People who follow Jesus

Matthew 16:18

   After hours of cleaning my church one Friday, I stood by the long narrow glass windows next to the front doors of that quaint church building in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.  I had mopped the floor of the fellowship hall.  I had vacuumed the entire sanctuary.  Having passed the half way point of my big job of cleaning, the work I had left involved vacuuming the downstairs and cleaning the bathrooms.  On many Fridays, that point was a period where I would take a few minutes to pray and to rest.  To the right was a large painting of Jesus.  Often I would look at the painting and speak to Jesus.

   It was a period of my life where there were a number of frustrations regarding church, my ministry calling, and regarding my challenging personal circumstances.  Yet that day, looking out the window, past the empty parking lot, and past the tree tops in the little valley below the small ridge the church was on, I stared at the steeple of a little white church in the distance.  Though I knew the area of Wheat Ridge fairly well, I had no idea what church that was.  Yet looking at the top of that church, a Biblical fact which I had learned as a rather new Christian fully bloomed in my heart.  I knew that Jesus’s Church is neither a building, nor a Christian denomination.  I knew it is not even a Christian ministry.  Rather Jesus’s Church is people who follow Jesus, with Jesus as the creator and sustainer of the Church.

   Paul said, “…Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior” (Ephesians 5:23 NIV).

   As stated by me in the last piece which looked at this passage as a whole: “The church of Jesus is on the rock of faith that Jesus is the Anointed One!”

   Thus Jesus’s Church comprises of all people who genuinely believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.

   All people who believe in Jesus are saved, and they become a part of Jesus’s Church.

   Jesus’s Church is a spiritual body.  Now this body has physical elements, since believers in Jesus are physical beings.  Yet the core is spiritual, just as God is Spirit (see John 4:24).  The salvation Jesus offers every person involves our souls!  Jesus brings up the subject of a “soul” soon after in this chapter, which we will look at in the future.

   Now, we need to ponder the fact that genuine believers, whatever their Christian institutional affiliations, are members of Jesus’s Church.

   My next piece will continue to examine this subject of church, and we will further consider this verse where there is an important revelation from Jesus that the “church” is His church.

Hunter Irvine

Priest, Prophet, and King

Priest, Prophet, and King

John 6: 14-15

Excerpts from a sermon by Hunter Irvine,

guest preacher for Fellowship at Morrison Chapel

on September 18, 2022

   Today I post this sermon from the fall, because it elaborates on the nature of the Anointed One, the subject of the passage examined in the piece this past Sunday where Peter made the bold statement that Jesus is the Anointed One.  As our study of Matthew has continued, teachings by Jesus have pointed to His Messiahship.  My sermon goes back a few steps in Matthew to the first time Jesus did a miracle feeding, starting with only five loaves and two fish.  Afterwards, Jewish people were concluding that Jesus was the Prophet and bubbling up with emotion to make Him the king of Judea.  They were realizing Jesus was sent from God, but they did not completely understand the divine identity of Jesus, and they did not understand His ultimate mission.  Yet Scripture reveals Jesus kept working to fulfill His mission as the Messiah.  In Matthew 5:17, Jesus stated, “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” (NIV).

John 6: 14-15

After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”  Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself (NIV).

= Open in prayer!!!

1.) The miraculous sign

The miracle referred to here was the fact that Jesus fed thousands of men, women, and children starting with only five loaves of bread and two fish.

2.) The Prophet

The Israelites were expecting The Prophet, because Moses foretold of a man called The Prophet who would come in the future (in Deuteronomy 18:14-22).

Who was the Prophet?

Let us start from the top!

3.) Olive oil

There were three big positions in the history of Israel!

When someone was starting in his position, he would be anointed!

Before getting to the positions –

If someone was anointed, what was he anointed with?

* Olive oil

Olive oil was used for:

food

for cooking

as fuel for lamps

and other uses

For example, regarding lamp fuel: “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning” (Exodus 27:20).

Regarding the value of olive oil: “She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts.  You and your sons can live on what is left’” (2 Kings 4:7).

I have attended a number of seminars at my second Alma mater, Colorado Christian University.  Once the speaker was Dr. Eric Welch of the University of Kansas.  He spoke for over an hour on the topic of olive oil in the ancient world.  I thought it was interesting!  He has participated in a number of archaeological digs in areas of ancient Israel.  He explained how great the value of olive oil was in the Ancient Near East.

And in 2019, I spent a day at The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.  They have a display of an ancient olive oil press, which is impressive.

Thus, olive oil was of great value in the Ancient Near East.

4.) Who was anointed?

In the history of Israel, people were anointed for three big positions!

First: Priests

The precise ingredients for the “sacred oil” for priests is spelled out in Scripture:

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 500 shekels of cassia – all according to the sanctuary shekel – and a hin of olive oil.  Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer.  It will be the sacred anointing oil’” (Exodus 30: 22-25).

“‘Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests’” (Exodus 30: 30).

As elaborate as the anointing oil was for priests, the base ingredient was olive oil.

And Moses did obey God, thus Moses anointed his brother Aaron!

“He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him” (Leviticus 8:12).

All Israelite priests from then on had to be in the lineage of Aaron!

Second: Prophets

I go out on a limb here, since there is only one reference to a prophet being anointed with oil in the Bible which I have found.

“…and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet” (I Kings 19:16).

More may have, since the ministries of prophets were not as detailed in the Bible.  Prophets were unique individuals as men and women who spoke for God.

However the anointing with oil may not have been standard for prophets.  Yet all of them likely had a temporary anointing of the Holy Spirit!  (The Bible shows that happened to King David.)

Third: Kings

Kings being anointed is well documented in the Bible.

For examples, see I Samuel 16:13, which involved David, or note 2 Kings 9:1-6, which involved a man named Jehu.

(I add under the Mosaic Covenant, the Israelites were required to have judges as leaders, however the Israelites at one point rejected God’s plan, and even God Himself.  But God allowed them to have kings, after a stern warning.  Thus they started having kings like all other countries.  Tragically this led to the demise of Israel.)

5.) Our Message: Jesus was all three!

Scripture reveals that Jesus fit all three big positions:

1 - Jesus is the Great High Priest.

The incredible book of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the Great High Priest whose sacrifice was Himself!!!

Only Immanuel, God with us, could serve both at the Great High Priest and as the Lamb of God.

2 - Jesus is The Prophet

Key: Jesus gave the ultimate prophecy that He would suffer, die, and then be resurrected!

see Matthew 16:21 and Matthew 26:2

see Mark 9: 30-32

see Luke 18: 31-33

3 - Jesus is the King of heaven

One key regarding Jesus as King: When Jesus was here in the world, He told Pontius Pilate that His kingdom was of another world.

***And it was not His mission to be king in this world at that time.

The mission of Jesus was to be the Lamb of God.

One day, as is detailed in the book of Zechariah, Jesus will return again, and He will be “…king over the whole earth…”

6.) Who was Jesus anointed with?

Jesus was not anointed with olive oil.

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit!!!

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism!

see Matthew 3: 16-17

see Mark 1:9-10

see Luke 3:21-22

7.) Jesus is the Messiah

Messiah & Christ both mean the same thing: Anointed One!

Christ is the Greek word, and Messiah is the Hebrew word for:

Anointed One!

And the Christ encompasses being the great high Priest, the Prophet, and the King of kings.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ!

The Gospel:

Going back to the mission of the Messiah as both the Great High Priest, and as the Lamb of God, Jesus was the sacrificial atonement for sins.

Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone!

Jesus was the substitutional atonement for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death.

Then He was resurrected.

If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life in heaven.

Invitation:

If there is any anyone here who does not know

Jesus as your Savior and Lord,

you can receive Him right now.

To receive Jesus, you simply need to

believe in Jesus!

Hunter

Jesus is the Anointed One!

Matthew 16: 13-20

   Jesus had been using the term “the Son of Man” a number of times as recorded by Matthew.  I think the reason was because the term emphasized His humanity as He ministered to people in a relational way, and I think He used the term since it had a more gentle tone as He dealt with mounting opposition by religious leaders.

   Once when engaged in a study from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, I noticed the term “son of man” was frequently used as God addressed Ezekiel.  Yet Jesus referred to Himself as “the Son of Man.”

   Here in this passage, in the wake of being confronted by Pharisees and teachers of the law a number of times, ministering in a port town away from the home of many religious leaders, Jesus asks His disciples a pinnacle question regarding His identity: “Who do you say I am?”

   Peter answered correctly.

   Jesus is the Christ!

   Jesus is the Christ, which is the Greek word for Anointed One.

   Jesus is the Messiah, which is the Hebrew word for Anointed One.

   The church of Jesus is on the rock of faith that Jesus is the Anointed One!

   Peter did not become a vicar of Christ in the world.  After Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter remained an apostle, and he remained the leader of the apostles.  A vicar was not necessary since Jesus gave all believers the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We can even garner this from his own writings which are Scripture.  For example, Peter himself wrote of Jesus being “the living Stone” (I Peter 2:4).

   We should give heed to Peter’s words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever!  Amen” (2 Peter 3:18) (NIV).

   This week I am going to post a sermon I offered in September for Fellowship at Morrison Chapel which elaborates on the nature of the Messiah.

   Here I conclude with the fundamental fact that Jesus is the Messiah.

   The Christ has come!!!   We need to tell everyone!

Hunter Irvine

Pharisees

Pharisees and teachers of the law

Matthew 15: 1-20 (NIV)

   In this passage, we learn Pharisees and teachers of the law were committing a horrific sin.  Jesus stated: “…you nullify the word of God…”

   How could religious leaders of Israel get away with such a sin before all the people?  They replaced Scripture practices with “tradition.”

   Jesus said, “Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6).

   Pharisees were considered the strict “religious” folks of the day.  That is why it seems ironic that Jesus stated: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).  The call from God for Israelite leaders was to interpret Scripture, and obey.  Instead, Pharisees were legislating, adding to or subtracting from Scripture.  They were amending the Torah.  For example, they stopped enforcing the Mosaic Law death penalty for a number of sins (see Matthew 1:19).  Yet justice was not the only thing they were neglecting.  In Matthew 23, Jesus exposes the vast evil being done by some Pharisees.  Included in that tragic list: “…But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matthew 23:23).

   Jesus includes mercy.  Pharisees were apparently not merciful, since Jesus said, “…You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.  You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matthew 23:13).

   The result: the rules of religious leaders usurped Scripture.

   Thus the question arises: What was their problem?  Jesus got right to it.

   “You hypocrites!  Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew 15:7-8).

   Jesus further elaborated on this when talking about the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a person ‘unclean” (Matthew 15:18).

   Now some Pharisees and teachers of the law did open their hearts to Jesus.  Scripture states there was a division.

   Note the following passage from the event in the book of John when Pharisees “investigated” the healing of a man who had been blind, yet who was healed by Jesus:

   “Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’”

   “But others asked, ‘How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?’

   So they were divided” (John 9: 16).

   Tragically, we Christians have a similar problem today regarding the degradation of Scripture.  In some Christian communities there are sins involving a neglect of biblical interpretation efforts, and/or practices of legislating additions to Scripture or subtractions from Scripture.

   The Scriptures were inspired by God, and they give us revelations from God.  However, at this time in American history, reverence for the Bible is possibly at an all-time low.

   The result: deep divisions among Christians.

   The solution to such division: Rely completely on Jesus, and love your enemies.

   “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons and daughters of your Father in heaven…” (Matthew 5: 44-45).

   People who distort, ignore, and reject the Scriptures are causing unthinkable harm.  Followers of Jesus who continue in obedience to Jesus, are able to do what would otherwise be impossible.  We can love all people, even people who reject the teachings of Jesus.

   Loving those people does not mean we compromise with their teachings.  The opposite: If we care about them, we want them to know the truth, so they may live in the holiness of Christ.  We must continue to care for them, and leave eternal judgement to God (see Matthew 15:13), which will take place on the “day of judgement” (see Matthew 12:36).  Only God truly knows the heart of each person.

   After writing this challenging piece, how wild to consider that after Jesus had consistent strife with Pharisees, teachers of the law, Sadducees, chief priests, and elders, throughout His three years of ministry work in this world, Jesus died on a cross for each and every one of those Pharisees, teachers of the law, Sadducees, chief priests, and elders.  Jesus died on a cross for all people.

   “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…” (I Peter 3:18).

   They all had the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

   Today, we people likewise have the opportunity for salvation.  Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of all people.  Jesus was the substitute for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death.  Then He was resurrected.  Now the decision is yours.

   If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will have eternal life!

Hunter Irvine

Remember what Jesus has done

Matthew 15:29-39

   In this world of countless disappointments and hurts, we need to remember that Jesus has done miracles.  This leads to genuine hope that His divine intervention will continue.

   Soon before the event of this passage, Jesus fed thousands of children, women, and men, to the number of about five thousand men, even though He only had five loaves of barely bread, and two fish.  That miracle is one of the rare occasions recorded in all four of the “gospel” books.

   Comparing this second similar event with the earlier mountainside miracle, logistical details show this was a completely different event.

   For example, Tyre and Sidon were the towns He visited before going to some unknown place along the Sea Galilee.  And this time, Jesus engaged in His ministry work for three days!  And this time Jesus started with seven loaves of bread, and the number of baskets of remaining pieces left over was seven.  Lastly, the number of men fed was about four thousand, which was about one thousand less than the time before.  These were all different numbers than the previous miracle.  Afterwards Jesus headed to the vicinity of Magadan.  Thus different details, yet it was a similar miracle.

   Comparing this passage with the event which took place a short time earlier, much of the action by Jesus is similar.  Jesus goes to a remote mountainside.  Jesus sits down.  (Both of these acts were done the first time as is recorded in John 6:3.)  Jesus heals people.  (Such was done before as recorded in Matthew 14:14.)  Granted nothing is stated about teaching or preaching, yet He may have done such considering they were on a mountainside for three days.

   Yet key: Even though Jesus performed a similar miracle earlier, once again the apostles expressed bewilderment as to how they could feed thousands of people.

   “His disciples answered, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?’” (Matthew 15:33)

   Here a short time later, the apostles did not show expectation of another miracle by Jesus.

   Yet again, Jesus did a miracle which resulted in feeding thousands of children, women, and men.  Jesus continued on doing what seemed physically impossible.

   The personal message: As we remember what Jesus has done, we are opening ourselves up to His offers of goodness.  Indeed the One who has compassion for us, just as He had compassion for those Israelites as stated in Matthew 14:14 and Matthew 15:32, wants us to receive goodness from Him.

   Now we will still have trouble galore in this world (see John 16:33).  The personal message for you is not that you will have great health, free food, and a smooth life if you follow Jesus up a mountain.

   When I was twenty-two, I was in the wake of a huge victory of having graduated from Virginia Tech.  Yet in my heart I was still hurting from my parent’s divorce, and my circumstances were getting worse as family problems got worse and worse.

   Giving a brief synopsis of a long story, I started attending an Anglican church in a historic old brick building in Virginia, and people there witnessed Christ to me, in their unique manners.  I soon turned to Jesus.  Gaining eternal life, I began a journey which involved healing in my heart.

   My early Christian walk involved much involvement in the Anglican community.  I eventually stepped out of that Christian community.  I stayed out due to some doctrinal disagreements, yet I still have some loving friends who are active in the Anglican community.

   I say all this to preface the fact that I always liked the statement in the Anglican liturgy for communion, which is stated during a worship service in unison after having received the elements.  That statement: “…we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ….”

   It is recorded in Scripture that Jesus feed thousands of people bread and fish on remote mountain sides not just once, yet at least twice, by performing miracles.  Now today, Jesus is not physically here, yet when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we can spiritually feed on Him in our hearts.  Taking Communion is an important community time to remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us, a sacrifice which resulted in the miracle opportunity for all people who believe in Jesus to gain salvation and eternal life.

   We people, all of us, have sometimes done what was wrong.  And sin results in physical and spiritual death.  Yet Jesus died as the substitute for us people who have done wrong.  Jesus died in our place, thus forgiveness is offered to everyone.  For those of us who have been saved, we need to remember Christ’s sacrifice in our hearts daily in order to live the life of joy and peace which He wants for us.

Hunter Irvine