- Date/Time: 28/12/14, Sunday 12PM
- Church: Cross Free Church of Scotland (Ness)
- Speaker: Rev Ewen Matheson
- Sermon Title: Seeking After Jesus
- Readings: Matthew 25 v 1-13, Matthew 2 v 1-12
- Bible Text: Matthew 2 v 10-11
- Psalm: 68 v 18-20, Tune: Gainsborough
- Length: 40 mins
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If you are seeking after Jesus and have ears to hear….
Happy Pentecost 2017 !
God has not changed, and neither has the text of “The Bible”.
I am one of “those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” [Revelation 12:17]
No I’m not perfect without sin, and No I don’t know everything now. I didn’t know everything 7 years ago either – but I have grown and learned new things about God and His Word in the past 7 years, as is normal for a growing believer.
“God’s commandments” are found in the Law of Moses and the Prophets, which Jesus came to FULFILL, (not to abolish, as the false apostle Paul the Pharisee taught.)
“The testimony of Jesus” is the voice of Jesus, (The “Red Letters,”) recorded by the 11 faithful witnesses, the True Apostles that Jesus personally appointed and trained for over 3 years. Only 3 of these men wrote Scripture in the Bible – Matthew, John and Peter.
(Mark was intimately connected with Peter since the beginning of the Church, and he acted as scribe for Peter and other Apostles who were illiterate at in their younger years. Mark could be understood as “the first core teachings of Peter and the other Apostles”. It is an observation of fact that much of Matthew is simply copied from Mark. Matthew built on Mark’s work, using it as a “backbone,” and filling out more background details, and references to The Law, The Prophets, and Psalms, etc. in a meticulous, more comprehensive way.
Thus, Matthew was providing a second written witness, confirming the testimony of Jesus.)
In practical terms, regarding texts of the Bible, that means that the most important words are the words of Jesus recorded by The Apostles Matthew and John (closely followed by Mark) – in my view. No one in the pages of Bible ever said that all Scripture is EQUAL. No one. Nowhere.
My view is very similar to the traditional Orthodox view of the texts of Scripture for almost 2000 years. (Eastern Orthodox). They elevate the 4 Gospels above all other Scriptures, giving the 2 highest places of honor to the Gospels of Matthew and John – and they have a special high place for Revelation too.
I can back up my view with plenty of Scripture – here is just one, written by the Apostle Peter- 2 Peter 3:2. Peter doesn’t point to himself, or his own words, or “all Scripture” or “The Bible”, Peter doesn’t claim his own words are “the word of God”, and he doesn’t claim that he doesn’t need a second witness. (And Peter certainly doesn’t point to the words of some other man, a Pharisee at that, -Paul- and say that this other man’s word is “the word of God.”)
You can read Peter’s advice for yourself- then open your Bible to Matthew, John, Revelation, and Mark, and listen to Jesus for yourself!