Matthew proves to be a gracious host. Yussif and another Pharisee are shocked to hear and then see Jesus and His disciples in the tax collector's house. Yussif says through the window, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The Lord Jesus explains simply, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” He kindly invites the two men in, but is quickly repelled. Rabbi Yussif says, “I must say I am shocked. She (pointing) is from the Red Quarter! Much of what is done there cannot even be spoken by my tongue or cross my lips.” Simon retorts, “Sounds like a personal problem.”
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A lavish party for the humble at Matthew's house.
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| Jesus is welcoming. |
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| Yussif and another Pharisee prefer to criticize from outside. |
Yussif points to Matthew and says, “Him, and the others he works with: they betray our people for money! And they’re not even sorry and don’t make the proper sacrifices.” Matthew responds, “Tax collectors aren’t allowed in the Temple.” Yussif says, “This is about what God wants!” Jesus interjects at this point: “You are forgetting the scroll of Hosea, hmm? Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy more than sacrifice.’” Yussif, ignoring that, states: “There are many righteous men watching You!” Jesus says, “Please let them know this: I have not come to call the ‘righteous,’ but sinners.” The Pharisees quickly move along when Matthew's former Roman bodyguard, Gaius, walks by and asks if everything is in order. Matthew steps outside privately to speak with Gaius, who urges Matthew to walk away from his newfound faith and come back into Roman service. Matthew says, "I've made my choice," and sensing the opportunity, asks Gaius for a favor.
Back among the Pharisees, Shmuel says to Nicodemus, the conversation cordial at first: “I have found a matter of Law I’m deeply passionate about, one that resonates with many others as far away as Jerusalem: false prophecy. When I heard the man from Nazareth tell the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, I thought, ‘Only God can forgive sins.’ At that very moment, He turned to me and recited my thoughts as if reading them from a scroll. [Nicodemus looks astonished.] I felt the same.... He called himself the Son of Man, as if from the prophet Daniel ... ‘to Him was given dominion and glory and a Kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.... His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.’ The Man claimed to be God and you said nothing. I will petition Jerusalem, requesting permission to search the archives for all matters pertaining to such false prophecy. Will you oppose my petition?”
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Shmuel points his finger in accusation at Nicodemus.
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Nicodemus has an accusation for Shmuel: “So, it’s all about politics and promotion for you, isn’t it? It’s not to serve God.” Shmuel answers, “On the contrary, Teacher, it’s about the Law. And the Law ... is God. If I’m rewarded for that, it’s because I learned from the very wisest.” Nicodemus concludes their conversation curtly: “I will not oppose your petition and, Shmuel, you have learned nothing from me.”
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| Shmuel is now menacing and in his former mentor's face. |
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| Nicodemus is alarmed but self controlled. |
Jesus takes time to talk with Simon's wife, Eden, before her husband and His other disciples go with Him to minister in other towns, saying, “I told Simon to make sacrifices and leave things behind in order to follow Me. You are one flesh with Simon. He cannot make sacrifices that are not also yours. You have a role to play in all of this. Eden, with shy joy, whispers: “Do I?” Jesus answers, “You will know in time. I can’t make everything about this easier for you." Eden replies, “That wouldn’t be our people’s way." Jesus, laughing gently, says, “No. It has not been nor will it continue to be. But I see you. Do you understand? I know it is not easy to be at home when your husband is out doing all of this, even when you are excited about it and proud of him.” He then heals Eden’s mother instantly from a terrible fever. Eden later says to Simon, “Thank you for obeying and following Him. It brought Him here.”
Gaius visits Matthew's parents to inform them of Matthew's choice to follow Jesus, whom Matthew believes to be a prophet. Elisheva, Matthew's mother, says, "That is the man who healed the paralytic at Zebedee's house!" Gaius interrupts, "I would be careful with that word healed. We do not know what trickery or illusion may have been involved." Matthew's father, Alphaeus, says, "Matthew has no interest in illusion. He upended his wicked life to be with this man." Elisheva adds, "He does not make decisions lightly." Gaius agrees that is true and tells them Matthew wants them to have the key to his house and also his dog. They do not want either but see the sense of hanging onto both, especially when they detect that Gaius has a grudging admiration for their son.
On the road, Jesus’s disciples are shocked to learn He is taking them through Samaria, which they have avoided all their lives. James says of the hated Samaritans, “Rabbi, these were the people that profaned our Temple.” His brother John adds, “They fought against us with the Selucids [Syrians] in the Maccabeean Wars. I’ve never even spoken to a Samaritan!” Jesus responds, “And we destroyed their temple 100 years ago. None of you here were present for any of these things. Listen, if we are going to have a question-and-answer session every time we do something you’re not used to, it’s going to be a very annoying time together for all of us. We’ll be fine so follow Me.”
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| Jesus listening to James and John, whom He later nicknamed Sons of Thunder. |
Jesus, purposefully walking up alone to a well after He sent His disciples into town to buy food, asks a Samaritan woman drawing water there if He may have a drink. The Samaritan woman responds with mild disdain, “Aren’t I ‘unclean’ to You? Won’t You be ‘defiled’ by this vessel?” Jesus tells her, “Maybe some of My people say that about your women, but I don’t.” “Yeah? And what do You say?” says the woman. Jesus answers, “I say if you knew who I am, you’d be asking Me for a drink, and I would give you living water.”
The Samaritan woman replies, “What do You need from me if you have Your own supply of ‘living water’?... Is Jewish water better than Samaritan water?” “That’s not what I said," clarifies Jesus. "Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again.” The woman says dismissively, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Jesus explains further: “The water I give will become in a person a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The Samaritan woman asks Him to prove it. Jesus says, “First, go and call your husband, then come back. I will show you both.” The Samaritan woman tells Him, “I don’t have a husband.” Jesus says, “You are right. You’ve had 5 husbands and the man you’re living with now is not your husband. The Samaritan woman, visibly startled, says, “I see: you’re a prophet.You’re here to preach at me. Usually the one good thing of coming here alone is I can escape being condemned.
Jesus tells her, “I’m not here to condemn you.” The Samaritan woman tells Him, “I’ve made mistakes—too many. But it’s men like You who have made it impossible for me to do anything about it.” Jesus asks her to explain. She says, “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews insist Jerusalem is the only place for true worship.” Jesus replies, “They say that because the Temple is there.” She says, “Yeah, exactly where we’re not allowed!” Jesus explains, “I’m here to break those barriers. And the time is coming when neither one this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. God is Spirit. And the time is coming and is now here that it won’t matter where you worship, but only that you do it in spirit and truth. Heart and mind. That—that is the kind of worshiper He’s looking for. It won’t matter where you’re from or what you’ve done. Do you believe what I’m telling you?” The Samaritan woman answers, “Until the Messiah comes, and explains everything—and sorts this mess out, including me—I don’t trust in anyone.” Jesus tells her, “This Messiah you speak of: I am He.”
Jesus tells her details about her marriages that astound her. She asks, “Why are You doing this?” Jesus answers, “I have not revealed Myself to the public as the Messiah. You are the first. It would be good if you believed Me.” The Samaritan woman says, “You picked the wrong person.” Jesus tells her, “I came to Samaria just to meet you. Do you think it’s an accident that I’m here in the middle of the day?” The Samaritan woman hangs her head and says, “I am rejected by others.” Jesus tells her, “I know, but not by the Messiah.”
The Samaritan woman now begins to understand what Jesus has been saying. She says to Him, “You know these things because You the Christ?” Jesus nods His head. The Samaritan woman, her face brightening, says, “I’m going to tell everyone!” Jesus, delighted, tells her, “I was counting on it!” The woman, laughing now, says, “Spirit and truth? It won’t be all about mountains or temples?” Jesus promises her, “Soon, just the heart.”
The Samaritan woman runs off, leaving her valuable water jugs behind. She shouts joyfully to Jesus’s disciples as they return to Him with food: “This Man told me everything I’ve done! Oh, He must be the Christ!”
Jesus, after being offered food by His disciples, replies, “Ah, I have food to eat that you do not know about.... My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” Simon asks: “You told her who You are? So does that mean ...?” Jesus tells them, “It means we’re going to stay here for a couple days. It’s been a long time of sowing, but the fields are ripe for harvest.” Simon clarifies, “And so it’s time?” Jesus says, “Let’s go!”
🎵“Throw Me like a stone in the water; watch the mud rise up. Dress Me like a Lamb for the slaughter, pour Me in Your Cup. Should have known we’d bring trouble—trouble gonna find you here. Trouble, trouble, trouble.”🎵
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