Questions about church (Part 3)

Did he (Jesus) have any roots?
This was another question asked and I'm taking it to mean: Was Jesus connected to a local church?

One of the things we must always think of when reading scripture is context. So, how does that help us here? Well, Jesus wasn’t attending church, as we know and think of it, each week, but He was involved in the Jewish practices of Israel. He was committed to daily times of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. These were Jewish practices. Jesus was a Jew. He lived like a Jew and practiced Jewish things. He was connected to a local synagogue and a local gathering of people. People knew Jesus because He lived among them. He was a faithful Jew.

Jesus’ disciples probably met him and heard about Him long before He called them to follow Him. Jesus did not just appear out of nowhere and start teaching something contrary to scripture. As a matter of fact, in His own sermon on the mount, He says He has come to fulfill the law. Because of that and His Jewish roots Jesus lived according to the law.

Now something similar to a revolution begins to occur when Jesus calls 12 men to follow Him and then later appoints them as apostles. I guess you could say the church as we know it starts with Jesus. Some might be tempted to think Jesus is breaking away from Judaism and Israel. He is not. He is attempting to bring reform to Israel. Martin Luther and John Wesley weren’t attempting to start new denominations. They were attempting to bring reform to the church they grew up in and loved.

Jesus was rejected by so many Jews because of the message He brought. The incarnation (God coming to live among us) is simply amazing! It is also hard for some to believe. However, isn’t it interesting, that despite the heavy conflict among the Jews over Jesus and His message, that He didn’t leave Judaism and go off and start a new religion? Now, that has happened (i.e. Christianity), but that was not what Jesus was intially trying to do. He stayed. He lived as a Jew and He died as a Jew.


When conflict in our church arises we get upset and leave. Some of us never to return again. Some of us to start a new church. Jesus did not do that. He had strong roots to Israel and an even stronger commitment to God the Father. So yes, Jesus had roots and was connected to a particular people (the Jews) in a particular place (Israel).

Your thought?

Questions about church (Part 2)

Continuing our series...

What does Jesus teach us about this topic?

Unfortunately the word “church” is rare in Jesus’ teaching and the Gospels. The word church only appears 3x and it’s in the Gospel of Matthew (Greek ekklesia = meaning a gathering) in two chapters (16, 18). Despite this, there is plenty to be learned about church from Jesus. Jesus’ life and ministry teach us what we need to know about church. Jesus defines in the Gospels who is in and who is out when it comes to the church. You enter into this group by repenting and believing in Him (John 3). He wants a group of people committed to following Him. He even says that if people follow and obey Him they are His true brothers and sisters (Mark 3:35). In regards to His followers, He says in Matthew 26:18 that hell won’t even be defeat them. Reassuring words.

The Sermon on the Mount gives a foundation for life in the church. It gives instruction on how to live as individuals and how to live as a community of believers amongst each other. So, while there isn’t direct mention of church, there is plenty of teaching on what this group of Jesus followers will do and act like.

Next week: Did Jesus have any roots? Was He involved locally as we are today in our local churches?

Questions about church (Part 1)

Some questions about the church were asked a couple of weeks ago. This new series is my attempt to answer those questions. Your feedback and insight would be appreciated.

Over the next 4 or 5 weeks we are going to discuss the church. Here is what I have come to believe about the church. I owe a great deal of gratitude to IVP’s New Dictionary of Biblical Theology as it has greatly helped in shaping my view on the church and what it is.

Origins
Before we get to the questions let’s start at the beginning. Because we serve a God who is 1 God in 3 Persons we have been made for community. Our completeness if found in God and others. God, as seen throughout the OT, wants a people/community that is His. He did make us. Understanding this leads to a clearer understanding and appreciation of what God was attempting to do with Israel in the OT. He wanted a community of people to be solely dedicated to Him, to worship Him privately and together as the true God, and to share Him with others. These scriptures of God speaking to Israel help us understand this:

Exodus 19:5 says,
Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel. (NLT)

Joshua 22:5 says,

Love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. (NLT)

Notice that these commands are given to a particular people. They are for the community. This is important because a lot of what God was trying to create with Israel is seen and adopted (there is more to it though) by New Testament writers as what God wants to create with His church as it begins with Jesus in the New Testament.

Next week: What does Jesus teach us about this topic?