What Does This Mean?

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany

[Eighty-First in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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The town of Bethany was a bedroom community for priests and Levites, just over the Mount of Olives along the road to Bethlehem. Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were well off. They owned a home and probably a few slaves. Scripture does not tell us what they did for a living, but they had enough resources to afford expensive perfume and likely donated to the ministry of Jesus and his disciples. Outside the small circle of the apostles, they were Jesus’ closest friends during his earthly ministry. It seems likely that Jesus and his entourage stayed with them every time they came to the Holy City.

On one trip to Jerusalem, Martha was preparing a banquet for her favorite rabbi. Nothing was too good for him. Mary helped her sister, but when Jesus began to teach, she sat down at his feet; in Jesus’ day, rabbis normally trained male disciples. By inviting Mary to sit at His feet and learn, Jesus showed that God’s Word is for women as well as men. Mary was not neglecting something unimportant. She was receiving the most important gift Jesus had to give.

Martha was angry that her sister was lounging around while many things needed doing. She complained to Jesus, who told her affectionately not to worry so much. Jesus did not criticize Martha for serving. He criticized her anxiety. Service is good. Being so worried that we miss the Savior standing in front of us is not. Hospitality is a form of loving service God calls us to do. Some in the early church, in fact, looked to Martha as a model for the work of a deaconess. Listening to God’s word was more important than all the details that concerned her.

The week before Palm Sunday, the family was grieving. Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived. Both Martha and Mary expressed strong faith in Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. Jesus called Lazarus back from the dead.

To celebrate their brother’s resurrection, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus held a banquet. Once again, Martha was preparing the feast. This time, Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a perfume worth $24,000. Judas made a scene about how it could be sold to feed the poor. The disciples later questioned his motives, since he was the treasurer of the group, and a week later, he would betray Jesus for coins worth $3200. Jesus told him to leave well enough alone. Mary had learned from Jesus well — she was preparing him for his burial. Two weeks later, Jesus would serve them — and us. He suffered for their sins and ours, died to pay their debt and ours, and rose again that we might all rise on the last day. Now we can serve like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, showing our love for Jesus by caring for others.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jesus the Good Shepherd

[Eightieth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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In the Middle East, shepherds often build a common sheep pen for their town. All the shepherds in the village would keep their sheep together in this pen overnight. They would build a wall to keep the sheep from wandering away and to keep wolves and other predators from attacking them. A watchman would guard the gate or door to the pen so that only shepherds could enter. This discouraged thieves.

When a shepherd was ready to feed his sheep, he would go into the pen and call them by name. A shepherd had an intimate relationship with his sheep. Sometimes they would be as close to them as a pet is to us. So the sheep recognized the voice of the man who cared for them. When he called them by name, they would follow. They would not follow a stranger because they did not know his voice. A thief might try to steal the sheep, but the true shepherd cared for them and kept them safe. The shepherd would take them to good, green pastures and nice, quiet waters. He would keep them from wandering off and would treat any wounds, binding them up. He would protect them from wild animals, often battling them, as King David describes what he did as a young shepherd. True shepherds would risk their lives to save their sheep.

Kings often compared themselves to shepherds. They liked to be seen as caring for them and keeping them safe. They expected their subjects to follow them willingly everywhere they wanted to go.

In the Bible, God tells us He is our Shepherd. He will feed them, gather their lambs in his arms, and hold them close to his heart. (Isaiah 40:11) Most of all, in Jesus, God is our Good Shepherd. He leads us with his word, guides us, and protects us from evil. Like a good shepherd, he laid down his life for the sheep. He died so that we might be saved. On the last day of our lives, he will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death safely home to dwell in his house forever. (Psalm 23)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substackost Series

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Ten Lepers Healed, One Praises God

[Seventy-eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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Leprosy was a dreaded skin condition during Biblical times. It was caused by several diseases, from bad rashes to sicknesses that caused the loss of fingers, toes, and other parts of the body. Lepers were made to live apart from everyday people and to shout “unclean” if anyone came close. They were not allowed to go to the synagogue or the temple and were cut off from the public worship and fellowship of God’s people and the care of family and friends. Often they lived together with other lepers. If a person touched a leper, they were called unclean, too, and couldn’t enter the temple or synagogue.

Sometimes, lepers would get well. To be recognized as no longer a leper, a person would go to the priests to be declared clean again. One sign of the Messiah’s coming was that he would heal lepers. Jesus showed God’s love for everyone, including lepers, by healing them.

One day, when Jesus was walking down the road, ten lepers shouted to Him from a distance: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. He told them to see the priests in Jerusalem. Jesus did not heal the men immediately. They were healed “as they went.” In other words, they obeyed before they saw the miracle. Faith trusted Jesus’ promise, and then God’s mercy was revealed. As they went, they were healed. When one of them, a Samaritan, saw that He was well, he went back to Jesus, loudly praising God. The man lay down at Jesus’ feet to worship Him and thank Him. Jesus asked where the other nine were. Jesus told the man to get up because his faith had made him well.

All ten men were healed. All ten must have been overjoyed to reunite with family and friends and return to normal life. Yet only one came back to thank Jesus. The Samaritan recognized that more than his health had been restored. God Himself had shown him mercy. The other nine enjoyed the gift, but only one stopped to thank the Giver.

Even though the Jews of Jesus’ time despised Samaritans and treated them poorly, Jesus once again makes the point that God does not discriminate against people because of sickness, race, or religion. All people are his children, and he shows mercy to us all. After all, he was about to bear the sins of all the sons and daughters of Adam on the cross. On the last day, people from all nations, races, and times, redeemed by his blood, will gather as one to praise him. So now, we join the former lepers in praying, “Lord, have mercy,” and reach out to care for all his children in need.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Widow’s Mite

[Seventy-eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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One day, Jesus sat down to teach in the temple’s Court of the Women, where he could watch people putting freewill offerings into the offering box. People from all walks of life put money into the treasury, from the wealthiest to the poorest of God’s people. One of those people was a poor widow who contributed her last two copper coins.

Since this offering was not required, anyone who gave to the Lord in this way showed love for God. The rich people Jesus saw contributing were giving from their wealth and did not miss the money at all. The widow showed complete trust in God. She literally did not know where her next meal would come from. Yet she gave her last resources so that God could be praised.

Imagine a child making a birthday card for his mother. The paper and crayons may not cost much, but she treasures the card because it came from her child’s heart. In the same way, Jesus was not impressed by the size of the gifts; He saw the faith and love behind them. He was looking at the faith and love behind them. The widow’s two small coins were precious to Him because she gave them from a believing heart.

In Jesus’ time, widows had a hard life. Very few women had independent means of support. When a widow’s husband died, she was completely at the mercy of her relatives, especially her sons. If they didn’t care, she would have to scrape by any way she could. The widow in our story is likely one of the less fortunate ones.

Jesus commented on this woman’s faith and praised her for her trust that God would care for her. He did not condemn others’ giving. Instead, Jesus taught the disciples that the amount someone gives to God matters less than the faith it demonstrates. Christians are not commanded to give a specific amount of money or even a particular percentage of their income. The Apostle Paul teaches that each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion. God loves a cheerful giver. We love God and want to participate in His mission to save the lost. So we share what we have, praying that God would bless these gifts for the good of others.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jesus Walks on Water

[Seventy-sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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For Jesus and the disciples, it had been a long day. The crowds had turned out to hear Jesus teach, and he did so all day. In the evening, Jesus challenged the disciples to feed the crowds with five loaves and two fish. They couldn’t, but he did. They gathered up the pieces in twelve baskets. Some of the people were so impressed that they wanted to make Jesus their king. But He had not come to be the kind of king they expected. So Jesus needed to get away to pray. They just needed to get away. Jesus pushed them to get in the boat and do what they knew well—travel across the lake. He went away alone to pray.

For people in ancient times, the sea symbolized chaos and evil. They did so for a good reason. Not only was the sea a place that could become violent at a moment’s notice, but they also had no way of knowing about coming storms as we do today. The disciples were veterans of the sea, not bothered much by the wind and waves, even when it was rough. That evening, the sea was much trouble. They could not use their sails, which would be blown to pieces. So they labored to row against it all night. They made good progress nevertheless.

Yet they were so exhausted that they did not recognize Jesus at first. They thought he was a ghost. When He told them who He was, they still weren’t sure. Peter came up with a test. If it were Jesus, Peter could walk on the water too, if Jesus wanted him to. As long as Peter paid attention to the Lord, he walked on water. Only when he turned to watch the wind and the waves did Peter fear and begin to sink. Peter often gets criticized for sinking, but we should remember that he was the only disciple who got out of the boat. His problem was not that he trusted Jesus enough to step onto the water. His problem was that he stopped looking at Jesus and started looking at the danger around him.

What they missed was that they did not need to be afraid. They should have known they could trust Jesus. By this event, Jesus taught His disciples to trust Him, even when water and waves threaten to destroy them. More than that, the disciples learned something important about Jesus. When He climbed into the boat, they worshiped Him and confessed, “Truly you are the Son of God.” The greatest miracle was not that Peter walked on water for a few moments. The greatest miracle was that the disciples began to understand who Jesus really is.

The writer of the much-loved hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” sums it up well:

O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jesus Loves the Little Children

[Seventy-sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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In the ancient world, many children died before reaching adulthood. In fact, childhood death was common until the twentieth century. Every couple could expect to bury at least one child during their lifetime. That is why the childhood prayer was taught to generations of young people: “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. If I should live another day, I pray the Lord to guide my way.”

Children and young people, therefore, were kept at an emotional distance and paid little attention. Besides, the children were disruptive, especially when a rabbi was trying to teach. They did not understand abstract thought, so they looked for other ways to entertain themselves and get attention. They were expected to behave, to be just like the adults with them. So, they were pushed aside so that adults could attend to “important” business. Keep them out of sight and out of mind.

Jesus made two points by bringing a child before them. First, all people are important to God, no matter how small. He loves them, cares for them. In fact, Jesus came to die for them, too. They are not the future of the church — they are the church.

Second, children trust adults to take care of them, live humbly, and assume their love. In fact, they are better Christians than adults! To be Christians, after all, means to trust God to take care of us, to deny ourselves, knowing we are cared for, and to dedicate our lives to the service of others. This comes naturally to them. They are not bothered when they cannot understand something adults or God tell them. They accept the truth, rely on it, and build on it because they trust their parents, their teachers, and God. They may not know something, but they know someone. So, ironically, if we want to grow in faith, we need to become like them and trust the God who made us, loves us, died for us, cares for us, and will bring us home one day to be with him forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Five Loaves, Two Fishes and the Five Thousand

[Seventy-fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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Jesus had sent his apostles out on a mission to preach in the towns and villages of Galilee. When they returned to him, he decided it was time to rest. So they got into a boat, went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to a place in the wilderness. But people saw where they were going and ran ahead. When they got out of the boat, a crowd had gathered. So he taught them. The disciples recommended that Jesus send them away in the evening to get something to eat. But Jesus told them to feed the crowd. Since they had only five small loaves of bread and two fish, they thought it was impossible, but did as he asked. The whole crowd was fed with twelve baskets of bread pieces left over. (Mark 6:33-44)

The people no doubt remembered that, when God freed His people from slavery in Egypt, He led them into the wilderness for forty years. He fed them with bread from Heaven, called manna, and quails for meat at night. Much later, during a drought, the prophet Elijah stayed with a widow and her son in Zarephath. God made the widow’s flour and oil last until the prophet left.

When Jesus fed over five thousand people in the wilderness, they would remember these things and the other ways that God took care of His people. Later, Jesus would give us the Lord’s Supper, where He gives us His Body and Blood to eat with bread and wine. This sacrament meets our need for forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. When we remember how God provides us with food to eat, we also think of how He feeds us with his own body to strengthen us. He gives us bread in the wilderness of this life and bread for our long journey until we arrive home.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Parables

[Sixty-ninth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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A parable is a story told about very ordinary things and events, but that has a hidden spiritual meaning. Jesus loved to teach using parables. About 35% of his teaching uses them. Jesus used parables to help us understand God, His people, the world, and what God wants us to do. The stories themselves are very easy to understand. Sometimes the meaning is not so clear. In fact, Jesus once said He told parables so that some people would not understand at all. Thankfully, Jesus almost always tells His disciples what the story means.

Most parables make just one point. All the details in these stories serve that one point. For example, the three parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son (Prodigal Son) (Luke 15) are about the joy God wants us to feel when He saves someone, not so much about the grace of Jesus, who seeks and saves the lost.

Allegories are parables in which each character or element in the story has a distinct, independent meaning. These allow for many interpretations. When Jesus wants us to draw more than one point from a parable, He tells us when He explains the story. He tells us what each item in the story stands for. He does this with the Parable of the Four Soils (The Parable of the Sower) (Luke 8:4-15).

Strictly speaking, simple metaphors are not parables, but proverbs or illustrations. Parables are stories. Sayings such as the City on a Hill and the Light of the World are simply metaphors. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether Jesus is telling a parable or simply speaking about something that actually happened. The Good Samaritan is one such story. (Luke 10:25-37)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Good Samaritan

[Sixty-eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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Three thousand years ago, ten tribes of Israel broke away from King Solomon’s son and formed a new kingdom north of Jerusalem. The kings of the northern tribes built a capital called Samaria about forty miles north of Jerusalem. When the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom, it deported many Israelites and resettled people from distant places. The Samaritan people were born when the Israelites married their captors. The Jewish people considered them traitors and hated them. The Samaritans hated them in return, especially when Jewish armies destroyed their temple and their city. At the time of Jesus, Jews wanted nothing to do with them. They would avoid even traveling through Samaria, even to go to Jerusalem. The worst thing one Jew could call another was a Samaritan.

One day, an expert in God’s law asked Jesus a traditional question posed to Rabbis: Which is the greatest of all commandments? Jesus turned the question around to him. The expert replied with the commandments to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus agreed and told him that if he did these, he would inherit eternal life. Then the expert asked Jesus who our neighbor is. Jesus answered with the story we call the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)

In this story, the two kinds of people you would expect to help you were priests and Levites. They led worship in the temple, where God showed His love for His people by forgiving their sins. They did not want to become unclean by touching a dead person. So they did not help the injured man. But the Samaritan felt very sorry for him, cared for him, and paid a lot of money to see that he was cared for until the day he recovered.

Jesus asked the expert which of these three was a neighbor to the injured man. He answered, “The one who showed mercy.” Jesus told him to do the same. As sinners, we will fail to do this perfectly. Yet as Christians, the church has responded to the love of God in Christ and has reached out in mercy to those who suffer, with countless needs, over the last two thousand years. We remember Jesus responded to our greatest need by suffering and dying that we might be saved and inherit eternal life. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we reach out to care for those who need us most, showing them the mercy God showed us.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Lord’s Prayer

[Sixty-Seventh in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

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Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer at least twice: during the Sermon on the Mount and when the disciples asked about prayer. One is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, and the other in Luke. The version in Matthew is the one the Church has memorized and recognizes. The version in Luke contains selected petitions to give the disciples examples of the kinds of things to pray about. There, Jesus emphasizes we should keep praying for these same things because God wants His children to ask for things “with all boldness and confidence … as dear children ask their dear father.” (Martin Luther, Small Catechism 3.1)

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to focus on God’s desires and will, not on ours. We pray for His name to be made holy, His kingdom to come, His will to be done, and then only for our physical needs, forgiveness, and deliverance from Satan.

You may have noticed that our prayers are filled with requests for physical concerns — for healing, for food and clothing, for guidance in making decisions, and for protection in times of disaster. We focus on our wants and desires. Yet our Heavenly Father knows these and will take care of them. God wants us to share our wants, worries, and desires with Him, but then leave these in His care. (Philippians 4:6-7) Then we can focus on His kingdom and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)

So … how do we do that? Praying from our hearts has its problems. Our old, sinful nature still lives there (Mark 15:17-23), urging us to focus on our desires; our new nature, filled with the Holy Spirit, urges us to focus on God’s word, His worship, His will, and the needs of others. That is where the Lord’s Prayer comes in. It reorients our priorities because it is God’s own words. That is why it is the most prayed Christian prayer of all.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana