Mathew, Chapter Six.

When we read the first two verses of chapter six from Mathew, those verses may confuse us a little bit because the verse sixteen in chapter five we read like this “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” But in this chapter verses one and two says like this,
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Here the verses warn us against practicing righteousness before other people. Are they conflict each other? Or are they different? Then what’s the difference? The fact is that they are not conflicting, nor different but two opposite poles of the same truth or opposite side of the same coin. Look, the difficulty to imbibe the truth! Jesus taught both these facts not in different speak, not in different session, but in the same one which is known as ‘The sermon on the mount’.

When we use bible to counsel people, often the people fall in vicious circle. Some time when we tell the truth, at a time we can explain only one end or one side, otherwise for the time being that side will be relevant, but the audience totally reject the other side which is indispensible and inevitable. This is happening in the life of many especially in case of leaders, enlighteners and teachers because at a time they explain the relevant pole and the other one leave unexplained. When the time comes they explain the side which they left unexplained in other occasions. The audience may think “this man doesn’t have any integrity”. But it is not the problem of leaders but the people’s who try to imbibe the truth.

In this case we can combine these both side to get the whole truth. To do so, we introspect and ask, “When do we get satisfaction after a righteous deed?” If the answer is “when others see and appreciate us” then we are practicing to be seen by others as mentioned in verse 1. If the answer is “we are satisfied because we can do one righteous activity”, then we are neither according to verse 1 of this chapter nor according to the verse 16 in chapter five. If the answer is “I satisfied because I could in line with righteous life and there by others can understand the way to God.” Then we are right we are obeying both Mathew 5:16 and Mathew 6:1-2. But in Chapter 6 the verses 3-4 specifically say that we have to do in secrete, means not in public. Yes some righteous deeds that involve material transactions like one mentioned in these verses should be secrete. That is better for the donor and receiver.

Means it’s the matter of mentality behind activities and life. The question is,” Whether our activities and lives are enlightenments for one another and others or not?”

Mathew, Chapter five continues...........4

In any circumstance a follower of Jesus mustn’t need to swear to convince anyone any matter. His ‘yes’ must be ‘yes’ and ‘no’ must be ’no’. He must be a trustworthy person who abides his words, means a person of integrity. He must not be like a ‘loincloth on line’, swaying here and there according to the direction of wind. In any circumstance he must not be away from truth. See the verses.

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

A disciple of Jesus cannot think about retaliation. There should not be the word ‘revenge’ in his dictionary. Life of follower of Jesus is life of endurance. He should put up with all hardship and persecutions because he has no right to retaliate against any offence but God. Not only so but also his manners must be amicable, even to his enemies. In behavior there should not be any kind of partiality. He should consider everyone as his own brother or sister. Verses 46-48 make clear that Bible and Jesus is against communalism because Jesus does not exhort to carry out any activities against any other people who are not his followers but to love them, even the enemies, as brothers. We will never see such a doctrine anywhere in the world. Jesus’ doctrine and activities are completely non-violence-and-endurance-oriented. Bible in general and Jesus’ teaching in particular is the need of the time, in today’s international context. See the scripture below.

Retaliation

 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,⁸  let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as yours heavenly Father is perfect.

In short, those are not ready to put up with hardship or cannot lead a life of endurance cannot follow Jesus or they cannot claim as his people. Jesus’ teaching is very hard to follow, every day somebody should be along with us to train and take care without deviating from the teaching. It is not a matter of cake walk.

When we read Gospels they may discourage us. We may think who can obey these commands. That is the question of practice and answer is the ‘Epistles’. Even apostles have asked this question to Jesus. God looks into our heart and deeds to know whether we are trying to obey the doctrine with all our heart and with all our soul. If it so, even though we commit mistakes or we fall many times unintentionally, it doesn’t matter, his grace will be along with us. Means our righteousness is nothing before God and not because of our righteousness but because of his grace we justify. Apostles clarify this in their epistles. But beware; grace is not a loop hole to deviate from the doctrine.

Chapter five ends here but the Sermon on the Mount continues in chapter six and seven

Mathew Chapter five continues…3

Mathew Chapter five continues…3
Bible brings forth the truth that human means ‘man and woman’. ‘Man’ alone doesn’t make the complete sense of human, it’s only the half. In the case of ‘woman’ also it’s true. The unity of both makes the sense ‘human being’. The perpetuation of human race is not possible without this unity. So God created human as male and female as in the case of any other living beings. Otherwise human exists as pair, male and female. That’s why scripture says, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh’. The relation of man with his wife, the process of man and woman become one flesh, is sexual and it is spiritual. So as long as the spouse is faithful sexually divorce is not possible. Means, according to Jesus woman also has freedom, except the freedom we hear today - sexual freedom (man also doesn’t have that freedom). According to Bible man and woman cannot be considered as separate entities, but the opposite sides of the same coin. Without one side the other side is meaningless. So the bonding between the two is essential and it should not be broken in any ground except sexual immorality. Let us see the verses.
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

If we want to know more we have to see the verses from Mark 10: 5-9. It says, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

We can also understand some other facts from these verses. One thing the only allowable sexual practice is heterosexual. Second, neither homosexual nor bisexual practice is considered as righteous but sinful. Once a person has joined with another one in marriage, and then that persons cannot think about another sexual relation. Otherwise, if a man/woman is not satisfied with his/her spouse sexually cannot lead a spiritual life and he/she cannot belong to the Kingdom of heaven or cannot be a disciple of Jesus. So in a marriage both are responsible to satisfy each other.

Mathew chapter 5 continues…………2

Mathew chapter 5 continues………………………2

Violence is the order of the day everywhere. Kerala state has been known as ‘God’s own country’, famous for peace and serenity, but this state also facing Maoist threats. Why? People think that they can mend situations using force on their social environment. The lust for wealth is on one side and it forgets all humanitarian considerations we have to maintain. On the other side the revenge for this kind of situation that also forgets human rights and go wild and takes weapons. Nobody knows that he has to take weapon against himself and has to mutilate his own body parts. Instead they take weapons against others. Both ends forget the fact that the inner world plays the decisive role. Lust for more is the root cause of every undesired events and this lust is an inner world phenomenon. Let us look into the scripture.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

These verses also give importance for emotional part, means it doesn’t matter whether we commit a sin or not but whether we maintain the emotion that motivates to commit a sin. Otherwise, our inner world is responsible for our outer world activities, not the outer world is responsible for our inner world activities. Our inner world (constituted by heart and mind) should control our organs of actions. Means our inner being should make the organs inactive, mutilate, that may go wrong. So, we have to wage war against us not to others. That is the meaning of verse 29 and 30. To happen so the inner world, or the inner being, should be dominant over outer world. Personally strong, such persons are in the inner world (The Kingdom of heaven) otherwise in hell at last. When the outer world is dominant over a personality then it is said to be weak and such personalities cannot be Disciples or followers of Jesus.

Mathew chapter 5 continues…….1

Mathew chapter 5 continues…….1

Jesus reveals the relation between the deed and emotion. He defines that the state of mind and heart – the emotional part – is considered as primary and the deed as secondary in any case. Other wise what the deed we committed is not the primary consideration but the emotion we maintained behind it is. Whether it is murder or a small insult, doesn't matter, both are equal as both of them spring up from the same emotion anger. See the verses below.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

A very difficult commandment to obey! We can try to maintain our inner being somehow but how to take care of the others’ attitude? What a teaching is this? That is Jesus’ standard. When Jesus called his disciples from sea shore what was the promise he made? “I will make you fishers of men”. Means we need to process others heart and mind also, as we have seen in the previous post – chapter 4. Means first we responsible for our heart and mind and then for others also, because whether it is our attitude or the others, it doesn’t matter, the emotion we maintain causes everything. In nutshell we have to focus primarily on the standard of mentality we maintain that is responsible for the kind of culture we follow. Whether we commit murder or not are not a matter but whether we maintain the emotion anger then it is equal to commit murder. According to these verses we are responsible to maintain healthy mentality around us as well as in us. But in the time of Jesus nobody cared about this side, only the deeds. That’s why Jesus had to define everything from the perspective of mentality. It is not easy for anybody to obey these verses . We need a lot of daily training means we need life long everyday help. We need fishers in our life to lead a spiritual life.

Mathew chapter 5 continues…

Mathew chapter 5 continues…………….

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Before Jesus continued his teaching he had to make clear some points and convince his disciples about his teaching. Till that date the scripture was the matter of what the people doing. Means what should have done and what shouldn't have done. The state of mind and heart behind the actions was not questioned or that was not considered along with actions. But according to Jesus the kingdom was ‘internal affair’ personally so the state of mind and heart had the utmost importance. So he had to redefine the laws considering the other side, internal, as well along with deeds. When redefining them revealing the subjective side, there might be some misunderstanding that Jesus might be replacing or abolishing the existing laws. To remove such misunderstanding he made the statement that he had not come to abolish the laws and prophets but to fulfill them. Otherwise it was not possible to fulfill laws by simply observing them by deeds. Means the deeds without proper attitude is like body without spirit.

He declared that anybody who tried to amend the laws would be considered as the least but those who practised and taught them as it was considered as greats. The Pharisees were very pious in all their deeds but they never possessed a spiritual mind and heart accordingly. Their righteousness was in deeds to be seen by people or theirs were ‘ostentatious spirituality’. Jesus warned his disciples about such state informing that such people were not in the kingdom Jesus preached about.

From verse twenty one onwards he explains the attitude each and every deed must posses and how to obey them.

Mathew chapter five…

Mathew chapter five……..
This chapter has paramount importance and it defines kingdom of heaven and discipleship. If we want to know the first twelve verses, then we have to learn well the rest of the chapter. So we can begin from verse thirteen onwards. Verse 13 says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”
Salt is many thing; it is the main ingredient of sacrifices (Lev 2:13; Ezra 6:9; Ezra 7:22; Ezek 43:24) without it God would not accept sacrifices, it was an antiseptic in olden days, it is the main ingredient of all foods, it is manure so and so. Everything is because of the quality that posses, the saltiness. If it loses this quality then it is nothing. So the quality we posses make us what we are, so it is very important. Here Jesus try to teach them that what materially we posses is nothing but what qualitatively posses is matter in the kingdom of heaven. Means we are measured by our quality not by our quantity.
According to verses 14 to 16 we are the light which has to shine before others not to glorify us but to glorify the truth they see in the light and behind the light. Otherwise not the light that shines but what make the light shines. If I explain in another way, not what I scribble here but what make me do so. Not our good deeds but who make us do such deeds. Not the individual but the force motivating him/her. That is matter in the kingdom. In general we work not to project ourselves but to project the one and only who is behind everything, to reveal him before every one.

Mathew chapter four continue…….2

Mathew chapter four continue…….2

After the arrest of John the Baptist Jesus withdrew into Galilee and began to preach the same thing what John had preached. He continued the mission. He chose the Galilee Sea shore because the life there might be typical for the whole social life then existed. He saw some casting net and some others mending net, some times other kinds of works like boat building, mending etc. might have been going on there connected to the profession fishing. Everyone on the shore was very busy to mend their life. Doing different work, they were processing their material environment for the sake of their smooth life. But when Jesus called them they followed him, hearing his message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It was a new revelation for them, working hard or processing their material environment, they couldn’t achieve anything heavenly. But then they heard that simple repentance would bring something heavenly.
Actually what was the matter? Let us look into the facts. Jesus called two brothers whom he first met; they were Simon and Andrew. They were casting net into the sea for they were fishermen. And said to them, “follow me I will make you fishers of men.” What was happening there? Those two brothers were casting net into the sea. They were engaged in a profession means they were participating in the process of processing the material world for the sake of their welfare. But that never provided the welfare they expected that’s why they followed Jesus when he called them. Second fact, he assured them that he would make them fishers of men, means till that date they were processing material world for the sake of welfare but then onwards they would process the human beings for the same purpose. Otherwise Jesus was telling them the fact that working on or processing the material world alone was not the life and welfare, but working with men and processing them also included. How could they process men? Made them repent.
Actually when one repents, the repentance (non-corrupted mental state) will take him to another mental state or psychological state, a heavenly sphere. That is why Jesus called out “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Without checking and working our inner being and making necessary amendments any kind of happiness, Joy or welfare is not possible. We loss our peace and happiness when heart and mind corrupted. For that we have to work for one another, fishers of men, processing men. This will take away most of our burdens and problems.
Next when he called James and John sons of Zebedee they followed him immediately. They didn't have any particular doctrines to lead them. That was why everyone followed him immediately after his call even leaving everything.

Mathew chapter four continue…………

Mathew chapter four continue…………………………..
In this chapter we saw two incidents in which devil tries to define the relation with God as material facts. In first incident he tried to define it as material existence and in the second by entice Jesus to Jump from pinnacle of temple he tried to define it as miraculous power. When the devil failed in both the cases he devised the third one; he led Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the glory of kingdom of world. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” In this third attempt he very clearly comes to the fact advising Jesus to come to the material world and its glory by worship him the devil. Here he defines that the attachment to material world means worship him, otherwise if worship him material world is the reward. What is the peculiarity of this third attempt of devil? In the previous attempts he was lying to Jesus as defined the relation with God as material existence and miraculous power. But in this attempt he tells the truth, attachment to material facts is attachment to devil.
But Jesus defended him by saying, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
So Satan went away. Look, material wealth may come or may not come. Miracle may happen or may not happen. These are not the criteria to believe. Belief is the primary thing and these facts mentioned above are secondary, may happen or may not happen. When the devil gave up, angels came and ministered Jesus. Nobody should think that devilish desire and spiritual desire will go together or spiritual aim and devilish strategy will go hand in hand.
Only after the complete renunciation Jesus could begin to preach. His activities and life justified the scriptures; he needn’t go to scriptures to justify his activities and life. We can see many who use scripture to justify their life, but their life never justify the scriptures. Look what says the verses,

13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”

Mathew chapter four………..

Mathew chapter four………..
After the baptism Jesus got the new spirit and God declared him as his beloved son. What greatness! Usually these kinds of situations lead everyone to think evil. In the case of Jesus also there was no exemption; the spirit led him to be tempted. In that wilderness he fasted forty days and nights. After that, as usual, he felt hungry. What would be the intensity of hunger after forty days fasting? Severe! His priority could have been for his bread. Look, on one side the greatness of being the son of God and on the other side the pathetic condition of being hungry. Knowing this, devil very logically devised a strategy. He connected both situations directly and shot a sharp question to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”That was the first devilish challenge . What does the challenge mean? If he was the son of God, he should have changed the material situations according to the material requirements. Other ways, devil was trying to define the relation with God as the material existence and its requirements. But he answered in the same coin, “It is written,
‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
What does this answer mean? Through this answer Jesus defined human life from spiritual perspective. He revealed the two dimensional peculiarity, or bi-polarity, of human life that quite different from that of animals - the material side and immaterial side. The answer is also a challenge, if it is man; he shall not live by bread alone but need something immaterial. A man needs something immaterial to live as man, the word of God – Principles or doctrine. This need is fulfilled by the relation with God. So if you are the son of God, in relation with God, you will be rich in this immaterial wealth. This is the meaning, in nut shell, that contains in the answer Jesus given. But devil very cleverly tried to connect the divinity with material aspects directly in order to destroy the two dimensional or bi-polar peculiarity of human life.
When devilish strategy failed to entice Jesus, he relied upon the strategy that Jesus had relied on. He quoted from Bible itself to mislead Jesus. He said after made him stand on the pinnacle of temple, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Look, even a devil can understand scripture and not only remain as devil but also he can use it to mislead anyone. I mentioned in my earlier post that understanding scripture is one thing and making change is another thing. Dark forces can use any principles and doctrines for their purpose, in an upside down way – ‘The reverse engineering’. In nut shell devil was trying to merge the two opposites to one instead consider them as two poles of the same truth.

Mathew chapter 3 continues…….

Mathew chapter 3 continues…….
What was one major short coming in King Herod? It was the inability to understand and accept facts and persons in their full magnitudes. That can be seen very clearly in chapter 2, he couldn't accept Christ as a king and he failed to understand who Christ was, a major handicap he suffered with. This can be seen everywhere, we will never accept the right one or the right phenomenon. Instead we will try to project ourselves as the great, for that we will devise all strategies and if it is not enough we will borrow some, this is Herod-psychology. But, John could understand and identify Jesus without the help of any priest’s or expert’s quoting of scriptures or introduction, like in the case of Herod. He accepted the greatness of the one who stood before him. The real greatness of man lies in his ability to see and accept the greatness of others in his life. What did John say about Jesus? “I baptise you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”What was his reaction when he met with Jesus? “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” This greatness can be seen in Jesus also by his humble answer, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Means, being humble fulfills all righteousness. We can see this approach in his washing disciples’ feet.
If we cannot see any greatness in anyone, the trouble is not their. We have to check whether anything good lies in us or not. Good for nothing stuffs never see good anywhere. A great heart sees at least one good thing in every where and in everyone. Let us check the profession of a sculpturer who makes beautiful statues out of marble, granite and wood. What ever the size or quality of the raw material he gets in his hand it doesn't matter, he would make beautiful creations from them. So once he was asked that what was that secrete of such creativity. He answered very humbly that when he got pieces of raw materials in his hand he would see a beautiful statue in them imaginarily. And next he began to remove the extra parts that covered the statue in that material. When he completely removed the unnecessary parts that covered the statue, the statue would appear. In short, his ability to see beautiful statues in raw materials made him great. Jesus saw greatness in John and John saw greatness in Jesus. Actually, our greatness is not lies in us, but in others. When we see and accept greatness of others, being humble, doors of heaven open before us, a new spirit of greatness will come and dwell with us. That is happened in Jesus when he saw greatness and become humble before John the Baptist. See the verses, ” And when Jesus was baptised, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’.”

Mathew chapter 3

Let us consider the chapter 3 of Mathew. At a glance we can see the difference between chapter 2 and 3. In chapter 2 Herod used the scriptures by the help of priests and experts to protect his kingdom – The polity. Here John the Baptist also uses the scriptures to build up a kingdom, kingdom of heaven. The kingdom John preached about was not a political kingdom and thereby the king of that kingdom would also inevitably not a king of polity. Herod maintained a kingdom of political matters but John preached a kingdom of spiritual matters. Political kingdoms bounded by geographical boundaries. But the kingdom of spirit cannot be bounded by such boundaries, it has no such boundaries. Herod’s kingdom was objectively existed but the one preached by John was existed subjectively. Whenever one repented, he became the citizen of that subjectively existed kingdom, the one existed internally. Herod couldn’t understand this fact. He knew one and only Kingdom and King.
John could understand what was going on that social environment; he was not in that darkness prevailed on those days. He said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Means he knew someone had already came to earth to lead the kingdom he preached about. He was aware about the social phenomena and the relation of scriptures with them and thereby he could carry out a great mission.
John preached in the wilderness of Judea. Means most of the part of Judea was in wilderness subjectively. They were not much cultured people because they didn’t have much education so they were considered in wilderness. The education in those days means the education in scriptures. Normally educated and cultured people were well versed in scriptures, Pharisees and Sadducees. But when those Pharisees and Sadducees heard about the baptism they also came to John. He asked them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” The reason to ask so, they themselves didn’t have the ability to know what was going on around them but someone needed to warn them about that. They were not as innocent as those uneducated, full of venom and misleading like the snake in Eden. They were proud of their heritage as descendents of Abraham. Not heritage but quality, heritage is maintained by maintaining some cultural quality. So John warned them to produce such qualities, bear fruits in keeping with repentance. They were well versed in scriptures but couldn’t maintain such cultural qualities, means spiritual qualities. Spiritual Heritage is not biological but cultural. If anyone cannot maintain such cultural qualities, he will be cut off from the people who maintain such culture. John mentions it by saying,” Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Mathew chapter 2 continue……………………

Mathew chapter 2 continue……………………
Herod and Jerusalem alarmed, why? Something happened according to the scriptures, that was the reason. From that moment onwards he began to devise strategies not to happen what had prophesied, means began to try to interfere in divine principles and become a superpower. The first attempt was to influence the wise men from east. He learned the exact time of the star appeared from them and afterward, by their help, tried to locate the place where Christ was born. His plan was to destroy the child. Nobody can be changed or nobody can adopt a life of truth by only knowing truth. Instead the knowledge can be used for destruction. We can teach anybody anything, but no guarantee is there that this will change them because personal changes begin from heart not from head. Herod tried to know truths from scriptures not to make change in him but to make changes in truth according to his perverted ideas and hardened heart. If we use a modern phrase, he was trying the “Reverse engineering” like the terrorists relay on now a days.
But those wise men were not led by Herod. They reached Bethlehem and worshiped baby Christ, and a vision warned them to take another route to their home land other than one that led to Herod’s palace. Their way diverted from that of the Herod. They worked according to their heart not according to the direction of Herod. The objective of Herod and the subjective of wise men were not inline. So the both way diverted from each other. The wise men were led by subjective conditions but Herod by objective conditions, they travelled in different ways. The wise men understood the objective conditions by their subjective state.
Joseph the husband of Marry also had a vision in his dream that warned him to take the baby and move to Egypt. Not the objective situation warned him but his subjective. Herod never led by such a subjective element but always by objectives. Herod never had a subjective foundation to stand on, so only objective facts drove him. Herod could understand that the wise men had tricked him. So he thought about next strategy. His objective thought led him to an evil plan; kill all the baby boys who were under two years. Look, he couldn’t consider the fact that among men subjective factors had been functioning; means the possibility of any kind of thoughts or emotions that might lead the baby and its parents out of Jerusalem. His work was always on objective environments. He misunderstood that by controlling objective environment everything could be controlled. We are also not different from Herod we always on objective environment, don’t consider the other side or the other pole that is indispensible. We devise many strategies, to achieve our intentions and goals, on objective environment, completely ignoring the subjective side. Herod killed all the baby boys in and around Bethlehem but he couldn’t achieve the result he thought about.

Mathew chapter two

The chapter two of book Mathew is very interesting; sometimes we can also describe it as funny. Why? Let us peep into the facts of the chapter. In a cold midnight Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Where was this cold midnight, in natural environment or in social environment? It was in social environment. The people in Jerusalem didn’t know anything happened in their society, a situation like darkness prevailed among them. The wise men from east could know that a King was born there in Jerusalem, but not the Jerusalem people. Isn’t it funny? According to verse 4, there were more than enough experts and priests in Jerusalem but good for nothing.
When Herod knew about the birth of a new king he summoned all the experts and priests and inquired them where the Christ was to be born. They quoted from scriptures where Jesus was to be born. They couldn’t relate what was happening in their society with their scripture knowledge, which had no practical use or application in their social environment or in their social life. This was the cause of the darkness – the midnight effect – where the truth couldn’t be located or identified. So Jerusalem and Herod together fought against truth.
Herod himself knew that the scripture was true. That is why he relied on the scriptures quoted by priests. Not only Herod but also the priests and experts believed that the scripture was true. Here we can see that knowing, reading and by-heart scriptures are one thing and understand the truth is something else. One more thing other than reading, knowing and by-heart scripture is needed to understand truth. This one thing is quite opposite of the other; reading, knowing and by-heart. One is objective the other is subjective, the opposite poles of the same truth. Unity of these two makes the process of ‘understanding truth’ perfect. Objective means material and subjective means spiritual. Objective one exists outside us, the scripture or Bible, subjective one exists within us. It is related to our heart, or it is emotional part. A heart full of negative emotions or a hard-hearted cannot understand the truth in its full depth or its required extend. Verse 3 says like this “When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him”. What kind of heart these people possessed? What kind of attitude these people maintained? That was the problem not only for them but also for us the present generation.