Thursday, April 16, 2009

Uncovering What Is Hidden

Matthew 13:34-35

The key words are: parables and fulfilled. This is another classic example of Matthew's familiarity with the Old Testament. He sees fore-shadows of Jesus everywhere and almost anything that Jesus does brings to mind a verse from the OT. This time, Jesus' use of parables reminds Matthew of Psalm 78:2. Probably not strictly prophecy: Asaph is not commonly known as a prophet but as a worship and choir leader and, in the context of the original, the psalm was speaking of the singer (not of a Messianic figure) and the fulfillment of his "prophecy" begins in the next verses as he recounts the "parable" of Israel's history.
However, because of Matthew's intimate familiarity with both Jesus and the OT, and because of his burdern to prove to his audience that Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT prophecies about the Messiah, Matthew can't help but draw this comparison between what Asaph said in Psalm 78 and what Jesus did in his ministry on earth.
I am challenged by Matthew's familiarity with Scripture. How many times in the course of my normal day do I see or experience something and have it remind me of something that I read in Scripture? Not often enough! Matthew knew his Scripture so well that no matter what Jesus did, he saw some connection to the words of the OT. I pray that I would come to know and love the Bible as much - not just for the sake of knowing the Bible but motivated by my love for Christ. If these truly are the Words of God and if Christ truly is most fully revealed in Scripture then I should be motivated to study, memorize, meditate, read, remember those words.
I am also challenged by Christ's methods of uncovering that which is hidden. He didn't use charts. He didn't provide all the answers. He mostly asked questions and told stories. In our quest to make our faith reasonable and prove-able we may be guilty of robbing it of the mystery that surrounds it. I pray that my faith would always have room for mystery.

1 comment:

Jeff Beer said...

mystery always is the hardest part, we want to have all the answers. I think you have a point though, we will not have all the answers on this earth, and it is okay for us to say hey, it is still a mystery to me, but I am excited to find out.