We have just traversed some pretty difficult terrain with respect to Jesus' teachings. If we take Jesus seriously, as His first disciples surely did and we saw our master speaking this way to a group of men who were the spiritual elite. Well, in some ways we would be rejoicing and in others we would be scared out of our wits. Jesus senses this and turns an eye to his disciples, who are like little children, just called out of darkness and into light,and warns them further, if you are to be the future...be wary of what you say and do. He gives the most vivid picture yet of what is the fate of someone who trips up a child in the faith.
And what is his first word on...forgiveness. But not forgiveness with strings attached, where you 'forgive', but now that you have taken the moral high road in the situation you are master over that person. Forgiveness, rather, that flows like a river. Forgiveness that makes you the offenders servant. How do you know if you are forgiving like Jesus has called you to? Each time you forgive that person it does not get harder and harder, because the record from the last time you forgave no longer exists. Forgive as you would be forgiven.
At this word, we, as the disciples, probably think to ourselves...oh' boy is that what He means by 'our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees', look how he came at them when they dropped the ball...Lord, we are going to need a lot more faith to do this! But it is not the amount of faith they have or we have, whether it be the size of a mustard seed or that of a mountain...rather, it is the greatness of the God to whom that faith gazes upon, which is directly related to our own power and authority to speak in faith.
Now, lest we become arrogant, Jesus brings his disciples (present company included)back to humility. Once you've gone out into the world with faith like that, faith in the one true and holy God, moved mountains, cast out demons, walked on snakes and scorpions, set the captives free and so on...do not expect a reward, this is simply what it is to be truly human, this is what it was 'in the beginning', this is what you were made to do to begin with, to go forth, have dominion, multiply and fill the earth with the glad wise order of YHVY and to declare His praises and the wonderful works of His hands to all generations. Amen
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