...Like A Gentile Or Tax Collector (part 8)

So even though Jesus has agreed to meet the need, the centurion offers a bit of resistance.  Likewise, the Canaanite woman, though not receiving the desired response upon her initial request, puts up her own resistance, which is seen in the disciples’ report about her continuing to cry out after them.  In this instance, they ask Jesus to “send her away,” which is a bit evocative of the centurion’s statement about the way that he commands those under him to “go,” to “come,” or to “do this.”  Additionally, the centurion’s statement that he was not worthy to have Jesus come under his roof, and presumably not worthy to have Jesus do that which he is asking, falls in line with the Canaanite woman’s statement about dogs eating the crumbs that fall from the table.  Effectively, she too acknowledges that she was not worthy to have Jesus come under her roof or to do what she is requesting.

In the eighth chapter, it is the combined statement of the centurion that produces Jesus’ statement that He had not found such faith in Israel.  Similarly, in the fifteenth chapter, it is the woman’s statement that causes Jesus to exclaim upon her great faith.  To the centurion, Jesus makes reference to the great messianic banquet in which people from all nations will feast together.  It is possible that the Canaanite woman makes an oblique reference to that same messianic banquet, potentially doing so in her mention of the table from which crumbs will fall.  Jesus spoke to the centurion and said “just as you believed, it will be done for you.”  He spoke to the Canaanite woman and said “Let what you want be done for  you.”  The stories conclude with “the servant was healed at that hour” and “her daughter was healed from that hour.” 

It must be said that it is with his inclusion of such stories, together with his ingenious construction, that this Gospel’s author continues to present his audience with an understanding of the nature of that which is His primary concern, which is the kingdom of heaven and its dramatic and surprising introduction into the world through the person of Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah.  As part of that construction, the flow of the narrative, including the subject of this study, continually points towards Jesus’ parting words to His disciples. 

This trek through Matthew, spurred on by Jesus’ statement that concluded with “treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector,” now returns to Matthew’s eighteenth chapter.  By this point, owing to Matthew’s clear presentation of Jesus’ treatment of Gentiles and tax collectors, it can be rightly and comfortably concluded that treating an at-fault brother as a Gentile or a tax collector, if he refuses to listen to the correction of an individual, to a small gathering of brothers, or to the church, does not constitute a rejection of that brother.  Quite the contrary, in fact. 

If the example presented by Jesus is of any value to those that call themselves by His name, then there should be a re-doubling of efforts towards reconciliation and fellowship, as these are the people to whom Jesus is constantly addressing Himself.  The hand of fellowship and forgiveness should be extended indefinitely.  Yes, in this there is a potential risk of taking suffering, shame, loss, and humiliation upon oneself in an attempt to reconcile and restore a broken relationship, but in the end, is that not what the Creator God did for His people and His world through His Christ and the cross? 

...Like A Gentile Or Tax Collector (part 7)

Here also is an opportunity for Jesus to prove His previously made point, which was that if Tyre and Sidon were able to see the miracles that had been seen by the denizens of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, that they would respond in an appropriate manner.  However, given this opportunity, it is to be noted that Jesus says that He “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Undeterred by Jesus’ seeming aversion to Gentile outreach, this woman that had made her initial messianic proclamation, and who had followed and continued to cry out after Jesus, bows down before Jesus and says simply, “Lord, help me!” (Matthew 15:25b)  Surely now one would expect Jesus to respond in the way to which His observers have grown accustomed.  He again disappoints expectations by saying “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (15:26).  Undaunted, the desperate woman offers her reply, saying “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (15:27). 

Putting aside the apparently problematic use of “dogs,” which has not yet been on offer from Jesus in His previous dealings with Gentiles, and so apparently is meant to play a rhetorical role in a conversation that has taken the appearance of a rabbinic debate (thereby, in point of fact, elevating this woman---is this encounter taking place at a meal, amplifying Jesus’ point and removing the possibility of insult from His comment?), rather than being used as a demeaning and blanket statement (considering the possibility that Jesus already has in mind what He is going to do for this woman and how He is ultimately going to respond to her), she has taken up the words of Jesus, accepted His statement without challenge, and then added “master” to the fact of her already referring to Him as “Lord” and “Son of David.”  Finally, this is productive of what would be expected from Jesus from the beginning, as He answers her with “Woman, your faith is great!  Let what you want be done for you” (15:28a).  The closing report is that “her daughter was healed from that hour” (15:28b). 

When stepping back from this for a moment and viewing the exchange as a whole, one can find tremendous similarities between the encounter between Jesus and the centurion in Capernaum, and between Jesus and the Canaanite woman in the region of Tyre and Sidon.  While viewing the similarities, one must also consider Jesus’ statement about Tyre and Sidon and their potential response to the miracles that He performed.  As indicated, Matthew neatly introduces this story into the narrative of Jesus that he is telling, and both ends---Jesus’ statement about Tyre and Sidon juxtaposed against the “woes” He pronounced and what takes place here in Tyre and Sidon with this woman---are heavily suggestive when it comes to considering the prescribed treatment of an erring member of the new covenant community as a Gentile or tax collector. 

In the previous story, the centurion comes to Jesus with a request.  The Canaanite woman does likewise.  Jesus responds positively to the centurion, but does not respond to the Canaanite woman (perhaps the Roman commander, as part of the Gentile, tax collecting, oppressive force, would be looked upon as a greater enemy by the majority of Jesus’ and Matthew’s audience, therefore Jesus offers greater compassion and praise to Him, whereas the Canaanite woman would merely be considered a nuisance?).  Upon Jesus’ response, the centurion, even though his request has been granted, says “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.”  The audience then goes on to find out the reasoning behind these words, as well as the way that He perceives Jesus’ power and authority, as he says “For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.  I say to this one, ‘Go,” and he goes, and to another “Come’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (8:9)  

...Like A Gentile Or Tax Collector (part 6)

Though this passage does not include a messianic reference, what is found there is reminiscent of what was already seen in the eighth chapter, in Capernaum, when the centurion (a Gentile) came to Jesus saying “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish” (Matthew 8:6).  Jesus responded with a simple “I will come and heal him” (8:7b).  This study’s initial recounting of that meeting did not go into great detail---a situation that shall now be rectified.  The centurion, who must have been pleased with Jesus’ response, replied to Him by saying “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.  Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed” (8:8).  Jesus is shown to be somewhat dumbstruck by the response.  In fact, Matthew’s report about Jesus is that “He was amazed” (8:10a).  He was so amazed that He said “I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel!” (8:10b) 

To that, in order to benefit His Jewish hearers and to make a point about the Creator God’s kingdom and its reach, Jesus adds a reference to the messianic banquet by saying “I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (8:11).  His hearers, along with those hearing the Matthew narrative, are clearly intended to make the inference that the kingdom of the Creator God is certainly not going to be restricted to Israel alone.  Punctuating the encounter, Jesus says “Go; just as you believed,” which is that Jesus could simply command the healing, “it will be done for you” (8:13b).  Matthew’s report, in demonstration of the in-breaking of the Creator’s kingdom through the very word of the Christ, is that “the servant was healed at that hour” (8:13c). 

Certainly, this story aids in setting a tone for the remainder of Matthew’s Gospel.  So when a later point in the story is reached, and the Canaanite (Gentile) woman, who clearly recognizes Jesus’ power to heal and to rectify the situation, can be heard to say “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!’”, the reader would expect a response from Jesus that will be similar to that which was on display in His dealings with the centurion in Capernaum.  Strangely, this is not what is to be found there.  In fact, the author reports that “He did not answer her a word” (15:23a).  Beyond that, the disciples express a bit of irritation on their part, as they are reported to have begged Jesus to “Send her away, because she keeps on crying after us” (15:23b).  Quite obviously, this woman was persistent.  On her part, it seems to express a deep-seated faith in the power of Jesus to set things right. 

Jesus eventually relents and speaks.  Based on what has been presented to this point, and even though an observer could express a bit of surprise at His not responding to her at all (especially with the situation with the centurion in Capernaum in mind---as this Gospel narrative is presented as a dramatic story in a single sitting), one would be expecting Jesus to oblige this woman.  So it is natural for an observer, along with Matthew’s audience, to be a bit perplexed when He answers her by saying “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (15:24). 

In light of Jesus’ treatment of Gentiles to this point, this just does not seem to fit.  Though it appears to fit with His previous instruction to His disciples about not going to Gentile regions or any Samaritan town (10:5), it also appears to run counter to the words of His mouth and to His mode of operations.  Indeed, the very fact that He is standing in the region of Tyre and Sidon stands in fairly stark contrast to those previously given instructions. 

...Like A Gentile Or Tax Collector (part 3)

Shortly thereafter, Matthew reports that “Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people” (4:23).  This, again, is the region to which Matthew refers as “Galilee of the Gentiles,” which would certainly play into the statement about the covenant community treating an individual like a Gentile or tax collector.  In addition, the Matthean author adds, “So a report about Him spread throughout Syria” (4:24a), which was also a Gentile area.  Accordingly, owing to all that Jesus was doing and saying, “large crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan River” (4:25).  Nearly from the outset, Jesus’ ministry, as presented by Matthew, is intimately connected with Gentiles. 

In the fifth chapter, Jesus is heard to say: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven… For if you love those who love  you, what reward do you have?  Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they?  And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do?  Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they?” (5:43-44,46-47) 

The juxtaposition of “enemy” and “those who persecute you,” with “tax collector” and “Gentile” are undeniable.  It would appear to be clear that they are to be taken as one and the same.  What is also undeniable for the purposes of this study, is that such a juxtaposition is firmly ensconced within Jesus call to love them and pray for them.  This would most definitely serve to inform an audience as to what it means to treat somebody as a Gentile or tax collector, would it not?

Moving to the eighth chapter then, it is said that “a centurion came to Him asking for help: ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.’” (8:5b-6)  This centurion, a Gentile, was part of the oppressive, occupying Roman military machine.  It is likely that he would have been treated with contempt by the citizens of Israel, and a presumed Israelite messiah-figure would be expected to take up an adversarial role with such a person.  The role of the centurion Gentile, among other things, was to keep the people of Israel in submission.  How did Jesus respond?  Did He refuse the request of this Gentile oppressor of Israel?  On the contrary, “Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’” (8:7) 

The record of chapter nine of Matthew records that Jesus “saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth” (9:9b).  A tax collector---a Jew that collaborates with the oppressors that are keeping Israel in exile from the promises of its covenant God---would attract a special type of scorn from his fellow countrymen.  So here is another opportunity for Jesus to shun one of these dastardly collaborators with the hated Romans.  Yet Jesus instead says “Follow Me” (9:9c).  After Jesus pulls this tax collector into His growing band of disciples, He has a meal with Him. 

Now, whenever Jesus, who is going about offering up messiah-like actions (at least in the eyes of His contemporaries), and who is clearly being portrayed as the Messiah in the stories told about Him by the early new covenant community (with this being the obvious pre-disposition of the author of this Gospel), sits down at a meal, the thoughts of “messianic banquet,” which indicated the coming of the kingdom of the Creator God (which Jesus consistently announced), would not have been trailing far behind.  Those who participated in the messianic banquet, which can only be understood with the context of the Creator God’s covenant with Israel through Abraham, were those that would rule in that God’s kingdom.  It is in that context that the author writes “As Jesus was having a meal in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Jesus and His disciples” (9:10).         

Commanded By The Lord

So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come.  Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. – Acts 10:33  (ESV)

It is likely that we have read these words dozens of times, yet have never taken their full measure or grasped the significance and importance of what it is that is being said here.  What is significant is not only what is said, but by whom it is being said.  These are the words of a man named Cornelius, a Roman centurion and commander of the Italian Cohort.  Cornelius speaks these words to the Apostle Peter, who has been brought to his house from Joppa, having just received a vision from the Lord in regards to things clean and unclean.

Earlier in this chapter of Acts, we read that Cornelius “saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, ‘Cornelius.’  And he stared at Him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’”  (10:3-4a)  That statement is worth noting because of the consistent, underlying message that we find in the New Testament, which sets Jesus in contrast to Caesar.  In that day, “Lord” (kurios) was a title that was reserved for Caesar.  Yet here we find this title on the lips of one of Caesar’s soldiers, as it is directed to the “angel of God.”  Then we see him using the title again in our text above. 

Now Cornelius was in Caesarea.  As a ranking military official in the land in which the events of the life and death of Christ had taken place, it would be unreasonable to think that he was unaware of the things that were being said about Jesus, or that he was unaware of the activities of the main proponents of that message.  He would have known the claims that the followers of Jesus were making for Him.  Indeed, the speech that he made in welcoming Peter to his house indicates his awareness of the message of Jesus that Peter carried, and perhaps of his growing understanding of the significance of the claim, as he says, using official, military language, that “we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”  Clearly, Cornelius, the Roman centurion and subject of Caesar, with his use of both “God” and “Lord” and “commanded,” makes a distinction that shows us that he himself had come to think of Jesus as “Lord.”  Coming from him, as the commander of up to one thousand soldiers of Lord Caesar, this would be no light matter.

Having been encouraged by Cornelius to speak of the Lord Jesus, “Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him’.” (10:34-35)  With that as a preface, Peter continues and says, “As for the word that He sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)” (10:36).  Here, before a Roman military commander, and likely, before a group of Roman government officials and probably some soldiers as well, Peter uses some startling language.  He speaks of the “good news of peace.”  This is the Gospel of peace.  For the Roman hearer, this would be the good news of the Caesar and of the peace (pax Romana) that he brings.  Peter applies it to Jesus.  Then, in the same breath, while a number of his hearers are contemplating the depth of this statement and its inherent challenge to the Lordship of their emperor, Peter extends his claim and says frankly that it is Jesus that is “Lord of all.”  A bit later, Peter adds that Jesus “is the One appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” (10:42b).  This claim is made in stark contrast to the well-known fact that it is Caesar, the all-powerful ruler of the world, that has the power to judge, and who has the power of life and death. 

While it is said of Cornelius that he was “a devout man who feared God” (10:2a), and that he used the language of “Lord” in reference to Jesus, this would not necessarily apply to all those that were around him, so Peter is being quite bold.  Cornelius himself is being quite bold, revealing his revolutionary beliefs to the people closest to him, inviting certain scrutiny, possible persecution, and probable removal from his position.  This should tell us something about the revolutionary and resolute faith that is demonstrated by those that confess their belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Just as “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (10:38a), He does the same for all those that choose to testify of His Son.  

Everyone Who Believes (part 2 of 2)

With Cornelius’ presumed familiarity with the idea about sin and exile and the forgiveness of sins, and the exclusive application of those things as relating only to Israel, it would have been quite the unanticipated revelation to hear Peter saying, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him” (Acts 10:34b-35).  Cornelius would have never heard such things said by the Jews around him, no matter how much they thought of him.  All he would have ever heard, concerning Israel’s God, was that He was indeed a God of partiality, concerned only with the plight of His special, covenant people, with this being the case since the days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the sons of Jacob. 

Following that, Cornelius hears the familiar term of “good news” (familiar because it was a common term associated with the Caesar and proclamations concerning him), and the attendant, parenthetical declaration that, by the way, that man “Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)” (10:36b), which would have been another titular designation of Caesar.

While processing these things, Cornelius would then hear Peter say that Jesus had “rose from the dead,” which was a story that must not have been news to Cornelius, as Peter has already said, in relation to his speech about Jesus, that “you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee” (10:37a).  To his statement about Jesus’ Resurrection, Peter would then add, that “He,” this living though crucified on a Roman cross Jesus (which would have weighed heavily on the mind of a Roman centurion that had probably carried out or overseen crucifixions in the past), “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead” (10:42).  The idea that a man that had been crucified on a cross was the One appointed to such a thing was a fairly unusual idea.  As if that was not enough, in that day and most likely, though he was God-fearing, in Cornelius’ mind it was Caesar himself that judged who lived and died---the judge of the living and the dead.

As if that was not enough to occupy Cornelius’ mind, Peter goes on to tell his hearers that “all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name” (10:43).  This would have been new information for Cornelius.  Again, as a Gentile in the land of Israel, and worse, a leader in the occupying force in the land, Cornelius would probably have never heard such a thing.  He would have undoubtedly heard, over and over again, that the Old Testament prophets spoke only of Israel and of its return from exile and the forgiveness of sin therein entailed.  Now Peter is telling him that the forgiveness of sins applies to everyone who recognizes and calls Jesus Lord, extending beyond Israel to a much wider group of God’s covenant people, from every nation, and that this was truly the thing of which the prophets wrote and bore witness. 

In these words, Cornelius hears Peter saying that all peoples, not just Israel, are in exile from the land (promised blessings) that God has for them, and that return from exile and entrance into the eternal life that is the forgiveness of sin, is accomplished through belief in the Lordship of Jesus, which is a gift of the faith that comes from hearing the pronouncements of the Gospel.  One might inquire as to how all men entered into that exile, when it was Israel that violated their God-given covenant, suffering exile as a result.  With that inquiry, we are reminded that all men experienced exile through Adam’s failure to trust God and to fulfill God’s intention for him and for all those that were created in the image of God.

From Peter, we learn that belief in Jesus as Lord equals the forgiveness of sins which equals a return from exile which equals eternal life.  This makes a great deal of sense, especially as we consider that the belief in Jesus stems from the gifting of faith that comes from an indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, which is the cause of, and evidenced by, calling Jesus Lord.  The faith for belief is always brought about by the Holy Spirit, and we are reminded of this in the forty-fourth verse of this chapter, which says, “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word” (10:44).  Their belief in Jesus was the evidence that the Holy Spirit fell, with the “speaking in tongues and extolling God” (10:46b) the secondary evidence of the falling and working of the Holy Spirit. 

The presence of the Holy Spirit, signified by this confession (Jesus is Lord!), is the signal that eternal life has been granted, and that the eternal life is right here and right now rather than something awaiting us on the other side of the grave.  With this signal confession, we (along with Cornelius) are also made to know that the exile from God’s promised blessings has been brought to an end, and that the ongoing sin of failing to live according to God’s intentions for a creation of His own image has been forgiven, with this being done because Jesus bore the wrath of God (death) that was owed to all who entered into this sin.  With belief in Jesus, a renewed, restored, redeemed life has commenced, as through that belief, the blessed believer is made to share in the awesome power that brought about and was sent forth in Christ’s Resurrection.