Dan Rowe - Sunday, 13 August 2023
From Where Do We Get Our Identity?
Scripture References: 1 Peter 2:1-10, Psalms 34:1-22, Acts 4:8-12
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CloseSwimming in the waters of our society, we can often forget from where we get our identity and what defines us as believers of Jesus. Peter, speaking to temporary residents scattered throughout Asia Minor and dispersed throughout North West NSW, seeks to remind them where their identity comes from. If we have tasted that the Lord is good, we should crave after the word (2:2-3), already mentioned in 1:25. Peter shows what the reality of drawing near to God looks like. That just as Jesus was the bodily dwelling of God, when we believe in Him we are joined to Him. This joining produces the glorious living and expanding temple of God, His Church. We are a part of God’s building plan, honoured by Him for believing. As such, we are to be distinctive in the world as we show Who is our identity. As wonderful as this is, Peter foreshadows the implication of following one already continually rejected by the world. In this, Peter wants to bring comfort and assurance to his readers that the one who follows Jesus will not be put to shame and that they are His treasured possession.
Scripture References: 1 Peter 2:1-10, Psalms 34:1-22, Acts 4:8-12
Related Topics: Identity | More Messages from Dan Rowe | Download Audio
Jesus is returning to Jerusalem for the second day. Jesus is hungry – he is human. Jesus sees fig tree – but, despite its leaves, it has no fruit. Jesus curses the fig tree. Jesus is God, taking on the divine role of pronouncing judgement. This brief episode is a living example of the judgement brought by the king of God’s people returning to his mob: they have become independent, insiders not aligned with the desire of God for the outsider. They are unfruitful, and they are judged. God’s mob, however, have true fruitfulness when they recognise the authority of the king, and completely and totally depend upon him. Such dependency will change the world, because of the one they depend upon!
Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem. As Matthew prepares us for His entry into Jerusalem, he helps us confront Jesus’ authority, and the way in which it restores the concern of God for the outsider, and confronts the insider. This is the start of the Passover week. Jerusalem is a roiling maelstrom of religious and political fervour. And Matthew organises the narrative of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem around displays of His authority, rooted in recognition of His ‘old power’ – four Old Testament quotations structure the passage. As we come face-to-face with Jesus’ authority, three truths stand out. First, Jesus’ authority is extensive and all-encompassing. Second, Jesus’ authority is for the outsider, and rooted in God’s deep commitment to bring the outsider inside His kingdom. And, third, Jesus authority confronts the insider, and urges them to repentance. Come and meet Jesus, the King, in all His authority, as He enters Jerusalem!
What is greatness? In particular, what is greatness in the kingdom of God? That is the question addressed in the passage from Matthew today. Jesus is approached by two different groups. First, the family of Zebedee: James and John and their mother. Second, two blind men. Jesus asks both groups the same question “What do you want me to do for you?” What they request is quite revealing. And so is Jesus’ response to their requests. The Zebedees request position, status, reward for effort. The blind men request mercy, for their eyes to be open. Which request lines up with Jesus’ teaching previously? Which request do we tend to go to ourselves?
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