Jesus speaks of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
and tells the disciples to avoid it.
When the Israelites left Egypt they left behind the leaven of the
Egyptians and were forbidden to eat any leavened bread for seven days. The Passover custom involves getting rid of
the old leaven. They needed to leave
Egypt behind completely in order to possess the Land and become God’s
people. They had not fully become so
prior to the time in the wilderness, they retained much of Egypt in them. When times got tough they immediately
returned to Egypt in their hearts and minds, recalling the wonders of their
life there, particularly their diets. We
too are called out of Egypt and into a new life but we don’t always leave Egypt
fully behind. Jesus calls us out our old
life and into the way of the cross. He
makes no promise that this new life of following Him will be wine and roses but
He does promise that eternity will indeed be the better country we all desire.
The one thing that always jumps out at me in this account of
Jesus’ appearance on the mountain is “some doubted.” Who are the “some” to whom Matthew is
referring? Many say that there were
others in addition to the eleven there that day and this refers to some of
those people. I believe that Matthew is
telling us that they weren’t all prepared to believe that Jesus was resurrected
from the dead, that didn’t fit their understanding of reality. I don’t know whether he meant the disciples
or some others, but he is telling us that belief wasn’t automatic for everyone,
it was too much to believe, too far outside their worldview. I am glad he put those words in the Gospel. Liberal scholars today who doubt the bodily
resurrection of Jesus have to deal with the reality that these were not
credulous men, even those who saw what they saw had doubts based on its
uniqueness. In the end, they and we
received the Commission to continue the work Jesus had begun, there is
continuity assured in those new creations born of water and the spirit, with
Jesus’ own ministry. He also promises to
be with us as we journey towards that better country.
Jesus’ earthly body did not decay. It was resurrected prior to that time. Jewish belief was such that for three days
the soul hung around the body waiting to see if there would be re-animation of
life in the body and after three days it gave up and went to Sheol to join the
other souls of the departed. That is the
point of the story of Lazarus, there was no hope of life because it had been
more than three days since Lazarus had died.
Remember the words of his sister Martha, “He stinketh.” (KJV) Paul says we are those who are men and women
of dust because we are descendants of the first man, Adam, who was formed of
the dust of the earth. This body is
literally “of the earth” and we will receive a new body, made of eternal
material, a body that is incorruptible.
Let us use this body of dust to know and serve Him who created us and
who alone is eternal as we eagerly await our new bodies.
O
blest communion, fellowship divine!
We
feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All
are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia,
Alleluia!
O may
Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight
as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And
win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia,
Alleluia!
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