mikereflects.com
Index Part Two
The Call to Discipleship
Matthew 8 v.18 to 9 v 8 ~ The Challenge of Following Jesus
Matthew 9 v.9 to 17 ~ The Call of Matthew & Fasting
Matthew 9 v.18 to 34 ~ Some Healing in Response to Faith
Matthew 9 v.35 to 10 v.20 ~ Commissioning of Workers
Matthew 10 v.21 to 11 v.1 ~ Facing Persecution, Keeping the Faith
Matthew 11 v.2 to 19 ~ Wisdom is Shown by its Results
Matthew 11 v.20 to 30 ~ Judgement and Thanksgiving
Matthew 12 v. 1 to 14 ~ Teaching about the Sabbath
Matthew 12 v.15 to 29 ~ Jesus, God’s Chosen Servant
Matthew 12 v.30 to 37 ~ Importance of true Speech
Matthew 12 v.38 to 45 ~ The sign of Jonah and the Empty House
Matthew 12 v.46 to 13 v.23 ~ The fruits of God’s kingdom
Matthew 13 v 24 to 43 ~ Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 13 v.44 to 52 ~ Further Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 13 v.53-14 v.12 ~ Jesus, the Nazarenes and Herod
Matthew 14 v.13 to 36 ~ Feeding 5000 and Walking on Water
Matthew 15 v.1 to 20 ~ Jesus’ Teaching on Inner Purity
Matthew 15 v.29 to 39 & 16 v.5-12 ~ Jesus heals and feeds the flock
Matthew 16 v.1-4 & 13 to 20 ~ Signs versus faith
Matthew 8 v.18 to 9 v 8 ~ The Challenge of Following Jesus
8v19Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher I will follow you wherever you go.” ...
8v21Another of his disciples said, “Lord first let me bury my father.”
8v24-25A fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat…The disciples woke him shouting, “Lord. Save us! We’re going to drown!”
8v28-29…two men who were possessed by demons met him….they began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, son of God? Have you come here to torment us?”
9v2Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralysed man, “…Your sins are forgiven!” But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves,“9v3That’s blasphemy! Does he think he is God?”
In these passages we get glimpses of the day to day ministry of Jesus and the challenge this presented to people. The first passage shows that there were those who felt the immediate call to follow Jesus, but either hadn’t thought through the cost (8v.19-20), and on the other hand those who were fearful to commit themselves (8v.21-22).
In the second passage (Ch.8 v.23-27) Jesus and his close disciples are caught at sea in a sudden serious squall and these experienced fishermen feared for their lives without fully reckoning on Christ to save them. (This presents a challenge to even the most committed Christian! Will we really trust God in the all the storms of life?)
Their mission was to rescue two notoriously demon-possessed men. When they reached their remote destination (v.28), Jesus confronted the men who recognised him as the Christ, but were fearful of being delivered from their demons.
Nevertheless Jesus commanded their release from this oppression and the men were restored to normality (v.29-32). The local community however was fearful of Jesus after a herd of pigs being tended near the scene stampeded into the lake and so they begged Jesus to return from where he had come. In another Gospel account Jesus then commissioned at least one of the demoniacs to stay in the community and use his deliverance testimony to draw his friends and relatives into God’s kingdom.
Back in the Capernaum region (ch.9 v.1-7), Jesus was faced with a paralysed man brought to him by the man’s friends. Jesus first tells him that his sins are forgiven and then heals him of his paralysis. But the local religious leaders were challenged by Jesus apparent authority to pronounce God’s forgiveness of sins.
Food for thought: In Ch.8 v.21-22, Jesus could be seen as rather callous, when he tells a fearful potential disciple, “Follow me now. Let the dead bury their own dead!” Some Bible commentators have suggested that the young man was expected socially to be around his ailing father until he died which could have been years. But either way Jesus is uncompromising about the need for everyone to make a total commitment to his Gospel and so he spoke in uncompromising terms.
This story about burying the dead should not be used as a reason to avoid non-Christian funerals or as an excuse to avoid showing care to the dying, especially where they involve one of our relatives! Jesus himself attended funerals and one occasion brought back a widow’s only son from the dead on the way to the funeral! To follow Christ today means being willing to act immediately to take whatever action God calls you to; this may mean undertaking boring duties to relatives in Christ’s name or it may mean undertaking commitments that mean you leave those you love behind.
Jesus not only pronounced the forgiveness of sins, but has also commissioned his church to pronounce the forgiveness of sins! He had the authority to do this based on his submission to taking the world’s sins on himself when he deliberately chose to suffer death on a Roman cross.
Challenge: Are you committed to trusting and following Christ in all the circumstances of life?
Matthew 9 v. 9 to 17 ~ The Call of Matthew & Fasting
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said. .. 10Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.
12(Jesus) said (to his critics), “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.” ... 13”For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners.
14One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast like we do?” 15Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? But someday the groom will be taken away from them. ... 16Besides who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away ... 17And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
Jesus does not imply (v.14-18) that the old ways of religion are of no further use. He is rather calling for ‘horses for courses’ even in matters of religion. He had come to bring in the new covenant of God’s love for humanity, and for this his disciples would come to love God from their hearts and God would call and enable them to live in submission not to the letter of God’s Law, but to the way of God’s Spirit. This new life of the spirit would free them to expand their thinking and would take them to new levels of service and compassion for broken humanity. Their love for God would be born out in sacrificial care for the world rather than in offering legal sacrifices to God. To shackle his disciples in the legalities of serving God by the old religion would put too restrictive pressure on them and they would fail to take the power of Jesus Gospel (the new wine) to sinners.
The Gospel is called Matthew’s gospel because it contains this unique reference (v.9 – 13) to the call of Matthew the tax collector. Whether or not the Gospel was actually written either in part or whole by that disciple (and later Apostle), history does not confirm. But it is quite possible that it contains at least some of Matthew’s recollections derived either from sermons, teaching or writing.
Food for thought: What is of importance here is that Matthew was quick to invite all his tax collector friends to meet Jesus over dinner. What an example this is for the Christian church! Jesus and the rest of his disciples had to endure the ringing condemnation of the Pharisees and the Zealots, but as Jesus fully demonstrated bearing such social condemnation is part of the cost of discipleship as he calls his church to reach the outcasts and sinners.
Challenge: Do you allow God’s Spirit to lead you to bring the hope of Christ to outcasts and sinners?
Matthew 9 v. 18 to 34 ~ Some Healing in Response to Faith
18..the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him, “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her.” 19So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. 20 Just then a woman who had been haemorrhaging for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I touch his robe I will be healed.” 22Jesus turned round, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter ...your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house...Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand and she stood up! The report of this miracle swept the countryside. 27After this, ...two blind men followed...28They went right in to the house where he was staying and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him. 29Then he touched their eyes ...and their eyes were opened, and they could see! ...31But they spread his fame over the region. 34But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.”
The religious leaders antagonised by Jesus fame as a miracle worker provided the public with their theological explanation that Jesus miraculous power came from the devil. This criticism gives verification to the impact that Jesus ministry was having on the population at the time.
The desperate synagogue leader may have been from Capernaum and may well have heard Jesus teaching in his synagogue and so quite probably had witnessed a healing miracle on his premises such as the man with the withered arm. Hence he was able to believe that Jesus might still be able to save his daughter even though it seemed as if all hope was lost. The woman with a haemorrhage again was desperate and had reason to believe Jesus could heal her. Again the two blind men persisted to begging Jesus for their sight. The fact that those people in Jesus’ earthly lifetime received the healing they craved does not mean that they were loved any more or less by God. Nor does it mean that they had greater faith than those who desperately pray to God today for healing, but haven’t received it. People may or may not find the specific healing they plead for, but God does gives grace to all who cry to him. There can be no formula that brings about the result we want – it has to be what will create the greatest eternal result.
Food for thought: The fact the Jesus was able to perform real healings in response to faith, does not mean that real faith will regularly produce healings. Spiritual powers are not like material powers, either switched on or off. Just because we employ the power of reason for example does not mean that we will always reason correctly. Criminals regularly misuse reason to commit evil, this doesn’t mean that God condones evil; he doesn’t. Faith is about relationship and in the context of healing power, relationship with God. And relationship with God is about the furthering of God’s purposes. This purpose could be about a human spirit dying with courage and dignity or surviving to testify to the loving grace of God. But all God’s purposes combine to further the eternal relationships that are the reason for our temporal existence in the first place.
Challenge: Pray that you will receive the grace of God in all your circumstances.
Matthew 9 v.35 to 10 v.20 ~ Commissioning of Workers for the Gospel Harvest
9v37(Jesus) said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest: ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
10v5 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions....7Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of God is near. 8Heal the sick, raise the dead ... Give out as freely as you have received! 10v10Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.
10v16I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. 17But beware you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips ... 18You will stand before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell rulers and other unbelievers about me. ... 19God will give you the right words to speak at the right time.
Jesus had been proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom and training his disciples in what to expect. He then asks his disciples to pray that God will send out workers to gather in a spiritual harvest for the Gospel which he was bringing. Jesus then called them out and commissioned them for a specific work amongst the Israelites at that time. Their Gospel proclamation was to comprise both proclaiming and demonstrating that the rule of God was at hand by works of compassion and power (the same works he had been showing them). Healing the sick, raising the dead and casting our demons was God’s work. But Jesus had commissioned them to God’s work, which is why they were able to proclaim that God’s kingdom was near for any who would believe and come to Jesus. And Jesus gives them some detailed instructions as to how they were to go about their immediate mission (v.6-18).
In verses 16 to 20 the Gospel writer also includes the start of a more general exhortation from Jesus to all future disciples that he will call to be his disciples and continue in his world mission. This teaching is likely distilled from training given by Jesus to his disciples over a period of time and is relevant to the universal church. Indeed it was remarkably prophetic. Christians testify to God giving them the right words to speak in defence of the Gospel. NT testament examples come to mind such as Paul standing before Agrippa and using the opportunity to spread the Gospel.
Food for thought: In verse 23 Jesus teaches his disciples, ‘when you are persecuted in one town flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.’ It is clear from this statement that Jesus taught and the disciples picked up that Jesus believed his return would be within their lifetimes. But Jesus also taught that no one (including himself) would know the precise date of when his return would be. Clearly this (Early Church) expectation of Christ’s return within the first century failed to materialise. And it is clear from this that the Holy Spirit of God means to lead us into all truth whatever (and despite) our expectations drawn from the text of Scripture. We should be weary therefore of creating doctrines around particular texts of Scripture – rather we should look to the more difficult road of seeking to understand what God’s Spirit wants to teach us in each circumstance or age of the Universal Church.
Challenge: Do you lean to your own understanding of Scripture or seek God’s calling on your life?
Matthew 10 v.21 to 11 v.1 ~ Facing Persecution, Keeping the Faith
“21A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their own parents and cause them to be killed. 22And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.
“25Since I ... have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names! 26But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed ... 28Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill the body: they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God ... 30 the very hairs of your head are numbered (by God who cares for you). 32Everyone who acknowledges me publically on earth I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ... 37If you love your father or mother more than you love me ... or if you love your son or daughter more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine.
“40Anyone who receives you receives me and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. ... 42And if you give a cup of water to one of the least of my followers you will surely be rewarded.
These prophetic words of Jesus concerning the break-up, suffering and persecution within family relationships as a result of individuals living out their new found Christian faith, have sadly all come true down the ages and reflects the on-going persecution of the Christian church especially evidenced in most non-Christian lands to this day. Jesus bids his followers to adopt a much greater respect for God than their fear of their enemies and to believe in God’s real care for them. Conversely we are assured that whatever is done for Christ will be rewarded by God.
Jesus’ call is to stand with him to promote God’s rule on earth: we are promised the aid of God’s Spirit to work for reconciliation and harmony on earth, but this means that we will need to stand with Christ against all that is unjust, unloving or destructive of God’s purposes. And that brings opposition from those who don’t want to change.
Food for thought: Jesus calls his followers to love him more than they love their families, but he also calls them to show love to all including their own families and their persecutors. This will involve staying true to our faith despite family opposition while extending God’s love to the family whenever we may have opportunity.
Challenge: Do you treasure Christ’s church? Do you love the least of his followers? Are you helping to build God’s rule on earth?
Matthew 11 v.2 to 19 ~ Wisdom is Shown by its Results
“3Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting or should we keep looking for someone else?” 4Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – 5the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the good news is being preached to the poor. 6And tell him, ‘God blesses those who are not offended by me.”
“12And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, eager multitudes have been pressing into the kingdom of Heaven ... “16To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, ‘17We played weddings and you didn’t dance, so we played funeral songs and you didn’t mourn.’ 18For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking and you say, ‘He’s possessed by demon.’ 19The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is shown by its results.”
We don’t know what John the Baptist was thinking, but maybe he was expecting Jesus ministry to be more akin to that of a national champion led by God’s Spirit who would bring in God’s Kingdom by overthrowing the Romans, and he may well have expected Jesus to adopt his own austere lifestyle and teach his disciples to fast and prepare themselves for an heroic struggle. Either way Jesus answers his doubts by showing him that God’s kingdom is a matter of showing God’s love for the outcast and poor by doing God’s works and in bringing people the good news of forgiveness of sins and hope for their trials.
Jesus generously states that people had been storming into God’s kingdom since John first began to preach that they should turn form their sins, show this by their deeds and look for the blessings God’s Messiah would bring them.
Food for thought: Are we sometimes offended by the way God leads other Christians to work and witness? We may not approve of the way they carry on, but the question should be, what are the results? We must learn that God works in many ways and it is by the results that we should make judgements of the effectiveness of any ministry. Are people brought nearer to faith and godliness?
Challenge: Do not cause un-necessary offence. Try to live at peace with all people in as far as you may.
Matthew 11 v.20 to 30 ~ Judgement for Unbelievers and Thanksgiving for Believers
“23And you people of Capernaum, will you be honoured in heaven? No, you will go down to Hades! For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. 24I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgement day than you.”
25Jesus prayed: “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from the wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 27My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 28Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ... For my yoke fits well and the burden I give you is light.”
Perhaps the people of Capernaum inwardly considered themselves wise and clever – rather like we might secretly sometimes think - though they may have denied it publicly, just as people would in our most modest culture today. But Jesus compared their fate as worse than that which they would have expected as the just deserts of the condemned inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yes, the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked, but Jesus claimed that if they had heard his teaching and seen the miracles God did through him, the Sodomites would have turned to God, repented and believed in Christ – unlike the inhabitants of Capernaum!
On the other hand Jesus was clearly thankful to God for opening the eyes of his disciples to the truth of his Gospel news. Their childlike trust had enabled them to understand the truths he taught about Father God and to begin to experience the divine love comes from the Father’s relationship.
The Gospel writer then presents Jesus appeal to the spiritually weary and heavy laden. The yoke that is easy is one that fits well and doesn’t chafe rather than one which gives us less to do than we are capable of.
Food for thought: Jesus promises rest for the weary soul – this rest from the anxieties and mental conflicts that not knowing God’s peace causes people. Jesus promises peace when we fully trust God with each day and with all of our burdens. In exchange as we learn to bring God’s presence into our daily lives, we also develop a deeper love for people. And the lighter burden that God gives us is the appropriate loving care of others.
Challenge: Do you lay all your burdens down at Christ’s feet? When you do, you will find the strength to love others appropriately!
Matthew 12 v. 1 to 14 ~ Teaching about the Sabbath
1Jesus was walking through some grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples ... began breaking some heads of grain and eating them. 2But some Pharisees protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” 3Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He went into the house of God, and they broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5And haven’t you read that the priests on duty in the temple may work on the Sabbath? 6I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the temple! 7But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you had known the meaning of the Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices (Hos. 6v.6).’ 8For the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath!”
9Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10where he noticed a man with a deformed arm. ... 13Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand and it was restored, just like the other one. 14Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.
In today’s culture some would protest that eating corn from the edge of field or a boy eating an apple from an orchard is theft, but in Jesus’ culture the poor and needy were legally permitted to harvest the edges of fields. The puritans of Jesus day were concerned that Jesus disciples were breaking the law by harvesting on the Sabbath. But Jesus declares them innocent – not on account of the letter of law of God (for the Jews), but because there is a higher law, the law of God’s love which calls us to show mercy rather than offer sacrifices. And he quoted two examples where the letter of God’s written law was legitimately broken following God’s law of mercy over sacrifice. Jesus claimed that he himself as the Messiah was the embodiment of that higher law. And he claimed therefore that he had authority over the written law of God.
Jesus and his disciples went on to attend worship at the local synagogue where he provocatively healed a man of a deformed arm raising further pharisaic protest. Jesus further brought home the point of his teaching by asking them, ‘Does the law permit a person to do good on the Sabbath?’ But the puritan Pharisees saw this as a direct challenge to their self imposed authority. And they began to plot how they would kill Jesus.
Food for thought: We would condemn a politician or a judge who considered him/herself to be above the law. So, was Jesus claiming (verse 8) that he himself was above the law? No, he wasn’t! And it was by reference to the written law of God (that all of us sinners deserve eternal death) as well as to the higher law of God that Jesus offered himself for the sins of the world in the sacrifice of his life on a Roman cross. So Jesus wasn’t trying to evade the law by claiming he was ultimately the law giver or somehow related to the law giver – rather he was claiming that we should all be following the higher law of God and that compliance to all lesser laws should be assessed accordingly. (We can see something of this principle at work in our own legal system where it is clear that some of our written laws are permitted to be broken in particular circumstances.)
Challenge: Are we living (and judging others) in a legalistic manner, or are we living in a way that is determined by God’s Spirit (and seeks to build God’s rule of love on earth)?
Matthew 12 v.15 to 29 ~ Jesus, God’s Chosen Servant
“18Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19He will not fight or shout ... 20He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. 21And his name will be the hope of the entire world. (Isa 42 v.1-4)”
24But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” 25Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed.
This OT prophesy which the Gospel writer quotes here (v.18-21) is really about God intervening in the world to bring about justice and mercy. It is a justice that doesn’t extinguish even a flickering candle of faith, i.e. it helps the poorest and weakest. It is not meek and mild: it primarily cares for all, but nevertheless is firm and decisive and opposes the proud. Jesus demonstrated this kind of justice and mercy in his lifestyle; healing the sick, giving the good news of God’s kingdom to the humble, opposing the hypocritical religious leaders of his day, and finally paying the ultimate price for standing for God’s justice and truth.
The Gospel author quotes this prophesy in connection with Jesus at this venture asking those he healed not to publicise their healing (v.18). The author sees Jesus as going about quietly doing God’s work on earth – not making a big publicity over his ministry, but nevertheless confronting the authorities whenever he needed to. Having incensed the Pharisees in Galilee with his teaching and miracles relating to the Sabbath day, Jesus goes onto to heal a deaf and blind man (v.22-23) and the crowds ask, “Could it be the Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?” But when the Pharisees hear this they barrack with the notion that Jesus’ power comes from the Devil. To which Jesus responds by showing them the logical failings of their false claims.
Food for thought: Since Christians believe that Jesus was the incarnate Christ, they reasonably interpret Isaiah’s prophesy as relating to Jesus Christ. Hence the Christian belief and proclamation that Jesus is the hope of the entire world! Many in the world however will oppose this Christian message (as the Pharisees opposed Jesus). But Jesus demonstrated in this passage the importance of Christian Apologetics, i.e. the quiet skill of sound reasoning to bring down the false arguments of those opposing the Christian message.
Challenge: Are you prepared to give sound reason and argument for your faith in Christ and in the Christian message?
Matthew 12 v 30 to 37 ~ Importance of true Speech
“30Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me ... 31Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit ... 32Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven ... 33A tree is identifies by its fruit .. 34For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36And I tell you this, you must give account on judgement day for every idle word you speak. 37The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
The context of this passage is one where Jesus is in a situation where he is being persecuted by a group of Pharisees who track and barrack him as he teaches. And he gives clear teaching and warnings about the importance of true speech: true speech comes from a true heart; corrupt speech comes from a corrupt heart. The Pharisees out of jealous and evil hearts had being teaching the people that Jesus works of healing people came from satanic powers and not from God. Jesus very firmly teaches that anything they say against him can be forgiven in God’s kingdom, but that what they say against what God’s Spirit is doing can’t be forgiven. Why the difference?
Jesus is here touching on the nature of forgiveness. If we say things that later we regret and are sorry about, we can be forgiven. God is always good and merciful. However (as CS Lewis has admirably illustrated in one of his children’s books) if our hearts are such that we think that how we have misrepresented the world is the absolute truth, then whatever evidence there may be to the contrary we will not change our belief. Hence forgiveness becomes impossible both now and in eternity. For forgiveness to be receivable, our minds must be open to recognising our mistakes, where this isn’t the case, we will not be able to receive forgiveness and so will suffer the consequences. As far as God is concerned, his kingdom is such that close relationship is central and this is not possible for those who are not open to receiving forgiveness.
Food for thought: Elsewhere Jesus taught his disciples not to hinder, but rather welcome those who are not of their group who nevertheless are working for God’s kingdom, because those who are not working against Christ are working for him. But that applies in constructive contexts, not in contexts of persecution. In contexts where God’s kingdom as brought by Jesus Christ is being challenged, Jesus teaches that those who are not with him are in fact standing against him and God’s kingdom.
But especially in contexts of persecution, Jesus always expects us to forgive those who persecute us just as Jesus forgave those who stood against him. And those who persecute us will be forgiven if they are open to receiving forgiveness. If they can’t receive forgiveness then they remain in their perilous state.
Challenge: Do I always forgive all who have hurt me from the bottom of my heart?
Matthew 12 v 38 to 45 ~ The sign of Jonah and the Empty House
38One day some teachers of the religious law and Pharisees cam to Jesus and said, “Teacher we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” 39But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.
When an evil spirit leaves a person it goes into the desert seeking rest, but finding none. 44Then it says I will return to the person I came from. So it returns and finds the former home empty, swept and in order.. 45Then the spirit finds seven other spirits all more evil than itself and they all enter the person and live there. … That will be the experience of this wicked generation.
The lawyers probably wanted some specific miraculous proofs of Jesus authority. The people already accepted that all the miracles that God was doing through Jesus and the meaningful and revealing teaching he was giving them were proof enough of Jesus authority. But the leaders full of their pride and status had no wish to believe. So Jesus points them to his coming death and resurrection prefigured by the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a whale and then vomited onto the beach, as the only sign he was prepared to give them. Some of them might come to believe in him following his passion and resurrection!
Jesus warns his hearers of the serious danger they are all in – because of their unbelief. Despite the fact that God has sent them John the Baptist to call them to repent and do the works of God, the leaders and the bulk of the people would not turn from their shallow form of religion with all its false pride. Despite the fact that Jesus embodied the good news of God’s kingdom with the sick being healed and the poor receiving the good news of God’s love, the leaders would not humble themselves and seek to enter God’s kingdom. John and Jesus had been like the housemaids, the Jewish nation was the householder and the leaders were like the demon that left the house for a while and then came back with seven worse demons than itself. The leaders and people had allowed John and Jesus to sweep and tidy the house, but had failed to wholeheartedly embrace God’s kingdom. They had not put the Spirit of God in charge of their house, the Spirit that Jesus had come to baptised them and the world with. So their land was vulnerable – without a new spirit, the leaders would develop an even worse pride and this would cause strife and would be the downfall of the nation. And this is how it played out in the years following Jesus departure from the Jewish national scene.
Food for thought: It is fairly easy to allow God through Jesus Christ to sweep your house clean but then not allow God fully rule in your life. Beware you could end up worse than if you hadn’t started on the road! Jesus calls for wholehearted commitment. And it is those kind of disciples that the world desperately needs!
Challenge: Am I holding back from allowing God’s Spirit to lead me on?
Matthew 12 v 46 to 13 v 23 ~ The True family of Jesus produce the fruits of God’s kingdom
12v50Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister and mother! 13v1Later that day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake, 2A large crowd gathered, so he got into a boat … he sat there and taught many parables such as this one: A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4As he scattered them across the ground, some seeds fell on a footpath and the birds came and ate them. 5Other seeds fell on a thin layer of soil overlaying rock. These seeds sprouts quickly … 6but the plants soon withered under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots they soon died. 7Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and chocked out the tender plants. 8Still other seeds fell on fertile soil that produce a yield of 30 to 100 times.
Jesus declares that his loyalty to Father God means his primary loyalty is to God’s children, but this didn’t mean that he showed disrespect to his biological family. He just took the opportunity of a family visit to the house he where he was staying, to make the point in case any of his disciples thought they might be less important than Jesus’ relatives. On the contrary those who were producing the fruit of God’s kingdom were as, if not more important! Jesus brother, James became a church leader, not because he was related to Jesus, but because he practiced God’s kingdom rule.
Later Jesus spells this out in one of his many parables. God sows the seed of his word over all sorts of ground: the seed is all good, but it is the ground that varies. It was and is a simple message about how well prepared our hearts are to receive God’s word, especially the Gospel message. We are the ground. Shallow soil on rock may be quite wet after rain and seeds can sprout quickly and grow to a point, but their growth becomes stunted because the plant roots can’t go deep. So when some adversity comes, the plant withers and dies. Whereas the plants that grow on good ground don’t wither in adversity because they are able to draw on deeper resources. Water is pictured as God’s Spirit, so those who dig deep into God’s love through prayer can be replenished and strengthened in times of adversity and will grow spiritually as a result.
The other two types of heart are on the one hand those who have already become hardened to the message of God’s Kingdom and who are quick to dismiss the Gospel message and, on the other those who welcome the Gospel, but also welcome many distractions into their lives. Such that the real fruits of God’s kingdom become choked out.
Food for thought: The point of the parable is that we examine ourselves and watch ourselves to make sure we are fully responding to God’s word and so treasuring God’s kingdom, so that by faith in Jesus Christ we are producing the fruits of God’s righteousness in our lives.
Non-one is limited:the soil of our hearts can be changed/ ploughed up/ deepened.
We need to watch on the one hand that we allow God’s Spirit to change and sustain our hearts, minds and wills and on the other hand that we do not allow the worries, ambitions, busyness and pleasures of this life to cloud out the light of God’s love from reaching deep into us to nourish us and produce the good works of the Kingdom.
Challenge: Are you allowing the goods and pursuits of this life to choke out the good seed of righteousness that comes from following after Jesus?
Matthew Ch. 13 v 24 to 43 ~ Parables of the Kingdom
24Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25But that night... his enemies came and planted pernicious weeds among the wheat...26When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. 27The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted good seed is full of weeds!’ ...28 ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ They asked. 29 ‘No’, he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30Let both grow together till harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds... and burn them, and to put the wheat into my barn.’”
The parable of the ‘good seed and the weeds’ seems to follow well from the parable of the ‘different types of ground’. The story of the types of ground is a picture of what happens to God’s word within each individual and the story of the wheat and weeds is about what happens to God’s word in a social context. God’s word can be trampled on, or allowed to be choked out or allowed to produce much fruit for God’s kingdom by any one individual. But those same individuals living in a social context will add a different dimension. The parable seems to tell us that God is happy for his Kingdom on earth to grow in the midst of non-Kingdom attitudes and cultures. There is no expectation for the latter to be rooted out in this lifetime (Matt.13 v.36-43)
As God’s kingdom attitudes grow in the lives of believers they will replace worldly attitudes, and in as far as the values of God’s kingdom attitudes are recognised and accepted in a society, they will enable that society to better produce the fruits of the Kingdom. But in as far as these values are not recognised or practiced by that society, the practice of ungodly social values and attitudes will (and should continue to) challenge believers, but should not hinder their development. Social ungodliness and persecution should challenge believers to growth in godliness and the demonstration of God’s kingdom values. To forcibly root out those who are ungodly from a society could disrupt the spiritual development of the godly. For example they could become complacent or proud or cease to love and pray for their ungodly neighbours.
Food for thought: It is quite possible for believers to become hardened when not challenged to rely on Christ each day, hence the necessary encouragement that the daily contemplation of Scripture brings.
Challenge: How soft is your heart towards hearing the whisper of God’s Spirit today?
“31The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but it soon becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a shrub and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
“33The kingdom of heaven is like yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she only put a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
In these illustrations, Jesus is talking about both the individual and social context of God’s kingdom. As the local church matures it should be melding into its wider local social context. Not of the world, but mixed into it, bringing blessing to others. Hence we should find the local church engaged with its wider social context in whatever ways it can be, e.g. in favourable environments providing appropriate service in support of the disabled, young families, the elderly, those in debt, the homeless, prisoners, refugees, the sick and dying, local government, the environment and many other ways. In hostile environments the local church should still be engaged as far as possible to bring reconciliation, promote understanding and give blessing to its enemies and to do good wherever possible to those who persecute them.
As the kingdom of God grows within an individual, God’s Spirit will challenge and change every worldly attitude and she/he will become more capable of showing forth the love of God to those who are undeserving. She/he begins to let go of maintaining, or of living under their reputation and more selflessly seeks to promote the welfare of others and to build God’s kingdom. This means that strangers will find refuge in their friendship.
Food for thought: Jesus said, ‘give to those who ask of you’ and ‘Bless and do not curse.’ Does this mean we let people walk all over us? It might seem so, but only as far as in letting go of our own protection, we draw on Christ’s resources in order to promote the true well being of others.
Challenge: Are you following the example of Christ who left the protection and glory of heaven to win sinners for God’s kingdom?
Matthew Ch. 13 v.44 to 52 ~ Further Parables of the Kingdom
45The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it.
This illustration and the one that precedes it (treasure in a field) make the same point. God’s kingdom is recognised by those who seek it and they are willing to leave all their past lives, reputation and what they have treasured behind in order to press on into God’s Kingdom. Jesus is teaching us that we need to recognise God’s Kingdom for what it is (God’s eternal love offered us through Christ) and take hold of it while we can and treasure it above all else.
47Again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.
Jesus goes on to expand on the parable of the ‘wheat and tares’ (Matt. 13 v24-30). There the wheat is separated from the tares on the Day of Judgement. Here however we have more elaborate teaching on the nature of those who are found to be in God’s Kingdom on that day. Jesus switches the metaphor from wheat to fish. There will be not just one kind of fish, but a whole variety of good fish that will please God on that day. This is a meaningful parable as much for today as for eternity. Jesus is teaching that we each are (or can be) a unique kind of outworking and development of God’s Kingdom. The life that we live in response to God’s Kingdom within us will be pleasing to God in a unique way. This means that the different lives that believers live by faith in the varied circumstances this world offers, will produce a rich variety of eternal significance.
Food for thought: In both parables Jesus envisages there will be those who will not respond in faithful obedience to God’s love. Hence he pictures an eternity of loss and regret – those who do not respond to the call of God’s Kingdom are not offered any comfort that God’s grace will continue beyond this life. But equally it must be noted Jesus deals with this life rather than speaking in any depth about the next.
Challenge: Are you living out your unique calling in God’s Kingdom?
Matthew 13 v.53-14 v.12 ~ Jesus, the Nazarenes and Herod
54Jesus returned to Nazareth, his home town. ...everyone was amazed...“Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary his mother, and his brothers ... 57And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is not without honour everywhere except in his home town and among his own family.”
It is possible to get too familiar and too quickly with someone you think you know and this can also apply to a relationship with God. We think we know someone and so we make them out to ourselves in our own image. But when they turn out to be different to our expectations we are then offended. How could they be like that? How can they ask this of me? They are breaking the mould of what I am used to and what I expect from them. They have stepped over the line that I have drawn. There must be a mistake.
It would seem that Jesus had grown up quietly and without anything miraculous happening while he lived in Nazareth. Now he had returned bringing with him authoritative teaching and miraculous powers and it seemed to them that he expected his home town folks would suddenly believe him to be God’s Messiah! “We’ve watched him grow up,” they might have protested. “We weren’t prepared for this! God didn’t tell us that our boy was to be his Messiah making demands on us to believe in him. He can’t be - there must be a mistake!”
14v1When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about him, he said to his advisors, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”
No one denied that Jesus was a mighty miracle worker; neither did his home town folks who were offended by him, nor the local ruler, Herod the Tetrarch. Herod was no doubt feeling the weight of his guilt at having executed John the Baptist for criticising him for his immorality. According to scholar Tom Wright, many Jews in Herod’s time believed that righteous people would be raised from the dead on God’s future day of judgment and they expected that on that day the righteous dead would be raised up and come back to earth. However the possibility of someone being raised from the dead shortly after their death, would not have been on their minds horizon.
However for someone bearing a guilty conscience and possibly in fear of God’s coming judgement and maybe a little mentally unstable, it is conceivable that Herod might have believed that a nightmare scenario had arrived, that God had already raised the Baptist from the dead as a judgement on Herod’s sin. Herod was likely unaware of Jesus ministry while John was alive, and so ascribing the phenomenon of Jesus miracle working to John having come back from the dead with greater power was logical to him. His advisors no doubt soon tried to reassured him that Jesus had been working miracles before Herod had executed the Baptist and so god’s judgement day had not yet arrived.
Food for thought: Both the Nazarenes and Herod feared the inherent demands that Jesus made of them. Performing miracles alongside authoritative teaching from God meant that the people around Jesus, felt the demand that he inherently made on them to either commit to or to reject God’s kingdom over their lives. The Nazarenes were possibly offended that they hadn’t sanctioned Jesus’ ministry and Herod was fearful that his authority and reputation was being threatened by Jesus ministry. Do we feel threatened when the new boy comes to town; or, when a previously unknown person is appointed with authority over us?
Challenge: Are we willing to be of no reputation in order to see God’s kingdom growing?
Matthew 14 v.13 to 36 ~ Feeding 5000 and Walking on Water
15That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary – you feed them.” 17But we only have five small loaves and two fish!” they answered. 18”Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and, looking to the heavens, blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples who distributed it to the people. 20They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.
22Jesus insisted the disciples got into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23After sending them home, he went up into the hills to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. ... 25About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.... they were terrified. ... 32When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33Then the disciples worshipped him. “You really are the son of God!” they exclaimed.
Jesus was testing out his disciples and training them to expect the impossible and to attempt the impossible for God and His Gospel. His mission to the world would demand radical faith and love. Yes, they had compassion for the crowds, but Jesus bid his disciples to feed them with the very little they had. This demanded both love and faith.
Whether or not some in the crowds still had picnic food with them, they disciples (and subsequent Gospel authors) believed a significant miracle then took place. All were fed from the multiplied loaves and fishes and they collected twelve baskets of discarded leftovers. We are not told where the empty baskets came from, but it is likely they belonged to the disciples and were in their boat.
Matthew tells us that Jesus then sent them by boat to Gennesaret (which was a few kilometres further down the coast), while he dispersed the crowds. (John’s Gospel, written a decade or so later, however records in John 6v.1-21 that they rowed to Capernaum – on the other side of the lake – but at night they would more likely have rowed round the coast line). Jesus went into the hills to pray by himself and waited for the moon to get up before descending the hills to intercept the boat further along the coast. The disciples would have been very tired having been active all day and then rowing against strong winds into the early hours of the morning. Rowing in the moonlight the disciples were terrified when they saw Jesus apparently walking on the water towards them. Once in the boat they worshipped him and when they arrived at Gennesaret in the early morning, news of his arrival spread quickly and people flocked with their sick so that Jesus could touch and heal them.
Food for thought: Whatever the precise details were of what actually happened that day and night, we can note the effect the experience had on Jesus disciples. What does it take for us to worship Jesus and to have the faith and love to sacrificially take his Gospel to others?
Challenge: Have faith in Jesus today!
Matthew 15 v.1 to 20 ~ Inner Purity and a Gentile Woman
10Then Jesus called the crowd...and said, 11“It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes out of your mouth.”... 18the words you speak come from the heart – that’s what defiles you. 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying and slander. 20These are what defile you.”
Jesus first castigates a group of Pharisees and teachers from Jerusalem who question why his disciples are ignoring their religious tradition of ceremonial hand washing (15 v.1). He responds by pointing out the total inconsistency and hypocrisy of their traditions by which they negate the laws of God (such as Honouring of parents, v.2-9). Then he teaches his disciples and the crowd what they should be concerned about in lieu of the traditions of their religious leaders.
He tells them plainly that it is in the human mind & emotions (heart) that all evil is fermented and it is the lack of submitting the mind and emotions to the control of God’s Spirit that causes an individual to commit sinful and defiling actions. Hence it isn’t food that goes into the mouth, but rather words that come out of the mouth that defile a person (whether this is in lying, slander, boasting or inciting others to evil). In making this comparison Jesus is not saying that it is only words that defile, since he also catalogues a range of thoughts and actions that also defile a person.
22A gentile woman...came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O lord...for my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
Jesus visits the non-Jewish neighbouring territory in the region of Tyre & Sidon, where he is accosted by a desperate woman pleading for the healing of her daughter. Jesus ignores her for a while and then asks her why she thinks that a Jewish prophet should be helping a gentile woman. He gently suggests that to heal a gentile would be like feeding the bread meant for the children to the household pets. But this gives her the opportunity to willingly respond that the pets are allowed the scraps from the table. In this way the woman acknowledges that the God of Israel will be her daughter’s healer and Jesus is happy to oblige her.
Food for thought: Some of the supposed children of the God of Israel (through the influence of their leaders) were not depending on God to make them righteous by pleading for God’s grace to be able to live righteous lives and were instead depending on man-made rules to help them to feel righteous. So they were forfeiting not only God’s grace for living, but his mercy on their infirmities as well. However, a gentile outsider by acknowledging that the God of Israel had abundant mercy to dispense through God’s prophet (& Messiah) Jesus was successful in pleaded for God’s mercy for the healing of her daughter.
Challenge: How much do we limit our expectation of God’s mercy to what we suppose to be the limits of the household of faith?
Matthew 15 v.29 to 39 & 16 v.5-12 ~ Jesus heals and feeds the flock
29Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee..30A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, dumb...They laid them before Jesus and he healed them all. 31And they praised the God of Israel!
Not all the children of Israel were misled by their spiritual leaders. Many ordinary folk were open to receiving God’s truth and mercy as dispensed through Jesus ministry and were willing to acknowledge the work of God’s Spirit in their healings.
32Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.” 33The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness to feed such a huge crowd?” 34Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
The passage shows Jesus’ compassion for the crowds who followed him. He is concerned at the possibility of them fainting through lack of a square meal. The disciples seem slow to cotton on to Jesus teaching and to the possibility of the miraculous. Matthew’s Gospel closely follows Mark’s Gospel in these events, describing two separate occasions when God multiplied food in response to Jesus compassion for the crowds (the 5000 and the 4000); whereas Luke and John only mention the first occasion. Matthew (cf. Mark) uses this second occasion to bring out Jesus teaching his disciples to beware of the bread of the Pharisees (Matt. 16 v.5-12) by which he meant their teaching which misled the crowds to thinking that they needed to win God’s approval by following the myriad of religious rules and regulations that they had composed. By implication, Matthew’s Gospel contrasts this deceptive religion of the Pharisees with the good news that Jesus brought the people, viz. That God’s kingdom was near and that all those in the crowds who responded to Jesus could enter into God’s salvation by means of their faith and resulting good deeds.
Food for Thought: John’s Gospel written years later extends Matthew’s by including Jesus’ explicit teaching that he was and is the ‘bread of life’ who gives eternal life to all believers. And this is contrasted with the physical sustenance that the Israelites received by miraculous provision of Manna, as they wandered through the wilderness under Moses leadership. And the regenerating life which comes from embracing Jesus’ teaching also contrasts with the miraculous feeding of the 5000 and 4000 by Jesus with temporal sustenance.
Challenge: Are you feeding on the living bread (Christ in you) each day by means of your faith?
Matthew 16 v.1-4 & 13 to 20 ~ Signs versus faith
1One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign to prove his authority. He replied... “4Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
The ‘evil and adulterous generation’ Jesus refers to here is that time when the people were generally controlled by the legalistic outlook promulgated by the religious establishment and where Jesus’ teaching and the miraculous signs were not wholeheartedly welcomed with faith in the living God. The people were adulterous in the sense that they followed the system of righteousness created by their leaders rather than embracing God’s kingdom. So the only sign that Jesus would give those leaders of the people who demanded one was that of Jonah. He no doubt elaborated on this (as indicated elsewhere) to explain that the sign he was prepared to predict was that of his own resurrection after the Jewish leaders had had him put to death.
Food for thought: Elsewhere in the Gospels we read that the Jewish leaders publically protested their innocence at plotting to have Jesus put to death, but we know from the rest of the story that this is what they were doing.
Challenge: How often do we play to the crowd – whoever that audience might be?