Matthew 20:29-21:22 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

21 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, ⁷ and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. ⁹ The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

¹⁰ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

¹² And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” ¹⁷ And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

¹⁸ Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

²⁰ Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Some time ago I wrote a ten day devotional, “Jesus Last Days, a Model for Our Days,” based on the last days of Jesus here on earth. Those last days are so rich in the teachings and examples of Jesus power and authority that they make up a large portion of the Gospel accounts. It is obvious that Jesus, knowing His time with the disciples was coming to an end, wanted to pour out as much as He could to them, and so to us. Today’s text is an example of just such a tremendous treasure trove of truth compressed into a small portion of scripture. The text says:  The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,  and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,“Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”   This text doesn’t reveal it, but we know that less than one week later the very same crowds that were shouting:  “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest,” would be shouting “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21)   If public opinion could so easily and completely turn against Jesus, why would we think we would be exempt from the hatred and persecution of the fickle world? Why would we expect that the world would love us, when in John 15:18-20 Jesus says: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” 

The text says:  Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.  And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”   Much of the church today more closely resembles a for profit business than it does a house of prayer.  Even more though, keeping in mind what it says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, what would Jesus find in our temples?  If He overturned and drove out what was not of Him, would we soon set back up the very things He overturned?

The text continues:  And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”  And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.  Again, how often do we see in the church that people become indignant when the power of the Holy Spirit interferes with the plans or the programs of man? We want to see healings and miracles, but far too often we expect them to fit into the few minutes of time that we allow. How often are children expected to sit quietly rather than being encouraged to shout praises to Jesus?

The text concluses saying:  Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.  Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”   First let’s address the fig tree itself. What if Jesus were to apply the same standard of judgment against us? In truth He says He does. In John 15:1-6 Jesus says: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”   The fig tree was incapable of bearing fruit. In Mark’s account he explains in 11:13 it says:  He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  We on the other hand can choose; we have the ability to bear fruit simply by remaining in Christ. In 2 Timothy 2:4 Paul’s exhortation is to:  Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. There is no season that we are unable to bear fruit.  Finally, look at what Jesus says: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”  Here is the thing, when we ask believing, it is not only that we are to believe for what we ask, but it is also that we ask believing in Christ. It is in Christ that we have faith. If we ask believing in Christ, we will receive because we cannot ask for something that is opposed to His will if we ask believing in Him.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the treasure of scripture. Thank You that it speaks today just as You spoke. May the seed of Your word remain planted in my heart and mind so that I would bear fruit in whatever season I am in. May the temple of my body, heart and mind be acceptable and pleasing to You.   Amen.

Matthew 20:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. ¹⁰ When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

¹⁷ As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” ²² But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In today’s text Jesus says:  “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”   For anyone who has walked with and served the Lord for a long time it is easy to understand that the parable warns us about grumbling or being envious when we see some one who has done little or nothing to serve the Lord receive a blessing that we ourselves have been waiting for.  In Matthew 6:1-6 Jesus says:  “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”  We need to keep in mind that it is not earthly blessings that should be our focus. If that is all that matters, then perhaps that is all we will receive. It is the unseen blessings of God that truly matter. What we receive in the heavenly realm far exceeds anything on earth.  In Matthew 11:11, Jesus says:  "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

As I meditated on this portion of scripture I couldn’t help but to think that the same principle is also true in the opposite sense. Not only should we not grumble or be envious when others who may seemingly be less deserving are treated equally, we also should not grumble when others are blessed extravagantly. Why should I complain if someone else has a nicer house, a newer car or can go on a better vacation, as long as I have what God has promised; all that I need. In John 10:10 Jesus says: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  Abundance in Christ though is not an abundance of wealth or things. It is an abundance of peace, joy and contentment that is only found in Him.  In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul says:  I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  In truth, to delight in the Lord should be the desire of our heart.  The chorus of a well known song says:  Turn you eyes upon Jesus  Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim  In the light of His glory and grace.  

Jesus closes today’s text saying: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,  and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; may I truly learn to be content in what ever circumstances I am. May I not focus on what others have, but rather in what I have in You. May I be at least the least in the kingdom of heaven rather than the greatest on earth.  May I be a servant to all and as I turn my eyes upon You and look full in Your wonderful face, may the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of Your glory and grace. Amen.

Exodus 8:1-15 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Frogs over the Land

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ² But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. ³ The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. ⁴ So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.”’” ⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”

¹⁰ Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” ¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh. ¹³ The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields. ¹⁴ So they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

In Exodus 7:1-5 it says:  Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. When  Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”   In the ensuing chapters we see the accounts of those judgments; the plagues God sent against Egypt. In today’s text which focuses on one of those plagues, the plague of frogs, we also see another interesting dynamic. The text says:   Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”  Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.  The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”   For me this begs the question why would anyone want to delay being delivered from a plague for even a minute?  Why wait until tomorrow?  Was it arrogance on the part of Pharaoh? After all he was given the honor of choosing the time, or was it that perhaps he was just buying some time, hoping that perhaps another solution would come, that maybe things would just work out?  How many people respond the same way to God’s offer to free them from the plague and the bondage of sin and death?  While they recognize that things are not good, they hesitate, they delay; they put off responding to the free gift of God’s grace to spend one more day with the frogs.

What happens next in the account indicates that Pharoah was not really ready to yield to God. He was not truly repentant, but rather only wanted to be freed from the circumstances. The text says:  Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh.  The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields.  So they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.  Even while the stench of death filled his nostrils, Pharoah’s heart was hardened and he refused to yield to God.  How often do we see or hear of people making deals with or promises to God, if He will deliver them from or through a difficult time, only to return and not repent, but to continue as they were?  In contrast look at the story Jesus tells in Luke 15:11-25:   “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”   The prodigal had no desire to remain one more moment with the pigs. We see the evidence of his true repentance in that even after he felt the love, compassion and the undeserved forgiveness of the father, he said:  ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’   He did not presume on the grace of the father, but he was rewarded by being completely restored. We cannot make deals with God. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says:  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Those are the conditions for following Jesus. We need to come to Him and be yoked to Him. Jesus is our peace and our rest. He is our salvation and redeemer. Why would anyone want to spend one more day with the frogs or why after receiving the love and forgiveness of the Father, would anyone return to wallow with the pigs?

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for Your undeserved grace and forgiveness toward me. I gladly come and yield to You. Thank You for restoring me to what You intended from the beginning; to be Your child.  Amen.

Psalm 23 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd. A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Today’s text, Psalm 23 is certainly one of the most familiar passages in all of scripture. These six verses have both a simple poetic beauty and deeply powerful spiritual images. The psalmist begins:  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  Surely we could add to the verse and say, I shall not want anything. There is nothing that we need or that we should want that we do not have in Christ, our Lord.  Philippians 4:19 says:  My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The psalm continues:  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.  In John 14:27 Jesus says:  “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  Sheep are by nature nervous and fearful animals, but when the shepherd keeps watch, they are at peace. We too, though there may be much that concerns us, can be at rest, knowing the Lord keeps watch over us.  In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Verse 3 says:  He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.   Here the psalmist ventures from the image of sheep and sheherd and speaks directly of the Lord his redeemer and guide. Still, as a shepherd would not lead his sheep in the wrong way, so the Lord will never direct us or lead us into temptation or sin. If we are on a path of sin, we have strayed from Him. The Lord restores not only our soul, but our heart, our mind and our body as well. When we repent and choose to follow Him, we change not only how we act, but also how we think. We are given the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16-17;26 Jesus says:  “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you… the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”  The Holy Spirit is our helper, our teacher and our guide.

Verse 4 says:  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.   If we are with God and in Christ there is nothing that we should fear. Romans 8:31 says:  If God is for us, who can be against us? Even death is merely a shadow. It has no eternal power over us. John 3:16 says:  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”   It is important that we, like the psalmist, recognize and receive comfort in the rod and staff of the Lord. These are His instruments of guidance and protection, but they are also for correction, direction and discipline. We should not resist or reject the discipline of God, but rather take comfort in it. Proverbs 3:11-12 says:  My son, do not reject the  discipline of the LordOr loathe His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

The psalmist concludes saying:  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.  Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  In the presence of the Lord we can focus on the provision of the Lord. Our cup will overflow with the goodness of all that He has given and done. That overflow should then pour out to others, even to our enemies. Proverbs 25:21-22 says:  If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.  As we share from the table of the Lord, the burning coals that we heap on the head of our enemy are not for his harm, rather they are coals as in Isaiah 6:6-7, where it says:  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”  They are coals of cleansing and forgiveness. If we will follow the Lord then goodness and lovingkindness should follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in His house forever.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Amen.

Matthew 18:1-20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, ³ and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; ⁶ but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

⁷ “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸ “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. ⁹ If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹ For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

¹² “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

¹⁵ “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

It is a great responsibility and a great privilege to be a person who teaches and influences children. Teachers, coaches, parents and other mentors have the power to influence and affect future generations.  With great power comes great responsibility and tremendous accountability. In today’s text Jesus says:  “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”   In Matthew 5:18-19 Jesus says:  “Truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”   It is one thing to face the consequences of our own decisions in our own life; it is another thing to be accountable for the lives of others. In our culture and society we would severely punish a person who recklessly endangered the lives of children by driving a bus while intoxicated. Yet many of those same people will cheer those who recklessly cause children to stumble regarding the commandments of God. No one should take lightly the great responsibility of influencing children. Jesus says: “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”  Our culture and our society will answer for the stumbling blocks it has set before our children.

Jesus says: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”   Proverbs 22:6 says:  Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Our society has despised generations by not raising them up in the way they should go. In Deuteronomy 11:18-20 God said:  “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”   Rather than teaching our children God’s words, we have banned and barred them from our schools. Rather than writing them on our door posts, we have removed them from our public places. So again, we will answer for what we have or have not done in causing this generation to stumble and become lost.

Yet, look at what Jesus says:  “Truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”    If there is rejoicing in heaven when one lost person is brought into the kingdom of heaven, how much more when these lost generations are found by Christ? Jesus says:  “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Lord Jesus Christ, in response to what You said, we join together in Your name. Across miles and time, we agree for this lost generation. We repent for the stumbling blocks we have allowed and we bind up the false teaching and worldly philosophies that have influenced this generation. We loose the revelation of who You are and what You did; that because of Your great love, You died for our sins. Just as it is Your will that none of these would perish, we look to the day when we rejoice with all of heaven because they are found.  Amen.  

Matthew 17:10-27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” ²⁰ And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. ²¹ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

²² And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; ²³ and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶ When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

In today’s text it says:  A man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,  “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”  And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”  And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”  And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”   How many times and in how many ways have we heard Jesus words, If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. We are exhorted in sermons, in songs and in printed images, to move the mountains that stand in our way. I myself know of no one who has ever commanded a physical mountain to move. In truth, most of us struggle and stumble over mole hills. What can we learn then from what is shared in the text? If such a small amount of faith can do such great things, how can we attain it?

I believe that in part Jesus answers that question for us when He says:  “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”   Here‘s the thing; when we read the account it says: Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”  And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.   When the need arose, Jesus did not take the time to fast. He did not even pray. He simply rebuked the demon and it came out. Often when we are faced with a difficult situation we will call for a fast. We will ask for prayer. That though is not the model demonstrated by Jesus in this account.  Scripture does though tell us that Jesus often went off to pray. As a practicing Jew, who said of Himself that He did not come to do away with the Law, we can be certain that He fasted. Like Jesus, prayer and fasting should be our lifestyle, not our last resort. The purpose of fasting and prayer is not that we would bend God’s will toward our own; it is not that we would convince Him to do something that he otherwise would not do. The purpose of prayer and fasting is that we would align ourselves with Him; that we would remove from our thoughts and our lives anything that would hinder us from knowing God and His will. If we will make fasting and prayer our lifestyle, we will become intimately familiar with God. In John 5:19-20 Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”  That should be the purpose of our prayer and fasting; that we see and know what the Father is doing, so we can join Him in His work. Additionally, as we know Him better, our faith increases because we are working with Him and asking according to His will. The reason it only takes a small measure of faith to move a mountain, whether physical or literal, is explained by Jesus in John 14:12-14, when He says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”  Our faith is not in our own strength or ability; rather it is Jesus that will do it. We only need a small measure of faith because He is a big and omnipotent God.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; may I daily fast and pray. May I lay aside anything that would hinder me from knowing You and Your will. May my prayer become increasingly times that I listen rather than speak. As I see and hear what You are doing, may I have the faith to move mountains; asking in Your name, I know You will do it.  Amen.   

Matthew 16:13-17:9 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

²¹ From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

²⁸ “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

17 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ² And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

Today’s text is rich in foundational truths regarding our faith and walk in and with Christ. In the text Jesus says:  “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”   I’ve shared frequently that the rock upon which Jesus says He will build His church is the revelation that He is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Savior and Redeemer. It is upon that revelation, understanding and belief that Jesus builds His church. Apart from that the church has no foundation upon which to build. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says: No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

I want to focus today though on something else that Jesus said; something that may seem confusing at first.  After describing the power and authority that the church will have based in the revelation and the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the text says:  Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.  If Jesus will build His church on the revelation that He is the Christ, why would He instruct the disciples to tell no one? To some extent Jesus answers that question for us when He says:  “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”   In John 6:44 Jesus says:  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”  So the revelation and the drawing come from the Father. We cannot convince or coerce anyone into truly believing in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul says:  When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,  and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.   In Mark 16:15-18 Jesus says:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”   So we are to preach the gospel. We are to preach Christ and Him crucified, but it is not our eloquence or our convincing argument that will cause people to believe. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that will confirm the word. In John 16:5-9 Jesus says:  “Now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”  The Father draws and reveals; the Holy Spirit convicts. We are only as Jesus says in Acts 1:8, to be His witnesses.

The text says:  Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. If like Peter, James and John, we will remain with Jesus; if we will walk with Him, the Father will continue to affirm and reveal who Jesus is.   God says:  “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”  There are many today who try to live as Jesus lived; with love and compassion; serving others, but do they also listen to Him? Do they do what He says and call others to listen to Him? Jesus message in love and compassion was to call people to repent.   Romans 5:8 says:  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  The love and compassion of God is demonstrated in the death of Jesus on the cross. In John 3:16 Jesus says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  “Listen to Him!”  “Get up, and do not be afraid.”  We do not truly demonstrate the love of God and Christ without also pointing others to the cross, where their sins are forgiven.  

Heavenly Father thank You for the revelation that Jesus, Your Son, is the Christ. Thank You Holy Spirit for convicting me regarding sin and righteousness and for empowering me to get up and not be afraid; to be a witness for Christ, that others too will be drawn by the Father; hear the words: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” May the world come to know Your love demonstrated in the revelation of Christ.  Amen. 

Matthew 15:29-16:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Healing Crowds

Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ³⁰ And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

³² And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³ The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; ³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

³⁹ And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. ² But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

⁵ And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? ¹¹ How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

In today’s text it says:  Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”  And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;  and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.   For me, reading this account from the perspective of knowing the outcome, I am not as amazed that Jesus fed probably in excess of ten thousand people (four thousand men, besides women and children) with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish or that there were seven large baskets full left over, as I am amazed that the disciples said:  “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”   After all, only a short time prior, they had seen Jesus feed more people with less (five thousand men, besides the women and children, with five loaves and two fish) and they picked up twelve baskets full of left overs. By this time they had seen many miracles of healing. They saw Jesus calm a storm. How could they possibly question His ability to do what He wanted to do and provide for their need. Yet, how often do I, even though I have witnessed and experienced the power and the provision of God through Christ, still fail to believe for what I need? In Psalm 37:25, the psalmist says:  I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.   Earlier in Psalm 37:4 he says:  Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.  Philippians 4:19 says:  My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  If I do not know and trust where the provision will come from in my need, it is an indication that either the evidence of my past experience is not sufficient for me to believe for my present need, or that perhaps what I want might not truly be what I need. The desire of my heart might be to satisfy greed rather than need.  If we ask for something that is opposed to the will of God we should not expect that He will provide it.

The text says:  The disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.   Like the disciples, it is possible that our focus on the things of this world hinder our ability to understand the deeper truths and realities of the kingdom of heaven. Our inability to trust God for everything that we need keeps our attention focused on basic things God already knows we need. In Matthew 6:25-33 Jesus says:  “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”   Jesus warning was to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Like focusing on the things of the world, focusing on the regulations and the traditions of man hinder us from fully experiencing the kingdom of heaven. Galatians 5:9 says:  A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.  We need to recognize that to even be a little more concerned with the things of the world or the things of man than we are with the kingdom of heaven, makes that or those things an idol in place of God. The very first commandment in Exodus 20:3 is: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”    Asked what the greatest commandment in the Law is, in Matthew 22:37 Jesus says:  "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'”   If we truly love Him, we will fully know Him. If we fully know Him, we can trust Him for our every need.   If we, as the psamist says: Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; I do love You with all of my heart, soul and mind. May I truly seek first Your kingdom and trust You fully with all that I need.  Amen. 

Psalm 19 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Works and the Word of God.  A Psalm of David.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
² Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
⁶ Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
¹² Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
¹³ Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

I think it is fitting and perhaps even necessary that when we look at the words of David, the psalmist, we look at them from the perspective of what God Himself said about David. Acts 13:22 says:  “He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’”  When we meditate on the words and the heart of David, we see also the heart of God.

David says:  The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.   Many today mock the apparent lack of understanding of scientific truth of the Old Testament writers.  They point to the limited understanding portrayed in their descriptions as proof of the Bible’s inaccuracy. The reality is though that the difference between those who wrote the texts of the Old Testament and much of modern science is that with David and others, what they did not fully understand, they attributed to God by faith. When science does not understand, it declares as truth what is speculation and theory. Rather than believe in the God of creation, they create their own explanation. Without proof, they theorize and declare as fact that everything we see is the result of a series of random occurrances or accidents. While it is quite common for species to adapt to a variety of changes over time, as long as we have studied the millions of species on earth, we have never witnessed a single one evolving from one species to another. Still with no evidence and limited understanding, they accept their theories as fact. What was true when David wrote these verses is still true today. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God says:  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”  Even the greatest of human minds cannot fully understand or comprehend the magnitude or the intracacies of creation.

David says:  The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.   Many things in our current culture and society are measured in terms of risk verses reward. According to the psalmist, the man after the heart of God, the risk is to disregard or disobey God. There is nothing that the world could offer that would warrant the risk of losing the reward that obedience to God’s word provides. Too often the world views the commandments of God as restrictive and difficult. In truth they are, perfect, right, pure, enlightening, clean, enduring, true; they are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.  The reward of God is eternal life with Him in heaven and abundant life here on earth. Surely disregarding or disobeying God is not worth the risk.

In response to who God is and what He says, in faith the psalmist says:  Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.  Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.  Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; I believe and trust what You say. For w Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.  Amen. hat is beyond my understanding I will believe You by faith rather than trusting the speculations of man. Thank You that by the cross I have been acquitted and by the Holy Spirit I can be kept back from presumptious sin. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Great is Your reward.  Amen.  

Matthew 14:13-36 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Five Thousand Fed

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” ¹⁷ They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, ²⁰ and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. ²¹ There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. ²³ After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

³⁴ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; ³⁶ and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.

We often hear people quote 2 Corinthians 5:7 which says:  We walk by faith, not by sight, but what does it really mean. Perhaps there is no better illustration that we can find than what we see in today’s text which says:  Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”   When Peter walked by faith, he walked on the water just like Jesus. The text says: But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink…  When Peter walked by sight, when he allowed the ways things looked to affect him, he sank.  Jesus says: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”   Here’s the thing though, little faith is really all we need. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says:  “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”   So how much more than a little faith do we need?  In truth it is not the size of our faith that matters, but rather it is the object of our faith. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he had the faith to walk on the water. Hebrews 12:1-2 says:  Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  In the text, when Peter began to sink, it says:  Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.  We too can call out like Peter and Jesus will reach out to us from His place at the right hand of God. Our faith is perfected because it is in the one who is perfect.

Look at the backdrop of Peter’s faith; what he had seen just prior to walking on the water. The text says:  When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,  and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.   Seeing Jesus feed ten to fifteen thousand or more with five loaves and two fish is what caused Peter to have the faith to get out of the boat. Still, even though he was among those who picked up more that was leftover than what they started with, the circumstances of his experience in the storm caused him to doubt. There may be times that we too, even though we have seen the miraculous works of Jesus, might still be affected by the storms around us. It then, when the wind and the waves are at their worst, that we need to walk by faith and not by sight. The text says:  When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”  We too should worship Him, He certainly is God’s Son. Like Peter, we should have the faith to step out of the boat even in the midst of the storm. But, may we keep our eyes on Jesus, so that we walk by faith and not by sight.

May this song be our prayer today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBJJJkiRukY

Matthew 13:47-14:12 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴ For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. ¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Perhaps the greatest lie and deception of the devil is that many have come to believe that there is no devil and there is no Hell. In today’s text Jesus tells another parable saying: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;  and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Jesus makes it clear that there will be a seperating of the wicked and the righteous. We then need to decide who we will believe, Jesus or the devil. Another deception that affects many is based in the idea that most people are good and that being a good person will get them into heaven. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says:   “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”   So the way is narrow and few find it. Fortunately though, the way is not difficult. It is easy.  In John 14:6 Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  It is not by being a good person that we gain access to heaven, but rather it is through Jesus Christ, by believing that He died on the cross to forgive our sins and that He rose from the grave so that we could live free from sin. Romans 10:9-10 says:  If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

The text continues saying:  When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.    We see then that there is more to believing than just eternal life. The results of faith and unbelief can also be seen in this life. In John 10:10 Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”    The abundant life that we have in Christ is more than an abundance of material things. It is an abundance of the evidence of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Those who believe will see miracles while those with unbelief will not. In John 14:12-14 Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”   In the text Jesus says: “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”   We often see this same principle in the church. Many people will travel to see, hear and follow a prophet or one who has the gift of healing, but fail to realize that they fellowship with people each week who have the same gifts and are empowered by the same Holy Spirit. Like the people of Jesus hometown, we tend to know those who we are familiar with by their humanity rather than by who they are in Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

In Mark 16:15-18 Jesus says to us all:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. I believe. I believe what You say and I believe You are who You say You are. I believe unto eternal life and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe also unto the abundant life You have come to give. I believe. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Amen.     

Matthew 13:24-46 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Tares among Wheat

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. ²⁷ The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³ He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Tares Explained

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In yesterday’s meditation and text we saw that when Jesus was asked why He spoke in parables, He said:  “I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”  Again, it is not that Jesus wants the truth of God’s word to be a mystery. Quite the opposite, Jesus speaks in parables so that the mystery of God’s word and His kingdom can be understood by what is familiar. Our finite minds cannot fully comprehend the infinite kingdom of heaven, so Jesus uses parables of things that are familiar; things we can comprehend, in order that we might gain at least a limited understanding of the incomprehensible kingdom. No one example can fully illustrate or decribe the kingdom of heaven, but as we piece together multiple parables, we begin to get a glimpse into the realities of the kingdom of heaven.

Today’s text begins with the parable of tares and wheat. Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”   When asked to explain, Jesus says:  “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;  and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”     We need to understand that just as in the parable of the sower, all of the seed of God’s word is good. The enemy though will also sow bad seed in the same fields. The devil will gladly allow us to accept several truths, if he can also plant one lie. It is vital then that we know what the true seed looks and sounds like so that we are not deceived by tares. If what someone says does not fully align with what God has said, it is tares.   The parable says:  The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Jesus speaking plainly in Matthew 5:17-20 says:  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”   Many tares are being sown, even in the fields of the church, by those who relax the commandments of God, bending them to align with the preferences of our culture and society rather than the realities of the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus says:   “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” …  “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”   The kingdom of heaven cannot be seen with the natural eye, but it is greater than all that the eye can see. Although it is imperceivable it affects everything that it comes in contact with.   Speaking in parables Jesus says:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field… Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,  and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  Speaking plainly in Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus says:  “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  In Matthew 6:19-21 He says:   “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  There is nothing that we have or that the world can give us that can begin to compare with all that is ours in the kingdom of heaven.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the good seed of Your word. Thank You for revealing the incomprehensible mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, in ways that my simple finite mind can understand. Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.   Amen.

Matthew 12:46-13:23 from the daily Reading in the One Year Bible

While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” ⁴⁸ But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

13 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. ² And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³ And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;^]You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; ¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. ²⁰ The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Today’s text begins saying:  While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”   Jesus is not disparaging His mother and brothers. He is pointing out that the family of God takes priority over even blood relationships. It’s not that we are not to value family, but rather we are to recognize the family we have because of the blood of Christ. In Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus says:   “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”   In John 16:1-3 Jesus says:  “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.”   Those who do not know Jesus or the Father, even though they may be family, may not agree with what we believe; they may be divided against us. In Psalm 69:7-9 the psalmist says: For Your sake I have borne reproach; Dishonor has covered my face. I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother’s sons. For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.   We should remember though what Jesus Himself bore for us. In Isaiah 53:3-6 it says: He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.  Because of what He did for us, In Matthew 19:29 Jesus says:  “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”  Through Christ we have brothers and sisters in the household of God all around the world. What we have gained through Christ far exceeds what we may have lost.

In the text it says:  The disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;  For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’”   It is not that God hides the truth of His word with riddles and mysteries. It is not that Jesus does not want everyone to respond to the truth. In John 3:16 He says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” What could be more simple and clear than that?  Yet many do not respond to the simple truth, because the hearts of many are dull. They neither respond to the simple truths of God’s word nor are obedient to His will. Look at the explanation of the parable.  “Hear then the parable of the sower.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.  The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;  yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”   The seed, God’s word never changes. It is always good. In Isaiah 55:10-11 God says:  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”   It is the condition of the soil; the condition of the heart of the hearer of God’s word that affects the fruitfulness.  In Psalm 51:10-13 the psalmist says:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; indeed create in me a clean heart, one that is prepared to receive the truth of Your word and produce fruit, thirty, sixty or one hundred fold. Thank You that because You bore my sin and shame I have been given more than I could have lost. I am part of the family and household of God.  Amen.

Matthew 12:22-45 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. ²³ All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

³⁰ He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. ³⁵ The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. ³⁶ But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

There are several key principles for us in today’s text. It begins saying:  Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.  All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”  And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?”   Jesus statement and question to them was regarding Satan’s kingdom, but it is important to note that He says:  “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.”  So the principle of division causing a kingdom or household to fall also applies to every natural kingdom or household as well as the kingdom and the household of God.  In John 13:34-35 Jesus says:  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”   In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul says:  I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.   To be in unity; to have no divisions does not mean that we must be without any differences. Unity is not conformity except that we are unified in that we are conformed to the image of Christ. We can have differences and still have love, but if we allow division, we have lost our love. Perhaps one of the greatest hindrances to the standing of the house of God today is that there is so much division and such a lack of love. The world does not know who the disciples of Christ are because there is so much division and so little evidence of love between those called by His name.

Later in the text Jesus says:  “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”  The reason that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable is revealed by Jesus in John 16:7-8:  “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”   The person who denies or blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is unable to receive conviction regarding sin and righteousness. Without conviction there is no repentance and without repentance there is no receiving of forgiveness by grace. It is also vital that we understand the importance of what Jesus says first here. “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”   There can be no neutrality with our faith. Either we are for Jesus or we are against Him. Either we work with Him to gather people into the kingdom or we are working against Him. In Revelation 3:15-16 the Lord says: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.’    In John 14:6 Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”   Either He is right or He is a liar. If we are for Him we must be in agreement with Him.

Today’s text ends with Jesus saying:  “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”   Here again the spiritual principles Jesus speaks of also apply to other natural areas too. So much of today’s psychology focuses on self. When we attempt to break a habit or addictions we deny ourselves; we change the way we do things, but we ourselves don’t really change. Often we simply substitute one habit with another or one addiction in place of another. We need instead to be changed. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:  If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.   When we receive Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit there is no room for any other spirit. Whether self help, self denial or self empowerment, the philosophies of today attempt to improve self by focusing on self. In Mark 8:34 Jesus says:  “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”   What we find though is that if we take up our cross to follow Jesus, not only are we changed, but our cross is also changed. It is no longer an instrument of death, rather in Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus says: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” We become yoked to Christ and through the cross He bore not only our sins and our sickness, but also every difficult thing that we face.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; conformed to Your image, may I love and be unified with those of Your household. May I be for You and not against You. Filled with the Holy Spirit, may there be no room in my heart for any spirit contrary to Your Spirit. May I be filled, changed and made new. May my cross become the thing that yokes me to Your cross so that I will have rest.  Amen.  

Matthew 12:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹ Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. ¹¹ And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, ¹⁶ and warned them not to tell who He was. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

¹⁸ “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ “He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. ²⁰ “A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory. ²¹ “And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”

Sabbath is defined as:  The seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians : Sunday observed among Christians as a day of rest and worship : a time of rest.  The Sabbath was established by God in Exodus 20:8-11 as part of the Ten Commandments. God said:   “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” In today’s text it says:  At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”   What does it mean that Jesus says He is the Lord of the Sabbath? To be Lord of something means to have authority over it. Again, God established the Sabbath; He blessed it and made it holy. Yet, in Mark 2:27 Jesus says:  "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”   The Sabbath was established for man, so that there would be a day of rest from labor; a day set apart to worship God. It is for our benefit, not God’s benefit that we have a time set apart for God.

In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:   “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”   We then should not overlook, diminish or annul the importance of the Sabbath. We should though seek the fulfillment of the Sabbath, not in adhering to laws and regulations, but in Christ Himself.  Jesus says: “that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”   We will not enter the kingdom of heaven because we are faithful to attend church every Sunday. Our righteousness must surpass that of those who knew and kept the law.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says: God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.  Our righteousness surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees because we have the righteousness of Christ. He is the fulfillment of righteousness in us.

Remember that the Sabbath was to be a day of rest from labor. We saw in yesterday’s meditation that in Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus says:  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Jesus, the fulfillment of the Sabbath is not only rest from labor, but He is also our rest in labor. He is not only Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus Himself is our Sabbath. In John 14:27 Jesus says:  “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” The text says:  Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.    Just as Jesus is our Sabbath, He is also our healer and our healing.  He is peace and rest. He is healing. He is truth and life. Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of all of the promises of God. It is important that we remember the Sabbath, but it is more important that we remember who it is that is our Sabbath. The Sabbath is no longer just a day set aside for the Lord. Through Christ, we live every day in the Lord.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ my Sabbath; precious Holy Spirit; in You I find rest. You are my all in all. Amen.