Building on the Cornerstone

ἐκκλησία (ekklésia; noun) – a gathering or assembly.

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus lays out the foundation for his plan. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

This passage really gets interesting when you consider that the original Greek did not use the word ‘church’, but used ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) which translates to a gathering or assembly. When we go back to the original translation we see that Jesus was not calling for more buildings or places to worship, but for a movement, a gathering of people who call out that He is the Son of God and are saved through His love and grace.

Jesus came to build a gathering who know Him and love God. Churches have walls and can be closed, locked, torn down, fortified. But a gathering of people is open, free from such constraints and occurs wherever and whenever people chose to assemble to glorify Him.

Pretext (n): a reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason.

The twisted lesson this week – taking a message out of context can create a pretext. We turn to Matthew 4:1-11 where the devil tries to use every tool to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. This includes using scripture – Psalm 91:11-12 – in an attempt to have Jesus jump from the top of the temple. But he leaves out a critical line – “to guard you in all your ways;” – to create a pretext.

It’s a reminder that we must be vigilant in our study of scripture and understand the full context of what is written.

It’s that time of  year again, fall festival. And this time of year, it is fitting to think about all of the masks that we wear. How often do you put on a mask to cover up or hide the turmoil that is in your life? Even in church, a place that we should be free to share our broken lives fully, we put on masks to hide behind.

Listen to two intertwined stories of what can happen when you trust in your faith in Jesus and turn it all over to Him. Hear what He does for them and what He wants to do for you.

Mark 5:21-43

Taking scripture out of it’s context, we can miss the interpretation.

Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”

This verse can be easily twisted to suit our individual needs, but in doing so we miss the power of the Word and what it holds for us. Put this verse back into context (Matthew 18) and see what it holds for you.

In Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV) we read the words of Jesus: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Stepping back, and looking at the Sermon on the Mount as a whole, we see that Jesus was not providing us with the ‘don’t judge me’ deflection that is so easy to use. In context, we see the importance of not being hypocritical and that we must first deal with our own transgressions and limitations by turning them over to Him. In doing so, we are then ready to help and love our neighbors through their struggles.

Matthew 5-7