Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 7th December 2008 by the Rev. Kwok Nai Wang. The scripture readings that day were Deuteronomy 29:2-13 and Matthew 13:3-9; 17-23.


To-day almost all Christians believe their primary responsibility is to preach the gospel. Woe to us, if we do not engage in evangelization or to be precise, to bring people to church. So even if we do not engage in evangelization ourselves, at least we should support or even demand our church to do so. Or if our church does not engage in evangelistic work directly, at least it should support organizations which does that. That explains why in Hong Kong nowadays there are more than 200 para church organizations; and the majority of them, maybe even up to 70 or 80 percent specialize in evangelistic work, many work with particular groups, like students, patients, workers, or professional groups, such as nurses, police, business people, etc.

So we are all eager to preach the Gospel, to evangelize people. But have we ever asked, what on earth is the Christian Gospel?

In this year’s Sundays in Advent, I propose we spend time to re-examine what is the Gospel we believe in and preach? So the four Sundays before Christmas I shall walk through with you the four Gospels as handed down to us, namely Mark, Matthew, Luke and John and see what do they say to us about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, we are on the Gospel according to Matthew.

Matthew is not the earliest; Mark is. The Early Church gave it the primacy or Number One status for 2 reasons: (i) it is the only gospel which recorded clearly Jesus had said that he would build his church on Peter, the rock (c.f. 16:17-18). This had helped to establish the authority of the Church hierarchy, namely Peter and his successors. (ii) Matthew was a book which served as a manual for the liturgical life as well as teaching of the early church.

Indeed, Matthew emphasized a great deal on Jesus’ teaching. The backbone of the whole gospel is five teaching blocks, namely, the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7); the mission of the disciples (ch.10); the parables of the Kingdom of Heaven (ch.13); the manual for the pastoral responsibility of the Church (ch.18) and the last judgment (chs.24-25). Even in Jesus’ final commission to his disciples before his ascension, Matthew had zeroed in on Jesus’ teaching mission, “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always: yes, to the end of time.” (28:19-20). Jesus’ command was crystal clear: “make disciples and teach them!”

The centre of Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus Christ. Matthew described in particular Jesus is the Messiah as prophesized so often in the Hebrew Bible. That explains why in the first four chapters, after each important event, Matthew would add these words: “this is to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the Prophets”. For instance about Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem (1:22 quoting Is. 7:14); the flight to Egypt (2:15, quoting Hosea 11:1); the massacre of male children under 2 (2:18 quoting Jer 31:15); John the Baptizer as Jesus’ pioneer (3:3 quoting Is 40:3); Jesus’ started his ministry in Galilee (4:4 quoting Is. 8:23), etc.

In order to further demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah, Matthew from the very beginning of the Gospel stated clearly that Jesus was the son of Abraham and the Son of David (1:1), two of the most important persons in Israel. This was to be followed by the genealogy of Jesus (1:1-17).

Undoubtedly, Matthew composed the Gospel for the Jewish Christians. Matthew took pain to describe Jesus was a devout Jew. He was very familiar with the Law and the Prophets. For example, during the three temptations in the dessert, each time Jesus quoted Deuteronomy (viz 8:3, 6:16 and 6:13). In answering the query by the Scribes and the Pharisees about the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted the Shema (Deut 6:4-5) as well as the Holiness Code (Lev. 17-26) and summed up the commandment of loving God and loving our neighbour as ourselves. There are altogether 61 quotes from the Old Testament in Matthew.

Jesus was not a rabbi (or teacher of law) in the traditional sense, but like any rabbi, he was familiar with the Law. Further he made the Law alive through his own interpretation. That’s why after Jesus’ teaching on the Mount (chs 5-7), Matthew specifically mentioned, “his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, unlike their own scribes” (7:28-29). Jesus was a rabbi of the rabbis, according to Matthew.

Certainly Jesus did not come to start a new religion. This was what Jesus told the crowds, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.” (5:17). Jesus came to make the Jewish law and the Prophets more complete, more relevant to people’s well being. That was why Matthew specifically mentioned that in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reinterpreted the Law six times, namely about the Brother (5:21-26); about the Woman (5:27-30); about truthfulness (5:33-37); about revenge (5:38-42) and about the enemy (5:43-38).

Matthew emphasized that Jesus as the Messiah came for the salvation of the humankind. In fact, this is the theme of all four gospels. The salvation of the humankind lies in the fact that people realize that they are not God. They exist in God’s Kingdom – i.e. the absolute sovereignty of God. The human sin is our separation with God or we decide to live away from God’s Kingdom. This is what John the baptizer as well as what Jesus preached, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (3:2; 4:17). The pronouncement about the Kingdom of Heaven or God’s Kingdom was central to the ministry of Jesus. That is how Matthew summed up Jesus’ ministry, “He went around the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and illness among the people” (4:23; c.f. 9:35).

The Gospel according to Matthew is the Gospel about God’s Kingdom (Since Matthew was a good Jew, he tried to stay away in using God’s name. So he would use the Kingdom of Haven.) “The Kingdom of Heaven” is used in no less than 35 times in Matthew. What then is the Kingdom of Heaven?

According to the Judeo-Christian thought, the Kingdom of Heaven is the ultimately reality. The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom on earth are not two contrasting entities. The Kingdom of Heaven covers or superimposes the Kingdom on earth. The Kingdom of heaven represents the realm which belongs to God. The Old Testament tried to articulate it in the following way:

“I (God) will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Lev.26:12, Deut.29:13, Jer.31-32 and Eze.34, etc.)

It is a pity that this harmonious and radical relationship between God and us is severed by the human pride and arrogance. The Kingdom of Heaven is distorted or covered up by this human sin. Matthew did not define what is the Kingdom of Heaven as such. But it expected the Early Church to manifest this God-human relationship seriously and clearly. That is why Matthew admonished them to “set your hearts on his kingdom first, and God’s saving justice, and all these other things will be given to you as well.” (6:33).

The Kingdom of Heaven is not paradise high up in heaven. It represents the harmonious relationship between God and people. According to the Jewish tradition, the Lord God chose the Israelites to manifest this God-people relationship to the whole world. Unfortunately, the chosen people failed. They turned inwards. That was why God had to send his own son to this world to do the job. Jesus came to demonstrate not only what was God’s Kingdom, but also how we could and should live in it, i.e. to live a life which is obedient to God and in service to God’s creation. Jesus also gathered 12 disciples (symbolizing the 12 tribes of the chosen people of Israel) and expected them to continue what he set out to do. The community which Jesus formed was later labeled as the First church. This church, and indeed all churches following were and are supposed to be signs of God’s Kingdom on earth. It is never easy to follow a lifestyle of God’s Kingdom. It is because people are so used to follow only their own way. That is why Matthew emphasized so much on Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom. It is to help people elevate from living only for the “self” to living in and for God’s Kingdom. Thus, the Five blocks of teaching in Matthew’s Gospel.

First, the sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7. It provided some fundamental ethical considerations in God’s Kingdom.

The ethics of God’s Kingdom are way above the ethics which people follow. People generally follow the so-called fair principle of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. But in God’s Kingdom, “if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him…” (5:38-42). Or people accept “love only their neighbour but hate their enemy”; but in God’s Kingdom, “You have to love your enemies and pray for them.” (5:43-48)… and so on. In God’s Kingdom, the consideration as is not only one’s relationship with others; but especially the human relationship with God. Because God loves us; so we must love each other; because God forgives us unconditionally, so we must also forgive and embrace the people who have wronged us. This has become the basis of Christian ethics. Ordinary ethics mainly concerns with how people should treat people. But Christian ethics is Theo-ethics. It concerns primarily with how we should respond to God’s demands on the way we treat people.

Second, the mission of the disciples (ch.10). All disciples of Jesus must live by what God’s Kingdom says. As Jesus’ disciples, we also have the responsibility to enable others to do so as well. This mission is not only difficult but also dangerous too. Hence in order to do that, we should not carry excess baggage such as security for the self, wealth, status, popularity, success… and so on.

The third teaching block in chapter 13 consists of 3 sets of parables, namely a) the parable of the sower (vss 3-9; 17-23) and the parable of the darnel (24-30; 36-42); b) the parable of the mustard seed (31-32) and the parable of the yeast (33-35); c) the parable of the treasure and of the pearl (44-46) and the parable of the dragnet (47-50). These parables set out the mysterious Nature of God’s Kingdom as well as the attitudes of the preachers and the various conditions of the listeners or receivers.

The fourth teaching block in ch. 18 is about the pastoral relationship within the Church, or God’s Kingdom on earth. Caring for the weak and the young and forgiveness are the two most important elements.

The fifth and final teaching block is in chapter 24 and 25. This teaching is about the final and full realization of the Kingdom of God on earth and the last judgment. It is about the future as much as it is about our present behavior. While we wait for the future, we have to work hard now as well. In the 3 parables of the conscientious steward (24:45-51); the ten wedding attendants (25:1-13) and the talents (25:14-30); they lay out the clear message that God does give us different talents and gifts. But in final analysis, all it counts is our attitude, whether we use whatever God has given us to the fullest. In the parable of the last judgment (25:31-46), it is stated in no uncertain terms that we will be judged not so much by how many great things we have done, but rather by whether we have tried our best to serve those in need, such as the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, people without clothes, people who are sick, people who are in prison. Jesus fully identified with these people. He even made the point that “whoever did this to one of the least brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” (25:40).

The Gospel of Matthew is extremely rich and valuable as a book of teaching for the Church of all times. Yet, its message is very simple and clear. Jesus had brought forth the gospel about God’s Kingdom which says God is the Lord of all people. Yet God is not high above us. He is with us and cares for each and everyone of us. That’s why in Matthew, Jesus is called “Emmanuel”, God with us. (1:33). Our life is meaningful and purposeful if and only if we accept the fact that God is our God and we are God’s people. The Church is a glimpse of God’s Kingdom on earth. As members of the Church, we do not only live by the gospel of God’s Kingdom, i.e. in full communion with God; but also we must try our best to help others to do the same. This is what it means to preach the Gospel. This is what Jesus expects his Church to do. Are we prepared to accept this call and this challenge?

Glory be to God, the Father, son and Holy Spirit. Amen.