vines/

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/wesley/matthew1.htm

Other Additional Resources:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/SPLC/Motley%20Crew%20Research%20Resources.html

Other Resources

Barker, Kenneth L., ed., TNIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Readers Edition. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006)

Davies, Benjamin, ed., Baker's Pocket Harmony of the Gospels (Baker Book House, 1975). Formerly printed as Harmony of the Four Gospels.

Goodrick, Edward W. and John R. Kohlenberger III, eds., The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999). This is the second edition, originally published as the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It was originally published as The NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It should be distinguished from The NIV Complete Concordance by the same authors.

Green, Jay P., ed., The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Vol. IV. Second Edition. (Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)

Halley, Henry H., Halley's Bible Handbook. New Revised Edition (24^th Edition). (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965)

Hickie, W. J., Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977). This is a reprint of an older edition, originally published by Macmillan, August. 1893. A contemporary review described this as "A handy little volume, compiled on sound principles from trustworthy authorities." The 1911 edition is available online and for download at http://openlibrary.org/b/OL17866849M/Greek-English_lexicon_to_the_New_Testament

Hoerber, Robert G., ed., Concordia Self-Study Bible. NIV (Great Rapids, Zondervan: 1973, 1984).

Lenski, R.C.H., The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943, reprinted 1964)

The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).

Nave, Orville J., ed., Nave's Topical Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979)

New Bible Dictionary. Second Edition. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1962)

NIV Archeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)

Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (Text from Project Gutenberg)

Robertson, A. T., Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000). This “Concise Edition” is derived from the six-volume work by Robertson published in 1933. Robertson was also the author of 45 books, including numerous commentaries, a Harmony of the Gospels, etc. Also available online

Rogers, Cleon L. Jr., and Cleon L. Rogers III, eds., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998). This is the second edition of the excellent work by Fritz Rienecker, A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, translated and edited by Cleon L. Rogers, Jr.

Strong, James, ed., The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990)

Vine, W. E., Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Original Greek Words with their Precise Meanings for English Readers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date). Originally published circa 1940.