In Spirit and Truth

"Peter began to say to him, 'Look, we have left everything and followed you.' Jesus said, ' Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions - and in the age to come eternal life. '" -Mark 10:28 Jesus called Matthew saying, "Follow Me," and Matthew answered extravagantly. He left his tax booth behind. Jesus called Peter saying, "Follow me, and I will make you [a fisher] of mankind," and Peter left the boat, and abandoned his nets. Every disciple had to let go of their life as they knew it in order to follow Christ. Today the call of Christ rings out, "Follow Me." Many never hear that call, and this is a tragedy, but the greater tragedy is those who hear, but stand paralyzed by the

" As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him. " -Matthew 9:9 As a young child, Matthew had gone through the educational system. He would have attended both Bet Sefer (House of the Book) and Bet Talmud (House of Learning) at the synagogue from age 6 to age 13. He learned the scriptures inside and out, and at age 13 was declared a "son of the commandments" at his "Bar Mitzvah." Around the same time as his Bar Mitzvah he would present himself to a rabbi to be given an oral test. The rabbi’s would test not only his knowledge of scripture, but also his understanding of scripture and its theological concepts. The knowledge of scripture a requirement for the Bar Mitzvah, but the understanding would have allowed him to be the student of a rabbi. This elite form of higher education was known as the Bet Midrash. Only if you had a grasp of those theolog

" As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. " -Matthew 9:9 Jesus had been turned away. He had healed a man possessed by demons, and the people of that town were so scared, and perhaps angry at the loss of their herd of pigs, that they sent him away. And so, Jesus returned to Capernaum. The sun hangs low in the sky, the air is thick with hot moisture, and the smell of fish in inescapable. Most people are getting ready to close up shop. The peak hours are past, and dinner with friends and family is all anyone can think about. Jesus is likely on his way to Peter’s house for the night when he and his disciples pass a paralytic man being carried home from a day of begging. Jesus sees him and responds, "Take heart son, your sins are forgiven." Those walking by take mental note, and pronounce judgment on Christ in their hearts. Jesus senses their disapproving loo