Sunday 15 June 2008

Background

God's people (the Jewish people) had been waiting fordeliverance for a long time. They were hoping and praying for God'srule to become a reality, setting them free from injustice andoppression (at this point, at the hands of the Roman authorities).There was no shortage of would-be liberators, confident that theirprogrammes corresponded with God's purposes.

Matthew's Gospel, written for Christians maybe half a century afterthe time of Jesus, draws out the continuity between Jesus' life andteaching and the story of the Israelites in the Hebrew Scripturesof the Old Testament. Matthew presents Jesus fulfilling,transcending, challenging and transforming the hopes ofIsrael.

12 followers, corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel's legendarypast, are chosen to be the 'sent ones' (apostles), commissioned toproclaim that the reign of God is imminent. Their message is to beconfirmed by signs demonstrating that God is already at work,overcoming disease, evil and death. They are to be prepared formisunderstanding and opposition, from their loved ones and from thepolitical and religious authorities.

There is an urgency about the mission of the 12. They are to travellight, concentrate on the Jewish people and not waste time wherethey are not welcome. God's peace is freely offered, but those whochoose to reject it face a fate worse than Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis chapters 18 and19), a biblical byword for evil.

Jesus is in deadly earnest. He understands the needs of his people.He also knows that the path to liberation favoured by many willplace Israel on a collision course with the Roman Empire, and thatthe result will be a catastrophic war.

The gospel (or good news) is a lifeline - a last chance to staveoff calamity, offered in word and action to people who are adrift,but who don't know where to look for help.

To Ponder

What job description might Jesus give to hismessengers today?

Can you see signs of the rule of God in today'ssociety? Today's Church? In your life? What are they?