Digging In Jan 2022

The Outcasts

We’re going to do a little review before I get to the main part of my message, but my review sets up my message, so here we go

As we started reading, geneology, struck by who’s in it, who Matthew included

Sure names like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even Judah, Jesus is the Lion from the tribe of Judah, He comes from his line,

But Tamar?? As you read in Genesis from chapter 35 to 36 to 37 the story of God transitions from Jacob and his sons to focus specifically on Joseph,

Genesis from here to the end, chapters 37 to 50 is all about Joseph and how he saves his family who would become the nation of Israel,

except for chapter 38. Only 30 verses long, but it tells the sordid story of Judah and Tamar, a Father-in-law ultimately and unknowingly impregnating his daughter-in-law,

you’ll have to read it because I don’t have time to go into all the twisted details,

But it’s this crazy union that produces the Perez, listed in the lineage of Jesus

The next plot twist comes 6 names later, its Rahab, who’s referred to as Rahab the prostitute in the book of Joshua. She was from Jericho, so not Jewish, and sure she hid the spies but she’s in the Messiah’s bloodline, how scandalous.

Rahab marries Salmon and the kid they have is Boaz, that’s right, the same Boaz who marries Ruth. The book of Ruth is awesome, but we can’t forget that Ruth was also a non-Jew, she was a Moabitess, or a woman from Moab.

This is crazy, not only to have women in the geneology, I have nothing against women, but in this culture you would never include a women in a geneology no less the geneology of the one your putting forward as the Messiah, the King of Israel.

Well if you know anything about Israels history, you know we’re not done.

The next female isn’t actually named, but we all know who she is. David fathered Solomon by the wife of Uriah, the same Uriah he had murdered so he could hide his sin, when he took, slept with and impregnated Bathsheba.

Are there any other scandalous women in the geneology, yeah one more outcast, her name is Mary, the social outcast for getting pregnant outside of wedlock to Joseph.

What’s my point? Matthew seems determined to point out all the sordid details of Jesus geneology, determined to include all the outcasts, all those who have no business being in and yet they are.

Why? Because that’s exactly who Matthew the tax collector is. Hated by his countrymen because he sided with Rome, the enemy, and got rich off the backs and sweat of his own people, and yet brought into the fold by Jesus.

It makes you think who Matthew is really writing to?? We all know and agree he’s writing his gospel to the Jews, but I’m inclined to think he’s really writing to anyone who thinks they are an outcast and have no business being included with the people of God.

As we get to chapter 4 we continue to see this theme of outsiders being brought in. Jesus’ actions and Isaiah’s prophecy, in verses 13-16 where at least one translation says Galilee of the Gentiles, Gentiles are non-Jews, outsiders.

What he does next is call some disciples, Jesus being a Rabbi is going to do what a Rabbi does and that’s select disciples.

Traditionally a Jewish Rabbi is a graduate after studying under another Jewish Rabbi, and he then selects disciples to train so they can eventually become Rabbi’s and so on.

Now the traditional selection group was the creme of the crop young Jewish males who’ve shown tremendous learning aptitude by the age of 12 and will now go to be with their new Rabbi to learn from him so they can become like him and then go and do what their Rabbi does.

Who does Jesus go and select? Not the young cream of the crop, but men who are already Rabbi school rejects.

They weren’t smart enough, good enough, so they weren’t allowed to advance so they went to go and learn their fathers trade.

That’s who Jesus chooses, rejects, outsiders from the system.

At the end of chapter 4 we Jesus in full ministry mode, the question is, who is He ministering to?

I think because we’ve read these stories so many times, and we are separated from this culture by such a great distance of time, we fail to see the scandalous nature of Jesus and His ministry.

Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, but His ministry focus is on the outcasts, the rejects, those outside the system.

Those that are out, Jesus is bringing in. Sounds pretty familiar.

The diseased, the sick, the demon possessed, those with seizures, and paralysis, and he’s healing them. The untouchables are being touched. But not only that, some aren’t even Israelites. Some are from paganville, the 10 towns or the Decapolis, on the other side of the Jordan, these are not Jews.

These are the people who follow Him and these same people make up a large percentage of the crowd who He’s teaching as He gives the Sermon on the Mount.

How does the Sermon start, basically blessed are the outcasts, for they shall be comforted and theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Like, hey all you who have been kicked to the curb, all you on the outside looking in, and you know you’ll never be allowed back in, guess what? The Kingdom of Heaven is different, the Kingdom of Heaven is open and ready to receive you, you are no longer an outcast here.

Oh by the way, all you supposed insiders, you Pharisees, and Saducees, and Scribes etc. you think your in, but your actually out.

Ok, I’m going to segue to another point I’m going to make.

So the first point, outsiders are now in, and insiders are now out

Second point is this, Jesus as a Rabbi was teaching not so people could know, but so people could become and then go and do.

Remember the Rabbi’s the invitation was to come be with them, so you could become like them, and then go and do what they did.

Jesus is no different. So what we are going to have here is Jesus flexing. He’s come to fulfill the law, He’s come to give the true meaning of the Law. That’s how He can say, you’ve heard it said from all the other Rabbi’s, but I say,

Not only that but Jesus emphasis on “teaching” is actually about doing. Whoever does them and teaches them will be called great.

So how can our righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, we must not only teach them, but actually do them the way they were meant to be done.

I’m not going to keep going in chapter 5, Terry did a great job of posting teachings from Jay Stringer on Anger and Lust and previous teachings of his own.

But I would encourage you to read through the Sermon on the Mount again with this thought, Jesus is talking to outcasts and His message is about becoming a new human who lives out this Kingdom of Heaven teaching.

So let’s move to chapter 7

In chapter 7 Jesus again uses a word to define what He’s saying, it’s hypocrite. Someone who basically doesn’t practice what they preach or who does things with the wrong motives and who by historical context, everyone would know He’s talking about the scribes and Pharisees, the religious insiders.