The way of the Rabbi
Matthew 11.29-30—29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in

heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

At the time of Jesus the position of rabbi was an important one. Moreover, to be a disciple of a rabbi was an incredible honour—in some way it was deemed ‘you’d made it!’ When the rabbi would ask a student a question, he would seldom
give an answer. Have you noticed how rarely Jesus answers questions, but how often he responds with another ques-
tion? Rabbis had no interest in having the student spit back information just for information’s sake. They wanted to

know if the student understood it, if he had wrestled with it. This notion is difficult for the modern mind to grasp be- cause we generally think of education as the transmission of information. The better a student is, the better they are able to produce the right information at the right time.

In the world of rabbinic education, the focus was on questions, which demonstrated that the student not only under- stood the information but could then take the subject a step further. When Jesus’s parents found him in the temple area, how old was he? Twelve. Notice what the text says here: “They found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Jesus later says to his disciples, “Remember, everything I learned I passed on to you.”

It was most Jewish boy’s dream to become a talmidim - a disciple of the rabbi. They would desire to take on the yoke of the rabbi and the rabbi would have to consider whether they were ‘good enough’. If the rabbi believed they could do it, they would say ‘come, follow me’.

When Jesus called out to the ‘not good enoughs’ he declared come learn from me because my yoke is easy. Having understood the significance of this phrase, to all of us who feel like we are just not good enough, for those of us who sometimes feel like cracked pots, Jesus says, ’come, follow me’.

Stop and breathe.

Lord Jesus, thankyou that you call out to the not quite perfect ones, the ones who know they are have fragility and vulnerability, to the ones just like me. I choose to follow you, make me your talmidim today.

Tony Gray talks about eternal glory and what end times means and recognizing what god is up to and what god is doing and what is the meaning of that.

Go in peace
Mark 5.34. —“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

A woman has had an illness for twelve years and no one can cure her. She pushes her way through a crowd to get to Jesus, and when she gets close to him, she grabs his cloak. Now remember, Jesus is a To- rah-observant Jewish rabbi who keeps the scripture commandments word for word, including pas- sages like Numbers 15, which means Jesus would have been wearing a prayer shawl. So when the woman grabs the edge of his cloak, she is demonstrating that she believes Jesus is the Messiah and
that his tassels have healing powers. She believes that Jesus is who Malachi was talking about. She touches his tassels and is healed, just like Malachi said.

But I don’t think the physical healing is Jesus’s point here. I think it is what Jesus says to her as they part ways, “Go in peace.” The word Jesus would have used for peace is the Hebrew word shalom . Shalom is an important word in the Bible, and it is not completely accurate to translate it simply as “peace.” The Hebraic understanding of shalom is far more than just the absence of conflict or strife. Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God. It’s the presence of wholeness, completeness. Jesus was placing the blessing of God on all of her. Not just her physical body. He is blessing her with God’s presence on her entire being. For Jesus, being saved or reconciled to God involves far more than just the saving of your physical body or your soul—it involves all of you.

God’s desire is for us to live in harmony with him—body, soul, spirit, mind, emotions—every inch of our being.

Stop and breathe.

Lord Jesus, thankyou that you are working out your salvation in me. Help me to remain in the place of peace. That you would flood my whole being with your peace. And may this peace touch other people’s lives as you work through me.

Walking on water
John 6.20 —20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the

boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Following the miracle of food and provision, John’s gospel immediately brings his reader’s attention to an- other miracle. Jesus himself stated that Moses pointed Israel to Him (John 5:46). John then pulls a
story into his narrative that isn’t necessarily chronological. This miracle happened sometime later, but John thinks it’s helpful to tell the story now, linking it back to Jesus’ words about Moses through its connection to Passover.

Immediately after this story, John will tell his readers about Jesus walking on water. In John’s readers’ minds, these two stories will be directly linked to Moses and Exodus. The feeding of the 5,000 linked back to Israel being fed by manna from heaven whereas, Jesus walking on water would have been a reminder of Moses leading God’s people through the Red Sea.

Why did John do this? Ultimately, he was demonstrating that Jesus was the Messiah, and John’s Jewish audience needed to see that. They needed proof—evidence that Jesus was not simply yet another wannabe Messiah. Through careful construction under the influence of the Holy Spirit, John revealed the power and authority that Jesus has.

Today, can we call out to God, as the disciples exclaimed, ‘Give us this bread’? Will we be a people that long for Jesus, not simply as robots following rules but as a groups of followers that dedicate and un- swervingly give of ourselves for Him as we desire to eat and nourish on the Bread of Life.

Stop and breathe.

Lord Jesus, thankyou that you are our daily bread. You give life and spiritual sustenance. May we come to you daily and recognise your Messiahship in our lives. May we be a people who willingly submit to your ways and embrace your grace and love for others.

Feeding to overflow
Matthew 14.17—17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

The miracles of Jesus demonstrate his presence and power in many different circumstances and to differ- ent audiences. The feeding of the 5000 is no exception.

Imagine the scene. The crowds had gathered around a spectacular teacher, words that seemed different from those delivered by the average Rabbi. As you absorbed and was gripped by His words, time ran away with itself and you begin to realise that you had been there for some time. You start to get hungry and tired. The disciples that surrounded the Rabbi begin to discuss where they will get food from to feed the huge crowd. A boy steps forward and offers what he has. You can see from the faces of the disciples that they were clearly not impressed, after all, barley bread was a symbol of poverty. Then the Rabbi asked the crowd to sit in groups of 50 and 100, he spoke like someone with authority, like the captain of an army...

You see, as Jesus began to order the crowd into groups it was reminiscent of the way Moses grouped his people when they were in the wilderness. Why this parallel? This miracle not only demonstrated that Jesus was able to provide for all his people but made the direct link between Moses and Jesus, while Moses led the people of Israel, Jesus will lead all the nations of the earth.

The detail of the barley bread should not be overlooked. This gospel, our gospel is a story that is indiscriminate, it is a story of extravagant grace that allows you and I to partake in, to journey on, towards the path of the cross.

Stop and breathe.
Loving God, may we be delighted again in the understanding of this miracle. You do not hold back

your love, your providence and your grace. May I reflect this generosity in all I do in your name.

Magic spit?
John 9.6—6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the

man’s eyes.

Some of the miracles of Jesus raise some interesting questions. Why didn’t Jesus just heal the man? Why use spit? In the first century many Jews believed that the Rabbi (teacher) not only had special in-
sight into religious ideas but also special powers. After all, if they were ‘closer’ to God than the av-
erage Jew, it would seem quite logical.

One of those associated beliefs was that the spit of a Rabbi carried special healing properties. Was Jesus mixing magic and mystery? It is helpful to consider the character of Jesus in the many interac- tions he has with the vulnerable and those in need. Essentially, Jesus met with people exactly where they were and not where they ‘should’ be. When we consider the authority of Jesus, who He was and who He is.; he could have easily cut to the heart of the matter. Instead, he invites people on the journey of faith. A journey without judgement or pre-requisite behaviours. He simply says, ‘Come...’ Just as is echoed in the prophet Isaiah, ‘Come let us reason together, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow’.

As Jesus spat into His hands and mixed it with the mud, he was inviting the blind man to enter a journey of faith. A journey that would change his life forever. In our interactions, do we mirror the same attitudes.? Do we invite people into and onto the journey of faith?

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, may we be a people that have open arms to welcome the stranger and invite them into a journey of faith with us. May our words reflect yours, our actions reflect yours and our hearts reflect yours.

The invitation

John 7.37-39—37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let an- yone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

In this extract from John 7, we are reminded of the great feast of the Tabernacles . In the incredible narrative of God’s providence during the escape from Egypt, He provided them with water when they were thirsty and food when they were hungry. As Moses struck the dry and arid rock, thirst quenching water erupted from it. Giving life and sustenance.

The fascinating addition to this Jewish expectation of God’s providence is that not only will God provide but the recipients will also become a source of life for others. These strong images were well developed in Jewish thinking so, when Jesus declared these words, the people would have al- luded to the Old Testament prophet and priest, Ezekiel, as he also declared a similar theme at the restoration of Israel’s fortunes.

Jesus’ addition of ‘living’ water added a new dimension to this declaration. It spoke of the new cov- enant, a new dimension—the Holy Spirit. This beautiful section gives you and I a window into our commission. But first, we must come and drink of the living water so that we ourselves experience the life giving Spirit that has been given to us.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, may we be refreshed by the power of your life giving Spirit. May we experience our hearts and minds being renewed by you. May we as your church be a place that others can find refreshment and life.

Open family

Psalm 68.6—’He places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.’

Time after time, we see the image of family being described in the pages of the Bible. We see references to oneness, unity, a tree with branches, a vine, brothers and sisters amongst other images. It is one of the great themes running through the vein of the Old Testament into the New.

But what does it mean? Family is a place of growth, a place of joy, making memories and building together. That doesn't mean that it is always plain sailing. Sometimes there are strains, disagree- ments and challenges. But above all, as Christ is the head of our family, we can see this living or- ganism grow to be a place where people can flourish.

As MCC, let us keep pushing forward in the mindset of kingdom values. Where the stranger is made a friend, where those who feel without hope can receive hope, where the broken can find healing, where those who feel far from God can draw near.

Every single one of us has a part to play in our family. From the welcome at the beginning to the cup of tea at the end, what happens on Sunday morning is often the first glance of who we are. So let us be that place where people find green pasture for their souls.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, as your Church, let us be mindful of the many people in our city that are lonely and without hope. May we be a church where people find family. Open arms, an open table and an open door.

Open table

Songs of Songs 2.4—He brought me to His banqueting table and His banner over me is love.

There is something quite special when the people of God gather together. The union, the agreement, the shout of praise that rises up as we declare the truths of God through prayer, song and Bible study. Like any allegorical type of textual reading, there is a degree of interpretation and cultural understand-
ing that can lead us to some beautiful imagery of how extravagant our God is.

Here in this verse we read that this table is not merely a table but a table laden with food. The poor in society could not have afforded a banquet and yet God invites them. We see the same imagery used again in the parable of the wedding feast told by Jesus.

In the upside down kingdom of God, money, social standing, notoriety, influence and power play no role in who gets the VIP invite. Instead, this table signifies a security and protection in the pres- ence of the King. This idea of a banner (sometimes interpreted as a standard) was something that meant a great deal to the people of God in the Old Testament. It was normally associated with an army, a herald that went before and declared who you were. In this incredible juxtaposition, we see this banner is ‘love’.

In our pursuit of loving God and loving people, may our great city see the standard above our church—the banner of love.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, we desire to represent you in your fullness and glory here on earth. We long for the people of our city to see how gracious, loving and forgiving you are. We declare to our city, come and eat at our table.

Joyce continues our series on the Finite and the Infinite.