This week was a great week. The pre-course work was madness. I read and read and read and still didn't finish but I am so glad that I did cause it really helped during the class. The prof was Wes Olmstead, the one and only. Truthfully I have never heard someone speak as knowledgeably and humbly and passionately and confidently as Wes about the teachings of Jesus. It was so good to hear someone say with certainty what Jesus was saying and then logically and throughly explain why and it all clicks. I had so many questions answered and so many doubts or uncertainties taken care of. I read Matthew in a whole new way and I am excited and really enjoying the post-course work for this class.
Yesterday I went to Victoria with some friends for some sweet parkour and fun with friends but when I was there Jeremy and I were chillin a Starbucks and he asked me what was one big thing that I took away from Wes's class. The thought puzzled me for a bit because I hadn't really digested a lot of the information I had taken in. Upon reflection I think that I really enjoyed experiencing the class. Before the class started I had read a book that was all about 1st century Judaism and it really got me into the head space and I found myself thinking like a first century Jew. I was hoping for rebellions to lead to freedom for Israel and I was respecting how zealous for the Law the Jews were. Then when we started getting into Jesus' story and I was reacting to it like the disciples were. Jesus shocked me with his bold words and I had to think really hard about what he was saying. Then I started to recognize who Jesus really was as the disciples were. At the end when Jesus gave the great commission I was so pumped. That was definitely a sweet thing, to experience Matthew's Gospel, not just read it.
Another really cool thing that I learned is the balance between faith and works. Here is pretty much what Matthew ways in his Gospel, your works reflect what is in you, so if you don't have the works, then you don't have the faith. In other words, if you don't believe it enough to live it out, you don't believe it enough period. Very cool to see how solid Matthew makes that in his Gospel. Too it is good to understand that when Jesus says something like "be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" he means it, it's a command not meant to just make us feel imperfect. And perhaps the most encouraging thing I learned is a new way of studying the New Testament and seeing how the bible is such a literary work of art, so intentional in the way it was put together. I now have an excitement to study the bible and to see what God is intentionally saying.
Good class, back to youth this week, I will get some stories. It will be good. Pray for these last few weeks at Kaleo. Pray for genuine holiness and genuine obedience here at Kaleo so we can know the fullness of these last five weeks. Cheers all,
Tim
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