Through it all

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THROUGH IT ALL

Matt 14:22-33

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"  32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

NIV

Alright, we have come to Peter and his water walking experience. Wouldn’t we know it had to be Peter who did this, being such an outgoing brash type of person, at least that is our take from all else we know about Peter? The scene is the disciples in a typical type fishing boat, which were privileged to see the fairly well-preserved remains of this typical type boat in the Yigal Alon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar, Israel. This boat was twenty-seven feet long and seven and a half feet at the widest place.

 It would certainly have been big enough for twelve men powered either with oars or a small sail, or both. However, the point here is that Peter asked if the person they saw was Jesus, as He said he was, then tell Peter to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus on the water. Jesus said, “Come”, and that was enough for Peter. Here is the problem. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was walking on the water, but as soon as he took a look at his circumstances, the waves, and the wind, he began to sink. Of course, Jesus reached out and took him by the hand and we must know that Peter was once again walking on the water and walking with Jesus to the boat. As soon as Peter and Jesus got into the boat the sea became calm. We can, as many preachers have, make the case that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus and not our circumstances in life, we will metaphorically walk on water. When we were in a boat, much larger than the one the disciples were in, and it was motor-powered, while we were just floating with the engine off, we so wanted to step out of the boat, but we did not hear Jesus tell us to come. So we stayed put, however still worshipful. But this does speak to the way we walk in life. We cannot be afraid, and we need to step out of the boat, so to speak, and keep walking with Jesus. If we are walking with Him, we will not sink. It does not matter our situation, how many waves there are in life. Jesus is our way to walk through those circumstances and not be affected by them. It is sort of like a photograph we took from the widow of an airplane at thirty-thousand feet. At take-off it was cloudy, snowing, almost blizzard conditions, and we were much affected by it, but in that plane well above those circumstances, the sun was shining, and it was a beautiful blue sky, over those billowing clouds. Yes, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, and we will be walking with Him through it all. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon his word. 

Take Courage

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

TAKE COURAGE

Matt 14:25-33

25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"  32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

NIV

Having considered the need to be alone with God, just as Jesus had that need, we now can move on to the rest of the narrative. The wind was against them, or we could say the Sea of Galilee was not calm, but stormy with some waves. This would have been quite different than the day we were floating upon the sea as it almost looked like glass, as it was smooth, calm, and wonderful. But it was not like that and the disciples were alone in this boat struggling against the wind to get to shore. Jesus comes to them walking on the water and at first, they thought he was a ghost. Jesus speaks to them and the words he uses echo throughout the scriptures. “Don’t be afraid”. Of course, the reason they should not be afraid is that Jesus told them to “Take courage, it is I”. We will get to Peter and getting out of the boat later, which many preachers have made hay with, but for now, let us consider these words of Jesus. Just as with that boat, life can have some storms, or it can be a struggle. We are told all throughout scripture not to worry, not to be anxious, but rather to trust in the Lord. It takes courage to look adversity in the face and stare it down. Maybe there are some who never need that type of courage, their life is simply a bowl of cherries, or smooth as glass, with not even a ripple, smooth sailing all the way. We have had sometimes like that, but we have also had those times it seems we are going against the flow, or life is buffeting against us. We need courage and that courage comes from the fact that Jesus is walking with us and telling us not to be afraid because it is He. Yes, we will get to the fact that Peter got out and that when they both got in the boat the sea became calm. That is the life we are supposed to have when Jesus is with us in the boat of life. Our life should be calm, without fear, without anxiety, without worry, but rather worshipping Jesus, for He is the Son of God, and He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. This does not mean life will not get stormy from time to time, but we need to remember that Jesus is in our life, in fact, He is our life, He is our boat, our refuge, our fortress, our ever-present help in time of trouble. We cannot look at the storm and become afraid, or despondent because we cannot see the shore, Jesus is walking with us, we can have courage, we are not afraid. 

Alone time

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ALONE TIME

Matt 14:22-24

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

NIV

We do not want to get ahead of ourselves and go straight to Jesus’ walking on the water and the incident with Peter getting out of the boat. There is a truth we should consider first, and that is after Jesus sent his disciples on without him and dismissed the crowd, He went further up the mountainside by himself to pray. First, it is interesting that the crowd agreed to be dismissed. Usually, we see the crowd following after him whatever he goes, but somehow, they obeyed his dismissal. Jesus needed time alone to spend in conversation with His Father. We should see this is also what we need. It is good to pray together at times, as Jesus said that if two or more of us agree on anything to ask for, it will be done. However, there is a time when we need to just be alone with our Heavenly Father. In a culture that has such a social orientation, and it seems the need to always be with someone, doing something, going somewhere, it gives us little to no time to dismiss the crowd and go farther up the mountain to be alone in prayer. In some sense, although the truth is about getting alone with God, we can also see that because of the culture, we are buffeted by the waves of society being tossed around by all our responsibilities. Yet, the fact remains, we need to dismiss it all so that we can spend alone time with God. 

Giving Thanks

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

GIVING THANKS

Matt 14:15-21

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." 16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."  17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. 18 "Bring them here to me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

NIV

This may be the place in scripture we have gotten the idea that we should give thanks for the food we have before we eat. Although we are not told how long the prayer of Jesus was other then he looked toward heaven and gave thanks. It is good for us to give thanks for our food, although we are able to buy as much as we need with money that we work for. Here, we see Jesus taking just a little amount of food and using it to feed over five thousand people. Surely a miracle happened. We can just imagine what the disciples thought when they started to pass out the five loaves and bread and they keep passing it out and keep passing it out and they still had more loaves to pass out until all they people had enough bread and the same thing happened with those two fish. This reminds us of the widow who only had enough oil and flour to make one cake of bread that Elijah had her make for him and because she did her jars of oil and flour would not run out until the Lord made it rain. Every time she dipped into those jars the were full, no matter how much she told out, they remained full. If we do not get the picture that God will provide, then we are dense and without understanding. Sure, we might think that it is up to us to make enough money to supply all the food we need, but in the grand scheme of things, God is in the middle of it all, otherwise, why don’t we thank ourselves for the food we are able to eat. Even though we use our money to buy the food we need from the store, we still give God thanks for our food. Is that just a habit? Is it just something we have been told to do? Do we really believe that food on our table, whether at home or some restaurant, is provided by God? It certainly does not multiply on our plates. Our flour and oil jars empty with our use of them. Maybe, just maybe, we could believe God could keep them full, because it seems we do not believe like the disciples that those five loaves and two fish would feed that many people. Was that just a one time thing, or is this a lesson that we should look for God to multiply our need? There was a time, speaking on a personal level, that we had to look to God in order to pay all our bills with not enough money to pay them. We set aside our tithe, and then started writing checks, and kept writing checks until every bill was paid for that month and we had money left over in the checking account for food as well. We have experienced this multiplication of God and maybe we need to keep that kind of faith for everything else. God is God and we are but human, however, being human means, we are His creation and why would He not take care of His creation just as Jesus did with the people who followed him. Let us keep looking up to heaven and give thanks. 

Compassion

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

COMPASSION

Matt 14:13-14

13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

NIV

Jesus must have been moved within his spirit to want to withdraw privately by boat to a solitary place because of hearing that John was beheaded. We are not told much about any relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist, however, in the flesh, they were related, as both their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth were related and both with child at the same time. Did they know each other as children? Did they both have their bar-mitzvah at the same time? We do know that from the beginning, even in the womb, John was filled with the Spirit and knew he was in the presence of Jesus. Did he carry that sense during their childhood? It seems there was some special connection for Jesus to want to withdraw alone, perhaps to pray, and in some respects mourn, although Jesus would have to know that John would soon be in the presence of the Father, along with Moses and Elijah and who else God deemed righteous, like Abraham. But the point of this narrative told to us is that even though Jesus needed to be alone, the crowd, the people had needs and they had hope in Jesus. A boat crossing the Sea of Galilee could be seen from the shoreline and thus the people were able to follow in the direction of Jesus’s boat and get to the place he landed. It did not matter that Jesus needed some alone time because he also saw the needs of the people and He had compassion for them and healed their sick. There are two truths here for us today. The first is that Jesus is always available to meet our needs. Jesus is never too busy or does not want to be bothered. He has said on several occasions that we could ask anything in His name, and He would do it so as to bring glory onto the Father. In fact, that a time will come, and that could be now, that we could ask the Father in the name of Jesus, and it would be done for us. There is the issue of doubt that can cause us to not receive that which we ask. It did not appear those people who followed Jesus around the lake had any doubts whatsoever, and he healed all their sick. If we have that kind of faith, we can move mountains, we can be healed, we can ask and receive wisdom, understanding, insight into the truth of God, knowing His character, who He is. We can also have healing if that is what we need and ask for. Jesus will always have compassion on us and that is absolutely assuring beyond a shadow of a doubt. The second truth is that if our desire is to be Christ-like, to live a life following Jesus, then we too should put others ahead of ourselves, which we are told to do. We might have some alone time planned, but if we are aware of someone’s need, then should we not put aside our own intentions and heal our brother, meet his need, whatever that may be, of course, it also might be the brother or sister has to express their need, as the people did with Jesus. Because we are not omniscient as Jesus is, we cannot presume the needs of others, or that they want our assistance, therefore a request would be in order. But once that request is made, then should we not set our own needs aside to meet that request? It would appear that the central theme here is compassion. 

Promises

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

PROMISES

Matt 14:6-12

6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

NIV

Oaths are extremely dangerous as we can see here. Jesus was clear when he spoke about oaths, saying that we should not swear by heaven or earth or by our own head, for we cannot make one hair white or black. Jesus said that we need to let our yes mean yes, and our no mean no, all else is evil. Herod’s oath to that daughter of Herodias is proof enough about oath’s being evil. Just think how horrible it would be if we broke our oath to the Lord, and yet it seems we do so every time we do something that is sinful. However, Moses told the people not to break the oath they took in the name of God. Still, Jesus knew that was impossible because of the nature of man, being descendants of Adam. Therefore, he made sure we should not take an oath at all, but just say, yes or no. Herod was caught between a hard place and a rock because of his oath. He really did not want to kill John the Baptist, but perhaps his plan was to simply keep him from speaking out publicly against him because he took his brother Philip’s wife to be his. There is one more problem afoot and that is regarding the reason Herod made the oath. Herod was the king and as such he was living the good life, in fact, a very good life, lacking in nothing. He had wealth untold and could have whatever he wanted. We cannot be sure just how this daughter of Herodias danced, but we can be sure it was very provocative. The fact that she was Herod’s stepdaughter speaks to this problem. She was the daughter of Herod II and Herodias, so then she was not of the bloodline of this Herod Antipas and his infatuation and perhaps his arousal prompted his oath to give her up to half his kingdom. John the Baptist had already lambasted him about having his brother’s wife, and here, Herod might have been looking at having his stepdaughter as well, with such a great reward for her dance. Oh, how our eyes can lead to desires that should not be. The lust of the flesh is strong and wants what it wants. We are constantly bombarded with images that spawn desires of materialism, wanting more, better, bigger, or newer things. There are also images that insight the sensual nature of our humanness. There is also a problem with peer pressure, which in some sense drove Herod to make this oath, wanting to impress his guests of the banquet. We can also get entrapped by peer pressure, even in our attempts to look holy and righteous, or in our wisdom of spiritual things. Although we are to love each other and serve one another, it is clear that we are not to live to please men, but to please God. Herod shows us how not to live using oaths, and Jesus shows us how to live without making oaths, or in our vernacular, promises. 

Right or Wrong Thinking

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

RIGHT OR WRONG THINKING

Matt 14:1-5

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him."

3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.

NIV

We will get to the rest of the story about John the Baptist and his demise which was orchestrated by Herodias, but for now, let us consider the thinking of Herod the tetrarch. Of course, it is the rest of the story, which is the reason for Herod’s thinking, as we know, he was forced to have John beheaded. Nevertheless, it is interesting that Herod was thinking that John had come back to life. Certainly, Herod was well aware of the name of Jesus, as he was the king at the time of the birth of Jesus and had been visited by the three Magi from the East. This Herod was alive throughout the ministry of Jesus, and, in fact, Jesus was brought before him prior to His crucifixion. This was Herod Antipas, with the title tetrarch which indicated he ruled over the fourth part of the country. This is important to the story because of what we are told about his thinking. He could not accept the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, or that He was the Messiah, however, he could accept the idea that John the Baptist came back from the dead. It is interesting how people want to see the supernatural without acknowledging His existence and His working miracles in the lives of people. This whole idea of ghosts and the hunt for paranormal activity speaks directly to the thinking of Herod. He was willing to think about paranormal activity but did not concern himself with the truth about Jesus. This is the same man who sent his soldiers to Bethlehem to have all boys under the age of two slaughtered to rid himself of this Jesus, who he was told was the king of the Jews. But now, he can only think that John had come back from the dead, that Jesus was simply a resurrected John the Baptist. Guilt works in powerful ways, influencing thought. Here, he hears reports about Jesus, who he was certain he took care of the situation years ago, so this man who had miraculous powers had to be John the Baptist, raised from the dead. We can get caught up in one or the other ways of thinking, either trying to explain the supernatural as a paranormal event or ignoring God working miracles in our lives. Of course, being a believer, we are always looking for God to do a miracle. We expect to see miracles. We never try to explain away the supernatural as anything else than God doing what God does. We are not influenced by the thinking of men like Herod, those who look for and believe in the paranormal, but we are influenced by the Spirit of God. In fact, that is one of the definitions of the Greek word translated as grace. It is the divine influence upon our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives. We can see that when God tells Paul that His grace, His divine influence in Paul’s life is enough, how much more would he need. This is our lives, having the grace of God at work in us, so our thinking is in accordance with the truth, rather than in accordance with the traditional thinking of this world. God is the only one with the power to bring someone back from the dead. In fact, death has been swallowed up in victory, and it holds not binding on us. Although this body will die someday, we will still live, we will be raised up to be with our Lord. Herod thought wrong, but we are not subject to that type of wrong thinking because we have the Spirit leading us into all truth, all true thinking.

 

Prejudice

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

PREJUDICE

Matt 13:53-58

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55 "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

NIV

There is a lot said here through the witness of Matthew regarding the family of Jesus. Of course, there are doctrinal issues with Joseph and Mary having other children, those who would be the brothers and sisters of Jesus according to the flesh. Both Papists and Protestants are determined to maintain a doctrine that Mary remained a virgin her whole life. This would then mean that these individuals mentioned here were near relatives, like cousins of our Lord. The problem is which the Greek words translated and brother and sister, Adelfos and Adelfee. Although there are some different ways these words can be used, such as all believers are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. However, contextually, these words are used to mean the children of the same parents, and the first and therefore the foremost meaning is just that, a brother or sister born of the same parents. Because the people in Nazareth took offense at Jesus and included his whole family as one of simple means, just a carpenter’s son. Although that type of trade was a needed one and that meant more than a worker of wood but could have included working with metal, and stone. What we learn here is all about the prejudice that existed then and has continued through all generations to the present time. This is not about any racial or ethnic issues for all the people of Nazareth, including Jesus and his family were Jews, or of one race and one ethnicity. This is either about a social, educational, or economic prejudice regarding the whole family of Jesus. How could a person of such background be so wise and have miraculous powers? This type of prejudice still exists in the church. We have been warned in the letter James penned about treating those with fine clothes differently than those who do not have fine clothes by giving one an honored seat while having the others sit on the floor. He made the point that we should not show favoritism, which has a prejudicial nature. Yet, it exists in one sense that those who are the biggest financial supporters appear to have the greatest influence in the church. There can also be prejudice regarding the educational levels within the church. We have to be careful not to either exalt those who have degrees or look with disdain at those who have none. We are all children of the Lord, having all been adopted into the family of God as brothers and sisters, having the same parent, because we have been born from above. We honor one another, we love one another as one family. We applaud each other, encourage one another, love one another as we love God and ourselves. There is no room for envy, strife, jealousy, pride, thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. There is no room for any prejudicial attitude within the body of Christ. Let's simply see each other as our dearly loved family, honoring and cherishing each other. 

Understanding

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

UNDERSTANDING

Matt 13:51-52

51 "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.

52 He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."

NIV

There is some value in having an education, and even one that is centered on the Bible. We have over the past one hundred years or so established various denominational institutions of higher learning. In fact, many denominations require those who desire to enter the minister to have a degree from their seminary or bible college or a certain level of study approved by them. We could say the disciples attended three years of study under the greatest teacher of them all, Jesus. But even then, their studies were not complete as soon after Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit to continue their course study. However, at this point, Jesus asked his disciples if they understood all those parables he told. Having responded yes, he then went on to tell them, which also applies to us, that we should be ready to bring out the truth of the gospel based on all that we have stored up in our spirit. We should not cast any negative aspersions toward all those institutions of higher learning, for they are of some value, however, to understand all these things, does not come from classroom study, but rather from the leading of the Spirit. Knowledge is certainly a benefit from various course studies but understanding cannot be taught in the classroom. The point Jesus was making is that as we gain the understanding, through the leading of the Spirit, we are to bring that understanding into the hearts and minds of others. Certainly, this would apply directly to those who serve as pastors, as it is their responsibility to bring the truth forward to their congregations. We are told that we should not take that responsibility lightly, as those in ministry are held to a higher standard. However, this also applies to all who teach, which should be all of us, for we all have been called to share the good news of the gospel to all in the hope some will have an ear to hear. It is interesting that Jesus talked about new treasures as well as old ones. Over the years we have gained certain insights into the truth. Some we may well have gained through course study, some we have gained through the inspiration of the Spirit. But we cannot be content with just those old treasures, but should always be about gaining new understanding, so we may share those as well, keeping growing in both our knowledge and understanding, always willing to learn more through the power of God. Stagnation is simply another form of withering, of our leaf not remaining green, or our roots stopping from drawing nourishment from the stream of living water. If we are not growing then we are withering or in some sense, dying on the vine. Let us continue to listen to the voice of the Spirit and bring forth of which as we continue to gain understanding. 

The Wicked and The Righteous

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS

Matt 13:47-50

47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

NIV

The key is the difference between the wicked and the righteous. What sets the two apart is very interesting because there is no one who is absolutely free of some kind of sin. In order words, it does not matter how righteous we may look, such as how the Pharisees presented themselves, we still are unable to be perfect and therefore commit sin, which in some sense could be defined as a wicked act, although considering the Greek word translated as wicked here, it might be better to say our sin is more like doing an evil act. The Greek word for wicked carries the meaning of morally culpable, while the word translated righteous has the meaning of innocent, holy or it also can be defined as one who observes divine and human laws. We should note that there is a major difference between the observation of the law and fulfilling the law, that is being one hundred percent in compliance with the law. The wicked do not observe the law, in fact, they ignore it, as if it does not exist. While the righteous observe the law is there and try to live within the boundaries of that law. However, because we cannot live perfectly in accordance with the law of God, we need Jesus. He fulfilled the law as He lived perfectly and therefore, He is our righteousness, and it is only because we have accepted him as our Lord and Savior we will be the good fish that are collected in the baskets. In other words, we are not morally culpable because we are in Christ. Those who are not in Christ, those who refuse to accept this grace from God, are indeed accountable for their sin and will receive the justice of God. It would seem that is not His good pleasure for his creation to be thrown into the fiery furnace, for God loves each and every one of His creation equally, for He does not show favoritism, but He is just, and both the wicked and the righteous will receive their just reward. We are so grateful that somehow Jesus was able to break through our sinful nature and show us the grace of God toward us and that we responded, accepting Jesus as our righteousness, our Savior, and our Lord. 

Exceedingly Great Value

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

EXCEEDINGLY GREAT VALUE

Matt 13:45-46

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

NIV

Is there anything more valuable than the kingdom of heaven? Jesus makes it clear there is nothing worth more than the kingdom of God. Once again, if this man found this pearl of great value and went and sold everything, he had to buy it, what was he going to do with this pearl? Did he sell all his possessions, his donkey, sheep, house, all his clothes, all his provisions he may have laid up? It is unlikely that is what Jesus was saying. Here again, this pearl represents the kingdom of God and the man’s possessions represent his way of life, his sinfulness, or his life of sin. When he found the truth of the kingdom of heaven, he repented, changed the way he thought about his life, and got rid of his sinful lusts of this world. Did he become sinless? Doubtful, but he no longer desired to sin but rather desired the kingdom of heaven. That is our goal, is it not, to enter the kingdom of heaven? Jesus told Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of heaven a man needs to be born again or born from above. This goes straight to our heritage. For the most part, we think our heritage has to do with some nationality. For example, because my two grandfathers were of German descent, my heritage would be German, although with two grandmothers being of English descent, then I would be a descendent of both German and English. However, because we are born from above, we no longer have any connection to any heritage in this world. We are now sons of God or children of God and we are now the descendants of God, which has value beyond anything this world could ever offer. We are no longer children of German or English descent, or whatever country or nation our forefathers came from. We have been adopted into the family of God, and our inheritance no longer comes from this world, it is from the kingdom of heaven. We need to be willing to leave all this behind, all our former way of life, all our earthly things, all our plans, goals, desires for our future in this present age and seek first and foremost the kingdom of God, without any reservations. It is not that God wants us to be destitute, for He promised that he would add things of this world that we need, although that is not the reason, we should seek first His kingdom. The reason is that is the kingdom of heaven is the only thing that has eternal value, and it goes without saying, we are commanded to seek His kingdom above all else. We can store up so much for ourselves in this life, but we will leave it all behind. Everything we will ever need for all of eternity is in the kingdom of heaven which is of exceedingly great value. 

Filled with Joy

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FILLED WITH JOY

Matt 13:44

44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

NIV

Another parable, however, is much shorter than many of the others, but just as important in understanding the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom may be like a treasure hidden in a field, but it is a treasure in this world. For some it still might be hidden, that is they are unaware of the kingdom of heaven and are not even trying to find it. We are not told how this man found the treasure in the field, or how well it was hidden. What some might think is this was a treasure chest of indescribable wealth, but then if that was the hidden treasure, he could have carried it off without buying the field. It might make more sense if this hidden treasure was something like a gold mine that in order for him to dig it up, he would have to buy the field. However, this is a parable and so the point is that man found the secret of the kingdom of heaven, he discovered the truth of the gospel for the salvation of his soul. Now he kept that to himself at first to go and sell everything he had to buy the field. Again, in a parable, the man did not sell all his possessions but repented of all his sin. Surely, when we found that hidden treasure, we did not sell our home to have the kingdom of heaven, but we did repent of our sinful way of life, we turned from everything in order to enter the kingdom. Our joy was so great, that it was so easy to abandon our old way of life, and even those old friends who would rather drag us back into that old life, than join in our joy. The kingdom or the gospel is like a gold mine in some sense, filled the veins of truth that we need to dig up and refine into pure gold. The gospel is of such great value, more than anything else in the world. What physical pleasure can bring eternal joy? We might see some pleasure in things, but that is a fleeting pleasure, and mostly only momentary pleasure. But the kingdom of heaven, the gospel that gives us eternal life is a joy and pleasure that lasts for an eternity. It is sad, in some respects, that we can find believers walking around with a downcast countenance, seemingly with no joy. This is not a condemnation of them, for that would be so wrong on so many levels, but the fact is we do need to live joyfully, full of joy, and not overwhelmed by the burdens of this life. Yes, we can experience certain amounts of pain or ailments in our bodies, and at times it can become tiresome. Yes, we may have to endure some challenges in this life with our financial situation, or in our careers or professional path we travel, even if that is in ministry. However, because we are in Christ and we have eternal life, that is enough for us to walk joyfully in this world. Like that little chorus says, if you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you are happy and you know it, stump your feet, clap your hands, and shout hurray, do all three. Let your whole body show your happiness and be filled with joy. 

Shining Like the Sun

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SHINING LIKE THE SUN

Matt 13:36-43

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

NIV

Jesus does not explain all His parables, but he does this one because His disciples asked for the explanation and they, like us, have been given the secret of the kingdom of heaven. Once again, we are the sons of the kingdom, we are the wheat and not the tares. We can be assured that because of not what we do and have done, except accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we could gain access to the kingdom through good deeds, then it would become a competition as to who could do the most “good deeds” in order the have a better place in the kingdom, or have more jewels in their crown, although there is no scriptural reference to any number of jewels in any crown. Zechariah does speak about all who are saved by the Lord will sparkle in his hand like jewels, but we do not gain more jewels in a crown based on anything we have or will do, as far as deeds or works. What we do know, because we are considered as sons of the kingdom is that one day we will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father. The reason we know this is because we have accepted the Father’s Son, the Lord Jesus, as our Lord and Savior. We are the good seed, although we are not completely free of sin, we are not under the control or influence of the devil, for we have rejected him and turned to Jesus. It is a wonderful thought to keep in mind that we are going to shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father. What a glorious day that will be when our Jesus we will see. When we look upon His face, the one who saved us by His grace. When He takes us by the hand and leads us to the promised land, what a day, glorious day that will be. Oh, yes, we have those ears to hear because Jesus has baptized us with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit has opened our ears so we can hear the truth. There is so much non-truth sown in the world and that is a lot of non-truths that have infiltrated the church by those silver-tongued purveyors of lies. It is sad that so many have been deceived by them and accepted the seed sown by the devil. We have to know the devil has deceptive schemes and may not come directly sowing pure evil, but he knows the scripture, he knows God because he once was one of the most beautiful of all the angels God made. Therefore, he could come as a preacher of light, with just enough of the truth mixed into the heinous evil that he spreads, in order to deceive even the elect. So many have itchy ears and what to hear things to suit their own desires. As Paul tells Timothy, there is a time, and it has already come, when men will not put us with sound doctrine. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths, or non-truths. They will not shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father, but rather be gathered and thrown into the flames. Let us always be keen to the truth, listening to the voice of the Spirit who leads us into all truth, and then and only then will we be able to endure until the end. Then the glories of heaven will be our reward. We will have a crown, but it will be the crown of life because Jesus has given it to us and we will be shining like the sun. 

The Hidden Revealed

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE HIDDEN REVEALED

Matt 13:34-35

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

"I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."  

NIV

It does seem interesting that many of the times his disciples ask him to explain the parable to them as they are going to do again regarding the parable of the good seed and the weeds. Still, the prophet spoke that he would always speak in parables so that the hidden things since the creation of the world would be revealed to those who have an ear to hear. Once again, we deal with this idea that some would call mysterium tremendum, or the mystery of God, especially the mystery of His existence. There are several times throughout the letters of Paul that he makes the case that we have been revealed the mystery of God, mainly Christ. There are only times when we are told that we may have a full understanding of the mystery of God. The fact is that because we have the Spirit dwelling within us, due to the fact that we have been baptized with the Spirit, just as John the Baptist said Jesus would do, we then have all the knowledge within of the mystery of God. The Spirit gives us the ears to hear, the eyes to see if we only would avail ourselves of the influence of the Spirit. If we think that it is God’s desire to without anything from us, then He is not God. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he makes it clear that what he tells them has been revealed to him by God. Why would God want to hide anything from us, considering we are His children, His creation, and He desires that we know Him fully? That is the reason we have been given the Spirit so that He will lead us into all, not some, not the partial truth, but all truth, holding nothing back from us. Now, of course, there are those who still believe we as humans, in our human minds cannot fully comprehend the existence of God, thus that term, mysterium tremendum, however, that term was established by the German theologian Rudolf Otto, who is but a man, and although he was a protestant theologian, it does not mean he was walking in step with the Spirit, and thus he would not have the truth of God revealed fully to him, thus he felt there was still some mystery about the existence of God. We are to walk by faith, live by faith, and see and hear the truth through faith in the triune God, of whom dwells within us. So it is possible that we can understand all the things that were hidden since the creation of the world, for God desires to reveal them to us. 

Yeast Masters

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

YEAST MASTERS

Matt 13:33

33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." 

NIV

Yeast is a very invasive substance that once mixed into dough cannot be stopped from having its way with the dough. We remember a very funny story regarding yeast used to make donuts. As a child, my parents owned a donut shop and a young man who my father took under his tutelage was told to use a quarter cake of yeast into the mix in this very large stainless-steel bowl. However, due to either a miscommunication or misunderstanding this young man put four cakes of yeast in the mix. When the dough started to rise, it just kept rising and rising and the light cloth that was used to cover the bowl was no longer covering the bowl, but rather sitting upon the largest, ever-growing blob of dough. Soon the truth was determined, and the mix was no good for donuts or for anything, for that matter. It was dumped into a fifty-five-gallon drum that sat outside in the back of the shop. I recall, it was a warm summers night, and the following early morning when I accompanied my father to the shop to pick up the daily supply of donuts that he would deliver to various restaurants and stores, the blob had grown to overflow the drum and now consumed the entire parking area behind the shop. This is just how the kingdom of heaven works its way in the world. When the gospel was introduced into the world, it started to grow, and it has been growing and growing to overflow out into the world. However, the gospel does not speak on its own anymore, just as it did not do unless Jesus told people. When he left, he entrusted the gospel to his disciples and now it has been entrusted to us. Because the gospel or the kingdom of heaven will always have the same effect in the world as yeast does in flour, we can be sure we were intended to be involved in mixing the yeast in the dough or spreading the gospel message throughout our portion of the world. Certainly, we have not been called to travel worldwide as some missionary or even an evangelist, however, we have been called to work in that yeast wherever we find unleavened dough. We can be sure there is enough flour or dough out there that is in need of some yeast. All we need to do is mix it in and allow the news of the kingdom of heaven to do its thing. We cannot make the dough rise faster, or for that matter, we cannot make the dough rise, it is all up to the yeast. All we can do is mix the yeast into the flour. Now, we could be like that young man, and instead of simply mixing in just the right amount, we could put a whole lot of yeast into the mix and watch and see what happens next. Either way, we are to be the yeast masters. 

Perch

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

PERCH

Matt 13:31-32

31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." 

NIV

Certainly, the mustard seed represents the gospel that has been sown into the field, which is the world. This is clear, but what happens after might be seen in several ways. First, we would think that as the gospel first gets planted in a new believer, it is small, that is their understanding is small, but it grows and they become stronger and fully in their faith. If this is the meaning, then there is something we must also be about. If we are growing into one of the largest plants in the garden, becoming a tree, then we can see ourselves planted by the spring of living water, soaking up the word of God, and bearing much fruit in our season. However, there is more than simply our own growth here. Because of our faith, our understanding grows and grows until we have become this largest tree, one large enough for the birds of the air to perch on, then we have the burden of being the place for people to come to and find rest for their souls. This has two implications. First, those believers who are somewhat weak in their faith, or new believers who are just beginning their journey of faith, can learn from us, from our lives, our example of living by faith, they can see that Christ make a real difference in the life of someone who trusts in the Lord. We would be their encouragement, their encourager, where they can learn contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction, and complete joy in the Lord. Second, the seed, the gospel, when planted in anyone, which includes us, then it grows within us into causing us to grow. Yet if that is all it is, who are those who find rest within the branches? That would have to be ourselves, that is as the gospel grows and grows within us, we find so much comfort and joy being within the kingdom of heaven, our soul is at rest, from the ravishes or chaos of the world. The fullness of the gospel gives us rest for our souls, free from worry, anxiety, frustration, and confusion. As we perch within the gospel, let us also be an example to others to find their place to perch. 

Wheat and Tare

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

WHEAT AND TARES

Matt 13:24-30

24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'" 

NIV

This is not as plain as the preceding parable, however, Jesus does explain it after telling another parable. Yet the truth is available even without His explanation. The world is the field and the gospel is the good seed that is sown. There is no question that we are the wheat or at least we should be the wheat. There is also this enemy who comes in the night, and we know who that is and he sows tares, or a false gospel. In real life, wheat and tares look very much alike but they are far from being the same.

this image shows us how closely they look alike, but the tares represent, in this parable, false doctrines, even false notions of piety, but by presenting his deceptive religion, even deceiving some of the elect. There are churches filled with the deceived, thinking themselves to be wheat, but instead, they are the tares. We are blessed not to be in one of those places with those silver-tongued purveyors of false doctrines. However, there can be a problem, even among the best-intended church, blessed with a great pastor, who preaches the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. Even in a church, there can be some tares. However, Jesus is making more of a comparison of those whose seed is sown and becomes wheat, seeing them as the sons of the kingdom of God, while the tares are the people who please themselves doing evil, those who refuse Jesus but are influenced and deceived by Satan. At the end of the age, Jesus will separate the wheat from the tares and the tares will be cast into the lake of burning sulfur. He could harvest all those tares, those who do evil right now, but that may do damage to the church. Still, because the tares look so much like wheat, we have to believe the physical Christian church might well have tares in it. Those who look like a Christian may even speak a little like a Christian, but are not living in the purity of the gospel and have been deceived into looking to the rules and regulations and good deeds as emblems of their faith. They must be allowed to mingle with the wheat, and maybe, not knowing if it is possible, become wheat. All things are possible with God. We know how blessed we have been exposed to those silver-tongued preachers, and seeing them for who and what they are, rejecting their form of religion because we already had seen the Light of the world.

 

What Good Soil Does

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

WHAT GOOD SOIL DOES

Matt 13:18-23

18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." 

NIV

Well, there it is, the full explanation of the parable of the sower. It is beneficial to know the meaning because this gives us clues to being able to understand other parables that Jesus did not explain to his disciples. Nevertheless, what we must be confident of is being the good soil. Having been a believer for years, we can be sure we are not like the seed that was sowed by the path, or on rocky places, for we have roots that run deep within the word of God, the spring of living water, and we have and are bearing fruit in our season and our leaves are not withering. We could even say that whatsoever we do is prospering. We have gone through some forms of persecution, nothing life-threatening, but mostly either name-calling, like dumb, or weak-minded or being ridiculous believing in the bible. None of those things ever or will ever cause us to fall away. However, the problem that we could face, if we are not careful, is the thorns of life. There are always going to be thorns the grow up among the seeds. Jesus is going to tell another parable just about the good seed and the weeds next, but even being the good soil, there are going to be worries of this life that grow up within the soil. It seems it is impossible to keep the weeds out, but we cannot allow them to choke us out, or to get distracted by the deceitfulness of wealth. It seems it is too easy to become so involved with this world, making our way, so to speak, working, not just for a sufficient income, but strive for enough to be able to store it up for those golden years of life. We also know that Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve two masters, therefore we need to remain focused on being that good soil and producing a crop. We do not think Jesus meant that we would produce more believers as in a hundred new converts, for then if we did, we could say, we are done, we have finished the race. Perhaps, we need not even bring a hundred, but only sixty or thirty to be able to say we are done. However, we do not think Jesus meant new converts, but rather that we would produce so much fruit in our lives, fruit that would overflow so many others will be able to enjoy the fruit we bear. Therefore, the evidence of being the good soil is that we will bear much fruit, we will bear, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, and we will bear it in abundance.

Seeing and Hearing

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SEEING AND HEARING

Matt 13:10-17

10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'  

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

NIV

This is a lot to take in, but we think it wise not to split this up for Jesus is making one point here. There were people then, just as there are people now, who just did not understand what Jesus was teaching. It is not that people do not have eyes and ears, but they do have a calloused heart which causes them not to see with their eyes or hear with their ears. They have closed themselves off from the truth to believe in a lie by those who refuse to acknowledge God. However, we, like the disciples have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. The wonderful blessing is that Jesus made it clear because we have been given this knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, we will continue to be given more and more knowledge and given this knowledge in abundance. That almost seems there is no need to study the scriptures, but only listen to Jesus. Well, for us the scriptures are Jesus, and as we study them, we gain more and more knowledge about the kingdom of heaven. Of course, Jesus is telling his disciples about those who lived with the hope of the coming Messiah, but they lived and died before Jesus came to earth. The disciples are in both the physical and spiritual presence of Jesus. We are not able yet to be in the physical presence of Jesus, but one day we will. However, we are most certainly in the spiritual presence of our Lord. He has promised us that He would never leave nor forsake us, but that He would be with us forever. Jesus has revealed all we need to know about the kingdom of heaven. We just need to see it, although we might have to search for it within the scriptures. This means we cannot be a lazy, Sunday morning Christian,  but that we should be engaged within the word of God continually, seeing the revelation Jesus has given to us. Let us pray our ears are always open and our eyes are clear and our heart is soft and supple, gracefully bending to the will of God, so that we may see abundantly, all the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. 

The Crowd

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE CROWD

Matt 13:1-9

13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear." 

NIV

We have heard this parable in sermons on several occasions and Jesus will explain it himself to his disciples, as we will see soon. So it seems a little out of place to go through this parable when Jesus will do it for us. However, what is interesting is that Jesus was always being followed by large crowds, at least that is the way it seems. Of course, he was divine and had authority over disease, infirmities, and even death. No one like him had ever been seen before and as we know, no one like him will ever be seen on earth again, except when he comes to reign and rule as a conquering King. However, again, the interest is the crowd. Today, almost anything draws great crowds except Jesus. Once, when Billy Graham was in his prime, fairly large crowds gathered to hear him speak. There are some preachers today who have garnered large congregations, but if we investigate the theology of these individuals, we might discover why so many come to hear their silver tongues. But for the most part, the largest crowds are to be seen at sporting events, and these crowds become excited, yelling and screaming for their favorite team. Then we have those famous rock stars, who again have crowds standing and screaming, lifting their arms celebrating the sound, at least that is what it appears to be. We could most likely go on with other venues where excited crowds might gather, then we come to church. Somehow, it seems excitement is out of place, maybe even irreverent. It also seems there are so many churches that have anything but a crowd, in fact, some may have but a handful of souls that appear on Sunday morning. For the most part, believers are seen to be ultra-conservative in their lives, which includes their manner of worship. Where is the excitement about Jesus? Where are the crowds who follow him, willing to stand just to get a glimpse of Him, or hear his teaching? We wonder, if people staring getting healed, miraculously, then maybe some people might get excited, and maybe some might hear about it and show up to see what is going on. We just wonder why the crowd is so few and why this little band of believers that do show up are so stuffy and unemotional when it comes to worship. We have to believe the crowds that followed Jesus were filled with awe, and there was a level of enthusiasm and hope in seeing and hearing Jesus. Maybe, just maybe we might be able to regain that enthusiasm, that excitement about Jesus, for He is coming back for us, to take us to a place He has prepared for us. Maybe we could even shout for joy, lifting our hands before Jesus, even dancing around, or at least in the Spirit. But then maybe we will just be a crowd of one. 

Family

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FAMILY

Matt 12:46-50

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."   48 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"  49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." 

NIV

There are a few points that we should clear up before we make any claims as to how this might apply to our lives. First, we should note according to Mark, Jesus’s mother and brothers came to take charge of him for they were sure He has lost His mind. This would make us think that the personal family of Jesus, at least at this time, did not see Jesus as the Messiah, but as one of the family who was a carpenter, who took over the family business, perhaps because Joseph may already have died. Second, there is the issue of the use of mother and brothers as to mean the actual brothers of Jesus, as in sons of Mary and Joseph. Some would say, Joseph and Mary had no other children, however, that would not fit into the Jewish culture at all. It is very unlikely that a Jewish family would have an only child, although we have seen this with Abraham and Sarah, however, Abraham had two sons. Some would say that these brothers were cousins, being the sons of Mary and Cleophus. We are of the belief there are sons of Mary and Joseph, which make the most sense. Jesus made an interesting statement when he was told that his mother and brothers were outside wanting to speak to him. First, we should note that Jesus would never disrespect his mother. This is not what this is about, but rather to show that those who follow Jesus, as his disciples were doing, are the same as family. This agrees with the fact that as we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as we follow Jesus, we have been given the right to be called children of God. When we are born from above, or born again, as Jesus told Nicodemus, we are born into the family of God. We should not get confused about the only way to be a brother of Jesus is by doing the will of the Father, as in having to do everything perfectly, as in obeying every word of God without a flaw. If that were the case then not a single person could be a brother or sister or mother to Jesus. We must see this as the will of the Father is accepting His Son as our Savior. This is the only thing we can do that makes us a believer and saves us from perishing and giving us eternal life. This is made clear because Jesus pointed to his disciples to show his love for them and their love for him as being proof, they and therefore us, because he loves us and we love him, are his family. 

Spirits

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SPIRITS

Matt 12:43-45

43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." 

NIV

First, we must see that Jesus is not talking about those of us who believe, for although we may have had an evil spirit, it left the moment we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, for we were born again and if there either was an evil spirit or we were an evil person, both died and we became a new creature in Christ, and filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that He would send the Spirit, that He would baptize us in the Holy Spirit and therefore there is no room for anything other than the Spirit. However, this wicked generation, those who desire evil over righteousness, those who refuse the truth about Jesus have a problem. They have no defense against the evil spirits that roam looking for a place to live. We are not quite sure why an evil spirit would leave someone of its own free will. However, Jesus was still answering those who wanted to see a sign, proving he was the one sent from God. It is possible that some might believe, at least for a brief time, then return to their old ways of life. This could be when the evil spirit is cast out and then because they had not followed through in their believing Jesus, not having the Spirit dwell within, but rather they simply go about doing life as they always had, that evil spirit comes back with more evil spirits and the man, or the Jewish nation is worst off than it was before. This should be a warning to us in the sense that we must always be in the Spirit, that is walking in the Spirit. We cannot ever return to our old ways. We cannot just be a part-time Christian. We cannot be who we are, but we include Jesus as part of our life. When we become a believer, we must be all in, completely born again, a different, new person, born of God and not of this world. Of course, we need to live in this world, as it was created for us to live in. However, in contrast to the kingdom of God, this world represents evil. The world as it is created by God is good, but it is the ungodly people who are now referred to as the world, the ways of the world, the culture, the ethos of ungodliness that inhabits this world. We should also recognize there is evil in this world, it exists all around us, and evil spirits are lurking around hoping to find an empty house, an empty person who lives without the Spirit. We wonder if it is possible for a Christian who does not fully believe in the Spirit, that does not accept all the Spirit has to offer in their lives, the gifts, and the fruit might be in some danger, because of not allowing the Spirit to live completely within, holding him back, so to speak, of evil spirits having some influence in their lives. We do not think any evil spirit could come into a Christian, unless that Christian is just pretending to believe, which is what Jesus was saying about the nation of Israel. Because we are believers, it is imperative that we are baptized in the Spirit, fully immersed, and fully resurrected into a new being, not only cleansed of all sin but filled completely with the Spirit. 

Greatest Wisdom

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

GREATEST WISDOM

Matt 12:38-42

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

NIV

Having considered the wicked and adulterous generation, which includes the present time, we need to ponder in these comparisons Jesus makes of himself to Jonah and Solomon. The idea of Jesus being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights at first seems not to be in accordance with the facts as we look at them. As He was on the cross on a Friday which would have preceded the Jews Sabbath day, which is sunup to sundown on Saturday, and then there is Sunday, the day of his resurrection, which we have determined to be our Holy Day. So, by our method of calculations Jesus was in the grave part of Friday, Friday night, all day Saturday, Saturday night, and part of Sunday morning. However, what we have learned is the Jews reckoned time differently to some degree. It was, and maybe still is, a Jewish maxim that any part of a day means the whole and including that day’s night. Thus, any part of Friday was seen as the whole day and night, same for Saturday and Sunday. This would have meant to the Jew that Jesus would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, just as Jonah was that amount of time in the fish. We are more that aware that Jesus is far greater than Jonah, however, that are some differences. Jonah did not what to go to Nineveh, Jesus did want to come to earth, yet it does appear He was not eager to go to the cross, nevertheless, he wanted the will of his Father over his own, knowing the suffering and pain he was having to endure. The people of Nineveh repented, and they were saved, but it appears the Jews are in no way wanting to repent and instead wanting to rid themselves of the only way of their salvation. John, in his gospel makes the point the Jesus came to His own and they did not receive Him. We still wonder how blessed we are that the Spirit broke through our hardened heart and open our eyes to the truth. Then we have Jesus saying that He is wiser than Solomon, which we have total proof of having His word, the compete scripture, to verify this truth. Who could ever be wiser than God? There are even today, people who think themselves both knowledgeable and wise about certain things, and that may be true in the sense of attaining various degrees in a particular field of study. However, when it comes to complete wisdom about all things, God stands alone, although, He has said that if any of us lack wisdom we should ask God and He will give generously without finding fault. We can have wisdom from God, which is far greater than any wisdom this world can offer through any of its means. This is wisdom that does not even require years of study. This wisdom is a gift from God just by asking Him. This is the wisdom of knowing the truth about Jesus and about our life in Him. We know a word of wisdom is one of the gifts of the Spirit, and that may be a one-time event of speaking some truth, but the wisdom God gives is a more complete life wisdom. Let us live fully in the truth of God, seeking Him for all things in our life, for we already have He who is greater than all, our Lord Jesus, who is in fact, our creator and our Savior. 

Wicked and Adulterous

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

WICKED AND ADULTEROUS

Matt 12:38-42

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

NIV

Give us a sign. We want proof. Show us a miracle and then maybe we might believe, depending on how great the miraculous sign is. It is interesting many people today want proof before they will believe in anything. Of course, many believe in things without any proof at all. There is absolutely no science to prove the theory of evolution and the world is crazy about believing anything that opposes the seven days of creation by God. There was a rather famous character who once became a governor, who said that Christianity is a crutch for weak-minded people. Where is the proof that Jesus is divine? Jesus tells those Pharisees and all like them, who want proof, that they are a wicked and adulterous generation. There doesn’t seem to be a difficulty in understanding what wicked means in this case, at least in an ethical sense. This seems to be the way in which Jesus used this word, however, the Greek word can also be used to mean diseased or blind, which could apply to the Pharisees as well. Anyone with an ounce of reasoning would see that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. But the Pharisees were blinded, at least in the spiritual sense. It may be the same today. We are so thankful that Jesus was able to take our blinders off and show us the truth. Did He perform a miracle to get our attention? On a personal note, we have to say that God did show us a sign, but our belief was not that like the Pharisees who wanted to trick Jesus in an effort to find a way to kill him. We just did not believe period; however, we were still His creation and He wants us to be in an intimate relationship with Him.  As believers are considered the bride of Christ, which relates to a marriage, when we are having an affair with the world, we are committing adultery against the Lord. Turning from the Lord to idols is adultery, or we could also say that being with the Lord and having an affair with the world is still adultery. Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve both God and money, which represents the world or the things in the world, the material possessions we so eagerly desire. All we have to do is look at how hard, or how much effort we put into making our lives secure through the accumulation of wealth or material gain, to see whether we are living right with God, or if we are slipping into adultery. Yes, we must work. Yes, we need money simply to buy the necessities of life. However, we think maybe we could get a little distracted by all the things of the world, wanting more and more, better and bigger things. It seems as we observe some of our believing friends show off all their newer, bigger, better things that have on various social media platforms, they have become more interested in a prideful display of their material gains, than their relationship with our Lord. We must be careful not to become distracted, not to become enthralled with the things of the world, but stay the course, focusing our attention on our relationship with our Lord and Savior. Are we human?  Sure, and there are always human needs, and we must engage in the actions of daily life, and in our relationships with others, but we need to see of faith is what brings us into the presence of God. So then, if something interferes with our life in Christ, we must forfeit it. 

Acquitted or Condemned by Words

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ACQUITTED OR CONDEMNED BY WORDS

 

Matt 12:33-37

33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." 

NIV

Jesus is still refuting those accusations of the Pharisees regarding Jesus driving out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus now makes the comparison of a good and bad tree. We know that He has used a tree as a symbol of man before. Some of the Old Testament writings, such as David who wrote the first Psalm makes the same comparison of men being like a tree planted by the stream of water, which just happens to be Jesus. Paul also makes the same reference in the explanation of the fruit of the Spirit. It is not strange at all that if we were to approach a particular fruit tree, such as an apple tree, that we would see apples. It is quite natural to expect oranges if we walked into an orange grove. So it is with our words. Because we are born again, bible-thumping, Spirit-filled believers in Jesus Christ, our words would naturally be in line with our belief. We would not say evil things about God, as the Pharisees had about Jesus. We would never use the name of Jesus for anything other than one of His teachings, or when we pray, asking the Father in the name of Jesus. We would always have the highest praise on our lips for Jesus. The world is not like us, for they use the name of Jesus as a curse word, in fact, they have given Jesus the middle name of H. However, Jesus makes it clear that our words are a result of what is in our hearts. If our hearts are pure, if we are dedicated to Jesus, then from our heart will flow words of praise and honor for our Lord. The problem which could interfere with exhibiting good fruit is our human nature. Sometimes we can get in the way, either through words that could be considered gossip, or criticism, or judgmentalism. There is also the possibility that we think more highly of ourselves than we should, which shows up as being prideful in our hearts and thus gets expressed in our words. However, from a humble heart, comes humble words, just as apples come from an apple tree. We need not even try to say good words, for if our heart is filled with the Spirit, good words will naturally flow from us. However, if we have quenched the Spirit, holding Him back, perhaps there will not be so good words coming from us, for then our words would be coming from within a heart that does not have room for the Spirit. Let us always be aware of the Spirit within so our words will be filled with good things. As we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, then our words have acquitted us, as God has declared us holy and blameless in His sight. Let us continue with good words.