Christ Church Mandurah Resources

 OCT 18 MATT 22:15-33 CCM The Pharisees don’t have a very good reputation as far as most of us are concerned. They always seem to be either in conflict with Jesus or trying to catch him out in some way. But they opposed the Roman occupation of Israel, unlike the sadducees. These groups were actually bitter enemies, but they were united in their opposition to Jesus. They had a foolproof plan: ask Jesus what he thinks about paying taxes to the Roman authorities. If Jesus said pay the taxes, the Pharisees would say that he was opposed to the God of Israel, the only King they recognised. If Jesus said that taxes should not be paid, then he could be handed over to the Romans on a charge of rebellion. The plan could not fail, could it? Jesus is not fooled by their flattery, but he does agree to answer the question. But first, he reframes the issue subtly by asking to see the coin used to pay the tax. The tax the Israelites were forced to pay actually funded their occupation by the Romans...

 Exodus 32/matt22 In our reading from the Hebrew Scripture last week, we heard God give the Ten Commandments to Moses. They were the rules of guidance from a loving God to his people, to keep them holy and to set them apart from other nations. The people of Israel are still in the wilderness and Moses again goes up the mountain to commune with God. And while he is away, the Israelites develop selective amnesia, forgetting all that God has done for them. They decide that an animal which they fashion from gold will be their leader and protector. These are the people who have been freed from slavery in Egypt, they have witnessed the promises and power of God through the plagues on the Egyptians, and they have crossed the Red Sea on foot and seen the pursuing Egyptians drowned. Now they are in the desert, they are given water to drink and food to eat, and they still don’t get it. When I read this passage from Exodus, I have to ask myself – what on earth were the people thinking? What m...