And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15:49

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Take No Thought

Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"

How many sermons have you heard preached on some aspect of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount? Quite a few, I imagine, just as I have. And for years when I heard the previous quote, I have come to realize that I heard it with a "western" mindset. That's not unusual, because that's where we live, and what we are used to being taught, but as I have written lately, that the past year has been teaching me to read the Scriptures differently, with more of a hearing it as a first century Jew would hear them, just as Jesus would have taught them! Perhaps then, we can get more meaning out of the verses. I will explain what I mean, but first....

I learned long ago that anytime you see the word: "Therefore" it is good practice to find out what is is "There for?" So the previous verse says this in 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."  Then the next verse starts off as if by saying, "based on that truth... then the result is"... Or; in the text : "Therefore"

Now, every time I would hear Matt. 6:25, and it is also repeated in 6:31 "Therefore take no thought, saying , What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"  I heard it in the past as if He was saying the word from a western way of thinking. That is; not to worry about having enough to eat, or to worry about not having any clothes to wear. I even thought about not worrying about what to eat in regards to all these fancy diets, and did not realize I was close to the answer, but not quite. 

If you were a first century Jew living at the time of hearing Jesus say these words, you would be completely shocked by what He said! Why? Because for thousands of years, their whole life was wrapped up in the Levitical Law!  That law told them what they were allowed to eat and NOT eat, and what they could wear and NOT wear! Clean and unclean! NOW here comes this rabbi, telling them Not to worry about any of that now!! No wonder they wanted to stone Him!

"No man can serve two masters... for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."  So what are the two masters Jesus is talking about?  Sure Jesus says the two are God and mammon, but what does He mean by those two choices? The truth is, at this point I haven't got it all figured out in context! But I can write what I have thought about, to stimulate more deeper considerations, than just a surface reading.

I think Jesus is talking more than just about money, or riches, which is what the meaning of mammon is. The Strongs concordance #3126 is: "mammonas, of Chald, or. (confidence, ie. fig. wealth, personified) mammonas, i.e. avarice (deified):-mamon. 

The American Dictionary says this: "Synonyms Avarice, Covetousness, Cupidity, penuriousness, closeness, miserliness, all denote bad qualities, corruptions of the natural instinct of possession. Avarice, literally greediness, a strong desire to get objects of value, has become limited, except in figurative uses, so as to express only a sordid and mastering desire to get wealth. Covetousness and cupidity are not limited to wealth, but may have for their object anything that can be desired, cupidity being directed especially toward material things. Covetousness longs to possess that which belongs to another; hence the prohibition in the tenth commandment (Ex. xx. 17). Cupidity is more active than the others, less groveling, and more ready to snatch from others that which covetousness may wish for without trying to get. See penurious."

So, with those two things as a comparison, you can see more of what Jesus was warning against. You cannot be focused on, or serve, your desire to get wealth and God at the same time. Why? The simple short answer is the word FAITH. 

If your focus is on trying to attain material goods, and the needs of the body, then you have taken your focus off of trusting God for all your needs and wants and desires, as if He cannot or will not or is not interested in your having any of it. And also that it is as if material things can replace the hole in your heart which can only be filled by Him.

Matthew 6:33 Jesus says "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  So, get your priorities right. Seek the kingdom of God, or the ruler ship, or dominion of God first. And also seek His righteousness! Not your own righteousness. Don't be trying to obtain your own worthiness and wait to get your act together, because it is still just an act. Seek HIS righteousness, and  whoever seeks will find, and apply His righteousness to your life, and ALL these other things will be ADDED to you.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)  Luke 12:32 says: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

We are spiritual beings. As a result of the fall, we have been been born into that fallen Adamic humanity, but since Jesus died on the cross, He put to death the Adamic race, (He was the LAST Adam)  and now we are NEW Creations in Him, (He became the SECOND Man) therefore, learn to live in this reality, and as far as any cares of this world system, and ways of doing things the old Adamic way... Take No Thought.


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